Foiled again!

Wilkes-Barre, PA – Our drive today was carefully planned out last night, aided by our Road Atlas, Google Maps and a scratchy photocopy of a map we picked up in Virginia on our way south in January. The main objective was to avoid heading in to Washington, DC. Our southbound trip brought us to the ring road around the capitol city where we spent a long, boring afternoon creeping through dense traffic, so on the return journey we wanted to avoid that route at all costs. I took copious notes on what exits to take after reaching Fredericksburg so that we headed northwest rather than north, making a nice detour around the snarl of highways, byways and interstates that converged on Washington.

Armed with this helpful information, we headed out this morning under a brisk wind and sunny sky. Again, I got to enjoy the evidence of Spring’s arrival with yellow sprays of forsythia next to farmhouses, apple blossoms on hillsides, and the white froth of dogwoods in passing forests. I even saw jonquils and daffodils in bloom, plus a couple of clumps of tulips.
Once we departed from the Interstate 95, with its whizzing transport trucks and motorhomes, and turned onto Highway 15, our blood pressure decreased measurably. Rolling hills, farm fields striped with the first green sprouts of new crops, and sleepy towns had a wonderfully calming effect. It was quite lovely to look at!

By the time our stomachs began to growl for lunch, we were close to Leesburg, VA, so instead of taking the bypass, we followed the business route into town. It was great to see some of the historic buildings in the centre of town, and we did pass a few boutique-type restaurants with no sign of a parking place anywhere, so we carried on. Just when we thought we’d run out of possibilities, we spotted the Roots Café and Market – just the thing! A nice tasty menu with wholesome ingredients, plus some neat products on sale to check out afterwards.

We were making good time when we got going again, and before long the GPS told us there was less than an hour to go. By this time the skies had darkened quite a bit and to our dismay, white flakes of snow starting drifting down! Well, it was better than rain, and we figured this far north, in April, snow is almost inevitable. Besides, we’d be home free in no time…..

WRONG. As the road became more hilly in the Appalachian foothills, we suddenly saw ahead of us a long string of traffic with red brake lights aglow. Traffic slowed to a crawl and then stopped altogether. Our careful efforts to avoid traffic tie-ups were in vain! “Traffic congestion has added 60 minutes to your arrival time,” the GPS announced in what I was sure was a very snarky tone of voice. Well, maybe that was my imagination. At least I had a crossword puzzle to do and access to our cooler bag where we found some crackers to munch on – and clever me, I picked up a couple of oranges when we’d stopped to fill up with gas! So we were OK, if a little irritated and bored.

When we did finally reach our hotel, it was a welcome sight! And there was 24-hour tea and coffee in the lobby to refresh us after we got settled. Only one more day till we get home! Yay.

The long grey ribbon

Petersburg, VA – We are just south of Richmond tonight, having crossed three states, and we are tired. By our calculations, we’ve covered about 445 miles. Some of them, especially in Georgia, were pretty rough, with a broken surface or striated with grooves that made the wheels whine for miles. The grooves were to prepare the highway for a fresh paving job, but by my estimation we’d have to wait till well into the summer to enjoy that driving pleasure. This time of year, it was orange cones, road work signs, narrowed lanes and the occasional road crew actually working in the road work areas.

After checking weather forecasts for the days of our trip before departure, we actually expected rain every day. Yesterday we got it from about 3 pm onward, but today? Not a drop, thank goodness. The day dawned clear and bright, and although grey clouds drifted in as the hours passed, they behaved themselves.

No earth-shattering events took place in our world today. However, it was fun to watch the vegetation change from very southern greenery that includes palmettos and Spanish moss, to forests with just deciduous and evergreen trees. By the time we got to North Carolina, I was delighted to see blossom trees from time to time – particularly dogwoods, but also cherry trees and something else that resembled lilacs in bloom (but wasn’t lilacs).

Southern country it remained, though, judging from the highway signs. Ads for boiled peanuts, gun shops, fireworks, and southern cooking prevailed, plus two huge Confederate flags that I didn’t manage to capture with my cell phone camera.

