Outdoor Adventures

Our Galapagos Adventure, Part 2

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Doug and Jackie

Let’s continue with this fantastic adventure cruise to the Galapagos Islands.  As I mentioned earlier, the Galapagos Islands lie 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, isolated for centuries and only visited by whalers, pirates and eventually settlers who tried to cultivate a living on the islands.  The volcanic islands lacked dependable sources of water, with a few exceptions, and thus put a huge strain on the bird and animal life that arrived to the islands.  The need to adapt for survival resulted in species that are totally unique and were what we wanted to see on this trip.  We were not disappointed.

Our fourth day aboard was off the coast of Santa Cruz and North Seymour Islands.  Overnight we were rocked pretty good by large swells, caused by the deep water Humbolt current we were told, and this was the first time seeing lights of other boats and onshore activity.  Choices of excursion for the day were a morning beach walk with beach snorkel or simply the beach snorkel.  Up early to catch breakfast and get ready, we chose the beach walk, since it involved a brief visit to a brackish pond where other birds were expected.  An 8:30 wet landing meant wearing wet shoes and changing into dry socks and hiking shoes.  The beach was white sand, the color of the water was a beautiful blue and frothy white waves crashed over the black volcanic rocks and over the red crabs and brown sea lions scattered about.  It was very cool. The pond behind the dunes was quiet and we saw some ducks and a great look at a black-necked stilt.   

Back at the beach landing we changed into our snorkel gear to check out the sea life.  Turns out it was pretty stirred up and hard to see clearly, so we opted to slip off our fins and get out.  As we were doing so, someone pointed out “octopus in the water”.  Sure enough, there in the wave wash was a dark grey/purple octopus, maybe 12” across the spread tentacles.  We watched a bit before it disappeared deeper into the water.  How very exciting!

Back on board we went through the washing routine with our gear, showered and headed to lunch.  Today was a Spanish inspired lunch with lots of delicious choices.  We had a little chill time while the ship repositioned around the island, just off Baltra and North Seymour Island.  As the ship moved north we closely passed two protected islands: Daphne Major and Daphne Minor. These treeless islands experienced severe drought in the ’70’s and as a result their finch population had to adapt to eating much larger, harder seeds. It is very protected and is the site of finch studies. Moving along the cliffs we spotted some of the red-billed tropicbirds fishing.

Doug skipped the 3:00 snorkel but Jackie went out on this deep water snorkel that she said was a bit rough with some of the same fish and was back onboard by 4:15.  It was a quick turnaround for her, as we both took the 4:45 tender for a dry landing on the rocky coastline.  This was a big nesting area for the frigate birds and blue footed boobies.  There were lots and lots of frigate birds soaring around, some who would try to snatch fish from the nesting boobies, others hovering just above us.  

Of course I was clicking away with my camera and also filming with my gopro camera the whole time – carefully stepping over the many rounded rocks and around the sleeping sea lions.  I was filming a very curious juvenile frigate bird who was just a foot or so above Jackie when he shifted over to me and came in way way too close.  I backed away as his long hooked beak headed straight for me. What else could you do, their wingspan was nearly 4 feet across and I really didn’t want to swat at him – so as I was shouting “too close, too close” I toppled over some rocks and went down.  Everything was fine, I was just a bit humbled and embarrassed by this silly bird.  Yes, it’s on video.

Further along we encountered a cute group of three sea lion pups flopping about.  The group circled around them to take pictures and the pups kept creeping closer and closer to us.  Once again we were telling them “too close” but they didn’t listen of course and they curiously kept advancing.  It was really quite amusing watching as another couple of pups joined them and there was much barking and jostling and flopping around.  Very special and up close look at them.

Onboard for the drink of the day – the Yellow Warbler (well at least I got the drink, if not the photo just yet) – dinner and then choices for tomorrow’s excursions.  Jackie has been very careful on this trip with her dining choices, since she has an allergy to shellfish (crab, lobster, shrimp) that she wants to avoid.  The cruise line was advised in advance and our servers have always asked, but somehow something was overlooked.  She had a rough night and the next morning just wanted to stay in bed.  I shared that with the maitre’d and he ordered up a bowl of chicken soup for her and followed up all day with how she was feeling.

The morning activity was a trip ashore on San Cristobal Island to visit a nature center and then have time in town for shopping or wandering.  Lots of sea lions on shore and laying about on sidewalks and benches – you had to once again watch your step.  I watched several pups splashing around in the tide pools.  Town was pretty quaint, with lots of open air cafes and shopping nooks.  I snapped pictures, did just a little shopping and was back on board before lunch.  It was a rather busy port compared to every other spot we visited.  Only 3% of the islands are inhabited, but where they are it is pretty crowded.

Jackie was still not feeling too good, but I told her it was not a real important excursion day and to stay aboard and rest.  We had some chill time again onboard as the ship repositioned off Punta Pitt and we waited for our scheduled time to visit the island (visitation is strictly controlled).  At 4:00 I boarded the tender for a wet landing, then changed into dry socks and shoes for the long hike up and around the island.  This was a hike up a dry, tight creek bed, much like a small slot canyon, and it was a nice challenge.  You pretty much had to watch your footing the whole time, but as I stopped to get a picture of the blueish lichen on the rocks I noticed something odd on the rock ledge.  Oh, wow it was a small owl.  I pointed it out to our naturalist, who got very excited to see the Galapagos barn owl.  It was just roosting on the rock, not paying a bit of attention to all of us who were snapping lots of pictures.  Nice catch.

Further along the hike we reached some shrubs where blue footed booby chicks were sitting in nests – all white and fluffy.  There was also a new bird for us, the red footed booby, both adults and juveniles.  They were much more gray colored, but the feet were definitely red.  Along the cliffs we saw the third booby, the Nazca booby.  These were white with black wing patches and a yellow bill.  Several flocks were flying along the cliffs and you could catch a few nesting out on the rocks.  Very scenic area, with red and orange plants scattered on the rocks (probably a variety of sedum).  We turned back and found the barn owl still sitting on the ledge, ignoring us.  

Back onboard the ship Jackie was feeling better.  She said the captain and other staff checked on her all day and they figured there must have been some cross-contamination.  The chef prepared a special chicken plate for her and I tried their pumpkin soups and a flounder plate.  The drink of the day was the red footed booby.  After dinner we went up to the darkened 8th deck to look at the stars, even though we couldn’t find the Southern Cross or recognize any of the constellations (too many stars!).  

Saturday was our day to visit tortoises and to do some reforestation on Santa Cruz Island so after breakfast we departed at 8:00 for a dry landing at Puerto Ayora and a short bus ride to the Charles Darwin Research Station and a walk into the Fausto Llerena Giant Tortoise Breeding Center.  We saw our first adult saddleback tortoises here and pens with many other younger ones.  This breeding center is where they hatch and grow the tortoises until around 5 years old, then introduce them back to the islands where they are native.  Great spot for lots of information about how the tortoises were removed so heavily by whalers and pirates as a long-lasting source of food onboard their ships and the efforts now to repopulate them.

Walking back to our buses in town we had some time to shop for shirts, souvenirs and chocolate.  We made sure to get some that was tagged “Darwin’s favorite chocolate.”  Right.  Chocolate was top of his list.  Our next journey was up into the Highlands for a tree planting activity.  We hopped out of the van and found our sizes of rubber boots before hiking into the green, tropical Highlands to plant some Galapagos Scalesia trees to replace the cleared invasive species that had taken over.  This tree is important to the island because of the lichen that grows on its branches and traps moisture from the air.  Each of us had two saplings to plant, with tags that indicated our specific cruise and date, so if we choose to return in years to come, we might just be able to find our trees.  

Changing out of our boots and back into hiking shoes, we boarded the vans for another short drive down the mountain to the El Mansanillo Ranch and a tortoise preserve.  The Highlands were rather lush, filled with pastures of cattle, groves of fruit and greenhouses of vegetables.  It helped us understand that when our cruise chef said they locally sourced all of their food for the cruise, it was indeed possible from Santa Cruz island.

At the ranch we were greeted in a beautiful open-air pavilion for welcome drinks and a delicious buffet lunch.  One of the featured drinks was their own Boobies Beer, which was a nice blonde ale.  After fruit, salad, ceviche, fish and dessert – plus wine and shots of their distilled moonshine – we were treated to a local high school dance performance of traditional dances.  Very colorful and entertaining.  But of course the big event was stepping out to find the giant tortoises.  Not too hard to do, since we had been watching these large moving boulders since we arrived.  In fact they were on the dirt road leading to the ranch and our driver had to gingerly weave around them.  

In the lush green fields we walked among the domed tortoises as they munched on grass, moved about, watched us carefully … and it all just seemed so strange.  These animals were two and maybe three times our age.  They had the freedom to go wherever they wanted on the island, they weren’t penned in.  Wherever the food source took them is where they went.  These domed tortoises had shells that differed from the saddleback tortoises we saw earlier, the result of adaptation that was all part of Darwin’s observations and concluding theories of evolutionary change.  The food they ate (saddlebacks needed to reach the prickly pear fruit) determined how their necks grew and shells molded.  The grass did not require these tortoises to have the long necks and saddleback shells.  It was just amazing to see so many of these big creatures all over the fields and pastures.

We had a little more time in town before heading back to the ship.  This waterfront avenue was filled with pretty high-end shops and restaurants and was lots of fun to shop, even though we really didn’t have much extra room in the luggage for extra souvenirs.  Oh, and I finally got a clear shot of that elusive yellow warbler – on a windowsill no less!

Speaking of luggage, our briefing before dinner was all about how to pack up before midnight, followed by a photo review of our week’s cruise adventure.  Each of us received a jump drive with the powerpoint slide show to take back with us – and we toasted the entire crew with champagne.  Dinner that night was special – a group of 12 of us who had become pretty close on the excursions asked to be seated together for the last night.  It was a lot of fun, as we laughed and chatted about the adventures we all just experienced together.  The meal was delicious, with most choosing the beef Wellington, while I had grilled octopus (sure hope it wasn’t the one we spotted).  If I recall correctly, it was Ena and Al, Andy and Kristy, Carol and Kathy, Judy and Linda, Adam and Janice who joined us for that last meal (which seemed to have bottomless glasses of wine). 

Well we did get our bags all packed up and outside the door for pickup by midnight.  We were up early to leave the room by 7:30 and catch breakfast before hopping aboard the tenders one last time.  The captain and crew were all there to wave us off, no doubt anxious to prepare for the next arrivals.  It was a contented bunch who docked and rode the shuttle to the airport, just a bit sorry the adventure had come to an end but thrilled with the experience.  We claimed our bags, passed through immigration, got our boarding passes and waited in the VIP lounge where there was food and water.  Unfortunately, due to national elections the next day, all alcohol sales and service in the country were shut down for 36 hours.  Ah well, we had our fill the day before.  

The chartered 2 hour flight back to Quito was just fine, with another delicious lunch served.  One in Quito the group broke up in several ways.  Some folks were headed to Peru for adventure, a few were going to the cloud forest in Ecuador and others had flights home a day later.  We were part of the group that had an early flight back home the next morning, so we were escorted to a hotel near the airport: EB Hotel.  This is a very posh euro style hotel that welcomed us with drinks (juice) and had wonderful rooms.  Once again, the lobby was filled with large arrangements of long stemmed roses.  Gorgeous.  Dinner in their restaurant was included and once again I had grilled octopus with shrimp over fettucini, with coconut shrimp for appetizer and a chocolate mousse for dessert.  

Breakfast buffet the next morning, early, and off to the airport by 6:30.  Celebrity helped guide us through the self-check process for LATAM Airlines and we were set to board a 9:05 flight to Miami.  There was just a bit of time for last minute chocolate and coffee shopping before boarding and we had no problems with the flight.  We learned later that some of the group who had a red-eye back home had their flight cancelled and spent the night at a less-than-stellar hotel.  That’s too bad. 

