Southern Florida

So here's what we've been up to lately.  For January and February we were parked at The Great Outdoors in Titusville, FL.  We stayed there a few years ago and met our good friends Nick and Cindy. We returned to spend some time with Nick and Cindy again and to get some repairs and updates done on the RV. We also made some new friends, Phil and Barb, who we hope to see again later this summer in Ohio. We did end up getting new carpet, and we love it, but with the repairs - what's to love?

Anyway, the time at The Great Outdoors seemed to fly by and before we knew it we were on the road again on a mission to explore southern Florida before it got too hot. On our way south the hydraulic pump for our whole leveling and slide system pooped out. Turned out the bushings were shot. We had just pulled into a nice campground at Savannas Recreation Area, but we couldn't open our slides or drop our jacks. In our rig, when the slides are closed, we can't get to anything but the kitchen sink, the refrigerator and the control panel. So we were without a change of clothes, toiletries and or a place to sleep until we could get it fixed.  I won't bore you with all the details, but four costly days later we were back on the road on our way to the Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park.

As we set up our campsite the mosquitos were so thick we had to dig out the unused bug shirts we've been carrying around for over five years. Thank goodness we had them and bug spray or we'd never have made it through that first day.  After that though a strong wind started to blow and kept the mosquitos away for the rest of our week in the southern Everglades. While there we took a boat ride and a great ranger guided paddle through the mangroves. We took a few nice hikes along the main road into the park, but though we saw the crocodiles and alligators that hang around the visitors' center at Flamingo, we were surprised at how little wildlife we saw of any kind. One great sighting was a pair of very vocal and active barred owls on the boardwalk Pa-hay-okee Trail.

Barred owl

Crocodile at Flamingo Marina

The next stop on our southern Florida tour was Chokoloskee, a teeny tiny island (built on an ancient Calusa Indian shell midden) on the west coast, south of all the development, where there is not much more than an RV park, a few blocks of homes, a Cuban restaurant and the historical Smallwood Store.

We stayed at Outdoor Resorts of Chokoloskee, a very unique RV park.  Most of the sites back up to the water and have a deck and a boat launch. Those that don't, have free access to a couple of boat launches on the property.  The park has three beautiful salt water pools and spas, tennis courts, activities and lots of lovely landscaping. It is an ownership park with smallish sites pretty tightly packed together. It does rent a limited number of sites for limited nights, and we got one of those for a week, at an uncomfortably steep price. (This season is turning out to be uncomfortably pricey all around, what with repairs and Florida's high campground prices. Oh well, it happens sometimes. This too shall pass.)

Onward to Arcadia, FL, where we stayed in a truly exemplary park called Riverside RV Resort, right on the Peace River, a favorite among paddlers. It has huge sites, several free boat launches, a wonderful dog park, pool, adult activities, and it's super friendly and clean. We'd highly recommend it. From there we visited Naples (spiffy), The Ford and Edison Winter Estates (interesting), Sanibel and Captiva Islands (too crowded) and Brohard Paw Park.

The. Best. Dog. Beach. (east of California.) 

Happy Honey at Brohard Beach

Next we moved South Bay RV Campground, a county park at the southern tip of Lake Okeechobee. We are so often surprised and pleased at the quality of county parks, and this is one of the best yet. It has nice clean, large sites in an attractive natural setting, at a reasonable cost finally!  We're just here for a couple of days before we go to Jonathan Dickson State Park on the east coast. We'll be in Florida for a few more weeks, then we'll start traveling gradually northward.

Update: We found another great off-leash dog beach in Jupiter, FL. This one is even bigger. It's at the corner of Ocean Blvd. (A1A) and Marcinski Rd. There's plenty of free parking and the beach is free too.

Whoa! We Sure Didn't See This Coming!

Read on dear friends, for the big reveal at the end of the story of our tour of The Golden Isles of Georgia. It's all Lynn and Glenn's fault, as usual.  They told us how much they liked Blythe Island Regional Park, near Brunswick, GA, and talked us into camping there for our traditional Thanksgiving dinner together. And, as usual, we had a great time with them, and except for the mosquitos, Blythe Island was a great place to camp. (Yes, there were too many trees to use the satellite dish, but we lived.)

