|
|
|
2009
To see our complete Photo Album at our
Webshots Site.
To see a summary map of our route,
click here.
September
30 Today is our
day before departure day. We reorganized the basement and got Big Red and the
Cow ready for the road tomorrow. Then we needed a break, so we did some reading
at the pool.
29
Today we
are heading up to Daytona Beach to check it out. It is very touristy as we
expected. So we headed back and relaxed by the pool and caught up on some
reading.
28
This morning we hung
around the cow. Of course, in the hottest part of the day, we headed out
fishing. This time we tried out the
causeway
park between us and Ponce Inlet. It’s easy parking, a nice pier and very
close. We didn’t keep any, but John caught 3 snappers and I caught a stingray.
What was very cool, is the dolphins we saw. First one, then another. Pretty
soon, there were six and seven. They were all around. We had a couple right
next to the pier. After a few hours, we were hot so we headed back and went to
the pool.
27
Today is
Sunday and Football. We relaxed in the morning and just did small projects,
then we stayed around the cow for the first set of games. We want to watch the
Bears, but there not on regular TV, so we walked down to Boomerangs where they
have the NFL ticket. Afterwards, we stopped at the custard shop for a burger
and then came home.
26 This morning
we got up had coffee on the verandah and got packed up. Were heading to Ponce
Inlet for a day of
fishing
on the jetty. We got our poles set up and took our net to catch bait. No
problem here. The mullet were in the surf by the hundreds. We would catch a
net full and then use them for bait. When we ran low, we took our net and
caught some more. We caught one, but were still learning the best rigging.
After 5 hours we were done for the day. We came back and took a nice cool and
relaxing swim.
25
We were up early again. This time not to travel, but to
see another
space launch. We were
not right at the sight this time, but up by Daytona Beach. We could see it
right from our campsite. Since this was a daytime launch and we were not right
there, it was not quite as impressive. However, it was still so cool to see.
It just takes over the sky. Now we are working on our fishing equipment. We
are empting the tackle boxes, taking an inventory, checking the rods and reels
and getting ready for our winter pastime of fishing. We headed over to walmart
to buy a couple reels and we ended up getting a great deal on new heavy duty
saltwater poles and reels. We got our setups all ready and now were hot and
need a break. So off to the pool for a dip.
24
We were up early to watch the space launch this morning
but it was cancelled, so off we went to
Ponce Inlet. Ponce Inlet is south of Daytona
Beach and at the end of the barrier island. There is a great park there called
Lighthouse Park. Why? Because the Ponce De Leon Lighthouse and Museum is
there. First we walked out on the fishing jetty and met Harry and Bill. Both
fisherman and they gave us some good fishing tips. On our way back, John blew
out his flip flop. He didn’t have any other shoes with him and we had just
gotten started on our day. So back to Big Red and his tool box. After some
flip flop surgery (major staples and nut and bolts) we were off again. Now we
moseyed through the park and along the sand outcrops. We walked to the
lighthouse and museum.
There is a small entry fee, but well worth it. We saw a short movie on the
history of the lighthouse and surrounding area. Then we went through some of
the old lightkeepers quarters and museum. Next we climbed the 203 steps up to
the top of the lighthouse. This lighthouse was built in 1887 and is a National
Historic Landmark. Its 175 feet tall and is the tallest lighthouse in Florida
and one of the tallest in the nation. It is hot and humid, we like it this way,
but after our walks and our lighthouse climb, we are both ready for a cold
beer. We stopped at Lighthouse Restaurant and sat at the waterfront bar for a
couple cold ones. OK, were done for the day. We went back to the cow, had
dinner and just relaxed.
23
Today we were up and out by 830am. We have about 280
miles to Daytona Beach were we are staying for the next 8 nights. We got in and
all set up by 3pm. We really need groceries so we headed to the store to stock
up for while were here. Now were done. We took a short walk around the
campground and then had a
couple cocktails on our patio.
22
Today we headed out to
Downtown Historic Savannah.
We walked around the riverwalk and then to the city market and back to the
riverwalk. We stopped for oysters and beer overlooking the Savannah River and
then headed back to the cow. We spent the afternoon relaxing and getting ready
for our journey tomorrow.
21
This morning we headed out early to visit
Ft Pulaski and Historic
Downtown Savannah. We got to the Fort a little after 9am. We watched a short
movie and educated ourselves on the Fort and the history of the area and the
civil war. Then we walked completely around the Fort to check out the damage
done during the 2 day war. We took a 1.5 mile hike out to the lighthouse. Then
there was a ranger led tour on the inside of the Fort that was starting, so we
took that. We finished up there around 1215pm. Then we headed to Savannah to
tour the city. A motorist told us there was a problem with our tire. So we
pulled over and checked it out. We don’t have any idea how he saw this. It was
on the passenger front inside. It had a bulge almost as big as a 16’ softball.
