Day at the Museum

May 28, 2011
Fredericksburg VA & Washington DC
Day #16

We rose early and were on the road to Washington DC by nine o'clock.  Traffic traveling on I95 south was very heavy, but much better in the northbound lanes, the direction we were headed.  The Metro station closest to us is Franconia/Springfield, about 45 miles north of here.  From there we took the Metro into the city. 

The Metro is easy to maneuver, even if you are totally unfamiliar with a rapid transit system.  If not, there are people to help when purchasing a ticket.  We chose a day pass for $6 each.  The parking at the Metro parking garage was free, it being a weekend.  The ride into the Smithsonian station took a little more than  a half hour.

When we climbed out of the Metro, we realized that we'd just followed everyone else...should have taken a different stairway, meant a little longer walk.  Fortunately, there are tall landmarks (like that big ol Washington Monument) so you can orient yourself if you get turned around.  Problem is that with large structures, they seem closer and just a short walk away....NOT!








It looks a LOT closer than it really is!



We made our way to the Mall area and the Smithsonian.  First, American History, then Natural History, my favorite.  There were huge crowds, mostly families with kids...kids LOVE dinosaurs and the t-rex skeleton was a major draw.  We've been here before, and it was so hard to make our way through the crowds, that we only spent an hour or so in there.  However, I DID make the effort to see that little chunk of carbon - the Hope Diamond.  It sooooo doesn't suck!





The ultimate bling!


By this time, we were very hungry so we decided to just go down to the Natural History cafeteria.  We both had a sandwich (bleh) and spilt a small onion ring,  and two cold drinks...$32.  Not going back there...

They come alive at night, right?



Lastly we walked down to the Air and Space Museum.  Some amazing machines, but that building is a guy thing.  *I*  would rather look at bones.  We were giving our poor feet a rest when we saw the lady next to us reading a Washington DC guide.  Jim wanted one, so I asked her where she bought it.  She didn't know quite what to say for a second, then answered,  "In my country."  She was from Holland, her next stop was Colorado.  The Europeans seem to see more of this country than many Americans.

First hang glider?

We were rapidly running out of steam...can't walk around for 4 hours anymore.  BOTH of us, so I didn't feel like I was a drag.  After a final forced march to the Metro station we were on our way back to get our car and drive the 45 miles back to Fredericksburg.  

Tomorrow we will be a repeat of today...but with bigger crowds.  The Rolling Thunder motorcycle riders are in town...over 100,000  strong!

Rookie

May 27, 2011
Day #15
Charlottesville, VA to Fredericksburg VA 
87 miles via US29 & US3




Rookie in 2006, long coat and just back from the groomers

 
Today is the start  to the Memorial Day Weekend, which always means traffic.  We watched the KOA empty out, and the new campers will be arriving today, they are expecting to be booked solid.  We are heading a little bit northeast of here to Fredericksburg Virginia,  the closest we can get to Washington DC at this late date.  The one thing we didn't want to do was to be in Washington DC on the holiday weekend.  Played that one wrong!


Looking at the map, we opted to travel US29 up to Culpepper then US3 to Fredericksburg, a little out of our way, but a much better road.  Sometimes the country roads can be a little unnerving being so narrow...and we are so wide!  Jim was delighted to find gas at $3.59/gal only to travel five miles down the road and see gas advertised at $3.43/gal.  Oh well, can't win them all!
Leaving Charlottesville, traffic was heavy, as expected on the start of a three day holiday weekend.  As we drove on, it thinned.  We were enjoying the beautiful countryside when Rookie started what has become a RV ritual. 

My dogs are NOT lap dogs, in fact, if I call to them to come to me they will  usually walk the other way...ALL of them.  Except, when we are in the RV, then Rookie plays a sort of game to try to get on my lap.     We'll be driving down the road when I can 'feel' his eyes on me from behind.  He'll sit and look pleadingly for a long time if I ignore him.  Then he'll step down to the area between Jim and I...and just sit, and sit and sit, all the while looking at me with big brown eyes.  I'm not heartless, but there's not a great deal of room in the front, and it's warm and he's 15 pounds and very, very, very furry.  Not the most comfortable situation in the world. Finally I can't stand getting 'the look' anymore and all I have to do is slap my thigh.  He's in my lap in a flash, setting his chin in the crook of my right arm, which is just the right height to look out the window.  All is right in Rookie's world.
 

