Florida and Florida Keys

Dec. 15

Yeah, finally made it to Florida and decide to spend a few days in Daytona Beach.  It has been so cold that we are looking for warmer weather.  It is much warmer here in Daytona and can be outside without a coat.  We turn on the TV and saw they are testing tires on the newly repaved Daytona track and it is open to the public for free so we head there.  There were three cars on the track and we were able to stand right by the fence and watch.  The noise when a car passed by us was unbelievable.  They will be testing the track again tomorrow so we will come in the morning.  Many big name drivers are here, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Juan Montoya to name a few.

Dec. 16

A beautiful sunny day as we head to the Daytona track this morning.  We find seats in the grandstands and see 14 cars running this morning.  There are lots of people here today and we stay until lunch time.  After lunch we drove to the beach and were able to drive on the beach in the Jeep past many high rise condos.  It is a beautiful white sandy beach and it's finally warm enough to put our toes in the Atlantic Ocean.  I pick-up sea shells and walk in the water which isn't too cold.





pace car

Daytona Speedway



putting my feet in the Atlantic



Dec. 17

Sunny and warm again today.   We head down towards Cape Canaveral.  Our first stop is a lighthouse not far from Daytona.  We stop at Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse which is a beautifully restored lighthouse with museum buildings surrounding it.  Next we go to Canaberal National Seashore and drive to the end of the road and stop to walk and pick-up sea shells on the beach.  The water here is a  deep turquoise blue color.  We stop at a place called Turtle Mound.  It was a place for Timucuan Indians to gather and process clams.  Today the mound is 18 feet high with a walkway built over it.  We saw a small armadillo along the road.  Next we went to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.  We drove along a road were alligators were out sunning themselves and many shore birds along the way.  We saw egrets, blue herons, brown pelicans and a pink colored shore bird called a Roseate Spoonbill.  We don't go to the Kennedy Space Center but could see in the distance the buildings and a rocket being readied for launch in February.





Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse



Dec. 18

Rain this morning.  We are moving south to Pompano Beach.  The rain is coming down in sheets and it is hard to see.  Traffic is going slow because of the hard rain.  We finally get to the campground and get soaked getting hooked up.  We are near my nephew, David so call him to make arrangements to see them tomorrow.

Dec. 19

It is still cloudy today and stay around the motor home where I do some laundry.  Around 4 we go to David and Makebas house which is about a mile from our campground.  They have a cute house in Lighthouse Point that has been totally remolded.  The kitchen and back yard have been recently redone.  We had a delicious dinner and ate out by the pool.  It was great seeing them again after seeing them in Chicago and Boston.

Dec. 20

Sunny and warm today as we head down towards Miami.  We go to Biscayne National Park and stop at the visitors center.  This is the only part of the park on land.  We watch a movie about the park which protects and preserves a significant marine ecosystem with mangrove shorelines, a shallow bay, undeveloped islands, and living coral reefs.  There is a boat ride out to an island but the next one was at 1 in the afternoon.  We decided to go on to the Everglades National Park instead.  We took a side road that went to another visitors center and walked on a boardwalk over the marshy area.  We saw many birds, turtles, and about 20 alligators in one spot.  We took the road which ends at Florida Bay to Flamingo Visitors Center and marina.  We only saw a small portion of the Everglades and will probably see it from the gulf side later.


Alligatores in The Everglades



Egret





Great Blue Heron



Dec. 21

Sunny and nice again today.  We stay around the campground in the morning and after lunch we go to Deerfield Beach which has public access to the beach.  We walk along the wide beach.  It is warm so lots of people are on the beach and some even swimming.  It is a beautiful area with inter coastal waterways with large yachts and ocean going boats parked in front of houses. 

Dec. 22

Sunny and blue sky today as we leave to go south to the Keys.  We are going to spend Christmas and a total of 5 days in the Keys.  We are going about halfway down and staying in a campground near the town of Marathon.  We will be able to explore the Keys in both directions in the Jeep. 

