Comfort Suites Jacksonville

By now we are the experts of packing, unpacking, and packing again. We actually read our first signs for Richmond today...a great sign...one we have not seen for 10 days.
New Bern is a nice coastal town that was a great pit stop between Charleston and Virginia Beach. We arrived around 5 PM, hung by the ...

We went to the Sea Turtle Sanctuary. It was great! We saw the biggest turtles ever:) The only unhappy moment was waiting an hour to get in while standing out in the blaring sun. It was cramped, but seeing the turtles was worth it!

The kids got some stuffed animals and we were on our way.

We werent able to take pictures because they wouldnt let photography in the area with the turtles so that was a bummer.

... POST OR THE FT MACON COAST GUARD WILL ANNOUNCE ANY ICW CLOSINGS FOR THE DAY FOR LIVE FIRE MANEUVERS AT 530A OR 830P ON VHF CHANNEL 16.AS WE APPROACHED THE BRIDGE WE WERE GREETED BY A MARINE MILITARY PICKET BOAT WITH SIX HANDSOME MARINES WHOM ESCORTED US THROUGH THE RANGE HOW COOL WAS THAT!!!!SWANSBORO IS ANOTHER ONE OF N.C. SMALL QUAINT LITTLE HISTORICAL TOWNS WITH THE FRIENDLIEST PEOPLE.THE HISTORICAL ...

... 6:00 we were on the west side of Kentucky. We'd driven through North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. This is probably the most boring part of the trip, especially this time of year. Two months ago, the leaves were orange and red and it was actually a very nice drive, but now there are no leaves on the trees. So far, we've been pleasantly surprised with the kids' ability to get along in the back of the truck. The ...

... capital of miniature golf, but the kids could care less as they had a great time with their friends. We bid farewell and started back to our temporary home in the dark. It seemed odd as we were definitely going "home" but we didn't have a sense of where we were or where we were headed. We hunkered down for the night in a most peaceful Wal-Mart looking forward to the adventures of tomorrow.

Day one...we got away from Oriental around 8 a.m. with no problem. Absolutely gorgeous weather...winds gusting but mostly variable around 10 knots. As an omen of good luck, we were fortunate enough to be joined by several dolphin just outside of Oriental and saw several more pods throughout the day. Also saw some bald eagles! Eight hours, one swing bridge, several barges and snowbirds coming up the intracoastal later, we ...

... at the historic buildings and houses. We ate lunch at the renowned Captain Ratty's. Great atmosphere, clam chowder, crab cakes, she-crab soup and friendly servers. Mary and I shopped (lots of great stores) while Neal and Steve complained. A little history: Swiss and German colonists settled New Bern in 1710, naming it for Bern, Switzerland. Pepsi-Cola was invented by pharmacist Caleb Bradham in 1898 in New Bern.

... Outer Banks, in South Carolina and Georgia they're now those posh golf meccas like Hilton Head, There are only the barest few of these islands that haven't been filled up with homes and playthings for the very rich. Don't ya love capitalism? Any way, back to the Estuarium. Washington was a really charming town filled with huge historic homes. The waterfront along the river as it widens ...

... my plane ticket since we decided to go back early. Some of us on the team are military, some government workers, some contractors (me for instance), so we all have to go through different channels to work out the travel issues. Feb 5, 1998 Had a meeting from 0800 to 1000 to finish everything up. We then had lunch at Fuddruckers. My flight left at 1300 from Jacksonville, to Atlanta, and finally to San Diego.

... to be a large tree root. Of course it was well past midnight, raining like cats and dogs, and in the middle of the forest - you could hardly see a thing. But this 'something' made a sound. Was it an animal? So in classic Eric Miles fashion, he decided to kick it. Again, it responded with a "Errrrrr". He kicked it again! Another, "Errrrr". We both had recognized the voice. Eric asked, "Scott? Ray? Is ...