FTJ 123: Yes, Virginia, There IS a Beach -- and It's Pretty Darn Nice

It's been a while, so this will be a (sort of) quick catch-up. We continued south from Maryland, with stops at Virginia Beach, VA; Emerald Isle, NC; Wilmington, NC; and Myrtle Beach, SC, where we are currently..

Nothing too exciting or dramatic has happened during the past few weeks, thankfully. Virginia Beach was REALLY lovely -- much nicer than either of us had anticipated. Our quick stop in Emerald Isle revealed a fantastic beach, but the WIND was incredible there. And our Wilmington stop was for a visit with Mat. Great historic town, and we had a good time hanging out with Mat and his new lady friend Sally Jo for the day.

At our next stop, Myrtle Beach, the first five days were really nice, with temps in the mid/upper70s and sunny. Gawh-juss. We enjoyed the phenomenal beach, other than some pesky flies that swarmed us, depending on the wind direction. But a few days after our birthdays, the cold snap hit, and we woke to temperatures in the 40s (or high 30s) and daytime highs of only high 50s, low 60s. Bummer. Doesn't look much better for the week ahead, unfortunately.

We are not really complaining, though, considering how the Northeast got whacked with that Nor'easter and snow before November. SNOW?? In October? What the heck is with the weather?

Photos from our stops:

Virginia Beach's Cape Henry lighthouse -- the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government, in 1792. When it was built, it was more than 500 yards from shore. Today, it is only 250 yards from the shore.

The new Cape Henry light.

The boardwalk, Virginia Beach.

A beautiful day at Virginia Beach.

Buddy enjoys lunch from a beachfront restaurant. He had souvlaki.

Emerald Isle, North Carolina -- wow, both the wind and the surf were UP.

Emerald Isle, nearly deserted.

In the historic waterfront district of Wilmington, NC -- Mat, Sally Jo, and Beau.

Myrtle Beach, a Year Later

We loved Myrtle Beach last year. This time around, though, we were going to stay at another RV place, for a comparison. But when we arrived in town, we realized the new place was 20 miles from the center of the action and from where we wanted to be. 

Luckily, the place we stayed last year had availability and we were able to book there instead. It's fine, but we have a sneaking suspicion that the other place -- that we canceled -- might be a lot nicer. We are going to check it out later this week.

An oddity in Murrell's Inlet, about 20 miles from Myrtle Beach.  I am sure it is a very lovely establishment, aren't you?

The spectacular Myrtle Beach.

Brrrr....

A nice waterfront bar on the Myrtle Beach boardwalk. --  which is a really lovely public space. The boardwalk seems almost new, and the shorefront buildings are all rehabbed and kept up. Very impressive.

We met up with Mat and Sally Joe again in Myrtle Beach. They decided to come down for the weekend. Our sightseeing with them included the Ripley's Aquarium, a small but very impressive attraction.

Mat and Beau at Ripley's Aquarium, Myrtle Beach.

A disgusting Moray eel -- another oddity of sorts.

I think this is a sawfish, a type of shark.

We all loved the aquarium's tunnels underneath/through the tanks, where the fish swim all around you and over you. A smaller version of what you find at the Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas. So cool.

I am sure you are all waiting anxiously for the next summary.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 122: Of Castaways and Ponies

(Still blogging, folks. I am sure this will slow down once we reach places we are staying for a month.)

We loved our RV resort in Berlin, MD -- the Castaway. Right on Sinepuxent Bay, with Assateague Island in the distance.

Ah, the tiki bar. Reggae music, tropical drinks on the beach. The good life, baby!

Pony Up

We were in a great location -- Ocean City one direction, Assateague Island the other. I was most excited to get to the island, just down the road and over the bridge. For years I have wanted to see the wild Assateague ponies, and now I have.

Wait a minute! Thought this was the bridge to Assateague Island. Did we make a wrong turn again?

We took a short hike just to scope out the island a bit (and I was hoping to meet up with a pony). In this photo, the tiny curved object above the land on the left is just one of many kite surfers off the island's beach. Man, it was windy.

The tide and wind conditions resulted in the flooding of some parts of the island, which is uninhabited -- although we did see a few park buildings. Note the yellow traffic-marking stripe under the water. The bay is very shallow, so any southerly breeze pushes the water up to the north, where it narrows considerably, and therefore the bay floods frequently. See the photo a few shots below, of the roaring current exiting the bay.

It was so windy the sand from the beach felt like little razors hitting your skin. You can't tell from this photo, but I was in pain.

Buddy cleaned Beau up after our picnic lunch by the shore.

Our first pony sighting.

The wild Assateague ponies were pretty much everywhere on the island. You have to walk around horse poop on roads, parking lots, sidewalks, the beach -- the animals have the run of the place and it's great.

