Left home 7AM, heading for Pennsylvania and Greg's Mom & Dad. 2 1/2 hrs to the Louisiana border and a stop in Baton Rouge at New Orleans PoBoys & Gyros for yummy shrimp poboys. Found via google and trip advisor. Temps hit 90.
Listening to John Sanford's "Dark of the Moon", but after two discs, the CD player quit.
We stopped at a Walmart in Tuscaloosa, AL at 6:45. Warm night and a large RV ran its generator till midnight! Nice roads through Mississippi and Alabama. Lots of kudzu.
9/16/2014
Left Tuscaloosa at 6:45. Interstate all the way, cruise control at 64/65; getting 16 mph. Gas in $2.90s in Louisiana but increasing as we head north. Roanoke Virginia boondock at Lowe's. Nice, quiet evening. Chicken salads at a nearby Red Robin.
9/17/2014
Cooler today, 62 degrees at 6:45AM as we headed out, through Virginia, a snippet of West Virginia and then into PA. Took some small country roads from Route 81 over to Route 30, bypassing Gettysburg. The corn is finishing, peaches finishing too. Apples just beginning.
Stopped in Lancaster, PA at LA Fitness around 1:30 in the afternoon for workout and shower before heading to Mom's. Arrived around 3 PM.
Dinner with Gwynne at Mom's. Meatloaf, fresh local sweet corn and tomatoes. Yum. I use the same recipe, but somehow Mom's meatloaf always tastes better! Nice to catch up. We will stay in Mom's bed at her insistance, as she moves to a fold-out in the den.
9/18/2014 Thursday
Picked up Gwynne and we all went to Ocean City, NJ (about 2 hrs) for the day in Mom's car. Nice day as the sun came out. Used a friend of Gwynne's house to change and park so we could walk a few blocks to the beach. Walked a lot on the beach while Mom sunned, had a picnic lunch and Gwynne, Greg and I walked the boardwalk a bit. A bold seagull swooped down and knocked Gwynne's sandwich out of her hand!
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| This colorful set-up was next to us: note the little boy's head in the sand. He sat in a hole and read a book for much of the time. |
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| Ocean City, NJ Boardwalk |
9/19/2014
Today's adventure is into Center City Philadelphia. We visited with Dad and then picked up Gwynne at her house. Heavy traffic on the Schyulkill Expressway, etc. but we made it to the National Constitution Center, across from Independence Hall. Very nice exhibits about the constitution, amendments, history, etc. There was also a short film and an exhibit about Slavery and Thomas Jefferson. Someone told us it would take 17 hours to read everything there, but we spent several hours. Many interactive displays.
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| Independence Hall |
Next we went to the 9th street Italian Market. Several blocks of shops including spice shops, cheese shops, butchers, fish shops, produce, etc. One butcher shop displayed pigs feet in their window and advertised meats like elk, venison, ostrich, kangaroo, alligator, etc. We passed on that, and instead stopped for Philly Cheese Steaks at a dive called Lorenzo's - tasty! Houston traffic has nothing on Philadelphia!
9/20/2014
Spent the day at Mom's. Fed Dad, ran some errands, got a new battery for the Trek . Gwynne joined us for a spaghetti dinner at Mom's. Watched some football, looked at photo books. Took a few pictures of the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside while we were out and about. Gorgeous farmland. Summer is winding down, tobacco drying in the barns, still a good bit of produce and we got corn to take to Brett's.
9/21/2014
Left about 7:25 for Garth and Kathy's in Shrewsbury, MA, driving the Trek. Mom has an Easy Pass which is good all over the east coast and sure makes travel easier with all these toll roads! Arrived around 2:00 and watched some football while we caught up. Kathy fixed soup and sandwiches, then we left for Brett & Dave's where we will spend the night. Mom in their guest room, us in the Trek. Brett and Dave are at a rehearsal but left the door open, so we got Mom to bed and waited up for them to exchange a quick hello.
9/22/2014
Monday. Brett and Dave fixed a lovely breakfast, then we went to Ipswich Park, a local park where we walked with Sable while Mom read the paper. Lovely day. Lovelier company!
