Cape Henlopen, DE to Tuckerton, NJ

Hello again,
Another comment on the Southern question from Dan.

Those entitled white folk you describe sound like real Amuricans to me: uncaring, obnoxious, me-first, plain, simple, salt-of-the-whatever-earth-we-can-conquer, Nixon/Reagan/Bush II types. You know...morons. Remember 25% of this country still think Dubya is doing a good job.

This morning I got up about 7:30 and did my exercises on the picnic table as usual. I am sure the other campers get a chuckle out of that. Made my bowl of fruit and almonds and then went for a bike ride. This Park has an extensive trail system so i started out riding on the marsh trail which was crushed shell. It made an interesting popping sound under my tires. I could still hear lots of birds calling. The marsh was really pretty with the sun coming over the dunes. But I was soon attacked by biting flies. They just love my ankles and behind my ears. There were some on the south end of the beach yesterday but not like this. I snapped a few pics and was bike on the bike. I found that at a moderate pace the flies were unable to land on me.

There was a side trail under pines and I rode out there until I was stopped by a fallen tree across the path. I tried to push the bike around but soon was enmeshed in briers with flies trying to chew off my ears so I retreated and was soon flying back down the path and further down the shell road. I started to hit few sand patches. My tires are just fat enough that I can power through most patches unless the sand is really loose. I landed in a loose patch where the shell trail became a walking patch and bogged down. The flies attacked. I killed deer flies, horse flies and green heads. Decided not to try the walking trail and pushed through the sand up a hill onto another path and was off like a bolt of fly free lighting! Soon I was back on pavement at the sound end of the park on a dune overlooking the beach where there were a bunch kids heading out to surf a small break down where I walked yesterday. It was fly free and there was a breeze so i took a water break. A white one way out on the point in restricted area I wasn’t able to get very close to. The second was on the Delaware bay side and is red. I was able to get some photos of the red one and I could see the car ferry I will take on Sun. morning to NJ.

I got off my bike and was removing my shoes to walk on the sand, when I discovered I had stepped in dog shit. GRRR! I get really annoyed by people who don’t clean up after their pets and by people who drop their cigarette butts! I hate to think about the number of ciggy butts that are sprinkled all over the planet. It’s got to be billions. Enough rant! So I scraped my shoe as well as I could. Made a mental note NOT to step in BEYOND with shoes today. I put the clean shoe in my pack strapped the soiled on to my bike and headed over the dune and down to the back bay. I was disappointed to discover that the whole point was restricted but the tide was out and I was able to walk out on the flats and get a good shot of the red lighthouse. I got back on my bike and rode around a tower covered with radar domes that was monitoring shipping traffic in Delaware bay. Drug smugglers beware!

I walked out to the beach on the Atlantic side and headed out to the point but was again stopped by fence. So I strolled back South and watch the surf fisherman driving out onto the beach and setting up their rods. They all have very elaborate rigs on the front our back of their vehicles to hold rods coolers etc. They all use lots of PVC pipe. I remember my Aunt Jean and Uncle Bill loved to surf fish. We would got to the Outer Banks and swim and they would fish and drink beer all day. Lot’s of people love catching fish. I love eating them! Then I rode my bike down to the swimming beach and immersed myself until I was blue and shivering. Then I stood on the beach until I was half warm and another immersion.

I repeated this cycle for awhile until my body was cool and I felt totally relaxed. I biked back to BEYOND and put clothes in the wash,had a lunch of fruit and veggies, dumped my waste water and drove to the nature center to inquire about the disc (frisbee) golf course. They did sell the discs so I bought a set. (Tom I now have my own set so we can play when i get to Essex!) then drove into town. Lewes (pronounced LOWES) is a historic town. Delaware is the first state(according to all the license plates) and Lewes is the self proclaimed first town. It’s a very cool little town with a lightship and a coast guard rescue station museum which I toured.

