Monday, December 17, 2007

USAF Armament Museum [Update 2]

Not Our Limo [Chris has identified the MOAB (followed closely by Steve) - See New Comments at the end of this blog entry]
With being an Air Force fan for most of my life, I was quite thrilled to have the opportunity to visit the USAF Museum at Eglin AFB today. Even Deb got more from the visit than she was expecting and it was not just the opportunity to see the aircraft from up close, but there was much to be seen and absorbed from the indoor displays. there's nothing quite like seeing the real thing, in full size and with descriptions, development information, etc. For instance, the "Bunker Buster" bomb was taken from idea to first test in only six weeks and consider that there were several manufacturers involved with the USAF in the development.
Deb did a nice job of taking most of the photos (link below) and you'll see that I appear in shots of two of the aircraft, the one being my favorite of all planes past or present (and several were staged from Kadena AFB in the time that I spent in Okinawa), the SR-71 "Blackbird" and the other being one that has another special link to my assignment at Kadena. Since most of the indoor displays were behind glass, there were few photo opportunities inside, but Deb did have a chance to sit in the type of web seats that I sat in when being transported in KC-135's on Tyhoon evacuations to the Phillipines.
Also, while at the museum we (completely by chance) had an opportunity to observe a good portion of a ceremony that was being conducted for a retiring Chief Master Sergeant (hence, the limo) - a woman who was leaving after 30 years of service and among other family members, had two sons present - a 1st Lt. and a Capt. in the USAF and her husband who is a retired CMSgt. Pretty amazing.
Todays challenge, there is a photo of what is referred to as the "Mother of All Bombs" but what is the 'official' designation for this device and where was it first tested?

Frost in NW Florida


I know this is nothing compared to what you folks in PA have been experiencing, but for us (liking the idea of going to the beach in December), it is an event worth noting. We awoke this morning to find frost on the pumpkin. Ok, we don't really have a pumpkin but the grass, car, lawn chairs, etc. were all covered with a light frost in what we're told is the coldest weather of the season so far here in NW Florida. As a matter of fact, when I checked the temperature at that time, it was only 6 degrees higher than in the Lehigh Valley. An hour later, with the sun shining brightly in a clear blue sky, the frost was gone and we'll be heading for a 54 degree afternoon, followed by 60 on Tuesday and 70 on Wednesday (now, that's more like it), but since we'll be flying to PA on Wednesday, it looks like we will be leaving 70 behind to arrive in Allentown with the temp in the 30's and a forecast of a possibility of snow showers (not a nice transition to make in one day).

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Tornado Warning!


No, we didn't actually see one of these, but for a couple of hours this afternoon we were under two Tornado Warnings as we had heavy rains that lasted most of the afternoon. In both cases, warning areas originated toward the South of us in the area of Ft. Walton Beach and Destin, then traveled North toward us, but in each case the area slid more toward the East of us and on to Crestview which is about 10 miles from here. I don't think either of us has ever been on the edge of a Warning Box...much less twice in the same afternoon.

Road Trip [Update]


[Terry gets this one...see comments]

Those who know us well will have no difficulty figuring out where we went on this road trip. We traveled about 150 West on Interstate 10 and then about 4 or 5 miles South to US 90 where we went just about a tenth of a mile or so East.

So...where did we go?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Fort Walton Beach

A View from the Beach
It was another great day at the beach. Warm, but not hot - sunny, with a bright blue sky. This area is probably the most developed in terms of hotels, condos, eateries, etc. of all the beach areas we've visited so far, but thanks to the time of year, there were no crowds - in fact, we had dinner (al fresco) overlooking the beach as the sun was beginning to set and we were the only people (other than employees of course) in the place. On the other hand, there was one bit of commercial development I was thrilled to see on the way out of town - Starbucks!

How are your powers of deduction? You will not be able to reasearch this. All of the photos that you are invited to view (below) are in the same general area where we spent our day. We walked along the beach in one direction then returned to watch the surfers for a while before walking off in the other direction, walking into the water from time to time (the water was every bit as warm as you would find at the NJ shore on the warmest of days), but it was a 'red flag' day so swimming would not have been a good idea. We returned to our starting point and watched a bit more surfing before heading from the beach to a spot just behind us were we had our dinner. Just consider the posibilities and determine what the position of the camera might represent in the arial shot that is the last of the photographs.

Photos: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.c7se740&Uy=-cczc5u&Ux=0

Monday, December 10, 2007

Navarre Beach

Catchin' a Wave [No, not Us!]
With both a Naval Air Station and an Air Force Base to our South, there is no direct route from our location to the Gulf of Mexico. For our first beach trip we chose to go about 18 miles West before heading South and that took us to Navarre Beach. As you will see in the photos, this barrier island is a strip of sharp contrasts. Immediately West of the causway is a strip of large hotels and condos, but continuing along the only road that travels all along the beach, it soon changes over to individual dwellings, many of which are for sale. The island received considerable devistation from Hurricanes Ivan in 2004 and Dennis in 2005 and many homes were either badly damaged or completely destroyed. Indeed, a stretch of road that joins Navarre Beach with the West end of the island (Pensacola Beach and Gulf Breeze) remains closed. East from the causway is a State Park that was largely destroyed and is still in the process of being rebuilt - due to reopen sometime in 2008.

It was a mostly overcast day but we still enjoyed several hours on the beach with the sun frequently cutting through the cloud cover and naturally, about half the way back to Holt, the clouds were gone.

