Yo Yos (06/22/21)

 
These days it seems like Paul and I are yanked in one direction, then yanked back in another, before we have had time to take a breath. Such was the case with our trip to Massachusetts.

We limped into Massachusetts in early June, having broken a leaf spring on the trailer somewhere between Virginia and Mass. I am always grateful that Paul is so handy that he can diagnose and fix many issues with our vehicles.  He ordered the part we needed and had it shipped to the RV park.

Our with plans were to spend time with our son, and family and friends. However, soon after we got there, Paul’s mom in El Paso started having some issues we needed to deal with. Not being sure if we could do it from afar, we made plans to head back to Texas, just to be safe (she has since improved to the point that we don’t have to rush back). 

We gave ourselves a few days to cram in as many visits as we could, and we did pretty well.

We saw our photo-shy son a couple of times, my brother and his wife, my sister, aunt, and my childhood friends….whew. All in a few days.

After we started the trek back, his mom started doing better so we slowed the pace down a bit.

One of the RV Parks we found along the way was Dixie Caverns RV. We only spent one night there but we arrived early enough to take a tour of the cavern.

Although we have seen plenty of caverns in our travels, this one was pretty darn good.

We took a southern route, partly because RV spots would be easier to come by, but also to go through Florida, so that we could stop and say hi to our friends Mike and Julie. We never have a bad time with them and a bonus this time around is that we met their long time friends Deb and Rick.

All too soon we were on our way again, but our next stop was another happy one for me.  A few years ago we spent some time at Myrtle Beach and I fell in love with the idea of swimming in the ocean without going numb-having grown up in the northeast, I only knew about frigid water temperatures. Although Myrtle Beach wasn’t on our route, Gulf Shores, AL was.

The state park we stayed in also has bikes that you can borrow- so we did that early in the day before it got too hot.  We didn’t go very far, only about 5 miles, but it was fun, anyway.

Once we were done with our ride we headed for the beach, where I spent most of the afternoon in the water.

Continuing our slow trek westward, our next stop was New Orleans. We elected to stay at the French Quarter RV Resort- a very pricy resort but it comes with some perks.  Our site has a private outdoor bar, complete with TV, and we can walk to Bourbon Street from here.

Announcing to our family and friends that we were headed to NOLA produced a frenzy of emails, texts and phone calls. Did we know that there was a potential tropical storm headed that way? Yep, we did. That’s probably why the RV park had availability on short notice. We kept an eye on the weather, knowing we might have to hunker down. We did get a fair amount of rain, but very little wind, as the storm shifted east. It was just enough to make it fun sitting outside watching the weather channel.

Knowing the storm was coming, we spent our first night in NOLA on Bourbon Street, looking for live music and Hurricanes (the drink).

Pat O’Brien’s was our first stop (for a decent Hurricane) before heading to other venues for the live music. We found several bars with music we enjoyed, so we had a great evening flitting around from bar to bar. Apparently Bourbon Street just recently reopened, so some of the venues were short on entertainment.

The next day we figured we’d better walk off some of those drinks. so we headed to the waterfront, about a mile or so away. Along the way we stopped at Musical Legends Park for some food and live music. 

We had a lunch of typical New Orleans fare- a frozen Hurricane, Jambalaya, and beignets. I guess we didn’t really walk off the previous night’s drinks.

Next stop: Texas.

The Journey Eastward (05-29-21)

 We travel to Massachusetts quite often, which can stress out the driver, if we are trying to get there fast. It’s a Lot of miles. So, this time we built in a few extra days, so we could slow down and smell the roses. We didn’t Stop to smell them, because we didn’t want to take THAT long to get to Boston.

Planning our route took some time. The RV park in MA had availability the day AFTER Memorial Day. That meant we had to be on the road for Memorial Day weekend. Most RV parks and campgrounds have a 3 day minimum and book waaaaay in advance for that weekend. So, we looked for Elks lodges (some have RV parking) and Casinos along the way (most allow overnight RV parking)to have options. 

We also joined Harvest Hosts, a membership group that offers overnight stays at breweries, farms, museums and wineries. I am not sure we will use it, but most of our RV friends are aware that there are record numbers of RVers traveling this summer, and supposedly most places are already booked. We shall see, but it doesn’t hurt to have more options.

