12/17/09 Thanks for your patience, Loyal Blog Readers, as I have been trying to find time to update this ever since we got back from our cruises late last Sunday. Between getting the RV set up again, restocking with food, doing laundry, and social obligations, there has not been much internet time! I haven't even downloaded all the pictures we took while we were cruising and exploring in the ports! So as soon as we have a little downtime, I promise I will do a better job of updating this and putting some pictures on.
I did want to let you all know that we got back safely and are both well - just a little fatter than when we left... When we arrived back at the SKP Park in Bushnell, we learned that there were 5 RV couples there who are old friends, and we just had to squeeze in some social time with them, before heading south again. I will give more details about this in the next post. Right now we are driving south on I-75 to go back to Punta Gorda to see Bob & Nancy Colbert again, and pick up our generator, which Bob very kindly repaired for us.
More info in a few days.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Monday, December 07, 2009
Blog Update Dec. 6
Hello from the Voyager of the Seas, somewhere in the Atlantic, between the Canary Islands and the Bahamas. The voyage has been smooth and we have even had very pleasant weather, most of the time. The past few days have been warm, in the mid-70’s, and there have been lots of people hanging around by the pool. As usual, we have been enjoying this trans-Atlantic cruise very much because of all the days at sea. This gives us a chance to work out in the gym, attend seminars and lectures, have social times with all the old friends, and enjoy all the luscious food that seems to be on offer almost constantly.
This cruise started 8 days ago in Barcelona, where we stayed one night after leaving the Celebrity Century after our week long Mediterranean cruise. Happily, our good friends David and Diane Wilson, from Austin, joined us at our hotel so we had some fun exploring the Gothic Quarter, which was the location of our hotel, with them. Last Sunday, we all boarded the ship together and got partially settled in. Then Myra and Louie Lehmann, other friends who had been on the Around the Horn cruise with us, arrived to have a quick visit with us before boarding their ship, the Brilliance of the Seas. We just managed a quick chat with them in the front of the terminal, but it was delightful to see them again, since they live in Sweden.
There aren’t a lot of ports on this cruise, which suits us just fine. Our first port was Cartagena, Spain, which is a delightful little city and is easy to explore on foot. Since we have been there before, we didn’t have any particular places in mind to go, so we walked around and ended up doing some shopping. Because it is the end of the cruise season, and most of the ships stopping there now are heading back to the USA, the stores had some wonderful sales going on. Elaine got a pants and jacket outfit for 4 Euros, a faux suede shirt for 2 Euros, and I got a pure wool sweater for 2 Euros. Amazing. Diane was with us and David stayed on the ship. The next port was Funchal, Maderia, and we had never been there before so we quite enjoyed it. It was another delightful town with amazing detail having been paid to the design of the multicolored sidewalk cobblestones. There are also lots of very old buildings with interesting architectural details, most of which have been beautifully restored. Our friend Jack Booth, who was also on the Mariner with us in Jan/Feb showed us around. Tenerife, in the Canary Islands was the next port and since we had found lots of good deals on jeans the last trip here, Diane joined us again for more shopping and exploring. Yes, we got some cute jeans for 10 Euro and Elaine and Diane also found some interesting and unique tops. It is fun to try to get our usual 5 mile walk in by poking around these towns, and we always see new and interesting things. I have started wondering how we are going to get our bags packed at the end of this cruise with all the new purchases….
Of course, the most delightful part of this cruise is being together again with so many of our friends from the Around the Horn cruise last Jan/Feb. We meet every day in the Concierge lounge where we get free drinks and appetizers before dinner because everyone has so many cruise credits. Our group has acquired some new friends too, and there is still plenty of time left to try to get to know them better. Yesterday, Daryl and Patrick McGrath had a big party for everyone in their suite (which is awesome), and we all schmoozed together for hours there too. Tonight is one of the formal nights, so everyone will be dressed up (good photo ops), and also the menu for dinner is superb because both lobster and prime rib are on offer. Needless to say, we aren’t losing any weight on this trip, despite the fact that we have been faithfully working out in the fitness center, and taking the stairs every time we go anywhere on the ship.
Once again, there are no pictures with this posting because I have limited time on the internet while on the ship. When we get back to Florida, I will post some of the pictures of this entire trip.
Hello from the Voyager of the Seas, somewhere in the Atlantic, between the Canary Islands and the Bahamas. The voyage has been smooth and we have even had very pleasant weather, most of the time. The past few days have been warm, in the mid-70’s, and there have been lots of people hanging around by the pool. As usual, we have been enjoying this trans-Atlantic cruise very much because of all the days at sea. This gives us a chance to work out in the gym, attend seminars and lectures, have social times with all the old friends, and enjoy all the luscious food that seems to be on offer almost constantly.
This cruise started 8 days ago in Barcelona, where we stayed one night after leaving the Celebrity Century after our week long Mediterranean cruise. Happily, our good friends David and Diane Wilson, from Austin, joined us at our hotel so we had some fun exploring the Gothic Quarter, which was the location of our hotel, with them. Last Sunday, we all boarded the ship together and got partially settled in. Then Myra and Louie Lehmann, other friends who had been on the Around the Horn cruise with us, arrived to have a quick visit with us before boarding their ship, the Brilliance of the Seas. We just managed a quick chat with them in the front of the terminal, but it was delightful to see them again, since they live in Sweden.
There aren’t a lot of ports on this cruise, which suits us just fine. Our first port was Cartagena, Spain, which is a delightful little city and is easy to explore on foot. Since we have been there before, we didn’t have any particular places in mind to go, so we walked around and ended up doing some shopping. Because it is the end of the cruise season, and most of the ships stopping there now are heading back to the USA, the stores had some wonderful sales going on. Elaine got a pants and jacket outfit for 4 Euros, a faux suede shirt for 2 Euros, and I got a pure wool sweater for 2 Euros. Amazing. Diane was with us and David stayed on the ship. The next port was Funchal, Maderia, and we had never been there before so we quite enjoyed it. It was another delightful town with amazing detail having been paid to the design of the multicolored sidewalk cobblestones. There are also lots of very old buildings with interesting architectural details, most of which have been beautifully restored. Our friend Jack Booth, who was also on the Mariner with us in Jan/Feb showed us around. Tenerife, in the Canary Islands was the next port and since we had found lots of good deals on jeans the last trip here, Diane joined us again for more shopping and exploring. Yes, we got some cute jeans for 10 Euro and Elaine and Diane also found some interesting and unique tops. It is fun to try to get our usual 5 mile walk in by poking around these towns, and we always see new and interesting things. I have started wondering how we are going to get our bags packed at the end of this cruise with all the new purchases….
Of course, the most delightful part of this cruise is being together again with so many of our friends from the Around the Horn cruise last Jan/Feb. We meet every day in the Concierge lounge where we get free drinks and appetizers before dinner because everyone has so many cruise credits. Our group has acquired some new friends too, and there is still plenty of time left to try to get to know them better. Yesterday, Daryl and Patrick McGrath had a big party for everyone in their suite (which is awesome), and we all schmoozed together for hours there too. Tonight is one of the formal nights, so everyone will be dressed up (good photo ops), and also the menu for dinner is superb because both lobster and prime rib are on offer. Needless to say, we aren’t losing any weight on this trip, despite the fact that we have been faithfully working out in the fitness center, and taking the stairs every time we go anywhere on the ship.