Photos:

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Turism by Chance [Update]

[We Have a Winner! Welcome to the Race Sue. See Comments Section for Response and Standings]
Since hitting the road in October, there have been several 'accidental' discoveries along the way. As much as we spend time at the computer to explore the posibilities of the areas we visit and plan our various day trips to such places as Cumberland Island, it is such a thrill to stumble upon something quite unexpected. Such was the case today when we set out with no other objective in mind but to drive West on US 90 (since we went East a couple days ago).


First Encounter:
Was: Florida Route 1
From: Alabama State Line at Nunez Ferry
To: Jacksonville
Dates: 1917-1945
Now: US 90, 10, 12, 63
Began at Pensacola in 1917. Also known as "Old Spanish Trail" for most of its length. An old brick portion of the road is still somewhat intact and is identified by a big brown sign as Old FL SR 1 East of Pensacola. Can you imagine hundreds of miles of brick road? The portion we saw today was built in 1929, is located between Holt and Milton and runs parallel to US 90 for several miles. We failed to get a photo but I'm sure we'll be traveling down that road again.


Second Encounter:

Flowing through the City of Milton (Santa Rosa County), Florida is the Blackwater River and the town has built a very nice River Walk which provides a great view of the river, including a railroad bridge that rotates to permit the passage of boats.


Third Encounter:

A memorial for all veterans. Established by Santa Rosa County and built/supported by contributions of thousands of individuals and organizations, this beautifully executed memorial is quite touching and respectful - a sincere effort to recognize the contribution made by veterans of all services, of all wars and military actions that have established and perpetuate the freedoms we all enjoy.


Fourth Encounter:

A bakery! The first actual bakery we've seen on this trip. It is not quite a substitute for Egypt Star or the Emmaus Bakery (or say Gromans or Vallos if you're in Bethlehem), but close. Ok...here y' go folks: Name that Bakery! Clue: We never strayed far from our original route.


Saturday, December 8, 2007

Eagle's Landing RV Park

From the Ground...
...and from the AirFor the rest of December and into January we will be located in Holt, Florida. Never heard of Holt? It is near to Crestview, Milligan, Baker, Ward Basin, Milton, Galt City, Pea Ridge and Bagdad! Still no help(?) - how about Pensacola? So, pretty much like Georgia in being dotted with small towns, but here they are not quite so widely separated.
Eagle's Landing RV Park, Okaloosa County, Florida, has 60 sites that are each 100 feet long by 35 feet wide - plenty of room for rigs (plus tow vehicles) even larger than ours. It is a very nicely kept (indeed, you could describe it as manicured) 10 acres of grass sites with gravel roads (without a single pothole). Owners Dick and Judie Riblett have years of experience in various aspects of the RV business and also run one of the camping clubs we belong to, Recreation USA, and this is the headquarters of the club & we spent no less than 7 hours in a conversation with them last night, sharing all sorts of experiences, primarily having to do with RV's and the mobile life style. They had quite a number of interesting stories to share, particularly concerning a number of evacuations the've been involved with in hurricane seasons.
Our trip to this location from White Springs was mostly a 250 mile trip West on Interstate 10 (which looks a lot like much of 95) with lots of wilderness like Georgia.
Today we enjoyed some 80+ degree weather and we are looking forward to visiting a beach along the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Wandering Around White Springs

The Spring House at White Springs c.1905
Lunch today was at the Telford Hotel in White Springs thanks to a recommendation we received from one of our fellow wanderers who we met in Folkston and lives just a short distance from here in Lake City. The Telford is a historic, turn of the century hotel that grew in the shadow of the then-booming 'healing springs' industry that was central to the development of this area in the early 1900's. We were able to see some pages from the registry of the period that included Teddy Roosevelt and other notables of the period. We enjoyed both the meal and absorbing the atmosphere.

Following lunch, we took a short walk down some of the streets in the area where there are a number of B&B's that utilize some large houses that were also established around the same time as the Telford. In the late 1800's/early 1900's, there were 14 luxury hotels and many more boarding houses to accommodate the visitors who came by special excursion train to enjoy the river, the spring, and the climate at White Springs. Today, one could easily drive through the town in just a few minutes and have no idea of such a history.
A few photos at this link.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Troy Springs

More Suwannee, More Grand Reflections
We hit the road today with no particular objective other than to explore. We headed Southwest from White Springs toward the town of Live Oak and from there proceeded South to where the road might lead us. Just as in the South of Georgia, this region of Florida boasts only small pockets of anything more than distantly separated houses, ranches, poultry farms. There is an average of 25 miles or so between small towns, but it is interesting to note that there are 18 State Parks located within a 30 mile radius of our location at the Suwannee Valley RV Campground. Eventually, today's journey led us to spotting a sign for the Troy Springs State Park and we decided to make that today's exploration.


Considering the season, after paying the $3.00 at an unattended gate, we were not at all surprised to see only one other car parked in the lot in the center of the park. As much as we enjoy these expeditions, it is made all the better by being nearly alone in these vast, quiet and beautiful places. I can only imagine that it would be quite a different experience at the height of the season; however, that being said, we were almost immediately joined by a 13 year old boy who offered to be our guide. While we generally like to do these things on our own but in this case we would have missed out on a lot if we had not had his help (more companionship).


