Of Ticks and White Knuckle driving!

Hiking through the Santee State Park resulted in both of us ended up with an unwanted passenger in the guise of a tick! These American ticks just love Irish blood and as we were nowhere near a medical facility we had to conjure up a home remedy as we had no idea how to remove them. Adele had picked up several ticks on her Friday hikes in CA and ended up in ER each time. On this occasion Adele thought why not spray them with Deet (she should patent this procedure) and see what happens; so we sprayed with Deet and the ticks actually backed out - worked both times; thereupon they were squashed into a tissue, placed in a plastic bag and sealed -  we were taking no chances! Armed with Adele’s new procedure we are now quite blasé.

As we write we are on the beach in Kiptopeke State Park, VA near Cape Charles. Nine World War 2 concrete ships are cleverly moored to create a breakwater that protects a lovely, safe beach and little harbor. This is a very busy State Park and very well run. To reach here from Roanoke Rapids entailed driving across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel which is 18 miles long and cost us a toll of $28. It was a nerve wracking, white knuckle drive through the tunnels – all three of them; they are a two way narrow road with no barrier! The drive into the tunnels becomes very steep and with all our weight it was not easy to go slow; and boy, is it scary when you see a 53 foot articulated Big Rig barreling towards you? In the process of purchasing a much needed E-ZPass at the other end of the Bridge Tunnel we were told that VA DOT offers a service to drive people (in their own vehicle) who are too frightened to drive through the tunnels. Tom likened the drive to driving south on Big Sur…. underground!

Cape Charles, named for King Charles 1^st (1607) is a lovely vacation town with lots of big homes which we admired as we cycled up and down its historic streets. Many of the houses are "kit" (Sears etc.) houses which we are told came with 700 pages of instructions. Imagine buying your house from Ikea?

We had lunch in Cape Charles Coffee House which had been recommended by a neighbor to us, especially for its delicious cakes - they were yummy! Cape Charles Coffee House is on the only commercial street, Mason Street and is owned and run by a lady Annette whose mother is Irish, and she looks it with a head of beautiful, long red hair and is an excellent Owner/Hostess. In past lives the building was a Bank when there were four Banks on Mason Street in its heyday. Before Cape Charles Coffee House was established it had been a Haberdashery Store. We commented that we counted at least 12 Churches of various denominations in the town and were told that the resident population is around 2,000, not a lot of souls to fill all those churches!

Before the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel was constructed Cape Charles was the terminus for the railroad that transported all goods heading south, the goods were then transferred to barges and shipped across the Chesapeake Bay for onwards transportation; its port still ships a lot of cement but the Bridge Tunnel ended the train/barge business. 

Lake Marion and Sylvan Heights Bird Sanctuary

Regrowth from a fallen tree x 2

On the trail to....

Feeding the Flamingoes

Of course I love you too

Believe it or not this is a Pidgeon

Saint Augustine to Virginia

Starting our journey north from Saint Augustine our first port of call was Savannah, a town worth a second visit; this was our third and we still found new places to walk and a new place to eat. Walking along East Drayton we spotted The Tea Room which is very like Lisa's Tea Room in the Pruneyard in Campbell, CA.  Lunch was beautifully served and included a little plate of scones with whipped cream and raspberry jam, short bread and carrot cake to finish. The selection of teas was the largest either of us had ever seen. The day was hot and humid but Savannah's tree lined squares keep the center of town somewhat cool.

When we arrived at the RV Park we noticed that we were minus the inside light of the tow dolly; the complete unit was gone with only the screws left. Tom found a garage that would replace the light unit, not cheap but a lot cheaper than being pulled over by the cops.

From Savannah we went to Santee on Marion Lake, South Carolina. Lake Marion is a manmade lake and a very popular spot for weekenders. This being Mayfly season there were thousand flying about; thousands more dead on cobwebs, on the porches of unoccupied caravans and all over windows and doors of nearby apartments. There are several nature reserves around the lake; we hiked in two of them; one was through a swamp where there were warnings about large alligators but having kept our eyes wide open and our running shoes on we saw none. In the other reserve we walked beside the lake through a wooded area to an Indian burial mound on which the British had built Fort Wilson; it was captured and destroyed by the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Remarkably, we saw more wild life on our after dinner walks near the RV Park.

After Santee we went on a marathon drive for us, 270 miles to Roanoke Rapids NC. A nearby town was listed as historic Halifax, once a thriving town as it was an important port on the Roanoke River and was the center of commerce for many plantations and a vibrant horse racing area; sadly…the train and time passed Halifax by. Today it is being branded as Historic in an effort to attract tourists with many of the older building still standing and in the process of renovation to preserve their history. All commercial life has left the area.