Once again, there are no pictures with this posting because I have limited time on the internet while on the ship. When we get back to Florida, I will post some of the pictures of this entire trip.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
12-3-09 We are in Tenerife, the Canary Islands today and I don´t have much time. The cruise is super, because of all the friends from the Around the Horn cruise. There will be 6 straight sea days coming up so I don´t know when I can post a report about our adventures, but I will try to do it from the ship. Just wanted to let you all know that we have been well, having great weather, and are thinking of you all fondly. More later.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
11/28/09 Hello from Barcelona. We have just returned here after 7 very nice days in the Mediterranean. The ports of call were good. Cannes was just a quiet town last Sunday and good for a stroll. Genoa was a lot more interesting than we had been led to believe and we greatly enjoyed walking around and admiring all the fabulous old buildings and squares. They have a lot of old palaces and a whole block of them have been put on the UNESCO world heritage list. When our ship docked in Livorno, we were really annoyed that they docked in the industrial port because then we were so far from the city center that we had to pay for a shuttle bus to get to the place we should have docked in the first place! We went with another couple who had rented a car and it was a real lesson in patience for us. They had never been to Pisa, so we went there to the leaning tower, of course. When we were there in 1989 with our kids, we made them climb it and it cost nothing to do so. Now it 15€. Then we drove to Lucca, a very nice walled city where we had several hours of walking through the charming town and also along the walls. Then Barry & Kathy decided they just had to drive through more of the Tuscan countryside. We barely made it back to the ship in time and they pulled the gangplank in right after us! On the day we docked in Civitavecchia, the port near Rome, we took the day off and stayed on the ship. We worked out in the gym and enjoyed some down time. Naples was the highlight for us, as we had not been there before and we were anxious to go to Pompeii. So we walked to the train station, took the train which dropped us right outside the site, and spent 4 hours wandering all over the city. Of course, you all probably know that when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79AD, the city was buried in ash and all the residents perished. It has been well excavated and lots has been learned about how people lived in Roman times from these diggings. There are some good murals and mosaics still there, and some sculptures, and they have made some plaster molds of how the people looked as either the gas fumes killed them or they were buried by ash.
Of course, we took lots of pictures everywhere, but because we are in an internet place, I can´t add pictures until we get back to the USA. We also had a nice time on the ship with some people we met, especially in Michael´s Club. This was one of the perks of our Elite status on Celebrity. It is a lounge where we got to go everyday between 4 and 6 for free drinks and wine before dinner. Most of our dinner companions were also very pleasant although we only ate in the dining room 4 nights. They served sushi in the buffet restaurant so Elaine wanted to go there 3 nights. Of course, they also had other good choices. I´m sure we did not lose any weight on this trip!
Our friends David and Diane Wilson are arriving in a few minutes from the airport and they are staying at our hotel. So I must close for this time. If we get some internet minutes on the ship, I will post another update in a week or so. The ship is the Voyager of the Seas and we will be arriving back in Galveston on Dec. 13.
Of course, we took lots of pictures everywhere, but because we are in an internet place, I can´t add pictures until we get back to the USA. We also had a nice time on the ship with some people we met, especially in Michael´s Club. This was one of the perks of our Elite status on Celebrity. It is a lounge where we got to go everyday between 4 and 6 for free drinks and wine before dinner. Most of our dinner companions were also very pleasant although we only ate in the dining room 4 nights. They served sushi in the buffet restaurant so Elaine wanted to go there 3 nights. Of course, they also had other good choices. I´m sure we did not lose any weight on this trip!
Our friends David and Diane Wilson are arriving in a few minutes from the airport and they are staying at our hotel. So I must close for this time. If we get some internet minutes on the ship, I will post another update in a week or so. The ship is the Voyager of the Seas and we will be arriving back in Galveston on Dec. 13.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
11/15/09 Can't believe it has been so long since we last updated this blog! I guess it is because we usually do it on the weekend, and last weekend we were getting ready for our 4 day Bahamas cruise with our "boy toys", Roger & Martin.
But before I tell you about that, I must mention that before we returned here to Bushnell, to the SKP Park where we left our RV, we had been staying at the North Fort Myers Elks Lodge. It was near the home of an old friend of ours, Alma Montgomery. Her husband, Leon, died about 2 years ago, and we hadn't seen her for about 4 years. She is 86 now and looking good, although she does have some health problems with her heart. Here is a picture of Alma and Elaine:
She has always been an excellent knitter and enjoys it a lot. She showed us some of her latest creations:
The panda that she made now adorns our bed - Thank you, Alma! We had a couple of nice meals with her, and also did some shopping together. It is always such a joy to visit old friends and find them doing so well. Besides seeing Alma, we also had more visiting time with Bob & Nancy Colbert in Punta Gorda. And Bob arranged for us to have our RV professionally washed and waxed which will keep it protected for another 6 months or so. I usually do this when we are at Park Sierra, but we won't be back there for another 6 months or so.
So we managed to get packed last weekend, left our RV at the SKP park, and drove down to Miami in our car early Monday morning. We met the guys at their condo, where we left our car, and then we all took a taxi to the port. The ship we went on was the Majesty of the Seas, one of the smaller ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Here are a few pictures from the deck: 1) Martin, Elaine & Mary On a Jet Ski
2) Roger, Martin & Elaine On The Top Deck
From the top of the ship, in the Miami cruise port, there are fantastic views of downtown, as well as all the way to Miami Beach, and all the bodies of water with lots of boats and yachts in them:
On this cruise, we decided we didn't want to eat in the dining room for dinner so we ate in the Windjammer each evening. Usually we went there after a couple of glasses of wine in the Viking Crown Lounge, because we all are Diamond members or above and between 5 and 8, it was complementary. Here is a picture of the 4 of us in the Windjammer, at dinner:
Our first port was Nassau, in the Bahamas. We all worked out in the gym on the ship in the morning, and then later walked all the way to Paradise Island, which is where the Atlantis Casino is located. To get there we had to walk over a tall bridge, and here is a picture from there of us with the casino in the background:
By the time we got near the casino, everyone was hot, so we stopped for a beer. Here are three friends drinking some of the local beer:
Next we explored the Atlantis, which has an awesome display of Dale Chihuly glass sculptures and a fantastic and huge aquarium area with hundreds of fish, including immense manta rays. Then we took a small boat around the harbor and back to the ship. In doing so, we passed behind the Majesty and here is a picture of it:
The next day we went ashore at Coco Cay, a private island owned by Royal Caribbean. They have a lot of nice beach areas here with chairs and lounges, etc. and they serve a nice BBQ lunch there. Before we ate, we hiked the 2 mile nature trail:
The third day we were in Key West. It was windy and rained a bit, but we had an enjoyable time anyway, walking around the town and visiting some of the stores and restaurants. Right near the port there is a museum where there are a lot of whimsical sculptures scattered around outside. Here is the first one we saw:
Later we stopped at a store where Elaine and Martin tried on some of the wigs and hats:
Then we all had some conch fritters and beer on the deck of a restaurant:
When we got back to the ship, we did a little time in the pool area:
Friday we arrived back in Miami and our short but wonderful vacation was over. Now there are only 4 days for us to prepare for our flight to Barcelona and the next 2 cruises on our agenda. So, the next time you hear from us, we will be somewhere in Europe and having new experiences on our Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity.
