Amish Country, Lancaster PA

SAT

Today was a laid-back easy day to drive around and enjoy the beautiful farming country in this area and to see the Amish influence. And I learned quickly that I had to keep my camera ready as I missed a picture of a farmer cutting hay with a 4-horse team and of a woman hanging out her wash to dry. FYI she was hanging it over the horse corral and so I expect that when dry it smelled like horse corral and not like summer flowers.

I stopped at a farmers market in New Holland PA that butted up against the main street and when trying to see if the parking meters were enforced on SAT notice that it was only 10cents for 1-hour so I just splurged and didn’t worry about the expense.

Later in the day I also stopped at a big Amish market in Bird-n-Hand PA and enjoyed Shoo-Fly pie and white-cheddar popcorn and an assortment of other samples that it seemed every vendor had out, a smorgasbord of flavors and enough to fill you up.

The roads in the area have wide-paved shoulders for the Amish buggies and horses being horses sometimes leave their calling cards. I mention the calling cards because there are a lot of bicycle riders here and I expect they have to be extra cautious of the road-apples.

The farms are beautifully maintained and the stock of draft horses and mules, buggy horses and dairy cattle are also in magnificent condition; the pride of the farmers of the area is evident and wonderful to see.

Philadelphia

FRI July 30

Today I went to Independence Square and saw the birth of our nation.

I drove in from the KOA campground because they wanted $75.00 for a tour and I knew I could do it for less, Philly Cheesesteak and local micro-brew for lunch included. I researched on the web where it suggested the parking garage at the Visitors Center and then everything I wanted to see would be in walking distance.

I started by getting a free ticket to tour Independence Hall; I picked up the ticket at 10:15 AM for the next open tour which started at 1:30 PM but that was no problem because I had other things I wanted to do in the meanwhile.

I then went to see the original Liberty Bell and they had several exhibits that displayed the Bell’s meaning around the world and pictures of lots of dignitaries at the Bell; I particularly liked the picture of the Dalai Lama at the Bell giving the peace “V” sign, but my picture of that picture didn’t turn out.

I then went over to Christ Church Burial ground where Ben Franklin is buried and then to the Portrait Gallery in the Second Bank of the United States. The bank is home to an extraordinary gallery of portraits of revolutionary heroes and statesman. Those painted represent a Who's Who of the 18th century America. There are signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution in addition to military men and foreign emissaries. Many of the works were painted by Charles Willson Peale, the foremost portraitist of his day.

Lunch and when in Rome etc. so a Cheesesteak and local beer. And I don’t know how many of you seen “Parking Wars” about the Philadelphia Parking Authority, well while I was sitting outside eating my Cheesesteak along came a PPA lady and gave out a ticket and then a lady from the second floor yelled down to a friend wanting to know in which direction the PPA was moving.

After lunch it was my time to get in line for Independence Hall and to see where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were discussed and modified, approved and ratified and to see an original of the broadside paper of the Declaration that was read to the people of Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. The chair in the Hall is the actual chair George Washington sat in when he presided over the Convention.

Manassas National Battlefield Park

WED July 29

Today I visited Manassas where “The first major battle of the Civil War took place … on July 21, 1861. Inexperienced soldiers on both sides expected a quick victory, trusting courage more than drill and experience to make it possible. The fierce fighting of the First Battle of Manassas shattered their illusions and influenced the course of the long struggle ahead.” Both sides were sure of a short war, in fact the Union forces were mostly men called up as volunteers for only 90 days.

Another interesting thing about Manassas “Wilmer McLean could say the Civil War began and ended in his home. On July 18, 1891 Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard established his headquarters at McLean’s home… Seeking refuge from the war McLean left Manassas and resettled his family at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. On April 9, 1865 …” Lee surrendered to Grant in McLean’s house at Appomattox.

And another thing; when I went to my first job in the Navy as Disbursing Officer on the USS Mountrail (APA-213) in Norfolk I relieved LTjg James Ricketts and the name of a commander of a battery of artillery at Manassas was Capt. James B. Ricketts, Company I, 1st US Artillery.

Anyway, another well presented page of our history and I did my usual introductory video and Ranger guided walking tour.

First Manassas was where General Thomas J. Jackson got his nickname of “Stonewall”.

First Manassas was a victory for the Confederates because they were outnumbered but fought the Union army to a draw and then the Union army withdrew.

