EAST COAST ROAD TRIP (ECRT) – APRIL 2021 (Outer Banks or Bust!).

Nancy and I finally have both of our COVID immunizations, we have finished up some of our Spring chores, so we are taking a break and are going to RV up to the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina and follow the Appalachians back South to Florida. We haven’t figured all of the route out yet but that’s what makes it fun. Here’s a map of what we have planned so far (the blue line). I’ll update it as we make progress. We are leaving Friday (9 Apr) morning. We have decided not to use the interstate system at all so our travels will be on regular highways. We are going east from here and catching US17 and following it North until we turn East for OBX.

FRIDAY, 9 APRIL, 2021 – We are on our way. We got an early start this morning. Yesterday afternoon I hooked the Jeep up to the RV and parked the RV by the clubhouse in our neighborhood. We decided to take our bikes along this trip so we have those attached to the back end of the Jeep.

The RV, The Jeep, and The Bikes … All ready to Go Early This Morning (That’s The East Where The Sun Is Coming Up}

After I got the RV to the parking lot we moved all our clothes, food, and travel accessories from the house to the RV. Nancy had all the food lined up so we just took it out of the kitchen at home and put it in the fridge of the RV.

This morning we got up, closed up the house, had a cup of coffee, walked over to the RV, fired ‘er up and departed for OBX. As I mentioned we are taking the scenic route. Country roads, small towns, many lakes in Florida, and no Interstate Highway.

Florida has some very pretty or picturesque scenes separated by a lot of nothing. Traveling across Florida you will most likely see more pine trees than anywhere else in the Universe. We made pretty good time, didn’t mind stopping for the many traffic lights in Brooksville, Ocala, Orange City, or Jacksonville. Its all part of the nature of Florida. We turned North on US 17 at Pierson, Florida turning left off of FLA Hwy 40. The interesting thing about traveling through Florida is that you always see interesting things. I’m not going to have as many pictures in this Blog as I usually do. I think I sometimes overdo it. So here are a few of my favorites:

Horse Ranches … They Raise Many Race Horses Here In Central Florida

We made it to our campground just across the Georgia Border. We had a gourmet dinner of Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese and are now getting ready to hit the sack. We arrived here early enough to take a little walk after getting set up and found the place had some nice cabins you can stay at if you want to spend the night at a KOA but don’t have a camper.

Here’s A Nice Little Cabin with a Grill, Fireplace, and table Outside on A Nice Deck

That’s it for today. This is the first campground we have stayed at that offers a free breakfast so we are going to give that a go tomorrow morning. We have only a little over 100 miles to drive to Savannah tomorrow which is where we will be staying the next two nights. Consequently, we will have a leisurely start. See You Tomorrow!

Saturday & Sunday, 10, & 11 April, 2021 – We made it to Savannah and made it through the weekend. It’s Sunday evening and we are wrapping it up for the end of the weekend and Savannah. I will break our trip up here, our Saturday out, and Sunday into three different parts.

The trip up was uneventful and didn’t take very long. We only travel a little over 110 miles and we were at our Savannah campground. We set everything up. Looked over what there was to do and decided to go downtown along the river … the Savannah River. But first a couple shots from our trip up from Jacksonville. A comment here. We have traveled North and South through Georgia many times on both I-75 and I-95. Both are crowded, littered with pieces of tires, junk, stalled cars, and trash. Passing through Georgia is one of my more unfavorite things to do. Taking US 17 north to Savannah was a very pleasant surprise. The road sides were well kept, trash picked up, grass and weeds mowed, and everything looked tidy. This is more than I can say for US17 in Florida but it too was not real bad. So, here are a few pictures from ur trip up:

A Very Large American Flag … Patriotism Runs Big In The South

As I mentioned, we settled in and decided to drive downtown Savannah. They have a famous riverside walk and we decided to see it.

A Paddle Boat … Does Dinner Paddle Boat Tours … People were Lined up for Hundreds of Yards

We had dinner on the Riverwalk and made it home safely. Here’s a shoutout to John & Kathy Lohman from Aiken, GA … two very interesting and pleasant people we met downtown. This morning we had a slow start. We were up, had a couple coffees, showered, and got ready for church. Savannah Host’s the Basilica of St John The Baptist and we decided we wanted to attend our Sunday mass there. It is a very impressive church, had an awesome choir, and we enjoyed it completely. After all … It is Sunday. Not knowing how long it would take to get there or how difficult it would be to find parking we left early and got there early, including a parking place. there was a little coffee shop right across the street so we each had a small Latte before Mass.

