HappyTrails

Never forget Pearl Harbor

This photo is from a post by Michelle Malkin. She points out that
Americans who served our country during this horrific attack are
dwindling in numbers quickly. My father in law, who died in December
''08, remembered it all. It seems our president, a "native" of
Hawaii, was a bit confused about this important event in U S history
(see the post and his quoted remarks in Indiana in December '08).



Michellemalkin.com

The BoSquad

Here they are together.  Gracie has the tropical pink collar with the blue tags and Clancy has the guyish Boston Red Sox collar with the yellow chip tag.  They are looking to the heavens....for a treat.   Life is certainly very easy for these little pups.  They are now almost 14 months old and they have lots of puppy fun together.  We are delighted that they are not excessive barkers nor do they become obsessive about birds and squirrels.  They enjoy the RV lifestyle which is good because that's the way they travel.  

We are excited to get to some warmer (but not too hot) weather in South Florida.  Right now the temperatures are unpredictable and we've been having rain anywhere from 20 to 60% likely for a number of days.  

It's just another day in the gypsy lifestyle.  Happy Trails!
 

Gracie in the pink...and in the x-pen

It's been 8 days since Gracie's surgery and she's already giving
Clancy a run for his money. They play well together.



We're hunkering down for the rain and wind that is forecasted. We're
hoping they have overated this event.

On Saturday we'll move to Palmer energy systems for a week or so while
having some things checked. We may have spent our batteries when we
were ugged in for 2years. We did exercise them occasionaly but the
overcast northwest is't really good solar country.

We will spend Christmas near friends in the Orlando area.

Happy Trails!

The cone

Poor Gracie hates this thing. She is recuperating well from her spay surgery and is getting used to our kind of nomad lifestyle. She even thinks the family cat, Flanigsn, is ok.

Thanksgiving in Savannah

The dinner cruise boats on the riverfront. We had a lovely dinner at the Olde Pink House. Our friends came to join us from Leesburg, FL. This photo of the riverfront was the scene from the patio bar at the Hyatt. Happy Thanksgiving!

Savannah

Here we are. Clancy and the new pup, Clancy's sis, in my arms. We
are enjoying the sights along the historic riverfront.



Sent from my iPhone

Deck views - Sandollar restaurant

This large cargo carrying ship was passing on the St John river. It
was labeled as an auto transport.

Right after lunch we took the nearby Ferry to Mayport.

Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island

Our park in Yulee, FL is ok for a week or so and is within 15 miles of the Jacksonville Airport.  I fly from JAX to Portland on Tuesday and return on Thursday.  The spaces are not very wide but we don't have any neighbors on either side at the moment.  It is a quiet park practically on US 17.  

Yesterday we drove the car over to Fernandina Beach .  What a charming small town.  We walked the "shopping district" where Jack had his watch battery changed.  We enjoyed the low key tourist oriented boutiques but saw very few tourists.  Our investigation of the pier where there is a ferry and small marina gave us an opportunity to see some travelers who were taking the tour boat out to Cumberland Island.  Several folks appeared to be coming in off their own private boats berthed in the Marina.  We enjoyed some very fresh local "boiled and peel" shrimp out on the deck/veranda of a marina facing eatery.  All in all we were favorably impressed with this charming town.

We hope to drive what is known as the Buccaneer Trail while we are here.  I'd also like to take the ferry to Cumberland Island but we need to find out if our dog can go too.  It's an all day exploration with several hours between ferries and Clancy can't be left alone that long.  

I have one photo that I found on the web of the "beach" of Fernandina Beach.

Happy Trails!

