Tuesday, May 22, 2007 El Paso, TX, to Quartzite, AZ

The highlight of this long driving day was the chance to see Brother Bob…in this case, definitely Grampa Bob. He is driving to Florida to pick up his motor home and has special cargo on board: Tosha, his daughter-in-law and six darling grandchildren. They are going home to Naples, FL, to sell their home and return to CA where hubby/daddy Rhett is now working. We met in Lordsburg, New Mexico, and had time for multiple hugs and photos before we parted…they headed East, and we headed West. We had planned to stay in Phoenix tonight, but we bypassed the city to miss the evening commuter traffic and in the process, also missed the possible places to stay. So on we went to Quartzite, AZ. During the snowbird season, this little town overflows with people and activity. Today, it was a bit of a ghost town, but that meant we could find a home for the night. Tomorrow we’ll be home!

Monday, May 21. 2007 San Antonio, TX, to El Paso, TX

At this point, we are “like horses heading for the barn.” There was a very pleasant surprise as we drove through the hill country of Texas. Beautiful sedimentary rock outcroppings were full of white yucca blooms, and the flatter areas were fields of yellow wildflowers. This gave way to the more desert-like Southwest landscape as we neared El Paso, our destination for the night.

Sunday, May 20, 2007 San Antonio, Texas

Big day in San Antonio. At the Alamo, we were fortunate to catch a presentation that detailed the history of the battle between the Texans and the Mexican general, Santa Anna and his army. That whetted our appetite for more, so we went to the IMAX to see “Alamo – the Price of Freedom” and stayed to see “ Hurricane on the Bayou.” It was time for Rog’s 3 hour Segway tour of San Antonio and Carol’s tamer version via tour bus. We met up to take the boat ride that goes along the River Walk. (very lovely!) and had dinner at Casa del Rio, with a table right next to the river. We’d recommend both for any future San Antonio visitors.

Saturday, May 19, 2007 New Orleans to San Antonio

This is our farewell to New Orleans day. What better send-off than breakfast at Brennan’s… or so we thought! Our 9AM reservation had us seated promptly on a balcony overlooking a lovely courtyard. An HOUR AND A HALF later after sharing an andouille sausage omelet and bananas foster we went back to the hotel to meet our 11 o’clock check-out time. Now we were really on our way… or, again, so we thought. One large pothole later, the rearview camera and camper brakes were malfunctioning. We found a Radio Shack in Metairie and Mr. Fix-It Rog and some duct tape took care of the problems. It was now noon and, yes, we were truly headed west. By 9PM, a very tired, grumpy driver and his wife pulled into the Traveler’s World RV Park in San Antonio, Texas. Those sleeping bags looked very welcoming.

Friday, May 18, 2007 New Orleans, LA

The weather continues to be very good to us in New Orleans…high 70’s and low humidity. How fortunate for us on a busy sightseeing day! We had scheduled a city/cemetery tour with the Cajun Pride Co. Being picked up at the hotel was an added plus. Our driver, J. R., was a bit of a “good ole boy,” but his vocabulary, speaking ability, and knowledge of New Orleans improved and emerged once he started the narration spiel. It was a 3 hour van ride to all areas of the city, including the Katrina devastation and a stop at one of the few city cemeteries that is open to the public. If anyone would like an explanation of how 40 or more family members can be buried in one crypt, Rog said to check with him. The amazing architecture represents the various cultures (French, English, Spanish, Creole, and American) that have lived in New Orleans. Rog could become a real estate agent if one could qualify by the number of house photographs taken. The driver dropped us at our hotel, and we had 45 minutes to drive out of the city to Westwego, buy our swamp tour tickets, and meet Captain Tom, our guide. He’s a Cajun gent who lives in the bayou area and has a phenomenal knowledge of the animal life native to the bayous. Before the tour, we were treated to a wildlife presentation…turtles, snakes, and alligators. Then we went out on the bayous to see egrets, blue herons, turtles, and many alligators of all sizes. Captain Tom threw marshmallows to the alligators making them very willing to come up close for photo ops. (Not necessarily a method approved by the rangers!) Before returning to the hotel to collapse, we stopped at Café Beignets for…you guessed it, beignets! They are called New Orleans doughnuts by the local crowd and definitely endanger dark clothing because of the abundance of powdered sugar. After recharging our batteries, we went to Mulate for an evening of Cajun music and dinner.

