Aloha MM's,
In keeping with todays theme
by the Eagles. I have finally reached a space where I am not letting the
wheels whirling and twirling in my mind, drive me crazy. I have reached some
'zen' space, where I am in the zone and in my rhythm. I'm no longer
calculating money until my head spins. I'm no longer 'worrying' the camper.
I'm no longer...well...stressing. I have reached the 'don't have to think
about it' phase and my god—it's lovely!!!
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| See like Leo. Cats don't let things get to them. They don't nag themselves to 'have a sleep' 'stop' 'eat something.' They just follow some natural rhythm they have. I envy cats. |
We know how everything in
'Charlie' (our camper) works now. We don't have to think about how to do
things anymore—they have become part of our everyday routine, that requires
no thinking. We DID burn out the battery by overdoing it and thus our
generator for Leo Ray Jnr was not working. See what happens when you stress
and get too tired. Zap - there goes your battery. Then Zzzzz—the
generator won't start. No real surprises!
We stopped...finally,
and got past the 'exhausted beyond words' peak and now we are all functioning
so much better. We replaced the battery with little fuss or muss and Voila—the generator sprung to life! A great moment in history!
This meant that we could go
and see the Eighth Air Force museum in Pooler—just out of Savannah.
Georgia was
steamy hot. It felt like a hundred in the shade with a humidity index of
around 80% I reckon. Phewee—hot! So, without the generator roaring into
life, we wouldn't have gotten to see this wonderful museum!
They took us through a
briefing for a bombing mission, which was very cool and gave you a real feel
of what it would have been like. The Eighth were stationed in East
Anglia in England
during WWII. They flew mostly B17's—Flying Fortresses and B24's— Liberators. The museum is really a dedication to the men and women who served
with the Eighth.
The displays are wonderful
and the bombing mission run through was great. You got to see and hear what
the men would have faced, getting up at 3am to start their day, getting a
breakfast of powdered eggs (yuk) and bacon and as much coffee as you could
stomach, then going into god knows what. Flying for hours in a freezing
aircraft on oxygen that if you didn't check it all the time and it wasn't
working properly—you'd be dead in 2 minutes. No bathrooms after all that
coffee, no cafeteria, mind numbing hours of boredom, followed by periods of
intense fear while they dodged and weaved flak, other aircraft and fighters.
Gutsy!
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| I have a soft spot for the Resistance and the way they helped all over France. |
Then you enter the 'hangar'
and there she is... A beautiful magical B-17 crate being restored. A big
silver bird. OMG. Just gorgeous. I love the Lancs but the B-17's are probably
even more magical and awe inspiring. They were a magnificent American
aircraft. They carried 10 crew. They came back from missions shot to
pieces but still flew. Sometimes, they came in on their bellies, with huge
chunks out of the wings, the tails, the fuselage...amazing aircraft and the
men who flew them.
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| This B-17 beauty is being restored. Magnificent aircraft. |
When the Eighth first went
into the war in Europe, the crews did 25 missions
and then they could go Stateside. As the war progressed, they were running
short of crews to man the aircraft, so they had to do 30, then 35 missions
before being able to go home. This dedication to the Eighth was good for
my spirit. And to see this B-17 up close and in person was absolutely one for
my soul. Wow!
Outside, they have a
beautiful memorial garden, complete with an English chapel, like the airmen
used and saw in England,
when they were there. Every stained glass window in the chapel was a scene of
the aircraft, the crews, the Eighth. Very, very beautiful.
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| Jimmy Doolittle. |
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I have a real soft spot too for Jimmy Doolittle and what he achieved in the Mitchell B-25, on a mission to Japan. Remarkable
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| This museum was probably one of the most beautiful we went to. It was a fabulous tribute to the Eighth. |
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| Some of the hairstyles we associate with WWII came about because wearing long hair in a factory was dangerous. So snoods and shortened styles came into play. |
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Bessie Coleman - First African-American to earn a pilot's license. Pretty gutsy.
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The WAAF's who were trained here in the US. Some of them came and flew with the ATA—Air Transport Auxiliary in England as ferry pilots. Over 150 women were pilots for them. Here's their link. http://www.airtransportaux.com/history.html
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We then left the State of Georgia
and went just over the border to South Carolina,
where we stopped for the night near the town of Beaufort.
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| Zillions of squirrels at our campsite. They terrified Leo. :-) He kept racing around the camper, trying to see them out the camper window. |
Beaufort is one of the most
beautiful small sea island towns in the South. Full of huge Antebellum houses
3 stories high, with large airy verandas that run the whole length
of the house, Doric and Greek columns for Africa, dripping Spanish Moss and
old world Southern charm. Miss Charlotte and a Mint Julep on the veranda
would not be out of place here.
We went on a delightful
walking tour with Jon Sharp. He used to be a Hollywood
actor and director and he was almost a 'show' in himself! What a mine of
information and visions he drew so dramatically for us, as we
walked through the small coastal town. This town has been devastated by
untold wars, hurricanes and fires and she's still standing.
As you walk through the
graveyards, there are Confederate flags on many of the graves... They take
the civil wars quite seriously down here.
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| Look how old this is. So much history here. Incredible place. |
Not only were there
Confederate graves and flags, there were Yankee ones as well. There's
even a British Union Jack without the Irish Red strips on it—an Englishman
killed here and tended by the people of Beaufort,
SC.
At one time Beaufort was
surrounded by nearly 200 big plantations, that were planted at various
times with rice, indigo and cotton. To escape the steamy heat of
the summer, the owners came 'to town' to the big houses, which were
built to catch every whiff of breeze from the sea. When wars and hurricanes
came, they abandoned them and sometimes—never came back—leaving the town
to the slaves who had made them prosperous.
