Day 33: Where's my Disney Parade?

Disney Parade

We are heading home to Florida today.  Plan was to get home tomorrow but George is on  a mission and I think he is ready to drive straight through.  He is usually not all that ready to get home but he seems to be in the mood today.  You know how great it is to get home after being on a long trip….there’s just no place like it! 

 

I've been on such a natural high this week that I was half expecting a Disney Parade waiting for me at the entrance to Stonecrest (HA)!

 

 

We have had an amazing trip and I owe it all to my wonderful husband who I love dearly.  George, thank you for your patience, your understanding, your love and all the special memories we shared on this trip!

 

Signing off for now…..

Day 32: Hurricane Karen...

What are the odds of a hurricane, bearing your name, forming on your birthday?  Well, it happened to me today!  George told me this first thing this morning.  Not that I wish wreaking havoc on anyone but, I'm so excited, I'm feeling like wreaking havoc today.  Here's why....I have an appointment with Victor, my former hairdresser, at his beautiful AVEDA salon, Free Spirit.  I love Victor and have missed him terribly....he's just one of those guys that has a wonderful "gift of gab" and people just gravitate to him.  Secondly, we're having dinner at the Damore's tonight and I get to spend time with "My Mary" as I call her.

John and Mary

 

I've received sooo many good wishes and Happy Birthday's on Facebook, phone, email, text and am so lucky to have so many wonderful friends.  THANKS to all of you for thinking of me on my day of wreaking havoc!  Oh, I also got a Happy Birthday email from mymedicare....what's up with that?  I bit of a surprise but still scratching my head on that one.

 

Victor !

Victor was waiting for me at the door, arms folded, and that wonderful smile of his.  After hugs and kisses, he showed me around the new and improved salon.  WOW....it really looks great and he has 27 employees now.  A far cry from the days when I went there and there was only 6 of them!  I met some of the new interns, including one that does facials...wish I had time for that. 

My hair is very dry and brittle and my man Victor fixed me right up.  My hair looks and feels great!!!



The Village of Deaton Creek

Damore's House

George finished work at 4:00 so we headed over to John and Mary Damore’s new home in The Village of Deaton Creek, a new Del Webb development in Hoschton, GA (pronounced “hoke-ston”).   It was a 30 mile drive so we were glad to get ahead of the traffic.  They bought a brand new “spec” home and it is just beautiful.  Mary has it all fixed up so nice and I just love the lay-out…perfect for them!  John was playing in a game at the ball field so George took off down to the Recreation Area while Mary showed me around the house.   It’s a very spacious 2 bedroom, 2 bath home with an open living/dining/kitchen and sitting area.  She has a large laundry room with a huge walk-in storage closet.   I’m amazed at how much closet and storage space she has.  We sat outside on the patio, which they plan to enlarge and/or screen in.

 

Mary, being Italian, fixed a scrumptious dinner of Stuffed Shells, made with fresh Ricotta cheese (no preservatives) that she bought in Michigan, Italian Gravy with meat, Grilled Brats, a big Italian Salad and Toasted Garlic Bread.  Oh my did we fill up!  I’m lovin’ these home-cooked meals!  My friend, Joan Gibbs, also lives in Deaton Creek and she stopped over for a short visit.  We “made her” sit down and have some dinner also.  Mary also fixed a really cool dessert made with vanilla ice cream and rice crispies (I think).  I gotta get this recipe.  After another long visit, it was time to say “good-bye for now”. 

 

Day 31: Pot Roast at the Krzaks!

 

Took Cornelia up on her offer last night to come over and do laundry.  What a relief!  The only negative about Twin Lakes is no laundry facility so I packed up and hauled our dirty laundry to her house.  She has a brand new, bright red Samsung washer/dryer which is totally awesome!  I’m giving her a Perfect 10 on her laundry room!   She is working from home the majority of the time now which gave us  a day to visit.  Once I got the laundry going, I took her to lunch at It’s About Thyme, a local fare right around the corner from their house.  Love, love, love it!  While waiting for your sandwich, you can shop for jewelry.  A local jewelry crafter has her wares displayed in a little nook of the café and she makes some really great stuff.  We had a great “girlfriend day” together that I will cherish.

