January 6, 2010 Panama City FL
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Following our rainy week in Myrtle Beach, SC we moved to Hardeeville, SC which is just north of Savannah, GA. We had a wonderful time there although it did rain a lot. We were able to visit the historic parts of Savannah as well as the resort areas of Hilton Head SC. We ate lunch at a number of the great restaurants in Savannah as well as some nice country cafes in the local area. The seafood continues to be one of the great benefits of visiting this area.
The next week we moved to Kings Bay Navy Submarine Base in southeast GA. Where the weather improved immensely with some warm days in the mid 70’s. We were able to visit the historic town of St, Mary which labeled as the second oldest city in United States; the oldest city being St. Augustine a few miles to the south. This area has a rich history of both Spanish and English colonization with a number prerevolutionary war battles fought in the area. We paid a visit to the Okefenokee Swamp, St Simons Island, and the Cumberland Island National Sea Shore. This is one area we will visit again.
The week of Christmas was spent at New Smyrna Beach FL. We had good weather for most of the week and had a very enjoyable time visiting St. Augustine, Cape Canaveral, as well as other locations in between. One of the most memorable trips was to Blue Springs State Park to see the Manatees. In the cooler winter weather the Manatees move into the warmer spring fed waters of the park, we were able to observe quite a few because of the clear waters. Too bad the waters are closed to swimming as it would be an experience to swim with them.
The week of New Years we moved to Old Town FL, a small village 40 miles west of Gainesville. Here we were able to visit some of the smaller towns and villages of the west Florida Coast. Most of the coastal towns are remote with only one way in and out of the town. This is a quiet area of Florida where wild boor hunting appears to be the sport of the winter.
Following the New Years weekend we moved to Panama City, FL. where we will be spending the next week. The weather has also turned cold here with freezing temperatures most nights.
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
We spent the first week of November touring the Great Smokes Mountains National Park and the surrounding area. We stayed in a nice campground just off of Interstate 40 and north of the park. The National Park is beautiful this time of the year with the leaves in color. At times we thought that the leaves that had fallen from the trees and were lining the forest floor added to the spectacular view.
We also had some disappointments in the area. The commercialism of the area leading to the National Park is an eyesore, distracting from the natural beauty of the area. There is a dichotomy in a county where there are no liquor stores (Dry County) they allow adult entertainment establishments next door to children’s entertainment. This does not compute for us.
From the East Tennessee area we moved to North Carolina spending three days in the Chapel Hill, Durham area. We have some friends from our military days who are living in Durham and we had a wonderful time visiting with Pete and Dolly. We look forward to the time when we can return to the area and spend a little more time renewing our friendship.
We then moved to Fayetteville and spent a few days with Dan and Marge another retired military couple whom we had not seen for over 25 years. It is funny how you can just pick up with some people where you left off. We had a great time renewing our friendship and getting reacquainted with them.
Following our visit in Fayetteville we moved to the Atlantic Coast staying at the Onslow Beach RV Park in Camp Lejeune Marine Base. Our parking spot was about 100 Yards from the beach. We had a great time here touring the area and visiting the old towns with great history. One of the memorable towns was New Bern about 50 miles north of the campground. There is the classic architecture of the 1700 and 1800’s that is well preserved.
We also enjoyed the great seafood that dominates that restaurant fair. I think that the first few days Julie must have eaten fried oysters every lunch. We also enjoyed picking up fresh seafood and cooking our own meals.
We had some vary nice days while we were at Onslow Beach with the temperatures reaching the mid 70’s so we were able to enjoy long walks on the beach picking up some east coast seashells for our grand children. We were also able to find a few sharks teeth to send to them.
We left there on Nov 30 and moved to Myrtle Beach South Carolina where we again are camped within a few yards of the beach. As I write this today it is raining hard so there will be no beach walks.
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