January 29-Ft. Flagler Beach

All the beaches in Florida have these nasty signs. Today we woke up and it was cold and windy--40 degrees. There was NOBODY on the beach so we decided to risk the ticket and let Elsie play. She had a wonderful time chasing the birds and rolling in something stinky. We decided that she wasn't an animal--and she's helping keep those silly birds off their nice beach! We are on our way up to St. Augustine, FL, driving up the coast road that is right on the water. Had to get out coats and hats for our morning walk!

1-27-07 Finally on the road!

Finally! Gene's work is done. My schoolwork is all caught up. We're pulling up the legs and heading off. We have no idea at the moment where we are going...except that we want to see more of Kennedy Space Center before we leave Florida. The weather here is lovely, it looks like a perfect fall day in Seattle-cool and clear. Evidently we are in the only pocket of decent weather in the area so we holed up an extra day or two to see where we should head. We spent one more day at Epcot Center. No rides this time as we didn't have Laura to encourage us. We did get to take test rides on Segways and go into the hydroponic greenhouses (those are regular pumpkins and squash in the photo!). We also explored the different country's exhibits and wandered through a few environmental exhibits. Fun...but not as stomach upsetting as when we went with Laura! We also spent one day at the Kennedy Space Center. We're going again this afternoon and I'll write about that once we finish the place. It's HUGE and interesting even though nothing is happening at the moment. No rockets or shuttles in view. I'm supposed to be vacuuming and cleaning before Gene gets the exterior washed. I'd better get to it but wanted to say hello before he takes down the satellite dish. Love to you all. Thanks for the messages!

Jan 21, 2007--Sad Day :(

Laura flew home today. We had so much fun with her, and with Hank, that it will seem quiet for awhile. Gene has a ton of work to do for Issaquah Soccer Association (big client) so we are going to stay right where we are. I've got school work to do...and I'm a bit out of the swing. All Elsie wants to do is go outside and play with all the other dogs in this park. We haven't stayed in many real RV parks and it's a bit odd. Just like Lucy and Desi in The Longest Trailer...everybody puttering around their RVs...chatting with anyone who will talk...walking their dogs (all small). Lots of the RVs have funny pink flamingos and lighted palm trees in their "yards". Last night there were 5 tables of ladies playing bridge. There is even a shuffleboard area. Totally goofy. I don't think this is the retirement life I'd choose! The blog will be quiet for a few more days unless you want to hear about teaching English language learners how to read or how much it will cost to verti-drain the soccer fields. We haven't even decided where to go next because the weather is so horrible everywhere except south Florida! Its a bit overcast this morning, only 78 degrees. The forcast is for 80 and sunshine....can't be too tough to be a weatherman in this area. Sun...sun...sun...and more sun. I'm not complaining mind you, but it certainly doesn't seem like winter! Love to you all. B

1-18-07 Disney World

I'll bet I'm in trouble with lots of you...I'm so sorry that I've been neglecting the blog. LJ and Hank wore us out every day! We don't usually stay up so late when we're by ourselves. Today LJ treated us to a day at DisneyWorld. For once she's the one who is tired. Gene is doing his email. I've been doing some school work and updating the blog. LJ is sound asleep with Elsie snuggled up with her. This time I guess we wore HER out!!! All 3 of us are still kids when it comes to Disney. We love the rides--in fact we rode on Space Mountain 5 times. Loved it every time. I didn't realize that Disney World is just like Disneyland in CA. The rides and layout are the same only bigger. Even the parade and fireworks at closing were bigger. LJ took all the pictures today so I'll get them from her in the morning and add them to this post. I hope I haven't lost all of you by being so neglectful. We really had fun with Hank and Laura, and get to enjoy Laura for a few more days before she heads home. I'll try to stay current though. We did think about Aunt B today as she had her back surgery--I trust everything went well. Love you Aunt B!