 

 

I have lots of "Pat" friends but Pat Krzak (aka little Patty Iler as she sometimes refers to herself) is my long-time best friend.  We met in 1981 as single women making our mark in the big city of Atlanta some 32 years ago.  We were both proud owners of our first condo at Bentley Ridge in Marietta and became fast friends.  We met other single friends there and those were some of the most fun days of my life.   Not to go too far down memory lane but some of my best are:

• John Henry's and the "fire hose" incident!
• Assembling a BBQ grill in the clubhouse kitchen.
• Buckets of Margaritas at the pool.
• Chastain Park.
• Twist beads.
• Pat's wedding to Les (aka "Lef")

Mully

Pat and Les are cat lovers also and here is a picture of their cat Mully (short for Mulligan). 

I started playing golf because of Pat.  We were ALTA tennis partners, however, the reason we played tennis was because of the cute outfits.  Enough said.  After Pat married Les, however, she started playing golf and tennis was no longer fun for me so she coaxed me into playing golf.  We were both immediately hooked on golf and the rest is history.

 

Les serenading us...

 

We had dinner at their beautiful home where Les serenaded us with his guitar while Pat made a wonderful dinner of Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and a tomato salad.  Honestly, she makes the best pot roast I've ever put in mu mouth.  I have posted her recipe on this blog under PAGES/RECIPES (I hope I got it right).  She also  brought out a Chess Pie with a candle in honor of my birthday.  What a wonderful and special evening we had!  THANK YOU Pat and Les for a memorable evening and for being such fabulous friends!  We are sooo looking forward to entertaining y'all if and when you ever come to visit us in Florida.

Day 30: An evening with my Nephew...

I took off for my old neighborhood and drove by our former house.  The house and neighborhood looks good but the bushes needed pruning.  I really wanted to get out of the car and take care of that but….oh well.  Stopped by my old hair salon, Free Spirit, but my best bud Victor was not there, darn it.  However, I made an appointment for Thursday – can’t wait for that!  Did a little shopping at some of my favorite places and had a heck of a day.

David and the black cat

 

 

Drove over to David (my nephew) and Cornelia’s house which is only 8 miles from our campground in the Brookwood sub-division in Cumming.  Had a glass of wine and visited with them and Cornelia’s two sons, Jake and Josh.  My, have they grown! 

 

 

 

 

 

Jake and Daisy

Jake graduated from high school in the Spring and is contemplating what to do with his life. 

 

Josh and the striped cat

Brown Betty

Josh is a Junior, has a girlfriend that is a senior and plays LaCrosse.   They also have 6 cats!  Let’s see if I can remember…Daisy, Brown Betty (a gorgeous solid chocolate brown cat – never seen a solid brown cat), Wheezy, the black cat the striped cat and the itty bitty cat....see there, I remembered them all. 

 

Cornelia made a Blueberry Brie Crisp with Fig Preserves to munch on and it was so yummy.  Check out PAGES/RECIPES for her recipe. 

They took us to dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant Rosa Mia.  David recommended the Veal Piccata, which is what he and I ordered.  George had the Lasagne and Cornelia had Veal Marsala, which was the house specialty tonight.  The food was excellent.  I had enough left over for another meal so, yes,  I had them bag it up.  George also had some leftovers too which tells you that he was served a very healthy portion.   After dinner, we went back to their house until it was time to say good-bye for now.  It was so good to see them….it’s been way to long!

Day 29: Visiting with the Matthews...

Twin Lakes RV Park

We left my wonderful hometown of Chattanooga heading for my beloved Atlanta where I spent all of my adult life.  Can’t wait to drive around the old neighborhood and visit family and old friends.  We are staying at a new campground this time, Twin Lakes RV Park in Cumming, GA.  It gets good reviews on RV Park Reviews (which George swears by) except for wifi which we are sorta nervous about.  The one key thing we have to have is good wifi because of George’s work.  Well, they went out of their way to make sure we had a spot as close as possible to wifi and it worked out great.  It’s also a beautiful park with, you guessed it, twin lakes!   We couldn’t be happier. 

Bob and Janis and ???

Went over to see our “old” friends Bob and Janis Matthews, who live in beautiful Laurel Canyon in Canton, GA.   We sat out on their new patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather.   Bob opened a bottle of  Chardonnay called “Twisted” which has become my new favorite wine. 