Sites 87 & 88, Blythe Island Regional Park

Apologies for this post being a bit outdated (like over two months) but a lot has been going on (keep reading). In the few days we were there we managed to squeeze in lots of adventures, including Fort Frederica and Southern Soul BBQ on St. Simon's Island, and a bike tour of Jekyll Island. 

Beautiful oak alley at Fort Frederica

St. Simons Island was the site of a battle between the English and Spanish in 1742 that determined Georgia as an English colony.  After that battle the Fort and town were abandoned, and today the National Park Service maintains the area with the ruins as a beautiful park. 

Ruins of the Fort

After a stroll through the Spanish moss draped live oak trees we headed over to the heavenly Southern Soul BBQ at the recommendation of Lynn & Glenn's friends Diva and Scott. Excellent choice! Everything, including the friend green beans, was delicious. We'll be going again, I'm sure.

Rib sandwich

Prime rib sandwich

Southern Soul BBQ, St. Simons Island

Scott, Diva, Glenn & Lynn 

Another day we drove out to Jekyll Island, about 20 minutes away from Blythe Island.  The bridge below is named for Sidney Lanier, who wrote a lovely poem entitled "The Marshes of Glynn County" that captures the unique beauty of the low country.

The beautiful Sidney Lanier bridge from Brunswick to nearby Jekyll and Blythe Islands

Here are some of those salt marshes, a rich ecosystem that comprises much of coastal Georgia and South Carolina.  It's a look that grows on you.

"The Marshes of Glynn County"

Once on the Island, we unloaded our bikes and started our circumnavigation along the west shore. The bike trail runs around the entire island, though we pooped out about 2/3 around.  See a map here.

A tiny bit of the island's fascinating history: Jekyll Island was the exclusive and private home of a "club" of millionaires at around the turn of the 20th century.  During the Great Depression their mansions were abandoned, and in 1947 the state of Georgia purchased the island at a steal, and it is now a state park. Development is strictly regulated by the state, and limited to only 1/3 of the island. The grand homes and the Jekyll Island Club Hotel remain, in various states of repair. There seemed to have been a brief housing boom in the 1960's and 70's, resulting in several neighborhoods of nice, but modest homes from that period, and there are a handful of hotels along the ocean. Since then development slowed, until recently, when a town center with several blocks of commerce, a Westin Hotel and a conference center were built.

Within the state park, some of the old homes are restored and open for tours.  Two thirds of the island is a historical and nature preserve and cannot be further developed. 

Moss Cottage within the Jekyll Island Club

The residents pedaled around the island on these "red bugs" for fun and exercise.

Rick and Glenn get serious again, this time about cars, thus the helmets.

The Jekyll Island Club Hotel is grand and very traditional. In the photo below there are actually some people playing croquet on the lawn. It really is like stepping back in time when you visit.

The Jekyll Island Club Hotel

The historic Faith Chapel within "The Club"

Also on the island is the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where in addition to caring for sea turtles, they will treat any injured wild animal that is found on the island.

Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Here they examine a snake that was brought in by the man on the right.

At the Center there are about eight large tanks where injured sea turtles are rehabilitated so they can safely return to the sea.

They also raise a certain number of turtles from eggs.

Wee baby sea turtles with numbers painted on their backs, for the big race later on??

Near the golf course, modern day "red bugs" are available for rent.

Along the bike trail we visited the Horton House, historic ruins of the earliest white settlers on the island:

Driftwood Beach is a must see on the northeast side of the island. 

The gang of four on Driftwood Beach

Driftwood beach

As we pedaled along the ocean side of the island, almost back to the truck, we passed a new development of condos.  We didn't think too much about them at the time, except to admire their location and think what a cool place this would be to live. 

Well, long story finally made short, we returned back to Jekyll Island a month later, after the holidays with our family, and bought one.  Settling down was not in the forefront of our minds by any means. But if we stay open to possibilities, these opportunities show up in our lives and we just have to pay attention.  Now we can hardly think of anything else. Our new home won't be available to us until Fall 2016, so we will have time to travel up and down the east coast before we have to wrap our heads around moving in.

