Colonial Beach, Virginia (November 7-11)
Traffic through Baltimore and Washington DC outskirts made for a long and stressful drive. Luckily we made it to our campground and were able to chill. It was a pretty basic campground next to a Harbor right on the Potomac River. Thankfully this campground was only a 40 minute drive to Dana's sister Annalee's and brother-in-law Darrin's house. It was awesome seeing both of them and catching up.
Annalee accompanied us to another National Park on our quest to see as many as we can. We drove into the Appalachian Mountains to see Shenandoah National Park. There were stunning views and we went on a fun 4 mile hike.
Chapel Hill, NC (November 11-13)
Found a wonderful campground in the woods out in the country. Very peaceful and relaxed setting. Forgot how kind and polite people from the South are. The humor of campground owner was amusing - Dana mentioned in conversation that we were just in NYC for the Marathon. The owner said in his southern drawl: "Why did you do that...... did your momma drop you on the head as a baby?"
Dana ran 3 miles at the campground with Jim to get her ready for a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5k race.
Great to be back in the Durham area for Jim.
He had dinner with a former Duke University classmate (Martin Kelleher) at a yummy Indian restaurant.
The following day we went to the campus at Duke. Jim went to the basketball Hall of Fame Museum to pay homage, then watched the men's tennis team practice before heading to the campus store to buy new Duke gear. Dana in the meantime went to the Art Museum on campus and then to the Duke gardens.
Sesquicentennial State Park (November 13-15)
Our first stay at a state park was awesome. Beautiful setting and nice hike around the lake.
We got up early (6 am) to head Congaree National Park. The rain was coming at 10 am and we got there for our first hike at 6:45. This is an incredible park we highly recommend. Very much another world compared to many parks.
Visiting here in summer would be difficult. As you can see from the Mosquito Meter, we went on a mild day. Going on a "Ruthless" or "War Zone" day would have been a no go for us. Mud below the water line where the trees grow can be up to 8 feet thick. The bald cypress trees can live 1,000 years.
Savannah, Georgia (November 15-17)
Stayed at a very nice resort (lazy river, 3 pools, and too many amenities to list). Dana enjoyed her water aerobics time. With low lying flood waters and a lake, we were warned about the alligators and signs were posted all over. Needless to say Gracie and Jim were on high alert during walks and runs.
The campground hosted a 'smores night at the campfire and supplied all the fixins'. We went back for seconds with a guilty look and chocolate on our faces. The people were so kind.
The weather was amazing and its nice to be out of the cold of the northeast. We had 70+ degree weather and were enjoying being outside with shorts and t-shirts again.
Georgia brought us a new record for cheapest fuel we've bought so far. Paid $2.99/gallon for diesel and saw regular unleaded for $2.49/gallon. Guessing Texas or Louisiana will be even cheaper.
We spent a whole day in downtown historic Savannah on a tour. The old trees with the Spanish Moss are beautiful.
So many buildings, churches and historic sites here from the 1700's and 1800's. Very impressive city. Walking along the waterfront of the Savannah River is a treat.
Green Cove Springs, FL (November 17 - 23)
We finally arrived in Florida. We'll slowly go down the Atlantic coast to the Florida Keys and then up the Caribbean side until late January. We are now official legal Florida residents after filing for domicile, getting vehicles registered, etc.
While Jim will miss paying state income taxes, he was happy that truck registration went down from over $1,200 a year in California to $138 and RV registration went down from $900 to $33, woohoo!
Checked out St. Augustine, Florida on the coast for a day. It's the oldest planned city built in US. Interesting history with the Spanish and British who kept capturing and trading it to each other a few times.
Saw the "Fountain of Youth" tourist trap..... we still look the same.
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Dearest Ones,
Thank you for continuing to share this trip of a lifetime.I am so happy for you to be having such a Wonderful time. We will be going to. Half Moon Bay for a few days, staying at the Ritz. It should be wonderful as always..
Have a Special Thanksgiving... Hugs Judy