Fall, Old/New Friend, The Farm

Fall

Since we left the Pacific Northwest in September,  we have been chasing fall foliage, crisp cool air, and beautiful places to walk and hear the crunch of leaves underfoot. My husband was raised in New Jersey and knows how beautiful 'back East' can be. I lived in Virginia and know, in a small way from one trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains, that this time of the year can be glorious. Yet, deep in my soul, I knew there would be something magical as I am now able to see it together with Bob. We are able to explore places I had never been and meet people I unknown to me. I can also see some current-friends I have been missing this trip.

Because we are chasing Los Angeles Rams football games, we started by heading to LA. If you have been reading the blog, you know the path... Hot, hot, hot and more-hot was the result. I am not a sun worshipper, the opposite is true. I was aching to get back to long sleeves, down vest, and denim. I made it through the south. We were blessed by the people, cursed by the bugs, and excited by the history.

When we left Ft McAllister we had every opportunity to go through the Appalachians, the Smokies, and the Blue Ridge mountains. I looked at recent posts online and the pictures showed leaf changes barely starting, mostly green in the shots. 

We decided to NOT go out of our easiest course to the mountains, but to simply head north to Jersey and Bob's (OTTO) dear high-school friend Rick's farm. When we hit New Jersey we found fall! Each hour in the rig became more and more beautiful. 

Because of that, we arrived earlier than expected. We were received in the most beautiful fashion with director's chairs seated out in a beautiful part of the field away from the house with an amazing look at his fields and barn. Over the next couple days we talked, ate, and rested inside his house with him. 

He showered us with love and great conversation. This man is remarkable in his capacity to care. There was not a second of feeling like an imposition or burden but we felt like a joyful event.

He cooked us tasty dinners spiced with stories and laughter. We both raised families of boys, us with 5, Rick with three. Each one different, smart, remarkable, blessings to our lives. 

There are so many stories. Parents are full of them since we are so in love with all of our children. 

Now Rick knows the boys nearly as well as we do.

While we were having dinner and hanging out we got a call that our number 10 grandchild was born. She is healthy and the birth was quick and easy. This is the first grandchild that we have missed their birth, but we will have to spoil her extra! Here is our greeting we sent out to her. We talked and played Scrabble (Rick and I) and it was a great game. I was ahead nearly 100 points much of the game and then was finally eclipsed on the last word. I, l---, well Rick w--, well we played valiantly and the outcome was appropriate, baring Rick's bad math skills.

We talked about a dear neighbor of Rick's that Bob knows who is battling cancer and in the hospital. On Friday, I decided to stay back and rest and do some sketching at the farm. The boys went to lunch and had an opportunity to meet with Frank in the hospital. The joy everyone shared because of the opportunity to care for each other was such a blessing. One Bob will not forget. He has talked about Frank since he visited the farm without me two years ago. This is Frank's garden, winterized ready for planting. Lord, grace Frank with many more years in this garden and bring forth a crop of good food and even better friendships.

They had lunch in one of Rick's favorites and came back to the farm full inside their bellies and their hearts. 

          

Welcome to Fall - And the Tranquility of Bear Pond Farm

McAllister Memos

Thursday, today, the rig was finally at a standstill so that I could write. Yesterday was a total travel day. Bob got on a roll and we made it through four states in a day. We made it through North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, DC, and are now in Delaware. It really has taken a day to deal with my thoughts about our trip to Fort McAllister. It had a profound effect on both Bob and I. The pictures were so many with the Admiral and the internal images they left in the heart were strong. Though all these things happened 150 years ago the impact and relevance seemed personal and current. The only way to do a good job of telling the story is to have an experience.

Before you view the slideshow, Watch for him in the slideshow. What a character!

Since Ft. McAllister we have been traveling northward to New Jersey where we will land in Tranquility and spend some time with a dear friend at Bear Pond farm for a few days. I am sure this will be an adventure in itself. One we are so excited to take.