After Church we decided to drive out to Tybee Island. It’s about 12 miles out of Savannah on the coast, surrounded by marshes. Along the way is Fort Polaski and Tybee Island is at the end of the road. Tybee Island is very commercial and is like every other coastal resort town up and down the eastern seaboard … still a fun place to visit. Ft Polaski was the first Confederate Fort to fall to the Union. It is quite well restored and is a National Monument (for now). Many of the photos are explained so I won’t repeat what the signs say.

Many Docks and Homes Along the Waterways Out to The Sea

Then we made it out to Tybee Island itself. A rather large community but there mostly for the tourist trade. Many shops, cafe, bars, etc.

So that was Savannah and the surrounding area. We found it both interesting and enjoyable. Tomorrow morning we depart for Charleston. Another short drive but we are staying there only one night so what we see tomorrow after our arrival is what we will see. See you there!

Monday, 12 April, 2021 – *** Before you start … I just added a few more pictures to Ft Pulaski if it was interesting … they had dropped out during the transfer so I put them in tonight. If you have had enough of Ft Polaski, Press on ***

It’s Monday …. instead of going to work, we continued our road trip … It’s GREAT to be retired!! The drive from Savannah to Charleston was short but a little frustrating. Quite a bit of traffic and a couple construction sites. Fortunately we were not in a hurry so we got here when we got here. We set up our little area and and discussed whether we wanted to go downtown or not. Charleston is a much larger city than Savannah so the interesting spots are spread out all over the city. Finally we decided to just drive into town and drive around to see what was there. Interesting place. Big Southern Money, Big Southern Homes (the old Carriage Houses sell for far more than you can imagine). The waterfront is interesting and they have a lovely park at the Battery (the land defensive point for Charleston against attacks from sea). Then there is Ft Sumpter and other forts that were key players in both the Revolutionary war and the Civil War. Anyhow, none of the statue killer brigade had made it here yet so the park, city, and area is well kept, well presented, and very interesting from both a cultural and a historical aspect. Bad for you, my camera konked out so I only have a few photos to share today. If you really want to see Charleston … come on down .. they welcome everyone. Just hurry before some dimwits decide to tear it down. Here are my pictures:

Tomorrow we continue North to Myrtle Beach, SC where we will be spending two nights. If you read my book, you will know we spent the Summer of 1980 there while I went to a training class. Fond memories all around. See you there!

Tuesday, 13 April 2021 – First … there are no more pictures of Ft Polaski … whew. Next, we had a nice drive from Charleston to Myrtle Beach. Our first impression … IT HAS REALLY CHANGED A LOT SINCE WE WERE HERE 40 YEARS AGO!!!!. Anyhow, the trip up here … like the policeman says “nothing to see here folks, move along”. The drive was pretty much the same as in Florida and Georgia. A few pictures of interesting (to me at least) things along the way:

View From The Command Seat Departing The Campground in Savannah

We made it to Myrtle Beach a little after noon … Checked in. We are staying in one of two HUGE campgrounds on the Atlantic coast in Myrtle Beach. We have not done much today. Set up, then care of some local chores, etc. Then we took a walk on the beach, had an afternoon toddy, made dinner (an excellent blend of Pasta Salad, Spinach Salad, and grilled Chicken), did the dishes, and sat by the fire for a while before turning in. I recently added a new gas campfire to our equipment. Many places won’t allow campfires. Most will not allow bringing in firewood but charge two arms and one leg for theirs, and have crappy fireplaces away from where you want to sit. So, we got a really nice gas campfire that we set right next to where we are sitting by the RV, does not burn our precious wood, and is very nice. Tried it out for the first time tonight and the general consensus is that we like it … just like Mikey! Photo’s:

That was out arrival and first day in Myrtle Beach. Bunch of stuff to do tomorrow so stand by for some really exciting stuff. Meanwhile, I’m headed for the sack. See you tomorrow.

