On the Road Again

34. Down the Home Stretch

2008-10-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

After leaving Lake Superior, we looked forward to moving west into familiar territory. After nearly six months of continuous touring and sightseeing, our enthusiasm for adventure was fading. Frankly, we were wrung out and looking forward to getting home. However, there was one more possible diversion. Daughter Becky and her fiancé Mike were planning their wedding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Sept. 22. They suggested that we might drop by if we were in the area. It was a long shot, but we kept that possibility in mind and decided to take the southern route through North Dakota and Montana just in case. We were hit with heavy rain as we drove through central Minnesota. The next day cleared up as we connected with I-94 at Fargo and continued on to Jamestown. We didn’t expect anything interesting in North Dakota, but were pleasantly surprised. Jamestown was home to the World’s Largest Buffalo, a 60 ton concrete monument to the herds of bison that once roamed the prairie. Nearby, was a pioneer village with a small herd of buffalo that included three albino bison, supposedly the only ones in all of North America. We got all three into one photo.In addition to some oversized furniture, the pioneer village also contained a replica of frontier author Louis L’Amour’s office. We had no idea he was born in Jamestown but, like we had seen before, every town has its local hero. Louis wrote 117 novels, 45 of which were made into movies. Pretty impressive. Maybe we should read one. As we continued west through North Dakota we came across the World’s Largest Sandhill Crane, an ugly (opinion) tin and pipe sculpture near a freeway exit. A little further down the highway was the World’s Largest Holstein Cow, perched majestically on a bluff overlooking the freeway. We were short on time and had to pass up an opportunity for a gander at the world’s largest turkey. Maybe next trip. The Theodore Roosevelt National Park and badlands are near the Montana border. This was, by far, the most interesting and scenic part of North Dakota and worth a closer look. The badlands were like a painted desert, Grand Canyon and the badlands of South Dakota rolled into one. This is where the buffalo roam and, if you look closely at the first photo, you’ll see one. It’s a good feeling to see these significant landscapes and wildlife habitats preserved. The buffalo seemed very content. Montana is one of Ron’s favorite states. He was a happy camper when we crossed into “Big Sky” country. The weather was sunny and warm, so we parked the RV for two nights near the Yellowstone River in Miles City for a little R&R.

We were camped a stone’s throw from the Miles City Range Riders Museum. It’s a fascinating place, full of eastern Montana pioneer history. The museum was founded by the Range Riders Organization in 1939 and has operated with fees, memberships and donations ever since. Emphasis is on cowboys and ranching so there are lots of old saddles, chaps, tools, and a large antique gun collection. The museum also has many Indian artifacts, including old photographs, war bonnets and large collections of arrow heads and primitive tools. A large barn contains old covered wagons, a Deadwood stage coach, chuck wagon, several sheep herder wagons (early RVs) and other vehicles. An impressive collection of old photographs and histories of more than 1500 local ranchers, artists, business people, Indians and others helped tell the story of Miles City. It was on the rustic side, but was one of the most interesting museums we have seen. As we rolled down the highway, one of Bonnie’s eyes decided to act like a mini kaleidoscope for a short period of time. She mentioned it to her doctor and was urged to go immediately to the nearest emergency room to have it checked out. We were camped in Laurel, Montana at the time, so we drove into nearby Billings and had the nice folks at St. Vincent Medical Center do some tests. She had a follow-up appointment with a Billings ophthalmologist the next day. The folks were all very efficient and friendly and the coffee was free. Everything checked out okay, so we continued on our way with no further problems.

We slowed our pace a bit in Montana so we could attend Becky and Mike’s wedding in Jackson Hole. We stopped for five nights at a very nice campground along the Yellowstone River in the Paradise Valley just north of Yellowstone Park. The Absaroka Range was at our doorstep and the leaves were turning. It was very nice, quiet and peaceful. We didn’t want to take the RV over the 8,000 ft. passes in Yellowstone, so we left it at the campground and drove the Honda through the stone arch at Gardiner and into Yellowstone. After 200 miles of slow up and down driving and sightseeing in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, we were happy to finally arrive in Jackson where we rented a real motel room for a couple nights. It was a welcome slice of luxury.The wedding was held at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, an impressive rock structure on a hillside overlooking the valley and mountains. Other than ourselves, the only guest was Becky's dad Bob. Ron was forced (peer pressure) to buy a new cowboy hat to be properly attired for the occasion. Jackson is not lacking for upscale western wear shops, expensive art galleries and great places to eat. After the wedding, the five of us went out for an excellent dinner at the Snake River Grill. We dined on buffalo, pork, wild boar, fish and other local cuisine and had a very nice time as we wished Mike and Becky many happy years together. We took our time driving back to Montana, stopping frequently to enjoy views of Jackson Lake, the Tetons, Yellowstone geysers, rushing rivers and wildlife. We’ve been there before, but it’s always different and never fails to impress. If you’ve never been to Grand Teton and Yellowstone Parks, we highly recommend putting it near the top of your list of places to visit. The most interesting sight we saw was at Mammoth Hot Springs. Three bull elk and their respective harems were gathered for the annual rutting season. The bulls were busy keeping their ladies together while bugling back and forth to each other. It’s a stressful and exciting time for the elk and they occasionally attack tourists or vehicles. So, it’s a difficult time for the park rangers who were busy keeping the camera-toting tourists away from the wildlife and the cars moving through the area. On Saturday, Sept. 27, we finished the final leg of our journey, a short hop from Moses Lake to Mill Creek. After 186 days and 17,000+ miles, our great adventure has ended and we are finally home again. The RV has been unloaded and cleaned from top to bottom. That's Ron scrubbing the roof. It took hours to get all the bugs off the front. We finally got the job done and returned the motor home to storage until our next outing. She did her job exceptionally well and kept us very comfortable most of the six months, with the exception of the air conditioning failure in Florida. But that was just a minor speed bump.We have a “to do” list that will keep us busy through the winter. We’re also looking forward to spending some quality time with our kids and grandkids. Ron’s mom is 92 and in an assisted care facility in Yakima, so we’ll take as many trips as possible to see her and help that part of the family as well.

This was our once-in-a-lifetime tour of the U.S. We’ll never do it again but we’ll be talking about it and looking at pictures the rest of our lives. We hope that everyone who followed along through our blogs and photos were able to share some of our enjoyment and good times. We thank all of you who called us or sent comments along the way. Your input helped motivate us to keep moving along. Now it’s back to reality and the tasks at hand.

The final sunset: Moses Lake, Sept. 26, 2008

Some Statistics:

186 days on the road
Visited 33 states, D.C., 4 Canada provinces and Mexico
Saw Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Gulf of Mexico and all 5 Great Lakes

Crossed all the great rivers: Columbia, Missouri, Mississippi, Hudson, etc.
Drove 17,600 mi. (10,600 in the RV and 7,000 in the Honda)
Burned 1,457 gal. of gas
-- Most expensive gas: $5.03/gal. in Nova Scotia
-- Most expensive gas in U.S: $4.10/gal. in Needles CA
-- Least expensive gas: $3.28/gal. in Bullhead City AZ
Stayed at 52 different RV parks/campgrounds and 1 motel
Average cost of lodging: $18.19/day (not including the motel)
Most expensive RV park: $49.50 – Cherry Hill near Wash. D.C.

33. Michigan & Minnesota

2008-09-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

On September 2, we left New York state and aimed the RV toward the north shore of Lake Superior to visit an old friend of Ron’s. To avoid the congestion of the urban areas around Cleveland, Chicago, etc., we took a short-cut across the southern part of Ontario and entered Michigan at Port Huron, north of Detroit. There was a lot of Toronto-Detroit truck traffic in Ontario, but it moved along smoothly and wasn’t a problem. The folks at the customs station (photo) waved us through without a hassle.

We eventually arrived in the town of Lapeer, just east of Flint, Michigan. We spent the night at their small municipal campground. It was one of the cleanest we’ve seen anywhere, and we’ve seen all kinds. Very nice community too.

Mackinaw City was our next stop. This small town is located at the southern end of one of the world’s great bridges. The five mile long Mackinac Bridge (Mighty Mac) was completed in 1957. It connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan and crosses the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. The straits are often very windy and stormy. In fact, it was so windy and stormy that we stayed an extra day at Mackinaw City to wait it out.

The following day was clear and sunny. We drove cautiously over the monster bridge, 500+ feet above the water. We stayed in the truck lane where the speed limit is 20 mph with a recommended vehicle separation distance of 500 feet. It took a while to cross, but we made it easily. We stayed three nights in the skiing and iron ore mining town of Ishpeming, Michigan, about 15 mi. from Marquette. Michigan’s “Upper Peninsula” is commonly referred to as the “UP”. People who live in the UP are known as Yoopers, or at least some of them are. A Yooper is characterized as a goofy dim-witted hillbilly kind of person with some Finnish ingredients mixed in. The locals have a lot of fun with it. We couldn’t pass up the “Da Yoopers” store (tourist trap) in Ishpeming. It was full of fun and interesting things, including a huge chain saw with a real V-8 engine. Most of it had little or no meaning to us, but is probably very important to a real Yooper. Marquette is an attractive community and major iron ore shipping facility on the south shore of Lake Superior. It’s also a college town and home to Northern Michigan University and one of the most impressive City Halls we've seen anywhere (photo).

We spent some time looking around downtown, then drove out to Presque Island Park to view the shoreline and lighthouse. We had now visited all five of the Great Lakes. We spent two or three hours watching an ore ship arrive and begin loading at Marquette’s ore dock. It’s a very slow process to watch, but it was interesting and a good way to spend a beautiful sunny afternoon. After a leisurely six days in Michigan, we made an overnight stop in Ashland, Wisconsin. Ashland is a tidy town of about 8,000, on the shore of Lake Superior’s Chequamegon Bay (we can’t pronounce it either). Their small city-operated park and campground on the bay had a great view of the bay, a nice sunset and one of the world’s largest iron ore loading docks.

The massive reinforced concrete dock is 1,800 ft. long. It was completed in 1925, but hasn’t been used since 1965. A nice lady in the city’s museum informed us that the dock is owned by a Canadian railroad and the City has been unsuccessful in attempts to buy it. Private and public proposals have been made to do creative things with the dock over the years, but ongoing political battles between the railroad, the city and other agencies have prevented any kind of progress. The railroad wants to tear it down, the City wants to save it and the Dept. of Natural Resources won’t allow anything to happen that might contaminate Lake Superior in any way. So, the dock remains as it was in 1965, which is just fine with the lady in the museum who views it as an historic structure.

September 9 was sunny as we continued into Minnesota and through Duluth, the busiest port on the Great Lakes. It was another nearly three hour drive up Lake Superior’s North Shore to the town of Grand Marais. Ron lived in Grand Marais in 1956-57. Over the years, he kept in touch with his long-time sixth-grade friend Ron Lund. We’ll refer to him as “Lund” to avoid confusion. Lund is the owner/proprietor of Lund’s Motel and Cabins (Be sure to stay there the next time you're on the North Shore). He and Rena were great hosts. They gave us a place to park the motor home and all the conveniences we could want. Ron and Rena gave us the keys to their cozy cabin on Devil Track Lake for a couple nights. It’s a beautiful lake, not far from town in the quiet wilderness of northern Minnesota. Being late summer, the mosquitoes were gone and it was very quiet. No traffic and no urban noise. The cabin was the perfect place to do some serious relaxing while waiting out yet another brief rain storm. The next day it was sunny again and we went for a peaceful paddle on the lake. We enjoyed some good food and conversation with Ron and Rena and appreciate their warm hospitality. Ron got to see some folks he hadn’t seen in decades and the Rons found some time to tip a few beers, play some mini-golf and reminisce about the good old days.

The North Shore and entire Lake Superior region are beautiful. If it wasn’t so late in the summer, we might have stayed another week. But the leaves were turning and the nights were getting colder, so it was time to move along.

32. Niagara Falls - and Vicinity

2008-09-04T11:41:00.000-07:00

The road from New England was leading us toward the Albany/Schenectady area of New York. Fortunately, we found Highway 29. It was a much prettier shortcut through the rural farms and foothills of the Adirondacks to Johnstown, New York.

We've noticed along the way that every town has a local hero. Johnstown is no exception. It's the proud birthplace of women's suffrage leader Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as seen on a downtown mural (photo). We found some interesting old downtown buildings, including this one with the rounded windows. Unfortunately, the downtown doesn’t appear to be healthy and many of the old buildings are in need of major work. We found a nice restaurant that served up an excellent plate of shrimp for Bonnie and eggplant parmesan for Ron at very reasonable prices. The only other customer in the place was a guy the server called “professor”, so we felt we were doing our small part to bolster the economy of Johnstown.

To save time, we drove the New York Thruway across the state from Johnstown to near Buffalo. The privilege cost us $35.80 (ouch!) in tolls, but it was a relaxing drive and we made good time. We sat back and watched the farms and forests roll by. With the Labor Day weekend on the horizon, campgrounds were booking early and we didn’t want to be stuck in a Wal-Mart parking lot over the holidays. [Note: Hindsight tells us we should have taken the Wal-Mart option. More about that later.]

We checked into a convenient RV park just outside the City of Lockport in eastern New York. It put us about 20 miles from Buffalo and Niagara Falls and 15 miles from Lake Ontario. We had some interesting campground chats with local folks who told us about Lockport’s colorful history. The first fire hydrant was built and installed here and a local factory makes Yo-Yo strings. We didn’t know Yo-Yo strings were special, but apparently they are. One of the largest industries in town built radiators for General Motors vehicles. It recently closed and put a lot of people out of work. The city once had lots of nice old brick and stone buildings. Some have survived but most were removed in the name of “urban renewal”. Fortunately, the city still has the Erie Canal, its historic locks and related tourism.

Lockport was built around the Eric Canal. Its famous “Flight of Five” double locks lifted boats 49 feet while lowering others at the same time. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a short canal cruise and brush up on our American history. The canal was hand dug long before railroads or automobiles were available. It was a monumental project to provide a water highway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. The U.S. government couldn’t afford it, so the state of New York put up the money. Digging began in 1817 on the 363 mile canal and its series of 83 locks. When completed in 1825, the canal connected the Hudson River with the Niagara River and became a primary gateway to "the west" for new settlers. Before the canal was built, travel from Albany to Buffalo took about seven weeks. The canal is still being used today and the same trip takes about seven days. “Tow paths” along the sides of the canal were used to pull the barges. The paths are now used for hiking and biking. Getting to see the famous Erie Canal was something we hadn’t planned on. It was really special to be able to go on a boat cruise through the locks and under the bridges. It was like stepping into a page of history.

Our primary destination was Niagara Falls. We arrived early on a weekday to avoid crowds and were lucky to find a free parking space a block from the falls. We were surprised that it wasn’t crowded at all and lines were short. We spent most of the day wandering around and enjoying the beauty of the place and the sounds of rushing water. Great views of both the American Falls and Canada’s Horseshoe Falls were within easy walking distance. The falls are surrounded by a large park. There are lots of things to do and see, pathways to walk, and trolley-type buses to shuttle people from place to place. The first thing we did was take a very wet boat ride on the “Maid of the Mist.” Each passenger was issued a plastic rain coat with hood before the boat took us right up to the bases of both falls. The coats helped, but the “mist” from the falls was more like torrential rain. It took a week to dry out Ron’s tennis shoes. After the boat ride we switched to yellow raincoats and rubber sandals and went on the “Cave of the Winds” walking tour. The “cave” part caved in a decade or two ago and killed a few tourists, so it’s no longer part of this adventure. It now consists of a series of wooden stairways and platforms along the edge of the falls. Being this close to Niagara Falls, with its drenching mist and thundering roar made this stair climb an awesome experience. That's Bonnie at the top.

After a full day of sightseeing, we were worn out and still walking around in wet shoes. We found a vacant park bench where we sat a while and watched the roaring rapids of the Niagara River. The Niagara Falls complex was one of the highlights of our vacation, for sure. The Niagara River has always been a vital transportation link, even with the necessity of portaging around the falls. The mouth of the river, where it flows into Lake Ontario, was an important control point for access to the Great Lakes and, therefore, has a long history of political conflict. Back in 1679, the French established a post at the river's mouth and followed with more elaborate forts. In 1726, the French built the “French Castle” which still stands as the centerpiece of Old Fort Niagara.Over the years, Britain gained control of the fort during the French and Indian Wars but gave it up to the Americans after the American Revolution. It was later recaptured by the British during the War of 1812 but finally returned to the U.S. for good in 1815. Old Fort Niagara has seen a lot of action. It’s now a restored tourist attraction, complete with cannons, mortars, lots of intricate brickwork, dark tunnels and passageways and some great views of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario from the castle's upper windows. The fellas in British uniforms explained the various types of artillary that were used long ago and successfully demonstrated the firing of a mortar. Both survived. We were in western New York state about a week and had plenty of time to roam around the New York countryside. One of the Labor Day weekend activities was an outstanding car show in Olcott Beach. It was held in a large grassy park with Lake Ontario in the background. The village of Wilson is just down the road from Olcott. It has some interesting shops and restaurants next to its small but scenic harbor on Lake Ontario. We spent a little time there, had a sandwich and beer and listened to some country music at the outdoor stage. Labor Day at the campground was pretty rough. Campers came from all around the area (nearly all New Yorkers) and brought lots of loud rock music, loud voices and plenty of beer. They came to party and that’s what they did . . . well into the night. We took our lawn chairs and sat by the huge bonfire one night.

The campground’s “quiet time” begins at 11 pm, but it didn’t happen. Parties continued into the morning hours and the park management couldn’t handle it. We lost a lot of sleep and were relieved when the weekend was finally over and the campground was once again nearly empty and very quiet. For most of those folks, it was the last gasp of summer and they were letting it all out. For us, just another weekend.

We had a good time in New York but it felt good to finally hook the car to the motor home and aim for Michigan.

31. Goodbye New England

2008-08-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

August 17 was cool and partly cloudy . . . a perfect travel day. We entered Canada 10 days earlier via the scenic but slow coastal route, so we decided to depart via the longer northern route to Houlton, Maine. The U.S. customs officials were much more serious than were the Canadians when we entered Canada. The U.S. guys checked our IDs closely. They also came aboard to ask questions and peek into our refrigerator to see if we were importing anything strange or illegal. We passed inspection and they didn’t confiscate anything this time, not even the beets and blueberries.

We like to travel about 200 or so miles per day. But, since the scenery is pretty monotonous in northern Maine, we continued for another 150 miles to Bangor. We stayed a couple days at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort. It was much nicer than anything we found in Canada, and considerably cheaper. We welcomed a couple days to rest, do laundry, clean up the motor home and do a little sightseeing around the Bangor area.

