We’re on a we’re-so-tired-of-winter search for spring.

It has not been easy. It took almost 800 miles, heading straight down I-75 from our Michigan home.

At the Wal-Mart parking lot where we spent the first night in Findlay, Ohio, we parked next to a pile of snow. The overnight temps were in the upper 20s. This was our first time at a Wal-Mart. Except for a couple of big trucks, we were pretty much alone. It was not particularly scenic and there was lots of traffic noise. “You don’t need an alarm clock to get up when you camp at Wal-Mart,” noted Jennifer as we rolled up the blinds and got ready to take off at daybreak the next morning. Still when you are just stopping to sleep and hitting the road early the next day, it sure beats a $30 campground fee.

As we set off, I noted there was still some rooftop ice and snow on top of our RV. Winter was still clinging to us. It finally melted shortly after we crossed over into Kentucky.Wal-Mart

But as we moved south through Tennessee, the mountains were still snow coated. A late winter storm earlier in the week had hit the area with a half-foot of snow. Miniature waterfalls were frozen into long icicles along the sheer rock face where it had been carved off for the road.

Finally, south of Knoxville, the snow was gone from the ground. But the temperatures were barely above 40.

In Georgia, by late afternoon, they warmed to the low 50′s.

And this morning, on a walk around the Red Top Mountain State Park about 45 miles north of Atlanta, we found the first official sign of spring.

A lone daffodil, poking up between some pine seedlings, a few hundred feet from our camp spot.

This is a beautiful state park, 12,000 acres that wrap around Lake Allatoona. The camping spots are spacious, shaded by tall pines. The rocky lakeshore is inviting. We’d stay longer is we didn’t have some things scheduled for the next couple of days.

The Roadtrek eTrek has been plenty warm at night. We can’t believe how well we sleep in it.

We are now heading to a couple other spots in Georgia, to visit with family and celebrate a son’s birthday. Then, next week, Florida.

But we are de-winterizing the RV, confident now, we’re headed in the right direction.

South.