October 31^st we drove our truck with our bicycles on the back from Shad Landing at Pocomoke State Park near Pocomoke City, Md. to Assateague Island . (We were the only RV camped at the State Park during the week. ) This island is comprised of Assateague State Park and Assateague Island National Seashore. We parked at the visitors center and rode our bicycles over a bike bridge to the island. We saw lots of deer and wild ponies near the bike trail (one pony on the bike trail) on the island with great views of the beach and dunes. We stopped at a picnic table at the National Park campground away from the wind to have our picnic lunch. We finished our ride after a few hours and 16 miles of riding on a perfect, sunny day and returned to our truck. We saw only a handful of people out there at this time of year and the only other person on the bike trail was the “pony patrol“ man.

Drove with our truck and the bicycles on the back from Shad landing at Pocomoke State Park to Ocean City, Md. (about 25 miles one way). Parked at a convenient parking lot which was free beach parking at this time of year. Took our bikes off and rode the boardwalk which is about 2 miles long. Then we rode up and down the streets. It was a perfect sunny day and we had a picnic lunch on the boardwalk with a beautiful view of the ocean and beach. There were very few people there and many businesses were closed for the season. It was perfect for bike riding. We rode our bikes about 11-12 miles. On the way home we stopped at a produce stand (honor system) picked up some sweet potatoes, peppers, apples, and tomatoes. We stopped in Snow Hill, Md. and walked around the little town. It’s pretty with a quaint bridge and an interesting art gallery.

We moved from the State Park to Trails End Coast to Coast Park in Horntown, Va. Drove about 13 miles with our truck and the bikes on the back to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge visitor center. Rode 12 or 13 miles around the island . Again just a perfect sunny day. We saw ponies, 1000’s of snow geese, many deer including sika elk which are not native. You could hear the geese before you saw them. We sat in comfortable rocking chairs at the visitors center in the sun and ate our apples and bananas.

We drove to Crisfield ,Md. but our first stop was at Susan’s seafood in New Church, Va. to purchase ½ dozen “heavy male” crabs freshly steamed and well seasoned for $12.00 ($22 doz). We stopped about ½ mile north at the Maryland visitors center to feast on the crabs at a picnic table. Since we were not planning on eating crabs today, the only tools on hand to open the crabs were Sid’s pliers, ratchet extension, and leatherman tool. After a wash-up we continued towards Crisfield. We passed a self serve honor system produce stand at a local farm, so Sid made a U-turn and we bought some tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Another mile down the road  we saw a sign for “pick your own fruit”, another U-turn and we picked some stayman apples from the farmer’s orchard which were very delicious. $4.00 for 1 ½ peck. We left happy with pokeberry stains on pants and shoes.

Now on to Crisfield where we saw huge baskets of crabs being steamed at the Metompkin Seafood. We bought a pint of freshly shucked oysters for $8.00 and the next stop was for a fresh flounder at Southern Seafood Company for $3.75 lb.

We met at their hotel and drove to the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge where we walked to see the snow geese. We also stopped at Toms Cove Visitor Center and the lighthouse on the island.

We stopped for lunch at Bill’s on Main St. in Chincoteague. I highly recommend this restaurant. Great Clam chowder, and cream of crab soup, hamburger, oyster sandwich, and the flounder sandwich. The prices were reasonable and everything was fresh and excellent. A very busy place with many locals enjoying their lunches.

We continued to Crisfield again as we thought it was interesting and they would enjoy it also. It was about 40 miles one way. When we arrived Metompkin was processing oysters and they were preparing them for shipment to the Midwest. We bought oysters from them and then stopped at Southern Seafood again to buy the freshest of Rockfish for dinner.

We crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel with the fifth wheel toward our next stop, Virginia Beach. The toll was $20 and the tunnel sections were 1 land in each direction. This bridge is a tourist attraction and a travel convenience, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel connects Virginia's Eastern Shore with the Virginia mainland at Virginia Beach near Norfolk.

