Thursday, July 31, 2014
Barb's Travels
When I started this blog many years ago, I was not sure of how it would evolve. I am now trying to clean it up and make it easier to access different journals. The BIG trips are on the top at the left. All of my photos can be found here.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Two months in Florida seeking warmth
I guess it is time to catch up on my ‘on the road’ blog. After spending Christmas with Mandy in NYC, we headed back to Disney World January 18-February 17. It was typical Disney fun. We tried some new restaurants we hadn’t been to before and went to old favorites. We rode the remodeled Space Mountain, and I got my fix at Animal Kingdom. We had to fly home Feb 17 so Bill could get a kidney stone zapped.
On February 25 we flew back to Orland, picked up the RV from storage and headed to Sarasota to visit friends. We spent a bit of time with my friend Nancy and had dinner with a friend I met on the trip to Africa. We all went out to dinner since she lives in the same housing area as Nancy. While in Sarasota, we went to Myakka St Park. That was fun.
Then it was on to Florida City. We did the Everglades several times, Viscaya Mansion in Miami and Monkey Jungle. We left the RV at Florida City and drove down the keys for two nights in Key West. Finally saw Key deer on Pine Island key. Went to a neat butterfly garden and went through the Hemingway House.
From Florida City we went to Sebring so Bill could go to the race there. I spent the week reading and working on photos. I never seem to get caught up. In Sebring there is a wonderful state park called Highlands Hammock. After the races, we spent a day there. Then we drove to Fairhope AL to see cousin Nancy and a few friends there. Finally we went to Warm Springs GA to see FDR's Little White House and Callaway gardens.
We are now back in Raleigh, and I have posted several sets of photos on Flickr.
On February 25 we flew back to Orland, picked up the RV from storage and headed to Sarasota to visit friends. We spent a bit of time with my friend Nancy and had dinner with a friend I met on the trip to Africa. We all went out to dinner since she lives in the same housing area as Nancy. While in Sarasota, we went to Myakka St Park. That was fun.
Then it was on to Florida City. We did the Everglades several times, Viscaya Mansion in Miami and Monkey Jungle. We left the RV at Florida City and drove down the keys for two nights in Key West. Finally saw Key deer on Pine Island key. Went to a neat butterfly garden and went through the Hemingway House.
From Florida City we went to Sebring so Bill could go to the race there. I spent the week reading and working on photos. I never seem to get caught up. In Sebring there is a wonderful state park called Highlands Hammock. After the races, we spent a day there. Then we drove to Fairhope AL to see cousin Nancy and a few friends there. Finally we went to Warm Springs GA to see FDR's Little White House and Callaway gardens.
We are now back in Raleigh, and I have posted several sets of photos on Flickr.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Georgia Aquarium Atlanta GA
It was a fun day at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta. We left the RV at 9:20 and drove to downtown Atlanta, arriving there just as it opened at 10. We were pretty surprised at the crowd that was there already, but we bought our tickets at the credit card kiosk (much faster than waiting in the cash line) and entered the Aquarium. It is laid out in a pretty convenient way in that one enters into a huge central area from which the various exhibits extended. We went first to the Coldwater Quest area. At the entry one could touch sea anemones, urchins, and starfish. They had an exhibit of Japanese Spider Crabs that was truly impressive. At most of the exhibits they had volunteers or staff members to explain and answer questions. We saw woody dragon seahorses, beluga whales and otters at feeding time.
The next exhibit was Ocean Voyager. This is the big aquarium, 280’ long. The first viewing area is an acrylic tube that one can walk through with the fish overhead and beside us. The big area was like an Imax theater with the whole front viewing glass. They have several whale sharks which are impressive along with hammerhead sharks, a leopard ray, huge groupers. It was mesmerizing. We stopped to have lunch at the aquarium food court. I had a decent mushroom and goat cheese pizza while Bill had a chicken Caesar salad. The Aquarium was beginning to fill up especially with lots of strollers. That was an obstacle course.
Then it was on to the Titanic exhibit. They had lots of relics retrieved from the ship plus many exhibits concerning the ship. We stopped to see the Georgia Explorer which was mainly a kids play area We did the River Scout exhibit which had mainly river fish (not so pretty or impressive) river otters, and some alligators. Finally we went to the Tropical Diver which had lots of coral and reef fish and was quite pretty. We finally gave up at 3 and headed back to the RV.
