Pictures Now Available!

It seems that technology is working better here in Florida: I have been able to post some pictures. I have gone back and added pictures to two blog entries:

• Monday
• Tuesday

After all the wait and anticipation, I am not sure they were worth it. but, they are what they are.

To all of our RVing Friends

While we were at the Smithsonian museums, we saw a few things that you might find interesting.

Back in the day, this was a great way to travel. Doesn’t look quite as appealing as our own Casa Milonga.

And in the Air and Space Museum, we found another “RV”. I remember the space program of the Kennedy era and the need to quarantine returning astronauts. Well here it is.

I never knew that it was an Airstream!

Saturday in Paynes Prairie - Nice

Well it is Saturday morning, there is speckled sun on the ground because of the nice trees here. The cats find the birds and other critters interesting and spend time at the windows watching; that is when they are not sleeping - as they are at the moment.

We are going to go to an observation area nearby to see what we can see. I'll post any interesting pictures when we get back.

Sunday morning it is off to Fort Myers.

Take care all.

Florida or Bust

The day has arrived. We are off to Florida. We should be there before the day is over!

It's 6:45 AM and 50 degrees and we are on the way!

Update:
It's noon; it's Georgia; it's 70 degrees!

Update 2:
It's 2:36 PM; it's Florida; it's 77 degrees!

Update 3:
It's 5:45 PM; it's Paynes Prairie; it's 75 degrees!

We have bought provisions and beverage and are set for the night. End of day!

Quiet Day in Murrells Inlet

Today dawned a bit warmer and a bit grayer. During our morning walk, it was almost difficult to take pictures. Looking through the camera display, everything looked the same gray color, even the seagull! But, it was not freezing cold, the wind was mild and it was a pleasant spring day. Gotta love it!

This afternoon we walked around the park, getting educated about marshes, birds and alligators. Huntington Beach Park is a lovely park. The camping area has large, level sites, with many trees. The beach is just a long stretch of sand that goes on in each direction almost as far as the eye can see.

After the requisite nap, we ate in and are ready for a quiet evening. We are planning on leaving early tomorrow. We have at least an 8 hour day to get to Gainesville, FL. When the GPS estimates 8 hours, we can easily add about 2 hours. Guess we take more potty breaks than the GPS plans for. So it will be a long day. To make matters worse, there is no easy way to get to I95 from here. The best thing seems to be to drive more or less south for 100 miles and finally get to 95. But, on the positive side, the forecast is for a great day. So, we should be able to do it!

Once in Gainesville we will be staying at Payne’s Prairie State Park. We have heard good things about it. But, this will be our first visit. I am hoping that Florida weather is warmer than South Carolina’s.

Things to Think About

Or a bit of this and that.

We drove by a place called the Ladies Gym. Their rather large sign announced that they were now co-ed. Hmm, I think a name change would improve that co-ed business.

Ever have some words that you see on a sign and can’t quite get your eyes or your brain to register it correctly. (I’m sure our daughter, the brain expert could tell me exactly what is happening and whether it is the eye, or the brain or both that are causing the problem.) There is a word WACCAMAW that I just could not get. Too many C’s and I kept switching the M and W’s. Strange. (Note: I had to update the word - I had the M in the wrong place!! Man I just can't get that word!)

EZPass is very convenient, but it may take several days for the charges to show up on your account.

Last year when we travelled to Florida, the burning question related to gas prices, which were ridiculously high. What a difference a year makes. This year my only concern was temperature. And, here in SC it is still not warm enough. FYI, last year the best price we found enroute was $3.09/gallon; and it was $3.29 in Ft. Myers. This year, we left home and passed the local station at $2.01, bought some for $1.73. Have seen prices from $1.67 to $2.17 (Washington DC). What a difference a year makes.

BTW, the temperatures last year were not much better than this year. Considering that we travelled after March 8, I think we are doing better this year.

Murrells Inlet and the Myrtle Beach area is lovely. We are enjoying It a lot. I would definitely visit again. But, it has not touched my soul. Most places do not do so. Only a few places have: Aruba, the Smokey Mountains, Ft. Myers Florida and Austin, TX. All different. But, all feel like home when I am there. Can’t explain it.

