<![CDATA[Home Is Where You Park - Home]]>Fri, 06 Mar 2020 09:13:31 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Saco, Maine July 2014]]>Wed, 23 Jul 2014 20:03:40 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/saco-maine-july-2014Saco (pronounced Sock-oh) is a quaint town near Old Orchard Beach.  It has an old industrial area that covers serveral acres of old buildings used many years ago originally for Iron and Logging and the textiles.  Al of these towns have mostly old homes, haven't seen any new subjdivisions.  Homes are beautiful landscaping with vegetable gardens and flower gardens combined.
]]><![CDATA[Kennebuckport Maine July 2014]]>Wed, 23 Jul 2014 19:53:45 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/kennebuckport-maine-july-2014Took a drive in to Kennebuckport which was about 15 miles from our location in Old Orchard Beach.  George Bush Sr. has his "summer home" in Kennebuckport and it's quite a place....on a peninsula.  Was able to get a good picture but of course you can't drive right up to it as it is a gated community.  Kennebuckport is pretty much a tourist town.  After driving around several times in different areas to get a parking space so we could have lunch, we finally gave up and went to Cape Porpoise and ate at a quaint restaurant where more of the locals go.  We haven't yet had a lobster roll sandwich and was hesitant to pay $20 per sandwich.    Driving through Kennebuckport is a challenge as there are no lights, only stop signs.  Pedestrians have the right of way and you really have to watch them as they will just step out into the step and cross.  And that, of course, causes major traffic jams. 




]]><![CDATA[Angel Oak Tree - Charleston, SC]]>Sat, 19 Jul 2014 19:49:32 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/angel-oak-tree-charleston-scWhat a magnificent tree!  It is reported that this Live Oak is between 600 and 1500 years old.  It is 65 feet tall with a circumference of 25.5 ft. and covers 17,000 s.f.  The largest limb is 89 ft. long.  Quite overwhelming....
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Believe it or not, that is a limb from the tree laying on the ground.
]]><![CDATA[Charleston, South Carolina]]>Sat, 19 Jul 2014 19:49:12 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/charleston-south-carolinaCharleston is filled with beautiful old homes along the coastline.  It's unbelievable how many people still live and maintain these huge mansions.  The town reminded us a bit of the homes in New Orleans.  There were quaint little stores along the water's edge and we drove down some real cobblestone roads.
]]><![CDATA[Hilton Head, South Carolina]]>Sat, 19 Jul 2014 19:42:00 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/hilton-head-south-carolinaWe really enjoyed our stay in Hilton Head.  We stayed at a really nice RV Resort and just took it easy.  Going to the pool several times, riding rented bicycles and learning about the area.    The town has a main road and all of the establishments are hidden behind trees and shrubs.  We had a grocery store about 1 mile down the road from us and didn't discover it for a couple of days because we couldn't see it and we weren't familiar with the grocery store names.  The town is also one of the cleanest places we've ever been to.  No litter anywhere.  They have a very stiff littering law, $2000 or jail time.  Access to the beaches is difficult to get to unless you are staying at one of the hotels along the water.   A lot of the areas off the main road are gated communities.  The one area where we had lunch and shopped is a big tourist attraction and we had to pay $5 to enter the area.

I'm trying to catch up with my blog as I've been a little lazy keeping up.  So if you're receiving my blog and getting a lot of info at once, I apologize.  It's amazing how quickly you forget where you've been!   After you download pictures, it's really important to rename the pictures so you can remember where you were.

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This is a small plantation we went to during our stay at Hilton Head.  Bill had promised me that we were going to see lots of plantations and we would go see a really big home but that didn't happen.  Most of the plantations along the way weren't visible from the roads and the admission fees were ridiculous.  $25/person to get thru the gates and going through a home was an additional fee.  We just couldn't justify the costs. 

