On the road

Overheard in Washington D.C.:

Tour bus passenger to staff lady - while looking at tour map: You guys sure cut a lot of stops from the tour.

Staff lady: We only cut 18.

Passenger: Well, that's a lot!

Staff lady: No. Only 18. 

Other passengers try to translate: She means that they only cut one stop - Stop #18.

This was a fun memory from our life on the road in 2015.
I love my life!

Looking back: One year ago

Chapter One: Southern California

It was just one year ago today that we turned the page ending Chapter One of our life in this rig. This cozy little spot. Our new place of abode. This little space where we've lived for over twelve months now.

Bob had come to the end of his first work-camping commitment. Life in the Santa Clarita Valley was good. The little town of Fillmore, California, was a fun place to land for five months. The lovely fertile valley is such a contrast to the surrounding drought-stricken area. What fun to live and work and walk among the groves of oranges and avocados. We were intrigued by the history and culture of our quaint little town, but also thrilled to be near the ocean and near some of our family as well. We wished to be even closer - both to the shore and to the kids, but what a blessing to at least be involved in their lives a bit. 

Our new life on the road was off to a good start. Chapter One had been good. We were grateful for the opportunities of the previous months and excited for the journey ahead. As we turned the page from our time in southern California we also turned the corner to head north up the West Coast for Chapter Two: the highway to Alaska.
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And now a year later, I notice a bit of irony.  Something different between last year and this year. Last year on this date, we were glad to be done with the five-month stint that had kept us tied down in one spot. We were getting antsy. Ready to be on the move. When campers pulled out from Kenney Grove after camping for a few days, we began to wish that we could hitch up and join them.

This year is almost the opposite. Since we seem to be still recovering from the winter and spring in the South and up the East Coast we are pretty content to stay put for the next few months. When the Memorial Weekend crowd started to thin out earlier this week and the campground emptied out, we grinned at each other as we noticed how quiet it was. This time we are feeling glad that we get to stay put.

Busy days, transition days

It has been a week. Or two. A busy week - or so it seems. Each day brought its own brand of busyness. It seems like forever since I've written about our life on the road. So many back-to-back days of activity and so few writing days. Let's see if I can highlight some of the tidbits...

Monday

• Break camp; hitch up and head out from Emerald Isle.
• Drive north into Virginia - checking off another state
• Set up camp at Aquia Pines near Stafford.
• Found bacon-wrapped pizza - YUM!!!

Tuesday

• Drove to Washington D.C.
• Took the double-decker bus tour from Arlington Cemetery all around the city
• Planned to stay on for the entire tour but had to switch buses a couple times - at Union Station and  again at the Lincoln Memorial
• Conclusion: It was a great overview and introduction to the city and I do want to come back for at least a week. I am now making a list of cities that I want to live in - at least for a week or a month.

Wednesday

• Two new states: Maryland and Delaware
• Drove to Delaware for lunch, but ended up coming back across the border and ate at the Market Street Public House in Denton, Maryland.
• Took a risk and ordered soft-shell clam. Probably won't again. Good flavor, but I don't like having that soft shell in there. Nope.
• Found an alternate route back to camp avoiding much of the D.C. traffic congestion

Thursday

• Friends from long ago came for lunch. Yay! So fun to catch up.
• Had made plans for dinner with foster son, Richie, but he had to cancel. Disappointment.

Friday

• Head north again.
• West Virginia - my eleventh new state on this trip
• Finally found Sheetz after seeing them advertised for weeks. We simply had to try their deep-fried macaroni and cheese bites. And given the chance we will most definitely get them again!!!
• Drove through Maryland again (maybe 5 miles or so) and into Pennsylvania.
• Find a Walmart parking lot near Cleveland to boondock for the night.