We connected through Miami and on to Atlanta, although neither of us found the Miami portion to be enjoyable at all.  Completely full and not a very polite group of travelers.  Perhaps we had been so spoiled with the Celebrity crew and escorts and the wonderful cruisers who joined us that nothing would have matched that experience.  But we were soon back home chatting about the wonderful memories we had exploring the Galapagos Islands. 

I hope you enjoyed this recap of our experience and will consider this for your future “life list.”  We can both guarantee you won’t be disappointed.  And when I have a bit more time I will edit the video I took and post it on my YouTube channel.  Thanks for joining us on the adventure.

Categories: Cruising, Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Our Galapagos Adventure – Part One

Posted on November 23, 2025 by Doug and Jackie

Amazing, incredible and like something out of time, we just returned from our Galapagos Islands adventure full of great memories, tons of pictures and maybe just a bit exhausted.  It has taken me a few days to even begin to put this together for you and I am really not sure the best way to share the adventure, so I will just start at the beginning, probably breaking this into two blogs. If you can read it on a screen bigger than a phone, you will enjoy the pictures much more.

You will recall that both Jackie and I are wildlife biologists and that I was a naturalist and park ranger early in my career.  Jackie taught biology to middle schoolers and natural selection and evolution were critical elements of that teaching.  So a trip to where Darwin first observed and later wrote about the process of natural selection was somewhere between bucket list and trip of a lifetime for us.

Quito, Ecuador

The Galapagos Islands are located 600 miles west of the coast of Ecuador in the Pacific Island.  To start our journey with Celebrity Cruises we first flew from Atlanta to Quito, Ecuador – in the foothills of the Andes mountains.  Nearly 10,000 feet elevation. Once off the plane and with our collected bags we were met by Celebrity hosts and driven to our grand hotel, the JW Marriott – a drive that was about an hour on some very crowded roads.  A nice welcome, with arrival drinks and warm hand towels, and we were soon in our room checking out our goodies.  We each had a medium sized backpack and metal water bottle, compliments of Celebrity, that would be used for the cruise excursions.  We had some health and declaration paperwork to complete for the flight to Baltra, but the next day would be an excursion around the city.

The included breakfast buffet was a gorgeous spread of fruits, cheeses, pastries, omelets – I made sure to try the dragon fruit, papaya, cherimoya, golden berries and other fruits.  Cruisers were divided into smaller groups of 10 – 12 with a guide and by 9am we were on our bus headed into Quito.  The city sprawls across hills and canyons and is divided by tunnels running through the hills.  We headed into the older Spanish Colonial section first, reaching a hilltop with a huge metal sculpture of the Virgin Mary slaying a dragon – with views of the city and surrounding volcanic mountains. One nice touch was an earpiece we each wore that was connected to our guide, so we could easily hear everything that was said as we walked about.

Deeper into the UNESCO section of the city we began a walk along the crowded streets, filled with sidewalk vendors of all sorts and stalls of fruits, vegetables, cooked meats, candies, crafts – just a wild scene.  Each tour group also had an extra security guard who kept an eye on any locals who might be too eager – but we had no problems.  Our first stop was one of the many Catholic churches – decorated in an amazing Baroque style (which meant every surface had to be decorated, mostly in gold leaf).  We also visited the St. Francis Monastery, just off the large central square that was filled with performers and more vendors, some who had beautiful woven scarves of Alpaca – eager to show you all the colors and designs.  Inside the monastery was a beautiful courtyard, but of course I had to check out the monk’s brewery, which was more museum than active brewery, but they did serve their beer in a tasting room.

We kept walking around the bustling streets, into the square with the Presidential Palace and then to another monastery for a delicious lunch buffet served in the courtyard.  Back on the bus and an hour’s drive later we were at a museum park that sat on the equator.  We were told that the traditional equatorial marker just a block away (and quite crowded and fancy) was originally set by French explorers but more accurate GPS put the location where we were standing.  There were several demonstrations of the odd behavior of the Equator, such as no drain swirl on the Equator, but clockwise or counter clockwise just three feet to either side.  Tried to balance an egg on end (couldn’t quite do it) and we of course had pictures straddling the line. 

The museum had some historic shelters and artifacts to explore and after being treated to a chocolate tasting I chased down a fancy hummingbird and yellow bird (not sure of the species) in the shrubs and then it was back on the bus and an hours drive to the hotel.  A lot of traffic, even with some hefty public transportation – bus stations in the median of the roads, trolleys and double and triple section buses.  A quick moment at the hotel to freshen up and we were off again for dinner out.  We had a really delicious meal – yellowfin tuna appetizer, most of our table had a big veal shank, I had beef hind (like a pot roast), followed by a dessert selection.  Back at the hotel we had to repack our bags and take them to the lobby, keeping only our backpacks.  A requirement for the flight to Galapagos was having all bags checked and certified so nothing biological is introduced to the islands.

A note about the altitude and preparation.  We took some prescribed medications to help with oxygen uptake and were sure to keep well hydrated.  The regimen of pills was started the day before arrival and the day we left.  It seemed to help, but you still found yourself taking a big deep breath every so often.

To the Islands

Another delicious breakfast buffet (mmm, good coffee), then boarding buses to the airport – still in our groups, which did make it easier to meet some of our fellow cruisers.  The flight to Baltra on the islands was 2 hours, arriving with beautiful weather.  Much fuss was made about having the entry QR code on your phone to pass immigration, but it worked out fine.  We identified our luggage, which was brought to the ship for us.  Another short shuttle to the dock where we boarded the zodiac rafts for the first time and made our approach to the ship (with a brief visit to our first blue footed booby sighting on the rocks and lots of frigate birds circling overhead).  We are in the tropics now!

The “Welcome Aboard” greeting was wonderful, with the captain and all key crew shaking hands and welcoming us aboard – warm hand towels, champagne and an escort to our suite.  There a bottle of champagne, cookies and chocolates awaited us as we were shown how to operate the lights, the infinite veranda and shown the stocked mini bar. We had a few minutes to explore the ship before lunch at 1:30.  There are only two floors of suites for the 100 guests, the dining room and lounge/bar deck, upper deck with grill, bar and hot tub and the marina deck where your wet gear is and where you board the zodiac tenders.  Oh and there is a very small pool – like hot tub size.   

There was a 3:30 muster drill and a 4:00 briefing about the options for the next day’s excursions and how to connect to Wi-Fi.  Information overload.  Doug chose a long walk and snorkel off the beach for the morning, Jackie the short walk and beach snorkel.  For the afternoon we chose the tender ride along the coast followed by deep water snorkeling.  By 5:00 we were being fitted for snorkel gear, fins and wetsuits.  Snorkel gear was placed in numbered mesh bags and hung on hooks that corresponded to our suite number, wetsuits on hangers also numbered to our suite.  That was a fun exercise slipping into wetsuits that might have been a bit small, exchanged and then zipped up for proper fit.  These were short sleeved, mid thigh wetsuits, although we also brought some dive skins (essentially long tights and long sleeve UV shirts).

But wait, there’s more on this first day scramble:  A presentation about the ship followed by a champagne welcome toast.  Dinner, finally, at 7:30 and then back to the suite to unpack and hit the sack.

Morning Excursion

Monday was our first day official of the cruise, begun with a delicious buffet breakfast and followed by our tender assignments.  Boarding the tenders was a routine that we had to master.  First you had to have just the right things in your backpack – water bottle, reef safe sunscreen, towel and change of socks and shoes, depending on wet or dry landing.  Then you grabbed your mesh bag if snorkeling, put on a life jacket, THEN your backpack over that, carrying the mesh bag to your tender and handing it off to the crew.  Grab the rail as the steps bob up and down and then step carefully down, taking your place along the canvas floatation.  Zoom, zoom and we were off to the shoreline.

This was on Santiago Island, at Puerto Egas and a wet landing.  That meant you wore water shoes to step off the ramp at the water’s edge of the beach.  It also meant that to hike you needed to quickly change into your dry hiking shoes, leaving your water shoes on the beach.  The hike was amazing.  Beautiful weather in the mid 70’s – we were greeted by a pair of Galapagos Hawks on shore.  And what else?  How about some of Darwin’s finches, Galapagos mockingbird, frigatebirds, pelicans, lava herons, Galapagos doves, and … large land iguanas and little lava lizards among the cactus and scrub, fur seals, sea lions, marine iguanas, Sally Lightfoot crabs … wow.  Just right there, up close and personal, as if they were posing for you.  Lots of pictures taken, of course.  Other birdlife spotted included the elusive (to me anyway) yellow warbler, oystercatcher, yellow crowned night heron and lava gulls.  You can pretty much preface every bird or animal with “Galapagos” or “Lava” … maybe “Darwin.”

Back at the black sand beach our group caught up with Jackie’s group and we changed into our wetsuits and snorkels, struggling to put on the fins, naturally, and slipping into the cold water (57 degrees!)  But oh what a beautiful reef.  Fish all around: yellow-tailed surgeon fish, king angelfish, parrot fish, blue sea stars, chocolate chip starfish and something we later identified as a Galapagos sea cucumber. As we were having fun watching the fish we were suddenly joined by a very playful and curious sea lion.  I mean so close he practically bumped into you – but no, he skillfully swam around and under you.  How special and what fun.  I did get video.

Time to slip off the fins, pack up the mesh bag, don our lifejackets and backpacks and step into the tender for the short trip back onboard.  The arrival routine was to take off backpack, lifejacket, wet shoes and wetsuit and then plunge/rinse the shoes, wetsuit and mesh bag in designated buckets to rinse off sand, salt and bacteria.  Hang up wetsuit and bag on proper hooks, rinse yourself off under warm shower and hand in towel – oh and beep yourself back onboard with your seapass card.  One deck up you were greeted with spiked hot chocolate and some small sandwich bites or brownies – what a nice reception.  Time for drying off, changing, catching lunch and just a bit of time before the next excursion.

Afternoon Excursion

By 3:30 the ship had arrived at Rabida Island and we were set for the afternoon activity.  We chose the wildlife tender ride with beach snorkel, so it was the whole wet landing routine again.  Dive skins, wetsuits, wet shoes, mesh bag, lifejacket, backpack, beep your card and off in the tender.  

The rocky shoreline was filled with wildlife:  a rare albino pelican, the infamous blue footed boobies (stop snickering), herons, swallowtail gulls, Nazca boobies and plenty of sea lions, fur seals and pups.  We landed at a red sand beach this time and saw flamingos on a small pond behind the beach. Our snorkel was with some of the same fish and another playful sea lion who kept swimming circles around and under us, sometimes leaping out of the water just for fun.  We were the last tender back to the ship and had to quickly shower and change before the wine and cheese gathering at 6:30.  This was also where we learned about and signed up for the excursion choices for tomorrow and got to mingle with the captain and crew (the captain was always out and about with us).

We were invited to join new friends Ena, Al, Andy and Kristy for dinner on the top deck under the stars.  Delicious meal and yes, you could see so many stars at this black sky location with little onboard light interference.  We had a final nightcap and off to bed.

Is It Only Our Second Day?

Overnight the ship moved to Isabela Island and after another delicious breakfast it was time for our first excursion: wildlife tender ride in Elizabeth Bay at 9:30.  From the deck while watching earlier tenders head out we saw whales later identified as minke whales, with sea lions swimming with them.  This was an amazing morning, as our tender moved quietly into a lagoon of mangrove trees and we started spotting EVERYTHING at once.  Look on the left, there is a green sea turtle, oh and another.  There are two sleeping on the bottom … oh, there go three spotted eagle rays and under them is a stingray.  On the mangrove branches were sea lions resting and arguing and a few others swimming around.  On your right is a group of golden cownose rays swimming past … oh look, a Galapagos penguin is zipping around, popping up and then circling back around.  There were flightless cormorants nesting in the branches and on the lava fields.  Our tender got so close we were just feet from the nest – pictures galore. What a morning!  

