From Brookgreen Gardens we returned to our Airbnb rental “Nanny & Pops” and ate a light lunch. Bob ate our leftovers from the previous night’s dinner and added a few grapes. I ate a tuna salad snack set, a banana and grapes. I prepared Suddenly Salad pasta salad for this evening’s dinner. I needed 1/2 cup of mayonnaise for the salad. I forgot to add mayonnaise to our shopping list, so Bob picked up a small jar at the nearby Piggly Wiggly grocery store.
During the previous day’s beach walk, we came across a small “river” that crossed the length of the beach. A man told us there is a lake about 4 blocks from us, and the lake is where the water flows from. We drove to the lake this afternoon. We did a lot of walking at Brookgreen Gardens earlier in the day, which caused my arthritic knee to ache. We could have walked to the lake, but Bob thought it best that I not overdo it. We found the small lake, Floral Lake, easily. There was a bocce game being played, when we arrived, at Martin Park. From Martin Park we walked across a bridge over Floral Lake.
A footbridge crosses over Floral Lake.
This was the view, looking left, from the footbridge.
Six turtles congregated underneath us, while we were on the footbridge.
There is a sign at Floral Lake to not feed the ducks or other wildlife. It appeared that the turtles were accustomed to being fed!
Tonight’s dinner was at “Nanny & Pops”. Dinner included sloppy joes, baked beans, Suddenly Salad pasta salad and, for dessert, cheesecake.
After dinner we went for a walk on “our beach”, just down from the Surfside Pier. It was windy and cooler than it was late morning/early afternoon. The change in weather was so refreshing!
This is the channel from which Floral Lake drains into the ocean.
This blog post concludes our activities on Wednesday, February 22.
On Wednesday, February 22, we ate breakfast at our rental Airbnb, “Nanny & Pops”. We each had a bowl of oatmeal. I added diced peaches to my oatmeal.
At 8:00 am we picked up groceries at Walmart that I had ordered online last night. When we returned to our rental, I put away the groceries.
Later in the morning Bob and I went to Brookgreen Gardens. Brookgreen Gardens was created in 1931 by Anne and Archer Huntington. The Gardens is registered as a National Historic Landmark and contains native flora, fauna, and American sculpture. We purchased tickets, good for 7 days, at a cost of $18.00 each (senior rate). Brookgreen Gardens offers three distinct areas to explore: Botanical Gardens, a large collection of American Sculpture and the Lowcountry Zoo. We chose to explore the Lowcountry Zoo today. All the animals at the zoo are native to Lowcountry South Carolina.
Some of the native species that we saw in the zoo included an alligator, a bald eagle, hawks, owls, river otters, ducks, herons, egrets and ibis.
This wildlife column by Anna Hyatt Huntington greeted us, as we entered the Lowcountry Zoo. This bronze sculpture is embellished with wildlife native to the Southeast.
Black-crowned Night Herons
White Ibis
Sun-bathing turtles
The Eagle’s Egg by Ralph Hamilton Humes.
American Bald Eagle
Great Horned Owl
I believe that this is a Red-Tailed Hawk.
An Alligator and a Sandhill Crane
Male Wood Duck
Ruddy Duck
Two Male Wood Ducks and One Female Wood Duck
Whistling Ducks
We visited the animals at the Floyd Family Farm too. The animals at the Floyd Family Farm are considered historic rare breeds and are much more like animals of the 1800s than the hybrid descendants of today.
Red Devon Cow
Spanish Goats
We saw two Marsh Tacky horses at the Floyd Family Farm. The Marsh Tacky horses were brought over the Atlantic Ocean by Spanish explorers and settlers in the 1500s.
Marsh Tacky Horse
Marsh Tacky Horse
Stay tuned for another blog post about the rest of our day on February 22, coming soon!
We left home shortly after 6:30 am on Monday, February 20th, en route Surfside Beach SC via Wytheville VA.
We vacationed in Surfside Beach last year at this time, as well. Last year, when we left en route South Carolina, snow was falling, possibly mixed with sleet or freezing rain. The temperature was 19 degrees. There was snow on the ground from home and all the way past Pittsburgh. This time there was no precipitation whatsoever; there was no snow on the ground; and the temperature as we are leaving home was 42 degrees.
We stopped for breakfast in Franklin PA, at Linda Lou’s Family Restaurant. This was our first time eating here. The restaurant was recommended to us years ago. We kept saying someday we would eat there. Bob ordered a 3-egg Scrambler that contained home fries and bacon. The Scrambler filled his plate similar to a large pancake.
