travel – Our Travels

Our next mission

June 25, 2025July 1, 2025ssolsen12Leave a comment

It may not appear so, but we’ve been busy since the May 5 Fun & games post, in which we alluded to the “next Olsen Mission.”

After Fernandina Beach, we secured a rental in Saint Augustine for the month of May, primarily to pull together mission critical details. (More on that below.) It wasn’t all work and no play, though. We made routine use of the neighborhood fitness center (play??) and watched spring bloom – although it already felt more like summer (ain’t gonna lie – is the Florida heat stereotypically true? Ha!).

It must be spring. This proud Muscovy duck paraded 17 ducklings past our patio.
**SEVENTEEN**!
Now that’s a whole lot of missions!

On one pretty spring day, son Tate took us for a boat ride on Lake George. Nothing like getting back out on the water!

Tate easing down the ramp & Todd waiting to secure the boat

Since the boat decided to act up (as boats will do, oi vey!), we enjoyed our picnic lunch and called that part of the day done.

Not to be deterred from enjoying the remainder of the afternoon, we headed to nearby Welaka.

The one thing our Saint Augustine rental lacked was a grill. So, when the time came for a traditional Memorial Day weekend cookout, daughter Tracee and her boyfriend Royce hosted the festivities. Everyone donned patriotic red, white and blue for the family photo op.

Top row: Royce, Noah, Tracee, Kayla, Todd (aka Dad/Pop)
On the floor: Tate, Alan, Alaina, Susie (aka Nana)

Happy Memorial Day!

Travel Challenge conundrum: We pulled a card while in Saint Augustine, but per the instructions cannot share the results.

(Perhaps someone will have figured it out by now.) 🙂

Ahem. Now, how about that mission?

Oh, dear. No. Nothing quite like that.

Or that. Please, no fire stunts.

Okay, that’s more like it.

If you know Kayla, you know we had to throw in a cute kitten.

Spot on!

After much research and many conversations about the possibilities of the future, we reached consensus, put our own plans on hold, and hatched a whole new mission! Time to help young granddaughter Kayla get “launched!” We scrambled into school tours and apartment hunting before Kayla completing driver’s training, getting her license, and turning in her two-weeks’ notice, led to Thursday, May 29, as the day for the big move.

With Nana’s planning and Tate’s help, we bounced smoothly from the furnished rental on the east coast of Florida to a temporary furnished rental over on the west coast of Florida. Given our packed travel rig (Pearl), thankfully Tate had room for Kayla’s things with a little trailer in tow containing the rest of her stuff and some “gifts” from her mom and Uncle Tate.

Big move, and just in the nick of time. Within an hour of arrival, we had appointments for school registration, tuition, and orientation. Whew.

We then ordered new bedding before hitting thrift stores and estate sales to begin furnishing the empty apartment we’d leased for this endeavor. Time to shop til you drop! (Not really, but it felt like it.) Or you’ll not have anything upon which to set something down, or heck, even to sit!

The comfortable 4th floor apartment, where the three of us are now “roomies”

As to the most important part of this new mission, just a few days later, Monday morning, June 2, Kayla began the journey to becoming a clinical esthetician. Double whew!

Olsens’ Travels is on pause for now, but the new mission has only just begun. We’ve got your back, Kayla, and you’ve got this!

Fun & games

May 5, 2025June 24, 2025ssolsen12Leave a comment

It’s been more than three weeks since our last post. Some might wonder what we’ve been up to. Well, as it turns out in this case, fun and games!

After the quick (carousel-less) overnight stay in Meridian, Mississippi, we continued along our return to Virginia for family business.

The next stop?

A terrific visit with friends Louis & Lisa at their lake house in Pell City, Alabama!

_{Welcome dinner at Grill at the Farm in Cropwell}

After dinner, we experienced our first absolute failure at the Travel Challenge. Although one of us was fully confident in Todd’s ability to maintain a straight face while making stuff up, there is no “local zoo” in Pell City. No petting zoo. No animal rescue farm. Zip. Nada. Nothing.

