Coming soon! Our trip to the Holy Land

Hello! On November 7, 2012 Val and I will be headed for a 13-day tour of the Holy Land. We hope you will join us as we visit the Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and many other historic spots. Stay tuned! Here's a shot of the two of us in Florida last winter. We hope to post pictures for this trip as well!

Be it ever so humble…

Friday and Saturday, Mar. 16 and 17, 2012 OTTAWA, ON – Yes, we are home! Just pulled in less than an hour ago, and it’s great to be here. The house looks in excellent order and the snow is gone from the front yard. There is snow out back, as well as at the shadowed edges of farmers’ fields and road banks that we passed on the way into town, but everyone is reveling in the mild weather. We spotted two people driving with the roof down, and several wearing shorts and bicycling or roller-blading. Thankfully, our trip from Harrisonburg in the Shenandoah Valley to Binghamton yesterday and from there home today, was perfect in terms of weather. Even the fog that greeted us this morning burned off fairly quickly and didn’t impede visibility on the highway. Actually, we had excellent traveling weather this trip, from start to finish. It has been fun following the spring from south to north. Seeing daffodils, hyacinths and forsythia in full bloom in South and North Carolina was such a treat, as well as listening to red-winged blackbirds and robins, that will be coming north soon but haven’t yet arrived. And we passed so many fruit trees in blossom as well – and heard that the famous cherry blossoms in Washington, DC, are a couple of weeks ahead of the usual time because of the unseasonably warm weather. When we crossed the high bridge at Alexandria Bay back into Canada, we looked at the beautiful view, and the water surrounding the Thousand Islands was completely open and free-flowing. It was lovely to see all the cottages and docks ready to be opened up and set out for summer fun in the months ahead. In the sky over Ottawa as we came north from the border, there were great flocks of Canada geese in muddled strings, rather than disciplined vees, and many of the geese were also in the fields resting and drinking from puddles of water between the farmed rows. Even they seem to be back earlier than usual; I associate them more with May than March. We now feel that our new motorhome is thoroughly broken in and ready to provide years of traveling comfort. We’ve added little touches that have made the coach a home, and after two and a half months in very close proximity, Val and I are still on warm speaking terms (and then some!), so it has passed that test as well. So many features, like the easily opened and closed awning, comfortable seating, generous counter space and well-thought-through storage compartments have confirmed that this rig will take us far. But for now, we are happy to be in our big roomy house with all its comforts, safe and sound. And, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in proper style, we’re going to order in Chinese food for supper. Only in Canada, you say! Our parting photo, sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, provides the closing image of our Winter 2012 trip. When we travel next, this blog will resume. Meanwhile, happy trails to you!

Spring is in the air!

Wed. and Thurs. March 14 and 15, 2012 HARRISONBURG, VA – There’s a distinct scent of “eau de farm” wafting in the window of our RV, mixed with woodsmoke from a big fire that the KOA camp staff have set as they clear broken branches and dry leaves from the sites before the busy season is upon them again. Tonight will be our last night sleeping in the motorhome, since we can’t be sure our pipes won’t freeze from here on, and campgrounds in states north of Virginia aren’t open this time of year. This year, it looks as though they could be, though, because it has been unseasonably warm – the warmest winter on record in some areas. As we traveled north yesterday from near Savannah to just before the North Carolina state line, we were delighted to see fruit trees in blossom by the highway. Other trees already have that early spring blush of pale green as buds begin to swell, and today we saw hosts of daffodils when we crossed into Virginia! Not long after we turned from Interstate 77 onto I-81, we passed a section of highway several miles long where there was lots of machinery and workmen, and they were blasting and moving earth to widen the highway. Fortunately for us, it was the southbound side that was closed. When we got to the closing-off point, we saw a huge lineup of cars and tractor-trailers being slowly diverted to another highway. We were very glad to be north-bound! The land was fairly flat yesterday, but today we came in to rolling hills, and then the blue peaks of the Appalachians came into view. It was lovely to see peaceful farms and little towns with a church’s tall white steeple contrasting with the dark mountains beyond. And everywhere, there were clusters of snowy white fruit trees, at the peak of their blossoms! Beautiful! Our KOA site in Charlotte last night was on Scary Way, in a campground reflecting a Hallowe’en theme, probably because of its proximity to the witch capital of the US, Winston-Salem. Other streets were Scream Street, Monster Road, Spirit Lane, Haunted Hill Road, Spookywoods Boulevard and Hallowe’en Street! When October rolls around, they really get into the spirit of things! Although we were supposed to have free wi-fi with the site, it wasn’t working. This is often the case, unfortunately. Here at the Shenandoah Valley/Harrisonburg KOA, we are connected, but tenuously. One never knows. It’s a pretty spot, though, with farmland to the east and more blossoming trees and even some hyacinths poking up through the leaves. I could hear robins too; another sound that gladdens my heart when winter is on the wane. In the morning, we will winterize the plumbing system and pack bags for the hotel portion of the trip. We’ve tried to use up the perishables in the fridge with as little waste as possible, and with mini-bars and microwaves in most hotel rooms these days, we should be able to finish off the last bits. Today Val started out in shorts and sandals, but by lunch time he switched to jeans and put on socks for the first time in weeks. It’s farewell to summer temperatures now, but at least we’re hoping all signs of the white stuff will be gone by the time we hit Ottawa!