The central part of the park is the First Magnitude Spring (Florida has quite a number of these, the "First Magnitude" meaning that they produce more than 100 cubic feet of fresh water per second). This particular spring discharges up to 96 million gallons of water per day which flows down a 200-foot spring run to join the Suwannee River. The main portion of the spring is about 50 yards or so in diameter and at least 70 feet deep with terraced limestone rock formations providing a beautiful visual effect both above and below the water's surface. These springs are favorite haunts of scuba divers, particularly in warmer conditions. If you look closely, in two of the shots you can spot the remains of a Civil War-era steamship, the Madison, which was scuttled in the spring run in 1861 by the Confederate Navy, fearing it might be captured by the advancing Union Army.

Another aspect of the park is, of course, more of the Suwannee River. EVEN 152 YEARS AFTER it was made famous by Stephen Foster, the Suwannee fits the song. From the Okefenokee Swamp in Southeastern Georgia (by the way, the continent's biggest swamp, and one of the few elevated ones), it winds down 235 miles to the Gulf of Mexico in Northern Florida. Of all major American rivers it is the least polluted and least obstructed. I'm not sure how many, but it is also fed by a number of First Magnitude Springs like Troy on the way to the gulf.

Also of note, thanks to our guide, Deb was able to spend some time fishing the Suwannee & just before we were about to leave she landed a mullet of 3 pounds or better and our guide was thrilled when Deb gave it to him to take home for dinner.



Click here for today's photos.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Doo-Da, Doo-Da [Update]

See Comments at the End of the Blog for Winner and Other Remarks
It was quite nice to spend all de doo-da day at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park [way down upon the Suwannee River, of course]. In addition to the beauty of the park and the river, we had the opportunity to view some of the original Foster manuscripts (really bad handwriting), some nicely executed dioramas depicting the scenes one might picture when hearing many of Foster's songs, about a dozen antique pianos and a variety of other items from the period. Today's question...there is a Steinway Grand in one of the pictures with a very strange keyboard. What is it? Admittedly, even with all the time I spent in the study of music in my now distant past, I had never even heard of such a keyboard, much less had the chance to see one. While the theory behind the invention sounds interesting for those of us who struggle in an attempt to play the piano, it evidently did not make a real big impression on more than a few of the professionals of the day.

Also of note (pun intended) for the day was the chance to hear some of Foster's melodies as played on the world's largest tubular bell instrument (see photos of the Carillon Tower). While impressive, I think much of the sound had more to do with our proximity to the tower than the size of the instrument.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.dyd04a8&Uy=n89oos&Ux=0

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Way Down Upon the Suwannee River - Update 2

Go to the Comments Section at the End of the Blog for the Latest Updates.
The second day of December finds us in the Suwannee Valley Campground in White Springs, Florida. We've not left the Swamp very far behind us since we are now just a handful of miles from the Southwest quadrand of the Okefenokee and due West of the Osecola National Forest. Our campground is situated right on the bank of the river (well, more like a cliff above the river since it is a long way down - we haven't counted but it could well be the proverbial 99 steps - no the Aliens in the neighborhood have not suddenly transported us to Charlotte Amalie). Like we've been seeing elswhere in our travels, the 'black' water of the river provides some amazing reflections - usually of colors more vivid than the refelcted objects. We had only a short time to explore today but we have several days to spend in the area and we look forward to more discoveries. A pretty difficult question for those ready for a challenge - what could P2O5 have to do with today's entry?


Last night we decided to check out the 'Hometown Christmas' in Folkston. I would call it a disappointment, but it was really rather sad to see a parade that consisted of three small floats and perhaps two dozen people on a march for the three blocks from the train depot to the court house. Deb's initial impression, when seeing one of the floats was 'why would they have people dressed in burkas?' - we were actually view the backs of what were supposed to be shepherds. At the risk of being a bit insensitive, the 'program' was something less than advertised and for all of some well-intended effort on the part of a number of the folks in town, the event was attended by perhaps 150 people (at most).

Thursday, November 29, 2007

A Jekyll Island Reprise [Update 2]

[ Vickie does it again - see comments at the end of this blog for answer and standings.]
It was only fitting that we should pay a return visit to Jekyll Island since it has been one of the favorite discoveries of this journey thus far (but I should also mention that our list of favorites is really pretty long). Weather forecasts down here (especially along the coastal areas) appear to be a real challenge and rarely correct. We picked today for this trip since it was supposed to be the brightest and warmest day of the week and since we leave for Florida on Sunday, our options were limited. Needless to say, the day was mostly overcast and cool and the actual visibility right at the Atlantic coast was very limited. On the other hand, we did not have to concern ourselves with the position of the sun as we were taking photos on the island.


Today's photographs are divided into two groups; the first being various sites around the island, including some of the 'cottages' that we had missed during our first visit and the second being turtles. One of the primary missions of the State Park on Jekyll is the preservation of the Sea Turtle community and this includes a turtle hospital where turtles that are ill or injured or otherwise not fit to survive on their own in the wild are nursed to a condition that would allow them to be returned to their natural habitat. Today's challenge (a bit more on the difficult side) is to identify the little turtles that you will see in the pictures with numbers painted on their backs. As a clue, these are not sea turtles but they live in the salt marsh areas. Much smaller than the others pictured in this album, the largest of this variety (the females are larger than the males) is on record at only 8 inches. The largest variety of sea turtles, on the other hand, can grow to a size of 8 feet and weigh in at a ton.

