Trip to Florida - Day One - Friday, February 23, 2018 - Buffalo to Pittsburgh

And once again we’re off! After visiting our parents again we left Oakfield around 10:30 en route to Pittsburgh to visit our dear friends Carole and Earle Ashbridge. We did have some rain but no white stuff so we made it to Pittsburgh by 3:00. It is so nice to have friends that you haven’t seen for awhile but you can pick right up with them like you saw them yesterday. We were treated to Carole cooking delicious Shrimp Creole for us and Earle even refrained from eating Carole’s cherry pie yesterday so we could have some. We watched the Penguins game and thankfully they won.

Trip to Florida - Day Two - Saturday, February 24, 2018 - Pittsburgh

We have already hit many of Pittsburgh’s points of interest but today we headed for a new venue. We went to the Frick Pittsburgh Car and Carriage Museum and Clayton - the Frick House. The car and carriage collection was impressive and the vehicles were all in such pristine condition. We had an hour tour of Frick’s home which gave us a great insight into Frick and the lifestyle of the rich during that time period. From there we went to the Pennsylvania Brewing Company to quench our thirst. Ron and I tried the flights which you can see were quite generous and tasty. We had to save room though for dinner at the German Club founded by Carole’s great-great grandfather- the Teutonia Mannerchor. It was steak night and the steaks were scrumptious. Ron, Carole and I had the 16 oz rib eye and Earle had a filet mignon along with baked potatoes, salad and green beans. We went back to The Ashbridges fat and happy. Watched the Penguins again but the result wasn’t as good this evening.

                                   Views from the Frick - Pittsburgh

The Frick House - Clayton

                       Fun at Pennsylvania Brewing Company

                        Steak Dinner at Teutonia Mannerchor

Trip to Florida - Day Three - Sunday, February 25, 2018 - Pittsburgh to Greenville, NC

Can’t thank Carole and Earle enough for being the consummate hosts and tour guides for their beloved Pittsburgh. We were on the road by 10:30. You know how Ron likes early starts- not😳. Today was basically a travel day. It was raining when we left and we ran into some fog going through the mountains but again no white stuff. I drove the last couple of hours on the back roads to Greenville. We arrived at our hotel about 7:30. Ron ran out and got us a pizza and we called it a day.

Trip to Florida - Day Four - Monday, February 26, 2018 - Greenville, NC

Happy birthday Phyllis!

Slept in as we didn’t have any definite plans until 12:30. We stopped at the Greenville Mall to pick up a present for Phyllis as it was her birthday today. I had contacted her and she got in touch with some of the people that we had taught with at EB Aycock when we started our teaching careers. She also made reaservations for us at  Atavola, a restaurant by the school. There were 9 (Phyllis Wooten, Marie Lewis, Ann Mewborn, Jane Laughinghouse, Margaret Powers, Jay and Brenda Jester and Ron and I) of us that got together to catch up and remember the fun times at Aycock. We’ve been gone from Greenville for 30 years but still have such fond memories of our time there. It was a great luncheon. After we went to explore downtown and see all the new buildings that everyone told us were going up. We made stops at the bookstore and at the Market @ Coastal Fog, a cute combo of design shop and coffee/sandwich shop. We went back to the hotel for a bit and then ventured out to find the mall only to discover that it had been torn down years ago. Oh well. We decided we needed some NC BBQ before we left Greenville so we stopped at Parker’s for dinner. Love the BBQ.