Wednesday, 14 April 2021 – Great day in Myrtle Beach. Didn’t have to start real early or real quick so we enjoyed a couple coffees and discussed our plans for the day. Decided to start the day off with a bike ride. Our bikes have not seen much use in the past years so it was an adventure for all four of us (Nancy and I and the two bikes). We had brought them along just for a morning like today. I unloaded them, made sure the tires were still properly inflated, made sure nothing had been misaligned or broke while clinging to the back end of our Jeep … all was good and off we went. Like I mentioned, the Campground we were at, Ocean Lakes, is HUGE. Many, many RV sites, condo’s to rent, houses, to rent, tent sites, just about anything you can imagine. If you don’t believe me just Google Ocean Lakes RV in Myrtle beach … but make sure you are using something with a big screen.

Anyhow, we had a very nice bike ride … about two hours. Here are some pictures of our ride and the Camp.

The Rec Center … All This Stuff is Part of The Campground … not Next to it but Integrated Into The Layout for All The Campers … and No One Else

That was fun … so we decided to take the Jeep out, it needed gas, and look up an interesting Miniature GolF Course we saw on the way in. We got the gas and found the course. here it is:

Glowing from her victory at golf Nancy then wanted to drive around town a bit … just to see what we remember and what it was like. We drove all the way to the Northern end of Myrtle Beach through the “Business Section” … restaurants, mini golf, bars, rentals etc. Then we drove down Ocean Avenue where alll the Condos and Motels are stacked up against the ocean. We walked out to the beach at one place just to see it … just like at the campground. we stopped at a bar there for a beer and met an interesting gentleman who had served for 14 years as a West Virginia Legislator, had worked on the Congressional Staff in Washington DC and was interesting to talk with. The Honorable Ron Thompson Jr. He now lives near Myrtle Beach … interesting fellow. Always good to meet interesting people.

A couple beach and Ocean Ave shots:

Nancy and I then continued our tour of Myrtle Beach. Drove through Where Myrtle Beach Air Force Base once was. They have done good things with the area. Having had a full day we decided to have an early dinner. We had Pizza at a Local Place … great Pizza, Nice Evening:

That was it for Myrtle Beach … it was great to see the place again. Still amazed how a little ole 40 years can make such a difference. Happy we stopped there. Moving on towards the Outer Banks. Too long to do in one day, we are stopping in a little campsite just west of Fairfield, North Carolina on the North Shore of Lake Mattamuskeet. See You There.

Thursday, 15 April, 2021 – Posting this on the 16th as there was no WiFi and very little Cell service last night. Anyhow … The trip was good. Saw a lot of interesting things. Never realized the Eastern shores of North Carolina had so many BIG farms. Very impressive with deep black soil and many, many grain silos so farming must be good. Here are some pictures of the trip up.

We made it to Osprey Nest Campground and were greeted by it’s owner and Chief Operating Officer. A nice lady who makes me look young but is much sweeter than I am. Nancy and I picked out our site, had dinner, walked around a bit, watched some Canadian Geese that had stopped by for the evening. Great stay.

Friday, 16 April, 2021 – Up early, couple’a cups of Joe, hook up the Jeep, say Thanks and Farewell to our Hostess, and off we go. Not a long trip today but wanted to see the Southern Part of the Outer Banks and just have today to do it. Spending two days up on the Northern end. The drive up went well … many more farms, inlets, rivers, bridges, swamps, a herd of Deer, etc so just a couple of pictures from the trip up:

Sorry about the Deere things … I thought we needed a little humor. We got to the campground, checked in, set up, and decided to drive to the Southern end of the Outer Banks … at least as far as you can go in a car. Interesting. Here’s a few scenes:

The Light Keepers Home At The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

That Wraps up today and gets me up to date with my posts. Tomorrow we have a short ride up to Kill Devil Hills where we will spend two nights. Close by will be Kitty Hawk, wild horses, and who know what else. See you there.

17 April, Bright and Early Saturday Morning – OMG!!!!! I forgot two REALLY important things yesterday!!!! First of all, as many of you may know, or maybe not …. The Outer Banks have been a hot bed of Intergalactic activity dating back to recordings on ice tablets. Recently the US Navy released a photo and admitted they spotted a “For Real” UFO hovering (no, not vacuuming) over a Navy warship. Well, to get to the point, yesterday, we spotted an alien ship that had landed and was trying to look inconspicuous amongst local homes … don’t believe me? Picture Below!!

Bet you believe me now! We didn’t go in … it could’ve been a trap to capture earthlings and do spiriments on them.