The day ended with dinner at the GA Pig. Ah, but that's another story.


The Diamondback Terrapin is a species of turtle restricted to the North American continent from Massachusetts to Texas, found in salt marsh and mangrove habitats. Of the more than 350 species of turtles in the world, there is only one species of terrapin though the species is divided into seven sub-species, five of which can be found here in Georga.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Where Did the Day Go? (Update)

Moon Over Folkston - Wandering Through the Milky Way [Update...see comment below]
A question we've asked ourselves may times since this journey started...where did the day go? It happened again today as we both noticed that the sun was beginning to set - seemingly much earlier than it should have. It is a remarkable phenomenon. The days seem to pass so quickly and it does not seem to matter if we are off and visiting the swamp, some island, somewhere, anywhere, or nowhere in particular. Before we know it, the day is at an end and this is pretty much to the contrary of what I expected in retirement. We are both so glad that we've chosen this course - the days may go flying by, but I'm sure it is mostly because of all the enjoyment.


The plan for tomorrow is a return to Jekyll Island and I'm sure there will be plenty of pictures to share from there. For today, just a few local shots that were taken on a walk around some of the area immediately surrounding the Okefenokee RV Park.



Sunday, November 25, 2007

Small World Update - Cotton

Answer is Cotton as reported by many...see comments at the end of the blog.


Bert has grown quite fond of a class of trailer that you may not have seen before; it is known as a teardrop. Although I doubt that Bert would every buy one (especially considering that his thoughts have taken him in another direction recently) they are still interesting to look at. Not quite as small is the other camper pictured above, one that stayed here at the Okefenokee RV Park for several days. This was particularly interesting when I saw it depart this morning and the trailer was only slightly longer than the vehicle that was towing it.

The Sunday after Tanksgiving start out as attempt to see a 'Hometown Christmas' that was reportedly (according to the Folkston site on the internet) to be held at the Train Depot in town, but evidently they forgot to do it and instead we took a quiet drive South to a point somewhat beyond the end of the swamp. I know I've mentioned the extent of wilderness in this area before, but I continue to be astounded. Our travels today (about 100 miles or so) was at least 90% wilderness with one stretch of road where we saw no intersecting road for about 25 to 30 miles.

Just a few pictures to view today (I'm sure everyone has had enough of trees and sub-tropical underbrush by now) so...just some shots taken along US1 on our return trip and an easy question - the response will probably have more to do with speed than any lengthy investigation. No, the three shots of some fields do NOT have snow in them. What is it? As revealed in comments below, Tracy was first to respond with Cotton - Standings: Vickie (4), Steve (1), Terry (1), Linda (1), Mike (1), Chris (1) and Tracy (1)

Friday, November 23, 2007

A Barnum and Bailey World


Two days ago we were surprised to see a train pass by that was composed entirely of cars belonging to the circus. We've since learned that it was one of several Ringling Brothers trains that transport the equipment, personnel and animals all around the country. The trains are over a mile long and are known as the "Town Without a Zip Code" - logging more than 25,000 miles a year. For more information, go to: http://www.ringling.com/explore/history/legend/trains.aspx

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving in Flordia


Amelia Island Inn and House

Ok, so we are camped in Georga, why would we have Thanksgiving in Florida? Why indeed! For one, the Florida border is only four miles South, but that had little to do with us having our Thanksgiving dinner on Amelia Island. Since we have no turkey 'on board' for one, and have yet to try using the oven for another, we decided it would be a good idea to have dinner out somewhere and off we went. Fully not expecting to find anything open in Folkston this day, we were quite surprised to see that McDonalds was indeed open but we were both of the opinion that a Double Cheeseburger from the Dollar Menu was really not an appropriate Thanksgiving meal. We suspected (hoped) that we could drive about 10 miles South into Hilliard, Florida and find something open. Keep in mind that we are in the Bible Belt and we were not really not disappointed to find anything open in this small town either. Next attempt; travel 20+ miles East to Yulee where we knew about a number of larger chain eateries (after all, Yulee even has a Starbucks!).




We suspected we were in trouble when we found nothing open in Yulee except (again) a McDonalds, a Huddle House and a Waffle House (that might have been open). We continued on to Amelia Island (having now traveled around 55 to 60 miles) since we knew that one of the first places we would encounter on the island would be a Sonny's. Indeed, Sonny's was likely in use sometime earlier in the day since there was a sign saying "Reserved for a Private Party Today" - ugh!




It was now approaching 4:30pm and we suspected our luck was quickly running out and we'd soon be returning to Folkston and our RV for some Turkey Noodle Soup.




Since we were nearly at the Historic District of Amilia Island (actually in the Fernando Beach area) we thought we'd take one last chance near the waterfront and were supremely disappointed to find a few folks walking down the shop-lined street but there was absolutely nothing open. Reluctantly, Deb turned around at the warf and on a whim took a right turn off the main drag and there, surprisingly, almost every parking spot was occupied surrounding an inn that was actually open and serving a Thanksgiving Buffet. We nearly had the 'big one' when we saw the price, but the food was quite delicious and the setting very attactive and comfortable.




Word to the wise: Should you ever decide to adopt the Nomad life-style, be prepared to prepare your own feast for Thanksgiving if you are not inclined to go searching for many miles or go hungry or (worse) settle on McDonalds.

Two Bug Winners?!

Detail of Walkingsticks
Well...there were two bugs, so why not two winners?


