Day #47 of Our Epic Trip

12-18-2023
Thousand Trails Three Flags, Wildwood, Florida

Since we only stayed at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park for two nights, we didn’t have a lot to pack up. We took the boys for a nice walk in the Florida sunshine this morning while drinking our coffee.

We headed south to stay for two weeks near Daniel’s sister and brother-in-law at Thousand Trails Three Flags in Wildwood, FL. We totally lucked out with our site. They drove us around in a golf cart to show us the available sites: one surrounded by other campers and another gloriously large site on the edge of the campground with views of a cow pasture. We didn’t hesitate in selecting our site. We watched a mother cow with her baby and saw a herd of wild bore.

Thousand Trails Three Flags in Wildwood, Florida. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
View from site 148

Daniel’s sister and brother-in-law, Diane and Mike, stopped by our campsite after we finished setting up. It was nice to see them and catch up a little. They boys remembered them and were so happy to see them.


Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $0 (Thousand Trails)
  • Camping memberships: $3.73
  • Food: $0

Miles driven: 119.3 (91.1 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Hummus (Vegan, Oil free)

We love hummus. I mean eat-it-everyday love. We put it on most dishes we make. It gives a creamy taste to meals. Hummus helped me to transition away from dairy cheese.

We use dried beans because they taste so much better. We keep the chickpeas we’ve prepared in the refrigerator in Silipint 30 oz lidded bowls so they are ready for whenever we want to make hummus. We also keep “hummus prep” in small lidded silicone cups, filled with all the other ingredients like lemon juice, garlic, and chili powder, stocked in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 cups cooked chickpeas or one and a half 15 oz cans chickpeas, liquid drained
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste (can also use salt alternative)
  • 3-4 garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 3-4 tbsp unsweetened soy or almond milk
  • 8 drops of hot sauce (like Tabasco) or 1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in blender or NutriBullet and blend, adding soy milk as necessary for ease of blending.

Notes:

  • We use half salt and half salt alternative like potassium or No Salt
  • This recipe has some spicy heat. If you do not like a lot of spice, reduce the hot sauce or chili powder

This post contains affiliate links which do not cost you anything but we may earn a small commission which may help offset the cost of this website.

Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Day #46 of Our Epic Trip

12-17-223
Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, White Springs, Florida

We are staying at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, FL. Last night, Marcel wanted to go outside several times while it was raining. We both heard a weird clucking noise that started about a minute after we got outside. The weeds also rustled. I’m assuming they were frogs but they seemed a little aggressive. Marcel was scared and refused to go potty.

This morning, we were enjoying coffee when suddenly the power went out in the campground. It’s just raining with a little wind but nothing horrible so we aren’t sure why we lost power. Luckily, it’s warm today and we have a gas water heater.

We went to the Stephen Foster museum at the state park. He was an 1800s American song composer of over 200 songs, most notably “Oh! Suzanna”. The museum had the most detailed dioramas we have ever seen. They were automated and each one depicted a scene from one of his songs.

Stephen Foster Folk Culture State Park Museum in White Springs, Florida. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Stephen Foster Museum

We also explored White Springs, FL which used to be a tourist destination in the 1800s due to a sulfur spring touted for medicinal properties. You cannot go on the platform over the spring due to disrepair but you can walk up to it and read about it. There used to be many luxury hotels in the area but the only one still standing is the Telford Hotel. It has had many uses over the years including being the home of a radio station which discussed conspiracy theories. It appears to be currently vacant.

Telford Hotel in White Springs, Florida. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Telford Hotel

Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $34.70
  • Camping memberships: $3.73
  • Food: $0

Miles driven: 11.1 (3.8 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 0


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

WhiteSpringsFlorida

Days #44-45 of Our Epic Trip

12-15-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

We are leaving Georgia tomorrow so we spent the day doing laundry and cooking enough food to last a few days. I made a lasagna using tofu and okara to substitute the ricotta cheese along with sautéd greens and mushrooms. It was so good. I can definitely relate to Garfield.

