Category Archives: Travel

The Atlantic

On our last full day in North Carolina we headed on an adventure to the seashore. We traveled east to Emerald Isle/Crystal Coast of N.C.

We traveled the length of Emerald Isle across to the mainland to Beaufort.

We walked along the sand and collected a couple handfuls of shells.

It was good to walk along the beach again. It’s been a long time since our weekly walks along the Pacific Ocean.

Seems like mushrooms can grow in many environments…

Here are the shells we collected.

I’ll share our stops at the aquarium, Beaufort, and Fort Macon in the next few days.

On Saturday after our day out Dear and I left for the airport home. It was hard to say goodbye to Katie and leave her alone. We know she’ll do well and that soon she’ll be reunited with Andrew. I also know I will have those tearful moments as I adjust to our empty nest. The triggers that lead to tears vary. The first trigger was walking past Katie’s room. Oops! I might just have to redecorate sooner than later. But first I need to start getting our home ready for our Christmas celebrations!

I’m linking up for Mosaic Monday with Mary at Little Red House.

Glad We Said Yes…

…to the freshly made apple fritters!

On the way to our Emerald Isle adventure we decided to stop for breakfast at Yana’s Restaurant on Front Street in Swansboro.

The apple fritters were dusted smothered with powdered sugar. It was great to bite into the sweetness straight to a great slice of fresh apple.

This was very much a 50’s diner and we were surrounded by Marilyn and Elvis.

Loved this sign. You definitely can trust me because I’m far from skinny.

After breakfast we continued on to our sea and sand adventure on the Emerald Isle. I’ll share more later along with our stop at the Aquarium, Beaufort, and Fort Macon.

Swansboro

Last night we headed East to Swansboro to have dinner. I tried Grouper for the first time ever and it was very good. We also had a great scallop nacho appetizer. The scallops were like butter. If you are ever in this part of North Carolina we would recommend Riverside Steak and Seafood.

We got a kick out of the swans that were part of the Christmas light decor in the city of Swansboro. They also had snowflakes and seashells.

Well I know one thing for sure that is on the agenda when I get back home. I’ll be eating less and moving more. Today we are headed to the coast to see what we can see. Today is our last full day here in North Carolina. On Saturday Dear and I drive back to Raleigh-Durham for our flights home to Seattle.

A Few Things…

Katie has added a few personal touches to her first home. Decorating will be at the minimum for now. She ordered enough to make them comfortable and when Andrew gets home the two of them will add any extra pieces together. There are still bookcases and such at our house for them to bring across the country after the wedding in March in Seattle. For now we are really enjoying the sofa and loveseat and the Keurig. Coffee and a place to sit and enjoy it in the morning…wonderful.

Our round trip to Raleigh went well and the new used car is safe in the garage with a 30 day pass to get it on and off base. We used the washer and dryer last night and they worked well. We are going to lay low today and recuperate. Tomorrow we hope to have a play day at the seashore!

A storm rolled through last night and we got to experience some of the lightning that we hear is pretty common around these parts. Living on a Base it’s hard to figure out whether the booms you hear are thunder or artillery!

We are also learning the best times to go to the Commissary. It’s good to avoid it on payday or the day after. If you go on payday you will experience crowds like you do on Black Friday! And don’t get stuck on base at quitting time.

God has really helped us through little and big things here in North Carolina. We are looking to Him and for Him in the details of each day. We are blessed because of all that God brought to pass 2000 years ago…

We’ve Gone Beyond…

…and back.

3 full shopping carts of goodies for Katie and Andrew’s Base housing. Katie had a pocket full of gift cards that she had received at Bridal showers. We spent it all. When everything was bagged up we had to lug 4 shopping carts out to the car. Today we continued our quest to get some essentials. The more we work around the house the more we find we need. You know things like scissors and trash cans

On Saturday we are driving to Raleigh to pick up a used car that Andrew’s step brother found for Katie and Andrew. We’ll pick up Dear from the airport and drop off our rental car. This next week we’ll be breaking in the used car and making sure everything works well.