Rain departs and we're in Yulee

After a day of steady rain we made a dash for Yulee, FL, where we'll stay for a week. I will be flying to Vancouver to retrieve our newest family member. Clancy's sister was kept by the breeder for showing in conformation. At a year of age she hasn't reached the minimum size fir the breed so she needs a good pet home. We are thrilled to be giving her that home. Clancy needs a companion so it's a good plan. When we arrived yesterday the skies were the kind of grey we tolerated in our former home in the Pacific NW. I sure don't care fir it here in the "sunshine state.". We decided to have dinner out and we really wanted seafood so I used my favorite communications tool, my iPhone, and located some options. We drove about 11 miles to St. Marys, GA to a small restaurant, Lang's Marina Seafood. It was excellent and this is the view from our table. We'll be heading back to St. Marys to photograph the Marina area and to take the ferry to Cumberland Island. Happy trails!

Still in Beaufort, SC

We arrived just as several forecasted days of rain began. It poured heavily for an hour or so and then died back to light rain which has been repeating on and off. Still, this precipitation is nothing like what we had as a routine in out former home in the Redwoods. We are about 30 miles from Hilton Head and may head that way to explore. It's been years since I attended business meetings in that area. We participated in a well attended Tea Party yesterday on the waterfront in Beaufort. In fact, we learned that the town mayor became disturbed by the size of the group and called the local organizer to stipulate new groundrules. I am proud to see that Americans can still gather to express their concerns and to hear their elected officials lay out their proposed solutions. While this gathering was heavily attended by retirees, there were a good number of younger folks who felt compelled to attend or to be involved. Why should the younger, less experienced voters be the only ones to wield the power of the web and it's features? Most of my retired friends are Internet savvy too. Time will tell but I know there are a huge, still growing group of Americans who do not approve of the massive spending being committed to by our government. The deceit is deplorable. We, the people have rights and we must stand up for them...or they will be taken away before we know it. Back to RV topics...Beaufort has a charming historic area with gorgeous Southern architecture. If you decide to explore this area try Panini's cafe. They have a varied menu at moderate prices and you can sit on the patio overlooking the waterfront. They even allow well behaved dogs on the patio. Thank you to our veterans!

After a small hitch we are parked at Buck Hall just north of Charleston, SC

This is shrimping season so this small campground is supposed to be full.  They no longer allow drive up campers..all sites are to be reserved online for an additional $9.  Yikes!  We read on the Reserve America site yesterday that we could show up for one of a couple of first come, first serve sites.  When we arrived the Ranger told us "no, the campground is full."  He suggested another Federal location that he said was close.  We unhitched and I drove the car behind the ranger (they had no directions to the other location) and drove what felt like many miles back in the direction we came from.  We hadn't reached this supposed site when I caught the rangers attention and told him it wouldn't work.  I drove all the way back and we were searching for a possible WalMart when the same ranger drove up to us and said we could now have one of the sites in the campground. We hurried over and parked.  The story goes on....later....the campground host came over and said we shouldn't have been given the site.  Uh, oh.  I was pretty upset but in the end we are still here and some guy who had reservations for four days and never called to cancel will be out of luck if he shows up tonight.  

This small campground is on the Intracoastal Waterway which is lovely. The tiny biting bugs are annoying but for a night we can handle it.  Tomorrow we head on to Beaufort (which I read is pronounced "bew-fort."  

Happy Trails!

Beaufort, here we come

Our plan was to take the ferry from Ocracoke on Saturday morning.  We had been told that we could overnight in the nearby parking lot but when we arrived we noticed a very specific sign warning that overnight was not permitted.  I dutifully went back to the source of our information and she said she didn't know of a change but would check it out.  After a few phone calls we learned that we could be subject to a Federal ticket if we stayed in our vehicle (even the motorhome) in the lot.  So...new plan....we loaded onto the 5PM ferry and took the 2.5 hour trip to Cedar Island.  We had learned of a small campground just off the ferry terminal and we spent the evening there.  We decided to eat in the nearby motel cafe...if you decide to visit this area I encourage you strongly NOT to eat in the cafe.  The food is, well, awful!

 

After a nights sleep we headed on 12 South toward Wilmington, NC where we are now at a Walmart Supercenter on US 17.  It's a quiet lot and we decided to kick back and continue to the Charleston area tomorrow.  

We expect to arrive in Beaufort, SC on Tuesday.  I'll post more on that later.

Happy Trails!