Hollywood, Florida - October 27 - 28, 2015

Hollywood, Florida - October 27 - 28, 2015

October 27, 2015

Today is Bev’s Birthday and we celebrated by moving from Dayton Beach, Florida, to Hollywood, which is near Fort Lauderdale.  We found the KOA in the book and figured it should be alright.  Unfortunately, it was not represented very well in the KOA book.  To begin with, there was road construction in front of the park, so it was difficult to get in, then the site where they put us was difficult to get in, so they moved us.  The staff was wonderful, so that made up for the location, which is in a residential area.

Rather than going out to eat one more time, Stan barbequed steaks and we had a nice quite meal at home.  With the tour, we have been eating out a lot. 

Bev was amazed at all the Birthday wishes she received.  Thanks to everyone who sent messages via phone, text and Facebook.  Wow – quite a day.

October 28, 2015

Two of the things that Stan wanted to do on this trip, was to take an air boat ride and see alligators.  Since there was a forecast for rain in the afternoon, we decided to start early.  It was overcast, so it wasn’t as hot as it could have been.  The locals apologized for no sun – we were actually happy.

 

We went to the Everglades Holiday Park.  Our guide, Mike, took us out in the Everglades and explained all about the wild life. 











We saw many birds and were beginning to think this might
 be like Canada and the moose – that we didn’t see.  But,
alas, we finally saw two alligators just swimming around in

 the water, being very docile.  We were able to get a lot of
 pictures.  After about an hour of jetting through the water
 lilies and grass, we headed back to the dock.

Following that, we saw a Gator Show. 

They have the Gator Boys Alligator Rescue, where alligators that are found out of their normal habitat, are rescued and brought to the park, rather than being killed by the authorities.  They currently have about 15 – 19 alligators that they house there and use for educational shows.  It was amazing, how lazy they seem to be.  We thoroughly enjoyed learning more about alligators.

 

After the show, Bev wanted to hold the baby alligator, so Stan took her picture with it – he was not at all interested in holding the alligator.  Bev also decided that holding the snake would be fun too, so off she went to have her picture taken. 

As we were walking back to the parking lot, it started to rain.  We have been so blessed on this trip with regard to weather.  We got to the car before being dumped on.

From there we decided to go to our favorite store, Costco, to get supplies, then on to the Honey Baked Ham store we had seen, before returning to the RV for the evening.

 

 

Daytona Beach, Florida - October 24 - 26, 2015

Daytona Beach, Florida - October 24 - 26, 2015

October 24, 2015

Today is the day we move from St. Augustine, Florida to Daytona.  It was an easy trip – only 63 miles. 

We got to the park and got parked.  We were able to relax for a while, but we needed to be ready by 1:20 p.m. to ride share to the Daytona International Speedway for a 2:00 tour.  It is a good thing we started that early, because the address and instructions took us to the Corporate Headquarters rather than the Tour Offices.  Luckily, that was not too far away, so we made it on time.  We were on a couple of trolley cars which was pulled by a truck with a tour guide.

There was some racing going on, so we got to see the action.  They were using the inner course as well as the outer course, so that was a bit different.

The tour guide took us to see the required drivers meeting video, which was interesting and drew a lot of questions from the group.  We also went to the infield and got an extra bonus of going up into the stands.  That gave us a better look at the track layout.

Being the winners that we are, we got a group picture in the “Winner’s Circle”.  Fantasy bought us all a copy which we haven’t seen yet, but I am sure it will be “Fantastic”, the cute bunch that we are.

After a visit to the gift shop, we headed back to the RV for a welcomed relaxing evening.

October 25, 2015

Today is the last tour day for the trip. 

Kennedy Space Center
 

We are looking forward to the visit to the Kennedy Space Center, but are also looking forward to a well-deserved rest after a VERY BUSY 40 days.  We have had a wonderful time, but are not used to this pace anymore.  Also, we are not used to this muggy weather.  We are sticky all of the time, since we arrived in Florida. 

