Washington DC Day 1

Hi All,

Thanks to all of you who expressed concern for our adventures yesterday. We awoke to clear skies and drove to remaining 60 miles to DC. We settled into Greenbelt National Park, a beautiful wooded area right on the beltway. It's dry camping(no hookups) but with our Senior Pass it is only $8 a night and a mile from the Metro.

First stop was the Smithsonian Castle

With a sampling of exhibits from the various other museums like this Apollo lunar sample return container (Moon Rock Box) from the Air & Space Museum

and this 12 inch long bird eating tarantula from the Natural History Museum

We then walked along the Tidal Basin towards the Jefferson Memorial. The Cherry Blossom Festival is underway but the blossoms are waiting for warmer weather.

The Jefferson Memorial is impressive as always

This is Jefferson's opinion on religious freedom. Thank you President Jefferson.

Next we walked up to this place. Pretty low key for the leader of our country.

In the evening we planned our touring for the next couple of days.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Soda Cans & Snow

Hi All,

It was a great plan. We would drive only 310 miles up I-95 from central NC to Washington DC. Plus, it was a Sunday so we would not have rush hour traffic. The forecast called for some rain but tomorrow will be sunny and 60°.

It was a different reality. Lots of stop and go traffic and once we sped up we heard a loud bang. At first we thought we blew a tire but then we saw pieces of shredded tire peeling off the semi in front of us. Then came the soda cans. Apparently, the tire tore open the truck floor and green soda cans came pouring out. Dozens of cans, far too many to avoid, especially since Carl was focused on avoiding the larger tire pieces. Fortunately, the heavy coach tires crushed the cans easily.

Once passed the soda cans the rain got heavier, then north of Fredericksburg it turned to sleet then snow. With over an hour to go, we decided to find someplace to stop sooner. With her iPad Sandy found a campground six miles away, called to confirm they had space and reprogrammed the GPS.

Soda cans and snow made for an interesting day. We'll continue to DC tomorrow.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Jekyll Island

Hi All,

We spent the last two days exploring Jekyll Island, a beautiful and historical island on the Georgia coast.

First stop was the Tidelands Nature Center with this stainless Right Whale.

As we hiked the beach along the south coast, we found this tree with the dirt around its roots completely washed away by the surf

Nearby, many trees were toppled, not surprising since the roots were exposed.

Last stop was the Georgia Sea Turtle Center where they rehabilitate hundreds of sea turtles from as far away as Cape Cod.

This two year old will grow some more prior to release.

Above the gift shop was a replica skeleton of an extinct Giant Sea Turtle, seven feet long, 11,300 pounds!

Tomorrow we start the two day drive for some sightseeing in Washington DC.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Volunteer Opportunities

Hi All,

Back in the Jacksonville area we spent another wonderful day with Scott, Tara and the boys. While we were gone, Wyatt had an accident while doing tricks on his Razor scooter. He got "impressive air" coming off the ramp but also got "impressive concrete" upon landing. He has a broken foot and wrist. Wyatt was bummed about not being able to play tennis but he can still fish. When we saw him a few days after the accident, he was far more mobile and up-beat than we expected.

We all went to see the movie Divergent then out to eat.

Monday evening we had a wonderful visit with Jim & Evalyn Campbell. 

The next day we visited Fort Caroline National Monument in NE Jacksonville. We spoke to the Volunteer Coordinator and were offered a position next winter. 

On Wednesday we continued north to Brunswick, GA and visited Fort Frederica, a British fort and town pivotal in the battle to keep the Spanish from coming north from Florida.

In the old town site, this two sided hearth was the site of two buildings that shared a common wall and chimney. The tavern was to the left and the doctor lived on the right.

The fort was built on a bend in the river with great views north and south.

This is the remains of the barracks that housed 100 soldiers.

Here we saw the remains of the moat that surrounded the fort and town.

We talked to one of the rangers about volunteering. This place is also a possibility but a bit further north i.e. colder.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Miami Beach & Northern Friends

Hi All,

We spent a wonderful day with Roberta and Elliot starting in Miami Beach. 

First stop was the Holocaust Memorial, dominated by this haunting central sculpture.

We then walked to Lincoln Road and walked along the pedestrian mall all the way to the beach.