A funny thing happened on our way to New Jersey. We were traveling according to the GPS and we kept seeing the New York skyline get larger and larger. We even argued about it. We finally panicked and turned off on the last exit before the Holland Tunnel because Bob knew that would not be right. The GPS had taken us an hour or more out of the way and we almost ended up with an RV in downtown NYC, rush hour no less. We were so happy to get turned around and go the hour and a half and really find Tranquility! 

This isn't right!

Monday by Bob

Woke up a little later than usual this morning after doing laundry until 1-ish in the morning. We found a Cracker Barrel restaurant, drove around back, parked the motor home and went to sleep. I woke up to the sound of voices close by. I moved the curtain back and noticed about 15 cars in the parking lot for breakfast. One of the joys of traveling in an RV is finding places like Walmart and Cracker Barrel who let us stay over night for free.

Joy was not feeling well and we went to an Urgent Care for help. While I waited in the motor home I remembered I had to rinse my jersey I wore to the game yesterday out in cold water. I went to the sink, rinsed it out, grabbed a hanger and took the jersey outside. There was a gentle breeze blowing every so often. I thought I'd just hang my jersey on a tree and let it dry while I waited for Joy. Another adventure of traveling I am learning is how to "conveniently" dry things on the go. The jersey looked great in the sunshine and occasionally blowing in the breeze.

There was a 6 x 9 green area type rug we place on the ground by the door to wipe our feet on that was still a little damp after some rain the other day. It was in the trunk space and had that "musty" smell.
I laid the rug over the bikes on the bike carrier hoping for it to dry out. I used a little broom to wack it a few times to knock some sand off it, too.

I grabbed a notebook and lawn chair to sit out and enjoy the sun, watch my jersey and read as I waited.
Joy's appointment was over but we had to come back to the pharmacy in a few hours for some meds. We thought we'd grab some lunch on our way to Fort McAllister St Park.

Lunch was delicious. The Admiral enjoyed the decor. Joy and I enjoyed blackened cod tacos. Absolutely delicious. Our waitress just happened to be from the pacific northwest, too. What a small world. 



We found a nice camp spot. The sun was out so I laid the 6 x 9 area rug out over the picnic table to finish drying. I had a towel and tablecloth that needed to dry a little, too so I hung them up on a metal pole that is used to hang a lantern on at night. What the heck...it can double as a dryer, too. I placed our lawn chairs by the fire pit. There were pine needles and small branches all over so I thought we'll have a nice fire when we get back from running to town. After I had the things outside to "mark" our site we hopped back in the RV to head to the pharmacy.

The clouds moved in as we waited at the store. Not only did they move in but they also dumped. Lots! I thought about my poor 6 x 9 area rug laying out to dry. Oh well, not so much. But then, like on queue the sun broke out. It was amazing. The sun was on one side of us and the rain moved further away on the other side. A beautiful rainbow broke out, too. I thought my rug just might dry out after all.
On our drive back to the state park we called two friends to talk about plans for the next two weeks. One friend lives in Florida but has a cabin in Maine that we will be able to stay at while we explore that beautiful area. This friend is an environmental scientist specializing in all areas of wetlands management. We told him how amazed we are at his job given the vast river and waterway systems was have seen between Florida and Georgia. He reminded us that "Water is life".

Our other friend lives in New Jersey. We'll have the joy of visiting him and staying at his house / farm for a few days as we drive up the east coast to Maine.

After making some plans we arrived back at the campground. The 6 x 9 area rug was pretty wet from the previous rainfall. I thought it might dry out if the rain holds off and the light wind continues to blow. I collected pine needles, pine cones and several fallen branches close to our site and was so excited to make a fire. There is just something so wonderful about sitting by a fire when you're camping (glamping). I ran into the RV and grabbed any paper plates out of the garbage to use as my starter. I ran back out to the firepit with lighter in hand. Just as I was about the light the paper plate I felt a rain drop...then a couple of drops...then several more and all of a sudden it was a flat-out downpour. I ran into the RV dripping wet, like someone squirted me with a hose.