Dec. 23

Today is sunny and warm again.  After lunch we head down to Key West.  We plan on doing a little shopping and eating dinner down there.  We go to the southernmost point in the continental US. which is a large concrete painted marker.  We are only 90 miles from Cuba.  Next we go to Mallory Square where people are preforming for donations.  We have dinner at Sloppy Joes which was Ernest Hemingway's favorite restaurant.  After dinner we go back to Mallory Square to watch the sunset.  This place is known for its beautiful sunsets and many people were gathered to watch.  We pick up 2 pieces of key lime pie to take home for our desert and head out of town to the motor home. 

Southernmost point in continental US



Sunset in Key West


We will spend 3 more days down here in the Keys and go back on the mainland on Dec. 27th.  The Keys are very tropical feeling with everything so green and many blooming bushes and flowers.  The water color is a beautiful turquoise blue.  The water is at different depths so the water takes on different hues of blue/green.  There are many bridges to cross all the way down to Key West. 

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  We will miss spending Christmas with our children and grand kids but we feel fortunate to be able to follow our dream while we are able to.  This country is so large that we are only seeing a small portion of it.  We have loved visiting the many cities and states and have fantastic memories of each place we have seen.  We are finally enjoying the warm weather and look forward to our trip across the gulf states.  We will head up the gulf side of Florida and plan on meeting our son Chad, Melanie and Jacob in Disney World on Jan. 7th for 6 days.  We have been on the road almost 4 month and traveled over 9600 miles.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Knoxville, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia

Dec. 4, Dec. 5 and Dec. 6

Still in Knoxville.  It's cold here and keeps trying to snow but not much is sticking.  We have been here for 21 days and tomorrow we are leaving.  They have fixed everything except the pac/compression break.  It won't hurt to drive the motor home the way it is.  We will probably get it worked on when we get to Texas.  I bought another Christmas tree, an artificial one with lights.  I bought small ornaments to put on it. 



my little tree

Dec. 7

Snow this morning and it lightly covers the ground but it is a very dry snow.  We said our good-byes and left for North Carolina.  We spend the night near Winston Salem. 

Dec. 8

We move on today to Shawboro N.C. which is close to the Otter Banks area of North Carolina.  The closer we got to the coast we saw acres and acres of cotton fields.  They had already been harvested but balls of cotton were everywhere, even along the road.  We found a great seafood market/restaurant for dinner. 

Dec. 9

It's sunny and cold today.  The east is still getting cold weather.  We got up early  to head to the Otter Banks in the Jeep.  Our first stop is Wright Brothers National Memorial four miles south of the town of Kitty Hawk.  The reason the Wright Brothers selected Kitty Hawk to work on a successful flight is because of the wind there and sparse population.  The visitors center has full-scale reproductions of the 1902 glider and the 1903 flying machine.  We heard a ranger talk about the Wright Brothers and the four flights they took on Dec. 17, 1903. The first went 120 feet for 12 seconds.  Each flight that day increased in distance with the last one going 852 feet in 59 sec.  After that last flight a gust of wind rolled and damaged the plane beyond easy repair.  Outside there is a marker were the first flight took off from and markers were the four flights landed.  Next we stopped at Bodie Island Lighthouse which is being restored and covered in scaffolding.  We drove across a very long  bridge to Roanoke Island and visited Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.  The Otter Banks area has large homes along the beaches.  They are built on stilts at least 8 feet off the ground because of flooding.  Most houses are an additional three stories high with roof top decks.  We drove along Cape Hatteras National Seashore and stopped at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse which is the tallest brick beacon in the country.  We enjoyed our day on the Otter Banks. 

reproduction of 1903 flying machine

 

reproduction of 1902 glider



actual picture of first flight



first flight marker



markers where the 4 flights landed



Cape Hatteras Lighthouse



Bodie Island Lighthouse


Dec. 10

Heavy frost covers the ground this morning and we leave for Myrtle Beach South Carolina.  The campground we are staying in is large with about 750 campsites.  It was pretty quite this time of the year but probably full in the summer.  We can see the ocean from our motor home.  It is great hearing that ocean sound. 
Dec. 11

Rain in the night and still raining this morning.  It stopped long enough for us to walk on the beach.  We did a little shopping and had a good seafood dinner. 

Dec. 12

Decided to move further south and maybe it will be warmer.  We are camping by the town of Yemassee S.C. and staying here for 3 nights.  We are close enough to drive the Jeep into Savannah Georgia.  We got here around noon time so I can do laundry this afternoon. 