When we stopped for gas, our first stop in Virginia, we saw a big horse box with a lady feeding the horses so Adele walked over and started chatting, Adele told her that she was from Ireland and the lady said so is my husband he’s from Co. Kildare in Ireland where the Irish National Equestrian Stud (known as the National Stud) is situated; Tom had a chat with him.

We just had to tell them the story about a Senior Executive of the National Stud arriving at an airline ticket counter in the US to collect his ticket stating “you have a ticket for me…the Irish National Stud”; the ticket agent immediately made a loud announcement…”Ladies come and meet the Irish National Stud”!

Tom's big celebration!

Celebrating with family and close friends at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club, Dublin

Hannah, Molly and Adele

Adele, Ciaran and Richard the 3rd in Leicester

Sairsha teaching her cousins how to use an iPad

Leslie, Sairsha and Cearull at Foxton Locks

Party time in Jennifer's back garden - the sun shone!

Grandchildren helping cut the birthday cake

Another Dentist in the family?

Irish visit

European Rugby Championship Trophy

Adele's College Reunion

Thatched cottages in County Waterford

Lismore Castle - home of Adele Astaire

Reunion drinks

Irish National Stud, County Kildare

Childhood Friends

Rambling along on the road once again

Isn’t it hard to believe that we started out on this odyssey in October 2010…almost 3 years ago? Although as you all know we took a six months break, five of which we spent in Florida in beautiful and historic Saint Augustine which is celebrating its 500 anniversary this year – yes, founded in 1513; now that’s old for the US – our question is – why does US history begin at Plymouth Rock? We rented an apartment literally 200 yards from the beach on which we walked twice every day and also enjoyed swimming in the sea, especially Adele with her body surfing. Of particular delight was that we had so many friends visit us which gave us the opportunity to return their wonderful hospitality received as we journeyed around the US.

We flew to Ireland in early May as Adele had a College reunion; 16 of her college pals spent 3 nights in Faithlegg House Hotel a former Manor House in a beautiful setting on the Suir River near Waterford City in the southeastern part of Ireland surrounded by a golf course. Adele’s Mother came from this part of the country so Adele has many childhood memories of this area. Tom joined the reunion for the last evening after having visited his 93 year old Mother, his brothers and cousins in Cork. The following day both of us visited the Waterford museum where, among other artifacts, we viewed 450 year old Priest Vestments which are in perfect condition after having being hidden in double metal boxes and buried under the floor of the church when the priests heard that Cromwell was coming to Ireland in 1640. These vestments, made of silk and gold were woven in Venice and elaborately embroidered with biblical scenes in Florence; they are magnificent and are an unheralded Irish treasure.

On our visits we stay with Tom's brother Jack and his wife Esther; they make us feel so welcome we are reluctant to leave. We’re looking forward to having them visit us in Saint Augustine next spring. While in Dublin Tom held an early birthday party at his tennis club for family and close friends; we had a private room with a bar and balcony overlooking the tennis courts – and, the sun shone! In fact, we were blessed with good weather for the majority of our time in Ireland.

The following day we traveled to England to spend a few weeks at our daughter Jennifer's family home where Tom celebrated his actual birthday with a backyard barbeque in glorious sunshine surrounded by his (English) family and friends. Tom’s surprise present was the arrival of granddaughter Sairsha with Mom Leslie and Dad Cearull from California…not a dry eye in the house! Okay, so what was special about this birthday? 70 years! Yes, Tom cannot believe it either!

Now we’re back in Rambling Rover heading north to the Canadian Maritimes; our journey will take us through South and North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland (we plan on visiting Ocean City where Jennifer and her friend Susan spent a summer working at the Spinnaker restaurant), Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine; for another visit with Eileen and Carl. Adele has just finished reading Bill Bryson's book "The Lost Continent” relating his trip around the US in the 80’s; some of his observations are so true - one Adele thought really funny was that if one stood on two telephone books anywhere in the Midwest you could see for a thousand miles in all directions. Another which we know is true is that when one drives on minor roads, signs are few and far apart; then suddenly you are shot out onto an interstate highway with so many signs one can't read them all. Imagine the following signs 95 North/187 South/20 East; lane ends in 100 feet, speed limit 70 mph, next exit Floribunda, next rest stop 102 miles, food and lodging next exit. And…one had better know exactly where one is heading because there’s no quarter given; trucks and cars go whizzing by; all madly rushing to where they should have been an hour ago!

All the while we ramble along at a safe and leisurely 60/65 mph!

St Augustine, FL end of the road?

We owe all of you a big “Thank You” for your interest and support while following us as we journeyed around this remarkable country. And also for your concern…when the time between blogs became a little extended many of you reminded us that it was time for a posting or wondered if perhaps we had lost our way in the wilderness.

