December 24, 2004

In an effort to get fully into the spirit of the season (with drizzling rain and no snow) Dad had managed to bring enough Christmas Carols in MP3 format to play for 21 hours without repeating any – and had them playing throughout the day. Also started into a round robin Canasta tournament to help us feel that we were back home with the Reed clan. The elf was up to no good again and hid the boy’s gifts from Grandma Reed. It is amazing how well he can hide gifts in a place as small as the motor home, leaving the boys puzzled for over 15 minutes. However, they eventually were found and the boys had some fun with their new Nintendo games, Thanks Grandma.

Very lazy day – finished off with an after dark steak and shrimp bar-b-que. As the temperature started to drop – the people in the other RVs and who were for the most part from the local area – looked out at Dad cooking in his t-shirt and in the rain – thinking he was a little odd. Local weather forecast are predicting one of the wettest Christmas’ in the last hundred years – with a major Nor’easter coming in from the Gulf. Oh well it could be worse – like the 5 inches of snow that they received in Corpus Christi or the – 40 with the wind in Regina.

December 25, 2004.

We were up to Christmas morning with Santa having successfully found us. As we were participating in the Christmas meal at 1:00 – had a light traditional Christmas breakfast – smoked oysters, Mandarin oranges and toast with liver pate (and Dad with his fortified coffee). Santa provided two Mandarin oranges – which is quite a treat as we have been unable to find any during our travels in the through the states. They have either have not heard of them – or try and sell us Clementine oranges from Florida. (Seems that Florida oranges are the only ones you are allowed). The smell and taste of the Mandarin oranges has never been so good – wish we had a couple of dozen more.

Although we tried to minimize the gifts that we were getting for each other, and the kids requests of Santa were extremely meager, given the adventure that we had undertaken (and our lack of room) – the gifts still covered the kitchen table. Hopefully when the rain stops in the next couple of days so that we can move some of our stuff up to our upper storage pod.

We headed over to the club house for Christmas dinner at 1:00 PM. Deb brought a big Caesar salad, her spinach dip, and some of our homemade cookies. These seemed to go over well – with the ham, and the deep fried turkey that the campground provided – and the other dishes that people brought. As this is a small campground – with only a few regulars there was probably less than 30 people at the meal. However it was a good meal and great conversation.

Then it was back to the motor home to continue the Canasta tournament – and wait out the rain. After eating as much as we did – tonight will only be snackies – for those that are hungry. (We seem to have so much food and beverages on hand that we are using the portable cooler and outside (given the temperature) for extra storage – Oh well, what is Christmas without too much food).
SEASONS GREETINGS:

Given our distance from home – and the web journal we have been doing – we decided that we would not send out our annual Christmas newsletter. We have tried to stay in contact with as many people as we could by e-mail – or by telephone – and will continue to do so over the rest of the holidays. However given the lack of predictability of our cell and internet coverage in our current location – we may not be able to reach everyone. For those that we do not reach – we will have to try and get caught up with others when we read our regular mail up our return home.

We hope that this time of year finds you well and in the company of friends and family. No matter how much we are enjoying our present adventure – it is not without regrets of not being with those we love. Mick and Keelan keep thinking of all the things that they have to share with their friends at school – and how to both pick and remember the most important of those to share with them when they get back.

For our family and friends that have been fighting illnesses, you are in our thoughts and prayers – and hope that things continue to get better for you.

And to our friends and colleagues at work – who by their encouragement and willingness to cover our positions have allowed us to undertake this adventure – thank you for keeping us informed as to what has been going on and making us feel that we have not created a hardship.

Love to all – take care and stay healthy …

Pat, Deb, Mick and Keelan

December 27, 2004

The sky cleared off last night – and although a little crisp, it was a bright and sunny morning. We packed up a bit of a lunch and headed off to see the nearby sights. First stop was the picturesque town of St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s has a small harbour front, complete with nicely fixed up shops and marinas and a large water front park. It is also an extremely friendly town – where everyone honks, or waves at you on their way by. St. Mary is also the ferry terminus for Cumberland Island National Seashore Park – and there were many people with backpacks and tents getting ready to take the ferry over. The island is closed to vehicle traffic – and has great wilderness camping and hiking. There are wild horses on the island – that had been set free from an earlier era – and now have total run of the place. It looks like it would make an interesting trip – however we do not have any of our bigger packs or tents with us – and the cost of going over for just the day, did not seem to make sense.

