From NC to Florida - 10-2 to 11/24/08

Missy at the Beach - the dogs DIDN'T like the waves.

Callie at the Beach.

Peggy and Baby Nathan - Her first Grandchild.

Baby Nathan. He's certainly a cute baby.

I've been BAD. I haven't written on this blog for more than six weeks. We left Wayneville and went to Morristown, TN, for a week. Stayed at a very nice State Park - Panther Creek State Park. $15/night for seniors - no sewer, just a dump station. We had a good visit with my sister, her daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter. When we left there we drove quickly to Clinton, MS, with only two overnights. We spent five days and Clinton visiting Peggy's brother and mother. That's where I broke a dental bridge, so we only spent two nights and Mobile and two more overnights getting to Palm Beach Gardens, Fl, on 10/20. I had a dentist appoingment on 11/20 when I got a temporary bridge with a new one installed on 11/11. We had planned to get here on 11/1, with baby Nathan expected on 11/16. However, he decided to arrive early to - baby born on 11/2 - 5 lbs, 14 oz, 19 inches. He is such a cutie. Then on 11/10 I bent over to pull on pants and OW! OW!. I've been in MAJOR pain ever since. Found a recommended Chiropractor went in - had xrays, and other tests - found arthiritis at C4-C5 and pinched nerves. Had Electrostim and adjustments every day that week and 3 times last week. I'm finally able to get around and sleep in bed instead of my LazyBoy - at least part of the night.

Lake Gaston, VA, 9/20 to Salisbury, NC, 9/27 to Waynesville, NC, 9/28 - 10/2/08

While at Lake Gaston, in Gasburg, VA, we traveled in N. VA and S. NC visiting many of the communities around the area. In Warrenton, NC, We stumbled upon the sign and the home below. General Braxton Bragg for whom Ft Bragg is named is a Great-Great-Uncle of Peggy's. We didn't even know about the house which was his boyhood home.



While in Salisbury we again visited the area, taking a trolley tour of Historic Salisbury, A driving tour of Civil War Salisbury and a tour of two of the historic homes of the area.

Moving on to Waynesville in the Asheboro area we visited a historic town in Catalooche, NC, all abandoned now, but enjoyable nevertheless. It is in the Great Smokey National Park. We also visited the Farming Museum at the Cherokee entrance to GSNP - the cabin is below. We also drove to the top of Mt Mitchell, the highest point in the USA east of the Mississippi River.

East Killingly, CT, 9/14/08 to Lake Gaston, VA, 9/20/08

We stayed at Stateline RV Resort in East Killingly, CT, for 4 days and while there we visited Providence, RI, walking some of the historic areas there, then on to Mystic Seaport, CT, where we toured the walking museum. The tall ship below is a very small part of the museum.


Upon leaving East Killingly, we went to Croton Point Park, Croton-on-Hudson, NY. It is a wonderful park, and only $30/night. It is only about 45 minutes from NYC by train. Below is the train.

We did visit NYC for a fairly long day - didn't begin to see the whole city. We took a Gray Line Bus tour of Downtown Manhattan. We took lots of pictures, and had a wonderful time. Took a break for lunch at Planet Hollywood, NYC. Below is a familiar picture - the United Nations.
After NYC, the next day we visited the United States Military Academy at West Point. A picture of the Protestant Chapel is below. The Chapel tour is definitely a highlight of the Academy tour.
After touring West Point we went down the road to Sleepy Hollow - Peggy just HAD to visit there after so may years of teaching about the Washington Irving Legend. We also saw the Irving grave site. This was a sign at the site of the Headless Horseman bridge.
The next day we visited the Van Cortlandt Manor house and farm/ferry crossing. He was a revolutionary patriot who then served in Congress. We had a great tour because it was very personalized - we were the only two on the tour.

Upon leaving Croton-on-Hudson we hurried south - staying on night at Council Cup Campground in Wapwalopen, PA, where we drove over and visited Eckley Miner's Village - a restored Coal mine Village. Then we rushed on to Presidential resort at Spotsylvania, VA. We tried to visit Gettysburg, but unfortunately ALL of the RV parking spaces were taken by automobiles, so we gave up and drove on. Then we got into a traffic mess south of Leesburg, VA, where the road was closed by a possibly fatal accident and the detour was stopped by another accident between a Van and a Semi. Made us more than an hour late getting to Lake Gaston. We are again visiting close places today and tomorrow.