The town is full of little historic homes and they have a beautiful church and burying ground. There is a cluster of historic homes in the center which is now a park. I visited the gift shop and discovered they were having a crab and clam bake that night. I went to buy a ticket only to discover they were $50...it was a fundraiser with music to benefit the historic homes. SInce the weather looked like rain I passed on the event and drove out to a liquor store and found one that stocked micro brew beer. I bought some god ones, some shrimp and swordfish at the seafood market and discovered they sell block ice. (Tonight, I am making a sacrifice to the travel gods for looking out for me. They have kept me on track, made my cruise control work all the way though SC, arranged for me to get the last campsite in Delaware and now provided block ice to assist my struggling fridge. I will prostrate myself and drink beer on the picnic table in your honor!) A trip to the supermarket and the rain hit!

I drove through a pouring rainstorm back to the campground, arrived in time to bring in my dry laundry just before the rain started and cooked swordfish in garlic and pepper and made a big salad. I drank a Rogue Dead Guy Ale showered and finished my beer on the picnic table, mumbled my thanks to the gods, stretched and lay totally still and watched the stars pop and the lightning bugs twink. I have been seeing more lighting bugs as I move further North. Must be less mosquito spraying going on. That what is killed most of the ones in Florida. Then I listened to Norah Jones and typed in my log. What a good day. The rain has cooled the air and I sleep well tonight.

This morning I woke up early and was on the golf course by 7 am. No, not that golf. Disc Golf. Don’t worry I have not descended to the dark side! HA! They said it was a difficulty course and I believe them. It is one a medium size walking dune covered with lots of trees. The holes average about 280 feet, and there are lots of trees in the way! I started off well but about hole 3 I started having trouble finding the holes. On 4 I spend half and hour looking for it ( the supplied map is not very accurate, they have obviously had to move some of the holes around due to shift sand as the dune walks I expect. Finally I walked back to the start of 4 and discovered that I had thrown the wrong way. Duh. D- for following instructions...again. Sigh. The saving grace was that in my slogging around I discovered ripe tall bush blueberries right by the start of 7. I feasted and resumed play in the correct direction. The sun was up and getting hot. I continued my play and struggled to find hole 7.

Consumed blueberries at least 7 times as I continued to slog around the dune. I was mostly one over par on the first nine holes. I took a water break and played the second half and had more luck following the course and my throws were getting better (look out Tom!) I finished all 18 holes and discovered that MR. NIGHT had one. But he cheats. he jumped into the basket a couple of times and blocked my shots! I know they were in! Really. I took some photos and the first fly tried to bite me so I rode back to camp. Had fruit and almonds for breakfast exercised and visited the Nature Center. They had a nature cam of an Osprey nest with 2 chicks which was cool and a couple of whale skulls which were impressive. They look like bird skulls only much bigger. Then I walked one of the nature trails along the shore and again no flies. BY now I am completely hot so I head for the swim zone and immersion therapy!

I lunched on sharp cheddar, triscuits, sardines, tomatoes with black pepper and the drove back to the liquor store for a beer tasting. They were serving Rogue Ales from Portland, OR. One of my favorite breweries. I bought a couple more and drove down the beach to the Dogfish brewpub. Dogfish is the local micro brew and they have some good ones. I had a 9 minute IPA and drove back into Lewes. I walked around and discovered that the church had a Peace Labyrinth. So MR. NIGHT and I walked it and meditated on world peace, an end to the Iraq war and safe return of our soldiers. Then I had handmade ice cream. A double scoop. Chocolate almond on the bottom and coconut on top. Delish! I went back to camp and it was still hot so I went for another immersion. Shower, picnic table for exercises (all my neighbors give me a wide berth now) and off to bed. Very hot tonight! Temp hot 94 and no breeze now.

talk to you later,
Allen


Well between the heat and the noise I was up most of the night. I was up early did my stretches packed BEYOND and was at the ferry dock at 7 am. The boat left at 8 and we smooth sailing to New Jersey. The white lighthouse I thought was on the point turns out to be on the far side of the channel on the breakwater. I took a pic of it. I cruised into NJ listening to the soundtrack from the movie Garden State and headed south to Cape May and went to the southern tip to see the lighthouse. Then headed north up route 9 which runs along the Garden State Parkway. The sky is overcast and the temp is down a bit. Nice driving along the fields and marshes. Lots of small towns and country churches. The marshes are gorgeous with lots of greens and yellows. They Lots so lush and full of life and they are huge!