There were also tons of huge signs for “South of the Border” that counted down the miles to the site with corny word tricks and pictures of Pedro in a sombrero every two miles. Finally, we came to a curve in the highway and there, high above the treeline, was a huge sombrero marking the long-awaited (by some) site! It was an enormous Mexican theme park. Whew, I thought to myself, no more corn-ball signs. Then? “Adios” a mile later! Argh!

We took a short break at a lovely rest area after crossing into Virginia. It was beautifully landscaped and clean, and gave us a welcome chance to just stretch our legs and enjoy the day. It never got very warm today – I think 18C was the warmest it got, and that didn’t happen till quite late, and there was a constant wind that swirled through the trees all the way. I know we will have to pile on more layers the further north we go, but I do love the freshness of the spring air.

 

Alligators, tornadoes and torrents

Richmond Hill, GA – Did that get your attention? Read on; it’s all part of Day One of our return journey! Somehow, we got all our amassed belongings into the car and still managed to get the doors shut, so that was a good start. It was also an early one; we were pulling out of Dunedin RV Park just after 8 am, headed north on Alternate 19 under an overcast sky and temperatures in the 70s, even at that hour.

On a Sunday morning, traffic was very light, so that was also a plus. The early part of the drive was very familiar territory, through Tarpon Springs and on up the west coast of Florida to Bayonet Point, where we turned eastward along Highway 52. Once we left the civilized sections behind us, we enjoyed the more natural surroundings, with grazing cattle, splashes of wildflowers and, further along, the Ocala National Forest, now all green and jungly as spring takes hold. A family of sand cranes caught my eye on the shoulder – mother and father were about four feet tall, and dad had a bright red crest on his head, and beside them were a pair of fuzzy babies standing half that height, trotting alongside the parents on a pleasant Sunday stroll!

Strolls for some other wildlife were not so pleasant, however: we saw two full-sized deer that met their demise by the highway, and when we got closer to the Georgia state line, a healthy-sized alligator had bit the dust! It was the first alligator of our entire stay, although I’m convinced there was one in the marsh behind our little cottage. Often as I drifted off to sleep at night I could clearly hear something chirping and it didn’t sound bird-like or frog-like.

When we left the 52 and turned north onto Interstate 95, the traffic had become a little busier and the sky a little darker. Fortunately, we stopped for lunch and got back on the road before the rain began. Actually, we got beyond St. Augustine, past Jacksonville’s ring road and over the St John River with a clear windshield, but shortly after passing into Georgia, great drops began to splash down, and before long we were wrapped in shrouds of wet mist from the passing cars and trucks.

Suddenly, my cellphone sent out great shrieks of alarm from the depths of my purse, and I pulled it out, expecting to see an Amber Alert about a missing child in the area. Instead it read “Tornado Warning for the next 30 minutes. Seek shelter immediately.” Yikes! Quickly, I scanned the skies from my side of the car, looking for a tell-tale funnel cloud or a green sky or some debris flying through the air. Nothing. I craned my neck over the great heaps of stuff in the back seat to try and catch a glimpse of the other side of the car, but if those harbingers were right up on our tail, I wouldn’t have seen a thing. Lucky for us, no tornado materialized, though I kept my eye glued to the clock till it passed the 30-minute mark. Guess we dodged that bullet.

Our first stop is just outside of Savannah, and the rain continues. The lady at the hotel’s front desk recommended the Southern Image Family Restaurant just down the way, where a buffet offered a great array of grits, succotash, fried chicken, lima beans, macaroni and cheese and other down home fare. I managed to resist the sumptuous dessert table of chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter icing, pineapple upside down cake and apple pie – though I just had to taste the homemade chocolate chip cookie.

On the road again

Dunedin,FL – What a full day! We’ve been bustling about opening every drawer, closet and cupboard in our little cottage to clear out all our belongings. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, we’ll be pulling away and hitting the road for home. To achieve this objective has kept us running. When we came down, we brought quite a bit of stuff in order to be comfortable for our three-month sojourn, but we also acquired a few items down here which we now have to get back home. Easier said than done!

What about the flower-decked bonnet I made for the Kentucky Derby street party? Or my pink-and-purple yoga mat? Or those comfortable shoes I found at a killer price? And we both have more (OK, several more) t-shirts that were so attractive and so inexpensive we just had to have them. We have books. We have saddlebags for our bikes – oh, and the new cover we got for them as well.

