October 18, 2021

October 18, 2021

We rose early and took the shuttle to the Tampa Airport for our journey home. With uneventful flights we arrived home in Tucson midafternoon. Just west of Houston, I chuckled when I saw the largest piece of graffiti I have ever seen. One proud Texan signed his farm using trees. Each letter is the height of ten football fields. At over two miles long, NASA uses this giant geoglyph to calibrate their satellite imaging systems.

With our two domestic East Coast trips this year to tick off National Park sites, we are now up to 375. Only 47 to go; half of the remaining are now in Alaska, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and Samoa. We also picked up two NPS affiliates and a couple Presidential libraries. I am hoping we can soon resume international travel.

October 17, 2021

October 17, 2021

From the Tampa area we drove south along the gulf shore of Florida for nearly an hour to the town of Bradenton on the Manatee River. On a peninsula sticking out into Tampa Bay we find De Soto National Memorial. This park commemorates where historians think Hernando De Soto and his huge entourage first landed on his explorations. The Visitor Center is being vacuumed so we start out with some exercise doing a mile-long circle of the park, Most of it is along mangrove swamps that line the shore. There is a foul sulfur smell from the decomposition of decaying matter in the water. One more reason to prefer Arizona over Florida. Humorously the park has a number of Indian and Spaniard cutouts along the trail that give Aimee a startle.

Back in the Visitor Center, we watch the park film and peruse the couple exhibits. De Soto had severe gold fever. After landing here in 1539, his men spent four long fruitless years brutally searching the Southeast US from Florida to Texas. He left a trail of destruction in his wake before finally succumbing himself to fever. Not much of a legacy to celebrate. In the nearby town we stopped for a photo of his bronze statue.

From Bradenton, we drove north crossing Tampa Bay on the many-mile long causeway and Sunshine Skyway Bridge to St Petersburg. Downtown we stopped at the Salvador Dali Museum. It is housed in a surrealism-inspired building with a glass entryway and spiral staircase.

We start our visit in the special exhibit gallery featuring the photographer Lee Miller. We have never heard of her, but Aimee is especially intrigued with her life. She is a beautiful girl who moves to New York City and is discovered accidentally by Conde Nast, publisher of Vogue. Lee goes from fashion model to photographer to war correspondent. Along the way she poses for, beds, and weds a number of famous artists.

We then moved to the Dali gallery. This museum has more of his masterpieces than any other, especially his large-scale paintings. Dali was a Spanish born artist who spent his wartime years in the US. His famous Surrealist paintings were inspired by Freud and his views on unconscious desires. We had lunch at the museum, and then walked around the beautiful waterfront of St Petersburg.

From St Petersburg we crossed another long bridge over an arm of Tampa Bay to our airport hotel. After checking in we turned in our rental car. We had a glass of wine sitting by the pool to celebrate another nice vacation.

October 16, 2021

October 16, 2021

We booked a room in Cocoa Beach, FL because I have a bucket list item of seeing a space launch. One was scheduled for 5:34 AM this morning. Since the Kennedy Space Center is closed that early, our backup plan is just watching from the beach. I hope it goes off on schedule. The Atlas V rocket is sending a probe into deep space on a 12-year mission to study the Trojan asteroids that lie in the same orbit as Jupiter.

We set our alarms and make our way in the dark to the beach. Humorously a family all decked out in NASA t-shirts follows us. On the beach I am shocked to see dozens of people (with lit-up cell phones) already waiting. I don't know why I thought I was the only nerd. As we look north anticipating the launch, a brightly lit Cruise Ship pulls into Port Canaveral. Soon after it passes a section of the sky lights up and we see a fireball slowly rise up and travel across the sky. Aimee thinks it is cool, but I am underwhelmed. I think I need to come back to see a day launch and be closer. I am very thankful that the launch wasn’t delayed.

Since we now have a free day, we take it as a vacation within our vacation. Aimee takes me clothes shopping and then I take her RV shopping. It is mostly wistful. We want another motorhome but some overseas adventures are going to take precedence.

From Cocoa Beach we travelled across Florida to the Tampa area. It takes longer than we anticipated because of several accidents. Aimee and I both think Florida is way too crowded for our likes.