Our starter home on Rotary Street

Our former stately home on Library Street - 2 blocks from ECU

Wonderful group of friends

Parkers BBQ

Love the hushpuppies and fried okra too

Back in Pirate Country

Trip to Florida - Day Five - Tuesday, February 27, 2018 - Greenville, NC

Because we have done so much sitting in the car and on planes today we ventured out to River Park North on the other side of the mighty Tar River. They have a new Nature Center since the last one was under water in 1999 after Hurricane Floyd which flooded areas of Greenville and Pitt Co. We looked at their displays and watched a short movie on the area before going for a walk. It was a nice easy trail and it felt good to walk for a change. I finally got my 10000 stops today which will be my goal everyday in Florida. After we took another short tour around Greenville with a stop at Krispy Kreme for a snack. At 4:00 we met JP and Gunda at JPs house. Reminiscing was the order of the day whether it was about Aycock, their history professors or Poets club. Gunda and JP treated us to delicious appetizers and wine and then took us to dinner at Rucker Johns. Back at JPs we had fruit soaked with B & B. We are so glad that we got to see so many of our Greenville friends and hope to see those that we missed someday soon.

                                    Views of River Park North

At the nature center

                             Views of a growing Greenville

Love the trees that blossom so early in the south

An old Greenville favorite

Dear friends JP and Gunda

Trip to Florida - Day Six - Wednesday, February 28, 2018 - Greevnille to Kingsland, Ga

Up and off by 9:30. Today is another driving day. Our plan was to drive until just past Jacksonville and then we’ll get to our condo on Thursday. We did run into a bit of traffic and decided by 5:30 to stop in Kingsland, Georgia right before the Florida border. The exit we got off had about 20 hotels/motels so we didn't anticipate any problems but it seemed that the first 6 places we went to or called were filled. We finally found a Motel 6 with an opening and took it. We went to Ruby Tuesdays for dinner and called it a day.

Trip to Florida - Day Seven - Thursday, March 1, 2018 - Kingsland, GA to Carrabelle, FL

Since we couldn't get into the condo until 4:00 Ron didn't want to leave too early. We went to McDonalds and had breakfast and were on the road by 10:00. The traffic wasn't too bad in fact in this part of Florida there were many stretches where we didn't pass another car. We arrived in Carrabelle around 2:30 and surprisingly we were able to get into the condo as it was all cleaned and ready to go for us. We were quite pleased with the unit. It was very clean and exactly as pictured on the ads. We did have to go by the office for a parking pass but it was good to get out and walk. On our walk we discovered a gift shop, the hardware store and the IGA - all very handy to know where they are. We stopped at the IGA and picked up some milk, cheese, bread and some rice bowls for dinner. Ron brought the luggage and boxes up while I unpacked things and put them away in the condo. At happy hour we toasted to our temporary digs with Manhattans, cheese and crackers. We got settled, had dinner and started to plan what places we want to explore during our month here.

Trip to Florida - Day Eight - Friday, March 2, 2018 - Carrabelle, FL

Today was our first full day in Carrabelle and we started off exploring. We walked over the bridge and checked out some of the nice homes along the river. Then we went to the Hog Wild Restaurant to see what the local fare looked like. They have a lunch buffet that costs $8 that looks like a deal. We'll have to try it some time. We did make time for an ice cream cone. As we walked we ran into different people who would share with us the places to go and the ones to avoid. We probably walked at least three miles and then came back to the condo so I could catch up on my blogging and Ron could read. While there Lou and Judy called and said that they would be coming down tomorrow instead of the 7th since the weather is going to get cooler and rainier. We had heard that there were two different beach sites - old and new Carrabelle beach so we went to see each of them. The old beach was nearly uninhabited - we almost had the beautiful white sand beach to ourselves. From there we went and saw where the new beach was. It will be interesting to see how busy it gets this weekend when the people from Tallahassee come to visit. A woman on the beach had suggested some places for us to visit so we went to C-Quarters Marina to sit in their rockers and drink the $2 beers while we watched the sunset. While there we got to witness a Sea Tow boat bringing in another. Back to the condo once more to change for dinner. We walked down to the Fathoms, a seafood place and had seafood quesadillas. A band was going to play at 9:00 but we didn't stick around for more than one song.

Taking a walk over the bridge

View of the Carrabelle River as we walked over the bridge

Old Carrabelle Beach - we practically had it to ourselves

Gorgeous sunny day at the beach

A friendly sandpiper

$2 will get you a can of beer and a rocker to watch the sunset at C-Quarter Marina

Someone looks right at home

Sea Tow to the rescue - We got to watch them in action. You'd be proud Joe!

