Naples!!!!! Wednesday

Left Savannah at 9:30 after yet another delicious breakfast at the Kehoe House. Plugged in the GPS and set our site for Naples. Weather was perfect for traveling and we took turns driving switching ever 2 hours. We drove a total of 1790 miles in 10 days!!! Arrived in Naples at 5:30 and made a quick run to the grocery store after we unpacked our suitcases.
Ate dinner on the lanai. Enjoying a nice bottle of wine and some of Michelle's chocolate chip cookies. A perfect ending to a great trip.






This will be our last daily blog but we will continue to post from time to time on our Naples activities and of course our trip to the mountains in Georgia.


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Savannah Tuesday

Nice breakfast at the inn. Really liking these grits (Donna). Took a historical tour by trolley because of the weather - a bit rainy - beautiful area with gorgeous parks/squares. Did some walking and saw St. John The Baptist Church which was spectacular and an old cemetery dating back to the 1700's.



Saw oak trees that were over 300 years old!!!! Had dinner at the Cotton Exchange on the River Front. On the way back to the Inn stopped at Abe's on Lincoln for beers and foosball. Final score Cliff One win Donna one tie. Back to the Inn for wine on the veranda and watching the ghost tour hearses go by....this Inn is supposedly haunted!!!!!


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Savannah Georgia Monday

Farewell breakfast at the Carolina inn for Tara & Mark. As usual it was difficult saying goodby to Michelle, Flick and of course our precious Ellie. Our trip to Savannah took us 5 1/2 hours and we were luckily to not hit much rain from TS Beryl. Staying at our first B&B the Kehoe House a very nice surprise for Donna. We are in the Wesley room a very spacious room.Walked the river front and had dinner at the Moon River brewery.Met a nice couple from Ireland who are also staying at the B & B.



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Chapel Hill Sunday Wedding Day!!!!!

Took care of Ellie while Michelle & Brian did their thing getting ready for the wedding. The ceremony was in a church across the street from the inn. The ceremony was performed by Tara's uncle, a Catholic priest. Beautiful ceremony with a lot of involvement with family and friends. Ellie was great throughout the ceremony. Michelle got a babysitter so Donna and I could attend the reception. Great food and an awesome band made for a fun time for all!!!!
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Chapel Hill NC Saturday 5/26

Sunny and warm on the beautiful campus of UNC at the Carolina Inn. Started our day with Miss Ellie while Flick and Michelle attended groomsmen and bridesmaid functions. Took Ellie for a two hour stroller ride so she could get in some nap time. In the afternoon Cliff and I walked into town for some lunch. The area is very picturesque with a lot of old brick buildings, walkways and a lot of beautiful old huge trees so walking was enjoyable. This evening we spent more time with Ellie feeding her (she has quite the appetite) playing, bath time, reading and bedtime. She is such a sweetheart!
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Chapel Hill NC Friday

Left Virginia Beach for a 3 1/2 hour ride to Chapel Hill. Never saw so many cops on the road pulling people over for speeding. No tickets yet!! Donna drove most of the way and I managed both cell phones, the radar and gps!!!!!
The inn we are at is right on the UNC campus. Last night there was a "party on the porch" where there was a band, food and wine and beer. It was a beautiful night and we had a great time partying with the Flick's, Fiscella's and other wedding guests.





Michelle, Brian and Ellie got in around 11:00. Ellie is getting over a case of the croup but did great on the plane
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Virginia Beach Thursday

While having breakfast at panera we planned our driving route to Virginia beach. We followed a route Tim had suggested which bypassed the major highways and was quite scenic and a lot less stressful. Went over the Chesapeake bay bridges and thru the tunnels which was awesome! Arrived in VA beach late afternoon and took a walk along the boardwalk and beach. Went to Tautogs for dinner (recommended by desk clerk) really enjoyed the meal and the place had a lot of character. Ended the evening on the balcony with wine and cigar - cliff had the cigar of course!


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Baltimore Day 2 Wednesday

Started out the day with breakfast at Miss Shirley's. Then off to Fell's point to walk around on the cobble stone streets and peek in the shops and find a little something for Ellie! In the afternoon we walked to Federal hill which gave us a great view of inner harbor from across the way. At night we had dinner with Tim & Lisa, who live in Ellicott City, which ironically is where Jaime and family use to live, and were gracious enough to meet us at the Ocean Aire restaurant which was within a stones throw of our hotel. After dinner another walk was needed after our delicious but filling meal so we went back to Fells Point for a beer at Duda's Tavern. Had a great time in Baltimore and off to Virginia Beach on Thursday.
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Baltimore Maryland

Arrived in Baltimore on Tuesday around 3:30. Between the traffic, rain and a stubborn GPS it made for a tough ride but we made it to Baltimore before rush hour as planned. We did get a room upgrade to a higher floor with a waterfront view and a bottle of wine with fruit and pretzels!!!!!! Amazing how this area has changed since I first was here with USF&G 33 years ago. Went to the Sox/Orioles game with Jason at Camden Yards. The weather was perfect and the stadium was great. Unfortunately the Sox lost 4-1 but the game was close until the bottom of the 8th when the O's hit a 2 run homer. After the game we walked back and made a stop at the Pratt Street Ale House for some beer and food. All in all a great day!!!!!




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Location:Pittsboro St,Chapel Hill,United States

The Journey Begins

Spent a good part of the day getting everything done before taking off for Christa's and Joe's. Somehow everything fit into the corvette!!!!! Almost left without all of our clothes for the wedding that were in a suit carrier in our bedroom. Fortunately Donna made a last second save and we avoided a similar situation when we left a suitcase full of clothes at home when we went to Michelle's college graduation. So with a fully loaded car we said good bye to Allie and hit the road. This first leg of our trip was 100 miles and we arrived at the same time that Christa and Joe were getting back from their trip to the Grand Caymans. Went out to dinner and after saw some awesome video of their trip and encounter with stingrays. Then face timed with Michelle, Flick and Allie as we opened up our retirement gift from the kids. Beautiful hand blown pitcher and glasses!!!!! Hopefully the weather will improve for our trip to Baltimore tomorrow.


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Retirement Day

Today was my last day at work for Beacon Mutual. Very excited to be retired and start the next phase of our lives but also sad to be leaving my Beacon family after 20 years. Great retirement party last Wednesday with surprise visits from Christa, Joe, Allie and Chaz and of course my brother Jamie who flew in from Chicago to help celebrate my retirement. Donna beat me to retirement by two days leaving her job at the library on Wednesday. Donna and I are celebrating tonight with a good bottle of wine and I am enjoying a nice cigar I received from Mike Normand. Tomorrow we start getting ready for our trip to Florida.


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Our Plans

Donna and I will be retiring in two weeks and heading down south in our little red vette!!!  Our plan is to make a number of stops along the way and we have set up this blog to document our trip and let everyone know where we are and what we are doing.  Our plan is to leave on May 21st and spend a night with Christa and Joe and head to Baltimore the next day.  The Red Sox are playing the Orioles and we have already contacted Jason about going to a game with us.  Always wanted to catch a game at Camden Yard as I watched it being built when I was working in Baltimore.  From Baltimore its off to Virginia Beach and then to Chapel Hill for Mark & Tara's wedding. Looking forward to the wedding and reconnecting with the Flicks!!!!  From there we are going to go to Savannah and take in some of best that the south has to offer. Then it's off to Naples for a month of rest and relaxation and then to Georgia to visit Donna's brother, father and all the good folks on the mountain.
This is our first attempt at a blog so not sure how this will go but we'll give it a try!!!