"Twisted"

 

 

They took us to one of their favorite restaurants, Goin' Coastal, in historic Canton.  A very quaint little mountain town where, block by block, is being restored and occupied by cute shops and restaurants.  This is obviously a seafood restaurant and the food was excellent.  I had a Shrimp Risotto that was scrumptious.  We lingered at our table until we realized that we were the only ones left.  Not the first time we’ve closed a place! 

 

We haven’t seen the Matthews in 2 years…hard to believe as, even after moving to Florida, we would get together 3 – 4 times a year.  Sad to say goodbye (for now) but they promised to come see us soon.

Day 28: Visiting with Family...

My sister fixed a fabulous brunch for us today....Belgian Waffles with assorted fruit toppings such as blackberries, strawberries and bananas with warm maple syrup, plus a side of pan seared chunks of ham; orange juice and coffee.  Yumm!

 

She also baked me a Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake with a Maple Glaze for my birthday....Yumm again!  She invited other family members over this afternoon to visit and have cake and ice cream.  It was a delightfully cool afternoon so we sat outside on her wonderful patio until the darn stink bugs ran us inside.  Where did these bugs come from?  I've never heard of them before.

 

Sisters !

Linda's Koi Pond

Anyway, didn't want the day to end and, besides, shouldn't I be waiting on her?  She is an amazingly strong big sister and I admire her even more today as she faces the biggest challenge of her life.

Day 27: Travelling through Tennessee

Best's Trav-L Park of Chattanooga

Got a fairly early start this morning and had an uneventful drive.  Stopped for gas in Knoxville and our neighbors from the campground last night were also getting gas, plus, they are staying at the same campground as us tonight - go figure.  They told us that they are headed to a TIFFIN Rally in Pine Mountain, GA.  Once we got into our campground in Chattanooga, there are Tiffin's everywhere...probably all going to the same Rally.  Glad I made reservations as this campground is FULL!

The Boathouse

Gee, it's sooo good to be "home".  I haven't been here in two years and it seems a lot has changed.  Called my sister and can't wait to see her at dinner tonight!  We met her and her husband at The Boathouse which is a great restaurant right on the Tennessee River less than 5 minutes from downtown.  We had a drink at the bar while waiting on our table outside on the patio.  It was a beautiful evening, colorful sunset and a treat to watch the Southern Belle riverboat all lit up returning from a dinner cruise.  But even more of a treat spending time with family!

The "Southern Belle"

 

Day 26: I-81 Travel Day.....

Fort Chiswell RVPark

 

Drove straight down I-81 from one end of Virginia to the other.  We are in Wytheville which is almost in Tennessee.  Not a lot of campgrounds in this area so we stopped here for the night.  Nice friendly little campground.  Decided to get a couple loads of laundry done while here as the next 5 or 6 days will be busy. 

 

The Laundry Room here gets an 8.  Nice, large, clean facility with an adjacent sitting room with a big L-shaped sofa.  No TV but a place to sit and wait on the laundry if you choose to do so.  There is a large, wide folding table and a rolling rack.  I'm in laundry heaven!  There are lots of picnic tables under roof just outside the laundry room, which is where I sat and played with the campground kittie.  He looks mean but he's a push-over.  I never met a cat I didn't like.

Mr. Chiswell

We may have missed the "love bugs" but we have encountered the "stink bugs".  Not real sure that is what they are but our next door neighbor is calling them stink bugs.  They are about the size of your little fingernail, square and a green iridescent color and, to me, look like what we used to call "June bugs".  Anyway, the little pests are everywhere!

Will be in Chattanooga tomorrow - WHOO HOO!

 

 

Day 25: Shenandoah National Park

 

Shenandoah Valley

Skyline Drive is a scenic 100 mile road winding along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park.  There are a total of 75 overlooks along the drive for viewing the Shenandoah Valley to the west and Blue Ridge Mountains to the east.   Mary's Rock Tunnel is a 600 foot tunnel made of rock (duh) completed in 1932 and is considered a scenic wonder.  Unfortunately, it's a 2 mile hike to get to it and we don't have the time.  The 2-lane road is basically a series of  "S" curves and the speed limit is 35mph.  It takes about 3 hours to complete the drive from end to end unless you stop at each overlook, then it could take days.

Blue Ridge Mtns

Goldenrod

Since we didn't get started until the afternoon, we decided to carve out the middle one-third, which just happens to be the most scenic, and take a drive.  We started at Thornton Gap and ended at Swift Run Gap.  It was a beautiful drive but without the color of the Fall season so we'll just have to settle for the little red tree at our camp site.  However, the Goldenrod is in full bloom....if you don't believe me, ask my allergies!