In Tampa, we went to the theater to see another movie, The Rescue. It is a National Geographic documentary about the Thai soccer team trapped in a flooded cave. It was excellent. Aimee and I knew few details about this harrowing and risky operation. To be rescued the twelve kids had to be drugged, handcuffed, and scuba’ed out individually by a small group of experienced cave-divers on a dangerous route that took five hours each way. All the while a Herculean engineering effort was underway above ground diverting streams to prevent further flooding.

We were travelling overseas when it happened so we missed these details. It had special meaning to us, because we had visited that area of far northern Thailand just six months prior to the event. To celebrate the miraculous rescue we had dinner at a Thai restaurant. It was delicious.

October 15, 2021

October 15, 2021

This morning we drove from St Augustine back over to Anastasia Island and then south to its southern tip where we found Fort Matanzas National Monument. Matanzas is Spanish for slaughter and that is what they did to a group of shipwrecked French Protestant Huguenots who were trying to colonize Spanish Florida. They only spared a handful who professed to be Catholic. This is also the site of a small Coquina Fort built to protect the back entrance to St Augustine.

The small outpost is across the inlet on Rattlesnake Island. Since we are early we easily get a ticket for the Park ferry. Because of Covid the ferry is restricted to twelve passengers. Most of today’s tickets are allocated in the first minutes we are here. Since the National Park is a government organization, the Visitor Center is closed to 'protect' me.

At 9:30 our group loads onto a pontoon boat and we make the five-minute crossing. The veteran ranger gives a thirty-second somewhat-forced history lesson. She should be retired. The volunteer ranger driving the boat is a fireball and makes the experience come alive. He has two little girls raise the flag. He also demonstrates how the cannon are targeted. If it wasn't for him the visit to this tiny outpost would have been a snoozer.

Back on the road, we drove ninety minutes south to Canaveral National Seashore. This part of the Florida coastline was protected during the Kennedy administration when this area was chosen to host our Space Program. In the Apollo Visitor Center, we learn they won’t show us the park film even though we are the only visitors.

At the first parking lot we spend some time walking the beach. This is one of Aimee’s favorite activities. On the way out of the park we stop at Turtle Mound. This huge hill or midden is built of a vast number of discarded shells. There is probably a story about why the Indians built these mounds but there is not a storyboard to be found. Apparently the NPS planned to upgrade the signage. They took down the old signs but they have no idea when the new ones will arrive, if ever. Our government at its finest. I could write a book.

From Canaveral we worked our way around and south of Kennedy Space Center to Cocoa Beach. When I was a child one of my favorite TV shows featured Larry Hagman as an astronaut living in Cocoa Beach. So we had to stop at a local park that sits on I Dream of Jeannie Lane.

After checking into our beachside hotel, Aimee and I don our bathing suits and have a couple teal-colored ‘Lime in the Coconut’ drinks poolside. Last night we celebrated Aimee’s last day as a young hottie. Today we are drinking away her new senior citizen status.

October 14, 2021

October 14, 2021

This morning we walked to the main draw of St Augustine, FL, the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. This is the closest thing we have to a real European castle in America. This is my third visit. I saw it for the first time as a child with my parents. I was impressed then and I still am. The first Spanish forts here were wooden and destroyed by the British. In the late 17th century they built this stone structure. Shortly afterwards James Oglethorpe of Georgia attacked and found the fort impregnable. Unfortunately, after the Seven Years War, the Spanish had to give up the Castillo in order to get Havana back. Spain regained it twenty-one years later by backing the winning side in the American Revolution.

We first walked around the interior spaces. The rooms are realistically appointed with period furnishings. The Castillo was stocked with emergency supplies but only marginally manned unless danger threatened. At that time the entire town of St Augustine took refuge in the Fortress. We then took the ramp up to the battlements to see the bronze cannon and enjoy the beautiful view over the inlet.

We then walked down the shore to the Bridge of Lions and then inland. We stopped at the Cathedral Basilica, the oldest congregation in the US. We crossed the street and popped inside the Governor’s House Cultural Center to view some exhibits on St Augustine history and enjoy the air-conditioning. The sun and humidity of Florida are draining. We also did some shopping on St George Street. Feeling hungry we stopped for a delicious fish taco lunch.

We strolled through the Historic District. Near our hotel room, we visited the Mission Nombre de Dios, the oldest Catholic mission in the US. A Great Cross was erected in 1966 to celebrate its 400th anniversary. We rested and then took a drive to Anastasia State Park to see the King’s Quarry. Here the Spanish mined the only stone available, Coquina. This is a mineral sedimentary conglomeration of seashells. It turned out to be the perfect building material for a castle. The British cannonballs couldn’t penetrate this spongy rock.