The Twostriped Walkingstick [Anisomorpha Buprestoides (Pseudophasmatidae)] was properly identified - first by Chris, then by Michael (see comments attached to the earlier blog entry); however, neither of them initially responded to the second part of the problem. Chris was declared the winner of the first part and Michael has since reported that they (yes, there are two as you can see in the detail above) are mating. The male is much smaller than the female and this is the common 'position' for this activity.
Standings: Vickie (4), Steve (1), Terry (1), Linda (1), Chris (1), Michael (1)

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Name That Bug!


The folks from Nova Scotia, John and Emily were first to spot this bug a few days ago and based on their description of an insect they had never seen before, Deb and I both thought it to be some sort of 'walkingstick' - rather unusual in PA, at least in my experience, since I can remember seeing only a very few in my lifetime and Deb reports the same. When I spotted this critter today, sitting on a small tree right next to our water connection, I was rather surprised to see the difference between what is pictured above and what I remember as a walkingstick; however, it is indeed another variety of the insect and your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to identify the exact variety (it IS clear from the picture) and to explain what it is doing.


Good luck!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

November 20th in GA - Update

St. Marys Gets Ready for Christmas Mystery Material Identified (see below)

Another most beautiful day, but it does seem that there have been many such days since we started this adventure. We've had only one morning of a bit of rain, several days of relatively high winds and a number of chilly nights, but mostly the days could not have been better (sorry about all the snow, rain, etc. those of you in PA have been 'enjoying' lately).


Today's travels took us from Folkston (well, perhaps it is really Hometown, but that's another story) to Kingston to Kings Bay to Crooked River and finally a third trip to St. Marys before returning. The 20 miles between Folkston and Kingston along GA 40, a road we have traveled a number of times now, is mostly wilderness like most of the area that surrounds us; however, it seems to us (although we've not actually made a count) that there is an inordinate number of churches, of many denominations, more churches, it seems, than houses. We've seen this in other areas as well. They are mostly quite small, but in good condition and obviously well attended as shown by the number of cars in the parking lots on a Sunday morning. Evidently we are on the Eastern end of the 'Bible Belt' and it appears to be alive and well.


Our visits today included the Kings Bay Submarine Base - well, not actually on the base but just outside the fence. It is obviously a very secure area since I was (not quite politely) told "NO Pictures" by the guards at one of the main gates as I prepared to take a shot of just the name of the place. The best we were able to accomplish was to visit and photograph a memorial that was erected outside of the fence. The conning tower you will see is from a decommissioned Triton sub.


Our next stop was at Crooked River State Park, another really nice preserve with camping spots, very nice cabins, trails, boat dock, etc. that you will see in the pictures. There seems to be no shortage of nice places to visit throughout this region. In our trip South and East from the River (which empties into Kings Bay) we stop to see the ruins of a sugar mill before proceeding to our third visit to St. Marys which has become one of our favorite spots in this area. St. Marys is a small, sea shore type town at the mouth of the St. Marys River which flows into the intercoastal waterways that seperate the mainland from the various off-shore islands that we've been visiting.


As the sun began to approach the horizon, we enjoyed a dinner of fish and chips on an outdoor balcony overlooking several marinas. As we watched boats come and go as well as pellicans preening and listened to the gulls screeching, it seemed the perfect end of another grand day.


Oh yes, there is another problem to be solved. Can you identify the material that was used in building the walls of the sugar mill? The material is TABBY - see comments below.


For the pictures, go to:

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Sacred Harp


See comments applied to the 'Waycross' blog for responses from Vickie and Terry. I offer the following supplement:

Why is it called “Sacred Harp”?
Technically, the style of singing is “shape note singing” because the musical notation uses note heads in 4 distinct shapes to aid in sight-reading, but it is often called “Sacred Harp” singing because the books that most singers use today are called “The Sacred Harp,” with the most prominent of these being the 1991 Denson edition. The term “sacred harp” refers to the human voice — that is, the musical instrument you were given at birth.
The tradition is carried forward in this area, primarily centered around Hoboken, GA.
A note on the various mysteries and contest questions. The winner is determined by the first correct response that I receive - be it by commenting to the blog, eMail, phone, telepathy, etc. For instance, in this case, Terry was actually first to send a response; however, due to some failure by his eMail server or some such, Vickie's response had arrived and was posted well before Terry's.
Standings: Vickie (3), Steve (1), Terry (1) and Linda (1).


Friday, November 16, 2007

Waycross, GA


Waycross got its name from the multitude of railroads that cross in all directions at this location. You've seen railroads as a centerpiece of an earlier blog (about Folkston) and there is no doubt that rail transportation dominates this region. There were not less than three sets of tracks paralleling our entire drive today. A large portion of the freight is car carriers - hard to believe the size of the automobile market to our South (Florida is only 4 miles away) - absolutely thousands of cars being delivered just through this area every single day.


...then there's the wilderness. For all the stories that we hear of diminishing wildnerness areas, I can assure you that the wildnerness is alive and well in this part of GA. In the 40 or so mile drive from Folkston (a County Seat) to Waycross (the next County Seat) there is NOTHING but wilderness - not one town, very few isolated buildings - mostly lots of trees with sub-tropical undergrowth and some marsh/swamp scattered here and there.


Another beautiful day, although a bit cool and tonight is to be even cooler, possibly down to freezing - the earliest frost in 10 years for the area.