It is now two o'clock in the morning now and it has rained on and off the entire night. I'm pretty sure my 6 x 9 area rug is not going to make the next leg of our journey.

I am excited to see the Civil War Museum, Fort McAllister, and the preserved fortifications that withstood eight Union Navy attacks. It only fell when Sherman's infantry attacked it by land in December 1864. (The Civil War: A Traveler's Guide page 68).

The Cruel War
The cruel war is raging and Johnny has to fight
I want to be with him from morning til night
I want to be with him, it grieves my heart so
Won't you let me go with you, No my love no
Tomorrow is Sunday, and Monday is the day
That your captain will call you and you must obey
Your captain will call you, it grieves my heart so
Won't you let me come with you? No, my love, no.

I'll go to your Captain, go down upon my knees
Ten thousand gold guineas I'd give for your release
Ten thousand gold guineas, it grieves my heart so
Won't you let me come with you? No, my love, no.
Your waist is too slender, your fingers are too small
Your is too to the cannonball
Your waist is too slender, it grieves my heart so
Won't you let me come with you? No, my love, no.
Oh Johnny, oh Johnny, I feel you are unkind
For I love you far better than all of mankind
I love you far better than words can e'er express
Won't you let me come with you? Yes, my love, yes.

I'll tie back my hair, men's clothing I'll put on.
I'll pass for your comrade as we march along.
I'll pass for your comrade, no one will ever guess
Won't you let me come with you? Yes, my love, yes

How about those Rams!!

The Admiral is a Rams Fan of course but he opted to stay with the vehicle to make sure that it stayed safe in enemy territory.

We did our usual and went to the field early to get some assistance. We parked the rig in a dental office parking lot near the EverBank Stadium. (Smart huh? Dentists are closed on Sundays, they usually are in safe areas of town and they don't post intent to tow warnings.)  

We took an Uber to the stadium so we could get in close to the gate we needed to check in. We were going to meet with my nephew and his wife and go see Johnny after. 

The game was amazing. It was minute to minute intense. It started with a Rams run back of the kick-off for a touchdown. It was then followed by a Kick off and touch-back to the 25-yard line by Jacksonville where their rookie running back ran 75 yards for a touchdown. The game was back and forth every play until the 4th quarter where the Jacksonville special teamer's mistakes cost them and the Ram's Special Teams play sealed the deal, allowing only 3 points for Jacksonville in the 2nd half.

For me, personally, it was a funny, great, awful game. I hate the heat! I am '60 degrees is bliss' kind of girl. It was so hot! Every few minutes a cloud would pass by, or a cool breeze (cool is relative in Florida a close relative of 90 degrees I think) blowing over my sweat-soaked face created a kind of swamp cooler effect and gave some relief. Bob so kindly went and bought me a hat so I would not get heat stroke. It, of course, was an all-black Jacksonville hat (the logo was hard to see) so he thought I could wear it and not be too bad of a turncoat. I just could not put it on my head even though he paid $30 for the hat. I did, however; continue to mutilate it in my hand throughout the game. Each play that I thought was going badly for the Rams, I would just squeeze the HEKK out of it. It was not the hat mutilation that helped the team, but the stress relief sure made me feel better. I was so glad the team performed well and came out with a W. I gave the hat to a young boy who was leaving the stadium with his dad who was sporting military gameday stuff. It found a good home and was not wasted. Maybe they will get another win, just not against my Rams!

Del and Kim, Bob and I stopped by the family area and they got to meet Johnny. They were so sweet. We had a quick talk and then Johnny was on his way back to the hotel. They fly out to LondonThursday, and we flew out in our RV to Savanna Georgia, about two hours away, and to the 24-hour laundromat there. Bob did the laundry and I, being my wimpy exhausted self, rested.

So glad Bob and my bug-bite-covered-self are heading north to some cooler weather.



We want to see some Civil War battlefields or forts and make our way through the Fall-Flourished mountains they have in the East before the really cold weather sets in. Ahoy Mateys, keep in touch!