We did manage to squeeze in a fun activity at the campground: putt-putt. Daniel was the clear winner today but, in my defense, I didn’t have my glasses on and I’d had a couple adult beverages.


12-16-2023
Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, White Springs, Florida

We packed up and traveled to Florida. During the drive, we had a major mishap on the road: a tire blow-out on the camper. Luckily, we had a spare tire for the camper so Daniel was able to change it. The shredded tire did some damage to the body of the camper but Daniel thinks he can fix it. We really appreciated the semi-trucks who switched lanes when driving by us because they can really rock the camper when in the lane right next to us. Our next stop was Discount Tire in Valdosta, GA to purchase two new tires. Don’t want this to happen again!

Camper damage caused by tire blow out. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.

Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $44.20
  • Camping memberships: $7.46
  • Food: $38.70

Miles driven: 167.1 (128.7 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 2


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Day #43 of Our Epic Trip

12-14-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

Today we went to Savannah, GA. The entire city is a National Historic Landmark District. It is a beautiful city with moss everywhere, friendly people, and tons and tons of history.

We started our adventure in a cemetery, the Bonaventure Cemetery, which was named as one of the 10 most beautiful cemeteries in the world by CNN. “Bonaventure” is Italian for “good fortune”. It was a beautiful, peaceful space with graves from the 1700s.

Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Road in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.

We walked around the River Street Boardwalk and admired some of the older buildings and cobble stone streets. Definitely not ot a place to walk around wearing high heels. We took the boys and they loved it.

River Street Boardwalk in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.

Savannah has squares or little parks every couple of blocks. We walked through several of them and imagined how lively they might be during warmer weather. They were designed to be gathering places for the residents of the surrounding homes. We also walked by the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist and the childhood home of the founder of the Girl Scouts.

Park in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Childhood home of the founder of Girl Scouts in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.

Next we went to the American Prohibition Museum. We don’t usually like to pay a lot for attractions but we both agree it was worth it for this museum. Here are some of the things we learned:

  • Prior to Prohibition, 40% of all US taxes were paid by brewers and distillers. An astounding 75% of New York’s budget was from liquor taxes.
  • The first income tax was passed the year prior to Prohibition to replace lost revenue from liquor taxes.
  • One could legally make beer and hard cider at home for personal use.
  • Grocery stores sold packages of dehydrated grapes that contained mock warnings on the labels. Customers were told not to put the ingredients in a corked jug and set it in a dark place for three weeks because it would turn into wine.
  • The birth of NASCAR took place on dirt tracks in rural, southern pastures when liquor haulers would gather to test their racing skills and compete for bragging rights. They risked jail time and their lives as they traveled dangerous terrain, avoiding the police, to deliver liquor.
  • In the 1920s, the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) membership was about 15% of the eligible population, about 5 million men. The KKK was in support of prohibition but it was partly due to their zealous enforcement of the ban on alcohol that prohibition lost its favor with the general public and was finally overturned.
American Prohibition Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Hanging with local drunks
American Prohibition Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Daniel about to experience the wrath of hatchet-wielding Carry Nation.
American Prohibition Museum in Savannah, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
KKK on a ferris wheel (the most ridiculous picture I’ve seen in a long time) c. 1925

We ended our day with dinner at Hungry Vegan, a wonderful southern soul food eatery. We were warmly welcomed by two wonderful ladies. We cannot understate how good the food was. Daniel had Salisbury Steak (vegan, of course) and I had fried cauliflower. We also had mac and cheese, collard greens, okra, and other veggies. Everything was delicious and we left completely satiated. Unfortunately, we learned this establishment has been the target of racism. If you are ever in Savannah, please visit Hungry Vegan and show them some love.


Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $9.50 (RPI)
  • Camping memberships: $3.73
  • Food: $44.58

Miles driven: 362.5 (125.2 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 0


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Days #40-42 of Our Epic Trip

12-11-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

We drove back to Dunlap, TN to get our mail. Daniel has been waiting to get a copy of the car registration so we can get a Tennessee license plate. We were able to pick out our license plate number so we chose something easy to remember. It was a long day of driving but we passed time by listening to podcasts.


