We arrived in Bar Harbor Maine last Wednesday and spent the next day getting settled in and getting our bearings. We got up early last Friday and headed to the Bar Harbor, Maine downtown Village. It was a beautifl autumn day when we visited. Not down right cold, but definitely light coat weather. In addition, with the village being on the ocean and a light wind, it was really chilly when we arrived that morning. Brrrrrrrrrrrr! Fortunately, the winds died down a bit as the day moved on and with the sun out in full force, it turned out to be a gorgeous New England day.
We first headed straight to the Bar Harbor coast to check out the views. The ocean beaches are so different than anything we know of in Texas, or Florida--where there are actual sandy beaches. The New England coasts are rocky, with slick moss on rocks precluding the possibility of attempting to walk close to the water. A couple of other oddities we discovered about the New England coast is 1) the drastic change in tide. When the tide is low, the ocean is 100's and 100's of yards low, leaving unsightly areas for a majority of every day. If you had one of those million dollar homes with oceanfront, the majority of the day, your views are of...well, just mud. 2) There are no waves hitting the shores. Isn't that strange? It was a windy day when we were in Bar Harbor and there were none of the normal waves crashing into the shore as you see in Galveston, or some beach in Florida. Anyway, we thought it a little odd...(I'm sure there's a really good scientific explanation if we'd bother to check).
The Bar Harbor village we spent the day checking out was so quaint, for lack of a better word. Whereas Route 66 in Santa Fe had lot's of shops and unique shops, they were modern...not particularly historic. But this little Bar Harbor village was just a warm little village. There was also a very distinctly different people touring about. Whereas Route 66 had lot's of 20 & 30 somethings, Bar Harbor had lot's of older folks. As a matter of fact, Mark and I would probably be considered 'whiper-snappers'--not quite 'dry behind the ears'! Seriously, the crowded streets were pretty much a sea of white heads.
We really enjoyed our day in the Bar Harbor Village, but plan on venturing out tomorrow to drive up the coast of Maine and check out lot's of the local villages along the coast. This time we're taking our 'babies' Clyde and Duffy with us this time. Though Clyde is still just hobbling along on 3 legs right now, we want to let them walk around on the beach--assuming we can find any beaches with actual sand in Maine. There's so much to see up here and obviously not enough time to check too much out. We'd have to stay in one location a month or more to really check it out.
But of course, time is passing by quickly. It's hard to believe we've been gone this time since right after the July 4th holiday. It's also getting Very cold very quickly up here. But I just Love this weather. I don't mean I'd enjoy 6 feet of snow and -30 temps...but I absolutely love New England in the Fall for sure. It's dropping into the 40's at night now and temps during the day are in the upper 50's/low 60's. But the Campground we're in is right on the ocean. We can see the ocean from our bedroom window. And the winds blowing off the ocean make it much colder. It's definitely sweatshirt weather around here.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, most of the Campgrounds in the Northeast shut down in mid-October, so we've only got a few weeks to reach the south. We leave Bar Harbor this Wednesday and are heading to the Cape Cod area for a few days. As I've said many times, we're having a wonderful journey and are very blessed to have an opportunity to do this. Well, that's about the latest for now...I'll update again after our next journey up the Maine coast.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Beautiful Vermont Countryside
We planned on spending the day checking out the Vermont countryside and some of the scenic tours suggested from some of our travel information. We got a later start, but what a wonderful day it turned out to be. We didn't have an exact itenary, just heading south in the direction of some beautiful scenery and came across some unexpected surprises:
Calvin Coolidge - I knew his birthplace was some where in central Vermont, but not long after leaving we came across President Calvin Coolidege's birthplace, the home he lived in with his wife and children and the "Western Whitehouse". What a nice surprise! Though his father had been a state representative for Vermont and a well known farmer, he was brought up in what would now be considered meager beginnings. There's a tour of the small home of his birth and childhood. Furniture was sparse with wooden plank floors. The actual barn, tools and carriage-sled were there.
Coolidge built a home on this land when he married and moved into it in the late 1890's. The home was not 'fancy' by any standards, but was nice. Linoleum floors throughout. The kitchen was so small and the oven so tiny it's hard to believe you could actually cook family meals in it. In addition to both his childhood and adult homes and barn, the 'Western Whitehouse' is there, though it's difficult to imagine something as plain and simple as that as a home office, much less a western whitehouse! His office was simply a room built over his childhood home--that's it. It's the room he was in when he found out Harding had died and he had just become President of the United States. It was just a wonderful, quaint, simple town...but just serene with beautiful mountains in the background.
We then moved on to several small Vermont towns that are quintessential Vermont. The foilage throughout the entire New England area is just now beginning to change color and it's so pretty. Though just now beginning to change colors, the greens are no longer intense, but are fading. Some foilage is beginning to turn a beautiful golden/light brown. And then we began to see a few limbs that have turned this gorgeous Reddish/Orange color. Breathtaking. I can only imagine what it looks like when the entire area turns that beautiful Red/Orange/Golden color. Wow. In addition, the towns we went through were small and quaint. Many with homes 100+ years old. We took pictures of some of the areas to give you an idea of what the Vermont countryside looks like right now.
Lastly, we drove up to the mountains and ski slopes and drove around. Apparently Vermont must be a huge draw for snow skiers. We saw lot's of signs for 'Snowmobile Tours' too. Imagine going on a snowmobile tour. Of course, in the ski resort areas some of the homes and townhouses were just gorgeous...and probably cost millions too. All in all, Vermont is just a beautiful place. I can't imagine living or working in Vermont, but I can't think of a better place to just come and relax. I'd definitely come back to Vermont again. We had a wonderful few days here, but it's time to move on.
We're quickly discovering the temperature is just dropping rapidly. The average temperature at night is already down into the 40's and today with the high in the low 60's, I definitely missed having a light jacket with me. If we forget to turn on the heater at bedtime, we wake up to temperatures in the 50's inside the trailer. But, I must say I just absolutely Love this weather. I'd live in this climate year round if I could. Mark's convinced I'd hate the dead of winter and maybe so...but I'd sure give it a try and see!
We leave tomorrow morning for Bar Harbor, Maine. Based on the average temperatures in the Northeast, we're going to have to kick it in gear.
Calvin Coolidge - I knew his birthplace was some where in central Vermont, but not long after leaving we came across President Calvin Coolidege's birthplace, the home he lived in with his wife and children and the "Western Whitehouse". What a nice surprise! Though his father had been a state representative for Vermont and a well known farmer, he was brought up in what would now be considered meager beginnings. There's a tour of the small home of his birth and childhood. Furniture was sparse with wooden plank floors. The actual barn, tools and carriage-sled were there.
Coolidge built a home on this land when he married and moved into it in the late 1890's. The home was not 'fancy' by any standards, but was nice. Linoleum floors throughout. The kitchen was so small and the oven so tiny it's hard to believe you could actually cook family meals in it. In addition to both his childhood and adult homes and barn, the 'Western Whitehouse' is there, though it's difficult to imagine something as plain and simple as that as a home office, much less a western whitehouse! His office was simply a room built over his childhood home--that's it. It's the room he was in when he found out Harding had died and he had just become President of the United States. It was just a wonderful, quaint, simple town...but just serene with beautiful mountains in the background.
We then moved on to several small Vermont towns that are quintessential Vermont. The foilage throughout the entire New England area is just now beginning to change color and it's so pretty. Though just now beginning to change colors, the greens are no longer intense, but are fading. Some foilage is beginning to turn a beautiful golden/light brown. And then we began to see a few limbs that have turned this gorgeous Reddish/Orange color. Breathtaking. I can only imagine what it looks like when the entire area turns that beautiful Red/Orange/Golden color. Wow. In addition, the towns we went through were small and quaint. Many with homes 100+ years old. We took pictures of some of the areas to give you an idea of what the Vermont countryside looks like right now.
Lastly, we drove up to the mountains and ski slopes and drove around. Apparently Vermont must be a huge draw for snow skiers. We saw lot's of signs for 'Snowmobile Tours' too. Imagine going on a snowmobile tour. Of course, in the ski resort areas some of the homes and townhouses were just gorgeous...and probably cost millions too. All in all, Vermont is just a beautiful place. I can't imagine living or working in Vermont, but I can't think of a better place to just come and relax. I'd definitely come back to Vermont again. We had a wonderful few days here, but it's time to move on.
We're quickly discovering the temperature is just dropping rapidly. The average temperature at night is already down into the 40's and today with the high in the low 60's, I definitely missed having a light jacket with me. If we forget to turn on the heater at bedtime, we wake up to temperatures in the 50's inside the trailer. But, I must say I just absolutely Love this weather. I'd live in this climate year round if I could. Mark's convinced I'd hate the dead of winter and maybe so...but I'd sure give it a try and see!
We leave tomorrow morning for Bar Harbor, Maine. Based on the average temperatures in the Northeast, we're going to have to kick it in gear.
Monday, September 14, 2009
I'm Back Online!! / Niagara Falls
During our week in Niagara Falls, New York, I didn't have internet access. We were unable to get a satellite signal because of trees in the area and the WiFi internet at the RV Park did not work. So, I've been unable to make any updates for over a week. We're currently in White River Junction, Vermont. But more about that later. First, our week in Niagara Falls:
Though the actual Falls are absolutely breathtaking...like, one of the 8 wonders of the world. I told Mark, anyone's "bucket list", must include Niagara Falls. BUT, Niagara Falls the city, is without a doubt, one of the dirtiest, ugliest cities we've ever seen. It literally looked like the 'ghetto'...or at least, as the ghetto is portrayed on TV. The 10 mile drive from our location to the Niagara Falls area, was just block and block and mile after mile of filth...I know that sounds terrible, but it was. Almost like pictures of areas in overseas. House after house, neighborhood after neighborhood were just falling apart in disrepair. What's so ironic, is that such a short distance away, were these magnificent Falls and associated parks.
We spent an entire day at the various locations of Niagara Falls. In addition to Goat Island and several of the beautiful bridges and locations, was "Cave of the Winds". Mark just flipped over this tour. I loved it too...but you get just soaked! Here's how it worked: You get in line and ride down this elevator 5 stories and come out at the bottom of Niagara Falls. They give you a thin plastic poncho to put over your close that has a hood attached. (I should have guessed then what was coming). They give you these velcro slip on beach shoes and give you a bag to place you shoes and socks in to keep them from getting wet. You walk around the corner and you can see the massive/roaring Niagara Falls right in front of you.
They've built several sections of stairs...each one getting closer to the Falls. The top section literally right on top of the Falls, is called the Hurricane Deck. The force of the falls on that section is so intense, that you cannot stand up straight. It's like trying to walk towards three 747 engines...the force is so great, it just blows you back. Only in addition to the wind, water is coming at you like a hurricane, hence the name. The deck below that was actually built literally right next to where the Falls hit Lake Erie and you can reach your hand out and touch the rapid falls. It's difficult to describle...but it was exciting and awesome! The force of the water is overwhelming on the lower deck--I sure wasn't going to try the Hurricane level! But of course, my lovely husband never wants to miss in all the excitement. He not only managed to get on the hurricane deck...but stood there for a couple of minutes. Needless to say, he was totally soaked. Heck, I was soaked just going through the first 3 level of stairs. But it was awesome! We had a terrific time on Cave of the Winds.
Then on to the Maid of the Mist. It's the large boat that goes right up to the Falls. It's the boat you see on most Post Cards of Niagara Falls. They also give you another little measley paper thin plastic poncho for this too. Mark had the bright idea to hurry up to the bow of the boat. So we were right at the front of the bow, with 200 of our closest friends cramped right up behind us. Then the boat slowly moves up towards the falls until it's directly in front of them. At least, that's what I'm told it did. The force of winds and water was sooooooooooo intense I spent the entire 15+ minues simply trying to hold on to the bow so I wouldn't fall. I couldn't even open my eyes it was blowing so intensley! What wasn't already wet from the Cave of the Wind, was now wet. My hair right down to my feet were soaked. Strange as it sounds...it was exhilirating! We were literally 15 - 20 feet from the bottom of the Niagara Falls. Wow. It was awesome...we had a ball. Overall, Niagara Falls should definitely be on everyone's Bucket List! (Just stay on the Canadian side--it was really nice).