A mare and her youngster in a parking lot.

We drove right up alongside this guy, and he never stopped munching on the grass.

A fellow has to find something to scratch an itch.

Love this shot of a pony near the beach.

The Assateague boat launch area was pretty much unusable the day we visited, the result of the wind pushing the water through the bay.

On the Ocean City Boardwalk

A quick pictorial of Ocean City, which is a charming honky-tonk like area on the shore in Maryland. Beau would want me to note that the water was really churned up by the wind the day we visited (a front was passing through), and he enjoyed watching the shoreline wave action.

The boardwalk seems to go forever, in both directions....

Cool clouds behind the Ocean City Life Saving Station.

This is the roaring current shooting out of the Sinepuxnet Bay inlet. The waves are probably 6 ft.

On to Virginia Beach. To get there we had to go over and under the Chesapeake Bay. Two bridges, two tunnels. I was a bit nervous, but then found it was no big deal.

I'm an old hand at this traveling thing now. Wonder when we will settle down -- don't you?

Tanks, Panky.

FTJ, Entry 121: Philly History... and the Cheesesteak War of 2011

I was going to stop blogging, but some of our friends still wanted to know where we were and what we were doing as we continued to travel. Okay -- but remember, you asked for it.

So, after the Stamford reunion, off we went again, RVers heading slowly southward, trying to avoid cold weather, if possible.

I knew Beau should see Philadelphia, and although he initially was not particularly excited, he very quickly warmed up to the birthplace of our republic. He was under the impression that the town was a dump, so he was delighted to find it is a city with a lovely old historic area, plus very cool middle class neighborhoods. Riding around, we did not see any sections that were frightening or really run down (just older neighborhoods), nor did we encounter any ghetto-like nastiness (maybe we somehow missed those parts!).

Philly skyline. Wonder if that tall building in the middle was a William Van Alen creation, in that it looks a bit like the Chrysler building in New York. We never found out what the building was....

Unfortunately, when we visited, Independence Hall was being renovated and had scaffolding obscuring this lovely facade. Oh well, this is what it should have looked like.

Beau in Independence Hall.

We were a little disappointed to learn the origins of the iconic Liberty Bell, in that it really had nothing to do with our independence. Neither of us realized it had originally simply been the bell in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House. It MIGHT have been one of the bells rung when the Declaration of Independence was read on July 8, 1776. No one can say for sure. Kind of a letdown.

Beau in front of the First Bank of the United States (the first one formed by the U.S. Government).

An alley in the historic district. Can't you just see Ben Franklin strolling through here?

Now, the Important Part of the Trip

For us, the Philly Cheesesteak War began (and ended) the afternoon of October 11th, along 9th Avenue in South Philly. Geno's versus Pat's cheesesteak stands. A dramatic faceoff of two legendary culinary giants (often featured on the Travel Channel and Food network).

Our taste test began with Geno's, where we shared a traditional cheesesteak "wit" -- meaning with onions.

 

Then it was on to Pat's for the taste test of the same sandwich -- cheesesteak wit.

The winner? Drumroll, please...

.....Geno's. No question, no debate. The most disgustingly greasy, tasty, yummy cheesesteak we have ever had. Of course, yours truly has never had a Philly cheesesteak before, so sharing these test sandwiches with Beau was quite the thrill. Wow, I have been missing a lot of great-tasting cholesterol.

A Day at Valley Forge

We also enjoyed our visit to Valley Forge -- which is maybe a half hour outside of Philadelphia. Great to be where the amazing George Washington stood. The more I learn about old George, the more I respect him. A remarkable man, soldier, leader.

Most of you know about the terrible winter spent at Valley Forge -- men without enough food, clothing, and supplies, and yet they "soldiered" on, so to speak. Our forefathers were a tough bunch.

The Valley Forge National Park (our 16th) is reminiscent of Gettysburg -- we even had similarly gloomy weather for our visit -- not surprising, since we went to Gettysburg about the same time of year in 2010. And when you think of both places, gloomy weather is rather fitting.

The Valley Forge Park comprises trails, reproductions of soldiers' quarters (huts), and plaques and statues commemorating the officers and troops and the states they represented. There are no battles to describe, in that Valley Forge was never attacked. It is famous mainly for the hardships soldiers there had to endure.

The rented house where Martha and George Washington lived, once his men had their own huts built for shelter. Before that, George stayed in a tent alongside his soldiers.

Replicas of the huts the soldiers lived in.

This Valley Forge arch's inscription: "Naked and starving as they are we cannot enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the soldiers."  Well said.

Quite a thrill to meet the famous man. HA.

The magical history mystery tour continues..

On to Ocean City, MD, and Assateague Island.

Tanks, Panky