1-17-07 Florida's SW coast-Gulf of Mexico

We spent today driving up the west coast of Florida, from our Walmart near Naples (on the west side of the Everglades) up the coast to Sarasota. From Sarasota we went out Longboat Key, across Tampa Bay, and up the coast some more. Laura is navigating so I can get caught up on the blog. Sorry to be so slow but we’ve been really busy. We only got to have Hank for 4 days so we couldn’t sit around at all! I’ll get this all written while we drive and post it as soon as we are online again. I swam at the most beautiful beach we’ve seen—Anna Maria Beach at the tip of Longboat Key (just a bit north and west of Sarasota). The sand was white and very fine, the water was warm, the sun was shining. It was a quick stop but the dip felt wonderful. I’m thinking about all of you in the snow and ice…sorry you aren’t all here! LJ and Gene passed on the swim. We checked out another beach on the north side of Tampa called North Beach. It was voted the Best Beach in the country in 2005. It was beautiful and went for miles—but I think Anna Maria Beach was better. We’re headed east now, over to Orlando. LJ wants to take us to Disney World tomorrow. I’m not at all sure when I’ll get to post this…sorry!

1-16-07 Hank flies home and Miami

LJ and I drove Hank to the airport this morning. Sad to send him home so soon. It seemed odd to see him in long pants (he was HOT as it was 75 when we woke up at 7:00) and I’m sure he froze as soon as he got off the plane in Seattle. I haven’t cooked the whole time he was here as he kept taking us out to dinner. Sure is fun to have your kids pick up the bill!!!! Thanks Hank! LJ and I drove along Miami Beach on our way back to Shark Valley to meet Gene and the motorhome. We walked the beach a bit but it had tons of Portuguese Man of War all along it. No one else seemed concerned but it made us nervous. It is a beautiful beach though. We stopped for fun at Neiman Marcus…I can’t believe I went in there in grubby shorts and dirty tennis shoes—no make up—wind blown hair. We were way under dressed but LJ didn’t seem to care a bit. Lots of high priced brands…lots of REALLY expensive handbags to make LJ drool. She even checked out the lingerie department—so I think she should write off the trip as research for Nordstrom! We thought it was interesting that they only take American Express. The island Miami Beach is on is one pastel high-rise condominium (hotel?) after another. Each at least 30 stories and jammed side by side. You can’t see the beach except where there are public beaches. We drove through the art-deco district and across the bridge into Miami. Interesting but way too crowded for me. We managed to rendezvous with Gene with no trouble, hooked back up and we’re on our way up the west coast of Florida. The highlight of the day for Laura was probably sleeping in her first Walmart!

1-15-07 Snorkeling at Dry Tortugas National Park

Gene and I have been to a lot of National Parks but this one was probably the most amazing. Key West Florida is the southernmost point in the continental United States. Dry Tortugas is 70 miles west of Key West. This puts it 90 miles from Cuba! It’s a tiny island that is 2/3 covered with Fort Jefferson that was built during the Civil War as a Union fort—think about that for a minute…a UNION fort in south Florida?!? It never really got used for much except to protect the Union ships that anchored around it to block supplies into the Gulf of Mexico. The most interesting thing the fort was for was when they took the conspirators that helped Booth shoot Lincoln out there. Now it’s a National Park. There is a boat that takes 100 people out there for a short trip. We decided we wanted a longer visit so we flew out in a seaplane. It was a great ride. It took about 35 minutes and we were the only ones in our little plane. The water was beautiful and he flew us over 2 ship wrecks. We were all staring down looking for sea life—but didn’t spot a thing. We all loved the ride and the best part was it got us to the island an hour and a half before the boat arrived so that we got to be the first ones to snorkel. Its about 75 degrees in southern Florida at the moment—never seems to change day or night. Must have been about that on Tortugas. The water wasn’t much colder either. We didn’t see as much while we were snorkeling as we have in Hawaii but it was still really beautiful. The coral is much different than I’ve seen before, kind of big and round instead of branches. It looked nice and soft but I didn’t touch it. The fish were gorgeous—and there were barracuda that looked pretty friendly. Hank had an underwater camera so we’ll see if he got any good pictures once he gets them developed. We all snorkeled a lot. The tour boat provides lunch on the beach, and since we were going home with them we decided that it was for us too. Good sandwiches, good tour of the fort, fun 2 hour ride home on the water. If any of you go, this is the way to do it—fly out on the first plane of the morning and take the boat back. Its more expensive this way but absolutely worth the expense.
After going in and out of the salt water several times and then air drying in the wind on the boat on the way home we looked wonderful. I just stuck my hat on top of the rats nest I call hair and we wandered around Key West some more. We finally found the main tourist square that everyone talks about and it was hopping with people. Lots of people selling jewelry and art, street performers, sunburned tourists—very good for people watching. Hank and Laura took us out to dinner (again) at Marguaritaville—Jimmy Buffet’s restaurant that is famous for “cheeseburger in paradise”. After a day in the sun the cheeseburger was WONDERFUL…Hank, Gene, and I all had one. LJ had a vegetable plate that looked delicious too. We looked at another restaurant called Sloppy Joes (evidently one of the first places to make sloppy joes and a favorite hangout of Hemmingways) but Marguaritaville was better by far. I’ll post a photo of us inside. Check my hair!
The next problem was how to get to our car which was way over at the airport (too far to walk, but not really all that far as Key West is pretty small). We put Gene in a taxi (the taxis charge by the person for some dumb reason) and he retrieved it while Hank, LJ, and I waited with the gear. We didn’t waste time waiting though—we zipped into the Raw Bar for dessert. I had Key Lime pie which is the big deal around here. LJ had molten lava cake. Hank had an oyster shooter and a beer—kind of funny because in Key West they fill the oyster shooter glass with vodka. Looked nasty but he threw it down with no trouble. Gene missed out on these extra calories and silliness, but we filled him in.

