On to Key West

Miami is a big city with some beautiful art deco buildings.  We have been to Miami so we didn't spend much time there - headed on to the 127.5-mile  highway through the Florida Keys ending in Key West.  It's pretty amazing to drive that highway - to see the old railroad bridge and to realize how isolated Key West used to be.   The water is so beautiful - the colors are impossible to describe.  Key West is just as I imagined it to be - very laid back - loud - crowded - old rundown houses along with the new.   We camped close to Key West - rode the Trolley so we could get on and off wherever we wanted. Lots of bars - I didn't 

have a Margarita - had key lime pie instead!  I tried the key lime pie covered in chocolate on a stick but I liked the original pie best.  Also tried conch fritters - didn't really like them - not nearly as good as hush puppies.  Lunch in an outdoor restaurant - close to the street - with all the mopeds, bicycles, cars and buses.   Didn't see Jimmy Buffet - we were told that he sometimes drops in unexpectedly and sings a few songs.  Did buy a Margaritaville shirt and drive by his recording studio.  If you haven't been to a Jimmy Buffet concert - you should put it on your bucket list - quite an experience.  Mallory Square - entertainers of all kinds - crowds of people waiting on the sunset.  The place to be when the sun goes down - it was worth waiting on.   We enjoyed the unicycle juggler and browsing the booths selling all kinds of arts and crafts.  There are chickens and roosters everywhere - and they always have the right of way.  I didn't see the six toed cats - maybe next time.

Day 3 - April 15 - Boondocking

We left Seestah's house about 1:00 - headed south.  Beautiful day to be on the road.  We ended up looking for a campground and not finding anything so for the first time ever - we "boon docked" at Walmart in Fort Pierce, Florida.  I called and talked to the manager and he sounded like he was more than happy to have us.  We even had a security guard cruising by so we felt very safe! 
After breakfast we hit the road for Miami - looking for the new Marlins stadium.  Well of course our GPS sent us to the old stadium so we got a look at that one before finding the new one.  It's a beautiful building but it just didn't seem right to see an indoor baseball game.  I like the Atlanta Braves games much more.  Sure was nice to go to the camper when I got bored with the game. We enjoyedBro's IPAD - he has Verizon on it so we could look up all kinds of taas we drove.  Any discussion led to one of us saying "Google it".

Our next stop was "Coral Castle" - you have to see it to believe it.  It is built from Coral - built by one small man with no big tools and no help.  He must have been a genius to figure out how to build it - and it seems impossible that he could build the huge things with no help.  He even build a bathtub made of coral.    We stayed at Miami Everglades Campground - nice place.  

On the Way...Sapelo Island, Brunswick, St. Simons

Friday, April 13, 2012 - Road Trip Begins!  I love the sound of that.  Husband, Brother and I hit the road in "Freedom", our motor home.  Headed south...a beautiful day.

First stop:  Sapelo Island, Georgia.  We had hoped to go over to the island but had to settle for the visitor's center.  Reservations are necessary to ride the small ferry to the island.  Sapelo is so very interesting - read about Hog Hammock and the people there who speak Gullah. Living life their way.

Stopped for a visit with my "Seestah" and her family.  Seestah is more than a sister, more than a friend.  So good to see them.  We went to Indigo Kitchen for dinner - great food and friendly people.  We spent the night with them - Bro got special treatment - spent the night in their beautiful Carriage House.  I think he wanted to stay!  They have a beautiful craftsman house - and a beautifully landscaped yard - so relaxing.

Saturday - breakfast with Seestah and family.  Rode around St. Simon's and over to Jekyll - really a beautiful place.

A motor home trip to the beautiful coast of North Carolina - starting with a night on Lake Mattamuskeet.  Such an unsusal lake - average depth of 3 feet - yeah - 3 feet.  It is a wildlife refuge - peaceful, quiet.  Life seems to slow down for us as well...  We camped with a view of the lake - restful.  We drove to Belhaven - checking out places for Ken to come fishing.  Nice little town.  Found some access areas to launch his boat for fishing.

Manteo and over to the Outer Banks - we never get tired of the Outer Banks.  Seeing the Hatteras Lighthouse brought back memories of taking Katia (our "daughter" from Belarus) to see the lighthouse being moved in 1999.  She was nine years old and spoke very little English.  I'm sure a trip in a motorhome was very strange to her - and then to see the 4800 ton lighthouse being moved very slowly - only 25 to 100 feet each day. 

Ferry from Swan Quarter to Ocracoke Island - got some knitting done - enjoyed the beautiful blue ocean and blue sky.  Ocracoke really is a different world - in a good way. Small shops, no big stores, narrow streets with kids riding bicycles - drive slowly.  January is a great time to visit if you want to avoid crowds.  We spent the night - took the 7:30 AM ferry to Cedar Island.  The ferries don't run as often in the winter.

Drove to Harker's Island - ate lunch at Captain's Choice - really, really great seafood - and friendly people. 

Beaufort (in North Carolina it is "Bo"fort).  The waterfront is more than beautiful - historic homes - I love the plaques with the year they were built.  Small shops for browsing and shopping - ice cream  - we did resist the fudge!  We will return.

Morehead City,Emerald Isle, Snead's Ferry, Surf City.  We spent the night at Lanier's Campground in Surf City - huge campground - friendly and quiet. Topsail, Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, Fort Fisher.  One last ferry to Southport - being in a motor home on a ferry is sort of like being in a housboat!                                  

Headed inland - driving the backroads - checking out Jordan Lake south of Raleigh.  Might be a fishing trip in Ken's future.  Cheesy biscuits with dinner at a Sagebrush somewhere on the way.    

