Springing Up The East Coast

Springtime, with its colorful blooms and cooler temps, has always been one of my favorite times of the year. But after staying in Florida a little longer then we had originally planned, I thought that we would just jump right into summer as we started to head north. An appointment in central Pennsylvania to get Baby Beest's batteries ''recharged'' helped set our travel course, but also forced us to travel a bit faster than we normally like to. 

But I quickly noticed, blooming rhododendrons, azaleas, mountain-laurel, and sea roses lined our travel route up the East Coast.

And visits to national parks, historical sites, busy cities,  quiet villages ... and best of all ... time with family and friends made this a quick but memorable three weeks as we enjoyed ...

Springing Up The East Coast.

Here are some of our ''colorful'' highlights.

A photo-op in front of the capitol building in Columbia, South Carolina. This is my 48th state capital visit ... only Kentucky and Hawaii elude me.

The pure joy of children at play. We sure missed the energy, creativity, and laughter of young people when we were hanging out with the ''older crowd'' in Florida.

A walk among the towering giants at Congaree National Park. This South Carolina park protects the largest area of old growth river swamp hardwood trees that is left in the United States.

A birthday visit with family in Richmond, Virginia. Nothing like time with active grand-nieces to make me feel ''young at heart''.

A walk by a covered bridge in central Pennsylvania. While our van was getting a new battery system, we enjoyed all the colorful beauty of this quaint farming community.

A ''sweet'' visit to Hershey, Pennsylvania. Yes, it's one of those silly tourist traps, but anyone who loves Reese's Peanut Butter Cups as much as Doug does, needs to go pay them homage ...

while enjoying a Reese's PB sundae in honor of the 50th anniversary of this chocolate entertainment mecca.

A bike ride though the rolling green fields of Valley Forge. Unfortunately, my phone had some issues while we were there, so I don't have any photos of this place that is considered the turning point in the American Revolution. We'll have to go with a picture of Washington crossing the Delaware River ... I imagine the winter at Valley Forge was just as cold and miserable, and the soldiers were just as brave and determined.

A visit to Philadelphia for a scene out of the movie ''Rocky'',

... and a scene out of history.

This is the house where Thomas Jefferson stayed when he wrote the Declaration of Independence during the summer of 1776.

A stop at Gateway National Recreation Area. We enjoyed a bike ride on the trails that led us past an old fort and lighthouse, and we soaked up the quiet before we headed to our next ''home'' on the Jersey Shore overlooking ... 

New York City!

From our campground in Jersey City, we could bike along the coast to catch a glimpse of Lady Liberty or walk to the subway that would take us into the city. Any guesses which dear old ''Friends'' lived in this corner apartment in Greenwich Village?

 

Stately architecture with a ''spring'' floral flare greeted us as we walked around the quiet neighborhoods just outside of the busy Manhattan business center.

This was our second visit to NYC, and this time we didn't spend as much time in the touristy areas. Instead we met up with my niece on the East Side who introduced us to authentic New York style pizza. It was good, and very inexpensive by New York City standards at only $3.75 a slice, but I think that I'm a bigger fan of Chicago-style ... what's your choice?

We also learned that searching out the ''local'' bakeries yield delicious results. We took the subway to Brooklyn to walk around another working class section of the city and just happened to stumble upon this amazing selection of sweets.

How does one decide???

But I had no problem deciding on my favorite beer during our Brooklyn Brewery tour The secret is out ... their barrel aged stout ''Black ops'' is seriously delicious.

After two days of more mellow ''neighborhood'' strolls, we spent our third day doing the ultimate tourist activity ... it's showtime! There were big smiles for ''Hamilton''!

After three days in NYC, it was time to move out of the high-rent district. We drove north to Poughkeepsie, New York where Doug met up with a friend from his college days. Even though they hadn't seen each other in many years, Levi and his wife made us feel right at home. 

It was a fun surprise to find out that their house is near Hyde Park, which is where Franklin D. Roosevelt was born and raised, and where he and Eleanor raised their family. The National Park Service now manages and gives tours of the house as well as his presidential library and Eleanor Roosevelt's Stone Cottage which is nearby. And since I just turned that ''magical'' age, I received my National Park Senior Pass and got us all in on the tour of the FDR home for ''free''.

Because he gifted the house and grounds to the Park Service upon his death in 1945, much of FDR's personal belongings are still there including his personal wheelchair. He designed it using a normal chair as the base in order to downplay the after effects of polio. With all the amazing things that he accomplished for our country, it's crazy to think that he could not stand on his own.

There wasn't enough time to take in all of the history in that area, but I'm sure that FDR, Eleanor, and our friends Levi and Cheryl will welcome us back in the future.