The following day we did something we hardly ever do--we spent an afternoon at the Casino near Niagara Falls. We had a good time. I've discovered that I'm just not comfortable in a casino, as I inevitably win something within the first few minutes...sometimes just a little and sometimes a lot. Well, that was the case this day. While playing on the quater slots, within 5 - 10 minutes I won $50.00. Minus my $20.00 invested, I was up $30.00 and just couldn't bring myself to 'waste' any of it, by just giving it all back in the slots. So I cashed in and quit for the day. Unfortunately, Mark of course wanted to continue playing. So he played a couple more hours while I watched and walked around. Bottom Line, with Mark's losses and my gains, we were able to eat and still netted a +$15.00. Not bad for a half-day of entertainment and food! That'll probably be our casino fix for at least another year.
We left Niagara Falls Saturday, heading to Vermont. We spent our first night in Brattleboro, Vermont. Unfortunately, there are so many trees in Vermont, we were unable to locate a campground where we could get a signal for TV or Internet. So we got up early yesterday and headed further north into Vermont and found our current campground. We're planning on getting up early tomorrow and checking out some of the sites in Vermont. We only have one day left in Vermont, before we head to Bar Harbor, Maine. From there, we'll begin our journey south towards home. Well, that's about it for the latest on what we've been up to. I've got lot's of pictures of Niagara Falls that I still need to upload. I'll get them uploaded as soon as I can. Hopefully, I'll be able to make updates more frequently and won't lose internet access again. Well, that's a wrap for now...stay tuned~
Though the actual Falls are absolutely breathtaking...like, one of the 8 wonders of the world. I told Mark, anyone's "bucket list", must include Niagara Falls. BUT, Niagara Falls the city, is without a doubt, one of the dirtiest, ugliest cities we've ever seen. It literally looked like the 'ghetto'...or at least, as the ghetto is portrayed on TV. The 10 mile drive from our location to the Niagara Falls area, was just block and block and mile after mile of filth...I know that sounds terrible, but it was. Almost like pictures of areas in overseas. House after house, neighborhood after neighborhood were just falling apart in disrepair. What's so ironic, is that such a short distance away, were these magnificent Falls and associated parks.
We spent an entire day at the various locations of Niagara Falls. In addition to Goat Island and several of the beautiful bridges and locations, was "Cave of the Winds". Mark just flipped over this tour. I loved it too...but you get just soaked! Here's how it worked: You get in line and ride down this elevator 5 stories and come out at the bottom of Niagara Falls. They give you a thin plastic poncho to put over your close that has a hood attached. (I should have guessed then what was coming). They give you these velcro slip on beach shoes and give you a bag to place you shoes and socks in to keep them from getting wet. You walk around the corner and you can see the massive/roaring Niagara Falls right in front of you.
They've built several sections of stairs...each one getting closer to the Falls. The top section literally right on top of the Falls, is called the Hurricane Deck. The force of the falls on that section is so intense, that you cannot stand up straight. It's like trying to walk towards three 747 engines...the force is so great, it just blows you back. Only in addition to the wind, water is coming at you like a hurricane, hence the name. The deck below that was actually built literally right next to where the Falls hit Lake Erie and you can reach your hand out and touch the rapid falls. It's difficult to describle...but it was exciting and awesome! The force of the water is overwhelming on the lower deck--I sure wasn't going to try the Hurricane level! But of course, my lovely husband never wants to miss in all the excitement. He not only managed to get on the hurricane deck...but stood there for a couple of minutes. Needless to say, he was totally soaked. Heck, I was soaked just going through the first 3 level of stairs. But it was awesome! We had a terrific time on Cave of the Winds.
Then on to the Maid of the Mist. It's the large boat that goes right up to the Falls. It's the boat you see on most Post Cards of Niagara Falls. They also give you another little measley paper thin plastic poncho for this too. Mark had the bright idea to hurry up to the bow of the boat. So we were right at the front of the bow, with 200 of our closest friends cramped right up behind us. Then the boat slowly moves up towards the falls until it's directly in front of them. At least, that's what I'm told it did. The force of winds and water was sooooooooooo intense I spent the entire 15+ minues simply trying to hold on to the bow so I wouldn't fall. I couldn't even open my eyes it was blowing so intensley! What wasn't already wet from the Cave of the Wind, was now wet. My hair right down to my feet were soaked. Strange as it sounds...it was exhilirating! We were literally 15 - 20 feet from the bottom of the Niagara Falls. Wow. It was awesome...we had a ball. Overall, Niagara Falls should definitely be on everyone's Bucket List! (Just stay on the Canadian side--it was really nice).
The following day we did something we hardly ever do--we spent an afternoon at the Casino near Niagara Falls. We had a good time. I've discovered that I'm just not comfortable in a casino, as I inevitably win something within the first few minutes...sometimes just a little and sometimes a lot. Well, that was the case this day. While playing on the quater slots, within 5 - 10 minutes I won $50.00. Minus my $20.00 invested, I was up $30.00 and just couldn't bring myself to 'waste' any of it, by just giving it all back in the slots. So I cashed in and quit for the day. Unfortunately, Mark of course wanted to continue playing. So he played a couple more hours while I watched and walked around. Bottom Line, with Mark's losses and my gains, we were able to eat and still netted a +$15.00. Not bad for a half-day of entertainment and food! That'll probably be our casino fix for at least another year.
We left Niagara Falls Saturday, heading to Vermont. We spent our first night in Brattleboro, Vermont. Unfortunately, there are so many trees in Vermont, we were unable to locate a campground where we could get a signal for TV or Internet. So we got up early yesterday and headed further north into Vermont and found our current campground. We're planning on getting up early tomorrow and checking out some of the sites in Vermont. We only have one day left in Vermont, before we head to Bar Harbor, Maine. From there, we'll begin our journey south towards home. Well, that's about it for the latest on what we've been up to. I've got lot's of pictures of Niagara Falls that I still need to upload. I'll get them uploaded as soon as I can. Hopefully, I'll be able to make updates more frequently and won't lose internet access again. Well, that's a wrap for now...stay tuned~
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
What a Day in New York!
We got a very early start yesterday morning. With our campground being 90 minutes away from New York City, and the cost to drive and park in New York, we decided to take a tour from our campground here in Florida, New York and let them 'do the driving' for us so to speak. We were picked up for the tour a little after 7:00 this morning...with a total of 2 1/2 hours driving to and from, the earlier the start the more you can actually see. Wow, what a day!
Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island - If I had a "bucket list", these two sites would definitely have been on my top 10 list--I've always wanted to see them. Our tour guide took us to the New Jersey side to catch the ferry out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty (and upon return, we found out why...more about that later). We were ushered on to the ferry headed to Ellis Island. I got goosebumps once we entered Ellis Island, knowing that I had great-great-great grandparents from Ireland that walked right through those same doors I was now standing when they came to America. We were surprised to learn that the majority of buildings on Ellis Island were various hospitals. One for men and another for women, who arrived in America and were sick with disentary, scarlet fever and various other illnesses. But we were really surprised that one of the largest buildings on the small island was a Psychiatric hospital. Not only did folks looking for a new life and opportunity come to America, but foreign countries also would send their "undesirables" to America, i.e., like those mentally ill and those in jail or prison.
The Statue of Liberty - When the ferry pulled around the corner and we got our first glance at the Statue of Liberty, it gave me chill bumps. It made me feel proud that I'm an american when I saw it. We took a tour around the outside and Mark took lot's of pictures. In order to get a tour of the inside, you have to obtain tickets months ahead of time for an assigned date/time, sheesh, we're not organized enough to even know where we'll be week to week! After touring, we stopped by the only place to grab a bite to eat on the island and had a burger and fries. We then needed to head to the ferry for our return trip...Then we understood why our tour guide took us to the New Jersey ferry! The line to return to the New York side was literally 100's and 100's deep, literally wrapping around the Statue of Liberty! The Jersey side? We walked up 15 minutes before our ferry time, and were the only ones in line! (See, sometimes it pays to just let the tour guide do the thinking!) Seeing the Statue of Liberty should be mandatory for all americans...it's part of our heritage...I'm soooooo glad we got to see the Statue of Liberty.
New York City - After returning from Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty, we headed to Manhattan...downtown New York city so to speak. Our first surprise was the sheer size, from the financial district, to SoHo to NoHo, one end to the other. When seeing Manhattan from across the bay at the Statue of Liberty, it's just breathtaking how Big it is. Not only the sheer size of the buildings, but the 2 1/2 - 3 miles in length. We found out that a one bedroom 600 square foot apartment in Manhattan would run $10M to $25M, depending on where it was located...whereas the same apartment on the Jersey side would 'only' cost $3M...(they just give 'em away don't they?)
911 - The first stop in Manhattan and where we spent a great deal of time, were multiple locations associated with the 911 terrorists attacks. We were first shown where 911 occurred. A single building of 108 stories, same length as the originals, is being built now. The other section is being reserved as a rememberance of those lost, including the 1800 people that were never recovered. Our tour guide had many stories about 911 including gruesome detail of a 30 story building he pointed out, which was next to one of the burning towers, and that many body parts that were found of those attemping to jump and missed...(sorry, told you it was gruesome). We were taken to St Paul church, where many volunteers found sleep on a cot and food while taking a break. We went to the fire station next to the twin towers, that were all lost as first responders. We were also taken to the temporary location of the only remaining steel from the twin towers...which was a two pieces of steel in the shape of a cross and will be placed into the 911 museum when it's finished. Just lot's and lot's of information on 911. Sobering, but glad we got to see it.
The Real New York - We spent the remainder of the afternoon checking out everything from Broadway to Fifth Avenue and the Theatre District and everything in between. It's exactly as we envisioned it would be. We were shown the building in which John Lennon was gunned down, to the penthouse that Leona Helmsley left her cats and many many other sites. We got a small break towards the end of the day...directly across the street from one of my favorite foods in the whole world...Juniors Cheesecake! Needless to say I went straight across the street for a big old piece of Cherry Cheesecake...Yum! Mark grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and we walked up and down the Theatre district where all the Broadway shows are located. There were as many people crammed into this small area as we imagined there would be...and it was an awesome place to visit but we'd never want to live there--even if we were given a $25M penthouse!
Whew! As you can tell, it was an action packed day. We were both totally exhausted by the time we got back home. It was a long, exhausting day but we had a wonderful time. With the Labor Day Holiday just around the corner and lack of local campgrounds on the East coast, we decided to extend our stay here in Florida, New York for a week and will be here until next Wednesday. We've decided to move inland next, to Buffalo, New York to spend a few days in Niagra Falls. From there we'll head towards Maine and begin working our way southward down the Eastern seaboard. The majority of campgrounds in the Eastern United States close in mid-October...so we only have a few weeks to complete our Eastern seaboard journey.
Well, that just about wraps up our time in New York...we're planning on taking a tour of West Point Military Academy this week and I'll update once we've checked it out. Until later...~
Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island - If I had a "bucket list", these two sites would definitely have been on my top 10 list--I've always wanted to see them. Our tour guide took us to the New Jersey side to catch the ferry out to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty (and upon return, we found out why...more about that later). We were ushered on to the ferry headed to Ellis Island. I got goosebumps once we entered Ellis Island, knowing that I had great-great-great grandparents from Ireland that walked right through those same doors I was now standing when they came to America. We were surprised to learn that the majority of buildings on Ellis Island were various hospitals. One for men and another for women, who arrived in America and were sick with disentary, scarlet fever and various other illnesses. But we were really surprised that one of the largest buildings on the small island was a Psychiatric hospital. Not only did folks looking for a new life and opportunity come to America, but foreign countries also would send their "undesirables" to America, i.e., like those mentally ill and those in jail or prison.
The Statue of Liberty - When the ferry pulled around the corner and we got our first glance at the Statue of Liberty, it gave me chill bumps. It made me feel proud that I'm an american when I saw it. We took a tour around the outside and Mark took lot's of pictures. In order to get a tour of the inside, you have to obtain tickets months ahead of time for an assigned date/time, sheesh, we're not organized enough to even know where we'll be week to week! After touring, we stopped by the only place to grab a bite to eat on the island and had a burger and fries. We then needed to head to the ferry for our return trip...Then we understood why our tour guide took us to the New Jersey ferry! The line to return to the New York side was literally 100's and 100's deep, literally wrapping around the Statue of Liberty! The Jersey side? We walked up 15 minutes before our ferry time, and were the only ones in line! (See, sometimes it pays to just let the tour guide do the thinking!) Seeing the Statue of Liberty should be mandatory for all americans...it's part of our heritage...I'm soooooo glad we got to see the Statue of Liberty.
