It’s Been A Long Time

It’s Been A Long Time

The summer has come and gone and fall is well underway.   At the outset of our arrival back to Maine, May 1st it seemed we had all the time in the world to enjoy being home, but wouldn’t you know it the time passed at break neck speed. We are now in Brasstown NC for our classes at the Campbell Folk Art School.  David will be honing his wood turning skills and Diana her quilting skills. Three days after our classes we will be in Titusville Florida.

The trip down from Maine has been swifter than in the past, however we have manage to visit with Aunt Irma and Uncle Lou in New Jersey, visit Harpers Ferry and Antietam Battlefield, attend a Bluegrass concert at the Heartwood Cultural Heritage Center and visit with old boating friends in Greenville SC

In addition to just enjoying Wilson Lake and working this past summer we managed a trips to California and Canada. After settling in and working for two weeks we flew to California to spend time with Zach in Los Angles then we drove north to Petaluma to visit Diana’s sister and family with a stop in Oakland to visit David’s cousin Mara and Steve.

The remainder of the summer, with the exception of a 3 week trip to Canada, was spent at Wilson Lake having fun wood turning, carving, bike riding, swimming, kayaking, hiking and Diana spent her time doing some of the above and working with her sewing crafts.  She also finished a quilt for our bed. Inter-spaced in this were visits from Zach in July. Abe and his girl friend Alexis came at end of September for 10 days and a few of which were spent at a family wedding.

With all the activities listed above I also managed to work 2 to 4 days each week.  That being said, after 42 years of service I finally made the decision to fully retire from the practice of Veterinary Medicine.  The decision ranks among the most difficult that I have made throughout my life.  The timing was precipitated by a planed summer long trip to Alaska starting in July 2018. 

View from rear view mirror

Kayaking Orange River Downeast Maine

Cobscook Bay Maine

Carved Mountain Bluebird

Zach on a Hike Wight Mountains National Forrest

Diana's Quilt

Moon rise Wilson Lake

Greg's Wedding

Abe and Alexis Portland Head Light

Ruddy Turnstones at the dinner table

Stilt Sandpiper

Sailing San Francisco Bay with Mara

Descanso Garden California

Burnsides Bridge Antietam Battlefield

Roosevelt Cottage Campobello Island

Fog lifting over Fundy Bay

Fundy NP

Hopewell Rock Bay of Fundy

Fall colors Wilson Lake

Potato Blossoms PEI

PEI National Park

Dusk PEI

Lobster Traps ready for opening day PEI

Lighthouse PEI

Northern Gannet on a dive for supper Kouchibouguac NP New Brunswick CA

Fall Colors in the rear view mirror

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Maryland to Maine

We left VA and headed to the eastern shore of Maryland. Our route took us through Norfolk VA which brought back memories of our sailing days. We went through/ over the Bay Bridge tunnel and thought of all the times we had sailed into the Chesapeake on our journeys with Geo Nova. We drove to our campground that was located half way between Salisbury and Ocean city. We were here for 10 days. It was nice to be in one place for that time. In Salisbury we went to a Brewery and the Ward Museum of Waterfowl Art. There was also a brewery near the campground. We didn't have any luck with the other half of David's B&B, no bakery. We spent 5 days exploring the history and birds of the area. There is a new state park/national monument dedicated to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad.  We also visited Furnace Town, a living history museum that used to make steel in the early 19th century. The water pipes for Philadelphia were made here. 

We enjoyed going to local birding sites. No new birds were located for us but did see over 70 species, some we hadn't seen for years. 

Scouting out local places to get great crab cakes and crab soup paid off with some delicious meals. That was the menu for 3 days! 

David had his bird carving class for 4 days in Ocean City. He carved and painted an Eastern Screech Owl. He enjoyed his teacher and her husband. They both had lots of knowledge to share about bird carving. The first 2 days of David's class were rainy so Diana stayed at the campsite. She crafted and walked in between rain showers. She also got the housekeeping caught up along with laundry. One day Diana dropped David off and explored the countryside looking for quilt shops. She found one that satisfied her crafting needs. She also explored the shops along Ocean City's 3 mile board walk. Most were not open for the season yet, but a yarn/ cross stitch shop had just opened so another new project is in the works.  

After the last day of class David had to go to the World Carving Championship to pick up a t- shirt. They were setting up so we were able to get in and walk around to check out some of the birds that had been entered in the compilation. The table with the international competition had a bird that came from Russia. It was an eagle, with a 5 foot wingspan that had a snake in its talons. This likely be on next springs itinerary. 

The next morning it was on to Cape May NJ. We took the ferry across Delaware Bay which again brought us back to when we were here on our boat. We spent 2 days at the local birding sites hoping to catch the bird migration. We were a couple of weeks too early but still saw lots of birds and enjoyed it. One day we joined a bird walk sponsored by the local Audubon group. 

From here it was on to Aunt Irma's & Uncle Lou in Roosevelt, NJ. We found a campground about 10 minutes from her house. What a great surprise for us that she had her sister Ellie and husband Jerry for dinner too. They drove over from Long Island NY. So we had a wonderful visit with everyone and got to give Ellie a hug on her ninety second birthday. 

The next morning we got up early and headed for our last leg of the trip. On to Maine. We arrive back home around 4. The temperature was 45 degrees and Diana said turn around! We had a friend open the house so the heat and water were on so moving in wasn't such a shock. 

