Cape Hatteras

Sunshine, wind, sand and sea. When I think of Cape Hatteras and the National Seashore I think of strolling on the beach with the waves crashing on the shore. Unfortunately for me, Fred does not share my same enthusiasm for the ocean. Though we did see a lot of interesting sights, we only walked the beach once.  But there were so many other interesting things to see and do that we ended up staying an extra day so we could get it all done.

We stayed at a really great campground in Wave NC, just south of Rodanthe (If you are a Nicolas Sparks fan, you've heard of Rodanthe) called Camp Hatteras. The Island is not very wide at this point, maybe a quarter of a mile across and the campground is on both sides of the road. We opted to stay on the Sound side (Pamlico Sound) rather than the ocean side. We are so glad that we did: First, the sand dunes on the ocean side are so tall that you can't even see the water, two the sound of the waves crashing all night long did not interrupt our sleep and third, but not last, we were able to enjoy the beautiful sunsets.

Unfortunately, we never seem to utilize the amenities at these campgrounds that we are staying at.

We learnt that there are five lighthouses along the Outer Banks. We were lucky enough to have seen four of them. The first one was the solid white one on Orcacoke. The second one is probably the most popular and the most photographed lighthouse in the United States.

The Cape Hatteras lighthouse with its black and white spiral stripes. We saw a wonderful movie at the Visitor's Center that showed how they moved the lighthouse from it's original location almost 3000 feet away to it's new location in 1999. It had to be moved because of severe erosion. It was an amazing feat of workmanship!! We could have taken the opportunity to climb the 200 plus steps to the top of the lighthouse, but I won't do it because of my fear of heights and Fred says that when they start telling you the number of steps, it's probably not going to be a fun experience!!  We were content to look at it from ground level.





The second lighthouse that we saw was the Bodie Lighthouse. This one is a bit smaller than Hatteras and is identified by it's horizontal bands of black and white stripes.

 Each band is 27 feet wide!!

 Even if we had wanted to climb up to the top of this one, we could not.  There were storm cells in the area and they do not allow you up to the top if there is a threat of lightning. Something to do with being the tallest thing for miles around and climbing up metal stairs! For those of you brave enough and in better shape then we are, they do charge an additional fee in order to climb to the top of the lighthouse.








The last lighthouse that we saw was the Currituck Lighthouse on the northern end of the Island.

We never did find out what the theory was behind the different colors of the lighthouses. Ocracoke was all white, Hatteras, Bodie and the one we didn't see Cape Lookout are all black and white (different patterns obviously so sailors could distinguish between the three from the sea, with Cape Lookout having large black and white diamond shapes on it). And then Currituck being just the natural red brick. It doesn't matter what they look like I never get tired of visiting a lighthouse.

One of the most unique and interesting places that we visited was the Chicamacomico Life Savings Station in Rodanthe. The couple Linda and James who are volunteers and run the place gave a fascinating presentation of the site. There were numerous life saving stations up and down the coast. While people come to this area all the time to see the lighthouses and marvel at how they saved the ships from disaster...it was really the men of the life saving stations who were the unsung hero.  Of the 178,000 people who were on ships that went down off the Outer Banks, 177,000 were rescued by the life saving stations!!!

These men went out in these little boats as a five man crew and picked up the ship wrecked people and brought them back to shore, giving them medical attention, food, clothing and a place to stay until another ship could come and get them. Most of the time, the ships wrecked because of a storm, but it didn't matter to these men how bad the weather was, it was their job to rescue and save. These were the precursors to the current US Coast Guard of today.


This was one of the most interesting presentations that we have seen in awhile. If you are ever in the area, it is definitely a must see.

1874 Life Saving Station

1911 Life Saving Station

As a side note, Linda at the station, told us about the experience in the town of Rodanthe when they filmed the Nicolas Sparks movie, Nights in Rodanthe there. She is hilarious.