I cut over to the beach drove along it for a while. Lots of houses and the styles and incomes change considerably between towns. Lots of pizza joints. THen back to route 9 around Atlantic City. I cam upon a huge cement bottle in a field? I was getting hungry so I stopped in the Atlantic City cemetery under a huge tree and ate lunch. Triscuits, canned mackerel, sharp cheddar, smoked almonds and fruit. It was a nice old cemetery. Lots of good carving. I stretched and then got back on the road. Just below Seaside I stopped at the Noyes Art Museum. It had a cool show of fiber wearable art. They would let me take pics (sorry Amy, you would enjoy some of them) Some cool shoes and dresses and a different materials, wax, tree bark etc. They also had paintings in many styles by New Jersey artists and some folk art pieces. Also a neat bunch of decoys and carved fish. I enjoyed the variety.

Then back on the road and into the Pine Barrens. I stopped at the Bass River State Park and they were pretty empty and I got a campsite off by myself. Then I went to cool off in the Lake but it was warm and the water didn’t even wet my nipples in the deep end. So I drove to the ocean. A storm had come through and the water was cold and the surf was big but I finally got out past the breaker s and swam until I was cool. Then I went back through Tuckerton and stopped at a Stewarts Root Beer Stand for a Root beer Float. Stewarts make good root beer!

I walked around the town and looked at the Old Seaport and it was cool with lots of wooden boats around. Then back to camp where I made shrimp with toasted sesame. Drank a Samuel Smith brown Ale and enjoyed the cool breezes from the rain. I rode my bike to the shower and needed my headlight for the first time as it was very dark. I looked up at a sky full of stars as i drifted off to sleep. I was awakened by thunder and soon I was being pelted by rain and the thunder was booming. When you are up in the top of BEYOND it really feels like you are right up in the storm. The radio had been calling for severe storms so I ready to Turtle down if the wind got strong but it never did. Lots of thunder and rain. I had to close some windows. When I woke up in the morning I was curled comfortably in my light blanket! What luxury.

I have added pics to Cape Henelope and Lewes and started New Jersey.

Lewes, De

New Jersey

The Outer Banks to Cape Henlopen, DE

I have an addendum to last week.

While my uncle and I were waiting for the house to open for the dance concert he took me into the Chapel at Duke. My uncle who is an architect.  We had a great talk about the Chapel which is spectacular.  It is built in the style of the famous cathedrals. As we were walking back down the nave the large organ began to play.  The sound was just amazing.  We stood under the organ loft and could feel the bass noted in our bones.  I have recently designed the set for the show Bach of Leipzig which takes place in the anteroom of the great cathedral in Leipzig were Bach played.  Also I read the book Pillars of the Earth about the construction of an English cathedral.  It was a great treat.

Also I received an email from one of the theaters in Raleigh, NC that I sent my resume. They were very impressed and but me in their guest designer file! YESSSS! That feels good.

Pictures of Durham and the Outer Banks are posted. You can see them at:


Monday morning.
Morning exercises are done. My back is feeling a little better everyday. Swimming in the ocean felt good yesterday. I can smell bacon and apples cooking and see biscuits being rolled and cut. We fall into a comfortable rhythm here. Breakfast a 8:45. A trip to the beach where we swim and bob in the ocean. Everyone but me thinks it’s cold! Tell me something I don’t know. Well some of you don’t know that I love cold water! I do. So I have been swimming and bobbing over waves in wonderful water. I stay in so long I come out shivering and it’s delightful to feel cold! We built a great sandcastle and battled the waves to keep her standing. Lots of deep moats, high walls and people reinforcing them. Great fun. We had all the kids and half the adults involved. Then we move across to the pool behind the house and float and converse while waiting for lunch time at 1:30. Always make your sandwiches and what ever was left from the prior meals. Usually not much of that.

