Tuesday, April 6 , 2021 Maryland to Virginia

Tuesday, April 6

Our friend Scott plotted a route south for us to avoid the worst of the horrendous I-95 around Baltimore and then Washington DC, and we have smooth sailing all the way to Virginia.  (695E, 97S, 50W, 301S and then 3 W over the Potomac River to Fredericksburg, VA.)  Occasional heavy traffic spots but a much more enjoyable ride! Lots of flowering trees - cherry, apple, pear and others.  

 We have been to quite a few civil war battlefields (Harper's Ferry may be our favorite), but decided to stop at Chancellorsville and Spotsylvania in Virginia.  Unfortunately, the visitor's centers with films and displays are closed (thank you COVID closings), so we do the driving tours through the areas. Beautiful weather, sunny and 70's, as we stop and visit various monuments and read about the battles.  Chancellorsville battles took place April 26-6, 1863.  General Lee tasted victory here, but lost Stonewall Jackson (by friendly fire!). More than 17,500 men were killed or wounded in one fierce battle on May 3  (1 every SECOND for 5 hours!) 

 

Later in May, both Lee and Grant had victories and losses around Spotsylvania.

  Loss of life on both sides was tremendous. There are monuments here and there sponsored by various states, north and south, honoring their soldiers who died, similar to what we have seen at Gettysburg, Vicksburg and elsewhere. Remnants of structures, furnaces and the trenches remain.

Temperatures soar to the 80's, as we decide to head across the state and south toward the Smokies. Never realized how many red bud trees there are in Virginia!  They are rather small and get flowers before they get leaves, so are most visible now as the other trees aren't leafed out yet. 

 Tonight we stop at yet another Cracker Barrel in Waynesboro, and are able to make reservations at Cosby Campground in the Smokies for 2 nights. This campground is an hour or so from the hubbub of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, so generally less busy. Good thing it is mid-week or we probably would not have gotten a spot.  Actually, two spots since there wasn't a site available for two consecutive nights!

April 5, 2021 PA and Maryland

Monday, April 5 

 This morning we waved goodbye as Anita and Kevin left for work, and we headed south and east to friends Scott & Cathy Johnson in Maryland. The rolling countryside is beautiful.  Had to stop to take this gorgeous photo - trees were blooming everywhere!

  Great to see these old friends who go back to highschool (Greg and Scott) and college days (all of us). Lots of fun catching up and taking a good walk around their neighborhood. Sure wish we lived closer!  All sorts of blooming trees in the area - white and pink - and lots of daffodils and hyacinths, with tulips just beginning.  The trees are greening nicely but Scott and I had itchy eyes and a few sneezes.

MARCH 17 - APRIL 11, 2021 TO PENNSYLVANIA AND BACK AGAIN

March 17 through April 6, 2021

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  We left Texas today to go to Pennsylvania.  Our three goals - Visit and take Greg's Mom out for lunch for her 91st Birthday on the 22nd;  second, spend some time with Greg's Sister Gwynne who is having hip replacement surgery on the 24th, and lastly, visit a few friends and see what we can see on the way home.

Happily the long, mostly direct trip to Pennsylvania went well, despite a few traffic whammies on I-10 in Louisiana and again on I-81 in Virginia. With sleep and rest stops in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (Cracker Barrel), south Knoxville, Tennessee (Cracker Barrel again), and Gettysburg Travel Stop near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, we arrived at Gwynne's on Sunday, March 21st.  West Chester, PA.

On the 22nd, we traveled the 45 minutes or so to New Holland, PA.  A few Amish buggies out and about and the beginnings of Spring showing.  We visited with Mom in her apartment at Garden Spot Village for a little while, then headed to Shady Maple for a fantastic smorgasbord lunch to celebrate her 91st! 

 We had a table in a small side room and in addition to table spacing, the only nod to COVID was that everyone had to don a pair of disposable gloves each time they visited the buffet.  A huge variety of tasty food and we each sampled quite a few goodies.  Desert featured ice cream and a variety of pies and cakes.  (I had to go for the apple dumplings.) Next we shopped at the local grocers for some supplies for the upcoming week before returning Mom to her apartment.

Back to Gwynne's house to relax, settle in and do a few chores before we dropped her off for her surgery early the morning of the 24th.  We got the report that all had gone well, and picked her up the following morning! ( Only patients and staff were allowed inside the building.)  

