2022
Steve stayed in Florida, due to doctor appointments and him not feeling well.
Jan: Bette flew to Seattle for Dave Karnes memorial
April: Bette flew to California with Peg. Dale, Jim and Linda met us there for Uncle George's BD party . We rented a house along with Marvin and Patty Kelly
June / July - Bette flew to Seattle. Nancy and Bette took Nancy's RV to Montana - this was a great trip Back to Seattle for Chris and Fernando's Wedding
Aug - Bette stayed with Nancy and we attended Chris and Fernando's wedding. - it was Lovely
Sept. Savannah and Jacob's Wedding
Oct. Steve had his sinus surgery in Miami
Nov - finished the remodel of our Lot and outdoor kitchen
Nov - Bette met Nancy, Lisa, Glen, Amy, Wes, Meika, Jes Karnes in Mexico for Nancy's 70th BD party
Dec - Zane here in Florida, we spent 3 nights at Flagler Beach, in a cabin. Zane swam with the Dolphins, we saw the Christmas lights in St. Augustine, toured the fort. Went to the Alligator Farm.
2023
Jan - Bette met Nancy and Lisa in Palm Springs Calif. We visited Joshua Tree National Park, Did a little hiking and had a great time
Feb. Linda visited us for a week, Went to the Essiey for a band concert, visited Vern and Kay for 2 nights,
April - announcement of Baby Girl Blevins to arrive Oct 5, 2023
April - Steve and Bette -- Visited Nancy , LeRee's BD party, Saw Ann and Ben.
Linda and her sister Cindy flew to Seattle, then the 4 of us flew to Honolulu of 2 weeks. Dinner cruise, Arizona, beaches, Pali Highway
May - Chris, Fernando and Nancy flew back with us ; and we attended 3 days of Sun Fest
May - Stephan here from Germany for 10 days
June - Steve, Peg, Mike and I saw the Heath Brothers in concert , dog sat with Sasha 3 different time frames :)
Nov - Nancy and Bette's Trip
Day 1 Stayed the first night in Fort Lauderdale - Hollywood beach - Landshark restaurant , music in the Amphitheater
Day 2 “Nancy. & Bette’s Great Adventure “ We left Fort Lauderdale , stopped to see Steve , went to Juno Beach to check out the ocean waves which are wild due to a hurricane way out in the ocean . Then we headed North stopped at McDonalds to see our skeleton friend. Arrived at Flagler Beach where we rented a cabin on the beach
Day 3 of “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” Sunrise on Flagler Beach, hiked 2.7 miles at Washington Oak Gardens State Park, explored St. Augustine - A museum and the Fort (Castillo de San Marcos National fortress. )
Day 4 of “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” Left Beverly Beach Cabin, went to Fort Matanzas National Monument - took a ferry to get to the Monument - Spanish stone fort from the 18th century. In St. Augustine we took the trolly around town - there were 21 different stops and we learned about the history of St. Augustine which is the oldest city in the USA - founded in 1565. We went to the national shrine of Our Lady of La Leche and walked around the Great Cross which makes the spot where Pedro Menéndez de Avilés landed and proclaimed this site for Spain and the church. We arrived at Creekfire RV resort where we rented a cabin for 3 nights
Day 5 “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” In Savannah - did the Hop on / Hop off Trolly — we road the trolly all the way around the 15 stops. Then walked to see other sites - toured the Mercer Williams House , last stop Leopold’s Ice Cream. So much interesting History in Savannah.
Day 6 “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” In Savannah again today. From the Visitors Center parking area we walked (1 mile) to the river. We found a nice restaurant with “southern “ cooking , took the free ferry ride on the river. Back to our cabin by 4 PM for a relaxing Erving watching the movie “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” which was filmed in the Mercer Williams House that we toured yesterday. The movie is based on a true story.
The statue is “The Waving Lady” to honor Florence Martos who began to stand on the edge of the Savannah River and wave at every passing ship, a habit she maintained for 44 years. She would wave a handkerchief or a towel during the daytime and a lantern during the night time. When ship captains spotted her, they would often acknowledge her by sounding their horn three times. According to legend, not one ship was missed during the four decades she was on duty. In 1931
Day 7 “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” - we had a nice drive to Hilton Head Arrived to our AirBnB around 1 PM, had a nice walk on the beach (70 degrees cloudy and a little windy), found a Seafood restaurant for supper .
Day 8 “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” — It was 53 degrees this AM at 0900 and windy - we walked 3 miles on the beach, had a relaxing lunch at our AirBnB, drove to where Fort Mitchell use to be (The fort was built in 1861 by Union Army forces as part of the defenses of a coaling station and ship maintenance facility at Seabrook Landing on Hilton Head Island, S.C. We stopped at Jarvis Creek Park and walked around most of the lake (1 mile); but we turned around and retraced our steps when we saw the alligator sunbathing on the shore. We then drove to Sea Pines which is a private housing community. The owners built a lighthouse, and we wanted to check that out. We enjoyed the 2 mile drive through the community (which cost us $9.) It’s their way of knowing who is coming and going into the housing community; plus make $$ ! It was a very cute area by the lighthouse with a marina and a restaurant - they had the best crab dip. :)
Day 9 (Nov 2, 2023) From Hilton Head, we drove to Beaufort - just north of us. We did a self-guided walking tour to see some of the historic houses - The trees in this area were amazing. We found a nice restaurant for lunch along the water. Our drive to Charleston was on a non-busy 4 lane road. Our AirBnB home is lovely - well stocked. We had a quiet evening after grocery shopping .
Day 10 “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” : We toured McLeod Plantation. This is well preserved middle-class plantation established in 1851. We heard stories about the slaves and plantation owner’s personal life. Then we went to the Boone Hall Plantation which changed hands over the years; once a cattle ranch, then more agricultural with a large profit from making bricks for buildings. The Boone Hall Plantation was established in 1681; and it is still in operation with tours, and many acres of crops.
Day 11 & 12 : “Nancy and Bette’s Great Adventure” From Charleston S.C. , we drove to Ormond Beach Florida and stayed the night at Home2 ; a hotel on the water. We had an ocean view - the waves were great. We had a nice walk on the beach before sunset and again a great walk on the beach in the morning. After our morning walk, we drove to West Palm Beach and had lunch with Steve on our patio — then down to Fort Lauderdale to a hotel and Nancy will fly back to Seattle at 0700 in the AM …
