Airstream Surroundings - site number 3...

Richard decorated the tree outside Airebella with beautiful lights and captured this picture on his night walk with Reggie.
The Airstream as seen from the lane...

Beautiful flowers in November...this must be Florida!!!

Post Oil Spill Disaster Beach Views

Yesterday I took a little walk by the beach and enjoyed watching the birds playing at the water's edge. They were clearly finding tasty tidbits there and were seemingly oblivious to the disaster that fell upon the Gulf this spring and summer.
The vehicles in this shot are part of the group of about 50 workers that are combing the beach for debris and any indications of the oil spill. We cannot see any evidence that oil came on shore, likely because of their hard work here. The sun is blazing down on them as they sift by hand and by machine.

The birds still play but for those of you who have followed my posts from this location last year and the year before, there is one obvious difference. The absence of shells is clear when you look at this shot. Where the birds are was once teaming with Heart Cockles, Choral, Scallop shells, Lettered Olives etc. This time of year was the best for beach combing and there is nothing! Nothing rolling in beyond the waters edge either.

The worker's dune buggies drive back and forth along the beach now...where in prior years the space was deserted!

It is important to keep up the work on the clean-up for sure but it does change the peaceful landscape that I am so fond of. The manager of the park told us that the park was nearly deserted all summer, a time when the beaches are normally acutely alive with children playing, water craft and sun bathers. The area around us seems to be suffering from the lack of tourists as well. Locals are afraid of eating the seafood from the area, some even worried about stepping into the waters of the Gulf where dispersant had been used to battle the oil spill. I myself have ventured into the waters of the Gulf up to my ankles and thorougly enjoyed the local shrimp that a fellow camper prepared for our first pot luck!

We Have Arrived in Perdido Key ...

We left snow one week ago....
And found sun and clear skys yesterday!

Ahhh the joy of unhooking Airebella, cranking down her stabilizer pods and unlatching the awnings for another long rest in Perdido Key. We arrived yesterday afternoon to the smiling faces of old friends welcoming our caravan of one into it's place - site number 3! This park is tiny, with under 30 sites and it is flanked on one side by the Ole River and a cute little marina and on the other (across a small road) by the majestic, though wounded, Gulf of Mexico.

The Gulf coast is showing signs of the Oil spill. The fact that people descend on the beach to pick up any oil when they see it does not detract from the amazing vistas and the fresh and soothing aroma of the salt air. Richard and Rudy saw some folks picking up bits this morning on the walk in the gully across from Playa Del Rio. BP provided visitors with an incentive to travel here in the form of three hundred dollars in American Express gift cards. Richard picked ours up this am at the Chamber of Commerce. This was a nice gesture and the $300 covers our fuel cost to get here. :-)

Since we arrived we have celebrated our friend Suzy's birthday with a trip to Vallarta's restaurant; we have done three small loads of laundry; we have vacuumed the trailer and shaken the rugs outside! The weather is warm(ish) (18degrees C) and sunny and glorious. Rudy and Reggie are so excited to be here. They recognize the surroundings, the sand and some of the folks here...

Good Morning David and Nancy!

Our friends, David and Nancy told me they check my blog every morning for news so I cannot help but say a special hello to them and their little dog Millie! Hope all is well in PA and that you can head south soooooon!!!

A Very Familiar Route...

Saturn Rocket Exhibit at the Alabama Welcome Centre.
Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Images of industry in Ohio.

This year we are retracing our steps and it is very hard to believe that this will be our third year returning to the Gulf and Perdido Key. We came upon the little resort quite by accident and had not intended to stay, that first year, more than a few weeks. The lure of the sea air, the beauty of the pristine and quiet beach and the wonderful people we met there are compelling.

This year while driving south with the Silver trailer in tow, we travelled with two fewer companions, having lost our two cats to old age this summer just a few weeks apart. The roads travelled were familiar and as such I was not so compelled to pull out the camera at every new turn, rather I enjoyed revisiting the places, remembering how it felt to see them the first time. Is this our signal that it may be time to move on, to explore new places in the years ahead?

We crossed below the two smallest of the great lakes, travelling through wine country and remarking how blue, how cerulean blue, Lake Erie could seem on a sunny but cool fall day. Moving south into the heartland and seeing the vast expanse of the farmland of Ohio, dotted with industry, and city scapes, and with the swell of religion rolling across the landscape in waves, evidenced in billboards, sculptures, places of worship and rough hewn signs. Moving into the south through the rolling hills and beautiful landscapes of Kentucky and Tennessee, contemplating what it might have been like long, long before the Interstates were there, when trails consisted of two thin tracks from horse drawn wagons and when the early inhabitants hunted and fished in these beautiful forests and rippling rivers. When the crispness of the night sky and the multitude of stars were gazed upon by folks who had no idea about autos, or trailers; folks who would have laughed out loud if you told them that one day people would be uploading their musings to an invisible network for strangers to read and live vicariously through the writings of others.

Yes, I am looking at these familiar scenes with fresh eyes, I am allowing myself to think beyond the first impressions, to imagine the past or the future while I experience the present. It feels good. Familiar feels good.

On the Road Again!

Richard and Rudy having a Walk at the Pennsylvania Welcome centre on the south shore of Lake Erie. Beautiful weather for travelling... We were having lots of laughs along the way. Rudy and Reggie are comic relief as we travel and they get us to stop often along the way to "smell the roses" and relax a little. It is so wonderful to have your home woith you when travelling - the bed is ours, the kitchen is fully equipped and the Airstream is such a dream to tow. Our estimate for fuel for the 1500 miles we will travel on our trek South is about $300 this year. The Cummins Diesel is a real gem!

Richard and Rudy!

Airebella having a break!