Bev & Stan at NASA

T

he Kennedy Space Center is an amazing place that takes much more than one day to visit.  We left the park at 8:30 a.m., and arrived at the 9:30 a.m. with a 10:30 a.m. tour appointment.  The tour took two hours.  In addition to seeing the many buildings on both Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center, we saw an abundance of wildlife. 






Bald Eagle scoping out the area
 

Pelican
 

Alligator lazing in the sun
 

One of the most exciting was seeing alligators.  Apparently, there are reported to be over 5,000 alligators in the area.  We were lucky enough to see four of them.  Additionally, we saw a bald eagle, and many other birds, as well as a HUGE bald eagle nest.  We were told that Eagles mate for life, and head north in the summer and return to Florida in the winter. 








After returning from the special tour, we went in and had lunch.  Stan didn’t think the hamburger tasted much like beef – maybe alligator??  We wandered around that area a lot longer than we should have before catching the bus back to the Visitor Center.  We thought we had plenty of time to cover all of the things to see – big mistake. 

When we finally went took the bus back, we had to wait in line.  When we finally got back, we proceeded to the Atlantis Building to hear all about the shuttle development.  What an interesting process.  At the end of the second movie, the screen raised and there was the Atlantis, which is no longer in use.  It was very moving.

Retired Atlantis Shuttle

Of course, from there they you have to go through the gift shop
to go to check out any of the other exhibits.  Bev
needed to buy a cute “cat in astronaut gear” tee shirt and bag. 







From there we wanted to go to the IMAX Theater.  Unfortunately, we had wasted too much time with the other exhibits and had missed the last show before the bus arrival.   We were bummed.  I guess we will need to return to Kennedy Space Center for another visit.

The bus was there on schedule to pick us up at 4:15 p.m.  We all headed out toward the restaurant for dinner.  We had reservations for a 6:00 p.m. dinner.  We arrived early, and the “girls” all went in to freshen up, the “boys” headed to the patio to order drinks before dinner

Many of our activities during the trip

.
 

The restaurant “Martini Chophouse” was only open for us for the evening.  We had a great dinner.  Stan had Salmon, Bev had Chicken.  It was awesome. 

Following the dinner, we had a “Farewell  Party”, where everyone had a chance to tell their favorite part of the trip.  Then there were certificates awarded to everyone.  We received one for Stan’s love of lighthouses – they did indicate that Bev would need to carry the oil up to the top of the lighthouse.

We finally left the restaurant at about 8:45 p.m., heading back to the RV Park.  We will have a final get together in the morning between 8:00 & 9:30 a.m.

We plan to stay an additional day and play lazy, to we will head over and tell everyone else goodbye.

 

St. Augustine, Florida - October 22 - 23, 2015

St. Augustine, Florida - October 22 - 23, 2015

October 22, 2015

It was a bummer, that as we left the RV Park and went around one of the corners in the park, there was a crimp in the frame or whatever, and the wind shield cracked.

Today was an easy drive from Savannah to St. Augustine.  We drove down I-95 all of the way, but a short trip around Jacksonville on I-295. 

We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center on our way to the RV Park.  It was not the type that we have seen in other states that have restaurants, but it was nice.

Once we got to the park, we got parked in a nice pull thru.  We got unhooked and decided to go to Camping World to find out if we could get the oil changed in the RV.  Unfortunately, we could not get in while we were in town. 

We went back to the park to get ready for dinner.  The staff made dinner.  They made salad, rolls and bread pudding.  Yum.  After dinner, there was story time.  We have some great story tellers and a lot of laughs.  Also, Tracko (the traveling stuffed animal) was ready for a new home.  All of us were tense thinking that we might get stuck with the little guy.  Thank heavens, Verna and David decided Tracko was ready to go home – back to Bob & Penny.  We all breathed a sigh of relief. 

We headed back to the RV to watch the Seahawks play.   Yippee – the Seahawks finally pulled out a win.  They beat San Francisco 49er’s 20 – 3.  The last couple of games, we lost in the fourth quarter, so we didn’t want to turn off the TV until we were sure that you lost.  Bev finished her ironing in order to stay awake. 

