Colorful beach chairs

Along the beach at Corolla we find a whole row of vacant beach chairs which deserved a special shot! Mid morning! Where are the owners?

Corolla Beach Time

Another superb endless as far as the eye can see soft sand beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Guests at the beach front house for a week of great beach walking and even better dining!

The current demarcation line

About seven miles offshore of the Oregon Inlet the water change color dramatically! The colder greenish Labrador current flowing south along the coast meets the warm and dark blue northbound Gulf Stream without much sign of merging. Along this thermocline gamefish are very active and we caught 4 sharks, a Remora and a Cobia within an hour! Exciting stuff!

Let's go fishing !

Catching Red Drum off Oregon Inlet NC under the guidance of master angler Sneaky Pete. Most had to be thrown back in being oversized and deemed to be protected as reproductive stage in their life cycle. Did keep some Cobia and Shark!

A new mode of travel !

After 40+ years of water born travel we decided to branch out a bit and get ourselves equipped with a new Flying Cloud Airstream. Shake down cruise to Cape May NJ followed by a week on the Virginia Blue Ridge Parkway and next.... our summer trip north to Nova Scotia and PEI. The water is never far away from us and we will keep one foot in the water and one foot in the Airstream!

Wine on the Water

Great evening at St Margaret's who host wine on the water when school is out! Midnight Coal Company were the musical entertainment for the evening!

CBF jet powered workboat

Docking at RYC for ten days, Jenny S was the workboat platform for several classes run by Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Capt. Jimmy very skilled waterman and teacher! Great job he has! The workboat has a water jet propulsion system and can operate in ultra shallow waters which abound around here!

Seaplane landing

Landing across our bows when all we were trying to do our usual cocktail cruise!

Tornado report June 18th

No damage on our side of the river!

Bald Head Island

No motor vehicles here! Just golf carts. We are guests for a few nights on this wonderful remote and peaceful island stuck out in the Atlantic off Wilmington NC and at Frying Pan Shoals the shipwreck graveyard of the Atlantic...

Tasty oysters

Grilling those large oysters until they open up, remove top half of shell, a spoonful of butter parsley and shallot dressing and allow to grill for another few minutes until they are shriveled and golden!

Sandbridge Beach

Great walking this almost deserted beach south towards the turtle egg laying grounds in the wild life preserve.

Suggestive metallic outlines

Seen in the garden of the Terry's at Fleeton - the pond is connected to the Chesapeake Bay on the East side of the Fleeton Point peninsula. The occasion was the memorial service for Cousin Ruth who died earlier this year following complications from a dog bite - RIP Ruth such a wonderful person....

New charcoal wood grill installed at RYC

Two years after leaving the Chinn House we finally reassemble our outdoor grilling platform at RYC. Designed for charcoal or oak the grill is lit at least an hour before cooking can start and wait until the embers are glowing! No way you can rush with this grilling!

Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Another great bridge on the East Coast as we venture north in the Beast to acquire our new Airstream! Quite a few folks freak out at driving across this very high bridge and have to seek out the volunteer drivers to drive their vehicles across the bay! Margaret did very well and drove across it on our return trip towing our 25 ft Flying Cloud....

Richmond Fine Arts Museum

Fake bulrushes in the garden pond!

Riverside Condo #305

Time to put the Condo on the market. Having acquired this for the in-laws we now have no further use and decided to sell - see www.tappacondo.com

A brisk walk across the Golden Gste

Dropped off in Marin County and picked up in the Presidio by our faithful Uber driver Ben! Just a splendid walk with great views and plenty of fresh air!

San Francisco Bay

Taking a stroll through Chavez Park near Berkeley at sunset we can just about make out the Golden Gate Bridge to the left and the Marin County headland where the sun is setting!

Rivahaven Yacht Club

Winter at RYC settles in - water color by Waterlogue

Beware of Dragons

The Diagonal Alley banks are well protected! Gringotts Bank has a Ukrainian Ironbelly Dragon that will crisp you if you are an undesirable visitor!

Portofino?

Well yes and no! It is called Portofino and it is modeled after Portofino except it's not Italy - it's Orlando and it is a Universal Studio themed resort which serves as base to priority access the park so we can ride the Harry Potter adventures!

Pelican digestion

What a pelican looks like when it opens its mouth for more food!!

Dolphin Power

Margaret grabs the two fins of her pair of Dolphins and goes for a high speed ride down the lagoon!

Key West car decoration!

Things are always out if control in Key West with partying going on 24 hours a day. I imagine this truck was part of a nautical themed parade in the Conch Republic!

World's best highway drive!

This is classed as one of the best highway drives in the world - the "overseas highway" runs 113 miles from Key Largo to Key West. This stretch is the seven mile bridge between the keys or islands. Often paralleled with the old Flagler rail line which was swept away by a hurricane, the remains were used as a foundation to build and develop the highway. Magnificent feeling to float along across 100 miles of ocean some 50 ft about sea level. An amazing engineering feat both for the original rail line and the subsequent highway. At the end of the road lies the Conch Republic and Key West mostly out of control! Perhaps with the relaxation of travel to Cuba there will be a resurgence of traffic to Havana only 90 miles away.

Not so funny anymore!

Since early summer there have been many reports of shark attacks on the East Coast.... so this welcoming shingle on the front door of the house we rented in Islamorada has a macabre touch to it!!

St Augustine New Year

On our way south to warmer climes we rent a house for a few days in St Augustine and experience the coldest day of the Florida year! We did not bring the right clothes for this!!!