I hope none of our readers is from Bangor and, if so, we don’t intend to insult your fair city. However, we found downtown Bangor to be a bummer. This was one of the most awkward and uncomfortable cities we have visited. The photo below doesn't show it, but streets meet at odd angles, several are one-way, there are hills, tight curves, overpasses and directional signs that are hard to find and understand. We parked on the street and walked around a little. Other than some old buildings, marginal businesses and a small park, we didn’t find much of interest downtown. Apparently, not many others did either. There was plenty of on-street parking and no brochures or post cards.
Cousin Sherry told us not to miss author Stephen King’s house so we stopped by. He lives in a very large home in a nice older neighborhood of Bangor not far from downtown. The house is surrounded by a black iron fence, adorned with iron bats, spider webs and other “spooky” decorations. Pretty cool. He lives there most of the time. We took a couple pictures but didn’t bother him in case he was working on a book. Bangor has a real treasure in the Cole Land Transportation Museum. It contains all kinds of vehicles, farm machinery, early snow plows, snow cats, covered wagons, early fire engines, tow trucks, military jeeps, motorcycles, a few railroad cars and even a 1930s model tent trailer. Photos weren’t allowed inside, but they did allow us to take a picture on an old REO vehicle.

The museum was established in 1989 by Galen Cole. After surviving a World War II battle that killed the rest of his squad, he ran a trucking company and saved enough money to start the museum. He still spends time in the museum greeting visitors. Bonnie was especially interested in a WW-II memorial. It includes the bronzed Jeep outside the museum and an interior display of many battle photographs of the area where her dad had served in Europe, and during the time he was there. It was very interesting to see those photos. We saw the Kennedy compound in Massachusetts, so Bonnie thought it would be nice to see the Bush abode in Kennebunkport, Maine. The Ocean Avenue loop passes many large beautiful mansions with acres of lawn and sweeping views of the Atlantic along the rocky coastline. Eventually, we came to a wide spot in the road and pulled off to join a group of Bush-watchers with cameras and binoculars in hand. Across the water on Walker’s Point was the home of former President Bush. We enjoyed the view and took some pictures but didn’t get a glimpse of the former President. It was a beautiful sunny day, so we continued up the coast to Cape Porpoise where we watched boats and wandered around on the pier among the stacks of lobster traps. A little crab shack type outdoor café was right there on the pier, so we had a seafood lunch. It doesn’t get any fresher than that. It took the rest of the day to explore the towns of Kennebunkport, Wells Beach and York. All are very interesting quaint coastal towns, but summer traffic made it a very slow trip. It was a relief to finally leave the coast.

In York, the tide was in and nearly up to the bulkhead, but the skinny beach was still accessible and we enjoyed our final view of the Atlantic Ocean before heading inland.

On August 22, the 150th day of our “extended vacation”, we left Maine, drove through southern New Hampshire and to our next campground on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River.

The hot spot in this part of Vermont is the town of Woodstock, not to be confused with the 1960s rock music festival. The official population is only about 1,000, but Woodstock swells with tourists in the summer. A favorite downtown business is the F.H. Gillingham store. It has all kinds of interesting things and is the oldest general store in Vermont (1886). Folks also come to see the beautiful mountain scenery, historic Federal-style architecture, numerous covered bridges, parks, farms, etc. This would be a great place to spend a summer.

Just outside Woodstock, and of primary interest to us, was Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park and Billings Farm. This unique park was established in 1992 and covers just 550 acres of forest and farmlands. It’s the only national park that focuses on conservation history and the evolution of land stewardship. Vermont is a beautiful state, but it has an ugly past. In the mid-19th century, after the American Revolution, settlers swarmed all over Vermont. They cut down 80% of the forests and cleared the land for farms. Unfortunately, poor farm practices, erosion and too many sheep ruined the land. Farming became difficult, so many of the settlers moved on and left their destruction behind. One of those early settlers was George Perkins Marsh. He grew up on the family farm near Woodstock, served in Congress and traveled extensively. He saw how human actions had ruined landscapes in other countries and decided to do something to correct the situation in Vermont. He became a leading conservationist and, in 1864, wrote the classic book “Man and Nature.” The Marsh farm was later purchased by Frederick Billings, a California gold rush attorney, industrialist and railroad builder. He was also a Vermont native and avid conservationist. He saw an opportunity to create a farm that would be a model of wise stewardship for future generations. Through his efforts, high quality animals and farm practices were returned to Vermont and much of the state was reforested. In 1934, Billings’ granddaughter married Laurance Rockefeller and they lived in the beautiful mansion on the farm. It was open for tours and was one of the most impressive homes we have seen anywhere on this vacation. The house was a solid brick structure but had lots of detail, beautiful wood everywhere and period furnishings. The family had the financial resources and commitment to conservation to continue the program that finally resulted in the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Nat’l. Park. In 1998, the Conservation Study Institute was established at the park as a forum for professionals to share their knowledge about best practices and conservation leadership. Even the view (below) has been preserved through conservation easements. Now you know the rest of the story. We couldn’t go through Vermont without a little cheese and maple syrup. Not far from Woodstock at the end of a winding dirt road is Sugarbush Farm. It’s a family owned and operated farm that raises animals and makes cheese and maple syrup. They gave us a brief tour of the maple processing operation. We tasted the four grades of maple syrup and an assortment of really good cheeses and also fed the farm animals. A loop trail showed us the maple groves and how the trees are tapped for their sap. A small chapel was positioned along the way in case anyone needed to pray or get married. Maple syrup is liquid gold. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of pure maple syrup. Very expensive!

Vermont was beautiful and we could have stayed another week or two. But it was time to leave New England and continue west. We didn’t make very good time on the narrow crooked highways through the hills of Vermont and into New York, but the scenery was outstanding. We were a little early for the “fall foliage” season, but many trees were already turning. It looks like an early autumn for the Northeast.

30. The Maritime Provinces - Part II

2008-08-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Part I covered our visits to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. This Part II is about about Nova Scotia and we have to mention the Acadians once again. We learned about the Acadians in Louisiana back in April. The story needs one more paragraph to complete the link between Nova Scotia and Louisiana.

By the early 1700s, thousands of Acadians were living in their established settlements in “Acadie”. In 1713 the area was transferred from France to Great Britain and Acadie became Nova Scotia. The French and British tended to fight and feud a lot and the independent Acadians insisted on remaining neutral. Since they were friendly to both sides, they couldn’t be trusted. So, in 1755, the British ordered that they be deported by boat to colonies along the east coast. Thousands were victims of this tragedy that is now referred to as the “Grand Derangement.” Many ended up in Louisiana where Cajun communities were developed. Not all were sent away in boats. Many of the original Acadians fled inland and their descendants have since returned to Nova Scotia to rebuild their families and communities. Their heritage is alive and well today.

Following the expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia and the burning of their towns, a new Town of Amherst was established on one of the former sites. New England settlers were encouraged to settle in the area and Amherst became a busy business and manufacturing center. Over the years, the city has lost much of its strength and vitality and is now just a nice quiet town. Many old 19th century brick and sandstone buildings are still in use today and beautiful Victorian homes are scattered throughout the community. It’s sad that we can’t seem to build a school that will last 50 years any more, but all through New England and the Maritime provinces we see 200+ year old buildings standing strong and still in use.

We parked the rig in a campground just outside Amherst, which was a convenient location for side trips in all directions. The campground was large and grassy and rather pretty, as the photos show. But the facilities (rest rooms, showers, roads, recreation hall, etc.) were marginal and maintenance was nonexistent. Bonnie (and most other campers) wouldn’t go near the rest rooms so it was a good thing the motor home is self-contained.
The RV park didn’t have internet access, but the park’s owner lived in a large house down the road. He invited the guests to park in his driveway (which also served as a used car lot) and connect to his home WiFi. So, Ron drove over in the evening and did his internet stuff in the pouring rain while parked among the used cars. Not a pretty sight, but it worked.

Springhill, a few miles down the road from Amherst, happened to be the home town of popular Canadian vocalist Anne Murray. We stopped at the Anne Murray Center, looked at the displays and chatted with the lady in the gift shop while an Anne Murray CD played softly in the background. She informed us that Anne now lives near Toronto but returns to Springhill now and then to visit. Springhill is also famous for coal mining and several major mining disasters, one of which killed 125 miners in 1891. There’s lots more coal in Nova Scotia but no underground coal mines are operating today and open pit mining has failed. There are many old mine shafts under Springhill, some more than 6,000 feet deep. Most are now full of water but a small portion of one of the shafts is open to visitors, along with the small but very informative Springhill Miners Museum.
Bonnie gets a little claustrophobic underground, but Ron put on the rubber jacket and hard hat and ventured into the cool, dark, wet, drippy mine. The shaft wasn’t real deep but it provided a close-up look at the coal mining operation and what veins of coal look like underground. A real coal miner’s daughter led us through the museum and mine. She showed us how it feels to be in total darkness and gave us a pretty good idea of what it was like to go to work in a mine every day. Mining was the only game in town for the young guys and the jobs were easy to get. The interview consisted of two questions: Can you pick? Can you shovel? If the answers were “Yes”, they were hired and began a life of hard work, low pay and often culminating in an early death.
A 100 mile loop drive took us to Cape d’Or on a peninsula in the middle of the Bay of Fundy. It was another rainy day but it was still very nice. The views reminded us of some places along the Oregon coast. Near Cape d’Or is the small town of Advocate Harbour. When the tide goes out, it goes far far out and boats sit on the sea bottom until the water returns. While we were there, a lost beluga whale was in the harbor area. He was making the local news but the tide was out so we didn’t see him.
Also along the Bay of Fundy coast is a place called Joggins Cliffs. It’s a fossil hunter’s paradise and has been called the “Coal Age Galapagos”. Some of the world’s oldest reptiles and other 300 million year old fossils have been found here. The rocky cliffs erode very easily so each tide of the Bay of Fundy brings new discoveries. We got there an hour before closing time and did a quick look but didn't find any dinosaurs or rodent parts. However, an expert broke a rock with his hammer and showed us a bird beak. You have to know what you're looking for and be able to recognize it. On a drizzly overcast Saturday, we took a 90 mile drive along the scenic Northumberland Shore of Nova Scotia. We stopped at a very busy farmers’ market in Tatamagouche that offered everything from arts and crafts to home-grown produce and homemade foods. We bought a bag of baby corn cobs, a bunch of fresh beets and some fudge. Very good stuff.
Fascinated by its name, Ron insisted on stopping at the small town of Pugwash at the mouth of the Pugwash River. It’s a fishing and mining village but, more importantly, it’s famous for “peace”. It was the birthplace of the first “Thinkers Conference” in 1957, hosted by philanthropist Cyrus Eaton, who was born in Pugwash. Bertrand Russell, Albert Einstein and others initiated the program, which is now known as the “Pugwash Conferences.” The purpose was to bring top scientists and other thinkers together to discuss the threat to civilization by thermonuclear weapons. Since the first conference, there have been nearly 300 conferences, symposia and workshops around the world with over 10,000 in attendance. The basic Pugwash Conference is held annually. A basic rule is that those participating must represent only themselves and not a government or organization. You never know what you’ll find along the road. We found that Pugwash is much more than just a funny name.

Our destination was the small town of Pictou (Pick-toe), known as the “birthplace of New Scotland.” Yes, there’s a story behind it. In the summer of 1773, about 200 Highland Scots boarded the ship Hector at Loch Broom in Scotland in search of better lives in America. The voyage was long and hard, food was scarce, a gale blew the ship off course by two weeks and 18 children died enroute. The Hector finally arrived in Pictou on September 15, 1773 and the pioneers established the first permanent Scottish settlement in the region. Tens of thousands of Scots later arrived at the port of Pictou. Most settled in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Pictou celebrates its heritage with several festivals, including the August Hector Festival. A replica of the original ship Hector, along with a related museum is the centerpiece of the waterfront. Songs have been written about the voyage of the Hector and reenactments of the landing are held during the festival. It’s a very big deal in Pictou. Our primary purpose for being in Pictou was to attend some Hector Festival events. The day we were there, they were having a highland dance competition and an encampment was set up and occupied by the 84th Regiment. Pipe and drum bands were marching, muskets were being fired and there was lots of talk about the voyage of the Hector. We stayed late to attend a ceilidh in the evening. “Ceilidh” (pronounced kay-lee) is Gaelic for a kind of party get-together. It’s something like a hoe-down and primarily for the purpose of music, dance and a good time. A ceilidh can occur just about anywhere from a front porch to a public hall. In this case, it was a professional event held in Pictou’s deCoste Centre theater. It included songs, dancing, humor, Acadian fiddling and a pipe and drum corp consisting of nine bagpipers and five drummers. They filled the hall with the beautiful honking, screeching, droning sounds that only bagpipes can make. It was an excellent program and a perfect way to finish off our brief visit to beautiful Nova Scotia.

The weather was miserable much of the time, so we didn't see as much as we wanted to. Then again, there's always too much everywhere we go. So, we have to make the choices that are most interesting to us and let the rest go.

Nova Scotia’s primary crop is blueberries and August is harvest time. So, before leaving the Maritimes, Bonnie picked up a bunch of berries and served them up in pancakes and over ice cream.

Does life get any better than that?

29. The Maritime Provinces - Part I

2008-08-20T03:10:00.000-07:00

After a week of Maine rain, Mother Nature continued to dump occasional showers, interspersed with periods of sunshine, as we rolled down Highway 9 toward Canada. By the time we arrived at the border town of Calais, it was raining heavily. Narrow streets, construction and traffic made it difficult to find our way to New Brunswick. To further complicate matters, an International Day celebration was going on and traffic was being detoured around the downtown to make way for a parade. The main street was lined with people in lawn chairs in the rain, waiting for the parade to go by. We missed that photo-op.

We were prepared for anything at the border. We gave simple responses to questions about beer, guns, cigarettes, pets and our destination. They accepted our answers, confiscated Bonnie’s main weapon (pepper spray), and sent us on our way. After all the effort to get passports and other documentation together, it was a little disappointing that they ignored it all and didn’t even check our driver’s licenses or other I.D. I guess we look too much like harmless American tourists. Or, maybe it had something to do with this summer’s 60% drop in American tourism.

We crossed the border into the Atlantic time zone and continued up the New Brunswick coast. We liked the looks of the port city of Saint John and decided to stay a couple days to look around. It’s a fascinating city with lots of interesting old buildings and a nice waterfront boardwalk and city market.
Saint John is on the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia and boasts the world’s highest tides. People come from all over the world to see the Fundy tides. A popular local tourist attraction is Reversing Falls. It looked like rapids to us, but it’s a falls to them. The incoming tide rises above the water level in the Saint John River and causes the river to flow backwards over the rapids until the tide goes out again. Thus the name Reversing Falls. Watching the tides change is very gradual and somewhat like watching paint dry. But it was interesting to see a river flow in two different directions.

Saint John (pop. 70,000) became the first incorporated city in Canada in 1785. It has lots of history and many very old buildings and neighborhoods. Unfortunately, there was no indication of the type of restoration effort that was evident in cities like Charleston or Savannah. Some of the large Victorian homes have been restored and are beautiful, but it was sad to see many others in marginal condition and deteriorating but still being occupied.

The city has done some nice things around its waterfront and has a lot more work to do to realize its rehab potential.

We left Saint John on the day that three large cruise ships were scheduled to arrive. Good timing. We stopped at the first RV Park in Nova Scotia, near the town of Amherst. It was a convenient location for several day trips in different directions.

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is the smallest of Canada’s provinces. It was a true island, served only by a ferry until 1997. That’s when it was connected to the mainland by the seven-mile long Confederation Bridge over the Northumberland Strait. Building the bridge was a public/private partnership and, according to the tourist info center, the bridge will be privately owned for 35 years and the company that built it is allowed to collect tolls to recover construction costs. We paid the toll of $41.50 (round trip), which was about $20 cheaper than taking the ferry.
The island has plenty of forests, dairy farms and lots of potato fields. The coastline is picturesque with some rocky red bluffs and country two-lane roads criss-cross in all directions. The rolling terrain is very pretty but the island is fairly flat. Its highest point is only 499 ft.
Green Gables is Prince Edward Island’s main claim to fame. A series of books written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, including “Anne of Green Gables”, brought attention to the farm where she lived in Cavendish, P.E.I. and the beautiful places she described in her books. We visited her birthplace (1874) in New London and toured the Green Gables house and farm in Cavendish, which included a walk in the “haunted forest.” Although neither of us had read the “Anne” books, it was a very interesting place to visit. The scenic north coast of P.E.I. has some nice beaches and lots of bright green grass above the fragile eroding red cliffs. The red earth (iron oxide) is found throughout the island. We followed the coastline through P.E.I. National Park and small fishing villages along the way. It was a comfortable drive. The roads were decent and there wasn’t much traffic to contend with.
We stopped for a photo of the lighthouse at Rustico and came across a quaint little waterfront café and a couple excellent seafood croissant sandwiches. Note the tilted building in the photo. We saw a lot of tilted buildings of all kinds in Maine and Canada. Bad foundations maybe?
The capital of P.E.I. is Charlottetown. It’s not a large city (pop. 32,000) but has a very nice waterfront, lots of shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes and old neighborhoods of row houses.

Some of the oldest government buildings in Canada are also in Charlottetown. One of the oldest is Province House (below) where the meetings were held and papers created that led to Canada’s confederation in 1867. The Provincial Legislature still meets in the building and many of the rooms have been restored to their 1860s character.

One of the most outstanding buildings in Charlottetown is St. Dunstan’s Basilica with its triple spires and Gothic Cross design. The Gothic structure was built mostly of local stone. The interior walls and large support columns are a light green Vermont marble. Very pretty. The main alter is also marble and is 37 feet high. This particular church has a long and difficult history, dating back to 1721. I won’t even try to describe it. In recognition of its history, St. Dunstan’s Cathedral was raised to the level of Basilica in 1929.

We couldn't pass up a tour of the city on a red double-decker bus that was brought from London in 1973. We got a front row seat on the upper level for the one-hour very slow ride through town. We saw everything from the city center to the neighborhoods, suburbs, hospital, college and shopping centers. For a city of this size, it was an excellent and thorough tour and a good way to finish off our whirlwind tour of Prince Edward Island.

The Rain in Maine

2008-08-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts was very nice, but it was time to continue north. We drove through a small segment of coastal New Hampshire and into Maine. The further north we went, the cooler and more comfortable it became. But it was also becoming dark and cloudy and, shortly after reaching Blueberry Pond RV Park near Freeport, it began to rain . . . with a vengeance. The sky crackled with lightning and heavy thunder rattled our RV. That was just the beginning. It continued to rain off and on for the next ten days. Fortunately, the storms swept through rapidly and were interspersed with sunny periods for sightseeing and photo taking.