But before I tell you about that, I must mention that before we returned here to Bushnell, to the SKP Park where we left our RV, we had been staying at the North Fort Myers Elks Lodge. It was near the home of an old friend of ours, Alma Montgomery. Her husband, Leon, died about 2 years ago, and we hadn't seen her for about 4 years. She is 86 now and looking good, although she does have some health problems with her heart. Here is a picture of Alma and Elaine:
She has always been an excellent knitter and enjoys it a lot. She showed us some of her latest creations:
The panda that she made now adorns our bed - Thank you, Alma! We had a couple of nice meals with her, and also did some shopping together. It is always such a joy to visit old friends and find them doing so well. Besides seeing Alma, we also had more visiting time with Bob & Nancy Colbert in Punta Gorda. And Bob arranged for us to have our RV professionally washed and waxed which will keep it protected for another 6 months or so. I usually do this when we are at Park Sierra, but we won't be back there for another 6 months or so.
So we managed to get packed last weekend, left our RV at the SKP park, and drove down to Miami in our car early Monday morning. We met the guys at their condo, where we left our car, and then we all took a taxi to the port. The ship we went on was the Majesty of the Seas, one of the smaller ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet. Here are a few pictures from the deck: 1) Martin, Elaine & Mary On a Jet Ski
2) Roger, Martin & Elaine On The Top Deck
From the top of the ship, in the Miami cruise port, there are fantastic views of downtown, as well as all the way to Miami Beach, and all the bodies of water with lots of boats and yachts in them:
On this cruise, we decided we didn't want to eat in the dining room for dinner so we ate in the Windjammer each evening. Usually we went there after a couple of glasses of wine in the Viking Crown Lounge, because we all are Diamond members or above and between 5 and 8, it was complementary. Here is a picture of the 4 of us in the Windjammer, at dinner:
Our first port was Nassau, in the Bahamas. We all worked out in the gym on the ship in the morning, and then later walked all the way to Paradise Island, which is where the Atlantis Casino is located. To get there we had to walk over a tall bridge, and here is a picture from there of us with the casino in the background:
By the time we got near the casino, everyone was hot, so we stopped for a beer. Here are three friends drinking some of the local beer:
Next we explored the Atlantis, which has an awesome display of Dale Chihuly glass sculptures and a fantastic and huge aquarium area with hundreds of fish, including immense manta rays. Then we took a small boat around the harbor and back to the ship. In doing so, we passed behind the Majesty and here is a picture of it:
The next day we went ashore at Coco Cay, a private island owned by Royal Caribbean. They have a lot of nice beach areas here with chairs and lounges, etc. and they serve a nice BBQ lunch there. Before we ate, we hiked the 2 mile nature trail:
The third day we were in Key West. It was windy and rained a bit, but we had an enjoyable time anyway, walking around the town and visiting some of the stores and restaurants. Right near the port there is a museum where there are a lot of whimsical sculptures scattered around outside. Here is the first one we saw:
Later we stopped at a store where Elaine and Martin tried on some of the wigs and hats:
Then we all had some conch fritters and beer on the deck of a restaurant:
When we got back to the ship, we did a little time in the pool area:
Friday we arrived back in Miami and our short but wonderful vacation was over. Now there are only 4 days for us to prepare for our flight to Barcelona and the next 2 cruises on our agenda. So, the next time you hear from us, we will be somewhere in Europe and having new experiences on our Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
11/3/09
This has been a week or more of mostly socializing, always a pleasant diversion because of the high quality of all the friends we have! It started off with a visit at Joe Jackaway’s condo, which is in a retirement community called Sun City Center, near Tampa/St. Petersburg. Joe was with us on the 10 month odyssey down to Panama and back in 2004, traveling there in his class B RV, which is like a modified van. We had a joyful reunion with him, admired the beautiful job he has done on his condo remodeling, toured the facilities of the retirement center (impressive), and had a wonderful salmon barbeque in his yard. He had arranged for us to park our RV near the recreation center. Here is a picture of Joe & Elaine barbequing:
The next day, we continued south and set up at the Punta Gorda Elks Club. They have a beautiful site, right on the edge of the river looking across at Port Charlotte, but the RV parking is in a big grassy field near the entry road. Our good friends Nancy & Bob Colbert have an RV site in a nearby park so we spent a lot of the next few days with them. Here is a picture of them on the patio of their winter home in the RV park:
Bob is a handyman and he has often helped Elaine fix things on our RV’s in the past. This time it was our steps that were in need of attention. Periodically, they would refuse to go in or out, and by the time Bob looked at them, they were permanently in, which meant it was lucky that we are strong and agile because we were climbing in and out of our RV. We have 3 steps up outside, so that is a big one step when the automatic feature isn’t working! Bob & Elaine spent hours checking everything, which also involved getting underneath and all this was occurring on a very hot and humid day. In fact, it has been hot and humid pretty much non-stop for the past 10 days or so. They finally narrowed it down to the fact that we needed a new controller, so the next day we called a local dealer for Kwikee Steps and ordered one ($115). Within a short time of ordering it, I went to get into our RV and the steps came out when I opened the door! And they have been working well ever since. But, of course, we aren’t sure why they are working now and they weren’t working before, so we are still going to pick up the new controller.
Having had several days of socializing and shopping with Bob & Nancy, we headed across Florida, on highway 41 towards Miami. In between the fairly densely populated east and west coasts, there is a wonderful natural area called Big Cypress National Preserve. Part of it borders on Everglades National Park. All along the road is a waterway and there are lots of birds either feeding (herons and egrets) or sunning themselves (cormorants and anhingas). There are also lots of alligators in this waterway, and we saw at least 3 of them when we stopped at the visitor’s center where there is a boardwalk along this channel.
There are 2 campgrounds which are very accessible to the road: Monument Lake, and Midway. On our way towards Miami we stayed at Monument Lake, which is free between April 15 and Dec. 14, and which accepts the Golden Age pass the rest of the time, making it $8 for seniors. It has level sites located around a small lake, so every site has a water view. While camped here we walked a boardwalk trail at a nearby roadside park which went right into a swampy area. There were lots of different birds here and we could see all the cypress knees, as well as turtles, fish, and other aquatic plants.
Midway CG is a bit closer to Miami and we stayed there on our way back to Punta Gorda after the weekend. It always has a fee, which is $10 with our Golden Age pass, but that is because there are lovely flat and grassy sites with a paved pad and electric hookup; water and a dump station are available, and all are around another little lake. We would have stayed here longer but the phone and internet signals were so weak we couldn’t get any of our business chores done (including posting this blog update!) so we headed back towards the chaotic Ft. Myers area.
