After leaving Hilton Head, we made our way north to Virginia to spend a week at Pocahontas State Park. However, we took a step up from our previous visits, by staying in their newly-constructed cabins overlooking the lake. We were able to host some family for the holidays and visit with some friends and family on our way. But by the 28th, we were back in Florida making ready for our project at Faith to start on January 3rd.
Visiting George and Gail on our trip north Traveling North
Our first stop after leaving Hilton Head was to visit George and Gail , some friends from our sailing days who now live near Wilmington NC. After a nice lunch, we sat down to a dog-eat-dog game of Marbles and Jokers that ended in a squeaker victory for the men. (Guess the ladies shouldn’t have been so nice to them.) We headed out late afternoon to make more progress north. We had an appointment to see Alexis and Serenity the next morning in Roanoke Rapids.
Our first stop after leaving Hilton Head was to visit George and Gail , some friends from our sailing days who now live near Wilmington NC. After a nice lunch, we sat down to a dog-eat-dog game of Marbles and Jokers that ended in a squeaker victory for the men. (Guess the ladies shouldn’t have been so nice to them.) We headed out late afternoon to make more progress north. We had an appointment to see Alexis and Serenity the next morning in Roanoke Rapids.
Alexis and Serenity The girls are growing up, and it was great to see them and catch up a little on their activities since we had last been together. After saying goodbye, we made our way to Pocahontas for our week staying in the park’s newest and nicest cabins.
The view from our cabin at Pocahontas Pocahontas In Style
The new cabins at Pocahontas are the park’s best-kept secret. Only opened in July, they sit on a point overlooking the lake and one could easily forget about the world outside relaxing in one of their rocking chairs. But the inside is equally inviting. Whether it be sitting by the fireplace, or cooking in the well-appointed kitchen, we spent a week there in the lap of luxury.
The new cabins at Pocahontas are the park’s best-kept secret. Only opened in July, they sit on a point overlooking the lake and one could easily forget about the world outside relaxing in one of their rocking chairs. But the inside is equally inviting. Whether it be sitting by the fireplace, or cooking in the well-appointed kitchen, we spent a week there in the lap of luxury.
Bonnie, Troy and the kids enjoying Christmas Eve at the cabin After 15 years of living on sailboats or in our RV, we were finally able to host a Christmas dinner, inviting Bonnie’s family for Christmas Eve. (Troy noted that this was the first time he had come to “our house” for a holiday meal, since we had moved out of the house in Reston within months of first meeting him.) The weather cooperated with cool, dry days that made longer walks down to Swift Creek or exploring the park’s newest hiking trail a pleasant part of the day’s activities. We spent Christmas day on the road. First a visit with Droz, then another meal at Bonnie and Troy's, getting back just before our next visitor. Arriving Christmas night, Carolyn spent a day with us, followed the next day by Grace and John. We expanded our tours of the park beyond the CCC cabins, watched a bald eagle fly by as we enjoyed the view from the porch and tried in vain to finish a jigsaw puzzle before our visit was over.
Paspahegh Cabin showing off its new siding We used our time in the park to do a little cabin project work, reviewing the supplies after all of Joe’s work for the season had completed, and seeing the Paspahegh site after his siding repairs. That site needs only shutter and screen work to be complete, which left us feeling great about all the work that had been accomplished this year.
And then South again
Saying goodbye to Cathy’s sisters and brother-in-law, we headed south out of Virginia on Monday the 27th. Unfortunately, so did just about everyone else on the eastern seaboard. For a trip that Google claimed would take about 8 hours, we managed spend almost twice that. We made it to Florence, SC for the first night, and finally pulled into Jacksonville around 4pm the next day, glad that we only had to listen to I95 traffic, not sit in it any more.
There were already Nomads in the campground when we arrived, and more followed shortly after us. By week’s end, as the fireworks were going up, we had a pretty full campground, and were preparing to start the new year with a lengthy list of tasks that needed attention at Faith and its mission partners.
Saying goodbye to Cathy’s sisters and brother-in-law, we headed south out of Virginia on Monday the 27th. Unfortunately, so did just about everyone else on the eastern seaboard. For a trip that Google claimed would take about 8 hours, we managed spend almost twice that. We made it to Florence, SC for the first night, and finally pulled into Jacksonville around 4pm the next day, glad that we only had to listen to I95 traffic, not sit in it any more.
There were already Nomads in the campground when we arrived, and more followed shortly after us. By week’s end, as the fireworks were going up, we had a pretty full campground, and were preparing to start the new year with a lengthy list of tasks that needed attention at Faith and its mission partners.