12-12-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

We hung out at the campsite today doing laundry and relaxing. The drive to Dunlap was tiring so we just needed a day to relax.


12-13-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

We went to Perry, GA to see a movie. We saw Saltburn, a psychological thriller. I can’t remember the last time I actually gagged while watching a movie. The plot involved a rich English family hosting a college student for the summer who secretly covets everything. Each family member experiences mysterious mishaps. Is it unfortunate coincidence or murderous intentions? I’m not sure that we can recommend this movie unless you’re into gross sexual stuff (you do you, we’re not trying to kink shame anyone).

We also had a lot of bad luck today including a camping reservation that disappeared, car insurance cancelation, and Daniel losing his phone. Luckily, everything worked out in the end but not without hassle.


Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $28.50 (RPI)
  • Camping memberships: $11.19
  • Food: $37.76

Miles driven: 717.1 (237.7 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 0


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Day #39 of Our Epic Trip

12-10-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

We got up early to take the boys for a walk before it rained. We looked at some of the other rigs and found a Smart Car that fit perfectly on the back of a semi truck. After our walk, since Daniel loves the rain, we sat outside under the awning to have our coffee. It was peaceful and relaxing.

Rig found at Southern Trails RV Resort in Unadilla, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.

We attended church at the little chapel on the grounds of the campground. The pastor is from Michigan. We haven’t been to church in a very long time. We both went to Catholic schools but attending church and being religious weren’t high on our priority list during adulthood. Now that we’ve moved to Tennessee, church is a way for many people to build community so we thought we’d give it a try today. One of the first things said by the pastor was that God had required animal sacrifice to be in “his” presence. This pastor said it like murder of innocent beings was ok. We believe in loving all beings. So this was not a great first foray into church-going for us. For a more compassionate view on religion, we really like the movie A Prayer for Compassion.

I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.

Mahatma Gandhi

We went to Walmart and got a big bunch of collard greens. We have been sautéing greens every day for dinner using only water and spices, of course. On the way home, we drove by a house possessed with the Christmas spirit.

Christmas decorations in Unadilla, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.

Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $9.50 (RPI)
  • Camping memberships: $3.73
  • Food: $19.93

Miles driven: 41.5 (13.7 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 0


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Georgia Campground Reviews

We really enjoyed our time in Georgia and found a lot of activities and adventures.


Unadilla, GA • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ • Full hookup

This campground is not fancy and some people will find things to complain about. Daniel and I liked it. The cons: You hear the traffic noise from the highway but, after a day or two, you tune it out. The noise did not keep us up at night. You will also hear a train going by multiple times per day but Daniel loves hearing trains. The sites are small and close together but that’s true for really expensive resorts, too. There are no picnic tables or fire pits at the campsites. There is a community fire pit. There are also some people who live here full time but none of the sites were “junky”. The facilities are older but clean and functional. There is a small putt-putt course, a pool (we didn’t use it because we were there in December), and an older playground. We were told there are new owners who are focusing on fixing up another campground in Florida before fixing this campground up. The pros: The people are really nice. Fellow campers, Scott and Corrine, who are there seasonally, manage the social activities. We joined in on bingo and glass painting. The other campers were super quiet while we were there. We got a great rate with RPI in 2023 ($9.50 per night) but they increased it to $19 in 2025. There are plenty of things to do within a 1.5 hour drive. We felt safe in this campground. There are pecan trees throughout the campground and you can pick pecans for free. (Dec 2023 and Nov 2025)


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Day #38 of Our Epic Trip

12-9-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

We went to Macon, GA today to do some exploring. We stopped at Smiley’s Flea Market and found some deals including two metal hangers for free (for Daniel’s MacGyver activities), $2 earrings, and… a slice of cake at an all vegan bakery. So excited to find the wonderful ladies of Sweet Rain Vegan Bakeshop who make wonderful goodies. We got a slice of Butter Pecan cake. It was so good.

Next we went to visit the Ocmulgee Mounds and Earth Lodge. These Indian mounds were the site of the largest archeological dig in the US to date. Carbon dating of wooden beams in the lodge date to 1015.