Lake Erie from the South, after having travelled through the Finger Lakes Wine country you reach the Penn. border with upstate NY. It is just a beautiful drive but the I 90 had some construction this year.

Rudy...

September...October...Time flies

Brooklyn and Payton enjoying thanksgiving dinner at Nana and Bompa's house. Payton was working on a concoction of ice cream and whipped cream which she claimed closely resembled yogurt in flavour and concistency!
Oops Lisa leaned back and I did not get her in the shot but everyone else is in view. Louise, Matt, Derek and Lionel as well as Richard and the girls at the other end of the table. I promised Derek that next time I would seat he and Lisa at the other end of the table so that they could get a break from the feeding of the children! :-)

Brooklyn helped her Mom prepare two pumpkins and Madison looked on at the goo and the mess.

Richard's fishing yielded a catch of 5 Rainbow Trout. They were so good!

Madison at Payton's birthday party.

Brooklyn at Payton's birthday party wearing Louise's earrings and trying to hold them there by sheer will power!

Payton with her Dad and Auntie Louise at her birthday party with family. She was 8 on the 20th.

Home Home in September. Green, green still!

Flower bed in front with little fall blooms.

This month and last month have just flown by. We have been busy getting the house ready for the winter, advancing our agenda of getting it ready for sale. We had thanksgiving, Payton's birthday celebrations and Richard was fishing with his friend Bob at a lake near Ompah, Ontario.

We are looking forward to the winter warmth of Florida and are preparing for the trek south once again.

Culmination of Three Weeks of Summer Camping

We ended our camping with a roaring fire ! :-)
....and with a glass of red ...
We relaxed by the shore as we waited for news of the Rasta repairs.

We left for our travels on Monday, August the 9th and returned on Saturday, August 28th after almost three weeks of time in the Airstream. Our trip was only supposed to be about two weeks long but weather and the brakes on the old Rasta Van put us a little behind schedule. It was the first time I had pulled the 2008 boat behind the 1986 Dodge Ram Custom Camping Van (Class B - we call it Rasta Van) and all went well until the brakes felt a little "soft" on the drive between Long Sault and Kingston. In retrospect, I should have taken Rasta in to the brake specialist (who ended up being younger than Rasta Van) as soon as I got to Kingston!


We towed (with Richards truck) the boat back to Ottawa (and storage) Thursday night, and brought the Rasta Van in to the shop on Friday morning not sure whether they could finish the work or if we would have to return for it mid week. The camp site we had been in was to be occupied Friday night by other campers so we moved three sites over to another after dropping off the Van. Needless to say we were tired as can be on Friday so while we waited to hear about the state of the repairs we relaxed by the waterfront.
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During this years vacation, Louise came by to visit us on her way back from delivering a workshop at a Yoga studio in Kingston. It was nice to have her there to fill us in on her trip and how her Airstream is doing. Some other fellow Airstreamers camped near us for a couple of days. They were from the Toronto area and were avid members of the Wally Byam Caravan club, the Airstream club that was born out of a 50's American caravan to Nova Scotia.





Some folks we had met in years before also came by the last evening of our camping as we sat watching the fire. They were saying goodbye for another year as they were returning to Pennsylvania from this year's fishing trip. The end of the summer of 2010!

Last Boat Ride of this Trip-maybe of the Summer?!

Our toys, some old (Rasta Van) some newer (Boat and Airstream)!
Richard loves being on the water ... he is very relaxed behind the wheel of the boat! I, on the other hand, can be seen clutching the sides when the boat lifts off as we speed at nearly 50 Miles (!)PH across the water! You don't want to see a picture of that!
It was a calm day but still we were airborne many times and Richard just smiles!

Green, green, algae laden waters this year.

Richard had to install our own cleats on the dock this year...look how neatly he belays the cleat!

The boat is now up on dry land again and we are getting it ready for the drive home to Ottawa. We had one last ride today and it may be the last of the season. The water here in Col By Lake and the adjoining Rideau canal is green with algae, the worst I have ever seen it! It looked like we were careening over an oil slick and we thought of the Gulf of Mexico and how that might look something the same near the source - slippery and soupy! Here it must have been the very warm weather that bloomed so much algae...

Summer Vacation 2010

Brooklyn at the door peering out ...
Airebella gets a wash and a wax at our full service site in Rideau Acres, Kingston.
Notice the shop vac that made short work of the inside space!

Payton, enjoying her lunch and a water while her sister Maddie plays nearby in Nana's playpen!

Lisa, Derek and the girls getting ready for the second leg of their journey - to go to Montreal!

Airebella and Richard and Reggie at our first site (two service only) at Rideau Acres in Kingston. This site is right by the water!

This year we took a short trip to the St Lawrence, near Cornwall, and to Kingston for a couple of weeks in the Airstream. Every year I look forward to having a day or two to camp with the grandchildren (and their parents of course) and this year was no exception. Because the littlest one, Madison, is only 9 months, we thought it best to make the camping trip close to home so that nap time could consume her little enroute persona and make the car part more pleasant for her parents! It happened that Lisa and Derek had a great trip to Montreal planned so Cornwall and the Parks of the St Lawrence was part way there. We departed Ottawa on the 9th of August and it happened that Lisa, Derek and the girls arrived at the campground ahead of us by about a half hour or so I would say.

This year we also traveled with fellow RVers Bob and Debbie. Richard and Bob fished the St Lawrence and boated on the Rideau Canal near Kingston. Today, as Richard and I took the boat out of the water after a nice little joyride, I thought of another season coming to a close and how lucky we all are to have our health and our wonderful family and friends close by!

We may be headed for the Maritimes in the fall for a week or so but that trip depends on the health of an aged relative there so we will see...perhaps our next outing with Airebella will be heading towards Florida and points South!