For dinner we walked down the street for a delicious dinner of Lobster Bisque, Mahi Mahi, and Key Lime Pie. At meal end we got a laugh seeing a Road Scholar tour arriving. This is the third time they have crossed our path! When planning this trip I joked with Aimee she was getting her own personal guide after seeing a similar historic fort itinerary in one of their catalogs. 

October 13, 2021

October 13, 2021

On our ferry out to Cumberland Island yesterday, Aimee and I kept an eye out for a nuclear submarine cruising out of Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base here in St Marys, GA. We were unsuccessful so this morning we drove to the base gate. There I was able to see a nuclear-powered missile submarine surface from the depths!

Afterwards we crossed the St Marys River into Florida and back to Amelia Island where we caught Florida A1A. We took this ocean road south across the Nassau Sound to Big Talbot Island State Park stopping at Boneyard Beach. While Aimee beachcombed for shark teeth again, I took some photos. This shoreline is littered with the bleached ‘skeletons’ of Oak trees that are being eroded off the cliff.

We then continued south to Fort George Island Cultural State Park stopping at the Ribault Club. This repurposed resort has some exhibits on the history of the island starting with its first inhabitants, the Timucuan Indians. There are lots of shell middens (garbage dumps) from their extensive feasting on clams, oysters, and crabs.

Nearby we stopped at the Kingsley Plantation, part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. This national park protects the salt marsh wetlands habitat in the greater Jacksonville area that was the home of the Timucuan. It also interprets the slave plantation heritage that is exemplified here at Kingsley. This estate thrived on growing Sea Island Cotton. The preserved slave colony, a semi-circle of 25 tabby-cement cabins, is the most interesting part. The life history of the owner’s slave-wife was also fascinating.

Afterwards, we made our way around and across the wide St Johns River to Fort Caroline National Memorial. This park commemorates the first French attempt to settle in the USA territory. It occurred here at the mouth of the St Johns River in Jacksonville. Unfortunately Florida lay uncomfortably close to the shipping route of the Spanish galleons following the Gulf Stream home. To safeguard their treasure cargoes, Spain established the town of St Augustine, FL. From that base, they attacked the French colony slaughtering all the colonists.

After looking at the exhibits in the Visitor Center we walked out to the recreated French fort on the shoreline. We then drove down the block to see the Ribault Monument. This is a replica of the boundary post the French explorer planted to mark the border of their new conquests.

Leaving Jacksonville, we continued south to St Augustine. Just north of the historic town center we visited Fort Mose Historic State Park. Needing to strengthen their defense against British assaults, the Spanish encouraged runaway slaves to seek refuge here. They settled them here at Mose in exchange for conversion to Catholicism and military service when needed. We walked out to view the site of the fortified settlement. It now lies under a salt marsh.

We then checked into our St Augustine accommodations and walked to the Historic District. We checked out some exhibits in the Visitor Center and then strolled through the old city gate and down St George Street. This narrow street is filled with historic buildings that now house shops and restaurants and tourist attractions. We stop and watch the action from a second floor outdoor cafe while re-hydrating.

For dinner we have a burger at the Prohibition Kitchen. The backside of the menu has information about the 18th and 21st Amendments enacting Prohibition and its subsequent repeal. It is non-stop history today. Even at dinner!

October 12, 2021

October 12, 2021

We had a nice leisurely morning today. This is not our normal modus operandi. From our Riverview Hotel in St Marys, GA, we walked across the street to board the 10:45 ferry to Cumberland Island National Seashore. Our first stop is the Dungeness Estate ruins. Dungeness has a long illustrious history. The first Dungeness was a hunting lodge of Georgia founder, James Oglethorpe. The second was the home of the Revolutionary hero, Nathaniel Greene, who planned to harvest the island for Live Oak to use building an American navy. His friend, Light Horse Harry Lee (father of Robert E Lee) died and was buried here on a visit. Thomas Carnegie, brother and partner of steel baron Andrew Carnegie owned the last Dungeness. His widow expanded it to its present mega-size. Unfortunately it burned down in 1959. We eat our sack lunch on the estate grounds in the shade of a tree.

We then hiked east across extensive sand dunes to the beach. We had to step carefully as wild horses have left their droppings everywhere. On the shore we beach comb again for shark teeth but come up empty. We must be doing something wrong. Our Amelia Island friend from last night had many dozens from her daily beach walks.

