Arkansas

Hurricane Irma came ripping through Florida, so Brad and Eric scooped up Mom and headed for high ground.  The ended up having quite the adventure along with thousands of other refugees.  They spent a night in Alabama, and as the storm pushed northwest, they moved to Mississippi.  Being right next door to Arkansas, and that being our next stop, we rendezvoused in Little Rock to await news of the storm.  It hit our house in Sebring pretty hard, losing a privacy fence and roof shingles, both covered by insurance.  Silver lining, the boys got to spend some time with both grandmothers, and I got a picture of them together for the first time since our wedding in 1984.  We stayed 2 weeks at the Air Force Base, getting new tires and the annual tune up for the motorhome.  Those tires were worn to the nub, made it to Alaska and Newfoundland and back.  Dee celebrated her 80th birthday while we were there.  Once the power came back on 5 days after the hurricane, the Floridians headed on home.  No damage save for a potted bougainvillea at Mom's house.

Mom, Eric, Missy, Brad and Dee

The boys with Auntie Susan

Our backyard.  Brad's citrus garden and the nice, new privacy fence got hit pretty hard.  I read online that the winds were over 80mph sustained in Sebring.

Most of the shingles facing the wind were ripped off.  I'm scheduled for a total replacement in January.

I also got to visit with Tom Z a couple times.  That's his dog Zinger on the right.  She and Missy burned a lot of calories running around the house and yard.

Virginia and the Outer Banks

After Lake Placid, we headed south for a visit with Stephanie and Kevin at their new place in Kill Devil Hills, NC, on the Outer Banks.  On the way, we stopped for a few days at a campground in Mount Pocono, PA which was very pretty.  We went on a nice hike along the river and hung out at our huge spot in the trees.  Overall, a very nice stop.  After that, we had a couple days to kill before the kids would be off work, so we stopped at Natural Chimneys State Park in Virginia, not far from Staunton.  It was a very nice campground we had practically to ourselves.  Missy had acres and acres of field and miles of trail to run on free from the leash.  That girl loves a run in the woods.  The park is named after some interesting limestone formations they've managed to preserve.  We stayed a couple nights then moved on to Kill Devil Hills.  We parked in their driveway and slept in the house for a change of scenery.  It was a wonderful visit.  Their neighborhood is just behind the Wright Brothers National Monument, where they executed their first flight.  Kevin took us on a cool beach drive in the 4X4 where we were able to see some wild ponies, the Corolla herd.  They have wild horses on a lot of these barrier islands along the east coast.  On the way north our first summer, 2012, we stopped in Assateague, VA and saw that completely separate herd.  John and Phyllis came over from Raleigh for a couple days, so we stayed a night in "the cabin" over in Jarvisburg.  All the while, we were watching hurricanes, which more or less timed our departure.  With Brad, Eric and Mom bugging out to get away from Irma, we decided to all rendezvous in Arkansas.  Here are some pictures from this leg of the journey:

A panoramic view of the empty campground at Natural Chimneys State Park.  Full hookups, pretty much all to ourselves.  Cool!

Missing mugging for the camera

We very often just sit outside listening to music on a beautiful day, taking in the fresh air.  Missy and Laurie say "I wonder what the poor folks are doin' today?"

A corn maze out in the Virginia countryside.  Nope, didn't try it.

Kevin and Stephanie.  The poles and cables mark the North Carolina/Virginia border, and keep the Corolla ponies from straying into VA.

Corolla Ponies eating some of the only green grass in their area.  Somebody's yard, of course.

Sunset over Pamlico Sound from the marina at Kevin and Steph's neighborhood, just a few minute's drive from the house.

Vermont 2.0 and Lake Placid, NY

After Cape Breton Island, we more or less made a bee line for the states.  The crossing into Maine on I-95 was uneventful, didn't even have any fresh vegetables to confiscate this time.  Last year we lost a little carton of cherry tomatoes coming into Washington state.  We overnighted just inside the border, then headed straight back to the first Vermont campground we stayed at, Lake Champagne.  We stayed a whole week this time, got to see Mark and Amy and the kids again.  It was just a very relaxing time.  We didn't do so much touring this time, but we did check out Queche Gorge and the Cabot creamery where they make Seriously Sharp cheddar, our favorite for cheese and crackers.  After our time in Vermont, we headed next door to upstate New York for 4 nights in Lake Placid, where they held the 1980 Winter Olympics.  It was very scenic.  We took a gondola ride up the mountain where they do the serious skiing events, and took a few other scenic drives.  Definitely someplace we could spend more time, all the way around.  Some pictures...

Queche Gorge National Park in, you guessed it, Queche VT!

Crossing Lake Champlain between VT and NY on the ferry saved a lot of time, probably money too with the added miles.  Top looks pretty clean for an old girl, eh?

Our motorhome, snuggled into the middle of the short ferry ride.

Taking off from the ski area on the Gondola

Half way up the mountain

Yeah, Whiteface!

Laurie posed outside the door of the rink where we beat the Russkies to go to the Gold Medal match where we beat Finland to win it all