Dec. 13

It's Sunny but cold today and there is a cold wind blowing also.  We drive the Jeep to Hilton Head Island.  This is a very up scale area with lots of golf resorts.  Had a great fish and chip lunch in a little restaurant.  We went to Fort Pulaski National Monument at the mouth of the Savannah River in Georgia.  It was part of an extensive chain of coastal forts built to protect the United States from foreign invasion.  During the Civil War in 1862, Union forces on Tybee island bombarded the fort for 30 hours and forced the surrender of the Confederate garrison.  The bombardment tore gaping holes in the walls of the fort.  The fort has a moat around it and a draw bridge.  This is one of the best forts we have visited on this trip.

Dec. 14

Got down to 22 in the night.  Sunny this morning with a slight wind blowing.  We drive the Jeep into Savannah this morning and take a trolley tour of the historic downtown area.  There are many historic homes of different styles and 22 park like squares about 2 blocks in any direction scattered in this historic area.  There are museums, famous houses and churches to see on this tour that lasted 90 minutes.  We enjoyed seeing the beautiful historic town from a trolley with narration.  On the way back to the motor home we stopped at Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.  It was established in 1927 as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds.  We watched a movie about how the area was once a rice plantation dating back to the mid 1700s.  We leave here in the morning and head to Daytona Beach Florida for a couple of days.  Will be glad to finally get to Florida and hope the weather is warmer,  then we will go to Orlando area for a few days.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Knoxville Tennessee

Nov. 25
Thanksgiving

Here we are still in Knoxville TN getting the motor home worked on.  They have ordered a part which should be here on Monday.  We are all by ourselves in the campground today and maybe all weekend.  People who live close have left their motor homes to be worked on next week.  It is a beautiful sunny day up into the 70s.  We stayed around the motor home most of the day and went to the local BBQ restaurant for dinner.  We had the best smoked turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. 

Nov. 26

I got to sleep in today and that felt good.  In the afternoon we went to the nearby mall and did a little shopping.  The roads and mall was crowded.  I picked up some uncooked chicken to make chicken noodle soup for dinner.  We bought some homemade noodles when we were in Amish country in Pennsylvania and homemade soup sounded good.

Nov. 27

It got down to about 28 in the night but the sun was shinning in the morning.  There was a cold wind blowing though.  After lunch today we decided to go back down the Pigeon Forge area to see the Christmas lights.  We looked on the Internet at Dollywood and decided we didn't want to spend $60 each to see it.  The traffic was terrible when we got close to Pigeon Forge.  We took another road out to the country side and found a little BBQ place where we bought pulled pork and beef brisket to go.  There were stores to stop at along this road.  Thanksgiving weekend is big down here and traffic was bumper to bumper and lots of people walking along the streets.  We went to the last town before the Smokey Mountains which is Gatlinburg and stopped at a sports bar to have beer and potato skins.  That should hold us until we get back to the motor home.  The lights were beautiful and I'm glad we came back to see them.  Everything is decorated and the towns go all out with lights and Christmas decorations. 

Nov. 28

Cold in the night again and sunny and clear in the morning.  We stayed in the campground today.  In the afternoon the service manager called to see if were here in the campground.  He brought us some smoked ribs he had cooked and we had them for dinner.  They were delicious and that was really nice of him to think of us.  We sent him home with some crappie from our freezer.  Motor homes started coming into the campground in the afternoon.  By night the place was full again. 

Nov. 29

It's cold and cloudy today with rain on the way.  They worked on the coach today but didn't get it fixed. 
We had leftover chicken noodle soup and ribs for dinner tonight.  The rain started around dinner time and it's coming down hard all night.


Nov. 30

It rained all night and continues today.  Flash flood warnings our out for the entire area.  I don't think I have ever seen it rain so hard for so long.  Motor home still not fixed. 

Dec. 1

Cold again in the night and the rain stopped during the night.  A light snow was falling in the morning.  They have a man from Cummings Diesel coming to look at our motor home and hook it up to a computer program to try and find the problem with the pac break.  Cummings did an update and they are now looking for a broken wire and it is now just finding it.  Hope we will be fixed soon.