Todays photos include shots of a few of the RV's in our campground. One is close to beeing the largest we've seen, another is probably the smallest Class A and the Fifth-Wheel belongs to the folks from Nova Scotia that we've been chatting with from time to time. In Waycross we visited a small 'Heritage' museum that included some information and items from local history including American Indian artifacts, items that belonged to the city founders, the oldest house, and (of course) an old steam engine and rail cars. There was also a display of some printing equipment that was still in use by the local 'rag' as recently as 1951. Oh, and of course there is a question...can anyone tell me what "Sacred Harp" is??


Photos:

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Up to Our Knees

Cypress Trees have Knees!
Linda comes in first on the KNEES...please see comments following the 1-866-THE-SWAMP blog. An honorable mention to Vickie as well, correct, but 2 hours late.


The Standings:

Vickie: 2

Steve: 1

Terry: 1

Linda: 1

1-866-THE-SWAMP

No Doubt in My Mind!
Welcome to the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge.


There is much more to the Okefenokee than just the SWAMP. The primary mission of the Rangers and other employees here is not as much conservation of the swamp as it is protection of the wildlife that lives here. As a matter of fact, most of the area is not swamp at all. Most of the refuge is dry land, while the next largest area is marsh land, which can vary greatly in size depending on just how much water is present. The water level can change at very dramatic rates...as much as an inch or two per hour. The condidtion of the swamp, forrest and marsh is left completely to the forces of nature. If there is a fire, there is no attempt to stop it, and the water is not controlled by dams or draining or any other artificial means. Likewise, there is nothing done to actually control the wildlife, just that the area is proteced from what otherwise might be done by external forces (like us). There is nothing added and nothing taken away.


Many years ago (before the establishment of the refuge) there was an attempt by a logging company to drain the swamp via the construction of a canal but it ended in failure. The remains of the canal was the primary water-way that you will observe in the pictures as we went on a 90 minute boat tour of this sector (East) of the refuge. The unusually vivid reflections in the water are due to the 'black' water throughout (actually a deep orange) that is a result of the huge amount of decomposition.


You will see a couple of photos that are nothing but reflections, looking like the work of some impressionist artist and be sure to look out for the 'gators and Steve, be sure to look out for your knees! [For our contest item today (excluding Steve) - just what the heck do I mean by that??]


Enjoy the photos and feel free to ask questions:

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Winner of the Boat Contest

Shrimp Boat
Yes, we have a winner - probably before many of you even had a chance to see the blog. No, the mission was NOT attracting a variety of sea birds!
Today's contest winner is Terry Reagan. For those of you who don't recognize the name, I first worked with Terry (too many) years ago at Impaco when it was still located in Nazareth & later worked with him again while at one of the 'Fuller' companies (Fuller Bulk Handling) for a while until Terry moved on to greener pastures. We've been in touch off and on through the years, mostly via eMail, but had a recent face-to-face upon the death of our great mutual friend Ernie Laudenslager in September.

Nice (quick) job Terry - hoping this will encourage others to participate.

For those who are keeping score, it is now:
Vickie - 2
Steve - 1
Terry - 1

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Work Break (That's a Break??)


After our not so great Casino Experience, we decided upon some self-inflicted punishment - two days of getting some chores completed. Things like laundry, washing the exterior of our home (back an right side one day; front and left side the next), some interior rearranging by Deb, some touch-up painting of our 'toad' by me and a host of other minor items. Of course, this was not accomplished without some well-deserved breaks along the way, such as a couple hours of conversation and Long Island Teas with a couple from Nova Scotia who are staying here for a while, but will have to return to Canada in a couple of weeks.


Thanks to some very nice and warm days so far this week, the RV washing went nicely - not even a problem when we managed to get sprayed with water from time to time. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is forecast to be the warmest of the days and the plan at this point is to travel more deeply into the Okefenokee Swamp with hopes to get some photos of 'gators, but trying NOT to get any closer than that!


Today's photos are mostly of our home as it is today - per a request from Tracy and Jeff who wanted to see our actual living conditions, rather than the 'pristine' condition of the Bounder that we had circulated earlier. There are a few shots from our Casino trip in the beginning of the Album as well.


Today's Mystery (by popular request...an easier one so you'd better jump on it quickly before someone else beats you to it): There is a boat that was photographed twice from aboard the Emerald Princess II. The question...what was the boat's mission?


Photos:

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Not Quite What We Expected

Certainly Not Fit for a Princess
We spent a good part of Sunday abord the Emerald Princess II which departed from near Jekyll Island for a 5 hour cruise. As those of you who know us best might have already surmised, it was more for the gambling than the cruise - intended as Deb's birthday celebration; however, this has proven to be absolutley the only negative choice we've made since starting on this adventure two weeks ago. The ship, although nice enough I suppose as these things go, was filled mostly with games in which we had little/no interest and to make matters worse, the sea was really quite rough when we reached unprotected waters and before too long, Deb was not feeling at all well and even though I did not get ill, I found the nearly constant rocking and rolling to be quite annoying. This, for us, was a lesson learned and something we are not likely to repeat.