First step, staring at me from the living area of the RV



And if I say 'NO' this is the pathetic look I get!







Then he tip toes down to the cab between us, He just got the okay, this is his happy face.

 

We can't sight see every day, some days are quite mundane on a trip.  Today, we did a little housekeeping, a little traveling, a little restocking.  We 've been off the beaten path for so long, that I couldn't believe all the stores in Fredericksburg near the I95 interchange.  Almost forgot that we are near a heavily populated area of the east coast.

We are at the Fredericksburg Virginia KOA, storms are coming into the area along with many families camping here for the long weekend.  There are tons of kids, this is a kid and pet friendly place, heavily wooded, with a  fish pond, pool and activities for the kids. 

Tomorrow we will take the car 45 miles up the road to the nearest Metro station.  We haven't rode the Washington Metro since it was fairly new, back in the late 70's or early 80's!

...That All Men Are Created Equal...kinda sorta

  May 26, 2011
Charlottesville, VA
Day #14

Has it only been TWO weeks since we left home?  Seems longer. 


The weather was great again today.  We drove only a few miles past some fabulous horse farms to the Thomas Jefferson Home, Monticello.



Monticello

There is a visitors center and museum on the way to the estate, it's also there that we booked our tour.  The time frame worked out well, giving us ample time to go through the museum and view a 20 minute movie.   We had to stifle a laugh when the movie mentioned  that Jefferson 'felt bad about slavery'.   Apparently, he didn't feel too bad, he owned over 650 slaves in his lifetime.  I guess he liked his fabulous lifestyle and 5,000 acre estate more.  Seems quite the contradiction that this author of the Declaration of Independence lived the lifestyle of a wealthy slave owner.  The movie also said that, although it bothered him, he chose to let future generations deal with slavery issue.    Kinda like we are doing now with the national debt!  Some things never change.

Monticello is surrounded by orchards, rolling pastures, and towering trees.  They have a kick ass vegetable garden too!  It was its own sustaining small city, actually, with  a huge wine cellar (Tom REALLY liked wine!) a brewery, ice house, dairy, smoke house...etc.  It was a great tour, and the estate was full of interesting  things, including little inventions that Jefferson was responsible for.  Apparently, he was not much of an orator, one guide told our group, having a high pitched voice.  I whispered to Jim that he probably sounded like Mike Tyson.  I guess I didn't whisper quietly enough...the woman behind us broke into a fit of giggles.

Jim kept wondering if the guide was going to mention 'Sally'  the slave who was mother to several of Jefferson's children.  The very end of the tour the fact was mentioned that DNA evidence proved that fact in 1998.

One thing that Jefferson was responsible for was abolishing a law that gave the eldest son sole right to family inheritance.  Can you imagine how many family feuds that avoided?  Thanks Tom!

After we completed our tour, we had the option of riding the shuttle the half mile back to the parking lot or walking down.  The walk was all downhill, how easy!  The path led through the woods, wide and gravel based through a stunning forest of huge trees.  But it was quite steep...like if I had fallen I could imagine myself tumbling head over heels until I reached the bottom.   Our calves and ankles are letting us know that we are getting too old to do inclines!

A partial list of Jefferson's slaves....Sucky?

Near the end of our tour, I looked at Jim and said,  "You're thinking about that pizza you saw yesterday, aren't you?"   He started to laugh, shook his head and asked how I manage to read his mind so often.  Well, after all this time, it's not difficult. 

We went back to the historic section and into Christians Pizza.  Actually, it was probably one of the healthier pieces of pizza that I've had, very thin crust, with sun dried tomatoes, black olives, artichokes (LOTS of them) and whole fresh basil leaves, drizzled with olive oil and not a lot of cheese.  Excellent.  The only problem is that it is too far away from home....or maybe that's a good thing!

Back at the Charlottesvile KOA, worst WIFI ever

Tomorrow we leave here and travel a short distance away to Fredricksburg, Virginia.  It was the closest we could get to Washington DC, which we will tour next.

May 25, 2011
Wiliamsburg VA to Charlottesville, VA  130 Miles
Day #13

Forgot to mention that the sensor was telling us that the oil pressure 'thing' was not going to alert us if there was a problem...or so they say.  I need an eye rolling smilie here.


Left the American Heritage RV Park at 10:30,  in nice weather, a little too warm, but nice.  We seem to be having exactly the opposite effect on local weather that we had last year.  Then, we brought cold and rain weather breaking records to every town we chose to visit.  This year, it is the high temps falling by the wayside!  Nice.


