Sailing, sailing,: Song of the South

Thursday, January 05, 2023

Song of the South

Sunny but cool - in front of the Capitol in
Washington with the Mall behind me.

My sister Paula and ourselves take a selfie.

After a wintery freezing start to our trip, the song of the south beckons us onward with warmer, sunny weather. Right now we are in South Carolina and it was 70 degrees yesterday with clear skies! My last post finished with our arrival at my sister Paula's for a visit. We spent four days with her and enjoyed some holiday meals and lots of conversation. Then we drove back to the RV park to repack for our visit with our son James and his family in Washington DC. We basically left the RV at the park, staying with first Paula and then, James

The traditional Pavlovic dessert on Christmas Eve,
a Strawberry Pavlova.

Scott and Grace, Morgen's niece.

Our grandson Kolya with James and Morgen's
father Karl in the background on Christmas
morning at Morgen's sister's home.

This was our second time celebrating Christmas with Morgen's family. Her sister Claire and brother-in-law Bill have a home just blocks from James and Morgen on Capitol Hill. They have 2 girls, Grace and Nora. We had Christmas Eve and the next day with them, along with both of their parents. Morgen's family have traditional meals at this time. The first is Cheese Fondue and Salad followed by a Strawberry Pavlova. On the day itself, a big brunch followed by Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad and Christmas cookies. With three children you can imagine there were tons of presents.

The weather stayed cool but several days it was clear. One day we went to the Arboretum to see the toy trains race around a world wide landscape out in the garden area. Four trains wound around tiny towns representing countries from all over the world. Inside it was beautifully decorated for Christmas.

Our next stop was Colonial Williamsburg for two nights. We'd been there twice before when the children were young. The first time we exchanged homes with the Vice President of Williamsburg and lived in their home right in the center of the historic district for a week We had glorious weather - 65 degrees with bright sunshine. Visits to the craftspeople and conversations with the "townsfolk" were highlights. That evening we had dinner and then attended a organ recital at the 1715 Episcopal Church in the center of town - marvelous!

We had a great visit in the Carpentry shop and learned about the Apprentice program and careers in the crafts at Williamsburg.

On December 30th we continued on to our close friends Walt & Honoree Cooper in Carthage, NC. We first met them in 2006 in Trinidad and Bonaire. Since then we traveled together in Peru for 2 months, France & Italy for another 2 months and more recently a week in Amsterdam and a 2 week cruise up the Norwegian coast to above the Artic Circle. We spent 3 nights with them, celebrating the New Year with their neighbors and attending their New Year's Day pickle ball party. They are avid pickle ball players and constructed a beautiful court on their property.

That's Junior and Baby across the Cooper's pond - what a lovely spot!

Here's the view the other direction near sunset from our RV.

We are now spending 3 nights with our former Brookline neighbors and friends, Kate & Stephen Kelley. They have a second home in Litchfield By The Sea on Pawley's Island, SC. It's a beautiful area and the beach here is endless! We've parked our RV in the Huntington Beach State Park right next door. This is the location of Atalaya, which was the winter home of the industrialist and philanthropist Archer M. Huntington and his wife, the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington. They donated 2,600 acres including the castle and Brookgreen Gardens, a showcase for Anna's sculptures and others. We spent hours walking around admiring the beautiful landscaping and works of art.