Thursday, May 17, 2007 Marianna, FL (Florida Caverns State Park to New Orleans

This morning it was time to head west…going through 4 states: Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, we landed in New Orleans. On the way we checked the AAA guide, made phone calls, and were pleased to find a two-day home at Chateau LeMoyne, a Holiday Inn one block from Bourbon Street in the heart of the French Quarter. The AAA price was right, and they had on-site parking for our car and camper. When we had entered Louisiana, we stopped at the Visitor Center for information and suggestions. We’d highly recommend this plan. The ideas for restaurants and tours were perfect for our taste and budget. At Olivier’s we had salad with Cajun vinaigrette, an eggplant appetizer with mushroom and sausage roux, and shrimp scampi. By sharing, we could sample more things and still feel satisfied. After dinner, we played tourist by walking along Bourbon Street to watch people and listen to music. It was quite similar to Beale Street in Memphis, but we enjoyed it here more.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 St Petersburg, FL to Florida Caverns State Park

We’re on the road again… this time we drove north and across the Florida Panhandle just past Tallahassee. Our handy Florida Campground book gave Florida Caverns State Park a top rating of 10, so that seemed like a good bet for the night. It’s a lovely location with a full tree canopy over our site and few other campers. We registered for the last Cavern tour of the day and learned from the ranger that we were in a group of 2 – Us! There was a wide variety of limestone formations. One was called the wedding cake, and it is actually the marriage location chosen by many brides and grooms. Compared to the Oregon Caves (which had 500 steps and many narrow places), these caverns were a cinch to tour ,,, another high 5 Florida attraction.

Tuesday, May 15 Naples to St. Petersburg, FL

What a treat it was to be out of the rain last night… 6 inches in 3 hours should certainly help the drought in this area! After doing laundry duty, we drove north to Sarasota. That is where Brother Bob’s boat is moored, and what a boat it is! It’s 42 feet of classic luxury with varnished teak and all the trimmings. We climbed on board, leisurely spending a few hours playing the role of Florida fat cats but without the money to afford the captain or the fuel. Then it was off to St. Petersburg to see our good friend, Dick, whom we had known from Oxy days, our time in New York, and almost a neighbor in California. He and his partner, Jim, have a lovely condo with incredible views of the bay. It’s been about 28 years since we’ve seen Dick so there was lots of catching up to do. They took us for a drive on St. Pete Island just in time to catch an exquisite sunset. A seared ahi tuna and crabcake dinner completed a terrific day.

Monday, May 14, 2007 Bahia Honda, FL to Naples, Fl

We said good-bye to the Florida Keys and made our way to the Everglades. Because there are so many current fires in FL, we were concerned about highway closures, but it did not turn out to be a problem. The Shark Valley Tram Tour at Everglades National Park was a huge thumbs-up experience. Alligators of all sizes, blue herons, ibises, turtles, anahingas, and cormorants made frequent appearances. As the tour was nearing an end, the clouds opened up…it POURED, complete with thunder and lightning, all the way to Naples. Floridians were cheering because of the serious fires and long-standing drought. (We thought it could have waited until we were safe in our room!). Tonight we are staying at Judy’s wonderful room at the Gulfcoast Inn in Naples.