Doing the Carolina shag is fun. It is a 6-count basic and works well with slow swing music. Like West Coast Swing it is a slotted dance, danced in place. It had its inception in the resort communities here in Myrtle Beach in the 1930 and was in its heyday in the 50’s and 60’s. But, watching the dance floor last night, it has not left the area yet.

Shopping Day

We decided to do some errands today. Murrells Inlet is the seafood capital of the South Carolina. So we thought some seafood was in order. We chose our favorite restaurant, right here in Casa Milonga, Site 31 at Huntington State Beach. So, we went to the fishmonger. Actually, it was a fish store and it was called Murrells Inlet Seafood. Bought some Hog Snapper. Delicate white fish that is supposed to be good pan sautéed in olive oil and some seasoning. We’ll see.

Then we needed some groceries. Not much, but we were out of a few things. Shopped at a Food Lion’s. not sure I what to think of the name, but it is a bit better than Piggly Wiggly, which always reminds me of the children’s verse This little piggy went to market…. There was also an Bi-Lo. Though it was spelled differently, all I could think of was Sell High. Passed on that store.

Then we needed to find a new rechargeable vacuum. The dust-buster-like appliance that came with the motor home had a battery that was aging and not holding a charge. As in many things on RVs and boats, there was a definite space constraint. The really nice, new large ones just wouldn’t fit. After trying, Home Depot, Lowes and heading for WalMart, we decided to try Kohl’s. Bingo. Just the right size. Normally, I don’t worry about being able to vacuum up the spilled trail mix (really, I did put the cover back on!) and the odds and ends that we or the cats can leave about. But, yesterday I realized that we were going to have to live with it all for another 6 weeks. Our longest trip to date has been 2 weeks. I don’t care if I have to ignore the bits and pieces for another 10 days. But, 6 weeks seems a bit much to endure the mess. So, we now have a new Shark. I am about to go try it out. I have, however, found other things that just have to get done before I do any house work!!

Also bought a small container of pansies and planted it in our outdoor planter. It really is spring here.

Comments on Technology

Actually, I love technology, we both do. It is how we make our living. But, we do become very dependent on it. And when its weaknesses show up, it is frustrating and annoying. As it is right now. We can get email and seem to be able to send email after a couple of tries. I seem to be able to blog, but not with pictures. Bummer, I like the pictures. So, they will have to wait until we can get to a better location. In truth, this location is just fine. We like Murrells Inlet, we just need to get a location that has better access!!

Tuesday, February 23, 2009

We left NC where the temperature was about 32 degrees. We arrived in SC where the temperature was about 47 degrees. While it is not a remarkable temperature, it did feel very warm. We walked the beach and enjoyed Huntington Beach State Park, which is really in Murrells Inlet.

We decided that we wanted to take a Carolina Shag lessons. We found Fat Harold’s and had a great lesson. The instructor provided a lot a history on the dance and the Myrtle Beach area. And he did a great job teaching the basic step of the Shag.

Monday, February 23, 2009

We left Cherry Hill this morning and travelled to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the Air and Space Museum’s facility near Dulles airport. It was a great facility and a museum that is not to be missed. The facility is composed of 2 Quonset hut structures that allow them to display many, many airplanes. There were planes of all sizes, colors and shapes: American, Japanese, German and others. There was even an actual size Concorde.


The weather was bitter cold and extremely windy – at about 20 with the wind chill. Will it ever get warmer?

We left the museum and drove to Roanoke Rapids, NC and spend a chilly, quiet night at Wally World.

We are off to South Carolina tomorrow.

Sunday in Washington DC

Weather: Chunky Rain, aka Snow
Conditions: Extremely non-Florida like
Afternoon High Temperature: 85 degrees and extremely humid

We started out the day at Cherry Hill and decided to drive into Union Station. The drive was fine and we navigated with no problems. This was our first exposure to the rain/snow mixture. Once we parked the car, we took the metro to Metro Center and visited the newly refurbished Ford’s Theater. Unfortunately, at 11 in the morning they were closed to viewing. So, other than the lobby and entrance, which were nice, we saw nothing. I was looking forward to it, as I can’t remember every having been inside. It will have to wait for another trip.

