Mush! In less than three weeks, we're off for a ten-day Alaskan Inside Passage cruise with our #1 grandson. Grandson #2, at four, is below the age limit for traveling alone with grandma and grandpa. Plus, two kids on a boat is like snakes on a plane, we're not sure we could handle it. But at nine, #1 is a joy and we're looking forward to discovering Alaska along with him as the visit will be a first for us all. We'll be taking lots of pictures, of course, and will share some of the experience here and in the gallery. According to the experts, the weather will be cool or hot, clear or sunny and wet or dry. Stay tuned.

Easy life. Home now and enjoying the memories of our time in these two gracious towns. Savannah charmed us with its tailored squares, its history and its varied and unique architecture. Charleston's homes, from grand to simple, speak of a time of gracious living. For some, that time is the present. Both places captured our hearts and stomachs, of course, with their food. We didn't over indulge, not really, but we had some fine eats in both places. I think the area is a lot like San Francisco in that you have to work at finding a bad meal. Maybe we lucked out, but this is a land of serious eating. Had a bowl of shrimp and grits at a place called Blossom in Charleston that changed me. For about a week afterwards I couldn't stop saying "y'all".

Charleston's gardens are legendary and the folks there take them very seriously. To bring this passion to the streets, almost every home has at least one window box bursting with color. There were literally hundreds throughout the city. The Charleston Window Boxes gallery has a few that we thought were extraordinary.

An excursion outside of Savannah took us to dinner (food again!) at the Crab Shack. We were early so we got the lovely water-side table you'll see in the Savannah gallery. While in Charleston we took in Fort Sumter and was impressed. This relatively tiny speck of a place and those who fought there made a huge difference in two major wars. 

The highlight of the trip, however, wasn't the South's charm, hospitality or even its cuisine, it was the week and a half we spent with our daughter and grandsons near Philly. How great it was to catch up on their lives, see how they've grown and watch super-Mom in action. Hated to leave, glad to be home.

Great Egret in breeding plumage At more or less the mid-point of our trip, we're settled in with daughter and grandsons outside of Philadelphia. It will be nice to catch up on rest, home cooking and laundry. The last week plus has been spent in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. Both fantastic towns and we had a tremendous time there. The weather cleared and we were dry and warm after the first day. I'll be posting a few of the images from Savannah, Charleston and the charming village of Beaufort, SC, which was a very pleasant one-nighter between the two. There are some new images up now from an amazing place just north of Charleston adjacent to the Magnolia Gardens plantation called the Audubon Swamp Gardens. We were able to walk through the swamp on an elevated boardwalk that brought us very close to Egrets, Herons, Anhinga and a variety of swamp life including alligators of considerable size.