1-14-07 Fishing or no fishing?

We stayed on Marathon Key all day today. Our plan was to play at the beach and then go fishing in the afternoon. We had the charter all organized. Unfortunately it was too windy at the beach to swim. We waded and explored though. There were strange small blue bags on the beach…I was pretty sure I knew what they were. Hank picked up a few to look closer. Yep—Portuguese Man of War jellyfish! The little bag part on top must not sting because they didn’t bother Hank at all…but I wouldn’t want to swim with them. I gather they are pretty nasty if you get stung. By the time we went to meet our charter it was really windy and they wouldn’t go out. There weren’t enough people signed up either but even the extra money we offered didn’t inspire them to take us out. We were bummed. Went hunting for Key Lime pie instead…which was really good but no consolation for a canceled fishing trip. Key Lime pie is a big deal around here. The key lime only grows in Florida. Did you know that they aren’t green? They are yellow, about the size of a golf ball, so real key lime pie is yellow, not green. Looks just like lemon meringue pie but it’s delicious. Sometimes with meringue, sometimes with whip cream, yummy every time. We had a good day—although kind of quiet and a bit disappointing. The highlight was dinner on the kids at a nice restaurant called Parrotdise. I had grouper breaded in coconut and deep fried. Really a heart healthy recipe! We tried conch fritters, tuna sashimi, snapper. Everything was yummy. Hank even snuck off and paid the bill which made it REALLY yummy! Good margaritas too.

1-13-07 Key West

We checked out Key West today. It’s about 1 and 1/2 hours from Marathon. First you drive over the Seven Mile bridge where Arnold Schwarzenegger saves Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies. It’s absolutely beautiful. The old train bridge that was built to bring tourists (before the road) is still there and people use it to fish. We walked part of it yesterday. There are bridges between each key…restaurants, marinas, tee shirt shops, snorkel and dive shops, RV parks, hotels, and fishing charters all the way. It’s actually a fun drive. Key West itself was one tee shirt shop after another with restaurants in between. Tourists everywhere. I liked our stop at Ernest Hemmingway’s house the best. He’s not one of my favorite authors but evidently Hank’s dad is a fan. Hemmingway led quite a life—a bit sordid. Lived in Key West for about 10 years with his second of 4 wives. Sounds like he put in a lot of bar time getting characters and stories for his books. Lots of 6 toed cats running around the grounds…I gather he raised hundreds of them and these were direct descendants.

1-12-07 Laura, Hank, and ALLIGATORS!

