Day 1 Belleplain State Forest

Monday, September 12, 2011

The original plan was to head toward Yellowstone last Tuesday. Things happen and plans change. The revised schedule called for an early Wednesday (9/14) start. I for one am not surprised we took off today, although not for Yellowstone. At least not yet.

I had to schedule a last minute medical procedure in Cape May. That will take place tomorrow.

We decided to tow SUNNY to Belleplain State Forest. We'll Camp in close proximity to the doc's office. If the timing is right, we'll leave for Yellowstone right after the procedure. If not, we'll be in a good spot to leave in the wee early hours on Wednesday.

This is our first camping experience in Belleplain SF.

Once we unhitched, it was time to explore our environs. We set out for a short walk from our camping area (CCC Camp) to the lake. Lake Nummy, named after the last Chief of the Lenni Lenape tribe is located in this SF.

There were only a handful of campers occupying sites in the three camping areas this park offers.

Since we stopped here strictly as a matter of convenience for tomorrow's procedure, we didn't make a campfire. Instead, we hit the sack early so we'd be rested. Tomorrow should be a long day!

	Belleplain State Forest Campsite [Map]		Lake Nummy - Belleplain SF [Map]

---

Sent from my iPhone by My Vacation app (www.myvacationapp.com)

Getting Ready For A Different Kind of Trip

This is the RV that we'll be dragging around on our National Parks Tour

Fall is on the way and usually we'd be getting ready to head south for more adventures aboard S/V SUNSHINE. This year is different! We plan to get back to SUNSHINE early this winter. Right now, we're getting ready for an RV trip to about 1 1/2 dozen Rocky Mountain area national parks. Our original plan was to leave on September 6, but events have caused us to push our departure back to the 13th. When we do get underway, we'll make a bee line for the Badlands in South Dakota. We figure it should take four days to get there. The first place we visit will be Custer State Park, not too far from Mount Rushmore. After a stop at Rushmore, we'll drive straight to Yellowstone. Following our visit to Yellowstone, we'll visit the Grand Tetons, Arches, Canyonlands, Horseshoe Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Kaibab, both rims of the Grand Canyon before going to Aspen for the 14th annual tribute to John Denver. Following our visit to Aspen, we'll get back on the national parks trail, visiting Santa Fe NF and White Sands National Monument. That's as far as we've planned so far. We'll add more parks to the itinerary as we study the routes we'll take to visit family in Missouri and Texas. After those visits, we'll head to Florida for a few days so we can get SUNSHINE ready for use.

Hurricane Irene

Irene has passed and the shacks have suffered little damage. We were worried about SUNSHINE on the hard in Marathon, but Irene's path was well to the east of the Keys.

Here at home, Irene made her second landfall at Little Egg Inlet, only about five miles from the shacks here in West Creek, NJ. We spent two days prior to her arrival preparing the house and yard. The effort paid off as we had very little damage.

On Friday, August 26, 2011, Two days before Irene was to arrive, we evacuated to Sandi's home in Medford. We took both vehicles and the 5er with us. We went back home on Monday, August 29, 2011. We had very little damage and minimal debris to clean up. Many others were not as fortunate. All in all, it was an enjoyable evacuation. Thanks for your hospitality Sandi and Matt!

We only have eight days until we depart on our R/V tour of the Rocky Mountain vicinity National Parks.

Home!

Fender Menders had the truck fixed by 1000. We were under way by 1015. The drive was uneventful. Traffic jams added about 30 minutes to our trip which lasted 13 1/2 hours. We made it home by 2345 hours on Monday, April 25.

This Year's cruise and Easter Vacation are over. We'll begin spring cleaning and yard work in a day or two. Besides those tasks, we have to get the bikes, the little boat and the 5'er ready for use and we're going to add a bocce court to the yard so we can practice up for next year's cruise!

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday, Anna Marie!

After a week of fun and screaming kids (no, not the grandkids who were particularly well behaved and had lots of fun) it was time to depart North Myrtle Beach to head for home.

Matt and Sandi got off first at around 0515. We left the condo with Shelley and the kids about 1/2hour later at 0545. Our task was to return all the condo keys to the drop box and we'd be off. Shelley drove by as we stopped to deposit the keys. As Anna Marie got back into the truck and we started backing out of the parking spot, we heard a very loud "B A M!" It sounded like a shot had been fired. Almost immediately, we lost the power steering. This beast doesn't turn very well without power steering!