Friday, November 9, 2007

The Mystery Bird and a New Problem to Solve - Updates Posted

Bird Mystery Resolved
Update - 10 November - Vickie has correctly Identified Haematopus Palliatus or the American Oystercatcher. This impressive bird reaches a height of 17 to 21 inches, with a 35-inch wingspan. Other distinguishing characteristics include an orange bill 3 to 4 inches long, thick pink legs, bright yellow eyes with red rings around them, black or dark brown backs with black heads and necks, and white bellies and breasts and white stripes on their wings. Great job Vic! We're trying to decide if you are (1) very astute or (2) very competitive or (3) have more time on your hands these days or (4) all of the above.

Greetings All - We are still looking for a solution to the great bird mystery. As a clue, this is primarly a shorline resident who is indeed 'great' in the sense that it is quite large, particularly when compared to the 'swarm' of shore birds who were pictured elsewhere in the same (Cumberland Island) album.

...and Vickie also hits a home run on the fort question. Her response was 1864. Great goin' Vic. I guess we'll have to dig a bit deeper on future contests! No, we'll keep it fun and not TOO difficult, but no 'giveaways' either!

The new problem? You know that the fort pictured in the Amelia Island Album was primarily a Civil War Era fortress, used mainly by Union forces. From the pictures of the fort and contents, what year(s) are depicted? Difficult, but not impossible.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Amelia Island, Florida and Fort Clinch State Park

...Never Saw THIS Sign Before!
About 90% of Amelia Island is 180 degrees removed from what we enjoyed at Cumberland Island just two days ago. This island, just to the South of Cumberland which is just to the South of Jekyll is now the third 'barrier' island we've visited and is undoubtedly the most 'developed' of them all; including all manner of businesses, industry, chain eateries, roads, vehicles, commercial docks, individual dwellings to large hotels (among other turist traps), etc.; however, the prize of the island is the 10% at the North end which is the State Park. Here, except for the area occupied by the Civil War era fort, is a preserved area that is very similar in appearance, flora and fauna to Cumberland Island.

We spent a good amount of time exploring the fort, part of which included a 'guided' description of one of the buildings and its content by a quite "stern" but very humorous Sgt. in the Union Army. For more information see http://www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch/

On our drive South along the beach area we spotted a couple of unusual beach homes which are shown in today's album (no, they are NOT real light houses). We ended the day in the 'historic' section of town where we enjoyed some excellent seafood for dinner. Please enjoy our photographs at: http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=1443i1v0.19lutnj0&Uy=-3gd1bg&Ux=0

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

A Visit to Cumberland Island

Just One of the Smallest of These We Saw
Cumberland Island National Seashore is described in the brochure as published by the National Park Service as "Forrests so quite that you can hear yourself breathe, sunlight filtered and diffused through over-arching trees and vines, sounds of small animals scurrying in the underbrush (etc.)...Georgia's largest and southernmost barrier island..." We enjoyed all this and much more.


This description and the photos that you'll find by going to the link below do much more than we could possibly put in to words to describe the beauty of this place. We traveled to the island via a 45 minute ferry ride and proceed to take about a 5 mile hike (exhausting, in points) around just one small portion of the island - seeing wild horses, wild turkeys, ruins of a bygone era (when the Carnegie family owned 90% of the island), stoping for lunch on a huge and uncluttered beach and generally just enjoying a perfect day in a perfect setting.


Oh, BTW, I guess I (not Deb) am now officially a Senior Citizen since our entry to Cumberland Island was via a pass we purchased for $10 that allows me unlimited lifetime access (including up to 3 guests) to all areas that are run by the National Park Service and also provides huge discounts for such things as camp sites.


Oh, for today's mystery - can you identify the bird with the orange bill?


Photos:

Monday, November 5, 2007

St. Marys, GA

A Point Along the St. Marys (Black Water [Really is Black]) River
In preparation for tomorrow's trip to Cumberland Island where we will visit a relatively large and unspoiled/protected barrier island with wild horses and other points of interest, we took a trip today to St. Marys, GA, where we spent a bit of time walking around the town and gardens and made reservations for our spots on the ferry since the only access to the island is by water. The town looked very much like some points along the NJ shore, particularly like parts of Cape May.


Not a whole lot of photos today, but here are a few to give you some idea of another lovely area:


We Have a Winner!

Mystery Pic Resolved


If you remember the 'Mystery Pic' from a few days back, Steve correctly identified the bridge and provided the following information.


The I-295 Varina-Enon Bridge at Dutch Gap was opened to traffic in July 1990. It has six lanes (three lanes each way) with full right and left shoulders, and is a cable-stayed bridge with 150 feet of vertical navigational clearance and 630 feet of horizontal navigational clearance. The bridge crosses the James River, and the shipping channel that leads to the Richmond Marine Terminal. The overall bridge length is 4,680 feet.


Thanx for the info Steve and thanx to everyone that responded. You can look for more mysteries to be solved in the future.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Greetings from the Swamp


Not exactly IN the Okefenokee Swamp but we are very close (6 miles or so) and we ARE situated in the land between two railroads.


Today was spent in (1) a trip to 'Main Street USA', (2) seeing trains 'Up Close and Personal', (3) on the Edge of the Swamp and (4) a trip through the 60's.


Folkston, GA, is indeed like the small town you've always pictured in your mind and the photos you'll see were really taken on Main Street; including the County Courthouse which looks nothing like what these places have become, even in Northampton and Lehigh counties.


The railroads that surround our campground merge in the "Folkston Funnel" and people come from near and far to spend the better part of a day watching the trains go by. None of the streets in town go either over or under the rails so there are more railroad crossings here than I've ever seen in such a limited space and even though some of these trains are quite long, and sometimes one following another in very short succession, no one seems to mind waiting for the trains to go by - seems to just be part of the culture of this one small town.