Back to the ship for lunch we went and while having drinks, guacamole and chips on the top deck we spotted more minke whales and sea lions in the distance.  While the ship repositioned to Tagus Cove we had time to talk with the onboard naturalists about what we have been seeing and identified a few of the fish.  I also figured out how the six zodiac tenders followed us:  they get stowed onboard after each stop.  Cables lift them up and inside the ship, stacked three high on each side.  When we reach our next stop, the ship opens up and the tenders are lowered out to the water and back to the stern, where the marina platform also lowers to the water.  Quite ingenious.  A kayak excursion was an option for this afternoon, so the kayaks were lowered along with the zodiac.  We opted not to do the kayaks, since photography would be difficult.

Afternoon Snorkel

At 3:00 we were off to do a deep water snorkel, meaning we slipped off the zodiac and couldn’t touch bottom.  This was along a rocky cliff wall in pretty rough water with current, so once in the cold water it took a moment to calm your breathing and relax.  Jackie was first in and I tried to catch up to her, but I have to admit it was a tough go – and after 20 minutes or so I was winded and got back onboard the tender.  That was ok, since from our tender we followed a group of 6 – 8 penguins swimming along the wall.  Jackie swam with 6 sea turtles, and was pestered by a pair of cormorants that got way too close. “Six feet, six feet” she kept telling them, the distance from wildlife encounters, but they seemed not to listen.  Back onboard it was the wetsuit routine, changing into dry clothes and we were back on the tenders by 4:45 for a short hike and tender ride.  The hike was up a lot of stairs to see Darwin’s Pond, a brackish inland pond.  Back to the tender and cruising along the rocky cliff we saw lots of marine iguanas, cormorants and penguins before back to the ship and the cocktail of the day: blue-footed booby.

We had our evening briefing about crossing the equator (which we will do twice this evening), choosing our activities for tomorrow and then dinner at 7:30 (the usual time).  Always a delicious meal, I opted for tuna ceviche then squid ink risotto with shrimp, squid and octopus.  Jackie had grouper, since we had sea bass the day before).  

Day 3

Wednesday we woke up with the ship anchored between Santiago and Bartolome Islands. After a quick breakfast of fruit, eggs and pastries we boarded our tender by 8:00 and were off for a dry landing at Sullivan Bay and a hike on the lava field. I remembered my geology from middle school and recognized the rough chunky  Aa (ah ah) lava and ropey pudding-like Pahoehoe lava that we walked across.  This was a huge lava flow that was a bit tricky walking over, but like a river of black mud frozen into rock.  There was some beautiful Galapagos cactus and the shoreline was crawling with Sally Lightfoot crabs.  These very colorful crabs have been all over each of the shorelines, moving fast and jumping between rocks sometimes.  

We headed back to the tender, onto the ship and Jackie got ready for another deep water snorkel at 10:00 along another stretch of the lava cliffs.  She saw lots of fish on this drift snorkel and several small reef sharks.  Once back on board we had lunch and finally some free time to relax on the top deck with more guacamole and chips, with vodka tonics.  Jackie mentioned that my hanger for the wetsuit was empty and we searched the spot for it, no luck.  The crew said it was probably grabbed by mistake and they sent two new ones for me to try (the 2X fit). With that problem solved we were ready for the afternoon excursions to Bartolome Island.  

We split up this time.  At 4:00 Doug did a wet landing and to the beach for a walk followed by snorkeling, Jackie went out at 4:30 for a shoreline tender ride.  On this snorkel around the unusual Pinnacle Rock I saw a reef shark, several starfish, including a chocolate chip starfish, lots of parrot fish and plenty of others.  Along the shoreline Jackie saw penguins and sea turtles breeding.  Back onboard the drink of the day was the Pink Flamingo before we had our excursion briefing for tomorrow followed by dinner at 7:30.  Tonight was a crab cake and a salad with grilled sea bass on top – and of course a delicious dessert.  We opted to skip the evening’s Karaoke night, grabbed a White Russian and were early to bed.

I think this is a good stopping point for Part One of this marvelous adventure.  Let me sort through my 1,000+ photos and gather my notes to complete Part Two in a couple of days.  Suffice it to say there are a few more stories and adventures ahead – you won’t want to miss them.

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Yes, Our Adventures Continue …

Posted on October 30, 2025 by Doug and Jackie

Oh my, it is now fall and I haven’t updated our adventure blog since our trip to Jekyll Island, the Okefenokee Swamp and Panama City Beach.  That was a wonderful adventure.  We haven’t had any other big camping trips, just keeping busy locally.  Moving to a new house has been a big step for us and is keeping us quite busy – some improvements and discovering what will grow on our acre.  Figs were a big surprise, keeping Doug busy with making preserves, tarts and breads.  We planted two crops of delicious corn, were overrun with yellow squash and were surprised with so many blooming flowers and shrubs.  And Doug has been crafting lots of new glass sculptures, bird baths and solar fountains, now that he has a new dedicated studio space over the garage.  Several new videos have been posted to his YouTube channel – check them out! 

We have also been exploring the “neighborhood” by visiting some fun wineries in the Georgia Mountains with friends and family – part of our Brew Crew. We still have a few great breweries nearby that feature some delicious craft beers and food trucks. We went kart racing at Atlanta Motorsports Park with family and had a blast! Jason is head chef there and is building out several great eateries for guests. A Taste of Woodstock local food festival was lots of fun and we volunteered to pour at Acworth’s mimosa festival (that featured a monster thunderstorm that drenched us just as our shift began!).

We did have a camping week at our nearby Lake Allatoona, which was great.  Our grandsons joined us overnight and we had fun with the kayak and paddleboards.  It might just have been our last camping adventure in the motorhome, as we have decided it is time to clean it up and put it up for sale.  It is rather sad, since we have had such amazing, exciting adventures in it over the past 10 years.  It took us to all of the national parks we could reach (excepting the Pacific coast), many fantastic state parks and so many wild and crazy adventures.  That may not end, just not in this particular motorhome.

You might wonder why this post, given that we really haven’t been camping at the beach, in the mountains, or someplace off the grid in the West.  Well, we have our next adventure coming up and I wanted to alert you to what may be posted on the blog by Thanksgiving.  To celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary this year, we decided to visit a place that holds a lot of meaning for wildlife biologists like us: visiting the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador.  This is a special place that instructed Charles Darwin on his theory of evolution.  Our trip will start with a day in Quito, Ecuador before flying to the coast and boarding our ship, the Celebrity Flora – limited to 100 guests and reached by a zodiac raft.  

Each of our seven days onboard will include morning and afternoon hikes, snorkels, exploration and discovery, moving between several islands.  We are so excited and maybe just a little nervous about this exploration cruise.  It should truly be a trip of a lifetime and I hope to have enough stories and pictures to share when we get back.  I will take a notebook instead of the computer, so it may take a while to compose the blog … and to sort through what should be awesome pictures and video.

So stay tuned for the big post-cruise posting while you are sipping your pumpkin spice latte and bundling up in the chilly fall weather.  Hope to share more soon.  And thanks for being a faithful reader.  Why not check out some of my glass sculpture videos?

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Driftwood, Gators and Flip-flops

Posted on May 7, 2025 by Doug and Jackie

As I sit in the morning sun at the campsite, composing my thoughts, I realize we are already the first weekend in May and out on our first adventure of 2025.  It has been a while since posting anything about our crazy retired life – so how is it we find ourselves camping amid thousands of rumbling bikes during the Thunder Beach motorcycle rally in Panama City Beach?  Well, let me share just how wild this year has started for us and why this is our first “breather.”

For the past several years we have been looking to downsize our home and move just a bit closer to our grandsons – while also having a little more outside space and room for our various activities and interests.  Late in 2024 we found the perfect spot and scrambled to make it happen, while still keeping up with our travel plans (the cruise on Wonder of the Seas in particular).  There were also a few modifications we wanted to make at the new house, including a better studio for Doug’s glass art and YouTube video space, in addition to moving our things, and getting the old house ready for sale.  It has taken much longer than expected and we really aren’t completely done yet.  But here we are at the beach trying to relax.

It has been a great trip so far.  The start to this adventure was our granddaughter’s wedding at the beach, for which my sister Linda and husband Norman flew out to be a part of.  They got to see our new digs, we hit up a couple of breweries “just because” and quickly got the motorhome prepped and ready for the first adventure of the year.  Into the motorhome went food and drink, clothes, essentials, a few boxes of stuff for the wedding and rehearsal dinner, the pets (Binx the cat and Kodi the dog), ebikes, the Jeep and off we went.  The wedding was to be on Jekyll Island, Georgia and we had a site booked at the island’s campground.  The trip was long (8 hours), since we opted to leave the interstate and take 4-lane backroads half of the trip.  But we don’t push the speed while driving the motorhome, so that was just fine.    

Once on the island things moved along on a pretty tight schedule, the rehearsal and dinner were perfect events to let everyone mix and get to know various relatives and friends.  But the highlight was the wedding the next afternoon – a perfect weather day on an amazing beachfront.  The tide was out, the groomsmen and bridesmaids standing with bleached white logs and trees behind them and the barefoot bride was soon making her way down the sandy “aisle.”  The framing and location on the aptly named Driftwood Beach was perfect and this rare spot truly let us all get swept away in the moment.  

We finished out the weekend biking around the island, visiting the historic area where the millionaire’s Jekyll Island Club hosted the country’s industrialists at the turn of the century.  Once everyone departed for home and we collected up a few boxes of the decor we had one more day before we set off for part 2 of the trip: the Okefenokee Swamp.  It wasn’t very far inland before we were at Laura Walker State Park on the edge of the swamp.  Perfect spot on a lake, with gorgeous weather once again as we decompressed just a bit from the weekend’s excitement.  Linda and Norm drove to visit friends in St. Augustine and we would all be reconnecting in two days for part 3 of the trip.

We had a boat tour of the swamp booked the next day with Okefenokee Adventures in the National Wildlife Refuge and made sure we got there early – it was about 45 miles away in Folkson.  A couple of school groups were arriving at the marina as we discreetly inquired if they would be joining us.  “Oh no, they have their own tour planned,” was the correct answer for us.  Former teachers can be so picky about spending vacation time with middle schoolers!

Our boat had only 8 of us, so it was a good group.  The blackwater canals dug to drain the swamp in the 1890’s, unsuccessfully, were lined with cypress draped in Spanish moss, their knees poking out of the dark water.  Other things poking out of the water moved closer to the boat to check us out or maybe just to meander along the shoreline – these alligators ranged from 6 to nearly 12 feet long, by my estimation.  They definitely were curious about the intruders and kept us in sight, sometimes submerging until all you saw were eyes and nostrils on the water’s surface.

We turned off the canal into a more natural prairie setting filled with water lillies, pitcher plants, iris and orchids in bloom.  It was really a magical journey.  We saw a nest of red-shouldered hawks with the juveniles standing at the edge, another hawk on a crag hunting for critters and a few turtles on the floating peat islands.  On a drive around the area we stopped to take pictures of more pitcher plants and orchids before stopping to visit a thoughtfully restored homestead in the swamp.

The next day it was time for part 3 of this adventure – a long drive across south Georgia and the Florida panhandle to our favorite beach spot: St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach.  Linda and Norm beat us there by one day, staying at a rental just a block from camp and steps from the beach.  They had already checked out two of our favorite watering holes, Patches Pub and Schooner’s, and texted that there were a bunch of motorcycles at Patches.  Uh oh, we managed to hit here during the Thunder Beach cycle rally – again.  That’s ok, we decided to all go back to Schooner’s for dinner and the sunset cannon blast and actually had no problem getting a table beachside.

