August
And then it was time to settle down for a bit, in New Hampshire. Bruce’s brother lives there and a convenient RV Park is just a few miles away. Bruce settled in for the month, with lots of things on his to-do list, while Gail flew to Montana for visits with family and friends.
Bruce’s brother lives on a lake, has lots of water toys and a parrot. Both of us got to enjoy some lake time before it was time to hit the road again.
September
By September, we were back together again and had some errands and appointments, mixed in with some sightseeing, before we were back to full-time traveling.
The Sate Capital, Concord, was fairly close to us, so that was an easy day trip. The capitol building holds the distinction of being the oldest state house still hosting sessions in the original building. The building is small and elegant.
The New Hampshire Historical Society’s handsome building is close by, 
and we enjoyed viewing some of the great artifacts that they had on display.
About a mile from the museum sits the former home of the 14th, and only president from New Hampshire, Franklin Pierce, and we were given a tour by a knowledgeable docent.
October
Back on the road again after our ‘sabbatical’, we headed north in New Hampshire and found plenty of things to enjoy.
Madison Boulder is the largest glacier erratic (deposited by a glacier) rock in the United States, and we found it to be quite impressive. 
Cathedral Ledge gave us a wonderful view of the area and some pretty fall colors that were beginning to show up.
Mount Washington is accessed by a cog railroad (designed specifically for this steep ascent) or a long winding road. We chose the railroad route, a slow 5 mph ride on wooden bench seats. (A car would probably have been more comfortable!) 
At the top, the wind was blowing so hard that it was difficult to stand still for long; this is not a welcoming place to visit. The view was blurred by smoke, but it was pretty expansive. 
We took one more train ride into the New Hampshire countryside, this one was to see fall colors, and that we did. 
Then we were on the road to Rhode Island, the smallest state. Providence is the Capital and the capitol building is very attractive; lots of marble and clean lines.
A boat tour of the area around Newport included a view of the large and elegant home where Jacqueline Kennedy grew up, 
as well as the many other mansions overlooking the water.
Newport has some of the most amazing homes we have ever seen – mansions built by wealthy families at the end of the 1800s to early 1900s, as summer homes. Mind boggling homes! From Breakers, built by Cornelius Vanderbilt:
to Marble House, built by William Vanderbilt:
it was hard to imagine that such grandeur was created for the few short months stay of the families each year.
Connecticut was next and, as always, we were following the fall colors south as we journeyed along our way.
In Hartford, our first stop was the Capitol complex – which consists of two buildings: one for the legislature (stately)
and one for the administration offices (modern).
Mark Twain’s house 
has an associated museum and visitor center, in addition to a tour of the house. 
The house has a sad history: the family lived there for 17 years, then traveled to Europe to tour and make money. While there, a daughter who stayed behind died in the home and the Twain’s sold the home when they returned, because it was too sad to live there anymore.
The Mashantucket Pequot Indian Museum consists of multiple floors of masterful dioramas and life-sized exhibits. We spent several hours there and still did not see most of what was available.
The Mystic Seaport Museum 
is a collection of ships and buildings related to boat building, repair and related industries, including the last remaining whaling ship and a replica of The Amistad. 
There were several large ships undergoing extensive repairs sitting in the repair area.
We spent an interesting day exploring all the buildings and ships.
The hunt for Gail’s mother’s roots took us into New York, where she was born, grew up and was married. Our first discovery was the small country church where she and Dad were married. 
Next was the school where she graduated from high school, but which now houses middle schoolers. 
Hyde Park is where the FDR Presidential Library is located,
as well as the home where FDR was born and where he and Eleanor lived while he was alive 
. It is also where the couple is buried.
The Presidential Museum is full of personal artifacts and historical displays.
Mom’s home was next and we were glad to see that it is still being well maintained. We really enjoyed driving the winding roads and scenic hills of rural New York.
The RV park where we were staying had a Halloween decorating contest on the week-end that we were there, and it was something to behold. Some of the campers brought with them utility trailers full of decorations to display. 
We wanted to experience a fall train ride along the Hudson River, so we hopped on one in Poughkeepsie and rode it in to the beautiful Grand Central Station in New York City, and back, on a lovely day. My mother and her family used the train quite often and it was fun to share their experience.
Our final New York stop was to Val-Kill, 
initially built for Eleanor Roosevelt and her friends as a kind of ladies retreat.