Sunday, May 13, 2007 Bahia Honda/Key West, FL

It was time to get serious about playing tourist. The Trolley Tour in Key West promised to be our best bet for doing that. It had 10 stops, and we could get off and on at any of them until 5:00. We visited the Southernmost point in the U.S. which is west of Columbus, OH, south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and about 90 miles from Cuba. After being duly oriented and absorbing the history of the area, we stopped at Ernest Hemingway’s Home for a tour. The 43 six-toed cats, descendants of Hemingway’s original cat, certainly rule the roost. Fogarty’s was recommended to us for a delicious Mother’s Day grouper (fish) lunch. To work off our lunch, we walked to the Flagler Train Depot where we learned how Key West became a destination via the railway line constructed between 1905-1912. This railway line, the dream of Flagler, was destroyed by a hurricane in 1935 and was replaced in the 1950’s by a highway built on the old railway right-of-way. We returned to our campsite at Bahia Honda where I became a Mother’s Day feast for little flying critters called “no-see-ums”. They had no trouble seeing me, however, and left me looking like a victim of chicken pox! Fishing in the Keys is spectacular…Rog vows to bring a boat on our next trip to the Keys. The beaches (all sand is imported from the Bahamas!) are beautiful and waveless due to the offshore coral reefs. The Keys are truly a lovely place to vacation!

Saturday, May 12, 2007 Long Key, FL to Bahia Honda State Park, FL

The fires in the Everglades are sending an eerie haze across the sky, and the rising sun was an orange ball this morning. We spent a casual morning checking email and updating our blog at the Marathon Key Library. Next, we set up camp at Bahia Honda State Park (we had heard that this was a very popular park and made reservations over a month ago) and headed for Key West.

Duval Street is where most of the shops and restaurants are located. Hogs Breath Saloon was perfect for listening to music and sipping “Hogaritas.”

Friday, May 11, 2007 Poinciana, FL to Long Key, FL

It has been a very special time with Carlyn and Michael. Roger doesn’t think that Carlyn and I have an off-switch, but there was definitely a lot of “chatting territory” to cover. We waved good-bye and headed south on the toll turnpike to the Florida Keys. It was our lucky day because we snagged the last campsite at Long Key State Park. The site turned out to be right on the water (ocean side). Finally, a time to just relax and listen to the water lapping against the shore.

Thursday, May 10, 2007 Poinciana, FL

Today the four of us set out to take an airboat ride at Boggy Creek. What a fantastic experience! We donned earmuff-like protectors because airboats are really loud. Off we went into the swampy nature preserve. When we reached the areas for watching and viewing, we were amazed at the variety of wildlife…blue herons, egrets, alligators, and bald eagles, to name a few. The cypress trees(very different from the ones at Monterey, CA) were beautiful. Because of the extreme lack of rainfall, the unique root systems were exposed and showed where the usual water line would be on the trunks. After the airboat ride, Carlyn and Michael took us around their community so we could see the options available to Solivita homeowners. There is definitely no excuse for boredom with golf, tennis, pools, art classes, bridge lessons and tournaments, a library, computer room, exercise room, water aerobics…need I say more? In the evening, we learned a new game, Mexican dominoes…very fun! Now I have something to put on my Christmas list.

Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Orlando to Poinciana FL

We actually arrived at Epcot in time to have a front row parking spot by the entrance. The Future World area opens at 9:00 and we were off and running. One of the new attractions is called “Soarin’.” It gives the illusion of a hang gliding adventure over California ... guaranteed to bring a touch of homesickness to us traveling Californians. Roger had a more intense connection with ultralight flying A free option called “Fast Pass” allows you to return at a specific time if the present wait is too long, and it works well. World Showcase has International areas for 11 different countries. We especially enjoyed the presentations for Canada, France, and the U.S. My personal favorite impression of Epcot was the Flower and Garden Extravaganza. Everywhere we looked, the floral plantings were spectacular… so many varieties of all colors. Minnie and Mickey certainly have green thumbs!

Our good friends, Carlyn and Michael, live in Poinciana which is very near Orlando, so their home was our next stop. It’s been several years since they visited us in California, and it was wonderful to see them again. Their new home is in an adult community called Solivita, which has lovely expanses of green lawns and lakes. Their home backs up to a nature preserve, and we were treated to a parade of wild turkeys meandering across their back lawn. We spent the evening catching up and planning our Thursday time together.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007 St Augustine, FL to Orlando, FL

Before saying good-bye to St. Augustine, we decided to visit Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth National Archaeological Park. This is said to be the location of Ponce de Leon’s landing in 1513. It contains the Timucuan Indian Spring that Ponce de Leon hoped was the Fountain of Youth. Of course, we sampled the water to guarantee eternal youth. I thought our name would take care of that, but I guess it never hurts to have a little extra insurance! The most interesting part of the tour was the planetarium presentation which explained the navigational methods used by the early explorers. After the tour, we drove to our new site in Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground so we would be well-positioned for an early start at Epcot Center on Wednesday.