The kids finally arrived! Gene and I got up REALLY early and drove from our campground in Marathon to the Fort Lauderdale airport to pick them up. It was wonderful to see them and to have company. They flew on the red-eye but didn’t seem any sleepier than we were…and as soon as we headed towards the Everglades we all woke up. We crossed the top of the National Parks, and through Big Cyprus National Refuge along a road they call Alligator Highway. I thought it was just a name, but they weren’t kidding! The road is bordered by the Everglades on both sides and there were alligators sleeping in the sun all along the opposite banks. They weren’t walking across the road or anything, but they could have! We shot hundreds of photos as we drove along. Gene and I had chatted with some folks from Alabama while we were wandering in Flamingo the other day who had recommended several interesting spots to stop along this road and boy were they right. At the first little pull out you can walk ½ mile to an “alligator hole”. Evidently alligators choose a spot and clear it out to make a hole, kind of like a nest. No sticks or anything but it was definitely a wide spot in glades. They do it to make hunting easier I think. The hole was full of fish, and they of course attracted birds. The hole was about 40 feet across and was teeming with life. At first all we saw was one sleeping alligator on the bank and 3 babies sleeping on a log in the sunshine. After awhile the fish started jumping like crazy and bubbles rose from the bottom—then up came an alligator. Totally cool. Eventually the babies woke up and went swimming too. The gator got pretty close to the little dock we were standing on. More photos of course…and unfortunately when you look at my pictures the baby alligators who were about 18 inches long and less look exactly like the huge ones. Nothing in the photos to use as a reference for size except a few leaves.
Hank and Laura had made reservations for us at Captain Doug’s Airboat Adventures. We found it (huge billboards made it impossible to miss) and the ride was just as good as advertised. The airboat looked just like on TV—and the captain took us on a wild ride through the Everglades. You wear big earphones to protect your ears as it’s a pretty loud machine. In one of the clearings we spotted an alligator in the water and got quite close. Another boat (from another company) swung by too and their captain threw a marshmallow into the water right beside his boat…it is illegal to feed the gators but evidently he didn’t care. The gator acted like he did this all the time because he jetted over to him and grabbed it. The guy was crazy—he put his hand in the water and pulled the alligator’s head up part way into the boat. I got a picture of this goofball. We didn’t let Hank try this trick although I think he was willing.
We had a couple more interesting stops, but the last one of the day was really amazing. We hopped out at a visitor center called Shark Valley (no sharks—its on the Shark River which feeds into the Gulf of Mexico and sharks are attracted to the water as it meets the river outflow). You’re supposed to walk down an asphalt path that looks like the Sammamish River Trail. Well, there were alligators sleeping all over it which made walking a bit difficult to say the least. They probably weren’t even noticing us, but we were a bit nervous walking so close. Hank wanted to pet one…LJ wasn’t having any of it! It was an amazing day. We didn’t get back to the rig until late and Elsie was waiting with a full bladder. What a dog—no accidents after a 14 ½ hour stay by herself. I was thrilled to arrive home with all Hanks fingers and toes!

Jan 9-The Everglades

Well, that's a lot better. I just logged on to post and there are lots of fun messages! Thanks, and good to hear from RTC, QT, and Pickles (great name)! Aunt Ann, Mom, and Sue emailed. Good thing or no alligator pictures for you! After a ton of driving...three full days (yuck) we finally made it past Miami and into Florida City. We didn't stop and look at anything all the way so we'll have to head NORTH again after the kids leave. Goofy planning but we're so excited to see the kids that we don't care! The entrance to the Everglades National Park is within 10 miles of our lovely Walmart parking lot. There are LOTS of RVers camping for free with us! We've spent 2 days exploring the glades. Really an odd looking place. It's hot and humid (my hair looks like Phyllis Diller), about 75 degrees. We are both wearing shorts and tee shirts--scaring the natives with our odd white legs. I took almost 200 pictures of birds, fish, alligators, scenery. Lots were awful so they've been deleted but I'll post a few of the good ones. Most of the alligators were sound asleep in the sunshine, but one was swimming around and under the boardwalk while we were walking. Saw one crocodile too. The Everglades is the only place where alligators and crocodiles BOTH live. I thought the Everglades was a swamp--but it is actually a very slow and constant moving river. Southern Florida is totally flat. I think the highest point is 15 feet above sea level. Geologically speaking it's new territory. The whole area was a shallow sea only 100,000 years ago. Between 1,000 and 6,000 years ago the Everglades were formed when the land rose and the bottom half of the state was covered by a huge river (I think they said 50 miles wide and 80 miles long). The river was only a few feet deep. With the influx of people and development the water was diverted in canals and dumped into the ocean. A lot of the Everglades dried up. The park is still pretty big. It's the third largest in the lower 48 states. Please don't ask me the two largest...I suppose they are Yellowstone and Death Valley. *Gene just Googled this and it's right, only Death Valley is bigger than Yellowstone. The birds are beautiful although I haven't bothered to figure out what they are. The alligators are cool. You can get pretty close to them by walking around on boardwalks out into the glades.