At the beach it was windy, but the water was its usual perfectly clear blue-green color, with the white sand beach stretching along to the rock jetty.  Norm and I were maybe waist deep in the surf, watching dolphins beyond the waves and Norm had his eyes on an osprey to catch him in a dive for fish.  Suddenly I was startled by a big splash next to us as two dolphin zipped past us, missing by maybe 6 feet.  Norm turned at my yelp to see them and when he looked back up for the osprey it already had a mullet in its talons.  “Darn, I missed it.  I missed the catch,” he said.  Yeah but we almost got nailed by dolphin!  The dolphin spotting was worth it.  They continued to fluke and splash around, maybe only a wave away from us.  Very cool.

Next day we watched for more dolphins and were treated to seeing several devil rays swim by, a bull shark (identified by someone skimming along on an aqua foil), more osprey, lots of terns, a pair of skimmers and of course the return of the dolphins.  Great day at the beach topped off with dinner at Sharky’s on the beach.  Of course I had to have the grouper sandwich and we made sure to bring our souvenir cups along so we paid the refill price for drinks.  OMG we sound like old people.  The drive along the beach to and from the restaurant was a big show of bikes in every sort of color, style and sound.  Lots of fun.

Unfortunately, the big day for the rally was Saturday and it rained pretty hard on and off into the night.  Norm and Linda flew out and back to California late in the afternoon and we stayed dry in the motorhome, reading, making a quick trip to Walmart and planning the next few days here at the beach.

On our last visit to this state park in the fall we noted the improvements being made – repaving the main roads and a parallel bike lane.  Well they still haven’t finished, particularly the entrance area of the park, and the road to the beach access is now a one way loop.  Can’t complain about the new paving, but it makes it just a bit further around to get from campground to beach by car or jeep.  Not a problem for bikes and golf carts, though.  But it is still a great spot to stay, if you can wrangle a reservation.

Well our last days were gorgeous and the water was clean, clear and nearly wave-free.  The beach has been renourished, so it is a long, long walk to the water, but our beach cart makes it pretty easy to haul the chairs, umbrellas, towels and cooler.  What a great end to this three-stop camping adventure.  Oh, and on our morning bike ride we were treated to a bald eagle surveying his territory.  Naturally I did not have my long lens on the camera, so I hustled back to the campsite, switched out and got back in time to snap a few shots.  Still not as crisp as I would like, though.

Our journey back home runs about 6 – 7 hours, with a time change back to eastern from central time zone, losing another hour.  That usually puts us in Atlanta rush hour traffic, so we break it up with one more night near Columbus or Eufaula.  This time we stayed in FDR State Park at a nice spot beside the lake … with an overnight rainstorm.  Ah well.  Out early and back home in 2 hours we are now unpacking and planning the next outing.  I think it will be a week at the lake near us this summer, with the grandsons staying over for a night or two.

Thanks for joining us on the journey and stay tuned for more adventures.  Be sure to visit Doug’s glass artist pages on YouTube for some summer garden decor ideas or learn how to bake your own sourdough!  Adventures with Doug & Jackie – YouTube  Until the next adventure!

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A Utopian Family Cruise

Posted on September 25, 2024 by Doug and Jackie

Yes, we are aboard the brand new, second-largest-in-the-world ship: Utopia of the Seas for a fun family cruise. This is an amazing adventure onboard with my sister Linda, her husband Norm and my daughter Karina, son-in-law Jason and our two wonderful grandsons.  This 4-night cruise fit perfectly during their fall break and was easy enough for us to reach in Port Canaveral.  And of course the unofficial cruise director (me) had the typed agenda all set – after all, this was a big ship with much to see and do – we wouldn’t want to miss anything.  ((I have a YouTube video of the highlights)

For us, the best way to cruise from Port Canaveral is to get to Orlando the day before, stay the night in a hotel near the airport and then make the 45 minute drive directly to the ship in the morning.  Linda and Norm flew in from California, arrived late evening due to delays enroute, but we managed to gather and plan for the morning’s departure.  Everyone had breakfast and was ready on time in the morning for the drive to the ship – I am proud of my cruisers!  

If you have ever cruised, you know the anticipation and delight as you approach the pier, the huge ship looming over the parking decks and embarkation building, as big as a skyscraper.  Security and check-in have become much smoother with the help of digital passes, but it is always a hustle and flow of people, bags, kids, walkers and wheelchairs.  But this was definitely the smoothest and quickest check-in ever.  You make your way past the photographers and up the ramps and suddenly the crew is welcoming you aboard and into the ship!  Wow, how exhilarating, how fun, what energy, how LOUD!  Ok then, let’s get the party started and make our way to the food and fun.  Ready?  Let’s go!  

We split up, Linda and I headed to the dining room to be sure we had a table for 8 set for the 5:00pm seating and the rest heading to their muster station for the safety briefing.  That finished, we exited up the elevator to a quieter location to find food and drink.  This was the first time aboard a Royal Caribbean ship for Jason, Karina and the boys, so they went off exploring.  I was headed to the Windjammer buffet in search of what I heard was a seafood spread featuring lobster tails.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp – oh my!  And in the buffet.  That is definitely a first for me.

By 1:00 we were able to check in to our rooms, where our bags and room cards were waiting.  We each had balcony rooms, some overlooking the Boardwalk deck, some overlooking Central Park.  Exploring the ship, checking out the bars, pools and such was the next adventure – and learning that the sail away party involved more LOUD music and party vibes.  It was definitely an upbeat atmosphere onboard.

So what did we do for our 4 days?  Was it enough time?  We packed in everything we could and more, and it was just right for a week off.  Here are highlights:

I already mentioned the seafood surprise on day 1.  Dinner was just as delicious.  We made our way to the early seating, main dining deck 3 and after a bit of a “let me check” moment to find our reservation, we were escorted to the center of the room, under the huge chandelier, to a round table with high backed chairs – the premier spot of the dining room!  How special.  The boys were perfect each night, ordering their selections of fruit cup, fries, chicken fingers, toasted cheese or spaghetti (I kind of forget exactly), and of course ice cream.  Our servers Christopher and Tamera were excellent and attentive.  And we waved the napkins in salute to the kitchen staff.

The first night’s entertainment was in the main theater for “All In!” a song and dance performance that was great fun. Good that we had reservations to get good seats and we were even treated to lighted drones flying about.

Nassau Port Day:  We stayed onboard to enjoy the pool, flow rider, rock climbing and more, since a lot of folks had left the ship.  Wyatt and I made a run down the waterslide and he and Owen got plenty wet in the pool and Splashaway Bay. Norm found some comfy couches and chairs in the shade by the pool and Lime & Coconut bar and we kind of claimed the spot each day.  A mid-afternoon shower sort of chased the crowd away, but we hung in there, since the bar was right there (don’t want to waste that drink package).  The show at night was in the Aqua theater in the stern of the ship: Aqua80Too.  Amazing feats of diving, splashing, swimming, aerial acts, and slack line.

Sea Day: (and I might have my days a bit mixed up, it was THAT much fun). Doug and Wyatt did the boogie board on the flow rider just before lightning struck and a storm rolled in.  The boys played mini-golf, ate ice cream, searched for five chrome monkeys onboard, ate ice cream, watched the superheroes parade and ate ice cream.  Jackie, Linda, the boys and I tried the dry slide Ultimate Abyss and survived. The highlight of the day was a power failure aboard that shut down all power for a few hours. The worst part was that the AC wouldn’t turn back on for a bit and things got pretty warm. The show at night was a tribute band that was a bit “off” for the lead singer. 

Perfect Day CoCo Cay:  We were in port with Harmony of the Seas and were a bit worried about a crush of people, but it really was not a problem.  We found lounge chairs, splashed in the water of Harbor Beach on Chill Island, bobbed in the Oasis Lagoon pool and had delicious food (and ice cream) at the Chill Grill.  Rumblings of thunder had us exit the water for about a half hour, but no rain and we were back in quickly.  The show this night was in the ice arena where we had front row seats for “YouTopia.”  Very cool skating and dancing that was very high energy.

There is a quick story for this night:  Owen and Wyatt had a big day in Coco Cay, so their family decided to eat in the Windjammer while the rest of us did the dining room.  We met up later and they raved about the seafood selection and other good food in the buffet.  Hmm, well since Jackie, Linda and Norm were watching the comedy show I thought I would wander up and see if it was true.  Oh yeah, there were piles of stone crab legs, mussels, shrimp, clams – so I just had to grab some and find a spot by the window overlooking the boardwalk.  “We see you” texted Karina.  What?  I looked around me, none of my peeps were there.  “Outside” texted.  What?  “On our balcony” she texted and sure enough, across from me and down a few balconies were my grandsons waving to me.  They spotted me having my second dinner (and you would think you could go unnoticed on this ship of 6,000 plus!).

What else did I discover?  I tried to find all the bars, especially those that were new for me.  I had a toasted marshmallow old-fashioned in the Schooner Bar, PB&J old-fashioned in the Mason Jar, Peanut Butter Pina Colada in the Pesky Parrot Bar … well, you get the idea.  Our main dining room meals were delicious.  Prime rib, Caribbean pork chop, lamb shank, beef bourgeon, onion soup, coconut shrimp, crusted salmon, escargot, calamari, crab cake … all top notch, great service.  I got my 2 for $30 t-shirts (used to be $20!)  Jackie and I spent some time in the solarium pool and we all got the hang of the new elevator system.  You tap your destination on the pad and it tells you what elevator to take.  No other buttons.  We found the traveling piano player, I spent two nights in the casino playing craps (pretty much broke even), we tried the plunge pool hot tubs, the boys rode the carousel a few times and we all walked around plenty.

The pictures tell the story, and suffice it to say a wonderful time was had by all of us.  We started early, stayed up as late as we could and started it all over again the next day.  Until the final morning’s departure after breakfast, goodbye hugs and the drive home.  Jackie and I made a detour to drive Linda and Norm to see family in South Carolina, so we spent the weekend with them before driving ourselves home.

So what’s next for your favorite adventurers?   In a week we head to Panama City Beach with the motorhome, but a hurricane is headed there before our visit, so not sure of the outcome.  

I am also in the midst of making lots of glass garden sculptures, fountains and birdbaths and filming the process.  I have them posted on my growing (can you believe it?) YouTube channel.  I would appreciate it if you view, subscribe and enjoy:  youtube.com/@adventureswithdougandjackie But we had a large pine tree come crashing down on my hanging pieces and it pretty much smashed about 30 pieces.  So there will need to be some repairs made.

Stay tuned.

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Ohio Cliffs, Caves and Gorges

Posted on May 7, 2024 by Doug and Jackie

Heigh-Ho and here we are in Ohio now.  We needed a little excitement I guess, so after a rainy start leaving Carter Caves we crossed the Ohio River and left all straight roads behind.  Seriously, we meandered on serpentine two-lane roads the entire time in Southeastern Ohio, making our way to Logan and nearby Hocking Hills State Park.  Somewhere between a roller coaster and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, but in about 3 hours we were pulling into our latest spot to spend a few days.  

By now the pets are well adjusted to the routine, even if they probably don’t like all the movement and noise.  Everyone got fed and watered in camp as we set up and reviewed the park map to figure out what to explore.  We opted to go to the Visitor Center to get our bearings, check the trail maps and have a quick look at the trailhead for Old Man’s Cave.  I found it a bit confusing at first, since they mark everything as a one-way trail and note several places where there are lots of stairs – but it didn’t look hilly around that spot so, maybe when we hike it tomorrow we will find out.  The rest of the afternoon was a “break” to do some laundry and (in my case) catch a nap.

