A Birthday Bash!

Heather, Honoree, Lynn, Todd, Walt and Scott having lunch at The Holly Inn

Our fantastic friend Honoree celebrates her birthday every year with a lot of family and friends. And I mean a lot of them! This year over a hundred gathered at Honoree and Walt's home in Carthage, NC and we were lucky enough to be there. We've been friends since 2006 when we met in Trinidad sheltering from the hurricane season at Chaguaramas Bay. Since then we've buddy boated with them around the Caribbean, spent 2 months in Peru and another 2 months in France and Italy. More recently we cruised the Norwegian coast past the Arctic Circle. We visit them every year and they come up to see us in Vermont. So - very good friends and such fun!

The Carolina Inn at Pinehurst, NC

Honoree, Scott, Heather, Lynn, Todd and Walt touring the charming village of Pinehurst

We arrived three days before to help with the preparations and it was a good thing. Honoree and Walt are avid pickle ball players. They built a court on their property. Walt is a certified instructor and Honoree a competitor in the Master's category in that and several other events. But that day she had a bad fall on the court and broke her wrist. That didn't stop her though! She was a bundle of energy even in her cast. 

Lynn and I blew up a lot of balloons
but needed help tying them

Honoree never let her cast get in the way of fun - but
despite the photo, she didn't play pickleball.

Then we posed with our creations!

Two other cruiser couple friends joined us. John and Brenda Magruder and Lynn & Todd Fulks. Lynn and Todd came the following morning and we all went to the World Golf Hall of Fame in Pinehurst, followed by a tour of the Carolina Hotel and the small charming village. Finally, an excellent lunch at the historic Holly Inn, opened in 1895. 

Kelly and Will

We all pitched in with preparations for the party. Tables were set up in the "event space garage" and outside on the lawn. Balloons were filled and tied (a machine for the former but fiddly hands attempted the latter). It is a pot luck but all the paper products and tables were set for the food. Brenda and John joined us the next day and we enjoyed a festive dinner reminiscing about our cruiser days out on the newly expanded terrace. 

Corey Comer played for hours and it was a great
playlist of Rock and Blues favorites.

Honoree and Walt's two sons Will and Kelly came early in the morning. We had never met either and had a chance to really talk to both during the day. Folks started arriving around 1 PM and Corey Comer, an excellent Blues and Rock musician began to play. The weather had cooperated perfectly - sunny and around 74 degrees!  The tables were soon laden with food and people were helping themselves. Lynn and myself established a post at the high top table on the terrace and were joined by a variety of others including Honoree's sister Lily and her husband. 

Heather, Brenda, Honoree, Scott, Lynn, Todd and Walt (John is taking the photo) the night before the party

And here is John with Scott

Here's a shot of the party looking away from the "Garage" to the pickleball court at the right, the end of their home on the left with the terrace.

The pickle ball court was soon busy with players and remained so all afternoon. One of the highlights of the afternoon was the pickleball race across the pond. Kelly manned a kayak with leaf blower to assist the laggers! What a spectacle! 

The balloons towed the pickleballs across the pond.

And Kelly helped out the laggards. 

The birthday cake was fabulous, pistachio cream with beautiful decorations (see the photo) and there was enough for everyone. One of the tables was heaped with presents and flowers. Altogether a wonderful party!

Honoree cuts the cake and we all sing Happy
Birthday. This is their garage/barn/event space!

The Birthday Cake was beautiful and delicious and
served over 100. 

Many participated in the clean up so those of us visiting were able to sit around that night enjoying a "light" meal, wine and reminisces. Kelly had flown from San Diego so was staying in their trailer and we particularly enjoyed hearing his stories and ideas - an amazing guy. But it was an early night for us as we had a long drive the next day up to Washington DC. But what a wonderful time it was and sad to say good-bye.

Just a few of the presents. We gave Honoree a painting I did of a village we visited together in Provence, France. 

The Cruiser Reunion at the party: Scott, Heather, Todd, Lynn, Honoree, Walt, Brenda and John.

Columbia SC Visit with Family

We stayed in this Marina years ago in Scott Free.
It's on the Beaufort waterfront

At the end of the boardwalk a glimpse up the river.

Atter leaving Fripp Island we walked around Beaufort, SC and then spent one night at the Route 22 Drive-In, a Harvest Host member. Scott watched the movie, The Hail Mary Project and loved it. I was pooped and it ran from 8 PM to 10:30 and I couldn't manage that. We had one more night at the New Green Acres RV Park before continuing on to Columbia. 

Sam, Scott, Heather, LaVerne and Joe at Blue Marlin Restaurant

This was our first visit to Columbia, SC and we were very impressed. The downtown has been clearly restored and seemed very busy. We had an excellent lunch with Scott's niece LaVerne, her husband Sam, and son Joe at Blue Marlin. 

There were lots of benches and tables.

This covered section of the walk was covered in 
yellow flowered vines.

Spring was in full swing there.

The amphitheater for the Kirkin of the Tartan

One of the two bagpipers at the ceremony

It was a busy day seeing some of the city with LaVerne's suggestions. We walked along the River Walk in the morning - so lovely as you can see from the photos. It's a 12 mile paved biking/walking trail with benches and picnic tables. And good fishing we noticed! We started at the West Columbia Park just over the bridge from downtown and surprised a Blessing of the Tartans ceremony  (Kirkin of the Tartan) in the amphitheater. It was the end of the 16th annual Highland Games, bagpipes and all.

Fountain in the Botanical Gardens - not as popular
as the Zoo.

The Skyway gondolas

The Congaree River view from the gondola

After lunch we went to the Botanical Gardens on the west side of the river and then crossed over on the gondolas to the Columbia Zoo. As it was a Saturday we joined enormous numbers of families enjoying both. Our favorites at the zoo were the 3 different kinds of penguins , the flamingos, and otters. But they had a wide variety of species in some lovely grounds. 

It was a full day and we were glad to relax at our excellent site at Sesquicentennial State Park We spent 2 nights there before driving west to North Carolina.

Beautiful Flamingos

Fun Penguins

Fierce looking Komodo Dragons

Adorable Koalas

Fripp Island with Dick & Debbie

I've always loved the marshes at every season and they stretch all up the coast of Georgia and South
Carolina.

One of the many pools at Fripp but this one was the
only one that was heated. Luckily we had a great
time there on the one day when it was warm enough
to enjoy.

Dick, Debbie, Heather & Scott at the Fish Camp Restaurant on Lady Island

Dick enjoys a specially made mock cocktail

And Debbie does the same with her high test one.

 From Savannah we drove just over an hour up to South Carolina's Hunting Island State Park, left "Baby" and drove a short distance over to Fripp Island where our friends Dick & Debbie rented a house for the month of March. We stayed there 4 nights before heading north again to Beaufort, SC.

The Rookery

We kept really busy every day. First touring Fripp itself and enjoying the heated swimming pool. Then walking the nature trail around The Rookery, a beautiful man made sanctuary for birds. And we saw a lot of them, both in numbers and diversity. We saw great egrets, snowy egrets, black-crowned herons, tricolored herons, great blue herons and anhingas, among others I'm sure. And alligators too, or at least one big one! And of course we enjoyed some wonderful meals at their home and nearby restaurants!

Black Crowned Herons

Only one alligator in sight - but it was big!

Snowy Egret on it's nest

The trail to the Bone Yard

Scott and I pose

And Dick and Debbie cuddle up!

Another day we walked into the Bone Yard - a white sand beach at Hunting State Park littered with beached driftwood and trees. 

Dick taking lots of photos with his "Real" camera