The setting
Sunrise on the open ocean
Heading into a nasty squall with rain and heavy winds.
Chilly but relatively comfortable
Hitchhikers during the day and night
A swallow holding on in strong tailwinds
From the Virgin Islands to Grenada…
… sunsets over the water are spectacular.
Especially with boats around, …
New Hampshire’s attractive White Mountains are located 150 miles (241km) northeast of our current home base in Massachusetts. It takes a little over three hours to get there in our van (as opposed to 2.5 hours by car), since we stick to an average highway speed of 55-60mph (90km/h) in Zesty. This consumes less diesel, and we rarely have to pass anyone!
White Mountain National Forest was our destination this past week. It is huge, at 800,000 acres (which expand into Maine), attracts millions of visitors annually, and offers countless recreation possibilities, like 1,200 miles of hiking trails. When Mark and I returned from visiting people in Maine and Vermont in June, we drove through this stunning area and were impressed. We vowed to return for a proper immersion.
(Scroll over or click on images to read photo captions in the galleries.)
Maya, Dixie, and Max cooling off in the lake of Island Pond, Vermont
Maya is still learning how to swim – awkwardly
Max LOVES retrieving balls – ashore and in the water
Maya, relaxing in the sand
Did I mention that Max is eager to play ball, all…the…time?
Practice makes perfect!
Wet and cooled off, but done playing with the ball
Just because I love sunsets, with or without dogs…
Until next time…
This is my contribution to this week’s (mostly) Wordless Wednesday.
We spotted a groundhog in the back yard.
Keeping an eye on her flock.
A family with five adolescents… and more individuals in the front yard. So cute!
Maya smells the groundhogs. They hide in tunnels behind the rocks of the retaining walls.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared some of our human encounters in Florida this past winter. Mark and I (and Maya) enjoy meeting old and new friends, but when it comes to my personal happiness level, animal observations and interactions – especially in the wild – always make me smile! Here are some of the creatures we came across on our walks.
Gopher tortoise
Jellyfish on the beach in Marineland
A lot has been said – and written – about this recent pandemic and its affects. I shared a few posts about it myself, here (how it influenced our lifestyle in mid-March), here (what we still managed to squeeze in, sightseeing-wise), here (in relation to our expenses), and here is where I left off on April 1st.
(Click on photos to enlarge or hover over them for captions.)
Self-isolation Take One
After a few hits and misses at several parks and boondocking spots and a failed week-long hotel splurge in Hilton Head, we checked out our “last resort” in decent weather: the free campground at Santee Coastal Reserve in South Carolina. The entrance road was serene and welcoming, but we didn’t settle – mentally or physically – until we arrived without any “No camping due to COVID-19” signs blocking our progress.
The campground was quiet and peaceful. No amenities, which means no restrooms, water, electricity, sewer, or trash. Pack it in, pack it out. That might have been the reason why this place was still open – the workers weren’t at risk cleaning facilities. We found a roomy, relatively private campsite with sun for the solar panels and shade for the camper, a picnic table, and a fire ring.
After three unusually rainy and/or cold winters out west in our 19ft camper van, Zesty, we had one objective for this last season: be warm. The only place in the lower 48s to assure that: Florida. Southern Florida. Since Mark and I always “bring” weird weather wherever we go, something would be amiss in the Sunshine State this winter as well. Firstly, Sunshine State is a misnomer better suited for California or Arizona, as the skies have been mostly cloudy (except on the days I take photos :-)). Secondly, we regularly had 40-degree weather (5 degrees Celsius) in January and, skipping spring all together, upper eighties from March on. Unseasonably hot.
Here’s what we’ve been up to the last three months…
(Hover over the photos to read the captions or click to enlarge.)
January 2020
The new year and new decade couldn’t have started better. After work and a bit of sightseeing in Kentucky, we drove to Florida to celebrate the arrival of 2020 with good sailing friends in Marineland. Even Maya liked her week-long visit to their refurbished catamaran, Sauvage. We were invited by a business owner in St. Augustine, who welcomed us with open arms and spoiled us with splendid company, food, and promises. Good times!
Join us for one of our walks near the Lake Panasoffkee Water Management District (WMD) campground, where we stayed for ten days – without ever seeing the lake. 🙂 The cows occupied the field two days before we left.
Our free campground for ten days!
Oh, hello!
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