Tree at Campground

Wildlife.....George saw a few deer in the forest next to our campground as we were leaving, then, we saw a small black bear crossing the road just after we got onto Skyline Drive.  There's a "bar in those bushes"...I promise! 

Day 24: Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

We left camp traveling south on 13 across and through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  Of course we had to pass a 13-wheeler while in both tunnels.  A bit tense but George did great, of course.  I was too busy taking a video of the whole experience to get nervous. 

 

Once on land, we picked up I-64 North through Newport News, Richmond, Charlottesville and Waynesboro. Then I-81 North to Shenandoah Valley Campground in Mt. Jackson, VA.  This is a new campground that just opened 4 months ago and is really nice.  They have a small restaurant in the main camp building that serves a few breakfast items; hot dogs and hamburgers for lunch and BBQ for dinner.  We ate dinner  in the motorhome but plan to try their breakfast.

 

We are at the north end of Skyline Drive and plan on driving it (in the car) tomorrow....

Day 23: Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge



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Today we visited the Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge which is roughly 10 miles from our campground.  More specifically, there is a slender strip of land from Southern Maryland into Northern Virginia,  Chincoteague being on the Chincoteague Bay side and Assateague being on the Atlantic side, divided by two states.

 

Lighthouse at Assateague Island

We took a short hike up to the Lighthouse on Assateague Island which stands 142 feet tall and was built in 1866 - 67.  Stripes were added in 1963.   We love lighthouses!

 

 

 

Pony Penning

Assateague Island is famous for their "wild horses".  The story is that they are descendants of domesticated animals brought onto the island over 300 years ago.  Every year, on the last consecutive Wednesday and Thursday of July to be exact, the "Pony Penning" (aka "the pony swim") takes place.  This is when the ponies are rounded up and herded across the waterway from Assateague Island to Chinocoteague Island where they are auctioned off the next day.  Those not auctioned off are returned to the island.  Proceeds benefit the Chincoteague Fire Dept who care for the animals on the VA side. 

 

Day 22: Movin' on day...

We had planned to stay longer in the Philadelphia area, however, the kids are back at work, the brothers and sister are back at work so we figured it was time to move on. 

Delaware Memorial Bridge

 

Finished up laundry and hit the road about noon.  It’s a beautiful sunny travel day.  Crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge then the St. George’s Canal Bridge.  Got into Maryland about 2:45 and into Virginia around 5:00.  We're staying at the Tall Pines Harbor Campground in Temperence, VA.  Really nice campground right on the Pocomoke Sound on Virginia's Eastern Shore.  Too late to go sightseeng so will save that for tomorrow...

Day 21: Hangin' with our kids...

Pauline, Mark, Brett, Nicole

We're getting together with our two sons tonight - YEAH!  They are going to the Phillies game today with "the Plantiff".  Yes....52 weeks in a year and we are visiting the same exact week - go figure!    The kids are doing a great job of shuffling us around however.  So.....I'm taking advantage of the morning by doing laundry.  A very basic, very small laundry room....I'm giving this one a very generous 5.

 

 

 

 

Brett and Nicole

 

Made a quick trip to Walmart to get my prescription sunglasses fixed….I somehow managed to loose a screw yesterday, also the car was in much need of new windshield wiper blades.  It rained cats and dogs on the way home from Dave's last night and we could hardly see out the window.  Came home and fixed a pot of chili, watched part of the Phillies game and part of the PGA tournament.  Left around 5:30 to meet the kids, wives and finacee’s at Mark and Pauline’s new house.  They recently bought a townhome in Marlton which has 3 bedrooms upstairs; living, dining and a big kitchen on the main floor plus a full basement.  First time we’ve seen it and it’s very nice and spacious....perfect for them.

 

 

 

 

 

Brett and Nicole

 

We treated everyone to dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack then everybody came over to see our motorhome and cats.  It’s been a long time since we’ve all been together and was a very special time….only wish it could have lasted longer.  We discussed Brett and Nicole's wedding plans.  They are getting married next August in New Hampshire.  She is busy searching places for the reception and has several in mind.  It’s going to be wonderful and we are sooo happy for them!