Then we have an activity time for kids followed by quiet time where all children are required to disappear for awhile. Today as we were preparing for lunch a huge rainstorm hit so after lunch I retreated to BEYOND wiggled into my bunk and passed out to the sound of the rain. I even needed a blanket! It was heaven. After I woke up it was my turn to cook so I made some red fish with butter garlic, pepper and the last of my father’s mango chutney. It came perfect and every morsel was eaten. Along with fresh green beans, rice, tomatoes, a Mexican salad with black beans tomatoes, cilantro and jicama ( pronounced hichama) made by Elizabeth and rainbow sherbet and fresh cantaloupe for dessert. Then more conversation. My cousin Bdale and I spent time comparing music and talking about computers. He is a computer whiz for Hewlett Packard.
Then about midnight off to bed.

Back up at 7 am today. The sun is out so I rode my bicycle before breakfast and saw lots of early joggers and riders. Down to the end of the road and return. My back is feeling better everyday. I do my exercises in the morning and afternoon. It’s really helping. After the usual huge breakfast we went to the beach and the rain had warmed the water slightly but it was still chilly when I swam down the beach a ways and back. More bobbing, another sandcastle, swim lunch. Then I did a Chinese Brush painting classes with Ann Patterson and Elizabeth. Ann did great work and Elizabeth has improved a lot since I taught her Colorado on my last trip. It was great to see. Elizabeth also showed me her sketchbook. She is doing wonderful pencil sketches and also comic book drawings. She is very into Batman! Really good work. And while I am having a great time, I miss the wild places.

I decided to leave while was having a wonderful time. So I packed up BEYOND, took a shower and hit the road. I drove up through Norfolk, VA and across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and over the Eastern shore of the Chesapeake. I remember going over the CBBT one time when a NAVY aircraft carrier was going through. It was a creepy feeling driving underneath something that big! But also very cool. No Ships moving through this time.

I got to the other shore and Pulled into the Kiptopeke State Park at about 6:30 pm. I got on my bike and rode all of the hiking trails and at one point a big owl soared silently over my head. I also saw a lot of deer including a few fawns with the baby spots. And finally discovered a huge patch of wild blackberries. They were huge and full of juice. I picked the ones I could reach from the path because there was some poison ivy growing in there too. I had to search around for a container and finally remember my bicycle seat cover ( plastic bowl cover keeps the seat dry when it rains) They just fit and rode down to the beach and the fishing pier.

When I got back to my campsite the only other camper came over and introduced herself. Meg is from Morgantown, WV and she is a mineral rights title researcher. If people want to sell the mineral rights under their land she makes sure their are no other owners or liens etc. Meg has been camping around and is headed for Assateague Island to meet her boyfriend and go kayaking to some remote campsites out on the island. Sounds great! We shared her beer and my blackberries and some almonds. Then I crawled into my bunk and rejoiced in the fact that I could raise the pop top all the way!

Kiptopeke State Park, Cape Charles VA

Wed Morning.

I am up at 7 drinking miso and seaweed and eating blackberries, peaches, almonds and cocoanut. Had a chat with Meg in the morning and she hit the road. Then I got my long pants and sun hat and a bag and rode back to the blackberry patch and picked a half gallon of berries. The berries were so ripe they were crushing the ones on the bottom and I was covered in drops of blackberry juice. It is a great color! Then I biked around and looked at all the birding blinds and counting and watching stands. This area is a major stop on the flyway for many migratory birds. It also has a large population of hawks and other raptors. There are some interesting fish traps which are a series of pilings with net strung between them which channel fish into a circular enclosure at the end. They were scattered all around. There were fishermen checking the traps and pulling crab pots. Then I went to the beach for a swim and then back for a shower and I hit the road. I traveled up Rt. 600 which parallels the Atlantic shore and runs through farms and small towns.