Our first stop along the way was in El Paso for a few days to see Paul's mom. It’s been very hard, during Covid, to spend any time with her, so now that we could, we spent 4 days taking care of paperwork, and visiting with her.

You realize how big the state of Texas is when you need to drive across it, so we broke up the journey with another stop, this time to see friends Wil and Gayle. It’s always fun to spend time with them, and it helps that their driveway is big enough for our rig! After two nights we said goodbye and continued on our way.

Our next two day stop along the way was Alabama, Fort Payne AL, to be exact. 

Every once in a while you come across a gem...this area, and specifically Desoto State park, was one of those. The park has awesome campgrounds, complete with cable and WIFI, hiking trails, waterfalls, a swimming pool, and lots of attractions in the area. We could have easily spent a week here.

The first thing we discovered is that Fort Payne is home to Alabama.....that is, the band Alabama. We realized it when we passed by life size bronze statues of the band members. There is also a museum, but we didn’t have time for it this trip.

With only one day to explore, we hit the ground running. We took a short hike to Laurel Falls, which is an unimpressive trickle right now. From there we drove to Desoto Falls, which was much more impressive.

In the 1920s, a self taught engineer, Arthur Miller, built a hydroelectric dam at Desoto Falls, which generated electricity for the nearby towns. There was a limited supply, however, so power was available from sunset until midnight. A few years later, enough women had bought electric irons that the decision was made to also “turn on” the electricity on Thursday afternoons, so the women could iron.

Beneath the falls there is a small lake, suitable for swimming.

Desoto State Park sits atop Lookout Mountain, which travels north towards Chattanooga TN. We headed in that direction to visit Ruby Falls, a 145 ft waterfall, 26 stories underground. We bought our tickets online, and our small group was taken down an elevator, into the cave. Once there, we saw the usual cave decorations, stalagmites and stalactites etc.

 After a 15 minute walk we arrived in a “room” where the dramatic music and light show showcased Ruby Falls. Pausing long enough for everyone to get their fill of pictures, we turned around and headed back. The return trip was much faster. The pathway is so narrow that when one group passes another, the group heading back has the right of way, and the other group has to pull off to the side and wait.

Riding in the elevator, we did some quick calculations. There was one more attraction we wanted to see- Rock City. Their website was unclear as to what time they close, so we just started driving there, figuring we had nothing to lose. Unfortunately, there was a detour due to a closed road, so it took us longer than expected, but no worries, we got in 5 minutes before they closed the entry gates.

We spent a pleasant hour wandering around this place. 

There were all kinds of narrow cavelike paths, gardens, gazebos, swinging bridges, huge boulders, waterfalls, and a patio from which you can see 7 states( Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia). 

As an add on, the original owners added a children’s cave experience which featured figurines from nursery rhymes. No surprise, Paul didn’t know many of them, but I did.

Both nights at this campground we were treated to a live concert from the people in the site next door. A few campers pulled up chairs to listen and enjoy the music. I did that the first night, but it’s bluegrass, not our favorite, so one night was enough.

‘Bama (06-25-18)

Our research in Alabama was a long shot, searching for a Frances Chesley, who may or may not be an ancestor of Paul’s, but we figured it was worth a stop in the Montgomery area to check it out.  We have never been here before, and we both liked the feel of the (small) city.

The architecture was interesting and the city had a clean feel to it.

We found a nearby COE  (Federal) campground, with long, level sites for our stay in Montgomery. It was the first time Paul  got to use his Old Farts Pass(senior citizen National Parks Pass) for a discount, so the site only cost us $13 a night! Dozer liked it because it had lots of grass to eat.

It didn’t take us long to realize we weren’t going to find any new information, so we went in search of other things to do. Montgomery is known for its role in our civil rights history of course, and I was interested in the Rosa Parks museum.

While looking online, we discovered that the museum was having a street party celebrating Juneteenth (the end of slavery), and there would be music and food.  As an added perk, the entrance fee to the museum was being waived for the day.

We all know why Rosa Parks is famous. After a long day of working, she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white person. And she was arrested for it.
Her arrest and the verdict of “guilty” sparked a 13 month long protest that was the beginning of a lot of changes in this country. Shortly after the protest began, they realized they would need to be organized if they were going to achieve any results.

Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen to head the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association. Their original goal was to boycott the city busses until the segregation laws were made more “fair”. For instance, black people paid for their bus ride by entering the front door of the bus, but then were required to exit, and enter by the rear door.