Second Manassas was fought 13-months later with 3,300 men killed and is considered the height of Confederate power but the North with greater resources would ultimately persevere.

Fredericksburg VA Area II

TUE July 27

TIME WARP back to the late 1700s and early 1800s and I went to James Madison’s Montpelier. Our fourth President is presented as the drafter of the Virginia plan that provided the convention with the starting place for the Constitution. Montpelier was sold to the DuPont family who extensively remodeled it and later turn the house over to the National Trust and in 2003 the Trust started demolition of the non-historic remodeling and restoring the home to how it was when James and Dolley lived there, very interesting.

After Montpelier it was back to 1864 and another, but longer visit to The Wilderness where I took a Ranger led tour to hear about the battle and how each side fared. The Ranger said this was where tactics against fixed positions in the Civil War started to change and where Grant introduced war against support elements of plantation and farm products supporting the southern effort and metal forges, etc.

WED July 28

Today was first the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House followed by the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Spotsylvania is the battle after Chancellorsville and was another bloody battle that was not a win for either side and after fighting to exhaustion the armies left and moved south after suffering 30,000 causalities. A monument I saw to the 15th Regiment of the New Jersey Volunteers stated they entered the fight with 429 men of whom 116 were KIA, 159 WIA and 38 were missing. Spotsylvania is marked as the longest hand-to-hand battle of the war.

Fredericksburg is the last battle where Union forces were not unified under a single commander, Grant took overall command as general-in-chief three months later, and Burnside was the Union commander of over 118,000 at Fredericksburg against Lee’s 60,000. And Lincoln very much wanted a victory because he planned to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in two weeks on January 1, 1863 and Lincoln very much needed to PR benefit of a war-time victory, now, and he didn’t get it. Burnside issued vague orders and did not control his troops and even with a 2 to 1 advantage he didn’t press and after two days withdrew from the fight.

More than 15,000 men were killed and 85,000 wounded in these four battles.
Did You Know? [I know that Marla knows, she told me.] During the war, the North generally named a battle after the closest river, stream or creek and the South tended to name battles after towns or railroad junctions. Hence the Confederate name Manassas after Manassas Junction and the Union name Bull Run for the stream Bull Run are the same battle.

Fredericksburg VA Area I

Left the beautiful Shenandoah Valley and traveled first west to New Market VA where the Corps of Cadets from VMI all fell-out to engage the Union army, something VMI is very proud of as the only military school to do this.

Then I headed east to the Fredericksburg area to see four important Civil War battlefields. Along the way I saw one of those yellow highway signs with a deer silhouette warning of possible deer crossing; well this deer crossing sign had a sub-sign stating that it applied for the next 0.42 miles. They must be some wildlife managers in this area to have it down to the hundredth of a mile.

I stopped briefly at the Wilderness National Military Park and after talking with a Ranger, at his suggestion, I moved on to Chancellorsville National Military Park where they had a Visitors Center and video and museum to mold all the Parks and battles together and I took a walking tour with a Ranger. Chancellorsville is where General “Stonewall” Jackson was shot by his own men, lost his arm because of the wound and later died.

Not far from the Chancellorsville battlefield is the Ellwood house, Ellwood is very close to where a year later the Wilderness battle would be fought. After Jackson was shot during Chancellorsville he was evacuated to a field hospital near Ellwood and that is where his arm was amputated. Jackson’s arm was buried in the family cemetery of Ellwood.

I don’t know about you but I was getting confused by dates of what I had seen so I made a list to put things back in place for me:
4/12-13/1861 Fort Sumter
9/17/1862 Antietam
4/27 -5/5/1863 Chancellorsville
7/1-3/1863 Gettysburg
MAR 1864 Grant takes command of all Union armies
5/5-6/1864 Battle of The Wilderness [this was the first Grant/Lee battle]
5/8-21/1864 Spotsylvania Court House
Petersburg
4/9/1865 Appomattox Court House

I am staying at a big KOA campground that seemed to be in the exact location for all the moving around the area I want to do so I made a reservation and was told I was lucky to get in because this is the week of the Boy Scout National Jamboree and they were pretty full. When I checked in and was talking I found out that lots of scouts, some entire troops are coming here to save the $3,000.00 per scout it would cost to go camp at the Jamboree, they can’t participate in all of the activities and events but the save $3K a head.

Shenandoah Hiking

SUN July 25

Drove back up to the Park today to hike a couple of more mountains, proper hikes, first you go UP and then you finish by going DOWN.

