Trip Update PA to NC to GA to PA April 2009

Captions:

Pat at Waterfall in Great Smoky Mountain NP
Snail, the original RVer.
Yellow Trillium
Born Free, Our new home

Trip Update
April 2009
We got our doctors appoints done while we enjoyed the hospitality of our friend Ann. On Easter, Pat’s sister-in-law, Connie, prepared a feast for the family. After a few days with Tom and Julie we decided to get our brakes checked before heading to the mountains. It took two days before our brakes could be replaced. While waiting for parts, we decided to visit Arlington National Cemetery. Despite the fact that Pat and I have lived near DC most of our lives, we had never visited the Cemetery. We spent 3 hours walking around the Cemetery but only saw a small portion of the entire site. We did visit the Robert E. Lee Memorial, the only National Memorial in the country dedicated to a “traitor” to the Federal Government. In addition we saw Kennedy’s grave, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard. There was also a funeral procession for a soldier killed in action. A marching band and a horse drawn caisson led the procession of friends and family. A 21-gun salute completed the tribute. Nearby we saw the new Pentagon 9/11 Memorial.
We ended up at Cedarville State Forest Campground the same weekend as our old RV group, The Rookies, were having a Good Sam work weekend. We helped with a landscaping project at the park entrance. It was good to see so many familiar faces.
We took three days to get to the Smokies. Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway was hard on the RV - it made it up the hills OK, but the downhills were tough. Good thing we had new brakes! After a few days in the Smokies, we found on the internet a replacement RV that we wanted. It was in Savannah, GA.
The next day we were at Skidway Island State Park outside Savannah. We test drove the 2007 24’ Born Free and decided to buy it. After attending RV fairs for many years it was clear that Born Free makes the best quality Class C Motorhome. Several days later the financial transaction was completed. We headed back to MD/PA with both RVs. Our 2000 Rialta has now been sold.

Pictures part 1 FL to PA March 2009

Captions April 09
Canoeing the Ichetucknee River
Spring wildflower
Albino squirrel at Ochlockonee River State Park
Pat at Leon Sinks State Park

Pictures part 2 FL to PA March 2009

Captions:

Spring wildflower
Pat at the Gregory House, Torreya State Park
Spring wildflowers

St Mark's Lighthouse, St Mark's WMA

Trip Update FL to PA March 2009

Captions:

Don at Ichetucknee Springs
Spring wildflowers
Our storage garage, Lewisburg, WV
Pat’s father’s home, York, PA

Florida to PA
March 2009
We started the month in central Fl and made our way to the Panhandle. The severe drought continued while we were there. We paddled the Clearwater River and added a considerable number of scratches to the bottom of the canoe as we scrapped over gravel on our way downstream. The rains started during our last two days in Fl. I understand that the Panhandle has had 10 inches of rain since then. Good for them, but I’m glad we were not camping in it. We headed into Alabama. We had not spent much time in this state and wanted to check out their state parks. We went to their biggest park and camped for the night. The park had everything, except doors on their toilet stalls. I guess spending money on their golf course was a higher priority. We were not impressed and headed for Tennessee, which has nice state parks complete with doors where you want them!
Pat’s friend Margaret lives in Louisville KY, so we drove up to see her. We saw her two years ago and that is when I found out I had a blood clot. This visit was more enjoyable. We also biked to the Falls of the Ohio State Park. We were surprised at the number of fossils that we found there. We headed east to Lewisburg WV and put the canoe and trailer in storage in our garage there.
While we were gone, Pat’s father put his house up for sale. It sold in less than a week! He’ll be moving to the Lutheran Home into an independent living cottage in May. We returned to York so Pat could help sort and pack up many of the collectables that belonged to her Mother.

FL 2009 Pictures part 1

Captions:

1) Canoeing in the Everglades
2) Black-crowned Night-Heron, Shark Alley, Everglades
3) Red-shouldered Hawk, Corkscrew Swamp
4) Nine-banded Armadillo

FL 2009 Pictures part2

Captions:

1) Feral Pig, Campground at Myakka State Park
2)Big Oak at Highland Hammock State Park
3) Sandhill Crane at Lake Griffin State Park
4) Pat at Manatee Springs State Park

Trip Update FL Feb 2009

Captions:

1) A dozen newly hatched gators, Paynes Prairie State Park
2) 19 Turtles in the Sun, O’Leno State Park
3) Cypress on the banks of the Suwannee River
4) Lunch break on the Wekiva River

Feb 2009
Florida
We finally got back to the Keys after many years. We were greeted with two inches of rain and 85 mph winds the first night. The strong winds continued for our entire stay, making any water related activities - canoeing, snorkeling, and swimming - impossible. After a few days we left for the Everglades, but we plan to return next December - hopefully with better weather.
The weather slowly improved and warmed up a little. Despite all the canoeing we have done in the past down here, we were still able to find several new rivers and creeks to explore. We discovered a couple of great Rails to Trails paths where we biked, located near State Parks where we camped.
On my birthday (I’m 39 now) we took advantage of Disney’s Birthday Offer and visited Hollywood Studios. I expected it to be like Universal Studios, but actually it was more like the Magic Kingdom. Despite the economy, the place was packed and we were not able to get all the rides in that we wanted to do, even with Fast Pass.
The US mail system is the best and cheapest in the world, despite that-problems can still arise. Before we left, I called 1-800-ASK-USPS and asked for the address of the Post Office in Sebring, FL. I set my mail up to be forwarded there (at the mall PO). When I went to pick it up, they said they didn’t have it. They checked with the downtown Post Office and they didn’t have it either. I called my mail forwarding company and they said it had been delivered and gave me the tracking number. I marched back to the mall Post Office the next day with my tracking number. I found out that my mail had been delivered to the downtown Post Office, but they only found it after I had left the mall PO. They transferred it to the mall PO since that was where I was returning. When it got to the mall PO, someone observed that the zip code was for the downtown PO, so they sent it back there. Fortunately the downtown PO forwarded it again to the mall PO and I picked up my mail!