Monday, May 7, 2007 St. Augustine, FL

We had a surprise when we read the newspaper this morning. It showed of St. Augustine with pictures of streets closed due to flooding. It seems that there was quite a rainfall earlier on Sunday. Since we arrived about 6:30 PM, the rain had stopped and the flooding was no longer a problem. The wind had not stopped, however, and once again we were made to feel at home, this time with Florida’s version of the Santanas!

We took one of Ripley’s Red Train Sightseeing Tours to get an overview of the city of St. Augustine. This is the oldest city in the United States and has flown under five flags: Spanish, French, British, Confederate, and the U. S. It has beautiful Spanish-influenced architecture. Many buildings and walls are constructed with coquina and tabby. Coqina is mined like granite and is made of shells and limestone. Tabby also has shells and limestone in its makeup and is poured like concrete. One of the stops we made was at Castillo de San Marcos, a Spanish fort used to defend St. Augustine against pirate raids and attacks by Great Britain. We took advantage of a ranger-led tour.

This evening was a very special occasion! We met my “Florida Family” at the River Grill Restaurant in Ormond Beach. The group included Hank and Bonnie, Sonny, Allen and Sherry.

Of my cousins (Bonnie, Sonny, and Allen), I had only met Bonnie, and that was when we were little girls, so we had many years to cover over dinner. These cousins are the children of my dad’s older brother, Gene. We said good-bye with hopes of another get-together in the not- too- distant future.

Sunday, May 06, 2007 Mt. Pleasant, SC to St. Augustine,

It was hard to say good-bye to Bob and Mary this morning, but we extracted a promise from them to add California to their travel list. Next destination was Savannah, GA, where we took the trolley tour of the city. Most impressive were the many park squares with their majestic live oaks, azaleas, and other beautiful plants. Most of these park squares were named for people who made their mark on Savannah’s history, such as Pulaski and J. C. Calhoun. We stopped along the harbor for a late lunch at the Riverfront Restaurant and shared a shrimp and clam fettuccine. It had at least 10 jumbo shrimp, and this was supposed to be a one-person portion! After the trolley tour, we decided to continue driving and ended up at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine, FL. This came highly-recommended by John and Pris, and we can see why.

Saturday, May 5th 2007 Mount Pleasant / Charleston, SC

What a full day this turned out to be! Rog and I set out this morning to visit Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant. It is one of America’s oldest working plantations and has been continuously growing crops for over 320 years. It was one of the first producers of pecans, and many of the original trees are still producing pecans on an every 2 year cycle. As you enter the grounds, there is a ¾ mile double row of live oak trees that was originally planted in 1793. This forms a moss – draped canopy that is breathtaking. First, we took the narrated cart tour around the grounds. It focused on the agriculture and ecology of the plantation. We enjoyed all of it, but the narrator could have left out the details of the 18 different species of snakes! One of the most fascinating parts of the plantation is nine original slave cabins on Slave Street. They are on the National Historic Register and housed the skilled slaves for Boone Hall. The tour of the plantation house itself is led by period -dressed guides and includes only the first floor…the second floor is the home of the present owners. My favorite part was the Gullah presentation. This was done by a single black man whose own heritage is Gullah, the culture adopted by the African slaves. Because the slaves who were brought to America came from so many different tribes, they had to develop a way to communicate. The Gullah language is based on English but doesn’t contain any th or t sounds. It is spoken very rapidly with unique cadence. The presenter explained the origin of rice planting in theCarolinas and the slaves’ role in that industry. He also included the audience in Gullah song and dance. One of the lasting Gullah crafts is the making of sweetgrass baskets. These are meticulously crafted and sold for very dear prices at roadside stands and in the downtown Charleston Marketplace where the female contingent enjoyed browsing and shopping. We returned to Bob and Mary’s for a quick lunch before the 4 of us headed into Charleston. The Old South Carriage Company (Thanks to Kim for referral) provided a wonderful horse drawn carriage tour of the city. Charleston is a lovely city on the water with many original and restored homes and churches. The architecture and gardens bring the genteel pre-Civil War years to mind. After the carriage ride, we went to the top of the Grill 225 for views of Charleston from on high. Dinner at Grill 225 Restaurant (Kudos to neighbor Winki for the recommendation) was an experience in elegant, fine dining for us casually – dressed Californians and their South Carolina friends.

