Fort Dobbs | Statesville, NC

We visited Fort Dobbs in Statevsille, NC for a historic stop of our weekend. The site is beautiful and has a nice picnic area for families to stop by, have a lunch, and learn a little about our history. The two gentlemen at Fort Dobbs, dressed in period clothes, were working on a few period chores when we arrived. Both men were very nice and did a nice presentation of the history of Fort Dobbs. If you get a chance check their website for upcoming events and stop by. The Fort is located not far off the main road and is a pleasant place to stop for a break in your day.

Camping | Hot Springs, NC

A few weekends back I had the opporntinity to go on my first camping experience. This being the first time, I was not sure what to expect. I know, me camping, but I did it and found that camping was not bad at all. In fact, I found so much enjoyment and relaxation in it that I look forward to planing more camping trips. 

We went to the campground associated with the Hot Springs Resort and Spa in the NC mountains located in the town of Hot Springs. (They also have a nice resort with hot spring hot tubs located across from the campground.) Our camp site was located in a very nice shaded area between the French Broad River and the railroad, the river nice, the train loud at 2:00 am. Overall it was a very nice site with a picnic table and fire ring. The campgrounds had little cottages that one could rent, a couple bathhouses with a shower and bathroom, and of course port-a-potties in several locations. And I suppose you could go do a "county" behind any tree if you would prefer. Me, I walked to the outhouse with a flashlight. 

Nice shady site.

Our camp site.

Proof that I was really there, no photoshop here.

Mushrooms?

The French Board River.

Incredible vines near our camp site.

More incredible vines.

First camp site fire built by Rick.

Fire in the dark.

Train, need I say more.

The bridge to get you to the store with the coffee!

The bridge coming into Hot Springs, NC

The small river side quaint individual cabins you can rent.

The store that had hot coffee by 7:00 am!

Hotel Quito [Ecuador]

We arrived in Quito at 7:25 pm and the airport was crazy, well the custom line was long and crazy, but with Maria's help, we were able to go through customs easy and fast. Next we were on to finding our luggage and the driver from the tour company that was supposed to be there to drive us to the hotel, but we could not find him. Both Rick and I made trips around the airport looking for someone holding a sign with our names on it, but no one would claim us, so Maria and her husband Pablo, his brother, Luis, and their mother and father drove us to our hotel. Thanks guys!!!

The hotel was fabulous! The hotel staff was pleasant, helpful and very professional and the hotel. The room was nice and clean, even a chocolate on the bed (you know you have arrived when there is chocolate on your bed.)  (p.s. Don't tell Rick about the chocolate, I grabbed it before he saw it.)

Here are some photos of the hotel.

 

Hotel lobby with beautiful roses, one of Ecuador's larger exports.

Nice, simple, but elegant bedding.

Even nicer with the chocolate.

A view from our balcony...

and another view...

and a night view.

This view is from one of the hotel's terraces.

A view of the hotel grounds.

Hotel's pool which looked very inviting, but the temperature was too cold for me to go in.

The hotel had its own casino, I gave it some money.

And Rick won some.

RDU: Day One

Well it has been more than a week now since we returned from our wonderful vacation to Quito, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. A week of work, of unpacking, of doing laundry and the start of school, a week of downloading, categorizing and looking at 1721 photos of our travels. Yes, that total is right, 1721 photos, 1398 taken with my two cameras and the other 323 taken by Rick. 

Needless to say I am trying to get the photos ready to post. I want to post the photo and tell you a little about each post in the order of our trip, by each tour we took and the places we visited.

I start with the first day, which is at RDU. Not very exciting, but it's where we started. We were very lucky and was able to fly to Ecuador with Maria and Eva. Maria has made this trip several times and is a pro at the international check in process and with this being my first time I was very thankful for her help. Thanks Maria!!!

Beautiful Maria and her adorable daughter Eva, who is busy checking the ticket stub.

The very roomy and organized new terminal for American Airlines.

Nice open area for many travelers to walk.

This is what I would call a huge skylight.

Destination: Historic Oakwood

This past weekend my photography meetup group took a trip to the Historic District of Oakwood in Raleigh. We enjoyed a nice walk through the neighborhoods of Oakwood and had the opportunity to look at and take photos of the historic Victorian architectural styled homes. After the neighborhood walk we took a short tour through the Oakwood Cemetery, one of Raleigh's oldest cemeteries.

We also walked by the Governor's mansion on Blount Street.

Zoo time

A few weekends ago we joined the Triangle Photography Meetup group and went to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. And WOW! This place is awesome. I believe it has been 14 years since I last saw the zoo and it is definitely not what I remember. It is absolutely worth the drive and the low $10 admission price. But be prepared to send the whole day. So much to look at that it is a all day event.

Alligators welcome you to the zoo.

Sweet seals swim around their pool and do tricks.

I wanted to run and play in the water but no one would let me.

There was a nice orchid display in the Sonora Desert building.

And three Giraffes and one Zebra.