Setting in has been slow because we have had to go down to Massachusetts multiple times to help out Diana's Dad. The weather has been cold and wet and when the sun peeks through the black flys swarm. Despite all that things are getting done. Wouldn't you know it the weather is supposed to be better next week, that's when I go back to work. 

This has been a busy week for us. Diana's dad in Sterling MA has some issues so we have been down 3 days to help him get into an assisted living home. We are exploring all options for him and will eventually get him moved and settled in a new living situation. 

Song Sparrow Cape May NJ

Swan Examining Her Eggs In The Nest

Cape May Light

Remains of Original Steel Furnace at Furnace Town Maryland

Ferry Comming into Lews Delaware

This how you rake with the Black Flys

Davids Screech Owl

The Crooked Road

Rout 58 runs east to west from western Virginia in the area where Tennessee and North Carolina all come together. The road is indeed very crooked, so curvy that the the State  signed a portion say that trucks over 35 feet in length should not transverse this road. We did manage to travel most all of the road with the exception of the " forbidden section". That being said, in our quest to avoid Interstate highways, our route from Asheville brought us through a National Forest on a road that we probably shouldn't have been on. It was narrow and contained many hairpin turns that would have been problematic had there been any traffic. We arrived in Damascus Virginia through the back door. Damascus is home to multiple trails including the Appalachian Trail and the Virginia Creeper Trail. The Creeper is a 38 mile rails to trails gravel path along a mountain stream as it winds through the mountains of Western Virginia.

Damascus serve as a launching area to start our journey along the musical heritage trail known as the crooked road. We visited Bristol Virginia/ Bristol Tennessee where the Smithsonian affiliate Museum of The Birthplace of Country Music is located. The museum lived up to the Smithsonian appellation. We also almost scored a "B and B" there, but the brewery half of the equation was closed. The Bakery did not let us down. Just east of Bristol is the Town of Abingdon Virginia that houses Heartwood a cultural heritage center.

The next stop along the Crooked road was Galax Virginia, just 50 miles east along rout 58, but due to our size we had to drive over 100 miles to get there. The Rex theater that is home to a weekly radio show was our primary focus. The Cabin Creek Boys put on a fabulous show. The audience was mostly all regulars. A great slice of Americana!

Floyd Virginia our last stop on the Crooked Road features the Floyd Country Store a venue for local Blue Grass Music. One of Saturday afternoons artists was a 12 year old boy named Presley Barker, a guitar picker. His mentors include Bryan Sutton and Wayne Henderson. Presley captivated the audience. He is sure to rise to one of the greats some day. If you have a chance look him up on U Tube.

We are now out of the Mountains and at Petersberg Virginia the location of the famed Civil War siege. Today we visited the National Battlefield and saw what remains of the famed Crater where so many Americans perished.

Sunset Asheville NC

Hole on rock entering Damascus from the "back door"

Crater of Petersburg Siege

Mountain Stream that passed behind our trailer in Damascus

Rex Theater downtown Galax VA

Ceder Creek Boys at Rex

Concert at Floyd

Pamplin Historical Museum Of The Civil War Soldier

Blue Ridge Parkway

Savannah to Asheville

Biltmore Estate

Informal Dining Room

View From Biltmore Varanda

Azalea Garden

Tree Swallow

Solitary Sandpiper

Performer at Savannah Music Festival

B 17 Bomber Mighty 8th Museum

Morning Fog as seen from our campsite in Asheville

Trailer Camp Site Asheville

                                                       Savannah to Asheville



The Savannah Music Festival lived up to our expectations in delivering a variety of great world class entertainment.  Shortly after arriving we were off to see the Earls of Leicester, a bluegrass group that plays music inspired by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. The next day we had the treat of listening to 3 High school Jazz Bands from various parts of the country that were in a competition with12 of the country’s best High School Jazz bands. It was hard to believe these were high school kids we were listening to. The rest of the week involved 4 additional concerts. Saturday was blues featuring Paul Oscher who played with legendary Muddy Waters for many years. Sunday we were treated with guitar music of Richard Thompson said to be one of the worlds 20 best guitarist. The only day off from the Music Festival was spent at The Museum of the Mighty 8th AirCorps. This unit played a pivotal part in WWII in Europe and North Africa. It is amazing to see what these young airmen did to help defeat Germany.

Mike and Carol were gracious hosts for our visit. It was great being able to spend so much time with them. It was a treat to get to better know Mike’s friend PJ down from NY for the Music Festival.

Our next stop on the journey North is Asheville North Carolina. We decided to break up the trip by leaving Savannah one day earlier than planned and stopping for a night in South Carolina at a core of engineers park on a man made lake. It was lovely.

Asheville is located in the Appalachian Mountains in NW North Carolina. This is our first sight of mountains since we passed through Arkansas in October. The elevation also helped provide some cold weather to start our acclamation back to Maine weather. The first day we visited the town of Asheville. Here we did some bird watching and also visited, a Bakery and Brewery ,my idea of a B and B. In fact we managed two of each.

Today we spent the day visiting Biltmore the palace like home constructed by George Vanderbilt at the turn of the century. Biltmore is an opulent home of 253 rooms billed as America’s largest home. The huge rooms are filled with priceless antiques and painting and tapestries created by world famous artists. The original grounds consisted of 125,000 acres. The acres and acres of gardens are filled with a myriad of colorful spring flowers. The Azalea garden alone is comprised of 15 acres with a wide variety of colors. We finished off our visit with a great mid day meal at a restaurant  on the estate.

Tomorrow it is off to SW Virginia for the start of another musical delight along what is known as the crooked road.