More from Savannah

This morning brought cooler temperatures and lots of Sunshine. Yesterday was much warmer but showers on and off. That did not keep us from doing things. The guys worked on Dennis' dock some more while the dogs played outside.  I took Gus for a long walk through the Campground before going over to Anderson's.  A few years ago this Campground suffered damage when a hurricane came through and took out a lot of trees and had flooding to deal with.  Many of the trees that survived are now twisted from the storm.

Sharon and I went into town for lunch at Chicken Salad Chick, then did a little shopping before going to the movies to see Little Women.  Then we met the guys for Burger Night at Molly Maguires Scottish Pub.

Today is a day of leisure watching VT lose to Kentucky, and just enjoying the sunshine and each other's company. Even the dogs are chilling out.

Visit with Anderson's continued

We are staying at Fort McAllister,  but spending most of our time away from the park. Saturday we were at their house most of the day, with Gus included. He and Hunter, their dog, are learning to get along, even though Hunter is twice Gus' weight and three times his size. Gus and Hunter both managed to get in the fish pond several times, but they also did a lot of running/chasing each other throughout the day. Jim worked with Dennis on repairs to their boat dock, while Sharon and I shared a lot of conversation.  The day was topped off with a taco dinner and some football watching.

Sunday, we went to church with Sharon and Dennis. They attend a small ELCA Lutheran church, Spirit of Peace, that they helped get established when they first moved here.  Right now their church is searching for a new pastor. They have a retired pastor filling in hopefully until they can find a full time pastor. 

After church we went with Anderson's to visit Bluffton, SC and enjoy lunch at Captain Woody's Seafood Bar in the quaint area of town. Three of us enjoyed codfish while Jim devoured shrimp and grits.  All of it was delicious.  From there we toured  Sun City Retirement Community nearby.

 At this point we were about 30 minutes north of Savannah, and closer to Hilton Head. The community is similar to the Villages in Florida with smaller but stylish homes on very small lots, so there is little maintenance. The houses back up to lakes or golf courses or woods, and there is a very large community center, learning center, swimming pools, croquette fields, etc.  Residents can travel around by golf cart or by car.  Anderson's are looking to sell their home in Richmond Hill and move here in the near future, but have several things to do at their current house before putting it on the market.   

Our day ended with Anderson's dropping us off at our campsite after making plans for Monday.  

Jim and I enjoyed a quiet evening with Gus.

Visiting Friends

We are camping at Fort McAllister State Park, and hanging out at Sharon and Denny's house for the day. Jim and Denny are repairing their boat dock while Sharon and I deal with the dogs and hang out. They have a beautiful back yard facing the marsh.

1st Day on the Road Again

We finally left home about 11:30 AM yestuday. Traffic moved well until we got to MM 9 in Virginia, where it came to a stop/crawl.  We got off I-95 at exit 8 (our usual exit to go to Lake Gaston), and followed Route 301 south past 2 exits. We got back on in NC off Route 46, but missed the rest area in doing so, so Gus had to wait longer to go potty.  There was a big accident on I-95 at MM2 in Virginia, so we were smart to take the "detour".  The rest of the day's drive, we hit a few traffic slowdowns,  but nothing major.  Our stopover for the night was Walmart in Dillon, SC. It is a large parking lot and the top part of the lot was pretty empty, so plenty of room for us and 4 other RVs to park.  Overnight it was pretty quiet.  We head to Savannah and Fort McAllister State Park today, about 4 hours away. Tonight we will visit Denny & Sharon Anderson and their dog Hunter for dinner, just a few miles from the campground.

Getting ready to head south again

Our last adventure was without the motorhome. We traveled with a group of old and new friends to Prague and from there on a Viking cruise on the Danube. That adventure is blogged under  https://vikingjourney2019.blogspot.com if you are interested in learning about the trip.

Now we are packing up the RV for our 9th annual journey south. After spending Christmas Day with our Son and his family, we will pull out on the 26th with Jeep, kayaks, bikes in tow and with Gus and his toys onboard.  We are looking forward to warm weather and hopefully lots of sunshine for the time we are traveling.  Stay tuned for more details to come, but for now, we wish all who are reading this a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Travel Home

We have been on the road for 5 1/2 weeks and have experienced a lot of the Maritimes, as well as travel through 9 states.  We have also met many people, most very gracious.  While on Campobello Island we had cocktails with our camping neighbors who are from St John's, NB.  David and Sandy even joined me for Tea with Eleanor.

