McGaffs On The Fly

When my sister arrived in Charleston she pulled out a long piece of paper with writing up and down it and announced “here is my list”. I was sure that it was her Christmas list of toys she wanted from Santa…turns out I was wrong. The list was of all the things she wanted to see/do while we were together.

• Visit a lighthouse…check.
• Take a ride in a horse-drawn carriage…check.
• Visit a plantation…check.
• See Rainbow Row…check.
• Eat plenty of seafood…check.
• Beautimous (S Texas talk) sunset…check.
• S h o p . . . Check.

Although her list did not include everything we did get to see and do, these things were just as enjoyable…or should I say memorable.

• Saw cemeteries and graveyards…and we did learn there is a difference between the two.
• Learned that a little rain goes a long way when you are only 8’ above sea level…wet shoes to prove it.
• Plenty of sweating in the humidity.
• Too much of the before mentioned eating.

Leaving tomorrow to start drive back west after dropping Sharon off for her flight. More…to…come.

We left the “natural” confines of Holden Beach (Dollar General to the left, Dollar Tree to the right) heading south to Folly Beach to arrive in Charleston for my sisters flight from SA. Little Al was the most excited because he has never met her, he was pushing Silver like never before. Pushing…rushing…can’t be late…hurry.

Right, her f-ing flight was 2 hours late so Little Al got to spend extra time in Walmart checking out his buddies while we listened to book on tape and cussing SW Airlines and their stupid overweight plane policies…really, does a few pounds really make a difference?! But…she made it…we’re having a great time…she is a bad influence…eats…and drinks…too…much.

More…to…come…

After a short 5 1/2 hour drive southeast, seemed like 10 pulling the trailer, we arrived at our next destination of Holden Beach. After a strenuous search for a home for Little Al, our last minute planning session found us at the Holden Beach RV Campground. This may not be the spot we would want to set up for full time retirement but for 3 nights it is…OK. Right now it’s pretty quiet and laid back but I’m sure once the rednecks arrive with all their ice chests and ragamuffins I’m sure the real fun will begin. Last minute planning = you get what you get.

Our week of camping and glamping with the West’s was the highlight of our trip so far. The hospitality that they and their neighbors provided was over the top and without a doubt 5 ***** worthy. The weather provided the best backdrop for a wonderful time and we plan to make the NC mountain trip an annual event.

Back to reality for now, but beautiful beaches make reality worth looking forward to for the next week. More…to…come…

Since we’ve been in Newland, life has been one full time Adult Summer Camp filled with dinner, boys/girls night out, golf, hiking, both rock and roll, and plenty of camaraderie and new friendships. Apparently since the season is winding down and everyone is closing up their summer home to go elsewhere, the need to have one last party is more urgent than ever. One last night for us here…if we survive it.

Our plan is to leave tomorrow and head east to an rv park near the water so can enjoy the last days of summer on the water. Of course, since we have no reservations that may change but one thing will not…we continue to raise our flag that “we fly by the seat of our pants”. My stress level about worrying about where to stay, what to do, when will we get there, is at all time low…Joan not so much but she seems to be adjusting. I keep telling her that as long as there is a Walmart around we will always have a home, not sure if that is reassuring to her or not.

Hope to have a plan soon…more to come.

We left our beautiful spot outside Knoxville and made a 2 1/2 hour trip due east, with great stops along the way, to a more beautifuller (my word) spot just near Pineola, NC. Our new campground is a quiet “over 55” community with old men lurking on every patio visually inspecting your RV backing and setting up capabilities. I’m always game for insider tips on how “they would do it” and appreciate each and every recommendation. We only hope that they don’t change the rules to “80 and older” because we would be the only ones that would have to leave.

Everywhere we have been since arriving in this part of the country has been green and the locals love to mow their lawns and acreage…it almost seems like it’s a competition. The weather has been wonderful with average temps between 55-75. Today we actually were able to see that thing they call “rain”, poor Little Al didn’t know what was hitting him. As a reminder to those in Texas, “rain” is when gray clouds appear in the sky and water falls from them in heavy drops…crazy, right?

Today is Joanie’s birthday so her “don’t do anything special” will become a month long celebration of life for the little beauty that God dropped in my lap. Golf…pickleball…beach time…dinners…concerts…house searching…more to come…

Marc, “Hey Little Al, ready for a road trip?”

Little Al, “I’m always ready, long one?”

Marc, “No, just 3 weeks to NC and The Outer Bank plus a few side trips?”

Little Al, “What about that chick, I think her name is Joanie, she going?”

Marc, “She is, I never travel without her.”

Little Al, “Whatever, I’m ready to go.”

Marc, “Hey Joanie, start packing. We’re heading out. Don’t forget to bring clothes for minus 30 in case we decide to climb Mt Everest.”

Joanie, “Check.”

Marc, “And don’t forget to bring something for 125 degrees in case we decide to walk across the Sahara Desert.”

Joanie, “Check.”

Marc, “And you might want to bring something decent in case we decide to go to one of those fancy dancy restaurants.”

Joanie, “Check. Should I bring extra just in case?”

