Lightening damage

We have been in a few thunder/lightening storms while we have been in North Carolina. A few nights ago while it was storming with the lightening and thunder we heard this very load clap that brought both Ed and I out of our seats with very wide eyes. The next morning at the edge of the campground we saw this tree that had been hit by lightening during that storm. Thank you Lord that it was that tree and not the one next to our motorhome! We moved yesterday, further east to a small campground near Asheboro, NC. Tomorrow we have reservations at Williamsburg Pottery Factory RV Park in Williamsburg, VA where we will stay for a week. We will be spending the 4th of July at Yorktown where the American Revolutionary War ended when the British surrendered. Life is Good!

Fort Sumter

Today we visited Fort Sumter, where the opening shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861. We had to take a ferry out to island where the Fort sits. Tomorrow we plan on visiting historic downtown Charleston.

Fort Sumter before/after

In the museum they had before-during-after of Fort Sumter

Officer Quarters

On the far left you will see what is left of the officer quarters. The land in the background is the city of Charlston.

Shell lodged in wall

This picture shows a shell lodged in the damaged left face of the inside wall. You can see a small round spot slightly left of center at about 8 o'clock . There were several of these around the fort.

Damaged wall

In 1861 Fort Sumter was held by the Union. The fort was 3 stories tall. Its five foot thick brick walls towered about 50 feet above the water line. The Union lost the fort to the Confederates on April 14, 1861. They held the fort until February 17, 1865. Between 1863 and 1865 the Union had bombarded the fort with over seven million pounds of metal...reducing the fort to almost a pile of rubble. What we saw today had been partially restored. It was used from 1876 to 1897 as a lighthouse station. More reconstruction with a Battery being added in 1898 for protection during the Spanish American War. Then in WWI a small garrison manned the guns in the battery. The fort was finally retired in 1948.

USS Kennedy

After visiting St Augustine we traveled north yesterday to Charleston, SC. I took this picture of the USS Kennedy at the Navy base in Mayport, FL before we left. Today we plan on visiting Fort Sumter. Life is good!

Ed & Sandy at fort

Here we are at the fort.

Spanish cannon

Here is one of the many cannons at the fort. This one is pointing at what is now St Augustine.

Castillo de San Marcos

We visited St Augustine, FL, the oldest Christian city in the United States. We wanted to see the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the country. It was built by the Spanish in the late 1600's. Construction was begun in 1672 and completed 23 years later. If you visit northern Florida, this fort is a must see!!

Jacksonville, FL/Mayport Naval Station

We left the Escapees Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL on Thursday and traveled 200 miles east to the Chattahoochee, FL area where we spent a couple of nights. Today we traveled on to Pelican Roost RV Park on Mayport Naval Station. We can see the Atlantic Ocean from our motorhome. The picture was taken from our front window of a navy ship leaving the port..out the St Johns River to the ocean. Finally we have a little relief from the heat! With the ocean breezes it is quite nice here. We plan on staying here for a few days to check out the area before heading north up the Atlantic coast. Life is Good!

Fort Morgan Historical Site

Fort Morgan is located at the mouth of Mobile Bay. Part of it was built by the Spanish in the 1700's and the majority was constructed in the early 1800's. The fort was used by the Confederates to protect shipping into Mobile, AL during the Civil War. The fort was in use until the early 1900's. The fort is very well preserved. We are enjoying our time here in Alabama...even though it has been hot and humid. The good sea food in the area is worth it!!!! Life is good!

Blue Angels

Today we visited the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL to watch the Blue Angels practice. They put on quite a show. We are staying at the Escapees Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL. It is only about 40 miles east of Pensacola. We will be here in the area for at least a week. While we were in Pensacola we saw the Museum of Naval Avation and the civil war Fort Barrancas. The confederates heald this Fort until the withdrew in 1861. Life is Good here in the heat and humidity! LOL

Slidell, LA ELK's Lodge

We spent a couple of nights at the Slidell, LA Elk's lodge. Water and Elect for $11 a night. It really pretty here. The have lots of space and a pool. We stayed here while we visited New Orleans since it is only 30 mins. north. Nice Lodge...Nice people.

New Orleans

Saturday, June 2 we visited the French Quarter in New Orleans. Most of the shops are open for business there. We had a drink at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Bar and lunch at the Oyster Bar...yum. This area of New Orleans looks like it has "come back" from hurricane Katrina, but the outlying areas are still devastated. We saw housing tracts all along I-10 sitting empty with windows and doors broken, roofs torn off and water marks on the outside walls, and FEMA trailers sitting in a few backyards. Very Sad!