Today we drove our truck about 3 miles with the bicycles to a local bike shop, Fat Frogs Bike Shop in Red Mill area on Upton St. Joe , the owner, gave us directions for a route using sidewalks and bike lanes and bike trails which would take us to Virginia Beach boardwalk and First Landing State Park on the coast. We rode 33 miles roundtrip and had a wonderful day. Temperature was in the hi 60’sF to low 70’s F and sunny. We missed the trail on 64 St. from the Beach area and ended up at Ft. Story military base. They allowed us to bike thru the base which was bordering the State Park and we were able to enter from there. At Ft. Story there is a wonderful light house and we were able to view it. Once in the State Park, we rode through the beautiful oceanfront campground. (Fees are $29 for an electric and water site. No discounts offered.) We found a beautiful picnic table overlooking the ocean and enjoyed our lunch. I saw deer tracks in the sand. From there we located the beautiful off road path thru the park, and we rode a little over 3 miles and connected back to the beach on 64 St.

Joe at Fat Frogs Bike Shop leads a 22 mile ride every morning at 7:30. Since we got up too late, we decided against joining the group ride; however. it is wonderful to have more and more of these opportunities to bike and meet new people. This morning Sid and I are discussing our future itinerary. We must leave this Coast to Coast park, Indian Cove, on Friday. We may go to Cape Hatteras via the ferry. It will cost $45 with the trailer and there is a Coast to Coast park out there, but on the downside the weather may be too cool. The other option is to go back to Croatan National Forest in North Carolina where we stayed last November. We have no plans for Thanksgiving as our friends in New Bern have a previous commitment. We will look for Rvers who may be on their own also for this holiday and invite them to dinner. We did this in New Mexico on a past Thanksgiving and it was so much fun.

We now know that the Coast to Coast Park in Cape Hatteras is full until Nov 19. We started today planning to leave Friday and go to Croatan but they may be full for the Thanksgiving holiday, and they do not take reservations. Meantime here in Virginia Beach at Indian Cove Park the water is rising very fast. The storm is moving in and we have strong SE winds. Rvers who stay here for the summer told us the park flooded twice this summer and did not do that before. Well as I say the water started rising behind our trailer and the swamp/marsh surrounding us is rising. We pulled up everything outside and are feeling like we are high enough to wait out the water until tomorrow a.m. The adventure continues and planning for the next place seems secondary to a flooding consideration. We do have a Walmart and Home Depot up the street a couple of miles as an option. The roads around are very wet.

The SE wind died down after dark and the water started to recede. We learned that there was a tornado in N.C. 75 miles from Croatan that killed 8 people today.

We depart Virginia Beach toward Croatan National Forest in North Carolina. It is a beautiful sunny day and a scenic drive through the back roads. We arrive at the campsite at around 2:00 p.m. to find there are only 4 rigs here and we have no problem finding a perfect site. There are no sites with sewer , or water hookups but you can fill your tank and they have a dump station.

By Saturday 4 or 5 rigs have pulled in for the weekend. I met so many nice, local people this morning. I also spoke with a young girl (in her 20’s) who bicycled from Portland, Maine enroute to St. Augustine, Fl where her mother lives. She is from California and a college graduate with a degree in engineering. She told me she wanted to travel before she settled down with a house and a career. Please be courteous when driving out there and give bicyclists right of way. She said the trip has been great and she has had no problems so far.

Today was the day to replace a gasket on the large slide out on our fifth wheel. It was a big job but now it’s done.

We rode our bikes from Cedar Point Camping at Croatan National Forest into Swansboro, NC which was 10 miles roundtrip. The weather was in the mid 50’s and threatening rain. We stopped at Phillips Seafood where we purchased fresh flounder and shrimp last year on our visit. Jimmy Phillips, the owner and operator, has worked North Carolina waterways all his life. Commercial shrimping began in Swansboro in the early 1940’s. Jimmy’s father Clyde started his career in the wholesale fish market in the early 1950’s. Jimmy currently owns two of the boats that run the outer shorelines of the Sounds, Rivers and primarily the Pamlico Sound. A total of 3 men crew his boats from April to December. This year these boats brought in nearly 4 to 5 thousand pounds of shrimp.

When we entered his store a couple of his local friends were sitting in rocking chairs and teasing the customers with tales, which they assured us were lies. It was fun and we left with our purchase of an ocean fresh grouper fillet, and shrimp. Please see recipe at Halibut Adagio (grouper can be used) I have eaten lots of fish but I do believe this was one of the best fish I have enjoyed.