What a fun weekend we had in Miami while visiting our friends Roger & Martin, whom we met on our 46 day Around the Horn cruise last Jan-Feb. They live in an area called Miami Shores in a lovely condo development called The Towers of Quayside. From their home on the 14th floor, the incredible view was over all the surrounding communities such as Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, as well as the bay in between.
Their development even has a waterfront area and dock right on the water. It also has all the amenities anyone could want, but we mostly used the spa, exercise room, and swimming pool. Luckily, they had obtained permission for us to park in a lot right on the property. We met their cute little shitszu dog, Piglet, and here is a picture of them all:
Friday night they took us over to Miami Beach in their convertible to have dinner with some of their friends, Amy & Dilia, on Lincoln Street. Before dinner they drove us all around Miami Beach and it was fun to see it on such a warm evening from a convertible! We hadn’t been there since 1986 when we were on a summer trip with Elaine’s kids. Lincoln Street is a pedestrian street which has lots of trendy shops, outside bars and restaurants, which were really bustling on this perfect evening. Martin & Roger are Cuban and we insisted that they expose us to some of the Cuban areas and also the FOOD. The next day they took us to a Cuban market, where we had a delicious juice drink and some chicharones. These were much more delicious than the Mexican ones because there is a lot of meat as well as the crispy outer skin. After driving around Coral Gables and seeing the Biltmore Hotel, etc. we went to a Cuban restaurant for lunch. Wow, what a lot of great food was being served and at such reasonable prices because we were with locals and not in a tourist area. Here is some of our food:
We just love the sweet, fried plantains, and the guys also ordered some of the smashed, green ones also fried but not sweet tasting at all. Of course, we had to end the meal with a strong Cuban coffee. This was probably helpful later when we stayed up late for the Halloween gathering we all attended in Wilton Manor. This is a mostly Gay area, so the streets had been closed and a huge stage was set up, along with lots of booths on the street and drink stands in front of the bars and restaurants. We met Amy & Dilia here and other friends too.
There was entertainment on the stage, lots of loud music, plenty of goings on in the bars, but our main activity was walking around and admiring all the Halloween costumes. Not since our last visit to the Castro District in San Francisco many years ago have we seen such elaborate and outrageous costumes. And a lot of the people were straight – they just came down there for all the fun. Here are a few of the pictures we took:
We thought that the following picture of 2 girls who simulated being on a roller coaster was quite the clever costume.
The major theme among gay men seemed to be to wear a very skimpy outfit with a bare chest and have air brushed paint to simulate good abs. Of course, many gay men have great abs even without air brushing them….
Sunday we just hung around Martin & Roger’s development and enjoyed the spa and pool and recovered from the partying the night before. We had the guys over for dinner and in the course of reminiscing about all the great times we had together on the South America cruise, events shifted to looking at current cruise offerings from Miami (since we are in this area), and pretty soon the 4 of us were booked on 4 day cruise to the Bahamas starting Nov. 9! For various reasons related to getting on-board credits and also benefits for being Diamond Plus members (the guys), we booked Mary & Roger into a room and Elaine and Martin into a room. Martin is going to be 30 on Nov. 20 and Roger will be 34 in a few months, so we now call them our “boy toys” and are hoping to scandalize some people when we board the ship.
Yesterday we packed up and headed back towards Punta Gorda, stopping along the way to see Tom & Nancy Vineski. They are staying at the Larry & Penny Thompson RV Park which is located in a county park in the southern part of Miami. Normally they would be on the move to the west but family concerns are keeping them here for a while and we were happy for the opportunity to see them. They are doing well and looking good, as you can see by the picture below.
When a visit was proposed, we asked to meet at their park so we could see it. Boy were we glad we did because when we arrived there, Nancy had a delicious lunch all prepared! This is so much better than going out somewhere. Several hours flew by as we caught up on each other’s news and learned about future plans. The RV park there is a nice one but it is impossible to get a reservation during the “high season” in FL, which is mid-Dec. to mid-April.
Now we are heading back to Punta Gorda for more time with Bob & Nancy, as well as a few more RV fixups. This week we will be making arrangements for a place to leave our rig during the cruises, and getting ourselves ready to go. We hope this is a good week for you all too!
This has been a week or more of mostly socializing, always a pleasant diversion because of the high quality of all the friends we have! It started off with a visit at Joe Jackaway’s condo, which is in a retirement community called Sun City Center, near Tampa/St. Petersburg. Joe was with us on the 10 month odyssey down to Panama and back in 2004, traveling there in his class B RV, which is like a modified van. We had a joyful reunion with him, admired the beautiful job he has done on his condo remodeling, toured the facilities of the retirement center (impressive), and had a wonderful salmon barbeque in his yard. He had arranged for us to park our RV near the recreation center. Here is a picture of Joe & Elaine barbequing:
The next day, we continued south and set up at the Punta Gorda Elks Club. They have a beautiful site, right on the edge of the river looking across at Port Charlotte, but the RV parking is in a big grassy field near the entry road. Our good friends Nancy & Bob Colbert have an RV site in a nearby park so we spent a lot of the next few days with them. Here is a picture of them on the patio of their winter home in the RV park:
Bob is a handyman and he has often helped Elaine fix things on our RV’s in the past. This time it was our steps that were in need of attention. Periodically, they would refuse to go in or out, and by the time Bob looked at them, they were permanently in, which meant it was lucky that we are strong and agile because we were climbing in and out of our RV. We have 3 steps up outside, so that is a big one step when the automatic feature isn’t working! Bob & Elaine spent hours checking everything, which also involved getting underneath and all this was occurring on a very hot and humid day. In fact, it has been hot and humid pretty much non-stop for the past 10 days or so. They finally narrowed it down to the fact that we needed a new controller, so the next day we called a local dealer for Kwikee Steps and ordered one ($115). Within a short time of ordering it, I went to get into our RV and the steps came out when I opened the door! And they have been working well ever since. But, of course, we aren’t sure why they are working now and they weren’t working before, so we are still going to pick up the new controller.
Having had several days of socializing and shopping with Bob & Nancy, we headed across Florida, on highway 41 towards Miami. In between the fairly densely populated east and west coasts, there is a wonderful natural area called Big Cypress National Preserve. Part of it borders on Everglades National Park. All along the road is a waterway and there are lots of birds either feeding (herons and egrets) or sunning themselves (cormorants and anhingas). There are also lots of alligators in this waterway, and we saw at least 3 of them when we stopped at the visitor’s center where there is a boardwalk along this channel.
There are 2 campgrounds which are very accessible to the road: Monument Lake, and Midway. On our way towards Miami we stayed at Monument Lake, which is free between April 15 and Dec. 14, and which accepts the Golden Age pass the rest of the time, making it $8 for seniors. It has level sites located around a small lake, so every site has a water view. While camped here we walked a boardwalk trail at a nearby roadside park which went right into a swampy area. There were lots of different birds here and we could see all the cypress knees, as well as turtles, fish, and other aquatic plants.
