Galveston, Texas

Dec. 5

Harley thought this would make a good pet

Found a great RV park just east of Houston--- Turtle Bayou RV Park, and are making this our home for two nights.  Took a ride into the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge last evening and saw where the Ranger says "all the Canadian Geese go for the Winter".  He says the geese are just beginning to arrive, so didn't see many, but caught this great bird hanging out.

We were surprised to find out that Galveston is an island, so took a ferry to check it out.....

Houses on the beach are all up on stilts

Beach dog!

How would you like to ride one of these?

"Dickens" era Festival goers

Once we entered the Historic Secion of Galveston, we happened upon their World-Famous Victorian Holiday Festival... "Dickens on the Strand" . They close off several streets in the 9 block Historic section for a parade,  lots of food, Victorian-inspired craft vendors, and hundreds of people dressed in "Dickens" era costumes roaming the streets.  Seems the guest of honor this year was Lucinda Dickens Hawksley, the great-great-great granddaughter of Charles Dickens.  We missed the formal ceremonies, but enjoyed strolling the streets with many of  the locals celebrating the holidays.

Hope you are enjoying our blog.....several people have asked us to re-send our blog address, so are going to post it again to "all".  If you want to catch any past posts, you can click on the date on the right side of the blog and it should take you to that post.  If you want to continue to follow us, you can just add this site to your "favorites" and then follow by clicking in every now and then, or you can just type our blog address into your http bar and it will come up.  You can also post comments if you want. The blog won't come to you via e-mail because it is just a web page, and you can check it whenever you want. I will try to post every week or so.

Out of Florida and on to New Orleans

December 3, 2010

Here is a map showing our path so far.....lots of miles and more to go!  Our plan is to be in Casa Grande by December 15, so we are continuing to travel west.  We traveled north out of Florida and visited Ocala, Talahassee and Pensacola.  Ran into a little trouble with the  big slide on the RV near Ocala, but Steve was able to take it apart and replace a broken bolt, so we were able to continue.  We didn't stray off course too much as the weather got pretty cold...I know, nothing like the snow in Idaho, but it was cold for Florida and we ran into a very windy, rainy day near Pensacola, so didn't investigate the beaches there.  Our next stop was New Orleans, and we had a great time exploring the area there!  We camped at a great State Park with beautiful hundred year old trees--Fontainbleau State Park in Mandeville, Lousiana.  We drove the Pontchartrain Causeway to New Orleans and were pretty impressed with the 26 mile long bridge.....



tree in Fontainbleau State Park



Pontchartrain Causway to New Orleans

French Quarter

Bourbon Street

We walked around the French Quarter and then took a carriage ride to see it again and hear the history.  Were surprised at how narrow the streets are and how busy it was on a Thursday.  The balconies and buildings were fun to see and we understand that renting a balcony room during Mardi Gras goes for about $700.00 per night and that there is a 2 year waiting list.  We stopped at a bar on Bourbon Street and had a beer, so that was our contribution!

Harley on a Horse Drawn Carriage Ride...great artwork for sale

lunch on Front Street

 

courtyard garden



typical house in the French Quarter

We were not able to get to the Garden area of New Orleans to see the mansions there, but got a glimps of what the courtyards look like behind some of the homes in the French Quarter....homes look so small from the street with just a stoop, a door and maybe one window on the main floor, and if it has a second story, it has two windows and a balcony above.  Must be pretty cool inside though!

We celebrated our last night in Lousiana by having a great Southern buffet at Cajun Charlies near our RV park near Lake Charles.  Dined on catfish, crab, shrimp, frog legs, alligator, crawdads, gumbo, carrot souffle, sweed potato fries and fruit cobbler......good we are leaving the south soon, as our waistlines can't take much more of this great food!
Next stop...Texas!

Miami and Key West

Nov. 25.....Happy Thanksgiving!

Key West.......only 90 miles to Cuba!

We have been enjoying the 80+ weather here in Miami for the last two weeks and spent a night and a couple days in Key West.  We took the motorcycle down Hwy 1 all the way to the end of the Keys.....it  really is a different world down here!   We sure enjoyed the ride and were amazed at the sights along the way---the beaches are endless and the 7 mile bridge was quite an experience.  Was fun to see the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other.  We were lucky to have great weather and were surprized to find so many people in the little towns along the way.  In Key West, most of the people were on bicycles or scooters because the roads are narrow and there are houses and shops on every square inch of sand.

on the road...Atlantic on left, Gulf on right

these guys are everywhere...look close, do you see both?



one of the great mansions at Key West



even the birds love a great sunset!



We also made several trips into the Everglades and learned a lot about the landscape.  Didn't realize that it is actually a river of grass and is 60 miles wide at some points.  It is a limestone based lowland with mostly seagrass growing everywhere.  It was explained to us how the "hammocks" (forrested areas), cypress stands,  mangrove forests,  marshes, seagrass meadows and swamps are formed.  This is all the work of alligators, overflow from the Okeechobee, and rainfall.  Quite a place to visit!

alligators, birds, fish, turtles...all together until someone gets hungry!

The anhinga is a bird that dives into the water to catch fish, pops back up and then must stand out in the sun to dry off and bring its body temp. back up.  They are everywhere!

We also took day trips into downtown Miami and saw the beautiful skyline and beaches there. Steve and I went there in the truck and another day Steve took a Harley ride into town with another biker he met here at the campground.  We had a great surprise when Suzy and Danny Luper arrived in Ft. Lauderdale after their cruise in the Caribbean with friends.  We were able to meet up with them and had dinner at a great restaurant.  I'm sure they were shocked to return back to Lewiston to find all the snow and cold weather there!



