While we are following our "stay at home" order, we are looking back to our travels last year and all the wonderful people we have met. All the stories would fill a book and all the images would lead to a lengthy slideshow that might exceed your attention span. So, let's do the short version:

We feel blessed for:

• our visiting friends from Fernandina Beach and Yulee
• all the young and successful fishermen we have met at Dry Run Creek
• having met Pat, who was full with fishing stories
• for the invitation to an impromptu evening concert at the COE campground
• the great service we got from the wait staff at our favorite restaurant in the Ozarks
• the enjoyment we had at the micro brewery in Hot Springs
• meeting Merlot's 500th friend on Facebook
• our ranger partners that became friends
• the privilege to host a couple that took a hiking vacation with their eight adopted kids
• seeing the proud Junior Rangers that have just passed their test
• having conversation with an author of history books, who came to Big Bend with his two children
• all the hikers that asked and most of the time listened to our advice about the different hikes
• meeting a mom of two who was also a successful Ninja Warrior
• all our volunteer friends at Big Bend National Park
• the experience of being on a boat with the Dolphin Whisperer of South Padre Island
• getting to know an artist in Rockport that kindly invited us into her studio
• the invitation of a young couple to celebrate with them their babies first birthday
• the expertise of the manager of the truck repair shop that fixed our motor coach
• spending an evening with a couple from Alaska that shared many funny RV stories
• all the guests that took our offer for a freshly brewed latte and a conversation
• meeting many others such as Michael, a geologist and John, a gifted artist.

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During our time at Chisos Basin, we've met two young hikers, Katelyn and Heather. They stayed for a few days and every evening we talked about their hikes and experiences. The last evening we asked them over for dinner and talked long about nature, goals, values, health, and faith. A wonderful evening under a star studded nightly sky. The next morning Katelyn and Heather stopped by with a thank you present, the above drawing from their hike to Emory Peak and a wonderful poem:

I was recently not very active on our travel blog and I am hesitant to make this post. Our family, Peggy, Merlot and I, are self-quarantined on this beautiful place called Fort Clinch State Park as resident volunteers. We are surrounded by tranquility, quietness, and wonderful nature. We almost feel guilty that we were put at this place while others suffer or are self-quarantined in much less desirable places. So, we decided to continue posting to open virtual windows.

Virtual windows to nature:

Virtual windows to wildlife:

Virtual windows to points of interests:

I am certain that on the other side of this we will be able to open the windows and most of all open the doors which prevent us currently to see places and meet people.
I also know for sure that on the other side of this our Nation will  be stronger and united.

You were wondering why we have not posted recently on our blog and I apologize for being lazy while we are on Amalia Island, especially since this island has so much to offer.
​The "bookends" during our stay are the sunrises and the sunsets:

Between these "bookends" we enjoy doing our volunteer duties, that reach from cleaning up the beach campground to getting the canons in shape and to help with preparing garrison stew for special events:

To fix up the park benches we used the entire arsenal of power tools from sander to grinder to cutter and the benches look like new:

Being here at Fort Clinch State Park also means to make new friends and to reconnect with "old" friends:

We were so happy to get a bouquet of flowers from Louise to thank us for our help:

Being here also means to reconnect with friends that are so dear to our hearts:

Being out here is to connect with nature and to fully understand what it means "that you can shake the sand from your shoes but not from your soul".

Just recently, we made an afternoon trip to the nearby Kingsley Plantation. 
NPS gives a good summary of this national landmark:
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many people came to Florida. Some, like Zephaniah Kingsley, sought to make their fortunes by obtaining land and establishing plantations. Others were forced to Florida to work on those plantations, their labor providing wealth to the people who owned them. Some of the enslaved would later become free landowners, struggling to keep their footing in dangerous times of shifting alliances and politics. All of these people played a part in the history of Kingsley Plantation.
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The place is like an enormous story teller and even the trees make a contribution.

The tabby buildings were the home of enslaved men, women and children and they were the backdrop of their life. The buildings were erected by the enslaved workers who were skilled carpenters, tabby makers, brick layers, and knew how to use the locally available material such as oyster shells. There are holes in the walls of the slave cabins because wooden spreader pins were used to hold the frame parallel during construction. It would be great if the walls could tell about family life in this slave community.

Amelia Island has a long pirates tradition. Pirates had large treasure chests and so does the island that we call home until the end of March.

Treasures such as walking along Egans Creek Greenway:

Treasures such as watching the re-enacters at Fort Clinch taking us back 170 years:

And each beach walk is a treasure by itself:

There are so many quotes about "home", but I very much like this one from Jane Austin: "There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort".

It is hard to believe that it is already one month since we have started our winter volunteer assignment at Fort Clinch State Park.

What a wonderful time to reconnect with all our friends and to settle in at the ocean campground.
​We enjoyed walking the familiar trails around Willow Pond:

Watching the local wildlife, gave us a magnificent view of this soaring Osprey:

Fort Clinch, the pinnacle feature of the park, presents us always with new lines, corners, light settings and compositions that make it to a paradise for photographers:

With time flying by so fast, I have to agree with Dr. Seuss: "How did it get so late so soon? It's night before its afternoon. December is here before its June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon."