Such an utter failure required implementing a rule in this ruleless game. What to do when the task is impossible? Hmm…? As a team (of two), we decided to “bury” the card in the middle of the box and see where it reappears in the future.

The Travel Game may have been a bust, but that didn’t stop us from playing lots of card games into the wee hours. Next time we need to bring more dollar bills – these people are serious. 😉

Thank you, Louis and Lisa, for the good times, hospitality, dancing, singing, and marinated olives!

Next stop, Flowery Branch, Georgia for a seriously overdue visit to catch up with old friends Matt & Betsy.

After dinner, impromptu bartender Matt showed off his skills

The following day was beautiful. After the cookout, we learned a new game, one of shapes before playing cards and ultimately catching a Braves game on TV.

Thank you, Matt and Betsy. It was great to see you again!

On April 16, we finally made it to Virginia, where our first order of business was to surprise Mom with fresh pork rinds at The Bier Garden in Portsmouth.

Since the aforementioned “family business” was oral surgery, there was no time to waste. After the procedure in the morning, it would be a while before she’d again be able to chew such crispy delights…

Ready for the next Travel Challenge?

Ha! What better place to pull this one than in the area where one of us grew up. It’s expanded and changed a great deal in the 17 years since Susie left, but she can still get around… pretty much…

On Saturday we headed to Mechanicsville for a makeup session of family game time because we’d missed our date in February due to illness.

Ready to throw down on some Apples to Apples
(Jeff, Caitlin, Todd, Michael, Kai, Ella)

We’ll return in December ready for a rematch!

Okay, probably not as winners. The cards, word games, and dice were great, but we’d both forgotten just how difficult it is to play Clue. I mean, seriously, just how are you supposed to figure out not only whodunit but where and with what?? Sheesh. Great job, Caitlin!

Back in Hampton Roads, there was plenty more card shuffling in Chesapeake. Sometimes Mom beat us quite handily. Sometimes not. But always fun, right, Mom?

The family visits were warm and the time precious, but we had to move along to North Carolina for additional medical check-ups on our way to Florida for the next Olsen Mission (more on that in another post).

After the appointments in NC, the next bit of fortuitous timing led us to fun in Fernandina Beach, Florida. Cruising friends Barry and Robin had just recently made the crossing from the Bahamas and kindly offered to anchor for the night and wait for us to join them.

The next day, brother Mike and sister-in-law Jackie arrived for the 60th annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival.

Catching up with cruising friends Barry & Robin
(they’re the ones sporting the nice tans… )

While waiting for the Shrimp Festival to get underway, we enjoyed a friendly round of mini golf.

Mike would later proudly score the 1st hole-in-one

What’s more fun than Susie frequently retrieving her ball from the flowerbed and both of us getting whooped at mini golf? A parade!

As seasoned thirty-plus-year veterans of the Shrimp Festival, Mike & Jackie booked a room with a perfect view of the parade from the balcony.

As in any proper parade there were plenty of floats, Shriners, and marching bands, of course, but this parade is focused on… shrimp and pirates!

Eventually, all good things must come to an end, even fun and games, but just how do you know when it’s over? Well, perhaps when this guy shows up.

So soon?

March 17, 2025April 7, 2025ssolsen12Leave a comment

We know, a month between posts and then, bang, two in a row! Two things apply: 1) alone; 2) on a beach!

After East Palatka, we originally had plans for Naples and Tallahassee, but the timing wasn’t right for our hosts, so we tabled those visits for another time and crossed the center of the state on the dinkiest road we could find. Once we wiggled across the state, we met up with, you guessed it, US Hwy 98! Think the lowest version of US 1 (most east) or US 2 (most north). Check it out it; it runs literally right along the water for miles!

Once you get “under” Tallahassee, the road swings left to the water and provides a scenic drive along the Apalachicola coast pretty much all the way to Cape San Blas near Port St Joe on the Panhandle.

Along the way, we were curious about this – come on, it’s Tate’s Hell – but didn’t find the referenced Information Center, just a sign to the forest.