New York City - After returning from Ellis Island & the Statue of Liberty, we headed to Manhattan...downtown New York city so to speak. Our first surprise was the sheer size, from the financial district, to SoHo to NoHo, one end to the other. When seeing Manhattan from across the bay at the Statue of Liberty, it's just breathtaking how Big it is. Not only the sheer size of the buildings, but the 2 1/2 - 3 miles in length. We found out that a one bedroom 600 square foot apartment in Manhattan would run $10M to $25M, depending on where it was located...whereas the same apartment on the Jersey side would 'only' cost $3M...(they just give 'em away don't they?)
911 - The first stop in Manhattan and where we spent a great deal of time, were multiple locations associated with the 911 terrorists attacks. We were first shown where 911 occurred. A single building of 108 stories, same length as the originals, is being built now. The other section is being reserved as a rememberance of those lost, including the 1800 people that were never recovered. Our tour guide had many stories about 911 including gruesome detail of a 30 story building he pointed out, which was next to one of the burning towers, and that many body parts that were found of those attemping to jump and missed...(sorry, told you it was gruesome). We were taken to St Paul church, where many volunteers found sleep on a cot and food while taking a break. We went to the fire station next to the twin towers, that were all lost as first responders. We were also taken to the temporary location of the only remaining steel from the twin towers...which was a two pieces of steel in the shape of a cross and will be placed into the 911 museum when it's finished. Just lot's and lot's of information on 911. Sobering, but glad we got to see it.
The Real New York - We spent the remainder of the afternoon checking out everything from Broadway to Fifth Avenue and the Theatre District and everything in between. It's exactly as we envisioned it would be. We were shown the building in which John Lennon was gunned down, to the penthouse that Leona Helmsley left her cats and many many other sites. We got a small break towards the end of the day...directly across the street from one of my favorite foods in the whole world...Juniors Cheesecake! Needless to say I went straight across the street for a big old piece of Cherry Cheesecake...Yum! Mark grabbed a coffee at Starbucks and we walked up and down the Theatre district where all the Broadway shows are located. There were as many people crammed into this small area as we imagined there would be...and it was an awesome place to visit but we'd never want to live there--even if we were given a $25M penthouse!
Whew! As you can tell, it was an action packed day. We were both totally exhausted by the time we got back home. It was a long, exhausting day but we had a wonderful time. With the Labor Day Holiday just around the corner and lack of local campgrounds on the East coast, we decided to extend our stay here in Florida, New York for a week and will be here until next Wednesday. We've decided to move inland next, to Buffalo, New York to spend a few days in Niagra Falls. From there we'll head towards Maine and begin working our way southward down the Eastern seaboard. The majority of campgrounds in the Eastern United States close in mid-October...so we only have a few weeks to complete our Eastern seaboard journey.
Well, that just about wraps up our time in New York...we're planning on taking a tour of West Point Military Academy this week and I'll update once we've checked it out. Until later...~
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Goodbye Amish Country/Hello New York
Amish Country -
In reflecting back on our time in Amish country, Mark and I discussed our overall favorite places since our journey began March 14, 2009, and we both concur that our time in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Amish area has been our absolute favorite to date. Who would've thought? The area is just so beautiful and breathtaking that words and pictures just simply can't do it justice. We were actually in a tiny little suburb of Lancaster PA called Intercourse PA...(I know, hard to believe the name and apparently came about when established in 1752 since it was the first city in the area where two roads met, hence the name). There were countless wonderful little shops, boutiques and restaurants that made the town feel like you were home. And sitting outside in the evenings, listening to the Amish horse-drawn buggies trotting through the streets was just awesome.
We noticed the entire Pennsylvania countryside, lined with farms and older homes, were kept immaculate. What's amazing is we didn't see a single farm or home that wasn't kept neat and immaculate. Yards were freshly mowed with flowers prominently displayed. Amish buggies could be seen prominently displayed in their driveway or barns. Many of these Amish farms sold their home-grown goods, i.e., eggs, fruits, vegetables and pies, right off of their front porches.
Moving on to New York
We took our time getting packed up this morning as we only had a couple hundred miles to drive today. We pulled out of our RV Park around 10:00 a.m. this morning, heading to Flordia, New York. We've discovered the further East we go, the fewer RV Parks there are. There are only 3 RV Parks within 100 miles of New York City and one of those, is Blackbear Campground, about 60 miles from New York, NY.
We discovered it costs a Whopping $55.00 a "Day" to just park in New York city! In addition, almost all of the roads leading into and out of New York are Toll roads. So, we've decided it's most cost effective to take an actual Tour of New York. One of the reasons we chose this RV campground is that they have a New York tour company that comes directly to the campground and will pick us up and return us directly back to the RV Park here in Florida, NY. We had hoped on taking the New York tour leaving here Monday morning...unfortunately, we discovered when we arrived that Monday's tour is all booked up. So, looks like we'll be here a few days longer than we had initially anticipated as the first available New York tour from our campground is this coming Thursday. Hmmmmmm, that means we have 4 days to hang around or chill before getting to see New York. The tour includes all the key things we'd like to see including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The 911 location and many others...so we're really looking forward to it.
I'd wanted to go to Coney Island/Boardwalk area and though it's only 70 miles from our location, due to parking and toll road costs, it's ridiculously expensive and I can't see spending $60.00+ the cost of diesel, just driving there and parking! Uhhhhhhhhh, think we'll have to pass on the Coney Island/Boardwalk option. But, I've no doubt we'll find other things to do and explore. Our campground is in a very nice secluded area, way off the beaten path...a terrific place to just kick back and relax a bit--especially after the last few hectic weeks in Washington DC and Philly.
Oh yea, the Weather here is just awesome! The highs for the upcoming week are in the low-mid 70's and the low's in the 50's!! After the heat we've had the last several weeks, I'm really looking forward to some weather with a little 'nip' in the air! Well, that about wraps up the latest on where we are and what we've been up to. Check back Friday or Saturday and I should have our New York trip update and pictures. Stay tuned...!~
In reflecting back on our time in Amish country, Mark and I discussed our overall favorite places since our journey began March 14, 2009, and we both concur that our time in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania Amish area has been our absolute favorite to date. Who would've thought? The area is just so beautiful and breathtaking that words and pictures just simply can't do it justice. We were actually in a tiny little suburb of Lancaster PA called Intercourse PA...(I know, hard to believe the name and apparently came about when established in 1752 since it was the first city in the area where two roads met, hence the name). There were countless wonderful little shops, boutiques and restaurants that made the town feel like you were home. And sitting outside in the evenings, listening to the Amish horse-drawn buggies trotting through the streets was just awesome.
We noticed the entire Pennsylvania countryside, lined with farms and older homes, were kept immaculate. What's amazing is we didn't see a single farm or home that wasn't kept neat and immaculate. Yards were freshly mowed with flowers prominently displayed. Amish buggies could be seen prominently displayed in their driveway or barns. Many of these Amish farms sold their home-grown goods, i.e., eggs, fruits, vegetables and pies, right off of their front porches.
Moving on to New York
We took our time getting packed up this morning as we only had a couple hundred miles to drive today. We pulled out of our RV Park around 10:00 a.m. this morning, heading to Flordia, New York. We've discovered the further East we go, the fewer RV Parks there are. There are only 3 RV Parks within 100 miles of New York City and one of those, is Blackbear Campground, about 60 miles from New York, NY.
We discovered it costs a Whopping $55.00 a "Day" to just park in New York city! In addition, almost all of the roads leading into and out of New York are Toll roads. So, we've decided it's most cost effective to take an actual Tour of New York. One of the reasons we chose this RV campground is that they have a New York tour company that comes directly to the campground and will pick us up and return us directly back to the RV Park here in Florida, NY. We had hoped on taking the New York tour leaving here Monday morning...unfortunately, we discovered when we arrived that Monday's tour is all booked up. So, looks like we'll be here a few days longer than we had initially anticipated as the first available New York tour from our campground is this coming Thursday. Hmmmmmm, that means we have 4 days to hang around or chill before getting to see New York. The tour includes all the key things we'd like to see including the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, The 911 location and many others...so we're really looking forward to it.
I'd wanted to go to Coney Island/Boardwalk area and though it's only 70 miles from our location, due to parking and toll road costs, it's ridiculously expensive and I can't see spending $60.00+ the cost of diesel, just driving there and parking! Uhhhhhhhhh, think we'll have to pass on the Coney Island/Boardwalk option. But, I've no doubt we'll find other things to do and explore. Our campground is in a very nice secluded area, way off the beaten path...a terrific place to just kick back and relax a bit--especially after the last few hectic weeks in Washington DC and Philly.
Oh yea, the Weather here is just awesome! The highs for the upcoming week are in the low-mid 70's and the low's in the 50's!! After the heat we've had the last several weeks, I'm really looking forward to some weather with a little 'nip' in the air! Well, that about wraps up the latest on where we are and what we've been up to. Check back Friday or Saturday and I should have our New York trip update and pictures. Stay tuned...!~
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Picture Updates
The RV Park we're in this week has DSL, which is much much faster than our internet speed via our dish on top of our RV. So I was able to get our pictures uploaded quickly. I've updated all 3 slideshows of the blog with our latest 3 sets of pictures as follows:
1) Philadelphia Independence Center
2) Amish Country
3) National Cathedral in DC
Enjoy!
1) Philadelphia Independence Center
2) Amish Country
3) National Cathedral in DC
Enjoy!
Philadelphia Independence Center
We got up early this morning and headed to Philadelphia, about an hour from our RV Park location in Intercourse Pennsylvania. We first headed to Independence Visitor Center to obtain tickets to see Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights were authored and signed.
The Independence Hall tour begins with a 30 minute film of the Independence of the United States and the fight with Britain. The tour then moves to the Supreme Court, which was originally officed in Independence Center in Philadelphia from 1791 until 1799, when moved to Washington DC. The other room was the Assembly Room, the actual location where the Delegates from each of the 13 states met, debated and approved the Constitution of the United States, along with the Bill of Rights 11 years later. Additionally, the US Congress met in Congress Hall from 1790 to 1800.
We also learned additional information about the initial establishment of Congress. We found out that one of the biggest obstacles for the new Congress was a debate and arguments between the larger and smaller states. The larger states argued that they should have more say than the smaller states and the smaller states argued that they should have equal say in matters concerning the nation. Apparently Connecticut came to the rescue by offering a resolution that there be two branches of Congress...one that provided representatives based on population, i.e., the United States Congress and the second resolution was the creation of the Senate, in which each state would be equally representatives, resolving conflicts from smaller states without large populations...and that's why there are two branches in Congress--the House of Representatives and Senate, with varying numbers of representatives by state. Isn't that interesting? Mark took lot's of pictures of both rooms.
On another important note, the room which housed the first and second Congress, also has the actual chair that Washington set in to conduct business for the 10 years congress was located in Philadelphia...it was also the chair he was sitting in when he actually signed the final draft of the Constitution of the United States.
We then went to see the Liberty Bell Center, where the Liberty Bell is housed. It summoned the Pennsylvania Assembly to debate the Stamp Act and other burdensome actions by the British Parliament. The original Liberty Bell actually cracked sometime between 1817 and 1846. It isn't known exactly when it cracked. It was recast by a local craftsman when cracked.
We also went to Franklin Square, the actual location of Benjamin Franklin's home while serving in Congress. There are remnants of Franklin's home that still remain and are encased for viewing. Just down the street from Franklin's home is a small cemetery where he's buried. The majority of that cemetary are graves from the 1700's...very few that died into the 1800's, it's that old! There were many other exhibits housed between the locations that we checked out, including 5 row houses that Benjamin Franklin had built as rental houses and one for his printing company...all of the homes are from the mid to late 1700's and remain intact, each are still private homes at this time.
Lastly, after a day full of exhibits, we made a stop a Pat King's Philadelphia Steak sandwich, which is the restaurant that originally created the Philadelphia Cheesesteak sandwich in the early 1900's. On our way to Pat King's, our GPS had us going up and down multiple streets within downtown Philadelphia and discovered that just about every street has Food Carts with various kinds of food for sell. I knew food wagons on street corners was popular in New York/Manhattan, but they're apparently just as popular in downtown Philly as well. It was good and I'm glad we made the stop for the historic cheesesteaks from the originator, but not sure it was worth the $8.00 a piece that each one cost! Overall, we had another wonderful day, though we were both exhausted from all the walking by the time we left.