We wandered around the shops in St. Mary’s and in addition to finding the official headquarter of the “Red Hat Ladies Club” (over 60 and when I grow old I am going to wear purple), found a local bakery that had great food. After trying one, Dad bought them out of “Pepper Jack Sausage Rolls” (Just spicy enough to make a great breakfast treat).

Left St Mary’s and travelled into northern Florida and the community of Fernandina Beach. We spent several hours walking the beaches – which had a phenomenal number of shells. At certain levels up the beach you could not help stepping on shells – and they seemed to go down several inches deep. Some of the shells here also seemed to be black in color – as there appears to be a layer of coal type rock off shore that stains the shells that colour. Pieces of this rock also tend to break away – and if you look carefully you can find fossils of shells in the rocks. The boys each picked up several good specimens to take home – along with a small bag of shells. (The hardest part is always deciding what to keep and what to put back – due to the limited room).

We also saw quite a variety of bird life today – including our first sightings of pelicans – although Dad was not able to get a good picture. There were also a great variety of shore birds – one of which took a liking to Mickey and followed him most of the way down the beach – never letting him get very far away. If Mickey would stop the bird would wander around him – and then hurry to catch up when Mickey started to walk again.

In addition to the Main community beach at Fernandina we went to the State Park – where we walked both on the beach – and a couple of swamp / marsh trails. There were signs out for both alligators and manatees – however we were not lucky enough to see any. We did come across our first live Armadillo. It was busy searching for food – however it scurried off when Dad’s shadowed crossed over it.

The State Park has a couple of really nice campgrounds right on the ocean. The campground itself was nearly full – and was considerably more expensive than what we are paying. Gas prices also seem to be about 20 cents per gallon more than they are in Georgia – so the days of our relatively inexpensive and uncrowded areas may be soon coming to an end – at least for a while.

We drove back to our resort – for a stir-fry – and to sort through our shells and other goodies – (toys, souvenirs, etc.). We will be putting a couple of additional bundles in the upper storage pod before we leave here – as Christmas seemed to have crowded our living space a far deal.

December 28, 2004

Although it was somewhat of a later start for us this morning – we made our way up to Okefenokee Swamp on the Florida / Georgia border. Okefenokee is derived from the native word for “trembling ground” – referring to the unstable peat moss floor. At certain spots in the swamp the peat is up to 4.5 meters deep. The Okefenokee Swamp is about 1750 square kilometres – and is one of the largest bird and wildlife refuges in the US. The kids were able to see their first alligator – right across the marsh from the information center.

There are a number of different entrances to the Okefenokee – some being very commercial – while others are more rustic. The entrance from the Folkston side (which is where we went in) does not have all the fancy tourist trappings – and although there is one commercial outfitter there – they are reasonable priced and very friendly. We tried to book in with them for an evening cruise through the swamp – but due to other activities that the guides were involved in – we could not arrange it. We therefore decided that we would come back the next day with our port-a-bote and motor and cruise through some of the swamps ourselves.

For today, we satisfied ourselves with walking many of the trails around the area. The first trail we walked was a canal trail – which followed a route that was originally used by a company to try to drain the swamp and use it as farm land – however after several years of work – and only being able to complete a couple of miles of canal – the company went bankrupt. However – the trail takes you through a high pine area – that is somewhat surreal – in that that there are long needle pine trees growing (like we would see in our country) – and short palmetto palms growing up to about four feet in height. The boys found the discarded ecto-skeleton of a bee – that was about 3 1/2 cm around (all I know is that I would not want to see this thing alive).