What’s the other things you ask? Today is Mary Alice’s Birthday … Happy Birthday Mary Alice.

Now we finally get to the actual day of 17 April. Mary Alice has informed me that she celebrated her birthday on the 11th, which she claims is her birthday. Being an Officer and a Gentleman I am inclined to defer to her claim vice carrying on about when it might actually be. Therefore, my birthday wishes were six days late but none the less carry heartfelt good wishes from both Nancy and myself.

The drive from the Southern end of the Outer Banks to the the Northern areas where we are now revealed nothing new or interesting. We did pass The Bodie Lighthouse on Bodie Island but it does look much like the Cape Hatteras one (That’s what happen when you paint them all the same color. Judge for yourself … Here’s the Bodie Lighthouse:

The rest of the way was sand dunes, sea oats, T-Shirt Shops, Parks, bridges, restaurants, bars, rentals homes (The BIG Ones), and Circle K’s. Consequently, I didn’t take any pictures. Don’t despair though … once we arrived in Kill Devil Hills, where we are staying for two nights, we drifted over to Kitty Hawk and toured the site of the first powered flight in history. Wilbur and Orville Wright flew their airplane on Dec 17, 1903 for a total of 59 seconds setting up the world for putting people on the Moon and beyond. We spent several hours there walking around looking at everything. It is very well done and interesting. Here are some Photos. Most everything is explained on the photo’s so I’m not going to caption many of them. If there was interesting info on a large picture I took a picture of just that info so you could read it. Enjoy:

And that was Kitty Hawk and the Dawning of The Aviation Age. We both enjoyed it a great deal. We walked to all the different site so we spent a fair amount of time there. Well worth it.

Following that we drove around a bit looking at the beach houses and other local stuff … nothing particularly exciting. We had Dinner at our favorite Australian Restaurant, Outback, and are now snuggled into our RV. It is cool here, temps running in the 50’s and low 60’s but the sun is out through the day which helps. There is a stiff breeze from the ocean that does not help.

Tomorrow is a leisurely start. Nancy has told me she is taking me to breakfast somewhere, then we are driving up to the farthest Northern Point we can drive to see the wild horses. I’ll share what we find. Till Then …

Sunday, 18 April, 2021 – Nice Day!! After a leisurely coffee we decided to find some breakfast. We decided to go to Dunk’n and have a Latte and maybe a dozen Munchies … However, there is a little place along the road here just before the campground that looked interesting so we decided to give it a try. It turned out to be very nice, pleasant and well ran.

A Sunny Morning … We Sat Outside on A Screened In Porch

That took care of breakfast … I was ready for a nap but Nancy wanted to press on to see the wild horses in the Northernmost part of the Island. The horses are left over from Spanish explorers some time back. They were nearly gone when a group of people formed an organization to protect them. They now live in an area called the Carrituck Banks Estuarine Reserve. They run wild and are difficult to spot because much of the area is private property where they, but not you, are allowed to roam and the rest of it is wild trees and brush. It is only when they come out to the beaches or are in open ares in the Reserve where people are allowed to hike can you see them. The pavement ends near a town named Corolla, just past a town named Duck. To go be on foot, aboard a tour vehicle doing a wild horse tour, or a four wheel drive vehicle. The going is on the beach in deep sand so Toyotas can’t make it .. just kidding … I pull them out all the time with our Jeep.

The drive from our campsite to Corolla is about 50 miles and had some new scenery but a lot of the old. Big houses dominate the Outer Banks and Nancy and I were discussing how jammed up all these little roads must be in mid Summer when all these big places are filled with people. Here are some photos from the drive up.

Trees, Scrubby Trees, Instead of Sand Dunes

We arrived at Corolla and checked on a horse sighting tour but were told they were sold out. We thought maybe they were able to find more than we could but that was not to be so off we went. We drove off the end of the pavement and onto the beach. After a couple miles during which we were meeting and passing other Jeeps and 4WD vehicles we noticed a couple with their bicycles looking over the dune. Nancy noticed a horse was standing on the other side. We parked the Jeep and scrambled over to where they were and Nancy saw the horse. There were four or five horses right on the other side of the dune, They were just hanging out letting us take pictures of them. Then This guy came along and chased us all off telling us we were trespassing on private property. He didn’t say anything to the horses. Here are some photos of the beach and the horses.

