April 29, 2019

DISCOVER THE DONNELLEY WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA ON US 17 IN South Carolina

“Your best chance to see alligators is on the causeway because the water is low”, she said. ” The birds and gators have been really active.” The three carloads of strangers who were bunched into the office of the Donnelley Wildlife Management Area  (DWMA) got excited at that news. “If you hike the trails, be sure to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes,” she added.   “As in Diamondback Rattlers?”, asked one young man. I decided right then to stick to the DWMA Driving Tour!       South Carolina’s ACE BASIN     The ACE Basin in South Carolina consists of approximately 1,000,000 acres of diverse wildlife habitats that include…

April 22, 2019

BONAVENTURE CEMETERY in SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Poems have been written about it. Oscar Wilde called it, “incomparable.” John Muir slept for 6 days and nights in it when he took his famous 1,000 Mile Walk in America. Bonaventure Cemetery is, in the spring, one of the most beautiful man-made places I have ever seen.       We were dazzled by the artistry in the stonework, the loving and inspirational messages inscribed on that stonework, the live oak tunnels covered with long moss, the bounty of azaleas and the serenity of Bonaventure Cemetery along the banks of the Wilmington River. We wanted to stay all day and come back for more once the day ended.  …

April 15, 2019

Dorchester Academy: THIS NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT CIVIL RIGHTS SITE IN GEORGIA NEEDS SUPPORT

DORCHESTER ACADEMY   Just outside of Midway, Georgia is one of the least-visited of the 11 stops in Georgia on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.  Dorchester Academy played a major role in the National Civil Rights Movement.   Dorchester Academy was founded in 1868. The school was established to educate freed African-Americans following the Civil War.   In the 1960s, Dorchester was a center for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Septima Clark, called the “Mother of the Civil Rights Movement” by MLK, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks made Dorchester Academy the headquarters of the Citizen Education Program, a vehicle for training African-Americans in the effective exercise of their rights….

April 8, 2019

HOW TO PLAN SENIOR TRAVEL

We’ve been getting questions lately about how to put together a travel itinerary. Whether you are recently retired, newly able to travel because finances have improved, or find yourself in some other new life situation, knowing how to put together a travel itinerary is crucial.          We hope this post will help you to learn how we go about setting an itinerary. Over time, you will develop your own process.         BEFORE YOU START PLANNING, YOU NEED TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS        QUESTION ONE:  What is the scope of travel you interested in? Do you want to go overseas? Visit North America?…

April 1, 2019

CADES COVE in TENNESSEE’S SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Following Cades Cove Loop Road in the Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee is like driving into a pastoral painting! This drive has been on our bucket list for many years. Friends have told us about the wildlife, the beauty and history of the road, but no description is adequate!      WHY CADES COVE?   One reason we wanted to visit Cades Cove is because wildlife of all kinds fills me with wonder and excitement.  (I should clarify that all wildlife does not include snakes!) After I retired, I lived in a 400-square foot cabin in the North Carolina mountains. My cabin was across a dirt road from a bear sanctuary…