Midway CG is a bit closer to Miami and we stayed there on our way back to Punta Gorda after the weekend. It always has a fee, which is $10 with our Golden Age pass, but that is because there are lovely flat and grassy sites with a paved pad and electric hookup; water and a dump station are available, and all are around another little lake. We would have stayed here longer but the phone and internet signals were so weak we couldn’t get any of our business chores done (including posting this blog update!) so we headed back towards the chaotic Ft. Myers area.
What a fun weekend we had in Miami while visiting our friends Roger & Martin, whom we met on our 46 day Around the Horn cruise last Jan-Feb. They live in an area called Miami Shores in a lovely condo development called The Towers of Quayside. From their home on the 14th floor, the incredible view was over all the surrounding communities such as Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach, as well as the bay in between.
Their development even has a waterfront area and dock right on the water. It also has all the amenities anyone could want, but we mostly used the spa, exercise room, and swimming pool. Luckily, they had obtained permission for us to park in a lot right on the property. We met their cute little shitszu dog, Piglet, and here is a picture of them all:
Friday night they took us over to Miami Beach in their convertible to have dinner with some of their friends, Amy & Dilia, on Lincoln Street. Before dinner they drove us all around Miami Beach and it was fun to see it on such a warm evening from a convertible! We hadn’t been there since 1986 when we were on a summer trip with Elaine’s kids. Lincoln Street is a pedestrian street which has lots of trendy shops, outside bars and restaurants, which were really bustling on this perfect evening. Martin & Roger are Cuban and we insisted that they expose us to some of the Cuban areas and also the FOOD. The next day they took us to a Cuban market, where we had a delicious juice drink and some chicharones. These were much more delicious than the Mexican ones because there is a lot of meat as well as the crispy outer skin. After driving around Coral Gables and seeing the Biltmore Hotel, etc. we went to a Cuban restaurant for lunch. Wow, what a lot of great food was being served and at such reasonable prices because we were with locals and not in a tourist area. Here is some of our food:
We just love the sweet, fried plantains, and the guys also ordered some of the smashed, green ones also fried but not sweet tasting at all. Of course, we had to end the meal with a strong Cuban coffee. This was probably helpful later when we stayed up late for the Halloween gathering we all attended in Wilton Manor. This is a mostly Gay area, so the streets had been closed and a huge stage was set up, along with lots of booths on the street and drink stands in front of the bars and restaurants. We met Amy & Dilia here and other friends too.
There was entertainment on the stage, lots of loud music, plenty of goings on in the bars, but our main activity was walking around and admiring all the Halloween costumes. Not since our last visit to the Castro District in San Francisco many years ago have we seen such elaborate and outrageous costumes. And a lot of the people were straight – they just came down there for all the fun. Here are a few of the pictures we took:
We thought that the following picture of 2 girls who simulated being on a roller coaster was quite the clever costume.
The major theme among gay men seemed to be to wear a very skimpy outfit with a bare chest and have air brushed paint to simulate good abs. Of course, many gay men have great abs even without air brushing them….
Sunday we just hung around Martin & Roger’s development and enjoyed the spa and pool and recovered from the partying the night before. We had the guys over for dinner and in the course of reminiscing about all the great times we had together on the South America cruise, events shifted to looking at current cruise offerings from Miami (since we are in this area), and pretty soon the 4 of us were booked on 4 day cruise to the Bahamas starting Nov. 9! For various reasons related to getting on-board credits and also benefits for being Diamond Plus members (the guys), we booked Mary & Roger into a room and Elaine and Martin into a room. Martin is going to be 30 on Nov. 20 and Roger will be 34 in a few months, so we now call them our “boy toys” and are hoping to scandalize some people when we board the ship.
Yesterday we packed up and headed back towards Punta Gorda, stopping along the way to see Tom & Nancy Vineski. They are staying at the Larry & Penny Thompson RV Park which is located in a county park in the southern part of Miami. Normally they would be on the move to the west but family concerns are keeping them here for a while and we were happy for the opportunity to see them. They are doing well and looking good, as you can see by the picture below.
When a visit was proposed, we asked to meet at their park so we could see it. Boy were we glad we did because when we arrived there, Nancy had a delicious lunch all prepared! This is so much better than going out somewhere. Several hours flew by as we caught up on each other’s news and learned about future plans. The RV park there is a nice one but it is impossible to get a reservation during the “high season” in FL, which is mid-Dec. to mid-April.
Now we are heading back to Punta Gorda for more time with Bob & Nancy, as well as a few more RV fixups. This week we will be making arrangements for a place to leave our rig during the cruises, and getting ourselves ready to go. We hope this is a good week for you all too!
Monday, October 26, 2009
10/26/09 This week has been low key for us, which has been a definite change from the usual traveling and sightseeing. We have been at the SKP park called Sumter Oaks, in Bushnell, Florida. This is a very quiet park, with spacious sites, lots of tall trees and lush vegetation all around it. Here is a picture of our rig in the boondocking section, which is a quiet, grassy area located at the back corner of the park.
We had it all to ourselves and with the dump station water spigot nearby, it was quite a pleasant place to park for 6 days. Daily we did some sort of cleaning or repair task on either the car or RV, so the water spigot was invaluable. The most ambitious thing we did was remove all the maxi-vents from the roof in order to clean them and also clean the fan blades and vent covers in the ceiling. Since we had such nice surroundings to look at, we also washed all the windows and screens. These are all tasks that are difficult to do while being constantly on the move!
One of our self-imposed goals was to be back at the weights we were last year on Oct. 25 when we got married, since that was a pretty good weight for us. Well, we came pretty darn close because we were walking every day around this park. Nearly every time we got to the other end of the park, there was a pair of sandhill cranes hanging around one of the sites where the people fed them. Here is a picture:
They were also very vocal and they have a loud, raucous cry which is so distinctive that I'm sure we will recognize it the next time we hear it. These birds are also very large, being nearly as tall as I am! On the perimeter of the park near our rig, there is a small farm where there are 7 burros. They come to the fence in the morning and evening because the people in the park pet them and give them carrots.
Before we came here, we visited Tom & Rocki Blair at The Villages, a huge retirement community near Lady Lake, FL. They have a gorgeous new home and here is a picture of them in front of it:
They showed us all around the complex, which has about 70,000 residents (!) and so many amenities that Rocki calls it Disneyland for Adults. We went out for pizza with them at one of the shopping areas and were impressed with the free entertainment, convenience of stores, availability of mutual interest groups for socializing, etc.
While in that area we took a drive through the Ocala National Forest. Thank goodness the government has set aside this beautiful area for preservation or it would look like the rest of Florida which is full of strip malls, trailer parks, and amusement park schlocky businesses. There are a number of campgrounds which are big enough for RVs and we looked carefully at the one at Alexander Springs. It is a very nice park and the actual springs area is beautiful.
About 70 million gallons of water per day comes into these springs and they have set aside a nice swimming area, and you can rent canoes to take out on the river. There were also quite a few sandhill cranes wandering around these areas.