It’s kinda sad about the horses and getting to see them. I understand private property and I understand big parks but the people in the Hummer Tour paid ~$50 each to see horses and all they got was some stories from the driver. I’m happy the tour we checked on was booked up and we got to see them on our own.

From Corolla we drove back and stopped at a light house, took some pictures of some big houses, stopped at a bar that was all stained glass, and got back to the camper early in the afternoon. We worked out some plans for the next few days of travel and went out for dinner at Dare Devil’s Pizza. Good place if you are in the area and have a hankering for pizza.

Coming Into Carrituck Beach … Light House In Background

Then we drove the rest of the way back to the Camper.

That pretty well wrapped up our day. Getting an early start tomorrow hoping to make it to Fayetteville, NC for an overnighter. Hope to be in Sumter by Tuesday.

We enjoyed the Outer Banks. Were amazed at all the huge homes so close to an Ocean that knocks them down freely every so often. Many interesting things to see and do. My recommendation is go in the shoulder season. Winter everything is closed and in Summer you are in gridlock most of the time. See you in Fayetteville.

19 April, 2021, Monday – We made it to Fayetteville without any trouble and in a leisurely manner. Nothing new along the way .. same houses, trees, cars, fields, and roadside oddities that we have seen along the way … consequently, no new pictures. As a matter of fact the next couple days we will be spending with friends and taking a day off to beat up some golf balls so there won’t be any entries or pictures until we leave here for our next destination. That’s right, I’m taking a little break and will be back in a couple days. I’ll tell you about our time here and our next destination at that time. So, take a break, “Smoke’em if you’ve got’ed” and we will see you in a couple days. Here’s a couple pictures from the drive from Kill Devil Hills to Fayetteville.

This was a Drawbridge We Had to Stop and Wait For

22 April 2021, Thursday – Welcome back and hope you all are doing well. Here’s the story from the last couple days. We left Fayetteville in the morning of the 20th and drove South to Sumter, South Carolina. We had a campsite reserved there at Shaw AFB for two nights. While we were there we planned to see our friends, Steve & Gay Nelson, and play some golf at Shaw. I’m please to say we were able to do both. On Tuesday, the 20th, we arrived at Shaw, set up our RV and drove the Jeep over to the Nelsons. For those of you who read my book you know I once worked for Steve, he and Gay are good friends of ours, and we see them every now and then. For those of you who have not read my book; I once worked for Steve, he and Gay are good friends of ours, and we see them every now and then.

We arrived in mid afternoon and spent several hours catching up on topics such as mutual friends, relatives, kids, world events, etc. They took us for a drive and showed us a park where there are all sorts of birds and plants. The local Garden Club, which Gay belongs to, has areas where they grow special plants to acquaint people with local flora … very nice and very interesting.. We were going to go out for dinner but the restaurant where they wanted to take us was closed on Tuesday so Gay had a meal prepared … Chicken Cacciatore … excellent Chicken Cacciatore as a matter of fact. So we had dinner with them and left to go back to the camper. They have a lovely home but we prefer not to impose on people’s hospitality when we drop by.

On Wednesday, which was very appropriately named cuz it was really windy, we played 18 holes at the Shaw AFB Golf Course. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Air Force bases you should know that the golf course is put in first, then the O’Club, then the runway. Very civilized you know. Anyhow, Nancy and I had a great time playing the course and even got decent scores; although Nancy beat me again. The wind increased all afternoon and was a fierce blow by the time we finished.

That reminds me of a joke: Three old guys went out to play golf one day. They were tee’ing up when the first guy said, “It sure is windy today!” So the second guy looked up startled and said “Wednesday!!! … I thought it was Thursday!” The Third guy looked around and said … “Hey, I’m thirsty too, let’s go get a beer!!”

After we finished our windy, Wednesday golf game we came back to the camper and cleaned up, rested for a while, and went back over to the Nelson’s as they were going to take us to their favorite new restaurant. Turns out it is a brew pub, a three story brew pub, and is a very nice place. We had a couple beers and compared our days, then went cross the street and ate at a locally famous Burger Joint that features Baseball stars from the Sumter area … good food, nice setting, great evening.

That takes care of Wednesday, our time at Sumter, and our stay at Shaw AFB. I took no pictures while we were in Sumter.

