Coronavirus Zombie Apocalypse Road Trip

 We departed Jekyll Island at 0830.  A 300 mile trek.  We occupied ourselves talking about what an amazing trip we just took.  Neither one of had been in an RV before or away from home for a full month.  We saw lots of friends And family and don’t think we overstayed our welcome anywhere.  People all across the country we so nice.  The states we traveled through in order are. Florida 1 night Georgia 1 night South Carolina North Carolina 1 night West Virginia 2 nights Pennsylvania 3 nights New York  Connecticut Massachusetts 5 nights New Hampshire Maine 2 nights Massachusetts Connecticut  New York  New Jersey 2 nights Maryland  Delaware Virginia 1 night North Carolina 4 nights South Carolina 2 nights Georgia 2 nights

Jekyll Island is a place to go to and go back to, We rented bikes in the morning and rode on a cart path the was cut through a salt water marsh.  It was one of the most naturally beautiful places I have seen.  Wading birds, beautiful reeds and oysters growing in the creeks running through it. Afterwards we rode thought the woods seeing giant live oaks with Spanish Moss.  Huge trees that almost looked fake. In the afternoon, I played some 9 holes of golf and Nancy went to the beach which she described as the best beach she has been to.  As the tide went out, it exposed a sandbar which she walk onto and had water on all sides.

 It started routinely enough.  A late start at roughly 10:30 but we were in no hurry.  About 1/2 an hour into the drive in Conway GA, we hit a bump in the road.   Nothing out of the ordinary.  Doing around 45 MPH in the RH lane.  The trailer made a crashing sound and was weaving around in the rear view mirror. Immediately off the gas and it get worse.  Nancy is yelling for me to stop.  I slow the rig down to a stop and pull off, but there was really no shoulder.  I get my breath and get out to look.  The rig had jumped off of the ball.  The lock was still locked and the front of the trailer was dragging on the post that holds it up.  The chains were the only thing holding the trailer to the truck. Nothing appeared broken.  The tire had air, the ball came out of the lock from the bump.  A small truck pulled up behind.  A city of Conway employee in a city vehicle. He’s on the radio calling it in and I ask if he has...

 The ferry from Ocracoke to Cedar Island takes about 2 hours and it departs at 0730.  An early start for us.   On the ferry ride we saw hundreds of shrimp trawlers.  In some cases the ferry getting out of the way of working fishing boats.  The area on the other side of the ferry is really quite beautiful with salt marshes runNing on both sides of the road.  The trip took us bast Beaufort which I visited before in my sailboat.  You can see what I said in my other blog, the Adventures of Playmobil and then onto Morehead City which is a growing port. On to Myrtle Beach along the coast we we went for some pulled pork and ribs.   I wholeheartedly endorse their philosophy. Today I played golf on a Pete Golf designed course while Nancy went to the beach.  I joined her in the afternoon, where we both had nice swims in warm water.

 We had some bad weather the last two days and that has hampered our activities some.  Yesterday we got to the beach in the afternoon and had some nice stops on the way back. We had  a window of good weather today and we went to where the once wild ponies of Ocracoke are kept by the National Park Service.  “The are descendants of Spanish ponies that were shipwrecked here centuries ago.

 It’s a long 80 miles to the tip of Hatteras from Kill Devil Hills.  Traffic is very slow in spots and it took nearly 2 hours with a stop for gas and ice.  We got to the ferry at noon and were told we had a 2 hour wait which was accurate.  The ride to Ocracoke took about an hour as the ferry had to take a long way around the shoals.   See picture of track below.  The track line is black. At Teeters campground, we set up and cruised around to familiarize ourselves with the area and look for a place for dinner.  We went to Ocracoke Oyster Company and had a nice dinner on their screened porch.  On Friday, we Rented bikes and took a long ride to the Ocracoke Ponies which were shipwrecked here in the 1700’s.  Later, Nancy went to the beach and I took another short ride.  Later we went to the lighthouse which is the 2nd oldest operating lighthouse in the US.  We stopped at the fish market and picked up some fabulous tuna and shrimp which...

 The first thing we did today was to walk in Kiptopeke State Park along the beach.  They have some wild barges a few hundred yard offshore as a breakwater/fish haven.  Pretty interesting, Before we got on to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge we went to a funny roadside antique/nautical store.  He had loads of 2 inch cut live edge logs piled outside.  We bought 2 pieces of black walnut and 2 pieces of cherry.  I’m not sure the what to do with them yet,  but they look cool. The Bay Bridge/Tunnel is over 17 miles long and was completed in 1964.  This is my second time across it and it is a wild ride.  

80 miles down the Garden State Parkway to Cape May.  A place I’ve never been.  We had enough time to see the lighthouse and get on the ferry which takes about. 90 minutes to Lewes, Delaware. We stopped for lunch at Matt’s Fish Camp which was quite nice.  See pictures.  A really nice ride on 2 lane roads down the DelMarVa to Kiptopeke State Park just past Cape Charles where we visited for dinner,   An upscale town with little shops and people riding around in golf carts.  There is a very substantial commercial port and a yacht club. It turns out that most of the land was owned at one time by the railroads and this was the terminus of the line where goods were put onto ships.  We saw a barge loaded with what looked like concrete blocks being pushed out by a tug while we watched a beautiful sunset.  Tomorrow a walk down the beach and then the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

 It was a long day of driving from Cape Elizabeth Maine to Seaside Park, NJ.  An evening with friends and some more Lobster and Steak.  Followed by a beach day and some bike riding. We made our plans to head down the shore to Cape May and ferry to Delaware and then drive down the DelMarVa to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

 We drove up to Cape Elizabeth near Portland to visit one of Nancy’s oldest and dearest friends.  Dick and Dore live in a wonderful home with a stones throw and with views of the  Atlantic.   They are in the lobster business and treated us to a wonderful meal and hospitality. Today we walked In Portland and had grand time. 

 A day of relaxing.  I visited with Greg Mancuso who leads the Marblehead IOD fleet.  In the lot next to his house we’re 5 IODs waiting for next season to sail.  We chatted about all sorts of important sailing things.   Great weather and a scheduled dinner outdoors at the Corinthian Yacht Club where I took in a fabulous swordfish steak and lovely views.  

Tuesday morning started quiet enough but By 11 AM the rain had started.  I took the early morning opportunity to gas up the car and get some supplies.  By 2 PM it was blowing a gale which continued until 4 PM.  We sat out in the screened in porch with all of the windows closed except 2 on the leeward side of the storm.  You could hear tree branches cracking and falling and all sorts of debris was blowing around.  By 6 PM it had passed far enough north and west to have only a drizzle and I fired up the BarB for one last meal  in Monterey. Wednesday heading to Marblehead, we had to take an alternate route to The Mass Pike as trees were down  on the approach,  once we got on the highway it was smooth sailing to Salem where the campground is.  Over to Nancy’s sisters house for some delicious lobster rolls, and then to the Corinthian Yacht Club where we got on their 21 ft motorboat for a sundown cruise.  Back at the mooring we enjoyed another...

A nice morning and we took the opportunity to take a short hike on Diane’s Trail.  This trail was established as a tribute to my former neighbor’s wife Diane who died of cancer.  The trail is on the property of Gould Farm. After a short break we headed in Gt Barrington for a lunch of Bento Boxes eaten outdoors a Bizen,  a fabulous Japanese Restaurant.

A busy day today.  We first went for a hike up the Tyringham Cobble.  About 1 1/2 with some great views of the Tyringham Valley.   After lunch we headed to Stockbridge to the Norman Rockwell museum.   They have some wonderful original oils of iconic images.  We left just in time to visit the Hancock Shaker Village and look at their wonderful grounds and buildings. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we went to Rawson Brook Farms to buy 2 pounds of the best chèvre made anywhere.

Sleep in, nowhere to go!  Walk around the Ross home remembering many fun times.  Reading, putting the trailer away for a few days, putting together some breakfast and lunch while think about a fine dinner tonight in Sheffield. I tried to make a tee time to play golf but Tom, the pro at Wyantenuck said they were strictly closed for guests, the Egremont Golf Course has sold its 225 acres to someone who plans to build a home on the property and Cranwell has been sold Hyatt who is rebranding the property as Wyndhurst and no phone number can be found.

A long drive.  With stops, we were on the road for 11 hours.   Not a hard drive, but long.  The best part is that we stopped to see my friend Larry.  We have been friends since kindergarten when we were 5 years old.  We were also roommates in college. Me going to MIT and Larry at Berklee School of music.  Our apartment was on Mass Ave in  Boston on the corner of Beacon St and over the Hawk Shop, names for Boston Bruin start Ken “The Hawk” Harrellson.  A stop in Gt Barrington for some food and we were in the Ross family home and had a bbq for dinner.