Newport Mansions

Gordon wanted to stop by the Newport, RI mansions, so here we are in Newport.  I wasn't exactly excited about coming here but boy I'm glad we did.  These mansions are fabulous.   Today we toured The Breakers (Vanderbilt), Marble House (Vanderbilt) and Rosecliff.   We had audio tours at both the Vanderbilt houses and a guided tour at Rosecliff.  The guide was very knowledgeable telling us what it was like being an aristocrat during the guided age.  The families only lived there during the "season" which was six weeks in the summer.  The women and children lived at the residences the entire six weeks and the men were only there on weekends.  Cost for the season in today's dollars is one million.   Kind of an expensive six weeks!  

Close to Marble House is Larry Ellison's home, founder and CEO of Oracle.  He purchased two propertiesnext to each other, one will be his home and the other a museum. 

All of these homes have terrific views of the ocean.  Soooo jealous!

We asked a docent if anyone still lives in the houses and there are two descendants of the Vanderbilt's (grandchildren) living in the third floor of the Breakers.

I highly recommend coming and viewing the opulence of the guilded era Newport mansions.  It really is something to see.

Happy Travels!  Joni :)

The Breakers 

View of the ocean from The Breakers 

Marble House 

Rosecliff

Larry's House 

Mystic Seaport, Submarine Museum and Coast Guard Academy.

The first stop of the day was Mystic Seaport which is a quaint little area with cute little houses and good views of wooden boats.

We then headed to the Submarine Museum which was fascinating and free.  We started with a movie of the history of submarines...I didn't know the first sub was introduced to the navy in 1900.  Then toured the museum exhibits and ended with a walking tour of a real sub, the Nautillus.  We were given handheld recorded info devices..but half way through the tour we met a guy who was giving his grandson a tour of the sub.  He had served on a similar sub and was a wealth of information.  He said "we ate well and were like a family on the sub."  

A short distance from the sub museum is the Coast Guard Academy.   We stopped in the CG museum and read about the history of the Coast Guard.  Cute campus with a good water view and nice little museum.

I highly recommend the Submarine Museum and the Coast Guard Academy.  Mystic Seaport was a little pricey  and touristy for my tastes.

Happy Travels!  Joni :)

Maritimes Trip - Day 3

1576 miles and 10 States in 3 days.  Now its time to slow down!  We arrived in Mystic, CT last night after stopping to see West Point and FDR's home in Hyde Park, NY.  The mountains are stunningly beautiful. 

Today's pics are of West Point and FDR's home.

Happy Travels!  XOXOX Joni :)

Maritimes Trip - Another Travel Day

Hey All!

Today wasn't as grueling of a travel day as yesterday.  We only went 440 miles as we had several traffic delays and stops.  We went through 5 states with views of the Appalachian Mountains.  

Tomorrow we head to FDR's home near Hyde Park and West Point.  Ending our day in Mystic, CT.

Happy Travels!!  XOXO  Joni :)

Maritimes Trip Day One

800+ miles and 4 States later our first stop is Mount Airy, NC.  Andy Griffith's Mayberry was modeled after Mount Airy.  There are many Andy Griffith sites to see but as we have visited here before so we will just make a quick stop for the night and out early tomorrow morning. :)  XOXOX  Joni

A picture of our sunrise this morning as we were leaving Punta Gorda.

Getting Ready

Getting ready for any trip takes a huge amount of preparation.  Packing Lists, Things To Do Prior to Leaving Lists and Close up the House Lists to name a few.   We are working down our lists today.  I know Scout is anxious to get on the road but she will just have to wait until all items are crossed off our list!  Until tomorrow, here’s a picture of Scout in the Black Hills in South Dakota.

Scout in The Black Hills of South Dakota

Canadian Maritimes Trip

Maritimes Trip Planning

One of our big trip items on our bucket list (we have several big trips on our ever growing list) is to see the Canadian Maritimes.  The above Map is our tentative route for the trip.  After several weeks of research we have decided to go straight to Mystic, CT bypassing the eastern coast due to time constraints.   Some of the places we want to see are:  Mystic, CT, the Maine coast, Acadia National Park (Maine), Campobello Island (Franklin Roosevelt's Summer Estate,  Bay of Funday (New Brunswick), Nova Scotia, Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, Prince Edward Island, Quebec City, and Montreal.   This list contains only the highlights, as who knows where we will end up along the trail.  We have been known to change directions on a moments notice.  Once we were out in California heading down the west coast and all the camping places were full (wrong time of year to be traveling as the kids were out of school and all the families were traveling) so we diverted our van to Yosemite National Park and headed east revisiting some of the Utah National Parks.  So, you just never know where we will end up!

Sharks and Alligators

When we aren't off traveling, most nights you can find us on our Lanai (which overlooks a marina basin) enjoying the evening.  Last night we were looking at the Basin and we saw a wake rippling through the water (there was no boat to create the wake) toward the seawall.  Whatever it was it glided effortlessly and was very large.  It swooped in next to P dock went along the seawall to the opposite end of the basin turned and came back.  On it's return trip we could definitely see that it was a large shark about 5 - 6 feet in length.  The shark stopped by P dock for a snack as we saw a wounded fish flopping around.   Great entertainment for the evening.

Today's Wildlife spot.  Alligator in our basin hanging out with the boats.  I think it's looking for lunch as it is around 11:00am.  The Divers who clean the boat bottoms don't particularly like this guy.  Hmmm I wonder why?

Dream Chasers is off to the Keys

Today we are off on another adventure.  This time we will be cruising to the Florida Keys on our boat Dream Chaser.  First stop is Marco Island Marina for the night.  The plan is to be gone as long as we are having fun.  :) 

Gordon and I were reminiscing last night about our previous trips to the keys by boat.  We have such fond memories of our sailing trips with the our kids.  It's been thirteen years since our last trip to the keys by boat.  And we are ready!

We ran the boat from our home base of Burnt Store Marina through Boca Grande Pass and straight down the Gulf of Mexico starting at 9:30 am and arriving at Marco Island at around 1:00 pm.  The weather was perfect with clear blue skies, very light winds and beautiful blue water.  Outside of a few crab pots (well a lot of crab pots) it was an uneventful run.  The dolphins were plentiful today and I even managed to spot a couple of turtles.  It was a great day for a boat ride.

Taking off

We are taking off for another adventure  in scout to the everglades.  Our destination is the miccosukee casino for the first night and then to Long Pine Key Campground for night 2.

Blue Ridge Parkway

It's the time of the year to get out and see some beautiful leaves.  What better place to do that than to travel down the Blue Ridge Parkway.   We plan to take it slow and take inn the beautiful views.

Dream Chaser Our new water front condo

After months of looking at boats, marinas and yacht clubs a week ago Monday we

purchased our 15th boat (I think).  It is a 380 Sea Ray Sundancer.  Jenni (Our daughter) reminded me that every boat show we would go to I would have everyone sit in the Sundancers and say..."Isn't this really nice".   We looked at a variety of trawlers and cruisers and settled on the 380.  So far we other than repositioning it from St. Petersburg, FL to it's new home in Tarpon Springs, FL we have taken it out once on our own.  We have spent several nights on it though.  We are excited about our adventures to come!

Dream Chaser

Galley

Main Salon

Back Party Area

Anclote Key June 18, 2014

A day at the beach in Fort DeSoto

Today we broke out Scout for a little 2 day trip to Fort DeSoto a county park just south of Tampa, FL.  It is about 1 hour south of our house so it's a little like camping in our backyard.  It's been a beautiful day at the beach we are truly blessed.