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Travels with Jack and Sam
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Travels with Jack and Sam

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    Galveston! Oh Galveston!

    16 gennaio 2018, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Galveston Texas 1/10.

    We left Galveston this morning, January 11th, after spending one night at Galveston State Park. This State Park has both bay and ocean side camp sites and we went with ocean side which in this case is actually gulf side, as in the Gulf of Mexico. This Park was not as exciting to me as most of the others have been. I think when you opt for ocean side you are going to be out in the open, and steps from the ocean, so exposed. $25.00 a night though which you can not beat with a stick. We only stayed one night because we need to get serious about making our way back to the East coast and home. This was restaurant week in Galveston so we had a nice dinner (Red Fish - see dinner below) at Blvd. (That's the full name).

    We explored the old part of Galveston - The Strand - a little before heading for the ferry (free!) that connects Galveston to Port Bolivar and then Highway 87 heading east. Leaving the ferry we travelled over the smallest strip of land I’ve ever travelled over with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and Galveston Bay on the other connecting back to the Texas mainland at Gilchrist. Some of the pictures below are from along that strip with houses on top of stilts three stories high!

    We made our way to Lake Charles, Louisiana where we stopped for lunch. But before we got there we had our first super scary road event - a truck tire blew out right in front of us. Loud explosion, debris shooting out from the truck. I have to say Harry is one awesome driver. He did not freak out but drove around debris in the road and on we went. I was shaken up. This is why Harry is driving and I am writing.

    We had a lovely lunch at a Lake Charles restaurant called Luna Bar and Grill (see picture below). When we approached the restaurant we noticed they had a nice outside patio and asked if we could bring in Jack and Sam so all four were able to have a pleasant lunch and I broke my longstanding rule of not feeding dogs from the table. I’m hoping they will forget. I had shrimp scampi with gulf shrimp in a mustard sauce with sweet potato fries (do not know why they call it scampi), Harry had a hamburger with fries and we shared a crab cake. Crab cake got two enthusiastic thumbs up.

    Now we are on to Fountainbleu State Park in Louisiana where we will spend the night. This State Park is on the north banks of Lake Ponchatraine which I have always wanted to see.    Leggi altro

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    The long and winding road ...

    16 gennaio 2018, Stati Uniti ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Destin Florida January 13 |Fernandina Beach, January 14

    There is no denying we are on our way home. I could stay on the road longer but Harry is ready to turn in his driving gloves. Thank goodness we stopped in at Henderson State Park in Destin, Florida (think western Florida panhandle) before we started heading north. My cousin Diane mentioned this as a great place when we were heading west, but we couldn’t get in. This park is awesome. I think it may be the nicest place to stay in Destin. The beach is very built up on both sides of the State Park so it has that Miami Beach feel. But in the State Park stretch of the beach, when you leave your camper you walk down a long sheltered path until you get to a boardwalk that meanders to the Gulf of Mexico. Also, the individual campsites have a lot of vegetation so you feel private. Some may not like the fact that you can hear road noises in the Park, but we don't mind -- and are thrilled to be near restaurants, donut shops, etc.

    This is the whitest beach I have ever seen but I haven’t been to the Caribbean. I think it’s okay to post these pictures of a white sandy beach because I believe it is colder here in Destin today than it is in Ashfield. One fly in the ointment - no dogs on the beach! What?

     Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, January 14

    We set out from Destin early on Sunday, 9:00 ish, and drove the whole day uneventfully on 10. Beautiful day. We rolled into the Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Beach, on Amelia Island at about 4:00 and we got a spot! This was the first time we didn’t have a reservation so we were feeling pretty lucky - this State Park is another great example of what I have said many times - check out the pictures below - you couldn’t stay in a nicer place than this on Amelia Island and it cost 28.00! We are going to go explore Fort Clinch shortly. If you come here, there's a tiny cuban breakfast/lunch place called Hola Cafe that has great media noches, Cuban coffee, empanadas, etc.

    But we are alas now in the eastern time zone, and when we hit the road tomorrow, we will be heading North.    Leggi altro

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    The party's over ....

    21 gennaio 2018, Stati Uniti ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    We rolled back into Ashfield on Saturday evening, January 21, 2018, temperature in the 20s, cold and gloomy. Hard not to think back on the sun we had left back in Fernandina, where I left you in my last post. From Fernandina we made our way to my sister's in Charleston, were we hunkered down for an extra day waiting for yet another ice snap to pass through the Eastern Seaboard. We had a really good time with Rita and Kurt, saw two movies and ate more bbq.

    We left Charleston on Thursday morning not knowing how far we would get that day nor whether we would spend the night in the camper or in a motel. We made it all the way to Roanoke Rapids, which is in North Carolina on the border with Virginia, went for the motel since we stopped driving late and had no water in the camper.

    We started our last day on the road a little on the late side - somewhat dragging our feet - and had a beautiful drive through Virginia - really stunning landscape that we vowed to visit in better weather. Our very last night on the road was spent at the the Microtel Inn and Suites in Hamburg, Virginia.

    Back to our Ashfield return: after spending Saturday night in Ashfield, we emptied and cleaned out our camper Sunday morning, and headed out for Montreal Sunday afternoon to return our camper. That was poignant - we had lived well in the 150 square feet provided by it and I didn't want to let it go.

    Since being back, our friends have asked several questions - what was the best part of your trip? would you do it again? how much did you spend on gas????

    These are hard questions to answer except for the last and we are in the process of calculating that. I think for me the best part of this experience was to strip away a lot of what goes on in my daily life. I was more present. I had fewer choices. We had no tv. I had four outfits and two pairs of shoes. I had to carry my toiletries to a communal bathhouse in the morning. I had to empty out anything I put into the trailer (or rather Harry did - thank you Harry!). I had to pay attention to Jack and Sam's needs. I had to be sure Harry was feeling good. In sum, everything was a little more immediate than what's typical in my ordinary daily life - and I am grateful for that experience. And yes I would do it again.    Leggi altro

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    Fine del viaggio
    21 gennaio 2018