I saw a sign for a Virginia Birding trail and walked down it and got my only view of the Atlantic. It‘s very marshy, perfect for migrating birds. I saw lots of honeysuckle and sampled the honey. Also polk salad but it was too big to eat. Had to hum the song Polk Salad Annie. Anyone remember that one! After my walk I ate crackers, mackerel, goat cheese and blackberries for lunch. I drove on up 600 thinking about how their used to be so many birds in the marshes that people used to hunt them with huge shot guns that were almost cannons mounted on boats. One shot could kill hundreds of birds. I would to have seen that many birds in the marsh. of course summer is not the season for migrating birds.

600 ended and put me back on 13 and I drove into Maryland. I stopped at a farm stand for tomatoes, cantaloupe and peaches. Then I stopped again for fresh bay scallops. The temp is up to 84 and it feels hot but the weather says it will drop back into the 60’s by morning, I hope so! I stopped for the night at Jane’s island State Park and was distressed to hear there is no swimming! But I have a campsite under the trees and there is little breeze blowing but some deer flies. So i take a nap and the make scallops with green curry for dinner. Yum! Got out the computer and paid bills and wrote in my log. Talk to my father. We are making plans for him to join my in Labrador. I am looking forward to it. I am going to have some cantaloupe and a cold shower before bed.
Good night!

Well last night long with out much sleep. There were very noisy children and other folks in the adjacent campsites and it was super hot. Finally I got some shuteye and then the neighbors were up really early. So I got up made a bowl of fruit and hit the road. I stopped at the same seafood warehouse and they were pen at 7:30 so I bought some medium clams. I was asking for a tire place since my tires looked low and the seafood guy sent his mechanic out to take care of it! What a deal fresh seafood and tire service! Cool!

I drove up to Delaware where there is a ferry that goes across to Cape May, NJ. It was overcast and there was a nice breeze blowing so I decided to check out Cape Henlopen State Park. It is right next to the ferry and is a great park with a beach, bike trails, nature center and disc golf course. And I booked the last campsite for the weekend. I will be here until early Sunday morning and then I have a place on the early ferry. I was worried about finding campsites in NJ this close to the weekend, but this solves it. It will also give me couple of days to buy supplies and do laundry. As well as buy some frisbees for disc golf! I pulled into my campsite, ate the leftover scallops and jicama salad and took a nap.

Cape Henlopen State Park, DE

Then I rode my my to the beach and swam and bobbed, walked the beach and bicycled more. There was a big military installation here during WW II. There is a big bunker on a sand dune over looking the entrance to Delaware Bay. It’s the biggest sand dune between cape Hattaras and The Cape at 80 ft high. There are observation towers around and old cannons and antiaircraft guns. This is quite a Park. I am going to have fun exploring it over the next few days. Back at the campsite I sat in the breeze for a while and then made fresh clam sauce with those clams! A good trick in my little kitchen but it came out fine. Followed of course by fresh fruit. The temperature hit 92 today and I am looking forward to a cold shower! I was listening to the Juno soundtrack and earlier. Now I am typing and listening to Love and Rockets! A blast from the past!

I got one comment back to my question about a sense of the slave trade in Savannah compared to New Orleans. The comment follows:

I've not been to Savannah but perhaps it is a feeling of
entitlement? I'm amazed at how many Southern cities have that "air'
about them, even the blue collar workers.

Does anyone else I have a comment?
I agree that I have meet many folks in the Deep South who seems to feel that they are entitled to all the best o matter what others may need.
Something to ponder.

Later,
Allen

Savannah, GA to the Outer Banks of NC

Hello All,
it’s been a while since have written.  The weather has been beautiful and I have been caught up in a whirlwind of family and fine art.

