Road Tripping 1

Well...

The Fuzz has been gone from here for a while.

He and His Sweetie have been "out of town" if that can be applied to being out of the woods as well.

It began as an attempt to visit out of state family.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie realized that this wasn't a 2 or 3 hour drive they were dealing with, so more planning would be involved.

And why not see some sights along the way?

They have always been fond of camping,

(they actually met in the woods)

so that seemed like a good way to handle the accommodations-

at least part of the time.

Neither of them is very fond of those new fangled GPS things, so one of those Road Atlases was purchased instead.

And then an itinerary was planned utilizing various state park campgrounds.

The first stop was Alabama's Cheaha State Park.

Most of these state parks seem to be RV friendly.

But there are still places for those, like the Fuzz, who prefer tents and such, usually referred to as "Primitive Campsites."

And so it was here.

Since Summer had not officially started,

(with Memorial Day)

they pretty much had the place to themselves.

The "primitive" campsites are located right at the top of the mountain, which is billed as the highest point in the state.

Here's is the view from the campsites early in the morning.

How about another?

They planned for 2 nights here, so as to have a day without packing up and moving.  This way there was a bit of time to enjoy the park itself.

Morning Fog blowing through the campsite.

There are cabins for rent there also.

Some have incredible views.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie took a walk around the park.

There is also a hotel, restaurant, and swimming pool, which was being readied for the coming season.

They met this guy by the pool.

All this stone work was done by the CCC

(Civilian Conservation Corps)

during the Depression.

They built the tower there, which is also a museum now.

After a day of rest at Cheaha State Park,

it was time to get on the road for southern Alabama and the next stop...

Gulf State Park.

Pond Project II

The Fuzz has spent the last few days on this, and here's a few pix.

First, here is how things stand at the moment.

The pond itself is basically done.

Of course The Fuzz's Sweetie has her own plans for the landscaping around it, and what plants to put in.

But that will take a bit of time of course.

But here's a look at some of the details.

The Water flows through this shallow pool and down into the main pond...

after dropping from the upper pool, and into a narrow channel.

And how does it get into that pool?

Cool, huh?

This area has sun in the morning, and shade in the afternoon.

Really it's the perfect place for something like this.

The Fuzz and His Sweetie have already been enjoying breakfast here to the sound of running water.

But new adventures await them.

With any luck The Fuzz will be able to keep all his loyal readers posted in this next phase of those "little things of  daily life".

The Pond Project

Suffice it to say that that Adventurous Fuzz made it home to the woods, safe and sound.

But there was a job waiting there...

The New Water Feature.

This idea had been around for a while.

It was one of those things that seemed like a good idea, but never quite made it past the "good idea" phase.

When it comes down to it, Our Fuzz is not much of a self starter.

Sometimes it takes a good woman to get things moving,

and in this case, The Fuzz's Sweetie was that "Good Woman."

The 1st step was some online research.

Then a liner and pump were ordered.

With both of them digging, the hole was done surprisingly quickly, although it did get a bit complicated when the template didn't seem to match the liner.

Sand was brought up from the creek to line the bottom of the hole.

Then the liner was put in, and slowly filled while The Fuzz tried to pack sand behind it.

Once it was filled, The Fuzz began to put some of the rocks in place.

But this was not to be merely a simple pool.

The plan called for an upper pool with water cascading down to the lower, main, pool.

Here we see a rough idea of this.

How did it come out?

Well, the story will continue...

Back on the Road

When The Fuzz last posted, he left a sort of artillery hint on where he was headed next.  But really this time, he was more interested in this lighthouse.

The next destination was Edenton NC.

It seems to be a nice little place to spend a bit of time.

But The Fuzz was only planning to be there for an overnight stop on his way up to Virginia.

He got into town around 14:00 and checked in to his hotel.

There, he found that there was some kind of problem with his reservation.

But it turned out that there was a room available after all.

After getting this straightened out, The Fuzz decided to head down to the waterfront to see that Lighthouse.

