We made it! We travelled up the coast of Georgia and South Carolina and made it to Morehead City at 4:00 pm Sunday, August 10. I rang Mom and Aunt Mercy to tell them our ETA and we all met in front of the Sanitary Fish Market and Restaurant. I tell you, Paula Deen ain’t got nothin’ on the hush puppies at the Sanitary!! We ate a couple of baskets of the pups slathered in butter (and a bit of seafood on the side) and headed over the big bridge to Beaufort and 913 Ann Street, our new house.
Once we settled into the rocking chairs on the front porch, Willis and I handed a mysterious black plastic garbage back to Mom and Aunt Mercy and told them they had to guess what was in it. After only a few fondles and guesses (with Willis indicating hot, warm, or cold) my Mother guessed what was in the bag. I was impressed!
We’ve unpacked the garbage bag but we still haven’t unpacked the car. The call of those rocking chairs is just too strong. We’ll get around to unpacking one of these days...
Check out our homecoming here.
Check out shots of the area here (designed to entice!)
Monday, August 11, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Whatcha’ need, baby?
I used to be offended when I was called “baby.” Now, as a woman of a certain age, I rather like it! Since we hit Louisiana, I’ve been called baby by a man at least 10 years older than me, and by a woman half my age. Phrases have run from “Whatcha’ need, baby?” to “Where you goin’ baby?” All good!
We circled the Gulf Coast of Florida and made our way to an overnight stay on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Jekyll Island is a rather exclusive seacoast island on Georgia’s coast—you have to pay $3 to get onto the island! The island has a fascinating history, including being a playground for the rich and famous—does the name Rockefeller ring a bell? You know you are out of your league when you see an historic building that is massively large and has a name sign entitled “xxx Cottage.’ The Jekyll Island Club and Hotel dominates the small historic district. I have a relative who stayed there once (my Mom), but Willis and I roomed with the hoi polloi at lesser lodgings.
From Jekyll Island, we made our way to Savannah, Georgia. Now, most people never thought twice about Savannah until John Berendt wrote a brilliant book called Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. When this book first came out, I was home one summer for a visit and helping my Mom in her bookstore that she owned at the time. She got an advance copy of the book, and I read it in one sitting, staying up all night to do so. I knew Berendt had a bestseller on his hands, and that Savannah would never be the same. Both came true: Midnight in the Garden of the Good and Evil stayed on the New York Times’ bestseller list for over four years. And Savannah hit the big time, with tourists who had read the book pouring into town.
We ate lunch at The Lady and Sons Restaurant, which I didn’t realize was Paula Deen’s restaurant until I was halfway through the creamiest, richest crab stew I’ve ever had. Willis and I both rolled out the door after eating and slept it off on Johnny Mercer’s bench in Johnson Square.
Check out our Points South photos here.
We circled the Gulf Coast of Florida and made our way to an overnight stay on Jekyll Island, Georgia. Jekyll Island is a rather exclusive seacoast island on Georgia’s coast—you have to pay $3 to get onto the island! The island has a fascinating history, including being a playground for the rich and famous—does the name Rockefeller ring a bell? You know you are out of your league when you see an historic building that is massively large and has a name sign entitled “xxx Cottage.’ The Jekyll Island Club and Hotel dominates the small historic district. I have a relative who stayed there once (my Mom), but Willis and I roomed with the hoi polloi at lesser lodgings.
From Jekyll Island, we made our way to Savannah, Georgia. Now, most people never thought twice about Savannah until John Berendt wrote a brilliant book called Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. When this book first came out, I was home one summer for a visit and helping my Mom in her bookstore that she owned at the time. She got an advance copy of the book, and I read it in one sitting, staying up all night to do so. I knew Berendt had a bestseller on his hands, and that Savannah would never be the same. Both came true: Midnight in the Garden of the Good and Evil stayed on the New York Times’ bestseller list for over four years. And Savannah hit the big time, with tourists who had read the book pouring into town.