On Wednesday night Jill and I were talking about Savannah, GA and our impressions of the town. Jill commented that unlike New Orleans were she was raised, Savannah gave her a very strong and disturbing sense of the presence of slavery. I proposed that maybe this is because unlike Savannah, New orleans always had a large population of free blacks as well as slaves. She agreed that was possible. I agree with her that I also feel a stronger presence of slavery in Savannah and Charleston, SC than I do in New Orleans, LA. Would anyone like to comment?

On Thursday Jill was up early and off to work. Our visit was short but sweet. It was great to see her. There was a cool breeze blowing and all the windows were open and i slept very well. I got up and made some miso and seaweed and ate some fruit and called local theaters about scenic design work. I reached one that said they only use rental sets but please send my resume by email for future reference. I left messages for others. Then packed everything into my van and drove to downtown Durham,NC to explore. There was not much going on but I walked around and took some photos of some great old buildings. I was walking back to my car and I saw a small storefront theater and gave them my resume. They were excited to ge tit but they are a small operation. After that i browsed in a big used bookstore and bought a copy of the Shipping News and White Boy Shuffle. I have read the former before as it’;s about Newfoundland I think it will be fun to read again while I am there. The later just looks really funny and quirky. Then I found the North Carolina Central University Art Museum and enjoyed looking at the collection. The security guard and i had an interesting conversation. He said they don’t get many visitors but he enjoyed the art. We had a great talk about the art. I enjoyed the Museum. It was all by black artists and included some interesting student work and pieces by famous black artists and craftsmen. (It’s a black college) I enjoyed being the minority. Then I drove to the local park and sat in the shade and lunch on sardines, goat cheese, crackers and apples while listening to World Reggae ( Putamayo Collection) Then I drove to Chapel Hill to the Ackland Art Museum. They had some interesting Chinese pieces and a great show about the garden that incorporated lots of different artists and styles from Picasso to contemporary japanese pop artists. There was an interesting movie about insects and amphibians hunting and eating. It was similar to Microcosmos. In another gallery they had two sculptures by Rodin and some interesting Impressionist paintings. I realized time had flown and it was 4 pm and I was expected for dinner with my Aunt Polly, Uncle Bob and cousin Cabell Garbee at 6. Traffic around the Triangle area is tough and I got caught for awhile but made dinner. We had a big salad with fresh produce from the Farmers market and then we drove back to Durham to see the dance troupe Pilobolus perform the other night at the American Dance Festival and it was one of the best dance performances I have ever seen.  The inventive choreography, the strength and grace of the dancers along with the production was amazing. It was sold out and I was up in the nosebleeds but it was still amazing. Then back to Cabell’s to sleep. We had a wonderful thunderstorm during the night and slept deeply to the sound of the rain.

Durham, NC

In the morning we had sausage and sliced tomatoes and toast for breakfast then Cabell collects and traded in military vehicles and trucks and went to change a cv boot and the truck he wants to drive to the beach. I spoke to some more theaters and they all seemed to have resident designers or the staff was on vacation but I sent out resumes and photos to all of the theaters on my list. After awhile Cabell’s brother Barksdale (usually referred to as Bdale) and his wife Karen, and children Elizabeth and Robert . We all sat around d and traded news. Cabell cooked some pork chops on the grill and we had more fresh veggies with them and then Cabell and I headed out to meet up with my friend Janet who works at the Duke (University) Integrated Medical Facility) She acupuncturist and traditional chinese healer. Cabell is in transition from highway engineer to massage therapist. Janet invited us to attend an informal drink and snack event at the Duke Center. I haven’t seen Janet since 2006 and it was great to see her. He have been friends for a long time. She looks good and the Duke Center is doing interesting work and she has great coworkers. They are working to integrate traditional and non traditional healing. Cool stuff a nd the Center is gorgeous! We met her coworkers walked the Labyrinth and the headed out to a Greek Place (Nikos) for beer and appetizers. Very good pita and dips (especially the eggplant) and the Greek sausage. The chocolate mousse cake looked good so we split a piece. We walked around a store and window shopped and then drove to a place that sells only popsicles, but it was closed. we headed for Whole Foods but ended up in Ben and Jerry’s and I sampled the new Cocoanut Junk Ice cream, Good stuff! Then home to bed.

