We began our visit with a stop at the Cumberland Island Museum where we took in exhibits detailing early Native Americans, the Carnegie Family, and the War of 1812 .
The Vitamin D Express pulled out of my driveway this morning at 7:00. Becky and I hit the Georgia state line about 11:45. We were welcomed to the Peach State and shared our picnic lunch with a bird that actually tried to snitch Becky's sandwich while we had our heads turned. Our plans were to stop and explore St. Marys, GA, gateway to Cumberland Island, the largest of Georgia's barrier islands. The town advertises itself as "historic and enchanting, with white picket fences, charming Victorian inns, majestic magnolias, stately live oaks, fragrant salt air, quaint shops, and captivating cafes." We began our visit with a stop at the Cumberland Island Museum where we took in exhibits detailing early Native Americans, the Carnegie Family, and the War of 1812 . From there we strolled down to the waterfront and made a stop at Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitor Center. We were tickled to find the 2014 Passport Stamps series in addition to getting two new stamps for our book that we didn't have. With the temperature up to a wonderful 74 degrees, we certainly enjoyed strolling up and down Osborne Street and checking out a few of the shops that were open. We saw several inns, historic 1800's homes, and churches. Without a doubt though, our favorite sight was the Tabby Sugar Mill Ruins outside of town. Once a thriving sugar mill, the ruins are now a ghostly reminder of New Canaan Plantation located on the site in the 1800's. After a bit of junkin' at the St. Marys Antique Mall and a drive by the Kings Bay Navel Submarine Base, we merged back onto I-95 south. I dashed into the Florida welcome center for a map and a shot of orange juice before we headed to St. Augustine.
I figure the only way to get rid of the third cold I've had this winter is to head south to Florida! Sunny Florida, where I can score some megadoses of Vitamin D in its most natural form.
Becky and I will leave in the morning and make our way down to LaBelle, FL where we will join our T@Bbin' buddies for the Swamp Cabbage Festival. Yep, you read that right! You are invited to travel along with us and I'll have a Postcard ready for delivery every evening. As Richie Havens sang, "Here comes the sun." You gotta be careful what you wish for! Want some snow? We have plenty to share with you! Unlike the on-the-spot weather reporters who pull out their rulers every time the camera is on them, I'm not sure exactly how much we've gotten. It's quite a bit, I can tell you that. The pups are having a ball every time we let them out, but Baby Gracie isn't too fond of the snowballs that quickly attach to her legs. I don't have the kind of footwear to get out in the snow, so I snapped a few photos through the windows and standing just outside the doors. Here you go...live from Newton, NC...
Murphy: "Everyone on TV is talking about snow! Upwards of 9 inches at my house! I'm just going to stay in this chair until it comes!" Gracie: "Oh boy, snow! Do I remember what snow is?" Murphy: "The roads are covered in Charlotte! It's coming, it's coming!" Gracie: "I don't know where Charlotte is. I can't hold my eyes open. Wake me up when it gets here." Murphy: "I think it's getting closer. It sure is cold outside. It definitely looks like snow. I'll remain on high alert, don't worry about a thing!" Gracie: "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz"
I've mentioned before that I attend a group at my church on the second Monday of each month called Leisuretimers. We are about 30 members strong and really enjoy the food and fellowship along with a different program each month. Today we were treated to a visit by NASCAR legend, Ned Jarrett. Ned and wife Martha, have been members of our church, Beth Eden Lutheran, for a long, long time. We are proud to have them, but Ned will tell you quickly, that they are honored to be a part of the Beth Eden family. Another one of our Leisuretimers, Troy McRee, actually worked on Ned's team for four years in the early 60's and he brought some wonderful memorabilia to share with us. Before the program began, we were all milling around the table looking at models of the number 11 car, NASCAR Magazines, a set of sports cards, and other really neat stuff from Ned's racing days starting out on the dirt track of nearby Hickory Motor Speedway. Becky has been waiting for years to have an opportunity to have Ned sign her racing jacket. It's actually Dale's number 88, but it's a family thing, you know. We laughed when Ned pulled a Sharpie out of his pocket to oblige Becky's request. For 50 minutes we sat totally inthralled with Ned's stories of his racing and broadcasting days. He raced for approximately 14 years, beginning his career in 1953 and amassed more than 200 wins. After retiring from driving in 1966, Ned became a pioneer in first radio, then TV, serving MRN Radio, CBS Sports, and ESPN for more than 30 years. Most NASCAR fans will never forget that Sunday in Daytona when he called the last lap as son Dale took the checkered flag! In 1998, Ned was named one of the 50 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR. His list of honors is long, including induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, the NC Sports Hall of Fame, and 11 other different Hall of Fames! He was also honored by Lenoir-Rhyne University with a Doctorate of Humane Letters for outstanding service to motor sports and his community. Thanks for stopping by today so I could tell you about Gentleman Ned Jarrett, a fine Christian man who just happens to be one of our own!!