We ate lunch at The Lady and Sons Restaurant, which I didn’t realize was Paula Deen’s restaurant until I was halfway through the creamiest, richest crab stew I’ve ever had. Willis and I both rolled out the door after eating and slept it off on Johnny Mercer’s bench in Johnson Square.
Check out our Points South photos here.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
A Red Carpet for the Penguins
New Orleans is home to a world-class aquarium, the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. In addition to human lives lost when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans three years ago, animals at the aquarium died, too. We visited to see how the aquarium is doing now and to learn about what happened to the animals. Most of the fish died, but the anaconda, the rare white alligator (a Leucistics alligator), and several other species survived. The filtration systems ran off of generators, but then the fuel ran out. The penguins had been sent to the Monterey Aquarium, and in May 2006, nine months after Katrina, Federal Express brought them back free of charge. The Aquarium rolled out a red carpet, and the penguins waddled along the carpet and back into their tank.
The hardest place for me to visit was the French Market. There were no local artists selling hand crafted items, no fresh produce, no spices... only tables and tables of cheap Made in China imports: sunglasses, cell phone holders, plastic wallets, plastic toys, plastic sandals, plastic, plastic, plastic. I hope that someday soon the market will once again host local residents selling authentic New Orleans items.
There is a sense of desperation in the city. Lunchtime restaurants have few customers, and wait staff hover on the sidewalk, aggressively asking folks to come in and dine. Jackson Square has only a few artists, where once it was home to numerous portrait painters, mime artists, jugglers and musicians.
To top it all off, just two weeks ago, the city suffered a severe oil spill and the stench of oil is overpowering as one strolls along the Mississippi River waterfront walk.
New Orleans was once a magical place, and I hope it can become that again.
New Orleans photos here.
The hardest place for me to visit was the French Market. There were no local artists selling hand crafted items, no fresh produce, no spices... only tables and tables of cheap Made in China imports: sunglasses, cell phone holders, plastic wallets, plastic toys, plastic sandals, plastic, plastic, plastic. I hope that someday soon the market will once again host local residents selling authentic New Orleans items.
There is a sense of desperation in the city. Lunchtime restaurants have few customers, and wait staff hover on the sidewalk, aggressively asking folks to come in and dine. Jackson Square has only a few artists, where once it was home to numerous portrait painters, mime artists, jugglers and musicians.
To top it all off, just two weeks ago, the city suffered a severe oil spill and the stench of oil is overpowering as one strolls along the Mississippi River waterfront walk.
New Orleans was once a magical place, and I hope it can become that again.
New Orleans photos here.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The Big Easy
The French Quarter was quiet late this afternoon as we wandered around...not too many people, which is nice for us, but I know local businesses hope for more tourists. We plan to go to the jazz show at Preservation Hall tomorrow night--The 726 Jazz Band. Preservation Hall is a great venue, for all ages, and only $10 for a night of authentic jazz.
I took some time early evening to just take in the architecture--I've posted some shots (along with a few "touristy" photos): enjoy!
I took some time early evening to just take in the architecture--I've posted some shots (along with a few "touristy" photos): enjoy!
Monday, August 4, 2008
The hurricane, aliens and a dead armadillo
So some things you can plan for and some things you can't. We planned to arrive in Houston, Texas on the evening of Sunday, August 3 and we made our timeline--but we didn't plan for Tropical Storm Eduaord. We planned a 2-3 in Houston to visit my Aunt Fay and Uncle Clyde, and cousins Barry and Clyde, Jr. that we cut short due to the approach of Eduaord. Eduaord is due to make landfull tomorrow and Houston and Galveston are its current targets. It looks like it won't be a bad storm, but having been through coastal hurricanes before, the threat of flooding was enough to make us seek higher ground. I originally planned to get to Lafayette, LA, thinking this would be far enough east to avoid the impact of Eduaord, but decided to go a bit north instead. Tonight, Willis and I are in DeRidder, LA. We'll see what tomorrow brings--if the hurricane does, indeed, continue west and we avoid the worst of it, we'll head southeast down to New Orleans. And I tell you, it's beginning to feel like home--the smell of the low-country marshes, the sound of the cicadas and bullfrogs, the humid air that hangs heavy like a blanket over my shoulders...
