Hannah Park, Jacksonville Beach, Florida

We left for another long drive of 130 miles south to Jacksonville Beach, Florida on Oct 25. We had booked reservations at Hannah Park (a city run park on the beach) when we were in Florida in August. We knew the University of Florida and University of Georgia football game was being played on Oct 28 so we made sure that we were in town for the big event. It’s billed as “the biggest outdoor cocktail party” and we knew rooms and campsites would be in great demand.

Hannah Park is located on the ocean and includes a lake, biking and hiking trails and our campground. The campground is beautiful with very large palm trees, magnolias and tropical plants as underbrush. The campground has full hookups (water, electricity and sewer) and we are finding that many of the state campgrounds have hookups as well.

We pulled into our site and immediately made a beeline for the harbor of Mayport just a 5 minute drive from us. We think that their fresh locally caught shrimp is the best. The fish market has a wide selection of fish, clams, oysters, crab, etc. and they also will cook the seafood for you. So we enjoyed our shrimp while sitting on the patio overlooking the water.

We decided to drive around the lake in Hannah Park on the way back to our campsite. Yup, it had an alligator in it. It was about 8 feet long. The campground host told us that they had removed 14 alligators from the lake but this one was overlooked. (A rather major overlook.) The lake use to be a swimming hole for the campers but it’s now posted- “no swimming”. Don’t think that’s a problem for us. The instructions given to us upon arrival say to be aware of snakes and alligators and don’t feed them. That’s a no brainer.

One of us has enjoyed the wildlife here. We have lots of armadillos, raccoons, and birds around our campsite. We even had a wayward Osprey with a 3-4 foot wingspan adopt us.

We made it to the Florida/Georgia game along with 84,000 of our closest friends. We had a great time cheering on “our team”, doing the Gator chomp, and the Gators even won for us.

Sunday, part of the family (Emily and Terry M, Terry and Jane W, and Jennifer and Jonathan F) came out from the city to enjoy barbeque and see our lovely campsite in the trees. We enjoyed a walk to the beach and collected some seashells. There were many fairly large (1 to 1 ½ foot) horseshoe crabs that had washed up onto the beach. The locals said that they don’t usually see horseshoe crabs on the beach.

The weather has been beautiful. It has been in the 70’s to 80’s and down as low as the 50’s at night. It’s been great for being on the beach. This is the best time of the year in Florida because of the low humidity and the lack of bugs.

We have spent many days visiting family in Jacksonville in the past. Jacksonville is located in the NE corner of Florida, about 40 miles from the Georgia border. Northern Florida is not as tropical as southern Florida and they have cooler temperatures in the winter. It has an early history since it was founded in 1562 by French Protestants known as Huguenots. It had also been under the control of Spain and Britain. Jacksonville’s other claim to fame is that it is the largest U.S. city in land area-841 square miles. There are many scenic drives that go through nature preserves and islands that are close to Jacksonville where you can observe lots of wildlife. It’s also just a 30-40 minute drive south to historic St Augustine.

South Carolina/Georgia Coast

We arrived at Huntington Beach State Park (no surfers here), just south of Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Wed., Oct 18. We had to cross over a freshwater lagoon to reach the camping area on the beach. Much to our surprise we could see four or five alligators sunning themselves on a raised area a few feet from our road. We noticed a sign saying “Do not feed the alligators”. The camping brochure warned campers to be aware of alligators and snakes, particularly at night. (For sure, this is not the southern California Huntington Bch). It was a surprise to us that the campground was almost full. The retirees and snow birds are here.

The area around the campground had many trails running through the marsh areas with viewing sites for wildlife and in particular birds. There were many exotic birds just walking through the campground. The beach was a short walk from our campsite. Loggerhead sea turtles lay their eggs here and the nests are marked with stakes and yellow police tape. It is against the law to disturb these nests.

We would have liked to have stayed here another day but we wanted to allow enough time for thoroughly visiting Charleston, SC and Savannah, Georgia. So we moved on to Charleston, S.C. a full 80 miles to the south.

We spent one night in our RV outside Charleston and then drove inland to visit and stay with a cousin of John’s. John grew up with his cousin Bob in Cocoa, Florida and they spend many hours reminiscing about childhood experiences and the good ole days when they ran track together in high school. Many of the stories are not repeatable.

After much visiting, eating and a good night’s sleep we were off and driving back to Charleston on Sat. Oct. 21.

Charleston is a lovely 300 year old city located on a peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper rivers. We took a tour of the historic area with its many pre Revolutionary War and 1700 and 1800 era homes. The picture will show some unusual characteristics of these homes. The houses were taxed according to the front footage on the street. The houses are built very narrow with the front porch, front door and gardens facing to the side of the house. There is a small door on the street that appears to go into the house but really enters the front porch on the side of the house. The slope of the porch floor is steep (so that rain can drain off) and the doors are cut accordingly.