I started the late morning by hiking up to Stony Man Mountain summit an easy hike with just a moderate gain in elevation and I was able to maintain my normal hiking pace while enjoying the scenery and sounds. After coming back to the car I drove to another area and ate my lunch before starting up the trail to Hawksbill Mountain, the highest peak in the park. This trail was a lot steeper than I thought it was going to be and it really took it out of me and somewhere along I stressed my right knee because it hurt like the dickens on the downhill return, doesn’t hurt on trail.

The trails I have been on here and in North Carolina are a lot different from the trails I hiked in California and Arizona. These trails have all been part of the Appalachian Trail and the AT is maintained by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy which keeps the trails in excellent shape and that flows over to the other trails. There is also a difference in trees and soil conditions. There is denser tree-cover here with leafy trees and more rain/moisture while in the west there are more open trails, fewer trees and when there are trees mostly evergreen providing less shade and the west is a lot dryer. The trails here as I said are well maintained by a non-governmental Conservancy and the trail-soil has a good mixture of gravel in it to maintain the trail. Trails in the west tend to be very dusty after the spring rains have stopped. Also since the trails I have been on are so well maintained I don’t have to spend as much time looking at where I going to step and can enjoy my surroundings. Oh yes and they makr trails with color blazes, white if for the Appalachian Trail and blue is for a local trail.

And since I find myself mostly hiking along that makes it different, not better or worse, just different. Alone it gives me time to hear the sounds of the wind in the trees or the water in the creek, very relaxing.

Its hay cutting time in this area of the Shenandoah Valley and you can see and hear the tractors and scythes at work and in the morning smell the scent of new-mown hay.

Back in the Shenandoah Valley

7/24

When I was backing to my space at the RV park last night I noticed that one of the torsion bars on my weight distributing hitch had come loose and the bar was just hanging down, definitely not doing what it was designed to do, and resting on one of my trailer safety chains; I hate to think of what could have happened if the bar had fallen on to the highway when I was at highway speeds. The little pin that holds the bar in place had broken out a week or so back and I went to a trailer hitch installation place and they told me not to worry because the weight of the trailer on the bar would keep it in place, that was several hundred miles ago. Well as I drive down the road and hit bumps and highway undulations and the trailer moves up and down I guess the torque weight can come off the bar momentarily and at some point it can come out. I don’t know if it happened on the road or just last night when I was backing into the tightest campsite I’ve had on this trip, all I know is that I feel lucky.

I asked around and a lady told me her husband might know someone so she called out to Buddy, who was in bib-overalls, who looked at the hitch and said he thought Allen could fix it and he called Allen. Buddy told me to go about 4-miles down US-340, past a commercial building on my right, he said it was some kind of mechanical contractor building, and then turn right at the next road that was “Allen’s Rd.”, yep; love exact directions but they got me there. Allen said he had fixed this kind of problem before and would work on it and call me when he was done but first he had to go out and see about two silos and if they could be fixed. Allen seems to be that person that every small-town has that fixes everything. He wouldn’t let me pay him. You can see that I really couldn’t drive into his shop area because this rig operator had gotten jack-knifed and now his tractor wheels were spinning, so I just disconnected the hitch from the Tahoe and walked it over.

I spent the rest of the day back up in Shenandoah National Park hiking and drinking in nature. What I did was one of those dumb hikes that I don’t like but sometimes do because it just works out that way. What I mean is first you go totally downhill for 2.3 miles and then you have to return back uphill for the 2.3 miles when you are not fresh, blah! And to really keep me on my toes before I left the trailhead at the parking lot I saw a rattle-snake, other than bugs, the only other thing I saw on the trail was another snake, a garter snake. The trail was well maintained and it was 83 deg on the mountain and probably a couple of degrees less in the tree and on the trail, it was 101 deg when I got back down to the RV park, pool time.

Oh yes, when I got to the top of the waterfall I was hiking down to what to my wondering I should appear but a group of Korean men and women hikers and one of the men was yelling a Nature and the others thought it was funny; different cultures.

And to celebrate what a good day I had I went out for a Virginia Ham supper; um, um, good!

Gettysburg National Military Park

FRI July 23

A moving place and I enjoyed seeing places that I had heard of in histories I had studied and movies I had seen.

