On Tuesday, April 18 we left our good friends at Deer Creek to begin the trip north. We started out caravanning with Ralph and Sue Marino. They live in a development called Lake Ashton, about 20 miles south of Deer Creek. At Lake Ashton, they have a group of RVers, and about 40 of them are having a rally in Savannah, GA. Since we were heading in the same direction at about the same time, Sue and Ralph invited us to attend their rally. On Tuesday night, we stopped at McIntosh Lake RV Park in Townsend, GA. It was a small campground, but they had free WiFi and also a small restaurant, where we had dinner over looking the lake. [Townsend, GA - Lake McIntosh RV Park - 31.32 N / 81.27 W]. The next morning we drove to the site of the Lake Ashton rally at Skidaway Island State Park just outside of Savannah. The park is beautiful, with live oak trees everywhere, draped with Spanish Moss and rhododendron plants in profusion. The campground in the park clearly was built before the age of 40-45 foot motorhomes with multiple slides. The campsites are beautifully tucked into the woods, and we had about 3 inches of clearance when our living room slide was extended out - but the settings are wonderful. On our first afternoon we drove downtown and walked around on River Street where a touristy reconstruction has taken place, with lots of restaurants and souvenir shops. We all had a free sample of freshly made pralines, and we spent the rest of the afternoon craving more. For dinner, 10 of us went to Uncle Bubbas Oyster House. As usual, Norm had to taste the local fare, so he had Fried Dill Pickles for an appetizer and Shrimp and Grits for a main dish. Shelley was more conservative having grilled scallops. On Thursday we drove to Tybee Island, a lovely beach resort about 45 minutes away. We had a look at a pretty lighthouse, and a large sandy beach. While we were there, a couple got married on the beach. We also had a delicious lunch at the East Beach Grill, where they served scrumptious grilled vegetable sandwiches. For dinner, the whole group (about 75 people) went to Love's for dinner. The food was good, including the hugest pieces of prime ribs I have seen. We got up at the crack of dawn on Friday and took a bus tour of the city. Next was dinner at the Lady and Her Sons, owned by the famous TV chef, Paula Deen. The food was southern cuisine and absolutely delicious. Some of the dishes that were unusual for us were black-eyed peas, grits, collard greens, cheese biscuits, and hoecakes. We then visited a reform Jewish temple (one of three temples in Savannah) that was initially founded in 1733. The building was built in 1878 and is still a thriving congregation of 350 families. The building is in the Gothic style and looks just like a church, both inside and out. [Savannah, GA - Skidaway Island State Park - 31.57 N / 81.03 W]
On May 15 we parked our motorhome at the Public Storage facility in Point Judith RI. We offloaded everything that we needed for the summer, stopped at a super market for a giant shopping, and boarded the ferry for Block Island. During the previous winter, we had had lots of work done on the house, and it looked super. We were really happy with the work that was done. One of our objectives for the summer was to meet Block Island people, and the summer was a success from this view point. Norm went to weekly peace rally demonstrations downtown and was appointed as a member of the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, a government organization whose function is to advise the town government of the needs of the senior citizens in town. Because we are a small town on an island, our seniors have needs that are different from those of the elderly on the mainland. Norm also worked at an island general store for 6 weeks and often went to a Saturday morning men's breakfast where serious matters of the world were discussed. Shelley was involved in a book-of-the-month group and also with a women's lunch group that got together weekly. We also went to Friday evening and holiday religious services together. The 4 1/2 months that we were on Block were broken up by visits by friends and family. Of course, the highlights of the visits where when Stacy and Alex and Jan Rob, Lilly and Zack came and spent some time with us. We also became expert clammers, and often had grilled clams as an afternoon snack. All in all, we had a great summer on Block Island.
On October 1, we packed our car, and boarded the ferry to the mainland. We reversed the process of May 15 and stowed everything in the motorhome. After a stop at Freedom RV for some repairs (we had a bite at a real old fashioned diner nearby) we headed for Glastonbury, CT, a suburb of Hartford. Our friends, Tammy and Greg Cooke, have an old home there (I think 350 years old) on a big piece of property. They generously asked if we wanted to stay there for our week in the Hartford area. We had 30 amp power and a hose for fresh water...just about all of the comforts of home. Greg is a mason, and he has made beautiful stone walls and rock gardens throughout their property. Their children, Megan and Emeline greeted us as if we were long lost friends. While in Glastonbury, we were kept busy with doctor and dentist appointments as well as visiting with our friends and with our daughter Stacy and grandson Alex. Norm also spent a day with his mom who had cataract surgery in nearby (about 60 miles away) Trumbull, CT.
