Every Butt Needs A Good Rub - Day 15 - January 30, 2017

Today we woke in Savanna at another Choice Hotel. Let me explain. When we stayed in that great hotel on day one and two back in Arlington Virginia, it was a Clarion, part of the Choice Hotel chain. We really like that hotel and they have been sending me emails saying that I have earned points and wouldn't I like to stay in another of their hotels. We found one in Savannah. To our surprise it was just as nice. It didn't provide a full supper like the one in DC but it was very nice and the full hot

Live Oaks and hanging Spanish moss

breakfast was just fantastic. In their dining area we met Irvin, their dining host and he was a delight. He was from Boston originally and we chatted a bit about the weather and the Patriots. After breakfast we hit the road again and headed for our favorite place, the Walmart just down the road, to pick up some necessities. Now I know not everyone is a fan of Walmart, but for

Even neighborhood food markets!

the most part they have their act together and have hat you need at a good price. We drove around the Savannah area out to the islands before we headed into town. The last time we were here was by boat back

Savannah Dome

in the year 2000. We were here for St Patricks Day and the 2nd largest St Patricks Day parade in the country. Today we had the place to ourselves. We parked right on the main  street and

Gotta be just right. . .

walked down the one block, and many stairs, down to the waterfront where all the shops are. Carol was hunting for just one more t-shirt for Gracie and I was hunting views with my camera. We walked the waterfront in a chilly wind as the temps had dropped into the low 50's and the wind was blowing 25. In and out the shops Carol went and I took a few hundred photos of people and tugboats and river steamers and old buildings. This is actually a fine way to do things. . . After a while we wandered our way back to the upper streets and found our car, only realizing that I should have been feeding a meter, but no ticket so

Tug passing the paddlewheel steamer

I guess someone is looking out after us. A few more photos and we plugged in the address of the next hotel in Charleston, which is also a Choice Hotel and lives up to their reputation. We arrived in Charleston about 2:30, unloaded everything into the room and headed off to

Santa sleeping in Charleston

the visitor center to figure our just what we were going to do for the rest of today and the next day. I found Santa sleeping in a chair at the visitor center and couldn't help but snap his picture. The folks here were real helpful and we purchased tickets that opens doors at museums and other historic places. We walked across the street and visited

Manigault house

the Joseph Manigaut house, a grand old Charleston home.  We had a great tour guide and walk through the house, and met another couple who came from Brooklin NY. We had a very good time in this house.

Tea Service

After the tour we found a great little pub right near the City Market that specialized in Bar-b-que, we had beers and bar-b-que wings and the best plate of nachos ever. The nachos were covered in cole slaw and were delicious. Their slogan is 'Every Butt Needs a Good Rub' hence the name of this post.

Nana

Pappa

St. Augustine & Friends - Day 14 - January 29, 2017

I was up early again today and got completely caught up with the blog with the help of several cups of coffee.  I had the company of a chatty cat while I wrote, and soon people started waking up and moving around and more coffee began to flow.  Marie made the most fantastic breakfast complete with strawberry shortcake. After breakfast we chatted for a while until it was time for Carol and I to

Arriving in St Augustine

get back on the road so we packed everything back into the little Subaru and headed north with St Augustine in our sights to meet up with the folks we sailed across the Atlantic with. (LINK to photos here) We found parking right across from the marina at a hotel and it seemed that it must have been the last parking spot in the city. We skipped across the street to the marina and Jean and Darryl stepped out of the marina building as if on queue.

Folding

They had been doing their laundry so we joined in and helped fold sheets and things. Then, off in search of a sandwich and beer and a place to chat. Sunday in St Augustine means that every tourist in a thousand mile radius has arrived. The streets were packed with people and the first couple of places we checked out had long lines but we found a little pub that was just a perfect lace to sit and

Ed, Carol Jean and Darryl

chat. We sure wished we had more time with Jean and Darryl as we see them so infrequently and there seems to be just so much to discuss, from cruising adventures to technology and just life itself. These guys are in inspiration for their drive, life courage and ability to get things done and all the while living life's adventure to the fullest. Walking back to the car we continued the conversation and even

We passed the old fort as we left

once we reached the car it seemed as though no one wanted to say good bye, but we did and we were saddened to leave. It was such a short visit. We made our way back to Rt 95 north and tried to get as far north

In the fruit stand

as we could for the evening. but before we left the state we stopped at a fruit stand just because that is what you do when you are a tourist in Florida.In an hour or so we were crossing the border into Georgia and we stopped at the Georgia Welcome Center, where we sat with phones, found a place to stay just outside of Savannah and made reservations. Technology never ceases to amaze me.