Saturday

• Drove a couple hours to arrive at Jimmy G's BBQ when they opened at 11 a.m. Dear friend Jimmy was crazy busy as the cook of the day, but took a few minutes to visit with us while we ate his yummy cooking. Getting off the toll road to drop down to Fremont for some Jimmy G's BBQ is most certainly worth the drive.
• Back in Michigan!
• Pulled into Waterford in time to hang out with the grandkids for awhile before bedtime.

Sunday to Tuesday

• Spent the next three days camping in the back yard and catching up on hugs and kisses. On hide and seek. And silly songs. AND laundry.

Wednesday

• Hitched up once again to move to our new spot for the summer, just thirteen miles from the kids. Yay!!!
• Tax Day! Drove to and around the Thumb for a bunch of business stops here and there. Interestingly enough, our route took us all around Kingston and Hidden Hollows, but not quite to them.

Thursday

• Unpacked and set up kitchen cabinets for the summer
• Explored our new town. Walked around our lake and then to the library a couple miles away. Drove a little farther into town and then out to one recreation area.
• We have discovered so many things that we like about the area. Some of them may be topics for other posts.
• Conclusion: I think we're gonna' like it here!!!

 

The dawn of a new day

The end of an era. The dawn of a new one.

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Tomorrow we head north again - back to Michigan. Heading back home. Sort of. This time there is no home to go back to. We won't be moving back into our home because this IS our home now. The only home we have. And that's cool. But a bit strange.

It will definitely be different this time. For the first time in my sixty-five years, when I return home to Michigan, it will not be to Kingston.

• When I came home from college for weekends, I came home to Kingston.
• When I finished college and started teaching, I came home to Kingston.
• When we started our lives together, we made our home in Kingston.
• When we came home from living in the Dominican Republic, we came home to Kingston.
• When our kids came home from their world travels, they came home to Kingston.
• When we came home from our epic journey of seven months on the road last year, we came home to Kingston.

Kingston, Michigan has always been my home address.
But no longer.

 

'Tis the dawn of a new day.

The end of an era.

A new beginning...
　


 

Looking back, looking ahead

Some have asked about our schedule and our travels - both where we've been and where we are headed. We have written about bits and pieces of our travels on both of our blogs, but there are lots of gaps - so here is a bit of summary.

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First the short version...

January: Dauphin Island, Alabama

February: Anastasia Island, St. Augustine Beach, Florida

March: Savannah, Georgia, for a week and then Emerald Isle, North Carolina

April: north along the east coast

April 15 - September 13: Clearwater Campground, Ortonville, Michigan

September 14 - 28: Big Sable Point Lighthouse, Ludington, Michigan

October and beyond: Who knows?

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And now the amplified version - for those who like the details...

In November we closed on the sale of our tree farm and moved out of the log cabin in early December. After celebrating Christmas with our families, we headed south - making it to Memphis in time to celebrate New Year's Eve at BB King's Blues Club on Beale Street. On the first day of the new year we arrived at our new home on Dauphin Island, Alabama, at the mouth of Mobile Bay. It was unseasonably cold there for much of the month but no snow or ice and I was able to walk on the beach every day so I was happy. We took a quick road trip over to New Orleans during our time in Alabama.

In February we headed on over to St. Augustine for a month. We had lots of fun exploring this historical city as well as hanging out with good friends.

Harsh winter weather caused unforeseen problems at our March destination bringing a slight change of plans to our schedule. Not a bad deal for us because it allowed us to spend a week in and around Savannah before coming on to Emerald Isle in North Carolina where we'll be for several weeks - AND where we will be joined by one of our daughters. We are super excited about her arrival in a few days AND about seeing the rest of our kids a few weeks after that. Once we arrive back in Michigan we will stay put for awhile near another daughter and the grandkids. Wahoo!!!

We have been building new memories and are already enjoying reminiscing about those first two months of this year. And now that we've turned the corner and have started to head in a northerly direction, I am starting to get terribly anxious to see my kiddos - up close and personal. But for now, for today, I think I am doing quite well at enjoying the moment. In fact, please excuse me; it's time to shut my computer down and head to the beach.