After a mile and a half we cut back across the island through a unique jungle of moss-covered Live Oaks sitting in a sea of Saw Palmettos. Aimee spies a couple armadillos on the trail. Back at our starting point we sit on rocking chairs enjoying the cool breeze while we wait for the return ferry to arrive.

In St Marys we have a delicious dinner at our 105 year-old hotel. We OD-ed on seafood with a scallop appetizer, crab bisque soup, and flounder entree. We bought extra drinks and drank them on the hotel veranda while writing this entry.

October 11, 2021

October 11, 2021

From Savannah, GA we continued our tour of the Low Country travelling south for ninety minutes to the Brunswick area. We crossed to St Simons Island to visit Fort Frederica National Monument. The fort and enclosed walled town was a short-lived effort by the British in 1736 to push the disputed border with Spanish Florida farther south. The swampy island location was not really sustainable. Fortunately it survived long enough to convince the Spanish that resistance was futile.

Little of the town of Fort Frederica exists, but enough archeology digs have occurred to rediscover many of the house foundations and their ownership. This early colonial town on the frontier was surprisingly large. It may have had a population of 1500. We walked the beautiful grounds reading storyboards about the resident’s varied occupations.

Afterwards we continued south to St Marys, GA where we found our next accommodations. After a quick lunch, we visited the museum for Cumberland Island National Seashore. This offshore island once had two forts also involved in the border war between Britain and Spain. Later the island became a favorite winter home of rich Northerners.

We then drove south into Florida to Amelia Island to visit Fort Clinch State Historic Site on the northern tip. This fort was one of the many Phase III brick forts, like Fort Pulaski, the US built before the Civil War for coastal defense. This one was also seized by the Rebel South. After Pulaski was taken, the South decided to redeploy their limited resources elsewhere and abandoned it.

We walked around the interior of the fort and then strolled the beach. We were told that shark teeth can sometimes be found in the sand. The only thing Aimee found was some giant cockleburs that reached out and grabbed her foot. I never realized walking a beach could be this dangerous.

Afterwards we met up with some friends who moved here from Tucson. It is always fun to catch up with everyone’s activities.

October 10, 2021

October 10, 2021

From Savannah, we drove south along the Savannah River to its mouth to visit Fort Pulaski National Monument. Fort Pulaski was one of many built after the British burned Washington DC in the War of 1812, to defend our coastline and major ports. At the onset of the Civil War the Rebels seized it. Fort Pulaski is a large state-of-the-art brick structure that was considered impregnable. The Civil War brought loads of new technology including new Rifled Cannon. Rifling allowed straighter and more powerful projectiles. After one day of bombardment, one corner was breached and the South surrendered.

Having watched the park film last night, we toured the small Visitor Center and then circled the fort exterior. The breached corner has been repaired but cannon holes still scar that entire side of the fort. It is surrounded by a moat like Fort Jefferson in Dry Tortugas. We then toured the large well-preserved interior spaces. We finished with a walk out to the historic North Pier just as a large Container Ship passes down the river channel.

We drove back towards Savannah stopping at Wormsloe State Historic Site. Wormsloe was a plantation owned by Noble Jones, one of the original colonists that settled here with the Georgia Colony founder James Oglethorpe. After passing the entry gate we drive down a beautiful mile-long Live Oak canopy.

Our first stop is the Visitor Center to learn about the early founding of the Georgia Colony. Oglethorpe envisioned it as a fresh start for the 'deserving poor' of Britain. We then walk out to see the ruins of Noble Jones' fortified house. Every house had to be fortified because of conflicts with the nearby Spanish colony of Florida. It was constructed of Tabby, a concrete made from seashells. We passed by an early colonial exhibit intending to head for the car. Instead we ended up on a three-mile wilderness trail. Aimee said we could use the extra exercise.

We then drove into the historic section of Savannah. I had to let Aimee do some window-shopping to compensate for our several fort visits. We had a late lunch at Paula Dean’s restaurant, The Lady and Sons. Because of Covid, the buffet meal is delivered to our table. It was fun, but the food was just okay. We then walked off the huge meal portions strolling along the old Savannah riverfront. It is still lined with old warehouses repurposed as bars and stores.