I ordered a light Western omelette, made with two eggs, with fruit cup and wheat toast.
Bob said he was sorry that he didn’t order the same as me, as he wasn’t able to eat his entire meal. The food was good, no better no worse than other breakfast eateries. It was noisy, though, with the majority of the noise coming from the kitchen and wait staff. This isn’t a restaurant that you go to, if looking for a peaceful meal! We were on the road again shortly before 8:45 am.
We arrived at Comfort Suites in Wytheville VA shortly before 3:30 pm. The drive there was uneventful. We did see some rain, but it was spotty. The most persistent rain occurred, as we approached Wytheville.
We checked into our room and, then, we left for dinner. We ate dinner at Cracker Barrel. Cracker Barrel is located about 2 miles from the hotel and easy to drive to. Bob ordered a 1 piece catfish dinner with hash brown casserole and broccoli. I ordered grilled chicken with a smoky seasoning, accompanied by hash brown casserole and fried apples. My dinner came with two pieces of chicken, but I could eat only one piece (the smaller of the two pieces). Our meals came with biscuits or corn muffins. Bob chose biscuits; I chose corn muffins. We each ate only one of our selections. As we left the restaurant, we talked about sharing our meals in the future. We are both eating less, and it would be less expensive to share meals.
We spent the night in Wytheville and continued our drive to Surfside Beach SC the next day.
I awakened at 4:30 am on Tuesday, February 21st. We took our time getting showered and dressed. I read online newspapers and did my Bing searches. I scrolled quickly through Facebook. I checked email. We went downstairs for a complimentary breakfast. Bob had an omelette and sausage. I had a waffle and a fruit cup.
We departed Comfort Suites Wytheville around 7:15 am, en route Surfside Beach SC, after I had photographed that morning’s sunrise.
Sunrise at Comfort Suites Wytheville
We arrived at our Airbnb rental, “Nanny & Pops” around 1:15 pm. The rental was as described at the Airbnb site.
After getting settled into the Airbnb, we went for a walk on the beach. The beach is only 0.10 miles from Nanny & Pops. It was an easy and quick walk to the beach.
In the background is the Surfside Pier, which is under construction. The construction is supposed to be completed this year.
We walked only a short way on the beach. We walked south, until we encountered a small “river” running the width of the beach. A man told us there is a lake about 4 blocks from us, and the lake is where the water flows from. There is a way around the river, but we chose to end our walk on the beach at the “river”.
We went for a drive on Friday (January 6th), leaving Warren PA around 9:30 am. It was a frosty morning, with a dusting of snow covering the ground and clinging to the trees.
Our first stop was at the Big Bend Recreation Area, at the base of Kinzua Dam where it meets the Allegheny River.
We walked from the parking lot the short distance to this pavilion. The pavilion sits above the Allegheny River and overlooks Kinzua Dam.
Going to the Zippo/Case Store was the purpose for our drive. Bob purchased a Zippo Butane Lighter Insert. We wandered through the Zippo/Case Museum.
The Zippo Museum “Throne”
Zippo/Case Museum An American Flag dominates this exhibit.
Zippo/Case Museum American Flag
The American Flag contains approximately 3,400 red, white and blue lighters.
Zippo/Case Museum An American heroes tribute
Zippo/Case Museum “ZAC” is a 7-foot audio/kinectic ball machine.
We spent the majority of our time in the museum watching “ZAC”.
“ZAC”
Our next stops were at Allegany State Park. We entered the park via Interstate Road in Bradford. All of our stops were in the Red House Area of the park.
This snowy scene was near the intersection of ASP Route 2 and Ridge Run Road.
Red House Brook flows under a bridge, located between ASP Route 2 and Camp Allegany Rd.
All the bridges in Allegany State Park are beautiful.
The Thomas L Kelly Covered Bridge crosses over the Red House Brook.
Thomas L Kelly Covered Bridge
Our last stop in Allegany State Park was at the Red House Wetland.
From Allegany State Park we drove to Red Lobster in Lakewood NY, where we ate lunch. We chose from the Dockside Duo menu. Bob chose Fish & Chips with Mozzarella Cheesesticks. I chose Parrot Isle Coconut Shrimp with New England Clam Chowder. Cheddar Bay Biscuits accompanied our meals, as well as Coleslaw. A slice of Vanilla Bean Cheesecake was our choice for dessert. We “doggy bagged” enough fish and shrimp for two meals and carried home the cheesecake too. Neither of have as big an appetite as we used to have.
