Category: Uncategorized

September 1, 2025 

60 deg in the morning, 80’s in the afternoon

I went back to the beach for some cell service. It is such a great place to sit in the morning!

We drove back to the Thunder Bay Overlook. It is spectacular in any weather. This morning it was a bit cloudy. It was supposed to rain in the afternoon, so we wanted to get in a few things before it started. 

We walked the little nature trail near the Overlook. It took us through the woods to a pretty lake, but no wildlife were seen. The Maple Trees are turning color, and so is the Labrador Tea. 

Driving back down, we went to Pounsford Lake for lunch and maybe some fishing. The wind was blowing, and it was cloudy – not quite as inviting as our previous visit, but I was getting ready to get the kayak down when another couple came down with their big dog. They were friendly enough, but it kind of ruined the atmosphere, so we left. 

We tried Lizard Lake next, which really looked more fishy, and it was calmer. I threw a few different lures from shore with no results, but I could see some action on the surface. 

We drove back out to 17 to fill up with gas. the card reader wasn’t working, so Martha went in to pay. They do an odd thing here where you tell them what dollar value you want to spend. Martha said $75, which doesn’t do enough for a 36 gallon diesel tank, but we had enough to last us. 

It was hot – above 80 degrees – and sunny, so we went down to the beach. It’s a great beach on Lake Marie Louise, and lots of people were enjoying it. It’s pretty nice to be able to choose shade and grass to sit, or sun and sand. 

We stuck our feet in and decided we didn’t really need to go in. After sitting in the sun for a while, though, I took the plunge. It was quite refreshing.

Back at camp, as the sun went down, Martha made a big pot of chili and I started a fire. We enjoyed sitting by the fire on a beautiful evening with a little Lionel Ritchie playing. It was a good day.

April 30, 2024

We had a relaxing morning before going to explore the beach. The wind was still blowing about 17mph, but it was warming up from the 64 degrees we woke up to. We walked out the back of our campsite and climbed the steep dune for a view of the campground and a gorgeous beach at low tide.

We walked south until we reached a sign telling us not to walk further as it was a bird nesting area. The water was cold and rough, but it was fine after the initial shock. We only saw a few people. A couple were tucked in between dunes for protection from the wind. Rarely do you find a beach this pretty with so few people on it. the island is 16 miles long, so that gives plenty of room for people to spread out.

We changed clothes and rode our bikes 3 miles into town. We turned down Lighthouse Road to find the lovely Ocracoke lighthouse that still functions. We were met by a nice guide, Marilee, who was from Virginia. She and her husband come down every year. The lighthouse was built with bricks made on the mainland and shipped over in 1823. It is the second oldest continuously functioning lighthouse in the country and can be seen 14 miles off shore. The keeper’s quarters are seen on the right.

We talked with Marilee quite a while. She told us about the restaurants and her favorites. She also told us to go the end of the road and walk through the forest to Springer’s Point. We rode to the right, finding Springer’s Nature Preserve and put our bikes in a rack. Seems like there are bike racks everywhere and it’s a good way to get around on these small streets. There is a loop trail through a pretty hammock (a stand of trees surrounded by areas of water) and out to a nice beach on Pamlico Sound. Kids were swimming and playing the shallow waters in contrast to the rough waters on the ocean today.

We rode through some of the neighborhoods before going out to Rt. 12. On Marilee’s suggestion, we went to Smacknally’s Bar and Grill for lunch, again putting our bikes in a stand. It’s all outdoor seating at Smacknally’s with views of the harbor and the boats. It was a little cool sitting in the shade with breezes off the water, so I kept moving into the sun to stay warm. It was a busy place at lunchtime, but the service was good and so was the food. I had a fish (drum) sandwich and Martha had a shrimp basket.

On the way back to the campground we stopped at the coolest bookstore, Books To Be Red. Martha needed a new book, and apparently found a good one.