It would have blown at any time. We decided to call our Good Sam Emergency Road
Service to check it out. Then we started working on changing the tire. They
were there in less than 15 minutes and took over. It was great. We highly
recommend the Good Sam ERS. We had been planning on replacing the tires, so we
headed to Walmart and got 4 new tires. We stopped at Olive Garden for dinner
and we were done. We never made it to downtown Savannah. We were going to head
out tomorrow, but decided to stay one extra day.
20
We took a nice
walk out to where the Savannah River meets the Atlantic Ocean. This is only a
couple blocks from our campground. We were walking on the beach and we saw
2 hard shell
stingrays out of the water on the beach. At first they looked dead, but
then we saw movement. One slowly made it’s way back in the water. The other
one didn’t move so we think it was dead. Then we continued on and saw people
swimming, sunning and fishing. We headed inland to check out the
Tybee
Lighthouse. We walked around and then back to our campground. It’s Sunday
and we are having a football afternoon in the cow.
19
We headed out
early this morning. We want to go 400 miles today to Savannah GA. We were in
our site and all set up by 4pm. We are staying at Rivers End Campground on
Tybee Island. We
went for a walk down to the beach and did a little investigating. Then we drove
down to the south end and walked along the beach to watch the sun set. We
walked around town and found Bernie’s Oyster House where we stopped for a few
drinks and listen to music. The Samuel Adams Band was playing and there were a
few harmonica players in the audience. One was very good and got on stage for a
while. His name is
Gordon Hill. We found out he has given away over 4000 harmonicas. There
were a few service men in the audience and he gave them one. I had asked for
his card and he gave me one. Now I have something new to learn. His website is
www.harmonicasforhope.com.
18
We got on the road
early and headed out on the PA Turnpike. We were going to take some round about
roads to get around Washington DC, but since it was midday, we decided to try to
take the bypass around DC. It worked out fine. We were going to stop near
Richmond VA for the night, but we were moving along well, so we ended up in
Enfield North Carolina at the KOA. We got all set up and just relaxed. We
drove almost 400 miles today.
17
This morning was
cloudy and cool. We headed up to Johnstown, PA. Today we are scattering my
Mom’s ashes. She wanted to be here because back in August of 1964 her fiancé
crashed his charter plane 10 miles west of Johnstown. She was supposed to be on
the trip with him. The sun did come out for a while. We first stopped at “Natures
Window” the RT 56 Conemaugh Gap Scenic Overlook. This is the deepest gap
east of the Mississippi. We sent some of her ashes off in the wind. Then we
headed for Laurel
Ridge State Park. There is a 70 mile trail here. After my research, this
is the area the plane crashed. We hiked in about 2.5 miles to a clearing on the
top of the ridge. We had a
nice picnic
with Mom and then sent my
Mom out on
the wind. We hiked back and then made our way back to our campground.
16
We had a nice easy
day today. We were up and having coffee outside looking at the lake, the ranger
came by with our newspaper. So we read for a while then got ready to hit the
road. We were on the road by 1030am. We were heading to Somerset Pa. We got
to Woodland Campground and were all set up by 230pm. Woodland is fine for our 2
night stay, but it’s mostly old seasonal trailers with a few nightly sites. We
were on a hill with a beautiful view.
15
We were up and out
by 8am this morning. We said our so longs to Steve and Willa, and Denny and
Lisa. We went to get our new tires installed on the cow. We were on the road
by 9am. We drove from Hillsville Virginia to Weston West Virginia. We stayed
overnight at
Stonewall Jackson State Park. We got set up and took a nice long walk
around the campground and resort. We saw a fawn during our walk. We got back
and relaxed outside. Our campsite is on the end and we are right on the lake,
so the view is very pretty.
14
This is the day
before our departure day. Since we are Workampers we get free laundry and
discounted propane. We are finishing up all laundry, rugs, rags etc and getting
our propane topped off. We completed our day before checklist and are ready to
roll. Tonight we are going out to the Mexican Restaurant in Hillsville with
Steve,
Willa, Denny and Lisa.
13
Our last Workamper
day. We were done early and went around to a few other
Workampers
and took pictures. We came back and started getting things together. I worked
on a Workamper movie for Steve and Willa. I emailed it to the other
Workampers. Then it’s Sunday so that means Football!! We relaxed in the
afternoon and watched the games. Click
HERE if you want to see a short
movie on how hard we all worked.