My brave Uncle Clyde insisted on showing us around today, with the storm not due to hit until tomorrow, so we headed out to Galveston. We visited the Moody Aquarium, the seawall, and took a quick spin to see the beautiful old homes before heading back to Houston.
Enroute from the Grand Canyon to Houston, we spent a day with my cousin Susan and her family in Los Alamos, New Mexico. We visited the Los Alamos Historical Museum, which had fascinating information about the Manhatten Project and Los Alamos's history. We climbed into cavates (small, human-carved caves in the cliffs) in Bandelier National Monument and imagined what life was like for the native American people who lived here long ago.
We left Susan's lovely home on one of the five mesas that make up most of the residential area of Los Alamos, and headed due south to Roswell, NM to visit the UFO Museum and learn about the 1947 Roswell Incident. Do you believe? I believe!! UFOs, aliens, crop circles...bring 'em on!
And now you may be wondering how the dead armadillo of the title plays into our travels...after crossing the border into Texas, armadillo roadkills were a dime a dozen. At one roadside stop, we found a kind of mummified one that had been out in the hot sun for a long time. So I stuffed it into a plastic bags and threw it into the car as our souvenier of Texas! So when y'all come to Beaufort to visit us, just look for the mummified armadillo on the front porch and you'll know you've found us!
Recent photos here (no dead armadillos!)
My brave Uncle Clyde insisted on showing us around today, with the storm not due to hit until tomorrow, so we headed out to Galveston. We visited the Moody Aquarium, the seawall, and took a quick spin to see the beautiful old homes before heading back to Houston.
Enroute from the Grand Canyon to Houston, we spent a day with my cousin Susan and her family in Los Alamos, New Mexico. We visited the Los Alamos Historical Museum, which had fascinating information about the Manhatten Project and Los Alamos's history. We climbed into cavates (small, human-carved caves in the cliffs) in Bandelier National Monument and imagined what life was like for the native American people who lived here long ago.
We left Susan's lovely home on one of the five mesas that make up most of the residential area of Los Alamos, and headed due south to Roswell, NM to visit the UFO Museum and learn about the 1947 Roswell Incident. Do you believe? I believe!! UFOs, aliens, crop circles...bring 'em on!
And now you may be wondering how the dead armadillo of the title plays into our travels...after crossing the border into Texas, armadillo roadkills were a dime a dozen. At one roadside stop, we found a kind of mummified one that had been out in the hot sun for a long time. So I stuffed it into a plastic bags and threw it into the car as our souvenier of Texas! So when y'all come to Beaufort to visit us, just look for the mummified armadillo on the front porch and you'll know you've found us!
Recent photos here (no dead armadillos!)
Friday, August 1, 2008
Back in my day...
...they let you climb down into the bottom of the Winslow, Arizona Meteor Crater! I know, I did it when I was about 12 years old. My family took a cross-country trip to the southwest and waited patiently for three hours while I boulder-hopped down the walls of the crater, all the way to the bottom and then scrambled back up to the top. Whew!
So when we were nearing Winslow, Arizona I had to pull off and check out the Meteor Crater in 2008. Of course, now they make you pay a hefty fee just to walk up the concrete steps, clasping the handrails all the way to the totally safe overlook to look down into the crater--and certainly no clamboring down into the crater at all. Totally prohibited. As I said to Willis "Back in the olden days, there were a lot less rules." Willis wondered alout if I had to wear a dress when I hiked down into the crater, as didn't girls always have to wear dresses all the time in the "olden days?"
Despite the modern constraints, the Meteor Crater is pretty amazing! After the crater, we toured the Painted Desert in the Petrified Forest National Park.
