OBX North Carolina

The Moose and Squirrel continue their journey northward.  This weekend Squirrel visited the Outer Banks of North Carolina while Moose took a siesta in Boonville NC.  The road north of Rodanthe is now newly asphalted after being removed by Noreaster Norida, the remnants of Hurricane Ida, and four houses at the north end of Rodanthe have been condemned due to storm erosion. The end house made popular by the Richard Gere movie, Nights in Rodanthe, has been moved to a new lot further into town.No horses were harmed as they never were located in Rodanthe. Visits included the moved Cape Hatteras lighthouse at Buxton,

The Bodie Island lighthouse, undergoing major rework,

The Fort Raleigh replica earthwork site. What happened to Virginia Dare and who is Croatian?


And the 2010 Quilt show at Manteo.

Plus a visit with Ranger Laura of the National Park Service and Chef Jeff of Frisco on the Sound.

Audubon Forest - Marion Bidler Swamp (Harleyville SC)

This is a neat 1-3/4 mile boardwalk through a Cypress & Tupelo marsh.  The end result was thousands of trees, lots of swamp water, a few birds, one alligator, and a den of snakes. I'm going to say Cottonmouth Moccasin but I'm not sure. (I didn't check for a name tag.). This is a virgin stand of trees, the oldest being almost 1,000 years old. We missed the arrival of the Warblers by 1-2 weeks.

Bigalow Tea Plantation

There appears to be one tea plantation in the USA and it is just south of Charleston.  Besides seeing the evergreen tea bush fields where the top 8" of the bushes are cut from April to October to yield the new tea leaves; a tour of the processing facility was also given.  Actually a very simple process, we were suprised to find that Green, Oolong, and Black teas all come from the same plant.  The only difference is the drying time allowed. Green tea is steamed, ground. Oolong tea is wilted, ground, and dried (oxidized)  for 15 minutes. Black tea is wilted, ground and dried for a longer period. Their custom harvester was also very unique, an elevated cutting bar with a blower for collection. Considering the amount of tea I've drank in 50+ years, it seemed like it was time to see what I've actually been drinking.

Charleston Harbor

The history of the harbor demanded a separate boat tour.  Key features included a cruise past the old town; the remains of Ft. Sumter; Ft. Wagner where the Black Mass. 54th suffered major losses; The USS Yorktown, the new diamond tower stay bridge, and the container loading/unloading docks. A very interesting harbor.

Charleston South Carolina

Another old southern sea port but this one was thriving when the first ship landed at Savannah.  A very well kept historic district, the area is totally different from Savannah. With houses ranging from 1700 to 1890, it has it's own special character. The carriage tour worked best for this adventure.

Bamboo Garden

A bamboo garden exists on the edge of the city. A number of varieties were imported from China in the late 1800's and are still sold today by The University of Georgia. They also have nice Mrytle trees, banana plants , and Camillas.

Old Savannah

Old downtown Savannah has been nicely preserved.  We toured by trolley bus first and then went back to items of interest on foot.  The area is only about 50 small city blocks.  The houses were built from 1733 to 1870 and today sell in the millions.
  We ate lunch along the old river dock, in a small pub that has likely seen much history.  The old city graveyard that Sherman desecreted , using it as a corral, contained some very interesting people that have been dead for a long time.

Savannah Georgia Wormsloe Plantation

We have been without internet for the last week.  We spent several days in the Savannah area.  The first stop after checking into Skidaway Island SP was Wormsloe Plantation. Both are on a barrier island just south of Savannah so Live Oaks, Loblolly Pine, Spanish Moss, and Saw Palmetto are predominate.  The main inhibitants are sandy fleas which just happen to be smaller than the holes in The Moose's screens. It is still a nice place to visit and the nights are the darkest we have seen since leaving home three months ago. Wormsloe was built by Noble Jones in the early 1700s.  He came over on the first ship and was right hand man, carpenter, militia leader,  and surveyor for Lord Oglethorpe, founder of Savannah.

The lane to the plantation is 1-1/2 mile long and lined with 100 year old oak trees.

All that remains of the house is the tabby wall of the small fort constructed to provide protection against native populations and the Spanish.

Flamingo Lake RV Park- Jacksonville

Last night in Florida 2009-2010. Nice park but too close to I-95. Time for Snowbirds to fly North.