Saturday morning I packed the van with food picked up my cousin’s daughter Elizabeth and we headed to the beach. We had a great conversation about her violin playing, cooking and her life in Colorado. We listened to reggae, Juno soundtrack, Nick Drake and the Flaming Lips. Stopped for supplies and about 4 hours later drove up to the Garbee graves beach house in Southern Shores on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We unpacked and went for a swim and the water is a perfect cool temp with waves and a swam a bit and then noticed a solid sheet of rain headed up the beach at us. So we ran back to the house and it poured. I jumped into the pool and swam in the rain until I heard thunder and then retreated into the house. I love the rain (in case you haven’t noticed!) Then I moved BEYOND under the house and got the refrigerator going and the screens in the windows and all my gear sorted and food stowed. Dinner was fresh tomatiila salsa made by Elizabeth. Beautiful boiled shrimp, summer squash, tomatoes, and little red potatoes. Then we cut into a perfectly ripe cantaloupe that rode in my van that I was smelling and lusting after all afternoon! It was great. Then we all swam and chatted and soon to bed. I popped the top on BEYOND and can open it almost all the way under the house. I wiggled into the top bunk were I have just enough head room to turn over. There was a cool breeze and I slept under a blanket! What a life!

Outer Banks, NC

Sunday morning
Cabell and Elizabeth made biscuits from scratch, sausage tomatoes, Graves jam ( some off you know that the Graves make wonderful jams and apple butter on their farm and lodge in Northern Virginia) hot tea and cantaloupe. Then off to the beach for a swim and soon my brother and his wife Martha and my nieces Estill and Winfree, Martha’s mother Joan and her friend Jack showed up, bringing the family total to 14! We swam in the ocean and the pool and then made sandwiches for lunch ( Good salty Virginia ham) more fresh cucumbers and tomatoes, pickles and chips and salsa! As you can tell me love our food!
Then conversations about theater, art, computers, rockets and engineering. Bdale and I drove to the hardware store for odds and ends to make small repairs and he pointed out the house were we used to stay when I was about 10 years old. The beach has changed so much! Jockey’s Ridge (huge sand dune) is much smaller but people still fly kites fro m the top. The Wright brother Memorial is hard to spot for all the big houses. Lots of chain stores and restaurants. Even a mall! So different from my memories. i was nostaglizing about when we were kids going the Winks store and buying Wink soda( it’s like Fresca) or if they were out Orange Crush. Bdale says they are still in business! So were drove up the old beach road which still looks a lot like the Outer Bank i remember and there was Wink’s in the same building and they still sell Wink soda! So i bought some and a couple of Moon pies! What a trip down memory lane for me. Took me right back to when I was ten!
We did some repair work and visited with the Patterson family who are non related friends who have also come to stay. They are six. We have quite a crowd in 2 houses and 1 BEYOND! it’s al good fun. Dinner was Cabell’s fresh grilled tuna, rice, peas, salad and peaches and blueberries for dessert. We are eating like royalty! I am finally making time to write again.

I have posted pictures of Savannah in my public photo gallery.

http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd

St. Petersburg, FL to Savannah, GA

Finally I am off again. I have been packing Beyond for about a month! At. 7:30 this morning I strapped my bike on the back MR. NIGHT into the passenger seat and drove out of St. Pete! My nieces decided that I needed a travel companion for my trip and gave me a stuffed figure called MR. NIGHT to keep me company. He is dark blue wearing a suit and a bowler hat and covered in glow-in-the-dark stars! He is very cool and drove out of St. Pete! I missed all the morning traffic and sailed up the Sunstate Parkway to us 19 North past Crystal River then i jumped onto 120 and ran south of Gainesville through light rain and stopped in Williston, FL to rest and stretch. I had some peanuts and listened to rain on the roof and then went for a quick walk.

