Last Visit to Bonita Springs?

Barbara on her balcony overlooking the view

We've enjoyed many amazing dinners at her
dining room table

 

This might be out last visit to Bonita Springs. Our good friend Barbara has her condo on the market and it looks like she may be moving back up to Connecticut. She lived there for many years while she was a Professor at Wesleyan University and her two children live nearby. She'd like to be closer to them and her many grandchildren. We'll miss this lovely area but of course she'll be closer to us now as well. 

Barbara and Scott at Naples Botanical Gardens

The first day was cold and overcast so we hunkered in enjoying Barbara's wonderful cooking. Scott and I did get in a walk though - Pelican Landing is surrounded by beautiful ponds, golf courses and grassy swamps. The beach, which we usually enjoyed for a walk, was damaged in the last hurricane and inaccessible for a while. The second full day we drove down to Naples to the Botanical Gardens. What a spectacular place as you can see from some of the photos here. And we capped it off with a great lunch overlooking the water at the Boathouse on Naples Bay. 

The next day we were off to St. Petersburg to visit my cousin Joanie and her husband Kent. So more on that in the nest post!

There is a walk around the lake but we didn't feel up to it. There is so much to see in the gardens themselves.

The waterlilies were so beautiful and in a
variety of colors.

Several streams and waterfalls run through
the gardens.

Last time we were here the theme was Frida Kahlo. This time it was framing views and a large group of artists were arriving the next day to paint throughout the gardens. Frames were erected to highlight views that combined near and far elements. 

The Cold Returned!

Diane & Mitch out for dinner with us at a fun Irish Pub in
Vero Beach

The cold returned for most of the country. At least we didn't have snow! It rained and had highs of 50 or so in Ft. Pierce during the day and in the 40's at night. But we were snug and warm with our old friends Diane & Mitch in their condo across from the beach. Diane made a great dinner to welcome us and the next morning we visited the National Navy USD-Seal Museum right across the street and learned a lot about this branch of the military, starting in WWII. Then that afternoon we saw the new Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown" and went out to dinner at an Irish pub with live entertainment. It was "open mic" night and lots of fun. We all enjoyed the movie as well - we all lived through those times and that music was a big part of the soundtrack of our lives. 

The next day we drove south and west past the Okeechobee Lake and visited our cruiser friends Marlene and Benno, formerly of "Diesel Duck". They were part of a group of boats that left Georgetown in the Bahamas for Trinidad back in 2006. When we visited Linda & Ed up in Jacksonville a few days before, we got their contact info. Marlene is a great cook and made us a delicious lunch. It was fun reminiscing on our adventures on that trip and later time together in the eastern Caribbean. They have a home near Toronto, Canada and travel south for part of the winter. Unlike us, they aren't finished with the boating life and are working on a new boat up near home. 

Marlen & Benno in their RV home 

Then we continued on to Bonita Springs for our annual southern visit to Barbara Craig, formerly of "Enkidu". She comes up to visit us in the fall each year as well.  The weather continues to be cold and rainy but just now on our second full day here the sun has come out and cheered us all up. More on that visit in my next post!

Finally Out of the Cold...(for now)

 

Deborah and Heather on our hike at Skidmore
Island State Park

Our last two days in Savannah we had lovely weather - high of 70+ during the day and sunshine. Our cruiser friend Deborah, formerly of "Tango", drove down from Hilton Head to hike with us and have lunch. There is a very nice trail along the ICW in Skidmore Island State Park with great views of the marshes. Then we enjoyed a lunch in our RV.  The night before we had dinner at our favorite restaurant in Savannah, Vic's on the River. As always, we got a table by the window overlooking the river. 

Riverside table at Vic's on the River.

Our next stop was to visit George and Doris, our friends and neighbors in Shrewsbury who spend their winters in Palm Coast. On the way we met up for lunch with Linda and Ed formerly of "Dreamtime" that we hadn't seen since 2010 in St. Martin. They were part of a group that sailed down from the Bahamas to Trinidad in 2006. It was a fun reunion and we look forward to seeing them again next year. It was a brief but fun stay with George and Doris for one night with a great pizza dinner before we were off again to Winter Park.

Linda, Ed, Heather & Scott

On the way to Winter Park we stopped again at the Gemini Springs Park for lunch and a hike This is a large well appointed park with the historic twin springs, playgrounds etc. 