October 23, 2015

We did a ride share to “Ripley’s Believe it or Not”.  This is when we wish we had a tow car that would hold more than five people.  There were three couples that wanted to ride together, so we had to take two cars.  Bob & Cat Hill, who live in Tampa and know the area, love St. Augustine, and were ready to show us around the area, in particular a winery & a distillery.  We wanted Bob & Caroline to ride with, but they ended up following in their car.

When we got to Ripley’s, the first thing that Bob wanted to show us was replica of the Statue of David, which was behind a shrub on the property.

“David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by Michelangelo. It is a 5.17-metre marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favored subject in the art of Florence. Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, the statue was placed instead in a public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it was unveiled on 8 September 1504.”

There was also a “log cabin” there.  Not the traditional log cabin, but a cabin built from a burrowed out large log.  Inside it resembles a motorhome without wheels or windows.

We were picked up by tour buses which took us to yet another lighthouse, the St. Augustine Lighthouse.  Bev walked up the 219 steps to the top of the lighthouse and received a certificate for her efforts.  Stan opted to stay below.   Following the lighthouse, we were dropped off on St. George Street, to have lunch at the Columbia Restaurant.  The décor was wonderful and the food was great.  Stan was presented with a lighthouse snow globe by Bert & Judy, so he would remember his lighthouse experiences forever.  Once again, we ate too much, so when we were able to walk on the street for an hour after eating it was welcomed. 

We were taken around St. Augustine on the Red Train Tour.  St. Augustine is oldest continuously occupied European-established cities in the US.  It was great to hear about the various building and history.  Henry Flagler did a lot to advance the city.  The Flagler College is located in many of the historical building.  They are amazing.

“Henry Morrison Flagler was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of both Miami and Palm Beach, Florida.”

He built and donated land for many beautiful churches in the area.  The Memorial Presbyterian Church was built in 1889 by him in honor of his daughter and granddaughter.  This church was built in 360 days because he wanted to have it completed by the one year memorial of their death.  In that time, there was not all of the heavy equipment, so thousands of craftsmen worked around the clock to get it accomplished.  

“The Memorial Presbyterian Church is a historic church located at 36 Valencia Street in St. Augustine, Florida. The church was built in 1889 by business tycoon and St. Augustine benefactor Henry Morrison Flagler and dedicated in honor of his daughter Jennie Louise Benedict, who died following complications from childbirth the same year, hence the word Memorial.”

We caught the bus back to Ripley’s.  Then some of the tour group took their cars back to the RV, but we decided to catch the Red Train again.  We wanted to go back to the San Sebastian Winery.  Friends, Bob & Cat Hill told us about it and wanted us to see it.  We did the tour and had a tasting.  Many of the wines were very good.  Of course, we had to buy a few bottles.  As we were checking out, Bob told us that the train was leaving.  Oops, we wanted to go to the distillery nearby, so we continued to check out, figuring that we would catch the next train.  Some of the others caught the train back to Ripley’s. 

As it turns out, the next train didn’t come for about 20 minutes.  Yikes.  We talked Bob & Cat into taking the car keys, since they know there way around, we had them take the train back, and drive back to the distillery to pick us up.  At 5:00 p.m. Cat called, they had been delayed by the train, but they were on their way.  We had a nice tour of the distillery, and a couple of samples.  We were a bit disappointed that the Bourbon was not ready for bottling.  We did buy some Vodka & Gin and even had the bottles signed.  Very cool!!

When Cat & Bob came to pick us up, we decided to go to the restaurant and have a bite to eat.  We had such a big lunch that we decided to each have a bowl of soup and share a cheese tray.  Just right!!  Of course, we had a glass of wine and margarita’s. 

We went back to the RV and Bev was in bed by 7:30 p.m.  She was reading, but tired.  She got a call from friends, Joanie & Jack Derks, reporting in on their travels back to Minnesota.  It turns out that they are going to drive all the way home tonight.  There is nothing as good as your own bed to be able to rest.  We are so pleased that Jack will be able to get into Mayo Clinic on Thursday to find out the cause of his low blood levels.  