We took our time, traveling part of the way by the James River Plantation Road  and after we rode the bypass around Richmond on the Interstate, we dropped down to the state road that parallels I64, US50.  Such a short distance between stops gives us the option to go slower and see the beautiful countryside.  And Virginia is indeed beautiful.

Charlottesville KOA

There are few camping areas around Charlottesville, a fact that we find odd because there is so much open land and forests.  We are at the Charlottesville KOA, not too far from the city.  The road in here is very narrow and winding,  a true country road.  This looks like  what  camping should look like, tall trees, fire rings, picnic tables and gravel sites.  I could do without the gravel...It's in a valley so we have NO CELL PHONE SERVICE!  We do have cable TV and WIFI, but it's very slow and we lose the connection frequently.  We knew this prior to booking here, but there's no place else to go.  My sissy dogs aren't fond of the gravel either....

The pedestrian mall, historic Charlottesville



We jumped in the car and rode to the historic downtown section of the city.   We parked and took a stroll down the restored, pedestrian mall.  By this time it was mid afternoon and getting quite hot.  We wanted a cold drink so Jim ran into a pizza place for something.  He returned with glazed eyes and told me that he'd just seen the most awesome pizza sold by the slice...we NEEDED to come back when we were hungry!  Shouldn't be a problem remembering the name,  it's my maiden name....

We spent a quiet night at the campground and watched the American Idol finale...so many stars
of the music world! 


Tomorrow, go see Tom Jefferson's little cottage on the mountain...

Check Engine

Williamsburg VA
Day #12

A few days ago the 'Check Engine' light (idiot lights, my dad called them)  lit up on the Jeep.   To me that would mean, lift the hood and declare, "Yup, the engine is still there!"


The car is running fine, my thoughts are, that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it...', but Jim does not think that way.  Every time he looks at the dash, all he can see is that damn light, mocking him.  So today he was at a local Jeep dealership at 7:30 am to have them plug it in to a computer to find out what the sensor is sensing.


I don't trust those things, I mean, why do we need a computer to tell us that something is wrong, when everything is working fine?  Heck, the low tire pressure sensor has been going on and off for two years, they have tried to fix it for two years and finally gave up.  People have been driving cars for years without a tire sensor...remember when we could figure that we had a low tire all by ourselves?   The pulling to one side, hard steering or the thumping was a dead giveaway!


I also don't trust that computer that decides what you need to replace...and it's never cheap.  I'll bet it's programmed like a slot machine.  The 'lucky ones', the winners gt an all clear.  The* losers* get to replace a sensor for a few hundred dollars...   What the heck is an O2 sensor anyway?


When the screwing was over car was fixed, we headed a short distance down the road to the Yorktown Battlefield a national park.   We have the National Park Senior Lifetime Pass (I guess they don't worry about losing TOO much money, not going to use it for THAT many more years) which allows us free entry to all National Parks and monuments. If I remember right, it was only $10.   I'd advise anyone who travels to pick one up!


The drive to the battlefield on the Colonial National Historic Parkway, a extremely beautiful 23 mile road that is part of the National Park system.  Most of it is canopied by the huge trees lining it.

Move one step to the right....

Something NOT made in China!

At the visitor center, we saw a film on the Revolutionary battle, artifacts and we went along for part of a tour.  Jim is the history buff and enjoys this sort of thing way more than me.  All I could think while watching the film was how stupid they dressed for battles.  I mean RED coats and WHITE tights?  Well, why not put a bulls eye on your back?  And really, white pants to crawl through the brush? And that was before Clorox or Oxy Clean! 


However, the last couple of days, learning about the politics of that period at Williamsburg and the battle at Yorktown, I am reminded how important freedom is and how many suffered for it.  I also was unaware of how important the French were in helping us win at Yorktown, some say they were the deciding force in Revolution. 


My heritage is French!  I wonder if any of relatives were in that battle?  Who knows if any of them were  a LaCroix or Hamel?  Could be...

Taking a Look Back

May 23

Williamsburg VA

Day 11

Dear Lord, Thank you, thank you, thank you for allowing me to be born in 1950 in the United States of America. Amen.

I have never been more appreciative of our modern conveniences than I am tonight!

Today we visited a place that we have passed near for many years, but never entered, Colonial Williamsburg.