A little over a week ago we arrived back to our favorite place in Florida - St Augustine; we just love this town, the buzz of tourists, the beautiful beaches and surf, its numerous wonderful eating places and Flagler College. On Saturday RamblingRover goes into storage for the next six months and we will fly to the UK to have a “Dickens Christmas” complete with Plum Pudding, Brandy Butter, Mince Pies and Christmas cake with Jennifer, Karl, Hannah, Molly & Ciaran; there’s even the possibility of a Christmas snow scene.

So we have come to the end of our “yellow brick road” odyssey, over 22,000 miles in RamblingRover and at least that again in BlueBug; it has been a wonderful, interesting, informative and educational two years of - seeing sights, meeting wonderful, friendly people, learning much about the culture and history of each state we travelled through; unsung heroes and some very strong brave men and women in history. Our travels took us to places far off the highways on the byways and we found enchanting places; we visited cities that surprised us as they had great tourist attractions. In our dotage this is the journey we will talk about while passing the extra ten years doctors promise to all of us as we sit in our armchairs in an old people's home.

Fortunately, we live in an age of amazing technologies as we could not have achieved so much without; our Garmin GPS - directing us from place to place with no arguments and very few wrong turns; cell phones to stay in touch with family and friends; the Internet to research, plan and reserve our RV Park stops and places of interest to visit, many books gifts from friends which helped guide us to interesting off-the-beaten-path places, but most of all to friends whom we called on all around the USA who made us welcome in their homes and then gave us guided tours of their area - what a luxury. Both FaceTime and Skype are much used with Jennifer, Kilian and Cearull who gather our grandchildren around the computer so we can laugh, talk and stay in touch - Sunday being the busy day which we look forward to each week. We also stay in touch with siblings in Canada and Ireland and periodically connect with friends online. Most RV Parks have free Wi-Fi, coffee shops are another source and we have our own “tethering” through Tom’s phone if all else fails, so we never feel lonely or out of touch.

Probably the most frequent question we’re asked is what our favorite place visited is. Top of the list for us is, of course, Yellowstone National Park an amazing place - a wonder of the world really! Others, in no particular order are; the Rockies just magnificent, the mountains so high, the valleys so deep and mostly green and unspoiled. California’s Giant Redwoods, Kartchner Caverns, Grand, Zion and Bryce Canyons; Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Great Lakes (really inland seas and are so large that they have an effect on the climate), Finger Lakes, the coast of Maine – rugged and pretty, so very like parts of Ireland and England, the Outer Banks and Carlsbad Caves…we could go on and on! Most of our journeys were in the 150 mile range which meant that we didn't miss much on the journey. We visited towns that were once full of bustle and trade that are now empty and poor; we saw towns which struggle yearly to survive but survive they do through an Annual Festival the revenue from which keeps the townspeople going from year to year. Plymouth Rock is, for us, the most over-rated tourist attraction; not much larger than a pebble, well we exaggerate but so does history. The rock is about the size of a decorative flowerbed rock so it’s not to be confused with the Rock of Gibraltar - now that’s a Rock. The many Battlefields and their adjacent graveyards with multiple graves of hundreds of unidentified fallen soldiers made us sad. We’ve seen “the biggest, the best, the tallest, the smallest, the longest, the shortest, the oldest, the highest, the fastest, the slowest, the famous and the infamous."

For each state we visited – in total - 44 of them we tried to read an informative book about a hero, a politician, the early history of the state, especially most of the southern states particularly those with Spanish or French history – surprisingly, this history is ignored in the US/Anglo history books.

Books which helped us enjoy our travels:
The 19th wife
Grace, an American women in China
A Team of Rivals (Lincoln)
Midnight in the garden of Good and Evil
The wind in the morning (about Magellan circumnavigating the world )
The Johnstown Flood
The Vicksburg Siege
Running with the Bulls by Valerie Hemmingway
1434 by Gavin Menzies
The Bears and I by Robert Franklin Leslie
Freedom by Ken Follett
The Color of Hope by Susan Madison
The Good Earth by Pearl S Bucks
Night Fall by Nelson De Mille
Cannibals of the Heart by Jack Shepard
Texas Dawn by Philip Lynch
A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz
47 by Walter Mosley
A Family of Spies by Pete Earley
Babylon by Bus by Ray LeMoine & Jeff Neumar
Chief Joseph by Candy Moulton

Adele has a book about Fredrick Douglas on her Kindle to read next. In addition, Libraries’, Museums, the Internet and Visitor Centers leaflets helped us make places visited more interesting.

We will be back on the road again in six months’ time when we will let you know as we travel to Eastern Canada on another Adventure.