We headed South of the Border

Leaving Jordan, Jess, and Michael in Aberdeen, we headed south of the border to South Carolina.  Stopped first to see Pedro and have some photo ops; then on through Myrtle Beach and US-17; ending at Myrtle Beach State Park.        The next day we drove down to Georgetown SC, once the largest exporter of rice in the world.  We learned that up until the civil war, South Carolina was the second wealthiest state due to the export of rice throughout the world.   Ended the night at Huntington Beach State Park where we camped for 3 days.                                                              

Archer and Anne Huntington donated land for this State Park right on the Atlantic Ocean.  Anne Hyatt Huntington was a world renowned sculptress prior to her late-in-life marriage to Archer.  Together they left this wonderful legacy which also includes Brookgreen Gardens and their studio and getaway home,  Atalaya for tours.

By far the best part of their work in the arts and their bequest, is Brookgreen Gardens.  Acres and acres of gardens and sculptures (all by American artists, and all non-abstract).  Ruthie and I biked from the State Park to Brookgreen; then strolled along the many paths, marveling at the beautiful scultures.  These few pictures just can't show the enormity of this garden.  Here is a place to come back to in the different seasons, and walk the paths!

We left Jordan for another Jordan....

We left Jordan for his namesake lake, and camped for an extended weekend.  We found Jordan Lake SRA to have many great campgrounds surrounding the lake; a number with great views.
And those Fall colors!  We hiked and biked, and even enjoyed smores!



Before heading back to Aberdeen, we drove to Durham where we walked the Sarah P. Duke Gardens and then headed over to Duke campus, where we saw the gothic chapel along with the Occupy demonstration.  Shades of the 60s?



 

Jordan Alexander is born !

October 24th at 2:26am (as in the "middle of the night") Jordan Alexander arrived at exactly 8 pounds, and smiling (later winking).  Mom, Jess, and Dad, Michael, did a great job of bringing a new family member into this world.

Now home and 3 days old, Jordan is loving his special room, gazing at all of the University of Michigan stuff.  GO BLUE


And so what have Morey and Ruthie been doing besides working on being grandparents for the 5th time?  Loving exploration of Pinehurst, Southern Pines, Aberdeen, and the surrounding NC areas.  Some great restaurants, theater, and shops.  What a beautiful place to be spending nice Fall weather.  We even checked out a campground, Sycamore Lodge (a time share), for a couple of free nights and a sales pitch, near Michael and Jess's home.

We're also keeping in shape with our daily morning trips to the First Health Gym.  Ruthie swims the olympic size pool while Morey is working out on the equipment.  A great facility.  Need to keep up this regimen when we get home.

Michael & Jess get a room addition

Arrived yesterday afternoon.  Backed right in between the house and the dogwood.  Maybe we'll never leave - Full Hookups!  Wireless internet,
cable TV, electric, and water.

Looking forward to the big event and our new little arrival!

Greenbrier Rail Trail

Camped at Watoga State Park for 3 days so that we could bike a portion of the 77 mile Greenbrier Rail Trail.  Beautiful Fall weather let us bike over 46 miles, through a tunnel (with NO lights), and one of the old railroad bridges.  Great stops for river views along the way.

Who would have thought.......

Sitting by the fireplace at the lodge at Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia, and it's snowing and 33 degrees!!  It has been raining for past 36 hours, so I guess the snow is a nice change of scenery!  Staying here tonight then heading down the road 100 miles to bike the Greenbrier rail trail. 


For the past two days, we camped at Swallow Falls SP in Maryland.  A great walk in the woods following the rivers and viewing all of the spectacular Falls.  Should have sung our "bear" song as we walked to keep us safe.....well, guess they already stuffed it!

On the Road Again !!!

Packing up the RV and getting ready to roll!  It's amazing how much stuff we need; but then again, why not?

We're taking a week to get to Michael & Jess's home in NC.  Have MD and WV state parks scoped out for camping, hiking, and biking.  Unfortunately no internet hookup for this portion of the trip, so you may just have to wait till we "grab" a wireless signal to blog.

12,412 miles......We're Home!

Arrived home last night after a 10 hour drive from Michael & Jess's house (So nice to see them!).  Sure seems strange to to have all the room to roam in our house, missed the RV's homey close quarters.  Today we emptied all of our stuff and cleaned up BIW, so it's ready for the next trip.

On the way home we stopped in Charleston, SC, where we walked the historic district.  Perfect weather to wander the many gardens with all of their Spring blooms, and to tour the houses.  We'll need to go back and spend more time; nice town.

So, you won't be hearing from us for a while....not until we rev up BIW's engine, and head out for more ADVENTURE !!! 

Besides, Ruthie is looking to keep cool in another fountain.

Ruthie celebrates her Birthday at the "Club" Grand dining room !!

It's only once that you celebrate your 61st birthday, and where you celebrate, is the important part.  So....First get dressed in "proper attire", hop on your bike and cycle 5 miles, then ditch your helmet and leisurely stroll into the Grand dining room for a very proper dinner....And most important, it was good!!