We also drove over to Orlando to arrange for a place to leave our RV and car while we are gone for nearly a month on our upcoming cruises. There is a good place in Kissimmee so after we made the arrangements, we went for a walk at the waterfront. It was beautiful there, with nice parks, and also a few more HUGE birds:
Later today we are driving all of about 45 miles to the Tampa area to have a visit with Joe Jackaway, a guy who was on our 10 month trip to Panama in the RV in 2004. After that we will head for Punta Gorda, to see Nancy & Bob Colbert, and pick up our new luggage which we had sent there. Have a great week, Everybody, because I'm sure we will!
We had it all to ourselves and with the dump station water spigot nearby, it was quite a pleasant place to park for 6 days. Daily we did some sort of cleaning or repair task on either the car or RV, so the water spigot was invaluable. The most ambitious thing we did was remove all the maxi-vents from the roof in order to clean them and also clean the fan blades and vent covers in the ceiling. Since we had such nice surroundings to look at, we also washed all the windows and screens. These are all tasks that are difficult to do while being constantly on the move!
One of our self-imposed goals was to be back at the weights we were last year on Oct. 25 when we got married, since that was a pretty good weight for us. Well, we came pretty darn close because we were walking every day around this park. Nearly every time we got to the other end of the park, there was a pair of sandhill cranes hanging around one of the sites where the people fed them. Here is a picture:
They were also very vocal and they have a loud, raucous cry which is so distinctive that I'm sure we will recognize it the next time we hear it. These birds are also very large, being nearly as tall as I am! On the perimeter of the park near our rig, there is a small farm where there are 7 burros. They come to the fence in the morning and evening because the people in the park pet them and give them carrots.
Before we came here, we visited Tom & Rocki Blair at The Villages, a huge retirement community near Lady Lake, FL. They have a gorgeous new home and here is a picture of them in front of it:
They showed us all around the complex, which has about 70,000 residents (!) and so many amenities that Rocki calls it Disneyland for Adults. We went out for pizza with them at one of the shopping areas and were impressed with the free entertainment, convenience of stores, availability of mutual interest groups for socializing, etc.
While in that area we took a drive through the Ocala National Forest. Thank goodness the government has set aside this beautiful area for preservation or it would look like the rest of Florida which is full of strip malls, trailer parks, and amusement park schlocky businesses. There are a number of campgrounds which are big enough for RVs and we looked carefully at the one at Alexander Springs. It is a very nice park and the actual springs area is beautiful.
About 70 million gallons of water per day comes into these springs and they have set aside a nice swimming area, and you can rent canoes to take out on the river. There were also quite a few sandhill cranes wandering around these areas.
We also drove over to Orlando to arrange for a place to leave our RV and car while we are gone for nearly a month on our upcoming cruises. There is a good place in Kissimmee so after we made the arrangements, we went for a walk at the waterfront. It was beautiful there, with nice parks, and also a few more HUGE birds:
Later today we are driving all of about 45 miles to the Tampa area to have a visit with Joe Jackaway, a guy who was on our 10 month trip to Panama in the RV in 2004. After that we will head for Punta Gorda, to see Nancy & Bob Colbert, and pick up our new luggage which we had sent there. Have a great week, Everybody, because I'm sure we will!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
10/18/09 Hello from Florida! We have recently crossed the state line and are happy to be here where the sun is shining. Today we are driving to the Lady Lake area where we will have a quick visit with Tom & Rocki Blair. These are RV friends from Park Sierra, who were also on the South America cruise with us, who have now relocated to a retirement mecca called The Villages. Last January, when we were in this area visiting other friends, they drove us through The Villages and it is quite a large and impressive place. So we will give you a more complete report after our visit there later today.
Yes, we have arrived here much faster than anticipated. This is because two days ago, although we had planned to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC we quickly changed our plans because it was so COLD and there was a 50% chance of snow in the forecast. I think it was a freak cold snap and the temps will be getting warmer there in the next week, but we didn't want to wait around to find out! The main reason we even went to Asheville was to see our friends Rachel, Connie & Jenny whom we had met on a cruise several years ago. They were so much fun then and they still are, so we were very glad to see them especially on their home turf. Last October, they flew out for our wedding, which REALLY surprised and delighted us. This time they picked us up at the Elks Lodge, where we were camping in our RV, and we all went to the historic downtown for lunch. Here is a picture of us in the
restaurant:
After lunch we went to an interesting store, called The Mast Store, which had a lot of items from days gone by. Connie bought us a Moon Pie because we had never had one and here is the sign for it:
We decided it must be an acquired taste. It is usually eaten with an RC Cola, which we passed on, but then were sorry because the Moon Pie was kind of dry. All this stuff has way too much sugar!
Rachel then drove us up into the mountains to the end part of the Blue Ridge Parkway where there were some nice overlooks. The trees had started to change color in earnest so we took a few pictures:
Their houses are all on a fairly steep hillside, with gorgeous views over the valley, but the steepness of their driveways astounded us. Couldn't believe that a truck could get a modular home or any building materials up those slopes! Just thinking about walking or driving up these slopes in the winter scared the crap out of us, and it is Connie, Jenny & Rachel that have to contend with it, not us! They love it there, although they have a neighbor who is living up to the reputation that North Carolina redneck jerks have, and we advised them to move if he pulls any more shenanigans. We just love having wheels and the option to leave quickly if things start getting ugly, whether it be neighbors or the weather! It was such a lovely afternoon with these gals and we were sorry that we couldn't have had another day with them.
Our last post was from Douglas Dam near Sieverville, where Dolly Parton was born, and within 10 miles of Dollywood. I mentioned then that it was a nice campground with lake views and spacious sites so here are a few pictures:
Besides having lots of fun times with Laura & Gordon Bornkamp, we were joined by Gene and Martha Merryman. We hadn't seen them for several years, and they look just the same as the last time we were all together in AZ!! Each of us took a turn cooking so we had some great meals with the 6 of us and lots of good socializing and catching up on travel stories and personal news. It was nice enough one evening to eat outside, so here is a picture of the whole gang:
The next day it started raining and continued for days so we left for Asheville. Now that we are in Florida, we will be doing some visiting with friends, but also getting ready for our upcoming cruises. Our flight from Orlando to Barcelona leaves on Nov. 19 and we will be back on Dec. 13. The first cruise is a week in the Mediterranean and then we catch a 2 week trans-Atlantic back to Galveston.
Yes, we have arrived here much faster than anticipated. This is because two days ago, although we had planned to visit the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC we quickly changed our plans because it was so COLD and there was a 50% chance of snow in the forecast. I think it was a freak cold snap and the temps will be getting warmer there in the next week, but we didn't want to wait around to find out! The main reason we even went to Asheville was to see our friends Rachel, Connie & Jenny whom we had met on a cruise several years ago. They were so much fun then and they still are, so we were very glad to see them especially on their home turf. Last October, they flew out for our wedding, which REALLY surprised and delighted us. This time they picked us up at the Elks Lodge, where we were camping in our RV, and we all went to the historic downtown for lunch. Here is a picture of us in the
restaurant:
After lunch we went to an interesting store, called The Mast Store, which had a lot of items from days gone by. Connie bought us a Moon Pie because we had never had one and here is the sign for it:
We decided it must be an acquired taste. It is usually eaten with an RC Cola, which we passed on, but then were sorry because the Moon Pie was kind of dry. All this stuff has way too much sugar!