Jan 6-Tornado watch over!

Sue and Mom get prizes this morning for reading and posting to the blog...well, Mom actually emailed but she did check in. I guess we've been gone so long we're getting a bit lonely for home! Had a tornado watch alert for the county we slept in last night. Evidently one did land but it was back up in North Carolina...where we were a few days ago. We had a deluge of rain all night but now it's sunny and getting warm again. We'll be complaining that it's too hot soon! We actually did run the air conditioner yesterday. We'll be driving again today so there isn't much to add to the blog. I just wanted to say hello...and a special HELLO to Aunt B. We'll be thinking good thoughts for a speedy recovery for you. I did sit ups this morning in your honor. I don't want back problems ever! Love to everyone. Barb

January 5-Made it to Georgia!

Nothing but driving. We drove right through what looked like interesting territory in North Carolina and South Carolina. We'll be driving right through Georgia tomorrow! After playing with the kids in Florida we may have to drive back up here and look around a bit. I hate to miss anything! It's been warm and sunny all the way but after we parked tonight the skies opened up and we've had quite a rainstorm. There is a tornado watch in this area so we've been watching the weather channel while we email and blog. I studied all the way down the road as I'm trying to get my work done before the kids arrive so that I can play 24/7 with them. I'm going to complain soon if nobody puts comments on this blog for us. We miss your messages. Caroline is the only one left chatting (not a big surprise, but thanks CK!). Florida here we come!

January 3-Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

The town of Kitty Hawk, and the Wright Brothers National Memorial, are on Cape Hatteras, in North Carolina. It was a sunny, 65 degrees today and so we left our fleeces in favor of short sleeves! Cape Hatteras stretches north to south across three long, narrow islands off the coast, and shelters the mainland of NC creating offshore sounds. The Cape has a road or two down the center. There are lots of hotels and tourist spots, and houses built up on stilts so that the water can flow under them in a storm. It looks like an absolutely wonderful place to explore but we are running out of time and need to head to Florida to meet Laura and Hank. We spent today at the sight of thousands of glider test flights by the Wright brothers over a four year period. We have seen their bicycle shop and Huffman Field where they learned to steer their planes in Dayton, Ohio...we have seen the actual planes in the Smithsonian...and today we saw where the first powered flight took place (on December 17, 1903). Gene is thrilled, and I'll admit all these spots were pretty interesting! We both thought that they flew on the beach, but actually their flight path was right down the center of the island, in a spot that was all sandy and had steady winds of 25-30 miles an hour (thats what they needed for success). They flew into the wind for lift. On Dec 17th they took 4 flights. The first flight was 12 seconds long and went 120 feet (Gene likes to say that they could have flown inside a 747). The second and third flights were about the same. The final flight of the day was 59 seconds and went 852 feet. They took turns flying so Orville did flights 1 and 3. Wilbur flew the 2nd and 4th. I'll post a picture where you can see how far they flew...they took off at the big rock and flew to the 4 monuments--one is way in the distance. Elsie begged for a beach so we walked up and down the nearest one. It was beautiful as the sun went down over the land and the moon rose over the ocean. So odd not to have the sun setting over the ocean! Still haven't gotten used to being on the East coast! If you look closely in one of the photos you can see Elsie's dark head with a wave crashing over it. I guess she didn't see it coming in the dark. Tomorrow we are going to start a long drive down to Florida. The kids fly into Ft. Lauderdale on the 12th. We're very excited to have company to explore the Florida Keys. We'll be parked in Marathon, half way down the Keys. The next few days will be lots of driving!

