Jekyll Island, I can't wait to go back

I'm sitting in the parking lot at Wal Mart, waiting for Stan to fill water bottles. We moved today from Jekyll Island to a little park right outside of Charleston, SC. All is well and good except we have no reception so I'm trying to do this on the run.

OK you guys, we found the place you all want to be on a vacation from the stress of every day life. Jekyll Island is a perfect little jewel. It's just off the coast of Georgia, about an hour and a half from Savannah. It's only 10 miles long and it's got bike trails everywhere. On the Atlantic side there are miles of beaches and on the other side are "cottages" that were built by the wealthy industrialists back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. They used Jekyll Island for their winter playgrounds. They built a huge club house and guest house and had docks for the yachts that they arrived on. Today these buildings are all owned by the state of Georgia. The club and guest house are used as a hotel and the cottages, etc are museums. At the end of the island is the camp ground and rv park. The whole island is pretty much covered and shaded by huge oaks with hanging moss. Everyone parks their cars and gets around by bicycle. It's all very civilized and relaxing.

So do I sound like a travel brochure? All I know is that we're going back someday...

Easter on the Keys

Stan and I decided it was time to rough it so we packed up our tent and air mattress and headed down to the Florida Keys, leaving the hiker to fend for itself. 150 miles of another world ending at the southernmost tip of the United States. Driving through Miami is radical, like being in an out of control race to the finish and then you get on the Keys and sloowww down to a Sunday afternoon pace. This is a good thing because you need time to stare in disbelief at the beautiful color of the water and the fantastic vegetation growing like moptops on all the little islands. We stopped at a camp ground on Long Key on the way down and set up our tent and then went on to Key West where we spent the afternoon. Key West is very quaint, laid back, sophisticated and hang lose, all at the same time. I was happy to experience my first conch fritters. We walked the streets and rode our bikes to the beaches. The rain came down, everyone got wet. The sun came out, everyone dried out. To a point anyway but that's the way it's supposed to be. We were back at our campground in time to watch the sunset and visit with fellow campers. During the night we were entertained by a lightning and rainstorm, with an (almost) full moon coming through occasionally. When I looked out of the tent in the morning there were two Easter eggs sitting on the table! The campground was treated to a breakfast of sticky buns, fruit salad and coffee. I LOVE these places. After a morning spent reading the paper in a lounge chair on the beach (Maia) and snorkeling (Stan) we headed back to Fort Lauderdale and reality- loads of wet laundry. It was well worth it. Happy Easter everyone..

What To Do

What to do with your spare airstreams..

Florida, how sweet it is

We have made it all the way to the East Coast!! This beach town of Malabar reminds me a lot of hawaii, with green everywhere. There are vines growing over all the trees and palms blowing in the warm, scented winds. Blue skies and puffy clouds. Produce stands with locally grown strawberries, tomatoes and plums. Sand is a part of life. There are barrier islands here that you can drive along and see ocean on both sides. The park here is very social. People are here for five months or so, then back home for summer. Some of these folks have been coming here for twenty years!! I have to tell you, they know how to have fun. They have cookouts, fish fries, dances, and barnyard races (another story) where you can win or lose all your dollars. There are license plates from Massachusetts, Vermont, Ohio, Pennsilvania, Michigan, all parts of Canada, Maine, and on and on. We took care of California. It can be a pretty tight squeeze, getting a 30 foot fifth wheel into your spot but hey, Stan's a pro. This area is big for surfing but so far it's been blown out so Stan's board hasn't left the bag. I guess we just have to lie on the beach and wait...

Carrabelle, as pretty as it sounds..

Stan and I just spent a few days in Carrabelle, Florida, on the panhandle. We parked our hiker about five feet off the beach, with the picture window looking onto the sea. It was the incredible sunrise spot. It was also the incredible storm spot. About five hours after we got set up we got hit with rain, lightning, thunder, howling wind and yet again, a tornado warning. Oh well, it was over by the next afternoon, except for the wind. By the evening the sun had come out and we could see the birds running in and out of the surf. We rode our bikes across a five mile bridge to St. George Island and out to the end where the state park is. Paradise.... white, white sand, green ocean, and marshland on the other side. This is oyster country. There are piles of oyster shells everywhere. It's a huge fishing community as well. Lots of people out on boats. They throw out a line and let the boat drift back, motor forward a little ways, throw out the line, drift back, take a sip of a beer or soda, look at the sky........

Learning the Cajun Two Step

After leaving Galveston, Stan and I meandered over toAbbeville, La. It's a really sweet little town, right in the middle of Cajun Country. What's up with that? Well, that would be where they grow rice, crawdads, and lots of good music. Oh and bayous, which means water, water everywhere. Naturally, we wanted to hear music so we found out about a little cafe down the road a bit that was having an all afternoon jam session for who ever wanted to come listen. Stan and I walked in the door to a bar that was packed with people listening to music, socializing, dancing and generally having a real good time.... The owner came up to us, and welcomed us in.He found us a couple of bar stools right up by the band and on the edge of the dance floor. We got something to drink for five bucks and got to listen to some great music. After about 2 hours a couple of the people that worked there came around with a meal for everyone, on the house! A really nice guy got his feet stomped on trying to teach me the Cajun Two Step. I can't say I got it down but it sure was fun making a fool of myself. The band had 11 members playing at a time and they were fantastic. I highly recommend this for a Saturday afternoon.