Life is a journey....not a destination Part II

And as promised, here's Part II of the video Road Reflections created by Tim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7is05Ja1Z8&list=UUWkujpkdOhS75mdt3gIQsxQ

Also, if you want to check out any of Tim's other 33 videos,
they're only about 1-4 minutes duration each and are quite entertaining:

https://www.youtube.com/user/TimReevesVideo/videos

Soon to come.....results of our boat search
.......drum roll please......

Life is a journey....not a destination

And now for something different....here's a brand new video lovingly filmed, produced and artistically edited by our one and only favorite (and humorously unconventional) videographer......Tim

Part I of our trek across the US

(got popcorn?)

Click 

Road reflections Part I

And then stay tuned for Part II in the works......

Down the east coast NY to FL

We left NYC behind with a "peace" of contentment....we had done it, 

with grace and glory.

So now what?  SOUTH-ward-ho!  We drove for hours down the east coast on a beautiful fall day and found ourselves landing for a night in a quiet & quaint & artistic Chesapeake seaside town of Cape Charles, VA.

Never enough

Here's to my fav mermaids---Susan, Nancy & Krista

Cape Charles, VA

This small strip of peninsula on south eastern Chesapeake Bay is joined to the Virginia mainland by the interesting long Chesapeake Bay bridge-tunnel....an engineering marvel.  

You start out on a bridge and dive into a tunnel half way across and come up the other side.....a passage for ocean vessels...really cool.  We've also found along the way, that there are several tunnels that won't allow vehicles like our van because of the propane tank we carry.  Fortunately this one was good to go for us as we coasted into Norfolk/Virginia Beach.....

and then on down to......

Our next big adventure was a long overdue visit to our crazy good friend (and neighbor for a while on Witt Rd in Taos).......Howie.

Need a laugh?  Visit Howie

We arrived early into Kill Devil Hills where Howie lives on the Outer Banks and thought we would take a short siesta in a beach parking lot before meeting up with her Gilda Radner-style high energy.  Not but 5 minutes into a couple of zzzz's.....we hear,

"You can run, but you can't hide!"  Dang if she didn't nail us.  The next 2 days was just like old times when we all 

"wived on da wight side of Witt Woad"

(think like Elmer Fudd here)  This has grown into an ongoing Reeves family joke to this day....of which I'll spare you.  Needless to say the fun picked right back up that day on the OBX.

We had a blast riding bikes around the Wright Bro's memorial in Kitty Hawk

.....finding some beach time.....the OBX has over a 1000 ship wrecks off it's shore----and earned the title: 

"Graveyard of the Atlantic".

Where's Leslie?  Metal detecting :)

It's so good to finally be able to visit with old and dear friends----this is essentially a very large important part of this whole journey.  Thanks Howie----never stop laughing!!

Next stop---Durham, NC

Home of Duke University and our friends Michael and Gretchen Morrissey....

...and don't forget Sunshine too

We first met Michael and Gretchen at the BnB in 1996, when they came to stay with us one cold wintery day.  They had been up skiing when Michael's bravado lured him off a rock in Hunziker Bowl only to break his leg*.....the ER doc told him to stay put for a few days in Taos, so they found us....friends for life.  Oh yeah...one more thing.....it was their honeymoon.  But they still came back for many years after. Not only were we all compatible skiers, but they were also sailors. 

                                         *sorry Michael, had to put it in here---it's a great story :)

Amazing homegrown pepper garden

Gretchen is a talented textile design artist with awarding winning recognition.  Michael is a master of many trades, notably evading hackers on the internet for a large company.

Thanks to the Morrisseys for a fun 2 days----we know we'll see you down in the islands on our boat in the near future---bring the rum fun!

We finally made Florida a week ahead of schedule.  

By staying focused on our dream, we had to give up a few other family and friends visits.......maybe next time or....come see us!  We had 3 scheduled visits on different boats for sale along the way.....one could have been a contender, but we had to compare....so onward. 

Nellie Bly----nicely outfitted

First Manatee sighting----mom and pup

Historic lighthouse in St. Augustine, FL

We are currently on the west coast of Florida south of Tampa, staying with the ever kind and gracious Mike Fauser---a friend of Tim's from high school in St Louis.....who is also our invaluable (and very patient) boat broker.  