Garth, Kathy and Carolyn came mid-afternoon. Dave grilled delicious steak and chicken and we celebrated Brett's birthday (which will be Wednesday). Mom and I had made a cherry cheesecake. Took a few pictures and chatted.
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| Photo Bomb by Dave |
9/23/2014
Brett has a doctor appt and other things later today, so after a hearty breakfast, we hit the road. Stopped for warm apple cider donuts at Shelburne Farm in Stow, MA, which Dave had found for us on line. Tastey stuff, though not as good as Wisconsin. Pick your own apples and pumpkins too.
Smooth sailing, traffic-wise and we arrived back at Mom's about 4:40PM.
9/24/2014
Went to Sight and Sound with Mom to see their production of "Moses" - quite a production, complete with burning bush and parting of the Red Sea! Stopped at a local store and local farm for sweet potatoes and green beans to go with Mom's ham loaf for dinner. Gwynne came by again after work. Did a little laundry and are ready to move on tomorrow.
9/25/2014
Fed Dad and then left Mom's about 9:00AM. 55 degrees feels great.
Stopped at the National Watch and Clock Museum in Columbia, PA, by the Susquehanna River. Nice film and lots and lots of clocks, watches, etc. Nicely done. A couple of tour buses joined us, but it was all good. Went from sun dials to sand timers, water clocks, etc. up to today's digital GPS.
Next we continued west on Route 30 to the Harley Davidson Factory in York. Had to wait a while for the 1:30 tour, so we had lunch in the Trek. Ran into two other "Trekker" couples from York and Pittburgh and enjoyed exchanging stories. The tour was interesting. Lots of automation and union shop. Johnny works night shift so we wouldn't see him. 1100 employees at this location.
Next headed south to Scott and Cathy's (college friends) in Abingdon, MD. Took country roads and arrived around 4:30 and Cathy was already there. Scott arrived shortly thereafter and we had a nice evening with steaks on the grill and wine. Their daughter Alyssa and granddaughter Cora came by briefly - what a cutie! We spent the night in the Trek, our choice.
9/26/2014
Left about 8:45 when Cathy was heading to work. (Scott leaves at some ungodly hour like 4:30). We are hoping to get together at the end of next August as we will probably be here for Mike and Jen's wedding - which will be in West Chester - Gwynne's neck of the woods! We headed towards Anita's, winding along country roads. Passed several apple orchards around Stewartstown and went through Dallastown and past the farm where Beth lived as a child. ( Things didn't look all that great - when we lived there, Mom had lots of flowers everywhere. None now.)
Went to Bay City Seafood in Hanover and got crab and flounder to fix for dinner tonight at Anita and Kevin's. I will try to replicate the dish I had at Tuckahoe Inn. Arrived at Anita's around 2:00 and Anita was there. She had a few things to take care of, but we chatted and Kevin arrived a bit later. Fixed a leisurely dinner and enjoyed the evening. Kevin started cooking ribs in the oven for tomorrow.
9/27/2014
Kevin made a ton of ribs and we picked up corn, red beet eggs, etc. for dinner. We went to a local market and grabbed Korean egg rolls for lunch. It was national Alpaca Day, so these mop-tops were on display. Got some flavored oil that Kevin recommended.
Perfect day for a cookout! Brother John came, nephew John, Niece Vanessa and her Kevin, nephews Mike and Nick and their ladies, Jen and Sarah. Nice to see everyone looking healthy and happy!
9/28/2014
Today we went to the "Wine Tasting on the Hill" in nearby Pleasant Hill with Anita and Kevin. There was a band, some dancing and several wineries offering tastings. Most wine was very sweet. Beautiful day, though and good people watching. I particularly got a kick out of the guy in orange who was always one step behind in the line dancing - I could identify!
Left Anita and Kevin's around 7:45 as they left for work, and headed to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, VA. Greg is in the midst of a huge book about George Washington, so this fit right in! Had to go around Baltimore and through Washington, DC. Could see the Washington Monument and capital from the highway. Lots of traffic - glad I wasn't driving!! Thanks, Greg!