Freeport is the home of L.L. Bean, a primary stop for tourists passing through. It's an interesting store with lots of unusual features, such as the "hunting lodge" lounge in the photo below. Bean has grown into a complex of stores that includes an “outlet” store with very reasonable prices. Freeport has many other upscale outlet stores. It's a fun place to browse.

After a couple days in Freeport, we continued north and set up camp in Ellsworth, about 30 miles from Bangor and 15 miles from Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Mother Nature greeted us with one of the most violent thunder storms we have ever experienced. Buckets of rain fell while very loud crackling thunder shook the motor home. It felt like the sky was being ripped apart. Amazing.

After the storm drifted off to the east, we took a leisurely drive along Frenchman Bay to the village of Winter Harbor. From there, a shuttle bus took us through a remote portion of Acadia Nat’l. Park. It’s a bit difficult to get to, so it’s not crowded at all, as you can see in the photos. We had a good time playing on the massive rocks and watching the waves and sea birds.

We reserved the best sunny day for a trip to Bar Harbor. It’s a serious tourist destination and traffic is intense but not impossible. We arrived early and found a spot in a public parking lot near downtown. We got carried away and stayed about seven hours in our three-hour parking spot. Fortunately, we didn’t get a ticket.

Bonnie likes to be out on the water so a boat ride was a priority. Lots of boat tours were available. We had trouble deciding whether to go on a whale watching boat, a ferry to the Cranberry Islands, a lobster boat, a sailboat, etc. We finally decided to join Captain Ed for a sail around Frenchman Bay on his lobster sloop “Chrissy” (photo). A nice breeze was blowing and it was a perfect day for a relaxing sail on the bay.

Ed told us the history of his 1910 sloop and all about the local lobster industry. He had several lobster traps in the bay and stopped to check them. He caught one but it was a little fella and had to be tossed back.

The Royal Carribean cruise ship Explorer of the Seas was in port with its 3,100 passengers. They clogged the sidewalks, stores and restaurants and pumped a good amount of revenue into the local economy.
We spent parts of three days exploring Acadia Park. It’s a beautiful park with miles of rocky shoreline, vistas, wildlife, historic carriage roads and hiking trails. We climbed on more rocks and poked around the bookstore and lighthouse at Bass Harbor.

Jordan Pond is a very popular and scenic place. We found a patch of wild blueberries and were merrily picking when the sky opened up again and gave us a brief shower.

The highlight of Acadia Park was viewing Bar Harbor and the Maine coastline from the top of Cadillac Mountain. The mountain rises to a nosebleed elevation of 1,530 ft. That’s not very high by Northwest standards, but it’s the highest point along the entire east coast of North America. A roadway leads to a parking lot near the rocky top and we managed to struggle the final 100 feet or so to the summit (without oxygen). From the top, visitors can admire views in all directions from a series of easy trails and viewpoints.

Lobster (lobstah) is king in Maine. There are “lobster pounds” everywhere. These are places where one can buy fresh live lobsters to take home, or have one cooked on the spot for instant consumption. Luckily for us, the price of lobster is down this summer. Some places are selling lobster rolls and meals for around $12. We ate our share of seafood, including lobster, shrimp, crab rolls, fish & chips, bacon-wrapped scallops, fish and corn chowder and other local delicacies. On August 6 we celebrated Bonnie’s birthday with a non-seafood dinner of prime rib and pork. It was a nice change of pace.

Maine is a very nice quiet place. The people are nice and friendly and life seems to be a little more laid back. We love the rocky coastline and thick woods. The small towns with their old buildings are very picturesque and nearly all the towns have white church steeples poking up above the trees. Families live in houses built in the early 1800s and kids still attend 100 year old brick school houses. Things move a little more slowly here in Maine. It's a very nice change of pace.

27. Massachusetts

2008-07-31T18:58:00.000-07:00

Mother Nature blessed us with a torrential dumping on July 24. Fortunately, that was our stay-in-camp day to relax, tidy up the rolling abode and do some travel planning. The next day was beautiful. We got an early start and drove through southern New York, over the Hudson River, through Connecticut and Rhode Island, and arrived at the Canoe River Campground in Massachusetts in mid-afternoon.

The campground is fairly large but we arrived on Friday and nearly all the sites were full of summer weekend campers. We were lucky to get a spot next to Earl’s fifth-wheel. Earl is single and a truck driver. He grew up in Providence, Rhode Island and has lived in this campground for five years in his trailer. Earl is one of those interesting characters that we occasionally come across in campgrounds. He drives an old rusty Cadillac stretch limo and keeps a flock of more than 40 ducks as pets. The ducks waddle around, chase each other and quack a lot, but don’t cause any trouble. They amuse the other campers and kids love to chase them. During the five days we were there, a momma duck laid half a dozen eggs in a little nest about five feet from our RV and sat on them the whole time (photo below). We left before they hatched. Earl has a sign posted in front of his trailer that says, “Welcome Friends – Now Leave”. That says a lot about Earl.

We targeted four places during our stay in Massachusetts; Hyannisport, Fall River, Newport and Plymouth. Each was different and interesting in its own way.

Hyannisport: Our campground was about 50 miles from Hyannisport, home of the Kennedy clan. Senator Edward Kennedy was recently treated for brain cancer, so we thought we’d go down and wish him well. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and half of Massachusetts seemed to be heading for Cape Cod. We ran into a ton of stop-n-go freeway traffic but made it to Hyannisport. After a quick burger at Mr. Dude’s, we caught a harbor cruise on the Prudence that took us out into the ocean to view sailboats, coastal homes and the Kennedy compound.

Around the corner and along a stretch of nice beach was a line of big beach homes, including the Kennedy compound. The main Kennedy house is the large white one with the multiple gables. That's where Senator Ted lives. The next photo is Ted's sailboat. According to the tour guide, he sails often.

After the tour we drove down the beach to Kennedy Memorial Park. It's a very nice little park with a bronze memorial plaque on the rock wall behind the fountain and lots of rose bushes and other gardens overlooking the ocean.

We also snooped around the neighborhood to see how close we could get to the Kennedy compound. There were no high walls or gates and we got within a block or so before encountering discouraging signs. The Senator wasn’t home anyway, so we didn’t stop to chat.

Fall River: Ron likes to climb around on old Navy ships, so we drove down to Battleship Cove in Fall River. The destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy was on display, along with the attack submarine USS Lionfish and battleship USS Massachusetts. Inside the battleship was a small museum and memorial to Massachusetts residents who gave their lives in World War II and the Persian Gulf War.

We came across an unexpected surprise next to the Navy pier. Inside a special Victorian building was a restored 1920 carrousel, complete with four dozen hand-carved horses and a genuine Wurlitzer organ. It was a real gem. There were very few people there so we paid our dollar and went for a ride. For a few minutes we felt like kids again.

Newport, Rhode Island: South of Fall River and Providence and on a hill overlooking the ocean and Narragansett Bay is Newport, home of the rich and famous. Among the many beautiful homes are some of the finest mansions anywhere. The king of the mansions, and most popular tourist stop, is The Breakers. The first home by that name was built for tobacco businessman P. Lorillard. In 1885, Cornelius Vanderbilt II bought the house for $450,000. At that time, he was chairman of the New York Central Railroad and director of 49 other railroads. At that time, the Vanderbilts were the richest family in America. After the house burned down in 1892, Vanderbilt hired architects to build the present 70-room “summer home”. The house has the dimensions of a hotel, but the details and personality of a home. The central Great Hall is at least 3,000 sq. ft in area with 45 foot high ceilings, heavy chandeliers and lots of paintings and detailed carvings. The 2,400 sq. ft. formal dining room has two priceless 12 ft. chandeliers made by French glassmakers Cristalleries Baccarat. The dining table can be extended to seat up to 34 guests. Simply incredible. [No photos allowed inside.]Outside the main house is a children’s playhouse (below) with all the details of a full-scale house, and some extras. Note the carved porch posts. There was also a separate house for the manager who managed the household and all the cooks, maids, groundskeepers and other servants that kept the place going.

We also toured Marble House, which was built for Alva Vanderbilt, a local society hostess and a leader in the women’s suffrage movement. Her husband William Vanderbilt gave her the house as a birthday gift. She divorced him three years later and married another Newport millionaire. This house was built primarily of marble in all colors. Much of it was brought by ship from Europe and cut and shaped by Italian workers on the site. The house is hard and cold but is lavishly decorated and very impressive inside and out. It cost $11 million to build in 1892. Imagine what it would cost in today’s dollars. Again, photos weren't allowed inside, but the house is incredible. Bonnie bought a book describing all the great mansions of Newport.

Downtown Newport is also a fun place to look around, shop and get a bite to eat. The old part of town still has original cobblestone streets and lots of old buildings.

Plymouth: A couple months ago we were in St. Augustine, America’s oldest continuous community. As a follow-up, we had to visit Plymouth to see where the Pilgrims landed in 1620. Plymouth is very attractive with some of the oldest buildings in the country and its harbor full of boats. It's a very pleasant and comfortable community to visit.

The Mayflower II, a replica of the original ship, is moored at a pier a block from the Plymouth Rock monument. It was actually sailed across the Atlantic in the 1950s and is now a tourist attraction.

Do you remember Massasoit from your history books? His statue stands in a small park overlooking the harbor and Plymouth Rock. He was the Indian who gets most of the credit for assisting the Mayflower immigrants. Many of them died during the first winter and they all might have died if they weren’t helped by the local Indians. Sadly, the newcomers later turned on the Indians, killed many of them and took their land. A plaque next to Massasoit explains that the local Indians now congregate on Thanksgiving Day each year as a day of mourning.

We had a very nice relaxing day in Plymouth. We had lunch at the Lobster Hut overlooking the harbor. Bonnie had her first lobster roll, which is a hot ticket food item in this area. Most eateries offer lobster, crab or clam rolls. Thanks to high gas prices, bad economy and reduced tourism, the price of lobster is lower than average this summer, which means we can eat more. That’s good news for us.

We liked Massachusetts a lot. The people were all very nice and friendly, the countryside is woodsy and pretty and there’s lots more to do and see than we had time for.

26. The Big Apple

2008-07-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

Frank Sinatra sang, “If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” We were in the neighborhood, so we wanted to pay a visit to the “Big Apple” . . . New York City. We camped in the village of Florida, New York, about 50 mi. north of the city. Florida’s claim to fame is the former home of Mr. Seward who was largely responsible for the purchase of Alaska (Seward”s Folly). But that’s another story.

We chose the Black Bear RV Park because a guy named Al runs a van tour of New York right from the campground. His all-day tour began at 8:00 am. Al provided a non-stop flow of factual information and interesting stories about the city as he drove us down the New Jersey Turnpike, past the Giants stadium in The Meadowlands, past Sinatra’s home town of Hoboken and to Liberty State Park and the ferry terminal for a boat ride to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Along the way he pointed out huge mounds of new industrial lands that were once “worthless wetlands” but, after years of channel dredging and sanitary landfilling, are now productive industrial lands. (Not wanting to ruin the tour, we withheld our comments.)

Many of the European immigrants stayed in New York, but most were sent to this New Jersey terminal where they boarded trains for other parts of the country. The old rails and train sheds remain but are deteriorated and weed infested.

Ellis Island was one of the most interesting places we visited. The immigration station on the island opened in 1892 and processed about 12 million immigrants who came to America looking for new opportunities and better lives. This process only lasted until the 1920s when most of the operation was transferred to the U.S. consulates.

The old buildings deteriorated until the 1980s when the main building was restored and opened as a museum telling the immigration story. It now contains lots of old photos and documents and it’s a very fascinating place to visit, especially for those who had an ancestor enter the country through Ellis Island.

The ferry ride from Ellis Island to Liberty Island took only a few minutes and offered front porch views of the city and harbor activities from the Brooklyn Bridge to Verrazano Narrows. It was an overcast day but the rain held off.

It was a special feeling to finally set foot on Liberty Island, at the base of its famous statue, which was a gift from France in 1886. It was very interesting and, to many, an emotional experience. Visitors can no longer climb into the statue itself, but that was okay. Just being there was good enough.

Al drove us through the Holland Tunnel and into the heart of Manhattan. Our first stop was “Ground Zero”, the site of the former twin towers of the World Trade Center. We walked around the area and looked through the heavy steel fence into the massive pit. It was hard to find a good picture angle, but you can see that the rubble is gone and the new “Freedom Tower” is under construction. When finished around 2011, the tower will reach a height of 1,776 feet. The Empire State Building is about 1,250 feet high.

St. Paul’s Chapel dates back to the 1700s. George Washington attended church there. His pew and personal chair are still there to see. The chapel is near the Ground Zero site and was one of the most important staging areas during the 9/11 tragedy. Today, it has memorials to those who lost their lives.
The final piece of steel salvaged from the twin towers was in the shape of a cross and has been placed near the chapel as another memorial. Several other wall sculptures and murals adorn nearby buildings. The Sept. 11, 2001 event made an impact on New York City that will never be forgotten.

Al drove us all around Manhattan, through the financial district, up the East River, past the Brooklyn Bridge, along the west side of Central Park, and past the Empire State Building, Trump Towers and other interesting sites.

We spent some time walking around Times Square and the Broadway theater district. This was a pretty intense part of town, especially on Wednesday which is matinee day at the theaters. Traffic was near gridlock, horns were honking (against the law in NYC), pedestrians were scurrying in all directions, bicycle taxis were weaving in and out of traffic, sidewalk vendors were selling their wares on the walkways, and street sweeping guys with rolling cans were cleaning the streets and gutters. The huge animated flashing signs of Times Square seemed out of control to us, after spending years dealing with sign regulations in our jobs. The total combination of sights and sounds was a challenge to the nerves and senses. It’s a different world.

We were advised not to drive downtown. It was good advice. Al gave us a white-knuckle ride that left us impressed with his ability to weave his van through heavy traffic and wedge it into the tightest places, inches from other vehicles, pedestrians, utility poles, etc. New York drivers are very assertive and not at all polite. They have no respect for bicycles or pedestrians. In turn, cyclists weave in and out of traffic and pedestrians J-walk everywhere. Many of the downtown streets are one lane with parking on both sides. It’s very congested. Driving in the Big Apple requires a different set of skills. It’s not for the timid. Al does it every day.

We left Manhattan around 5:00 pm. We didn’t think we’d ever get out of town during rush hour. But, once we got out of downtown, it was an uneventful ride back to the campground. Freeways flowed smoothly and Al put on a Joni James cassette tape for our listening enjoyment. Just before arriving at the campground, he played Frank Sinatra’s classic “New York, New York”. It was the perfect ending to a full and interesting day. Our one-day tour barely scratched the surface of New York, but gave us a quick overview. Maybe we'll return some day and take in a Broadway show or a game at the new Yankee Stadium. In the meantime, we're happy to continue into New England in search of a good lobster dinner.

25. Pennsylvania and the Amish

2008-07-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

We associated Pennsylvania with the Amish, but really didn’t know much about them. Amish people were often characterized as a strange clan of very religious but poorly educated folks who made sturdy furniture and fine quilts but refused to adopt the conveniences and lifestyles of modern society. Since that’s what we heard, we wanted to learn more about their unique lifestyle and see their farms and products. So, we headed west toward the largest settlement in Pennsylvania in the vicinity of Lancaster.

The terrain changed from flat to rolling hills as we got into Amish country. Small farms dotted the landscape and each was surrounded by its own patchwork of mixed crops and woodlands. It was some of the prettiest countryside we had seen so far. The farms were very neat and well-kept. Most had good sized farmhouses, a barn or two, a couple silos and an assortment of farm animals. Not all of the farms were Amish. If there were no utility lines going to the house and a buggy or wagon was parked in the yard instead of a pick-up truck, it was most likely an Amish farm. We saw lots of horse-drawn buggies along the country roads and in town.

Mennonites and Amish share similar backgrounds and customs. They live and work side by side in the area. The Old Order Amish are the ones we see on post cards and calendars. They are very religious and stick closely to the old traditional ways. The men typically wear overalls with solid color shirts (usually blue) and black hats. The women wear long solid color dresses and small bonnets. Amish men are expected to grow beards after they’re married. Older men who have failed to marry, may also grow beards as a sign of their maturity.

We saw an excellent movie and picked up some literature at the Amish/Mennonite Information Center. Bonnie loves horses and wanted to ride in one of the buggies. So we hopped aboard a horse-drawn wagon for a back roads tour of the countryside.

Our driver/guide was a young Mennonite bachelor with several earrings, a plaid shirt and good sense of humor. He explained that Mennonites aren’t as strict as the Amish. They wear colorful clothing, drive cars, use electricity and tend to blend in better. Both groups encourage their kids to leave the nest and explore the world after finishing their 8th grade education. Some find the outside world to their liking, but many return to the family. Once they decide to stay with the faith, they are baptized. If an Amish member decides to leave after being baptized, he/she is usually banned and not allowed to return. When they marry, it’s for life with no provisions for divorce. You have to be seriously dedicated to faith and family to be Amish.

Our guide explained that the Amish are determined to remain as independent as possible and refuse to be hooked up to the electric system. They can provide everything their family needs on a 65 acre farm and they manage very well without electricity in their homes. If they have more acreage, they raise additional produce and animals to sell. Horses are essential for farm work and for transportation so they are very careful to take good care of their horses. Our guide was a horse dentist for a while and gave us an overview of what that job entails.

While the men of the family are out tilling the fields and tending to the livestock, the women are taking care of the domestic chores. They are also producing beautiful quilts, canned and baked goods, jams and jellies and other things that fill the local stores. The quilts are works of art and the ones we looked at were selling in the $1,000 to $2,000 range. It would be nice to know how many hours of work went into them. The cultural center of Amish country seemed to surround the small towns of Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse. Tourists like to have their pictures taken by the latter's town sign. Both towns are rich in small stores, quilt museums, farmers markets, buffet style restaurants and very nice old brick buildings.

Many Amish women and young girls work in the stores. It was also interesting to learn that they have adopted cell phones as one of their tools. It makes their work much easier. They get around the electrical hurdle by having a non-Amish friend take the phones home with them to charge them up for the next day.

Workers use mechanical horse-drawn farm machinery in the fields and small buggies trot along the roads, oblivious to the cars, trucks and motorcycles that surround them.