The water was a beautiful, translucent aqua color and lots of people were in the water.

The beach was lined with Art Deco  hotels that look like every South Beach post card you ever saw.

We then walked the gauntlet of sidewalk restaurants along Ocean Drive. After careful study, we selected this one. The good news is that it was Happy Hour (everywhere). The bad news was that those big margaritas you see here were $35 !!!!

The food was delicious and we enjoyed lunch a lot.

Back in Boynton Beach, Roberta and Elliot invited some of our mutual friends from Massachusetts to their rental condo for the evening. Great fun catching up.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Visit with Al & Eileen

Hi All,

It is hard to believe that Al & Eileen retired to Florida 21 years ago. We caught up on family news and we saw recent photos of their great grandson Julian. We spent the afternoon with them and went out for some great corner beef and pastrami (yes, Sandy had some of each-it was that good). 

They have had a tough year with Eileen's broken ankle and the general challenges of getting older but they were as loving and hospitable as ever.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

South Florida

Hi All,

Since our kids are busy during the week, we drove south to the Boynton Beach area to visit friends in the area. First stop was the condo Roberta and Elliot have rented for part of their winter stay in FL.

We went with them to the Wakodahatchee Wetlands where hundreds of wading birds are nesting.

This great egret is still building a nest

while this wood stork is checking out the visitors

A little blue heron perched close enough for a good photo

While this juvenile cormorant has yet to learn that it shouldn't let people get quite this close. However, people who got much closer risked getting pooped upon.

Now that we have seen the birds we love, we are eager to see some people we love.

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Big Boys and Big Cats

Hi All,

We had a great visit with Scott, Tara and the boys. They have grown a lot since we saw them last year. Garrett, in particular, is much taller than Sandy, almost as tall as Carl.

Last night the boys went to a sleep over party that failed to live up to its name, very little sleep. We had not seen Wyatt for a while and Scott found him in the pool.

Wyatt is on the school tennis team even though he is home schooled and does not attend. His first match was last Thursday and he won! They are both still very active in scouting. Garret is a Life Scout (at least 10 merit badges) and well on his way to Eagle Scout.

After dinner we went to a Big Cat Sanctuary in north Jacksonville.

We toured the facility then got to watch the cats have their dinner- 10-15 pounds of meat and chicken each, about 600 pounds total, every day!

This place takes animals from zoos that are closing and private owners who can no longer care for them. A 600 pound, nine foot Siberian tiger has grown way beyond the "pet" stage.

The collar on this mountain lion means he is one of their "Ambassadors" that they take off site to promote the sanctuary.

One of many beautiful Siberian Tigers.

This white tiger was our favorite, perhaps because our Safari Trek motorhome had a white tiger mural in a similar pose.

If you are near Jacksonville, check this place out!

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Unforgetable Coast

Hi All,

Another quiet morning and nature filled afternoon. We hiked the two mile nature trail to East Slough then hiked back to the campground along the beach. The start of the trail was near the bay and we looked unsuccessfully for sea horses in the shallows. A friend said we might see them. Thanks for the tip Jim. It was neat to know they are there even if they eluded us.

The trail took us across these beautiful sand dunes.

Once again, we had the beach to ourselves once we got 50 feet from the parking lots.

Many more birds and dolphin feeding on inshore schools less than 200 yards offshore. Gulls, terns, brown pelicans and northern gannets joined in the feast.

Yesterday's strong on shore winds blew lots of interesting stuff on to the beach. This is either coral or sponge.

Interesting pattern on this jelly.

On the shore of a small pond in the campground, we watched a great blue heron fly over carrying a big stick. We followed as he landed in a pine tree and presented the stick to his mate. She spent about 15 minutes poking and prodding to get the stick in just the right nest spot then sent the male back to "Home Depot" to get more sticks.

We concluded our visit on the Coast with another campfire. 

Here's a look at our big, private campsite.

Tomorrow we are off to St Augustine to visit the kids.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

More Forgotten Coast

Hi All,

Today we hiked the five mile (round trip) nature trail along the bay side of the island

It was very picturesque and pretty birdy as well. Nesting great blue herons, an immature bald eagle, four different warblers and the usual assortment of gulls and terns (3 species of each).