At any rate, this plantation was on some beautiful property on the water.  The pictures below are the servants quarters down the road a bit.
]]><![CDATA[Amelia Island, Florida]]>Tue, 10 Jun 2014 20:58:17 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/amelia-island-floridaIn Jacksonville for a few days.  Next stop Hilton Head, South Carolina...Took a little day trip to Amelia Island, about 20 minutes outside of Jacksonville.  One of the things that we have noticed is the lack of palm trees, and we haven't seen hardly any seagulls and only a few pelicans.  We weren't able to see much of the beaches as they were behind dunes and people's private homes.  Beautiful oak trees, covered with moss on Canopy Drive.  Found another beautiful cemetery as well.
]]><![CDATA[Destin, FL]]>Tue, 10 Jun 2014 20:57:37 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/destin-flWhat a beautiful place!    The sand of the beaches are pure white and the water is a gorgeous emerald green.  The weather was great the whole time we were there.  We ate some oyster rockerfeller and just enjoyed the area.
]]><![CDATA[Garden District - New Orleans]]>Tue, 10 Jun 2014 20:57:15 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/garden-district-new-orleansWe drove through some beautiful homes in the garden district.  The streets are lined with huge oak trees that reach across the street and intertwine with each other.  Unless you're taking a walking tour, it's difficult to stop and take pictures but I was able to take a few pictures of some whimsical homes and found a purple house as well.  (I am always on the look out for a purple house wherever you go.) 

During our guided tour of the Garden District, we saw the homes of Sandra Bullock, Nicholas Cage, Anne Rice (she has since sold the home) and the childhood home of Eli & Peyton Manning.  The tour guide told us what street Brad and Angelina had a place and I made Bill drive us down the street but never found his home.  I did find a home that was on a corner and convinced myself that it was their place, but alas, I was wrong.  (I goggled Brad throwing a beer to Matthew M., checked out the balcony and compared it to the picture I took and it wasn't the same.  Oh, well....

It rained every day we were there but stopped long enough for us to enjoy the ambience of the city.  We drove down Bourbon Street and the French Quarters but never got out to walk the streets.  Jam packed with people and no place to park unless you park in a lot and ride the bus into town.  Would probably have done it when we were younger, but it was too crowded for us.  I really wanted to go to Café Dumond and have a beignet but it was just too crowded.    I have to admit we did go to A Café Dumond and got a beignet but it wasn't in the French Quarters.
]]><![CDATA[New Orleans]]>Sun, 08 Jun 2014 21:35:57 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/new-orleansDuring our stay in New Orleans, we stayed at a beautiful state park called Bayou Segette State Park about 20 miles outside of New Orleans.  The sites was very spacious, lots of green grass, bunnies and red birds.

Our first day we decided to take a guided tour of the city and then take our own drive the following day.  Prior to the time of the tour, we had to kill some time and drove around town.  We ended up in an area that was pretty run down.  As we were driving thru the area, I looked up at a roof of a home and noticed some painted letters and told Bill, if I didn't know better, I'd think were were in the 9th ward.  At about the time I said that, there was a sign on the median that stated, sure nuff we were in the 9th ward.  We went back thru the 9th ward during our tour and I took these pictures.  Still a lot of abandoned home...
Bill and I have always been fascinated with old cemeteries and New Orleans is full of them.  The above ground tombs in New Orleans are often referred to as "cities of the dead".    According the local ordinance, as long as the previoiusly deceased family member has been dead for at least 2 years, the remains of that person can be moved to a specially made burial bag and placed at the side or back of the vault.  The coffin is then destroyed, and the vault is ready for newly deceased family members.  What happens if a family member dies within the 2 year period?  Generally, local cemeteries are equipped with temporary holding vaults, and the newly deceased family member is moved into his or her final resting place.  Some of the masoleums of the wealthy can cost upwards of one million dollars.
Notice all the names of the people on the right and the date span.  They are all in one crypt.....




]]><![CDATA[The Swamp Tour in Breaux Bridge, La]]>Wed, 28 May 2014 21:11:44 GMThttp://homeiswhereyoupark.weebly.com/home/the-swamp-tour-in-breaux-bridge-laPicture
We took a swamp tour at Lake Martin in Breaux Bridge and it was worth the $20 per person to take a tour by boat through the bayous of the lake.  It's a surreal area where trees grow in the swamps, huge lily pads fill the lake and alligators are just around the bend.  We saw several alligators, mostly small but several large ones that quickly swam to the bottom of the lake.  Really enjoyed it...
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Gator, baby
We had some heavy rains last night and thought we might have to stay in Breaux Bridges a few more days, but it looks like the weather will be okay for us to head to New Orleans tomorrow....
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