So, our full-time RVing lives will be changing later this year, but we hope to keep the RV and keep traveling for vacations. We'll just work that out as we go.  

People often ask us if we look for the perfect place to settle down as we travel around the country, and I have to say we don't do that too much. Occasionally we find places we really love, but they aren't necessarily places we'd like to stay, or we aren't ready to stay. I've come to believe that there is no perfect place. There's just the place you are. Another time, Jekyll Island might not have captured us the way it did now. Another place could have captured us instead.  For whatever reason, we've been captured and captivated, and we look forward to loving it all.

A Quick Overnight in Historical Savannah, GA

An old friend of Rick's from their New York Maritime days, Kevin McCarey, invited us down to Savannah to visit one of the city's many museums and have dinner with he and his wife Fran. Sounded like a fun get away to us. It may seem strange that we feel the need to get away at times from the life we live, but like everyone else, we get into our ruts and it's good to change things up sometimes. We packed for one night and drove the two hours from Charleston, SC to Savannah GA.

When we have to stay overnight away from the RV with our dog Honey, we usually look for a La Quinta Inn because they are pet-friendly and don't charge an extra pet fee. They aren't a fancy hotel in any way, but usually they suffice. There are three La Quintas in Savannah, but based on my research online, I thought they looked a bit too time worn. So for one night we decided to splurge and stay downtown in the historic district at The Brice, a pet-friendly boutique hotel. This was a first for us and we were really glad we stayed there.

The Brice Hotel

Looking up in the foyer at The Brice

After being greeted enthusiastically (with major dog treats!) by the valet, the concierge and the front desk, we went to our room to settle in. The hotel website had promised a dog bed and dog dishes for Honey, but they weren't in the room, probably because we had checked in early. One call to the front desk, and all her accoutrements showed up in a flash, along with another treat.

One of three 7" gourmet dog cookies Honey got at The Brice

The decor of the hotel is what I'd call new urban funky chic, but not in an extreme way. This is historical Savannah, so of course there is tradition mixed into a more contemporary ambiance. The guest rooms and common spaces were interesting, comfy and somewhat unconventional, at least compared to La Quinta.

Common space off the lobby at The Brice

The lobby of The Brice

The Brice has a restaurant, called Pacci, which we didn't try, but looked pretty. It also has an outdoor pool, which also looked nice. I think the hotel just opened this year in this renovated warehouse building. It used to be a Coca-Cola bottling factory, among other things over the years.

Pacci - the restaurant at The Brice

The "Secret Garden" 

Our room had more than the typical amenities: a well stocked minibar and bathroom, lots of unusual throw pillows, extremely comfy beds and a unique selection of art on the walls.  Everything was very clean and fresh. 

Our room at The Brice

Funky chic decor at The Brice

Your photographer

We left Honey to luxuriate in the room and asked the front desk to call a Pedicab for us. While we waited out front Rick and the valets and concierge talked football. (Amazing where you find Patriot's fans.)  Our Pedicab driver Royce, ("Ride with Royce and Rejoice!") peddled us slowly through the narrow streets and historical squares while chatting in a friendly way about Savannah.  I am convinced that "Pedicabbing" is the best way to see Savannah, as long as the weather is good. It's slow, calm, safe and so scenic. You pay your driver what you think he or she deserves, unless you are renting by the hour.  

Rick and Royce or Boyce (we disagree in our memory of his name) our Pedicab chauffeur

Royce dropped us at the Jepson Center, one of several Telfair Museums in Savannah, where they were having an exhibit called Monet and American Impressionism. (No photos allowed.) 

The Jepson Center

We met Kevin there, where he is a member, and he generously treated us to the exhibit. In addition to being a classmate of Rick's from the SUNY Maritime College, Kevin is an author and filmmaker who currently teaches at Savannah College of Art and Design (acronym SCAD, which has a very strong presence in Savannah).  Kevin has made an outstanding documentary film about Frederick Freiseke, one of the American Impressionists featured in this exhibit. He was the perfect tour guide.  

Kevin and Rick reunite

Afterwards Kevin took us for a long stroll through historic Savannah as the sun set. One beautiful garden square after another is what Savannah is known for.  

