Charleston!

Most of you know my sister and her husband Curt live in the Charleston area. They recently moved from Mt. Pleasant which is near the beach to an area called Summerville. But we drove Jack and Sam one hour to the beach on our free morning in Charleston because we could let them off leash and they hadn't been off leash in ten days. It was worth every minute of the drive - they were so happy and roamed so far away from us. This was Sam's first foray into the water and it turns out she loves it.

We said goodbye to Rita and Curt after a lovely restful two day visit. Everything in their house seemed so big and beautiful after a week in the camper. I mean, their house is beautiful and restful but we were taken aback by how it felt to be "on land." Thank you guys for a great visit and thank you to Rosie for allowing herself to be displaced for two day so Jack and Sam could be in the house with us! Now that's southern hospitality.

We set off to Atlanta on Thursday, November 30th, but not before having another huge issue with the hitch. This time our savior was Hans, a maintenance man at my sister's development who had 30 years of RVing experience. He was great and left what he was doing to go work with Harry and show him some things that we hope will solve future hitch problems. One thing that has been amazing to us is how many lovely people we've met, and how even though we sometimes have tough issues, we've been able to find solutions - usually with help.

Our overnight in Atlanta with my cousins Diane and Mike was another great stop - Mike has been retired for two years and has been diligently pursuing his passion for cooking. He's a much finer cook than either Harry or me. He has been volunteering at restaurants throughout the Atlanta area and kitchens are happy to have him. He made us a dinner of short ribs cooked in the sous vide method (cooking at a precise temp in a water bath in a vacuum sealed bag) and served the ribs with a jus he made from marrow bones (uh huh - much finer than me) over a bed of mashed cauliflower that was delicious and carrots flavored with orange zest and thyme.) These guys are awesome hosts and we loved spending time with them. Thank you Diane and Mike - please come visit us soon and experience our Puritan style New England cooking!Read more