Bill watched a ballgame and a golf match while I chatted with Mandy and read. We had leftovers out of the refrigerator so that we will have less to haul into the house when we get home. About 10 we drove over to the main area of the park to see the carving lit up at night. There wasn’t any good way to view it, so I wonder why they even have it lit at night.
We leave tomorrow for home and will stop for one night at Concord NC arriving back in Raleigh on Tuesday.
The next exhibit was Ocean Voyager. This is the big aquarium, 280’ long. The first viewing area is an acrylic tube that one can walk through with the fish overhead and beside us. The big area was like an Imax theater with the whole front viewing glass. They have several whale sharks which are impressive along with hammerhead sharks, a leopard ray, huge groupers. It was mesmerizing. We stopped to have lunch at the aquarium food court. I had a decent mushroom and goat cheese pizza while Bill had a chicken Caesar salad. The Aquarium was beginning to fill up especially with lots of strollers. That was an obstacle course.
Then it was on to the Titanic exhibit. They had lots of relics retrieved from the ship plus many exhibits concerning the ship. We stopped to see the Georgia Explorer which was mainly a kids play area We did the River Scout exhibit which had mainly river fish (not so pretty or impressive) river otters, and some alligators. Finally we went to the Tropical Diver which had lots of coral and reef fish and was quite pretty. We finally gave up at 3 and headed back to the RV.
Bill watched a ballgame and a golf match while I chatted with Mandy and read. We had leftovers out of the refrigerator so that we will have less to haul into the house when we get home. About 10 we drove over to the main area of the park to see the carving lit up at night. There wasn’t any good way to view it, so I wonder why they even have it lit at night.
We leave tomorrow for home and will stop for one night at Concord NC arriving back in Raleigh on Tuesday.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Stone Mountain GA
It was a fun day. We left the RV at 9:30 to do the park. We drove over, got our tickets, and got on the 10:30 cable car up to the top of the mountain. That was kind of interesting. There were some neat exhibits in the building along with a snack shop. There was a fenced off area for some endangered plants, a great view of Atlanta in the distance, and a good view of our campsite. We came back down and went to the Stone Mountain Museum. This area has had a rather dark side with the expulsion of the Indians and Klan rallies. We had lunch at the museum café. I had a really neat BLT with apple smoked bacon and fried green tomatoes which was really yummy. Bill had a Graceland sandwich, a grilled peanut butter, chocolate, banana sandwich. That was good, too.
From there we went to the Granite Exhibit which was really well done, showing the years of granite mining on the mountain. But the best part was the Antebellum Plantation. This was an area of buildings brought here and reconstructed. The buildings were open with wonderful descriptions of the furnishings. Everything was labeled which I truly appreciated. The major exhibit was the Dickey House, a huge 6250 sq foot mansion. That was a lot of fun, and we spent a bit of time there.
Bill stopped to see what was being offered at the antique store that was closing after 40 years. I stayed in the car and snoozed. He came back with a catalog of pretty impressive items. Finally we took the train ride around the mountain which was a 5 mile ride and rather anti-climatic.
We got back to the RV about 5:30 which was a longer day than we had anticipated. Bill grilled steaks for dinner, and we relaxed a bit.
From there we went to the Granite Exhibit which was really well done, showing the years of granite mining on the mountain. But the best part was the Antebellum Plantation. This was an area of buildings brought here and reconstructed. The buildings were open with wonderful descriptions of the furnishings. Everything was labeled which I truly appreciated. The major exhibit was the Dickey House, a huge 6250 sq foot mansion. That was a lot of fun, and we spent a bit of time there.
Bill stopped to see what was being offered at the antique store that was closing after 40 years. I stayed in the car and snoozed. He came back with a catalog of pretty impressive items. Finally we took the train ride around the mountain which was a 5 mile ride and rather anti-climatic.
We got back to the RV about 5:30 which was a longer day than we had anticipated. Bill grilled steaks for dinner, and we relaxed a bit.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Stone Mountain GA
We have gone from a stark parking place in a huge, muddy field to a lovely wooded lakeside campsite with a view of the side of Stone Mountain. The site is a very narrow one with steep sides, but we can put our chairs where we have a lovely view. We packed up this morning and made the weighing appointment Bill had made for 9:30 at the convention. They weighed all four corners of the RV, and we are well within our acceptable weight even with the tanks all loaded. Bill felt really good about that.
