Back on the road

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. 
   - Jim Rohn


Well, Steve and I are officially the "Travelin' Andersons" again.  We took off from Port Charlotte on August 16 and headed north in our attempt to not postpone our happiness for the future.  Both of us are so comfortable living in this RV and traveling from place to place and truly delight in the beautiful vistas and interesting experiences we have along the way.  Plus we have friends and family all over this country that we intend to spend time with over the next couple of years.

Our first stop was in St. Mary's, Georgia.  If you have never visited this little slice of heaven, I highly recommend it.  The town is just over the Florida border on I-95 and has been our pit stop many times as we trekked north and south along the east coast.  St. Mary's is the launching spot for the ferry to Cumberland Island, is a mere 20 minutes drive to St. Simon's Island, Jekyll Island, and is very close to one of my favorite places:  the Folkston Funnel!  Seriously, if you are looking for a unique place to take a vacation, check out St. Mary's.

When we arrived, Steve and I headed to the Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island.  Our son, Terry, turned us on to this place when we had a family vacation on St. Simon's Island last September.  This beach is covered with skeletons of trees that have died due to the erosion on the northern side of the island.  As the erosion sets in and the trees get uprooted, they travel down the coast and the bark and leaves and smaller branches get removed.  What's left is a "driftwood" version of their previous selves which gets deposited on the southern end of the island.   This beach is quite long and is littered with driftwood that you can climb on to your heart's content.  The erosion that's taking place is a difficult situation, but the resulting art formed from on the beach from the displaced trees is truly a sight to see. 

The next day, Steve and I met one of the best Bible teachers I have ever had.  For a few years now, I have been taking on-line classes through Precept Ministries from a woman named Kari Dent.  Every time that Steve and I were in St. Mary's in the past, we could not seem to meet up with her, but this time we were successful.  We met at a wonderful seafood restaurant and I got to meet her husband Ian as well.  I am so happy to have finally met Kari and if you are interested in checking her out, her website is:  http://www.preceptcamden.com./   Kari and Ian shared with us that there was a tall ship parked in the St. Mary's harbor, so we checked it out.  It's called "The Peacemaker" and is owned by a group called The Twelve Tribes (www.peacemakermarine.com).  We weren't able to tour it but Steve was able to capture a beautiful full moon keeping watch over the ship in the harbor.  

Our last stop was to visit Fort King George which is the oldest English fort on Georgia's coast.  As I mentioned, there is a lot of history in this area and this fort is an excellent example of that.  Basically it was built to protect the Altamaha River (which flows up to Atlanta) from invading indians or the French.  I thought it was in a pretty cool spot on the water, but apparently the soldiers stationed there didn't agree.  They were so desperate to get out of duty at Fort King George that they burned down their own barracks!!  Here's the website about this fort if you are interested in learning more:  Fort King George

On the 18th, we arrived in Asheville which will be our home base until September 20.  We are here to celebrate the renewal of wedding vows for our son, Terry, and his wife, Jill.  They are the parents of our most recent grandchild (Sofia) and we are excited to enjoy this special event with them.  We have family coming in from all over for this so that weekend will be a hoot.  Can't wait.  We've spent time catching up with Jill's parents who live in Asheville as well.  Today, we were treated to a baseball game featuring the Asheville Tourists (the Colorado Rockies' version of the Stone Crabs or the Toledo Mud Hens).  It was a blast and we have additional adventures planned with Jill's parents which you will hear about in the near future.

Ok, that's it for this week.  Keep the quote at the top of this blog entry in mind this week.  What happiness are you putting off that you can you design into your present?   

Love you guys,

Lauren and Steve