Our First Airbnb Cancellation and the Recovery

 Kansas City, MO

Cancelled!  Oh No!

Out With the Old

Yesterday eagle eyed readers or just readers that read the post, saw that we got some bad news yesterday.  We were given notice that our Panama City FL month long (actually more than a month) stay was cancelled.  The reason the owner gave was that construction was being done but we looked and it looked like he has raised is prices and he might be cancelling so he can get more money during the time we were going to be there.  We won't know for sure and in the end, it doesn't really matter why.  If any stays were going to be cancelled (and this does happen), we are glad it was Panama City.  The only thing that was somewhat bad about this cancellation was that it was a REALLY cheap stay so we were going to use it as a home base and camp around in Florida and finish all of the counties in Florida this year.  

Recovery Planning

At first we were a bit annoyed.  I was one day away from booking all of the stays on the 2 week trip from Baltimore to Panama City.  It was a happy accident that I was lazy and decided to delay a day because the plan was in place.  We spent the first 6 hours or so looking for new stays and it wasn't going well.  It takes a lot of searching to find the right place for the right price with the right amenities for a month long stay.  At the end of the day we gave up and went to bed without solving the problem.  The stay is 2ish months away which seems like a lot but there is a lot of competition for good places right now.

The next morning we looked at it with fresh eyes and a clear head and stays started popping up all over the place.  It's funny how hard it is to choose a place to stay when you can stay "anywhere".  Pretty soon we were emailing properties back and forth to each other and coming up with stays that we were actually excited about.  The Panama City Cancellation was starting to look like a great opportunity to improve our trip.  Just after our oatmeal breakfast Donna found a stay in a city that I had never considered.  Thinking outside the box you have created for yourself is key to finding good stays and having good adventures.  It's how our "racing the moving van across the country" turned into putting our stuff in storage and going nomadic.  After we both scrutinized the new stay in mind we booked!  We have a place to live and now we have an amazing new plan!

The New Place

Red Stick!

We decided on staying just an hour and a half away from our December stay in New Orleans.  We are staying in the heart of it all near the college in Baton Rouge, the capitol of Louisiana.  This will give us a chance to see more of Louisiana with less driving and take our time visiting the capitol building and climbing to the top of the tower. We will also have time for the museums and botanic gardens in the area.

And We Don't Miss Out on Finishing Florida

The Florida State Park Planning is going well

I spent the day yesterday planning our route while Donna thumbed through this awesome Florida State Park book to find parks we really wanted to stay in and visit.  We have 20 days between Baltimore and Baton Rouge, so a lot of time to stay visit Florida State Parks (which are way better than I know you are thinking right now).

Florida progress as it stands now

We will be camping in / visiting great state parks like;

Constitution Convention Museum State Park  and the replicated convention hall features the debate of delegates Robert Raymond Reid, William P. Duvall, David Y. Levy and Thomas L Baltzell. These life-size, audio-animated mannequins offer a realistic demonstration of the debate and process of drafting a state constitution.

Ponce de Leon Springs State Park and the amazing 68 degree year round natural spring (with no alligators we hope).

Stolen from the State Park website

Florida Caverns State Park with a cave tour in Florida!

Another borrowed image from the Florida State Parks website

All totaled, we will be visiting at least 13 of Florida's State Parks on this leg of the trip.  As you can see, we are very excited about this Panama City cancellation.  It has opened up great opportunities for us to rethink the weakest part of our trip with new learnings from the road.

That's really all we did today.  We had planned on going to a history museum but that can wait.  We still have 13 days left in Kansas City, MO.  

If you missed yesterday's adventure you can check it out here.