12
Another workamper
day. Now I say day, but we really only worked for 1 ½ hours. Our workamper
friends Jim and Jackie headed out today. They are the ones that did the karaoke
at the park. We did some grocery shopping to get ready to travel and then
headed to
Hillsville for the monthly downtown car show and concert. We have been to
all 5. So that means that it’s really time to hit the road.
11
Today is a
workamper day. Both the pools were really easy this morning. There hasn’t
really been anyone in them, so it didn’t take long. We worked on getting
laundry done and starting to pack Big Red. Then we just moseyed around the
campground. We had our
last fire.
Denny, Jim, Steve, Willa, John and I enjoyed sitting around the fire with a few
cocktails.
10 This
morning we were up and out early. A bunch of us workampers decided to go to
Fancy Gap for breakfast. Denny, Lisa, Jackie, Jim, Bill, Alice, Francis,
Marvin, Richard, Shelly, Judy, Jim, Greg, Loretta, John and I all went.
Afterwards, Lisa, John and I headed on the Blue Ridge Parkway towards Galax to
go to Walmart. We saw a flock of wild turkeys along the way. We were still
back early and I went around and helped a few workampers get their business
cards designed and printed. BTW, did I say we were official retired again?
Well, now were not. The pools will be open this weekend and Bryan and Diane are
away for a couple weeks. So John and I are getting the pools cleaned and open
Friday to Sunday.
9
Today was a laid
back relaxing day. John did a few projects around the cow and I went to get my
hair cut. Some big storms came in so John did some reading and I played around
on the computer. Our compadres Diane and Bryan was heading out today and won’t
be back for a couple weeks. They stopped by to say see you later and gave us a
bottle of Parrot Bay Rum. The workampers are slowly heading out. It was great
to meet all of them and we may meet up again somewhere down the road.
8
Today we did one
of our last big projects before we head out. We cleaned and greased all the
screens and windows. Steve and Willa is having a
Steak Potluck for all the workampers tonight. They are supplying the steaks and baked potatoes and
everyone brings a dish. We made garlic bread and banana cream pie. We were all
stuffed after dinner. We took some pictures, swapped business cards and said
our so longs to some that are heading out in the morning.
7
We are officially
retired workampers. We headed to the
Hillsville Flea Market at Gun Show. It’s
the largest Flea Market on the East Coast. There are over 600 gun dealers. The
Flea Market stretches 2 miles by 1 mile. We got a few things. You know we live
in a cow, so we really don’t need much. Then we came back and John did some
reading and I worked on trying to get my website working again.
6
Today is our last
workamper day at Lakeridge. We are on the waterslide with Jake again. It was a
steady day but not crazy.
5
Workamper day.
Both of us are on the waterslide today. It was a nice day and steady. We had a
good time. Afterwards, we came back had a quick dinner and off to Karoke. It’s
the last night for it. The café was packed. Steve and Willa and their family
also came for a while. I got the workampers that were there together and we all
sang “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson.
4
Today last year is
when my Mom passed away. The year has gone quick and last summer was a very
difficult one with both my Mom and Dad being sick. However, today we are in
Hillsville Virginia with a sunny morning. John is working the waterslide and I
will be later in the afternoon. Most of the day there was nobody at the
waterslide. Later in the afternoon it did pick up. Most of the campers so far
are here for the Flea Market in Hillsville. After we got off, we had a fire and
cocktails.
3
Workamper day for
John. The Labor Day weekend is here and it will be in the mid 70’s. We are
expecting 72 check in’s today. I am going to work on getting my computer back
in order. I still have programs I have to add. Labor Day Weekend is the big
Gun show and Flea Market in Hillsville. Since we got here we heard it was big,
but didn’t realize just how big. The last few days when I have been through
Hillsville, the main road that runs to the highway is being transformed. From
the stoplight to the location of the future bypass is about 5 miles. There are
vendor stands everywhere along this route. In every front yard, parking lot or
piece of ground and back a half a mile or so. I heard over the weekend to drive
this 5 miles will take at least 2 hours.
2
Workamper day for
both of us. We were on in the morning to clean the pools and waterslide. John
was going to work until 4pm to fill in for breaks and lunches, but it was cool
and no kids were in the park so he got off early. I worked on my computer
getting programs reloaded and data back in. I have lost some info, but that’s
ok. I helped our neighbors Lisa and Denny with how to use a program, photoshop
elements.
1
Workamper day for
both of us. The mornings are getting cooler and we had to wear a sweater for a
while. The waterslide is closed today and the pools were really easy because
very few kids, families and campers are in the park this week. This weekend
should be busy. I was off early and since I’m without a computer did some
reading. I did head into Galax early afternoon because my computer is ready. I
looked over Jeff’s shoulder as he reloaded Vista and set it up. I spent the
evening working to download my original programs.
|
