See you in Florida!

Once we unplug and move out (this morning) it's going to be a while before we plug back in again because we're not going to set up out internet satellite dish until we get to Florida on Nov 5th.

We're spending a couple days in South Carolina and several days in Georgia (we get to have a long visit with my cousin and her family!!) and then we'll get to our destination.

Sorry, no photos of North Carolina. It's wooded and pretty here but nothing photo worthy. Fall colors here are not what they are in New England. Maybe we're just too early for it but I suspect things turn more brown than red or yellow.

So... Check back in a couple weeks to see what's up.

Zippin' Around (and a "small world" story)

As you know, from the last posting, I went with Larry on his business trip last week. We first flew to Nashville in order to drive to Atlanta (because Southwest Airlines doesn't fly to Atlanta). The next day we drove back to Nashville to catch a flight to Tampa. However, we had a couple extra hours in our schedule to do something different.

We decided to drive to Turtletown, Tennessee!! What a fitting place for Traveling Turtles, wouldn't you say! It's about an hour from Chattanooga, very close to the North Carolina border. The drive was beautiful as we drove along a lake and then along a river where autumn is still approaching peak color.

As it turns out, there isn't much to Turtletown. There were plenty of country homes in the area but not much in the way of business.


A post office is about the only thing open. There is a good size school but it appears to be closed. Ducktown, about 10 miles away, is where the businesses seem to be thriving.

Tampa was a repeat city for us but Ft Lauderdale was new - at least for me. You may have enjoyed some of the sights had I taken some pictures but I didn't. It all seemed like repeat and I wasn't motivated to use the camera. Sorry ya'll.

On Saturday we went to Colonial Williamsburg. Now that was interesting. This is the actual site of the colonial town and includes 88 of the original buildings. We learned about certain trades such as blacksmithing, book binding, shoe making, saddlery, wheel making and more along with details of how life was back then. Then, of course, there were the turbulent times just prior to the revoluntion.
Here's a photo of a brick kiln. What is unique is that the kiln is built once a year using the bricks that they have made all summer. It takes five to six weeks to build the kiln and several days to get the fire up to full heat. It burns for about a week before they seal the ends and let it cool down for several weeks. Finally, they'll take the whole thing apart and repeat it again next year. The outside is skimmed with mud to help hold the heat inside. For more photos, check out http://travelingturtles.myphotoalbum.com/ (but look tomorrow because it takes hours to download and I'll do it tonight).

Finally, at the end of the day, we headed back to our car via the visitor's center. That's when I saw someone I thought I knew. I looked twice and I still wasn't sure. I thought hard to remember her name. This would be going back 6 years and more to when we lived in Santa Rosa. Laura and their son went to Santa Rosa Christian School together from Kindergarten to 8th grade. I remembered Paul's name just fine. It took me a moment to remember his last name and finally his mom's first name.

She and I talked often in the parking lot at school. We both went to Bible Study Fellowship. We went on field trips together. Ah yes! I remembered her name and hurried to get within calling distance and called her. She looked up; it was her!! The first thing she said was "What are you doing here?". That's exactly what Larry's cousin said to us we when ran into her at a public pool in Washington. The four of us chatted for a while, catching up on what we've been doing for the last six years. It truly is a small world after all.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast with some friends (and distant relatives) who live in Virginia. They graciously drove an hour from home to meet with us. We had dinner with them 5 years ago when we made our first trip back East. We could talk for hours so of course breakfast just wasn't long enough - but at least it was something.

By the way, we are definitely in the "South" now. Larry heard someone cheerfully say to someone else, "Ya'll have a good rest of ya'lls week." That is my salutation to you; uh, I mean to ya'll.

Along the way

We're making progress. Saturday we drove from New Hampshire to Virginia. It wasn't our plan to make it all in one day but it was so easy. We were in 8 states on one day! NH, MA, CT, NY, NJ, DE (Delaware), MD (Maryland), PA and VA. Wait! That's 9 states.

For dinner we went to the two well-known Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich shops. Pat's and Geno's are across the street from each other. The streets in the neighborhood are quite narrow with cars parked on both sides. There is room for only one car on the one way streets. KIT (our navigator) took us through without a hitch. The locals are nuts! They parked their cars in the crosswalk or wherever they pleased while they purchased their sandwiches. The lines were long but that means it's good, right?

Larry bought a sandwich at Pat's and I bought one at Geno's. We order the same sandwich - a provolone with onions; or "wit onions" at Pat's. Here's our humble critique: both sandwiches were identical; both were nothing special. The meat is not seasoned, the onions undercooked, and the cheese was skimpy. But, we had the original and now we can say we have!



The next day we went to the home of Thomas Jefferson: Monticello. The grounds are beautiful, the home is unique and the tour was very good. I'd have to say though that I learned more about the man himself at the visitors center that we visited 5 years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera on the tour so I have no photos of that for you.

