January 23, 2014

***** I have lost count of how many times we’ve stopped here.  Hmmmm! Do I have a problem??   Of course, we have to do a tasting.  Deb, our wine hostess was not only knowledgeable, she was funny. A case and a half later we’re headed to Hernado, Florida to visit friends.

January 21, 2014   Not our first time at Disney, but first time together.  First time for both of us at Fort Wilderness. First time for both of us when it was this cold. All I’m going to say is the dress of the day was LAYERED (especially when you left your winter coat in Connecticut).

*****Fort Wilderness Campground is great. Once we figured out the shuttle system we were golden. We did not have a reservation, but got in easily. The campground was $75 a night which was reasonable for all you got. Anyone that has been to Disney knows that everything here is over the top.  If you drove in for the day parking alone was $10 for a car and $16 for an RV.

I loved every site!  I loved every site had there own little (kid sized) trash can.  Maybe I just love everything about Disney.

*****Our first night we went over to Downtown Disney. We saw an amazing street performer, Michael Marx,  an acoustic guitarist. He was so good we sat through two sets. The singer, guitarist that performed in between was pretty good.  He did all requests and there weren’t many he didn’t know.  Of course, we went to Ghiardelli Chocolates for Free – bees.

January 22, 2014 David only wanted to do one park so it was difficult to pick.  I thought Epcot had the most things that he would like. I go often enough with the kids that this one was for him. We opened the park. It was a super time to go.  We walked on to all the rides except Soarin.  We got a fast pass to come back 7 hours later.  You can get fast passes on line now. I can’t imagine what it will be like during prime tourist season.  We had a wonderful day, but that was enough Disney for David.

Next Stop  … Our favorite Winery, Lakeridge  in Clermont, Fl .

***** January 19, 2014  Jekyll Island Campground (site G24, pull through $38) (site E19, back in $35). We booked too late and couldn’t get two nights in the same spot. We had to move, but it wasn’t a big deal.  Both sites were nice E19 a little nicer than G24.  The campground is nice and in a great location on the Island. We never took Half Pint out, we biked or walked(at night) everywhere.  There is a wide paved (maybe 2% dirt)  bike path that circles the whole island. There are a couple of cut through’s if you don’t want to double back.  We biked the entire path one day, my guesstamate 20 miles, Flat, Flat, Flat the couple of times that I had to put real effort into pedaling I was surprised.

I’m in love.  I would buy a house here in a heartbeat.   The scenery is breathtaking. The island is so serene and totally unique.  One of the negative feedbacks I read was not enough restaurants.  I don’t think we saw any. We biked beaches, boardwalk, crooked tree forests and the Historic District.  I could have spent two hours in the Jekyll Island Book Store. It’s in a historic house.  There is a sign on the door that asks you to gently open and close the 100 year old door.  There are 12 -15 rooms each with a different theme.

We spent our lunchtime sitting on a bench at the marina watching a dolphin find his lunch.  In the Historic section there was a Huge Inn (Old Estate) and people were laying croquet on the lawn. They were all dressed in period clothing. Very neat!

I can go on and on about the very, very nice things I liked about Jekyll Island.  Oh! great fishing pier!

Next Stop “We’re going to Disney!”

January 16, 2014  U.S. 17 South from Myrtle Beach N.C.  to Charleston, S.C.    Easy ride, straight and flat.  The scenery in many areas made me sad. The poverty was obvious. People live in Shanty’s. There were many, many roadside stands with people selling handmade sweet grass baskets.

*****We arrive at The Campground at James Island County Park in Charleston, site #91.  They provide a shuttle service to downtown and Folly Beach Fishing Pier ($10).  we didn’t need it, because we have Half Pint, but I thought it was a nice feature.

We are here to pick Richie up at the Airport and spend the weekend with him.  Richie is a marathon runner with a goal of running a marathon in every state.  This will be Richie’s 15th State completed. For almost three days we have fun with Richie.  The marathon is very involved from the packet pick up to the finish line celebration.  We all try Shrimp and Grits … I say “YUCK”.  Richie says “Different”. David says O.K.  until he hears I paid $7 for a small bowl, then he says “not so good”.

***** We took a boat ride to  Fort Sumter and toured the Fort ($18) and walked around  the museum (free).

***** We took a Palmetto Carriage Tour ($22)of Historic Downtown. Charleston, is known as the Holy City for it’s abundance of Churches. It has survived hurricane’s fires, earthquakes and two fires. Lots and lots of history here.