Mark took lot's of pictures and I'll get them uploaded to the slideshow as soon as I can. We'll be here in Pennsylvania through tomorrow and will be heading to Flordia, New York Saturday morning. Looks like Florida NY is as close as we can get to New York city via an RV Park. We're hoping to take the NY Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We rarely take actual tours as they're just too costly, when you can just go directly to most places for free, or nominal bus/train fares. But we might have to break down and take a bus tour to get to the New York/Manhattan areas. Well, that's the latest scoop on what we've been up to...pictures from today will be uploaded as soon as I can. Until later~
The Independence Hall tour begins with a 30 minute film of the Independence of the United States and the fight with Britain. The tour then moves to the Supreme Court, which was originally officed in Independence Center in Philadelphia from 1791 until 1799, when moved to Washington DC. The other room was the Assembly Room, the actual location where the Delegates from each of the 13 states met, debated and approved the Constitution of the United States, along with the Bill of Rights 11 years later. Additionally, the US Congress met in Congress Hall from 1790 to 1800.
We also learned additional information about the initial establishment of Congress. We found out that one of the biggest obstacles for the new Congress was a debate and arguments between the larger and smaller states. The larger states argued that they should have more say than the smaller states and the smaller states argued that they should have equal say in matters concerning the nation. Apparently Connecticut came to the rescue by offering a resolution that there be two branches of Congress...one that provided representatives based on population, i.e., the United States Congress and the second resolution was the creation of the Senate, in which each state would be equally representatives, resolving conflicts from smaller states without large populations...and that's why there are two branches in Congress--the House of Representatives and Senate, with varying numbers of representatives by state. Isn't that interesting? Mark took lot's of pictures of both rooms.
On another important note, the room which housed the first and second Congress, also has the actual chair that Washington set in to conduct business for the 10 years congress was located in Philadelphia...it was also the chair he was sitting in when he actually signed the final draft of the Constitution of the United States.
We then went to see the Liberty Bell Center, where the Liberty Bell is housed. It summoned the Pennsylvania Assembly to debate the Stamp Act and other burdensome actions by the British Parliament. The original Liberty Bell actually cracked sometime between 1817 and 1846. It isn't known exactly when it cracked. It was recast by a local craftsman when cracked.
We also went to Franklin Square, the actual location of Benjamin Franklin's home while serving in Congress. There are remnants of Franklin's home that still remain and are encased for viewing. Just down the street from Franklin's home is a small cemetery where he's buried. The majority of that cemetary are graves from the 1700's...very few that died into the 1800's, it's that old! There were many other exhibits housed between the locations that we checked out, including 5 row houses that Benjamin Franklin had built as rental houses and one for his printing company...all of the homes are from the mid to late 1700's and remain intact, each are still private homes at this time.
Lastly, after a day full of exhibits, we made a stop a Pat King's Philadelphia Steak sandwich, which is the restaurant that originally created the Philadelphia Cheesesteak sandwich in the early 1900's. On our way to Pat King's, our GPS had us going up and down multiple streets within downtown Philadelphia and discovered that just about every street has Food Carts with various kinds of food for sell. I knew food wagons on street corners was popular in New York/Manhattan, but they're apparently just as popular in downtown Philly as well. It was good and I'm glad we made the stop for the historic cheesesteaks from the originator, but not sure it was worth the $8.00 a piece that each one cost! Overall, we had another wonderful day, though we were both exhausted from all the walking by the time we left.
Mark took lot's of pictures and I'll get them uploaded to the slideshow as soon as I can. We'll be here in Pennsylvania through tomorrow and will be heading to Flordia, New York Saturday morning. Looks like Florida NY is as close as we can get to New York city via an RV Park. We're hoping to take the NY Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We rarely take actual tours as they're just too costly, when you can just go directly to most places for free, or nominal bus/train fares. But we might have to break down and take a bus tour to get to the New York/Manhattan areas. Well, that's the latest scoop on what we've been up to...pictures from today will be uploaded as soon as I can. Until later~
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Amish Country
We left DC Monday morning and arrived in Intercourse Pennsylvania. Yep, that's right...it's not a typo. We're actually in the city of Intercourse. Lancaster Pennsylvania is Amish country. Intercourse Pennsylvania is just a couple of miles from Lancaster. And there really are numerous horse and buggy's around here. Amish people are everywhere. The men have very long beards and wear overalls. The women all wear long dresses and have their hair up in buns with little white lace tops around the hair buns.
The Pennsylvania countryside is just breathtaking. The last couple of days we've driven around the countryside and the farmlands and houses/barns look just like the quaint, serene pictures of the Pennsylvania Dutch country that you see in magazines. Yesterday afternoon we stopped by an old Dutch 'smorgasboard', as their called, and it was delicious. It's just good old fashion country food, as we'd say. It's served family style, but we were the only ones at our table yesterday. They served roast beef, chicken sausage, chicken and dumplings, corn, mashed potatoes, buttered noodles and for dessert: Shoe-fly pie and peach pie. We thought shoe-fly pie was a myth or from a fairtale or something...we had no idea it's a real pie. It's made of maple syrup, sugar and stuff and didn't think it would be very good, but it was. And I don't care for maple syrup. It wasn't too sweet either. It also came with homemade vanilla ice cream. And Everything is made from scratch daily. Mark said it's one of the Best Meals he's EVER had! I loved it too.
Today we went to a huge restaurant...41,000 square feet! It was a buffet of ALL homemade stuff and the buffet line was as long as a football field. The food was just wonderful. There are more than 100 separate homemade desserts alone. Needless to say, we loved that place. And downstairs was a 41,000 square foot gift shop. That place also had their own grocery store and even make their own spices and have two smoke houses. We spent a couple of hours just walking around and checking things out. We then drove to a little shopping center full of unique shops and Amish things. Just an overall wonderful day for sure.
We'll be here through Friday and will be moving on Saturday morning. We'll be heading to Philadelphia to check out all the historic sites like the Liberty Bell, Independence center, Washington's presidential office, the house where Thomas Jefferson wrote the draft of the Constitution, etc. Oh yea, we also have pictures from our last day in DC, when we visited the National Cathedral. It looked like a medieval castle or something. The beauty was just awe-inspiring. I still need to upload our pictures of the National Cathedral as well as our Amish pictures from the last couple of days.
Well, that's about it for now...more updates to come, stay tuned!~
The Pennsylvania countryside is just breathtaking. The last couple of days we've driven around the countryside and the farmlands and houses/barns look just like the quaint, serene pictures of the Pennsylvania Dutch country that you see in magazines. Yesterday afternoon we stopped by an old Dutch 'smorgasboard', as their called, and it was delicious. It's just good old fashion country food, as we'd say. It's served family style, but we were the only ones at our table yesterday. They served roast beef, chicken sausage, chicken and dumplings, corn, mashed potatoes, buttered noodles and for dessert: Shoe-fly pie and peach pie. We thought shoe-fly pie was a myth or from a fairtale or something...we had no idea it's a real pie. It's made of maple syrup, sugar and stuff and didn't think it would be very good, but it was. And I don't care for maple syrup. It wasn't too sweet either. It also came with homemade vanilla ice cream. And Everything is made from scratch daily. Mark said it's one of the Best Meals he's EVER had! I loved it too.
Today we went to a huge restaurant...41,000 square feet! It was a buffet of ALL homemade stuff and the buffet line was as long as a football field. The food was just wonderful. There are more than 100 separate homemade desserts alone. Needless to say, we loved that place. And downstairs was a 41,000 square foot gift shop. That place also had their own grocery store and even make their own spices and have two smoke houses. We spent a couple of hours just walking around and checking things out. We then drove to a little shopping center full of unique shops and Amish things. Just an overall wonderful day for sure.
We'll be here through Friday and will be moving on Saturday morning. We'll be heading to Philadelphia to check out all the historic sites like the Liberty Bell, Independence center, Washington's presidential office, the house where Thomas Jefferson wrote the draft of the Constitution, etc. Oh yea, we also have pictures from our last day in DC, when we visited the National Cathedral. It looked like a medieval castle or something. The beauty was just awe-inspiring. I still need to upload our pictures of the National Cathedral as well as our Amish pictures from the last couple of days.
Well, that's about it for now...more updates to come, stay tuned!~
Friday, August 21, 2009
The Capital & Library of Congress
*I've just Added another slideshow to add our pictures from today. Check out!
What a wonderful day we had yesterday! We took the early bus and subway yesterday into DC to get an early start since there's just not enough time in a day to see everything we plan to see. We started our day off at the Capitol. We arrived just in time to walk right up and grab a couple tickets for the next tour, which was just starting. After a 15 minute movie, a tour guide took us through the main and second floor of the Capitol building. Of course, the Congress isn't in session right now, but we did pass Speaker Nancy Pelosi's offices. The architecture is just amazing. There are full length statues of all Presidents as well as various key individuals from all states as well.
At the end of our Capitol tour, the tour guide explained that you can reach the Library of Congress by following the underground tunnels from the Capital. Though the Library of Congress wasn't even on our list of things to see, based on information from the tour guide, we decided to take a short detour over to the Library of Congress. WOW! It was awesome! I just thought there would be various books in this building...not! First of all, the architecture of this building was just amazing. We came in just in time for a tour of the building and joined in for the one hour tour.
We were shocked to discover all the things the Library of Congress had. There were more key documents and items from an historical perspective in this building than I ever remember seeing in any building any where. Everything from draft copies of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights from Thomas Jefferson, to actual ship logs, diaries from the 15th and 16th centuries. There were so many historical documents from Early America as well as things from way back in the 5th and 6th centuries. In addition, Thomas Jefferson's entire library of more than 5,000 books were on display. BUT, in addition to all these historical items, there were also other really cool things, like a complete section dedicated to Bob Hope and included everything from his first contract with Vaudeville, to his Presidential medal of Honor from President Johnson. Bob Hope's dancing shoes, lot's and lot's of scripts from his shows, his Oscar from the 60's and so so so much more.
To top off this day, we were headed to the National Archives for a short visit to plan out our follow up trip there to check out what we wanted to see. But, we passed the National Museum of Art on the way. Now, for anyone that knows Mark and I, we've never been into the Arts, but we decided to stop in and check it out briefly. I almost decided to turnaround and leave when I found out we had to check our backpack...seemed like to much trouble. But, we decided to take a quick peek and oh my gosh! There's were numerous rooms with paintings that were just gorgeous. We actually saw numerous paintings from (I'll probably butcher these names, but here goes): Renoir; Whistler; Van Goh; Rembrandt, etc. etc. The majority of the pictures were in the 15th - 17th centuries! And many of them were Huge...like the size of a king-size bed. There were statues and other things, but we didn't really enjoy those too much. To actually see these paintings, that weren't even enclosed in glass cases, where we could get right up on them and view them...was, well--Awesome. Can't think of a bigger word than that. I so enjoyed the visit to the National Museum of Art. We didn't take our camera into the Art Museum because we thought pictures couldn't be taken, but after entering saw that was not the case. So, we may go back so I can get some pictures.
Whew! Sorry for the length of the explanation, but we just saw and enjoyed sooooooooo much. Our day of 1) The Capital, 2) Library of Congress and 3) National Museum of Art, made the day my absolute favorite while not only in DC, but any day I've experienced while on this journey. We're planning on going back tomorrow to spend the day at the National Archives. We leave DC Monday morning, but we're not really sure where we're headed quite yet. We're thinking about either Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania to see civil war stuff or Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Amish country. Well that about wraps up another wonderfully blessed day of this journey...stay tuned~
What a wonderful day we had yesterday! We took the early bus and subway yesterday into DC to get an early start since there's just not enough time in a day to see everything we plan to see. We started our day off at the Capitol. We arrived just in time to walk right up and grab a couple tickets for the next tour, which was just starting. After a 15 minute movie, a tour guide took us through the main and second floor of the Capitol building. Of course, the Congress isn't in session right now, but we did pass Speaker Nancy Pelosi's offices. The architecture is just amazing. There are full length statues of all Presidents as well as various key individuals from all states as well.
At the end of our Capitol tour, the tour guide explained that you can reach the Library of Congress by following the underground tunnels from the Capital. Though the Library of Congress wasn't even on our list of things to see, based on information from the tour guide, we decided to take a short detour over to the Library of Congress. WOW! It was awesome! I just thought there would be various books in this building...not! First of all, the architecture of this building was just amazing. We came in just in time for a tour of the building and joined in for the one hour tour.