On Monday, October 8 we left Glastonbury and drove through New York City, over the George Washington Bridge and down the NJ Turnpike for a 2 day stop in Cream Ridge, NJ. Shelley's folks live there, as well as her sister Cathy and her family. And we mustn't forget the horses. After all, they all live together on a horse farm there. Again, we had a nice set-up, with 50 amp power and fresh water. We had a relaxing time there visiting with everyone.
We hit the run again two days later. We met our friends, Laura and Shelley Singer at the I-95 rest stop in Delaware. We discussed our summer events over lunch in our coach before hitting the road. We'll see them again in December in Florida. Back oin the road again, we had a reasonably short trip down to our daughter Janice, her husband Rob, and grandchildren Lilly and Zack in Leesburg VA. We had running water and only 15 amp power, but we were quite comfortable as we spent most of the time in their house. Rob works for the government and was involved with some sort of catastrophe drill while we were there, but we had fun with everyone during our stay. We saw Zack playing soccer and Lilly doing her thing, with tennis and horsepack riding.
On Monday, 10/15 we left Virginia and headed south. After a few hours, we stopped for gas at Flying J and met up with our friends, Earl and Joanie Bell, as planned. Following one night at a Walmart parking lot in NC and another in a K Mart lot in GA, we arrived at Deer Creek on Wednesday, 10/17. Although there were no bands or bells and whistles to greet us, there were lots of friends whom we hadn't seen since we left last April. It was fun seeing all of those familiar faces.
After a few days of schmoozing, on Sunday we left our coach and Rags at Deer Creek to drive down to Miami for a short cruise. (Earl and Joanie Bell took care of Rags while we were gone.) We drove down to Boynton Beach where our friends from CT, Howard and Barbara Wein own a condo in Banyan Springs. We spent Sunday afternoon at the pool and wandering around the beautiful grounds. Sunday morning, after bagels and lox for breakfast, we packed the car and headed for our cruise ship in Miami. After waiting on some lines (Not too long) we boarded our ship, the Majesty of the Seas (of the Royal Carribean Lines) at about 1 PM. We had never been on a big cruise ship, although Howard and Barbara are veterans. The ship is about 880 feet long and a little over 100 feet wide. There were about 2600 passengers on board and a crew of about 850, from all over the world. We left our baggage in the room and wandered around. Starting from the waterline, there are 14 decks up to the top. On the 11th floor, there are 2 pools and 2 hot tubs. We were on the 7th deck, one of the few that had a walk way all the way around the boat. Our outside stateroom was pretty small, maybe 8 by 12, but it worked just fine. The only thing that we missed was a clock. Since neither of us wear watches, we had to turn on the TV to find out the time. In general, all of the good things that we had heard about cruises turned out to be true. The ship itself was just beautiful. Although its about 15 years old, it was refurbished in early 2007 and therefore was like new. Everything was just right, not too glitzy. The service from the crew and staff was unbelievable. Even though most are pretty low paid and work for 6 months without a day off (then they get 8 weeks off), they all went out of their way to make our trip enjoyable. Every request was taken care of. I can't think of one instance where we had a complaint about the service. And, as widely reported, there was always food everywhere. I agree...it is impossible to go hungry on a cruise. On Tuesday we awoke to find ourselves in Nassau in the Bahamas. After wandering around the town, Howard, Barbara and Shelley took a tour that included the spectacular hotel called Atlantis with its world famous aquarium. Norm opted to go sailing on a 12 meter Americas Cup boat, NZ 10 from New Zealand. The boat is 75 feet long, and the mast was 115 feet. If you can imagine driving a SUV your whole life and then driving an Indy racer. Well, that's what this boat was like after sailing our 35 foot cruising sailboat. Norm was at the helm for about 15 minutes, and we were doing about 10-12 knots (or 12-14 miles per hour), as compared to the maximum of 6 or 6.5 knots we could coax out of our boat. We all got a chance to grind the winches, which control the sails. It was really exciting. Monday evening, was dress-up night. Norm wore a suit, and Shelley was all dolled up for the evening. The appetizers for dinner included shrimp cocktail and escargots. The menu was great.
Wednesday was spent at Cocacay, a small island owned by the cruise line. We took a tender to the island and spent the day being lazy. We went swimming and read and enjoyed the food that was served on the island. Just like a typical beach party but much more opulent. We had to return to the ship by 3 PM, and we all went up to the pool for a while to enjoy the view as we left Cocacay.
We awoke on Thursday in Key West to the first bad weather in some time. They had 5-6 inches of rain overnight, but the forecast was for showers all day. We took a bus tour of the city, with an hour stop at Ernest Hemingway's home. The guide at the Hemingway house was really good and he kept our interest high. We again returned to the ship at mid-afternoon and made another stop at the pool. We packed that evening since we had to be off the ship by 7:15 AM the next monring.