Mike and Patti---sunset on da beach

For a week we have looked at about a dozen Island Packet 35ft boats....there's so much to know....

so stay tuned dear friends and family....the next posting should reveal our decision.....

in the meantime.....keep on  lovin' and laughin'

Into the city

We headed north from Maryland up I-95.....wait, aren't we suppose to be oriented SOUTH?  Sunshine, sandy beaches and warm salt water?  Yeah, that was the plan all along.....but we got a special invitation to a good friends 60th birthday party at the Chef's table in a chic top-rated New York City restaurant----Barbuto's-----and we couldn't say no.  

Barbuto's--Michael Morrissey's B-day dinner

We had debated whether to even add NYC to our east coast hit list.....but this secured it.....after all, it's about the journey and so down the rabbit hole we went.









Driving into New York City on a Friday morning, gave us the daunting feeling equivalent to diving off the 11,000 ft ridge at Taos Ski Valley into the double black diamond steeps of Stauffenberg Chute.....gulp.

But instead of driving Da-Von into the mess, we found an RV park across the Hudson River from Manhattan in Jersey City, NJ.  Mind you, we have stayed in only ONE official private RV park since the inception of this journey, and this made the second.

It was $60/night (the most we'd spent on any place to sleep)---no electric, no water hook-up, simply a spot in a parking lot next to a marina.....a subway ride plus a few sidewalk blocks to Rockefeller Center......and a long stone's throw to the Statue of Liberty as the picture shows on  the left...see Lady Liberty in the middle? But it was all about the location.....and definitely more affordable than a NYC hotel at $300/night (plus 14.75% tax + fees).

We took a ferry ride over to the big Apple and embarked on our sunny day tourist jaunt.
If there's one thing NYC has more of than taxis, it's tourists....yahoo, here we go!

We opted to play the full tourist gambit, and bought 2 tickets on the "Gawker's Bus"....the double decker sight seeing bus that runs around the city with unlimited hop-on hop-off stops.....it was perfect

....and now I'll subject you to our gawker's gallery of photos :)

Time's Square---the ball (over-rated)

The traffic

New World Trade Center

We weren't ready for the emotions and haunting chills that came with the Ground Zero monument ....words just can't describe it.   There are two of these large waterfall memorials draining into the exact space where each WTC building stood.  The waterfalls flow down the walls.... and to the center into an apparent bottomless abyss.  The ledge around each waterfall is carved with the names of those that died that day....not only at the WTC, but the other two flights as well.  Each person's name on this ledge is coordinated with where they physically were that 911 day.  So hard to believe that the world is still paying for the actions of a few bad extremists.

New and old buildings around WTC sight

Reflections in the monument museum

Good day....bad day.....NYC at it's best.

All in all, we have to say that our trepidation of NYC was replaced with confidence by an unseen and sublime vibrating energy.....upbeat and alive....with a safe feeling.....ok, safe is a relative word here, but there were dozens of beautiful young women and men strolling the NYC nightlife scene....making it feel so Sinatra....and romantic in a bustling sort of way.

Favorite view from a ferry

A New York marina state of mind

A Captain and A Mermaid

Tales abound on the northern waters of the Chesapeake Bay....
where the Canadian Geese and Blue Heron play....
come and listen to our story as it is told.....
about a beautiful fair woman and a Captain so bold.

On the banks of the Elk River, they live on this bay,  ....where 29 grandchildren come over to play (ok, maybe only 6 or 7).


The woman though kind, gentle and true,
can rule the strong Captain with piercing eyes of sky-blue.

By day she fools us all and plays the human side,
 serving bloody mary's on the deck of a great boat ride....













....but, by night she morphs and grows a scaled fin, to join in frolic with her mermaid kin.

Now the handsome bold Captain, an ex-Navy SEAL, erected a castle of grand appeal.
It comes complete with a shallow long pier,
upon which many a drink was drunk with hardly no fear.

































He entertains neighbors, like Cha-lee (Phily for Charlie) and Denise,
not to forget us, the vagabond Reeves.

Cha-lee & Bob

                                                             





By day, the good Captain reigns over the Unions, 

then sprouts a SEAL-fin to surf with his Team-men.  Hoo-yah!

And last but not least to this big grand story,
is the mighty lil'  Dixie who rides in big glory.





Both she and Susan were relieved one day,
when Bob came home "tick-less" from a wild disc-golf foray.

"I found it!"

Hear ye hear ye, on the 14th October,
Leslie rolled double nickels (55)--another year older.
The foursome had a feast with plenty of grog,
which resulted in a silly photo forever on this blog.

We're ere' so grateful for buckets of laughs, 

to catch up with old friends long from the past.

Together Captain Hooke and the mermaid reside.....

happily ever after between high and lo tide.