June 30,2010 North Carolina

I can’t believe the last 2 weeks went by so quickly.We’ve been staying at our long time friends David and Lynda’s house in Yanceyville N.C.It has been so hot that we haven’t done much since we’ve been here.It was just nice to be able to lay back and relax and visit with our good friends.They do have a lot at Elkhorn Lake where they have their rv parked and we went up there for 2 nights. It was nice except for the heat and we went swimming every day.They have a nice setting overlooking the lake.Here’s a photo of David and Lynda and all of us.

The last night we were there we took them out to dinner and we had a great time.

Next stop Lynchburg,Va.

June 15, 2010 Charleston

We arrived in Charleston and we're staying at Lake Aire Rv Park,a passport america park. We're about 12 miles from town and tomorrow we will tackle Charleston. We started downtown today and it's so hot I told Sam lets do a drive tour and I'll hop out and take pictures and we can park at a few of the places we want to see.This town has a lot of big beautiful churches with tall steeples.One of the churches we went to was The First Scots Presbytarian Church. Being of scotch decent,I wanted to see this church and graveyard. The first church on this site was built in 1734. St.Michaels Episcopal Church is one of the oldest in Charleston. George Washington and Robert E. Lee worshipped in this church in pew 43.

There are many beautiful homes of different styles here in Charleston.Here are a few.

We were getting hungry and went down to Market Square and looked around.Their were alot women and men making sweetgrass baskets. These are beautifully made and can be quite expensive.
We went over to O'Shucks for lunch and were very pleased. I had the She-Crab Soup and Watermelon Shrimp salad and Sam had the same salad.The soup is a Charleston specialty and was great.After lunch we headed back to the rv.It is so ungodly hot here we will be back sometime in the future when the weather is cooler. I really love this city but the heat just got to us.

June 12,2010 Savannah

We left St.Mary's on Wednesday and arrived at Skidway State Park in Savannah for 4 nights.After getting set up we hightailed it to downtown Savannah. We went to the visitors center and got our tickets for the Old Time Trolley. Since it was after 3pm they gave us a 2 day ticket which we could also use the next day. We got on the trolley and took the 90 minute tour and decided where we wanted to get on and off tomorrow.

Today we went downtown early so we get on the trolley and start our sightseeing. We hopped off to see the Johnny Mercer House and the square around his home. There are 22 squares in Savannah surrounded by beautiful styles of homes. Here's the Mercer home.

Here's a photo of the Andrew Lowe house famous for Juliet Lowe founder of the Girl Scouts.There were lots of Girl Scouts visiting. All the squares are park like settings with fountains,statues and surrounded by all the historical homes.

We stopped by St. John Baptist Church and went in to see this beautiful house of worship. The ceiling and alter were beautiful.

Here's the fountain in Forsyth Square.

I wanted to have lunch at Mrs. Wilkes so we went and stood in line for 1 hour. This place is noted for their down home southern cooking and it is well worth the stand in line. It is served family style and you sit with others in a round table. The food was great. I also wanted to try Paula Deen's restaurant,but after the reviews decided to pass it up. Continuing on we went down to River St. and walked around the shops and stopped for a frozen Daiquri. The place was called Wet Willie's and they had all different flavors. Just what we needed for a hot and humid day. We had enough of the heat and headed back to the RV. Until tomorrow.

Savannah is a city steeped in history.Oglelthorpe arrived in Savannah in 1733 layed out the town in squares with homes,churches,and businesses creating interconnecting neighborhoods. Among the colonists that came with Oglethorpe was a man named Noble Jones. He was a Doctor Surveyor,and a carpenter. In 1737 Jones began building his Home called Wormsloe.Today we went to the tabby ruins of this estate.

When you arrive at the gate to Wormsloe you look ahead and there's a road covered by beautiful oaks.

We got to the visitors center and went on a ranger talk to the ruins. Noble Jones fortified his home with 8ft walls to protect them from the Spanish.Construction took 6 years to complete.He used 8000 bushels each of lime sand,oyster shells and water to make his tabby house. Here are some of the ruins made of the tabby.