Entering Georgia

A day of friends - Day Thirteen - January 28, 2016

Today started off with a phone call to my older brother Dan, who lives in Illinois. I always love chatting with Dan, I think because we disagree on so many things and have never been afraid to voice our opinions and call each other names and tell each other just how full of crap we are. He got all over my case for even going to Ron Jon's because it is not 'a real surf shop' like he used to go to in California (1968) and the east coast waves aren't real waves so the east coast surfers aren't real surfers so apparently I wasn't even having any real experiences here. . . love this guy, just because he is just so full of it. . . But i will agree, Dan, Cocoa Beach, Florida in 2017 is just not the same as your foggy damn memories of Ocean Beach, California in 1968 as I am sure things there have not changed a bit in the intervening 49 years.  As we drove north along route 1 we soon came to Port Canaveral which

Port Canaveral

was full of cruise ships as we passed through. Our friend Captain Bobby sometimes stops here with his tanker, sorry he wasn't here at this time, but I know he is currently some where between Port Arthur, TX and Tampa. Along the route we could see the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. Carol sent our grandson an iPhone snapshot of the building and after an exchange with Ben we were committed to find him a NASA T-shirt so off we went to the KSC. We got the car parked in Lot 5, which is about 500 miles from the entrance...and walked down to the find a place to buy a Tee for the

Entrance At Kennedy Space Center

future pilot. The crowds were amazing, it is good to see so many folks interested in our space program. We chatted a bit with the folks that parked next to us and the live in the area and visit often.

NASA NANA

We found a gift shop outside the entrance so we didn't have to pay the $50 admission which would have made for an expensive t-shirt. With the shopping done we headed the 500 miles back to the car and had another great conversation with another visitor to the space center. I am thinking that Benny and I need to come down here for an extended stay sometime. This is really a very large part of history. From here, Carol and were headed to Daytona Beach to look up a childhood friend, someone who I have not hung out with since I was 17 years old, Mike Shewmaker. Now those who know me well, know I like to tell wild stories about my childhood hanging out with the Shewmaker Brothers, Mike and Brud, and I am sure that many of you think I am a damned liar telling such tall tales but I assure you they are true and with little embellishment as embellishment is unnecessary.  And as serendipity has it, even

Me and Mike

not knowing where he was in Daytona beach, we ended up parking just two doors down from his shop.Although we didn't blow anything up or set each other on fire and no animals were harmed, we had a wonderful catching up and retelling tales of our childhood back in Illinois. Carol once again sat there just shaking her head in disbelief as we recounted the days of so long ago. We had lunch at the neighborhood pizza-sandwich shop and chatted and chatted, rekindling a friendship that had never really left, but was just on the back

Speedway

burner.  After lunch we were on the road again heading for Deland to visit  Carol's friends, Marie and Ernie. Along the way we passed the Daytona International Racetrack where the 24 hours of Daytona was running. As we passed we could hear the roar of the cars. Carol texted back and forth with our son (who is a big car nut) and he was very jealous of us being here as he was watching this race on TV and claimed 'This is the first real race of the season!' Serendipity once again. We arrived in Deland in the afternoon and the man with the calm voice directed us right to the door of Marie and Ernie. Marie made a magnificent pasta supper before we headed out the door for an evening of karaoke... Ernie is a very good singer.  This day had a lot of twists and turns. Here is a short sampling of karaoke..this was my first time ever where there was karaoke..turned out to be a great time and some of these folks have real talent.

 

And here is a shot of the Deland folks

Marie, Ernie, Carol and Ed

Key Largo to Cocoa Beach - Day Twelve - January 27, 2016

Our last morning in the Keys started with another brilliant sunrise as I sat and tapped out these words

Navigator at work

for all to read. It is comforting to sit and watch the day begin with a cup of coffee in hand looking out over the water and thinking of the great friends we have been connecting with in our travels. This has been a trip of discovery and rediscovery as we travel around and meet new people and meet up with old friends. As we do this the realization that it is the people that make our country great comes to light and a greater appreciation develops. Mark Twain once said "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow mindedness" and we agree as we have met so many good people on this trip of all political views, religions and ethnicities and they have all been good solid people with whom I am happy to share my life. One of our big disappoints of this trip was not visiting with our dear friends Brian and Judy. Brian is ill and Carol has come down with a cold so after a bit of discussion with Brian, we chose to continue to move on. These two were our next door neighbors for 25 years when we lived in Rehoboth, MA. We shared every holiday and vacationed together and have too many shared memories to count, we are truly saddened that we could not make the stop, and Brian buddy, get well