We later found the history. Poor fella. Think we know why.

Cruising along the shore was amazing, and we finally made it to the interesting Cape San Blas (yeah, say it) and our rental ON the water. It’s the big blue condo building that’s losing the battle with the Gulf.

The seawall is indeed a disaster waiting to happen

But oh my, the view from the porches on either side of the condo was excellent!

And geez, what to do? Relax. Daily walks. Rode out the series of storms that crossed the country. And well, caught up on writing. 🤓

With our time here almost up, we backtracked a bit today for some sightseeing.

Proof that there’s not a whole lot to see in Apalachicola

A few blocks from the tiny police station, Leon Wiesener (a former art professor from Tennessee) decided to spend a few of his retirement years building structures from old bottles. The results are on private property but remain open to the public.

Challenge Accepted?

Hang on a second. You were there for a week, right? How about that Travel Challenge card?

Glad you asked 😂😇

Well, yes, we pulled a card, and frankly, after our time in the sun, we stopped for an espresso, ready to admit defeat.

Defeat?

Yes, defeat. Utter failure. Come on. “Every fountain…?” Seriously.

If only we were still in Italy! 😢

Son Tate had a great suggestion; it doesn’t say what k-i-n-d of fountain. How about public drinking fountains?

Duh! We set out ready to go with that but didn’t find a single one of those either. (sigh) After drowning our sorrows with double espressos, we stopped at a Veterans Memorial on the Blue Star Memorial Highway in Carrabelle. While admiring the very well-done memorial, what marvelous sound joyfully tickled our ears over the sounds of the highway? Yes!

Yes! Look, down the street between the Golf Car Crossing (it is Florida…) & the town clock! A fountain!!

Hmm. Now we sure could use some small change.

See! It’s the real deal, an honest-to-goodness fountain!

Now we have but one more of these pretty sunsets to enjoy at this rental unit

Terry and Lynn, here we come. You realize we’ll need to pull a card while in Fairhope. You can help, if you’re not too busy with other things… 😉

Seeking warmth

March 16, 2025ssolsen12Leave a comment

It was in the twenties the morning in February when we left North Carolina, so we were looking to go somewhere that we could shed some layers. Idea: Let’s head to the other chunk of family that happens to live down in F-L-A! Two of our kids now live about 40 minutes apart. Warmth of two kinds!

Good target. So off we went, and mile by mile the temperature – and correspondingly, our moods – improved! Even luckier for us, these two live near the coast.

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea

It did not take us long to head for the beach. Hello sunny, but still too-cool-for-a-dip, Florida!

About town

Our son Tate recently purchased his first home (congrats, Son!) in the pleasant small town of East Palatka, less than 30-miles from his sister in Palm Coast. Naturally, we couldn’t spend all of our time at the beach, and small towns are indeed our cup of tea, so small town exploration began!

Found a nice “fixer upper” near the St John’s River Walk

On the trails

Same thing for gardens and trails, if they’re nearby we want to see ’em. Tate had some good ones in mind, and boy howdy, we need the walks! (A bit too much Italian pasta is still hanging around our waistlines.)

Who would have thought that Florida would have a ” Potato Capital” (Hastings) or anything called a “ravine.” Both were lovely surprises!

St John Botanical Garden in Hastings, FL

Sign. Sign. Everywhere a sign… ha! We got tickled by some of the signs we encountered!

Hitting the field

On March 8, we had the pleasure of joining several of the grandchildren at the soccer fields. Well, it was mostly a pleasure – we did have to wake up to an alarm… (Why can’t soccer games start at 10 am?) 😉

So great day, three different games, and one can only remember the energy one used to have!

Royce was prepared to coach a friendly game

It started to rain right after the last of the games, but after a short drive home – and another snack (man, these kids snack!) – the clouds parted enough for us to walk to the Holland Memorial Park right in the neighborhood.

