We ran to far north, and out of Albania, so we crossed the border into Montenegro, the ninth country we have visited during the European Empty Nest Adventure. The crossing was smooth, and in no time we were back on the road, and heading to a grocery store. It was a nice store, and we got what we needed to wild camp for the next few days. It did have a pretty good view.

Our next stop, and where we would spend the night is a first for us. It is a campground, or at least was back when this was Yugoslavia, and they had an army with officers that needed a place to vacation. Complete with a pebble stone beach, we were heading to the area known as Valdanos. Still known as that today, it is trying once again to be a destination, whether you are military or not.

We arrived later in the day, so after dinner, the sun was already tucked behind the mountains, so no time to explore. That would be in the morning. Since we were close to the abandon reception area, we thought we would tour through there first. The next morning, when we awoke, we got ready to hike around the area and discover what had been. But our original plan to visit the reception are was blocked.

We were udderly baffled what to do, so we changed plans, and headed to the beach. We walked past another camping area, around a large building that we thought was probably the mess hall, along some sports fields and a very nice pool, or it was back in the day, and finally arrived at the beach.

We weren’t alone. This appears to be a place where the locals bring their kids to use the sports fields, and other come to walk along the beach, much like we were doing. There were signs that back in it’s day, this was a place to enjoy.

We returned to Holly in the Camping Area, and toured the Reception Area, our early bovine blockade had moved on.

We couldn’t leave without one more animal encounter. We were packed up and ready to head out, when a herd of goats came by to send us off, complete with a friendly Shepard.

We were back on the road, heading north, staying close to the coast of Montenegro. Our next stop was another parking spot, this time, in the Beach Town of Petrovak. Yes, we were staying in town, but we needed more groceries, and some Euros.

There were cats everywhere in town. While walking along the promenade along the beach, we stopped at a souvenir shop and got the story. Lots of fishing goes on in this town, so there are lots of extra fish parts for the cats to feast on.

The fridge was full, and so was my wallet, so we headed north, and made our way around Kotor and Kotor Bay, which connects to the sea. We found a place to park above the city, just off the mountain highway.

We woke up to a chilly morning, -.5C, just below freezing. We got Holly warmed up and headed near the town of Niksic. We stopped at a campground for the night to get services done. We were heading on up the mountain to a cabin called Forest Rhapsody. We were giving ourselves a break from the camper for the Christmas Holiday.