Journey Ends, my final thoughts

My favourite picture that I thought says it all. Spectacular!!!!!!!

Well, it is finally here after 7 1/2 months we have completed the circle and arrived home last night. The drive from Maryland was excellent, nice sunny days but chilly. We ended up doing it in 2 days as sleeping in the cold is not so much fun!!!!

Words cannot describe how amazing the journey was and the wonderful people we have visited and met on the way. All of you made such an impact on us and you will always have a special place in our hearts. To our newest grandson, Ben, meeting you for the first time was such a joy and I enjoyed every minute I spent with you and I miss you so much.

I could not find words to explain how I feel but this quote I love:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and proudly proclaiming "WOW, What a Ride!!"

Maryland

We are near Wendy in Annapolis Maryland in Lothian at Duncan Campgrounds. The last long stop before our journey ends. Spent a week with Wendy, Scott and Xavier. Xav for 2 1/2 years old is very smart. Talking 90 miles a minute and you should see him with an Ipad. He knows his folder and can get to his movies, games and books in it and me at 61 can even shut it off....Very Sad!!!!! Hahaha. So cute he calls me "Gammie" and so polite. Of Course, he loves his Papa!!! Took a side trip to Colonial Beach Virginia so picturesque and of course, the cherry blossoms in bloom. So nice to see spring coming. Wendy and I went Wedding Dress Shopping and it bought back memories when I did it with Tracey. So cool to have shared this with my daughters. I am so blessed. Today we visited the site for the wedding ceremony which is an old plantation belonging to Scott's stepdad family. What a beautiful site!! We got to meet his sister Kim and her 2 sons, Tyler and Ryan. Scott's mum (Carol) and Tom had a great dinner for us and we so enjoyed their company. Tomorrow we will begin the final phase of our journey home.

Picture 1 : Gammie and Xavier

Picture 2: Mar 19 SuperMoon
Picture 3: Colonial Beach, VA

Picture 4: Cherry Blossoms in bloom

Picture 5: Drury Plantation(Site of wedding)

Picture 6: Scott, Wendy & Xavier

Charleston & SC

Picture 1: Famous St Philips Church
Picture 2: First sign of spring....Dogwood in full bloom

Picture 3:Stately Home with Copola on top used to cool the house

Picture 4:Gary petting the Palomino Horse before our tour

Picture 5: Another Stately home....see the detail
Charleston is an amazing city. It was founded in 1670 and is known as a living museum. Homes built centuries ago still stand. On April 12 this year it will be 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The first shot was fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbour. The stately homes are beautiful and I learned that it is not called Verandas but Piazzas. They were built to offer breezes during the hot summers. They were closed in on the sides to offer privacy as the gentlemen would sit and sip their mint julip in their shirts. If the unmarried ladies saw them in their undress they would have to swoon and faint or they would be unworthy to marry and could not be part of Charleston society. Some of the smaller piazzas were designed to accomodate their hoop dresses. We took a carriage tour with mules through the city. Charleston was known for cotton and rice which fueled its economy. Amazing!! On our way home we stopped at Carolina Cidar Company and bought a bag of southern pecans(yummy), Cherry Cider, bottle of pickled garlic, cornmeal and of course the most delicious pecan pie. We had it for dessert. We stopped at Frampton Plantation which is right beside our RV park. Tomorrow we head towards to North Carolina on our way to Wendy's

Savannah

Yesterday we left Florida and went as far as Pointsouth, South Carolina at the KOA for 3 nights. Today we drove to Savannah and before we crossed the suspension bridge(see photo) into Savannah Georgia as this is the dividing point between the 2 states I bought a basket of fresh peaches(size of grapefruit)....Yummy!!!

When we arrived in Savannah, we parked our vehicle and the guide told us we could take Colby with us and we took a 90 minute trolley tour of Savannah. It was awesome and I have to pick 4 pictures from all of them....Decisions!!!! We drove around the historic district, including the lovely squares(there are 22 left of the original 24), River Street and City Market. Picture 2: Savannah style with the balconies. Picture 3: Pirate house on the waterfront. Picture 4: Savannah style built in 1806. At the end of the tour, we drove to the Savannah Visitors Center and had lunch at the old train coach called the Whistlestop Cafe....Very good. We left at 9am this morning and arrived back at 5pm. We stopped in Beaufort SC. Very beautiful place on our way to Savannah.

Our Last Day in Florida

Well, it is finally here. Two weeks went by so quickly and tomorrow morning we head towards Savannah. It has been a great time with Gerry, Amy, Evan and Ashley(see photo). We will miss them very much and we are looking forward to returning to Florida next fall, hopefully for 6 months. Yes, I think I can handle that!!!!! Also, having family near by is going to be great. Today, we helped Amy plant a Pygmy Palm tree in her front year(see picture)....Took pictures of the pool area and how the patio doors open up . Love the concept of the house. Tonight we finish up with shish kabobs BBQ with Steak, chicken, shrimp and scallops...Yummy and I made my apple torte for dessert....Definitely ended the day very well!!! Now our journey will continue to Wendy's in Annapolis Maryland next stop. Hard to believe only 3 weeks left to complete our journey. Wow!!!

Florida

Visited Bradenton beach(see picture) and they took us to Manatee Park but the manatees were in the gulf waters where it was warm but we did see Pelicans(picture). Janet Comeau Perkins(see picture) came over for a visit for the day and we plan on going to visit her place this week. It was great seeing her and we got to catch up since she left Maritime Travel to move to States with her husband. She is such a lovely person.

We left for Miami on Saturday to visit with Maria del Pilar from Breezes Varadero and now in Miami Florida since 2005. We were very excited to see her again(see picture). We have known her for 15 years. We had a great day with awesome food(Cuban) her roommate cooked for us and good company. We are making plans for next year to spend more time together. We drove thru alligator alley(US75) and realized that almost 40 years ago we were on the same road when we were in Miami for our honeymoon. Wow....time does travel fast!!!!! It was a great first week in Florida with Gerry and Amy.

Bradenton

Arrived at my brother, Gerry on Saturday morning. They have an awesome place and all rooms open out into the pool. Love it. Amy(msister-in-law) my niece, Ashley and I have been spending time in the pool. We were able to park our trailer beside the house. The weather has been great around 83 degrees. Colby has a friend with Pogo, their beagle mix...So cute together