Alan laughed from a safe distance as Uncle Tate sent the three girls on a head-spinning twirl

The family time was wonderfully warm. And the weeks seemed to pass all too quickly. But these two Olsens had to get moving again. We are on the way to Fairhope, Alabama, for a very special event.

Oh-h-h, wait. Last but not least, “Challenge Accepted”

As introduced in the last post, if we plan to stay put at least a week (which we did), we must pull a Quirky Travel Task while in the area. So, here goes, Travel Challenge #02:

$ure glad the “town” isn’t $aint Augustine 🙂 $$$$

Return to familiar territory

February 21, 2025March 16, 2025ssolsen12Leave a comment

That’s right all this time – over a month – we have actually been visiting and driving and visiting and driving! So, just to put this part of our journey down on “paper,” and heck, for anyone who doesn’t know, see above.

Our Italian adventure ended with a landing in Texas January 14. We spent a few days in Longview with friends Terry and Lynn. Extra shout out for taking care of our girl, Pearl! Of course, we visited. And sure, the boys went looking at the history in East Texas while the girls went shopping or some such thing. Ha!

Vital to the war effort, the Big Inch Pipeline originated in Longview TX in 1942 & transported oil 1,476 miles

When we left Texas, we were headed to Virginia for visits and annual medical appointments. Due to a pending winter storm forecast to hit the deep south particularly hard, we hurried off with a plan to hunker down in Gilbert, South Carolina, hopefully between the wintry north and the bulls-eyed south.

Thank you, Louis & Lisa for hosting our quick stop at the lake house in Alabama. It was great to see you!

From one beautiful lake house to another!

Hmm, we travelers sure do miss the WATER. Cold weather coming or not!

The Jan 21 snow flurries did nothing to deter the Grill Master

“Snowed in!” ㋛ 😄 It was quite nice to relax for a few days, getting used to being in America again. Wow, the traffic and food prices were a heck of a readjustment. But this part of the road trip plan came together perfectly as we watched the pretty lake while the snow melted just in time to get back on the road to Virginia.

In Virginia

You’ve heard the saying, “We plan, God laughs?” Well, we didn’t know it, but that’s how this visit was about to go. First for the good stuff. Step one: Hello to Mom, Daddy, and family! And delivering gifts from Italy!

The shipment of ceramics arrived (unscathed!) from Sicily 🙂

Illness Time Out

And then… the germs hit and put a hard stop to the rest of our plans, visits, and family photo ops. But after a week fighting off cooties all was fine. Super most importantly, Mom shook off those germs, too.

But, with the next set of appointments already scheduled in North Carolina, we had to continue south to the (hopefully warmer!) Bolivia. No, not that Bolivia, the area just below Wilmington. If one must stop for medical appointments, then these “ones” prefer to book close to WATER! 😏 But bummer, it’s still jacket weather.

Our rental on Oak Island was only a few blocks from the beach, so between visits with the docs, we absolutely had to take a chilly walk in the sunshine along the shore.

And now, introducing, “Challenge Accepted”

While we were in Virginia, Jeff and Caitlin gave us a new travel game for our time on the road. Gosh, they are clever! 😘

To make it our own, we decided we’d pull a card anywhere we’d be staying at least a week.

And here it is, Travel Challenge #1.

Hmm, seems like this one is right up our alley! Sounds like fun, right?

“Obscure,” huh? Okay, how about the “Mary’s Gone Wild Visionary Folk Art Garden and Doll Baby Village?”

As time goes on, we will share other challenges and the results.

Now, it’s cold just about everywhere in America, right? There’s golly whopper snowfall in the Hampton Roads area we just left. While here in lower North Carolina, there’s no snow; it’s just below our ability to stay warm. Our little beach house can only get to 66 inside!

What’s a gal to do when she rolls out of bed and the scale needs to be retrieved from the car for the traditional Friday Morning Weigh-In and it’s only 26 degrees outside? Layers, Baby, layers!

What? What’s wrong with my outfit?? Yo, buddy! You’re also getting on the scale!

Alright. Alright. That’s enough of this crazy cold. It’s time to head further SOUTH! Florida, here we come!