We only had a two hour drive to Stone Mountain, so we stopped at a pretty rest area near Macon, and sat in a pretty picnic area taking a break. We got here at 1:30. Setting up in this site was a little tricky because of the steep sides of the site, but we got it done. One RV site in another loop near the laundry has a big motor home on it, but the site is so not level that the owner has put bricks under his front jacks which took the front wheels at least 2 feet off the ground. We have no idea how that can be safe at all!! We took a ride around the mountain, checking out some of the things we want to do tomorrow. It was a lovely sunny day, but in the low 60s. It is supposed to be in the 30s here tonight, so we might beat spring back to Raleigh.
Bill did some laundry. I did some unpacking chores around the RV. We have a weak WiFi connection, but our Verizon card is working well. The satellite isn’t getting a signal, but the antenna is bringing in the major networks, so we can at least watch the news and The Amazing Race on Sunday.
We only had a two hour drive to Stone Mountain, so we stopped at a pretty rest area near Macon, and sat in a pretty picnic area taking a break. We got here at 1:30. Setting up in this site was a little tricky because of the steep sides of the site, but we got it done. One RV site in another loop near the laundry has a big motor home on it, but the site is so not level that the owner has put bricks under his front jacks which took the front wheels at least 2 feet off the ground. We have no idea how that can be safe at all!! We took a ride around the mountain, checking out some of the things we want to do tomorrow. It was a lovely sunny day, but in the low 60s. It is supposed to be in the 30s here tonight, so we might beat spring back to Raleigh.
Bill did some laundry. I did some unpacking chores around the RV. We have a weak WiFi connection, but our Verizon card is working well. The satellite isn’t getting a signal, but the antenna is bringing in the major networks, so we can at least watch the news and The Amazing Race on Sunday.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Perry GA FMC Convention
It was our last day at the Family Motor Coaching Convention. Bill left at 7:30 for a seminar on tips for RVing. I went over at 9 to meet him for the Canadian Maritime Province seminar. On the tram, some folks were talking about the convention and stated that the entertainment was worth the price of admission. Can we say Kazoos?!?! Te seminar was kind of a bust since their big screen had so much glare that we couldn’t see the beautiful photos. The first speaker started talking and people in the back (when there were lots of good seats up front) said they couldn’t hear. The speaker turned up her mic, and the lady said she still couldn’t hear, and the speaker told her to move closer to the front. Hee.
After that we went through the building of booths that I hadn’t seen. Bill bought a $5 kneeling pad which I liked since I put the wood under the jacks, and a pad will save my knees on gravel. We split a Philly cheese steak sandwich and wandered through some new motor homes. Some of them were really gaudy. We went back to the Camping World booth and Bill bought a water hose on a reel and a new lawn chair that finally is comfortable for him. We came on back to the RV. The guy next to us just had his 15 year old RV repainted and put new furniture in. The paint job looked great in shades of black, gray, and dark red. He invited us in to see the new leather furniture. I was stunned. He had his pilot/copilot chairs, sofa, and recliner done in a shade of avocado that I haven’t seen since the 1970s! And I know it wasn’t cheap.
We ate leftovers for dinner and then watched some guys working on the RV across from us. They were buffing the exterior, and it really was starting to shine. I talked to the guy who said they were taking off the corroded paint and then were going to wash and wax it. It really was making a difference. Tomorrow Bill signed up to get the RV weighed at 9:30, and then we head out to Stone Mountain.
After that we went through the building of booths that I hadn’t seen. Bill bought a $5 kneeling pad which I liked since I put the wood under the jacks, and a pad will save my knees on gravel. We split a Philly cheese steak sandwich and wandered through some new motor homes. Some of them were really gaudy. We went back to the Camping World booth and Bill bought a water hose on a reel and a new lawn chair that finally is comfortable for him. We came on back to the RV. The guy next to us just had his 15 year old RV repainted and put new furniture in. The paint job looked great in shades of black, gray, and dark red. He invited us in to see the new leather furniture. I was stunned. He had his pilot/copilot chairs, sofa, and recliner done in a shade of avocado that I haven’t seen since the 1970s! And I know it wasn’t cheap.
We ate leftovers for dinner and then watched some guys working on the RV across from us. They were buffing the exterior, and it really was starting to shine. I talked to the guy who said they were taking off the corroded paint and then were going to wash and wax it. It really was making a difference. Tomorrow Bill signed up to get the RV weighed at 9:30, and then we head out to Stone Mountain.
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