Over the bridge to the mainland

soon, you live in our hearts.  So it was over the bridge from Key Largo and northward, we have made the turn and are beginning our slow climb back up the east coast. We traveled the Florida Turnpike for a while and then moved over to Route 95 and then mover over to Route 1. Route 1, although it had a lot more to see was a slow and tedious route with lots of stoplights but we did pass several anchorages where we had stayed when we did our loop around the eastern half of the country by boat. So after a while we were back on route 95 and heading north. We decided to stop at Cocoa Beach, a town with shared memories with our children. No visit to Cocoa Beach is complete without a stop at Ron Jon's Surf Shop. So we plugged it in

Ron Jons

the GPS and calm guy took us to the door. Our kids loved this place back in the 80's when we were all down here. And even though I am sure there is some really good surfing stuff here, this store is the world tribute store to self promotion, it seems as if everything in the store has the Ron Jon logo on it, and that is what makes it fun. We ended up texting back and forth with our son in Portland to make sure we got him just what was needed and to

Logos on everything

make the perfect fashion statement. We love this place. While Carol continued to shop I found a good wifi signal in the parking lot and sat on a rock with my computer and found us a place for the night that wouldn't break the bank. We worked our way to the Motel 6 and settled in, after which we took a late night walk down to the beach and watched the surf roll in and the boat traffic offshore. The day had cooled and for the first time in days it seemed chilly. Carol was smart enough to bundle up a bit and I ended up being a bit cold but had brought my camera along so was still having fun. I was able to steady the camera enough on a handrail of the beach walk to get some long exposure photos. I am loving my camera and as always

Carol watching the boats

wish that there was more time in

Add caption

the day just to spend
shooting pix and editing but I am finding just enough to to make me want more. After the walk, we hopped in the car and found some late night treats to munch on before bedtime. As Carol zonked out I watched tv for the first time since the Inauguration I think and found a movie on HBO - Batman vs Superman. I love comic book movies, but came away very disappointed in this one. Certainly not worth staying up to midnight for. . .

Key Largo - Day Eleven - January 26, 2017

Today was a lazy day, a day to recharge and pretty much do nothing.

breakfast view

We made breakfast in the cabin and ate out on the balcony.
I made eggs and bagels and a fruit bowl and coffee, always coffee. I spent the early hours writing and adjusting photos of the day before. Carol read and was in touch with friends through the magic of her phone.  By mid morning we took a drive further down the keys just to see what was there and ended up crossing a fe of the bridges that connect the islands. it was a fairly calm day so we found a good place to park and i flew the drone for a few minutes. On two of the flights I forgot to hit the record button... rookie mistake and there is no going back... Live and learn, practice makes perfect I guess -  so here is a very short video of the bridge where we stopped.

Like I said - a very short video.  We also saw several birds out here on this remote strip of land, and Carol got in a bit of a walk while I was fussing with my drone. Here are a few shots.

Great Blue Heron

Heron in flight

Heading away as they all do. . .

This was a fun stop and I am glad

Tourist in the Keys

that we took the time to get out and explore a bit even though I buggered the video we still had a good time. We decided to return to the cottage and spend the afternoon on the beach, and that is just what we did. Carol soaked up the sun and spent the time with my sketch pad and paint just trying to get the colors right. The color of the light down here is so different from that back home.

My afternoon sketch

While we were on the beach we also made a few trips up to the laundry and made some of our clothes fresh once again. Not a bad chore when you can wait sipping a drink on the beach.  Soon the sunset came around once again and people gathered down on the dock to watch and we are no different. Although the sunset was not a spectacular as the night before they all seem to be good and deserving of at least a couple of photos.

Another sunset.

Carol and I watched and the people around us all watched as another day ended and as the sun set somewhere nearby some one blew a salute on a conch. And so as darkness began to overtake us we scouted the area on foot for supper, deciding on an Italian restaurant nearby. I had the Sausage, Peppers and Pasta and Carol the Eggplant Parmesan and it was delicious.

