Williamsburg, VA

Glass violin - one of two made

Close up of glass violin - check out the engraving

We had a great week of sight seeing in Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown, VA. It's hard to believe that it's been over 400 years since the ships landed at Jamestown. The artifacts that are still there (over one million of them have been found) help to make one see what life was like back then. They had a hard life and many people perished.

The highlight of Williamsburg for us was seeing Dean Shostak play his beautiful crystal instruments. Pictured above is his glass violin. There are only two in the world. It took over a year to make and 100 tries before they were successful. The sound from it was wonderful. The hour went way too fast and was by far the best value for the money we've spent in a long time. It was only $7.00 for his concert.

We would love to go back one day and spend more time there. We would have liked to stay longer this trip, but everything was booked for Memorial Day weekend. We came on to Mt. Airy, NC, home of Andy Griffith. Remember "Mayberry"? We haven't done the tour yet, but we will this coming week. We're going to stay at least a week and maybe longer. It's a great area.

Camp Hatteras, NC (Outer Banks)

Rockintom trying to walk his pink flamingo!

Eat, laugh, eat more, laugh more, eat and finally, sleep! That has been our schedule for the last 4 days! We have been at the Excel Mid-Atlantic Group rally since Wednesday afternoon. What a blast. Tom finally was able to meet many of his Excel Owners Forum friends and they talked Excel for hours on end. They surely taught each other some things. There was more food, friends and fun packed into that 4 days than a person can imagine! What a great group of people and a great place for us to have the rally. The Atlantic Ocean on one side of the park and Pamlico Sound on the other side. The weather didn't always cooperate, but it didn't slow this group down. There were twenty-six couples, some of their kids and friends so it was a large group. We hated to leave them as it will be a while before we will see many of them again. Thanks so much gang!

We're in Williamsburg, VA, now and plan to stay until the 22nd when we'll head toward Mt. Airy, NC. We'll be spending Memorial Day weekend at Mt. Airy. We are going to do some sightseeing and learn even more about this part of the country. We'll be going to Jamestown, Yorktown and of course, seeing Williamsburg. It will be great fun. The countryside around us is beautiful and we like this park - American Heritage RV Park.

Shiloh, NC

Small lake at North River Campground

My guess is no one knows where Shiloh, NC is. It's in the north east corner of North Carolina. We've been here for four days before we head down to the Outer Banks for our Excel rally. If a person wants peace, quiet and pretty scenery, this is a good campground to stay. It's out in the country, by a small lake, surrounded by woods.

While we were still in Myrtle Beach, we went on a "Sun Cruise". It's a gambling ship and it's a day cruise. We went with our friends, Ralph and Cheryl. The boat is not great but the day was beautiful and we managed to leave some of our retirement funds on it. Maybe they'll put it to good use and do some improvements!

Mother's Day was very quiet and pleasant. Unfortunately, there is no phone connectivity here for us, so Donna's girls weren't able to call and personally talk to her, but Beth sent emails from her and Julia and Sarah called and left messages. Tom was very sweet all day - as he always is, of course! Since we stayed home all day (at Donna's request) on Monday Tom took me to Elizabeth City to Cypress Grill for a special lunch. We spent the afternoon "in town" and stocked up on groceries for our trip to the Outer Banks.

Sunday evening was a little exciting as we had a tornado warning. We decided to take the safe route and went to the clubhouse until the worst was over. All we had was rain and wind, but we were glad we took the precaution.

This morning we're headed for the Outer Banks until either Sunday or Monday. There will be about 20 rigs there and it should be fun to meet other Excel owners and reconnect with the friends we've already made. Off to new adventures!

Myrtle Beach, SC

Us at Sunset Beach, NC

Wow! This is a beautiful area! We have been here a week already - doesn't seem possible - and are staying until May 9th. Then it's biker week, so we're out of here! I recommend this area to anyone who loves great scenery, beaches and golf. Oh yes, and there are so many restaurants, it's unbelievable! We were lucky to connect with an old work friend of Tom's and her husband, Sharon and Tom Robinson. We spent last Saturday with them and they showed us some of the sights. The best sight was from their balcony at their condo on the beach. We spent the afternoon sitting and enjoying the ocean, the breeze and the great conversation. What a fun couple they are.

We also have seen other friends here who happen to be visiting - Ralph and Cheryl Schey. We met them last fall in Smith Center, KS, when we were all getting our rigs worked on. They are nice friends and we'll be seeing them again here and also when we go to the Outer Banks in mid-May for the mid-Atlantic Excel club outing.

Yesterday we went to Sunset Beach and it was so nice. It's wide and flat and the sand is clean. We had a nice walk on the hard packed sand. It was great. By taking a couple of weeks here, we're able to do a little more relaxing and not quite so much running around. From here we're heading to Shawboro, NC, until we go to the Outer Banks on the 14th.