We went for a drive this past Monday (January 2nd), leaving Warren PA around 8:30 am. Our destination was Lake Wilhelm, located about 70 miles from home. Lake Wilhelm is a feature of Maurice K. Goddard State Park. The weather forecast called for cloudy skies, mild temperatures and only a small chance of rain.
The day looked promising, as we made our way to Lake Wilhelm. It was foggy, but it looked like the sun would break through the fog. However, when we arrived at Lake Wilhelm, we found the lake covered in fog.
The fog didn’t look like it would lift anytime soon.
We decided to go to Grove City Premium Outlets. It was a good shopping day. Bob found a pair of cargo jeans that fit him perfectly. and he found a pair of waterproof hiking boots to replace a worn out pair. Bob donated his worn out boots and received a 20% discount. We had cover most of the time which was good, as it drizzled the entire time that we shopped.
After shopping, we made our way back home. The weather improved, as we drove home. 100% cloud cover changed to partly cloudy skies.
We are back home, after a three-night getaway. We spent October 23 through October 26 at Airbnb “LaVida Cottage” in the town of Newfane. This blog post is about our third day at the cottage. You may read about our first and second day at the cottage here and here.
We left LaVida Cottage at 8:30 am en route Niagara Falls. We stopped at Whirlpool State Park, before arriving at Niagara Falls. At Whirlpool State Park we walked a short way to a scenic overlook.
The Whirlpool at Whirlpool State Park
This was our first visit to Whirlpool State Park. Someday we would like to ride the Spanish Aero Car, seen in the top left portion of this picture, and see the whirlpools from that vantage point.
In Niagara Falls we parked at Niagara Falls State Park. Our Empire Pass enabled us to park for free. It had been 3 years since we last visited Niagara Falls. This visit was a little confusing, as a new Welcome Center is under construction. In the past we have walked through the Welcome Center to go to Prospect Point for our first view of the waterfalls. The old Welcome Center still stands but is blocked off by construction fencing. Once we got our bearings, all was good. By the way, the new Welcome Center is expected to be completed in Spring 2023.
Prospect Point American and Horseshoe Falls
In past visits to Niagara Falls we walk from Prospect Point to Goat Island to see Bridal Falls and Horseshoe Falls. On this visit we drove to Goat Island, as my arthritic knee was hurting.
Luna Island – Bob at the top of Bridal Falls
Luna Island Bridal Falls and American Falls
Goat Island Bridal Falls and American Falls
Horseshow Falls at Terrapin Point
I think we spent only an hour enjoying the falls, undoubtedly the less amount of time that we have spent in Niagara Falls.
We drove from Niagara Falls to Cafora’s Pizza and Pasteria in Newfane, where we enjoyed lunch. Bob ordered baked ziti with meatball. I ordered lasagna. Salads and Italian bread accompanied our meals.
After lunch we returned to LaVida Cottage, where we stayed for rest of the afternoon and the evening. Dinner was leftovers.
We returned home the next day around 11:30 am.
It was a very relaxing and enjoyable 3-night getaway.
We are back home, after a three-night getaway. We spent October 23 through October 26 at Airbnb “LaVida Cottage” in the town of Newfane. This blog post is about our second day at the cottage. You may read about our first day at the cottage here.
On the morning of our second day in Newfane we went for a walk through Krull Park to Lake Ontario. Airbnb “LaVida Cottage” provides easy access to the park. Directly across the street from the Airbnb is Park Lane. A short walk on Park Lane takes you to the park. I walked about 1 1/2 miles, before asking Bob to go get our car at the Airbnb. My arthritic knee was hurting badly. I sat outside Olcott Beach Carousel Park, while I awaited Bob’s return. When Bob picked me up, he said it was another 1/2 mile walk to the Airbnb.
We decided to spend time at “LaVida Cottage” today.
LaVida Cottage
Early morning light shining on the back yard of LaVida Cottage. The back yard ends at a cliff that drops to 18 Mile Creek.
Soon after our walk I took my kindle out to the fire pit and read.
The fire pit at LaVida Cottage
Bob joined me and played his ukulele for a short while.
Bob took this picture of me reading at the fire pit.
We met Michael, our Airbnb host. He stopped by late morning to repair a pipe in the basement that was leaking. He was a friendly and engaging person.
We ate leftovers for lunch.
We ate dinner at Gordie Harper’s Bazaar in Newfane. Gordie’s is a family restaurant but also features individually owned shops featuring unique themes, antiques and collectibles. We visited only the restaurant.
The Beauty Around Us 