This morning we got up and traveled all day to get to Marble, North Carolina … it’s near Murphy if you are not familiar with it. It was a long day and a long drive but quite interesting. We had been traveling the coastal area since we left home so everything was quite flat and most of the trees were pines. As we traveled West today the terrain began to climb and began to get hilly. More and more hardwood trees were visible and everything was looking different. Another change that occurred was that because we were traveling Northwest and climbing to higher elevations, the Spring blossoming of the trees and their leaves was still just starting where, in the South, it was nearly finished. Here are some pictures from along the way.

Tomorrow we don’t have to travel as far. We are going to Spring City TN to visit Boomer and Kelly Henry. Boomer and I worked together in Germany when I was there as a contractor and the four of us had many enjoyable times together. We have not seen the Henry’s since we left Germany in 2012 so we are looking forward to seeing hem. More on that tomorrow.

**** Our Just Updated Our travel Map At The Top Of This Post ****

Friday, 23 April, 2021 – We had a nice trip from Marble, NC up Spring City, TN. It is interesting in that we went through this same general area on our Bay of Fundy trip in the Fall. Then, all the trees were loosing their leaves so they were all sorts of different Fall colors … very beautiful. Now, it’s early Spring and they are all getting their leaves so they are all different shades of Green … also very beautiful. I took some pictures but not sure if they are that visible. Let’s see:

Leaving Marble, NV … Blue Ridge Mountains Ahaed

So that was the trip here. We Spent yesterday afternoon and evening with the Henry’s at their home on the Lake Chickamauga and ordered in dinner. Played some pool, caught up on old times, old friends, and old memories … always good to friends from the past … and make new friends too but more on that in my next book.

24 April, 2021, Saturday – Somewhere in the middle of the night it started raining and it is still raining this morning. Looks like it is one of those all day soakers. We have no set agenda for the day … maybe get some supplies and mosey back over to the Henry’s for a little while. Tomorrow morning we depart for the Florida Panhandle and Ft Walton Beach and Panama City. We lived there for six years. I had assignments in both places. We are stopping in Montgomery, Alabama for the night as going all the way to FL is farther than we want to travel in a day. We are staying in a “Resort” campground in Spring City .. mostly a Marina and a Hotel but they had two or three campsites and we were lucky enough to get one. Nice people … I guess that’s the most important thing so we are good with all that. Spring City is a very small town that is spread out between a major highway and the lake. Not a lot of culture but plenty of character. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you down the road.

25 April 2021, Sunday – We made it to Montgomery with no problems and time to spare. We crossed into the Central Time Zone so we picked up an hour. Because the trip from Spring City to Montgomery was long, we decided to use the Interstate system. All went well. Nothing new for pictures. The terrain went from mountains to rolling hills, and now we are in the flat lowlands of Alabama which extend all the way to the coast. We also went from hardwood trees of all different kinds to pine trees … all one kind.

When we got set up here we decided to try and find the house we lived in for a year while I going to school here … after all, it’s only been 28 years! We did find it and it was in good shape. We were disappointed to find that our favorite Mexican restaurant has turned into an African Braids and Barber shop … I think the owners changed as well. We did find another Mexican Restaurant and it was very good so we are turning in with full tummies.

Tomorrow we proceed to Ft Walton Beach. More when we get there.

26 April 2021, Monday – Just like magic … Here we are in Ft Walton Beach, Florida. Back in Florida, back in the land of Sunshine, and back in the land of no more masks!!! I Love Gov DeSantis … what a Leader. Anyhow … We made the short trip down in good time and no problems. I mentioned yesterday that the terrain was all pines but there actually are many other trees … just mostly pines. From mid Alabama down the land looks like the Gulf once was that high … and I suppose it was. A great deal of sand, rolling hills, and not much elevation. Perhaps someday the Gulf will take it back … hopefully not during my tour of duty here on earth. We went mostly on Rt 331 which in some places is a four lane highway and other places its barely 2 lanes wide. We have been traveling through the South for many years and it appears there is an effort to spruce it up a bit. The ditches are clean, the old towns are neat and orderly. The buildings are old but painted and cared for. You do see some run down buildings or areas but I guess that happens everywhere. I took some pictures on the way down. They are mostly buildings and trees so I’m not going to label all of them … just the ones that are meaningful. Here we go …

Then we were in Florida … The Panhandle is not very wide so we only had a few miles to get to Ft Walton.