 

 

Savannah, Georgia - October 20 - 21, 2015

Savannah, Georgia - October 20 - 21, 2015

October 20, 2015

We started the morning back in the same spot as we ended last night, next to our rig for our morning briefing.   Today we are heading to Savannah, Georgia.  We don’t need to arrive until after 1:00 p.m. and have nothing planned for this evening, so it will be a relatively easy day.

We decided to stop at the “Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum”.  The museum was great, Stan really enjoyed the time there – he even bought a shirt.

We arrived at the park and were parked in a nice pull thru.  After sitting for a while, we decided to walk down to the lake.  They said there were alligators, so be sure not to swim.  Instead of alligators, we saw swans.  They were huge and beautiful.  It is so peaceful and beautiful. 

By 7:30 p.m. Bev was so pooped she heated Stan a pizza and headed to bed.   Stan stayed up and watched TV.

October 21, 2015

Today, the buses picked us up at the RV Park at 8:30 a.m.  They took us into Savannah for a tour.  We didn’t realize that we were so far out of town.  It took about an hour to get to where we were met by the trolley for a tour of the city.

Savannah is another very old city with a lot of history and beautiful old buildings.  Many have been restored and are beautiful.  There are also many monuments honoring various groups and people.  Again, there were fabulous churches.  Again, we saw Live Oak Trees (called this because they stay green all year around).  In the Live Oak Trees, there is often Spanish Moss, which does not harm the tree.  Beware, in the Spanish Moss, you don’t want to pick it because it is filled with chiggers.  Chiggers are mites that bite and cause a tremendous itching. 

Forest Gump
 

Also, on the trolley ride we had some visitors.  First, was Forest Gump.  He stopped by to tell us about the movie of his life that was filmed in Savannah. 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we had a member of the Mighty Eighth Air Force followed by a one of the pirates that causes problems in the area back in history.

 

One of the statues that we saw was the “Waving Girl”.  It has a cool story.

“One of Savannah's favorite stories involves the life of Florence Martus (1868 - 1943), who was known well by Savannahians and sailors of the sea as the Waving Girl. The daughter of a sergeant stationed at Fort Pulaski, Florence later moved to a cottage along the river near the entrance of the harbor with her brother George, the Cockspur Island Lighthouse keeper.

As the story goes, life at the remote cottage was lonely for Florence whose closest companion was her devoted collie.

At an early age, she developed a close affinity with the passing ships and welcomed each one with a wave of her handkerchief. Sailors began returning her greeting by waving back or with a blast of the ship's horn. Eventually Florence started greeting the ships arriving in the dark by waving a lantern.

Florence Martus continued her waving tradition for 44 years and it is estimated that she welcomed more than 50,000 ships during her lifetime. There is a lot of unsubstantiated speculation about Florence having fallen in love with a sailor who never returned to Savannah. The facts, however, about why she started and continued the waving tradition for so many years remain a mystery.

In any event, Florence Martus grew into a Savannah legend, known far and wide. On September 27, 1943, the SS Florence Martus, a Liberty ship, was christened in her honor.

The Girl Scout Program in the USA started in Savannah, Georgia by Juliette Gordon Low.  We went by the Girl Scout Building.  Bev was a Girl Scout while growing up – like the tour guide said – once a Girl Scout always a Girl Scout.

“Juliette Gordon Low envisioned an organization that would prepare girls to meet their world with courage, confidence, and character.

In 1912, in the midst of the Progressive Era—and at a time when women in the United States couldn’t yet vote—this nearly deaf 51-year-old sparked a worldwide movement inspiring girls to embrace, together, their individuality, strength, and intellect.

Juliette, affectionately known as “Daisy” by her family and close friends, gathered 18 girls in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia, to share what she had learned abroad about a new outdoor and educational program for youth, and with this, the Girl Scout Movement was born. Along with Juliette, these first Girl Scouts blazed trails and redefined what was possible for themselves and for girls everywhere.

 

 


 

After the 90 minute trolley ride with lots of information, we were taken to Paula Dean’s restaurant “Lady & Sons”.  It is a very busy place with a great buffet lunch.  The salad bar was awesome, and the southern fried chicken, meat loaf, vegetables, yams, macaroni and cheese were to die for.  After filling up on all of that, they brought out dessert.  We both had peach cobbler.