Then, it was on to the Smithsonian. During this walk, we had another encounter with snow. It was a cold, windy day in DC. We had lunch at the Museum of American History. Quit good for cafeteria food. After lunch, we visited several exhibits, including Old Glory, transportation, an exhibit that included Kermit the Frog and the Ruby Slippers, Julia Child’s kitchen. Then we decided to go to the Museum of Natural History. Here is where we experienced the afternoon high temperatures – in the Butterfly Exhibit. They had a special exhibit of live butterflies. We have visited many butterfly museums and exhibits in the US and the Caribbean. This one was spectacular. Because they create conditions favorable to the butterfly and moths, we were quite warm, like we were in Florida, in the warm moist environment. The taste of weather will have to satisfy us for a few more days.

After a few more exhibits, we decided to call it a day; my arthritic joints were ready for rest! Here are some of the pictures of the beautiful butterflies.

Our Stuff

If you remember the comedian, George Carlin, you might also remember his sketch about "stuff". We spend our life collecting and moving our"stuff" and when we go on vacation we take a subset of all of out stuff. So, here is our list of stuff dedicated to George Carlin.


Stuff We Took
Two (2) Kitties and all their toys, bed and food.
Three (3) Cameras.
Two (2) computers.
A guitar.
One of us took enough clothes for 6 months - you never know exactly what you might need.
The other of us took about enough for 1 week - it can be washed and worn again.
A lot of food.
Between us, 5 bathing suits - can't wait for the warm Florida sun.
And as Red Sox fans, we brought the scorebook and a ball with several pens, in case they are in the mood to sign.


Stuff We Didn't Take
The kitchen sink. Oh, that's not quite right, we already had one on the motor home. But, we did leave one at home as well!

Stuff We Forgot
Nothing that we have thought of. And now that we are in DC, we are not thinking about it any more. And Nothing that we have discovered so far, that is good news!

To EZ-Pass or not to EZ-Pass

That has been the question for quite awhile now. The answer is: To EZ-Pass. No fumbling for change at the plazas that want 50 cents; not finding real money for those that want a lot more. And they even have Express lanes where you don't have to stop. Great. Makes paying tolls almost bearable!!

So, if you need to make a choice, get EZ-Pass!

Friday, 2/21/2009 Update

We have made it out or RI,through CT,NY and are now stopped for lunch in NJ.
5PM - Cherry Hill Campground - Supper and then a little drive through DC.

Ready, Set . . .

GO!!

We were up at 5:30 and the temperature was 23 degrees. May we not see that again until November or December!!

It took a while to convince the cats that they really didn't want any food and that they should come out to the motor home. Eventually, we succeeded.

It took a bit more time to have breakfast, check the house and do all the last minute things. All items on the check list were checked! So at 7:35 the RV moved out of the driveway and by 7:50 we were driving up the road, with car in tow. BTW, it was 27 degrees.

What could possibly take that long. Do you know how hard it is to get the car attached in freezing cold weather. Oh wait - many of you reading this do, in fact, know this from experience. Then there was the locking pin that had to be removed from under the RV - the wrong one had been installed. Then there was the Brake Buddy. First time using it on a trip. So, the setup was a bit time-consuming. But, all that done and we are off.

Now the adventure starts.

Weather Forecast – Snow

We are leaving on our “big” trip of 2009 – from New England to Florida, with stops along the way. We are leaving in one week from today. So it was natural that I started checking the long-range forecast for next weekend as soon as I could last week – even a day or two early so that I could see any trends. As expected, the dreaded word was there – SNOW! While the picture shows how lovely the motorhome looks in the snow. We don really like how it looks when we are driving it in the snow.
But, as this is New England, I waited a day or two and guess what? The word has completely disappeared from the forecast! That is good news. Of course, I have to remember that this is New England and it could come back as quickly as it left. Let’s hope that it doesn’t – at least not until we are south of the snow line. Nothing better than to be poolside, in 80 degree temperature and realize that it is snowing at home!
Bon Voyage – we are off soon.