It appeared to us that the Amish and Mennonites continue to enjoy their simple productive lifestyle. But we couldn’t help feeling that they are being caught in a sqeeze. New growth, development, traffic and congestion are closing in. We also noticed lots of non-Amish businesses that are cashing in on the Amish image. Many stores sell quilts, furniture and other items that are not authentic Amish products. We also noticed a certain amount of disrespect. Some stores carry amusing (but insulting) products such as bobble-head Amish, goofy Amish cartoon figures, funny dolls, etc. They don’t deserve that. Based on our observations, the Amish are simple quiet productive people who prefer to live in a manner that's different than ours. They came here from Europe to exercise that freedom and, as long as it works well for them, we hope they’ll be able to continue their choice of lifestyle well into the future.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania was a few miles from our campground. Ron didn’t know it was there, so it was a pleasant surprise and became a “must see” item on our list. It was a terrific accumulation of old full-sized engines, train cars and other railroad related memorabilia.

After a couple hours in the museum we went across the highway to the depot and boarded an old train for a slow ride through the farm country on one of the oldest RR rights-of-way in the country.

We’ve probably eaten our weight in Hershey chocolate over the years. So, we took a side trip to the factory in Hershey, PA, not far from the capital city of Harrisburg. We expected the usual factory tour, but were a little surprised and disappointed at what we found. It was a huge Chocolate World complex, consisting of a Disneyland-like amusement park ($47 admission), a chocolate museum, a food court, gift shops and other candy-related things that we really didn’t need to see. We did go on the free “simulated” tour of the factory. It whisked us through in a matter of minutes on a roller-coaster like conveyor complete with animation, hi-tech video and continuous singing of candy songs. It was obviously designed with kids in mind, and the place was full of kids. It was a unique experience indeed.

Bonnie’s niece Nancy and her husband Ed invited us to visit them in their new home in Northumberland, Pennsylvania. They let us park the RV in their driveway next to the pool, which was very convenient. They also let us take a refreshing swim and lounge around for a few days. Ed came to our rescue and replaced some broken bolts that were holding a stabilizer bar under the motor home. It steers a lot better now. Thanks again, Ed. They were great hosts and we had a very nice time there.

Ed’s company was having its annual picnic that weekend, so we tagged along. It was held at Knoebel’s Amusement Park. It’s an old park with roller coasters, carousels, flume rides, a ferris wheel, lots of food, etc., and no parking or admission fees! It’s located in a heavily wooded little valley far from freeways and urban areas. It was a hot day and the place was full of people having a good time.
Ed and Nancy took us on a long all-day tour of the farms, covered bridges and small towns of central Pennsylvania. Many of the farms were Amish, but without the tourism that they would have to put up with in Lancaster. We were amazed at all the beautiful large old homes in the small towns, and the very low prices. Ron was ready to buy and renovate a few of these relics.

Ed also took us through his hometown of Shamokin, an old coal mining town. It has seen better days, but is still very interesting in its classic architecture and narrow streets. We had some really good pizza at James Pizza, a small old corner tavern that probably hasn’t changed much in 50 years. Ed’s dad was a regular there.
After lunch at a roadside cafe with Ed and Nancy along the Susquehanna River, and a great week or so in Pennsylvania, it was time to move on down the road once again.

24. New Jersey - It's all about Family

2008-07-20T19:11:00.000-07:00

After leaving Washington D.C., we dodged Baltimore traffic and tunnels by following the beltway around the city. Then we encountered our first dreaded toll roads. We were charged $15 to cross the Susquehanna River in Maryland and it cost another $7 to cross the northern tip of Delaware to get to New Jersey. All bridges crossing the Delaware River are toll bridges, but only for westbound traffic, so we got a break that time. We were relieved to finally arrive in the “Garden State” of New Jersey. We got off the turnpike as soon as we crossed the Delaware River and sailed through farmlands and small towns on a secondary highway. It was a very pleasant drive.

Things were going well until we got about 10 miles from our RV park. We apparently missed the mandatory briefing on Jersey’s highway naming and numbering system. We got confused by roads and highways with multiple names and numbers and our main road didn’t go where the map said it should. In desperation, we called the RV park and they tried to talk us to the park. That didn’t work and we ended up on a narrow dead end road. We had to unhitch the car in order to turn around. Fortunately, a resident came out to see what we were doing in his front yard and gave us good directions to our destination. We set up camp in a nice spot overlooking Chestnut Lake (photo) and its population of messy Canada geese.

Signing and numbering are a little different in each state, so we have to be cautious. Most people advise us to toss away the maps and get a GPS. Granted, a GPS would probably get us out of some confusing situations and we'll probably "upgrade" some day. But, in the meantime, we like to plot our course on maps and our archaic method of navigation gets us there most of the time.

Our RV park was about 15 miles from the famous Atlantic City boardwalk. Atlantic and Pacific Avenues are lined with hotels and casinos. Public beach access points are few and far between.

We parked in the Trump Plaza parking structure ($10 all day) and walked through the casino and onto the boardwalk. The historic convention center (photo above) where the Miss America pageant was held for many years wasn’t open to the public, but it’s still an imposing structure, as are the Trump Taj Mahal, Bally's and other casino structures.

The boardwalk is a great place to take a walk. It’s interesting, colorful and lined with businesses of all kinds. You can gamble, buy a souvenir, get a quick massage or tattoo, eat a Philly cheese steak or water ice, visit your favorite hero in the wax museum or take a stroll on the beach. We did a lot of walking and managed to limit our gambling losses to $5.

Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal is across from the old Steel Pier, which is crowded with carnival rides and games. A newer upscale pier down the boardwalk offers plenty of small shops and restaurants where the tourists can dump any left over money they might have after escaping the casinos. We peeked into the expensive boutiques as we searched for a cheap buffet. We couldn’t find one, but we found a reasonably priced cafeteria with a great variety of excellent gourmet sandwiches, salads, pasta, etc. We made two trips to Atlantic City. That was enough for us.

Bonnie’s dad was born and raised in New Jersey. In 1942, while stationed at Ft. Lewis, Washington, he met and married Bonnie’s mom. He was later killed in Europe during World War II. Bonnie was only 13 months old at the time and didn’t get to know her dad or his family very well. Most of them still reside in New Jersey but Bonnie hadn’t seen most of them in 40+ years. Naturally, she was excited about reconnecting with her dad’s side of the family. She made some early contacts and the family’s response was amazing. They were all very friendly and treated us like royalty. We were overwhelmed by their hospitality.

We spent the Fourth of July with a family group at the Pitman home of Bonnie’s cousin Darlene and her husband Gar. Their son Ryan was there as well as Aunt Alma, cousins Cynthia and Bob, and Frank and Linda and their children and grandchildren.

We all walked to the town’s 4th of July parade a block away. It was a two-hour parade with marching bands, church groups, scouts, volunteer fire fighters, other groups representing the community and lots of fire trucks. Ron especially liked Pitman's own Hobo Band.

After the parade, everyone walked back to Darlene and Gar's house and spent the afternoon talking about old times over a large assortment of great food, including Gar's barbecued chicken and ribs.

It was a perfect day and lots of fun. They even managed to get the group together for a family photo, including the kids and a puppy. It was a Norman Rockwell kind of small town Fourth of July . . . perfect. We spent the next day at the home of cousin John and his wife Gail in Burlington. They invited us to their holiday party on July 5th. Bonnie was able to reconnect with a couple more cousins – Eileen and Alan and David and his wife Joyce.

There must have been 60 or 70 people and tubs full of Chesapeake blue crab, clams and muscles, as well as delicious barbecue. It was excellent!

Uncle Jimmy (90) and Aunt Alma (93) are the senior members of the New Jersey family. It was a special pleasure to spend some time with Jimmy in Burlington (photo) and with Alma in Pitman. Both are doing well and their memories are very sharp. They spent a lot of time with Bonnie’s dad and had lots of stories and historical information to share about him and the family.

We drove down to Long Beach Island on the Jersey shore to see Aunt Alma’s former home in Surf City. We also spent a little time on the beach. Beaches aren't free here. Most required a "beach button" which could cost up to $7 per day to use the beach. The fee goes toward beach clean-up, maintenance, life guards and other costs.

Burlington is one of the oldest towns in New Jersey and very picturesque. Jim, Eileen and Alan showed us around the town and we got to see several former family homes and churches. Cousin Frank took us to visit the graves of Bonnie’s grandparents and other family members.

We had a short-term visitor of our own while in Jersey. Daughter Becky flew out from Seattle and stayed with us in the RV for five days. She got to meet most of the relatives and spent a day with her cousin Nancy who drove down from Pennsylvania to see her. She also joined Jim, Uncle Jimmy and us (photo) for lunch at a nice restaurant along the Delaware River in Burlington. She had a good time and seemed to survive her RV experience.

There were several other family get-togethers, including excellent dinners with Eileen and Alan at the Tuckahoe Inn, with Jim and Mary at the Oyster Creek Inn, and several stops at the home of Darlene and Gar in Pitman. All were very pleasant with lots of reminiscing about memories of long ago. Bonnie feels very fortunate to have reconnected with so many family members and we appreciate their generous hospitality. Now that we know them better, we’ll try a little harder to keep in touch. And that’s why New Jersey was “all about family.”

23. Washington D.C.

2008-07-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

We were excited about going to our nation’s capital again. Decades had passed since our last visits. Bonnie was there in 1970 during a family vacation. Ron was there in 1961 when his high school band represented the state of Washington in JFK’s inaugural parade. We looked for a good base camp, but there are very few campgrounds in the D.C. area to choose from. I guess most visiting dignitaries don’t stay in their Winnebagos. Cherry Hill Park was the most convenient for easy access into the city so we checked in. It was also the most expensive RV park of our vacation (so far), but it had two pools, mini-golf, on-site tourist info, laundry, a store and a nice little café with good food.

Getting there tested our patience. It was only 130 miles from our Virginia RV park, but construction and heavy stop-n-go traffic on the Capital Beltway slowed us down. From our observations, the Beltway is the best way to get “around” the City, but it’s also a continuous 8-lane flow of solid traffic all the time.

When we arrive in a “special” place, we like to tour the area first to get a quick overview before striking out on our own. It’s fun and usually well worth the cost. We took the advice of Cherry Hill’s information lady and signed up for an Open Top Bus Tour of the City on a double-decker convertible bus. The tour company provided a 6:45 am shuttle bus from the RV park to Union Station where the tour began. We had to invest in a cheap alarm clock to get up that early.

The two-hour tour covered most of the sites and buildings that were important to us. For the rest of the day and the following day, we could hop on and off the buses anywhere along the route at no extra charge, so it was a good way to get around town. The open top level of the bus provided a cooling breeze and great views, but we had to duck a few times to avoid getting slapped with tree branches as the bus rolled through some of the narrow tree-lined streets. We didn’t always duck in time.

The Georgetown district was one of our favorite places. The bus took us through quickly, but we had to go back for a second look and to walk around the quaint neighborhoods. It's a classic neighborhood that's very popular with tourists and also a highly desirable place to live.

Union Station may not be considered one of the main tourist attractions in D.C. but it's an impressive and fascinating place and deserves a couple photos. It was the largest railroad station in the world when it was built. Restoration and remodeling have added many services, upscale shops and an extensive food court. It was a convenient place to grab a quick bite as we were coming and going.

We spent a couple hours walking around Arlington Cemetery where more than 320,000 veterans, spouses and other important Americans are buried.

The Kennedy grave sites and eternal flame are still very popular.

The Memorial Amphitheater provided some shade for folks waiting to watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. They change every half hour around the clock regardless of the weather. Being a guard here is one of the highest honors a soldier can have and they perform their duties with great respect and impeccable precision.

Arlington Cemetery is a beautiful place but we wilted from the 94 degree heat, high humidity and too much walking. Bonnie’s feet were burning and Ron’s shirt was soaked with sweat. It was uncomfortable, but we pushed on, along with the many other overheated tourists.

We were disappointed that the Smithsonian’s American History Museum was closed for remodeling. But, there were plenty others to see. The Holocaust Museum gave a thorough and sobering account of a tragic period in world history. More uplifting was the Air and Space Museum. It had lots of aircraft and historical displays, including everything from the Wright brothers’ first flight to the space age. Lindberg’s Spirit of St. Louis was a popular craft and Ron especially liked the Eastern Airlines DC-3 and the old warplanes.

The National Museum of the American Indian is one of the newer museums along the Capital Mall and an architectural wonder. We’ve seen a lot of Indian museums along the road, but nothing like this. A nice thing about Washington D.C. is that nearly all the buildings, museums and guided tours are free and there are few, if any, restrictions on the use of cameras.

During one of our return bus rides, the sky turned black very quickly and opened up with thunder, lightening and a heavy downpour. By the time we reached Cherry Hill, the rain had stopped and the storm had moved on. That seems to be typical of local summer storms. They come and go quickly and often pop up out of nowhere.

The National Cathedral was one of the most impressive buildings that we visited. When we first stopped, they were busy ordaining a new bishop from Maryland and, of course, we didn’t have tickets for the event. So, we returned for a complete tour a couple days later.

Theodore Roosevelt was President when the cathedral began construction in 1907 and it wasn’t finished until 1990. It was designed in the 14th century English Gothic style with high pointed arches, large stained glass windows and flying buttresses to hold it together. The massive stone work is incredible and so are the wood and wrought iron details, stained glass, floor tiles and many sculptures and other decorations. It’s no wonder it took 83 years to build. It was intended for use by people of all faiths and was built entirely with private donations. The funerals of Presidents Ford and Reagan were held here. Helen Keller and former President Woodrow Wilson are buried here. It felt like being in the king of all churches. It’s a very interesting and impressive place to visit.

Washington D.C. has traffic and parking problems and everyone advised us to use the transit system, which we did. Cherry Hill Park is served by bus transit which links it to a nearby Metrorail station. Very convenient. Traffic didn’t seem to be too bad in downtown Washington, but most on-street spaces are restricted in some way and parking garages are expensive. The Union Station garage charges $6 for the first hour and $19 for 12 hours or more. The bus and the Metrorail were quicker and cheaper. We hope Seattle will have a system like that some day.

It took a lot more walking along the Capital Mall to get up close to the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and the war memorials. Ron wanted to see the Vietnam War memorial since he did two tours over there on his Navy destroyer.

The World War II memorial was especially important to Bonnie since her Dad gave his life for his country in 1944. The memorial was designed to be interactive and was a popular place to cool burning feet on a hot day.
Tickets to tour the Capitol building go quickly and are often hard to get. So, we called Senator Maria Cantwell’s office and arranged for a VIP tour by one of her office staffers (Maria had already gone home for the 4th of July). We met in her office in the Dirksen Building and were escorted through tunnels and onto the short underground shuttle train to the Capitol. From there our guide took us all over the building, up and down narrow back stairways and through long hallways. It was very interesting, but also very busy and noisy in the crowded public areas and especially in the rotunda under the massive dome. Even so, it was an awesome feeling to be inside our nation’s capitol and surrounded by oversized historical paintings, statues of past leaders and tons of granite and marble.

The Supreme Court is across the street from the Capitol. We had a little spare time, so we wandered over to take a look. The court wasn’t in session, but we got to see another impressive building with more marble, huge stone columns, statues, etc. We saw the courtroom where the Supreme Court hears its cases, but they had also gone home for the 4th of July holiday, which didn't help the capital punishment protestors in front of the building.

We had a great time in Washington. We wished everyone, especially kids, could go there at least once. We didn’t see it all, but we were approaching the state of mental overload so it was time to move on down the highway.

22. Thomas Jefferson's Virginia

2008-06-29T07:49:00.000-07:00

We said goodbye to North Carolina and continued into the beautiful state of Virginia. With the swamps and gators of the lowcountry behind us, we were now passing through rolling farmlands, pastures and bright green grasslands, separated by thick deciduous forests. Traffic was light and there were fewer bugs on the windshield. Driving through central Virginia is like driving through a park. There's lots of greenery and even occasional small hedges, special groves of trees and neatly maintained flower beds within the highway medians. Grass is everywhere and the transportation folks spend a lot of time and money mowing the medians and shoulders. We noticed that there are very few billboards and other signs. In fact, the lack of highway and street names and directional signs gave us fits a few times. We would drive for miles trying to figure out which highway we were on.

Our campground was about seven miles off Interstate 64 and not far from the small town of Louisa, Virginia. Getting there involved a maze of narrow twisty country roads, poor directions and increased stress on the navigator. Bonnie had to call twice for directions, but we finally found it and squeezed the RV into a wooded space for three days of local sightseeing.

The park was on Lake Ruth Ann, far from highways and very quiet. It was a good place for kids and a good place to hike, fish, play in the pool or watch birds, squirrels and fireflies.

Bonnie has family roots in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey but hasn’t seen most of her eastern relatives for a long time. She has been gradually tracking them down and arranging to visit as many as possible to make the most of this opportunity. It was a happy coincidence that her cousin Kathy and husband Ernie live a short distance from our campground. Bonnie and Kathy hadn’t seen each other for 44 years. They had a lot of catching up to do. They invited us over to their home for dinner and we had a nice evening talking about family and old times not forgotten. That's Ernie at the head of the table with Kathy to his left, across from Bonnie.

Charlottesville is the former home of Thomas Jefferson and he left his mark on everything. Most of us remember him as the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third president of the U.S. Monticello, Jefferson’s plantation home, is one of the most famous buildings in America. You might have seen it on a nickel. It was a major destination for us.

We were somewhat familiar with Thomas Jefferson from school, but knew very little about his life and accomplishments. He was amazing. During his 83 years, he was a farmer, a lawyer, a Virginia legislator, a delegate to the Continental Congress, Governor of Virginia, Minister to France, Secretary of State, Vice President and, finally, President. He also played the violin and was an avid reader and book collector. He could read in seven languages. During his presidency, the Louisiana Territory was purchased from France and Lewis and Clark were sent to explore the west.

Jefferson taught himself about architecture from books and designed his home at Monticello. It was a new version of the classical styles of ancient Greece and Rome (neoclassical). It has 33 rooms and took more than 40 years to build. It’s the only house in the United States on the United Nations’ World Heritage List of international treasures.

Beneath the house are some interesting passageways that connect the living quarters to the food and ice storage areas, wine cellars, a brewery, an early indoor "privey", some of the slave living quarters and other outbuildings. These structures were built very solidly and will probably last a very long time.

Thomas Jefferson was very interested in gardening. His plan included flower and vegetable gardens, two orchards, two vineyards and an 18-acre ornamental grove. His vegetable garden was 1,000 feet long and included over 330 varieties of vegetables and 23 kinds of peas, his favorite veggie. His hilltop home overlooked most of his 5,000 acre plantation. It was noted during the tour that free workers and more than 600 slaves worked together on the plantation during Jefferson’s lifetime (not all at the same time). Jefferson inherited many slaves and many others were born and raised there.