We planned to stay at the National Forest until the week after Thanksgiving. This morning I received an email from our friends in New Bern, NC warning us about a strong storm coming our way. They invited us to come to their house where we would be safer. Warnings are in place for coastal flooding and NE winds of 35 to 50 mph, seas 4 to 5 feet above normal and 4 to 8 inches of rain over Tuesday and Wednesday.   Is this going to be a repeat of the Virginia Beach rains and wind? We called the camp host who has been here for years and he said the campground drains very well and unless water runs uphill, it will drain well into the bay and we will not experience flooding. We don’t really have many trees around so we are going to sit it out. It is forecast to continue from now to Thanksgiving morning.

We prepared for the storm by buying a turkey, a bottle of champagne, and renting 2 DVDs and we have plenty of other food supplies. I am  relieved I installed that new gasket on the large slide out when the weather was good. It wasn’t a leaking problem, but rather one of the slide going in against the gasket properly.  If we are forced to depart in an emergency, I know the room will retract smoothly.

The State Forest doesn’t have any laundry facilities so we drove into town and used the public laundry. I use a public laundry only once or twice a year. In the afternoon we drove 40 miles up to New Bern to have dinner with our friends who live in this charming town. Old town is on the water and has many historic buildings. There is a college, a good hospital, and a few very large developments are being built in the area. It is a popular area for retirees. We dined at the restaurant Chelsea in the middle of old town. All the shops had beautiful decorations and Santa Claus was in a little house in a park across from the restaurant. Food was very good and reasonable.

We rode bicycles to Swansboro and sat on a sunny bench at the waters edge and watched all the holiday weekend activities. Families were shopping and looking in the quaint shops all decorated for Christmas. We watched a nicely dressed fisherman on the pier catch a small fish. From there we rode to the Hammocks Beach State Park Visitors Center. It is a great area for kayaking. There is no RV camping, only tent camping on Bear Island which is accessible by ferry or private boat. The ferry stopped running the end of October. Bear Island offers one of the most unspoiled beaches on the Atlantic Coast.

On our return we stopped at Clyde Phillips seafood market for tomorrow’s lunch which Sid is preparing for our friends from New Bern. Also couldn’t resist another fresh flounder which I prepared for our dinner. All of this went into the pannier on the bike along with other groceries. Rode 20 miles today and it was a perfect day in the mid 60’s and sunny all day.

We departed the North Carolina Coast this morning and plan to drive 215 miles and stop in S. Carolina at a Passport America park off I-95. We drove about 3 hours through the country which was a little slower, 55 mph, but it was more interesting than the interstate. We drove south to experience another fall foliage area. How many more falls will we see this year? We had a great trip. I telephoned the campground about 2 hours out which was good since they only had 2 sites left. He held a site for us.

We drove about 250 miles today and stopped in Brunswick, Ga. at a Coast to Coast park which is also a Passport America park. Again we called early in the day to make a reservation and there were only 2 spots left when we arrived around 4 p.m. They close the campground with a gate every evening at 6 p.m. The weather was perfect in the mid 70’s with little wind. No problems at all traveling on interstate 95.

My husband installed our new LCD HD 32” television yesterday and today we took the old one to our other son. The new one which was purchased at Costco is very clear and bright and we also bring in many more “over the air” channels with our external batwing antenna.

Today we started with the doctor visits for our annual exams. So far so good.

Since we arrived, my daughter in law has invited us to dinner three times and she is a wonderful cook. Menus were: maple glazed planked salmon with risotto, baked chicken with carrots and real mashed potatoes, Cuban shredded beef in a sauce (ropa vieja) with rice. All meals served with wine. We are happy that they want to see us.

I also received the second gasket from Peterson for the top of the Excel slide out. Our fifth wheel has two outside gaskets. I replaced one gasket all the way around, but during the install I noticed that the second “wiper” rubber gasket was falling off the second track on the top only. The gripping “teeth” corrode and no longer do their job. I used silicone for a temporary fix as suggested by Peterson, but as soon as the slide goes in and out and few times, the gasket falls off again.

The next repair I make myself, I will ask Peterson what they would charge to do the repair and then I know how much I saved - is a shopping trip in my future?

Today is the day to install the “wiper” gasket on the slide out. I thought it would be easy because the first gasket I installed went around the sides and top, and it was easy to install. Today it was only a gasket on the top. However, the job proved too much for me. I didn’t have the strength in my hands to push this one on the track. I rested and then went back on the roof to try again. No way. Finally, I called our son who came over and he finished the job in about 5 minutes. I was very impressed.