SNOW!

Dec. 2

Sunny but cold today.  Glad we have winter coats with us.  It has been getting below 30 in the night but gets up to the 40s in the day.  Found one bad wire today and replaced it.  The mechanic says he is getting close to a fix.  We have been on the road for 3 months today and traveled 7,700 miles.  This country is BIG!!

Dec. 3

Today is Friday so we hope the MH is fixed by the end of the day.   It's sunny again today but cold in the night.  Even though we have been here in Knoxville for over 2 weeks it hasn't been too bad.  We are comfortable in our motor home every night and have met lots of nice people.  I'm going to sent this blog this morning even though we haven't done much sightseeing and just been staying around the campground.  We want to get further south and into warmer weather soon.  Definitely happy travels, Barb

Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina

Nov. 16

We need to head west to Tennessee so we won't miss seeing Tennessee and Kentucky.  It rained all night but cleared when we left Virginia.  We enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Virginia and West Virginia.  Both states are tree covered hills and lots of farms with green fields and cattle.  As we crossed the border into Tennessee we stopped for lunch at a rest stop.  We had trouble with the power in the motor home, the lights and water pump, so decided to take it to a RV dealer and repair shop in Knoxville.  The rain is really coming down and the wind is blowing so hard our windshield wipers are getting stuck.  We finally got there late in the afternoon so they put us in their campground by the service center.  We have electricity and water and are comfortable.  Hopefully they will be able to work us in tomorrow.

Nov. 17

It's sunny and nice today.  We get the motor home ready to be moved to the service area and we leave to go see the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We drive to the town of Pigeon Forge where Dollywood in located.  What a tourist area this is.  Motels and about every restaurant we have ever heard of is located in this town and the next town of Gatlinburg.  In the summer it is very crowded. 
We take the Newfound Gap Road which is the main road across the mountains and is a famous scenic drive.  The Smoky Mountains are higher than the Blue Ridge Mountains which extend from Shenandoah in Virginia to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee and North Carolina.  There was a skiff of snow at the top where we crossed into North Carolina and crossed the Appalachian Trail.  At the end of the National Park we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 15 miles to Waterrock Knob.  The visitors center there was closed so we turned around and went back through the Cherokee Indian Reservation and the town of Cherokee.  There are large hotels and casinos and gift shops in this town.  We went back through the Smoky Mountains on the same road and had lunch in the town of Gatlinburg on the edge of the park.  We went back to Knoxville and our motor home was parked back in the campground.  They had worked on some of the things we needed repaired.

Nov.18

Got the motor home ready to go into service again today and we decided to drive up to Kentucky.  We went to Cumberland Gap National Historical Park which was an important place of westward migration.  At the visitors center we watched a film about Daniel Boone and how he and others blazed Wilderness Road through the gap in 1775 opening Kentucky lands to settlers.  They battled the Cherokee and Daniel Boone lost his son during Indian fighting.  From 1776 to 1810, 200,000 to 300,000 settlers cross Cumberland Gap into the Ohio Valley.  The Cumberland Gap is one of the very few natural corridors through the Appalachian Mountains.  By the 1830s the Gap declines in importance as canals and railroads improve east-west travel elsewhere.  In 1861-65, during the Civil War,  the Gap was considered strategic by both sides.  It changed hands several times but saw no major action.
We got back to Knoxville and they had worked on the motor home and it was back in the campground again.

Nov. 19

We are still at the RV repair.  The pac break is not working on the motor home so we are waiting for that to be fixed.  They don't work on it today so looks like we will be here through the weekend.

Nov. 20

We decide to drive the Jeep to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky and stay in a motel tonight.  It's a 3 hour drive and we get there before lunch time.  We go to the visitors center to purchase a cave tour and get a 2:00 tour.  We have time to have lunch and check into a motel before our tour.  We are staying in the little town of Cave City which is close to the park.  We go on the New Entrance tour which has 500 stairs and takes 2 hours to complete.  Mammoth Cave is the longest known cave on Earth with over 365 miles of surveyed passageways.  It was formed by the slow dissolution of limestone by groundwater.  It was a great cave with very narrow passages and some low ceilings.  We started the tour with a multi story stairway down into the cave.  We saw large slabs of rocks that had fallen from the ceiling and places where the ceiling was smooth.  We saw stalagmites, stalactites and flowstone.  I'm glad we got the chance to see Mammoth Cave.








Mammoth Cave


 Nov. 21

It's sunny and nice today.  After breakfast we started back to the motor home.  We stopped briefly in Bowling Green at the Corvette Museum and checked out the gift shop.  We went through Nashville on our way home.  We will have to come back this way some other  time to check out Nashville. 

Nov. 22

It is nice and sunny again today.  We got the motor home ready to go into service again today.  After lunch we did a little shopping at a string of stores that runs for about a mile close to where we are parked.  There are all kinds of stores and restaurants so we have plenty of choices for food.  They finally took the motor home in around 4:00.  Still not sure what is wrong with it. 

Nov. 23

We have been here for a week now.  Not a bad place to be though.  We have everything we need and they have been very nice to us.  Today they took the motor home into service first thing in the morning.  They worked most of the day on it and are narrowing down possibilities of whats wrong.  I bought a small live tree and I'm decorating it for my Christmas tree.  We had a good dinner at the Olive Garden.




My Christmas Tree



Nov. 24

They took the motor home into service first thing this morning.  They think the problem is a box that communicates between the transmission and the pac break.  They are ordering the part which will be here on Monday.  We will be spending the weekend here.  The people are so nice here.  They had a turkey and ham dinner at lunch time today and invited us to join them.  One night we will go back to Pigeon Forge area and see the Christmas lights and maybe visit Dollywood.  That catches me up on my blog.  We hope we can move to North Carolina next Tuesday and get on with our travels.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia

Nov. 7

Today we left the Washington DC area and going to South Jersey Shore.  The toll roads are just  killing us.  It cost us $39 to get from Maryland to New Jersey.  I don't know how the people who live here afford all the toll roads and bridges.  One bridge cost us $23 for the motor home with the Jeep hooked on behind.  If we would have unhooked, it would have been only $10.  Could not believe it!!!
We are camped along the South shore of New Jersey south of Atlantic City.  A lot of the land is too wet to build on with lots of sea grass and really wet marshy land.  We have traveled 7,000 miles so far and been on the road 66 days. 

Nov. 8

Today we drove down to Cape May.  It's the town on the tip of the state of New Jersey.  They tell us you can see the sun both rise and set over the water from here.  We drove through the little towns along the outer banks with canals along the western edge of these towns.  The houses are at least 3 stories high and big.  They look like large apartment houses but are single family homes.  This is where the people come to escape the heat in the summer.  Things were pretty quiet this time of year.  In Cape May there are many Victorian style homes.  There are about 3 blocks of shops to go shopping and we found a seafood restaurant for lunch.  We visited the Cape May Lighthouse and a small museum and saw the remains of an experimental concrete ship built during World War I.  It was purchased and used as a ferry dock off Sunset Bay.  It broke free in a storm and ran aground 150 feet off the coast.  The wind was blowing hard and the ocean waves were crashing over the wreck.  We also saw a tower built during WWII to look for enemy submarines around the cape and into Delaware Bay which goes right to Philadelphia.




Cape May Lighthouse



Picture of concrete ship

 

Sunken Concrete Ship




WWII lookout tower



Nov. 9

Today the sun was shining and it was warmer out.  We drove north to Atlantic City where large hotels and casinos line the seashore.  The famous Atlantic City Boardwalk follows the shoreline where no vehicles are allowed.  It's a wide wooden boardwalk and I'm sure in the summer time it is crowded.  Today there were quite a few people out walking because it was a nice day.  Along with the hotels there are small shops  along the boardwalk.  We walked out on the sand and picked up sea shells.  Had a good lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and checked out the many shops after lunch.  Caesars Palace has a three story shopping center built out on a pier.  At the end is a water fountain where there is a light and water show every hour.  There were lots of high end stores in this mall, even a Tiffany's



Atlantic City Boardwalk

Water fountain display


Nov. 10

Sunny and nice again today.  We stayed around the motor home today and did some laundry.  Late in the afternoon we went to Sea Isle City to check out their shops and to have a seafood dinner.  There was only one shop open and the seafood restaurant was closed today.  We went back to the motor home and cooked dinner. 

Nov. 11

Today we move back to Maryland to visit our friends Jamie and Susie.  We met them at White Pine campground in Idaho back in 2006.  We took them huckleberry picking and into Moscow to the Farmers Market.  They stopped in Colfax to see us in June 2008.  They have explored the US since 2002 and we envied the trips they had taken.  It was fun to compare notes on places we have both been.  They live at the end of the road, one lane, and their property backs to a forested park.  Their property is beautiful and so quite.  We are sleeping in the house where it will be warm. 

Nov. 12

After a wonderful breakfast we took off to explore the area.  The first stop was the town of Annapolis.  It's a very old and historic town where the Navel Academy is located and is the capital of Maryland. 
The streets of Annapolis are very narrow with cars parked on both sides of the streets.  We stopped for lunch and had Maryland Crab Soup and a plate of Shrimp.  Next we drove to Fort McHenry where the Battle of Baltimore took place against the British in 1814.  England and France were at war from 1793 to 1815 and were confiscating American merchant ships and cargoes to prevent supplies from reaching enemy ports.  The British had burnt Washington DC and now were invading Baltimore.  The British forces of 5,000 men sailed up Chesapeake Bay intent on taking Baltimore.  The Americans had about 15,000 men to defend the harbor and were successful in defeating the British invasion.  Only 4 American Soldiers were killed.  Francis Scott Key witnessed the battle and was inspired to write the poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" which was first titled "Defence of Fort McHenry"  It became the National Anthem of the United States in 1931.  We finished the day at a seafood restaurant were we ordered 12 Maryland Blue Crabs.  They came in a large bowl right out of the boiling pot.  They were smaller than the Dungess crabs we are use to from the Pacific Ocean but oh so sweet.  We cleaned them right at the table and enjoyed our wonderful meal.  What a great time we had with our friends, Jamie and Susie. 



Fort McHenry

Nov. 13

After breakfast we said good-by to our friends and headed down to Virginia.  Along the way we entered the state of West Virginia and saw the sign for Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.   We decided to stop and visit.  Harpers Ferry also extends into Maryland and Virginia.  We took a bus to Lower Town and saw the Appalachian Trail which goes from Georgia to Maine for 2,178 miles.  Harpers Ferry is in about the middle.  We talked to a young man coming into town who had been walking the Appalachian Trail.  He had done 300 miles and was finishing here at Harpers Ferry.  A friend of ours, Jack Jennings son did the entire trail, at one time, in the early 2000's.    We took the bus back to the motor home and continued on our way.  We ended the day in a campground near Greenville Virginia. 

Appalachian Trail at Harpers Ferry



Sign for Trail



Nov. 14

Today is a nice sunny day.  We head into Shenandoah National Park on the road that follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains called Skyline Drive.  It's 105 miles long and we enter at the Southern Entrance.  The scenery is beautiful and at times you can see the mountains and valleys from both sides at the same time.  There are lots of pull offs to stop and take pictures.  The leaves are still colored but a lot have fallen to the ground.  It is still beautiful scenery.  We stop at a lodge for lunch and the view from the restaurant window is spectacular.  We ended up driving over half of the road and really enjoyed the mountain scenery.


Shenandoah

 Nov. 15

It's overcast today and rain is coming by tonight.  We head to the Blue Ridge Parkway which is a 469 mile scenic parkway that follows the highest ridges between the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.  We are headed to the Great Smoky Mountain area tomorrow.  We do about 50 miles of the Parkway.  It's pretty much like the scenery we saw yesterday in Shenandoah.  As I write this blog it is pouring down rain and will probably rain all day tomorrow.  When it rains in the East, it really rains.  Dick said he saw on AccuWeather it is going to rain an inch.  We are ready to move down to Tennessee and while there will see Kentucky.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Maryland, Washington D.C.

Nov. 4

Rain all day today.  We left Pennsylvania and are camped at College Park Maryland.  The campground is really nice.  It is close to Washington D.C. and even sells transit tickets and attraction tickets in DC.

Nov. 5

Today we are going into Washington D.C.  We ride the bus right from the campground to the metro station and get on a commuter train into the city.  It's a short ride into Washington and we get there by 9:30 in the morning.  The first landmark we see from the train is the Washington Monument which can be seen from all over Washington.  We get off the train in Union Station and get on the Tourmobile sightseeing bus for our trip around Washington.  We can get off and back on these buses all day.  We get off at the Washington Monument to get tickets to the top.  They are already sold out for the day and we can't even get on for the next day.  They said to be here by 8:30 in the morning to get tickets.  That won't happen so we will not go to the top of the Washington Monument.  Back on the bus we go to Arlington National Cemetery.  The tour bus took us past JFK's grave site and to the Tomb of the Unknowns.  We got off the see the changing of the guards which happens at the top of each hour.  Everyone gathered on the steps and in the area observed silence.  Several school groups came into the area and there was silence from them also.  Everyone showed respect for the fallen servicemen.  It was a very moving sight to see.  The Tomb is guarded 24/7, 365 days.  The guard serve about 2 years and are on duty for 24 hours with six solders rotating the watch.  They walk 21 steps each direction.  Our next stop was the Lincoln Memorial and again people were not talking and very respectful.  We got off the bus again at the White House visitors center.  We even had a security check here.  They had a movie on the White House and lots of displays of furniture and objects from the White House.  This is as close as you can get to the White House since 9/11.  You can apply for a pass through your congress man but we didn't  know when we would be in DC.  We did get a glimpse of the White House from the bus.  We ended the day at the Capital Building.  We were close to Union Station so walked there.  We were going to eat at the station but it was a little early for dinner so we got on the train back to the campground. 

Washington Monument

Changing of the Guard at Tomb of Unknowns



Lincoln Memorial




White House





Capital


Nov. 6

We left the motor home for the bus and remembered it was Saturday.  The buses run less frequent on weekends so we drove ourselves to the train station.  We have trouble sometimes knowing and remembering what day it is.  Everything just runs together.  We got into Washington before the museums opened at 10.  We started our day at the National Archives where we saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Taking pictures in the building was not allowed.  The next stop was the Museum of Natural History.  Here we say the Hope Diamond.  There were displays of taxidermy animals from around the world, Dinosaurs, Sea Life and Rocks and Minerals.  Too numerous to see it all.  We walked across the grassy National Mall to the buildings on the other side.  We went to the Museum of the American Indian.  We decided to get some lunch there.  The food was a Native inspired menu that represents five regions of the Western Hemisphere.  The food was good but very expensive.  After lunch we looked at the displays in this building.  I liked the bead work on everything from shirts, moccasins and papoose boards.  Next we went the the National Air and Space Museum.  Here we saw every form of flight from the Wright Brothers to space travel.  I liked the moon rocks because I remember that first moon walk.  The Smithsonian Museums are wonderful places to visit but you need more than one day to see them.  Definitaly Happy Travels, Barb

Hope Diamond



Meteorite fragments found in 1700s near Tucson Arizona




Apollo Lunar Suit




Spirit of St. Lewis

 Next to South Jersey Shore for 4 days and then back to Maryland to visit friends. 

Pennslyvania

Oct. 27

Today we travel down to Pennsylvania and will stay for 8 days.  We first stay in a campground near the town of Lebanon.  It is near the small town of Hershey.  On the way out of New York State we had a slight problem with an underpass.  We were leaving the town of Port Jervis and trying to watch signs and our GPS, Dick came around a round a bout that put us down under another road.  Dick look at the height of the underpass and it said 12' 8".  Well we are 12' 10" tall so Dick stopped the motor home right in the road.  We got on the cell phone to 911 to get help backing out of this road.  Dick went out to unhook the Jeep while I talked to the 911 operator.  He was in New Jersey so it took a couple of minutes to figure out where we were.  A police car showed up and he said we can make it.  He said they mark the underpasses is New York State 1 foot shorter than they are.  I wonder how many other out of state travelers have a problem there?  That was enough excitement for one day!!

Oct. 28

We drove to Hershey to see the Hershey candy attractions.  Not much open except Chocolate World.  It's a giant candy store and gift shop and of course we had to buy some candy.  The street lights are in the shape of candy kisses. 