Jacksonville to the Georgia border

Today was a trip to the northeastern most coastal tip of Florida.  Mostly hard sand beach, there are numerous state parks.  Shelling was poor and the 53F temperature, light rain, and wind didn't help. Looks like three month and we have become Southern wimps.  I was hoping for a few (camera) shots of naval vessels from the Mayport Naval Station and Kingsland submarine pens but all we saw was a tugboat and Coast Guard helicopters. The 19th century harbor fort across from Cumberland Island turned out being the highlight of the day.  While  providing very little effective service from the Civil War through WWII, Ft. Clinch is a unique structure exemplifying harbor protection technics prior to development of the rifled cannon bore. It also appears that it would have been an excellent place to spend the Civil War (as a Union soldier). Surrounded by salt water swamp, except for its river frontage, its main purpose became to harass Confederate blockade runners.

Cummer Art Museum and Garden

Jacksonville has a pretty nice art museum.  They cover everything from present to 1000 BC.  The number of unique paintings from 14th thru 20th century Europe is something you don't find everyday.  Newer displays include works by Gilbert Stuart, Norman Rockwell and Pablo Picasso. And since your in Florida, Herman Herzog. The small garden situated between the museum and St. Johns River includes three main features; a magnificent 200 year old oak with limbs dragging the ground, an Italian Garden, and an English Garden.

St. Augustine Proper

Way to much of a tourist trap, but a walk past the lighthouse and fort is always refreshing. It did reveal a job opportunity that likely is a money maker.  Segway has a store and sells walking, well riding, tours of town.  Being a 365 day per year tourist stop,  this could be a lucrative small business. The tour we saw had four people and the guide.  It  was a 1-1/2 hr. tour at $55/ spot.  By the way, St. Augustine doesn't look affected by the recession.

St. Augustine - Anastasia SP

Today was visit the beach day.  St. Augustine isn't very good for beachcombing but does have it's oddities.

The beach is flat and firm with minimal shells and such. The park does contain the shallow coquina quarry that was used for building the fort at St. Augustine.

55+ RV Park Life

These parks have their benefits.  For the most part, the occupants are congenial people to live with.  The population of old codgers and their mates is somewhat interesting.  Our particular park has some definite nuances. The park has everything from small trailers to $300,000 motor homes. The average unit is either a self propelled class A motor home or a fifth wheel trailer pulled by a heavy duty diesel pickup ("There is nothing like the smell , or sound, of diesel in the morning").  The population is over 98% Northerner Caucasian with an average age in the mid to late sixties.  A dog, or dogs, are present at about 30% of the units and a few cats are also hiding inside.  All dogs are leashed and very well trained and quite non-vocal.  Some of the little rat like critters even have their own strollers and carry cages so they don't overexert themselves.

Firearm dispersal is hard to determine but my bet is that it would equal the firepower of any 19th century wagon train. About 1 in 10 flys the stars and stripes, a few have state flags, but the main indicator of residence is the license plate which ranges from Oregon to Rhode Island,  Quebec to Texas, and Alaska to  Florida. 4% are Ohioan and Indiana, Illinois, & Michigan number much higher,  Walking and bicycles are common modes of transportation, but a few golf carts are used, and the occasional truck or car for in park conveyance is not unusual. The ice cream truck doesn't play a clever little song, but a line still develops.

Williston Crossing Craft Show

All the crafty people displayed their handiwork today at the RV rec center.  This mobile community has a substantial number of quilters, cravers, and canvas arts. Not to be outdone, the Queen displayed her three recent quilts.

Meanwhile, the queen's minion concentrated on the bigger hobby, buying propane, doing taxes, paying bills, and prepping for a departure in less than two weeks. It's been a good winter, slightly cold but lots warmer than Ohio.

Majorie Carr Harris Cross Florida Bikeway

A nice, young loblolly pine forest and a great, slightly hilly trail.  Not long at just over three mile, but worth the ride.

Evinston - Oldest Florida Post Office

Definitely worth a stop, this general store is more a museum than a store.  Still an active post office, it has a heating stove and chairs for visitors to sit a spell and talk.  Upon departure we settled up for a bottle of cane sugar syrup which should taste good on pancakes, waffles, french toast or grits. The postmasters husband indicated this was the coldest Florida winter he remembers.