We selected this trail since the forecast wind was off the ocean. Here we are facing 20-25 MPH winds off the bay. Oh, we'll, that's why they call it a forecast! At least it was not too cold.

Dinner was a pound of steamed local shrimp-yum. We settled in front of the campfire and Sandy continued her research for our Scotland trip on April.

Life is soooooo good.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Florida's Forgotten Coast

Hi All,

"This is one of the nicest campgrounds we've ever stayed at!" That was Sandy's reaction as we pulled in to St George Island State Park on the Florida Gulf Coast about 80 miles south of Tallahassee. The park occupies the eastern half of a narrow 20 mile long barrier island. The 60 camp sites are large, well separated with dense foliage between. 

Less than a half mile from the campground, the ocean beach stretches for miles. Only if you look very closely will you see people in the distance. We walked a couple of miles along the beach and had a small pod of bottlenose dolphins swimming 100 yards offshore.

The lighthouse is at the center of the island. The view from the top must be spectacular but it was closed for repairs.

Back from the beach we sat outside reading and were entertained by this red squirrel munching on a pine cone.

What a great place to relax and unwind from our cross country drive.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Odds & Ends

Hi All,

The drive from Port Arthur was a challenge. It took us almost two hours to drive past Baton Rouge in heavy traffic. Once the traffic sped up, we had an adrenaline moment when a large aluminum step ladder fell out of the pickup directly in front of us. Fortunately it skidded off to the left and we missed it by about a foot. Once our hearts restarted we continued on to Biloxi.

We celebrated the switch to Daylight savings by sleeping late. In the afternoon we went to Davis Bayou, a small mainland section of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

There's an alligator on this photo!

Tomorrow we are off to FLORIDA!

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Texas Oil Patch

Hi All,

Our next driving day brought us to Port Arthur, TX southeast of Houston. This is the location of the first big oil strike in 1901, the first big refinery and support for the offshore oil fields. We are still in TX but we can see Louisiana from here.

We did some birding along the coast; nice to see ibis, terns and brown pelicans.

After our LBJ email, we heard from Carrol & Marilyn Johnston, friends from Oregon who were on their way back from Mardi Gras. The timing was perfect and we met them for dinner!

If you are ever in this area, check out Larry's Market & Cajun Restaurant.

In the daylight, the oil facilities are pretty ugly but at night this refinery looked neat

Tomorrow we are on to Biloxi.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

LBJ Day

Hi All,

Today we visited a variety of sites associated with President Lyndon Johnson.

We watched a video at the State Park Visitor Center then visited the home where LBJ was born in Stonewall, TX. Next we drove 13 miles east to Johnson City where we toured his boyhood home. A special treat on this tour was that it was conducted by our friends Jim & Marilyn Rosenthal who are volunteers at the National Historic Park here. 

We then drove back to Stonewall for a tour of the LBJ Ranch and the Texas White House.

LBJ and Lady Bird lived under the shade of this 400 year old oak tree from 1951 to his death here in 1972. During LBJ's presidency, cabinet meetings were occasionally held under the tree.

Instead of a paper guest book, LBJ wanted a more permanent record of notable guests so he had them sign a 12" square cement tile. Visible here are the autographs of astronauts Wally Shirra and John Glenn.

Henry Ford II gave LBJ this Model T.

This Lockheed business jet was the  first jet used to transport a president. Even after LBJ got a big 707 as Air Force One, he enjoyed the flexibility of the smaller plane, calling it Air Force One Half.

Pictures were not allowed in the house but it was a pretty simple Texas ranch house if you could overlook the 72 phone lines.

Particularly poignant was the kitchen where the cook was preparing a pecan pie for the Kennedy's on Nov 22, 1963 when they got word of the assassination. The entire staff gathered around the TV, realizing they now served the President.

On a lighter note, Sandy and Carl are not the only ones who need to keep up with their email. Here's Ginger looking for Pet Smart coupons!

We are half way across Texas. From New Mexico to Louisiana there are 878 miles of I-10!

We are headed to Florida to see the kids then up to New England once we are assured the snow is gone.

Love,

Sandy & Carl 

Living & Traveling in our Motorhome

Volunteering across America

greenbaum2@gmail.com

www.livingourdream2011.blogspot.com

617-435-8502

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone