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OK- It was my fault.

We were on 81, everything was fine, we were almost to Wilkes Barre,PA (where you get on the PA Turnpike to bypass Scranton) and I started thinking - just thinking, nothing outloud- about how I could say on here that construction on the northbound lane of 81 wasn't bad- when all of a sudden both lanes of traffic stopped! It took almost 15 minutes to go just over 3 miles to our exit! Then when we got off the Turnpike we again hit construction. We then joined the rest of the travelers at the rest area to share stories as we waited in line at the rest rooms (Bob even had to wait!!)
Those stops do give us a chance to talk to other people- the lady behind me had on a cute t-shirt "Lord, please keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth" - she was going to visit her mother-in-law!

We're home safely and know that there are lots of people who will be employed for a couple of years on all the road construction.

The ride home

We left the wonderful Interstate Route 95 at Fredericksburg, VA.

We made it to Hagerstown, Md. before stopping for the night.

Tomorrow we'll see what rt. 81 thru Pennsylvania has in store for us.

Ocean Breezes

We've spent a quiet day reading by the ocean. (And plan to do the same tomorrow)

Bob made a great shrimp and scallop dinner.

On our walk to the beach tonight we met two girls (and their fathers). The girls told us about a turtle nest where they think the turtles might hatch tonight. We continued down and saw - way down the beach- where it looked like lots of people and red lights (as advised so the bright white lights don't confuse the turtles). We watched the stars - it looked like they drop right into the ocean. We also watched a helicopter checking out the boats that were a ways offshore.

Now I'm trying to stay up long enough to see the Late Show tonight!

Cape Lookout Cruise

We had a wonderful day.
We left Beaufort, NC about noon on the Lookout catamaran.
On the way,we went by Fort Macon and then traveled the length of Schackleford banks. We anchored at the very end of Cape Lookout called Power Squadron Spit. There we had a very nice lunch, swam, and looked for shells (Bob found a really nice whole welk shell for me). We were also able to see some horses on Schackleford Banks. After everyone reboarded we went through the area called Lookout bight- where the ocean and sound met- to get to the Lighthouse. The Cape Lookout lighthouse is not currently open for climbing. We had about 40 minutes to walk around, see the keepers house, and the listen to the volunteers, etc.
It was a very nice cruise back to Beaufort and the sail kept us mostly in the shade.
There are several cruises available at the waterfront. The crew on Lookout were extremely nice, they made sure everyone was kept hydrated (water, soda, lemonade), there were snacks as well as the lunch. All kids who wanted to got to steer the boat. We'd recommend Lookout cruises.

Storms

Thunderstorms delayed our cruise to Lookout Lighthouse
until tomorrow (fingers are crossed).
A little more info about the area:
The Crystal Coast is much calmer than the Outer Banks. Traffic is much lighter and life seems calmer. There are a lot fewer stores and restaurants.
We drove to the Northern end of the Island the other day- to Fort Macon. The Fort seemed similar to Fort Ontario.
We started up the boardwalk at the very end of the island but had to turn around because there was going to be a wedding. Pretty area and that day was very calm.
Yesterday we drove down to the other end of the island (it was less than a 30 minute drive) Most of the way there wasn't enough room for a road parallel to the main road- just houses and hotels on the main road or short roads off rt 58. Emerald Isle is at the southern end of the island and is larger, has roads in all directions and a bridge to the mainland. We didn't explore Emerald Isle (looks bigger than Atlantic Beach -Northern end of the Island- where we are) that trip- we had seafood to take back and cook.

The resort is very nice and has lots of little sitting areas- some with playgrounds, and most have water features.
Our unit overlooks the indoor pool- glass walls around the pools; and we can see a very small square of ocean between the houses. (It's a five minute walk to the beach).

We're enjoying the beach and the calm ( I've finished 4 books already ;)).

Boat trip

Well, Kathy has made reservations for a six hour trip for tomorrow (Monday). We leave around noon, have lunch on board, do some snorkeling and sight seeing. I'll let her tell you more.

Exploring today

Well, Kathy has me off exploring the local area today. We need to find the grocery store etc. and she wants to find out about the boat trips to Lookout National Seashore as well as Lookout lighthouse (naturally right?). The condo is really nice - big and roomy. I plan on going down to the beach later with a book and my iPod to just vegetate, being retired is hard work and I need to relax a little!!

Going to the Crystal Coast

We are on our way to Atlantic Beach, NC. The area is known as the Crystal Coast, don't know why but we will find out. This is the first post I've made in a while, usually Kathy does this, and it is the first post sans RV. We are driving the Saturn to NC and will be staying in the condo instead of the RV this time. Made a stop and spent the night in Fredericksburg, VA last night. The traffic was not bad until we got on Rt. 95. Many spots we were only doing 15mph when we were lucky. The GPS was excellent though. It did take us around some of the traffic problems and we got to see many new sights and travel lots of new roads! Construction on RT. 81 through NY wasn't as bad as usual this time. The GPS sent us down the PA turnpike instead of 81 because of the delays and construction through PA though. We will post more entries and pictures from the Crystal Coast as long as we have internet access (not sure of that yet but I will find access somewhere).