BILTMORE  ESTATES

Judy & Chris @ lunch in the Stable Cafe

I Knew it,   I Knew it!

They went to lunch without me! Next time they leave I'm going to picket outside the R.V. protesting abuse.  Dad even had the nerve to have a Bacon, Buffalo Cheese Burger and didn't even save me a bite! Hmmm, I think it looks like Mom is having a peach Sangria. No wonder she took a map.

Mom went crazy taking pictures of the Biltmore Estates. She even labeled most of the pictures. I sure hope they show up good so you can enjoy them.  We will be heading back home shortly. The past few days have been cooler and we've had the coach windows open.

I will be happy to be home and see all my friends. Love, Sam & Family

BLACK  MOUNTAIN  GOLF  CLUB,  NC

17th  HOLE

Hi Y'll,  That's how everyone greets you here in the Carolina's.  Now, I am confused!?!  I thought we lived in the South but somehow I don't bark with a southern "draw." Go figure.

I just had to add a quick blog because Mom and Dad went golfing the other day at Black Mountain Golf Club.  There was a PAR 6 hole billed as the longest hole in the USA. Mom said she didn't even know there were par 6 holes. Now I tried and tried, but do you think I could get Mom to admit what her score was on that par 6! NO.  Next time I should go along! After all I LOVE golf carts.  They are going back to golf one more time before we leave.

I have a question for all of you.  Do you like GPS?  Boy the stories I over hear. Hear is the latest. Mom and Dad were in the mood for a Longhorn steak and googled to find one close to us.  The campground where we are staying is on NC St Rd 70. According to the map, Longhorn was located  ll miles away just off  St Rd 70. GPS wanted to route them onto I-40 to I-240 then exit west of Longhorn on to St Rd 70. (You saved 6 min. by taking the Interstate.) They decided to stay on 70 and GPS had them turn 1 block too soon and looped them up around the hillside and back to 70 then onto the correct street.

The KOA here says if you use the GPS for directions to find them, it routes people up the mountain, then has them turn around to come back down the mountain into the campground. Maybe GPS gets confused in the mountains.

Well tomorrow I am being left alone again! They are going to visit the Biltmore Estates. No doubt they will have lunch there and take a lot of pictures. I will keep you posted.

Until then, love Sam and family.  PS I do get to swim a couple of times a day in the river.

FOUR  PAWS  KINGDOM  CAMPGROUND

Well, it's about time that I get a chance to blog!  We spent 2 wonderful weeks buried in the woods with hiking trails, 6 fenced in big dog parks, a stream to run in and the pest de resistance a swimming pond!  I had several different friends to play with but none as fun as my buddy's at home.

I am getting ahead of myself so let's back up and review our trip to Four Paws. We left SC headed up I-95 to I-26 north. About an hour south of Asheville, NC we headed east toward our destination. Things were going great until Mom miss-read a sign and we turned on the business route! Oops! In these rural historic towns you NEVER take the business route! Not with a 40' rig hauling a car, due to narrow streets, low hanging trees and NO place to turn around. Dad spotted a hospital parking lot and we got turned around. We then pulled in a connivance store/gas station to get directions. OK, so, no GPS signal, no NC map to be bought (I guess paper maps are a thing of the past) and no one had heard of Four Paws. YIKES!  Do I hear banjo's playing?  We called the camp ground and they were clueless as to where we were. Dad decided to back track to the main road and we were finally on the right route again. Four Paws was 3 miles down a very curvy narrow road.  To make a short story long, we finally arrived at Four Paws, a longer day than planned!

Days were fun filled with swimming and hiking. Mom and Dad did go golfing and leave me alone but don't tell them, I needed the rest, even though I gave them that "sad" Lab look. I think I have lost weight, even though I am not going without my snacks, (you know Dad is a soft touch).  We even had a couple of trips to McDonald's (thank heavens for Mom and her love of diet coke!)  Guess we will find out when we get to a scales.

Our next stop is Asheville, NC which should be a short uneventful trip. Well maybe? Love, Sam

 y

Cumberland Island, GA

Dungeness Ruins are located on the southern tip of Cumberland Island National Seashore.













Feral horses roam freely on the island.




Cumberland Island Wilderness preserves the undeveloped nature of the island. I took the 9:00 am ferry over to the island with my back pack loaded. (You would think I was headed out for a weeks hike.) There are no concessions on the island (there are bathrooms and water) so I packed 4 bottles of water, peanut butter and honey sandwich, 2 granola bars, 2 packs of peanut butter and cheese crackers and a quart zip lock bag of kettle potato chips. I made sure to put on plenty of sun screen and included in the back pack bug spray and one of those wet cloths athletes wear to keep cool. I started my hike at 10:00 am from the docking area to the Dungeness Ruins then on through the sand dunes to the beach. I had lunch on the beautiful beach then hiked over a mile to the next exit point to head back across the island at narrowest point of 1/2 mile. The entire hike was over 5 miles and I was at the Sea Camp Rangers Station in under 4 hours. I was very pleased to see the ranger station with a large porch and rocking chairs waiting for me! The ferry back to St Mary's pulled out at 2:45 pm. The last ferry of the day was at 4:30 pm. ( I was glad to take the earlier ferry!) Oh, by the was, I forgot to tell you I chose the hottest day of the year to do this. The temp. was 100, at least I had a breeze as long as I was on the water. Inland there was no breeze. I guess I'm in not too bad a shape!