Ok then, let’s hit the trail to Old Man’s Cave after breakfast!  We packed the cameras, water bottles and decided it was going to be warm enough for shorts and tee’s.  From the parking lot we took the one-way trail to Upper Falls and standing on a bridge admiring the view over the falls we noticed that a group of students (we figured 8th graders) was gathered just ahead of us.  Well, gather might be generous, they were moving all about and chattering and giggling and, well, being 8th graders with a month of school left.  That meant that we should delay our hike a bit to let them get ahead.  And they did.

Back to the sandstone ravine that we were hiking through.  This was an amazing journey down into this carved canyon of walls covered in moss and ferns, with huge hemlocks towering above us.  The narrow (hence one-way) trail wound along the creek, under ledges, around boulders and crossed the creek several times.  It was cool and lush and stunning.  To be so deep in this ravine with cliffs above you, some overhanging, was very unique.  It reminded me of our hike in New Hampshire’s Flume.

We soon reached this inward curved wall that was Old Man’s Cave.  Very cool indeed.  The approach had a bit of the feel of the cave dwellers of Mesa Verde.  Hugging the boulders where it was damp were clumps of wild columbine, red and yellow in the sun.  Trees above the cave grew precariously at the edge.  Water dripped from cracks in the sandstone.  It was worth the stair climb that came next, as we made our way back up to the top. Watch the video here: Caves and Cliffs in Hocking Hills

Hearing that there was a connection to Whispering Falls trail from the nearby lodge, we drove just around the corner to try that half-mile in, half-mile out trail.  Beautiful lodge on the hilltop, but a stairway down to the trail was a reminder of the effort to return.  But the trail wasn’t too rough, just some rocky spots along the sandstone cliffs and a last set of stairs down to the curved cave.  This one resembled Old Man’s Cave, but was deeper and more curved.  A small waterfall that you walked behind spilled over the edge, dripping maybe 100 feet.  Again, quite a sight. 

Along the trail as we returned were more pink ladyslipper orchids and loads of ferns.  And that final set of stairs up.  We spoke to a group of 3 who were struggling to return back to their car at the Visitor’s Center, which was probably another 2 miles mostly uphill.  I volunteered to take the driver in the group back to their car in the Jeep, since we really had no other room.  They were extremely grateful and my return back to Jackie had given her time to make it up the stairs and to the lodge on her pace, not mine.  Ok, time for lunch.

So the afternoon had to include one more hike – which would it be?  Looks like this Conkles Hollow gorge trail.  It was listed as an accessible trail, concrete sidewalk.  Perfect out and back, half mile each way.  And it was pretty easy going through the wide, fern-filled gorge.  Clusters of saxifrage. trillium and May apples were interspersed among the mossy logs and ferns.  The trail went close along the sandstone cliffs that once again towered above until the sidewalk ended and it became a trickier path.  Onward around boulders and along the creek we went until it ended in a huge bowl with a waterfall spilling over the lip.  Not a gushing fall, but significant enough to sound wonderful as it splashed into the hollow space.  Definitely worth the hike. 

BUT, we were done for the day.  On the way back to camp we stopped at the lodge, with tablets and laptops to connect to WI-FI and I uploaded the recent blog about Carter Caves (at the bar, sipping vodka & tonics, gin & tonics – in tall glasses).  Yes, that was a proper end to the day’s hiking.

Next morning we had two hikes on the list.  Ash Cave and Rock House.  Ash Cave was less than a mile of trail and looked like a moderate hike.  Rock House was a more difficult hike that would involve more steps and uphill climb, but also less than a mile.  It seemed possible to do both, so off we went.

Ash Cave was an easy gorge trail into the cave and an uphill hike along a rim trail back.  And boy was it worth it!  As you will see from the pictures, which really don’t convey the size and scale, this was a massive amphitheater of sandstone carved out of a wall of rock.  A small stream cascaded over the lip and splashed into a pool below.  A picture of this cave in our local paper is what inspired me to make this trip and it did not disappoint.  Simply a grand expanse of curved wall and roof.  And yes, a stairway out with plenty of uphill climb back to the parking lot.

Rock House, site of a lot of stories of bandits and hideouts, was our last challenge here and since it was still morning, we drove the 8 miles or so to get to the trailhead.  This rim and gorge trail was also a one-way hike that curved along the cliff edge and then switched back and dropped down along a sandstone wall covered in moss and ferns.  Once reached, the cave was an amazing spot, carved into the hillside with several “windows” looking out to the woods beyond.  What a perfect spot to shelter and not be seen.  And of course the return trip back through the gorge was an uphill trek.  But once back at the Jeep we were quite glad we still had the stamina to hike to these spots.  Funny how your legs and knees just start to object more as they get older. Watch the video of these final hikes here: More Cave and Cliff Hikes in Hocking Hills

That wrapped up our hiking adventures here in Hocking Hills State Park.  We did make a short run to Logan for some groceries and gas for the Jeep.  Back at camp we got things ready for a morning departure.  The next leg of the trip will be another serpentine drive through the hills and Southeast to Beech Fork State Park in West Virginia.  Maybe 3 – 4 hours.  Rain is predicted for tomorrow afternoon, so it may take a bit longer.  Thanks for joining in the adventure.  I will try to post more when I get the chance.  In the meantime, enjoy the pictures.  

And Finally . . . 

Some astounding statistics for my work:  My blog has reached 50,000 views, and my YouTube channel has over 500 subscribers, due primarily to the popularity of the “Glass Fountains and Totems” video.  That alone has 40,000 views.  Incredible.  Thanks!  Check them out if you like:  youtube.com/@adventureswithdougandjackie

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Leave a comment

Back to Alaska, Part One

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

“Chichagof Island has the highest concentration of bears in the world at 1 – 2 bears per square mile. The Alaska Brown Bear can weigh 1,500 lbs. and have a reach of 12 feet.  See those scratch marks high up that tree trunk? From a large male no doubt,” our Tlingit guide whispered as we walked quietly along the path.  We were walking along a creek on a moss covered trail trying to spot a bear.  That observation really didn’t help our nerves.  Just moments before, we saw one leaning back against a tree by the stream.  She moved into the brush, met up with her cub and was pulling down branches to reach the berries.  We were trying to get a closer look.  Did we?

Well here we go again, off on another adventure!  This one started last fall when we decided a return visit to Alaska was in order.  Jackie really wanted to go when bears were most active, which is toward the end of summer when the salmon make their run upstream to breed.  That meant we were looking at a mid-August cruise with an extra visit up to Denali.  So we spent days comparing the options and plotting the best way to see everything we wanted – within budget, since Alaska is pricey.  We settled on a northbound Celebrity cruise from Vancouver to Seward aboard the Millennium, a ship we were familiar with from our 2018 southbound cruise.  From there we added excursions and travel to Anchorage, Denali and Talkeetna.  It should be fun!

As news of the cruise spread among family members, we were asked by my sister Linda and Norm if they could join us.  Sure.  Can you add us to the Denali Wildlife Bus Tour?  Sure.  A bit later we added Norm’s cousin from Australia, Carol, and then my brother Jeff and Vickie jumped into plans for the cruise portion.  We were now a happy band of seven headed north. A video of highlights is posted here: Back to Alaska

The packing goal for the trip was to check one bag and have one carryon, with a backpack.  With all the possible layers for rain, cold, cruise attire and whatever, we barely got the bags closed.  Off we flew to Vancouver via a short hop from Seattle (and by the way, flying is really no fun anymore), arriving almost before we left, time-zone wise.  We took the city transit train from the airport to the waterfront, which was very clean and timely and checked into the Pan Pacific hotel at Canada Place, right where the cruise ship loaded.  The Queen Elizabeth was docked when we arrived and looked splendid.  

Norm, Carol and Linda had arrived a day earlier and we were able to meet them at the lobby bar for afternoon drinks.  Lots of catching up and chatter about what was to come, then around the corner we went to have dinner.  Rogue was a great spot at one end of the train station where we had local Steamworks beer and delicious food.  By the time we walked back to the hotel Jeff and Vickie had arrived and we all took some time to walk around the pier and admire the lively city waterfront and late sunset.  Vancouver has lots of cool buildings, rooftop gardens and lots of flower baskets, with rather mild weather, so it made for a delightful evening.

One benefit of staying at the hotel is that your bags are portered to the ship in the morning and you have only to take the elevator down to the ship’s check-in desk.  We were onboard well before noon and searching for our “spot” to have drinks and lunch.  That spot became a corner table at the Sunset Bar at the stern of the ship, just outside the buffet.  It was a beautiful, sunny and warm afternoon of drinks and chatting before sailing away under the Lions Gate Bridge and out of Vancouver harbor.  

Alaska cruises are a bit different from Caribbean cruises in that the ports and excursions matter almost more than activities aboard ship.  Combined with the time difference (3 and 4 hours) from the east coast, it makes for early mornings and not so late evenings.  But the excitement kept us going on day one and Jeff and I found ourselves at the craps table later at night, doing well and coming away ahead of the game. 

Northbound found us sleeping through most of the narrow Inside Passage, a scenic cruise past seaside villages, lighthouses and salmon farms, but the next day was a sea day of travel, cold and cloudy.  We spotted quite a few humpback whales off the sides of the ship as we headed north.  Not too close, but close enough to watch them blow and then pop their tails out before diving.  That evening Jackie and I had dinner at a unique specialty dining spot onboard: Le Petit Chef.  This was a meal that featured a projected story on our table with an animated tiny chef preparing our food.  As we progressed through the courses, the server would add the actual plated food that matched the animation.  Quite entertaining!

Our next day was in port at Ketchikan – site of a major salmon run. Jackie and I had an early excursion on a small boat that took us along the coastline looking for whales and wildlife.  It was a wonderfully scenic and smooth run along the islands and coastline where we saw harbor seals, a few bald eagles, black-tailed Sitka deer and marbled murrelet, but no bears or whales.  Since it was low tide we did see some very colorful starfish tucked into the rocks – both purple and orange, so that was neat.

Back in Ketchikan we walked along Creek Street and the salmon ladders and saw tons of salmon making their way upstream.  There were just so many fish they covered the entire stream bottom.  At the deepest end of the creek was a harbor seal diving around, no doubt making a meal of them.  An impressive display of the migration upstream to spawn.  Oh, and Vickie said she saw a bear.  Right there along the creek near the salmon ladder.  Just a quick glance before he ducked back into the shrubs and before she could alert anyone.  I could see the disappointment in Jackie’s face at the news, and of course we couldn’t find the bear.

Our next stop was at Icy Strait Point, or Hoonah, to explore for bears.  I love this port for the simplicity and emphasis on the local culture.  The main buildings are an old salmon cannery and sit well above the waterline.  If I recall correctly, there is about a 15 foot difference between tides.  Our excursion was in a van with six others as our local Tlingit driver took us through the Whitestone Logging Camp and surrounding creeks and woodlands in search of Alaska brown bear.  That is where this story started, when we were trying to get a second look at a female and cub.  

We didn’t spot that pair again, while walking through the brush.  But we did continue to drive around the logging roads and paused at the bridge crossings.  Our guide told us these bears had some polar bear DNA, which accounts for their larger size and color variations. They are also well fed from their salmon diet, preferring to eat the roe and brains from the females and tossing away the males. Of course all sorts of berries were good to eat, too.

As we checked out more creek crossings the young lady next to me said “bear” and we stopped to quietly slip out of the van and take a look.  Yep, there were two walking along the creek bank not noticing us.  The youngster moved out to the streambed where he looked back at us looking at him and decided that was a bit too much and turned to disappear into the brush.  But we all had a good look. 

