After we left the Boston area, Tom & I spent several days in Gettysburg, PA, where we refreshed our historical knowledge. There were grim reminders throughout the area of the 51,000 lives that were lost in the historic 3-day battle. We had been to the area a few years ago and felt the same sadness then. While in that area we also visited with our friends, Steve & Vicki Hollabaugh, at their fruit farm and market. It was fascinating to tour the orchards and see their operation. Steve is also a nature photographer, so he and Tom enjoyed talking about that a lot. It was great to deepen our friendship and hear more of their story.
Next we headed down to Reston, VA, just outside Washington, D.C. There we visited with Bones & Mary Thomas, friends who summer in Ely, MN near Tom's family. I flew out on another business trip while Tom stayed in the Reston area. We had a great neighborhood at Lake Fairfax County Park. It was sunny most of the time with daytime temps in the 50s, but the evenings were in the chilly 20s. Every evening deer would stroll through the park. The oak leaves created a crunchy carpet underfoot. We visited the Manassas Battlefield and traveled Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park while we were in the area. The trees were bare in the mountains and Shenandoah Valley, but we could tell how gorgeous this drive must be in other seasons. We will definitely go back again.
From Reston we headed south through North Carolina and into South Carolina. We settled in at Santee State Park near Santee, SC, for the Thanksgiving weekend. This beautiful campground was situated under a canopy of oak and pines on the shores of Lake Marion. Here we enjoyed long walks through the woods (scaring up deer everywhere we went), campfires under the stars and a great steak dinner on the grill. The weather was warm and sunny, and we spent a gratitude-filled weekend in this special place.
After the holiday weekend, we headed to Crooked River State Park near St. Mary's, GA. It was another beautiful campground which, unfortunately, the 'no-see-ums' were also enjoying! We spent our evening swatting and scratching--not exactly our favorite evening entertainment. Once in a while we'd change to scratching each other, and that was definitely more fun!
On December 1st, we headed a short distance down the road to Jacksonville, FL. We left the APPLE at the Flamingo Lakes RV Park near the airport while we winged our way back to Minneapolis for a very brief visit. Tom and I had the pleasure of standing up for our good friend, Jeanine Vincent, as she married Reinhardt Stecovic, her fiancé from Australia. It was a beautiful, small wedding at the historic Lowell Inn in Stillwater, MN. While we were in town for our brief 3-day visit we stayed with our good friends, Barry and Nancy Przybylski and their boys, Zack and Alex.
We flew from Minneapolis to the Boston area where we spent the weekend with our new friends, Sandy and Rich Goldberg, and their kids, Arianna and Austin. Tom and Sandy continued their collaboration on the book project. We all attended a wonderful 'Circle of Light' evening at Karen and Charlie Paolino's home in Abington, MA, and made friends with more special people who are dedicated to making a positive difference in this world.
From Boston, I flew on to Phoenix for business, and Tom returned to Jacksonville, FL. When I returned to Jacksonville on 12/12, Tom had set up the APPLE in our new neighborhood, Hanna Park Campground. This quiet, large, wooded city park is located on the coast near the Mayport Naval Station. We had long walks on the beach and around a lake that is also within the park. This campground is a well kept secret--and one we will return to again. While at Hanna Park, we met another couple with a New Horizons rig, Bruce and Virginia. We also managed to finally meet up with Jim and Patsy Schang, other New Horizons owners that we had been emailing with for 1-1/2 years. Jim and Patsy treated us to a wonderful dinner. We hope to meet up with them on the road someday.
For our Christmas presents to each other, Tom and I went to Disney World for two days (on 12/17-18). It was Tom's first time there, so I acted as tour guide. We rode lots of rides at the Magic Kingdom the first day, and explored EPCOT the second day. The weather was in the 60s and sunny--just perfect! Since school hadn't let out yet, the crowds were small, and we didn't have to wait in any long lines. The Christmas decorations were gorgeous, and the Christmas trees were massive. There are always beautiful lights at Disney World, but the Christmas lights turned it into a fairyland of twinkling colors. We especially enjoyed attending the Candlelight Processional Concert. Louis Gossett, Jr. was the celebrity narrator who read the Christmas story. There was a 450-voice choir and a full orchestra, too. It was a very special Christmas celebration focusing in on the true reason for the season.
On December 22 we headed back to our favorite Florida campground to set up our home for the holidays at Gamble Rogers State Park at Flagler Beach. You might remember that we found this oceanfront campground last January at the beginning of the journey. It seemed fitting to come back here, full circle, to close out our first year on the road. We decorated the APPLE with lights, a small tree, red bows and a nativity set. We played Christmas carols, sang, read the Christmas story and enjoyed homemade fudge, cookies, and a turkey dinner on Christmas day. We talked to family and friends on the phone and felt connected in our hearts. It was a peaceful, relaxed and joyous celebration. It was also the first Christmas we've ever spent in shorts---and we played in the sand instead of the snow! (Apologies to our northern family and friends, but we just had to rub it in...)
We were delighted that Ed and Nikki, Tom's brother and his wife, flew down to spend a few days with us (12/28-1/1) and to play in the sun, sand and surf. We walked the beach and found lots of wonderful shells. One day we drove on Daytona Beach, watched dolphins play from the Daytona pier, watched surfers and jetskiers play in the waves, and observed fishermen catch whitings while the pelicans stood by waiting for handouts. Another day we went for a 7-mile canoe trip down Juniper Creek in the Ocala National Forest where Tom and I even took an unexpected swim (thanks to a very tippy canoe, an overhanging branch and swift currents around a sharp corner). On Ed and Nikki's last full day here (New Years Eve Day) we headed up to see 1,500+ alligators at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. Then we took a narrated horse-drawn carriage ride throughout the historic district. Our noble steed was named Augie (just like Tom's dad). On our way back we saw a blazing sunset of gold, pink, purple and crimson. Later that evening we toasted the New Year around a blazing campfire followed by a walk on the moonlit beach under a canopy of brilliant stars. What a beautiful end to one wonderful year...what a marvelous beginning for the next.