We were shocked to discover all the things the Library of Congress had. There were more key documents and items from an historical perspective in this building than I ever remember seeing in any building any where. Everything from draft copies of the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights from Thomas Jefferson, to actual ship logs, diaries from the 15th and 16th centuries. There were so many historical documents from Early America as well as things from way back in the 5th and 6th centuries. In addition, Thomas Jefferson's entire library of more than 5,000 books were on display. BUT, in addition to all these historical items, there were also other really cool things, like a complete section dedicated to Bob Hope and included everything from his first contract with Vaudeville, to his Presidential medal of Honor from President Johnson. Bob Hope's dancing shoes, lot's and lot's of scripts from his shows, his Oscar from the 60's and so so so much more.
To top off this day, we were headed to the National Archives for a short visit to plan out our follow up trip there to check out what we wanted to see. But, we passed the National Museum of Art on the way. Now, for anyone that knows Mark and I, we've never been into the Arts, but we decided to stop in and check it out briefly. I almost decided to turnaround and leave when I found out we had to check our backpack...seemed like to much trouble. But, we decided to take a quick peek and oh my gosh! There's were numerous rooms with paintings that were just gorgeous. We actually saw numerous paintings from (I'll probably butcher these names, but here goes): Renoir; Whistler; Van Goh; Rembrandt, etc. etc. The majority of the pictures were in the 15th - 17th centuries! And many of them were Huge...like the size of a king-size bed. There were statues and other things, but we didn't really enjoy those too much. To actually see these paintings, that weren't even enclosed in glass cases, where we could get right up on them and view them...was, well--Awesome. Can't think of a bigger word than that. I so enjoyed the visit to the National Museum of Art. We didn't take our camera into the Art Museum because we thought pictures couldn't be taken, but after entering saw that was not the case. So, we may go back so I can get some pictures.
Whew! Sorry for the length of the explanation, but we just saw and enjoyed sooooooooo much. Our day of 1) The Capital, 2) Library of Congress and 3) National Museum of Art, made the day my absolute favorite while not only in DC, but any day I've experienced while on this journey. We're planning on going back tomorrow to spend the day at the National Archives. We leave DC Monday morning, but we're not really sure where we're headed quite yet. We're thinking about either Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania to see civil war stuff or Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Amish country. Well that about wraps up another wonderfully blessed day of this journey...stay tuned~
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
DC Pictures Available
I've finally uploaded the pictures we've taken the last several days while in D.C. These pictures are from our Smithsonian Museum tours along with our DC night tour we took a few nights ago. There were over 200 pictures to upload to the blog...so it took awhile!
Just double click on each of the Slide-shows to the left: 1) DC by Night and 2) DC - Smithsonian and view each album of pictures. We're planning on heading to the National Archives and the Capitol tomorrow. So more pictures coming soon...until later~
Just double click on each of the Slide-shows to the left: 1) DC by Night and 2) DC - Smithsonian and view each album of pictures. We're planning on heading to the National Archives and the Capitol tomorrow. So more pictures coming soon...until later~
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Washington DC
We arrived in Washington DC last Friday. We've been so busy checking out the sites in Washington DC I haven't had a chance to make an update! Wow, we've done a lot. We're staying in an RV Park just a few miles from all the DC sites. We catch a bus in front of the RV Park and take it a few miles down the road to the DC Metro Rail. The Metro Rail is just awesome. It's amazing how fast you can get where you need to go. Those things really haul...I mean really fast! I'm sure they're going at least 70 mph at times. It's a very sophisticated rail with 5 different tracks that essentially take you any where you need to go.
We took a DC by night tour a few nights back. It's just awesome seeing DC at night with all the monuments lit up. It took us to the Washington monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. We took lot's of pictures. We had actually taken this tour when we were in DC several years ago and wanted to take it again. Last time we went in early March and the wind chill was literally -10 degrees that day!! The great thing is there was literally no one at any of the memorials, of course the bad news is, it was so cold I couldn't make it through all of the sites. Mark toughed it out for pictures, but it was just too cold for me.
We took the Metrol Rail this morning downtown and checked out a couple of the Smithsonian Museums and the Holocaust Museum. First, we went to the American Nature Museum, which had lot's of information about dinosaurs, prehistoric fish, and gems including the Hope Diamond. We then moved on to another American Museum that was just filled with awesome things. We saw lot's of information on the various American Wars including the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, etc. There was a room dedicated to the First Ladies that included various items, apparel and pictures of all the first ladies.
We really enjoyed a sections and items representing all areas of american life. Seeing early electrical devices, toasters, blow dryers...you name it, they had it. There was even a small section dedicated to Julia Childs! The kitchen she used during the filming of her shows beginning in the early 60's was donated to the Smithsonian, we got pictures of that too. Oh, and Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs from All in the Family was on display! The Ruby Red slippers that Dorothy wore in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz were on display. Gosh, I could go on and on. It was just awesome.
Lastly, we made a stop at the Holocaust Museum. We only had a short time to check it out before catching the train back to the RV Park, and it was...well, sobering I guess you could say. There really weren't too many things to see as tickets are passed out to see some of the exhibits upstairs and all the tickets had been given for the day...so we didn't get to see those. But we did check out exhibits on the first two floors. Exhibits on the first floor showed various posters, documents and items including film of Hitler. We then checked out a very large exhibit on the second floor dedicated to a diary from a small boy during the holocaust. The exhibit actually depicts the writings in his journal. From his initial entries about their store being burned down, to writing about being required to wear yellow stars on his clothing...to losing their home and several entries about the ghetto his family was shipped to. He has an entry explaining about his sister and mother being separated from him and his father and how scared he was. And lastly, the concentration camp that he and his father were sent to and how they shaved his head and detail on the little food they were given, like a loaf of bread for the week...for both of them.
The most facsinating thing about "Daniels Story", the diary above, was that each of his journal entries were associated with actual scenery, i.e., a depictions of his family's one room when moved to the ghetto. A depiction of portions of their home, kitchen and living areas before the war. Words really can't describe it really...I guess you just have to 'experience' it to fully grasp and how it affects you. We left the Holocaust Museum in a solemn mood for sure. But, I'm really glad we went.
All in all, it was a terrific day checking out the sites. We will be going back to spend a day at the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and lot's and lot's of other historical documents of our history. We knew it would take most of an entire day to see the National Archives, so we wanted to wait until another day to see it. Tomorrow, we're planning on heading to Georgetown to check out the homes and shopping. The homes in Georgetown are up to 200 years old and are the most expensive in the DC area. In addition, there are lot's of quaint little shops we'd like to see.
So we plan on heading to Georgetown tomorrow and back downtown to see the National Archives the following day. We're having a wonderful time here in DC. There's so much to see and do we've already extended our stay an additional 3 days. We could spend several weeks here and not see everything we'd like to see. But we'll definitely have gotten in all the stuff we really want to see before heading out this coming Sunday. Our next destination is Pennsylvania, most likely Gettysburg. Well, that's about it on the latest...stay tuned!~
We took a DC by night tour a few nights back. It's just awesome seeing DC at night with all the monuments lit up. It took us to the Washington monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. We took lot's of pictures. We had actually taken this tour when we were in DC several years ago and wanted to take it again. Last time we went in early March and the wind chill was literally -10 degrees that day!! The great thing is there was literally no one at any of the memorials, of course the bad news is, it was so cold I couldn't make it through all of the sites. Mark toughed it out for pictures, but it was just too cold for me.
We took the Metrol Rail this morning downtown and checked out a couple of the Smithsonian Museums and the Holocaust Museum. First, we went to the American Nature Museum, which had lot's of information about dinosaurs, prehistoric fish, and gems including the Hope Diamond. We then moved on to another American Museum that was just filled with awesome things. We saw lot's of information on the various American Wars including the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, etc. There was a room dedicated to the First Ladies that included various items, apparel and pictures of all the first ladies.
We really enjoyed a sections and items representing all areas of american life. Seeing early electrical devices, toasters, blow dryers...you name it, they had it. There was even a small section dedicated to Julia Childs! The kitchen she used during the filming of her shows beginning in the early 60's was donated to the Smithsonian, we got pictures of that too. Oh, and Archie and Edith Bunker's chairs from All in the Family was on display! The Ruby Red slippers that Dorothy wore in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz were on display. Gosh, I could go on and on. It was just awesome.
Lastly, we made a stop at the Holocaust Museum. We only had a short time to check it out before catching the train back to the RV Park, and it was...well, sobering I guess you could say. There really weren't too many things to see as tickets are passed out to see some of the exhibits upstairs and all the tickets had been given for the day...so we didn't get to see those. But we did check out exhibits on the first two floors. Exhibits on the first floor showed various posters, documents and items including film of Hitler. We then checked out a very large exhibit on the second floor dedicated to a diary from a small boy during the holocaust. The exhibit actually depicts the writings in his journal. From his initial entries about their store being burned down, to writing about being required to wear yellow stars on his clothing...to losing their home and several entries about the ghetto his family was shipped to. He has an entry explaining about his sister and mother being separated from him and his father and how scared he was. And lastly, the concentration camp that he and his father were sent to and how they shaved his head and detail on the little food they were given, like a loaf of bread for the week...for both of them.
The most facsinating thing about "Daniels Story", the diary above, was that each of his journal entries were associated with actual scenery, i.e., a depictions of his family's one room when moved to the ghetto. A depiction of portions of their home, kitchen and living areas before the war. Words really can't describe it really...I guess you just have to 'experience' it to fully grasp and how it affects you. We left the Holocaust Museum in a solemn mood for sure. But, I'm really glad we went.
All in all, it was a terrific day checking out the sites. We will be going back to spend a day at the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and lot's and lot's of other historical documents of our history. We knew it would take most of an entire day to see the National Archives, so we wanted to wait until another day to see it. Tomorrow, we're planning on heading to Georgetown to check out the homes and shopping. The homes in Georgetown are up to 200 years old and are the most expensive in the DC area. In addition, there are lot's of quaint little shops we'd like to see.
So we plan on heading to Georgetown tomorrow and back downtown to see the National Archives the following day. We're having a wonderful time here in DC. There's so much to see and do we've already extended our stay an additional 3 days. We could spend several weeks here and not see everything we'd like to see. But we'll definitely have gotten in all the stuff we really want to see before heading out this coming Sunday. Our next destination is Pennsylvania, most likely Gettysburg. Well, that's about it on the latest...stay tuned!~
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Huntington, West Virginia
Where have we been? Gosh, I didn't realize a week has almost passed since last updating the blog. We arrived at Beech Fork State Park last Thursday and have been here several days now. We came to this area to attend a christian conference near downtown Huntington. Getting to the actual RV Park was a challenge. It's a two lane road for several miles, that wind around and around...and one in particular that requires almost a 180 degree turn! Certainly not one of my favorite experiences getting up here for sure!
This RV Park is fairly nice. We're right next to a small creek and the sites are decent sized. Mark has started a fire at night a few times...our first campfires since the Rio Frio way back in March. During our entire stay on the West Coast earlier this year, all fire was banned due to the high risk of fires and high winds. It is peaceful late at night, watching the stars and hearing the crackling of the fire.
We think Clyde may have re-injured his leg again. He's limping as bad or worse than he ever has. But good grief, I don't know what else we could have done to prevent it short of keeping him locked in his little kennel 24 hours a day. Sheesh. The doctor did say that without surgery, in 9 months or so, the ligaments tighten up some how and will eventually tighten the leg and reduce the ACL sliding back and forth on his leg. But she also said that without repair he would have significant arthritis in that leg for the remainder of his life. So we're just not sure what the status is on his leg...but at this point, there's not much we can do. We carry him and set him down just to 'do his business' and then pick him up. He hops around on 3 legs, so we try to reduce his walking of course.
We're scheduled to leave Beech Fork State Park Friday. We plan to continue our trek East to the Washington DC area...or, I should say 'near' the DC area. There are no campgrounds very close to the downtown DC area. We'll try to stay near Arlington Cemetery area or some where relatively close and take the subway to Union Station. From there, we can hop on and off a Tram to reach the different areas we'd like to check out. We spent a few days here several years ago, but didn't have time to see nearly everything we'd like.
That's about a wrap for now...here's a couple pictures I took earlier today when we went into Huntington for lunch and a laundry run. Until later...~
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
North Carolina/The Biltmore
We arrived in Asheville, North Carolina yesterday after 5 days in Pigeon Forge. We made a planned stop in this city to check out The Biltmore, which is known as the "Largest Home in America". Wow! Awesome! Breathtaking! We got a really early start this morning, arriving at The Biltmore at 8:30 a.m. this morning, to ensure we had plenty of time to check everything out. Entrance to the actual Biltmore Mansion is by assigned time. Our entrance time was scheduled for 10:30 a.m., so we had a couple of hours to check out the surrounding grounds around The Biltmore. The Biltmore rates in my "Top 3" things we've done so far...right up there with the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed of the inside of the home, but we took lot's of the grounds and gardens.