The Mercer Williams House of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame

Historic Temple Mickve Israel

One of many historic inns and B&Bs

Sunset in historic Savannah

The temperature was perfect and we could have walked forever, but we worked our way to Bella Napoli, a cozy Italian restaurant, where we met Fran for lovely dinner.

Bella Napoli

Kevin walked us back to our hotel where Honey was happy to see us. She hadn't gotten into any mischief.  After a good night's sleep we got up early to take Honey for a long walk and find ourselves some breakfast. Our walk took us along the upper levels of Savannah's historic waterfront.  The row of buildings are old multi-storied warehouses of cotton companies converted into restaurants, boutiques and other businesses. From the sidewalk we were on we could look down to the lower level basements and the original cobblestone streets leading down to the river. 

It's a complex and beautiful historic neighborhood I'd like to explore more. 

We ended up at Goose Feathers Cafe for a tasty and inexpensive breakfast of croissants, cinnamon rolls and coffee at their pet friendly outdoor seating. Savannah is dog friendly, with lots of outdoor seating, water dishes, and specialty stores for dogs.  We wound our way back to the hotel, through many of the beautiful squares again, and checked out from the Brice where we had felt so pampered.  It was really hard not to stay longer. 

Before leaving Savannah, Honey and I found Daffin Dog Park while Rick went to the elegant Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum.  Everybody was happy, aesthetically pleased and well cared for by the time we headed back to Charleston.  I hope we return to Savannah for an extended visit someday soon.

"Nights of a Thousand Candles" at Brookgreen Gardens, SC

It was the end of a busy day, especially for our niece Sarah who seems to go nonstop 24/7, taking care of three children under the age of 5. But she treated us to a glorious evening out for Christmas, despite the challenges of getting out of her house without the oldest two kids. 

Curtains of light hang from the live oak trees

With baby Will in tow, we left Mount Pleasant at 7:30 and headed 1.5 hours north on Rt. 17 through Georgetown and Pawleys Island, and got to the Gardens at about 9:15. Luckily, they extended the hours to 10:30, half an hour after their usual closing time. It turned out that an hour was really just right to see the light display. Unlike some drive-thru' Christmas lights, this is a walk through the beautiful sculpture garden that is open year round, and decorated for the holidays.

Also unlike other displays, there are no representational lights. No Santa's, no elves, no snow flakes, no reindeer, no snow castles...nothing but abstract lighting effects highlighting the natural beauty and structure of the formal gardens and their delightful sculpture collection. It is a remarkably effective approach, and such a breath of fresh air during a stereotypical image filled season.

Reflecting pools under the lights

The gardens are divided by color and form themes. Our first experience was walking through their vast ancient live oak avenues, dripping waterfalls of white lights.

Lights like Spanish moss drip from the live oaks

 Then at the suggestion of one of the omnipresent volunteer guides, we visited the multi-colored Children's Garden (even though Will was fast asleep and too young to appreciate it anyway). But we loved it.

Rick strolls sleeping Will through the Children's Garden

The colorful Children's Garden

Just a few interesting facts. There are approximately one million lights (90% LED), and 4,500 candles in the display. Forty people light and blow out the candles every night. There are 5 miles of extension cords.

Our path led through more light-wrapped live oaks...

The lights accentuate the sculpture throughout the gardens

...and on to the red and white garden where an interesting use for wine bottles lighted the ground under the red trees.

Wine bottle lights under a tree

The red and white garden

Then on to the blue garden,

The blue garden

...the reflecting pools,

...and a grand light tent over an immense reflecting pool. You can't see them well in these photos but there are sculptures in all of these reflecting pools.

A tent made of lights covering a reflecting pool

One formal garden was completely lighted with Chinese lanterns so that it felt like a Hawaiian luau.

Chinese lanterns and luminaries

By this time is was after 10:00 and most of the people were heading out because they didn't know about the extended hours I guess. We had the place almost to ourselves...

...as we finished at the giant evergreen tree. It was very peaceful.

Sarah and Rick appreciating the Holiday Tree

Thank you Sarah for a beautiful night that sparked our imaginations and our appreciation for the beauty of the holiday.  It was so worth the journey through the dark silent night.

Wishing all our readers a love and peace filled holiday with friends and family.