 

The weather was quite warm, hitting 90 degrees and humid. Fortunately, there are many tall trees to provide shade and the structures have air conditioning.

We were looking at a map of the area when we were accosted by a little old lady volunteer handing out brochures and explaining what Colonial Williamsburg was all about. Man, she was a hard one to escape from!  We bought the passes to enter all the buildings and take tours. On Mondays several are closed...the good part is that the crowds are light.

All of the hosts are dressed in period clothing and speak about things in the present (colonial day present, that is) and it put an interesting slant on learning history. .



A recreation of the Virginia Capitol



It looked like a Hollywood set, I was expecting George Washington to come around the corner any minute. Everything was either original, or recreated to stringent specifications, and it was beautiful.

Yes, beautiful, but life was so hard.

Tomorrow we are going even further back in history, to the Jamestown settlement and the the Yorktown Battlefield.

I'm almost 'history'd out'...

May 22, 2011

Waves NC to Williamsburg VA 160 miles

(plus a few extra miles in Chesapeake when Jim didn' t listen to TOMTOM)

Day #10

 Such a beautiful day, calm and sunny. We didn't have to be out before 11:00 am so we took a break from packing up to leave and went walking on the beach.

I had some grouper left over from last night's dinner so I brought it along to feed the seagulls. I really made their day, they certainly seemed to enjoy it much more than the dead fish they were previously dining on. Here are a few photos from our walk...









Fisherman art?  Fish tales nailed to a piling....





Taking a chance getting a photo



We pulled out of Hatteras Camping at 10:30 and headed north on US12 toward Kill Devil Hills (again I ask where the heck they got these town's names from?) and Kitty Hawk. On the way we passed a TJMAXX. Jim is starting to realize he likes this store. Jim really likes shirts too. So...four shirts later we were once again on our way. The smoke was very thick in Nag's Head and we were glad to be leaving it behind.

It was a nice ride on US 12 and then US 158. We'd never been in this part of North Carolina. It's hard to believe that we've been on the road for 10 days and we are still in the same state! Normally, by now, we'd be half way across the country and at least six states away! Jim must be mellowing...

Not far from the whole Chesapeake/Hampton Roads/Norfolk/Newport News snarl of highways, we encountered our first toll charge. It cost $7 to go about 5 miles and we're still trying to figure out why.

I had set TOMTOM for Williamsburg when we left, and hadn't made hardly a turn until we were entering the spur to I64 in Norfolk. Jim knew he needed to get on the interstate, and he knew where. So a few minutes before the turn TOMTOM says, “Right turn in two miles.” The arrow TOMTOM is pointing the way, TOMTOM is reminding him to 'keep right' and the ramp is in sight. TOMTOM says, Turn Right!” I turn to look at the exit as we pass by. Jim looks at me and says, “Oh...was I supposed to go that way?” Apparently, he's not only tuned our my voice, but now TOMTOM's too! I knew we should never have chosen a female voice! So we saw a little piece of Chesapeake that we would have missed if we hadn't had to make a loop...

Back on track we crossed the bridge/tunnel to Newport News...the tunnel was NOT my favorite part of the trip! We followed I64 up to Williamsburg and our RV park, American Heritage, which is very nice. There are large cement pads, level sites and trees. There's  also is a railroad track, but not too close, maybe a quarter mile off...you can hear the trains, but it's not enough to wake you from a sound sleep.

We went back out to a nearby Fresh Fields supermarket...much like our Publix back home.

Tomorrow we go to Colonial Williamsburg, only about 8 miles down the road.

May 21, 2011
Waves, Manteo, Nag's Head NC
Day #9




A lone shrimp boat on a calm sea off  Waves NC


Thankfully, Molly continues to improve, she's bossing us around again.

The weather was almost perfect, save for the occasional smell of smoke drifting in from the wildfire. We decided that we had enough sun yesterday, so we would explore a little of the area today.


But first we needed to do a little housekeeping, RV'ing is no different that regular life,  there are chores.    Jim did the laundry (a fact that I still can't believe, he has NEVER done a single load at home) and some outside RV stuff, while I vacuumed, and cleaned the floors, bathroom and kitchen. 

We traveled north on US12 (the only road, actually) toward Nag's Head and Manteo.  We stopped along the way to see the Bodie Island Lighthouse, a beautiful structure, built in 1872. 