Jefferson died on the Fourth of July, 1826, the 50th anniversary of America’s independence. He was buried in the family cemetery at Monticello. His grave and those of his immediate family are at the tall obelisk in the far left corner of the photo.

From the deck of Monticello, high on the hill, we could see a bright white domed structure in the city of Charlottesville in the valley below. It was the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. Jefferson strongly supported education. Following his presidency, he designed and founded the University of Virginia. He designed the Rotunda to resemble the Pantheon in Rome.

The Rotunda became the focal point of the Academical Village in the heart of the campus. It was completed in 1826 but had to be rebuilt following a fire in 1895. It’s a very impressive building and still very functional. During our self-guided tour, we tried to stay out of the way as the third floor dome room was being set up for a banquet.

The Univ. of Virginia campus is very colonial in appearance. Most of the buildings, sidewalks and even streets are brick. Although the campus has grown considerably, the original plan that Jefferson designed is still its heart and still functions as he intended.

The center of downtown Charlottesville is a long pedestrian mall. The main street was closed to vehicular traffic in the 1970s. During that era, many cities closed their main streets to create similar pedestrian malls. Unfortunately, the shopping public didn’t like to walk and preferred to drive directly to the stores. Consequently, most of the malls failed and the streets were reopened to vehicular traffic. However, Charlottesville did something right and its mall flourished. Today, it’s full of color, activity, busy shops, outdoor cafes, etc. It’s a real “people place” and a fun and relaxing place to be. After some window shopping and lots of walking, we took advantage of the environment and had a sandwich and cool drink in the shade of the mall trees.

We had our eye on Richmond and Charlottesville was not one of our destinations. We stumbled onto it and are glad we did. It’s in the scenic foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has a large university and medical center, lots of interesting history including the homes of some other presidents, convenient (and free) shuttle bus service, and many other attributes that make it a very friendly and nice place to visit. Ron was ready to park the RV and make it his home, but Bonnie insisted on moving along down the road. Next stop . . . the Nation's Capital.

21. Moving North through the Carolinas

2008-06-21T18:34:00.001-07:00

Bonnie took care of business at home, celebrated the high school graduations of two grandsons, and returned to Charleston on June 14. The next morning we pointed the RV north on US-17 toward Myrtle Beach. Friends and other folks we met along the way told us Myrtle Beach was a “don’t miss” destination, so we decided to spend a few days there. It’s very commercial and beach oriented with lots of traffic. The beaches were beautiful but, like many places we’ve been, were lined with condominiums and hotels and “public” access to the beach was very limited. We managed to find a place to park within walking distance and had a nice time on the beach.

The RV resort was in a very convenient location. It overlooked the intracoastal waterway, was a mile from the main beach and very convenient to everything we wanted or needed. It also had a very nice recreation building, large swimming pool and the best laundry and rest rooms that we’ve seen so far.

Next door to our RV park was Barefoot Landing, a very interesting specialty shopping center with an assortment of small shops and restaurants built partially on a boardwalk around the edge of a 17 acre lake. It was a great place to browse.
Our next stop was Wilson, North Carolina. It’s a charming medium sized community of 48,000 people, located along I-95 about 45 miles east of Raleigh. The North Carolina countryside is beautiful but the terrain is still very flat. Wilson is a couple hours inland from the ocean, but its elevation is only 147 ft.

The downtown Visitors Center hostess was overflowing with southern hospitality. She seemed thrilled that we came all the way from Seattle to spend a few days in Wilson. She gave us an official proclamation making us “Honorary Citizens for the Day.” The proclamation, when placed on the dash of the car, also gave us free unrestricted parking in all pay lots and parking meters. Pretty cool. She loaded us up with maps and knowledge about the city, then sent us on a self-guided walking tour of the historic district. We started at the County Library.

Many of Wilson’s homes and commercial buildings are 150 years old or older. It’s no Charleston or Savannah, but the town has a lot of pride in its heritage and we could see preservation activities going on everywhere, including the diamond in the rough in the photo below.

Another thing this area takes seriously is tobacco growing, which is still the state’s #1 agricultural crop. We’re not users of the product, but curiosity and our quest for knowledge led us to the Tobacco Farm Life Museum. It’s a small unique museum full of interesting information about the changing lives of the families who grew tobacco for a living over the past hundred years or more. Several old preserved buildings from local tobacco farms are part of the museum complex and help illustrate the very basic lifestyles of the families. The lives of tobacco families were quite a contrast to the opulent lifestyles and expensive mansions of the plantation owners of Savannah and Charleston.

Wilson is also the home of the minor league baseball Wilson Tobs, which is short for tobacconists. Their mascot “Slugger” is a tobacco worm, of course. Ron got a kick out of that. He wanted to go to the game on Saturday and see the Tobs “smoke” their opponents, but severe thunderstorms were coming our way so we passed.

Ron wanted to stop at the historic depot and watch the arrival of The Carolinian, a passenger train from Charlotte to New York. So, we sat and waited. The train was 20 minutes late, but worth the wait.

Raleigh was a short side trip away, so we spent a day poking around North Carolina’s capital city. We especially like to see state capitol buildings. This one was not as fancy or ornate as most, but it’s one of the finest examples of Greek Revival civic buildings in the Country, and is a National Historic Landmark. It was completed in 1940. The previous wooden State House burned to the ground in 1831 while careless roofers were trying to fireproof the building by installing a zinc roof. Taking no chances, the new capitol was built primarily of locally quarried granite with interior walls of stone and brick, and with very little wood. It’s very solid and has withstood nearly 170 years of storms and earthquakes with barely a scratch.

The House of Representatives chamber is where the house of commons debated whether or not to join the Confederacy. They decided to go for it, and the Secession Ordinance of 1861 was signed here.

The original Governor’s office in the capitol is still used primarily for ceremonial purposes. The State Library and State Geologist's Office have been restored to their 1856 appearances. Most government functions have moved to more modern quarters. The Governor still lives in the 1891 mansion (photo) that has been home to the last 27 governors. The impressive home occupies an entire block but was not open to the public. Apparently, the Governor was at home.

A block or two from the capitol are several big modern multi-story museums of history, art and natural sciences. All were “free”. We did a quick tour and each was so interesting and well designed that we could easily have stayed all day. We also wandered down Fayetteville Street, the main downtown business street, and looked around the old market district.

Raleigh has a terrific farmers market. It's two or three miles from downtown and open all day every day. It has lots of fresh fruit and veggies and Bonnie found some very good fresh corn, blueberries, white peaches, "safe tomatoes" and other goodies.

A short 30 miles from Raleigh is the city of Durham, home to Ron’s favorite college basketball team, the Duke Blue Devils. Being so close, we had to pay a visit to the Duke University campus. The college was created by James Buchanan Duke in the 1920s. Most of the buildings were constructed of local stone in the English Gothic style, which makes it appear much older than it is.

We stopped by the Cameron Indoor Stadium where the Blue Devils play their home games. The building was open, so we went inside and got to see the basketball court that Ron had seen on TV so many times over the years.

Mr. Duke wanted to create a central chapel that would dominate all other buildings on the campus and have a serious influence on the spiritual life of the students. The Duke Chapel is very impressive both inside and out. The interior is 63 ft. wide by 291 feet long. The gothic arched ceilings are 73 feet high. Stories from the Bible are illustrated in 77 stained glass windows. The chapel has three different types of pipe organs for different functions. The largest has 6,900 pipes. Free organ recitals are held every Sunday.

In addition to the organs, the Duke Chapel’s tower houses a 50-bell carillon. The largest of the bells weighs 11,200 lbs. The University Carillonneur performs a 15 minute bell recital every weekday at 5:00 pm. We stayed to hear the bells and it was an unforgettable experience.

20. Charleston: Slavery and Civil War

2008-06-12T06:17:00.000-07:00

This is the “Lowcountry”, a term often used to describe the low coastal region of South Carolina, generally between Charleston and Savannah. The local folks are proud of their Lowcountry traditions, cuisine, etc. As the name implies, the terrain is as flat and low as one can imagine. Rivers and waterways meander through marshes and around and through urban areas. It seems like a one-foot rise in the water level would flood everything, but apparently that doesn’t happen . . . very often.

The southern states flourished from about 1780 to the Civil War, the period considered the Golden Age of the South. Sadly, the prosperity was due in large part to slavery. Charleston was one of the primary ports into which thousands of Africans were brought and sold. When the population of Charleston reached 25,000, 14,000 were slaves and their families. Plantations were created, rice and cotton were major products and large beautiful homes were built in the city and on the plantations.

Bonnie was looking forward to the plantations. Fortunately, our RV park was close to three of the best. Each was unique. Middleton Place was in a beautiful setting overlooking the Ashley River. It had the first formal gardens in the country and most of them are still maintained. The main house was destroyed by Union troops during the Civil War but the site still has some secondary buildings, rice paddies and acres of grass, gardens and ponds.

Hundreds of slaves helped build and operate this plantation and some of their original housing (photo) and workshops have been preserved. The names, specialties and "market values" of all slaves were well-documented as part of the plantation’s record keeping. Some of those records are displayed in this building. Today, the gardens of Middleton Place are popular for weddings, concerts and other major events.

Magnolia Plantation was a few miles up the river. It’s main house was also destroyed in the war but was rebuilt and is now a museum house full of period furnishings and antiques. It also has miles of pathways through beautiful gardens, including a swamp garden, religious garden and other features.

Yes, there are gators in most of the larger ponds. This one was lurking in the reflections under a pedestrian bridge. They occasionally grab a wandering poodle for a snack, but otherwise don't bother anyone and are not a problem.
The third plantation home, Drayton Hall, was built in 1738. It’s the oldest surviving example of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the South. It too would have been torched by Union troops, but the quick-thinking owner designated it a hospital for contagious diseases as the army was approaching. They avoided it like the plague (pun) and the house survived. The family later moved to Charleston but continued to use Drayton Hall for vacations. It never had running water, electricity or a heating system other than fireplaces. This house has been “preserved” (not restored) so visitors can see the original construction, old bricks, plaster, glass, wood floors, paint, wallcoverings, fireplaces, and the oldest known hand-carved plaster ceiling (photo). The former Victorian gardens and orchards are long gone, but it’s still a real jewel in the rough.

Prior to the Civil War, slavery was prohibited in the northern states but not in the South. The South saw the handwriting on the wall and prepared to break away to protect their rights. Abe Lincoln vowed to abolish slavery and was elected President in 1860. This triggered the division of the states. South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union. Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana quickly followed.

The first shots of the Civil War were fired in Charleston on April 12, 1861. Fort Sumpter guarded the entrance to Charleston harbor. That's about all I remember from my U.S. History classes. This vacation has been one big history field trip and much more interesting than it was in school.

The Confederacy was taking over and demanded that the U.S. troops leave. When they refused, the Confederate army shelled the fort, took it over and held it for the next four years. During that time, they experienced a two-year siege, during which 46,000 shells were fired at the fort. Some are still lodged in its broken walls. The structure is not what it once was, but just standing on this historic site was a very moving experience.

In 1861, shortly after the war began, Union troops occupied Hilton Head Island and immediately freed about 1,000 island slaves. These were the first slaves to be freed as a result of the Civil War. Most of them had nowhere to go, so they stayed on the island and practiced what is now called the “Gullah” culture, which is celebrated during a month-long Gullah Festival every February. Not knowing much about slavery, it was interesting to learn that as many as 12 million Africans were transported by slave traders who were making deals with African kings. Only about 7% of them came to North America. The rest went to the Caribbean, Central America and Brazil. The importation of slaves into the U.S. ended in 1808, but the trading (sale) of slaves continued for nearly 60 years before being abolished. The story is told at 6 Chalmers Street in Charleston, the site of the last remaining portion of Ryan’s Slave Market of 1859.

Many old guns and monuments to the Civil War are found in Charleston’s Battery Park. The term “battery” refers to the large group of guns and cannons that worked together to protect the city from intruders.

Charleston is known as “The Holy City” because of its many beautiful churches. But it’s residential and commercial districts are also very impressive. We loaded up on maps and brochures at the Visitors Center and started walking south through the commercial district along Meeting Street and King Street toward the Old City Market.

Being on these old business streets is like stepping back in time (if you can ignore the modern vehicles). Most buildings are architectural classics, well maintained and full of thriving businesses, including upscale stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue. Bonnie had a great time window shopping and darting in and out of the shops. She found some very good buys while Ron was ogling the architecture. Unlike Seattle, coffee is not a big thing around here. A Starbucks is hard to find.
The Old City Market buildings (1841) stretch for several blocks on Market Street. It’s a casual flea market sort of operation selling everything from produce, trinkets and souvenirs to high quality art, jewelry and handmade sweetgrass Gullah baskets.

We were hot, hungry and tired of walking when we spotted the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. After visiting the site of Forrest Gump’s park bench in Savannah, we couldn’t pass this restaurant by. Keeping with the theme, we ordered a plate of big delicious shrimp and a tower of onion rings. It was delicious and the waiter was happy to capture the moment for us.

Like Savannah, Charleston also has many old neighborhoods with narrow brick streets, shade trees, pocket gardens, iron fences and gates and tons of character and charm. While the city is known mostly for firing the first shots of the Civil War, it was also the first city to establish a chamber of commerce, a municipal college, a city museum and the first to adopt historic district zoning (1931) to preserve its architectural heritage. Today, the historic district includes more than 2,000 buildings. Many are more than 200 years old and 73 predate the Revolutionary War.

We toured several historic homes and took many more pictures than we can include here. Many of the largest and most expensive homes are along the Bay Street waterfront where Bonnie is standing. It was fascinating to learn how each home played a unique role in local history and about the colorful personalities involved. It’s amazing that these houses have been around for 200 years or more and have survived earthquakes, hurricanes, fire, war and termites.

We spent two weeks in Charleston. During that time, Bonnie flew home for a week to take care of some business and help celebrate the high school graduations of grandsons James and Andy. Ron did a little relaxing and solo sightseeing, but spent most of his time researching the road ahead and doing minor maintenance on the motor home. We love Charleston and could easily spend another two weeks here. But there are other places to go and things to see, so we’ll move on down the road.

19. Savannah

2008-06-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

We set up our Savannah base camp near Hardeeville, South Carolina, about ten miles north of the city. It was convenient and an easy drive into town.

Many of these east coast areas are so important in American history that we have to share a little of the background with you. If you're yawning a lot, let us know.

Savannah is Georgia’s oldest city. It was established by British General James Oglethorpe in 1733. One of its original purposes was to protect British interests from the Spanish, who controlled Florida to the south. Oglethorpe was successful, in large part, because he treated the local Indians with respect, unlike many other early intruders. They, in turn, were instrumental in the success of his new settlement, which gradually grew into a busy colonial British outpost. Oglethorpe is clearly the local hero and his name is on streets, parks, buildings and statues all over town. This is his main statue and plaque in Oglethorpe Square.

Savannah prides itself in its natural beauty, preserved architecture and colorful history. It's also known for its old-fashioned Southern charm and as the home of Paula Deen from the TV Food Network. She operates a popular downtown restaurant. The waiting line is usually at least three hours. Our time is too valuable to spend standing in line, so we ate elsewhere.

Being retired city planners, we were interested in the city's basic lay-out, its most important physical feature. Oglethorpe designed the city with a tight grid system of streets and wards. Within the pattern, he placed 24 public squares to serve the business, social and defensive needs of each ward. Three of the squares have been lost to “progress”, but 21 remain today and are carefully protected by the citizenry.

Today, the squares are small parks that serve their surrounding neighborhoods. Each square has its own identity and personality. Some have monuments or statues while others have fountains or other central features. The James Madison Square features vintage cannons. Wright Square is the final resting place of Tomochichi, the local Indian leader who helped Oglethorpe establish the colony. All are beautiful and most have well-maintained flower gardens, lots of trees and are shaded by live oaks draped with Spanish moss.

We took a trolley tour for a quick overview of Savannah, then did a lot of walking to see the details. After treading over old brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets in the heat and humidity, we were hot, our feet were throbbing and it was a relief to arrive at one of the squares and rest a while on a shady park bench. If you saw the movie, it was in Chippewa Square where Forrest Gump sat on a park bench with his box of chocolates and told his life’s story. The bench is in a local museum, but the square is unchanged and there are lots of benches on which to sit, eat chocolates and tell stories. The next night, the movie "Forrest Gump" was on TV, so we watched it again from our new perspective.

If 24 squares weren’t enough, Savannah’s Forsyth Park makes up for any deficit. Ron is standing in the central walkway. The large fountain in the background is the centerpiece. A newer addition to the park contains this large monument to the many Confederates who died in the Civil War. It’s a great place to walk, bicycle, sit a spell or, if you're lucky, attend a concert.

The Civil War was a very destructive period throughout the South. Many cities and large plantations were destroyed by Union armies. Savannah, being a Confederate city, became a target for destruction by Union Gen. William Sherman as he marched across Georgia destroying everything in sight. When Sherman got to Savannah, the Confederate general realized they were going to lose so he withdrew his troops to save the City. Sherman entered the city peacefully on Christmas Day, 1864, and offered it to President Lincoln as a present.

Juliette Gordon Low was an influential local personality. She grew up in Savannah, married wealthy Englishman William Low and endured an unhappy marriage. When “Willie” died, Juliette found herself alone and with money, but without a purpose in life. Then she met Baden Powell at a dinner in England. He had just formed the Boy Scouts but didn’t know what to do with all the girls who wanted to join. He asked Juliette if she would do something for the girls. With Powell’s assistance, she formed the Girl Guides in England and Scotland and later brought the idea to the U.S. We didn't know that she was also an accomplished artist. We saw many of her paintings, sculptures and designs for gates and other iron work during the tour of her birthplace and museum. It’s a popular tour stop and the city’s first designated National Historic Landmark.

We couldn’t pass up a peek into some of Savannah’s beautiful churches, especially the amazing Gothic-style Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. Many changes and additions have been made since the original cornerstone was laid in 1800. The cathedral was damaged by hurricanes and mostly destroyed by fire in 1898, but it always emerged better than before. It was a religious experience just entering this building with its tall columns, 70 ft. high arched ceilings, marble railings, floors and alter, huge pipe organ and many colorful murals and stained glass windows. This building is a masterpiece.

River Street follows the Savannah River and provides a clean modern walkway for visitors to view the boats and river activities. We crossed the large bridge in the background every day to get to our RV park on the South Carolina side.