Alas, it was closed!

Well, there were other things to see.

He got to tour one of the old houses, and at least read about that lighthouse.

And the Battle of Albemarle Sound!

And while we are on the subject, This guy has to be the twin brother to the one in The Fuzz's own fair city.

But all that is history now.

There were a lot of these old houses there.

The Fuzz enjoyed a cold one in this courtyard.  There was a pool with a couple of  fish fountains.

That reminded him of the latest project waiting at home-

but we'll get into that in another post.

Wandering around town The Fuzz found a Used Book Store.

And there he saw a complete set of Winston Churchill's The Second World War, for only $9 !

Somehow he found room for this in his saddlebags.

Then it was back to the hotel, where he was forced to face the reality, that there was nothing worth watching on TV.

Ft Fisher

The Fuzz had enjoyed his visit in Wilmington.

It was a series of rainy days alternating with pleasant ones.

When it rained, he laid low, and when it was nice he got out on his Bike.

There was one trip up to Topsail.

And another down to Ft. Fisher.

He had been here once before, but it was a good excuse to take his bike down along the beach.

Ft. Fisher might not be what you normally think of when you think of a "Fort".

The "Walls" were built up with piles of sand.
But the point was to be able to absorb the fire of the Yankee ships blockading the Cape Fear River-
and port of Wilmington.
Ft. Fisher was there to protect this vital, and last, port open to the blockade runners.
There are a few guns there.

The Fuzz does have a bit of interest in this sort of thing having served in the artillery in the now, distant past.

And there is this guy.
It was "state of the art" at the time.

Of course the real gun was captured by the Yankees when the fort fell.  It is now a "war Trophy" of the Yankees at West Point.
But the area is really quite beautiful.

And windy.

You can see how these trees have been effected by it.

Well eventually it was time to move on to the next stop on this exciting Motorcycle Tour.
Here's a sneak peek at the next stop.

Street Festival

It wasn't planned that way, but it turned out that The Fuzz's visit to Wilmington coincided with the annual Azalea Festival.

His previous excursion to the riverfront had been thwarted by a major traffic situation.

But he was determined to give it another go.

This time he made it...

...and even found a place to park!

It was a busy place.

There was even music.

Among the many sights was this Monster Truck...

...and this strange car without a engine.

After walking around for a while, The Fuzz grabbed a bite to eat and went down to the River Walk.

That's a nice place.

The Fuzz spent most of the afternoon there.
But tomorrow it's back on the road...
...time to move on once again.

Tiny Visitor

While the Fuzz is visiting family here in Wilmington they sometimes spend spend time out on the balcony.

The other night they were joined by a little friend.

A very little friend.

This little guy seems to have had no problem getting up there to join the party.

So here's a little better look at this nocturnal visitor.

On the Island

Well it turned out that the weather was not permitting.

(" hoping to cruise up to Topsail Island tomorrow...

...weather permitting.")

So that turned into a hanging out day.

But the next day...

...the weather was permitting!

So after a quick breakfast at a nearby coffee shop, The Fuzz strapped on the saddlebags and headed up the coast to Topsail Island.

He crossed the drawbridge into Surf City and turned south toward Topsail Beach.

The Family had spent several summer Beach Trips here before having to move to larger quarters on the other end of the island.

But The Fuzz wanted to see the place again.

First he rode out to where the road ended.

There he found these work boats tied up.  Not sure what they were up to- maybe dredging the channel?

Next he parked the bike and went out to the beach.

It was pretty deserted compared to the summertime.

It was hard to resist, so The Fuzz did pull off the boots and get his feet wet.  The water was a bit cold.

There were a lot of Pelicans out.  The Fuzz always enjoys watching them fly over in a line like they do.

Then it was time for a beer at the Quarter Moon in Topsail Beach.

He had some fish & chips in Surf City, and continued north to the other end of the island.

Then it was back to Wilmington.

He got there right after one of those "Gully Washer" storms.

That was good timing!

And today...

...more rain.