The snow is on its way, but never fear, I'll be right here tomorrow waiting for you to pick up your Tuesday Postcard. My friend Sue has an ongoing case of VTF (Vintage Trailer Fever). Like many others we know - I won't name any names - there's an ever-present daydream of the perfect trailer, decorated in adorable style. Many of our conversations when we are together, revolve around this subject. Sue owns a vintage Deville, but it's just a little too big for her to handle solo. When we are camping with the Sisters, we are on our own, so it's important to be pulling and setting up a trailer that we feel comfortable with. This explains her search for something a bit more manageable. While down at Jekyll Island with the Sisters last fall, she was enamored with a Shasta Compact. She chatted with its owner, began pinning photos on Pinterest, and a decorating theme started to evolve. To make a long story short, she found this cutie down in South Carolina. The next step was to find someone to work on it. Having followed my long, long journey with The Coffee Cup, Sue decided she wanted a complete re-do also, just not in Michigan. I heard about a place in nearby Denver (NC, not CO) that does trailer restorations and I passed that info along to her. A couple phone calls and conversations later, Sue and Rich pulled the Shasta over to Complete RV, Inc. this past Tuesday. There, we (I got to tag along) met with owner, Kevin Dunn. Sue had about six pages printed out of the floor plan that she wants and her wish list, which she went over with Kevin step by step. For the next hour, they chatted about that list and we both came away with a good feeling about the project. This is going to be a fun project and I'm so excited to get to follow along. I'm so glad that Sue found someone to do the project locally. Kevin's business is just 20 minutes away from me and only a couple hours away for Sue and Rich. Keeping up-to-date with the make-over will be much easier than being 12 hours away in Michigan!!
Stay tuned in the coming months for updates and Postcards about Sue's baby Shasta! Have a great weekend everyone and I'll see ya back here on Monday. This morning while on the spinning bike at CORE Fitness, I did something I've only seen others do . . . I looked at a magazine while pedaling. After finishing my workout with weights, I spied a copy of Our State Magazine sitting on the bench as I was headed to the bike.
I picked it up, adjusted my headphones, hopped on the bike, and got to work. There's a holder for books and magazines where all the controls are, but it was too far away for me to turn pages easily. Besides that, it was a bit far away for my bi-focals to focus on. Somehow I balanced the magazine on the handlebars and read the one article that caught my attention. It was about Post Offices and commemorative stamps in North Carolina. From the tiniest offices to the busiest, it told the story of individual carriers and with each story, a different NC stamp was featured. I thought it would be appropriate to share those postage stamps with you, since after all, this is a Postcard! This morning while I was making a fabric run to Charlotte, Wendy had a date with the fruit truck from Florida. Each month from November to May, a truck from Citrus Unlimited in Vero Beach makes a run to North Carolina to deliver fresh fruit. They park at Tractor Supply for an hour and a half or two, selling straight out of their refrigerated truck. Honeybells are harvested only in January and the long line to purchase them proved they are quite popular. Wendy chatted with a lady in line who said that she sometimes eats three a day, they are so good! I snapped a photo of one of them beside a Cutie just to give you an idea of how big they are. I gotta tell you that the juice was running down my arm as I was eating one this afternoon!! Week after next, Becky and I will be in Florida for the Swamp Cabbage Festival and I'm sure we'll be bringing back fresh oranges of our own from that trip. We'll be passing through Indian River and ought to hit the orange motherlode.
Happy Hump Day...don't forget to pick up your Postcard tomorrow. See ya then! After taking a mid-day lunch break at Apollo Flame last Friday, we headed back over to the Biltmore Estate to continue the afternon portion of our visit. “We have a river. We have a chateau. We have the land. We have no vineyard. Every French chateau has a vineyard.” –William A.V. Cecil Those were the words of William Cecil, George Vanderbilt's grandson, in the early 1970's. He envisioned an estate winery that honored the agricultural heritage of his grandfather's estate. Despite many obstacles, he planted French-American hybrid vines below the Biltmore House and an inaugural vintage was bottled in the Conservatory basement. In the late 1970's, the vineyards were moved to their current location on the west side of the estate. About 150 acres were planted with vinifera grapes. Cecil traveled to France and hired Philippe Jourdain, a sixth-generation winemaster whose expertise and skills were instrumental in building the future of Biltmore's Winery. In 1983, the Biltmore Wine Company was incorporated and Bill Cecil, son of Willliam, oversaw the conversion of the estate's original dairy into the new winery. In 1985, the Biltmore Winery opened to the public and William Cecil called it, "the most historic event since my grandfather opened his estate to his family on Christmas Day ninety years earlier." In 2001, the Biltmore Estate Wine Company sold one million bottles. By 2005, it expanded distribution to 10 states. In 2010, Biltmore Winery celebrated its 25th anniversary and today, with distribution to 30 states, the winery is one of the most visited in the country. Prior to our 3:00 tour, we sampled some of the estate's wines in the historic winery building that was originally the Biltmore dairy barn. That concludes my wine tour and now I have to tell you about some amazing serendipity I experienced. While waiting for the tour to start, a lady walked up to me and said that her girls recognized me and was I a member of Sisters on the Fly. Standing in front of me was the Walker Family from Clinton, TN. I met Rachel, Mike, and their two girls last fall while camping with the Sisters in TN. They visited with us first at our Friday trailer tour and then we were invited to their house on Saturday. Mike showed us all his rare aluminum trailers, the girls played hostess, and Rachel served us supper. If you'd like to go back and read a bit more about those visits, you can go HERE. It was great to chat with them off and on during the tour and before we left, I snapped their photo. I'm sure I'll see them again when I'm back with the Sisters in Morristown, TN in March! This wraps up my Biltmore Postcards, but rest assured, I'll have another Card for you pick up tomorrow. See ya then!
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