Today, I'm in Atlanta, tagging along with Larry on his business trip. Later today we'll fly to Tampa. Tomorrow we fly to Ft Lauderdale. It will probably be a week before you see another post. Until we meet again...
Happy Trails to you.

Last Day in New England

Tomorrow morning we pull out. It may be a while before you see another post; but, keep your eyes open just in case. We're taking 3 weeks to get from here to Florida and we're doing some fun things along the way. Larry has some work to do and will be flying out from different airports along the way. I'm going to go with him on one of his trips.

Although today was prep day for leaving we took a couple hours off and finally used this golf course we've been parked next to for two months. Larry played and I caddied. Here's some shots:



PS That's our rig in the background.

Before & After

Before (late Aug.) & After (mid-Oct.)

That dark red tree behind our rig is an Oak. I've only known Oaks to turn brown. The red quickly turns to brown but the overall effect is red.

These trees are the latecomers. They just started turning during this last week - way behind many others.

The short red tree is a Sumac.

Some of the prettiest sites have been in our own neighborhood. This is just down the street. We are so blessed to be able to enjoy these views.

"Mt Greylock Nature Ramble"

There was a special on TV recently about New England in the Fall and one of the features was a community hike up a "mountain". Larry and I thought it would be fun to join 3000 other people for a hike.

We got up early and drove 3.5 hours to Adams, Mass. We didn't see any crowds and there was plenty of parking. We began to wonder if we somehow missed it. But, there was a shuttle bus so we climbed aboard. It took us up and up. I began to wonder if the hike was down only. But, it dropped us off at the trail head where a few others were and we started walking. We walked steadily up and up and up. The trail was moderate but long. We walked uphill for an hour and a half (without stopping!!) and finally made it. Come to find out, this is the tallest "peak" in Massachusetts. It's all of 3,500'. While I'd have to differ with their definition of "mountain", I would agree that the hike it just as serious as a hike Yosemite.



Remember "Kit", our navigator device? You would think, wouldn't you, that "she" would take us the same path going and coming? Not!! On the way there, she took us via Interstates as much as possible. On the way home, she took us back roads with about 1 mile of Interstate. Amazingly, it took about the same amount of time. The best part was seeing all the beautiful countyside.

These are a few of My Favorite Things

Just in case I've haven't told you... my favorite horse is the Clydesdale. Today I had the opportunity to hug a Budweiser Clydesdale in Merrimack, NH. This is probably the cleanest horse I've ever had the occasion to kiss. :-) Once a month, for only a couple hours, Budweiser gives the public access to these magnificent horses. Tom is small for a Clydesdale but we won't hold that against him.

On the Budweiser grounds we saw lots of Monarch Butterflies who apparently love these daisies (or Asters or whatever they are).

Leaf Peeping

Hello everyone!

The fall season is progressing quickly now. It's getting really pretty here in Southern New Hampshire so it's time to head out and see the sights! Yesterday we headed for the coast and then North into Maine a little. We ate at the same lobster place in Yarmouth that we ate at 5 years ago. (Remember Laura?). It strikes me as so odd to order and eat lobster outside and have it served on a paper tray.

Today we headed North to the White Mountains. The Maples are lovely but the Aspens (or Birch; I don't know which) were leafless already. They seem to grow taller than the Maples so entire hillsides had a grayish overtone from all the bare branches. On Thursday we had rain and wind (high winds in the night) which I believe have knocked a lot of leaves down sooner than would otherwise happen. Once we got onto smaller roads and actually into the trees the Aspens didn't spoil it anymore and it was wonderful. Sometimes, when the sun shines just right, some trees appeared to glow.

If truth be told, I think Vermont is prettier than New Hampshire. It seems to have more open area and vistas. So, we didn't spend the whole day in the White Mountains, we also went to Vermont! Cabot Cheese (in Cabot, VT) has won every award there is to win in the cheese world and we heard they have Horseradish Cheddar. So guess where we went! We got the best cheese factory tour we've ever had and tasted the best cheddars ever. Even I liked the Horseradish Cheddar because it had the flavor without the kick. Another favorite of mine was Chipotle Pepper Cheddar. Yummy!

We finished the day back in the White Mountains with a long bike ride. First we tried a trail but it was suited for only experienced mountain bikers. After dealing with lots of rocks, sticks, mud and steep inclines we decided to go back and ride a quiet blacktop road instead. We thoroughly wore out our legs and gave our hearts a good work-out with about a two hours ride. (Please note, in the photo at the right- that is a "mountain" in the background.)

Can you believe that we'll be leaving here in a week? Originally, our plan was to stay through the end of October but the RV parks says they're closing and we must go. We feel we've seen the best of Autumn and are ready to move on - or will be by the end of next week. We'll take about three weeks to get to Florida so there will be plenty to see along the way.

Maybe tonight I will add more photos to our online photo album. If you are so inclined, check out http://travelingturtles.myphotoalbum.com/.