 

When lunch was over, we HAD to go to Paula Dean's Store.  There were many temptations, but we did a pretty good job or resisting.  Bev was so disappointed that she did not buy Stan an "Eating Shirt" while there.

 

 

 

We had two more hours to shop at the various stores on River Street.  They recommended that we take the elevator down to River Street because the stairs available were SO steep. 

 

 

 

 

While we wandered the streets, we saw so many cute dogs and we visited a Candy Store that was making taffy.  Very fascinating!!

There were so many cute dogs on the street.  Here are a couple of them.

 

 

 Finally the buses picked us up to return to the RV Park.  The rest of the evening was spent relaxing.

 

 

Charleston, South Carolina - October 18 - 19, 2015

Charleston, South Carolina - October 18 - 19, 2015

October 18, 2015

After our 8:30 a.m. meeting, telling of today’s activities, we got on the road heading to Charleston, SC, at about 9:30 a.m.  We only have 94 miles to drive, but it is supposed to take 2 ½ hours.  After getting on the road, we see why – there are stop lights all down highway 17.  The countryside is very pretty.
We missed the turn into the KOA, so we had to go down the road and find a place to turn around.  We were able to do that without too much trouble.  When we got to the campground, we found that our spot was occupied.  After a little wait, we were directed around the park and led into a premium site.  We had a concrete patio, a huge fire pit, BBQ and a wooden swing.  We took a little heat from the other RVer’s, wondering how much we paid to get the great spot.  We offered to have a fire and host an ABC Social on Monday night.

The bus picked us up at the RV Park and took us into Charleston, for a horse drawn carriage ride and dinner. 

There were 15 of us in each of the three wagons, and were shown and told about the Historic Charleston area.  After we got back, we were able to wander through the Market.  We looked at woven Seagrass Baskets, but they were too rich for our taste.  The prices were anywhere from $100 to several hundred.  Even though we saw the people making them and there was quite an art to it, we decided to pass.

Our dinner was at the Noisy Oyster.  It was very nice, again with plenty of food, including Key Lime Pie for dessert.

After the drive and busy day, we turned in rather early, since tomorrow we will ride share at 8:20 a.m.

 

October 19, 2015

Today is Veronica Stordahl’s Birthday.   We called to sing to her once the west coast time permitted.  She laughed all the way through it.  I guess that is better than crying, since we don’t sing very well.

We drove to Patriot’s Point to tour the USS Yorktown.  We started up on the flight deck, where it was very cold and windy.  The sun was shining, but it was about 46 degrees.   We were able to see many examples of the types of planes that were flown.

 “USS Yorktown is one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. She is named after the Battle of Yorktown of the American Revolutionary War, and is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the name. Initially to have been named Bon Homme Richard, she was renamed Yorktown while under construction to commemorate USS Yorktown, lost at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Yorktown was commissioned in April 1943, and participated in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning 11 battle stars and the Presidential Unit Citation.”

 We were finally able to go to the lower deck.  While we were there, they were in the process of shooting a commercial for the “Wounded Warrior Project”.  That was pretty cool.  We will be watching for it to be on TV as the area was set up looking like a wedding reception. 

 Once again, lunch was served in a lower room on the ship.  It was very nice.  When we left the ship, we exited through the gift shop.  Clever, as they made a few sales.

 We decided to make a stop at Walmart on our way to the Boone Hall Plantation.  We needed to get a few things for our social in the evening.  With that done – we went on to the plantation.

 The tour guide for the House Tour did a great job telling about the history of the property.  We were only able to tour the first floor, as property is privately owned, and the upper floors are still used by the owners from time to time.

“The Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens is an antebellum era plantation located in Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina, U.S.A., and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival plantation house that replaces the lost original house on the site, a number of slave cabins or cottages, several flower gardens, and the historic "Avenue of Oaks:" a nearly one-mile drive up to the house with southern live oaks on either side, originally planted in 1743.”

