Flew back to the US for Christmas

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A whirlwind trip to the US included a roadtrip through the Outer Banks from Virginia Beach to North Carolina riding four ferries and staying in the picturesque town of Beaufort for the first night. Pronounced ''Bo-furt'' by locals, the historic town was established as a seaport with the right to collect customs in 1722. During the American Revolution, it was the third largest port in the state. In 1997, Beaufort was highlighted in national and international news as the wreckage of what is presumed to be Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, was discovered in 20 feet of water -2 miles from Beaufort Inlet. The next day onto Oriental where we found ourselves looking at real estate. With deep water in short supply in many parts of Virginia, North Carolina offers more possibilities for providing a home for Marnie, should she return to the US. A total of 500 miles through gorgeous rural countryside and 48 churches along the way - we only mention this because the majority of them were the size of cathedrals, capable of housing thousands of people which we found surprising amongst the cotton fields.

Back to Virginia Beach for a few days then our new red truck made its way, with us navigating, to Rockland, Maine along with thousands of other vehicles picking their way through the snow. We'd been invited to stay with sailing friends Jeanette and Pete who circumnavigated in their magnificent vessel Voyager, a 1930 schooner. The last couple of years they've been building an equally magnificent pad overlooking the sea, where we spent Christmas. Rockland is one of the most beautiful destinations on the coast of Maine. Its residents live at the heart of Midcoast Maine, an area world famous for its mountainous and rocky shore with hundreds of harbours and inlets. A mile-long granite breakwater protects the harbour, making it a fine shipping and recreational boating area.

The next trip was to New Orleans to see sailing friends Julie and Lee and experience the local cuisine and music. We coincided our visit with unusual weather (the coldest spell since the 1920's) but managed to keep warm by riding the trolley car one day! Thereafter our tours of the city were enjoyed in the luxury and warmth of the car, which was such a relief and the best way to get our bearings and an understanding of the hurricane damage which tore through the city nearly 5 years ago. We explored the Garden District, French Quarter and the levee system which was overwhelmed during Katrina. Great efforts are being made to regenerate areas which are below sea level and potentially prone to flooding again. We stayed on the edge of the French Quarter which was ideally situated for visiting antique shops and art galleries. The famous Bourbon Street was one of New Orleans first streets when the city was planned in the early 1700's, this street was named after the French ruling dynasty of the time, the Bourbons (Louis XIV was a Bourbon). It was originally a residential street with local shopping, until a commercial expansion in the 20th century. It has since expanded further to cater to tourists with shopping, restaurants and bars. The hot beignet breakfast at the Cafe du Monde made a change from our usual muesli and the highlight of the visit was a jazz brunch with our friends. After 5 days we flew home to an equally cold spell but had the fireplace to keep the house and cats warm.

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Photos

Roadkill
scraped up off the road for his tail to decorate a hat!