Rachel then drove us up into the mountains to the end part of the Blue Ridge Parkway where there were some nice overlooks. The trees had started to change color in earnest so we took a few pictures:
Their houses are all on a fairly steep hillside, with gorgeous views over the valley, but the steepness of their driveways astounded us. Couldn't believe that a truck could get a modular home or any building materials up those slopes! Just thinking about walking or driving up these slopes in the winter scared the crap out of us, and it is Connie, Jenny & Rachel that have to contend with it, not us! They love it there, although they have a neighbor who is living up to the reputation that North Carolina redneck jerks have, and we advised them to move if he pulls any more shenanigans. We just love having wheels and the option to leave quickly if things start getting ugly, whether it be neighbors or the weather! It was such a lovely afternoon with these gals and we were sorry that we couldn't have had another day with them.
Our last post was from Douglas Dam near Sieverville, where Dolly Parton was born, and within 10 miles of Dollywood. I mentioned then that it was a nice campground with lake views and spacious sites so here are a few pictures:
Besides having lots of fun times with Laura & Gordon Bornkamp, we were joined by Gene and Martha Merryman. We hadn't seen them for several years, and they look just the same as the last time we were all together in AZ!! Each of us took a turn cooking so we had some great meals with the 6 of us and lots of good socializing and catching up on travel stories and personal news. It was nice enough one evening to eat outside, so here is a picture of the whole gang:
The next day it started raining and continued for days so we left for Asheville. Now that we are in Florida, we will be doing some visiting with friends, but also getting ready for our upcoming cruises. Our flight from Orlando to Barcelona leaves on Nov. 19 and we will be back on Dec. 13. The first cruise is a week in the Mediterranean and then we catch a 2 week trans-Atlantic back to Galveston.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
10/10/09 Today we are camping at Douglas Dam, managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, about 10 miles from Pigeon Forge. Other full-time RV friends, Laura and Gordon Bornkamp, are just across the way and we have been doing lots of fun things with them. Happily, the Golden Age pass is accepted here so it is $10 a night for electric & water, and we even have a nice view of the water. It has rained several times since we arrived here last Tuesday, and last night there were even tornado warnings. However, all is well today and it is merely much cooler and overcast.
Before we came here, we had several interesting experiences in Staunton, VA. Until we approached the town, we were unaware that the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and birth home were there. Couldn't pass that up so off we went to learn more about the 28th president. Here is a picture of him that was on a stamp:
He was the only president who actually earned a PhD although he also went to law school and passed the bar. He was the president of Princeton Univ., and the Governmor of New Jersey before becoming our Pres. I had no idea how many huge changes took place during his 8 years in office, between 1913 and 1921 until we went through all the museum displays. If you can enlarge this picture enough to read it, it kind of sums things up.
Just a few of the things that happened during his presidency were World War I, the development of unions, women got the vote, income tax was imposed, and the beginning of the League of Nations. Too bad he never learned to compromise because the League of Nations could have totally changed the way nations of the world interacted together if he had been willing to give a little bit in the organization of it. When he left office, his friends purchased his favorite Presidential car for him, a Pierce Arrow, and here is Elaine standing in front of it:
The home that you tour there is the one in which he was born when his father was a minister in Staunton. It is very well preserved, with most of the original furniture and the tour gives lots of information, as does the museum.
The next day we drove to Charlottesville to visit Monticello, the estate owned by Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd president. He was certainly very accomplished, having been the author of the Declaration of Independence, architect, gardener, scientist, plantation owner, and founder of the University of Virginia. Monticello is the only house in the United States that has been designated a United Nations World Heritage Site. Here is a picture of us on the lawn with the home in the background:
It was a home that was designed and built by Jefferson, then remodeled, rebuilt and enlarged after Jefferson had lived in France for a while and decided to make his home more gracious and comfortable. No one is allowed to take pictures inside, so here is a picture I took in the museum:
It has a lot of interesting features because of Jefferson's interests and inventions. Unfortunately, although there are 21 rooms in the home, we were only allowed to see the first floor, and "the dependencies". These were the workrooms, store rooms, privies, ice house, kitchen, smokehouse, and a few rooms for slaves. They were cleverly located out of sight on the sides of the lawn area because they were lower than the house, and the dependency roofs became a walking deck. Here is a view of the front of one of the dependencies.
The gardens are extensive, not only because there were so many people to feed but also because Jefferson was always experimenting with new plant varieties and also trying to cultivate grapes for wine production.
After the main house tour, we took a tour through the garden area and along Mulberry Row, which was the main street of the former slave quarters. Our guide told us stories about the slaves and a lot of what went on at the plantation, including some of the information about Sally Hemmings and her children. She was the slave who accompanied Jefferson's daughter to France to join him there, and who was rumored to be his mistress. At least one of her sons has been positively linked to Jefferson by DNA evidence, and it is likely he fathered all of her children. His wife had only lived 10 years after they married and only 2 of their 6 children lived to adulthood. It seems so hypocritical that the man who wrote "all men are created equal", kept hundreds of slaves in his lifetime and only freed about 5 when he died. He also was in debt when he died and his slaves and plantation had to be sold. Here is a picture of some of the kids we saw touring the place who had come there in costume:
On the day we were leaving to drive down here to join Laura and Gordon, I woke up early with a bad headache so since we were up, we decided to leave. That meant we were hooking up the car to the tow bar when there wasn't much light and somehow I didn't get my side hooked up correctly and didn't realize it. A short way down the road a trucker honked at us and we saw that our car was going back and forth across the back so we quickly pulled over. The tow bar arm on my side was completely disconnected which allowed all the car movement and which also caused a big bend in the extension arm on the other side, probably caused when we stopped. Only the safety chains kept us from losing the car entirely, or having a lot of car damage. We had to take the extension arm partially apart just to get the car disconnected. We drove separately the rest of the way. The next day we took the tow bar to a Blue Ox dealer in Knoxville, and they ordered a new extension arm for us. It should be repaired by Monday.
Laura and Gordon were with us and since we were in Knoxville, we did some sightseeing. Here we all are together at the tourist information place:
The 1982 World's Fair was held here, and there is still a nice park, waterfall, and Sun Tower still standing from it. You can go up into the sun tower and look out over the whole downtown area.
The downtown area is served by several free trolley lines, and we rode one of those too. Market Square is an old market area where there are now restaurants with outside seating areas which looked very appealing on this sunny day. A lunch visit on another day would be great.
