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.

Camp Lejeune

July 10- 12, 2010

Overcoming the bad directions of my GPS I managed to get from Bragg to Lejeune and to finally find the RV park. Got my space and am only about 150 yards from the beach.

I am also pretty close to a training area and have been hearing howitzer or mortars [I’m no Special Forces guy who naturally could tell the difference by sound alone.] and automatic weapons fire, Apache helicopter gunships and a V-22 Osprey overfly. No flights since sunset but the guns keep on booming. Plus “Tank Xing” signs all over the roads.

But the Osprey flyovers continue each day, the Osprey has a distinctive engine sound.

There are British troops training here and is a bit strange to see their vehicles and equipment around the Base; the MCB newspaper has a story saying they are the 30th Commando IX (Information Exploitation) Group, 3rd Commando Brigade, Royal Marines using Lejeune’s urban terrain facility.

SUN = beach day, and I think the water temperature is a bit lower than on the Gulf and at the Keys. However this place is great and the best military beach I have ever been at. MCB Camp Lejeune Onslow Beach, http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/component/content/article/51-north-carolina/157-onslow-beach-campsites-and-recreation-area . If you are active or retired military and want a beach vacation spot this place is a great place to just hang-out.

After the beach I walked over to the fishing pier that is on the Coastal Inland Waterway and watched the folks pulling in little Croppies and the bait of choice seemed to be chicken.

Kit, you’d like this place, there is a Duncan Donuts drive-thru at the exchange complex and they have iced coffee.

More beach time and more time on my bike and today was time for the Navy to use the firing range. While I was at the beach I could see two destroyers about 5 or 6 miles offshore firing over the beach and the Intercostal Waterway and into the Lejeune impact area. I could also see 4 Navy Amphibious ships off a bit south training with Marine helicopters and air cushioned tank carriers called LCAC, makes for a lot of noise.

Fort Bragg NC

FRI July 9

I have been awaken early the last 3 morning by the sound of traffic going by on the road the RV park is just off of. But when checking out this morning I found I was wrong and the noise came from a pulping mill across the road. A pulping mill takes some of the tree scraps and chops & grinds them into a fine pulp that it then sells to plants that make plywood and the mill turns on their machines and goes to work at 5:30 AM.

Left the cool of Smokey Mountain National Park area and headed east again toward the coast with the plan in mind to spend a couple of nights and one day at Ft. Bragg, home of the JFK Special Warfare Center and home of the Green Berets. But, it didn’t take as long as I thought to get here and through a lucky mistake I really saw all I wanted to see with one small exception and so I will leave tomorrow and spend an extra day at the beach.

Entered the wrong gate to Ft Bragg and instead of turning me around and sending me to the correct gate, because I had a Retired military ID card the guard let me through and gave me detailed directions to the Special Forces Museum and on the way there I really saw most everything I wanted to see. I did not see the statue of “Iron Mike”, forgot to ask about it and forgot exactly where it was located; Forrest help me out here.

After the Museum I headed over to the RV campsite and everything was going well until one of the last turns when the road was blocked. I called the campsite, got alternate directions and turned off the GPS, “Recalculating”. The RV camp is in a wooded area near a lake, very pretty and very nice to walk around. It is also near Simmons Army Air Field and its helicopters, ah, the sound of freedom. But the road into the camp site is very washboardy and I didn’t want to drive more than 10-MPH. Nice big toilet and shower area but they are what I call Mexican bathrooms, no lip on the shower area and a simple drain in the floor and normally this drain IS NOT the low point of the room so there was standing water.

As I was walking around I noticed signs posted on some of the pine trees and I see that Ft Bragg has the Red-Cockaded Woodpecker the same as Camp Lejeune. I first heard about this woodpecker back in 1987 when I was working for GD Convair from a man named Bill Teater who used to tell us of all the problems the Marines had with training at Lejeune because of this endangered species. Bill was a southern boy who could have cared less for the bird, but he was a Marine following orders.

Tonight at the campsite I noticed that evidently I hit something, a tree branch probably, high up on the roadside front of the trailer. I don't remember coming anywhere close to a tree branch or whatever did the damage.