Maryland with Judy & Butch

Out to dinner with Judy, Butch & Butch's sister Mary Lou

Judy & Butch's new house from the dock

Loving being out on the water

Butch's amazing new Ferrari

Roy & Butch going for a ride in the Ferrari

The Ferrari & the Bentley in a public parking lot together LOL

Coming back from a ride in the Ferrari

Roy & Butch out on the boat

We had a wonderful time visiting with Judy and Butch and Butch's sister, Mary Lou.  Judy & Butch built their new house about a year ago on the Miles River which feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.  It is a beautiful setting.  Roy & I had not seen Butch in probably 10 years, so it was especially nice to spend time with him.  Roy & I had planned to stay in our RV about 1 hour away at a state park (being the only place we could find to park the RV) but Judy insisted we stay at the house.  We did leave the RV at the park and stayed with Judy & Butch.  It was really nice.  We spent a lot of time in the pool, boating and going out to eat.  Butch is a true car enthusiast, which is something of an understatement!  When we went out to the garage there was a Mercedes SUV, a Bentley convertible for Judy and a Ferrari for Butch!  Very nice indeed! LOL  Judy & Butch are on their way back to Pittsburgh, Mary Lou is on her way back to NY and Roy & I are back in the RV at the state park.  Next stop will be in Delaware to visit my cousin Kathy & her family. 

Update on Tweet from the adopotive family :-)

Hey, just wanted to tell you about Tweet's Big Adventure yesterday! He was outside in the cage when went to feed him lunch, he flew right past me and into the big tree out front! I watched him flit from branch to branch, pecking at leaves and talking to the other birds but couldnt get him to come back. So I waited and a couple hours later, he was squawking because he was so hungry. So I called to him and it was so funny to watch as he tried to fly down to me but was too uncoordinated for the landing,so he'd swoop back up to the tree. The third try he made it to the gutter on the porch and then hopped down onto my finger! It was amazing and hilarious. I couldnt believe he came back! Then he ate some mealworms and took a bath. He seemed soo happy! Will keep you posted-Vonnie

Alexandria, VA

Roy's sister Linda & her husband John at their home

Roy & John having a "tankard" of beer while Linda & I shopped

Seeing Washington from the Potomac with friends of Linda & John

While our motorhome was "lodging" on the farm, Roy & I spent a couple days in Alexandria, VA with Roy's sister Linda and her husband John.  We went out boating with John & Linda's friends, Ed and Margaret.  It was fun but a little scary.  Ed is a really nice guy but not and experienced power boater.  He was a sailor for many years and spent much of the time enjoying conversation with his company - behind him!  Well, that is not a good practice while power boating! LOL  We hit the dock as we began our little cruise, again when we stopped for gas and when we came back in at the end of our cruise around the Potomac, we not only hit the dock, but another boat as well - and this was with dock hands! - not to mention the small log we ran over while out cruising.  And trim tabs - poor Ed didn't have a clue how to use them.  Roy was ready to jump in and take over but Ed felt he could handle being captain in this boat that is part of a club program Ed & Margaret belong to.  Just another day of fun and adventure in the life of these RVers. LOL 

Virginia

Joe & Vonnie

Wyatt & Emily with Tweet

Joe, Roy & John on the farm.

I love horses!

Wyatt with Tweet in his new home.

We left our RV at Roy's nephew's farm while we visited with Roy's sister Linda and her husband John at their home.  Before going to John & Linda's we spent some time at the farm with Joe & Vonnie & their children, Emily & Wyatt.  It is mostly a horse farm, but they also have potbellied pigs, cats, dogs and some beautiful peacocks running around.  What a neat place!  Wyatt has adopted Tweet (the baby bird I found on the dock at Cos & Jackie's).  We are still not positive what Tweet is but he is healthy and happy in a huge 4' cage looking out on the farm.  When he can fly and forge for himself, he will be set free.  I love that he does not have to be in a small cage in our motorhome anymore :-) 

North Carolia at Howard anf Marylou Lechlers

The (large) picture of Howard is of him holding a $2,000 bottle of wine!  Maybe that is why it printed SO big.....It is still a mystery to me why this blog does the unexpected things it does.

North Carolina

With Howard and Marylou at their kitchen table

Howard and Marylou in their gergous living room

Roy & Howard

A toast to Howard's wine cellar

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"Don Perignon, anyone?

We had a wonderful visit with our friends Howard and Marylou Lechler who lived in Clatyon when we did.  We have not seen them in several years but as is often the case with friends, time and distance does not matter.  In addition to fabulous food (Marylou is a graduate of L'Courdon Bleu (sp?) in Paris) & wine and great conversation, Howard gave us a tour of his wine cellar.....

Tweet

Tweet loves to be held (by me) and petted

He also loves being in the grass

It won't be long now.....

