Going to Carolina in my mind...

We had a nice time in Wilmington North Carolina... ate fabulous sushi at the Bento Box and then spiffy burritos at Flaming Amy’s. We miss real restaurants so this was a treat! We also took a day and walked around the Wilmington historical district and marveled at the fact that places downtown seemed to just open apparently when they felt like opening. For example, a sign on a shop would say open at 10 am... well, it was like 11 a.m. when we hit town and there was no signs of life.

Too bad. I was looking for a squashed penny machine.

So we did a little of the river walk, and then we took to driving the pickup around the historical area and found some great looking houses....

We did not ride with this fellow although he might have been fun.

Later David hit the ball a bit...

and we visited the course we came to see. As it turns out, this particular golf course is not what we were looking for. So... off we go again chasing the sun southward.

It rained a little through the carolinas but both the North and South Carolina highways were fantastic. Clean, clear, well maintained, not crazy busy. When you notice how nice a freeway is... you realize they have been taking good care of it.

I think I mentioned I got a kick out of the fact that there were palms beneath the pines instead of ferns like back home. Anyway, from Wilmington, it was a short ride past Myrtle Beach and then down to Huntington Beach State Park which is right on the beach. This park is a super popular area for bird watchers because of the marshes in the area... and at the edge of the marsh near the front gate of the park I immediately noticed the sign that really bummed me out:

Do not feed the alligators.

Oh.. ok... I better put away the bucket of raw chicken or raw poodles that

I have been packing around for just such an opportunity.

Dang... the man is always a-ruinin’ my fun!

Delta didn’t let it ruin her fun though! Silly gators!

You should have seen the hair down the ridge of her back

when she first saw this fellow!

She snuck up on him all careful and slow.

Back at the camp we wandered down the path to the beach around sunset and goofed off a little.

We made such a score of great shells that upon our return to camp we quickly checked out the tide table so that we can be some of the first on the beach in the morning to score some more.

Turns out we had no problem finding shells that next morning. We were alone out there (it was like 6 am) and found quite a few more very pretty ones.

However, after taking pictures of the shells etc. my camera decided to run out of batteries

so I did not get a picture of the sunrise.

As far as the camp, it is definitely off season so there are very few people... but the park is not empty by any means. This campground might actually be at half capacity and there are bird watchers galore wandering around all the time. It has been nice, quiet, clean, and very pretty. Just what you'd want. We might go check out Georgetown in the next couple days. Will keep y'all up to date.

Yeah man. S'all good. Cool.

We have been washing, and dusting, packing and draining water for days now. It has been unusually warm and except for that quick blast we had in October, it has been snowless. The old timers in the area have been arguing that the last time it was this warm during deer hunting season was in '58... no no it was '59!

The exact date has been the topic of heated debate lately and these debates have been taking place mostly down at the newly opened cafe! I am pleased to report the restaurant... fondly known as 'Mom's Cafe' received it's clearance from the health department and the new management re-opened it yesterday!

I worked at the Post Office yesterday and it was nice seeing cars actually stop on their way through town. The loss of the bar, although not really a busy place most of the time,and a source of continuous gossip and disdain for the non-bar appreciating folks was really a big loss to the town. It made Sidnaw just one step closer to being a ghost town. But then the cafe opened back up and it looks like Sidnaw is going to hang on a bit longer after all!

However, cafes, bars, snow, dancing girls, hunting season... we see none of it. We have put on our blinders and have a new focus... and while it is warm we are going to take full advantage of this good fortune. After Thanksgiving we are going to hit the road! We have decided to become gypsies and get the heck out of Dodge before we are iced in and can't go anywhere! We remember perfectly well the 7-8 month winter last year and don't plan on a repeat.

I mentioned in the last post that we traded in the camper for a pull behind travel trailer. It is 22-ish feet long and it seems like a luxury liner compared to the camper! There is a regular bathroom with a full door and in the kitchen area there is a dinette, and the fridge has a separate freezer, and the stove... it even has an oven and a microwave!

Heck, we could live in that thing... and plan on doing exactly that for several weeks... maybe a few months even. We will be living it it at least until

• the snow is starting to disappear in Sidnaw.
• the house sells.
• we find a new place to hang our hats

Who knows... whichever comes first!

In any case, it is very exciting and we have been working very hard to get ready. We had to go through our stuff see what we needed to pack, clean, and stage the house in case someone comes to buy it. At the same time we have to winterize the house so it does not freeze solid while we are gone. Additionally, we have folded washed and packed the trailer, and ordered a couple of bikes to enjoy on beach strewn bike trails where ever we end up on our travels.

I can wait to save my nickles and PeeWee Herman out my bike!
I need a basket and a bell and a rack.. I should get a cart to haul Delta around... maybe some of those reflector things for the spokes, a bright orange flag, lights.... hmmm.

I can tell you one thing for certain. We are headed southeast through 'the middle' out to Virginia again and then south... south.... south... DEEP south until we see the white sandy beaches of the Gulf of Mexico.

There is one thing I know I definitely do not want to see while I am sitting in the sand down south... and it is these two fellows below. The first one is body surfing for criminy sakes:



I thought the freshwater crocs did not like salt water.

He is breaking the rules!

... then then there is this wise guy just out for a stroll in the sand:

No thanks.
No.. seriously, no thanks.

Anyway... I am pleased to report that we will have computer access thanks to a combination of some lovely mouthwatering technology:

This way we will be able to stay in touch with the world and update my blog as we go along . We will be able to get emails and do business etc. I promise, I will let y'all know if I do happen to see a gator wandering along the beach.

(I gotta practice my 'y'alls', before we get down there...
They might wonder about my combination
'oooo you betchas' and 'like... ya know... it's cool... s'all good.')

We are just so excited about the whole situation we can hardly sleep at night nor seem to take breaks during the day! We have lists of things to do, pack, see, etc., spinning through our heads. Primarily what we are doing now that we are 80% packed is planning our route, keeping our eye on the weather, and crossing our fingers.