October 9, 2021

October 9, 2021

We crossed over to the western edge of Charleston, SC to visit Angel Oak Park. This small green space is almost filled by an ancient Southern Live Oak over 400 years old. Its trunk is enormous but its many huge tentacled arms make it look like a forest monster. Good thing it is not Halloween yet. After taking a few photos we get back on the road and head southwest down the coastline.

Ninety minutes later we reach the Sea Islands area. After driving around in circles we manage to stumble upon the new Visitor Center for Reconstruction Era National Historical Park in Beaufort, SC. This park attempts to memorialize the history of the effort to convert slaves to productive free peoples. Unfortunately it has precious few assets to draw upon. The park today consists of a tiny Visitor Center with uninteresting exhibits and a couple other widely scattered sites.

We drive south to Port Royal for a noon ranger talk. This new Ranger has a little contact station in a reconstructed Freedman’s Chapel sitting adjacent to the local farmer’s market. With her we walk the half-mile to Fort Frederick Cultural Heritage Preserve, containing the ruins of an early 18th century British colonial fort. Early in the Civil War, the Union invaded Port Royal Island and setup Camp Saxton here to support the naval blockade of Charleston and Savannah. The local black slaves became some of the first emancipated and first volunteer colored troops. With help from the government, schools were setup and a few Freedmen were allowed to purchase land. With few skills most Freedmen became Sharecroppers working their same plantations. All the early Freedman success came to a screeching halt with the end of Reconstruction.

We drive back to the cute town of Beaufort and have a pizza lunch along the shoreline. We are surprised how touristy the barrier islands are along the Carolina Lowcountry. Aimee also makes the observation that every section of our country has some interesting history to discover.

We think about exploring the Marine base at nearby Parris Island but it is getting late. So we punt and head to our next destination of Savannah, GA.

October 8, 2021

October 8, 2021

This morning we drove fifteen minutes east of Charleston, SC to the Snee Plantation and home of Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. The Pinckney family was a prominent plantation family in the Charleston area. Charles was a leading contributor to our Constitution's design. We watched the park film and browsed the interesting exhibits in the Visitor Center. The Pinckneys probably spent little time here, preferring to spend it in more cosmopolitan Charleston. The Charleston area was mostly populated by transplants from the Caribbean, bringing plantation technology with them. Rice was the money-making crop. Black slaves outnumbered whites by 4 to 1 creating a local mixed White/African Creole culture. Words like Bubba (brother) and Gumbo (okra) were a result. This site also manages the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor that celebrates this Lowcountry Creole culture.

Before leaving we walked around the grounds. Almost all the trees are dripping with moss. Aimee and I think it turns the beautiful scenery very eerie.

We then drove twenty minutes southwest to the eastern shoreline of Charleston Harbor arriving at Fort Moultrie. This and Fort Sumter guard the sea entrance to Charleston. There was some type of fort here for two hundred years through the end of WWII. The first one was a simple dirt structure lined with Palmetto Palm tree trunks. When the British first attacked in 1776, their cannon shells bounced off the spongy logs. Ever since, South Carolina has been nicknamed the Palmetto State.

Since the weatherman is forecasting rain, we started our tour outside walking around and climbing inside gun emplacements and powder magazines. The fort has examples of every type of cannon technology that has been used here. We watch a large container ship leaving Charleston pass right by the shore showing why this location was key to protecting the harbor.

We then returned to the Visitor Center to watch the park film and peruse the exhibits. Fort Moultrie graces the back of the South Carolina quarter and exemplifies the long history of American coastal defense.

For a late lunch we retrace our path east to the Isle of Palms to a restaurant that we had gotten two recommendations for. Aimee had the Gumbo and I had a She Crab chowder. Both were delicious.

The forecasted rain finally started so we spend the late afternoon at the theater watching the latest James Bond flick, 'No Time to Die'. It was very entertaining. I am just surprised at how crowded the theater was. Doesn’t anybody work anymore?

October 7, 2021

October 7, 2021

From Camden, SC we continued our exploration of South Carolina by working our way south to the coast. Thirty miles short of our destination, traffic came to a screeching halt. We took the nearby exit and found a parallel side road. It moved but was very slow. We suddenly now know where all the South Carolinians live. After an hour of crawling, we cross the bridge over the Ashley River into downtown Charleston. Our first stop is the Visitor Center for a map and recommendations.

We move the car to a parking garage in the historic section and begin our walking tour. Charleston was among the richest of colonial cities, and much of this antebellum architecture is retained. Unfortunately Charleston is a popular tourist destination and the area is crowded with tourists and cars. I almost get run over.