Check out our photos here.
So when we were nearing Winslow, Arizona I had to pull off and check out the Meteor Crater in 2008. Of course, now they make you pay a hefty fee just to walk up the concrete steps, clasping the handrails all the way to the totally safe overlook to look down into the crater--and certainly no clamboring down into the crater at all. Totally prohibited. As I said to Willis "Back in the olden days, there were a lot less rules." Willis wondered alout if I had to wear a dress when I hiked down into the crater, as didn't girls always have to wear dresses all the time in the "olden days?"
Despite the modern constraints, the Meteor Crater is pretty amazing! After the crater, we toured the Painted Desert in the Petrified Forest National Park.
Check out our photos here.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Hurling over the Grand Canyon
No, that's not a typo in the title: I bet y'all thought I meant to title this post "Hurtling over the Grand Canyon." I didn't. For our first adventure at the Grand Canyon this morning (a beautiful, crystal clear day as you can see from my photos), Willis and I took a plane ride over the canyon on a small, 15 passenger plane. After about three dips of the small plane, I felt it coming on--reminiscent of my good old days of sea sickness when I worked as a Foreign Fishing Observer. Deep breaths, focus on the gorgeous canyon below, get some good shots...that worked until we approached the landing strip and Willis had to tear open the barf bag for me. With my knees jammed under my chin (remember, this was a tiny plane), I had to position the barf bag over my son's lap. I'll leave the rest to your imagination!
Once we got back on solid ground, I was fine. The park has a great non-polluting shuttle bus system (free use with purchase of your park pass) that takes you all over the south rim of the park, and we used this to get around. We hiked the south rim trail, taking in the magnifcent scenery. We spotted a tiny lizard and a California Condor soaring overhead. Condors were reintroduced to the park in 1996 and have done well. They are the largest birds in North America, and amazing to watch.
We ended the day by seeing the Imax Grand Canyon film, where we soared once again through the Grand Canyon. This time, I did just fine!
Once we got back on solid ground, I was fine. The park has a great non-polluting shuttle bus system (free use with purchase of your park pass) that takes you all over the south rim of the park, and we used this to get around. We hiked the south rim trail, taking in the magnifcent scenery. We spotted a tiny lizard and a California Condor soaring overhead. Condors were reintroduced to the park in 1996 and have done well. They are the largest birds in North America, and amazing to watch.
We ended the day by seeing the Imax Grand Canyon film, where we soared once again through the Grand Canyon. This time, I did just fine!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Leaving Las Vegas
I could have made that movie! After almost two days in Vegas, I was ready to flee. Too many smoking people, too crowded, and just too, too much. We did have a good time, though, taking in the sights: the light show at the Bellagio was incredibly impressive. Wandering "the strip" and just gaping at everything was fun. We stayed in "old" Las Vegas, so we had to take a bus down to the action on the newer part of the strip. We saw the 61 pound hunk of gold at the Golden Nugget, ate bad steak, and I gambled $15 in the slot machines and won $13. The floor attendant told me that most people gambled $2,000 to win back $50, so I was happy to be down by only $2.00.
With my -$2.00 (not) in my pocket, we left Vegas this morning and arrived at Williams, Arizona, an hour south of the south rim of the Grand Canyon, where we will head tomorrow. Williams is right on our country's famous Route 66, and it was fun to wander around this cowboy town this evening.
We stopped at the Hoover Dam on our way to Williams and wandered dizzily out on the walkway across the dam--quite a feat, this dam is.
And I got my photos posted so check them out!
With my -$2.00 (not) in my pocket, we left Vegas this morning and arrived at Williams, Arizona, an hour south of the south rim of the Grand Canyon, where we will head tomorrow. Williams is right on our country's famous Route 66, and it was fun to wander around this cowboy town this evening.
We stopped at the Hoover Dam on our way to Williams and wandered dizzily out on the walkway across the dam--quite a feat, this dam is.