Additional buildings were later constructed for local craftsman to use to build furniture and make other products for sale, in order to earn extra income for their families. 
The business lasted until 1936, at which point Eleanor kept the buildings for her personal use. When Franklin passed away, in 1945, she moved there permanently to live.
By this time, the weather was getting colder and the RV parks began shutting down for the season, so it was time to move south once again.
November
In Colonial Heights, Virginia, we found Keystone Antique Truck & Tractor Museum, one man’s amazing collection of vehicles that got a bit out of control and is now housed in a huge building. 
We spent a few days in Virginia Beach and checked out two museums: First, The Hampton Roads Naval Museum with the USS Wisconsin 
and a display about the job that Bruce used to do in the Navy.
And then, the Military Aviation Museum.
Finally, we took a naval base cruise around the Norfolk harbor. 
We headed further south, to one of our favorite places to stop for a while and enjoy lovely beach walks, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The sand is flat, hard-packed and really clean and the sunsets can be colorful. 
A short drive south of there is Huntington Beach, a state park that was once the home of Archer and Anna Huntington, a sculptor. They built a Moorish castle on their property, which was comprised of former rice plantations, and the framework of the building is open to the public. 
The state park is really a gem, with several habitats to explore: ponds, wooded trails, beach 
plus RV camping. During the winter months this is a birding hot spot.
As if that wasn’t enough to explore, the couple also created a sculpture garden across the road. The gardens display flowers, sculptures, fountains, ponds; just a wonderful area.
The park was beginning to string Christmas lights all around, and it looked like the display would be pretty amazing. We made a vow to return and enjoy it when everything was lit.
Thanksgiving found us in Savannah, where we took a bus tour and a boat tour and then walked around, admiring the lovely old houses and squares. 
December
Now we were returning to our favorite wintering areas, first to Blythe Island, home to the friendly rabbits and great walking trails.
We also did some exploring of the surrounding islands, which have rich historical backgrounds. St Simons Island is home to the World War II Homefront Museum, a former Coast Guard station that was used during the war, as German subs patrolled offshore and actually sank two cargo ships just 12 miles out to sea. 
The Lighthouse Museum 
has rooms furnished as they were when the lighthouse keepers lived there. 
We walked the 129 steps to the top of the lighthouse for a great view of the area.
Jekyll Island is a big favorite of ours, we have visited several times and this time it was decorated for Christmas, which added to the charm. Jekyll was originally a private retreat for the most elite families in the U. S. It was abandoned during World War II because it would have been impossible to defend and then, at some point, the state took it over. Many of the original ‘cottages’ are still intact and used for various functions,
as is the magnificent hotel. 
Driftwood Beach is a fun walk, among the skeletons of a long-dead forest.
Nighttime is when the magic begins. The huge Live Oaks are lit up with thousands of white lights, house decorations shine and a route around the island is illuminated with displays.
Our final 2023 stop was back in Gainesville, Florida, where we had a once-in-a-lifetime birding experience.
There are three birding spots that we check out when we are there and we signed up for a ranger talk at one of them: Alachua Sink, an area known for various sink holes that dot the landscape. There had been a lot of rain recently, which allowed high water to pour into the ponds, and that water brought in schools of fish, lots of fish. The news had spread around the bird world that a fish smorgasbord was available. We walked into the area to find the ponds full of hundreds of storks, egrets, herons, lots of bald eagles, etc. Also, lots of alligators. It was very impressive to say the least.
We spent Christmas in Gainesville and, before the end of the month, we visited the other two birding areas and had some good walks and took some good bird photos.
Just before the end of the month we visited Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary, a home for abandoned/not wanted primates or ones used in medical research. The primates live in large outdoor cages with ‘runs’ that take them into buildings where they have beds and shelter. 
One woman started this facility years ago and it has grown, of course, as word gets out. Most of the primates are paired with another one for company whenever possible. Human interaction is kept to a minimum, except for cleaning of areas, food delivery, medical evaluation and the occasional tourist tram that drives around the large compound. The more friendly ones will gladly accept offers of peanuts. 
Almost all of them were as curious about the strangers in their areas as we were of them. 
And that ends our story of 2023, a rather typical year for us, and this is about 70 percent of what we did that year, as it would be too massive to include everything. We hope you enjoyed a peek into our travels.