Marc, “Off course, you can never have too many clothes.”

Little Al, “ I will never understand humans, you guys are crazy.”

And we’re off. We spent one night at Blaine and Kate’s then last night in Jackson, Tennessee on our way east . We’re staying at Panther Creek State Park near Knoxville, for a couple of nights before heading towards Newland, NC to check out that part of the world…already enjoying the better temperatures.

More…to…come…

Our final leg of travel back home turned into legs of travel as we had several flights cancelled or delayed. It all started pretty nicely when we were upgraded to business class for our flight across the Atlantic but then were kicked in the “privates” from that point forward. In a nutshell…2 hours waiting for checked bags in Philly causing us to miss connecting flight…oh wait, connecting flight now cancelled…add another leg to DFW…oh wait, flight delayed causing new connecting flight to be possibly missed…oh wait, early arrival so let’s “OJ” to the gate. Short story long…we…are…home.

Trip Notes…

1. No matter how many clothes we bring, why do we only wear 25% of them?

2. Why are we in the same clothes in all pictures when…see #1?

3. It’s great to be in countries that speak English like Scotland but why is it so hard to understand what they are saying?

4. Almost everywhere we went there were English speaking people (in most they spoke many languages), why do I feel like such an idiot that I only speak one…and not that well?

5. Sangria tastes so good in Spain, I already know we are not going to recreate that magic at home no matter how hard we try.

6. Dinner in Spain is served between 9pm and midnight because of the afternoon siesta. Now I can generally eat 24/7 whether I’m hungry or not…and I can commit to an afternoon siesta…but committing to dinner after 9pm is something I cannot do.

7. Portugal in the mid 80s, The Netherlands in the mid 70s, Scotland in the mid 60s, Spain in the mid 80s…Tejas in the upper Hades. Hmmm, why did we come back?

8. Yes, “tested positive” was my secret code for “we got the Covid”…tried to stay undercover while in foreign lands.

9. If there is a worst airport experience than Amsterdam I haven’t yet been there. Even as bad as the Phillie is, and how the employees do their best to make it worse, it does not beat what we went through in Amsterdam.

10. There’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home.

Until our next adventure…

Joanie decided we should take it easy since we’ve been running pretty hard every day since we arrived in Spain. So…21,000 steps later…in a day we saw just about every side of Barcelona we have yet to see. The highlight of our “easy day” was Park Guell, a development designed for the rich to live in their own subdivision away from the riff-raff below. Unfortunately, the development never took off but the planner convinced his buddy, Antonio Gaudi, to buy a house there and the rest is history. Gaudi turned the spot into a place to be and Guell got his name on a sign…win-win.

We also took another walk by the beach and discovered that yes, they can squeeze more people into that small space. And we took a nice spin around the largest flee market (antique shop) in Europe…or as I like to put it “other peoples old crap that they don’t want anymore.” Yes…easy day.

I think Joanie is sincere today about resting because she has her swim suit on and is heading for the pool…we’ll see…I bet she makes me swim laps. It’s our last day in Europe and we both more than ready to be home.

We’ve spent the last 3 days around the much walkable and enjoyable city of Barcelona. We also decided to try out the “hop on, hop off “ bus but we found that we can easily walk anywhere we want to in half the time the full bus cycle takes. Highlights so far have been plenty of outdoor tapas and sangrias, great people watching at the overcrowded beach and a lot of walking to work off the previously mentioned food and drink.

The highlight of our visit to the city so far has been our tour to Sagrada Familia, the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world. The building of the church began in 1882. The cathedral is an unbelievable sight with each spire, tower, and/or buttress designed to represent a symbolic meaning all thought out by the deceased architect. Think “Pillars of The Earth” as to the engineering feat used to build this gothic building.

I was totally amazed with the wonderment of the structure and how Gaudi could envision it and follow through on his plans (still 140 years later but with 3D imaging). Compared to the like of St Peters in Rome, think Stradivarius versus Les Paul, Robin Hood versus White Walkers, or Batman versus Superman…very different styles but fantastic in their own way.

Heading to the pool on the top of our hotel for the day, these feetsies need some rest.

Well I just haven’t had the energy the last couple of days to post any updates about our trip. On Saturday I spent most of the day sleeping while the girls took a day trip to Edinburg. Turns out I can’t turn my back on them, they met new friends that taught them about the Baby Guinness and then helped them consume quite a few. Oh yes, by the way, I tested positive.

I was able to go to the course in the morning on Sunday for a while so I did get to see some good golf, later I retreated back to my room for more zzzzzz. My girls were obviously worried about me quite a bit because they went back to the course, met more new friends, and watched the finish with drinks in their hands like they were from Australia. Nothing like a sick pops gonna slow them down…I couldn’t be prouder.

We all flew out of Edinburg this morning, Joanie and I to Barcelona and Brett going back home…something about a j-o-b. Last report was that she has been sitting on the plane for over 3 hours waiting for takeoff. Good news though, I feel much better. Bad news though, Joanie just tested positive and is not taking it well.

Maybe I’ll head out to meet some new friends and have a few rounds…no, I would never do that!