Photos

The king of the sea

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King Neptune on the Virginia Beach, VA Boardwalk

Compare Neptune’s size to the bike rider!

Neptune and his turtle

The octopus

The bronze statue of King Neptune is the spectacular creation of artist Paul DiPasquale. It was dedicated in 2005 and to this day reigns over the sea (and the boardwalk). Neptune holds his trademark trident with a hand on a sea turtle. He is also surrounded by many other sea creatures on the statue base.

We lived in Virginia Beach in the 90’s and loved the beach and boardwalk, spending hours and hours enjoying the ocean waves. Imagine our surprise when we returned in 2016 and saw Neptune as we strolled north along the boardwalk. Photos do not do him justice. Virginia Beach is a marvelous vacation destination with year round activities. Hopefully the city will be getting back to post pandemic conditions sooner than later.

Pirates on the Gulf

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We spent the winter of 2019 in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Our RV Resort was located in Harlingen. One of the many day trips we took  was to the quaint town of Port Isabel. This was two years ago. All of the election brew haha was yet to come, and of course nobody was imagining the tragedy of the pandemic that was still over the horizon.

Sher with a Port Isabel pirate

I had to get into the act as well

 

 

 

 

 

 

Down on the Port Isabel waterfront we came upon some, ah, mean looking pirates. Not ones to miss out, we could not pass up the photo ops. With a hearty “Arrr, matey” and a “shiver me timbers” the images above became part of our photo record of the day.

Sacred Devils Tower

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Remember this from the 1977 “Close Encounters” movie?

Close up shot of the columnar structure. Each “column” is about 8 feet across!

The Devils Tower is a sacred site to Native Americans and is an NPS National
Monument. Located in the Black Hills of northeastern Wyoming, this remarkable geologic butte stands nearly 900 feet tall from it base to the top. The rock is igneous and was formed when the molten lava intruded into layers of sedimentary rocks. Those rocks weathered away, leaving the Devils Tower that we see today.

There is interesting history of both the geology of the tower, as well as the history of human involvement of the site. This was the first National Monument, so designated ten years before the National Park Service was founded. Study the Devils Tower website for details about the park, its history and current covid restrictions.

We visited Devils Tower back in 2015.

Hey, we went somewhere today

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OK, for some of you, maybe it would not be a big deal. But for Sher and I our trip to the Buck Creek Winery was the first time in a year that we actually went out and went into a store. Yes a place where people go, talk, buy things and act kind of normal.

Our son drove us out and about today. Yesterday we noticed that our wine supply was running, well, low. So off to the Buck Creek Winery, about a half hour from our place.  We had our masks on and there was only one other customer in the winery  when we went in.  We felt comfortable, Joseph set us up to have a sampling of 6 different wines.

Our assortment purchase today

We ended up buying a case of assorted wines after a fun sampling experience. We belong to the Buck Creek Winery case club, which enables you to enjoy a 20% discount on case buys. Refer to the Buck Creek website for details.

Even though we have had our first dose of the Moderna vaccine, we were still somewhat leery of getting out. But we felt ok at the Winery today. Joseph  maintained social distance, was most polite and informative and he poured our samples. Oh, it was different wearing jeans with a belt instead of sweat pants.

We miss this

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Sher and I have been waiting, like most, for the vaccine. One of the things we miss since we’ve been “in isolation” is going out to eat. Such a simple activity that tons of people used to do before COVID. One place that we really miss is Cheddars Restaurants.

Famous potato soup


Legendary onion ring tower

 
Cheddars is really our favorite casual restaurant, followed by Olive Garden. It will be really nice going back out for a nice meal even if the tables are spread out and everybody is in masks. I guess we’ll all have to get used to that, it’s gonna be the norm for a while.

We have received our first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, and our second dose is already scheduled for March 15th. Shortly after that we’ll have what the experts are saying is a high percentage of immunity.

The Falls in color

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After sunset the Canadian Falls, sometime called Horseshoe Falls due to its curved shape, become a display in color. Bright lights from the Canadian side of the river provide the spectacular effects.

We had a great time on a trip to Niagara Falls with one of our granddaughters in October 2019. If you ever go to see The Falls, we strongly suggest that you take a Grey Line Tour. They’ll pick you up at your hotel, or in our case our RV park. No problem with waiting lines for the Maid of the Mist or any of the other attractions on the tour. You don’t need to be on a honeymoon to enjoy Niagara Falls.

A little over a year ago

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Here is a look back to February 9, 2020. The concern over COVID was growing, and we were within a couple of weeks of leaving our RV resort near Austin to head back to the “safety” of our place in Indiana.

Solstice Outdoors is a unique gallery

Out side of Dripping Springs, Texas in the Hill Country near Austin is a thriving landscape design business that also doubles as a place to view and purchase unique outdoor artwork. Solstice Outdoors Ltd. is based in a former ranch home surrounded by 2 acres of what is now a whimsical display of outdoor works of art and decoration.

Solstice homestead

Outdoor fire pit complete with pyramid and butterfly seating!

 

 

 

 

 

Through an online mobile search Sher found this place while we were prowling about the Dripping Springs area. Thanks to google maps we soon found this surprising gallery of both indoor and outdoor craftsmanship. Each of the rooms in the house were used to display local artist’ works, including jewelry, tapestries and pictures.

Another metal man

Bull/man iron soldier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By far the most unique part of Solstice is the “backyard”. As soon as you go out into the yard you are greeted with a variety of ‘creatures” in all sizes and materials. The company offers landscaping design and construction. Walking through the grounds was like walking through an outdoor arts garden.

This face is kind of creepy

A different media for a longhorn!

 

 

 

 

 

Often we don’t have a set itinerary some days when we explore an area. It is always an adventure to find things by just driving around looking for signs, or hitting up the mobile search for “things near you”. The day we found Solstice Outdoor, Ltd. was one of those days.

A whale of a sight

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This life size statue of an Orca killer whale is in the entrance way to the Tulalip Casino off of I-5 north of Seattle.  We have been patrons of the casino several times when we traveled to the Seattle area to visit family.  When we were last there you could park your motorhome for 3 days in the designated RV lot. No services, but a patrolled and safe place to stay.

It seems that there is a brand new, additional casino on the same property. There was a Grand Opening  February 3rd. It is listed as being twice as large as the first casino. We will definitely check it out the next time we travel to the Pacific Northwest.