March 31, 2013  Happy Easter.

Today we had a long drive from Charleston SC to Ashville NC.  About 265 miles.  Some rain and some wind but not too bad overall.  The Caravan provided a nice Easter Dinner.

It has been so much colder than usual this year that the trees in this area are jus starting to show signs of spring.

 

March 28 - 30 Charleston
March 28^th  Was a travel day to Charleston SC, about 106 miles, not too bad.  Shortly outside Savannah Carl and I stopped at The Mighty 8^th Air Force Museum.  Carl picked this stop and he really enjoyed it.  The museum has the history of the Mighty 8^th in WWII but also lots of other Air Force memorabilia. 

March 29^th – Bus tour of historic Charleston and time to shop at the Old City Market.  For lunch we tried boiled peanuts and also grits and fried grits.   Fried grits much better than plain grits.  Boiled peanuts ok but not as good as roasted/salted.
In the afternoon we toured a tea plantation.  The only tea grown and processed in the U.S. On the way to the next stop at Magnolia Plantation we drove by the “Angel Tree”.

This is all one live oak tree, hunreds of years old.  The branches are so big and long they touch the ground

 

 

March 30^th – We toured the Patriot Point Navel and Maritime Museum.  Carl loved it!  They have converted the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier, the Destroyer Laffey, and a submarine to Museums.  You can walk through these vessels and see how life aboard was when they were in use.  The Yorktown had numerous aircraft on board from WWII to much more current.

 

After the Maritime Museum we took a ferrey to Fort Sumter National Monument.  The first shots of the Civil War happened here.

 

 

 

March 25-27, 2013 Savannah
March 25^th was a travel day to Savannah GA. About 68 miles, a short one.  After arrival Carl and I drove the car through downtown Savannah and over to Tybee Island.  The Island drew out attention because it is a National Wildlife Refuge.  It is also said to have beautiful beaches.  On the way we stopped and toured Fort Pulaski National Monument.  In 1862 Union forces took this fort from the confederacy and it became part of the Underground Railroad.  There is easy access to the beaches on Tybee Island but due to cold and wind we failed to appreciate them.

March 26^th – We went on a tour of downtown Savannah historical district on a hop on hop off trolley.  After the tour Carl and I walked around the area until time for our Riverboat Luncheon cruise.  Savannah is a beautiful city.  It’s laid out in a grid with a park/square every few blocks.  It was very cold and windy that day.  We all shivered or hid in shops waiting for the trolley to take us back to our car.

March 27^th was a free day in Savannah.  Carl and I drove to the Savannah Wildlife Refuge.  This Refuge is mostly in South Carolina but a little in Georgia.  We saw lots of birds and alligators. We drove and walked a couple trails.  For lunch we went back to Savannah to the Blue Moon Brewery.  Food was good but beer not so much.  After lunch we went to Bonaventure Cemetery.  In is unlike any cemetery I have seen.  There are large plants of mainly azaleas but others too.  Many live oak trees also.

Downtown Savannah

Cemetery

Cemetery

 

 

 

 

 

March 24th we went to Jekyll Island and had a tour on a trolley in a down pour.  Carl was on the outside and his right leg was quite wet.  Jekyll Island was purchased in 1886 by several prominent East Coast millionaires they called themselves the Jekyll Island club.  In 1910 the first draft of the Federal Reserve Act was drawn up on Jekyll Island. In the early 20^th century the Jekyll Island club members were said to represent one-sixth of the world’s wealth.  The Island is now a Georgia Resort location.  Many of the old homes have been preserved or restored and can be toured.  We had a Buffet lunch at an elegant old hotel.  It was the best meal yet with the caravan.  After lunch the sun came out and we toured the Georgia Sea Turtle center, a rehabilitation and research center for sick and injured sea turtles.  Later yet we went back to camp and got our bikes and rode on a trail through woods and along coast.  Turned out to be another good day.

 

Ancient Turtle skeleton

March 21 - 23, 2013

March 21st was a travel day from Titusville to St. Augustine.  About 104 miles.  Weather was o.k. but a little cold and windy.  After arriving at the RV park Carl and I went to Fort Matanzas, a National Monument. We took a ferry ride across a small river for a tour of the fort.  Interesting history here in that the Spanish held the area for 200 years from 1565.  There were Spanish Colonies here prior to the first English Colonies. After our tour of the fort we walked the nature trails.

 Then we checked out the beach where the staff had intended to serve us "Mexican hot dogs". You can drive your car on the beach for a short distance there.  Then we went on a search for Diesel.  After arriving back at the camp the Staff served the Mexican Hot Dogs that turn out to be Hot Dogs in a Tortilla.

March 22nd we had a bus day.  These bus days are our least favorite but not too bad.  Our first stop was at Mission Nombre De Dios (Name of God) this location claims to be the site of the first Catholic Mass in the New World.  We stopped at Castillo San Marcos, this is another fort that is a National Monument.  We happened to be there when they were demonstrating the cannon.

They let us off for lunch and shopping in St Augustin's Historic District.  Carl and I had lunch at A1A Ales, a craft brewery, very good food and beer.  Next stop the Fountain of Youth - Kind of hokey but more St. Augustine history.  next we visited the Oldest House Museum. This is the oldest house in St Augustine, I thought it was interesting.  Our last stop was at the Lightner Museum.  This Museum hold various collections of Mr. Lightner.  They include buttons, glass,musical instruments, quilts, shrunken head, stuffed lion, samplers and just about anything.