The swamp itself is subject to the highest number of lightening strikes – anywhere in the US and as a result fire is very much a natural part of its cycle. As a result they try and do many controlled burns around the “settled” areas – so that there is not as much available fuel – however they still get many fires – which is hard to envision is an area that seem so moist. This year – with all the hurricanes – the water levels in the swamps were temporarily high – but they are already starting to dropping. They say that with the last number of dry years – the swamp is lower than usual – and the hurricane water was only a temporary fill. The hurricane water did leave a major loss however – as George – an older and very large Gator who used to live close to the information center – was apparently down in his hole when the water rose so fast – that the entrance collapsed and he drowned.

We also went for a walk around the Chesser homestead – a “farm” that was in the swamps for many years. The people that ventured into the swamp to live are a unique set of people and usually have their own reasons for doing it. In the case of the Chesser farm – the father originally went to the swamp to live when he was charged with murder and was hiding out from the law. Later when he discovered that the charges had been dropped – he returned home and brought his wife out to live with him. Eventually they had a number of children and his oldest son took over “farm” while his brother lived across the way. The family had a couple of minor cash crops (Sugar cane – for sugar, syrup and alcohol; honey; corn). Aside from a small subsistence garden – they got most of their food from the swamp. The mother used to take the children into school in Folkston (about 20 miles) via the swamp – until they children were old enough to travel on their own – during those times that they went to school. There was a lot of work around the farm and the children were an integral part of the workforce. This included digging the hollow log well. The area was very sandy and so the well would fall in upon itself, so they lined it with hollow logs. Only children were small enough to be lowered into the subsequent hole to dig the next section (usually 4 feet long). There is some question as to whether they were suspended upside down or not but it would be hard work either way. The park guide said that the Chesser family married into another famous family from Folkston – the Roddenberry’s. It was said that this was the family that Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek, etc.) came from – and that many of the “occurrences” from the swamp may have served his fertile imagination (with light glowing over the swamps – as a result of swamp gas, and the many sounds of the swamp). However a quick Internet check shows that Gene was born in El Paso – and although may have been related to this family – there is no proof that he was at the Okefenokee.

We finished off the day with a walk down about a mile boardwalk through the swamp – to a viewing tower. We were able to see one more alligator out in the big swamp along with a couple of herons. We were also able to find a few of the carnivorous plants that exist in the swamp (parrot and pitcher plant) and a little bright green tree frog. As it was getting close to closing time (they shut the access to the swamp off at 5:30) we were a bit rushed going through things.

On the way back to the campground – we encountered a large number of robins in the ditches on both sides of the road. It seems that this is one of the big migration destinations for the robin – and we saw easily several hundred in the few miles that we drove. So long as they are here in such number I guess this means that it is still cold at home and we had better stay south a bit longer.

By the time we returned to the campground it was after dark – but the campground was full and there were people parked in the roadway. Although this is campground does not have all the amenities that many of the other have – it seems to be busy by virtue of its location. More than 2/3 of the units seem to leave every morning – as this is a stopping off point for them – not as a destination. They say that this is normal for the next couple of weeks with the late arriving snowbirds – which celebrate Christmas at home and then head south. That made sense to me – but I was having difficulty understanding why there were about 10 units that seemed to be here for longer periods of time. One of the regulars explained it to me this way – at this campground you are close enough to everything (beaches, swamp, historical sites, etc.) and have the benefit of the warm daytime temperature during the winter (without it getting too hot) however at night it still cools down enough to keep the bug population down – unlike other places further south wear sitting outside can be somewhat unbearable.

Between the fresh air, sunshine and the several miles of walks that we did today – everyone seemed to sleep well.

December 29, 2004

We talked to the gentlemen who pulled in beside us last night – stated that the snow storms and sleet on through the Carolina’s yesterday and the day before made driving a real nightmare – with many people in the ditch. He stated at one point it took them 2 hours to go ten miles on the interstate – due to the traffic, fallen trees, etc. As a result he states that the freeway is still really busy and many people are hurrying along as the storm system has made them late arriving where they had planned.