We walk south down Meeting Street passing buildings brimming with history sitting amidst gaily painted urban residences with sitting porches. The city is filled with guides relating the history on walking tours and horse drawn carriages.

We end at Battery Park along the shoreline. Here is a defensive wall and promenade. During the Revolution and Civil Wars, it was filled with cannons. There is also a nice tree-lined park where a wedding is commencing.

From the Battery we follow the promenade back north stopping at Rainbow Row (a block of colorful homes) and then past another shoreline park with a Pineapple-shaped fountain. We stop at the nearby Fleet Landing for a lunch of salad and Lowcountry gumbo. Delicious. Since there is a long wait to be seated, we cut the line by eating at the bar.

We then walked through the historic Market Hall. Originally a farmer’s market, it is now for tourists. Aimee wants to continue shopping, so we make our way up King St. to the Fashion District. We finish our whirlwind tour of Charleston checking out some of the sordid history. We passed by the site of the city slave market and an art-deco building that once had a lunch counter where Civil Rights activists targeted sit-ins.

We spent the night across the river east in Mt Pleasant near Patriots Point. As we cross the bridge we can see the USS Yorktown anchored. We toured it on our last trip to Charleston EXACTLY fifteen years ago to the day. This WWII-era carrier looks so tiny from overhead. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for pilots to land on this tiny speck in the ocean.

October 6, 2021

October 6, 2021

We are up early to make up for lost time yesterday. We leave our Atlanta airport hotel driving east in a gloomy overcast rainy morning rush hour. Depressing! After an hour the sun comes up, the traffic and rain peter out. After two hours we crossed the Savannah River into South Carolina.

After another hour we reach Ninety Six National Historic Site, deep in the forested heart of the rural South. In Colonial times, much of the terrain had been cleared for agriculture and Ninety Six was a vital frontier commercial center and crossroad. Surprisingly this oddly named town was the site of three battles. One during the Cherokee Wars, another in the opening days of the Revolution, and the biggest just months before war's end. The last was the longest siege of the Revolution.

Ninety Six is famous for having the best preserved Star Fort of the Revolution. Since the rain has stopped temporarily, we start outdoors with the mile loop trail. We pass the still visible colonial roads before reaching the siege tunnels and star fort. All that remains of the fort are the earthen walls. During the siege, the walls would have bristled with wooden spikes, surrounded with a tangle of abattis (tree branches) and topped with sandbags. It was quite impregnable without significant siege cannon. Connected to the star fort by a tunnel was the fortified town of Ninety Six. In the end the siege had to be abandoned by the Patriots when a British relief army approached.

Back at the Visitor Center, we watched the excellent park film narrated by Trace Adkins and ran through the museum exhibits. Interestingly, the Revolution in the Carolinas was closer to a Civil War. The number of locals loyal to the Crown balanced those of the Patriots fighting for independence. The participants in the Ninety Six battles were almost entirely American.

At lunchtime we got back on the road travelling two hours past the current capital, Columbia, to Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. It is an affiliate of the National Park System. In colonial times, Camden was the largest inland city of South Carolina. During the British Southern Campaign, the Redcoats took the port of Charleston, then marched inland capturing Camden. Patriots suffered a major defeat trying to retake the city.

After arriving we took a ninety-minute guided tour of the site and three restored buildings. The docent was very good and each structure contained interesting stories about the Revolutionary War in the South. Aimee was particularly fascinated by the very crude medical practices of the era. At the conclusion of the tour we had to dash back to the car in pouring rain.

To dry off we drove next door to the newly opened Revolutionary War Visitor Center. This impressive facility has storyboards on the Revolution focusing on the many battles that occurred in this area. It has some very realistic looking wax mannequins dressed in the uniforms of the combatants.

After checking into our local hotel accommodations, we had an early dinner at a sports bar in the cute modern town of Camden. Here modern means Antebellum instead of Colonial!

October 5, 2021

October 5, 2021

We are up way before dawn, heading to the airport for our first flight since the pandemic. We are off on a domestic trip to stretch our travel legs and get back into the groove. Hopefully it will be like riding a bike. Our first segment to Houston goes off without a hitch. Not so for our second. It was delayed for mechanical reasons. I read that is very common now. We arrived in Atlanta over four hours late. We picked up a rental car intending to drive east. But since it is dark and rainy, we punt and find an airport hotel to crash for the night.