March 23rd, today was a travel day from St. Augustine to Brunswick GA.  About 154 miles. At the 107 mile point we had an En-route stop at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.  We were supposed to have a Boat Cruise into the Swamp land.  On arrival it was raining with lightning and thunder.  The boat cruise was cancelled.  Lightning and aluminum boats don't mix.
We waited about an hour and a half to let some of the worst of the storm pass but still had a very rainy drive.  Carl had to put on full rain gear to get us set up.

March 18-20, 2013

March 18th - The staff prepared breakfast for the group but Carl and I missed it. We did domestic stuff all day and then went to "Capone's Dinner Theater".  It was a buffet dinner and all you could drink too.  Lot's of laughs at the show.  Fun!!

March 19th was a travel day from Orlando to Titusville.  About  57 miles.  Easy uneventful drive.  After arriving we took the car to the Astronaut Hall of Fame, the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, and then watched an Atlas V rocket launch from the beach north of the launch. The Hall of fame had more information on astronauts than anyone could digest in one day. Much interesting stuff.  At the wildlife refuge we finally saw the elusive manatee.  (we did see 2 in a tank at Epcot) We saw 1 in one location and 2 in another.  I was quite happy.  The rocket launch just happened to be the day we arrived.  We were as close as we could be but did not have the telephoto lens or binoculars.  Still exciting to be there.

Sorry about no telephoto but that really is a rocket taking off.

 

March 20th - We went to the Kennedy Space Center and spent the whole day.  They have a Shuttle launch simulator.  Kind of like an amusement park ride.  Fun and educational.  I most enjoyed the IMAX film on the space station.  We went there when our kids were small, so say 28 years ago, it has changed quite a bit.  Very well done.  More kid friendly and a little more touristy.

Saturn V rocket.  Larges rocket ever made.  Sent Apollo astronauts to the moon.

This is where we watched the rocket launch but I can't move the photo to the previous day.?

 

 

They are building a place for shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center similar to what we have for Shuttle Discovery in Los Angeles.  Was scheduled to be open in March but not open till June 2013.

March 16-17, 2013

March 16th - 

March 17th - Happy Saint Patrick's day!  We spent the whole day at Epcot, a theme park and part of the Disney complex.  We had a great time, from open to close. 

Carl was being so silly I was silly back. Just happened to be when they took the photo.

March 15, 2013

A travel day from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando, our trip log says 224 miles.  We chose to take the Turnpike instead of following the log.  It cost us $24. But Carl was happy we did not travel on any small/bad roads.

I added photos to previous days.

March 13-14, 2013

A guided bus tour of the Ft. Lauderdale and Miami areas.  Then a narrated sightseeing cruise aboard the Island Queen in Miami.  We saw homes on the water of rich and famous. 

Above ground cemetery where some of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was filmed.

Our tour included Downtown, South Beach, Art Deco District, Miami Beach, Ocean Drive, Coconut Grove, Miracle Mile, Coral Gables and Little Havana.

 

March 14, 2013 - Mostly a free day, we filled it with housekeeping items.  In the evening we went on a “Jungle Queen Riverboat Sightseeing and Dinner Show Cruise.”

March 12, 2013

Travel day from Key West to to Ft. Lauderdale.  192 miles.  A long travel day to begin with but we also were stuck on the 7 mile bridge for 45 minutes due to an accident.  It was quite windy on the bridge.  People were out of their cars talking to neighbors watching the traffic backup farther and farther.   After arriving in Ft. Lauderdale the Adventure Caravans staff prepared us a Jambalaya dinner.

March 11, 2013

A free day to enjoy the Florida Keys.  We drove north to Big Pine Key to see the miniature deer.  These deer are only found on Big Pine Key and No Name key.  After that we did a little more biking around Key West and had dinner out at Hogfish Bar and Grille.  We recommend you try hogfish if you have the chance.  Quite delicious.  They feed on shellfish so it makes them quite tasty.  They are caught with spears.

Chickens are everywhere in Key West. When Cock fighting was outlawed they were released in the city.  Key West is a bird sanctuary so it is illegal to harm them.

Thought these birds were funny watching the popcorn pop.

March 8-10, 2013

March 8^th was a free day in Homestead.  Carl and I went to the Everglades National Park. We cruised around on our bikes and took a short hike on Bay Loop trail.  We saw several Ospreys and three of their nests.  We took several short boardwalks to lakes and ponds and watched lots of birds.  We saw a couple flamingos in flight.  We were able to follow them with binoculars but did not get photos.  We need a better lens.  Then we drove to Biscayne National Park Visitor Center.  Most of the Park is water.  We were too late for a boat ride.  We walked around the harbor and out on the jetty.  Still in search of the elusive Manatee.  Everywhere we go near the water they say “They were right here yesterday”.  We’re still looking.

 

 

March 9^th was a travel day from Homestead to Key West.  About 137 miles.  It was a beautiful sunny day to travel over Islands and bridges.   Carl and I stopped for a couple hours at Bahia Honda State Park on Bahia Honda Key.  This was said to be the best sandy beach in the Keys.  It fit the bill.  We rode bikes the length of the island and walked on a defunct portion of an old railroad bridge. Got our feet wet before continuing our journey.

 

 

March 10^th 2013
Happy Birthday Mom!  Today started with a Trolly ride around Key West to give us the lay of the land.  We drove back into town and parked at the beach then rode our bikes around down town.  Carl was in search of craft beer but mostly just getting the feel of the area.  Tonight we went on a sunset dinner cruise that included dinner and all you could drink.  There was a D J on the upper deck.  A good time was had by all.