• MaryGrace Schumacher
May 2020

Quarantine-cation

When you were supposed to be cruising the Pacific coast and wine region, but the world gets turned upside down.... Read more
  • Trip start
    May 9, 2020

    Going west.

    May 9, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Yes, we were supposed to be on a cruise from LAX to Vancouver. Well, that all got canceled so we decided to head west, visit a couple states we have never visited. So we left early through SC, GA, into Alabama. Reserved a chalet for 3 nights in the Cheaha State Park. Arrived before we could actually check in so we parked and headed out for our 1st hike. Beautiful views from the highest point in Alabama.Read more

  • Disconnected

    May 10, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    When you are at the highest point in Alabama, there is little to no connection to WIFI. So it has been a great few days without internet: we hiked, biked, played cards, enjoyed camp fires, cooked good meals and really relaxed. Caught the beautiful sunsets. Still a good number of other people but all keeping to themselves.
    As this is Mother's day, we introduce 'Mama-coon'. Our mom loved camping, fires, roasting marshmallows and waiting for the raccoons to come out, so our traveling companion this week is our cute little stuffed raccoon!!
    Foiled dinners were all the rage when we camped, but these are grown up packages of Cap Steak, multi colored potatoes, onions and carrots. Along with a great bottle of Category 5. Cheers to all the moms!
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  • No work allowed!

    May 11, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Some of you will be heading to their home office, not me, just another day of chillaxing.
    Off for another hike around the lake this time and campground, which is off limits right now, but hope to open by Memorial weekend. Peggy decided to hang out in her hammock for awhile and I sat on the deck reading & soaking up the sun. Played a few more hands of hand & foot then made appetizers for pre sunset outing. After dinner we sat and enjoyed our last fire... burning all the wood we had, roasting marshmallows and enjoying an excellent Chardonnay.Read more

  • Little further west.

    May 12, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    So as long as we're in Alabama, why not just drive a few hours and check off another state... thought we would just cross the border, stop at the welcome center for a photo opportunity, exit at the first city to gas up, then head back to Alabama, but why stop there? Let's go to the river, yes, the Mississippi River! So that's exactly what we did. Nice drive on I-20 right into Vicksburg, MS. Got out and ride our bikes along the river, even dangled our feet to cool off. Found a restaurant that was set up to serve outside (small tables, at least 6 ft. apart, and staff were masks). The Gumbo Pot served up some good gumbo and catfish basket with a side of fried pickles and lemonade. Then for a walk around the National Military Park. Used my AAA app to make a hotel reservation at a Best Western (with breakfast to go). A good night's sleep then start the return east.Read more

  • Driving day.

    May 13, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Mid-way through Quarantine-cation, starting to head back east. Breakfast to go wasn't too bad considering they usually have a buffet, but the 'new normal'; prepackaged muffins, granola bars and bottled water. Today we'll do about an 8 1/2 hr. drive east to Augusta, GA. Pretty city full of history, right on the Savannah River, beautiful river walk and even a local brewery open for takeout. Their Kolsch A went great with the ribs and chips we had for dinner. Road trips across America is a wonderful way to see this beautiful country. Plenty of ways to do this safely and enjoyable!Read more

  • Beach time

    May 14, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Just a few hours drive today from Augusta to Pawley's Island, SC. Our last 3 days of quarantine-cation we'll be relaxing at Litchfield by the Sea. Looking forward to putting my feet in the sand and a drink in my hand!! Pool, fitness center and main restaurant are still closed, but there are plenty of bike trails to ride and sandy beaches to walk. We have a 1 bedroom suite with full kitchen so we'll be able to make most of our meals, still keeping our distance from others.
    While we waited for the room to be ready, we took a quick walk on the beach put our feet in the ocean, then found Quigley's pub & plates across the street from the resort. Enjoyed a flight of beers and a plate of bacon, cheese fries. Excellent way to kill some time. When we were almost done, I got the call our place was ready. Time to unload the jeep and do a quick load of laundry, packed too many long pants I'm not going to wear, needed some clean shorts for the weekend. Going to be a beach bum for the next couple days!
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  • Fabulous Friday

    May 15, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Awesome, relaxing day at Litchfield. Breakfast on the screened patio, bike ride around the resort then setup at the beach for the day. Ocean felt great, sand was cool and crowds were well spaced out. We went back for lunch and to pack up snacks for our virtual wine pairing with Shelton. That was fun, listening to Ethan share his making of the 2018 - 19 vintage. Enjoyed a nice Petite Verdot with dinner the a walk around Oyster Catcher, great looking villas with top floor patios that would be great for sunrise or sunset. Maybe next time.Read more

  • Making the most of the day

    May 16, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Might have missed the sunrise but it is still going to be another beautiful day. Breakfast burritos on chili lime wraps and coffee on the screened deck is one way to start the day! Follow that with a bike ride to the beach and a walk down to the south end of the resort. Complex was filling up with weekend guests so we figured the beach would get crowded, plus we got plenty of sun yesterday, so we went on a drive to Firefly. An awesome distillery we discovered a few years ago, they have a variety of vodkas, bourbons, and moonshine. To say we restocked for the summer might give you a clue that we enjoyed it! Across the street is Holy City brewery, which of course we checked out their summer selections and enjoyed a burger and soft pretzels for lunch. By the time we got back to Litchfield, we thought the crowds would be thinning out so we changed, grabbed our towels, chairs and bottled water. Beach was still full so we stayed up on the deck; no crowds, nice breeze, & great view. We did venture down to the water which seemed to feel cooler than yesterday, but still very refreshing. Back to our place to make dinner and drinks. Played some cribbage while dinner was in the oven and enjoyed some wine.
    When you're an Atlantic beach, you can usually get great sunrise pictures, but you have to be up at 6am! We wondered what a sunset would be like.. so we went to the top level to find out. Pretty amazing view as the sun dipped below the trees. Ended the evening with a nice glass of red wine, couple of chocolate chip cookies and a great phone call with Karen who live on the west coast!
    Tomorrow's packup and head home, but not until breakfast & a bike ride.
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  • Last drive seemed to be the longest leg

    May 17, 2020 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Coming home is wonderful but why today's drive seemed like it was longest when it was about 4 hours. Back to this morning: slept in, yes missed the sunrise, but enjoyed the leftover breakfast burritos (reheated on the griddle) and coffee. Peggy thru in a load of laundry and we went on a bike ride, showered,packed up and headed home. Ran into more traffic than I thought there would be, but made good time. Home, unloaded, put things away, started my laundry, shower (to wash off any koodies), now relaxing. It was a great week. We had awesome temps, very little rain, cool nights in the mountains and great breezes at the beach. I recommend this for those who don't want to fly, but need to get away. Just 2 pictures today, the last state we entered and introducing Mama-coon to Jerry... they seem to like each other!😘

    Back to work tomorrow...
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    Trip end
    May 17, 2020