After camping for the past few months, how nice to be attended to at the lovely turn-of-the-century Club, on Jekyll Island.

Everything about Jekyll Island was Grand.  Nicely paved bike paths, beautiful "live" oaks (centuries old) with spanish moss, turn of the century buildings and service, and even a nice campground.  We even watched the moonrise where the full moon came up out of the Atlantic on its closest orbital pass in 18 years - Spectacular!

Savannah was next on our itinerary.  Drove in and parked our RV at the visitor center and spent all day walking through the many parks and exploring the turn of the century (1800s) houses.  Looking for Southern Fried Chicken for lunch, Morey googled, "fried chicken Savannah"; and up pops KFC, local fast food places, and Mrs. Wilkes.  So we decided on Mrs. Wilkes....if we had only known that there would be an hour line for a family style fried chicken dinner (and 22 other dishes!).  Well worth it.  We discovered that we followed President Obama by a few months.  Guess we both wanted the fine Southern cooking at the incredible price of $16 per person.  Google comes through.  Barely able to move following this meal, we walked around town, took a house tour of the Owen-Thomas  house, and then indulged at Leopolds for a genuine soda and a malt....  OMG!

The Snowbirds including us are heading North

As we checked out of our Dade Countycampground, we followed a long line of RVs, trailers, and 5th wheels heading north.  Spring is in the air, and it's time to get home.

First, though, we needed to get back to Cape Florida State Park on Key Biscayne.  Great memories of Morey and Ruthie going to this awesome beach among the pines...the smell always brought back this place in our minds.  Hurricane Andrew in 1992 leveled the place, not a palm nor a pine tree left (the lighthouse did survive); but after a number of years of rebuilding, the park has reopened.  Same nice beach with the sand and the water calling us to jump in, but none of those pines and those old smells. 

Camped for two days at Jonathan Dickenson State Park, just north of Jupiter.  Biked the 5 miles to the Loxahatchee River, where we rented a 2-person Kayak and paddled up the river.  We turned into a smaller stream and soon discovered that we were not alone!!  As we paddled by, a number of friendly alligators sunning themselves on the banks, smiled.... and one did jump in and head toward us.  We knew that alligators can run up to 30 mph on land, but how fast can they swim?!

Surviving our kayak trip, we then headed up to Leesburg to see Ruthie's cousin, Marlene and her husband, Bill.  And they surprised Ruthie with a birthday cake!  How nice to see them and their lovely surroundings.  We couldn't believe the new downtowns and the special roads just for the golf carts.  For all you 55+ers, take a look at Lady Lake and the Villages.

Everglades National Park

We spent four days, but we could have spent many more.  There is only one Everglades in the world, a very unique area.  This park even opened our eyes to bird watching and the natural settings around them.  [Hard to believe that Morey could become a bird watcher?!]  Must have taken 50 pictures of really cool birds.  What incredible and beautiful birds, and they liked their picture being taken!

We first camped at Lone Pine Campground, a lovely campground where we were at the edge of the lake with the pine trees and tropical plants all around us. Then we drove the park road stopping at the many trails including Royal Palm where we walked the two trails, and viewed the birds and the alligators up close. Also walked through the hammocks on boardwalks.

We continued down to Flamingo on the Florida Bay where we camped and checked out the visitor center and all of the activities.  We attended the many Ranger talks about Manatees (and saw some), Alligators (saw over 100), and the birds. 

Every night we biked over to the amphitheater for the evening program, using our headlamp for the return trip under the stars.  

We also took the 3 hour canoe trip on Nine Mile Pond where we dodged around the alligators. 

What a great park, we will be back.....................................

Drove my Chevy to the.........

I know, the next word should be levee, THE famous song by Don McLean;   

But in this case, it was Spring Break 1973, and Don's song was playing as we drove across seven-mile bridge to Key West.  We borrowed my mom's Chevy Vega.....So, I drove my Chevy Vega to Key West (I know, it doesn't rhyme); set up our tent in the howling wind at Boyd's Campground, "The southernmost campground in the U.S."), and explored Key West.




 
 



Our 1972 tent site at Boyds



Our 2011 RV site, no water view



Well, we're back for Spring Break 2011, and can't say we feel any older; well for the most part.  Set up our RV at Boyds, still the most southern campground in the U.S. (continental); place got spruced up alot!! Then we went out and did all of the stuff to do here in Key West.  Ate stone crab, pink shrimp, and key lime pie; biked to the beach and played volleyball (at least thought about it); and watched the sun go down at Mallory Square.  We did have to stop the jugglers from using our bikes in their juggling act! 

All good memories both now and 38 years ago (can't believe where the time's gone).  From this point we're heading home - more stops on the way, but we're "homeward bound."

PS  Had to include in this blog a shot of the Key West cemetary...is it our age?
Located in the center of town at the "DEAD END".