GLADYS GARMIN and IT'S A DOG'S LIFE

Have I introduced you to Gladys Garmin? She's the voice of reason. She gets us from place A to place B efficiently, quickly and quietly in a well moderated voice. We like Gladys, she's never steered us wrong, knows the names of pretty much every street in Canada and the USA (maybe Mexico, who knows) and if we inadvertently don't listen to her and take a wrong turn she is johnny-on-the-spot getting us back on track pretty darned fast. The thing though, when Gladys gives us directions, is this. We don't have a clue where we are, what's on our left, or our right, ahead of us and are barely aware of what is behind us. With a map you are able to visualize the road you are on, you know how close you are to the ocean, you know if there is a bridge coming up because you see the water on the map, you know where  the next town is in case you want to divert your route for a bit of sight seeing.

Not so with Gladys. You tell her where you wish to go and she instantly shows you where you are, tells you in a calm voice to follow the route and then shows you the next turn. She tells you that you are to go 1.5 or 125 miles (here in the U.S., kms. in Canada) and turn right or left on such and such a street. Then she guides you in increments until you do the left or right turn and her screen instantly shows you the next distance to the next turning point. She's good, no doubt about it. She tells you your ETA, the speed limit (Kms or MPH, your choice) and your speed. She's pretty incredible really. But sometimes it's nice to have a map on your lap so you can reference the distance from where you are and some other landmark; not so with Gladys. So when Gladys took us down some very picturesque but narrow roads when we left Williamsburg, VA, on our way to Wilmington, NC, we thought perhaps she was leading us astray. We seemed to be turning this way and that with nothing around us except trees, a few fields of cotton and a scattering of houses in various states of disrepair. Eventually the road appeared to end and Gladys informed us to proceed and board the ferry. Hmmmm. The ferry!?!? There's a ferry?? We know nothing about a ferry. Aren't we headed to I95?  We are in a honking great truck pulling a 30' Fifth-wheel behind us and there was no question of turning around if the ferry didn't A) take honking great trucks pulling 30' Fifth-wheels, B) didn't run on week-ends, C) didn't go where we wanted to go. Fact is, due to not having a map we had no idea where we were. The burly and very serious security guards who oversaw the ferry traffic thought it was pretty funny that we couldn't turn around if we needed to. They then told us the route Gladys was taking us on was, in fact, the quickest route and cut at least an hour off the time if we had gone another way to pick up I95. Forgive us Gladys, it was only a temporary and very slight lapse of judgement.

On the ferry taking us to Surrey watching another ferry.

Freddy mesmerized with the view.

Our destination, Wilmington, is a coastal town about 75 miles north of Myrtle Beach. Not particularly a well known tourist destination like Charleston, Savannah or Myrtle Beach it is, nevertheless, a very pretty town with plenty to do. Our purpose for visiting Wilmington was to visit an old friend who recently moved there from California and to meet his brand new rescue Collie, Ollie.

4th of July in Wilmington, stock photo

The RV resort park we chose was just on the outskirts of Wilmington and was really pretty stunning. There was a fishing pond with a warning regarding the resident alligator(s), a large and well kept dog run, the usual store with essentials and the sites were roomy and flat flat flat - a good thing if you are RVing.  Sunday was spent on the beach at Wrightsville, one of Wilmington's many beaches, and a mere fifteen minute drive from our RV Park; a great way to spend an hour with the dogs. Poor Kaede was full of energy and wanted to run but with her cone still on and her stitches still in it was not going to be happening. Freddy too wanted to run and play off leash but it wasn't to be. After a romp on the beach (ha ha - romp - I lied - it was a walk) we headed on over to our friend's house for lunch and to meet Ollie, a most beautiful Collie. Ollie had been part of the prison system whereby inmates are given the responsibility of training a dog and getting him ready to be

Ollie, the beautiful collie with his happy and very proud new owner.

Freddy on the left and Ollie with Ollie's new owner.

adopted. It's a most worthwhile program in my opinion, a win-win situation all around. Ollie was gorgeous and although our friend had only owned him for 72 hours they were joined at the hip. Kaede and Ollie (I believe) fell in doggie love but once again her conehead prohibited any rough house playing. Our friend's daughter and her husband and little girl came for lunch with their rescue dog, Missy, an Australian Heeler. She was absolutely adorable too and it was so nice to see four dogs interacting well, all being friendly toward one another and owners keeping a discreet eye on the happenings. I mentioned owning four dogs briefly and Erik said no briefly.

 On the beach at Wrightsville, NC, near Wilmington where our friend from California now lives. It's a beautiful beach, not a lot of people on there this time of year. We saw a few fishermen who were looking for blue fish;  The bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as tailor in Australia,^[1] shad on the east coast of South Africa, elf on the west coast. Other common names are blue, chopper, and anchoa.^[2] It is                                                            good eating and a popular gamefish..

 Wouldn't you love to have one of these holiday homes to come to when the cold winds blow?

One of our favourite cities is St. Augustine, Fl. where we will be in a couple of days and this beach extends all the way to St. Augustine. Nice, huh. But first a couple of days in Charleston, SC, another of our favourites. I am wondering if we are going to end up with hundreds of favourite places.






After a couple of really enjoyable days in Wilmington, NC, catching up with old friends, we are now headed south to Charleston, SC (a stunning city to say the least) and then to St. Augustine, FL where we intend to stay for three - four weeks and really set down roots (so to speak). We have been to both cities previously but never in an RV. We are expecting some new and very different experiences this time around in our 300 Sq. Ft. living accommodation and our two dogs.