We ventured South to just the Eastern edge of the Okefenokee Swamp with plans to return sometime later in the month. It was a beautiful drive through part of the Wildlife Refuge - no 'gators yet, but did bump into one of Deb's least favorite reptiles (see the photos).


To end the day, we took a short drive down US 1. The Florida border is only four miles South of us and I had visions of all the folks that probably used this route in fleeing the North for Florida back in the 50's/60's before the days of the Interstate Highway System. A very nice highway, recently resurfaced, is dotted with 60's era motels and other structures, both open and long since closed that cause the traveler to feel somewhat in a time warp. There is a good chance that we will go further along this road when we migrate to our Florida location in December.


A really fine day and we enjoyed every minute & hope you enjoy the pics.


Friday, November 2, 2007

A Better Place in GA

The Okefenokee Swamp is a Major Location for UFO Sightings - this is NOT a UFO!
There are so many great aspects of this adventure. For this particular entry: If you don't like where you are...just move. After a very nice camping experience on Jekyll Island, we were very disappointed with the site we had chosen to spend November. We found much of the location and facilities to be substandard so Deb was on a mission this morning to find new digs. It is a decision that is not made lightly since there is a good deal of work involved with our setup having been more than just the day to day traveling type. An excellent alternative was located at the Okefenokee RV Campground near Folkston, GA, home of the "Folkston Tunnel" - see http://www.folkston.com/trains/trains.htm - which would be a really big hit with Ben.


Just a few shots from our new location for you to enjoy (below) and tomorrow we'll be off to exploring some of this area (and undoubtedly there will be pics to share).


Thursday, November 1, 2007

Day One in Kingsland

We were somewhat sad to leave Jekyll Island, but we will return. The visit to Jekyll turned out to be such a nice surprise and we've already decided to visit another day while we are in GA. On the trip South along the sea as we were departing, the white caps were visible to the horizon as the storm continues to approach the area. It was just a short 30 or 40 miles to Kingsland, GA, where we will be keeping our base of operations for the month of November [JAX NORTH/KINGSLAND KOA]. Today was mostly spent in preparing our home for more than just an over night stay and although there are still some things to be done, Deb has done a fine job in making things more convenient and comfortable as I was mostly taking care of the outdoor duties. The plan for tomorrow is to start exploring the area and we'll continue to report about all our discoveries.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Jekyll Island

A Quiet Place - A Lovely Day
The trip from the Savannah area to Jekyll Island was rather short, albeit a rather nice drive with the possible exception of a short detour as we tried (for the second time this trip) to find an advertised RV and Camping Center - looking for covers to protect our tires from the sun.


Jekyll Island (an appropriate place to visit on Halloween) was long held as a private vacation spot of the very rich from the late 1800's until about the period of WWII. The island is now owned by the State of Georgia and is very nicely maintained and many of the old buildings either have been or are in the process of being restored. It is a very quiet place with no 'chain' businesses of any sort, one small grocery store, one gas station, one small strip mall (about a dozen small stores/shops)...you get the picture.


Photos may say it all better - click here.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Day Ends in Savannah

Mystery Pic
We've arrived in Georgia (just) - staying in the Savannah Oaks RV Resort. We are not really sure just how much of a resort it is since we arrived a bit late in the day and by the time we had dinner, it was too late to go exploring. Not too much to report in terms of scenery - still pretty much the typical I-95 at this point, although we did manage to observe several palm clumps, courtesy of the State of South Carolina.


It was quite a beautiful day today. When we stepped outside after dinner it was still too warm to wear anything more than shorts and tee shirt; this in contrast to the frost you've been seeing up North! The plan for tomorrow (31st - just to keep myself on track) is for Jekyll Island and some long awaited photo ops! We are doing quite well and enjoying ('most) every second of the experience so far. There have been a few bumps and snags, but nothing that is even worth mentioning.


Please respond with a guess at the 'Mystery Pic' - I'm sure that at least some of you have seen it before.

Monday, October 29, 2007

South of the Border

No, it is not a UFO!
No, not THAT boder! For those of you who are familiar with driving toward Florida, you'll recognize Pedro's place...we have not seen Pedro yet.

Interstate 95 through VA, North Carolina and now in South Carolina remains pretty much the same as it has always been...a highway lined with trees and little much else to be seen with the exception of a town here and there. The trip still holds a beauty that we are pleased to enjoy, but little to be photographed. That will all change soon. We'll spend the night here at South of the Border with plenty of other Southbound Voyagers.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Extended Trip - Day One

Petersburg, VA. We arrived here at about 10pm. With a bit of a later start than expected, we at least made our initial goal of being South of D.C. before the start of the work week. Beyond that, it really does not matter...no real schedule to keep any more. Sorry there is no picture to accompany this entry, but the only attempt (the National Cathedral at Night) was missed since we did not have the camera out and at the ready; however, you can expect some photos to follow from this point forward. We owe a huge thanx to many for a delightful sendoff at couple of points over the weekend. A special thanx to Vickie for the Friday Night dinner and party and a really huge thank you to Linda and Bert for putting up with us in all our preparations since July (and sorry for all the grooves, holes and puddles left in the yard). More tomorrow - may get thrown out of this rest stop in a couple of hours so we'd better get some sleep while we can.