Lovely sunset

Life is good!

Trip to Florida - Day Nine - Saturday, March 3, 2018 - Carrabelle, FL

Today we wanted to get some of our chores done so we would be ready to play when Lou and Judy arrive later in the evening.  I caught up on my blogging. It takes a little while since the wifi connection is sometimes iffy and it must not be high speed internet since it takes time for pictures to load. I also paid the bills. Just because we're gone it doesn't mean that the electric bills etc. stop coming. We went to the laundromat since we've been gone over a week and then we won't have to do it while Lou and Judy are here. I stopped at the store for a few things. Then we went to explore a little more of Carrabelle. We hit 3 gift shops that were closed yesterday and had lunch at Carrabelle Junction, a little café. My sandwich was great. I'm sure we'll be back to try out some more of their food. From there we made a stop at the liquor store. Wanted to make sure that we had enough manhattans for the week. Came back to the condo to read and relax and wait for Lou and Judy to arrive. Lou and Judy got here right on schedule at about 7:00 and we got them and their gear all moved in. Lou made sloppy joe lentils to have for dinner and cookies for dessert. We had our Manhattans and talked about our travels past and future. It was a good family evening.

Trip to Florida - Day Ten - Sunday, March 4, 2018 - Carrabelle

It was a little cooler this morning (51 degrees) so we waited a while before heading to the beach. We walked down the main drag of Carrabelle, if you can call it that. By then it was lunch time so we went across the street to The Fisherman’s wife. Lou and Judy split a burger and had grilled potatoes and veggies while Ron and I split a grouper basket. Our food was fine but the service was very slow and poor. Lou and Judy’s food was not to their liking. Not sure if we’ll go back. From there we went to Old Carrabelle Beach for a walk. We were delighted by sights of skates, pelicans, a pod of dolphins and even a shark. Back at the condo it was time to read and enjoy the beautiful sunshine 🌞. At 5:30 we took Lou and Judy to C-Quarters for beers and to watch the sunset. Had dinner and then played a few serious games of Sequence. Sorry to say the boys won. Got a call from Christine and got to FaceTime with her, CJ and Jason. Excited to hear that the 3 of them will be coming to the lake in July!!!!

Judy is the dolphin whisperer

We saw quite surface as we walked the beach

Taking a nice stroll

Sand pipers playing in the waves

Enjoying the sun

Carrabelle Beach was a training center for troops because it was like what they would face in Normandy

50's like picnic shelters on Carrabelle Beach

Can you say Jaws

Enjoying a beverage at C-Quarter Marina

Great sunsets from the marina

and from our condo.

Trip to Florida - Day Eleven - Monday, March 5, 2018 - Carrabelle to Apalachicola

Today was beautiful and 70 and we decided that we would trek to Apalachicola and St. George Island for the day. Apalachicola is 23 miles away an a quaint historic small town of 2100 people. We walked the streets and enjoyed visiting the many cute gift shops, pottery places and dress shops. For lunch we tried the Owl Cafe since they advertised a vegan Jambalaya. Ron had the shrimp and crab roll, I had sautéed grouper with lemon, artichoke hearts, capers and basmati rice, Lou and Judy had the vegan option. Lunch was very good and then we continued our walk through the town. We stopped for chocolates and gelato and thoroughly enjoyed our day in Apalachicola. From there we headed toward St. George Island. We had discovered the state park and this island about 5 years ago and fell in love with the beautiful, undeveloped unspoiled beaches of this area. This is what drew us here this year. We walked the beach for a bit and then sat and watched the waves and the birds. We went back to the condo for happy hour and snacks and watched the sunset again from our balcony.

Views of Apalachicola

This is where we ate lunch

Mylunch - grouper

Lou's jambalaya

Florida agrees with Ron!

Views along St. George Island

View from our balcony