St. Augustine was absolutely fabulous and we thoroughly enjoyed our wonderful dinner at the amazing Columbia restaurant. Afterwards we went to an amazing dessert bistro owned by 5th generation French chefs, Bistro De Leon---phenomenal desserts beyond explaination. On our last day in St. Augustine we visited some nature reserves and swam at Anastasia State Park which was wonderful and then we took a scenic cruise around the bay. We picked up my sweetie/hubby at the Jacksonville airport to get ready for our cruise to the Bahamas the next day. We all ate dinner at a local ale brewery and then hit the sack for our wonderful cruise the next day.... read more

We ate breakfast with out hosts early this morning at the beautiful historic Hilton looking out at the bay and then we headed off to the oldest street in the USA, to a 300+ year old Spanish hosptial, and to climb the St. Augustine Lighthouse---all 219+ steps up and down---phew! What a view from the top though! St. Augustine is the oldest city in the USA ---founded in 1564!!!!! We went to the 100+ year old Alligator Farm which was magificent with hundreds of alligators and dozens of gator species and nesting exotic birds---the birds nest there because the gators keep away predators there on Anastasia Island. I got to get inside the pen (closed to the public) and pet an 80+ year old alligator....wow! I'm wearing my poofy new popcorn travel shirt----no I am not ... read more

Yesterday we left Sulphur, Louisiana at 10:57 a.m. and crossed the Mississippi at 1:16 p.m. and continued in to Baton Rouge and finally into New Orleans at 2:40...it was raining lightly and 88 degrees. We stayed at my junior high and high school friend's beautiful historic civil war home in the Garden District. We swam in her pool and toured her other home next door which was the union army headquarters centuries ago, and we hung out w/ her neighbor who is a famous novelist. Lots of movie stars live in her neighborhood and the homes were magnificent and amazing w/ original carpets, moulding, stenciled wall paper and art. We went out to pizza and then to a 3D movie at Louisiana's oldest theater. The next day, today--- the New Orleans tourism folks took us out/treated ... read more

We left our wonderful lake house in Seguin, TX today and it was hard not to cry as the people and community of Seguin were so special and touching and it was such a memorable place. It was 76 degrees when we left mid morning and after 3 hours we crossed the Sabine River into Louisiana and then into Sulphur, LA at 3:15 p.m. Our hosts picked us up right way for a tour of the Lakes and parks and then took us to Steamboat Bills for crawfish pistolette, stuffed shrimp and crab, catfish and slaw. It was the packed local joint and very good. I had to go to several places after dinner to find a place to sell me some wine or anything for a cocktail on a Sunday evening---the grocery stores had shelves ... read more

After we left St. George, Utah, 5/31 we went through Zion National Park which is my favorite park in the world and then stopped in the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. I had not been there in 10 years and it was still beautiful although I cannot believe I slept on those dunes 20 years ago under the stars with no tent---with all the snakes and critters. We ate in Kanab, Utah and crossed the Arizona State Line. It was 83 degrees at 3:06 p.m.. We passed Lone Rock and Lake Powell and all the gorgeous rock formations and Navajo Reservations and then the lightning and rain hit for a little while. We stopped in Cameron, AZ and then went in to the Grand Canyon, meandering through and enjoying the views and lookouts and then went ... read more