And I got my photos posted so check them out!
Monday, July 28, 2008
Dail and Willis across America
Hello Friends! Willis and I are having a blast traveling across our country. We started out from Seattle on Tuesday afternoon, July 22 and made it all the way to Portland! WOWOW! We spent the nights with friends Sue and Quince--who helped me get our trip planned. I had a high level vision before we left Seattle, but hadn't even begun to execute on it. (Microsoft friends--note the language is still with me!) Wednesday was Sue's birthday, so it was nice to be with her for a morning celebration at the Bipartisan cafe.
Sue had plotted out the day's route to Emigrant Lake Park. Though she had never been there, she had heard stories from her parents about camping there and figured it would be wonderful--she was right. Willis and I got our system going with our first night of camping--putting up our tent, a stove-cooked meal of spaghetti (yes, yes, I am famous for my spaghetti), a romp on the playground, complete with flying high on the swings.
Thursday, July 24 we were off to Lake Tahoe--unfortunately, the northern California fires impacted our drive that day. Mt Shasta was pretty well socked in. It was nice to arrive on the shores of Lake Tahoe that evening and be up and away from the smoke. We camped at Sugar Pines State Park and put all of our food in a bear box. Evidence of critters was all around the next morning--I found three of our empty plastic containers scattered among the bushes, tops removed and chewed. Bears? Squirrels? Marmots? Willis in the night looking for a snack? Lake Tahoe water truly is crystal clear--and cold! Too cold for me for a leisurely swim, but a quick dip was just right to see us off the next morning--Friday, July 25 we headed to Yosemite. Of course, visiting Lake Tahoe set me on the back roads to Yosemite--lots of wild driving, but we arrived safely at our campground outside the park. The Telegraph fire was really impacting the area; lots of smoke and drifting ash on our tent that night. Having spent time in eastern Washington during wildfires, I head learned that you just go about your business until someone tells you differently--so we did. Saturday, we headed into the park. Magnificent and awe-inspiring, even with the haze from the fire. Everyone should see El Capitan and Half Dome. We snagged the last two seats on a two hour tram ride with a National Park ranger through Yosemite Valley--this was great for me as I didn't have to drive and look at the scenery at the same time--and Willis didn't have to shout "Mom, keep your eyes on the road!" The valley was incredibly crowded, and I was glad to head out and through the park on route 120/Tioga Pass going east. This turned out to be my favorite part of Yosemite--getting up and away from the crowds and (still) the smoke and seeing the true wilderness of Yosemite.
By early evening, we were driving through the Mono Lake area and paralleling the Sierra Nevada mountains (which we had just crossed via Yosemite). Stunning, absolutely stunning. The colors, the sunset, the mountains. We camped at Brown's Town campground in Bishop, CA that evening. We had polished off the spaghetti the night before, which we had been eating for--well, you can count--a few days, so I had to dig deep into my culinary recesses for our evening meal.
Looking ahead to the next day, we had two choices for getting to Las Vegas (high on Willis's list): skirt Death Valley by going north around it, or go right through it. My AAA travel book said Death Valley should be avoided at all costs in the summer time. So, of course, that is a double-dog-dare-you for me. I bought a gallon of anti-freeze, topped off the engine's cooling system, added three bags of ice to our cooler and we headed into Death Valley. Willis immediately said "Hey, this looks a lot like Africa!" When we drove across Botswana in 2006, we saw similar scenery--desert, shimmering oases, salt pans...so we figured we were veterans at desert crossings. This really was an incredible drive--about 5 hours to cross the entire desert, with amazing and unusual canyons, salt pans, shrubs and sand dunes. We emerged from our air conditioned car to walk to the top of the sand dune ridge about mid-way through Death Valley. Intense, very intense. Turns out Death Valley temperature for the day (Sunday, July 27, 2008) was 115 degrees farenheit. Whew!