From there we decided to go take a bus tour of the property, rather than visiting the Gullah Theater, talking about the African Slave Culture, which we found later was fabulous.  Bummer!!  However, the bus tour was interesting too. 

The plantation is still a working property.  They produce many crops throughout the year.  They have finished harvesting the pumpkin crop and have a corm maze that is very busy on the weekends.  The bus route was decorated for Halloween.  We saw where they had just planted the strawberry crop.  It is hand planted and will be harvested between February and April.  The entire plantation only has eight farmers.

At one time the plantation grew pecan trees, but that didn’t last.  They did, however, have oak trees that are over 275 years old.  They are huge and beautiful.  Apparently, it is a very popular place to have wedding and have wedding pictures taken.  We saw two brides & grooms with their photographers.

We decided we had better head back to the RV since we were the host & hostess for the ABC Social (not Already Been Chewed, but Appetizer, Beverage & Chair).  Bob Hill helped Stan build the fire, and Cat Hill and others helped set up the tables and chairs for the gathering.  Everyone brought great appetizers and we took turns in the swing by the fire.  Fun was had by all.

 

 

 

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - October 16 - 17, 2015

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina - October 16 - 17, 2015

October 16, 2015

The drive to Myrtle Beach was pleasant and uneventful.  We were grateful for having the rest of the day open.  It was time to “clean house”.  We have a routine worked out, where Bev does the bathrooms, kitchen and dusting and Stan does the floors.  It works out great and we get it done in a couple of hours.  Stan vacuumed up 10 pounds of cat hair – not really, but it seemed like it - yikes.

Every time the wind blows, tiny acorns drop on the top of the rig.  The pop-pop-pop sound is pretty cool.

Tonight was the first time we have been able to eat in the rig in a long time, so it was nice.  Stan grilled pork chops.  Yum

October 17, 2015

We are on our own until dinner today.  Wow – we hardly know what to do.

Stan got an opportunity for a little extra shuteye, and Bev got to work on the blog.  We were both happy.

After a shower and a couple cups of coffee we decided to head out to Myrtle Beach (since we are staying in North Myrtle Beach, it was about a 15 mile drive).  We had a nice breakfast/lunch then walked across the road to the Boardwalk.  It was a beautiful day, so there were people on the beach, even some swimming.  Hard to believe in mid-October!  Myrtle Beach is very much a tourist town, with shops and restaurants all over the place.  We were told that there are about 30,000 residents in the area, but it grows to 300,000 in the high season.

At 5:00 p.m. we all drove to Preston’s Seafood and Country Buffet for dinner.  The food was fabulous, and as usual, we ate too much.  Thank goodness, we missed the salad bar, or we would have filled up on that before we got to all the great seafood.  Stan especially loved the steamed clams. 

After dinner, we drove a few blocks to the Alabama Theater Show.  There was the tribute to the Drifters, Coasters, & the Platters.  Wow, the music was so good.  The show started at 7:00 p.m. and didn’t get finished until 10:30 p.m.  Each group performed with an intermission in between.

Chocowinity, North Carolina - October, 15, 2015

 

Chocowinity, North Carolina - October, 15, 2015

October 15, 2015

We only drove as far as Chocowinity, North Carolina, since going all the way to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina would have been too long a day.  

When we arrived at the park, we found there to be MANY large trees, so it was a challenge getting into our spot, but after a few tries, we made it.  Stan is a great driver and has the patience to get the job done.

In the evening, the Wagon Masters and Tail Gunners had a BBQ of hamburgers and hot dogs.  Those of us in “ODD” numbered rigs also brought sides, with Joan Derks making all of the desserts.  Once again, we had a great meal.  We sure can’t complain about the food provided.

After we ate, we played the “Bag Game”.  Each rig was given a bag at the beginning of the trip and told to put something from their rig, or something under $5 in the bag for the exchange.  It was a bit like our Christmas Exchange at our RV group at home.  One person picks a gift, then the next one can steal it or pick another one – etc. etc.  We ended up with a cute magnetic bottle opener that we have hanging in the rig.  We can always use a bottle opener.  Fun was had by all.