Bodie Lighthouse

Crossed over the Oregon Inlet all the while marveling at the numerous fishing boats harbored on the sound side.  Great fishing here...I'm sure my son would love to go out on one of those boats. 



Oregon Inlet on a calm day



Before long we were in Nag's Head and headed for the Tanger stores so Jim could replace the sandals that he's had for way too long.  A friend of his asked if Jesus had walked in those sandals! 

Wanting some fresh fish (we so miss our son in that department) we stopped at a seafood market.  They had plenty of fresh looking fish, we chose grouper.  Unfortunately, the woman behind the counter intentionally lied when we asked her where the red snapper was caught.  She told us “South Carolina”.
Sorry ma'am, that would be illegal... 

We had never been in Manteo, a little west of where we were.  The weather was just too perfect to do anything but enjoy the outdoors.  Manteo has a little historic, artsy, waterfront area.  We parked and walked the waterfront.  On the out of town we found an ice cream store...we are very good at sniffing out ice cream!

Back to the RV, we relaxed, walked on the beach a little and had a great dinner of grilled grouper (it was really fresh) local asparagus, and red bliss potatoes that my daughter had grown in her garden. 
This was the best beach weather weekend so far this year for the area,  Glad we timed it right!   Last year's trip seemed just the opposite.  Seemed every town we pulled into set a bad weather record!

Tomorrow we travel to Williamsburg.

Dog Day Afternoon

May 20, 2011
Waves NC
Day #8

Molly in 2004

When we were preparing for this trip, we acknowledged that our oldest dog Molly, was starting to show her age, an elderly 14.   We hoped she would stay healthy for the trip but last night she had an accident, peeing on the floor and she had been out a hour or so earlier.  By this morning, we knew something was obviously wrong when we saw blood in her urine

Doesn't it figure?  I don't recall her ever being sick before...well, at least for many years.  I called the vet mid-morning.  The vet thought it might be a urinary tract infection, but at this age we also realized  it could be other, more serious things.  The vet's office said that they would phone in a prescription for an antibiotic to the 'local' drug store, 15 miles from here.  The said they would call back after they sent it.  So we waited....and waited...two hours later I called again.  They said that they didn't forget me, just were just very busy.  I called the drug store to tell them a call was coming in and that  it was a canine prescription.  They informed me that even though, it was a non human, I still had to make out a 'patient' form and that it would take almost another hour from the time my vet phoned it it.  I asked, "Even for a DOG?"  They told me that was policy.  Geez!

Good thing we hadn't made any plans for today!  So we got in the car and started toward the drug store in Avon, 15 miles south of here.  When we got there the pharmacy hadn't heard from the vet yet!  This time Jim made the call and while he was still talking to the vet's receptionist, the pharmacy phone rang.  Amazing what a man's voice will do!  We filled out the 'patient' info sheet and needed to kill most of an hour.  We asked the lady at the drug store where to have a late lunch (always ask the locals) and she suggested  a small family restaurant , Cafe 12, a few doors down. 

The Parrothead Flat

 They had these things called 'Flats', a big (manhole cover size) flour tortilla, choice of 'toppings' and sauces,  covered in cheese with the cheese extending past the tortilla.  The whole thing was in a bowl shape.  There were several varities of combinations...it crisped up and was like eating a giant, pizza slice sized nacho platter.  Interesting. 

We were very grateful to Beach Pharmacy, a tiny privately owned store, for all their help. 

On our way out of the parking lot, we noticed a restaurant closer to the street...it's a chain, we've seen others - but it's got a really catchy name.  Their logo is..."I got crabs at Dirty Dicks"  No lie.



The food may be forgettable, but the name's not!

Drove back to give Molly her medicine.  She wasn't looking too good, trembling and not wanting to eat, had us pretty concerned, we decided to give the antibiotic time to work.  A few hours later she was eating and looking better.  We are keeping our fingers crossed and taking it day to day with her.  Hopefully it's not kidney failure or cancer...
Well, buy this time most of the day was gone, but the showers had ended and the sun was out.  We climbed over the dune to the beach.  The beach goes on for miles and miles.  The wind had died down and the ocean was FLAT for a change.  Beautiful. 

Molly's son, Rookie, he's turning 10 this summer



Took Rookie for a walk on the beach, then rode the bikes over across the street to watch the sun set. 
Some days aren't as fun and interesting as others....




The end of another 'day at the beach'



Too Much Junk...

