Life is Better With Friends...

The trail varied between dirt paths and wooden
bridges

 Life is better with friends and we have a lot of them in Florida. At the end of my last post we had just left the Palm Coast after a visit with the Perrys. On the drive down to Winter Park we stopped for a walk and lunch at Gemini Springs Park. This 210 acre nature park was rescued from development by the County and opened in 1996. The multi use Spring to Spring trail there is 26 miles long and we hope to bike it one day - but we didn't have enough time at this visit so hiked the nature trail around the DeBary bayou.

After lunch we continued on to Winter Park, the home of our friends Harpal & Jeannie Dhama. Harpal went to school with my sister Paula and I have known him for over 50 years. Two years ago we stayed in their home twice but without them. They were visiting their sons in California. So it was a happy reunion. We enjoyed walks, talks and some excellent meals. They are able to keep Baby with them while we meander around Florida staying with other friends and family. We'll be back after a week or so to pick it up and see them again. 

A very beautifully plated vegerarian
plate at a local Mexican restaurant.

Harpal and I laugh it up

Our next stop was Jupiter where our friends and neighbors from Shrewsbury. Weezie and Stan Duda. spend their winters.  They had bought tickets to a Historical Society of Palm Beach County benefit called "Was it Murder? Mock Trial" and that proved to be a fun evening, followed by an excellent dinner overlooking the ICW nearby. We almost didn't get to see the show. We arrived just before the 6 PM start and found all the doors to the Courthouse closed. Perseverance won out when a gentleman let us in and we grabbed the last plates of appetizers and a glass of wine before joining the crowd in the courthouse. Audience members had been recruited to join in as jury and even cast members so we missed that opportunity. At this point we were still enjoying beautiful clear skies and warm temperatures. But that was about to change. On the way the next day to St. Petersburg where my first cousin Joanie and her husband Kent live in the historic district right near the parks surrounding the bay we endured some heavy rain and winds. And then the temperature dropped.

More to come in my next post...

Stan, Scott and I in downtown West Palm
Beach - starting to be windy but still
a pleasant temperature.

Weezie and Stan in their lanai overlooking the 
golf course.

Through Georgia to Florida

The fabulous view from the Boileau's deck in Hilton Head. Their house was at the end of the road and had views on 2 sides over to the intercoastal waterway. 

The four of us pose under the Harbor
Town sign

Both Debra and Richard are accomplished conch
musicians, the traditional announcement of the 
sunset in the cruising community.

The weather has been beautiful. The famous
lighthouse at Hilton Head is behind us.

After our visit with the Kelley's we continued south to the Skidaway Island State Park outside of Savannah. This is a very popular place and we had to make our reservations early last fall - it was full the whole 4 days there. And we can see why - surrounded by marshes with miles of trails but not far from the city. 

But our first day there we left Baby in her site and backtracked up to Hilton Head to visit cruiser friends, Debra and Richard Boileau. We got to know them in Trinidad, Bonaire, Aruba and Cartagena, Columbia. Long time cruisers, they circumnavigated in their first boat Strider and then purchased a large catamaran, Tango, and cruised the Caribbean.

It was a fun visit with lots of stories of times together. We visited them two years ago on our first RV trip in Homosassa, FL but they moved up to Hilton Head this summer and have settled in here very happily. 

The next day we turned south again and stopped in Savannah to walk all around and have lunch. Vic's on the River is a favorite spot from our past visits and didn't disappoint this time. After a quiet night out at Skidaway Island, we returned to Savannah on Sunday and walked all over, admiring the many parks and beautiful homes. We started the day at Clary's for breakfast, the famous location from the Garden of Good and Evil book and movie, then toured the Owen's-Thomas House & Slave Quarters. "Built in 1819, this mansion exemplifies the neoclassical styles popular in England during the Regency period. It allows visitors to explore the complicated relationships between the most powerful and least powerful people in the city of Savannah in the early 19th century." We were moved by the stories and histories of the enslaved people that lived and worked in that house. 

Next we visited the Telfair Academy Art Museum as they had a special exhibit on the Bonaventure Cemetery with the Bird Girl Statue, removed from the cemetery for safety. But the morning walk had tired us out so after a lunch and nap back at Baby, we went out again for a walk through the marshes at Skidaway Island. They have miles of trails with signs detailing the wildlife and vegetation. 

On Monday we drove south again to visit our friends and neighbors from Shrewsbury, VT, Doris and George Perry. They have a second home in Palm Coast, FL. George prepared a delicious meal for us and we had fun catching up with local and world news. Doris volunteers as a whale watcher to track right whales and for the last two years she hadn't seen any. The morning we arrived she watched a mother and baby playing off the coast for hours - so exciting!!! But next morning we were off again, this time to Winter Park to see Harpal & Jeannie Dharma. More in my next post.

The garden at the Smith- Thomas House is modern,
 other than a small herb patch. It originally would
have been the work space for the enslaved people and
14 of them crowded into the one half of the Carriage
 House you see beyond it - along with laundries etc. 

The main entrance to the home. Marquis de
 Lafayette stayed here in 1825, a dedicated 
abolitionist, all enslaved peoples were banned 
from appearing in public during his visit! 
Never the less during a tour of nearby Yorktown
he recognized and embraced James Armistead
Lafayette, a free man of color who had served
with him during the Revolutionary War (he was
the first US double agent spy).

 

The iconic Bird Girl statue, made famous on the
cover of the book The Garden of Good and Evil.