We just finished our first full year living in the motorhome and returned to our home base Fort Clinch State Park. It is so wonderful to reconnect with friends after 8 months on the road. All are interested in our journey and the question "what was the highlight of your travels" became a standard. We had so many interesting and overwhelming experiences that we cannot give an answer. To create a somewhat structured feedback, I have to brake it down in three areas and let the images speak about Places, People, and Partnership. Let's start with places.

Alexandra Stoddard once said: "When you leave a beautiful place, you carry it with you wherever you go". We were blessed to experience Small Town America and the Texas backcountry. We were overwhelmed by the beauty of Big Bend National Park, amazed by the unknown Ozark Mountains, and blown away by the tasks introduced to us at the Norfolk National Fish Hatchery.

Meeting wonderful people from all walks of life is one of the treasures of the RV life we are living and Anna Sewell's quote resonates with me: "It is good people who make good places". See for yourself.

Cate Blanchett was once asked if marriage is a risk, and here is what she answered: "I think it is a great and glorious risk, as long as you embark the adventure in the same spirit." Our journey was a risk but the reward of having even a closer partnership than when we went out is such a great reward. We will keep the same spirit and look forward to the years on the road to come.

I always liked the song "what a wonderful world". We feel blessed for the journey that we were able to experience this year and invite you to join us over the next years traveling through this wonderful world:

What a great feeling it was when we came down Atlantic Avenue turning into Fort Clinch State Park. Eight months ago we drove through the same gate, yet in the opposite direction. We are very much looking forward to staying for four months at camp site 1, reconnecting with friends, and being part of the Fort Clinch volunteer team.

But before we write about our winter season on Amelia Island, I would like to step back and talk about the last few stops we had made on our way home.

Choctaw Lake was our home for two days. What a wonderful, quiet, family oriented campground with peaceful views from the hike around the lake. It was very close to Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

This highly rated refuge will be our home from April through June of 2020. It offers a place for migratory birds and native wildlife. Noxubee attracts hunters, hikers, and fisherman alike. Can't wait to learn more about the different species and plants in the refuge, and to assist in maintenance  projects. One of the great values of our RV life is that we get introduced to places which have such totally different missions.

After staying one more day at a COE park near Silas, AL, we crossed the FL stateline and were welcomed by sun, palm trees, and temperatures which made us to turn the A/C on the first time for months. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park amazed us with Caribean beaches and nice hikes. One more stop to go.

Three Rivers State Park, a very cosy park northwest of Tallahassee, was our harborage for the last two nights on the road. Sunrises were magnificent and the nearby Florida Caverns State Park was worth the day trip. The small town of Marianna was already decked out for Christmas and we even  found the rarity of a shoe maker. The time away from home went by so fast and we are back to the place where we left eight months ago. This will also be the starting point for our next years journey and T.S. Eliot's quote resonates with me: "Home is where one starts from".

Sardis, Mississippi, was our next stop on the way to the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge. It was another example for the Small Town America we encountered on our journey off the beaten path. All those towns have a specific character and show how people are trying their best to make a living.

Small Town America is also a place to meet interesting and wonderful people, such as Miz Beasley, who kindly invited us into her beauty salon, where she proudly showed us the decorations for her 25th Wedding Anniversary.

One of my favorites are side streets, the sleeping beauties of Small Town America. Workshop fronts, deteriorating buildings, back entrances, and even a closed Elvis museum gave Sardis a special character in the twilight of the evening.

After a photowalk in a foreign city, I always have to think about a saying of a photography friend of mine: Everything has beauty, you just have to see it.

Can you imagine that time once stopped in the central Mississippi Valley as the earth suddenly began to shake, roared, and violently moved about. The peaceful woodlands rolled like ocean waves, landslides covered many rivers and streams, and the air was dark and filled with sulfurous vapor. A great depression was formed and the forces of nature let the Mississippi River run backwards to fill the sunken area.
Reelfoot Lake is the remnant of one of the most violent earthquakes in North America that happened in the winter of 1811. It was our first stop on the way home to Florida and will be one of our volunteer sites in 2020.

We had a wonderful time meeting Tara, our volunteer coordinator at Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge. She showed us around the refuge and even had a flock of white Pelicans as a welcome committee.

Tiptonville is on the west side of Reelfoot and as per the information of the proprietor of the smallest and oldest liquor store in Tennessee is the poorest county in the state. By the way, the former General Manager of the New York Giants Jerry Reese, was born and raised in Tiptonville.

Louisville was one of the other stops while at Reelfoot. It is the County Seat of Winston County, and the home of Tyler Pearson, the 2017 world champion in steer wrestling. The downtown area is grouped around the county court house and especially some of the side streets leading to the square showed some healthy retail activities.
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Looking back to the event that created Reelfoot lake and seeing it's current beauty makes us better understand Einsteins's quote: Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.