January 1, 2007-Mt. Vernon, VA.

It was POURING rain this morning so we got a slow start. Drove to Mt. Vernon to check out George and Martha's digs. They have a fabulous new education center on the grounds that opened 2 months ago and it took us about 4 hours to get through it. Barely made it up to the house for a fast run through! Had plenty of time to check out the tomb though and have a good laugh..."Duh, Caroline...they're just dust!" (That's what Laura said when Caroline didn't like the tomb when Mom and I took them to the east coast when they were little.) The education center replaces the old museum and is wonderful. Lots of paintings, artifacts, letters, 4 movies, and scientific recreations of what George looked like. His teeth are still there too...not wood...made from hippopotomus ivory and human teeth. No wonder he never smiled. I don't know why we still have it, but the original key to the Bastille is there too. You'd think we would have given it back to the French by now. The Marquis de Lafayette (he fought under GW, was a big fan, and a major player in the French Revolution) gave the key to Washington. I bought a dessert plate from Portugal just like the ones the Washingtons used for everyday china.

Dec 31-Manassas, VA.-the Battle of Bull Run

We were up early this morning. Gene suddenly decided that he had to see the Shenandoah Mountains so we were off to check them out. The Skyline Drive right down the middle of them is probably beautiful. The pictures in all our guide books look spectacular. In the fall the trees and the views down to the farmland in the distance would have been incredible. Well, in the winter they aren't such a big deal. It was so foggy we could hardly see the road. Caught a few glimpses but thats it. There were lots of deer wandering across the road so we had to drive REALLY carefully. Elsie enjoyed it to no end--barking her head off every time she caught a glimpse of one.
After a disappointing drive we headed back to Manassas where we had left the motorhome. The battlefield at Manassas was a bit more interesting. In 1861 the states were divided, the two armies were ready to fight. Lincoln had been inaugurated. Fort Sumter, South Carolina had been bombed and the fort had surrendered. Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to strengthen the army. Viginia followed several other states and had seceeded. There had been several "engagements" at Philippi and Big Bethel, VA. On a warm day in July, the two armies of the divided nation clashed for the first time on the fields in Manassas, overlooking a stream called Bull Run. The young volunteers were excited to fight. Everyone thought it would be a one battle war so many women, children, and older men (congressmen) from both sides, brought wine and picnics and sat on the hills nearby watching with opera glasses and telescopes. The soldiers from both sides had brand new uniforms--lots of different ones depending on which unit they were from. There were lots of different flags flying too, most were some arrangement of stars and stripes in red, white, and blue. Assuming that after a few shots were fired, the other side would turn and run, soldiers on both sides were stunned by the violence and destruction that occured. After 10 hours of cannon and hand-to-hand fighting, nearly 900 men were dead in the first battle of the Civil War. We wandered around Henry Hill, the scene of most of the fighting. There is, of course, a display of guns, ammunition, and cannons to look at. The "Old Stone House" that was used as a Union hospital is still there. It's such a beautiful, peaceful place now that it's hard to believe anything ever happened there. The Northerners called the Civil War the War of the Rebellion. The Southerners called it the War Between the States. They named the battles differently too. The Northerners named the battles according to the nearest town...Manassas in this case. The Southerners named them by the nearest river or stream...thus the Battle of Bull Run. The tactics used in this battle were largely the same as those used during the Revolutionary War. There was more loss of life though because the guns and ammunition had improved. Now the guns were "rifled" and so were the cannons. I'll post a picture to show you the difference. A rifled cannon can shoot farther and more accuratly. The poor soldiers were standing quite close together when they fired at each other. Ugh. The visitor's center had a nasty film of what it all looked like. Although it's tough to say that anyone actually WON a battle like this, I should probably tell you that the Union had to retreat to Washington. The South won the first battle and protected their capital (Richmond) from this Union advance.

This was a pretty long day for us so we were a bit boring for New Year's Eve. Went to bed way before the "ball dropped'. We loved 2006 and expect that 2007 will be even better. We're particularly excited to be waiting for "Baby Boy Toy" to join us this year. We wish all of you the best year ever...and highly recommend taking a trip like this!