So here we are. We are in a very nice campground, small but new … Boutique? Anyhow, I’ll take some pictures. We are meeting one of Nancy’s previous employers. Sherri Montalto, and her late husband Sam, owned and operated Pandora’s for many years on Santa Rosa Island. It was a great place to eat and Nancy enjoyed working there for Sam and Sherri. Nancy was their bookkeeper. See you tomorrow.

28 April 2021, Wednesday – It is Wednesday evening and we have concluding our visits with friends in the area. It has been a fun two and half days, we saw some people we had not seen for a while, had a good rest and please we stopped by here at Ft Walton. As I mentioned, Monday evening we had dinner with Nancy’s previous boss. Sherri brought her Mom and her Mom’s friend David and we all had a delightful dinner at a place called Ali’s in Ft Walton along Hwy 98. We had a pleasant evening catching up and talking about our lives today. It was good to see Sherri again and it was nice to see she was doing well.

On Wednesday, the 27th, we played the golf course at Hurburt Field … Gator Lakes Golf Course. Lots of water, alligators, and ample opportunity to loose balls. Again, we had a nice time … again, Nancy beat me, but it was fun. The weather was pleasant and we enjoyed the day. That evening (last Night) we had dinner with Doug and Meg Ammon. Doug and Meg were stationed at Reine Main in Frankfurt when we were there. Doug is an Air Force Dentist. We had dinner at The Magnolia House in Ft Walton and again, had a very pleasant evening catching up with our lives.

Today we drove over to Destin, FL and Met Stan and Marcia Bently. Nancy was the accountant for a carpet company in Panama City when I was stationed there and Stan worked there as well. We got to be good friends with the two of them and had a great many good times with them while we lived in Panama City. Today, we had lunch with them at LuLu’s, which I’m sure you know, is a chain of restaurants owned by Jimmy Buffet’s sister. Again, a very pleasant day.

So here we are, Wednesday evening, all our visits completed, and we are ready to turn in for the evening. Tomorrow morning we pull stakes and head East to Perry, Florida via Hwy 98 through Panama City, Mexico Beach, Apalachicola, and on to Perry. Our stay here was most enjoyable. It is good to be back in Florida where it is warm, sunny, and friendly. Here are some pictures of our stay.

See You on The road tomorrow.

30 April, 2021, Friday – Several things here. First, I have made the last update to the map of our trek at the front of this Blog. Second, that means we are home. Yesterday, as I mentioned earlier, we drove from Ft Walton to Perry, FL. We went through Destin, Panama City Beach, Panama City, Mexico Beach, Port St Joe, Apilatchicola, East Point, and a whole bunch of little towns named after Saints (No, not New Orleans Saints, real saints!). The drive was scenic, it was a pleasant day, so, even though we drove a long way, lost an hour getting into the Eastern Time Zone, it was a good day. Last night we stayed at a nice KOA in Perry, FL. Perry is just a small Town where Hwy 19 and 98 separate, or come together depending which way you are traveling. Today we drove the rest of the way home and were home at noon. We spent this afternoon cleaning out the RV and went out for dinner at Coyote Roho #4 which is one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.

One of the most interesting parts of the trip was seeing all the damage that remains in the Panama City area from the hurricane they had there a few years back. Tyndall AFB was nearly destroyed, thousands of homes and businesses were destroyed, and acres and acres of trees were blown over or just snapped off.

So, here are some pictures. First, a few more shots from the Destin area. Then Panama City. Then random pictures along the rest of the way.

The White Sands of Panama City/Ft Walton Beach

That ends the trip. About 1750 miles and 21 days. Met a lot of nice people, saw many old friends, had a good time. Thanks for coming along.

Author: Bill

Bill Rumpel served America as an Air Traffic Controller, a Commander of forces, and as an advisor to our country's senior leadership in peacetime and combat in the US Air Force for nearly, forty years of his adult life. Raised on a Wisconsin dairy farm and living most of his early years working hard or enjoying the outdoors, he has devoted his retirement years to telling stories based on true events with an intriguing mix of fiction and adventure. His books are published in 14 countries and in 9 different languages. View all posts by Bill

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EAST COAST ROAD TRIP (ECRT) – APRIL 2021 (Outer Banks or Bust!).

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Author: Bill

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