Gwynne was a fantastic patient over the next week, with walking, icing and elevating the new bywords. Greg continued with projects indoors and out while Beth shopped and managed the meal schedule (with some generous help from friends of Gwynne). We picked Mom up again and brought her to Gwynne's for a 2-day visit. Beth did some work to add pictures to Mom's stories she is creating in a program called Storyworth.  Fun looking at old photos.  I especially like this one of Mom on her wedding day with her mother!

 Being in great shape to begin with, Gwynne showed amazing daily progress, so that 10 days after the surgery she was beginning to use a cane rather than a walker, and was almost totally off the pain meds, other than Tylenol!  Time for us to move on and begin the long ride home as friends will step in to help out as needed. Weather has been cool, with a few sunny days and some rain. But Spring is definitely in the works with crocus, daffodils and a few blooming trees.  This forsythia was in Gwynne's yard.

 

April 4 - HAPPY EASTER

Leaving Gwynne with plenty of leftover Easter ham and other goodies, we headed west to visit my sister Anita and her husband Kevin.  

Stopped by the farm where Beth grew up -   the property is almost surrounded by development now. 

Anita and Kevin were working at their Rock Shop near Hanover, PA so we met them there and heard about their plans to build a new house on this property and sell their current home! Exciting things ahead as they plan to sell their Alarm Business and begin a new phase of life!  We helped uncover their RV and hope to meet them on the road one of these days!  

Lots of daffodils in their yard too!

October 14, 2020 More Natchez Trace, then Home

Wednesday,  October 14, 2020

It is 47 degrees this morning so a hot breakfast tastes good.  Breakfast taco with hamburger along with fresh blueberries we picked up yesterday.  The blueberries are from Peru!  We've gotten them at home as well, along with a lot of fruit from Chile.  Remember "the old days" when you had to eat what was in season where you lived?

Our first stop this morning is a complex called French Camp.  An Inn, trading post, livery stable, blacksmith shop, log cabin and a few other buildings give a hint of how people lived in the 1800's.

Totally self-guided, we only see only four other people our entire visit.   Louis LeFleur established a trading post with the Choctaw Indians near here in the early 1800's.  Because of his nationality, the area became known as French Camp.  Interestingly, he married a Choctaw woman and their son became a Choctaw chief and then a Mississippi State Senator!

 

 A gift shop and cafe are closed.  A few cabins can be rented during normal times.

 We pick up an ornament at the pottery shop which has a number of items on an outside table and a tin for donations.

The livery stable has no horses today, but these cute piglets were hoping for a handout!

We planned to stop at Cypress Swamp and River Bend, but they are both closed due to hurricane damage. Quite a few trees down along the road as well.   More bicyclists today than cars - but most are traveling north.

We stop at Baxter Reservoir, a pretty 50 square mile patch of blue amid the green.

Rocky Springs is our next destination, with a 2 mile trail to Owens Creek Waterfalls.  But the trailhead is closed due to erosion of the trail.  The road in is a little dicey, too, so we continue on.

Last stop is Windsor Ruins, which are the remains of a Cotton Plantation Home.  The house had 23 rooms and must have been quite elegant based on the standing columns and a surviving sketch.   It survived the Civil War, but was destroyed by a fire in 1890.  We stopped here several years ago and wandered around the site, but they have now fenced the area due to safety issues.  Interesting that the columns were built from brick and covered with stucco.

Some pretty interesting  photo ops when there was better access.

This little church,  Bethel Church, is just down the road.  It was built by its members in 1840 and updated in the 1890's when the slave gallery was removed.  A tall steeple was destroyed by a tornado, giving it an odd and distinctive look.

Because so many things were closed, we end up arriving at the Louisiana border around 2:30.  We are an hour or two inland from the Gulf but Hurricane Delta definitely came this way.  Lots of stacks of trees and other debris in front of almost every home and many blue tarps on roofs. 

We were going to stop at Martin Dyes State Park in Texas, but we are only 2 1/2 hours from home and Greg says he'd rather sleep in his own bed tonight, so we motor on.  We stop for gas and it is great to see prices in the $1.60's again!  Seemed the range this trip has been mostly $1.80's and $1.90's. Arrive home about 8:15, grab a bite to eat, plug in and crash!   

3,697 miles.  Great to travel, but always nice to get home.