We stay with Harpal & Jeannie every year and they keep Baby for us while we tool around the rest of Florida. I've known Harpal since 1968! He was part of the original Ski House in Hancock, VT.  We had 4 days to catch up on our lives since last January. Their son Sunjay is living with them now and we all had a very fun night out one of the evenings. This is the warmest weather we've had so far! We put away the down comforter and have had the windows open and the screen door utilized! Yesterday we had a nice walk around the lake in the center of Winter Park, but the second day it' was stormy so we went to Harpal's gym (indoor pool, Yeh). Today we're off in the truck alone to visit Diane & Mitch in Ft. Pierce. More on that later.

The trail at Gemini Springs Park

Harpal's little community by night (21 houses
in all)

Scott took the selfie so he looks bigger than usual! Jeannie
Harpal and Heather to his left.

Moving South

There are some beautiful marshes on their property with a variety of birds.

The view from the top floor of the Kelley's home in Litchfield by the Sea

 Our three nights with Steve and Kate Kelley went all to quickly. We enjoyed some great meals both in their home and at a lovely restaurant, the Chive Blossom (our second time there and still excellent). We had a chance to visit Steve's mother, Reves, and have dinner with his sister, Jennifer. The weather cooperated, allowing us some good walks along the marsh and beach. We even got in one session of Bone Builders. Scott graciously joined us in 2 sessions of Rummikub! He's doesn't generally enjoy games, except for bridge, but had fun this time. One day we spent seeing Georgetown just south of them. This was a favorite anchoring spot for us on our trips down the ICW with Scott Free. The County Historical Museum was very interesting and we had a great lunch at the River Room overlooking the harbor. 

Scott, Kate and Steve at the County Museum
in Georgetown

A selfie on the boardwalk at Georgetown.

From there we drove down to Savannah, But it wasn't an easy trip! On Route 95 the trailer started to sway back and forth and then the trailer brakes slammed on. Well this is scary on that highway! We reduced the speed to 40 miles and hour and put on our emergency lights and slowly continued on. That solved the immediate problem but we needed servicing help fast. The trailer brake warning light had gone on several times earlier in the trip but Scott's tightening the wires seemed to solve it. Now it was on all the time.

Rex Trailer after a day and a half work - Baby
ready to hit the road. 

After settling in at Skidaway Island State Park, we looked up all the nearby trailer servicing people. Since it was Sunday we could only leave messages On Monday, 0ne fellow called back and we made an appt for Tuesday at Noon. But then Rex Trailer called back. Talking to Scott they said they were very busy but he could drop the trailer off and they'd do it later. I took the phone and gave the sob story - we live in the trailer and need to continue south. Is there anything they could do (emotion laded voice). Well, in that case, we could come over at 11 AM when the technician came in and they'd see what they could do. 

It wasn't that easy. The technician had problems and was at the VA that morning. He didn't answer his phone and finally came in at 4 PM! It was a long day sitting around the service yard. But the Manager, Barry, and the secretary, Shelby, were SO nice. We hung out in their office and got to know them. At 4 PM Daniel got right to work and continued, lit by the truck headlights, until 7 PM. But wasn't finished then. Barry refused to leave us until we had to give up. And Shelby volunteered to put us up in her house! We couldn't stay in their yard so had to get a hotel room. We didn't feel we could impose on Shelby, Such nice folks!

That's the Fort seen from the Visitor's Center. You can only see the part of the structure where the
workers and "village" existed while it was being built. The fort itself is beyond where you see
the land side wall.

Scott on the drawbridge over the moat. In
 the distance you can see the parade grounds.
The distance between them shows the 
thickness of the walls. 

The Commander's office and location of the 
famous surrender. 

The huge fort was mostly built by enslaved people.
After the capture of the Fort, Union General David
 Hunter issued a declaration freeing all enslaved people
 -in April which was well before Lincoln's in January.

The next day Barry told us to enjoy ourselves and he'd call when the work was done. So we went to Fort Pulaski National Monument out near Tybee Island for the morning. What a lovely place and so interesting. This fort was surrendered to Union Forces after heavy bombardment during the Civil War. It is an amazing structure and totally restored now. The day was beautiful as you can see from the photos. And the work was completed successfully by 2 PM, We were able to return to Skidaway Island State Park.

On the Road Again!

The view from our deck down to Baby's usual spot. We're finished with digging her out and careening down the driveway!

Our little tree down by the pond 
looks quite wintery and sweet.