She had a bit part in the movie as a patient of the Richard Gere character. In the movie he had to give her CPR. As she says, "Who wouldn't want Richard Gere to give them mouth to mouth and chest compressions." She said that she's probably the only person getting CPR with a smile on her face!!!  The building with the blue shutters was the Inn at Rodanthe where Richard Gere and Diana Lane were at. It is now a private home.



We of course can not go places without Fred looking up a geocache or two, or three or.... We were able to do several of them while on the Island. Sometimes it works out perfectly with places that we are already going to visit as was the case when we went to the Wright Brothers National Monument in Kitty Hawk.

This was a virtual cache which means that there is no hidden container to find. Instead, you have to get some information from the area that you are sent to. You usually have to answer a few questions and in some cases you have to post a picture of yourself and maybe your GPS at a certain location or with a certain item or place in the background. Here is Fred at the geocache location in Kitty Hawk.




While Fred likes to document his visits with a geocache, I prefer to take a picture in front of the sign.

 Since Fred has a difficult time figuring out how to use the cameras and centering a person within a shot (see if you can find me in the picture of the Currituck Lighthouse..) Fred is usually the one in my pictures.  It was very interesting to see the technology and thought process that these men had back in the early 1900's and how the basic mechanics of flight has changed very little over the past 110 years.




Just for fun (well I think it's funny, we'll see what Fred has to say once he's found out that I posted these) here are some of the pictures that Fred has taken.

The Lighthouse Keepers House at Cape Hatteras

Bodie Lighthouse

At least you can see me, just not the rest of the picture!!!

The last place that we visited on Hatteras was Fort Raleigh and the original Roanake settlement.

It was shocking to hear how unprepared these settlers were for life here in America. You wonder what was going through their minds and what their lives must have been like back in England for them to leave everything and everyone that they knew to pursue a new life in a wild and mostly unknown environment.



People say that Fred and I are adventurous because we like to travel and see new and different things. But we know where we are going and in most cases what to expect when we get there. I don't know if I would have made a good pioneer.

Outer Banks North Carolina - Ocracoke Island

Sunday morning started out very early. We had a reservation on the Cedar Point to Ocracoke ferry at 10:00 in the morning. We had to break down camp and drive the hour and a half to the ferry terminal. We had to be there 30 minutes early so we were on the road by 7:30. It was amazing how hard the wind was blowing at the ferry terminal.  It was so bad, that I could barely keep the truck door open, because it kept trying to blow shut!!  We've taken an RV on a ferry before (to Newfoundland and back and to Prince Edward Island), but there was something about this time that was a bit unnerving to me.  Maybe because now it was our house and all our worldly possessions...

I'm not sure why, but I was very apprehensive during the whole two and a half hour, 20 plus mile crossing.  We were the only RV on the ferry and it looked HUGE next to all the little cars. Plus we weigh over 10 tons, so you wonder how the ferry didn't list to one side....Watching it swag side to side almost made me dizzy.  Thank goodness I don't get seasick. Thankfully, they knew what they were doing and we made it across safely.



Ocracoke Island is so cute!! We were able to leave the truck and RV at the ferry parking lot and it was only a  short walk into town.  It's common practice in town to drive golf carts on the roads to get around. So it was much easier to rent a golf cart for a few hours than try to navigate with our 53 foot long rig. Our first stop was to complete a geocache on the island. There is so much history here.

The geocache was of a British Cemetery where 2 naval soldiers from World War II were interned. We learned that Germany had U boat submarines along the eastern coast trying to prevent supplies from  getting to England and Europe during the early part of the war. Prior to the United State's direct involvement in the war, the British Navy patrolled the east coast, however, one British ship did get hit by a torpedo and these soldiers washed ashore on Ocracoke Island.

Of course no visit to the island is complete without a visit to the lighthouse. This isn't one of the fanciest lighthouses, but it was still interesting to see it and the lighthouse keepers house next to it. The house is now privately owned.  How cool to have a lighthouse in your backyard!





The whole island is less than 10 square miles so it didn't take long to see it all. We picked up the truck and RV and headed to the north end of the island.