We saw at least one or two more and while searching the roads we heard lots of stories about life among the bears and the precautions the local children are all taught. 

Back aboard ship we heard from the rest of the group about their adventure with side-by-sides and travels around some of the same woods we did, but unfortunately they did not spot bears.  

After a delicious dinner we sat out at our spot at the Sunset Bar to enjoy the sail away and share stories of the day.  The food and service aboard ship was really just wonderful and the drink selection was perfect.  Jackie was happy to get her Woodford Reserve bourbon with ginger ale in a TALL glass, as was I.  Dinner in the main dining room was white tablecloths and rather elegant and with one exception (first formal night) we were able to get the dining times we wanted.  A few nights we opted for the buffet, which had some really good food.  Lunch had a delicious charcuterie presentation of meats and cheeses, displays of desserts were amazing and the ice cream selection was a bonus (especially the After Eight mint chocolate).

Juneau was our next port of call and the weather continued to be sunny and rather mild.  Jackie and I planned to head to the Mendenhall Glacier and others were headed to whale watching and exploring town.  On our previous visit it was easy to catch a bus to the visitors center so we had no problem finding the City Bus this time and riding out to Mendenhall.  EXCEPT that the bus stopped short of the visitors center – by a mile and a half.  It seems the National Park Service limits visitation to the glacier and only issues a certain number of permits for transportation to and from.  Taxis, shuttles. buses and private coaches must have valid permits to drop off or pick up visitors and by the end of the season they have mostly used up their quota.  And the city bus doesn’t stop there anyway.

Aw heck, it can’t be that bad, eh?  Well it was getting to be a nice warm day, we had our layers of long sleeves and raincoats and backpack with cameras, binoculars and, well, it was a darn long mile and a half trek.  We did have some nice views on the approach and Jackie enjoyed the visitors center, but I just had to hike the mile further in to see Nugget Creek Falls and then back around to get better views from the Photo Point.  Ah, but that walk back to the bus stop …  As we got about halfway I noticed a van stop, turn and drop off two folks just ahead.  Looked like a taxi to me, so I waved frantically – the van waited and I breathlessly asked if he was headed back to town.  While agreeing to take us back, two other hikers ran up and asked to split the fare so it was a much faster and easier return trip back.  Thank goodness.

In town, Jeff and Vickie had a crab feast at Tracy’s Crab Shack, we had good eats at the Alaskan Brewery and we met up with Norm, Linda and Carol at the Red Dog Saloon for Alaska Duck Fart shots.  It’s a locally famous layered shot of Kahlua, Baileys and Canadian whiskey.  Norm met up with a work colleague who was on another cruise – what luck!  We really wanted to ride the tram to the top of Mt. Roberts, but we just ran out of energy.  We did all spend time on the aft deck searching the mountainsides for Dall sheep – spotting several. And we left port later at night, so it was magical watching the other ships set sail.

Skagway was our next stop and another sunny day.  At this port we had a midday helicopter flight to a glacier planned so it was wonderful to see clear weather.  Jackie and I made our way to the TEMSCO heliport, sat through the safety video, put on the ice boots and lifejacket belt and got ready to fly.  Front seat for Jackie, ready to assist the pilot I guess!  There were four of us plus pilot in the chopper and we each had a good view and headphones to communicate.  The flight up and over the water, through the mountain passes and landing down on the glacial ice was thrilling.  

Once out and on the ice the helicopters took the previous tour back and we were left with a couple of guides to explain the glaciers (and tell us why there was so much rubble).  It was a chilly 40 degrees and windy, but totally amazing.  Cracks in the ice were a beautiful shade of blue, with stones suspended within.  Rivulets became small streams that carved through the ice or disappeared down deep holes.  We were invited to lean down for a taste of the water – I leaned over and just scooped up a mouthful – cold and crisp.  We walked around the glacier for nearly an hour and it was just incredible, a bit like a moonscape – and cold.

The last trip to Alaska and the Hubbard Glacier was a rainy, windy visit with lots of sea ice, so we really didn’t get good views of the seven mile long icy front face.  This time it was much different.  We were able to get very close to the glacier as the ship then spun to share the view with all sides of the ship.  We saw and heard several calving moments (when the ice splits off) and I spotted a harbor seal on a chunk of sea ice as we cruised into the bay.  A great look at the blue ice and the ragged chunks of glacial rock and ice.  Very cool.

That night was “pack up” time and we all spent time stuffing everything back into our bags and preparing for what came the next day.  Jeff and I had cashed in our winnings at the casino the night before, but had to try our luck one more time at the craps table.  Mistake – minor loss on that last night.  We paid a last visit to the martini bar, grabbed some eats at the buffet and had drinks at “our spot” at the stern, although the weather was turning colder and wetter.  The next morning was our disembarkation in Seward where each of us had different plans.  Jeff and Vickie were going to catch a midday bus to Anchorage and then fly back home to South Carolina.  Norm, Linda and Carol were to catch a bus to Anchorage early to rent a car and then drive to Denali.  Jackie and I were set with a 4 hour cruise around the Kenai Fjords from Seward before catching a late bus to Anchorage to spend the night.  We would then start our land portion of the trip, catching the Wilderness Train to Denali and meeting up with Norm, Linda and Carol.

So for that portion of the trip I will start a second blog, Part Two.  For now I will try to gather some of the many photos and post this segment.  Stay tuned for more of our return trip to Alaska (and maybe soon some YouTube video – but my GoPro Studio has been glitchy lately).  Thanks for joining us on the adventure.

Categories: Cruising, Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mardi Gras Magic

Posted on July 4, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

Yes, that’s right, we are back on the high seas again – this time it is a wonderful family affair aboard the Carnival Mardi Gras, a darn big ship that just launched in 2021 with a passenger capacity of 6,500.  I actually booked this one just before our cruise on the Carnival Sunshine last year, hoping that our first-time cruisers Karina, Jason, Wyatt and Owen would want to sail again.  And they did, joined this time by Bethany and Alex.  It was truly a magical time for everyone as you will see from the many, many pictures (and check out the video: Mardi Gras Magic ).

So before we get started, just a few updates on our non-sailing adventurous days.  The RV is still in the driveway awaiting the ladder repair.  This has been a bit of back-and-forth with the repair dealer about ordering the correct ladder, but I think we finally have a ladder ordered and final install soon.

We had a short visit by Nashville family Judy and Craig with the planned highlight being an ebike trip into town.  That started off just fine, but Doug’s ebike developed a “communication error” and would not power up the motor for the return back home and he pedaled off ahead of everyone back home.  Unfortunately, a heaved section of sidewalk got the better of Jackie as she swerved to avoid it and instead went up and over the handlebars.  Pretty banged and scraped up, she rode an ambulance to the hospital, went into a level 2 trauma unit to get scanned and x-rayed and ultimately stayed the night.  The result was quite a bit of road rash on arms, shoulder and knee and lots of internal bruising, but no serious internal injuries, thank goodness.  

Jackie’s pulmonologist was good about explaining how she will have a few months of recovery for her internal healing and full lung capacity to return, but everything was moving in the right direction.  Yes, we kept John’s accident in the back of our minds and were thankful for the very thorough medical exams and diagnostic equipment available to us.

So on to the fun adventure.  These trips to Orlando and Port Canaveral are always a bit of competitive fun.  Alex, Bethany, Jackie and I were in car #1 and Jason, Karina, Wyatt and Owen were in car #2, heading in the same direction but two different starting times and points.  Alex and Karina kept texting fake locations and travel points to each other (rest stops, state lines, lunch stops) so we all were never quite sure who was in the lead.  Not that it was a competition.  But I did hear it when we arrived at the hotel just five minutes after Karina’s group (yes! We beat Dad).  

And the next morning was the big reveal – a straight shot drive to the pier to see the massive ship waiting for us to board.  Cruisers will tell you this is always the big “gasp” moment of excitement, followed by the trek from parking to check-in with a few bags in tow, passing through security, passport control and the gauntlet of photographers to join 6,499 of your fellow passengers.  But then you have that first look aboard, gathering family and for some of us that first drink (for which you had to do the muster station checkpoint first) and “let’s eat!”

Ok, but what about the fun?  Where did we go, what did we do?  Well, this cruise was all about family and making memories, not as much about the shore excursions.

Aboard Ship and Sea Days

Where to start?  This is a huge, 20 deck ship and some of us were in the Family Harbor section on deck 4.  That made it easy to get to the kids club, also on that level, and a small area with food, coffee, drinks and games for families.  Very easy to grab breakfast and afternoon bites but harder to snag an elevator.  Jackie was moving a little slower around the ship due to her recovery, but didn’t miss out on anything. Alex and Bethany booked a room in the Havana District, which featured their own pool and a porch with swing. They had ready access to the Havana Bar, too.

Sea Days were understandably crowded around the pools (kid soup as Jackie put it), but lots of fun on port days with far fewer onboard.  Our crew didn’t spend much time ashore other than Mahogany Bay, so we took advantage of that.  Wyatt and Owen absolutely loved the pools and waterslides – in fact both did the Blue Lightning waterslide their first chance.  That one had a head-first mat that you used.  Wyatt later told me he did the Orange Thunder drop slide, but I said I didn’t believe him.  So of course he grabbed my hand and marched me up the stairs to show me – how brave!  That meant following him down, too. This was all about family and making memories, so everyone was splashing around together and having fun.

Several of us braved the ropes course on the top deck, even the short but breathtaking zip line section.  It might not look like much, but the step off the ramp out and over the water was a scare for sure.  Alex, Bethany, Karina and I all did it though, even with rain and dark clouds threatening nearby.

And then Bolt: the roller coaster at sea.  After some technical glitches delayed the action for a few days, Alex, Bethany and I managed a reservation and a two loop trip on this wild ride.  It did a good job of launching you forward and around the track, with a few power boosts along the way.  Definitely worth the extra $15 per person.  Didn’t let you take GoPro shots, so no first person video.

First Stop: Cozumel

Jackie and I stayed onboard to hang out with the grandsons as the rest went ashore to check the shops.  It was very hot and not too breezy that day, so it was a quick shopping trip for most.  But as I mentioned, it made it a good day for splashing at the pool decks.  Owen and Wyatt have come such a long way with their water sense, having had swim lessons this year and growing confidence.  In the pool they were holding their breath underwater for me to count how long … a big difference from last summer.  We were spending so much time in the pool that I said they were waterlogged.  Wyatt declared “I’m not waterlogged, I’m a kid!”  So true, but your hands are pretty wrinkled up.

Next Stop: Costa Maya

While this stop is a big shopping plaza, it does have a generous salt water pool in the center that you can use.  Two other pools with lounge chairs require that you purchase food and drink, so that was a “no thanks”.  Once again, the boys got wet and loved it.  We all watched the ritual of the Papantla Flyers perform high above us, marveled at the dolphins, flamingos and tropical birds all around and just enjoyed a few hours ashore.  

We were the only ship in port for the morning and as we disembarked onto the long pier Jackie was encouraged to ride the tram.  We ambled on down the pier, soon to be passed by the tram with Owen seated beside Jackie, grinning from ear to ear.  For the trip back, Wyatt made sure not to miss out and rode along, too.  Great choice.  The rest of the afternoon was more pizza and pools.  I was surprised that both boys knew what a Vespa was, so we had to stop and get some pictures.

Last Stop: Mahogany Bay, Roatan, Honduras

This was really the only beach stop.  Each day before this the boys had their buckets and shovels ready for the sand, only to be disappointed when we told them “no beach today”.  But this was a beach that had bits of coral and shell to discover and lots of water to splash around in.  From the pier you had a choice of walking through a tropical botanic garden or riding the chairlift to the beach (Jackie and I chose the chairlift).  Even though this is Carnival’s pier and beach, food and drink are not included, although the chicken fingers were quite good and reasonable.  This was a really beautiful day and we totally enjoyed bobbing in the water, holding the collected bits, dumping and refilling buckets … all good fun.  