I started as usual at the Visitors Center talking to a Ranger and setting how I wanted to see the Park. The Ranger said they had guided tours that took over 4-hours and full driving tours that took about 3-hours. I decided to do a shortened driving tour and it still took me a full 2-hours. I visited Little Round Top where the movements of Confederate troops were seen and passed to the Federal commanders. I stopped briefly at The Wheatfield where 4,000 soldiers were either killed or wounded. I also went to Cemetery Ridge that was the center of the Union’s position and where a lot of the Union artillery was positioned.

I was very surprised when I visited the National Cemetery that although they had designated a memorial location to the Gettysburg Address it really wasn’t where Lincoln gave it and there was no public access to the actual location. I was told President Lincoln gave his address somewhere over near a mausoleum that is in the fenced area.

If anyone is going to visit the Gettysburg National Military Park I have a good DVD that I’ll lend you. And do not bring your metal detector, here they have signs posted saying “No Relic Hunting”.

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

THU July 22

I wanted to visit Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge after I read an article in National Geographic. The Refuge is about 15,900+ acres on the eastern shore of Delaware and on the Delaware Bay and has been recognized worldwide for its management.

When I got out of the car at the Visitors Center on my way in to talk to the Ranger I was bitten 4 times and the Ranger told me that Green Flies were out and that I should use bug-spray which I put on as soon as I got back to the car.

Off on the 15-mile car tour and at the first stop I got about 10-yards when I finally gave up with swatting the bugs swarming around my face and retreated back to the car for my Bull-Frog insect repellent and tried a second time, nope so I did 99% of the tour in the car. I did get out when I left the swamp area and moved to the sea and salt marsh area.

There are some areas in the Refuge that they describe as cooperative farming meaning farmers get to plant some areas for themselves and they then plant other areas for the migratory birds; an interesting arrangement. Sometime they take these planted out of the rotation to let they rest, they mow these resting areas every two to three years to prevent the growth of woody vegetation.

I was there at a time when there wasn’t any migration going on so the bird population was down to just the locals. I did see Wood Ducks, Snowy Egrets, a Greater Egret, a Blue Heron and a Crane plus many many birds that were too far away for me to identify.

This is really the place for serious birders and they were out with their tripods, big scopes and notebooks.

Biodiversity is the watchword that the Refuge goes by.

On the way out I stopped for a late lunch not far from the Refuge at a place called Sambo’s Tavern in a framing and crabbing village of Leipsic and I watched the tide go out as I enjoyed a grilled tuna-steak sandwich.

Valley Forge

WED

Time to get back to some sights I bypassed on my way to the Statue of Liberty and work my way back so I can catch my plane to Denver in a week +. So I headed in somewhat what would be described in branding-iron parlance as a lazy v, which means I headed west and somewhat south and then east and somewhat south; I went from NJ to Valley Forge PA and then to Lincoln DE.

Valley Forge didn’t do a lot for me and I guess I should have known that over 200+ years things would change. I only know Valley Forge through history and the story of how the Continental Army suffered through the winter. Well today when I visited all I saw were beautifully manicured hills and several recreated huts showing how the army housed themselves during the winter.

But it was good to see this place of history and now what I studied in school and have read about is in a visual context; the last thing I read was Newt Gingrich’s book “To Try Men’s Souls” that Forrest gave me.

I checked in at the Visitors Center and ask for their recommendations and then started with an overview video where I learned that Continental Army went to Valley Forge with 12,000 men and through end of enlistments, desertions and death fell to 6,000 but in the spring and summer grew to 20,000 when they marched out of their winter camp to campaign against the British again. After the overview I did a driving tour that was well laid out. I stopped and spent some time at the house that General & Mrs. Washington used over the winter and watched an archeological dig that was going on behind the house. They believe they may be uncovering the remains of an outbuilding directly behind the house that was used for a meal hall and conference center since the rooms in the house were very small and not able to accommodate the number of officers and others in attendance with Washington.

STATUE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND

Headed North

SUN July 18

Last night I was thinking about how far ahead of my timeline I was and what I should do to get back on schedule because of the airplane reservation I have on AUG 4. I could have spent more time in the Shenandoah region but I decided to drive up to Naval Weapons Station Earle New Jersey RV Park and use time to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I had these two sites on my list for after returning from Denver and after Washington DC but this way I’ll either have more time in New England or Canada or I’ll just have more time.

The ride up was nice mostly on Interstate highways and paying tolls, $50.05, and I got here in 8-hours.

