Travelogue

AV (After Vaccine) Domestic Travels

by Jim Gonzalvo

I was inspired by Brod Norman’s "Travels BC/DC" (Before Covid/During Covid) posting on our website. He didn’t let the pandemic stop him from doing what he enjoys doing, that is, traveling and photography. So, when my wife and I got fully vaccinated in February we started planning our trips, at least domestically. During the months of March to June 2021, we’ve travelled to Kentucky, Virginia and Florida. I have documented our travels by creating a photographic album and I’d like to share them with you. However, in contrast with Brod Norman’s posting, I can’t call this posting AC (After Covid) because we’re not totally out of this pandemic yet. Instead, I called it AV (After Vaccine).

Disclaimer: After I retired in 2017, I took up photography as a hobby. To date, I still consider myself a novice when it comes to photography compared to Brods Norman and Tatang.

STANTON, KENTUCKY – March 2021

My oldest daughter loves B&Bs. So, when we decided to have a family get together, she found this cabin in Stanton, Kentucky. It’s way out of the beaten path, to say the least. It’s not even on our GPS. The day before our reservation, we received the directions on how to get to this place. It says, take SR 217, turn left when you see a trash can with red lid, continue on the gravel road until you come to a hill. On the way down the hill, the road forks with several potholes. Take the left fork until the road ends to the gate leading to the cabin. Surprisingly, we found the cabin. This is definitely a place to go if you want to get off the grid.

The grandkids (Maleah, Miles, Polly, Araceli) and my wife, Teresa, enjoying the hot tub after a day-long hiking.

Part of our nature exploration is a trip to the Natural Bridge in the Red River Gorge surrounded by the Daniel Boone National Forest. In the photo above by the sign (Front: Teresa, me behind Teresa, Miles, Monica; Back: Matt and Maleah). The easier way to the top is to ride the cable chairs and then hike down. At the top of the natural bridge: Teresa, Maleah, Miles and Monica.

The natural bridge seen from below.

Hiking down, there are narrow pathways that in some areas we had to walk sideways.

The path is also lined with interesting and beautiful rock formations which our grandkids and my wife enjoyed.

VIRGINIA BEACH / RICHMOND / BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS – April 2021

VIRGINIA BEACH OCEANFRONT

Since we’ve sold our house in Virginia Beach in October, we went back in April to pick up some of the household items we left behind with family and friends. While there, we stayed at the Hilton Hotel in the Oceanfront area. Due to its proximity to Oceana and Norfolk Naval bases, I was able to catch some military aircrafts flying by including what looks like a rescue training operation with 3 Blackhawk helicopters.

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

The River Walk is lined with beautiful street arts and architecture with a mixture of the old and the new. The River Walk connects with the James River.

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BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS

The Blue Ridge Mountain is part of the Appalachian Mountain Ranges and extends over 500 miles from Northern Virginia

as far south as Tennessee and Georgia. Driving thru the mountain, we reached as high as 3294 ft elevation.

The photos above clearly explain why they called it Blue Ridge Mountains.

Here, my wife is enjoying the majestic view and the serenity of the place.
Interestingly we met a hiker who started in Georgia and said he plans to be in Maine by the fall.

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We found several creeks, rivers, and waterfalls, natural and man-made.

We also found another Natural Bridge.

This is a bridge carved out by nature’s forces, mainly water.

And what’s a road trip without stopping and checking out the local wineries. We had to stop, smell, and taste

 the wine aromas from whites to rosé, and reds. At the end of the trip, we came away with 28 bottles of wines.

MARCO ISLAND, FLORIDA – June 2021

With a last minute cancellation, we lucked out in getting a two-bedroom unit at the Surf Club by Hilton Grand Vacations at Marco Island, FL.

A perfect get away located in the Gulf of Mexico for a couple of old fogies.

Playing tourists, we went on a boat trip to Dickson island to go shelling and observe some of the local wildlife.

Between my wife and I, we were able to collect a bucketful of shells – all shapes, sizes and colors. Good “pasalubong” for the grandkids.

The highlight of the boat trip is the Dome houses. Built in 1979, these houses used to be on land but due to hurricane and soil erosion, now they are

 partly submerged in water and just a tourist attraction. Story has it that the man who built these houses didn’t like angle/corners, hence, he built domes.

Some of the wildlife we saw were pelicans, sand fiddler crabs, snowy egrets, white and tricolored herons and yes, a baby shark caught by a guy fishing.

You can’t say you’ve been to southwest Florida Gulf unless you go kayaking in the everglades and mangroves which make up what they

called the 10,000 islands. Interestingly, these “islands” are not geological formations, but biological. They were formed by the roots of several

 mangrove plants collecting sand and decomposing materials which attract more and more mangrove plants until eventually an “island” is formed.

On the way home from Marco Island, we stopped in Orlando to visit my cousins. We went on a picnic at Wekiwa Springs.

 It’s cold water not hot like the ones in Los Baños. But with the Florida 90 degree weather, it was fine. Picture with my

 cousins with me at the foreground, my cousin Esther, her husband Jose, my cousin Cecile, and my wife Teresa.

Finally, I was patient enough to wait and catch some spectacular Florida sunsets.

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