Columbus - 8/28 to East Killingly, CT - 9/14/98

We left Columbus on 8/28 and after an overnight stop landed at Allegany Mountain Resort at East Otto NY. Traveled lots around this area including a nearby Amish Community - LOTS of Mountains but so many trees it was very difficult to take pictures. After a week we moved on to Niagara Lazy Lakes Resort near Niagara Falls. Did make to Niagara, both US and Canada. Spectacular Falls. Also toured much of the area - as we try to do everywhere we land.

After Niagara we went to Schroon Lake, near Lake George, NY. Again beautiful scenery - picture of lake George below.

While here we drove to Ft Ticonderoga, NY, where we saw this beautiful little church on the way. It was in a VERY OLD Cemetery.

In Ticonderoga we visited the two forts - Ticonderoga and Defiance - the picture below is from Defiance - looking down at Ticonderoga.

We are at East Killingly, CT, now at Stateline RV Park. On Thursday we drove to Providence, RI, and walked some of that city's historic district, and on Friday we drove to Mystic, CT, and visited Mystic Seaport. We also saw the USCG Academy in New London, CT. Pictures below are from an overlook looking toward Mystic and a lovely chapel/meeting house at the Seaport Museum.

We will be leaving here tomorrow morning, 9/15 to spend several days at Croton-on-Hudson, NY. Plan a bus tour of NYC and a visit to the US Military Academy at West Point.

From Monticello to Columbus, Oh - August 5 to August 27

I'm going to skip the pictures on this entry to get caught up - we only managed to spend three nights at Monticello - did get to do some touring of the area, then we spent 4 nights in a Motel 6 in Kokomo, In, while the Chevy dealer rebuilt the rear brakes on the motor home from scratch - new EVERYTHING - all at GMs Expense. The bill for the total brake job was $0.00. We then went on to White Cloud, MI, for 6 nights - saw lots of beautiful country in Mi as well as a trip to Wisconsin. From there we went to Milford, Mi, to the full hookup yard of some friends we met in AZ last winter - visited the area, including The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mi. We spent last weekend for four nights in Port Clinton, Oh, and toured much of that area, then on Monday drove to Columbus, Oh, to visit Aunt and Cousins here. We are leaving Columbus tomorrow, August 28, heading to Western New York and Niagara Falls. Will try to do a better job of updating and including pictures.

July 30 - August 5 - Rapid City to Monticello, In

The world famous Wall Drug in Wall, SD.

The SD Badlands

The Sod House at Ft. Belmont, Jackson, MN.
Looking down to the Park from an overlook on the hill above Hidden Bluffs RV Resort.

We left Rapid City on Tuesday, July 29, Stopped at Wall, SD, and drove the loop through the Badlands National Park and stopped for the night at Mitchell, SD, at a very nice PassportAmerica Park. On Wednesday we drove to Welcome, MN, with a stop at in Jackson, MN. Thursday, July 31, we drove to Spring Grove, MN, where we stayed for 3 nights at Hidden Bluff's RV Resort. We took a tour of the Amish community around Harmony, MN, but intentionally did NOT take pictures of these amazing people. On Sunday, Aug. 3, we stopped at Hillsdale, IL, at a very nice RPI park - would have enjoyed staying longer, but had reservations for a week at White Oaks on the Lake in Monticello, IN. Our first night here was VERY exciting, starting with an evacuation to the first floor of the club house for a severe thunderstorm warning, then when that ended back to the RV for thnderstorms and heavy rain ALL night. At 9 AM it's still raining, so this looks like an IN the RV day.

Colorado Springs to Rapid City - July 14 - July 29

Pictures then text this time!!!!



The Gnome stops down the road from the presidents.

The B1-B Bomber at the Air and Space Museum

The Presidents again.

The HomeStake gold mine at Lead, SD.

We left Colorado Springs early in the morning of Monday, July 14. We drove to Dix, Ne, and stayed overnight in my brother Steve's yard. We then drove to Scottsbluff, Ne, on Tuesday, July 15, staying 3 nights in my sister Linda's back yard. Had a significant problem on Friday, July 18, when we got ready to leave. LR jack would not retract even with a couple of suggestions from Equalizer tech support. After several discussions with tech support I decided to unbolt all but one bolt and tip the jack back, tying it to the frame with cable and a turnbuckle. We finally got off about 2 hours late, but made it to Rapid City in a timely manner. We are staying at Rushmore Shadows RV Resort between Rapid City and Keystone. We have visited Mt Rushmore, Keystone, Hill City, Deadwood, Lead, Custer and the Custer State Park. We also enjoyed the SD Air and Space Museum. We also spent two mornings driving RC while Dakota RV diagnosed and then repaired the RV. We also got SD Licenses and Driver's licenses, so we are officially South Dakota residents.