Grateful!

We are so grateful that God brought us safe to Camp Lejeune and that Katie has her and Andrew’s keys to their new home.

It was no easy feat for the two of us to get all these suitcases off the luggage carousel at the airport, into the shuttle van, into our first hotel, into our rental car, out of the rental car and into the new home. We are both so happy to have that part of this journey over! Today we shopped till we dropped.

Tomorrow we have to attend a fire safety course on Base and try to get cable/internet services set up. Wow, we are heading into December already. Do you have your tree yet?

All Packed and Ready to Go!

Katie and I are in the air headed to Chicago and connecting to Raleigh-Durham. We arrive close to midnight, or at least we hope that all goes well and we arrive on time. Here are some of our packing photos from Black Friday. My sister Lana is the master of packing. At the end of that day we were all wiped out!

I’m reading a Christmas Story by Debbie Macomber on the plane that will help me get in the Christmas mood. I’m happy to hear about what you are doing to prepare for Christmas. Blessings…

California State Capitol

Here are some of my views of the Capitol while I took a stroll around the grounds.

The immigration of thousands of “Forty-niners” in search of gold prompted California’s admission as the 31st state into the Union in 1850, thus creating the need for a state capital. California did not have a permanent seat of government until 1860. Cities vied for the opportunity to house the state capital for the power, prestige, and economic benefit that accompanied it. Four capitol buildings existed in other cities before Sacramento became the permanent site.

Even after Sacramento became the permanent seat of California’s government in 1854, there were several unsuccessful efforts to relocate the Capitol to Oakland (1858-59), San Jose (1875-78, 1893, 1903), Berkeley (1907), and Monterey (1933-41).

I asked a policeman on the grounds why the flags were flying at half-staff and he said he believes whenever a serviceman/woman from the state of California is killed in action they fly the flags at half staff.

The California State Capitol was in part modeled after the United States Capitol, which features a bronze statue of “Freedom” as its crowning ornament. Given the already marked resemblance between the two Capitols’ architecture, the absence of a statue on the California State Capitol was intended to distinguish the two buildings. In addition, the presence of a gold ball, reminiscent of a gold nugget, reminds visitors to the Capitol of California’s Gold Rush heritage.

I did not get a chance to go into the Capitol on this day. Being born and raised in California I was happy to finally visit the grounds.

My “crown” experience yesterday left me traumatized. I find it hard to bear to have my mouth numbed to the extent that my throat feels numbed also. Feeling like I’m choking makes me panic. I wanted to pull that “hold your mouth open device” out of my mouth and run. I didn’t. I persevered and didn’t completely lose it till I got home. I’m regaining my peace on the couch in my flannels with a blankie.

Back to Sacramento…

When I was in Sacramento a few weeks ago I stopped by the Capitol. I was born and raised in Southern California but had never visited the State Capitol. Funny that it took moving out of the state to finally stop by for a visit…

There was a beautiful rose garden next to the Vietnam Memorial.

The young service man sitting at the entrance really hit me hard.

All Gave Some. Some Gave All.

I’ll be sharing my photos of the Capitol building soon.

Old Town Sacramento…

When I was in the Sacramento area for my friend Kathy’s Memorial service I had time before and after her services to explore some of the area. One of the stops I made was in Old Town Sacramento. The unique 28-acre National Historic Landmark District and State Historic Park is located along the beautiful Sacramento River.

I do not do real well walking around in heat and this day in Sacramento was in the 90’s. I would have explored more if it was cooler. I noticed this guy who looks like he was escaping the heat, too.

I was happy to finally see Old Town Sacramento. I can’t tell you how many times we have driven by the signs for this part of Sacramento traveling from Seattle to Los Angeles and never being able to stop. We are always in such a hurry to make our destination. If we ever travel that road again by car I’ll know about the great restaurants in this area and how easy the exit and re-entry onto I-5 is.