For a little history on this home, The Biltmore House has 250 rooms. George Vanderbilt began building this home in 1890 and moved in on Christmas Eve 1895, though work on the grounds and inside continued on for several more years. George Vanderbilt was only 33 when he moved into his "country home" and was known as "the" catch of the century. George Vanderbilt did not make his fortune, his grandfather came to America and started a shipping company and later a railroad company. His father doubled the Vanderbilt fortune and they had in excess of $200 million by the late 1800's.
George brought his bride Edith to Biltmore and welcomed the birth of their only child, Elizabeth, who was born in one of the rooms, (as were her children 25 years later). George's biggest contribution was actually building The Biltmore. He died at a relatively young age. He was 50 and died due to complications from appendicitis.
We took a tour of the entire home with an audio guided tour. They referred to their home as "relaxed elegance"...I'd call it unbelievably elegant and beautiful. The home includes original art from master artists like Renoir, 16th century tapestires, a Napoleon's chess set, a library with 10,000 volumes, a huge Banquet Hall with a 70 foot ceiling, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and countless antiques. The Biltmore remains American's largest privately owned home.
But that's just the Home itself. The Biltmore included 9 different gardens; a Winery; Stables; River Bend Farm and an Inn. The gardens were just breathtaking. Both formal and informal gardens and all designed by "America's foremost landscape architect," Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York Central Park. The gardens cannot be captured in words or pictures--to get the full impact, you just have to see it. The Stables area retains it's outward appearance, but has been redesigned to hold a Gift Shop, Dining and various other things.
I had first become aware of The Biltmore on an old cable show: America's Castles. I don't think that show has been on in at least a decade. I told Mark way back then that if we ever had the chance, I wanted to go to The Biltmore. We're so glad we came. As you can tell, today was just an awesome day and we're very blessed to get to do what we're currently doing.
We leave Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow morning for Huntington, West Virginia. This is the location of the Christian conference we had planned on attend last month, but we missed due to Clyde's injury. We've spent a couple of hours this evening trying to locate a campground in the Huntington area to no avail...so we're not really sure where we'll end up tomorrow! Well, that about wraps up our day at The Biltmore. I've finally gotten all the pictures uploaded to the blog...check them out on the slideshow. Stay tuned!!
For a little history on this home, The Biltmore House has 250 rooms. George Vanderbilt began building this home in 1890 and moved in on Christmas Eve 1895, though work on the grounds and inside continued on for several more years. George Vanderbilt was only 33 when he moved into his "country home" and was known as "the" catch of the century. George Vanderbilt did not make his fortune, his grandfather came to America and started a shipping company and later a railroad company. His father doubled the Vanderbilt fortune and they had in excess of $200 million by the late 1800's.
George brought his bride Edith to Biltmore and welcomed the birth of their only child, Elizabeth, who was born in one of the rooms, (as were her children 25 years later). George's biggest contribution was actually building The Biltmore. He died at a relatively young age. He was 50 and died due to complications from appendicitis.
We took a tour of the entire home with an audio guided tour. They referred to their home as "relaxed elegance"...I'd call it unbelievably elegant and beautiful. The home includes original art from master artists like Renoir, 16th century tapestires, a Napoleon's chess set, a library with 10,000 volumes, a huge Banquet Hall with a 70 foot ceiling, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and countless antiques. The Biltmore remains American's largest privately owned home.
But that's just the Home itself. The Biltmore included 9 different gardens; a Winery; Stables; River Bend Farm and an Inn. The gardens were just breathtaking. Both formal and informal gardens and all designed by "America's foremost landscape architect," Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed New York Central Park. The gardens cannot be captured in words or pictures--to get the full impact, you just have to see it. The Stables area retains it's outward appearance, but has been redesigned to hold a Gift Shop, Dining and various other things.
I had first become aware of The Biltmore on an old cable show: America's Castles. I don't think that show has been on in at least a decade. I told Mark way back then that if we ever had the chance, I wanted to go to The Biltmore. We're so glad we came. As you can tell, today was just an awesome day and we're very blessed to get to do what we're currently doing.
We leave Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow morning for Huntington, West Virginia. This is the location of the Christian conference we had planned on attend last month, but we missed due to Clyde's injury. We've spent a couple of hours this evening trying to locate a campground in the Huntington area to no avail...so we're not really sure where we'll end up tomorrow! Well, that about wraps up our day at The Biltmore. I've finally gotten all the pictures uploaded to the blog...check them out on the slideshow. Stay tuned!!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Gatlinburg Tennessee
Well, sorry for the delay in updating the blog. We actually arrived in Pigeon Forge Thursday afternoon and we're staying at a Park right off the Parkway, which is where everything, and I mean Everything, is located. Parkway is like a Main Street that runs from the entrance to Pigeon Forge, some 15 miles all the way through Pigeon Forge "and" Gatlinburg, all the way to the entrance to the Smoky Mountain National Park.
Yesterday we got a pretty late start and just ventured out to the Pigeon Forge Main Street and walked around, checking out lot's of shops. They have everything, and by that I mean, not just a "gazillion" restaurants, both sit-down and fast-food, from McDonalds to Tennessee Barbeque places...to ALL Kinds of activities, like race car tracks, to circus rides, Mirror Houses, Magician Shows, every kind of Dinner Show imagineable. There's more 'stuff' on this Main Street drag than we've ever seen! Even the Las Vegas strip can't rival the stuff here. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of shops. We stopped by a wood shop and had a sign made to hang on our RV, and of course we included Clyde and Duffy's name. Pictures of our new sign are included in our Gatlinburg slideshow.
Today we were going to spend the day in the Smoky Mountains National Park, but when we got there we found out that to go to the primary locations in the park, it would be 3 - 4 hours, including the return. We didn't have enough gas or time to make it that far today, so we've made an 'executive' decision this afternoon to extend our stay through Monday. We're planning on avoiding the Park tomorrow...it's so crowded here and Saturday and Sunday are the absolutely horribly crowded. We're planning on getting up early Monday and spending the entire day in the Smoky Mountains.
We spent several hours today on the Gatlinburg 'strip' and had a great time. We probably walked at least 2 miles and checked out hundreds of shops and malls and stuff. We came across this shop selling these machines called the"Jiglin' George", that you lay down, place your ankles in, they place a soft compress over your eyes and just relax. This machine starts 'jiggling' your ankles, which makes your whole body kind of shake back and forth. Supposedly, it solves ALL problems. You got an ache anywhere and I mean anywhere, and this machine supposedly solves it. The only thing I could tell after 5 minutes, was my lower back really hurt! Really! I've had a bad lower back for a year or so now and it was off the chart painful after that 'treatment'! Sheesh! Guess that's what I get for trying the thing out anyway huh? *Mark took a picture of me while I was having the 'treatment' and I took a couple of him while he was laying down for his treatment. We look like real dorks don't we? See the slideshow for pictures.
We hadn't eaten out in some time and we passed Bubba Gump's Shrimp restaurant and decided to eat there. We both had the fried shrimp platter and it was delicious. Well, that's about it for what we've been up to the last few days...I'll update again Monday after our day at the Smoky Mountain National Park. Until later...~
Yesterday we got a pretty late start and just ventured out to the Pigeon Forge Main Street and walked around, checking out lot's of shops. They have everything, and by that I mean, not just a "gazillion" restaurants, both sit-down and fast-food, from McDonalds to Tennessee Barbeque places...to ALL Kinds of activities, like race car tracks, to circus rides, Mirror Houses, Magician Shows, every kind of Dinner Show imagineable. There's more 'stuff' on this Main Street drag than we've ever seen! Even the Las Vegas strip can't rival the stuff here. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of shops. We stopped by a wood shop and had a sign made to hang on our RV, and of course we included Clyde and Duffy's name. Pictures of our new sign are included in our Gatlinburg slideshow.
Today we were going to spend the day in the Smoky Mountains National Park, but when we got there we found out that to go to the primary locations in the park, it would be 3 - 4 hours, including the return. We didn't have enough gas or time to make it that far today, so we've made an 'executive' decision this afternoon to extend our stay through Monday. We're planning on avoiding the Park tomorrow...it's so crowded here and Saturday and Sunday are the absolutely horribly crowded. We're planning on getting up early Monday and spending the entire day in the Smoky Mountains.
We spent several hours today on the Gatlinburg 'strip' and had a great time. We probably walked at least 2 miles and checked out hundreds of shops and malls and stuff. We came across this shop selling these machines called the"Jiglin' George", that you lay down, place your ankles in, they place a soft compress over your eyes and just relax. This machine starts 'jiggling' your ankles, which makes your whole body kind of shake back and forth. Supposedly, it solves ALL problems. You got an ache anywhere and I mean anywhere, and this machine supposedly solves it. The only thing I could tell after 5 minutes, was my lower back really hurt! Really! I've had a bad lower back for a year or so now and it was off the chart painful after that 'treatment'! Sheesh! Guess that's what I get for trying the thing out anyway huh? *Mark took a picture of me while I was having the 'treatment' and I took a couple of him while he was laying down for his treatment. We look like real dorks don't we? See the slideshow for pictures.
We hadn't eaten out in some time and we passed Bubba Gump's Shrimp restaurant and decided to eat there. We both had the fried shrimp platter and it was delicious. Well, that's about it for what we've been up to the last few days...I'll update again Monday after our day at the Smoky Mountain National Park. Until later...~
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Incline Railway/Rock City - Chattanooga
*Pictures from our day at the Incline Railway & Rock City have been downloaded to the first slideshow to the left.
We got a late start this morning. We were going to spend the day checking out Lookout Mountain. We stopped by Ruby Falls and decided to pass on that attraction...we found out it's an underground cave with a fall, after Carlsbad Caverns, we decided Ruby Falls couldn't hold up to the Caverns. So we headed on down the road to the Incline Railway.
Now that was interesting! The Incline Railway is supposed to be the longest/steepest Railway in the Word. It's a little over one mile, at a 72 degree incline. Folks, that's steep! When I saw it, I started to back up and just watch Mark do it. I don't mind heights, but the track looked pretty much like a 90 degree drop at the top portion of Lookout Mountain. But I followed through and joined Mark on the ride up. At the top they have a lookout that spans 7 states. It was a little hazy, but you could easily see the Smoky Mountains, a good 150 miles from where we were. After the very steep ride to the bottom, we headed to Rock City.
Mark says he's heard of Rock City and seen it on bumper stickers since he was a small kid going to Arkansas and he always saw bumper stickers about Rock City. So needless to say, we couldn't come to Chattanooga without checking out Rock City. I didn't know what to expect, but it was actually a beautifully landscaped garden, encompassed in rock. It was a very humid day today, which made it feel much warmer than it actually was. I was ringing wet halfway through the Rock City maze. I remembered hearing about "Fat Man's Squeeze", and Julie, tell Billy it was indeed a tight squeeze! A few places we had to suck in for sure!
There were several lookout points at Rock City as well. You can see 7 states on a clear day. It had cleared somewhat and you could very clearly see the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina and Kentucky. There was a really cute area towards the end of the second maze...primary for children but it was just sooooooo cute. Lot's of depictions of gnomes in various scenarios, for various fairytales, like Snow White, Humpty-Dumpty, etc. Also, lot's of nursery rhimes were set up with colorful paint. Mark took lot's of pictures and I'll need to download them to Picasa, which takes several hours. So I won't get them posted tonight, but will as soon as I can.
Only thing on the agenda for tomorrow is to check out the Chattanooga Civil War National Park. It's supposed to be the largest and oldest in the U.S. There's a good chance of rain tomorrow, so we'll have to play it by ear. There is an 8-mile auto tour, so we should at least get to check that out tomorrow.
We'll be leaving Chattanooga Thursday morning and heading to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for a few days to check out the Smoky Mountains. From there, we're planning on heading to Asheville, North Carolina to check out "The Biltmore", known as the "Largest Home in America". It's a 250 room mansion and takes more than a full day to check out the home and surrounding/supporting areas including the Winery, Stables, River, Gardens, Orchards, etc. I first heard of The Biltmore on an old show called "Americas Castles"...I loved that show. Anyway, we recently discovered we'll only be 150 or so miles from there, so why not make a short stop and check it out?