There were some nice old buildings with little shops. Non of which were open. When i got to the other side of the block most of the buildings were plant covered empty shells. it was kind of sad as i like the facades of the buildings. I could almost feel the lives and businesses that used to be there. I took an few snaps as I walked around inside them and the got back on the road, taking 120 to 24 to 301 to A1A to 95 then 5 miles to the Florida Georgia border. There were a few short heavy rain showers on 95 until to reached Brunswick, GA then it was clear sailing all the way to Savannah, GA.

To Canada and Beyond!

I am camped for the night at the Skidaway Island State Park just south of town. After I arrived i rested and stretched and then road my bike out a trail to see the remains of Civil War embankments and an old still. Now I am eating cold thai green curry with tofu and drinking Heineken; waiting for the temp to drop a bit. There was a nice breeze earlier and it’s still now. There is a boardwalk that goes out into the marsh with w great view of the islands. there is even a picnic bench. I am thinking of having breakfast there!
Talk to you soon,
Allen

This morning MR. NIGHT and I had papaya, walnuts and orange juice looking out over the Low County of marshes and low islands. There are thousands of fiddler crabs! I remember as a child we used to camp on the beach at Myrtle Beach, SC and i used spend hours in the tidal flats catching fiddlers! It also brings back fond memories of my first job out of college working as an apprentice scenic artist at the Spoleto Opera Festival and then years later helping my friend Bob Devin Jones take his one man show Uncle Bends to Spoleto. Also thoughts of the Gulllah culture of escapes Slaves that lived on the islands. They developed and amazing dialect. There is a great movie about the Gullah called Daughters of the Dust.

THen I drove into Savannah, parked my van (her name is BEYOND) and bicycled all around the historic district. I was looking for some fruit for lunch as directed to a great fruit stand. Groves Market. They had fresh butter beans (they call them butterpeas) and barbecue sandwiches. So I had butterpeas, tomato/cucumber salad and blackberry/ blueberry cobbler for lunch and took the sandwich to have for dinner. I biked more until it was too hot and looked at art at the Savannah College of Art and Design and then had a limeade (made with no sugar?!) and read the paper until 4 pm.

Savannah, GA

Then I drove out to Tybee Island went for a swim and rode my bike up the beach (water was refreshing and there was a nice breeze) Swam again and back to the campground. I have ate my barbecue sandwich with a salad and now I am drinking beer and writing. Last night I tried to load a Travelpod blog but it’s not MAC compatible so I am trying Picasa. Seems to be working, though the amount text I write might be a problem. We will just have to see. I am off to the showers, there is nice cold water here! See you tomorrow.
Allen

This morning the sky is overcast and temperature is a bit lower. I slept very little last night as it was just way too hot! I took it easy this morning and shifted stuff around in BEYOND. I am still getting settled. Also I have more stuff this year. Not always a good thing! I had a long chat with the people in the next campsite and then walked the rest of the trails at Skidaway. There was a nice trail along the edge of the marsh. Then I visited the nature center. It was basic but very interesting. They had a reproduction of a giant sloth skeleton that was found in the Park. The real skeleton is at the Smithsonian. It was about 10 feet tall! Very cool!

Skidaway Island State Park

After my walk I packed up and drove to Durham, NC to visit my friend Jill Stansbury. North Carolina has less humidity and is cooler, and Jill has AC! What a treat. I know I will sleep well tonight. While I was driving my cousin Cabell Garbee called to say that he and my Aunt Polly and Uncle Bob are going to see Pilobolus Dance Company perform and do I want to go. Yes! Since they are one of my most favorite dance companies ever. It is part of the American Dance Festival here in Durham. What luck to be able to see them. I took some Modern Dance classes in college and did some choreography. if you have a chance see them.

Well that’s about it for today.

Talk to you soon.

I am try to put Pictures up on a website this year. it’s not working very well. I have a few pics upon Picasa.

http://picasaweb.google.com/allenloyd/ToCanadaAndBeyond