Funny how different life is from a year ago. We are far from being out of the woods, but at least we have renewed hope that we will get there. There was an enormous weight lifted when we were finally vaccinated. I don't think I realized what a burden we were carrying as we tried to stay safe.
Anyway, it's done and was pretty much painless. We were able to get the Pfizer vaccine the day after we crossed into Florida. The first shot was nothing but a little soreness at the injection site. Three weeks later on our way out of Florida we got our second shot. Cindy had no side effects at all. I also had none on the first day after and was actually sad that I hadn't. According to the experts, the side effects are a result of an active immune system, so I wanted to feel something.
Well, I got my wish on day two. I got the flu like symptoms and have never been so happy to feel bad 😁. It lasted a day and then was completely done. I could not have been more pleased.
While waiting for our second shot in Florida we had a chance to play a little. When we lived there I was working six days a week and we got to do very little. So all of this was new for us.
The picture above was from Falling Waters State Park in the panhandle. We booked several nights there but ended up staying only one night because of severe weather and tornado warnings. We hightailed it after the first night, and embarked on one of our longest travel days ever. We were trying to get outside the path of the storms which were covering a pretty wide swath into Florida.
These shots are from Hillsborough River State Park where we hiked along the river. We learned that hiking in Florida is very different than any place we have previously hiked. It's sandy ground and tropical plants, but still quite beautiful.
You will notice that we had our screen tent set up. We had no mosquitoes to speak of, but we had worms (caterpillars) dropping from the trees. We were told this was a normal spring occurrence so the tent let us enjoy our time outside sans worms on our heads 😟 🐛🐛🐛
As part of our travels on the east we plan to reconnect with some family and friends. We have been so isolated, we haven't actually visited with anyone since the pandemic began. Now that we are vacinated, well, we are going to make the best of it.
The pic above is of Cindy's sister's new home in this really cool community called Margaritaville in the Daytona Beach area of Florida. Unfortunately we somehow lost all of the pics from my camera so we only have a few from Cindy's. Suffice it to say the house is incredible as is the entire community. It is all Jimmy Buffett themed with an entertainment venue, community bar and restaurant, and even a beach front bar. It's a totally cool community with tons of activities and fun stuff to do. In fact the community is so popular, you now have to enter into a lottery to get a chance at buying a lot.
Congratulations Julie and Steve! Thanks for your hospitality guys. We can't wait to come back this winter!
After our second shot we quickly headed north. We started out at a park in the area of Savannah, GA.
The pics above are from a day we spent in Savannah. It's a beautiful city and we really enjoyed our time walking the streets and the waterfront area.
We found a "Rails to Trails" hike and bike trail. The pics above are of an old train station. It's no longer used for train traffic, but it was cool walking it and checking out the construction.
One day we ventured out to Hilton Head for some sightseeing and took an incredible beach walk.
I doubt you can tell from this picture but this was the house where "The Big Chill" was set. We couldn't get too close but it was very recognizable.
We even found an operating drive in theater and spent a beautiful night with a couple of movies under the stars.
We walked the grounds of a historic church that was built in the 1700s and partially destroyed in the revolutionary war. It was honestly quite surreal.
From there we moved to a beautiful winery just into North Carolina. Lu Mil vineyards in Elizabethtown, NC. The three pics above are from the vineyard stay.
Our next stop was at Lake Gaston, NC where we were able to catch up with an old friend from my MCI days.
I first met Mark when I was hired by MCI in Virginia. We were both rookies working in a leading edge business where we learned network communications and management.
Mark and Mary were married while we were all in the DC area and later we were both relocated to Colorado Springs. Mark and Mary ended up living just down the street (in Black Forest).
It was great catching up and reminiscing about the old days (read that we bored Mary and Cindy to death). They even took us for a day of boating on Lake Gaston.
The picture below is not great quality, but it was taken 17 years ago. That was the last time we visited Mark and Mary. 😁
Thanks for a great time guys!
We left North Carolina and headed NE. We traversed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. What a cool drive! Our destination was the place that occupied thoughts and dreams in my youth (don't be thinking crazy thoughts now ☹️). The place is the beach and boardwalk at Ocean City, MD
And while visiting OC we stayed at nearby Assateague Island State Park. Yes, this is the home of the wild ponies and it was very cool watching them.
They are beautiful animals with long, flowing manes and bangs? I'm not a horse person but to me they were beautiful.
So on to OC. How often can you go back to a place of your youth and have it be at least similar to your memories. Ocean City did not disappoint.
The beach is a bit smaller due to storm erosion, and the board walk has been rebuilt a few times after hurricanes, but otherwise it felt like I had taken a step back in time.
One of my fondest memories was Thrasher's French Fries. This was always the first stop upon arrival. Fresh potatoes, hand cut on site, cooked in peanut oil, sprinkled with sea salt, and then doused in vinegar. This is the original store and has been here since the 1920s. We went there for fries a total of 4 times 😁 (by the way, fries and drinks are all they sell)
Next on my tour down memory lane is Dumsers Dairyland. This is another cornerstone of Ocean City having been there since 1939. The specialize in frozen custard but also have incredible hand dipped flavors. We visited Dumsers multiple times as well 😁🍦🍨.
There are so many memorable staples of my visits still in business there, I could go on and on.
To be honest my memories change depending on my age when I visited. When I was too young to drink, it was junk food, arcades (remember skeeball?) and carnival rides (Wild Mouse?). As I got older it became junk food (you didn't think that would change did you 😁), beer and shooting pool. Funny how that happens.
By the way, I didn't mention girls in bikinis because my wonderful wife reads this too. You will have to use your imagination for that one 🤩👙
The last place I will bore you with is Fisher's Popcorn. It has been on the Ocean City boardwalk since 1937 and is still as good as ever.
They have a few more flavors than I remember but they are still incredible. We were blown away by the Carmel Corn seasoned with Old Bay. Wow!
Of course all this junk food took a toll, at least it did on me... a few extra pounds 😟
Anyway, that gets you up to our current location which is outside Gettysburg, PA. This place is so incredible I will hold that for a follow up blog. We also spent some time with my older brother Larry and his partner Jim. It was great catching up. Look for that coming very soon.
From here we head to Watkins Glen, then up to the New York / Canada border at Brennan Beach on Lake Ontario.
In the meantime, thanks for reading and following along on our journey. We really do appreciate it.
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Cindy and Terry
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