May 2012 Norway Part 3 of 3

In Oslo we returned the rental car and visited several boat museums. We visited the Fram, Kon-Tiki, and Viking Ship Museums. The Fram was designed to float above the crushing ice flows, and it survived three major expeditions. It traveled further north and further south than any other wooden boat. The Kon-Tiki was made from balsa logs and completed the journey from Peru to Raroia Island, 4300 miles away. The reed boat Ra II is also on display. This boat traveled from Morocco to Barbados.  The three Viking boats at the museum were used as burial chambers and the clay they were buried in helped preserve them. All of these boats are the originals.

In the Resistance Museum, we learned how the Norwegians dealt with 5 years of German occupation. On a brighter note, the Nobel Peace Center gave us a chance to learn about the previous medal winners. Later we walked through Frogner Park, a park filled with human sculptures by Gustav Vigeland.

From Oslo we needed to travel to Bergen to meet the Coastal Steamer. The guide book recommended doing the Norway in a Nutshell tour. This consists of three train rides, a boat trip, and a bus trip. It was a very scenic trip, but it was stressful trying to make the connections. It was a 14 hour trip that we renamed the Norway in a Nuthouse tour.

 Viking Ship and a Submersible

                                                   

Kon-Tiki

                                                                       

Town on the Nutshell Tour

Bergen's Manhole Covers

                                   

Even though Bergen may be the rainiest city in Norway, everyone said that we would love it. Well we did luck out and get beautiful weather while we were there. Unfortunately the only days we had to explore the city were a Sunday and a Monday holiday. Most of the museums were closed the entire time we were in town.  With help from a student, we found the well hidden Leprosy Museum.  We walked down to the harbor to explore the Bergenhus Fortress.  In the 13 century, Bergen was a walled city and the capital of Norway and the home of royalty. In the 1560’s the Rosenkrantz Tower was added to the Bergenhus Fortress. We climbed the tower, enjoyed the views and learned about the history of the town. For an even better view of the city we took the Floibanen funicular 900 feet up Mt Floyen and walked back down. The following day we sailed through the Maritime Museum before boarding the Coastal Steamer for a 12 day trip up and down the Norway coast.

Trip Update March 2012 FL - MD

After our Caribbean cruise we headed south of Miami. We visited the Coral Castle while we were there.  The Coral Castle was built over a 26 year period by one man, yet only a few children reported seeing it being built. It’s an interesting place with a fascinating history. We finally stayed at our timeshare on the beach in Jupiter, FL after having owned it for 26 years. We loved it and will definitely go back! We did enjoy our visits with many of our friends and relatives in FL.

We headed back toward Orlando and picked up our canoe and trailer from storage. We went out canoeing in the Crystal River area, looking for manatees but they had moved into the Gulf. The last time we were here it was in January and dozens of manatees were enjoying the warm spring water in Crystal River. We also canoed the Ichetucknee River and went for a dip in the headspring. From here we went to the Okefenokee Swamp. Our first day there the mosquitoes were in a feeding frenzy. The breeze picked up and the next day in the swamp was beautiful and bug free. Next we explored the mountains in northern Georgia. We hiked part of the Appalachian Trail and met several hikers attempting to hike the entire 2174 mile trail.

Pat at Coral Castle in FL

                                                                Crested Caracara

                                             
                                                                           Barred Owl

                                             
                                           Canoeing in the Okefenokee Swamp in GA

                                                                   
                                                                        near Helen GA

                                                         
                                                           from Biltmore Gardens

                                                         
                                                                     Biltmore Estate

                                                                 Linville Falls in NC

In North Carolina we toured Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate (built before there was an income tax!). We took the free audio tour and walked the grounds and gardens. We moved to a timeshare in Boone, NC for a week and hiked trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway during a rainy week.  We returned to our place in Lewisburg and stored our canoe and trailer until the next trip south.  There were numerous wild fires to the east in VA, so we headed north and camped at Watoga SP for a few nights. We listen to the ranger at Droop Mountain SP describe the Civil War Battle that occurred there. We also spent a few hours at Manassas Battlefield and learned about the first battle of Bull Run.  We stopped in to see Tom, Marie and Nick, but managed to knock the refrigerator vent cover off the roof of the RV while negotiating a tight turn into a parking space. Tom repaired the cover to road worthy status. We watched as Nick led his basketball team to victory. Carol and Cordale arranged a cookout to welcome us back to MD.