Friday, May 4, 2007 Cedar Mountain, NC to Mt. Pleasant, SC

The downpour last night courteously waited until we were snug in our camper bed. We awakened to a foggy morning and headed down a very winding, steep mountainside, crossing into SC within 5 minutes of departure. After reaching Greenville, it was a straight shot to Charleston, passing through the capital city of Columbia. How good it was to see our good friends, Bob and Mary, at their home in Mt. Pleasant, a city right outside of Charleston. They took us on a tour of the local area which included Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. We spent the evening catching up on the last 25 years and planning our day playing tourist tomorrow.

May 3, 2007 Asheville to Cedar Mountain, NC

What an incredible day this turned out to be! The Biltmore Estate is quite something! We opted for the home tour with audio. The latter made it so easy to know what to focus on, and it explained the history behind the rooms and their decor. The home, (America’s largest), built by the Vanderbilts with shipping and railroad money, was completed in 1875. There are 250 rooms (49 bathrooms) which takes up 4 acres of INDOOR space. It had amazing modern conveniences for that time such as indoor plumbing aand electric lights. Live floral displays were in every room. The Vanderbilts enjoyed entertaining and provided golf, horseback riding, croquet, music, and indoor games for their frequent guests. The art(ex. Renoir, Whistler) and furnishings are the originals. George Vanderbilt was a voracious reader averaging 2 books a week for his lifetime. His library contains 20,000 books. All of this is set on 8,000 acres, 250 of which are gardens. As part of the basic ticket, a winery tour and tasting room visit are included. That concluded our visit and we were about to leave when the clouds opened up. Rog found some handy chairs so we could wait out the downpour. It turned out to be the setting for a cooking demonstration that was about to start. The chef prepared pecan crusted chicken with key lime sauce and offered samples…delicious! (Yes, I have the recipe!). When the cooking demonstration was over, so was the rain and our time at America’s most elegant home. Next, we headed south to Cedar Mountain which is right on the border of NC/SC. This is the home of Black Forest Campground and Matt and Laurie. They, along with her family, own and run the campground, a lovely place with beautiful green forests and very clean, big shower facilities. Matt is the son of Mary and Bob, our good friends from teaching days in NY. It was a very special evening with a beautiful drive to see Looking Glass Waterfall and dinner at Casey Jones Restaurant. We made friends with their little, almost- two charmer, Julia, and said a quick hello to snoozing twin baby boys, David and Steven. This ended a terrific day. Tomorrow we’re off to Charleston, SC, to see Bob and Mary. We know they will let us in because we have the most recent photos of Julia, their granddaughter!

Wednesday, May 2, 2007 Nashville, TN to Asheville, NC

Today was a driving day…we headed east on I-40 to Knoxville and then cut down toward Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road goes through the very touristy towns of Pigeon Forge (Dollywood) and Gatlinburg. They have every which way from Sunday to help you spend money. Kids would love to assist in that endeavor if you were traveling family-style. The Smokies were named for the low fog that settles in between the mountains, but we didn’t experience that. We also didn’t experience the dogwood blossoms and bountiful greenery because of the Easter weekend freeze… it devastated the plant life. We were sad to see the high percentage of brown trees/foliage in an area known for its lush green spring color. The Blue Ridge Parkway took us to Ashville where we will tour the Biltmore Estate tomorrow.