Swan-y lake

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 RICHMOND HILL, GA – That’s right, we’re out of Florida! So this is what happened: Val looked at me, and I looked at Val, and we said “let’s go home.” We’ve been on the road, seeing all kinds of amazing things and places, since January 9th and it just feels like time to go home. So, from this point, we’ll be making steady headway for Ottawa, one day at a time. We decided to save St Augustine for another time. It’s tagged as “the nation’s oldest city” and has lots of interesting attractions, such as an alligator farm with more than 20 varieties of crocodilians represented, and the country’s first schoolhouse. They will be something we can look forward to the next time we head in this direction. So, we packed up, hitched the car to the back of the RV and hit Interstate 95, just west of our campground in Rockledge, and headed north. As we passed Daytona, we saw next to the highway the spot where every motorcycle rider in the lower 48, plus their passengers, was gathered for Bike Week. There must have been more than a thousand bikes, a large majority of which were Harley Davidsons, parked on the grounds, and more thundering by on the highway either on the way there or leaving. One that passed us had a big stuffed Tweety Bird on the back! A lot of bikers had opted to forego helmets, chaps, heavy boots, protective jackets and gloves and were just belting past with no protection. We hope they had a safe journey. We took the ring road around Jacksonville and before long we were passing the sign welcoming us into Georgia – “We’re glad Georgia’s on your mind” said the sign, quoting the wonderful tune made famous by Ray Charles, and now the state’s official song. We’re at a KOA campground just outside Savannah, where a large pond next to the site is a way point for Canada geese, as well as home to several beautiful swans. The KOA employee who registered us warned us to look out for one of the swans that’s less than fond of campers. He said the swan is pretty aggressive, so just to back off if it approached. When I took a stroll over to see, none of the serene-looking birds made any unwelcome advances. They just glided peacefully along – at least until a pair of them got too close to the small island where some Canada geese were resting. One goose let out a squawk and dive-bombed the pair. Their peaceful gliding immediately changed to hyperspeed! I wanted to share a picture of the swans in today’s blog entry, but for some reason, the download function from the camera wants to save all 1,800 plus pictures in the camera instead of just today’s shots. So you’ll just have to imagine how lovely they are till I figure out how to fix the problem. Meanwhile, here's a shot of Savannah I took the last time we were here.

Days of rest

Sunday and Monday, March 11 and 12, 2012 ROCKLEDGE, FL -- Not a whole lot to report, as we've been taking it nice and easy. Yesterday, it poured rain all day, so we weren't inspired to go very far, and today it's gorgeous, so we were inspired to just enjoy the fine weather. So, for your viewing pleasure, I've selected some recent photos of things we've seen and done. The first is our campsite here. The second was taken at the Kennedy Space Center with the international space station in the background and the flags of participating countries in front. The third is our sunset view in Marathon, in the Keys.