Peter and Marcel at Ocmulgee Mounds and Earth Lodge in Macon, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Entrance to the Earth Lodge
Ocmulgee Mounds and Earth Lodge in Macon, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Inside the Earth Lodge
Daniel, Peter, and Marcel at Ocmulgee Mounds and Earth Lodge in Macon, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
On top of the Great Temple Mound with downtown Macon in background

We drove around downtown Macon but didn’t stop. We went a spot recently added to Google maps called “Vegan Soul” hopeful we would find a vegan soul food restaurant. We did not find a restaurant but did find a farmer’s market and a nice man from Oak Ridge, TN who sold beautiful clay pots for plants.


Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $9.50 (RPI)
  • Camping memberships: $3.73
  • Food: $8

Miles driven: 103.3 (31.2 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 0


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment

Day #37 of Our Epic Trip

12-8-2023
Southern Trails RV Resort, Unadilla, Georgia

We went to the Cotton Museum in Vienna, GA today. Daniel wanted to touch actual cotton still on the plant. As we were driving to the museum, we drove on a dirt road past some cotton fields and Daniel got out to investigate. We have been struck by the amount of cotton still on the plant after the cotton has been harvested.

At the Cotton Museum, we were lucky to receive a personal tour from the new curator, Mrs. Christine Kingdom. She was a wealth of information and we learned a lot. The cotton bolls do not open at the same time on the plant. She used to pick cotton by hand and she said they had to make two passes through a field to get all the cotton. She and her family would pick 200-500 pounds of cotton each per day.

She showed us many pictures of people from Vienna and Dooly County and the surrounding area: farmers, gin owners, etc. Her father was in one of the pictures standing with other men and mules during a harvest.

We learned that the vegetable oil you may buy to cook with probably contains cotton oil.

It was so fun to talk with Mrs. Kingdom. She enthusiastically talked about her life growing up (picking cotton, churning butter, etc) and ended the tour with the accomplishments of her sons. One of her sons declared when he was nine years old that he was going to get an Olympic gold medal. Know what? He did! He won two gold Olympic medals in track and field hurdles (1984 and 1988) and set a world record. He also decided he wanted to be an NFL coach so that’s what he did. He retired after the team he coached, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won the Super Bowl in 2021.

Daniel, Mrs. Christine Kingdom, and Kristin at the Cotton Museum in Vienna, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
The lovely curator of the Cotton Museum, Mrs. Christine Kingdom

Thank you Mrs. Christine Kingdom! What an honor to meet you and share a couple of hours with you this afternoon.

Fun fact: I used to live in Mississippi and ride horses in the cotton fields near my house. One Saturday I lost my keys in one of the fields while riding. That Sunday, a lot of people from the nearby church, which I wasn’t even a member of, were out in that field looking for my keys. My keys were never found but this is a perfect example of what my experience was like living in the south – people were friendly, welcoming, generous, and they took care of their neighbors.

We ended our night with bingo at the campground. I won twice and got some Christmas decorations. Unfortunately, Daniel didn’t win but he had fun. We met fellow campers, Jim and Carol, who gave us advice on campgrounds to stay at. They were a lovely couple and we hope we run into them again.

Daniel playing bingo at Southern Trails RV Resort in Unadilla, Georgia. Picture by Happy Vegan Campers.
Daniel “playing” bingo.

Stats

Expenses:

  • Tow vehicle fuel: $0
  • Campsite: $9.50 (RPI)
  • Camping memberships: $3.73
  • Food: $0

Miles driven: 28.7 (8.6 kWh)

Number of people asking about the Tesla pulling the camper: 1


Happy Vegan Campers

Subscribe so you never miss a post!

Never miss an update! You’ll get an email once or twice a week with updates from us! We will never sell your email address or in any other way abuse the privilege of you being a loyal follower.

Contact Happy Vegan Campers!

Happy Vegan Campers are traveling the country and building a passive house! Any suggestions on places we should visit or questions about our house? Love our recipes? We’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below or send us an email:
happyvegancampers@gmail.com

Leave a Comment