Arrived at Mount Vernon about 10AM and spent 5 hours or so there. Very well done. Toured the house and extensive grounds including gardens, farm, slave quarters, grave, and of course the main house which is right on the Potomac river. The surrounding area is very nice, with lots of trees and gorgeous homes - Greg lived not too far from here for a bit in his roaming childhood. There were a couple of films and a lot of displays - including Washington's wooden teeth!
Traffic was heavy heading south on 95. After a while we left that behind, thankfully, and began to head west. Stopped at a Walmart in Ruckersville near Charlottesville for the evening. Nice countryside, much of which is famous for civil war battles, like Chancellorville. Virginia was pretty much one big battlefield! Had dinner at the Blue Ridge Cafe and got a good night's sleep.
9/30/2014
Did a little grocery shopping this morning and found a place to get an oil change in a small town off the interstate. Then we headed for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Sugarland Visitor's Center. Enjoyed the scenery after getting through crammed, touristy Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. and found a campsite at Elkmont - luckily we got right by a stream because someone had left early! Met a Roadtrek couple from Hawaii (they store their Trek stateside between trips).
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| Part of an old abandoned settlement near the campground. |
Hiked a bit and then made burgers on the grill for dinner. Nice campfire. Took some fire photos and tried painting rocks and stream with light for more experiments.
Happy October!! Cades Cove scenic drive, pretty busy, but nice in the early morning fog. Saw a few deer, squirrels and blackbirds. Heavy dew made for jeweled spiderwebs. Made several stops for photos and to check out an old Baptist church, homes and Cable Mill, built in 1868 and still operating. Listened to Carl Ross, a musician playing dulcimer, banjo, etc.
Headed to the opposite end of the park to Cataloochee Valley to see some elk and, hopefully, a few less people. Lots of folks had similar ideas though, despite the crazy narrow winding dirt road to get there! Single lane on the side of a mountain, no guardrails, just trees! Saw a couple of elk, including this mother with calf that was hidden in the grass for a while. Also saw some wild turkeys before heading back towards Cades Cove campground.
Pulled in late and just parked for the night. No cell signal in the Smokies.
10/2/2014
Left the campsite while it was still dark to get to the Cades Cove wildlife loop early, but they had the road blocked till dawn. Many cars in line - 7 in front of us and lots behind - when it finally opened. Beautiful soft golden light.
Morning mist photos, saw a few more deer, turkeys. Stopped at The Sinks water falls/pool. Beautiful sunlight filtering through the trees throughout the park.
Next we headed to the trail to Laurel Falls. Nice walk and we saw a bear and a deer. Quite a busy trail, though. This is the most visited National Park and even now, before peak leaf season, it was busy. Not crowded, but quite a few visitors. They have done a good job of keeping it natural looking, though, and have occasional "Quiet Trails" for a nice walk in the woods.
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| Yes, there is a bear in this picture. |
Left the park about noon, headed toward Houston. Route 411 through Tennessee had dozens and dozens of yard sales. We stopped for the night at Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park, south of Birmingham, AL and enjoyed showers and electricity. Talked with Mom and Bryan and left message for Matt. Raining a bit.
10/3/2014
Heavy rain, thunder and lightning started around 3AM, but all was calm by 7AM. Made coffee, dumped tanks and the new valves worked perfectly! Saw several deer on the way out including a doe with a fawn. Nice facilities but very busy place and we were actually in an "overflow" area.
Back to the highway. We were thinking about going across Rte 20 and stopping in West Monroe, LA (Duck Dynasty) but after reading some Trip Advisor, we decided it wasn't worth the extra time/miles.
So headed to I-10 instead, stopping in Picayune, MS for some shrimp poboys at Kellie's on the way. (Good shrimp, but the bread was kinda tough.)
Hit the Texas border about 5:18 and decided to go for home. Arrived about 7:45 PM.
Gone 18 days, 4,493 miles.
