Monday, October 29, 2012

Staat Stats 2012

To summarize our 2012 adventure, here are a few Staat Stats:

Miles travelled:  16,081

Days on the road:  93
Days in Canada:  62
Days in States:  31

States visited:   22
Canadian Provinces visited:   8

Nights in motels:  2 (during the SMRP conference)
Nights with friends and family:  11
Nights in camper:  80

Why does the tune, "I've been everywhere, man," keep running through our heads?  Just perhaps it is because during our three trips in 2010, 2011, and 2012, we've racked up over 52,269 miles!!!  Insanity comes in all forms, I suppose! 

We invite you to join us for next year's adventure!!!  We'll keep you posted... no pun intended!  :)

Friday, October 19, 2012

I Love a Parade!!!

Orlando was an absolute treat.  We arrived Friday afternoon and spent the weekend with our son and his family.  We had the great privilege of watching our granddaughter and her team win a soccer game.


We celebrated our son's birthday and played poolside with our grandson.  Roxanne even got to go for a dip.  It was so great to be with everyone.


David's conference with the Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals began on Monday.  While he reconnected with old colleagues, I reorganized gear and caught up on some overdue computer work.

Tuesday evening was a delight.  We were able to see our granddaughter march in her first parade.  It was wonderful!!!  Here's an abbreviated video of the parade... it was also Rox's first!  Stout of heart as always, she didn't even flinch when the marching band's drum section passed us by.


I must admit... after being on the road so long, we were ready to be home.  We had been talking about it for days.  We began teasing each other about getting up bright and early Thursday morning to hit the road.  I told David that three o'clock in the morning was my goal.  We didn't miss it by far.  We were on the road by 4:15 eastern time.

We reached Lake Charles in by mid afternoon.  At that point, there was no stopping nor turning back.  My bed was calling me home!  I drove ten hours straight on pure adrenalin, taking the truck across the Texas state line, while we sang the Yellow Rose at the top of our lungs.  We swapped drivers, and David drove us home.  We arrived at dusk.

I don't know which of us was happier to set foot in the house.  Roxanne was like a puppy, grabbing toys and prancing up and down the hallway.  We settled into our respective chairs, toasting the blessings and our safe journey.  Sinking back into familiar cushions, all I could say is, "There's no place like home!"

Friday, October 12, 2012

Last Leg of our Journey Begins

We spent a splendid weekend with dear friends in North Carolina.  After enjoying amazing southern hospitality, soccer games, basketball practice, and lots of good eating, we left Monday morning for Florida.

Our first night's stay on this last leg of our trip was in Hunting Island State Park in South Carolina.  Although it was Monday and the skies opened up in heavy rains, the park was absolutely packed.  We felt lucky to set camp at one of the last two available campsites.  Unfortunately, except for a short stroll the following morning, the rains kept us from enjoying the lovely beach.

The next morning, we were back on the road.  We drove to Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine.  The park was a delight, filled with lots of shorebirds (including some with pink feet and others with yellow feet!).  We even happened upon a turtle grazing an evening salad and a small pod of dolphins fishing one of the inlets.





We spent the next two nights catching up with our nephew and his boys.  Although I didn't get a photo, we were blessed to see a manatee off their dock.

Now we're headed to Orlando to visit grandchildren!  Wow!  It will be a great time!

Friday, October 5, 2012

North Carolina's OBX

After spending several days in Missouri with family, we are headed east once again.  It certainly felt like deja vu... our trip really began in North Carolina this summer in Montreat.

With rumors of wild horses residing on the Carolina Outer Banks, or OBX as it is affectionately known, we decided to see what we could see.  We stopped at the local kite shop in Duck to buy gifts for the grandkids.  The store owner warned us that the wild horses would be hard to find.  Undaunted, we decided to take the twelve mile drive out to Carolla Beach.

I must admit, the crowds that we encountered in OBX were unexpected.  It was October and mid week, yet the road to beach was filled with stop and go traffic the entire twelve mile stretch.  The OBX islands are a major east coast vacation destination.  We drove past rows and rows of condos and rental homes.  Before our OBX experience, I had thought that the east end of Galveston was built up... but it is literally nothing compared here!  We were amazed.

While in Roosevelt National Park, we shared the entire campground with only 23 other campers... even on the weekend.  When we traveled the wildlife loop, we might encounter a half a dozen other cars during the entire 30 mile trip.  It was quite an adjustment to be in this sort of traffic.  It had a feeling more like rush hour at home rather than a quiet drive to a wildlife refuge.

We had been forewarned of the deep sand on the beach, so David slipped the truck into four wheel drive when we drove off pavement.  What we saw next surprised us... a dozen or more cars stopped about two hundred yards up the beach.  In front of them were four wild horses, two mares with their respective yearlings.

OBX horses



There are about 100 wild horses on this 12,000 acre wildlife refuge.  Smaller than most horses, they are not ponies.  These OBX horses are believed to be descendants of the Spanish mustang, most likely survivors of shipwrecks.  Many feel that their smaller stature is a result of the less nutritious food that they eat.  The horses graze on marsh grasses which also supply fresh water in addition to finding freshwater pools.

As I photographed the horses, I was surprised at how docile the mares appeared among this horde of spectators... quite unlike the wild horses at Roosevelt.  These horses seemed quite use to the crowds.  And while notices everywhere asked visitors to keep a 50-yard distance, we saw few respecting the limit.  One lady on a bicycle took photos less than 20 feet from one of the mares and vehicles drove even closer.

It was also evident that the horses have become a major tourist attraction for the area.  On our drive to the beach, we had seen dozens of "wild horse tour" signs outside various businesses.  In the short time we were with the horses, at least a half dozen jeep tours joined us, each packed with at least six people.

The sun was high and the beach crowded, so we decided to drive into the national park on the northern end of the island to find a campsite.  Thankfully, the tent camping area of the campground wasn't too crowded.  We discovered too late, however, that it is sticker bur heaven... a definite disadvantage when traveling with a long-haired dog!  Within minutes, we were pulling stickers from between Rox's pads and feathers.

After we set up camp, we took a stroll over the dunes to the lovely beach.


Over supper, we looked at the map to determine our next steps.  We both knew that we had, quite simply, been too isolated for too long to handle these kinds of crowds so soon.  We were due to arrive at the home of our North Carolina friends on Friday.  When we recognized that we were near the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge, home to red wolves and black bears, we decided to leave the crowds of OBX behind us.

Before leaving the following morning, however, we made one more stop on OBX at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.  What a wonderful treat it was for all of us!  (While I'm not certain that Rox is a flight aficionado like us, she most certainly enjoyed all the attention and pets!)

The memorial boasts an exact replica of the Wright Brother's plane.  We also saw the take off point of that historic first flight.  What an exciting moment that must have been!

Replica of Wright Brother's plane

Wright Brothers Memorial
We left Kitty Hawk and drove through a maze of gravel roads through Alligator River Wildlife Refuge.  We camped in a lovely little campground at Pettegrew State Park on Phelps Lake, amidst one of the last old growth forests in eastern North Carolina.  We saw no red wolves or black bear, but it felt good to be in a remote area again.  This is our third long trip and we now know that we must "re-enter" civilization slowly!