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.

Florida to Fiji

 

We visited our first Bucky's in South Carolina
on our way north. You start seeing signs for the
next Bucky's hundreds of miles before you 
reach them!

We leapt from Florida to Fiji in just over a week! On the 22nd we left our Santa Rosa RV Resort and drove north - one night in Madison, GA and the next day we were with our old friends Walt & Honoree in Carthage, NC.  After two lovely nights with them, they drove us up to Raleigh for one night at the La Quinta Hotel. We got on the first shuttle in the morning at 4:30 AM! 

Dinner out one night at a fabulous restaurant with
Honoree & Walt. Baby is in their care until our
return in May. 

This was  the start of our challenging time changes and varying bedtime hours. The four nights with Zoë, George and Tommy gave us time to unwind and relax. We always enjoy a lot of easy walks around Palo Alto and one day enjoyed a Whale Watch out of Santa Cruz. We saw 3 whales, one strange Ocean Sunfish and an adorable sea otter - and of course, lots of birds. 

Scott and Zoë on our whale watch trip.

The very strange Ocean Sunfish!

Tommy, George and Zoë

A few days before our flight to Fiji on Fiji Airlines we received an offer to bid on an upgrade to Business Class. We bid the minimum - still a lot of money but the idea we might get some sleep on the 10 hour overnight flight was too tempting. And we got it. It was worth it. It was strange and kind of sad to not take advantage of all the free food and drink, but we knew it would affect our sleep so we abstained. It was particularly hard in the Air France lounge before our flight! We could have had a gourmet dinner with wine pairings but it was already late at night. The seats did recline to almost flat but it wasn't the separate cubicles that they sometimes have. No complaints though and we really enjoyed the breakfast the next morning!

Entry into Fiji was quick and our hotel, Crowne Plaza Nadi wasn't far away. We were checked in and shown to our beautiful room at 5 AM! We crossed the international date line on the flight so it was a full day later. It was great to catch a few more hours of sleep. And the huge buffet breakfast that morning welcomed us. Actually before we went down I heard this beautiful singing outside. The wait staff at the restaurant sing for any special occasion and they are very good. It sounds like a trained chorus. They sounded like hymns to me, all in Fijian, But more on our time in Fiji in my next post.

The view from our balcony.

Our first breakfast - it was hot and humid with clear skies for our stay until the last morning
when it rained. 

We enjoyed our first cocktails on the beach at sunset.

At 6:30 each evening there is a torch lighting along the beach.

The sunsets were beautiful.

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

 

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. 

Scott, Kate, Heather and Stephen. 

Today, Thursday 1/5 we continue on to Skidaway Island State Park outside of Savannah. It promises to be another beautiful day!

I loved the small lovely vistas around 
Williamsburg

Walt & Honoree's Pickleball Court in action..

Watching the fierce competition

Walt & Honoree with ourselves

The gorgeous wide endless beach at Pawley's Island where Kate & Stephen have their vacation home

We had breakfast with Stephen's mother Rives one morning

One of the beautiful statues at Brookgreen Gardens

Almost Finished!

Scott at the wheel off North Carolina

When last you heard of our two heros, they were anchored in Belhaven, NC on Tuesday, May 24th. The next day they averaged 8 knots an hour, despite 20 knots of wind dead on the nose in the Albemarle Sound, and pulled up at Coinjock Marina at 6 PM. Luckily, they had made the reservations not only for the marina, but for the Prime Rib dinner that Coinjock is justifiably famous for. From Coinjock to Norfolk there are lots of opening bridges that unfortunately only open on the hour, except for the last one which closes over rush hour - very frustrating to manage the time between bridges. But when they finished that, they took off for an overnight up the Chesapeake Bay to Herrington Harbour South in the pea soup fog!

Coinjock Marina's famous prime rib dinner. Pete got the 32 oz and Scott the 16 oz - neither finished their meal and we'll have the leftovers for dinner ourselves.

We do not have radar so this was nerve wracking and neither of them got much sleep. When we sailed on the east coast we had radar and used it but down in the western Caribbean where we've been for 10 years, it's not necessary at all. So when it broke, we didn't replace it. Their method was to call a few boats, as they started out, that appeared on the AIS (Automatic Identification System that shows other boats that have it and displays your own) and ask if they had radar and if so, what they were seeing. Happily, one boat ahead of them had it and was going to the same location, so they followed it. They pulled into the Marina at 6 AM and tied up to the fuel dock. Only 5 nights from St. Augustine, FL to close to Annapolis, MD! Amazing. Later they were moved to a slip. We have reservations there for a week. The boat needs to be emptied and cleaned for showing and then moved over to Herrington Harbour North where it will be hauled up for the season. 

Tied up at Herrington Harbour South in Maryland Friday morning, May 27th.

I on the other hand drove down to my sister Paula's at Belcamp, MD for one night and then on to our son Sean and husband Will's month long rental in Washington, DC. I had dinner with my son James and family nearby. The next morning Sean and I drove down to the Marina, picked up Scott and Pete and drove Pete to National airport to catch a flight home. Scott and I will spend one night here before returning to the boat and days of hard work. We'll move the boat over to Herrington North on June 6th and haul the next day. So our 20 years of cruising is coming to an end and that's all right!

Some shots from Pete's Instagram account

The night's were fairly cold as you can see from 
Pete's clothing.

Pete was able to post on 
Instagram throughout the
trip.

Notes on the charts.