Oh, I keep forgetting to tell you about my Eureka! moment. My morning routine is to brush my teeth, shave, and shower, comb my hair, put on deodorant and get dressed. Traveling in the trailer I usually brush my teeth in the trailer and do all the rest in the RV bathrooms. Sometimes this get changed around a bit, say maybe for some reason I showered the night before so I might do everything in the trailer. Anyway on several occasions the LP gas leak detector in the trailer would sometime go off and I wondered if that had anything to do with my using the trailer hot water heater. Good question but no because I usually use park electricity to heat water. Then Eureka, it’s the Right Guard spray deodorant that sets off the alarm squawking. So from now on it’s either the park bathroom or stand outside in the AM and spray my armpits.


TUE July 20

TODAY WAS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND AND AGAIN WHAT A GREAT DAY!!!!!

I got up early because I was warned about how bad the traffic was in the morning and so with a 9:00 AM ferry reservation and a 1-hour drive I factored in a 2-hour drive and made it to Liberty State Park in Jersey City NJ before they even opened and got on the 8:30 ferry, not traffic problems.

And there were a ton of Boy Scouts on tour today. Seems as if the yearly National Jamboree is being held at Fort A.P. Hill in VA again so the Scout troops were flying in to NYC or NJ, doing local tours then going to Valley Forge and Gettysburg and then AP Hill. I got them today but will miss them when I do DC because they will be gone.

I got on the ferry and the first stop was Ellis Island. I spent 3-hours on Ellis Island and looked at about everything they would let me into. What an experience, the displays were very powerful and moving and really accurately portrayed a great time in our nation-building, it was also very inspiring. The displays, narratives and video took you step-by-step through making a decision to leave a homeland and journey to a far-away and unknown land either by yourself or with your family and the difficulties and joys you would encounter.

One thing I missed at Ellis Island was the American Family Immigration History Center and I wish I had known about this and come prepared. They have but the records, steamship passenger manifests, of immigrants traveling through Ellis Island on a computer database and you can look up relatives or anyone you know who passed through. I’m sure you can also find this other places but this was really the setting in which to do it.

Back on the ferry to the Statue of Liberty; I had a ticket that got me to the Statue and into the base and museum areas. I did not have a ticket to go to the crown area, those tickets are sold out until OCT, and so you really have to plan ahead. No one except maintenance/preservation folks are allowed to go to the torch. But I first walked totally around the outside of the Statue base and then entered and took the tour that included the original torch that had been modified for electric lights, that caused the interior supports to start to corrode and why it had to be replaced, and then we move through the museum with excellent explanations of the various displays.

After the tour ended we were allowed to climb, the elevator was broken, some 165 steps inside to the top of the base, there are 3 levels, and look through a plexiglas ceiling into the Statue and see the supporting framework. Puff, puff, puff. I spent 2 1/2 hours at the Statue of Liberty.

One of the things I thought was great about the day was the many foreign languages I kept hearing during the day and the excitement in voices when a person “discovered” a picture of someone or money from their home country and called the other in their group to share with them, I know this made their day special for them. But then I am naive in a lot of ways and why wouldn’t foreign visitors to the area make a special point of visiting these two enduring symbols of our great country.

And naturally since I am a people watcher I have to say that tourist will be tourist anywhere they are and are easy to spot in their “tourist uniforms.”

If you are ever close to NYC you HAVE TO make the time, it takes an entire day, to go to both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, you just have to.

I took a lot of pictures and have only included a couple with this blog, to see the rest, copy and paste this link to your web browser: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=562657958803%3A1071739182&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=eMail-_-Share-_-Photos-_-Sharee

Lexington VA

SAT July 17

Wow is this place loaded with things to see for people like me.

I included Lexington on my list of places because I wanted to see the nearby natural bridge and VMI but when I started reading the Visitor Center brochures I knew I was going to have a full day.

I started at Natural Bridge as first stop because I knew that would include some hiking and I wanted to do that in the cooler part of the day, low 80s. Nice natural wonder of erosion and a nice hike along Cedar Creek Nature Trail, about 3-miles total with the starting decent a lot nicer, with gravity, than the ascent at the end. The hike along the creek was a pleasant walk, just taking my time and enjoying the woods. Oh yes, once again always ask for a discount even if it isn’t posted, I got 10% off for either being good looking or being a senior, don’t know which.