Our other acquisition is a Yonanas. Fawn introduced us to this kitchen appliance that turns frozen bananas and berries into a delicious low-calorie substitute for ice cream. We enjoyed the desserts she made for us with her Yonanas so much that we decided to order one for ourselves. It came in a box that’s one-third larger than the appliance itself, thanks to Styrofoam padding. So, a rather bulky item that we didn’t have coming up. That wouldn’t be such a challenge, except that Fawn decided she wanted the Yonanas for her kitchen at home, and another for MJ back home who would love it as well. And Fawn and John are flying home, so they asked us if we’d bring them up in the car. So we now have three Yonanas packed in the car! The customs guys are going to think we’ve started a new business!

We’ve been eyeing the weather maps the last couple of days and it doesn’t look ideal – typical for this time of year, really. But we aren’t towing anything and the car is in excellent shape, so we will take it as it comes, and we won’t take any unacceptable risks. I’m actually looking forward to being on the road again; there are always different things to see and interesting people to meet.

Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter!

On the beach

Dunedin, FL – Our time in Florida is drawing to a close. Already several friends have packed up and left the park, heading back up north as spring approaches. It’s the first time we’ve been here this long, and we are seeing what it must be like every year for local Floridians when all the snowbirds go home.

At the clubhouse this past week, the US Postal Service has set up a collection box where departing visitors can leave their non-perishable foods for local food banks, instead of hauling them back home. We are already curtailing our grocery purchase habits in hopes of consuming as much as possible from our cupboards and the fridge before we head out. What’s left, we’ll either bring with us or pass on to the few neighbours and friends who live here full time.

John and Fawn have been busy battening down the hatches of their fifth-wheel trailer which they will leave on site till their return in November. There’s a lot to do to clean it out, seal it and prepare it for the searing summer heat and high humidity. Full time neighbours will tend to their garden plants and keep the patio swept.

We are savouring our visits to Honeymoon Island State Park and its beautiful beach even more than usual, knowing that in a short time thoughts of the beach will have to be put on ice, so to speak. We have gone there dozens of times, just to walk along the shore and enjoy the air, the birds, and the turquoise water. Each time has been different; sometimes it’s crowded with sunbathers and beach umbrellas, and others it’s almost deserted. Even the configuration of the sand changes depending on how intense the latest tide was or whether there was more wind than usual. For many days, we had to almost climb down a sandy wall between the wave-washed shore and the dry sand further back. Then one day, the wall was gone – washed down by a particularly strong tide the day before. It has not reappeared.

The month of March has brought much larger crowds, and lots of children armed with buckets and shovels in bright colours. Our strolls have been more deliberate as we dodge crater-like holes the kids have dug out, or elaborate sand castles. Today there was a handsome turtle molded from damp sand, with its shell covered in pieces of seashells. There were also several colourful kites flying overhead; I kept looking to see who was controlling them and finally realized they’d been tethered to benches once they were well-filled with the steady offshore breeze.

My seashell collection has almost overflowed its paper-bag container. There’s always another shell to pick up – nice colour, different shape, lovely iridescence. None of my shells are very large or unusual, but there’s a nice variety. I will enjoy looking at them when we get home, and remembering our long strolls.

Divas, dolphins and ducks

Dunedin, FL – More adventures! On Wednesday last, Fawn and I were fashion models for a special luncheon at the park’s clubhouse, to raise funds for a local shelter called the Home Empowerment Project, or HEP. While the women enjoyed a light lunch and tea, Fawn and I and half a dozen other volunteers scrambled in and out of outfits in a cramped back room before prancing up and down in our finery for an appreciative audience. With the admission tickets plus tickets purchased to bid on various donated prizes from local businesses, HEP did well by the $1200 plus that we raised.

The following day, we got to go on a cruise around Clearwater and into the Gulf of Mexico to see dolphins. The trip had been canceled the week prior due to cold weather and rough seas, but this time the water was calm enough for us to venture out, though it was by no means warm! One guest appeared in a knitted toque and scarf, which made many chuckle quietly at first, but then look on with envy when the cool air was further chilled by wind velocity.