***** Richie treated us to dinner at Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub in downtown Charleston.  We shared an appetizer of Fried Green Tomatoes. I’m hooked … on Fried Green Tomatoes and Charleston.

Richie finished the 26.2 miles in an impressive 3 hours and 27 minutes.  I love watching him run.  We were able to catch him at several spots along the route.  He always gives this awesome smile  when he spots us.  This was the first time, in I don’t  know when, that I had Richie all to my self (away from his wife and children).  This was a special time.

The only thing that wasn’t perfect about the weekend was the weather. It was cold and windy.  I had expected it to be warmer this far south, but it is January.

After we take Richie to the airport we are on the road again. Destination Jekyll Island, Georgia

January 13, 2014

We leave Connecticut at 7:00 a.m., Travel 9 hours and 430 miles (8 hours driving, 1 hour pit stops).  It’s too cold to stay in the RV so we Stay at the Sleep Inn in Winchester, VA.  Tired and hungry we had dinner at the Golden Corral next door.  This is our first venture in the RV towing a car, so our options are limited, unless we want to unhook and hook her back up.   When I refer to “her”  it’s Half Pint our 1964 Volvo PV544.   The Golden Corral was actually clean and the food was good.  They had a white chocolate fountain and lots of fresh fruit for dipping.  To me, not a chocolate, chocolate lover was the creme de la creme. I could have passed up the rest of the meal and ulled my chair up to the fountain.

January 14, 2014

On the road again at 7:45 a.m.  and stop at The Lakewood Camping Resort ($31) in Myrtle Beach S.C.  We’ve stayed at Lakewood before, site 5202, close to the indoor pool and hot tub, water view (if no one is in site 5201). Staying in Site 5202 is much less expensive and this time of year the chance of anyone taking site 5201 is next to nil.  The hot tub temperature is 104 degrees, great place to be on a rainy day.  It’s beautiful here. but very commercial.  Having Half Pint with us gives us a lot more freedom to venture out and explore.

*****Huntington Beach State Park in the next town over Murrells Inlet, S.C. is awesome.  We pick our site for next time we head south (site # 31).  We hiked the Sandpiper Pond Nature Trail,  2 miles out, then we walked the beach back.  We visited the Nature Center and walked the boardwalk. There is a beautiful off road bike trail that we put on our list of to do’s next time.

January 16, 2014 On the road again 8:45 a.m. Fill up the gas tank for $2.99 a gallon less than 1/4 mile from The Lakewood.   Next Stop, The Campground at James Island, Charleston, S.C.

Sept 16, 2011 After a little housekeeping we head into “town”. Jackson Hole is an old western town, aka tourist “wanna, wanna, spend some $$$”.  We had lunch at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar.  It is the coolest bar I’ve ever been to.  The seats at the bar are saddles.  We check out a few shops and I found a very cool country western shirt for Megan.

Headed back on the road again we stop for the night at Phillips RV Park along the Bear River in Evanston, Wyoming ($29).

Sept 17, 2011  We had planned on biking the Bear River Greenway, less than 1/4 mile from the campground, in the morning, but it was raining.  On to Park City, Utah

Sept 14-15,  2011  We were able to make it down into Grand Teton National Forest and get settled into the Signal Mountain Campground ($10.25 senior), dry camping, before dark.  We have a view of Jackson Lake to the right and the Grand Tetons to the left.  You’re not going to have this view from a hotel room.  David has seen the Tetons many times before, but this was a first for him. Coming in from the Northeast the Tetons were very majestic, but not as breathtaking as I had expected, but look where I had just come from.  I had just seen the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone from the Top and hiked all the way to the bottom, talk about views.

I have to mention that David is doing a great time driving. He has had to do some pretty tricky manuevering and very stressful handling.  He’s finessed Old Bessie very well.  Coming over some of the mountains I found the need to pack a “bail out bag” and keep it near my feet.  If I felt in dire danger, I was jumping ship!

