Where in the world...

is Wanchese, NC? (I tried to find more web info about the area but that is the best I could do.) Our place is just south and east of Mann's Red and White, a local store.

After a whirlwind week packing, loading, driving and finally arriving in North Carolina, we went on a whirlwind search for temporary housing. Although we had a temporary Park Service house on the beach, we decided to get our truck out of the pelting sand and seasalt.

We looked at more than 25 places, including a foreclosed house that would have been a fantastic deal (if most of the floor joists not been rotted out).

Our new home is in Wanchese (a village, not a town because it is not incorporated). "It's about as close to Alaska as you get around here," said one local resident who lived in Alaska for a while. They even had a community luncheon last weekend with free fish, ribs, beer and wine!

I can't believe how excited I am to clean and unpack.

Scenic South Carolina

We are officially on the road and spent the night in scenic Santee, South Carolina...with free WiFi for guests. Wow, what a luxury!

Traveling with us is always an adventure. We have a loaded down 16-ft trailer in tow and a chest freezer in the back of the truck. The freezer is filled with Alaskan halibut and salmon. An extension cord snakes through the parking lot from the truck to our hotel room.

We expect to make it to Columbia, North Carolina tonight.

Phases 2 and 3 complete

With the help of movers, we packed up Key West and completed Phase 2 of this drawn-out move. Next, we headed to our third location: Titusville. We are almost done packing up the good stuff (guns, 4-wheeler, etc.). At long last, we head out of here tomorrow. Yippee!

Next stop: who knows (we have yet to map out our route because we've been too busy packing to try and get online till now).

Phase 1 of 3 complete

OK ... we moved all of our stuff out of the fort and are on to Phase 2: Packing up Key West. Ug.

I need a beer.

Hatteras here we come!!!

After a 6+ hour drive to the Keys followed by a 3-hour ferry, we've been on Garden Key packing and loading all of our stuff from the fort to the Park Service boat. We head out from Dry Tortugas at 0700 for our journey back to Key West.

Then, it's a meeting with the movers and then me moving all of our stuff (because Robin is restricted from moving stuff) from the boat to our Key West apartment. It's sure to be a fun-filled weekend.

Expected Hatteras arrival date is December 3 or 4 with Robin's first day on the job as Dec. 7.

I'll post as I can pending Internet accessibility.

Ahoy, Hatteras!

After more than a year in the heat and humidity, we are now moving to yet another island outpost, only this one is accessible by road: Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. We are super excited about this move and are really looking forward to getting four seasons of weather again.

Robin will be the maintenance mechanic supervisor for Cape Hatteras, Bodie Island, Fort Raleigh and Wright Brothers. I will be continuing the next chapter of Karen's Great Adventure, starting my book and searching for a "real" job (sort of). (If you have any leads in that area, let me know.)

Stay tuned for the exciting and ever-changing logistical details of how we will get all of our stuff from Fort Jefferson to Fort Raleigh and surroundings ... without Robin's physical assistance because of his still recovering knee.

Quote of the day

"Damn infomercials. I'm done with 'em. Unless it really looks good."

Robin in response to the $15 in postage he had to pay for returning one of the [several] money-back-guarantee infomercial products he got sucked into buying during his knee recovery.