We headed back to the Okefenokee this morning with the Port-a-bote and motor. (This is the first chance we have had to use the motor and initially it worked well for it’s 1965 vintage – however after about a mile and a half – and a fresh tank of gas – it started to act up – and we therefore had to cut our trip short and head back). The canals that lead through the swamps are wide enough for two boats to pass – and there are both private and charter boats going through (10 HP restriction on motorized boats – and restrictions as to where you can go). We encountered tour boats, other private motorboats as well as canoes and kayak on our trip. There were people going out for a day paddle – or to go camping and one of several sites out in the swamp – that have both bear and gator proof food storage shelters – and sleeping pads built up off the ground.

Off the main canals there are both fresh water lakes and swamps – dotted with areas of peat bog and peat islands as well as areas of grassland – where there are numerous deer. Although we were not able to get as far into the swamp as we would have liked – we were able to get some of the engine problems worked out – and now know how well it works (gearing up for the Everglades and the Mississippi Bayou). We had a small lunch on the swamp before returning back into the docks and parking lot.

After packing up the boat we decided that we would once again return to the boardwalk and take our time going down it – as we were somewhat rushed yesterday as we hit it at the end of the day. This proved to be a fortunate turn of events as the boys were able to find upwards of twenty lizards (anoles) along the way – and one (who Mickey named #11) even rode on Mickey’s shoulder and head and on Mommy’s back for most of the way down the boardwalk. Needless to say this made the boys’ day (Keelan has decided not to wear bright red and black when he wants to befriend animals as the lizard did not take to him much and we decided that it may have to do with the fact that in the wild those are often danger colours. At the viewing platform today there were a couple of alligators, and we were even fortunate enough to hear one of the Alligators talking – a series of long and low grunts and growls.

After a great steak supper and having pack up the things in preparation for tomorrow’s travel day – Jack and Nancy (a couple from upstate New York – who have been travelling for many years) came by with a bit more information on things that we should do and see – and people that we should seek out during other legs of our journey. They also gave the boys a great shell from Fernandina beach. They are off early tomorrow to a blue grass festival and we will probably not see them. However, if timing works out we may hook up with them again outside of Mobile, AL. later on in February. Thanks again Jack and Nancy for all the great travel and restaurant suggestions.

December 30, 2004 –

Today was a travel day – and relatively short by our standards (about an hour and a half). The roads were still busy with holiday traffic – however moving fairly well. Down through Jacksonville and into St. Augustine.

The campground itself is on an long spit of land – and is somewhat of a condo – camp, however has a beach on one side and a inter-coastal waterway on the other side. The town of St. Augustine has a large historic area as well as Castillo De San Marcos – the old Spanish fort and walled city. (The original Ripley’s Museum – and castle is also here). However, after taking a brief drive through this area – in search of grocery store – it seems that everyone is out and about for the holidays – and the area is extremely crowded. Therefore we think we will wait until Monday to do these more commercial areas. The area is also full of people coming into town for the Gator Bowl this weekend – which Jacksonville is looking at as being a dress rehearsal for hosting the Super Bowl on February 6.

There are a couple of state parks and beach areas nearby – so I am sure that we will not be short of things to do. Mom immediately changed into her shorts – but soon regretted it – as the campground is considerably cooler than downtown St. Augustine – due to the constant breeze from the ocean.

Had to hurry and eat up tonight as the campground was hosting an ice cream social tonight – for a dollar a person you could have all the ice cream (about 8 choices of flavours) and all the toppings that you could want. This covers the cost and allows for them to buy more ice cream. What a great idea – as one thing that you never have room for in a motor home ice cream as your freezer is usually full of more important things. They do this twice a week – and the regular’s even show up with their own bowls – and some even bring their own bananas so that they can make banana splits. The boys took two large helpings – and the people kept offering them more. The campground is also hosting a New Years Eve party – but some people have suggested that it may not be appropriate for children. (There are very few children here – and will be almost none after the weekend – with most of the people remaining being full time travellers).

Walked across to the beach after dark to watch and listen to waves coming in. The fog was starting to come in – which added to the beauty. We stood there for a while watching the waves in the moonlight – and identifying the stars. Even being surrounded by all these people in the condo camp – within a two minutes walk you can be all alone looking out at the water – nice…