Feeling that their requests were reasonable, they were shocked when they were denied. It was then that Dr. King realized that “justice and equality would never come while segregation remained, because the basic purpose of segregation was to perpetuate injustice and inequity”.

Now the push was on to fight for desegregation itself.

For 13 months, the African Americans of Montgomery walked, carpooled, rode in makeshift taxis, and accepted rides from white people who agreed that their cause was just. What they didn’t do, is ride the bus. The protest ended when the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on city busses was unconstitutional.

A  small, but important step.

Ft. Myers, FL (03-01-13)

I have to say I have been pleasantly surprised by the Ft. Myers area.  Of course, nearby there are the “exclusive” islands, such as Marco Island and Captiva Island.

Then, on the other end of the spectrum, there is “North” Ft. Myers.  That’s where we are staying- at a really inexpensive park- just to give my fellow RVers an idea- they accept Passport America with no limitations! ( Passport America is a discount program- most parks will only let you have the 50% discount for one or two nights,and never on a weekend.)  The park is nothing to write home about, but the site is level and the laundry is about 50 feet away.  Extremely convenient!



bald eagle being chased by an osprey

     
We took a day trip out to  nearby Sanibel and Captiva Islands, where we drove through the DIng Darling Wildlife Preserve.  A wildlife preserve is different from a national park in that  the national parks try to balance wildlife needs with the wants and desires of us humans. A wildlife preserve’s purpose its to be a refuge for wildlife.  They come first, and we come a distant second.  But of course, we all win, when the wildlife is protected.

Jay “Ding” Darling, a Pulitzer prize winning journalist and cartoonist was also a conservationist who was instrumental in starting the (now ) 530 wildlife preserves in the United States. Ding also designed, in 1934,  the first Federal Duck Stamp-.  the stamp is a required purchase for hunters who wish to hunt ducks and geese.  It is also considered to be a collectible, and 98% of the proceeds go to the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

This particular refuge, like so many others, preserves habitats for migrating birds. There are 4 Flyway zones in the United States, providing safe refueling spots throughout most of the U.S for these birds.  Fact I learned: most birds migrate at night, when the air is cooler. calmer, and more  humid.



There are many beaches along the shores of these islands, but unfortunately, Red Tide is taking a toll at the moment.  The bacteria causes not only the death of many fish, but can cause respiratory issues for people walking on the beach.  Paul  and I both coughed quite a bit while on the beach and decided it wasn’t worth spending much time there. 

There  was plenty of beach parking, and we were so excited to find special parking spots, just for people like us! There was a small car parked in one of these spots next to us, and I must say, I didn’t cry too much when I saw that they got a parking ticket.  It’s so hard  to park a dually, its frustrating when someone  takes one of the few spots that will fit us.  Of course, its even worse when people park small cars in spots that are designated “RV or Bus” spots.

Of course, Florida beach towns are well known for their food and music,  and Ft.  Myers Beach is no exception.  We met up  with Eric and Karla , who are fulltimers who we first met in Michigan two years ago.  We went out to dinner with them, and their friends Priscilla and Al.

High Tide

We had a great time, great food,  and listened to some awesome music by High Tide, a  local reggae band. We enjoyed the music so much, we bought the CD!

Paul and I have been trying to stay active and found a great excuse to get some exercise.  About 4 miles from where we are staying there is a Bald Eagle’s nest. A local Real Estate Company has set up a camera 6 feet above this nest, sending continuous feed, 24 hrs a day ( Eaglecam ).  I’ve been watching the eaglets on my ipad for the last few weeks, and it was a real treat to see the nest in person.  The first day we went to see the nest, we walked the 4 miles each way.  The second time, we drove, on the way to dinner one day, and the third time, we took our bikes.  I really enjoyed being able to watch the two parents come and go, and to see the young birds poke their heads out of the nest.  The youngsters are about full grown now, although they haven’t fledged (flown for the first time) yet. They are still being brought food by the parents.


the nest is in this tree, and the dead trees were where the parents were sitting.



both parents watch over the nest from nearby



getting ready to take flight.

  

eaglet stretching his wings in the nest



preening in the nest

  



watching over the nest





something caught their attention!

   




this is a picture taken from the webcam soon after the babies hatched.



a recent picture taken from the webcam