April 10, 2012. Home

Home. 3663 miles = 5895 kilometers.

April 9, 2012. Almost There

The past two days have been spent on the road.  Somewhere in the Poconos was as far as we got on Saturday. We spent  last night in Freeport, Maine. This morning we did a bit of L.L. Beaning before driving to Rothesay  where we will spend the night with friends. Tomorrow:  home.

April 7, 2012 Gettysburg and the Poconos

We started the day with breakfast at Gettysburg's No.1 rated restaurant, Hunt's Battlefield Cafe. Not only was the food good, it was reasonably priced and the owner was happy to point out the "must sees" in Gettysburg and provide us with a lot of background history before we went exploring the 6,000 acre historic site.

The battlefield tour is 24 miles long! Thankfully, the Cafe owner  gave us a few good suggestions and so we spent a couple of hours learning about the battle that claimed 50,000 casualties. There are monuments and exhibits throughout the park as well as trails and pathways that all contribute to the historical significance of this park.

The Gettysburg Museum of History was next on our list. This privately owned collection of over 4,000 artifacts is free of charge. The curator is the great, great grandson of a man who found artifacts on his farm and kept them for future generations. It is a very unique museum.

Leaving Gettysburg we headed north and ended up in the Poconos in New York State for the night. Much of the route here was scenic, while other parts were in the company of maniac freeway drivers. However, we just kept to our 55 mph speed and ignored everyone else.

Tomorrow: more driving at 55 MPH!

April 6, 2012 A Long Day

"Please take me with you."

As we started to pull out of the campsite this morning, we noticed that we had a passenger. A small frog was clinging to the windshield as it was trying to hitch a ride. After gently taking our little hitchhiker off, we took the scenic route; The Blue Ridge Parkway.

 Although it stretches over 400 miles across the highest Appalachian peaks, we chose to drive a mere 90 miles on it. The scenery on this narrow, hilly, winding road is spectacular and we stopped at several look offs to stare in awe at the mountains and valleys and to take a few pictures. The sun was bright, the air cool and we were one of the few vehicles on the Parkway.

We left the Parkway at Roanoke and joined the traffic on the Interstate. There are a lot of hills to climb in Virginia and so it was a challenge to keep up with the speeding crowds. We had a mission today, to pick up a new fridge for the Westy and since we promised to be there by 4, we had to keep any stops very brief. We picked up the fridge at 4:01 and headed for Gettysburg. We are staying just outside of the town for the night and will explore some of this very historic area tomorrow.

April 5, 2012 Homeward Bound

After saying goodbye to our good friend in Venice on Tuesday we drove north for a couple of hours to scout out a place to stay for some Jays spring training games next year. We stayed the night at a park that we will definitely contact for 2013.

We were delighted to start our trek north on Wednesday morning in very light traffic. We stayed away from the Interstate for a good part of the day and enjoyed the scenery;  lots of peanut farms, cattle and horses. Once on the I95 the traffic was heavy with most of the license plates indicating that the snowbirds are going home.

With the aid of good maps and Lori, my GPS, we made it as far as Yemassee, SC where we spent the night at a very nice campsite, complete with coffee bar and delicious pizza.

Bumper to bumper on I 95

Our ambitious plans to get on the road early on Thursday morning to get ahead of some traffic were apparently the same plans that all the other northerners had. A few miles out on the I95 found us in bumper to bumper traffic, crawling along while miles ahead, an accident forced us all into a single lane.

When we reached the scene of the accident, some two hours later there was quite a mess...an overturned big rig, a load of water bottles piled high in the ditch and sadly, the front cab of the rig, squashed. We did see a helicopter take off from the area of the accident, so hopefully someone was airlifted to get medical attention.

Tucked in for the night

We ended our long day of driving in Fancy Gap, Virginia, at a delightful campground  nestled among the trees on Fancy Gap mountain. Although tempted to stay up and watch the season finale on the 52" TV in the lodge, we were both exhausted after a nine hour day on the busy interstates. Tomorrow we will drive some of the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.

April 2, 2012 Lake Venice

Today we returned to the scene of the crime and were pleased to use our "poor you" gift from the golf course to play 18 holes. It was a gorgeous day, yet again with temperatures hitting the 30 degree mark. However the breeze off the Gulf tempered the feel of the bright sunshine.

After about four hours we left the 18th hole feeling very satisfied with our games. We reviewed the round while sitting outside at Black Gold Coffee Shop and agreed that this carefree lifestyle is indeed carefree.

March 31, 2012 Boca Grande Revisited

Today we returned to Boca Grande, a short hour's drive south along the coast. We took three old bikes (driven by two old broads and one younger bird). We drove right to the parking lot next to the South beach restaurant, unloaded the bikes and began riding back toward and past the little town. 

The flat paved trail goes for 7 miles to the bridge, and we rode all the way there without stopping. We were happy then for a lemonade at a very nice but deserted Tiki Bar, then mounted up and rode back to the town. We had a bite of lunch there, then rode around to explore - what a beautiful place. We discovered a marina and the greenest green golf course next door. We saw dolphins in the channel, and then a large shadow emerged from under the bridge we were standing on - a manatee! 

 The final  leg back to the lighthouse at the south end of the island was short but more difficult as we were wearing out by then (especially bums and knees). We enjoyed the  breeze from the Gulf for a bit and then rode the bikes to the car and went in to the restaurant.

We had started biking at 12 and entered the restaurant at 5.We were pooped - and hungry! We drank much water while waiting for our dinner - Crab-Stuffed Shrimp South Beach "again".

As we approached home we stopped at the local DQ to get a little ice cream treat to finish off the day. One black cloud which had passed over us with a sprinkle just before we began biking apparently rained out the baseball game in Port Charlotte. Thanks for the script J!