Back at Ocracoke Campground, which is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, it was time for a shower. As is the custom in most national parks, there are no hookups. Fortunately Lew Farber’s addition of two more solar panels was serving us well, as there was never an issue with power. Water was a different thing with 36 gallons to last a week, so two of us taking showers might be a problem,

The campground has showers, but with no hot water. I went to Camp Yonahnoka in Linville, NC where the showers were trout stream cold. the trick was to jump in, get wet and get out, lather up half the body, rinse off, jump out, lather he other half and rinse again. By the third rinse, the body became acclimated and it wasn’t a problem, but that first plunge took some fortitude. The same technique worked fine. The water was cold, but not Yonahnoka cold. Martha took a shower in the trailer, but I had to fuss at her for using too much water.

As I sampled my glass of wine, I thought about “The Old Cowboy Ranch” in British Columbia. It is the most unique campground I have ever been in, and their shower was pretty cool. It was an outdoor shower with a fence around it. Water was pumped into a rather large plastic tank on a roof above the shower. It was best not to shower in the morning, but rather in the afternoon when the sun had enough time to warm the water. It was all gravity pressure and it worked well. However, if you went in after two or three others, the water wasn’t going to be so warm, as fresh water was pumped in. Timing was everything. You might look up to see a peacock watching you as they had free rein of the property. You can find their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/oldcowboyranch/ or on my old blog https://fishacrosscanada.wordpress.com/2013/07/

We had a busy day at Mawamba Lodge. Breakfast was delightful in their pretty, open air restaurant with great food and service. Martha fell in love with our waiter, who was very nice. Next, we were taken by boat down the river to the village of Tortuguero. A walk through the cute, little village and we arrived at Tortuguero National Park, the third most popular park in Costa Rica.

There is a good path into the park, which goes a long way in this 19,000 hectare (75 sq. mi.) park, but wherever we walked, we had to walk back, through the village and another 15 minutes back to the lodge. A lot of people were walking in and out and were helpful in spotting wildlife. The park is known for the sea Green Sea and Hawksbill turtles that nest here on the beautiful beach. We didn’t see any turtles, but we saw a sloth and monkeys. They are having a problem with jaguars coming into the village and attacking dogs, but we didn’t see those either.

Walking through the cute, little village, we stopped to help a boy shooting a ball into a bucket, working on his basketball skills. I helped, but soon deferred to Ed who played basketball for his famous coach/father in high school. The boy appreciated the help with a big smile on his face. In a central park people ate their lunch while one group of men played dominoes. It’s a delightful little town.

After lunch, we went for a canal tour by boat. It was hot and the middle of the day, so we were lucky to see a fair amount of wildlife.

We had a little time by the pool. We had all signed up (or at least we thought we had) for a night hike in the National Park jungle. Most were happy to relax by the pool, but Ed, Debbie and I went. We took a boat down below the village where our guide gave us all flashlights before warning us not to touch anything, not even the hand railing on a narrow boardwalk. There could be spiders or biting insects, so “don’t touch anything!”

We set out in a grassy area next to the dock where we found frogs, toads and a huge spider web that is so strong it is used for fishing line. It is from the Golden Silk Orb Weaver that weaves a sticky web to catch its prey, but also a protective barrier to keep birds from flying into it. The tensile strength is 8 times that of steel! (https://www.golfodulceretreat.com/the-golden-orb#:~:text=The%20golden%20silk%20orb%20weaver%20epitomises%20the%20grandeur%20of%20the,fauna%20of%20this%20beautiful%20country.) The silk is also used in surgery to repair nerve damage.

From: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/orb-weaver-spiders-pest-control

Walking a 1-hour loop on a narrow boardwalk, we saw so many things, we could see why he warned us not to touch anything. I kept looking for jaguars in the trees, but with no luck. No bit snakes either, but we saw some crazy-looking bugs, spiders, the biggest being a banana spider. There was an owl moth that with his wings spread, it looked like an owl. It was a long day, but we were glad we went on this walk through the jungle.

The last things he found were bullet ants, which I never saw, being at the back of the line. He said it is the most painful bite you can get. On one trip a bullet ant fell on his hand and bit him. He said it was horrible, and his hand quickly began to swell. He quickly headed back to the boat and into the village, but the doctor was not there. He had to make the long journey to San Jose for treatment. “Don’t touch anything!”