May 19, 2011
Ocracoke NC to Waves NC 54 Miles via ferry
Day #7

This time TOMTOM knows there's a ferry...look left

 We took our time leaving the camping area in Ocracoke. We didn't have too far to go and part of it was by ferry. It was  good weather for traveling, cloudy and windy, not a beach day. We drove the length of the island, the village of Ocracoke is at one end, the ferry to Hatteras is at the far end of the thin barrier island, a mere 15 miles.

Two ferries passing in the....day.

　
The campground we chose for the next few days Camp Hatteras in Waves NC which is part of Chicamacomico Banks (say that three times fast!)

It is quite the opposite of the last two places. BIG (over 400 sites) , modern, cable and WIFI galore...all for a price, that is. We are aware that there is a large wild fire to the west of us and occasionally we get the smell of smoke.  It's been burning since May 5.  Once a wild fire gets into the peat it's almost impossible to put out because it's burning underground.  Only a good long, soaking rain will do it. 

After getting settled, we headed across the street for lunch, The restaurant overlooked the sound and a kite boarding school. It was very windy and a little chilly as we watched the students. I was waiting for one to be swept up in the wind and disappear into the clouds! Also a chocolate lab entertained us, as he jumped off a dock every time his master came flying by on his kite board to meet him and just as quickly swam back to the dock as his master sped away again.

Later we drove to the nearest (we thought) supermarket in Nag's Head, about 35 miles north. Got delayed for 15 minutes or so by a road resurfacing project...it's not like you can take another road around it!


On the way there we were talking about a girl who had come into the restaurant to use their WIFI, very young and attractive and dressed in teeny weeny- short shorts. I mentioned that although she was a pretty girl with a nice figure, she was a little too broad in the beam for such short shorts...too much junk.


"Yeah," Jim said, "Too much junk in her trailer!"


I thought I'd fall out the passenger door laughing, laughing so hard that I couldn't get enough breath to tell him it was TRUNK not trailer! Poor bugger can't help it, his grandmother and mother did the same thing...and it lives on with our daughter and her son. One thing for sure, the malapropisms have provided a lot of laughs in this family.

Walking the dogs back down the dune from the beach....at least the smoke was good for something...a pretty sunset

We had a quiet evening, walked the dogs on the beach at sunset. He got to watch American Idol and I got to live chat with several dear friends

May 18, 2011
Ocracoke Island NC
Day #6

Today is our younger son's birthday.  Happy Birthday Jonathan!

I'm afraid we're going to get spoiled by all the quiet campgrounds we've stayed in so far this trip. Last night was no different and we slept well.

This morning took the bikes out for a long ride up the island. Won't be able to measure it until I get WIFI again...lord, I miss my GOOGLE so much! But it was overcast and not too hot so we were able to ride for almost 90 minutes. We toured one side of the village, then rode the National Seashore bike path for several miles, back to the other side of the village, the Ocracoke Lighthouse and finally back to the campground for lunch. (edit: it was 10.5 miles!)



Suitable for framing!


We passed many walkers and bike riders on our ride. Most of the time we can tell who comes from small towns and larger cities.  Some people won't even acknowledge a greeting.  I must admit that it took a little getting used to people being so friendly when we moved to Charleston.

At the campground we are only a hundred feet or so from a landmark on the Island. It's the British Cemetery. The graves of 4 sailors from Great Britain are here on land that was declared British Soil. They drowned as part of a crew of 33 when their ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat. They were helping to protect the US coastline. Every year there is a ceremony by our Coast Guard at the grave sites There is also a British flag flying over the cemetery.

Next to it is an old family cemetery, most of the graves are from the early to mid 1800's. Today as we walked the dogs, Brandy REFUSED to walk near it. Twice I picked her up and put her back down, but she continued to pull hard in the opposite direction to get back to the RV. She was trembling...makes me wonder, did she see something over there that we can't? Insert Twilight Zone music ....

It was getting warm after lunch so we gathered our stuff and headed for the beach. The 'beach' is sixteen miles long and I had to laugh when Jim said, "Oh, there's an open spot." I asked him if he thought he was back in RI where some days there isn't room for a blanket. There were MILES of open spots here!


Most of the beach is easy to access with a 4WD vehicle




At least Jim got his feet wet, still too chilly for me


Later, we chatted with some folks in the campground and rode the bikes some more around town to get sunset photos.



Late afternoon light is great




Looking across Silver Lake from the Village



Last ferry...last of the sun