The next day Gordon and Laura drove us up into the Cades Cove area of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. When this park was created, in 1931, a number of sparsely settled communities such as Cades Cove were left uninhabited when they relocated the residents. Although the people were paid a fair market value for their properties, they were still very bitter about being forced out. There are still a few houses, barns, grist mills, churches, etc. that have been restored and are available for viewing. We had a picnic there and drove the entire scenic loop, stopping to do a hike along the way. Here is a view of the Great Smokey Mountains:
They aren't very high, compared to the mountains in the west, but they are very heavily wooded. The trees are starting to change color, but it will still be a week or two before the colors are spectacular. On our hike we saw several deer and they were not afraid of us at all, coming quite near us on the path. One surprising thing is that this is the most heavily visited national park, with 9 million visitors a year. We were very surprised at how many people were driving the loop road, and in the picnic areas, considering that it was a Thursday in October!! Here is a picture of a mill that has been restored and was in one of the old homesteads:
Yesterday we spent the whole day at Dollywood, with Laura and Gordon. It is a fairly charming place with lots of musical shows and thrill rides. Because the shows hold a lot of people it didn't seem as busy as it probably was. The weather was nice until late afternoon, when there were a few scattered showers. Here is a picture of us at one of the photo op places:
Our plan was to hit one of the water rides just before closing, so if we got wet, we would be heading home. So we did that and when the ride ended and we were heading out, the rain started in earnest, drenching us by the time we got to the car. Luckily, it was fairly warm so although we were wet, we weren't cold. Then later there were tornado warnings.
One of the first things we did at Dollywood was look at Dolly's Prevost touring bus. It was customized for her and still had a lot of her stuff in it. One of the things was this pillow, on her bed, which gives us something to think about:
Before we came here, we had several interesting experiences in Staunton, VA. Until we approached the town, we were unaware that the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and birth home were there. Couldn't pass that up so off we went to learn more about the 28th president. Here is a picture of him that was on a stamp:
He was the only president who actually earned a PhD although he also went to law school and passed the bar. He was the president of Princeton Univ., and the Governmor of New Jersey before becoming our Pres. I had no idea how many huge changes took place during his 8 years in office, between 1913 and 1921 until we went through all the museum displays. If you can enlarge this picture enough to read it, it kind of sums things up.
Just a few of the things that happened during his presidency were World War I, the development of unions, women got the vote, income tax was imposed, and the beginning of the League of Nations. Too bad he never learned to compromise because the League of Nations could have totally changed the way nations of the world interacted together if he had been willing to give a little bit in the organization of it. When he left office, his friends purchased his favorite Presidential car for him, a Pierce Arrow, and here is Elaine standing in front of it:
The home that you tour there is the one in which he was born when his father was a minister in Staunton. It is very well preserved, with most of the original furniture and the tour gives lots of information, as does the museum.
The next day we drove to Charlottesville to visit Monticello, the estate owned by Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd president. He was certainly very accomplished, having been the author of the Declaration of Independence, architect, gardener, scientist, plantation owner, and founder of the University of Virginia. Monticello is the only house in the United States that has been designated a United Nations World Heritage Site. Here is a picture of us on the lawn with the home in the background:
It was a home that was designed and built by Jefferson, then remodeled, rebuilt and enlarged after Jefferson had lived in France for a while and decided to make his home more gracious and comfortable. No one is allowed to take pictures inside, so here is a picture I took in the museum:
It has a lot of interesting features because of Jefferson's interests and inventions. Unfortunately, although there are 21 rooms in the home, we were only allowed to see the first floor, and "the dependencies". These were the workrooms, store rooms, privies, ice house, kitchen, smokehouse, and a few rooms for slaves. They were cleverly located out of sight on the sides of the lawn area because they were lower than the house, and the dependency roofs became a walking deck. Here is a view of the front of one of the dependencies.
The gardens are extensive, not only because there were so many people to feed but also because Jefferson was always experimenting with new plant varieties and also trying to cultivate grapes for wine production.
After the main house tour, we took a tour through the garden area and along Mulberry Row, which was the main street of the former slave quarters. Our guide told us stories about the slaves and a lot of what went on at the plantation, including some of the information about Sally Hemmings and her children. She was the slave who accompanied Jefferson's daughter to France to join him there, and who was rumored to be his mistress. At least one of her sons has been positively linked to Jefferson by DNA evidence, and it is likely he fathered all of her children. His wife had only lived 10 years after they married and only 2 of their 6 children lived to adulthood. It seems so hypocritical that the man who wrote "all men are created equal", kept hundreds of slaves in his lifetime and only freed about 5 when he died. He also was in debt when he died and his slaves and plantation had to be sold. Here is a picture of some of the kids we saw touring the place who had come there in costume:
On the day we were leaving to drive down here to join Laura and Gordon, I woke up early with a bad headache so since we were up, we decided to leave. That meant we were hooking up the car to the tow bar when there wasn't much light and somehow I didn't get my side hooked up correctly and didn't realize it. A short way down the road a trucker honked at us and we saw that our car was going back and forth across the back so we quickly pulled over. The tow bar arm on my side was completely disconnected which allowed all the car movement and which also caused a big bend in the extension arm on the other side, probably caused when we stopped. Only the safety chains kept us from losing the car entirely, or having a lot of car damage. We had to take the extension arm partially apart just to get the car disconnected. We drove separately the rest of the way. The next day we took the tow bar to a Blue Ox dealer in Knoxville, and they ordered a new extension arm for us. It should be repaired by Monday.
Laura and Gordon were with us and since we were in Knoxville, we did some sightseeing. Here we all are together at the tourist information place:
The 1982 World's Fair was held here, and there is still a nice park, waterfall, and Sun Tower still standing from it. You can go up into the sun tower and look out over the whole downtown area.
The downtown area is served by several free trolley lines, and we rode one of those too. Market Square is an old market area where there are now restaurants with outside seating areas which looked very appealing on this sunny day. A lunch visit on another day would be great.
The next day Gordon and Laura drove us up into the Cades Cove area of Great Smokey Mountains National Park. When this park was created, in 1931, a number of sparsely settled communities such as Cades Cove were left uninhabited when they relocated the residents. Although the people were paid a fair market value for their properties, they were still very bitter about being forced out. There are still a few houses, barns, grist mills, churches, etc. that have been restored and are available for viewing. We had a picnic there and drove the entire scenic loop, stopping to do a hike along the way. Here is a view of the Great Smokey Mountains:
They aren't very high, compared to the mountains in the west, but they are very heavily wooded. The trees are starting to change color, but it will still be a week or two before the colors are spectacular. On our hike we saw several deer and they were not afraid of us at all, coming quite near us on the path. One surprising thing is that this is the most heavily visited national park, with 9 million visitors a year. We were very surprised at how many people were driving the loop road, and in the picnic areas, considering that it was a Thursday in October!! Here is a picture of a mill that has been restored and was in one of the old homesteads:
Yesterday we spent the whole day at Dollywood, with Laura and Gordon. It is a fairly charming place with lots of musical shows and thrill rides. Because the shows hold a lot of people it didn't seem as busy as it probably was. The weather was nice until late afternoon, when there were a few scattered showers. Here is a picture of us at one of the photo op places:
Our plan was to hit one of the water rides just before closing, so if we got wet, we would be heading home. So we did that and when the ride ended and we were heading out, the rain started in earnest, drenching us by the time we got to the car. Luckily, it was fairly warm so although we were wet, we weren't cold. Then later there were tornado warnings.
One of the first things we did at Dollywood was look at Dolly's Prevost touring bus. It was customized for her and still had a lot of her stuff in it. One of the things was this pillow, on her bed, which gives us something to think about:
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