At one time the island had a herd of wild horses. There are now 24 of them that are corralled along the side of the road.

Isn't this the most tranquil setting you've ever seen!

The day was not complete without our second ferry ride of the day. This time we took the ferry from Ocracoke Island to Hatteras Island. This ride was much smoother and faster that the first one. 

South Carolina to North Carolina

Our vacation continues and we continue to see interesting and wonderful sights. We didn't spend much time in South Carolina, but we did have a chance to stop at another NASCAR track. We enjoy racing, but we are not that into it that we have to attend races at every track..plus that's just way to expensive! And the races never seem to be happening when we are there (we always seem to be a week early or a week late).  But since we were within a few miles of Darlington Speedway, we stopped and looked around.

We were disappointed that we could not see the track, but we did get a chance to see the museum and the Hall of Fame that is there.








Our travels then took us to New Bern, NC the birthplace of Pepsi Cola.

We thought that there was a museum here, but it was really just a gift shop and they didn't even give free samples. But Fred still prefers Pepsi over Coke any day!!

We stayed in Morehead City NC for two nights and spent Saturday roaming the little towns in the area.  We went to the Museum of the Atlantic in Beaufort and learned about the pirate Blackbird and his reign of terror in the area.  We also were lucky in that there was a wooden boat show going on that day, so we saw lots of interesting models of wooden boats and schooners. Beaufort is a quaint little town and we enjoyed walking through the downtown area and seeing the cute shops.

Leaving Florida

We left Florida early on Sunday morning.  It was sad to be leaving the beauty and the alligators, but we were the last of the seasonal people to leave so it wasn’t too bad.   Our first day was strictly traveling and getting some miles behind us.  Florida is a long state.

Our first stop was at an Encore resort that we have reciprocals with so it only cost us $3.33 a night. I love travelling cheaply!! Driving into Bulow Plantation was reminiscent of the old southern plantations. A very long drive with beautiful large Live Oak trees covered with Spanish Moss leading into the campground.  It was probably one of the prettiest entrances to a campground that I’ve ever seen.  I just wish I’d thought to take a picture of it.  We stayed here for 3 nights.

Monday we drove into Daytona and because we are big NACAR fans, we had to stop at Daytona International Speedway and take a tour of the track.

Of course, they had to make a stop in Victory Lane so we could get our picture taken!

Having been to numerous tracks throughout the years it still is amazing to see the 31 degree banking.  We were allowed to get off the tram and walk up the front stretch and it was almost scary how steep it was.

Our next stop for the day was the beach.

I couldn't convince Fred to go swimming but I insisted on getting my feet wet.

However, it didn't take any convincing for Fred to take the truck onto the beach!!

Our last stop for the day was to see the Ponce DeLeon Lighthouse. The tallest light house in Florida. Neither one of us was up to climbing the 216 steps, so a view from the outside was good enough.

We couldn't resist taking a picture of the pirate for our grandson Jonas.  He's 4 years old and last week when Fred was watching him, they had to play pirates.  So Jonas, Papa says this ones for you.

Tuesday was another day spent sightseeing.  This time it was in St. Augustine. Being fans of National Parks, we had to stop at Castillo de San Marcos.

We enjoyed an interesting ranger talk on the history of the park and then walked around and explored some more on our own.

No trip to the National Park is not complete without a picture taken in front of the sign!!  

We spent the rest of the day taking a tram tour of the old city, learning more of its history. 

We also were able to get off a few times and do some geocaching.

"Home" for a Visit

We finished up our season at Everglades National Park on April 13th. We are the last of the seasonal volunteers to leave this year. With the temperatures getting warmer, the humidity getting higher and the bugs getting hungrier....I can see why everyone leaves by the end of April!!

Our first visit "Home" was to drive over to the west coast and see Kathleen's parents in Fort Myers.  Because this season we only had two days off together, Kathleen made most trips to see the Stanley's by herself, so it was nice to have Fred along for this final visit of the season.  It was good to see Dad in better health and we hope that he continues to improve. We also enjoy all the great home cooked meals that Mom provides.  Of course we also were able to get some good Chicago style pizza from Aurelio's in Fort Myers!!