There are many restored plantations located outside the city that can be toured. Also, Ft. Sumter (of Civil War fame) is located at the mouth of the Charleston harbor.

We ate at Jestine’s (thanks Debbie K for the recommendation) and had a typical southern meal of fried chicken, green beans, mashed red potatoes and shrimp and grits.

We tried to walk off our big lunch with a stroll through the city market area just a few blocks away. There were a dozen large open air buildings with stalls where people sold local crafts. The most unique crafts were the hand woven grass baskets made by African American women. We are told that it is becoming a lost art.

Our next destination was Savannah, Georgia, 120 miles to the south. Savannah has been called “the most beautiful city in North America”. We readily agree. We took a tour of the city to get ourselves oriented and then went back to walk the streets to observe the period homes and lovely parks. It is very easy to walk the historical area because it only covered about one square mile and is set out in an easy to follow grid pattern. The homes are arranged around 24 beautifully landscaped squares (parks) with 200 year old oak trees. This was the town plan that was designed by Gen. James Oglethorpe. He arrived in 1733 and it was the 13^th British colony.

There is a cobblestone river walk with shops, restaurants and a view of ships going up the Savannah River. ( The cobblestones were ballast in English cargo sailing ships) There are many restaurants in the city but the longest lines were for The Lady and Sons, Paula Dean’s restaurant.

The Outer Banks, North Carolina

The Outer Banks consist of a string of narrow islands and peninsulas that lie between the ocean and the coast of North Carolina. Most of the land is less than a mile wide and has some small towns, but it consists mainly of large natural preserved areas. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Pea Island Refuge have unspoiled sand dunes, marshes for bird watching, and beautiful beaches with very few people. (Of course, it is off season.) The weather has been in the 70’s and sunny-perfect for sitting on the beach and reading. Our campsite is just a few steps walk from the beach.

Orville and Wilbur Wright picked this area to launch the first heavier-than-air powered machine on Dec. 17, 1903. The Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills (right next to Kitty Hawk) has an exhibit center with reproductions of the 1902 and 1903 flyer. The grounds have markers showing the distance traveled during the first four flights, as well as, replicas of their workshop and living quarters. Debbie and Fred K were here on the 100^th anniversary to help with the celebration. Good job guys.

We have covered most of the Outer Banks and have enjoyed driving along the coast and seeing many of the lighthouses. We did manage to get another flat tire, but this time on the CRV. We had new tires put on in Massachusetts and had only 700 miles on them. Thank goodness for cell phones and AAA. The tire was changed and repaired in about 45 minutes and we were on our way again. Somehow we seem to be a magnet for sharp pointy things. It could also be that lots of construction is going on in the summer.

We continue to sample the local seafood and we can tell that we are in the south. We get southern accents, a choice of sweet or unsweetened tea, hush puppies, grits and southern hospitality. We’ve liked it here so much that we have stayed 4 days.

Monday, Oct 16, we moved south to a barrier island off Bogue Sound, North Carolina. Again, we picked a private campground located on the beach. The state campgrounds are mainly closed in this area for the season. Our drive took us across Roanoke Island where the British “lost colony” was last seen. We particularly enjoyed going through the backcountry which had swampy areas along the road with alligators and marsh birds. (Thanks goodness, no flat tires here.)

It is surprising to see that cars and dogs are allowed on the beach. Surf fishing is very popular here and many people in the campground walk down to the beach to catch their dinner. When we say many, we mean about 15-20 people on the beach. It has been surprising to encounter mosquitoes and everywhere you go they warn you about using spray with deet and keeping covered up. There haven’t been many mosquitoes but they do exist. It did rain quite heavily during the night and it has turned humid. We thought we had left all this behind us. I guess we should have expected it because we are in the Deep South. The weather is reported to be warmer and more humid than usual for this time of year.

We located a local fish market and bought some picked local blue crab meat. We had several crab cocktails and crab meat sandwiches. A favorite of ours. Yum, yum.

Chesapeake Bay, Maryland & Virginia

We spent two nights, Sunday, Oct 8^th and Monday, Oct 9^th outside Annapolis Md. It was a short drive to the waterfront in Annapolis where we encountered crowds that were attending a very large boat show. We bypassed the $20 parking spots and instead decided to park in a nearby neighborhood and walk to the waterfront. We spent our time walking along the waterfront looking at some of the boats, shops, restaurants and even spent an hour or so walking around the adjoining U.S. Naval Academy. We did not realize that so many astronauts graduated from the Naval Academy, including Alan Shepard, the first American in space. We had lunch at a very old, approximately 150 years old, tavern in Annapolis and we had to sample the steamed mussels and clams. They were delicious.