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This town is one of the most gorgeous places to come through at Christmas time—all the houses are tastefully decorated and lit up. It's really a wonderland.
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It has a very checkered but
very interesting history this town. And after almost 2 and a half hours
walking around with Jon, we knew the whole history of the town, every war,
hurricane and fire AND had seen every majestic beautiful house in
Beaufort. What a tour! That was magical.
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| Ooh, I do love that Magnolia. So creamy and velvety. And it has the most delicate scent. Hmmm.hmmm. |
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| Our fabulous tour talker Jon Sharp. He was amazing. Make sure you go on his tour in Beaufort, SC. He's under Trip Advisor too. |
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| The most Southern of Southern supermarkets - The Piggly Wiggly. :-) |
We then went on to camp just
outside Charleston, SC—another beautiful old town. This morning, we got up at
the crack of down—7.30.
We had a big driving and
touring day planned and wanted to get into Charleston
early to catch a horse and carriage ride around old Charleston,
then off on the road to reach Fayetteville
by 3.00 or so to see the Airborne and Special
Ops Museum,
near Fort Bragg
in North Carolina.
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| They use mules at Palmetto Carriage Rides, apparently they are better than horses. They have more self control and will stop working when they're overheated, which I liked to hear, whereas a horse will overwork itself. I'm wondering if that's where the expression 'As stubborn as a mule' comes from? Because when they're done—they simply refuse to move, knowing innately what they need for themselves. |
We got guided into parking
by Palmetto Carriage Rides and then felt we had to go with them, even though
I had someone else in mind. But of course, this turned out to be
perfect anyway. We got a incredibly clever and very funny carriage tour
driver Eric who had us thoroughly entertained for the hour we went on the
ride. Charleston is about 125 miles north of Savannah
and is another sea town or small city that had beautiful Antebellum homes in
it, but different again to Savannah
and Beaufort.
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| The architecture here was just gorgeous. I do so love these Southern towns. Such elegance. |
The energy here was fresh
and clean. The houses and old town, beautiful. What can I say... We have seen
some really beautiful and interesting things on this trip. It has been pretty
amazing so far and now we have settled into our rhythm, it feels much more
natural and we are in our stride, so to speak.
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| I loved this name for the oyster bar |
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| I love the numbering system here. :-) |
Aaron the absolute angel has
been doing all the driving. Aaron has driven because
he prefers it and also let's face I—my driving CAN be dodgy
sometimes... Well, maybe not so much—dodgy—as jittery. We usually never
travel more than 200 to 250 miles
a day in the camper but it's hard on him to drive every day, all day.
So today—I took the wheel. It was surprisingly easy! Last year, we had
a much shorter RV like a 'Maui camper' and I had to
concentrate a lot more. Charlie was easy.
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| Notice the cat foot and tail—Leo asleep on his 'morning' day bed above the cab. LOL. |
'Charlie' (our camper)
is 30 feet
long and wide enough for a Queen size bed that you can walk around with about
a foot and a half either side to spare. She is actually very roomy and you can shut
off the bedroom, the bathroom area, and the living area with concertina
folding doors. Very well designed—God bless the Americans and their love of
convenience and comfort!
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| Sorry, for the blur on these pictures. These were the ones sent to us before we bought her on-line. |
We have a three seater
couch, all thickly padded. A 4 seater table and seating cushioned benches. A
kitchen with an oven, 3 ring gas top, a range hood, microwave all set up
properly. A sink with double sinks. A pretty good size fridge and freezer!!!
This still amazes me. It seems like the height of luxury. LOL.
There's even
an electric can opener??? Yes, I know—no idea. Obviously someone
thought this was a vital thing to have. Perhaps someone whose hands found
manual can openers too hard, now that I think about it. Full blinds
throughout with little pelmets and side curtains. :-) There are lights and
power points everywhere. Even one in the bathroom! A VERY functioning AC
unit. Arm rests on both seats in the front. It's a real home away from home.
Have we used the shower yet?
No. Wonderful storage space though. :-) And the toilet is really good. I
only mention this, because along with the bed, it was one of my 'worries' in
the back of my mind, before we started off.
At first a wee bit small,
like an airline toilet but we have discovered that the door opens back
into the van and provides privacy, so is rather good. Aaron has become an
expert toilet outlet unstopper person, using the aerial stick we managed to
er...break off for the CB radio as a 'clearing stick' if the need
arises. The duct tape has come in very handy. The pot mitt is still stuck
under the range hood to stop the rattle. We have a smoke alarm in here and a
carbon monoxide alarm, all of which have not thankfully gone off. And we even
unraveled the awning the other day!
It feels like we have hit
our stride well and truly now. Three days ago we were still in Georgia
and dog tired. Now we are in North Carolina
and feeling pretty perky.
Tomorrow we are off to catch
a ferry to the Outer Banks here in North Carolina.
A barrier island group just off the coast that is full of mystery and it is
rumored that Blackbeard had a home there once. Big sand spits that run for a
hundred or so miles, with names like Salvo, Hatteras and Rodanthe. Remember
the film 'The Inn at Rodanthe.' If not—get it out. Lovely story and
gorgeous scenery.
All in all, I can say, that
I have hit the place where the wheels in my head have stopped turning and
it's only the wheels on the road I am concentrating on. The Exhale
place. The "I can breathe again" place. Taking it easy...
Thank god!
P.S. Is anyone would like to
see the photos from the trip. I am on FB under Meg Amor and my photo is a big
pink plumeria flower. I have an open site but if you would like to join,
please send me a request with something like, have been reading your blog, so
I know who you are. Thanks! :-)
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