After Natural Bridge I headed back to Lexington to use my new ATM card to replenish funds and to ask a question about my trailer hitch. Trailer hitch just fine and when I was at Wal-Mart with the ATM card I could see a heck of a 1-cloud storm moving toward me so being flexible as you have to be when traveling, I just went to lunch 45-minutes early an let it blow through in the following 30-minutes, remembering that I had left the trailer windows open to let fresh air in and right then there wasn’t anything I could do about it. FYI, when I got back to the trailer at 7:00 PM it looked like it hadn’t rained at the RV park.

I started by getting suggestions from the Visitor Center folks and started on a 3+hour walking tour with the first stop at the Stonewall Jackson House that was only about a half-block from the Visitors Center. I then went to the local historical cemetery that has been renamed the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery because he is buried there along with 144 Confederate veterans, two VA governors and others. Jackson had 2 wives and 7 children and the children had children, there are lots of Jacksons and relatives buried there, so many in fact they had to move the General’s remains and those of his 2 wives and children to a larger family plot. Jackson was a Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army and died when he was 39 years old.

I then walked over to Washington and Lee University, that can trace its origin back to 1749 and was endowed by George Washington and that is why they named it for him, down one of the two main streets, two because they are on-way in each direction, east and west, through downtown window shopping along the way.

At Washington and Lee University I went to the Robert E. Lee Chapel and Museum where he is buried along with his wife and children and their wives and children. Also Lee’s horse “Traveler” is buried outside the Chapel. Between the host at the memorial crypt area and the cashier in the museum area I spent about an hour there talking history of the man and what he had made of himself and why we thought he was a patriot and a giant. I also picked up a couple of suggestions for videos and a book to get.

General Lee was instrumental as President of Washington College is guiding the college back to prominence, they told me enrollment increased 10-fold during his time as president with students coming from as far away as California to attend. Lee’s name was added to the College’s name after he died. The University boasts it is small by choice with enrollment kept at about 1800 + 400 more in the School of Law and that it has a 10 to 1 student faculty ratio.

I then walked next door to the University to VMI and spent another hour at the GEN George C Marshall Museum; Marshall was a 1901 VMI graduate. Great videos, displays and presentations of his career and the times he lived in and how he worked in those times. I also walked around VMI.

As a side note you can see the pride that both institutions take and the grounds and buildings I saw were in excellent shape, it probably helps them not to be totally dependent of the state for funding.

Lexington is a quiet and historical city and I wonder what the students from W & L and VMI do afterhours for relaxation.

I missed going to the birthplace of Sam Houston, maybe next time.

I also spent time at an internet coffee house because although the RV park says they have Wi-Fi access and I can connect, it is a weak signal and I can’t get through to the internet.

With the heat and humidity and the rainstorm, SAT was a 2-shower day but around 7:30 PM it started to cool off and was fabulous and I slept without the AC on and with all the windows open.

RV Repair & Appomattox Court House

RV Repair

THU July 15

Left the Outer Banks yesterday and heading roundabout for Lynchburg VA to both pick up my mail c/o General Delivery and to see several things in the area I stopped at a McDonalds to use their free Wi-Fi and found a RV repair place only about 25-miles away so first detour. I drove down and talked about the repairs I needed and found out that all the repair techs had been give the week off but he call one of them and he came in the afternoon. I will use the day to do laundry and other chores.

Laundry, oil change, AAA for maps and seeing Eastern Carolina University; there sure are a lot of students here, this being the summer, maybe college summer semester has change since I looked forward to having 3+ months off.

The trailer was inspected and they used 7-tubes of sealant to replace what they said was the wrong stuff that was on the roof and a few places they thought might leak in a good storm. The tech said he thought the damage to the front was more bending than breaking and he didn’t believe the fiberglass was broken through and so he just weatherproofed it with sealant.

There were a flock of about 20 geese in the field next to the campsite and I watched them fly in both evenings to graze or forage in the farmer’s field, nice hearing their honking.


Appomattox Court House

FRI July 16

Driving north and west from Greenville to Lynchburg VA to pick up my mail and alternating between state highways and US highways with one short 9-mile stretch on an Interstate, see a lot of small-town NC and VA that way and family graveyards on the farms; it is a nice change from sanitized Interstates, slow but a nice change.