Not a bad way to celebrate St. Paddy's Day.
Yes, I am Irish; thank you.
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Read stories about specific adventures on Bob's travel blog or browse through lots more here.

Night sounds

So this place has been okay. I was pretty iffy about it at first. That is not terribly unusual; I am often iffy about a new place. But I think I was even iffy-er than usual this time. Nothing cool about it really. But it's okay. It has become familiar.

Those strange really loud thumping and banging noises that freaked me out a little the first night have either lessened or faded into the normal. We assume they are coming from big garbage trucks at the Savannah Sanitation land fill on the other side of the highway.

And the really, really loud roaring sounds last weekend sounded like a race track. I suppose they could have been coming from the Savannah Speedway a bit east of here.

The frequent sirens now have an explanation - or really two explanations: the fire station right out front across the road and the police station next door. When I'm out walking by the fire station and a fire truck suddenly lets that siren loose, I nearly jump out of my hiking sandals!

And the planes... Oh the planes... Little planes, military planes, jet planes, helicopters... All kinds of planes rumbling or whirring or whining or whistling overhead much of the time. Well, it turns out that we are smack dab between Hunter Army Airfield and Savannah Hilton Head International Airport - just a few miles away.

Oh, and don't forget the trains. Yep, there's a railroad track over there somewhere near the Army Airfield and the Savannah Speedway.

I guess I feel more comfortable here now that I know the sources of most of these noises. I'm funny that way. Sounds can play a big part in my disorientation or in my sense of well-being.

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And now tonight we have the windows open and I can hear all kinds of "chirping" outside - spring peepers, Bob says. So that's a familiar sound. We always loved to fall asleep to the sound of spring peepers at Hidden Hollows.

And with that, good night.
 

Sweet Savannah

I have to say that Savannah surprised me. We had heard that it was well worth a visit and had been told about several sights that we simply must see. So we did the trolley tour because it seemed like the best way to introduce ourselves to the city. We debated back and forth because the trolley tickets are a little spendy for our style. Normally we like to walk the narrow streets in search of cool old buildings and quaint little courtyards. My photog man loves to shoot doors and windows and brick and stone and turrets and archways and funky rooflines and other architectural gems. We love it when we happen upon street musicians and artists. We don't usually bother with the shops other than stopping for ice cream or fudge.

But I was talking about trolley tickets, wasn't I? Yes, we debated, but ended up deciding that was the way to go this time. And we are so glad we did, because we discovered what turned out to be our very favorite part of the city and we wouldn't have known to look for it. We hadn't even heard of it.

What we found is River Street - running along the riverfront just as you might expect. What was amazing is that River Street is the next street over from Bay Street - and running parallel but four stories below. That's right. The old buildings between the two streets are all at least four stories tall. Walking along River Street, you can access the first and second floors of those huge old buildings, but up on Bay Street you are entering shops on the fourth floor of the same buildings. Fascinating.

To get from one level to another, one must traverse the intricate and delightfully convoluted labyrinth of stairs and cobblestone ramps - as well as wrought iron bridges (cat walks really, I guess) that span the gap above the lower alleyways.

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We are grateful for the tour that introduced us to and transported us down one of those steeply descending cobblestone streets to get to River Street below and then back up another one. Later when we were on foot, we again descended the various levels in order to spend some time walking along the river. What a fun place! The Georgia Queen was on the move today - one of two stern-wheeler paddle boats on the river. Musicians were playing their tunes and people were everywhere as the city gears up for St. Patrick's Day. We perused the menus posted out in front of several of the many picturesque eateries and ended up at the Cotton Exchange Seafood Grill and Tavern for lunch. Good choice.

By the way, we also discovered praline shops on both upper and lower levels. First New Orleans a few weeks ago and now Savannah. I can now officially say that I do like pralines - no matter how they pronounce it. But oh, so terribly rich and sweet.

Thanks to my personal photographer for these pictures that are worth more than a thousand of my words to explain this cool place.