Some of Savannah's oldest commercial buildings and cotton warehouses still line the riverfront. Today, it's an interesting mix of the old buildings, brick and cobblestone streets, small shops and eateries. We watched some of the river activities and stopped at Huey's for a cold drink and an excellent muffuletta (a popular sandwich in the South).

The old and very bumpy cobblestone streets were made from the ballast of British sailing ships. They dumped the rocks here before filling their ships with cotton and other products for the trip back to Europe. [We took a similar blue trolley tour of the city.]

Behind the riverfront buildings is a narrow alley called Factors Walk. Factors were brokers and sales agents who worked in the cotton market and other businesses and did much of their business at this location. It's still a place for business and a good place to see the true character of these old buildings.

We seem to agree that the jewels of Savannah are the beautiful neighborhoods. We saw block after block of big and small mostly brick homes with lots of ironwork and interesting brick and cobblestone streets. This is high density. Most homes are very close together, have very small yards or small courtyards and few garages. Streets are narrow and parking is hard to find. Huge live oaks create full canopies over the streets, which is essential for shade from the hot summer sun. Our tour guide assured us that strict design controls are in place to ensure that the historic district will become increasingly valuable over time.

We had to get away from the city for a little beach time. So, we drove down to “famous” Hilton Head. It’s a ritzy island with lots of development, condos, private gated communities, expensive cars and golf courses. Interesting to see, but not our kind of place. We stopped for lunch on the deck of the Crazy Crab (photo), overlooking miles of marshlands and Carolina Lowcountry (will explain in next chapter). Ron was looking forward to a nice juicy oyster sandwich. However, the waitress messed up the order and delivered a flounder sandwich instead. The waitress apologized, it was accepted, and it was the best flounder sandwich Ron ever had.

Public beach access was hard to find on Hilton Head. So, we stopped at the local Westin Hotel and walked through their lobby and pool area and onto "their" beach (photo). It was beautiful and nearly empty, but we didn’t stay very long. We later went to Tybee Island, which is closer to Savannah, more affordable and family oriented. We found a good spot for our chairs on a nice stretch of beach near the Tybee Island lighthouse. It was a perfect place to work on our tans and do a little wading.

Fort Pulaski Nat’l. Monument was along the Tybee Island highway, so we stopped to take a look. It’s a very well-preserved and restored fort with interesting brickwork, a 7 ft. deep moat and old Civil War guns. It took 18 years and 25 million bricks to build. The photo shows part of the interior and foundation brickwork. On April 10, 1862, Union forces opened fire on Fort Pulaski from nearby Tybee Island. The fort took a beating and the Confederates surrendered after 30 hours of bombardment.

We arrived just in time to watch a cannon demonstration. They described the different types of artillery used in the Civil War and fired off a couple rounds. Very loud! The Civil War must have been a very loud war, with lots of hearing loss.

There’s so much more that we could write about Savannah, and lots of pictures, but we're trying to keep it to a manageable size so you'll come back for the next chapter. It’s a beautiful and well-preserved city. We felt like we were taking a stroll through history. We really enjoyed it. Next stop . . . Charleston.

18. St. Augustine - our oldest city

2008-05-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

We learned in school about Chris Columbus discovering America in 1492. Nearly 30 years later, a group of settlers was greeted by friendly Indians when they landed at Plymouth Rock. They shared a Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, corn-on-the-cob and pumpkin pie. My memory is a little hazy, but it was something like that. I also vaguely remember the name Ponce de Leon, but the history books didn’t give him the credit he deserved for his role in the history of Florida and the U.S. Here’s a little background:

Columbus landed in the West Indies and never actually reached the mainland. Ponce de Leon accompanied Columbus on his second voyage to the “new world” in 1493. They landed in Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic. About 15 years later, Ponce was sent to explore and conquer the island that is now Puerto Rico. He succeeded and was appointed governor of the island. He later heard about a garden island called Biminy. It had a fountain of youth. He obtained a permit from King Ferdinand to look for the island. He set out with three ships and landed in what is now St. Augustine on Easter Sunday, 1513, thinking it was the island of Biminy. He named the land La Florida (the flower) and claimed the territory for Spain.

Near his landing location, Ponce de Leon found a large spring and a band of extremely health Timucuan Indians. They drank the water, lived twice as long as the average Spaniard, and grew to an average height well over six feet (Ponce was 4’-11”). He believed he had found the “Fountain of Youth.” He didn’t know that it was tribal tradition that the tallest man married the tallest woman and they gradually created a tall tribe. Ponce took vast amounts of the water back to Puerto Rico to drink and bathe in, and he lived 61 years, which was old for that time. He might have lived longer, but he died of an infection from a wound following a struggle with the Calusa Indians. They didn’t want Spanish settlers moving into their territory on the west coast of Florida and fought long and hard to keep them out.

Today, the Fountain of Youth Park is an interesting collection of historical data about Ponce de Leon’s life and discoveries, as well as the story of the Timucuan Indians. A celestial planetarium explains early astrological sailing techniques that Ponce used to find his way around, and there's a monument at the original landing site (photo). The spring has been preserved and all visitors get a free cup of water. We feel much younger now.

The first settlement of St. Augustine took place about 50 years after Ponce de Leon’s first visit. Another Spanish explorer, Pedro Menendez de Aviles, brought soldiers, priests and colonists to the site in 1565 and established what is now the oldest continually occupied European settlement in North America. During the next couple hundred years, the British, French and Spanish fought over the territory. In an attempt to save the city, walls and moats were built around it. The original gates to the city have been preserved (photo). Still, the city changed hands several times. Many settlers died and the community was burned down or severely damaged by Sir Francis Drake and others before finally becoming part of Florida and the United States.

We took the trolley tour of the city, did the walking tour of the old section and saw the oldest schoolhouse, oldest drugstore, first Catholic church and many other interesting buildings. The oldest house (below) was originally built in 1650 and rebuilt after the city was burned down in 1702.
The oldest masonry fort in the U.S. is the Castillo de San Marcos. It dates back to 1672 and is still standing solid on the waterfront. It was built with coquina, a soft shellrock formation that was mined nearby. The rock is full of shells and gets very hard when exposed to air. It was used extensively for foundations, walls, sidewalks and other purposes. A similar building material called tabby used oyster shells in its mix and was used primarily for walls.

Downtown St. Augustine is a grid of narrow streets. One street is only six feet wide. St. George Street (below) has been turned into a pedestrian-only street and is full of shops and restaurants. The less busy residential streets are quiet and full of character. Preservation is a high priority in St. Augustine. Strict design controls make sure that new development doesn’t corrupt the character of the town.

The most influential of early St. Augustine developers was Henry Flagler. He was also a railroad pioneer and co-founder of Standard Oil (with J.D. Rockefeller). The Flagler name is everywhere. One of his greatest achievements was construction of the Hotel Ponce de Leon. It was built in 1887 with amazing craftsmanship and intended for the rich and famous. Many Tiffany windows still surround the dining hall. Ornate murals, tile and hand-carved woodwork are everywhere. This was one of the first major buildings wired for electricity by Thomas Edison himself. The clock above the fireplace was made and installed by Edison. The hotel was originally wired for DC current and visitors were getting shocked. Since that wasn't acceptable, Flagler hired a staff whose only job was to turn light switches on and off. The hotel eventually deteriorated and was purchased by Flagler College which spent $23 million restoring the building. Today, it’s a beautiful showplace and a great campus for the 2,000 student private college.

A couple miles outside St. Augustine is Anastasia Island with long beautiful beaches. We packed the sunscreen, beach chairs, towels, sunglasses, etc., and set out for an afternoon of cooling off in the surf.
As we were leaving the beach, a big storm cloud was building off the coast. It dropped two tornado type funnels, like long black hoses. It was well off shore but caught the attention of everyone on the beach and even made the evening news on Jacksonville TV. You might be able to see it in the following photo. It got much closer, but we were driving away . . . fast.

On the way to the beach, we stopped at the St. Augustine Lighthouse (1874) and climbed the 219 steps to the top. Great views from up there.

We ended our stay in St. Augustine with a relaxing Memorial Day jazz concert in the plaza. The "Plaza de la Constitucion" was the first public space in the country. It's design was laid out in a 1573 Spanish ordinance that required "a prolonged square, the length equal to one and one-half times the width." The square was intended to be the center of the community with only businesses and churches facing it. Today it's still a beautiful plaza and the center of community activities. We had a great time in St. Augustine and recommend it highly as a vacation destination.

17. Stennis and Kennedy Space Centers

2008-05-27T07:27:00.000-07:00

While visiting Mississippi in April, we stumbled across the John C. Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis. We had never heard of it, so we looked into it and took the free tour of the facility. It was very interesting.

The Stennis complex was established in 1963. This is where NASA tests the large rockets that carry things into space and send astronauts to the moon and the space station. All the space shuttle engines are tested here before the launches. Because of the noise involved in testing, a huge amount of land was acquired and cleared of human habitation. A small town or two had to be relocated outside the noise buffer area.

As you might imagine, rocket engines are very loud and powerful. They burn a mix of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen at a temperature of about 6000 degrees. The three Space Shuttle main engines develop just over 37 million horsepower. One engine weighs one-seventh as much as a locomotive engine but delivers as much horsepower as 28 locomotives. It also has a high-pressure oxidizer pump that delivers the equivalent horsepower of 11 more. We got to see some of the test facilities, which look much like regular launch pads, but without the full rocket apparatus. There's lots of noise but nothing shoots into the sky (hopefully).

Lots of people work here. More than 30 other agencies conduct business at Stennis and the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command operates a world class oceanographic and meteorological center here. It was surprising to learn that more oceanographers work at Stennis than any other place in the world.

The Stennis facility has an impressive visitor center. We could walk through a mock-up of the International Space Station, get a close look at a Space Shuttle Main Engine and much more. As you can see, Bonnie took the controls of a Space Shuttle mock-up. It’s also a great place for kids to learn about space travel. School bus loads of kids arrive every day for tours.

After our eye-opening visit to the Stennis facility in Mississippi, we looked forward to a stop at Cape Canaveral in Florida to see the Kennedy Space Center where the rocket engines are put into action. Again, we were not disappointed. It was even bigger and better.

We got an early start and arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in time for the 10 am 2-hour bus tour of the site. We couldn't help but feel the history and importance of this place. This is where, on May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space and where John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth a year later. It took him only about five hours to go around three times. All NASA human space missions and Space Shuttle missions have lifted off from here, including those that failed. The following photo is launch pad 39-B where the Space Shuttle is launched. It's much larger than it appears on TV.

The two wide paths leading up to the launch pad are gravel tracks for the huge "crawler", which is a very heavy tracked vehicle. It's job is to move the rocket, in its upright position, from the assembly building to the launch pad. It moves very slowly and burns a gallon of diesel fuel every 42 feet. And we thought our RV was getting bad mileage!!! Next shuttle launch is on May 31.

We had hoped to see a launch pad and some buildings, but were blown away by the tour and the visitor center presentations. The space center is a huge sprawling complex of 140,000 acres of land, swamp, Atlantic beaches and waterways. It has two launch pads, one of the world’s longest runways (for shuttle landings), and the rocket assembly building (below) is the third largest building in the U.S. About 16,000 people work at the space center and, judging by the cars in the employee parking lots, they're paid very well.

The facility isn’t quite like Disneyland, but it does have a “Shuttle Launch Experience” ride that provides the feelings, sounds and experience of being launched (we didn’t do that one). The visitor’s center also includes museums, two IMAX theaters, a rocket garden (photo), lots of displays and hands-on things for kids and adults, restaurants and, of course, gift shops.

One of the most popular exhibits was a huge Saturn V rocket. That’s the one that sent 27 astronauts to the moon, including the first humans to land on the moon . . . Neil Armstrong and “Buzz” Aldrin in 1969. The rocket is enormous. It’s 363 feet long and, when loaded, weighs as much as seven Boeing 747s. It’s hard to visualize how something that big could get off the ground. The earlier visit to the Stennis facility helped us comprehend the power of the engines.

We were surprised that such an intense, loud and dangerous facility was so closely integrated with the natural environment. But the center shares its property with the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and nearly half of the Center is within the nationally designated Canaveral National Seashore. Throughout the base we saw heron, ibis and other birds, alligators, wild pigs and bald eagles. The tour guide pointed out a very large eagle’s nest that has been high in a big tree near the main road for 40 years. Even though a shuttle launch could blow the feathers off a duck a mile away, it seems that most wildlife survive and aren’t adversely affected by the occasional loud noise. Most of the time the area is very quiet, public access is restricted and most work is done indoors. It’s an amazing facility and a great place to spend a day.

The NASA space program has a very respectable safety record, but accidents have happened and lives have been lost over the years. It was good to see that the astronauts that lost their lives to fires, shuttle disasters and other mishaps were honored in a special memorial to their service.

16. Just Another Week in Florida

2008-05-18T06:35:00.001-07:00

There was no easy way to navigate from Dunedin around Tampa Bay. The bay can be crossed on any of several large bridges, but we prefer to avoid traffic and large bridges. So, we suffered through a couple hours of slow stop-n-go traffic on the major arterials. It was similar to driving from Everett to Tacoma on Highway 99. The urban area gradually faded away in the rear view mirror and we cruised on to our next RV park, located along the Peace River between the small towns of Wauchula (pop. 4,300) and Zolfo Springs (pop. 1,600).

Our main objective in Florida was to visit Pat and John in Punta Gorda. Pat and Bonnie are long-time friends, but hadn’t seen each other for 17 years. They welcomed us into their home for a couple days, fed us very well, and pointed us in the right direction for local sightseeing. We took a dip in their pool and spent some relaxing time on the patio overlooking the back yard canal and boats. John barbecued some pork ribs and brats, and Pat made a big dish of baked beans and served up a key lime pie for dessert. If that wasn’t enough, she also squeezed two quarts of very sweet delicious orange juice, right from their own tree. Ron loves good orange juice and polished it off in two days. Best we ever tasted.

We got a personal tour of Punta Gorda, including some shopping at the Fishermens Village (how about that fish?) and Bealls Outlet, where very low prices on clothing couldn’t be passed by. Punta Gorda received a direct hit from Hurricane Charlie in 2004. It removed many of the weakest older structures. Lots of attractive new development has filled in over the past four years. Pat and John’s home suffered some broken windows and doors and a damaged roof. Their “pool cage” (screened enclosure) was destroyed and more than a dozen palm trees and other trees and plants were lost. Fortunately, their house and its contents stood up very well.

About 40 miles south of Punta Gorda, Ft. Myers is home to the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. The properties are side-by-side and open to the public. We expected just another ho-hum house tour, but it was much more interesting than we thought it would be. We spent several hours there.

A little history: Edison and Ford were friends and business associates for many years. Ford worked in Edison’s electric company and Edison helped Ford get his car factory going. Edison visited the Ft. Myers area by boat in 1885, twenty years before there were roads or rails to the area. He liked it and bought 13 acres for a winter home (he lived in New Jersey). His architect designed and built two houses and a laboratory in Maine and shipped them to Florida by boat. They were assembled on the site and named Seminole Lodge. Henry Ford was one of the many famous guests that visited the lodge. Henry eventually bought the property next door and built his own winter home, called The Mangoes. The two properties are well preserved and full of interesting artifacts and history. Edison was a prolific inventor who received more than 1,000 patents. A museum includes many of his inventions.

Some of Edison’s botanical gardens still remain where he planted more than 17,000 different plant specimens. We got to see the preserved laboratory where he did research into plants and rubber production for friend Harvey Firestone.

Edison gave Harvey a small banyan tree from India in 1925. It was planted at Seminole Lodge. A statue of Thomas Edison stands under this tree, which now covers more than an acre and is the second largest banyan tree in the world.

It was interesting that Thomas Edison could work so hard, invent so many interesting things, and still have time to entertain, travel, and fish for tarpon off his long pier. He was an amazing guy!

We heard a lot about Sanibel Island. Since it was just south of Ft. Myers, we decided to see what it was all about. After paying a rather steep $6 toll to get onto the island, we found a beautiful public beach ($2/hr. parking fee) with clean sand and lots of nice shells. Ron burns easily, so we stayed just long enough for some shell collecting, wading and a little tanning. Sanibel is a fairly ritzy neighborhood. It was fun to go there once, but there are many other beaches that are just as nice . . . with free parking and no tolls.

We spent an entire week at the Peace River campground. It had a nice pool, shuffleboard and pickle ball courts, a nature trail along the river, and a lodge with internet access and other things to do. It was also close to Wauchula for shopping, bank, post office, etc., and to Zolfo Springs where we found an excellent restaurant with lots of food for very low prices. It’s 1970s/NASCAR décor wasn’t pretty, but the food was good and plentiful.

Twenty miles down the road is the town of Arcadia. We drove down there for the annual Watermelon Festival on May 17. It was a very nice event with the usual arts, crafts and food vendors, a very nice little classic car show and, of course, the watermelon eating and seed spitting contests.When we were done with all those exciting events and after eating our barbecued pork sandwiches and poking through a couple of the many downtown antique stores, we parked ourselves on the brick patio under the “Tree of Knowledge” and listened to some live music. [The tree got its name many years ago when townspeople came together under its broad branches to hear the local news, to hear a sermon or to have local meetings.] It was a very nice day in Arcadia.

15. Florida's West Coast

2008-05-10T05:59:00.000-07:00

We expected to see more Panama City type beaches as we continued along Florida’s west coast. But the highway is far from the shoreline and much of the area is heavily vegetated and protected. There are many wildlife refuges with names such as Lower Suwannee, Cedar Keys, Gulf Hammock, Homosassa Springs and Chassahowitzka. A portion of this area is known as the “Nature Coast”. Great place for birders. We saw lots of birds, too many gators, and came across this family of dolphins while on a boat ride.

Tarpon Springs is an interesting coastal town. It was once the center of sponge production. More than 100 years ago there was a labor shortage, so the owner of a Greek sponge company turned to his homeland for fresh workers. Many new sponge workers came here from Greece and other European countries to dive for sponges. Today, the community is proud of its Greek heritage. It maintains its character with lots of Greek restaurants, bakeries, stores and the largest Greek Orthodox church in the U.S. (Don't know the guy waving in the background)

Large fleets of sponge boats worked the gulf until a red tide killed off most of the sponge beds in the 1940s. It took about four decades for the beds to recover . . . but the sponge industry didn’t. Today, just a handful of sponge boats satisfy the market for “real” sponges, while cheaper synthetics have taken over most of the market. We took a boat tour of the Tarpon Springs harbor, saw some old shrimp boats (photo) and some of the beautiful homes that line the waterways on the way to Anclote Key. The old lighthouse, constructed in the 1890s, is still operating. It was fascinating to see and learn about sponges. We “soaked up” as much information as possible about the many different kinds. An excellent car-washing sponge could be purchased for about $8, but Ron decided to stick with his dollar store model (made in China).