A stop along the way at Appomattox Court House and to walk around the buildings and remember the history. They have one of the best displays of uniforms and era equipment I have ever seen and I really enjoyed seeing it all. And just a reminder, Appomattox Court House was the name of the little settlement where the surrender took place; the surrender did not take place at the Court House but rather in the parlor of the McLean House in the settlement. [The house was built in 1848 and owned at the time of the surrender by Wilmer McLean. The house was dismantled in 1893 for display in Washington DC but that display never happened. The present house was reconstructed on its original site in the 1940s by the National Park Service.]

Lynchburg VA, Jerry Fallwell country, and I called Marla to confirm that there should be two pieces of mail for me, the replacement ATM card for the one I lost in Key West and a package of books from an EBay buy. No just one because the guy selling the books sent them to AZ and not to Lynchburg as he was told, expletive deleted.

West of Lynchburg and heading for Lexington VA to spend a couple on nights when suddenly on the radio, BONG!, BONG!, BONG! SEVERE WEATHER ALERS FOR THESE COUNTIES, YADA, YADA, YADA, HIGH WINDS AND DRIVING RAIN; I don’t know what county I’m in or were this stations broadcasts from but its bright sunny and hot here so I just drive on.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

WED July 14

What a place! From the light house in the south to Kitty Hawk in the north, this is a heck of a place to vacation. But you have to remember that it is a tourist island and so it is full of places that are selling ladies swim suits at 1/2 off and lots of restaurants. And I played the tourist and went into a couple of shops but didn’t buy anything. If you are planning on visiting I recommend making Nags Head as your center, it is a proper-sized city with the amenities, and traveling out from there.

Why are there such different “basic” [?] demands in different parts of the country? I was eating breakfast in the trailer this morning and watching TV and there were 5 different companies advertising replacement vinyl windows with complete framing between 6:30 – 7:00 AM; when I buy a house I expect the windows not to need replacement.

Speaking of TV, when I checked into this campground I was asked if I was going to use TV and when I said yes I was charged an extra dollar. They then asked if I was going to use electricity and if I was going to run my AC, that yes was an additional $3.00 charge. But electricity was based on meter reading and the next morning I was refunded $1.20 on checkout; if I had left before the office opened and used more I wonder what they would have done since this was a “cash only” campground?

I drove to the Hatteras lighthouse and walked around there for a while. There are several lighthouses in this graveyard of ships area and they all had powerful lights and were painted differently so even during daylight sailors could know where they were.

The highlight of the day was a stop at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. I joined one verbal history of their development through gliders to the Wright Flyer and it was one of the best presentations I have ever heard at a National park. I wandered the area and also watched a video on an event they did a few years ago by recreating the gliders and flying them. And what I thought was the highlight of the highlight, and I went and told a Ranger so, was a kite flying event they did for all the children who wanted to join-in; kids don’t care about the mechanics of how the airplane was built or how long the first flight was, but they sure will remember flying a kite with a hundred other kids.

North Carolina Outer Banks

TUE July 13

Left Lejeune and headed for the Outer Banks and for the shortest way to get there from here you take a ferry. This is why I’m on this trip, pretty country, driving slow and enjoying the beautiful USA. The GPS said it was only 65 miles from Lejeune to Cedar Island where I had a reservation on the 12:30 PM ferry but it also said it would take 2 1/4 hours to drive it, that’s averaging about 30 MPH but I don’t have anywhere to be really and I’m just relaxing, driving and soaking it all in. The first half of the drive was pretty much through pine forests and the second half across marshes on causeways with marsh grasses on both sides of the road with one stop for a drawbridge, me and the Marine convoy that I suspect was heading for an auxiliary field near Sealevel NC.

Got to the Cedar Island – Ocracoke Island ferry early but that just allowed me to walk around and get some exercise before a 2-hour ride, about 20 miles on a flat sea, then I drive the 14-miles on the island to catch another ferry to Hatteras Island where I have a reservation for the night, and hopefully a seafood supper if I can get a recommendation for a restaurant.

The 2-hour ferry was again relaxing because I couldn’t speed it up so just enjoy seeing the shrimp boats, dolphins, other ferries and the Ocaracoke light house light followed by a half hour drive to the next ferry, 35-minutes, and para-sailors and a few sail-boarders. So, all-in-all, it took me 8 hours, minus 2:35 on ferries, to go 116 miles, just relaxing.

Tonight I went out to the supper I was looking forward to and to remember an anniversary. I had a glass of ice and a beer and a glass of wine, love to Mom, and a very good crab and shrimp dinner.