Thursday, November 19, 2015

Settling In

Hi All,

We are now settled in at Fort Caroline. The anole have come to visit


and the big container ships move up River.

Last Sunday an antique car group came for a visit, including several that had to be crank started.


We are developing a living history program and selecting our costumes. Will send pictures when available.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
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Friday, November 6, 2015

Brookgreen Gardens

Hi All,

Near the state park is a huge garden with beautiful plantings and a magnificent collection of over 1,400 American sculptures.

The Live Oak Alley leads us into the gardens.


One of hundreds of life size statues.

Some are exhibited in fountains

Of course, we found a bear statue. This one is cast in Aluminum!

The sculptor then recast the design in Bronze.

Keeping with the animals of Grand Teton theme, here are two exquisite bull moose.

The gardens also have a butterfly exhibit but it is closed for the winter. The gift shop had this awesome Sunset Moth from Madagascar.
Today we drove to St Augustine for a week of relaxing before we go back to "work" at Fort Caroline.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
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Huntington Beach State Park

Hi All,

A long drive on Monday brought us to this beautiful state park on the ocean just south of Myrtle Beach, SC. 

Walking along the causeway we spotted our first alligator of the season. 


In the distance, these roosting birds looked like white ibis, about 24" tall. When we got closer we realized they were white storks, far less common and over 40" tall.

The poor folks here in coastal SC have endured weeks of heavy rain and the ground remains saturated. Last night's rain just pooled on the surface.

The park is in the small community of Murrell's Inlet. They have a "Marsh Walk" along the creek , lined with restaurants.

We had a great lunch at the Dead Dog Saloon.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
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Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Still Causing Trouble

Hi All,
"Our" bears that were relocated to the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, SD are in the news again.

A Sioux Falls news outlet released the following report:



  • Black Bears Climb Too High For Comfort At Great Plains Zoo

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The Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls had a little scare Monday morning.

According to a spokesperson at the zoo, two black bears climbed a tree and was a little higher than zookeepers were comfortable with. However, the bears were never out of their exhibit.

Zoo officials say as a precaution, they escorted visitors into the zoo lobby and other areas of the zoo that were more secure. They took about an hour for zookeepers to coax the bears down with treats.

Due to a long history of nuisance behavior, the zoo acquired two Black Bears from the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. The 12-year-old and her cub joined a 16-year-old black bear, Charles, that has been at the zoo since 2009."

  •  

These bears got in trouble in the park by stealing food from picnickers. Perhaps the zoo wanted them to feel at home so they put a picnic table in their enclosure.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
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Monday, November 2, 2015

Potpourri

Hi All,

Friday we drove from Chincoteague to Virginia Beach. First Landing is a great State Park campground right on the beach at the mouth of the Chesepeake.


After settling into our site we walked along the beach. The cloudy sunset foretold two days of rain.

In addition  to the beach, First Landing has a network of great hiking trails through a cypress swamp. The Visitor Center had this great quote from Theodore Roosevelt.

We did get in a three mile hike Saturday afternoon. It was neat that every short bridge across a swampy area had a plaque with the name of the scout who built it as his Eagle Scout project. Sunday was a washout so we went to the movies.

Traveling across the country as we do, maps are important to us. We recently found this critical map. It shows all the states where we can buy wine in a supermarket instead of hunting for a liquor store😉.
Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502
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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Chincoteague Refuge

Hi All,

Early on Friday we hiked along the wildlife loop at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. We were too early for the masses of ducks and geese but we saw quite a few different birds.

We also saw about 20 of the famous Chincoteague ponies.


Like most barrier islands, Assateague has a great lighthouse.

At the local museum we found the original 1860 1st order Fresnel Lens imported from England for the lighthouse.

The local "watermen" harvested huge quantities of oysters. This museum exhibit displayed many of the different brands of canned oysters.

The museum also included this 1880 Howe Hand Pump firefighting apparatus .

Another part of the fire fighting exhibit displayed this quote
It reminded us of our friend Geno Farnam , for many years a firefighter in Nashua, NH. If you know a current or retired firefighter, give them a hug!

Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
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Friday, October 30, 2015

South to Virginia

Hi All,

Yesterday we drove south to Chincoteague Island. Along the way we stopped at the Wallops Island Flight Facility.

Started as a Navy test facility in 1945, Wallops transferred to NASA in 1956. They launch orbital and sub-orbital research rockets and manage the high altitude balloon program ( usually launched from Antarctica).

From the observation deck we saw this big array of satellite antennas.


This test article validated the Mercury Program launch abort system.

This is a Nike-Cajun sounding rocket.

After Wallops we settled into the campground on Chincoteague Island. Sitting out on a 70 degree evening

and enjoying a lovely sunset.
Love,

Sandy & Carl 
Living & Traveling in our Motorhome
Volunteering across America
617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
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