Miami Beach with cruise ships on the horizon



Suzy and Danny Luper in Ft. Lauderdale

As we get ready to head north again in a couple days, we are sure thankful for Sara and Cameron for taking care of things at home.....we are having the "trip of a lifetime" but sure do miss all of our friends and family and life at home.  We reflect on the things we love.....mountains, cabin life, Idaho drivers (believe me, they are better than Florida drivers) and our friends and family. 

Ft. Myers, Florida

Thanks Joan and Dick!!!!

Nov. 13

What a great 3 days we had with my Aunt and Uncle!  We parked the trailer, boarded Harley and let them roll out the red carpet for us to explore the Ft. Myers area. It is on the Gulf side of Florida and further south.  They treated us to a boat ride on the Suzy Q, which provided up close views of the mangroves, manatees, dolphins ,turtles and a magnificant variety of birds.  They also took us for a personally guided tour of Shell Point, and Sanibel Island.  We walked a wonderful beach on Captiva Island and saw the beautiful shell beaches the area is famous for. It was great spending time with them and being able to see the area that they have called home for many years.  Here are a few pictures of our time there.....


we lunched here at Rum Runners




various sea birds and distant Mangroves



Mangroves-up close



Captiva Beach



Sunset.....was way cooler than the picture...



We said good bye to Joan and Dick and headed to the eastern side of Florida and are now staying at a great RV park just south of Miami  for the next  two weeks.  We figure staying here will allow us to explore up the East Coast around Miami and down through the Keys.  Along the way we traveled through Alligator Alley and even saw a few gators in the canals along the road!!!

Will keep trying to have fun............

Central Florida adventures

Nov. 8

Harley Davidson---Daytona Beach, Florida

Well, we made it through Central Florida but didn't have any sweet children yelling from the back seat to stop at Disney World or any of the other great tourist attractions...so we had to find our own entertainment!Of course we did find a huge Harley store .....and managed to buy a couple t-shirsts, so I guess there was some whining going on in the truck for that stop.  Bet it is hopping during Bike Week!

near Daytona

 



We took a quick trip along the beaches north and south of Daytona and enjoyed the surf from the comforts of the truck.....it was a bit chilly and very windy, so didn't spend much time there.  The following day, it was alittle warmer, so we spent the day checking out the area around our great RV park in Polk City (which is a small town between Orlando and Tampa).  We hit several Flea Markets and found a great place for Crab, so spent the day shopping and eating. 











Our last day here was spent checking out the area around Tampa.  We found a great neighborhood in Tampa called Ybor (EE-Bor) City.  It is a historic area where the Hispanic, Italian and Cuban Immigrants gathered in the early 1900's to make cigars and to celebrate their heritage. They have done a great job to keep it as it was and to make it a great place to tour.   It was pretty quiet for a Monday, but I hear it is rockin' on the weekends.  Lots of great clubs, theaters, outdoor music and restaurants.



Ybor City






still rolling cigars all day



sea shell beaches of Indian Rocks Beach

We then ventured over to St. Petersburg to see the Gulf side of Florida, and found a great beach to stretch our legs.  The water is much calmer here and the sand is mostly made up of broken shells.  Weather was warmer today and it looks like we are in for more great weather as we head south to Ft. Myers to visit my aunt and uncle, Joan and Dick Smith.   More later!  Steve says we've traveled 5292.6 miles so far.......

Oldest City in the New World

Nov. 4.


St. Augustine, Florida



We are in the oldest city of the "New World"---St. Augustine, Florida....where Ponce de Leon searched for the Fountain of Youth in 1565. (they're still looking for it...)  We were amazed again at the old buildings, and the materials they used for so many of the buildings....no little rocks for cement, so they used sea shells.  We spent the day walking around the historic district and saw lots of cool shops.....well, Jill shopped and Steve and Harley talked to lots of people.  Steve says if you want to meet girls, all you need is a nice black lab.....

Ran into our first rain storm, but was at the end of our day, so that was ok.....they need the rain here, so we are happy.  I'm having a great time taking pictures of old doorways and alleys.....cheap date!



garden in the city



Walls made from sea shells




Castillo de San Marcos

 

one of many churches



Still heading South

Charleston, South Carolina

October 29            

        Took a side trip to Charleston with Scott and Darlene and had a great time walking, driving and carriage touring our way around the city.  Saw lots of great architecture, history and great southern hospitality.  We also took a trip to Fort Sumpter to see where so much action took place in the Civil War and the years following......wow.....the history here in the south is breathtaking!!   

Fort Sumpter with Scott and Darlene

On Monday we sadly left Little River and the great time Scott and Darlene showed us.....making them promise to visit Idaho next summer.....

Steve, Harley and I headed south and ended up in a great campground in Hardeeville, S.C. and spent the day touring Savannah, Georgia.  We took Harley along with us and have learned that if you claim him to be a "service dog" that he can pretty much go anywhere we go.....he loved the Trolly Tour of Savannah and got lots of attention from people along the way.   Again, we were awed by the amazing architecture, and history this city has to offer!  Steve kept his eye on the fact that we were below sea level most of the time.....how does that work?

Savannah, Georgia

We plan to be in Florida tomorrow and see some rain in the forecast.....sure can't complain though!!  We've been watching the hurricane heading toward Haiti and are hoping that it calms down.  We really are enjoying the trip and have found trailer life to be pretty easy so far....and will continue to write as we move along.