Our captain and his mate were primed to follow any dolphins that might appear, but we passengers had to keep an eye out as well for the black fins that dart out of the water and quickly disappear. On our way to the mouth of the Clearwater harbour area, we passed a nest of ospreys, perched on a navigation marker in the channel. The eggs had just hatched a day or two earlier, and Captain John slowed as we passed so we could catch a glimpse. Mama and papa osprey kept a steely eye on us, but we did see a couple of downy heads bobbing above the rim of the nest before we left them in peace.

Just as we entered into the wider gulf, someone called out “dolphins!”, and we sped toward the spot. The dolphins love to play, and often will come behind a speeding boat and frolic in its wake. This bunch was not interested, or was too far away, and there were whitecaps out in the open water, so we turned back toward more sheltered water.

Moments after we passed the osprey family again, Fawn shouted “dolphins!” and Captain John wheeled us around in hot pursuit. In no time, two magnificent creatures were weaving in and out of our foamy wake, popping up for air from time to time to great cheers from the passengers. It was wonderful to see them so close up!

Water creatures of a completely different ilk garnered cheers yesterday in our own RV park’s swimming pool. It was the first annual duck race! Scores of yellow rubber duckies, individually numbered, bobbed in the water while one team propelled them toward a narrow passage with water guns, and another squirt gun team on the other side of the finish line tried to keep them out. Whoever had put money on the first duck through was the winner of $55. Spectators, many of whom were dressed in St Patrick’s Day green, quacked and cheered, and wayward squirts of water from pool side upped the fun factor. Our duck, Number 64, did not win any of the five races, but amazingly, Number 4 won twice in a row! What are the odds? Guess it was the luck of the Irish.

No moss gathering here

Dunedin, FL – It has been a challenge to find time to record all our doings for you avid readers. For that, I apologize – but here’s a bit of a catch-up. In the month of shamrocks and pots of gold, I’ve had a streak of good luck: two weeks ago, at the morning coffee meeting, I won the 50-50 draw of $62 to my great surprise. That night, at Bingo, I won another $20! Then, the following Monday morning, mine was the winning ticket for the 50-50 draw again, with a haul of $67 this time! And, that night at Bingo, I won another $5. This morning, at the coffee meeting, someone actually came to sit at my table in case my luck should be contagious! (And no, I did not get the prize this time; but there’s always Bingo tonight….!)*.
Fawn and I rode our bikes to a craft fair last week, and enjoyed our stroll past rows of stalls where jewelry, art work and other handicrafts were on display. Among those attending was Gail, decked out early in her St Patrick’s Day finery of glittering green! She kindly let me take her picture, which I’m sharing with you. She said she has Irish blood, and always dresses up in March to honour her family heritage.

Our friend Cam offered to take us in to St Petersburg a few days ago to visit his favourite bookstore, Haslam’s, which has been in business for decades and boasts a huge inventory of new and used books. We had a wonderful browsing session and came away with half a dozen books. Haslam’s reminded us of the now-extinct Highway Bookstore on Highway 11 just outside of Cobalt, Ontario, a wonderful rambling old building stuffed to the rafters with books of every type and vintage, which we visited every time we were up there.

After treating us to a delicious lunch at the Lucky Dill, Cam kindly offered to hunt down the Palm Tree Arboretum that I had read about in some tourist literature. The park displays palm trees of every size and colour – apparently there are some 500 different varieties of palm trees – in a lovely setting just next to the city’s harbour.

Back here in Dunedin, we’ve been making almost daily visits to Honeymoon Island State Park to stroll on its gorgeous beach. Every time we go, something is different – the tide is coming in, narrowing the stretch of packed sand, or it’s out, offering a wide expanse where thousands of shells crunch under our feet and seagulls and sandpipers vie for morsels of food. Lately, there have been more beachgoers because of the March break; it’s great to see the little ones with their pails and shovels, building sand castles.

Last Saturday the women of the park got together at the clubhouse to make Mardi Gras masks. Of course, Fat Tuesday was a while back, but they made it a moveable feast! The masks will be worn this Wednesday when we have our fashion show in aid of a local women’s shelter. We had a great time, combing through heaps of feathers, ribbons, beads and glitter, to create our masterpieces.                        [*News flash: I won $30 at Bingo!]