Back aboard and showered off we set sail into a very windy sea, with the mountains of Honduras on the horizon.  The last two days were very calm sea days – extremely flat water.

Green Eggs and Ham!

Of course we had to try the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast with all the Dr. Seuss characters and a very colorful (and sweet) assortment of food.  While some of us had fun at breakfast, Alex and Bethany were taking a tour of the ship from the laundry on deck 0 to the navigation bridge and time with the captain.  That seemed to be a really special tour that was truly “behind the scenes”. 

Food, Drink and Impressions

I think we all agreed that the dining choices, from main dining to casual eats and ice cream, were varied, delicious and fun (well, Lido buffet for breakfast was the usual zoo).  Bars were plentiful and creative, with lots of specialty drinks.  The Fortune Teller, Brass Magnolia and Alchemist bars in the French Quarter were especially fun.  Havana bar near Alex and Bethany had a distinctive Cuban feel and in the Italian District you had themed selections at Bar Dela Rosa.  And that was next to the pizza, panini and Italian restaurant. Jackie and I had breakfast one morning in Emeril’s Bistro: a plate of bananas foster crepes with a side of beignets. Yummy and a nice quiet spot. And banana splits got a big thumbs up.

Entertainment was all around, with live music in the corners of most bars and great musical events in the central Atrium, which actually was along the starboard side of the ship.  One show featured a magician, several had aerialists, all had song and dance (and loud).  The younger among us went to dance parties and glow parties on the Lido pool deck, we hit several trivia contests and a few main stage shows. 

The grandsons did their best to consume massive amounts of pizza and ice cream cones, with a few trips to the candy shop Cherry on Top.  Guys Pig and Anchor Smokehouse was a big hit for barbecue pork, chicken and brisket – plus they brew their own beer aboard.  Shaq’s Big Chicken had generous chicken sandwiches and chicken fingers, Guy’s Burgers had big sloppy burgers with the fixings, Street Eats had variations of loaded fries, bao buns, stir fry and noodles, but was not open as often as we wanted.  We dined at Cucino’s Italian and ChiBang Mexican/Chinese and celebrated Jackie’s 70th birthday.  Alex and Bethany dined at Rudy’s Seagrill for lobster and seafood, and we all made sure we were at the Palm main dining for the second formal night.  Somehow our server knew I would appreciate two lobster tails, which were just about the best I have had (well, except the one from the Harmony).  

The only glitch we had was making the table request on the two formal nights.  You used their Hub app to request a table, then had to wait for the notification that your table was ready before proceeding to the dining room.  That wasn’t clear to most folks and the result was a logjam at the dining entrance (and a very long wait the first night).  Service overall was adequate, but it was clear there were many new crew members and not the usual depth of experience.  Getting there, but not quite pre-pandemic – and people are definitely cruising in big numbers.

I have to add some post-cruise notes:  what should have been a 7 hour trip back home took over 10 hours, it being the start of July 4th weekend I guess and everyone leaving Florida?  And our son Alex had a one-day turnaround to repack for a 2 week business trip to Vietnam.  Poor guy, I know he wasn’t looking forward to another long travel day.

And we won’t speak of the casino.  They had one craps table, fairly high minimum and it was not nice to me, so not a lot of time spent there.

So as we unpack, do laundry and gather our memories, I realize that we have just two days before it is check-in time for our next cruise to Alaska in August.  And I just learned the RV ladder is ready to be installed just in time for next week’s local camping on Lake Allatoona (a camping adventure for the grandsons).  Who planned out this summer?  Were they nuts?  Oops, guilty – this fun is self-inflicted.  So if I find a moment, I will edit our video from Mardi Gras and probably post about our Alaska cruise once back home.  That one grew from just Jackie and I to my brother and sister, their spouses and a cousin – seven of us heading from Vancouver to Anchorage.  Wheee!

Categories: Cruising, Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

Goin’ Topless at the Beach

Posted on May 17, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

Yep, that’s right.  We are spending two weeks in Florida, camping at a favorite spot: St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach.  And we have the top down on the jeep to enjoy the sun and fresh salt air.  That’s topless in Jeep-speak.  What were you thinking?

Adventures of 2023

This is not the start of our spring adventures, though.  That actually started a few weeks back over Easter weekend. So let me get you caught up before I share this Florida adventure. You see, we had this big family camping weekend planned out while we were in St. Andrews back in October.  It was kinda funny the way it happened.  Judy, Jackie and Bethany were talking about trying to find a campground that was close enough for all of us to meet up, and Fall Creek Falls State Park in mid-Tennessee seemed to be the right spot.  Just a couple hours from Nashville, Kennesaw and about an hour from Chattanooga.  Perfect.  So while Alex was putting the finishing touches on our seafood dinner “pot luck” over the wood fire, the gals announced that they found open reservations for Easter weekend at the park – and we could all book sites around our own cul-de-sac. 

Alex was trying to get their attention to say the scallops, shrimp and fish were hot and ready, but they were calling over to John “quick, log in to your account and book site … for that weekend!”  Well it was a bit of a frenzied moment while everyone booked their part of the cul-de-sac, including Bethany’s parents from Memphis who were “in” too (via phone call).  Ok, everyone booked, all set!  Now let’s eat.

That was the plan, anyway.  But things didn’t quite work out that way. 

Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN

One week before the Easter camping weekend, family situations changed for Jim and Dawn and for Judy and Craig, such that neither group was able to get campers ready in time. Bethany’s parents rented a house nearby for the weekend and Judy, Craig, Rachel and Colin, who had just sold their trailer, came anyway to bravely camp the weekend in tents. But we would be missing one camper completely: John.  More about that in a bit.

We were all determined to make the best of things in a really nice state park.  Except that the weather was also working against us.  Jackie and I were a day ahead of everyone else and had a nice afternoon upon arrival.  But as everyone else arrived on Good Friday for the weekend, the temperatures dropped into the 40’s, rain rolled in and it became pretty miserable.  We were downstream of everyone else, so we had a small creek running through our site.  Alex and Bethany were on a large site, level and uphill from everyone, so they were fine.  Judy and Craig pitched a tent borrowed from Alex, plus two pup tents before the rain started and we thought we would all be fine. It could have worked, except that it was awful weather for tent camping: temperatures in the 40’s, rain and drizzle the whole time. It didn’t make for a great first night, so in the morning Judy’s group decided to head back home to get dry and warm. Who could blame them?

The rest of us, plus two long-time friends of Jim and Dawn, huddled around Alex’s firepit at night, and considered options for the next day from our RV living room.  Well, you know full well that we have some sort of “brewery compass” which meant that we found Happy Trails Brewery maybe half an hour away. We had a delicious lunch and some local and regional brews to quench our thirst and soon declared that the day wasn’t a bust after all.

Speaking of the rain, my Jeep’s windshield wipers once again failed to work.  From our October post you will recall that we had quite the crazy evening with the top down and a sudden rainstorm in PCB.  That night John was in the back seat getting soaked as I tried to see through the raindrops on the windshield … without the wipers working.  I thought I had it all fixed and working this winter, but they refused to work for Easter weekend.  Hmm, new project when I get back home.

Even though it was not the weekend we had planned, we did get in some nice hikes to the falls just before the rain came and, naturally, the day after everyone else headed home. We stayed one day later, which meant we got a nice and sunny last day (but things still needed to dry out).

Speaking of repairs, before we headed out once again, I was determined to fix our tail-light connection to the Jeep. Ever since we got the Invisi-Brake installed, the turn signals on the Jeep were flipped from the Winnebago while towing. That meant if the motorhome signaled a left turn, the Jeep was signaling a right turn. A short term fix was to connect the plug upside down, but that was a temporary solution at best. So I took the time to diagnose which wires were connected wrong, made the correction and now everything works as it should.

St. Andrews State Park, FL

Our first stop heading to the beach has lately been in Eufala, Alabama at Lakepoint State Park.  Staying there for one night just breaks up the 7 hour trip enough that we don’t arrive tired and grumpy.  Besides, we are retired … what’s one more day?  A nice enough pull through spot in a park along the lakeshore that was pretty empty.  Next morning it was just over 3 hours to the beach and we wouldn’t be able to check in until after 1:00 anyway, so it was an easy ride.

Lakepoint State Park

So yes, here we are again in St. Andrews State Park. Much different since the hurricane damage of a couple years ago, but certainly an upgraded experience for folks in motorhomes like ours. We have our electric bikes with us and of course the Jeep. Yes, I took apart the windshield wipers again, this time replacing the motor and articulating arms and we have wipers that actually work in the rain now. If you read the post from the fall camping trip you will note that they failed me then, which made for a wild ride to dinner!

Our site was just fine – in fact it would be hard to complain about any of these sites in the newly rebuilt park.  Level, clean, full hookups, water views – just not as many trees as before and missing a lot of the character that made this campground special.  But it was a bit on the slim and narrow side, so when we finally got bikes, chairs, shelter, grill and picnic table all situated, we were kinda tight.  The wind was pretty strong, gusting to 30 mph, and the air was long pants and sweatshirts kind of cold.  Had to really secure the shelter, since it was almost airborne a few times. A few light showers came through the first two days and the Gulf was whipped up with huge waves and no swimming was permitted.  It looked wild – more like a storm in the Atlantic.

But as the days went on the temperatures stayed in the 70’s, water calmed down and we had blue skies, even if still breezy.  So what did we do?

Riding the eBikes

Since we had our electric bikes and it wasn’t swim weather, we rode around campground and over to Patches Pub for a beer and grouper sandwich.  It was there that we learned it was the start of Thunder Beach, a week-long motorcycle event.  Of course.  We manage to find bike weeks wherever we go.  But it was pretty cool to see all the crazy cycles.

In the morning we started off on the bikes only to find Jackie’s rear tire was flat as a pancake.  Gave it a good going-over but found no sharp objects or obvious leaks.  Wouldn’t hold air though.  A run to Walmart to get “green slime” to fill and fix the leak.  Unscrewed the inner plug, added the green stuff and pumped in the air.  No good, still went flat.  Tried that twice and then gave up, went to the beach.

OK, one of the other ebike owners in camp said he had a flat and took his bike to Steve’s Bike Repair in Panama City. Hmm.  Well, surely fixing this shouldn’t be that tough.  I have replaced many inner tubes on bikes at the shore and growing up, how bad can it be?  Well, yes, it is the rear tire where all the gears, motor and disc brakes are, but can’t be impossible.  Off to PC we went to find Academy Sports and a new inner tube.  We stopped for gas and while pumping Jackie asked “Did you see the spot across the street?  Steve’s Bike Shop.”  Hmm, well sorry Steve, gonna try this repair myself.  Got the tube, and a set of plastic hooks to help lift up the outer tire from the rim, all set to operate.  And yes, we were successful in replacing the new tube.  For the heck of it we filled the old one with air, found the spot where it must have leaked (on the inner/upper side – strange).  That tube is still holding air several days afterward.  Go figure.

Beach Days

But the days spent at the beach have been magical.  The color of the water in the Gulf is just amazing and hard to describe.  Clear, turquoise to dark blue, with soft white sandy beaches … can’t find anything better.  And the temperature gradually warmed up to be very refreshing.  At this park that abuts an inlet from the Grand Lagoon to the Gulf of Mexico you have the benefit of two beaches along the rock jetties.  On the lagoon side is the children’s pool:  a relatively shallow and sheltered cove that had clean, clear water and all sorts of fish.  We alternated between the two beaches, depending of the wind and surf.

Umm, lights out?