We're having a great time and are really excited about what we've seen so far on this trip, as well as the things we're hoping to check out in the coming weeks. Well, that's about a wrap for this entry...stay tuned~
We got a late start this morning. We were going to spend the day checking out Lookout Mountain. We stopped by Ruby Falls and decided to pass on that attraction...we found out it's an underground cave with a fall, after Carlsbad Caverns, we decided Ruby Falls couldn't hold up to the Caverns. So we headed on down the road to the Incline Railway.
Now that was interesting! The Incline Railway is supposed to be the longest/steepest Railway in the Word. It's a little over one mile, at a 72 degree incline. Folks, that's steep! When I saw it, I started to back up and just watch Mark do it. I don't mind heights, but the track looked pretty much like a 90 degree drop at the top portion of Lookout Mountain. But I followed through and joined Mark on the ride up. At the top they have a lookout that spans 7 states. It was a little hazy, but you could easily see the Smoky Mountains, a good 150 miles from where we were. After the very steep ride to the bottom, we headed to Rock City.
Mark says he's heard of Rock City and seen it on bumper stickers since he was a small kid going to Arkansas and he always saw bumper stickers about Rock City. So needless to say, we couldn't come to Chattanooga without checking out Rock City. I didn't know what to expect, but it was actually a beautifully landscaped garden, encompassed in rock. It was a very humid day today, which made it feel much warmer than it actually was. I was ringing wet halfway through the Rock City maze. I remembered hearing about "Fat Man's Squeeze", and Julie, tell Billy it was indeed a tight squeeze! A few places we had to suck in for sure!
There were several lookout points at Rock City as well. You can see 7 states on a clear day. It had cleared somewhat and you could very clearly see the Smoky Mountains, North Carolina and Kentucky. There was a really cute area towards the end of the second maze...primary for children but it was just sooooooo cute. Lot's of depictions of gnomes in various scenarios, for various fairytales, like Snow White, Humpty-Dumpty, etc. Also, lot's of nursery rhimes were set up with colorful paint. Mark took lot's of pictures and I'll need to download them to Picasa, which takes several hours. So I won't get them posted tonight, but will as soon as I can.
Only thing on the agenda for tomorrow is to check out the Chattanooga Civil War National Park. It's supposed to be the largest and oldest in the U.S. There's a good chance of rain tomorrow, so we'll have to play it by ear. There is an 8-mile auto tour, so we should at least get to check that out tomorrow.
We'll be leaving Chattanooga Thursday morning and heading to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for a few days to check out the Smoky Mountains. From there, we're planning on heading to Asheville, North Carolina to check out "The Biltmore", known as the "Largest Home in America". It's a 250 room mansion and takes more than a full day to check out the home and surrounding/supporting areas including the Winery, Stables, River, Gardens, Orchards, etc. I first heard of The Biltmore on an old show called "Americas Castles"...I loved that show. Anyway, we recently discovered we'll only be 150 or so miles from there, so why not make a short stop and check it out?
We're having a great time and are really excited about what we've seen so far on this trip, as well as the things we're hoping to check out in the coming weeks. Well, that's about a wrap for this entry...stay tuned~
Last Minute Change of Plans/Chattanooga Tennessee
We got an early start yesterday and were heading to Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains. But, once on the road I got the road map out and couldn't figure out why we were going to the Smoky Mountains and then to Chattanooga. We'd end up driving "backwards" some 150 miles or so to go to see Chattanooga.
So we made a last minute 'executive change' and drove south to Chattanooga Tennessee. We finally arrived around 2:00 P.M. yesterday afternoon, but not without encountering a harrowing experience. I had found an RV Park that was reasonably priced (remember this was a last minute change in plans, so no we had not yet checked out any of the RV Parks in the area). We were folling 'Nellie's" directions (Nellie is our trusty little Garmin GPS). Once we got into Chattanooga, 'she' sent us towards the downtown area...which are All One Way streets. We were within a few miles of the destination, according to 'Nellie', when Mark noticed a sign indicating the upcoming Bridge Clearance was 12'6"...too low for us. Our RV is 13'5".
We veered to the left, thinking we could avert the bridge, only to find we were going the Wrong Way On A One-Way Street!! Yikes!!! Cars started stopping and honking their horn, and one guy yelling and pointing we were going the wrong direction...Well Duh!!! So I rolled down my window, half-way climbed out and started pointing the cars to go around us. Once the road appeared clear (we couldn't see beyond a stop sign due to a sharp curve in the road). So Mark 'darted' the short drive (going the wrong direction) to the stop sign. I'm not explaining it too well, but bottom line--we were going the wrong way down a one-way street, through a stop sign in order to get turned around. It was a miracle there were no cars coming from around the bend...if there had of been, I don't know what would have happened! The Good Lord was with us, that's for sure! Whew!!!
That's definitely been the most precarious situation we've ever been in while on the road. We changed plans, back-tracked and found an RV Park not far from Look-Out Mountain. We're planning on spending 3 nights in Chattanooga. Today, we're planning on going to Look-Out Mountain; Checking out the Incline Railway and Rock City. Tomorrow, we're planning on checking out the Chattanooga Civil War battlefield. And then moving on to Pigeon Forge, Tenneessee on Thursday to spend a few days in the Smoky Mountains.
Well, that's the latest for now...I'll update after our day on Look Out Mountain and the surrounding area this evening if I get a chance. Until later...~
So we made a last minute 'executive change' and drove south to Chattanooga Tennessee. We finally arrived around 2:00 P.M. yesterday afternoon, but not without encountering a harrowing experience. I had found an RV Park that was reasonably priced (remember this was a last minute change in plans, so no we had not yet checked out any of the RV Parks in the area). We were folling 'Nellie's" directions (Nellie is our trusty little Garmin GPS). Once we got into Chattanooga, 'she' sent us towards the downtown area...which are All One Way streets. We were within a few miles of the destination, according to 'Nellie', when Mark noticed a sign indicating the upcoming Bridge Clearance was 12'6"...too low for us. Our RV is 13'5".
We veered to the left, thinking we could avert the bridge, only to find we were going the Wrong Way On A One-Way Street!! Yikes!!! Cars started stopping and honking their horn, and one guy yelling and pointing we were going the wrong direction...Well Duh!!! So I rolled down my window, half-way climbed out and started pointing the cars to go around us. Once the road appeared clear (we couldn't see beyond a stop sign due to a sharp curve in the road). So Mark 'darted' the short drive (going the wrong direction) to the stop sign. I'm not explaining it too well, but bottom line--we were going the wrong way down a one-way street, through a stop sign in order to get turned around. It was a miracle there were no cars coming from around the bend...if there had of been, I don't know what would have happened! The Good Lord was with us, that's for sure! Whew!!!
That's definitely been the most precarious situation we've ever been in while on the road. We changed plans, back-tracked and found an RV Park not far from Look-Out Mountain. We're planning on spending 3 nights in Chattanooga. Today, we're planning on going to Look-Out Mountain; Checking out the Incline Railway and Rock City. Tomorrow, we're planning on checking out the Chattanooga Civil War battlefield. And then moving on to Pigeon Forge, Tenneessee on Thursday to spend a few days in the Smoky Mountains.
Well, that's the latest for now...I'll update after our day on Look Out Mountain and the surrounding area this evening if I get a chance. Until later...~
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Shiloh Civil War National Park
Wow, what a terrific day! Though the Shiloh Civil War National Park is much smaller by scale than the Vicksburg Military Park, it was by far our favorite. The monuments were more 'simple' and there were far fewer monuments, however, this park did a good job outlining each area of the Park with "Who" was where; "Where" the Blue/Gray lines were drawn; "Where" the battlefields were and who was killed.
There was a very sobering site halfway through the battlefield. The Shiloh Civil War was the bloodiest battle in the Civil War. More than 2,700 men died that day. More than 1,700 troops that died that day were from the Confederacy. After the one-day battle, many of those in the vicinity had requested to go to the battlefield and find their loved ones to bury them. So General Beauregard sent a messenger to deliver a note to General Grant requesting a temporary truce, in order to bury their dead. Grant responded that it was too late, his troops had already buried them.
The Conferderate forces that died in the battle of Shiloh, were buried in "Mass Graves". Archaeologist have located the largest of these mass burial sites. We took pictures. They simply dug a very long trench, and simply dumped all the dead into the trench and covered it up. More than 700 men were buried in the mass grave marked. It was sobering. Sad. Most of these men and young boys in battle, on both sides, were farmers and the only thing they'd ever tried to shoot were deer and other game. We've learned so much about the Civil War in the last few days, between Vicksburg and Shiloh.
On a brighter note, when we were checking out the Shiloh Church, which existed at that time, and has since been rebuilt at the same location. Using old documents, they built a cabin with the same dimensions. We were walking around the grounds and peeked inside the building and got to visiting with a guy and his wife who were planning to have their wedding vows renewed in that very building. They were joined by friends and the wedding planner.
All of them are quite involved with the re-enactments of the civil war. Now these guys know their history! The one guy set to renew their wedding vows, had a Confederate Hat; Confederate Checkbook hanging out his pocket; a Confederate belt buckle...and on and on. Mark and I thorougly enjoyed talking to these guys. They were a hoot too. Just listening to them talk about what transpired in that area (they parents; grandparents And Great-grandparents all lived in this area). Savannah is in Hardin County, and apparently he was a well known figure during the civil war and afterwards. The stories are too numerous to mention here, but suffice to say we really enjoyed listening to what "actually" happened. We must have stood there talking for at least an hour and would probably still be talking but they had to leave to continue their wedding plans.
The Shiloh Cemetary was much much more impressive as well. You enter through these magnificent gates. Once you enter, there are large monuments representing where Grant had his 'office' while in camp. The cemetary is beautiful. Peaceful. There are several tombstones that indicate "two soldiers buiried here"...with no name. Those actually buried in the cemetary are mostly Union soldiers...the Conferderate soldiers were buried in the mass grave trenches by the Union soldiers.
Though we only spent one full day here, we really enjoyed it. The folks at this RV Park, at the laundry where we did some clothes this evening, were all so friendly. Just good ole' country folk, guess you could say. We leave early tomorrow morning for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to spend a few days at the Smoky Mountain National Park. We'll probably spend 3 - 4 days in Pigeon Forge before moving on to Chattanooga, our last planned stop in Tennessee.
Well, that's about it for this update. I've downloaded our pictures from today, but haven't had time to upload them so I can put them on the blog. I'll try to do that tomorrow night. Talk to you soon...~
There was a very sobering site halfway through the battlefield. The Shiloh Civil War was the bloodiest battle in the Civil War. More than 2,700 men died that day. More than 1,700 troops that died that day were from the Confederacy. After the one-day battle, many of those in the vicinity had requested to go to the battlefield and find their loved ones to bury them. So General Beauregard sent a messenger to deliver a note to General Grant requesting a temporary truce, in order to bury their dead. Grant responded that it was too late, his troops had already buried them.
The Conferderate forces that died in the battle of Shiloh, were buried in "Mass Graves". Archaeologist have located the largest of these mass burial sites. We took pictures. They simply dug a very long trench, and simply dumped all the dead into the trench and covered it up. More than 700 men were buried in the mass grave marked. It was sobering. Sad. Most of these men and young boys in battle, on both sides, were farmers and the only thing they'd ever tried to shoot were deer and other game. We've learned so much about the Civil War in the last few days, between Vicksburg and Shiloh.
On a brighter note, when we were checking out the Shiloh Church, which existed at that time, and has since been rebuilt at the same location. Using old documents, they built a cabin with the same dimensions. We were walking around the grounds and peeked inside the building and got to visiting with a guy and his wife who were planning to have their wedding vows renewed in that very building. They were joined by friends and the wedding planner.
All of them are quite involved with the re-enactments of the civil war. Now these guys know their history! The one guy set to renew their wedding vows, had a Confederate Hat; Confederate Checkbook hanging out his pocket; a Confederate belt buckle...and on and on. Mark and I thorougly enjoyed talking to these guys. They were a hoot too. Just listening to them talk about what transpired in that area (they parents; grandparents And Great-grandparents all lived in this area). Savannah is in Hardin County, and apparently he was a well known figure during the civil war and afterwards. The stories are too numerous to mention here, but suffice to say we really enjoyed listening to what "actually" happened. We must have stood there talking for at least an hour and would probably still be talking but they had to leave to continue their wedding plans.
The Shiloh Cemetary was much much more impressive as well. You enter through these magnificent gates. Once you enter, there are large monuments representing where Grant had his 'office' while in camp. The cemetary is beautiful. Peaceful. There are several tombstones that indicate "two soldiers buiried here"...with no name. Those actually buried in the cemetary are mostly Union soldiers...the Conferderate soldiers were buried in the mass grave trenches by the Union soldiers.
