Category: Lighthouse

Celebrating Ten Years of Wandering

Posted in Lighthouse, Road Trip, RVing, Sunset, WildlifeTagged , , , , 33 Comments

What an amazing ten years! Each marker on this map represents a place where we camped in our RV.

Ten years ago, on July 1, 2006, we spent our first night in an RV park in Tampa, Florida. Two weeks later we left Georgia with no reservations anywhere and a bucket list of what we wanted to see. You can see highlights of that trip at Looking Back on our First RV Trip. Last year I posted a few of our most memorable experiences from our first nine years at Celebrating Nine Years of RVing.

Many of our trips revolved around either visiting family or attending a special event such as a wedding or Titanium Rally. Sometimes we traveled just for the fun of seeing new places. No matter where we were going, we always took the long way around to get there.

We discovered beauty in every state and province we visited. Sometimes the everyday things were the best.

I love watching the changing landscape and seeing the many farms and ranches.

I love seeing the farms as we drive along
I love seeing the farms as we drive along
We always enjoy seeing lighthouses.

Split Rock Lighthouse on Minnesota's North Shore
Split Rock Lighthouse on Minnesota’s North Shore
Seeing wildlife is always a treat.

Black Bear beside the road in British Columbia
Black Bear beside the road in British Columbia
And of course we loved visiting many of our National Parks.

Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View Overlook
Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View Overlook
Sometimes we enjoyed watching the sunset from our campsite.

Mount Redoubt sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska
Mount Redoubt sunset in Ninilchik, Alaska
We did a few amazing hikes.

At the Summit of Enchanted Rock
At the Summit of Enchanted Rock in Texas
Chilling by a camp fire is always fun.

Enjoying the campfire
Enjoying the campfire
Now that we have ten years of RV’ing under our belt, our priorities have changed. Of course, we are ten years older and it is more difficult to make long trips. When we started our wandering, we only had two grandchildren. Now we have four and we want to spend as much time with them as we can. Going on long trips takes us away from them for too long.

Our wandering days are not over. There are still many places we haven’t seen in and near our home state of Georgia so from now on we will travel a little closer to home.

National Naval Aviation Museum and the Pensacola Lighthouse

Posted in Florida, Historic Sites, LighthouseTagged , , , 10 Comments
Blue Angels in the atrium

From the top of the walls of Fort Pickens we could look across Pensacola Bay and see the Pensacola Lighthouse. To get there by roads, we had to drive about 45 miles, crossing bridges and driving through downtown Pensacola before arriving at the Naval Air Station Pensacola where the museum and lighthouse are located.

National Naval Aviation Museum

The National Naval Aviation Museum is one of the world’s largest aviation museums and has been rated by TripAdvisor as the number 12 museum in the United States. The history of U.S. Naval aviation comes alive with more than150 beautifully restored aircraft hanging from the ceiling and on display on the floor for close inspection. In addition to the aircraft there are exhibits including an Apollo Space exhibit, models of air craft carriers, flight simulators, an IMAX theater, and the Blue Angel 4D experience (great fun!).

National Museum of Naval Aviation
National Naval Aviation Museum
Old U. S. Naval Biplane
Old U. S. Naval Biplane
Old U. S. Naval Biplane
Old U. S. Naval Biplane
Flying Tiger from WWII
Flying Tiger from WWII
The Turtle
The Turtle
Helicopter from the U. S. Coast Guard
Helicopter from the U. S. Coast Guard
Marine 1 used by President Nixon
Marine 1 used by President Nixon
Blue Angels in the atrium
Blue Angels in the atrium
Up close with one of the Blue Angels
Up close with one of the Blue Angels
Apollo Lunar Module
Apollo Lunar Module
NASA Capsule
NASA Capsule
Pensacola Lighthouse
Pensacola Lighthouse
Pensacola Lighthouse

Across the road from the museum is the Pensacola Lighthouse. The lighthouse is still in use as an aid to navigation. We had planned on climbing the 177 steps to the top but the tower was closed for renovations the day we visited. We wandered around the grounds and visited the keeper’s cottage before walking across a boardwalk to the beach for a look back at the lighthouse.

Pensacola Lighthouse
Pensacola Lighthouse

Next up, a wrap  up of our Ft. Pickens stay.

A great first stop in Texas – Galveston Island State Park

Posted in Birds, Lighthouse, Parks, State Parks, States, Texas, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , 24 Comments

As we continued west through Louisiana on I-10 we passed by many crawfish farms. After a stop at the Texas welcome center we were loaded up with maps and brochures. We also got directions to Galveston which included the instructions “follow the road to the ferry”. Ferry? We didn’t know we would be taking a ferry! What a great surprise!

As we approached the ferry dock Henry noticed a lighthouse through the fog on my side of the road.  I was able to get a couple of pictures before we got in line for the ferry. The three mile crossing is on a free ferry operated by the Texas Highway Department.

After departing the ferry in Galveston we had about a 12 mile drive to the state park. As soon as we finished setting up camp we took a walk on the beach. The beach was practically empty. The sound of waves crashing on the beach was like music to my ears.

Point Bolivar Lighthouse, FL
Riding the Ferry from Point Bolivar, TX to Galveston
On the ferry to Galveston
Path to the beach
Path to the beach at Galveston Island State Park
Blondie chilling after a day of traveling
Blondie was fascinated by the jellyfish

The next day we took a drive to the wildlife viewing area in the park with hopes of spotting some Roseate Spoonbills. The hiking trails were muddy and flooded in places so we passed on doing any hiking.  We enjoyed the views from an overlook and walked down a relatively dry trail to the kayak launching area. From the parking lot we stopped to watch some Egrets in a pond when I saw a splash of pink. A flock of Roseate Spoonbills entertained us before suddenly taking off.

The marsh reminds me of home
Roseate Spoonbills
Roseate Spoonbill at Galveston Island State Park
Roseate Spoonbills
Spoonbill and Egret

Our campsite was in the beach campground at Galveston Island State Park. Our site was a paved back-in with a covered shelter, picnic table, fire ring, and water and electric hookups. The beach was just a short walk from the campsite. We enjoyed the park and wish we could have stayed longer.