October 13 Natchez Trace, History

 October 13, 2020

A cool 52 degrees as we head to a nearby McDonalds for coffee and breakfast sandwiches, and then use the gps to find the start of the Natchez Trace, just south of Nashville. GPS is wonderful most of the time.  Yesterday it took us on a circuitous route, to say the least, to avoid an accident road closure - tiny little winding backroads with a one lane bridge - but probably saved us well over an hour.  Thankfully the 18-wheelers couldn't take our "detour".

The Natchez Trace is a 441 mile long road which follows a trail that has existed for thousands of years, and  holds an incredible amount of history.  It is similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway in that it is closed to commercial traffic, is a nicely paved 2-lane road with a 40-50mph speed limit.  Lots of pull outs, historic plaques, picnic and rest areas.  Instead of mountains, it traverses green rolling hills, going through wooded areas, pastureland, hay and cotton fields, a few rivers and reservoirs, and even some cedar swamps and marshland in the far south.  A beautiful, relaxing drive!

There are many stops and we hit maybe half of them.  Our first stop is at a memorial to soldiers of the war of 1812 who traveled the Trace with Andrew Jackson to the Battle of New Orleans.   You can see the coins, stones, buttons etc. left as a sign of respect or acknowledgment.  Several are buried along the way, along with some civil war soldiers. So many died from wounds and disease - wouldn't it be fascinating to hear their stories in their own words

Next is Gordon House, built in 1817 by a man and his wife who operated a ferry at the Duck River and traded with the Choctaw Tribe.  Again, this would be an interesting story because the man was a soldier and often gone, so the wife oversaw the building of the house.  Shortly after it was completed, he died, so the wife continued to live here - would love to know "the rest of the story".

There are quite a few cyclists on the road, with signs letting drivers know that cyclists should be treated as regular traffic and given an entire lane.  Very little traffic, so a great place to ride! The trees are just beginning to change color here but many fields are golden or dotted with bales of hay.

We stop at Baker Bluff Overlook which overlooks a farm, and has a trail to Jackson Falls. The Falls are in   a deep shady grotto area, but pretty small this time of year.

Surprisingly little wildlife along the way.  This flock of turkeys, lots of turkey vultures and squirrels and that's about it!

Next - yet another waterfalls.

 A short walk to Fall Hollow Falls is the last waterfalls of the trip and not much more than a trickle. Ah, we've been spoiled by North Carolina! No doubt these are more robust in the Spring.

  

Next stop is a cabin where Meriwether Lewis died in 1809.  He was en route to Washington, DC  (going down the Trace to catch a ship) and died rather mysteriously.  Some say suicide, but no one is sure. Another story untold.

We stop at a small town to get gas and go to their visitor's center where we get Alabama and Mississippi roadmaps - just in case.  Two men there tell us we really should visit "The Wall" and tell us the story.  It is just a mile or so off the Trace.  So we go there.

The Wichahpi Stone Wall was built by Tom Hendrix in memory of his great great grandmother Te-lag-ney's journey - first  the forced Indian Removal on the Trail of Tears to an Oklahoma Reservation, and a year later her individual journey back to her homeland. There is a very spiritual feeling here. There are many special rocks, coins and mementos left by visitors. Thousands of stones with no mortar make up the 4-6' tall wall, which winds and twists, like a person's life story.  There is a book called If The Legends Fade about her journey.

Next stop goes way back in history.  The Pharr Mounds are some of several sites along the Trace that date back to between 1 and 200AD.  These are burial mounds of people who had villages nearby.  There is evidence of their travel and trading.  There is quite a network of mounds all over the US - we have visited others in Missouri, Ohio and Louisiana as well as in Canada.  I remember that village near Saint Louis was bigger than the city of London at the comparable time.  A large chunk of history that was never in our History books.  I wonder what their language sounded like!

This is one of 8 mounds here.  Not so impressive to look at, but interesting history.  Below are mounds of a different type - ant hills which are frequent alongside the road.

We stop for the day at the Jeff Busby Campground which is one of several free ones along the Trace.  It is primitive, with only fire rings and picnic tables but nice large sites tucked into hills.  Our picnic table was 25' down a fairly steep hill, so we ignored it.  Washrooms are closed and it is about 1/2 full - all self-contained motorhomes and trailers. We interact with no one.  The entire site seems to be covered in leaves and pine needles, making it very quiet.

Dinner is chicken soup fortified with leftover rotisserie chicken, so it is more like a stew.