Reaching for the stars

Saturday, March 10, 2012 ROCKLEDGE, FL – The three stars that represent the belt in the constellation Orion looked a little different to me in the night sky tonight, as I humped a load of laundry over to the RV park laundry room. Today, we had a closer look at them from the Hubble telescope. They may look like they’re lined up next to each other, but out there in space, they are actually quite spread out. Bedecked in red-framed 3D glasses, Val and I watched two amazing IMAX movies at the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Complex, one about the international space station and one about the Hubble telescope. It was a fantastic way of actually seeing what life is like in the space station, as we vicariously floated through hatches, took space walks and opened our mouths to catch blobs of juice floating in space. And floating off to delve into the nebulae of distant planets to see stars come into being was magical. Our visit to the centre began with a bus tour that brought us to the launch pad of the space shuttles that we had seen countless times on television when they took off. We saw them first from the bleachers where thousands of spectators gathered, miles away, to see the launches in safety. Then we drove close to the foot of the tower, with the Atlantic Ocean surf rolling to shore in great waves behind us, and a huge sky above us, full of gigantic cauliflower clouds. Our guide explained how a nearby water tower sent torrents of water around the base of the tower at lift-off to attenuate the surge of energy and sound that the rockets would spew out as the shuttle thundered skyward. We saw the fifth largest building in the world, where the shuttles are assembled, and the huge doors along one wall that open when it is time to bring the space ships to the launch location. Massive rolling platforms glide over a huge gravel road, inch by inch, till they are in the correct position. In the distance we could see the countdown clock, and the special observation buildings where the news media stand ready to broadcast their reports. History unfolded before our eyes with a film about the space race of the 1950s and a simulated count-down for a manned mission in a theatre that had the original tiers of desks and control panels used in the early days of the space program. Outside the theatre, suspended over our heads and covering more than a football field’s length, was the three-stage moon launch and the lunar module. We even got to touch a piece of moon rock on display in a small glass case! Space suits, scoops for moon rocks, and plaster molds of astronauts’ hands that were used to design custom-made gloves were on display in the space treasures room. Some guests who were willing to pay the fee were even able to have lunch with an astronaut. In another building, visitors could feel what it was like to be launched into outer space.

City mouse, country mouse

Thurs. and Fri. March 8 and 9, 2012 ROCKLEDGE, FL – Our location is considerably more northerly than our last entry, as we sit at the threshold of the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral in the Space Coast RV Park. It’s a lovely spot with mostly permanent residents, now emptying as snowbirds start heading for home. We didn’t even have to make a reservation to stay here, despite the fact that it’s March Break. Yesterday we said farewell to the Keys, where life is easy and laid back, and everyone is a beach bum, content to sip from a coconut under a palm tree and watch the pelicans dive bomb for fish. The contrast was notable when we turned toward the east coast and followed Highway 1 through the long chain of towns and cities south and north of Miami proper. Several times as we traveled along, cars zipped into the lane in front of us with no warning, and more than once we heard a sharp car horn snapping at some driver who failed to instantly respond to the green light the moment it came on. Instead of tiki huts and lazy beaches, we passed endless malls and then the high-rises of Miami. It wasn’t until we neared our stopping point for the night, the Johnathan Dickinson State Park, that the landscape became a little more spread out and rural in appearance. The park was the first we’ve stayed at in Florida, and it’s named after a Quaker whose boat was shipwrecked near Hobe Sound, where the park is located. We passed a large expanse of park land that had clearly suffered a fire at some point in the past. Palm trees had blackened trunks and their green fronds were singed and dead at the tips. A lot of ground vegetation was also burned, but was showing signs of re-greening. The park ranger said this was the result of a controlled burn that they carry out every few years. Apparently it’s an eco-system that depends on periodic fires, so the rangers oblige under carefully monitored conditions. To us, it just looked like we were camping in a scorched earth zone. But we did enjoy the natural surroundings, and the facilities were fine. There was no danger of fire during our stay. Showers doused us as we set up and throughout the night. I felt sorry for the young couple in the next site, who set up a tent, fresh out of its cardboard box, and endured a night of drenching rain! We were on our way again this morning, continuing to follow Highway 1 in spite of the GPS voice that tried to guide us to the Interstate 95 at every possibility. We wanted to see the coast on our way north! But actually, almost the whole way, we were set back from the Atlantic shore proper, because a long string of islands lies parallel to the coast line like a buffer between the mainland and the ocean. It provides a lot of wonderful spots for fishers and sailors, protected from the brunt of weather that may come from that direction. Several times on today’s journey the skies opened and poured down on us. Any vestige of salt that our pounding in the Keys may have left on the RV was certainly washed away today! While we don’t have internet connections at our site, there is a special room here that’s open around the clock, so we’ll be able to post this and review our e-mail.