We made it to Las Vegas that night--quite a contrast to come out of Death Valley into this crazy, wild, over the top city in the middle of the desert. Today we are off for sight seeing on the Las Vegas strip--and then to the Grand Canyon. I'll get photos posted soon, so check back in a few days for more trip reports and PHOTOS!!!
Lots of love to all of our friends--Dail and Willis
Sue had plotted out the day's route to Emigrant Lake Park. Though she had never been there, she had heard stories from her parents about camping there and figured it would be wonderful--she was right. Willis and I got our system going with our first night of camping--putting up our tent, a stove-cooked meal of spaghetti (yes, yes, I am famous for my spaghetti), a romp on the playground, complete with flying high on the swings.
Thursday, July 24 we were off to Lake Tahoe--unfortunately, the northern California fires impacted our drive that day. Mt Shasta was pretty well socked in. It was nice to arrive on the shores of Lake Tahoe that evening and be up and away from the smoke. We camped at Sugar Pines State Park and put all of our food in a bear box. Evidence of critters was all around the next morning--I found three of our empty plastic containers scattered among the bushes, tops removed and chewed. Bears? Squirrels? Marmots? Willis in the night looking for a snack? Lake Tahoe water truly is crystal clear--and cold! Too cold for me for a leisurely swim, but a quick dip was just right to see us off the next morning--Friday, July 25 we headed to Yosemite. Of course, visiting Lake Tahoe set me on the back roads to Yosemite--lots of wild driving, but we arrived safely at our campground outside the park. The Telegraph fire was really impacting the area; lots of smoke and drifting ash on our tent that night. Having spent time in eastern Washington during wildfires, I head learned that you just go about your business until someone tells you differently--so we did. Saturday, we headed into the park. Magnificent and awe-inspiring, even with the haze from the fire. Everyone should see El Capitan and Half Dome. We snagged the last two seats on a two hour tram ride with a National Park ranger through Yosemite Valley--this was great for me as I didn't have to drive and look at the scenery at the same time--and Willis didn't have to shout "Mom, keep your eyes on the road!" The valley was incredibly crowded, and I was glad to head out and through the park on route 120/Tioga Pass going east. This turned out to be my favorite part of Yosemite--getting up and away from the crowds and (still) the smoke and seeing the true wilderness of Yosemite.
By early evening, we were driving through the Mono Lake area and paralleling the Sierra Nevada mountains (which we had just crossed via Yosemite). Stunning, absolutely stunning. The colors, the sunset, the mountains. We camped at Brown's Town campground in Bishop, CA that evening. We had polished off the spaghetti the night before, which we had been eating for--well, you can count--a few days, so I had to dig deep into my culinary recesses for our evening meal.
Looking ahead to the next day, we had two choices for getting to Las Vegas (high on Willis's list): skirt Death Valley by going north around it, or go right through it. My AAA travel book said Death Valley should be avoided at all costs in the summer time. So, of course, that is a double-dog-dare-you for me. I bought a gallon of anti-freeze, topped off the engine's cooling system, added three bags of ice to our cooler and we headed into Death Valley. Willis immediately said "Hey, this looks a lot like Africa!" When we drove across Botswana in 2006, we saw similar scenery--desert, shimmering oases, salt pans...so we figured we were veterans at desert crossings. This really was an incredible drive--about 5 hours to cross the entire desert, with amazing and unusual canyons, salt pans, shrubs and sand dunes. We emerged from our air conditioned car to walk to the top of the sand dune ridge about mid-way through Death Valley. Intense, very intense. Turns out Death Valley temperature for the day (Sunday, July 27, 2008) was 115 degrees farenheit. Whew!
We made it to Las Vegas that night--quite a contrast to come out of Death Valley into this crazy, wild, over the top city in the middle of the desert. Today we are off for sight seeing on the Las Vegas strip--and then to the Grand Canyon. I'll get photos posted soon, so check back in a few days for more trip reports and PHOTOS!!!
Lots of love to all of our friends--Dail and Willis
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