Annapolis was just as gorgeous as we remembered.

On to Williamsburgh, Virginia and exploring the historic restored city. The historic area consists of 88 buildings that survived from the 1700’s and many others that have been restored. It was interesting to visit the blacksmith, silversmith and many other shops that were being worked by people in period costume. We particularly enjoyed a talk by “Thomas Jefferson” who had just returned from the Continental Congress in 1776. He explained his views on the Declaration of Independence and the role of government.

The Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony of the Capitol building just as it had been done in 1776. It made you proud to be an American as everyone cheered after the reading, just as they had done in 1776.

We had lunch in one of the old taverns where the menu consisted of food typical from the 1700’s. The servers were in period costumes. They had peanut soup, game pies, Virginia ham and John’s favorite, fried chicken. One of the taverns, the Raleigh tavern is where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and others gathered to discuss and plot the American Revolution.

Hammonasset State Park, Connecticut/Long Island

Hammonasset State Park, Connecticut is located on Long Island Sound across from Long Island, NY. On Oct 3 we parked our motorhome on a grassy area right next to a wetlands, immediately adjoining the sound. We picked this park because it was only 45 miles or so to the east of the Bridgeport, Connecticut ferry. We had decided that we’d like to take the ferry to Long Island instead of driving through the middle of New York City.

The weather in Connecticut was in the high 70’s or low 80’s and very sunny. The campground was approximately 10% full. We loved the great weather, beautiful campsite right next to the beach, and the lack of people. This is our kind of camping (if you can call this camping).

We made a reservation for the next afternoon so as to allow plenty of time to make the ferry. We got to the ferry early, so they let us board. We arrived at Port Jefferson, Long Island, NY after a 45 minute ferry ride. It was a short drive to the south shore and cousin Joanne’s house. It was our first opportunity to meet Marshall and three year old Victoria. This is actually the best part of our adventure, connecting with relatives and friends.

We parked our motorhome alongside their house and they made us feel at home.

The next day we traveled to Port Washington, Long Island, which is on the north shore.Giulio, a former colleague of John’s, and his wide Brigetta, showed us a bit of the area as we took a stroll down to the waterfront and had lunch. We were then off to Brooklyn to visit our daughter-in-law’s parents-Joe and Shirley. Joe and Shirley drove us to downtown Manhattan and gave us a tour of all the significant sites. The most poignant moment was seeing the hole left by the twin towers. We had a delicious dinner and finished about 9:30 PM. The only reason I mention this is because the town was just beginning to jump. The restaurants and streets were packed. I have it on good authority (thanks, Michael) that people are still walking around at 3 and 4 AM.

We spent the night in Brooklyn and then drove back to Long Island to visit John’s cousins. John was born on Long Island, so a trip to the old family home and other sites was enjoyed. In fact, John recognized his old home without even being prompted. (He left NY when we was 5 years old.) One of the photos is John in front of the house.

The other photo is John with cousin Joan to his right and Rudy, her husband. Joanne and her husband Marshall are to John’s left. Cousin Tom is on the end, on John’s left. Victoria is as pretty as ever.

We plotted our course with help from AAA and relatives and left on Sunday morning when the traffic would be at a minimum. Most of the freeway overpasses were purposely built to be low so that trucks and big rigs couldn’t pass under them. We are told that several trucks a week don’t know this and shear off the top of their rigs. We did not want to suffer that fate. There are only two major freeways through NY onto Long Island for tall rigs. Luckily, we were clued into this and drove out of the city with no problems.

Cape Cod, Massachusetts and Narragansett, Rhode Island

We were off and running again on Sept 28. We left behind the luxury of the cruise ship and the wonderful hospitality of our relatives and made our way through Boston out to Cape Cod. It was a short two hour drive to the Roland C. Nickerson State Park located outside Brewster, MA and a little more than half way out to the tip of the Cape. We used our campsite as a base to drive around the Cape. We both agreed that this was the best campsite that we’d had so far. It was located on a small knoll overlooking a large pond. We enjoyed sitting around and enjoying the beautiful sunny weather during the day and the reflection of the moonlight on the pond at night.

We had last visited Cape Cod in the early 70’s and had forgotten how beautiful it was. Our drives around the island included seeing typical “Cape Cod” styles cottages and beach houses, wonderful seafood restaurants, beautiful pristine beaches and unique lighthouses. We enjoyed ourselves so much we stayed for four days.

It was difficult to tear ourselves away from Cape Cod but we drove south to Narragansett, Rhode Island on Mon. Oct 2.