A few remnants of past hurricanes still litter the byways. The owners of these have been piling up fines of $50/day for years but don't seem to be too concerned about it.

A little farther down the west coast we found a very nice RV Park in Dunedin (pronounced DUN-EE-DIN). The name comes from the Scots Gaelic “Dun Eideann” which, according to local authority, means Edinburgh (is that right, Melinda?). This is where the Toronto Blue Jays do their spring training. The city is also proud of its portion of the 39 mile Pinellas Trail, a walking/cycling trail system through several coastal communities. We took the Honda to a local car wash. The machinery broke down half way through and we weren't sure we'd ever get it out of there. But, after poking around in the gears with large bars, the guys got it going again and our car emerged extra clean.

Dunedin was a good jumping off location for side trips to various sites on the St. Petersburg peninsula, across the bay from Tampa. St. Petersburg was our first destination. We were impressed with its modern downtown, lots of new construction, and very little traffic congestion. We were amazed at how easy it was to get around, and to find a free on-street parking space right at the base of the 2,400 ft. city pier. At the far end of the pier is a large upside-down triangle shaped building that contains small shops, several restaurants, public observation decks and an aquarium. It's a beautiful pier but you don't see many tourists or other people in the photo. It's the off season and business is very slow.

Do you see what appears to be a hat floating in Tampa Bay? The hat once belonged to Ron. He bought it in Sandpoint, Idaho last August. As we were walking along the city pier, a gust of wind lifted the hat off his head and over the rail it went. A fisherman on the pier tried several times to snag it with his fishing line, to no avail. Fortunately, the first shop we came to at the end of the pier was a hat shop, so we both got new hats.

Old Fort DeSoto was built at the extreme south end of the peninsula. It’s now a public park that covers five interconnected islands and 1,136 acres of parkland and some of the best beaches in the state. We spent some time there wading and relaxing.

On our last evening in Dunedin, we went out to Honeymoon Island to watch the sunset. It’s a popular activity and the roads and beaches were very busy. It was a nice lazy way to end our stay in the Tampa Bay area.

14. Florida Panhandle

2008-05-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Most RV parks are similar and fairly predictable, but once in a while we stumble onto one that’s exceptional. Somewhere between Pensacola and Tallahassee, we spent a couple nights at Juniper Lake RV Park in the small town of DeFuniak Springs, pop. 5,000. Many of the park’s 20 spaces were occupied by permanent residents or snowbirds. Our hosts, Bill and Donna, were very friendly and brimming over with “southern hospitality”. After we got settled in, Bill invited us down to the large deck on the lake for some conversation and a cold beer (no charge). He and Donna bought their little piece of Juniper Lake and have created an RV park that’s like a garden with lots of flowers, grass, decks, docks, wind chimes, bird houses and other amenities everywhere. The lake is full of fish, including trophy bass, and many turtles that they feed from the deck. A few gators also live in the area and help keep the turtle population in check. We really enjoyed this park and stayed an extra day to let a thunder storm pass through the area.

The panhandle beaches are some of the best in Florida. The sand is bright white and soft as sugar and the water is usually beautiful. The photo of Bonnie and the first photo below were taken at Santa Rosa Beach. It was open and uncrowded so we took the opportunity to bask and work on our tans. The second photo was taken west of Panama City Beach. Much of that beach is lined with hi-rise condos and hotels. Some can be seen in the distance. Public beach access in that area is controlled and not available to us common folks.

About 300 miles down the highway we arrived at the small town of Homosassa Springs, home of an exceptional state park by the same name. Natural springs pump millions of gallons of fresh water into the “fish bowl” of the Homosassa River. The water is a constant 72 degrees which is perfect for the manatees that make it their year-round home. We visited the park and watched the manatees. They aren’t the most exciting animals to watch. Most of the time they move very very slowly and look like very large slugs or small sand bars. Many manatees outside the refuges are injured or killed by boats because they swim in shallow water and have to surface frequently for air. Some areas have very slow speed limits for boats in an effort to minimize collisions.

The park is a wildlife refuge with its emphasis on birds. The birds include flamingos, spoonbills, blue heron, egrets, pelicans, owls and even a few bald eagles and hawks that were injured and can’t return to the wild.

The park also has a variety of reptiles and lots of alligators. The park naturalist showed us a baby gator. Bonnie got to touch the little feller. The big gator in the photo seemed to be “growling” at Bonnie. She caught a short video of it and we’ll try to get it to you so you can hear him growl. It sounds something like a motor boat engine.

This was a very interesting park within a half mile of our RV park. It was a relatively cool shady place to go on a hot muggy day.

13. New Orleans & Katrina

2008-05-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

As everyone knows, New Orleans has its problems with water and flooding. A couple days before we arrived, the city received 8 inches of rain in 5 hours. There was some minor flooding, but they pumped it out and everything was okay.

We parked the car in a downtown New Orleans lot ($16) and spent a couple hours exploring the French Quarter. It’s larger than we thought. It's very colorful, and full of interesting art and architecture, funky businesses, entertaining signs and the aroma of southern cooking wafting through the narrow streets. Cars, trucks, horse-drawn carriages and pedestrians seem to conflict at every intersection but somehow things keep moving.

To get an overall view of New Orleans and its history, we took a three-hour city tour. The driver grew up in the city and could explain what it was like when he was young and how it has changed . . . and how it continues to sink. The tour covered the French Quarter, CBD, Mississippi River levees and Cemetery #3 where the driver (photo) explained how the laws of the Catholic church control how the family tombs are used, maintained and removed if not properly maintained. Fascinating.

We visited some of the neighborhoods that were severely damaged by the flooding following Hurricane Katrina, including the Ninth Ward where the water was deepest and about 450 people died. Nearly three years have passed since the hurricane. Most of the debris has been cleaned up, burned or hauled away, but many mutilated structures remain abandoned. In some cases, it appears that badly damaged homes are still being occupied. Many FEMA trailers are still in place, but many others are still living in tents. Habitat for Humanity and other organizations are very actively building new homes. We also saw many new single-wide manufactured homes, complete with front porches, have replaced many of the destroyed homes.

Large flood walls protect low lying neighborhoods from the river. We saw some of the old flood walls that didn't fail. We also saw the newest walls that are giving property owners renewed confidence that it will never happen again. The photo shows one of the new walls. The remains of a destroyed neighborhood lies to the right, with new houses being built. Personally, I’d never feel safe looking up at the Mississippi River.

Many families lost everything in the hurricane and flooding and it’s obvious that those neighborhoods will struggle for many more years. However, the central business district, French Quarter and other areas that were not damaged appear to be healthy and gaining strength.

The amir of Qatar was visiting New Orleans while we were there. His entourage of black limos, led by an extensive police escort, crossed our path a couple of times. The amir and his associates visited this area after Hurricane Katrina. After viewing the devastation, they felt compelled to help out. So far, they have contributed $100 million to the recovery effort. Most of the assistance went to Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity and Xavier, Loyola, Tulane and Louisiana State Universities. The Qatar group is here to check on progress and make sure the money is going into the recovery effort and specifically for projects related to education, housing and health care. One of those projects is a 50,000 sq. ft. addition to one of the university hospitals. The addition will be known as the Qatar Pharmacy Pavilion.

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi was near the center of Hurricane Katrina. We stayed in a local RV park and drove through former neighborhoods and along the shoreline highway to see what was lost and what is being done today. It was amazing to see how low and flat the land is and how close the shoreline is to the highway and properties.

We drove through Bay St. Louis and Pass Christian where whole beachfront neighborhoods were wiped off the map. Scattered framework, foundations, pilings and some floors can still be seen with floor tile still attached. It’s not unusual to see a fancy iron fence and gate with a winding driveway leading to what was once the site of a large home, but is now occupied by a travel trailer.

We found a couple interesting churches. One was gutted, but its sturdy Gothic arched framework still stands. Another (photo) managed to save its steeple, which remains as its focal point, but now operates from the temporary structures.

It’s very sad. But time marches on and new construction is going on everywhere. Streets are being rebuilt and new homes are popping up along the beachfront. I suppose they’ll be occupied by families who feel another Katrina will never happen . . . at least during their lifetimes.

12. New Iberia and Tabasco

2008-05-01T04:19:00.000-07:00

A little deeper into southern Louisiana is the town of New Iberia, an early Cajun settlement that is proud of its many restored homes and a nationally recognized historic downtown. We decided to take a closer look at one of the first mansions. It was built along Bayou Teche and named Shadows on the Teche. This house was built by local plantation owner David Weeks in 1834. It’s officially listed as a “brick, 7-bay, colossal columnar Greek Revival plantation house.” The house has been mostly restored to reflect its early 1800s lifestyle. A similar house (the white one) was built next door in 1910 by a descendent of Mr. Weeks and fits neatly into the neighborhood character of New Iberia.

The Konriko Rice Mill is also in New Iberia. It's a family business and the oldest rice mill in the country. It has been operating with the same basic machinery that was installed in 1912. Still going strong with the old technology.

Ron enjoys the “spices” of life, so we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to tour the Tabasco factory a little farther down the road on Avery Island. This little island is actually the top of a massive salt dome that extends thousands of feet into the earth. The island grows lots of bright red Capsicum frutescens peppers for their pepper sauce, mines salt which is used in the process, and pumps the oil that is often found adjacent to major salt formations. It also maintains the wildlife sanctuary where the snowy egret was brought back from near extinction and the 200 acre Jungle Gardens full of plants, flowers and native creatures such as alligators, deer, nutria, raccoons and armadillo. The Tabasco factory is a big brick building but is close to the coast and was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. They are now building a higher levee to protect all their facilities from a category 5 hurricane.

We capped off our day in New Iberia with a crawfish dinner at the Seafood Connection. Locals recommended it, so it had to be good . . . and it was. The restaurant itself appeared to be an old converted 1950’s drive-in with a sit-down room addition made of cinder block with no windows or other features that might attract someone to stop there. The interior was also pretty plain, with tables lined up in rows, Bingo hall style. A big screen TV was playing a re-run of a Saturday night Cajun program up the road in Eunice, the center of Prairie Cajun. Everyone seems to be eating crawfish around here these days, so we both ordered the crawfish dinner. They came to us in big tin dishes, similar to oil change pans, with potatoes mixed in, a couple ears of corn-on-the-cob and a couple large sausages. It was a very messy hands-on dinner but fun and very tasty indeed.Seafood is everywhere, crawfish is king right now and there are also lots of oysters, shrimp, crab, catfish, seafood gumbo and jambalaya, andouille and boudin sausages, shrimp po-boy sandwiches and etouffees (pronounced “A-2-fay”). It’s really great!!! We'll miss the food, but will also miss the fun spirit of the local people, the music and the large swamps, bayous and unique wildlife that the state is trying hard to protect. As we head on down the road, we'll leave you with a picture of Bonnie at Bayou Teche.

11. Welcome to Cajun Country

2008-04-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

You can’t visit Louisiana without learning something about the Cajun culture and history. We didn’t know much about it, but our research told us that Cajun Country is centered around the southern areas of Louisiana. Lafayette seemed to be a central location with lots of history and cultural activity, so we dropped anchor in a nice little RV park just south of Lafayette. The tourist info center provided us with an armload of maps, brochures and good ideas to keep us busy.

History is everywhere, but is told especially well at the local Jean Lafitte Acadian Cultural Center and at nearby Vermillionville where historic buildings have been preserved and Cajun, Creole and Native American exhibits tell the story. The "palmetto hut" in the photo is an example of an early swamp hut that was insulated with a mixture of mud and Spanish moss. Very sturdy.

The history is fascinating so I’ll try to share a little of it. Around 1600, a group of French settlers moved into an area of eastern Canada, now Nova Scotia, in search of freedom from French oppression and a new land for their families. The settlement of “Acadie” (or Acadia) flourished for 100+ years. However, when the British took control in the early 1700s, they demanded that the Acadians swear allegiance to the British crown and support the ongoing wars against France. Well, being independent folks who wanted to be left alone, the Acadians chose to remain neutral and refused to support the British. So, the irate local governor put about 8,000 of them into boats, sent them out to sea and confiscated their lands. Some fled to other parts of French-speaking Canada, many returned to France, and others were scattered along the east coast of the U.S. Later, a group of exiles led by Joseph Broussard made their way as far as Louisiana where they set up their new Acadia near what is now the city of Breaux Bridge, just east of Lafayette. The Acadians, with the help of friendly local Indian, established new communities and eventually became known as Cajuns. They held onto much of their French culture and language and their music and food have continued to grow in popularity as major tourist attractions. Ron managed to find a good local music station (KBON, 101.1 FM). He loves the music, even though many of the lyrics are in French, and we’re eating lots of Cajun food.

Louisiana calls itself “America’s Wetland.” Can’t argue with that. There’s water, rivers, bayous, lakes and swamps everywhere. We wanted to find out more about the wetlands, so we took a swamp tour in Bryan Champagne’s 24 ft. aluminum crawfish skiff. Bryan was born a Cajun and raised on the banks of Bayou Teche, so he seemed to know what he was talking about. He took us in and out of the swamps, through thick vegetation, groves of cypress draped with Spanish moss and, to our surprise, no mosquitoes.

The swamp was full of birds, including herons and snowy egrets. We also came across lots of alligators. Most were sunning themselves on logs and we were able to get within a few feet of them. Some would casually slide off their logs and disappear into the water, but others stood their ground and stared us down. None were aggressive and, after a while, we began to really appreciate these big critters. They weren’t bothering anyone and were probably a little annoyed with us for trespassing in their territory. It was a great swamp tour and we all survived.

Vermillionville is a sort of Cajun cultural center, adjacent to the Jean Lafitte Center. The village is nicely laid out and includes a self-guided walking tour of early structures from small swamp huts to a typical home, school, church and other structures.

In the center of the village is an entertainment pavilion with stage and dance floor. A Cajun band was playing and, after watching for a while, we drug ourselves out onto the dance floor and went a few rounds. We later went to dinner at a place called Randol’s. They also had a live Cajun band, so we went a few more rounds on the dance floor (sorry, no photos). Those dance lessons we took last year finally paid off and we had a great time!

10. Texas Gulf Coast

2008-04-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

Texas’ largest city stood in our path as we headed east from San Antonio. We considered going out of our way to get around Houston, but decided to just put the pedal to the metal, close our eyes and follow I-10 right through the middle. It was a nail-biting white-knuckle experience. Major freeway development was going on everywhere, highways were torn up and detours zig-zagged around miles of orange cones and rows of Jersey barriers. Obstructions narrowed the traffic lanes and we were constantly pushed and squeezed by 18-wheelers and lots of traffic trying to go faster than it should. We made it through with a sigh of relief and continued on down the highway. The posted speed limit on Interstate-10 across most of Texas is 80 mph. I'm sure we irritate many motorists as we amble along at our more fuel-efficient 55-60. No tickets yet for impeding the flow of traffic.

We stumbled upon a very nice little campground on Turtle Bayou, about 40 miles west of Beaumont. It was at the edge of a lush swamp full of birds and animal sounds. The bayou water was a nice milk chocolate brown and the bullfrogs were loud enough to keep us awake at night.

The gulf was only 40 miles away, so we drove down to the beach at High Island and did some wading, bird watching and shell collecting. Parking was allowed on the beach so, of course, Ron managed to get the Honda stuck in some dry sand. We dug a couple trenches with our ice scraper (we knew it would come in handy) and were able get ourselves out. It was a bit of a concern having the car stuck in the sand 20 feet from the surf and not knowing if the tide was going in or out.

The Anahuac Nat’l. Wildlife Refuge was nearby, so we did a walking and driving tour of a small part of the area. It’s a birder’s paradise. But, even more exciting for us, were the alligators that also reside in the refuge. We saw eight or ten gators in their natural habitat, which was one of Bonnie’s primary objectives. Pretty exciting.

We drove to the end of the Bolivar Peninsula, ate a couple excellent burgers at Crystal Beach, visited old Fort Travis and looked at Galveston across the water. A free ferry could have taken us across but we had no reason to go there and it was getting late.

The Bolivar Peninsula is a long low sand bar that’s fairly well populated but prone to periodic destruction. It has been hit by hurricanes and tidal surges over the years so now all new houses are being built on stilts, some of them so high that we wondered if they are protecting against flooding or trying to get a view over other stilt houses closer to the beach. It’s comical. The peninsula was interesting, but not a place we’d want to live.

9. San Antonio - Fiesta

2008-04-22T06:21:00.000-07:00

“Fiesta” in San Antonio is all about food, music and fun and it’s all over town. Market Square is the venue for Fiesta Fantasias. The market is a maze of small shops stuffed with everything from Mexican sombreros, pottery and wierd skeleton people to very fine (and expensive) art. Lots of good food was available at street booths and several stages were alive with local Tejano music and some dancing in the streets. We did a lot of walking, looking and sampling of gordidas and mini-tacos. Excellent!!!

The “Taste of New Orleans” is another popular Fiesta event. It's held outdoors in the Sunken Gardens of Brackenridge Park, a perfect setting. We took folding chairs, arrived early and got a good center spot to view the stage. Once again, food booths were everywhere, this time with lots of good Cajun delights. Ron dove into a bowl of shrimp, fish and sausage in a thick spicy sauce over “dirty rice”. Bonnie had a big crabcake with rice. We shared a shrimp-on-a-stick and couldn’t pass up the alligator-on-a-stick (hard to find in Seattle). The alligator tasted like we imagined it would, a bit tough and rubbery but with a nice flavor and plenty of Cajun spices.

Different bands took the stage and a local belly dancing group did a show as well. Ron especially liked the rough raspy jerky zydeco music that makes you want to dance right out of your chair. Since we know very little about that style, each song sounded pretty much like the one before. It would help if they'd sing the words in English instead of French. But it's a cultural thing and, since music is a universal language, nobody seemed to care. We’re looking forward to some slightly softer Cajun music in Louisiana.

The River Walk is the city's second most popular attraction (Alamo is first). This public walkway follows about three miles of the river as it winds through the center of downtown. It's lined with restaurants, pubs, shops and the best hotels. It's very nicely landscaped with plants and flowers, many very large trees and lots of birds. There are also lots of masonry walls, small bridges (that's Bonnie on the bridge), stairways and other attractive rock work. The River Walk is a comfortable relaxing "people place" away from traffic and noise. It's an excellent example of good planning and urban design.