A quick inspection revealed that we lost all of the PS fluid and that the end of the high pressure line blew out of the PS pump.

It was now 0615 on Easter Sunday. Triple A showed up about an hour after we called, but we suspected that being towed would likely be the only thing that would be accomplished today.

The tow truck guy said that there was a Triple A facility that was suppose to be open today. He towed us about 25 miles only to find out that it was closed. He tried another establishment but it was closed too. Finally, he took us to his body shop. They'll be able to search for the part and, if successful, make the repair tomorrow. He then dropped us off at the nearby Super 8 motel. We signed in for a room at 0830!

After reviewing options, we took a five mile walk, went to the theater to see "The Conspirator," had a nice lunch and dinner at local establishments and, made the best of a bad situation.

Our activities made for a disappointing Easter celebration, but they certainly made a most memorable birthday for Anna Marie!

Very Sad News About the Smiling Bartender!

On Tuesday, April 12, we visited the Brass Monkey where we enjoyed a selection from the five dollar lunch menu. Although we had only met Nancy, the Monkey's bartender, on two previous occasions, she greeted us with her warm smile.

We enjoyed lunch and our conversation with Nancy.

A couple of days later, we learned that this wonderful person had perished in a house fire.

The following is the story that ran at KeysNews.com:

Fire kills woman, injures husband

Brass Monkey Lounge mourns loss of 'smiling' bartender

BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com

A well-known Marathon bartender died in a house fire early Thursday, leaving behind a husband who was injured while unsuccessfully trying to rescue her from the blaze, sheriff and fire officials said.

Firefighters pulled 50-year-old Nancy Pratt, a Brass Monkey Lounge employee, from a second-floor hallway at the couple's home shortly after midnight, but were unable to revive her, Marathon Fire Chief William Wagner said. "Unfortunately, she had already succumbed to the fire and smoke."

Ernest Pratt, 46, was outside, seriously injured from the heat and smoke inhalation, when firefighters arrived to find the house at 1203 Westward Ho Lane engulfed in flames, Wagner said.

Pratt reportedly told firefighters that smoke alarms had woken him, then he found the back porch on fire and called 911, according to a Monroe County Sheriff's Office press release.

That's when the glass doors to the porch exploded from the heat, burning his back, he told them. He said he tried to get his wife out of the house, but finally was forced to flee as the flames spread, according to the Sheriff's Office release.

"He tried to get her out, but at that point he just couldn't do it," Wagner said. "The flames were through the roof when we arrived."

Nancy Pratt was pronounced dead at the scene, and Ernest Pratt was taken to Fishermen's Hospital, then transferred to a Miami hospital for respiratory injuries, Wagner said.

Wagner and Monroe County Fire Rescue Chief Jim Callahan did not know his condition or to which hospital he was admitted.

The State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating what caused the blaze; there were no obvious signs Thursday, Wagner said.

"The report indicates that they were smokers who didn't smoke in the house, but on the back porch," Wagner said. "It appears the porch was the origin, but we can't say that [smoking] was the cause at this time."

Firefighters initially thought there might be a child inside the house after neighbors also called 911, Wagner said.

"Crews immediately laddered and entered through the second floor and that's when we found [Nancy Pratt] in the hallway," he said.

Red Cross volunteer and response coordinator Shannon Vasko, who is working to help Ernest Pratt when he is released from the hospital, said this fire is more personal than others. She knew Nancy.

"Nancy was such wonderful person," Vasko said.

"Everyone knows her from the Brass Monkey, where she always had a smile on her face. I think all of us will be coming together as a community to assist Ernest on a personal level."

alinhardt@keysnews.com

Nancy will certainly be missed by her family, her friends, and all of the patrons of the Brass Monkey!

Decommissioning!

Work, Work, Work!

We are in the process of decommissioning SUNSHINE.

We left the harbor yesterday. Today, we removed the jib, all the canvas, and cleaned and stowed the dinghy. We also removed the mainsheet, retrieved the bikes from the city marina, folded them and placed them in their storage bags. We're taking them to Yellowstone in the fall.

I asked the marina staff to haul SUNSHINE tomorrow. We still have a few cleaning and decommissioning chores, the last of which is to flush the engines with vinegar and change the engine and gear oil. We'll load the truck with everything that's going home and then we'll stow the mainsail.

Once those tasks are done, decommissioning will be completed! We'll get a good nights sleep and head off to Myrtle Beach by way of New Smyrna Beach, where we'll visit Joe and Dee for a couple of days.