I should back up and tell you about our start to the trip. We loaded up the RV and headed to Tampa at Lazydays for our first night. (This way we can get a early start the following morning.) All the sites are back-ins so I drive the car and we hook up to tow the next morning. Just as Chris was getting off in Tampa the generator conks out. The generator runs to keep the refrigerator and both A/C units running while we drive down the road. Chris is instantly hipper, go figure, and ready to turn around and cancel the trip. After calming down and checking and adding fluids everything is good and the trip is back on. Outside temps are 100 and our poor frig. is working overtime and can't get under 40. This gives me some concerns. We had the ice maker repaired and when we turned it on it started to leak again. UGH! Oh well, if things run in 3's we've hit our quota!

I am attaching pictures of Cumberland Island. Sam will do the next blog about 4 Paws Park. Wifi is very slow and it takes hours to down load pictures. Ill do my best. Loves and Hugs Judy, Chris and Sam

SAM in the MARSH

MOM with DAD'S  SISTER

Hi There, Well it has been a fun and busy week. We had family visiting from Atlanta and New York. Dad's sister and one of his cousins and her husband, sister and brother-in-law. Of course you know what that means, I was left at home while they had a good time shopping and eating out. Hump! I shouldn't complain too much since I still get to swim and have my rides.

Today I am sharing a few pictures from one of their outings. Dad stayed home with me and they all rode in one car. There is a wonderful seafood place to eat that has been mentioned on the travel and food channel as a must see place to visit. It is the Five Island Lobster Co. in Georgetown, ME. Now this is about and hour north of Portland. The day they decided to go was socked in with fog which hung around until late afternoon then fog came back in.

I'm making my weekly therapy dog visit today then I'm going for a weigh in. Oh NO! Mom doesn't know but Dad and I made a McDonald's run when she was out shopping and on her outings. Dad told me to only put 3 paws on the scale. Oops, I just can't say no to TREATS. Catch you all next week if I'm not too weak from Mom taking away my extra food, after all, without it, I may waste away to normal. Love and Hugs, Sam and Family

SAM

MY  BUDDY  WILSON

Hi Everyone,

This is my friend Wilson. He was here for three weeks and we had a great time. Wilson's Mom sent us the pictures she took so I am sharing them with you. Besides taking me to the park, Mom and Dad have been doing a lot of golfing this summer. I still don't know why I can't go along, after all I love riding in a golf cart, not to mention my love of balls!

My visits to the veterans home is so much fun. I have a favorite wing where everyone is excited to see me. I even get to visit the different rooms. Some of the beds are low and they can reach me easily while other beds are high and I put my paws on the edge and stand up so I can be reached. A couple of my new friends even have treats for me. Mom says, years ago they had metal collapsible drinking glasses. Well, Mom has a plastic collapsible bowl for me so I can get a drink of water while we are visiting. (She says the water fountains are off limits. Go figure.)

Last Sunday Dad's sister, Suzanne flew into Portland and is staying in Kennebunkport. Mom loves it since it gives her a reason to go shopping and have lunch in one of her favorite towns in Maine. Tomorrow Suzanne and dads cousin, Marie and her husband and another couple are planning a trip to have  lunch at Five Islands Lobster Co. in Georgetown, ME. Georgetown is north of Portland and south of Bath. Dad says it's crazy to drive that far for lobster when we have the same lobster here in Scarborough, But you know Mom, she's always up for a road trip and new adventures!

I am sure Mom will take a lot of pictures and report on the lunch and area. My next blog will have family pictures and a report on the restaurant since it was written up on the travel network. Here are the pictures of Wilson and I. I'll check in next week, I hope. As always, Sam and family

OCEAN  PARK

WON  TROPHY

Hi Everyone, It's been almost 3 weeks since I've checked in and boy have I been busy. I met a friend in the RV Park who stayed here for 3 weeks. His name was Wilson and he is a yellow lab. We became best buds and got to go on outings together. He loves to swim and run on trails just like me. It was sad when he left on Friday for his home in NY. Every time I pass their site I double check to make sure he hasn't returned. His Mom took lots of pictures and will be sending them to me. So keep a heads up for pictures of the two of us.

Every week, as you know, I get to go visit as a Therapy Dog. Now I hear them call my name when I am coming down the hall. Some even whistle for me to come to them. Now don't tell Dad, but some give me TREATS! (I don't want him giving me less at home! I might waist away to normal.)

Saturday I had the BEST day EVER! Mom and I left home at 6:30 am headed to Ocean Park Beach for a Doggie Breakfast. There we met some of my Therapy Dog Class Mates as well as made new friends. We had swim time, free play, a special blessing and games. They had all sorts of events from largest to smallest dog, youngest to oldest, best tail wagger, best kisser, best vocalist to name a few. Mom entered me in the Sit Down Stay contest and I won a trophy along with 3 others. Then they gave a trophy for the one who came the farthest and I beat everyone out. So I came home with 2 trophies! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer and I look forward to seeing you in the fall. Take care and I will try to do better about writing. I miss you all, Sam and Family