We spent our final evening in San Antonio at the annual River Walk Parade. It’s a parade of boats/floats with lots of lights and music on the river. Thousands of tables and chairs were set up along the route in front of hotels and restaurants. We could sit in one for a fee of up to $25, but we opted to stake out a nice section of railing along Crockett Street overlooking the river. It was a great view, but standing up for hours was a little hard on us old folks. The restaurants went all out in their table decorations and mariachi bands were entertaining the patrons.

The parade and San Antonio in general were lots of fun. We’re leaving with a positive impression and hope to return some day.

8. San Antonio Missions & History

2008-04-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

With a population of about 1.2 million, San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas (Houston is larger) and 7th largest in the U.S. But Texas has lots of room and low-density “urban sprawl” has flourished. The city spreads for miles and seems much smaller than more intense vertical cities such as Seattle, Chicago, etc. It’s easy to navigate the freeways and interconnecting loop routes. There are no mountains, lakes, coastlines or other major obstacles so streets and freeways radiate in all directions from downtown.

The Alamo was established in 1718 and its famous battle was a major event in Texas history. A small group of 189 Texans fought against Mexican General Santa Ana’s much larger army in 1836. The Alamo defenders, including Jim Bowie and Davie Crockett, were wiped out. Later, however, Sam Houston’s army defeated Santa Ana and Texas became an independent republic, and later a state.

Four other missions have been preserved as part of the San Antonio Missions Nat’l. Historical Park. We visited two of them. The following two pictures are of Mission Concepcion. The third is the famous "Rose Window" at Mission San Jose (long story).

The King William District was settled in the 1800s by prominent German merchants and was the first historic district in Texas. Many of the beautiful old homes in this neighborhood have been preserved. One of those early pioneers was Ed Steves and we had an opportunity to tour his family homestead. Mr. Steves came from Germany, sold grain to Mexico markets illegally during the Civil War, invested wisely and eventually operated a successful lumber business that still thrives in San Antonio. He died in 1890 but his wife lived another 40 years and kept the house in excellent condition, complete with mostly original furnishings. The following photos will give you an example of the types of homes in this district. Too many for this page.

7. This must be Texas

2008-04-19T07:53:00.000-07:00

It was a long uneventful drive from Tucson, through a small section of New Mexico, past El Paso and on to San Antonio. The terrain consisted mostly of dry desert, sand, sage and lots of rocks. Long wide valleys were interrupted by low mountain chains . . . and the scene repeated itself over and over. It made us appreciate the great distances and vastness of this part of the country. Very few Starbucks.

We spent one night about 20 mi. west of El Paso and had a terrific front window view of the quiet desert, a few birds and a jackrabbit or two (see photo). The campground hostess knew nothing about the area, but we stumbled onto a very good Mexican dinner at a local truck stop restaurant.

We spent our first Texas night in Fort Stockton, a small windy dusty town. The campground hostess said we were lucky to get the last spot because Fort Stockton is a “boom town.” Apparently, the town was nearly dead until gas prices started to rise. Now, it’s once again cost effective to pump oil from lots of old oil wells in the area. So, all the rentals, motels and campgrounds are full of oil workers, the economy is healthy and there are three columns of oil-worker jobs in the local newspaper. Go figure. I guess we can feel good that we're contributing to the booming economy of places like Fort Stockton.

About a half hour short of San Antonio, we found the nice little historical village of Comfort . . . a perfect name for a quiet laid-back town full of old buildings, history and interesting shops. We walked around the downtown and stopped for refreshments at the oldest continually active soda fountain in the whole country. It has been operating for more than 100 years in a building that was built in 1854. It was here that Ron experienced the worst hot fudge sundae he had ever consumed. Can’t have everything. Bonnie's root beer float was no prize winner either.

We settled into Stone Creek RV Park, about 20 min. north of San Antonio, for a five night stay. “Festival” began yesterday. It’s a 10-day event that brings about 3.5 million visitors to the city each spring. There’s a lot to see and do and we can’t possibly do it all, but we hope to have some interesting photos in our next blog. So, stay tuned.

6. Arizona's Wild West

2008-04-14T19:56:00.000-07:00

Cochise County, in the SE corner of Arizona, is home to the wild west town of Tombstone, the gunfight at the OK Corral, Boot Hill and lots of fascinating history and legends. It was also the home of Indian warrior Geronimo, the Chiricahua Apache tribe and its leader Cochise. He fought for 11 years to hang onto the tribal lands. He was never defeated in battle and is greatly admired around these parts.

Mining was big business in this area, especially copper mining. The hills are riddled with old mines, dried up ghost towns and old mining towns that found new reasons to survive. Mining is still done around Bisbee and Tombstone but they now rely heavily on their history to lure tourists, as well as newer arts, crafts and modern businesses.

Bisbee, the “Queen of the Copper Camps”, is very picturesque and interesting. It was built on the steep rocky hills of a narrow canyon and many of the homes rely on long steep stairways. By 1910, it was the largest, richest and rowdiest copper mining town in America and the biggest city between St. Louis and San Francisco.

Local mines produced zinc, lead, silver, gold, manganese and nearly 8 billion pounds of copper. The Lavender Pit is a large open pit copper mine at the edge of Bisbee. It operated from 1951 until 1975. Lots of high quality turquoise also came from this mine.

Today, Bisbee is alive with small shops, art studios, antique stores and restaurants but small enough to walk and explore in a couple hours.

Tombstone was also a rowdy mining town, but is most famous for Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp, Big Nose Kate and the 1881 gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which lasted only about 30 seconds.

The old buildings and boardwalks along several blocks of Allen Street of the original town are preserved. The Bird Cage Theater is the most historic and notorious of the structures. It remains largely as it was when it closed. We toured the building, peeked into the basement bordello rooms, saw the bar and card room, and studied the large assortment of memorabilia and artifacts that occupy the main floor of the theater. We were informed that this is considered the most haunted building in the U.S., although we didn’t experience any ghosts in the middle of the afternoon.

About 250 of Tombstone’s former residents are buried in the Boot Hill Graveyard, including the losers of the famous gunfight. A list of the occupants showed that very few died of “natural causes.” Most were shot or hanged, some died of unfortunate accidents, and others of illnesses of various kinds. The horse-drawn hearse that carried all but six to Boot Hill is in the museum at the Bird Cage Theater.

We decided to visit Mexico, but wanted to see a smaller town rather than a large border city. So, we drove the back roads through Texas Canyon, the one-horse “town” of Dragoon, the former mining town of Pearce and finally to the border town of Douglas. It cost just $1 to park in a municipal lot a block from the border crossing. From there, we walked into the small Mexican town of Agua Prieta. There was a lot of activity at the crossing. Apparently, a vehicle didn’t make it through the inspection and the border patrol and their dogs were swarming around, had a suspect on the ground, and a CHP helicopter was hovering overhead. We walked right on by with other tourists. Just another day at the border.

Agua Prieta wasn’t nearly as pretty as its name but the people were friendly, there were a few sidewalk food vendors and lots of interesting businesses. We walked several blocks into town and poked around in a few stores.

We purchased a few small souvenirs before returning to the U.S. We were armed with driver’s licenses, passports and other picture ID, but weren’t asked for anything. The border guard just looked at us, smiled and waved us through. I guess we’re too obviously American tourists. Maybe the Hawaiian shirt, shorts, funny Dakota farm hat and camera around the neck gave it away. It was just too easy!!!

5 - Tucson and Cactus

2008-04-14T15:14:00.000-07:00

We discovered that southeastern Arizona is packed with more interesting things to see and do than we had time for. We set ourselves up at Cochise Terrace, a beautiful up-scale RV resort (paid half-price) 40 miles east of Tucson and convenient to places we wanted to visit. We had to stay an extra day to add time for essential tasks, a tour of Kartchner Caverns, a visit to Boot Hill and a very refreshing dip in the pool.

The Hoover administration had good foresight in 1933 in establishing Saguaro National Park well in advance of Tucson’s explosive growth. Suburban development has spread across the Sonoran Desert all the way to the park boundaries and probably would have eaten up the rest of the park as well as suburbanites strive for view homes amid cactus gardens. Fortunately, the park is well protected and offers visitors an opportunity to get a close-up look at a variety of cacti and other plants, especially the large saguaros (Ned of Taco Bell is one). We took the 8 mile Cactus Forest Drive and stopped along the way for short hikes and photos. Very nice!

Tucson is nearly as large as Seattle in population but, without many surrounding communities, it seems a lot smaller. It also appeared very clean, modern and much too quiet for a Saturday. We found our way around easily and parking was free everywhere we went.

We spent an afternoon in the Old Tucson district following a well-marked self-guided walking tour, looking at old buildings and historic sites, and learning about the area’s colorful history. St. Augustine Cathedral (1896) was a very impressive structure (photo). Old Town Artisans was an interesting cluster of artsy shops surrounding an outdoor eating patio under large shade trees, complete with a singing guitar player. It was across the street from the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, which was established as a Spanish fort in 1775. Ron was especially excited about finding a small railroad museum near the beautifully restored Southern Pacific RR depot.

It’s easy to see why many snowbirds flock to this part of Arizona. The winter climate is just about perfect, the scenery is terrific and there are lots of things to do. We didn’t see everything, but hope to return in the future and spend a little more time here.

4. Left Turn to Arizona

2008-04-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

I-5 to Bakersfield was long and flat, but the varied scenery of crops, cattle, and green rolling hills was better than expected and not at all boring. To conserve fuel, we cruised along with the truckers at a steady 55-60 mph. Even at that speed, the RV was pummeled with bugs and flying critters of all sizes, their colorful juices splattering the windshield like a game of paint ball. Ron’s first task at the end of a travel day is to scrub the windshield and front of the RV before the bug remains get baked on. That task took him half an hour when we finally settled into our space under the palms at the Bakersfield Palms RV Park (picture).

It was a long slow grind over 4,000 ft. Tehachapi Pass as we climbed out of the central valley and into the high desert. Again, the scenery was better than expected and some species of blooming cactus added color. We cruised through Barstow (no good reason to stop) and on toward the Colorado River. As we approached Needles, Bonnie was watching the gas gauge like a hawk as the needle pushed the empty mark. Fortunately, it was all downhill into the Colorado River Valley. We took the first gas station exit (big mistake) and found the price of regular gas to be $4.20/gal. We passed those stations and finally bought a few gallons at $4.10/gal. to get us up the road to Bullhead City. To our delight, gas was selling for only $3.22/gal. in Bullhead, just 35 miles north.

We spent the next three days visiting Bonnie’s sister Bev and her hubby Tom in Bullhead City. Their nice winter home overlooks the Colorado River valley and Eldorado Mountains to the west. We relaxed, did some laundry and clean-up, and spent an afternoon at a Laughlin casino losing a few bucks to the gambling machines but also enjoying a great $5.00 lunch buffet. Ron and Tom got to watch the final game of the NCAA college basketball tournament while Bonnie and Bev did a little shopping. Bonnie’s cousin Darrol came down from Kingman and they spent the afternoon recalling old times growing up in Bellingham many years ago. Ron and Darrol were on Navy ships in Vietnam about the same time, so they had some stories to share as well. Bev and Tom were very good hosts and fed us too well. Bullhead was a nice stop on our trip.

We departed Bullhead on Wednesday (April 9), drove down the river, passed by Lake Havasu and Parker and turned east at Quartzite. The highway was a bit narrow and slow but, as you can see, there wasn't much traffic. The jagged mountains near Needles and rocky terrain along the river were very scenic. There weren't any good viewpoints, so Bonnie clicked off a few pictures out the windows as we rolled along. It was sunny and warm but not warm enough to turn on the A/C.

Tonight (4/9), we’re camped on a patch of desert called Augie’s RV Park, just outside Gila Bend, Arizona. It’s more sand box than park, but it has its own unique character, as do most campgrounds. Our rooftop antenna couldn’t pick up any TV stations and there are more radio stations in Spanish than English, so this was a good time to relax, go for a walk and update the blog.

Gila Bend is a pit stop and we’ll leave first thing tomorrow for Tucson. We have a long list of things to see and do in that area. Adios amigos . . .

3 -- Wine Country

2008-04-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

We arrived in the Alexander Valley in California’s wine country on March 31. We settled into a beautiful space at the Russian River campground, which is nestled in a narrow canyon full of oak and manzanita along the river a few miles north of Cloverdale.

Cloverdale is a nice little Mayberry kind of town, but with evidence of good planning and strict sign controls, with the exception of Pick's Drive-in, which was obviously "grandfathered in". After being dragged behind the RV for 800+ miles, the Honda was very dirty. Thanks to a do-it-yourself car wash, Ron managed to get it reasonably clean for only eight quarters. That left us with enough pocket change for a couple deluxe burgers at Pick’s, an authentic 50’s style burger joint. Delicious!

Budding vineyards and scattered wineries cover the rolling hills and valley floor of the Alexander Valley and the neighboring Sonoma and Napa Valleys. We took the Honda on a self-guided driving tour of the valley for a close-up view (and taste) of the grape-based economy. We started at the River Rock Casino, a huge complex sitting high on a hillside and visible for miles. Three five-story parking structures and a fleet of tour buses from the Bay Area filled the casino with people, cigarette smoke and noise. We joined the Players Club (free) and cashed in some visitor vouchers that got us an excellent two-for-one lunch buffet and $30 worth of free gambling, which we managed to lose in about five minutes before escaping.

The grassy hills are bright green this time of year, the grapes are just getting started and the country drive was very pleasant. We bought some oranges and avocados at a little roadside stand before entering the town of Healdsburg (pop. 11,700). It’s also a very attractive community with a people-friendly town square surrounded by attractive shops, restaurants, antique stores, lots of wine tasting rooms and people talking on cell phones.

We could have stayed at Russian River another week or two, but it was time to move on. Figuring out how to get from Highway 101 to our next campground near Manteca proved to be a challenge. To avoid the dreaded Bay Area traffic and congestion, we plotted a 15-step course that followed mostly winding narrow country roads around the north side of San Pablo Bay, and eventually to I-80, I-680, I-580, I-5 and eventually to Turtle Beach RV Park. It was a strenuous exercise in highway navigation but Bonnie juggled the maps gracefully and gave good accurate directions while Ron dodged the truckers. We didn't miss a turn.

Turtle Beach is on the San Joaquin River, a few miles south of Manteca. We arrived early enough to go into town, do a little shopping at Wal-Mart and relax with an excellent Mexican dinner. [Note: Thanks to a misspelling long ago, Manteca means “lard” in Spanish.] This is a quick rest stop. Tomorrow morning we’ll head for Buck Owens territory (Bakersfield) and on to Arizona.

2. First Week on the Road

2008-04-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, March 26, we finished loading the RV and pointed it south on I-405. We took just about everything we owned, except the piano, but still wondered “what did we forget?” Sure enough, Ron forgot his pants, which were left hanging together in the closet where he wouldn’t forget them. He did remember such important things as the Frisbee, bag of mixed nuts and a combination lock that he lost the combination to.

It was an easy drive down I-5 to Portland before the weather turned on us. Short bursts of rain, hail and snow were interspersed with bright sunshine for the next three days. We turned right at Eugene, gassed up the RV ($3.50/gal.), crossed the Coast Range and checked into the South Jetty Campground in Florence in the early evening. It’s a very nice forested campground and just a mile or so from the Oregon Dunes Nat’l. Recreation Area and beaches.

On Friday, we were visited by Eric and Lynne Dittmer, long-time friends from Medford. We spent the afternoon watching dune buggies and motorcycles challenge the dunes, exploring Old Town Florence and looking at boats along the Siuslaw River. A great seafood dinner at Mo’s capped off the day. Willing to try anything once, Eric and Lynne agreed to spend the night on the fold-out couch in our RV. It was a freezing cold rainy miserable night. We awoke to “corn snow” on the ground. It was an experience they'll probably not soon forget. After a hearty breakfast at South Jetty Betty’s campground café, we were warmed up and feeling good again.

Saturday, the big night at South Jetty, started off with an excellent prime rib dinner, cooked and served up by South Jetty Betty herself. After dinner, Betty called BINGO. Bonnie won the final game and a $10 prize for the blackout. BINGO was followed by an ice cream social, also served by Betty who seems to do it all. What more could anyone ask?

We hit the road again on Sunday (Mar. 30). The southern Oregon coast was warm and sunny and the scenery outstanding. We stopped in Brookings to buy Ron a pair of tax-free pants before continuing on to Crescent City.

We spent the night at a small campground near the mouth of the Klamath River. At the suggestion of our host, we drove up a short steep road to Requa Viewpoint to watch the sunset and look for migrating whales. Didn’t see any whales, but the sunset was very nice!

We stopped at Eureka to fill the gas tank again ($3.80/gal.) before continuing south through the redwoods. Much of this highway was crooked, hilly, narrow and slow-going – a white-knuckle ride for Bonnie who frequently cautioned Ron about “speeding” through the curves at 30 mph. Since we weren’t in a hurry, we had plenty of time to enjoy the beauty of the forest, including a lunch stop at Richardson’s Grove to view the Grandfather Tree and too many chainsaw sculptures. And on we went down Highway 101 and into California wine country.

1. Introduction

2008-03-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

As we approach April, it's apparent that spring has sprung in the Northwest. Buds are popping, trees are blossoming, and the grass and weeds are growing with renewed vigor. It's time to get out of town!

The motor home has been in storage since last September, following our trip to South Dakota. We got it started earlier this month, brought it home and spent a day de-winterizing, removing moss, sanitizing the fresh water tank, cleaning, lubricating, sorting and making sure everything still works. The batteries were low, but a little driving and overnight charging powered them up.

We spent the winter months daydreaming and plotting alternative vacation routes until we arrived at an agreeable route. We arrived at the conclusion that the only way to see what we wanted to see was to circumnavigate America in a counterclockwise direction. After spending most of our lives in the Northwest, we felt a need to see how people live, work and play in other parts of the country. The Gulf Coast, Florida, East Coast, New England and the maritime provinces of Canada were all on our list of places to visit. With gas selling for $3.50/gal. and rising rapidly, this may not be the ideal time for a couple of retired folks on fixed incomes to begin a 10,000 mile journey in a rig that gets 8 miles to the gallon pulling a dinghy. But, we aren't getting any younger and we feel it's time to do some of the things that we've been setting aside for our retirement years.

We plan to embark on this adventure on March 26. We'll head south through Oregon and California, then turn left toward Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, followed by the Gulf Coast, Florida and the East Coast, or until we run out of gas money. We'll take pictures along the way and document our adventures in this blogspot. Time and internet access may limit our production somewhat, but we'll add to the blog every few days . . . provided something interesting is happening. We invite you to follow along by reading our reports and, if you've already been where we're going, feel free to comment or offer suggestions on where to go and what to see, or places to avoid.