Sept 15, 2011 We wake up at dawn to go wildlife viewing.  We spot a male elk and his harem.  He is bugeling!  This is something you only see on the nature channel.  A site and sound I’ll never forget.  It is amazing.  This is at Willow Flats Overlook.   We do a driving tour of the Grand Teton National Forest.  We saw a herd of Bison and another of antelope.  We pass through the town of Jackson Hole and head u to Teton Village.  We ride the aerial tram to the “Top of the World” of residence mountain, elevation 10,464. We are “almost” looking Grand Teton eye to eye.  The view is beyond believable.  Back down to “earth” we bike the Centennial Bike Path from Teton Village to Rt 22 and back 6.4 miles.  I can’t believe what a fabulous fairly level paved path, in the Tetons.  It was yet another superb day.

We send the night at the Fireside Resort at Jackson Hole Campground, Wilson, Wyoming.

October 11, 2011

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail (National Historic Park) goes 153 miles from Washington D.C to Cumberland, Maryland.  A few years back I biked approx 100 miles of the trail from Antietam, Md to Cumberland, MD.  This is a fabulous trail. Even though David and I are trip tired and ready to go home, this is an opportunity neither one of us want to miss. We only biked about 15 miles of the trail.  We saw a white tail deer crossing the path and met a man that was backpacking the entire trail.  He told us about a 60 mile rail trail in Pennsylvania that goes from Jersey Shore to Williamsboro,  add it to the list.  It was a very, very nice wind down to the trip.

Next destination HOME!!!   This has been a fantastic, unforgettable adventure.  It was filled with amazing places, the most beautiful scenery, charismatic animals (no bear) and nice people.     But…. There’s No Place Like Home!

Oct 9, 2011  Headed East we’re formulating a plan and we’re all over the place. Home sounds good, but there is so much to see.  We really want to go to  the Great Smoky Mountains National Park  so we call for reservations.  None available but, there are some first come, first serve available.  We head that way and end up in a traffic jam.  Not thinking, it’s Foliage Time in the Smokies.  The traffic was so bad you’d think you were in New York City.

Our travel intuition, otherwise known as tiredness, says skip it and wait until June 2012.  We already have plans and reservations to do a drag racing mini circuit Bristol, TN – Chicago, IL – Norwalk, OH.  We haven’t finished this rip and we’re ready for the next.

This adventure is not over yet, We need a place to stop for the night and rest our travel weary bones.  We end up in what appears to be a campground that is closed for the season, in Dandridge, TN. I call it the God Bless America campground.  On the side of a building is painted a HUGE American Flag, above it is painted God Bless America.  When David called for reservations, The owner told him to call when we got to the gate. When we got to the gate the owner gave us the code to the  lock and told us to put the fee in the lock box.  We share this Smoky Mountain Gem with one other couple, Lamar and Glenda from Alabama, nice, nice people.  Of course we talk for awhile and now have added Alabama to our list of places to visit.  It’s never ending.

Oct 10, 2011  The name of the game now is mileage.  No more stops planned.  After 40 days on the road, we’re going home. We stop for the night at The Falling Waters Campground in West Virginia, just outside Maryland ($33).  It’s 5 miles from a trail head of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail.  A few years back I biked the trail from Antietam to Cumberland, Maryland.  I’m not going to let this opportunity without sharing a least a part of the experience with David.

Next stop Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail.

Oct 8 – 9, 2011  On to Arkansas … Drove through Fort Smith and put it on our list of places to stop “next time”.  It looks like a cool western town.  We are on a mission to get to the Hot Springs National Park.  It is what we expected and not what we expected.  The best way I can describe it is odd, but enjoyable.  It’s a National Park that zig zags through a town.  Only one “Hot Spring” to touch.  Lots of bath houses and spas to “rejuvenate” and relax your wallets.  We thoroughly enjoyed the hiking trails. One led up a mountain to a great lookout.  For $$ you can ride an elevator to the top or you could walk the stairs for free.  We took the elevator.  There was a very small but  informative museum.  One of the hiking trails took us through the back door of a hotel, down a hallway to a staircase leading to the lobby and out the front door.  That was very odd, but interesting.

Of all the things I’ve learned about traveling on this trip, I think the most helpful is,  learn a little about the place your going before you go.  All National Parks have a museum or visitors center with information.  Go there first.  Another helpful thing is talking to people that have already been there.  Some of the tips, suggestions and recommendations we’ve gotten have been invaluable.

Honorable mention goes to the owner of the Lakeside Campground in Salislaw, Arkansas where we stayed. She was just the friendliest lady.

If you’re a history buff,  Hot Springs, Arkansas is full of it.  Visiting was fun, different, eclectic!   Next Stop Rocky Mountain National Park in Tennessee.