Chocolate World



Oct. 29

Today we went to Gettysburg.  It's a self guided road tour which is 24 mile in length.  We started out tour at the visitors center.  The battle started on July 1, 1863 and lasted for 3 days.  Robert E. Lee was the Confederate commander and George Meade Union commander.  On July 4th Lee's army began retreating.  When the armies marched away from Gettysburg they left behind a community in shambles.  Over 51,000 soldiers dead, wounded and missing.  Within four months of the battle, re interment began on 17 acres that became Gettysburg National Cemetery.  On Nov 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address durning the dedication of the Cemetery.  The area today is beautiful rolling hills of farmland dotted along the route are 1,300 monuments markers and memorials.  We stopped in town and visited the shops.



The beautiful Gettysburg area




Statue of Abraham Lincoln at visitors center

Oct. 30

We decided to drive south towards Amish country by the town of Lancaster today.  We stopped at a visitors center to get maps and information.  Lancaster County is full of covered bridges and east of town is the area where numerous Amish and Mennonite live.  We stopped at a large market that had all kinds of food and baked goods for sale.  Dick bought some scraple, which his grandmother use to make and we also took home a shoofly pie and pecan sticky rolls.  We had lunch at a meat market that had a cafe in back.  The food was delicious and very reasonably priced.  We went to the town of Intercourse to a canning company and bought some salsa and green tomato relish.  I bought a small crock with Lancaster County on it.  We also bought a mum plant to put in it.  Dick's family came from Lancaster County before coming to the Colfax area.  We saw many Amish driving their buggies on the road and fields being plowed with horse drawn machinery.  We drove through the strange named towns where a lot of Amish have their farms such as Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse, Paradise and Blue Ball. The Amish are hard working people and the countryside is beautiful.  The kids are so cute in their dresses with aprons and the boys in their black outfits and hats.  We could always tell an Amish farm with the laundry hanging out to dry.  Their farms are well kept and had many outbuildings.  The kids seem happy and we would see them outside playing.  I just loved the area.



Amish buggy





Amish farm




Covered Bridge



Oct. 31

Today  we moved down to Lancaster area.  The campground we were in closed today.  The new one is open for one more week.  Lots of campgrounds are closing so we need to move further south. 

Nov. 1

We got up early to drive into Philadelphia.  We left the motor home at 7 in the morning.  It took us 2 hours to get into town with all the traffic.  I wouldn't have much patience driving in all this traffic every day.  We stopped at the visitors center for the Independence National Historical Park and got our timed tickets to visit Independence Hall.  On the way we stopped and saw the Liberty Bell.  We toured all the buildings at Independence Hall and saw where the delegates meet in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House to create the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  We had to eat a Philly Beef Steak sandwich for lunch and found a small restaurant that was recommended to us about 8 blocks away.  We saw many historic building  along the way.  After lunch we walked to the United State Mint.  No pictures were allowed in this building.  We took a self guided tour and saw how our coins are made.  We saw dime and penny blanks being fed into the giant stamping presses.  The process is pretty  much automated and didn't require may people working on the floor. 

Liberty Bell



Independence Hall Assembly Room

 Nov. 2

We stayed around the motor home until after lunch today.  We then drove out to the Amish area and stopped at a quilt shop which was filled with quilts made by the Amish and Mennonite women.  We went to the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society to see if there is any record of the Strevy family living here in Lancaster County.  We found where a Jacob Strevey, age 44 (one of the spellings of our name) came from Germany by ship into Philadelphia in 1743.  There was another name of Mich Strevey age 17 listed.  They didn't list women or children younger than 16 that might be also on the ship.  We finished the day at Millers Smorgasbord for dinner where they served food from the area. 

Nov. 3

Today we stopped at the Lancaster County Historical Society to see if we could find any more records on this Jacob Strevey we found the day before.  Unfortunately we didn't find any more information on the family.  Tonight we are having dinner at a popular diner that was recommended to us.  We had a good dinner with too much food so took part of it home.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Next we travel to College Park, Maryland for 3 night to see Washington D.C. and then to Ocean View, New Jersey for 4 nights.