Trip Update Feb 2012 Part 1a

Does anyone know the Heimlick Maneuver?
Along Weeki Wackee Springs
Zebra longwing butterfly
Roseate Spoonbill

Trip Update Feb 2012 Part 1b

Green Heron
Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables
Venetian Pool in Coral Gables

We started the month north of Tampa at a FMCA rally along with 24 Born Free Motorhomes and hundreds of other RVs. While we were there we stopped in to visit our Rialta friends Larry and Edith. Larry was recovering from a heart attack. We also canoed the Weeki Wackee Springs and saw manatees under the canoe. We moved over to Lake Louisa SP, and put the canoe and trailer in storage since it would be more of a headache than a benefit in south FL. After a few days at Highland Hammock SP, we headed to Ft. Lauderdale and had dinner with my Aunt Bernie and her daughter Mary. Pat’s nephew Randy met us for lunch the next day. We continued south to the Everglades NP and hiked all the trails there. We did find something totally different to do there. As a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a secret Nike Missile Site was built hidden in the glades. Park Rangers provide the tour of the base. Most of the buildings are still standing and some are being used by the NPS. It was interesting to relive the days when people were building bomb shelters in their back yard. I remember when we had air raid drills in school and had to duck under the desk. I never realized at the time that those desks provided bomb and radiation protection. On our way back north, we visited the Miami Zoo, which has recovered nicely from Hurricane Andrew in 2005. We also took an airboat ride in the Everglades, which was a bit disappointing. We enjoyed dinner with our cruising friends Patty and Don.

We checked into a timeshare in Weston, FL for a week. We found out that Weston (10 miles west of Ft. Lauderdale) is a planned community. Apparently the planners didn’t envision us showing up in a motorhome. We had to park our RV 2.5 miles from where we were staying and commute back and forth by bike or walk. Next my computer died and I couldn’t find anyone nearby to work on it. To top the week off, the city decided that the day we needed to pack for the cruise would be a good day to test the resort’s fire alarm system. The alarm in our room rang almost continually for 6 hours! The only bright spot for the week was the bus tour we took of Miami and surrounding areas. We left the timeshare a day early due to the sailing date for the cruise. I dropped the computer off for service in Ft Lauderdale and after lunch with my Aunt Bernie we headed for Port Everglades.

Trip Update Feb 2012 Part 2

Welcome dance in Samana
Marin, Lois, Pat, Eldon & Don

Curacao at night

Our first hassle was finding parking for the RV. Port Everglades is located very close to Ft Lauderdale Airport. This is great for those flying in for a cruise, but parking between the two is certainly at a premium. We finally found semi-secure RV parking at a convenience store for $14/day. We arrived at the Holland America’s Noordam two hours before scheduled departure. That is when we found out that the Norwalk virus had made people sick on the previous cruise. Extra cleaning crews were brought in to do a thorough cleaning of all areas of the ship while all the passengers were sent to a waiting area. No one complained about the wait - we all wanted the ship cleaned. They must have done a great job because no one got sick from the virus.

Our first landing was Half Moon Cay, which is an island owned by Holland America. The beach was very nice, although the snorkeling was a waste of time. On Grand Turk we took a dune buggy tour of the island. The off road portion of the tour was fun, but most of the tour was on roads. The island did have a great beach. Next we went to Samana, in the Dominican Republic. We took a bus tour; the highlight was Taino Park, a museum about the culture and history of the Taino Indians and their demise due to the Spanish soldiers. After a day at sea we landed at Bonaire. Fortunately, our friends Eldon and Lois were staying on the island at their cottage with their daughter Marin at the time. Eldon picked us up at the boat and Lois had breakfast ready for us. We spent the day with them. We also did our best snorkeling there. On Curacao, we took a bus tour to Hato Cave and did a walking tour of the port city. In Aruba, we had a beach day on DePalm Island; unfortunately we had to cut our snorkeling trip short due to the rough conditions. After two more days at sea we were back in Ft Lauderdale. Overall, we were very happy with the cruise - great entertainment, food and weather. What more could you want!

Trip Update Jan 2012 Part 1a

Sandhill Crane
Canoeing Alexander Springs in Ocala NF
Great Egret
Young gator

Trip Update Jan 2012 Part 1b

Black-crowned Night Heron
Break time
Baby gators
Wild Rhesus Monkey

The day after New Year’s Day we flew from Baltimore back to Orlando to pick up our RV and canoe trailer. Our trailer problems continued - the bearings on one of the trailer wheels over-heated and seized up. It looked like the wheel was toast, but we were unable to find a replacement wheel. Eventually we found replacement bearings and got the wheel repaired.

Last year, when we returned to Albuquerque, NM from our New Zealand trip we found an oil leak from our generator. Prior to that, a mechanic, while changing the oil, over-tightened the drain plug and cracked the housing. We had been trying for six months without success to get the dealer to refund our repair cost. Recently, we contacted the Good Sam Club for assistance in resolving this problem, and suddenly the dealer was happy to refund our money.

In Florida we drove to the Ocala NF and canoed Alexander Springs - one of the prettiest river trips in FL. This year we sought out county parks for hiking and future camping. Lettuce Lake was one of several new interesting places we found with lots of wildlife and hiking. We attended the RV Super Show in Tampa but it was too big to cover in one day. We also had a fun day at Busch Gardens. It must have been Brazil day because I think we were the only speaking English visitors.

We traveled as far south as Sarasota before heading back to Ocala. In between we visited the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and canoed four more rivers. At Silver River SP, an 84 yr old man told us about his ‘cracker’ life as a boy growing up in rural Florida. (The term “cracker” refers to the rural, poor, white people of southern Georgia and northern Florida who cracked the whip as they rounded up their cattle.) On weekdays, he shares his like experiences with the 3^rd and 4^th graders in his county.