One of the countless beautiful parks in Savannah.

Our very private site at Skidaway Island State Park

Heather, Doris, George and Scott in a selfie

A view from the trail at Skidaway Island State Park - in the far distance is one of the many 
bridges on the ICW that Scott Free passed under during our trips south and north along the eastern coast. 

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

And We're Off!

 

Junior and Baby buried in the snow

It wasn't a good start but a happy ending. And that's just the first 20 minutes! I thought we were in good shape this  year as we  had only 1 and 1 /2 feet of snow (unlike 2 years ago when we had 3 feet) but underneath lurking, was some ice. We had planned carefully to avoid the long drive in 2020 when we arrived at our first RV park in the dark. So the RV was all packed and we spent our last night there. But we had waited to shovel out and hook up the truck until the morning. I carefully edged the truck out of the parking spot and turned down the driveway. But the tires locked and we turned sideways and skidded down, jacking the trailer. I managed to stop in front of the garage at the lip of the driveway. 

The snow fall ended a few days before we left giving Scott enough time to shovel the walk down to the driveway so we could pack up the RV. 

Scott was amazing. He directed me to manage a controlled (!) sideways skid of the front wheels that slowly turned the truck down the driveway and we were able to slowly descend towards Spring Lake Rd. But as we neared the bottom junction the brakes locked and I couldn't slow down or stop. We entered the road and managed to turn down it - but if a car had been coming, there would have been a crash! But luck was with us. The rest of the trip was a piece of cake. 

Baby and Junior hooked up and shoveled out, ready to skid down the driveway.

Scott's brother Brent and sister-in-law Wilma had applied for permission for us to park in front of their home in South Orange, NJ. They, unfortunately for us, were with their family in South Carolina but after a 5 hour drive, we were able to spend a comfortable night in their home before continuing on the next day for another 4.5 hours, all the way to Cherry Hill RV Park near Washington, DC. Baby will stay there for 8 nights while we visit my sister Paula in Belcamp, MD and our son James and his family in Washington.  We'll continue south on 12/28.

Quincy Market looks deserted but inside it was teaming with shoppers and people having lunch.

Earlier this month we went down to Boston for 5 days with Sean & Will. Our Annual Holiday Open House, suspended the last few years for COVID was planned for Sunday at their home in Dorchester. I also had the last of my yearly appointments with my thoracic surgeon. After 11 years with no problem I no longer need to see him. Scott and I had a great day in Boston enjoying the holiday decorations and doing some shopping down at Quincy Market. Each night with Sean and Will we had fabulous dinners out at Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen (followed by seeing the Soweto Gospel Choir at the Berkley School of Music), Oleana in Cambridge, and at their home. 

We pose for a photo with Sean & Will after our dinner at Darryl's Restaurant in the South End.

But then the bad news/good news vibe hit us. The first two nights we spent some time with Jenny Wolf, who is renting their third floor and on Friday night she tested positive for COVID before a Master's Swim Meet. So we had to cancel the party and spent the next five days worried about catching it. So that was the bad news - but happily none of us came down with COVID and Jenny never had a single symptom! It was sad for everyone to miss seeing all our friends again this year but maybe we'll try again in the Spring! So now we are at Paula's enjoying her company. Tomorrow we move on to James' for Christmas. 

A tiny tree all decorated at Sean & Will's for
the holiday

It just fit in this alcove perfectly.

Faneuil Hall is dwarfed by sky scrapers but the 
Customs Tower in the background is still there.

Quincy Market was decked out for the holidays 
and we enjoyed clam chowder for lunch.

This huge dinosaur didn't miss out on the festivities.

Giving Thanks!

 

Gathered around the table, from left, Heather, Josh, Shira, Gary, Will, Jonathan, Scott (hidden), Sean, Ariella and Daniel. 

We had lots of reasons to give thanks this Thanksgiving. Although we were really sad to learn that our son James, daughter-in-law Morgen and youngest grandson Kolya were unable to join us for the holiday, we were grateful that they recovered from the RSV that caused them to cancel without the complications that have landed some children in overcrowded hospitals at this time of year. Our hearts go out to those families.

We did a lot of cooking with everyone pitching in. That's Jonathan, Scott, Shira, Heather, Gary, Will and Sean.

But we did have two of our sons and their families join us. Sean, Will and Will's Dad Gary came up from Boston, while Josh, Michal, Shira and Jonathan flew from Tulsa, OK to NYC where they picked up our two grandchildren attending Columbia University, Daniel and Ariella and drove up overnight. Of course we did lots of cooking and eating, but the weather cooperated enough so that we got in a couple of hikes and Josh and Daniel spent a day skiing at Killington. It was a wonderful weekend with lots of board games and the World Cup soccer to watch.  And we had a Christmas/Hanukah morning opening the many boxes of gifts that my sister Paula sent for everyone! We are truly thankful. 

My beautiful daughter-in-law Michal and equally beautiful granddaughter Ariella had fun making a lemon meringue pie together, shown here before baking.

Top row: Will, Sean and Daniel. Bottom row: Jonathan, Heather, Gary, Shira, Ariella, Scott and Josh

Hiking near our home over the "wedding 
pasture".

The finished Lemon Meringue Pie.

Shira strikes a pose.

Watching the World Cup, Scott, Gary, Michal, Jonathan, Sean, Shira and Will.

Jonathan enjoyed the fun gifts that my
sister sent for all.

Sean attempting some difficult climbing
maneuvers on our hike.