He loves to sleep with this cute stuffed animal.
Do you and Craig recognize the dog Izzy?

The baby bird who we have affectionally named Tweet, is still with us.  I have given up on trying to find someplace to take him for rehabilation.  The wound on his right side is healing nicely.  I thought the right leg and claw were permenantly damaged from the deep wound, but as of yesterday he is able to walk pretty well on the leg and can grab hold with his claw.  He is starting to flap his wings and loves being out in the grass.  It won't be long until he can fly away on his own.  For now though, he thinks I am his mother and follows me around outside. LOL  It is a very unusual and funny sight to see this little birs trying to chase after me and occasionally having to use his wings to balance himself.  If anyone can identify what type of bird his, I am still curious. 

Still confused!

Still not sure why some pictures print so big in the blog.  It seems to be totally unpredictable.....

North Carolina


We went to the Biltmore Estate this afternoon.  It is amazing!  We spent a couple hours in the house but the real treat was in the gardens!  There were flowers of every color and size.  Everything was beautiful!

The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC



Patio with a grapevine roof - very cool

Roy strolling along a grapevine walkway throught the gardens

Absolutely beautiful  gardens on the Biltmore Estate

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The Greenhouse

Inside the greenhouse

After we left the Biltmore Estate, Roy & I decided to go to Chimney Rock about 25 miles away.  When we got to the town of Chimney Rock, we decided to have lunch befor going up to The Chimney Rock (a rock jutting out from the mountain where you can walk out and feel like you are suspended in air.  When we got to the enterance of The Chimney Rock we were told the elevator, which goes through the center of the mountain, was not working and we would have to walk up - NOT!  As we were leaving, we were hit with a huge thunder and lightening storm.  Fortunately we had stopped at a shop and were able to wait the storm out there. The road to Chimney Rock is hard to describe so here is a picture of the GPS to give an you idea! 

This is a out of focus, but I am sure you get the idea we experienced a few hairpin turns! LOL

Lunch on the river in Chimney Rock



More South Carolina

Yup, that is our motorhome tucked down there to the left!
It was a challenge getting in as it will be a challenge to get back out,
but no complaints as we have a fabulous view of the lake and the trees.

The beautiful lake Cos & Jackie live on.

Roy taking care of "business"

Roy & Cos crusin' down by the lake

Roy giving Jackie & Cos's new set of wheels a set of seat belts
to keep Cos safe

Baby birds

The clawed feet may help identify the bird.

Yestereday morning there were 2 baby birds snuggled together alone on Cos & Jackie's dock.  They were really young and I wondered how they could have gotten there since there were no trees or nests anywhere nearby.  I watched them for a while, took some pictures and went up to the house to eat breakfast.  Occasionally I would go and check on them, hoping the mom would come back to them.  She didn't.  One time when I went down to check on them, one of the babies was gone and the other had 2 wounds on it's side.  I have to assume some hawk or other predator came and tried to take both baby birds at the same time but could only manage one.  Being the animal lover that I am, I brought the surviving baby into the RV for safty while I tried to find some type of animal rehabilator.  So far no luck.  If anyone out there can tell me what type of bird this is, it may help me to fine someone who can help.

It has a wide beak and can open it's mouth huge!

Confusing

I am still not sure why some pictures are so big while most are the size I want them to be!  And now I am confused as to why the pictures in my last post appeared at the end of the post rather than in the beginning like all the rest.....Hmmmmm

South Carolina

We are visiting with Roy's brother Cos and his wife Jackie in Seneca SC.  It was not without problems getting here.  We were still in Jacksonville, FL when our towbar decided to stop working.  We had to drive down to St. Augustine to the closest Camping World where they sell the same towbar we had.  Not a big problem but time consuming.  Roy got the towbar hooked up and we were on our way out of the park when we had a neat thing happen.  Roy was fussing with the new towbar trying to figure how to hook the car up when 2 guy about our age (I think) rode up on their bikes and asked if we needed help.  Roy told them no, but thanks anyway that he was just adjusting the new towbar to fit onto our car.  As they were riding away, the one guy said he was so proud of his friend with him as the friend is a Navy Seal who was involved with the elemination of osama bin laden!  Wow!  On our way to Cos & Jackie's we stopped at St. George, SC for the night.  When Roy went to reel in the electrical cord, it would not reel in at all.  So, we had to tie the huge 50 AMP cord around the rear ladder and drive to the nearest Camping World in Columbia, SC.  They were unable to fix the reel until Monday, 3 days away!  However, they were able to make arrangements with another Camping World in Spartanburg, SC where they could fix it the next day, Saturday.  Aside from the little "hick-ups" we have had with the RV, we are having a ball.  Our next visit will be in North Raleigh, NC to visit our friends, Howard & Marylou Lechler from Clayton, NY

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Enjoying the warm weather on Cos & Jackie's porch