When we finished our tour we were off to Tybee Island known for the great beach. It was hot and there were lots of people on the beach and in the water. Looked very enticing but we hadn't brought our bathing suits.

Next we went to the Tybee Lighthouse one of the oldest and tallest built here in 1773.
That's all the time we had in Savannah and loved every minute of it. Next stop one of my favorite cities Charleston S.C.

June 7,2010 Okefenokee Swamp

We left Sunday heading for St.Mary's,Ga. when we hit a huge rainstorm.Sam turned the windshield wipers on and they wouldn't come on.We had to stop and see if the rain would let up so we could get to our destanation of Crooked River State Park. It slowed down and we finally made it to the park. This a beautiful campground with large sites. You could easily put a 40 ft. rv and a couple of cars. We're in site 48 and surrouned by vegation making it very private. Here's a photo of our site. Yesterday we went to the Okefenokee Swamp (wildlife refuge). We started out and we wanted to be there around 1030a.m so we could do a boat ride on the canal. We arrived in Folkston and headed to the swamp so we thought.We were going to the East entrance but ended at the north entrance. After backtracking and 1 1/2 hours later we arrived at the refuge. The Okefonokee Swamp is described as the land of the trembling earth.It covers more than 700 square miles is covered by water,land and wildlife. We took a 2 1/2 hour boat ride through the canal. You can also rent kayaks and canoes to paddle down this river. Just watch out for the alligators. Here's some photos of our trip.

After our boat ride we drove the 9 mile road to the Chesser Homestead and boardwalk to a tower overlook of the prarie. The Chesser lived out here and survived quite well. They had a garden,made syrup and had everything they needed to survive. Here's some photos of the old homstead.

When we finished here we continued on to a boardwalk that took us out to a observation tower where climbed up to see an overview of the prarie. After the trek and we got back to the car I was beat from the heat and ready to head home.

Did I say it is hot-------------Wednesday we'll be off to Savannah. Don't think it will get any cooler.

May 31,2010 Peace River Thousand

We have been here at Peace River TT for a week which takes us through the Memorial Day weekend. We haven't done much while here just laying back and relaxing at the pool. We did get to go up to Bartow on Sunday and meet my son-in-laws parents.Barbara fixed a wonderful dinner and we enjoyed our visit with them. We had met Les in 2003 when our kids were married. We'll be leaving tomorrow and will be staying at Flagler State Park .

Sam,Max(dog),Barbara,Les

June 4,2010 St. Augustine

St. Augustine was founded in Sept. 1565 and has existed for 444 years. It was controlled by the spanish between 1500 and 1640.They were in control until 1819 when they relinquished Florida to the U.S. Today we went to the the Lighthouse and Castillo de San Marco.

St.Augustine lighthouse was first made of wood to guide ships to shore and then Sir Frances Drake burned the city and the light.Later it was rebuilt of coquina stone. Then along came the U.S. and in the 1800's rebuilt the lighthouse after it had deteriated.You can take a tour of the lighthouse,grounds and lightkeepers house all for $7.00.

St.Augustine Lighthouse

Beautiful oak trees

Next we went over to San Marcos De Castillo. This fortress was started in 1672 making this one of the oldest standing structures in the U.S. This fortress has seen many changes over the years and looks much the same at the completion in 1756. As you enter you go over a drawbridge. There is a moat all around the fortress.Here are a few photos of the fort.

This soldier had to be very hot with that uniform on. The heat and the humidity today made it quite uncomfortable.

After our visit to the fort we walked around historic St. Augustine. There are lots of shops and places to eat on streets that are closed to motorists. This is a photo of the oldest schoolhouse in the U.S.

We decided to call it a day and head back to the rv after having lunch at O.C. Whites.

June 1,2010 Gamble Rogers State Park

After driving 170 miles we arrived at Gambler Rogers State Park in Flager Beach.We settled in and went down to the beach to see how warm the water was and to get in the water. The water isn't as warm as the gulf side but we didn't mind as it was very hot and humid.This is a small park and all the sites are on the beach side. We had a nice view out the front window.

Tomorrow St.Augustine.