Midway through our stay the humidity increased and temps went into the 80’s, so we turned on the AC before bed (also to help Kodi get through the day) and within 10 minutes the camper went dark.  Hmm.  No power.  Must have been a breaker.  I checked the inside breakers, nothing was off.  Outside box, same thing.  Surge protector at the box had green lights.  Well, check everything again, flip and reset.  Nothing.  Well, the fridge was running off house batteries, so food was ok.  One last check at the surge protector to unplug and re-insert all the cords and problem became clear.  The plug from the RV power cord was fried. Once I got it disconnected, one of the pins just jangled loose.  Well, too dark, too late at night, will have to wait till morning.  Opened all the windows and hoped it wouldn’t get too sticky hot.

Yes, another trip to PC to find a new plug.  None at Walmart, an ok replacement at Lowe’s and Home Depot, but once Camping World opened I found the one I wanted.  Bought a new surge protector, too.  Back in camp I cut off the old wires, clipped back the insulation to good wire and replaced the plug.  Success and we were back with power.  Just one of those things that happens to these outdoor plugs and sockets periodically (and always at inconvenient moments).

Shore power plug replacement

Just minor problems.  Still, beautiful weather, lots of beach time and plenty to do.  Watching campers come and go, waiting for the Bald Eagle to reappear (first day spotting), searching gator lake for gators (none spotted), watching three sharks swim by us (maybe 5 foot long, species unknown), catching the dolphins in a feeding frenzy just beyond the waves, spotting a box turtle on the move, walking Kodi several times each day around camp, jeeping out and about, topless.  Good times.

We’re Ducking!

Ever heard of “Duck, Duck, Jeep?” Well it is a special Jeep thing (much like cruise ducks) that folks do to surprise you and bring a little sunshine to your day. A little rubber duck is placed on the driver’s doorhandle, sometimes with a note that says you have a pretty awesome Jeep and wish you a happy day. You can either keep the duck, pass it on to another Jeep or post a picture of it to a page online. We have a supply of ducks and cards in our Jeep, ready to surprise folks with, but this trip we were surprised ourselves by the number of ducks that landed on our Jeep. We must be in their migratory flight path! What fun.

Oh, and of course we had to hit our usual beach bars:  Pineapple Willy’s for frozen daiquiris and Mahi mahi sandwiches, Sharky’s for the same and Patches pub for the only grouper sandwiches we can find.  We waited for a table at Schooner’s, an always-busy spot, and were fortunate to get a beachside spot just in time for the nightly cannon blast at sunset (it’s a small cannon with a darn loud bang). We did order grouper baskets which were delicious!  Beachfront bars and grub are just fine by us.

So on the next to last day in camp it is overcast and breezy – a good time to sit and write about this adventure.  There is a severe thunderstorm rumbling across the lagoon and we are wondering if it will come this way.  Might want to put the top up on the Jeep, just in case.  

Oh yuck! What a discovery.  As we got to the Jeep something looked very wrong.  The spare tire and in fact the entire rear end of the Jeep was covered in splat.  What?? OMG we were “splashed” by one big bird, no doubt a heron flying overhead.  It was inside the back, too.  Covered the flippers, chairs … fishy, chalky icky.  So we spent some time with the hose, rag and bucket cleaning it all out and putting up the top.  Guess our topless time is over.  Man, that was one healthy bird. 

So back to the very long story here.  For the trip back home we stopped at Chattahoochee Bend State Park north of LaGrange.  That’s only 2 hours from home, but we can then miss the perimeter around Atlanta and make it home by noon rather than at the end of a seven hour trip.

Chattahoochee Bend State Park

Sad News this Spring

Last beer with John at Thanksgiving – Cheers!

So why was John missing from our Easter camping trip? A few things have happened in our lives this spring that remind us that time is precious and we really should enjoy every day.  I mentioned we were missing Jackie’s younger brother John from our Easter camping weekend …  well, life takes some crazy turns when you least expect it.  Just before we left for our January cruise aboard the Prima we heard from John, who was in the Philippines.  We knew he was there for 3 weeks visiting his fiancée but we didn’t expect a phone call.  He had been in a motorcycle accident, was banged up with some road rash and pain, but told us not to worry he was in good hands. 

Midway through the cruise we got a text that he was back in the hospital for gall bladder surgery. The next morning another text that he died from internal injuries.  Shock. Absolute shock.  Horrible news that put a sad end to our cruise (we learned of it while in port at Grand Cayman – never got off the boat). So . . . much of this spring has been spent doing what you do when a family member dies.  You know from our previous posts that we helped him build his cabin in the mountains, which he finally moved into about a year ago.  You also know we camped with him in his new truck camper last fall and had future camping plans.  Now we are helping empty the cabin and making decisions about his camper.  It’s tough.  I asked him why he decided to design and build the cabin himself.  “Bucket List” was his answer.  “Always wanted to …” and that list included pilots license (bought his own plane), bass fishing (bought his own boat), scuba (got his instructor’s license), motorbikes, mountain bikes, mini-bikes, and recently his truck and camper for boondocking out West.  He could be grumpy and stubborn at times, but if you needed help with something he would be there to help and offer advice.  We miss him at each stop on this trip, since he would have been right there with us, and that leaves so many emotional tripwires.

With my lifelong friend Laurie at the Jersey Shore

One other bit of sad news hit me this spring. A very dear and lifelong friend had passed away. Laurie and I knew each other since we were very young, in fact our moms were both in nurse training together and they had known each other since second grade, or so the story goes. We were born just months apart and remained close friends through college and into our adulthood.  Laurie and I were both super interested in the natural world, both went to college for wildlife and biology degrees and kept our friendship going through tough times for each of us. From previous posts you will recall that we stopped to see her on our trip to Acadia National Park and you probably caught some of her comments on this blog.  She was traveling with us in spirit and shared in our adventures through the pictures and stories.  Gone too soon and someone who will be sadly missed.

Our next adventure will be a cruise with our grandsons, Jason, Karina, Alex and Bethany aboard the Carnival Mardi Gras, so keep your eyes out for the next recap of fun aboard the high seas. Thanks for reading along.

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Nashville Weekend

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Doug and Jackie

Not Everything Is A Motorhome Adventure!

It’s mid-January, chilly, rainy and a typical Atlanta winter, so Jackie and I got itchy to get out. Yes, we have been working in a few bike rides on the ebikes when the weather allows and a few pickleball attempts at the community center to stay active, but a crochet and knitting event called Jackie to Nashville. Actually, it was her sister who called but the event is supposed to be special for anyone into yarn craft hobbies. Didn’t take much convincing, since we really haven’t visited Nashville in a couple of years. But before we head to Nashville, let me recap some fall/winter fun at our place: Thanksgiving was wonderful with the family. Good food and cold weather that made it perfect for a bonfire at night. Then another Raclette party with our brewcrew. We had three grills going, blew a circuit, ran an extension cord to the living room and kept the party going. Pretty silly stuff but fun together. And an ebike ride with John down to Dry County Brewing for a beer and return trip.

Back to the Nashville weekend. It’s not really a bad trip, even with a quick stop in Chattanooga to check in with Alex, but of course the weather had to mess with things just a bit. The temperature kept dropping into the low 30’s and the drizzly light rain soon turned to snowflakes as we approached Monteagle. That is the first big climb you make up and onto the Cumberland Plateau and it seems to make its own weather anyway. So as we wiggled our way along and up the mountain the snow continued to a near whiteout for a bit, even sticking on the trees and ground. Pretty, but kinda sloppy too. Once up and over the ridge it eventually changed back to drizzle and stopped altogether.

So Nashville wasn’t much further ahead and we were soon unloading our bags at Judy and Craig’s and making plans for the weekend. Lots of options, starting with an evening of pickleball at their community center. We are still very much beginners, but it was fun to play a few games together and meet some of their fellow players. Back at their house we chatted rather late into the night with generous pours of Tennessee whiskey. Mmm, maybe just a little too generous, but in the morning we were up and ready for whatever. Jackie and Judy were to head off to The Big Stitch for yarn and classes and Craig had an idea for the two of us: Leiper’s Fork Distillery.

It really wasn’t too far to get to the Natchez Trace (lovely, winding parkway) and then to the town of Leiper’s Fork. We pulled into the distillery, discovered a tour had just started and hooked up with it in the main barn. Mmmm, what a great fragrance. Probably the best earthy, warm smell there is. Great tour leader filled us with the history of whiskey-making in Tennessee and their operation. I keep learning more about “tails”, “heads” and “heart” and how similar the process is to getting a grain mix to boil and ferment for either beer or distilled spirits.

Not sure I mentioned our fall trip to visit with nephews Adam and Chris and a trip to a distillery in Beaufort, SC: Rotten Little Bastard. Another great learning opportunity about the distilling process, with samplings of course. And we just had to stop by a local brewery later that day along the waterway: Shellring Ale Works. I will post a few pics of that trip below.

So, back to our Leiper’s Fork experience. Inside a wonderful restored Tennessee cabin we were treated to three samples of their whiskey with an explanation of how to enjoy the whiskey properly. We started with a white whiskey (the same recipe, just not aged in barrels so it is clear), their Tennessee whiskey and a bourbon. Yep, definitely a strong brew – the bourbon was a 4-year 100 proof sip. A short stop in their gift shop and we were on our way back to the house – oh yeah, pick up some good beef for tacos later tonight. Actually those tacos were more like fajitas with the thin pieces of strip steak that Craig cooked up. Yum. But we weren’t done for the day yet.

We headed into downtown Nashville for some people watching before an 8:30 show at The Listening Room. We got a gander at the “Nash Vegas” crowd along Broadway, complete with crazy party buses and crowds and traffic and then found our way to the venue for singer/songwriters. It turned out to be a great night of music with the songwriters performing some of their songs that were recorded by more notable country music singers. Decent local beer was served and we had some really good fried pickles, too.

Okay then, we must be done, right? Nope. Next morning, after coffee and breakfast, we played a few rounds of pickleball outside on their neighborhood tennis court. I think maybe Jackie and I are getting better, but we do feel like the t-shirt that says “What’s the score? Who’s serve is it? What day is it?” But good fun and exercise. And another short trip out to Tailgate Brewing to finish the day. This spot had a lot of beer on tap and we all ordered a flight. There was a good selection of sours, so my four were variations of apple, peach, raspberry and such. Actually all very good – but maybe not as special as some of our local Kennesaw brews. Craig was determined that we were going to learn the card game Euchre, so we gave it a go. Actually turned out to be pretty fun and a bit familiar to us as a variation of Spades (which we haven’t played since college).

Back home to some chicken tortilla soup from Judy’s Instapot and maybe a little more of that Tennessee whiskey and we were done for the day. Oh, wait, there was the hot tub. Yeah, it’s like 30 something degrees outside and we are doing what? Well, it did feel good as the steam rose around while we bubbled in the box. Quick run for the towels and then we were done for sure.

Yep, it was a great visit. I debated about titling this “A Nashville Quickie” which is what it seemed like. We packed in a lot of fun on a long weekend. Before leaving the final morning we had a fast game of Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza to a rousing bit of laughter and hand slapping. If you know the game, you get it. I am still a bit challenged by it, but it sure is crazy fun.

Soooooo, what’s next? In two weeks we head to Orlando and Port Canaveral to set sail aboard the new NCL Prima cruise ship for a week in the Caribbean. Should be nice warm water, lots of sunshine, amazing food and cold drinks. Yes, we are a bit crazy but this one is to celebrate our milestone 70th birthdays. Hope to post some stories, pictures and videos of the trip. Meantime, be sure to watch some of the videos I recently posted of our adventures of the last two years (adventureswithdougandjackie). Thanks for visiting and spread the word.

Categories: Outdoor Adventures | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

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