I love traveling - a day, a month or longer.  I love to go but I also love coming home.  Life is good.

BIFFLE - Best Friends For Like Ever

Biffle's are one of life's blessings.  Most of us have a lots of friends, even a few good friends.  A few of us have a Biffle.  I am blessed with two Biffles!  Closer than sisters - all the good parts of sisterhood with none of the bad.


These two were not childhood friends or even high school friends.  Fate brought them to me at different times in different ways.  We are biffle's because of who we are as adults - not because of who we were as children.  We're different, but we have so much in common.  


We laugh a lot - at ourselves and at each other.  We can talk or sometimes be quiet.  We've taken short trips and some very long trips together.  I went to Italy with one biffle - the trip of a lifetime - all good.  We've spent time in the mountains, at the beach, in Arizona - the Grand Canyon, Texas and even Las Vegas of all places.  I travel some with my husband, children and grandchildren - travel a lot with my brother.  He and I took a "Road Trip" last year - over 9,000 miles.  Great times - I hope for many more.  As good as they are, nothing is quite like time with my Biffles.

The three of us spent a few days in Charleston, SC last week.  Perfect weather, great hotel - Historic Embassy Suites - unbelievably good food.  If you are ever in the beautiful city of Charleston - don't miss eating at Amen and at Jestine's.  I don't have enough good words to describe the food.  Before you leave stop in Market Street Sweets - it's worth stopping to smell the candy - as if you can resist sampling some.  Our room looked out on a beautiful square decorated for Christmas - was it just for us?   Couldn't have been any better.


Distance doesn't matter, nor does time apart.  We talk a lot sometimes - or we don't for a while.  The connection stays the same.  They are family - chosen family.   I thank God for them.

Missy - Amazing Grace

Rachelle Davene Eckenrode Hollars died today - went to be with the Lord.  No matter how much we believe - our hearts still feel that Missy left us too soon.  Forty two years is not nearly enough.  I believe that God created us to love this life He gave us.  I think Missy loved life.  My belief is that it's okay  - better than okay to love this life and want to live it to the fullest and be with our loved ones for a long, long time.  Missy was Ken's niece.  My nephew, Dale, died at 23.  When one dies so young it leaves a bigger hole in the family.  It alters the future of all in the family - changes everything.  We wonder how life would have been different - better - if they could have stayed with us longer.  

Thank God for Missy's life - for her beautiful smile and her wonderful life.  I can't think of Missy without thinking of her laugh.  Missy enjoyed life - she had fun - she loved and was loved.

Missy's sons and husband will miss her more than words can ever tell.  Their lives are changed forever.  She made them better by loving them so much.  Her family has another hole in it - with God's help and our faith maybe that hole will become a scar and we can remember Missy with pain but also with the joy she left us.

Amazing Grace is what a family needs when one leaves so soon.  I pray that God gives that to each one - especially to her husband, sons and her father.

A Few Days on the Outer Banks

We just got home from a few days on the Outer Banks of North Carolina...a most amazing place.
We've been there many times, but not in several years.  Lots of changes - many of them not for the better.  The only place that still seems like a small village is Ocracoke.  No fast food, no chain stores.  Bicycles and golf carts are the favored transportation.  Life is slower, quieter, calmer - I think better.  The ocean water was warm, the wild ponies were beautiful, people were friendly, weather was great.  Life is good. 


Dinner at The Dunes in Nags Head was perfect - not one thing could have been better.
Breakfast the next morning in Nags Head - this one is worth checking out if you're ever in the area...Lisa's Pizza...yes, breakfast at a Pizza joint.  Best breakfast I've had in years!  I complimented the food to the waiter and he told us their chef is going to culinary school!  Beautiful, delicious breakfast, great service in a little pizza restaurant!


We stopped at "The World's Largest Gun Store" in Mackey's Landing.  Mackey's Landing Firearms - out in the middle of nowhere.  Of course Ken bought a gun - who could resist when there were thousands to choose from.  Another reason not to travel on the interstates - more interesting places to see.


We bought a small motor home recently and this was our first trip.  No problems - we really enjoyed the trip.  We had campers for years - our last one was pretty large which was nice at the time.  This one is easier in every way.  Just get in and go.  Our boys grew up camping at the beach every summer - lots of fun.


Driving home we decided to take a new route through the countryside.  We saw some beautiful farms on Highway 264 - huge farms - looked liked thousand acre fields of corn - even some cotton fields.  I didn't know we had farms that large in NC.  Some of the farmhouses looked to be several generations old and very well kept.  A beautiful area - and such friendly people.  We ate dinner in Belhaven where a gentleman asked "Are ya comin' or goin'?" - wanted to know all about our trip.


On this same highway, a black bear crossed the road in front of us, then stopped and watched us pass by.  Lots of wildlife.  


Somewhere near Kitty Hawk we saw "Kite Skiers" - I guess that's what they're called.  Water skiers pulled by kites.  Looked like lots of fun.  I wonder if they can control the direction they go of if they just go where the kite takes them?


We went to see "The Lost Colony" in Manteo.  We didn't enjoy it as much as we expected.  This is its 74th year so lots of people must really like it.  I am glad we went - guess I just expected something different. 


We drove to Duck - never again - the traffic was hard to believe.  Duck is about as different from Ocracoke as it possibly can be.  Lots of shopping, restaurants, huge houses, traffic - if that's what you're looking for. 


A wonderful trip - and great to be home.  First trip I remember with no pictures!  I forgot my camera.