Meet Gretchen  and Meredith Basham, 2 grove City College Students.  We met them and their parents while touring the Roosevelt cottage, and spent some time chatting with all of them. For those who don't know, Jim and I both graduated from Grove City College in 1971 and1973.

These are just 2 examples of the many people we met on this trip. -

We are even blessed with having been connected with a great tire mechanic who found a tire to replace our flat one, and had it mounted before noon yesterday.  While waiting for the job to be done, we drove up to Augusta, past the state Capitol and along the waterfront.

We made it to Wells Beach RV Resort in plenty of time to get showered before meeting Bernie Bailey for dinner at a restaurant away from the beach and the crowds. Even the campground was jammed with campers, several hundred to be sure!

This morning we began our trek home, dealing with lots of traffic.  Jim wanted to go over the Tappan Zee Bridge so we did, and dealt with the consequences of backed up traffic.  It was also very hot today and it is hard to run AC without running the generator, which keeps cutting out. We finally stopped for the night at a campground off I-80 called FLA- NET Park Campground.   It's actually in New Jersey, about 40 miles from where I grew up. We have full hookup, so plenty of AC tonight.

Headed home...no more campgrounds, just a fuel stop and several rest stops today...400 miles to go.

3300 miles, over 400 gallons of diesel fuel, about $100 in tolls, and 40 days later we will be home tonight. Fantastic trip but we are glad to get home and sleep in our king size bed.  Gus will be able to run around the yard and smell anything he wants.  Life is good!

Campobello Island- Day 2

We have now seen everything there is to see on the island. There are scenic lighthouses at both ends of the island, lots of other coastal views, and exactly 2 restaurants. One of the restaurants has take out including fresh steamed lobsters, so we ordered 4 lobsters, each about 1.5 lbs, and ate two yesterday. DELICIOUS!!! I picked the other two, hot rid of the mess and put the meat in the refrigerator for later.

Today we left Campobello Island, going through Customs without any problem. The first part of the trip was coastal drive on Route 1 and then we began to cut across the state on Route 3 to connect with I-95.  Our first "disaster" came about 15 miles before the interstate, when just a few minutes ahead of us there was an accident involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck. We were able to get by on the shoulder of the road but saw the motorcyclist lying on the ground face down just under the truck....not a pretty scene and neither of us can get the image out of our heads.  We are praying for everyone involved.

Our next "disaster" was having one of the rear inside tires on the RV blow while we were on I-95 just outside of Augusta, Maine.  Jim crawled down the road at less than 20 mph hugging the shoulder for about 5 miles to the nearest "exit", a Service Center.  I called roadside assistance but they can't get someone here with a tire and truck until tomorrow, so we will hang out at the service center overnight.

We are at West Gardiner Service Plaza off I-95.

Campobello Island

We are visiting Campobello Island,

which is part of Canada. It is also home to Roosevelt International Park which is run as a partnership with the USA and with a few members of the Roosevelt family, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  We visited the Roosevelt cottage yesterda and got a tour of the house and grounds, along with a neighboring cottage. They have been preserved and restored as needed, including all the furnishings from the Roosevelt's and their friends from 80 years ago.  I also participated in a "Tea with Eleanor" event in the afternoon, while Jim took care of Gus.

Shediac, NB

We are in Shediac, on the coast of New Brunswick, staying at Wishing Star Campround. The campground is packed with mostly long term campers- 5th wheels and trailers.  They had a spot for us with full hookup for less than $40 US, so not a bad deal at all.  Except for tons of traffic, we are within walking distance of stores and restaurants.   We visited the GIANT LOBSTER, then went in search of seafood markets with fresh seafood. The first place had frozen lobster meat, some shrimp, and little else.  We then found a second market where we bought 2 lbs mussels (at a cost of $3.60 US) and a container of lobster meat (from 2 whole lobsters).  Jim cooked up the mussels tonight and ate every bit...there's a photo below of the leftover shells before they went into the dumpster.   We'll enjoy a lobster pasta in the next few days. We have been eating mostly fresh local seafood for the past week, as if we can't get enough. That will come to an end soon as we head towards home and our reality.