During the following days, we finally were able to (sort of) solidify our summer travel plans and decided to head to eastern Canada. We were enamored with Newfoundland when we visited two years ago and want to spend more time there, so we decided to head there before returning to Minnesota in late summer. A few travel bucket list items of Doug's determined our route through New England.

One is his love of lobster, which kept us close to the coast in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine.

And he found some good ones! The coastal town of Wiscasset, Maine is famous for its roadside lobster stand called Red's Eats. Called the ''World's Best Lobster Shack'', it has been featured in numerous written publications and TV shows. Because of its popularity, there is always a long line. Not wanting to wait in line for an hour and a half like we did two years ago when we last passed through, we decided to try the ''rival'' shack across the road called Sprague's Lobster.

Same price, no wait, and according to Doug, the lobster roll as good or better than the competition across the street. Should we let the hungry people standing in line across the street in on our secret?

The other activity that determined our route was Doug's goal of visiting a craft brewery in every state.

Northwoods Brewing, a Harvest Host location in New Hampshire, served up good fish & chips in addition to their excellent home brews. As a bonus ... the tantalizing aroma of freshly baked crullers drew us back in for a breakfast treat the next morning.

A visit to Portland, Maine with its many craft breweries made it easy for Doug to capture his 49th state. It also was a lovely place to enjoy beautiful seaside scenery after another delicious seafood lunch.

Stopping at a state park just north of Portland, we got our first glimpse of some of the coastal beauty that awaited us at our next extended stop at Acadia National Park. But that iconic park deserves a blog entry all its own!

We were ready to enjoy a few days immersed in coastal beauty, ever grateful to be able to enjoy so many colorful moments while Springing up the East Coast.

Finding Peace With Changing Plans

A beautiful sunset greeted us as we landed in Orlando in mid April. We had just enjoyed three months in Medellín, Colombia and were discussing our spring travel plans. First off was a short visit with Doug's parents in Florida while we took care of a van repair. But when our ''short visit'' got extended we realized that ...

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans for today!

I have always looked forward to visits with my mother-in-law. Anytime I walked through the door, she joyfully handed over her kitchen to me and allowed me to cook to my heart's content. She appreciated having the ''nurse'' in me organize her medications.  And best of all ... ''getting things done'' was never a priority for her. She loved just sitting on the porch and hearing about our travels. She read all my blog posts and would quiz me for ''the rest of the story.''

One time she commented about the fact that my travel blogs always seem so positive ... what would I write about if our travels became a little ''challenging''? I thought about it and answered that I hoped that I could write about both the positive and negative aspects, since life is full of good times as well as bad.

Like when our ''home'' is in need of repairs ...

in this case, a pricey new battery system.

When we arrived at their condo this spring, I immediately knew that despite her perpetual ''I'm fine'' response, her health had taken a turn for the worst. We were about to be faced with one of those challenging times, and RVentures were put on hold as we cared for Doug's mom during her final weeks here on earth. It was hard to see the positives during such a stressful time, which is why my social media posts were ''missing in action'' for a while.

Jesus said to his disciples: ''Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you ... Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.''

John 14:27

I read this bible verse as I sat with Mom in the days before her passing. These comforting words made me think ... the past few weeks had been anything but peaceful. But what a gift to be able to come together to help family during this difficult time. Each of Doug's siblings came with their unique talents, and together as a team, we were able to give Mom and Dad exactly what they needed.

The peace of Christ didn't bring us the promise of smooth sailing. We weren't able to fix everything, but we were all able to do our part. Doug was able to get their finances in order. I was able to help set up hospice care. Doug's sister and brother were able to assist, comfort and guide their Dad through his grieving process.

To use a metaphor in honor of our favorite Mexican restaurant ...

We all may be some crazy avocados,

but we blend together to make a great guacamole.

We trusted and continue to trust that God can use our many individual talents to calm the troubled hearts ... just as we helped calm Mom and gave her a sense of peace as she entered into Eternal Life.

And Penny's calming presence was a gift to us all! 

When God gave me Doug as a husband, I got a bonus gift ... my mother-in-law. Vacations spent in Michigan and later in Florida centered around family and included hours of lively conversations on the porch. She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed keeping up with them through their Facebook posts. She loved reading about RVentures when we started to travel ... even if she suspected that I sugar-coated the challenging aspects of full-time travel just a little. 

Life isn't always a

beautiful garden in full bloom.

There's no sugar-coating the fact that it's been a tough couple of months for us. But  what a gift to have the flexibility to be there when our family needed us.

That is why my lasting memory of my mother-in-law is that she taught us, by example, that we will find peace when we are open to following the path that leads to God's perfect plan.

As we start to travel again, we will continue to work on finding this peace despite changing (and sometimes challenging) weather, locations, and travel plans.