After Michal and our 5 grandchildren left, we had five days to pack and get the house ready for the winter (without us, but with expected visits from our kids and friends). I did yeoman's duty at Pierce's, working there (volunteering) running the store 4 hour shifts on 3 days! We left January 2nd from Exit 1 RV in Fairhaven, VT where we have been storing Baby since late October. We had only a sprinkling of snow there. But we had around 8 inches at home as you can see from the photo! The truck was packed as we are gone for almost 5 months. 

Scott at Chez Pierre in Gansevoort, NY near the Saratoga
RV Park. This was a favorite spot of Brian Armstrong and
myself back in the 1970's. It's still run by the same family!

From there we drove an hour and a half over to Saratoga RV and spent one night before a long day driving down to Washington DC. We can't use the tunnels in Baltimore because we carry propane tanks, so had to drive right through the city. After 2 nights there visiting our son James and his family, we hightailed south again to try and get out of the coming snowstorm. We got as far as Ashland, VA and spent one night there. We didn't escape the snow though, as we woke up to several inches of snow and slush. It took several hours of careful driving before we left the snow line. The temperatures however didn't go up.

The view out our RV window at the Americamps
RV Park in Ashland, VA in the morning.

Walt & Honoree in their kitchen

Our next stop was our yearly visit to our old traveling buddies, Walt & Honoree, at their beautiful home in Carthage, NC. Baby's spot on the edge of their pond is one of our all time favorites. We had a great time as usual with cold but clear sunny days. Some great walks, meals, card games, and conversation! One wonderful surprise too. They have volunteered to keep Baby on their property while we are away in New Zealand and Australia! We're flying out of Raleigh, about an hour away. This will save us a lot of money in storage fees and we'll get to visit them again in the spring!

Now we're off for another visit with old friends, Stephen & Kate Kelley in Pawley's Island, SC. But that will be covered in my next post!

That's Baby in her favorite spot at Walt & Honorees home in Carthage, NC

 

2024 - Finishing up the Year!

Scott and I took some long walks in nearby 
Central Park and got to watch the runners in the
NYC Marathon.

Daniel and Shira contemplate one of my 
chocolate chip cookies. I brough tons of 5 
verities and they were all gone in a few days!

 

Cookie, Uzi and Maya pile up on Josh

Uzi, Heather, Maya and Shira at the Museum of
Modern Art.

Before our trip to Ireland we went down to NYC to visit our oldest son Josh and his family. Michal and their two younger children moved to Manhattan in September. They joined their oldest three kids who are all at Columbia University: a Senior, Junior and a Freshman. Their Coop apartment is on the corner of Park Ave. and 84th and has room for all of us. So we'll be visiting NYC more often!

Heather with Jessie and her son.
Mollie's 3 children and Rowan were
there as well, but somehow I only
took 2 photos!

And here's the other one: Doug, Carol, Julie and Gene.
These are both at the Holiday Open House

After returning from Ireland we had several parties to enjoy. First, Pierce's had a dinner for all their volunteers and staff - great fun and excellent food. Then our annual Holiday Open House in Boston which this year was hosted for the first time by Marty Wolf and her daughter and son-in-law, now living next door, Molly and Patrick. Scott and I stayed with Marty for the weekend to help out with the preparations. We had a big turnout with lots of family and friends. Last was a pot luck dinner for my Book Club members and their spouses at our good friends and neighbors, Lily & Eldred French.

Everyone dressed and ready for a day on the slopes. Michal, Maya, Daniel, Shira, Uzi & Cookie.

It was Daniel's 22nd birthday and we
made a three tier chocolate cake
filled with s'more ingredients!

Michal, Cookie, Shira, Scott, Uzi & Daniel - lighting the 
Menorahs

This was our year for Thanksgiving so the rest of our family was celebrating Christmas with their in-laws. But Josh's family accepted our invitation to come visit us for the week and celebrate Hanukah with us. Yeh! The only sad news was that Josh could not goin us. He was stuck being the doctor for his partnership during the holidays. Michal, my daughter-in-law drove up from NYC with our grandchildren, Daniel, Cookie, Maya, Uzi and Shira. What a great time we had and the weather cooperated with lots of snow. They skied two days at Killington, made snow forts and snow men, sledded, and roasted a LOT of marshmallows. 

Also in November Kolya got to go on his first
real tent camping trip on the AT.

And now we're on our way south - more on my next post.

And I couldn't resist adding this
fun photo of Rowan and a pair of
outsized boots.