The saga continues :0

Update on the drier........tomorrow at 10.00 Eastern time there will be a conference call between our guy, Ronald, who's a sweetie, and Ariston's finest tech department. They are on Pacific time hence the 10.00 although our contact Ryan gets into work at 0700.
After rewiring the b*****y thing still didn't work (there's always the Friday afternoon one, we had a car like that once) so Plan C is now in place......

We are now going out to eat fried shrimp, not the Hog Wild where we have eaten a couple of times but Two Al's which has been recommended by the locals and although the outside looks tatty it's because the Al's have survived several storms......

We still plan to move on tomorrow but if Plan C fails this is not a bad spot to be.......there is a sea food festival this coming weekend in Apalachicola (try saying that after some amber liquid) which is about 20 miles along the coast so...........

BFN

Hurricane Sandy

Hi Folks, just to let you all know we are safe and well here in Carrabelle Florida. Luckily for us Sandy has not caused us any problems over the past 2 days apart for the temps have dropped and it's very windy.
We did have a few snowbirds waiting here at the campsite just in case before their final migration down into Southern Florida but they have all moved on now
We are sitting here patiently (ha ha) waiting on the electrician who is hopefully going to fix our drier. He was supposed to come yesterday but seems he spent the day in the woods, not sure if he was hunting or sorting out an electrical problem !!!! Oh well there are worse places to be so not really complaining........it's very cold 37 degrees out there but it was a beautiful sunrise and the the sky is blue, we have our imitation log fire burning..........I am sitting here typing looking at the sea/ocean.....

If our drier problems gets fixed we plan to move on today just a couple of hours drive north to a campsite near the Florida Caverns Sate Park

Hopefully more soon from there
BFN

Sunrise and Dolphin Watching

Day 1  dolphin watching and it's a beautiful sunrise and very pleasant  sitting  on our beach with our early morning tea and hot lemon 

These little chaps are so cute and fascinating to watch.
Lots of  gulls and pelicans about too....

We're in luck and see a couple of dolphins quite close to the shore

No comment !

Day 2 dolphin watching and another beautiful sunrise

There was a large pod of dolphins feeding between our beach and Dog Island but too far away for my telephoto on max length but we were able to watch them through the binoculars  so all was not lost
Sadly mornings 3 and 4 no sightings. In fact today, day 4,  it was really cold  and gloomy and not even the pelicans were out !!
There has been a drop of about 30 degrees in temp today and now in the high 50's but not complaining as we'd rather be here than at home with the weather you have at the moment or on the East Coast of USA with the threat of Sandy........   

St George Island

St George Island, one of the islands of off this coast, a much larger island than we had realised  and seemed to be very affluent......
This one is for Alan S... a double whammy lighthouse and water-tower !!

Lighthouse and lighthouse keepers house
Dave as you say they did like their keepers to live in nice houses !!!!

An older house, one of many on the beach some really large

"Condo" style houses......this area reminds me in a way of Southwold in Suffolk

And of course the water-tower :)

The 4 mile bridge across from East Point to St George Island
East Point is about 12 miles along the coast from our campsite it does also have a water-tower but you'll be pleased to know I couldn't get a good angle to take a pic :0
We are enjoying the hot sunny weather and the R & R, I guess that's what this travelling is partly about :)

Our Local Beach in Carrabelle FL

Our campsite is just across the road from this beautiful beach.  
This part of the coastline is about 2 miles so ideal for a brisk walk each way to keep us fit...

At one end of the bay are some very photogenic tree stumps

This one is for Clive

Safely in Carrabelle Florida

Camp Harris Carrabelle.
Really good site and just across the road from the beach. We were really pleased to get here it was a 7 hour slog in the end as we missed a turn in Gainsville FL and ended up doing the second half of journey via the long route !!

Our Stapleton Union Jack is still flying. Haven't put the bunting back up yet and need to buy some clips for our   outside decorative lights......

He He Alan S just as you thought you'd seen the last of the water-towers........However there is a lighthouse near here !
We had a very good relaxed day yesterday and a very long walk along the beach (pics on blog soon) but life on the road is full of surprises and not always the ones you want......our tumble drier (2 months old) blew up in a spectacular fashion yesterday evening,  lots of  sparks and horrid burning smell....ummm a few phone calls today me thinks !!

St Augustine Fort & Lighthouse

Castillo de San Marcos or the Fort at St Augustine protected the town for many years mainly against the English !
It's the oldest and best preserved masonry fort of a Spanish Colonial fortification in the USA. It is constructed of a unique sedimentary rock called Coquina.
This photo is for Barry C from Michael, he wondered if this is where you got the design for your bread oven :0 

The Fort is run by the National Park Service and we are in luck that we have arrived as they are about to start a demonstration of firing 2 of their cannon.  

Apart from the chap in front the rest are volunteers

It was much louder than we expected and a great demo.....

On to St Augustine Lighthouse which is actually on Anastasia Island not far from our campsite.

The lighthouse keepers house

The Fort taken on full telephoto from the top of the lighthouse
Just 219 steps to the top,  a piece of cake compared to Cologne Cathedral !!!

More views from the top of the lighthouse

It's a Harley Davidson "bike-fest" this weekend, we are told that approx 50,000  bikes will be in the St Augustine area which is only half the amount that attend the week long "bike week" held each year in February

This and next pic for Marion :)  

We have very much enjoyed our stay at St Augustine, as well as some historical sight-seeing it has been a good opportunity for some R & R
On the way back from the beach today we were able to repay some of the help we have received over the past months  by helping fellow campers to find our campsite, turns out they are from New Hampshire, have a 5th wheeler like us and are also new to RV-ing !!
Tomorrow we hitch up and take to the road again should be about a 6 hour drive across to Carrabelle Fl

World Golf Hall of Fame

The World Golf Hall of Fame
Approx 12 miles north of St Augustine and an easy drive back up the I-95

First stop is for coffee at the  club house overlooking the 18th green and contrary to what we thought the coffee, which was very nice, was extremely reasonably priced

Big Bertha or what !!

Yorkie Man teeing up on the championship hole, a replica of the 17th at Sawgrass. There was also a simulator in the main museum that was all part of the entry price

One in the water and one in the rough so not bad, as good as some professionals anyway !!

First tee on the 18 hole putting course

I was 3 up after 4 holes. My final score did not reflect my genius on the course.......
 I did get a hole in one but sadly no car !!! Where are BMW when you need them !!

We had a great day very interesting exhibits and memorabilia very enjoyable even for this non golfer.
Good to know that Alliss has been elected into The Hall of Fame.
Thank you Bill for recommending that we visit