At dinner

After dinner is was a short walk back to our little place in paradise. Another day draws to

Back home again

a close and we begin to make plans for tomorrow.

Key Largo - Day Ten - January 25, 2017

Calm Waters

We awoke this morning to a perfect day in paradise. The wind had dropped, the temperature was perfect and Florida Bay was dead calm. We had our coffee on the balcony and I got in a bit of drone time before we walked next door to Mrs. Macs Kitchen for breakfast. This is one of those charming places that you find as a

Mug shot!

treasure in the keys. The service and the food here was fantastic - we highly recommend this place for anyone traveling the keys. Payment should not be a problem because the menu says "We accept all major credit cards, gold watches and precious jewels." The walls here are covered in license plates from all across the country, but we did not see any Rhode Island plates. I am sure they must have one somewhere, but I didn't inquire fearing that ours would be snatched. After breakfast we headed back up the island to the Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park for a nice long hike - well not that long, we only got in a little under two miles as the path was flooded and we couldn't complete the loop. But we

At the park

did see lots of cool stuff including exotic butterflies, strange birds

Lizard on the rocks

and lots of little lizards running around just about everywhere. We chatted with a lady who was hiking and watching the birds, and passed many other people hiking the trails. Here are a few photos we took as we explored the Key Largo Hammock Botanical Park.

Black & Yellow Butterfly

Carol took some of these and I took some. It was really a joy to explore such an exotic

Mangrove roots

environment that is so different from out northern hikes in New England. The rest of the day was spent shopping and exploring the island. And we had some good 'sit on the beach time' as well, I got in a sketch and brought out the drone to try to capture the great sunset. Here is a short video recap of the day.

Cape Coral to Key Largo - Day Nine - January 24, 2017

Sue & Steve's Place

Carol and I got packed up and and said our good-byes, this is always a tough moment, it is so good to meet up with your friends but hard to let go. Sue was on the balcony waving good-by as we pulled out of their complex. We were off to find a quick breakfast and head toward route 41, the old 'Alligator Alley'. Well getting out of Cape Coral turned into a comedy as I thought I understood Steve's directions but I fully buggered them up and we were in very heavy traffic with strange turn lanes and a lot of old people

We did it again!

driving (we do not include ourselves in this group, by the way). Finally we settles on a Bob Evan's Restaurant. Now I know what you are thinking, I said I would never stop at a chain restaurant again after the Waffle House debacle. Yet, here we were at a Bob Evans. It lived up to all expectations with cold food, small portions, overpriced and so so service. It seemed almost as though they didn't want us to have that second cup of coffee. While we ate we went through all the different places we might want to stop - smart phones are so good for this sort of thing and we did have a good signal in the Bob Evans, maybe that is the one positive thing I can say about them. So, back on the road we headed south and to Route 41, down past Marco Island

We have an actual paper map! It helps.

and and Everglades City and then east on Alligator Alley. This is one long straight two lane highway that crosses through the Everglades east to west, west to east. Our first stop was at a State Park, the Collier-Seminole State Park, where we walked around a bit hoping to catch a glimpse of an alligator or a Panther - yeah, there are Panthers down here, who knew. The highway had a lot

CAUTION!!!

of 'Panther Crossing ' signs, like we have deer crossing signs back home in Rhode Island. We did not see any panthers though, and no alligators either, but we did have a good time just hanging out and stretching for a while. Shortly we were back on the road heading east at 60 miles per hour trying to spot some 'gators along the roadside. Everyone told us we would see some. We did find a National Park Service area which I can't remember the name of but we did see alligators there and had another good

Saw several of these guys!

stretch. In the gift shop they had all sorts of good things that we didn't need. The next couple of hours brought on a lot of road construction, long lines and traffic, but then it opened up to the Keys. Over the bridge and onto Key Largo we went stopping at the Visitor Center where we got a recommendation for several places to spend the

The bridge to Key Largo

night. We chose the first one we came to, Sunset Cove on the bay side, and got an apartment on the beach with a balcony overlooking

First night sunset

Florida Bay. We arrived just at sunset and missed the show but spent the evening on the balcony eating and watching the activity down on the beach. The wind was still blowing and the water looked angry, this was the last time we say anything but dead calm water. We made it an early evening and got to bed by about 9:30, I think we were both just exhausted from all the excitement and the driving that the past few days had brought. We chose this place and elected to stay here for three nights just to recharge and hang out together.