We made arrangements to leave the RV at our spot in the Everglades while we traveled to see family. So it was a quick trip back to the RV to do laundry and repack for our flight to Chicago on April 16th.

Luckily for us, we arrived before the rain did but it was a rude awakening from sunny and dry to record breaking rain and flooding.  

It's amazing how fast the grandchildren grow.

Isn't she a cutie!!!

We had agreed to watch our 15 month old granddaughter Tia the day after we arrived.  Thankfully, there were two of us, because she can wear you out! The next morning we watched Tia and her big brother Jonas.

On Thursday we drove down to Homewood, avoiding the flooded highway and streets. We stayed with Fred's parents there for the rest of our visit.

Fred's sister Patricia arrived from California so we had fun seeing her again. It was a busy weekend with several parties.  On Saturday, there was a bridal shower for our youngest daughter Jennifer who is getting married in June.

Kathleen, Jen and future MIL Margo

 It was an interesting gathering of women from the Stanley's, the Gold's, the Witkowsky's and the Totsch's. Jen looked like the beautiful bride and received lots of wonderful gifts.

On Sunday April 21st, we celebrated Fred Gold Sr's 94th birthday with a family dinner at Carlo's in Chicago Heights.

Esther and Fred Gold Sr

Thanks Julie for the wonderful cake!!

A few doctor's visits, visits with neighbors and a tour through our old house rounded out the trip. 

We are back in the everglades for a few days packing and getting ready to hit the road.  I promise I'll be good and share the rest of our adventures.

We are still Alive!!!

I know, I thought that I would be so good about this and it's been almost a year and I haven't posted anything....
So here's what we've been doing.

SUMMER 2012:
We spent the summer in Branson MO and had a great time. We were there from May 1st until Nov. 11th. We were campground hosts at Branson Lakeside RV Park.  This is a city owned campground and the work is easy. Kathleen worked two 8 hour days in the office, taking reservations, checking in campers and collecting money. Fred's job was a bit harder :) he only worked two 4 hour days and his job consisted of driving the golf cart and leading people to their sites. He says that the hardest part of the job was deciding if he should wave them along using his right arm or his left arm!!!
In addition to getting a free campsite, we also were able to see most of the shows for free.  This was a great way for us to know what shows to recommend to other people. There were a few shows that we had to pay for, but those usually involved a meal so the price was right.  During our time here we went to 48 shows!!!  There's no way I could have gotten Fred to that many if he had to pay for them!
We enjoyed ourselves so much that we will be going back there for the Summer of 2013 and I promise I will go into more detail about our time there.

WINTER 2012 -2013
We have just finished up our second season at Everglades National Park. This year was similar in job responsibility as last year (we were interpretive rangers). The major difference was this year we were "hired" as a couple as "Interns for the Nike Missile Base". Under this scenario, between the two of us we only had to work 40 hours a week compared to the combined 64 hours that we worked last year.  In addition, we received a small weekly stipend. Because of this schedule, Fred worked 3 days a week and Kathleen worked 2.  However, Kathleen did put in extra time giving tours to "special" groups.  The most notable was the Park Superintendent and a group from the World Heritage Site committee!! It was nerve wracking but despite my nervousness, Superintendent Dan Kimble remarked at our annual banquet that it was one of his 4 most memorable moments of the season this year!!!  So I must have been doing something right.

SPRING 2013
Our season in the Everglades has ended.  The birds and alligators are off to better hunting grounds and so are we....I promise I will be better about keeping up with my blog.

Bad Bad Me

I have to apologize for being so bad at keep up with my blogs. You would think that I have all the time in the world now to do this, but I always seem to find something else to keep me busy.  I have been reading an average of a book every three days....so you can see how I've been spending my time.  But I am going to try and spend the next few weeks getting caught up. Thanks for your patience.