Though we only spent one full day here, we really enjoyed it. The folks at this RV Park, at the laundry where we did some clothes this evening, were all so friendly. Just good ole' country folk, guess you could say. We leave early tomorrow morning for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to spend a few days at the Smoky Mountain National Park. We'll probably spend 3 - 4 days in Pigeon Forge before moving on to Chattanooga, our last planned stop in Tennessee.
Well, that's about it for this update. I've downloaded our pictures from today, but haven't had time to upload them so I can put them on the blog. I'll try to do that tomorrow night. Talk to you soon...~
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Savannah Tennessee
We got an early start this morning as we had a 375 mile drive to our new location in Savannah, Tennessee. It's the closest location we could find with a decent, low cost RV Park near the Shiloh Civil War National Park in Shiloh, Tennessee. We passed a rather large Farmers Market and hope it's open tomorrow so we can stock up on tomatoes and cantelope.
Our current plan is to spend tomorrow touring the Shiloh National Military Park all day. It was supposed to be the 'bloodiest' battle of the Civil War. This location was also a good stopping point before moving on to the Smoky Mountains, which will be a relatively 'short' 250 miles. We still need to do some research on where we'll be staying when we leave here Monday morning for the Smoky Mountains.
We were planning on spending 3 nights in Pigeon Forge, which is just a few miles from the Smoky Mountain Park. However, after picking up some literature at the Welcome Center when we entered Tennessee earlier today, we discovered Gatlinburg is just a few miles from Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains as well. Pigeon Forge is actually where Dollywood is located, and she has a nightly dinner show called Stampede, that's reasonably priced, so we're considering going there. But, there appears to be lot's of things in Gatlinburg as well.
Anyway, we're in Savannah Tennessee thru tomorrow and are planning on heading to the Smoky Mountains Monday morning. I'll update the blog with pictures from our adventure tomorrow when I get a chance. Stay tuned...~
Our current plan is to spend tomorrow touring the Shiloh National Military Park all day. It was supposed to be the 'bloodiest' battle of the Civil War. This location was also a good stopping point before moving on to the Smoky Mountains, which will be a relatively 'short' 250 miles. We still need to do some research on where we'll be staying when we leave here Monday morning for the Smoky Mountains.
We were planning on spending 3 nights in Pigeon Forge, which is just a few miles from the Smoky Mountain Park. However, after picking up some literature at the Welcome Center when we entered Tennessee earlier today, we discovered Gatlinburg is just a few miles from Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains as well. Pigeon Forge is actually where Dollywood is located, and she has a nightly dinner show called Stampede, that's reasonably priced, so we're considering going there. But, there appears to be lot's of things in Gatlinburg as well.
Anyway, we're in Savannah Tennessee thru tomorrow and are planning on heading to the Smoky Mountains Monday morning. I'll update the blog with pictures from our adventure tomorrow when I get a chance. Stay tuned...~
Friday, July 24, 2009
Vicksburg Civil War & Courthouse
**(Note: I've updated the Blog ADDING ANOTHER SLIDESHOW, so that both the pictures from yesterday of Natchez Mississippi, along with those taken today in Vicksburg, Mississippi, can be viewed. Just click on either slideshow to see the pictures from that location)
Well we had a really busy today. We got out the door around 10:00 a.m. (that "used" be to a time I considered "late morning" when I was working!). We stopped by the RV Park office to pick up a free copy of the CD used in conjunction with the auto tour portion of the Vicksburg Military Park tour and headed out.
Our first stop was the Vicksburg Military Park visitor center. We then took off on the 3-hour, 18 mile auto tour and used the CD with each monument and stop, which provided lot's of detail, including voice depictions of events that occurred at the time. One of the most amazing things was the breakdown of "Blue" and "Red" throughout the entire Park. They placed Red and Blue markers throughout the park, which depicted the front of the Union and Confederate Lines.
Vicksburg, Mississippi was the site of one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War. It’s importance was its geographic location on the Mississippi River, control of which was crucial for the passage of Union troops and supplies into the South. Located high on the bluffs, Vicksburg was a fortress guarding the Mississippi River. It was known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy."
The Union troops were under the direction of Maj. General Ulysses S. Grant; the Confederates under Lt. General John C. Pemberton. The siege lasted 46 days, from May 18 to July 3, 1863. It is ironic that on July 4th, the day of our independence from England, Pemberton surrendered to Grant at Vicksburg. This surrender, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana, divided the South, and gave the North undisputed control of the Mississippi River.
The park sprawls over 1800 acres, contains 1,330 monuments (the most of any military site in the U.S.), provides a 16 mile auto tour road, and whose cemetery provides the burial site of over 17,000 Union soldiers of which over 12,900 are unidentified. It also includes the remains of a Union ironclad gunboat, the U.S.S. Cairo, which was sunk in 1862 and spent 102 years on the bottom of the Yazoo River before being raised in 1964 and later restored.
As you begin your tour on the auto road, you are driving along the Union line and the road is appropriately named Union Avenue. Later you will reach a point where the road changes to Confederate Avenue, at which time you will be following the Confederate line. Many monuments of all sizes line the route. There are, of course, major structures erected by each state whose soldiers fought here. But there are lots of smaller monuments honoring each specific battalion who fought, listing the designation of the battalion, the leader, and the number of soldiers who died and were wounded. One after another, the sheer number of granite stones begins to accumulate and as they do, so does your understanding of the magnitude of the battle and your reverence for this hallowed ground.
One of the most stunning and substantial monuments was from the state of Illinois. Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, the approach contains 47 steps, one for each of the days that Vicksburg was under siege including the day of surrender. Sixty bronze tablets lining its walls contain the names of all 36,325 soldiers from Illinois who fought at Vicksburg during the Civil War in 1863. Many of the memorials are beautiful and artistic sculptures and structures. Many contain some kind of symbolism, or the absence of same, as some states directed their designers that the monument should not contain any feature that is an expression of war or conflict. One of the most unique memorials, amidst this park full of huge granite and marble structures, was the contemporary Kansas memorial.
One of the relief panels on the base of the Wisconsin monument features a Union soldier shaking hands with a Confederate. According to the audio CD, a two and one half hour truce was declared on May 25 to enable soldiers from both sides to collect the bodies of the many dead that lay upon the field in this area after a particularly long and harsh battle. Flags were unfurled in both camps and soldiers moved freely among the ridges, visiting and trading with friend and foe alike, even entering each other’s camps. Afterward, the war and fighting resumed. War can be quite strange at times huh?
We also spent at least an hour at the Cairo Cannon Ship, which was the only one of seven that did not make it during a trip down the Mississippi by Union soldiers in an effort to take Vicksburg. It was shot by Confederate cannons in strategic locations on the bank and sank in less than an hour. The Cairo was found in the Mississippi and raised July 4, 1965, exactly 102 years after it had sunk. Since it had been in silt/water, much of the ship and lot's of items from the ship were recovered. We were able to board the Cairo boat and took pictures (see slide-show for pictures). Then, we went into the Cairo museum. It was packed full of articles and personal items from the sailors, as well as items from the ship. Everything from spoons (sailors actually carved their name on their utensils), to the ancho, canons, doctor equipment, kitchen equipment, officer items, shoes, etc. etc. Wow! This was an awesome experience!
We then went across the street to the Vicksburg National Cemetary. Of the 17,000 graves from the Civil War era, only 4,000 were identified by name. The other 13,000 was simply buried and assigned a cemetary lot number in which they were buried. We also saw graves from the Spanish American War and World Wars I and II as well. I think that was one of our favorite venues...it's sobering to walk among the graves of these brave men, not knowing who the majority of them were.
Finally, we drove to downtown Vicksburg, to check out the historic Courthouse. This courthouse was established in 1835 and survived the civil war and the numerous bombardments by the Union to destroy it. The items in this historic Courthouse were, well........unbelivable. Beyond description. It was just awesome. Absolutely everything you can think of from the time period, was included. From old family portraits, to furniture, guns and ammunition, clothing, the chair of Jefferson Davis, items passed down from the Jefferson Davis family. In addition to the two story building full of items from the 1800's thru the early 1900's, we found the actual Courthouse which was used by various judges beginning in 1835. We also took pictures of the courthouse. It was the actual courthouse as it was used, with the old jury section chairs, as well as the defendant the judge areas.
Wow! Like I said, we had a busy, but awesome day! We're really glad we took time to make a stop here in Vicksburg. Everything from the Vicksburg National Park to the Cairo Cannon Boat and Museum and the Old Vicksburg Courthouse made for a terrific and wonderful day! I'll update the Blog Slide-show to reflect the 110 pictures taken during our day today.
Well, that's a wrap for today. We leave early tomorrow morning for Savannah, Tennessee. We're planning on spending Saturday & Sunday in the area to check out the Shiloh Civil War Park. Our current plans are to be in Savannah, Tennessee Saturday and Sunday. Moving on to Chattanooga, Tennessee for a few days and then on to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to spend a few days in the Smoky Mountains. Hope you've enjoyed the info...I'll update after we've seen the Shiloh Civil War Park. Stay tuned....~
Well we had a really busy today. We got out the door around 10:00 a.m. (that "used" be to a time I considered "late morning" when I was working!). We stopped by the RV Park office to pick up a free copy of the CD used in conjunction with the auto tour portion of the Vicksburg Military Park tour and headed out.
Our first stop was the Vicksburg Military Park visitor center. We then took off on the 3-hour, 18 mile auto tour and used the CD with each monument and stop, which provided lot's of detail, including voice depictions of events that occurred at the time. One of the most amazing things was the breakdown of "Blue" and "Red" throughout the entire Park. They placed Red and Blue markers throughout the park, which depicted the front of the Union and Confederate Lines.
Vicksburg, Mississippi was the site of one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War. It’s importance was its geographic location on the Mississippi River, control of which was crucial for the passage of Union troops and supplies into the South. Located high on the bluffs, Vicksburg was a fortress guarding the Mississippi River. It was known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy."
The Union troops were under the direction of Maj. General Ulysses S. Grant; the Confederates under Lt. General John C. Pemberton. The siege lasted 46 days, from May 18 to July 3, 1863. It is ironic that on July 4th, the day of our independence from England, Pemberton surrendered to Grant at Vicksburg. This surrender, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana, divided the South, and gave the North undisputed control of the Mississippi River.
The park sprawls over 1800 acres, contains 1,330 monuments (the most of any military site in the U.S.), provides a 16 mile auto tour road, and whose cemetery provides the burial site of over 17,000 Union soldiers of which over 12,900 are unidentified. It also includes the remains of a Union ironclad gunboat, the U.S.S. Cairo, which was sunk in 1862 and spent 102 years on the bottom of the Yazoo River before being raised in 1964 and later restored.
As you begin your tour on the auto road, you are driving along the Union line and the road is appropriately named Union Avenue. Later you will reach a point where the road changes to Confederate Avenue, at which time you will be following the Confederate line. Many monuments of all sizes line the route. There are, of course, major structures erected by each state whose soldiers fought here. But there are lots of smaller monuments honoring each specific battalion who fought, listing the designation of the battalion, the leader, and the number of soldiers who died and were wounded. One after another, the sheer number of granite stones begins to accumulate and as they do, so does your understanding of the magnitude of the battle and your reverence for this hallowed ground.
One of the most stunning and substantial monuments was from the state of Illinois. Modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, the approach contains 47 steps, one for each of the days that Vicksburg was under siege including the day of surrender. Sixty bronze tablets lining its walls contain the names of all 36,325 soldiers from Illinois who fought at Vicksburg during the Civil War in 1863. Many of the memorials are beautiful and artistic sculptures and structures. Many contain some kind of symbolism, or the absence of same, as some states directed their designers that the monument should not contain any feature that is an expression of war or conflict. One of the most unique memorials, amidst this park full of huge granite and marble structures, was the contemporary Kansas memorial.
One of the relief panels on the base of the Wisconsin monument features a Union soldier shaking hands with a Confederate. According to the audio CD, a two and one half hour truce was declared on May 25 to enable soldiers from both sides to collect the bodies of the many dead that lay upon the field in this area after a particularly long and harsh battle. Flags were unfurled in both camps and soldiers moved freely among the ridges, visiting and trading with friend and foe alike, even entering each other’s camps. Afterward, the war and fighting resumed. War can be quite strange at times huh?
We also spent at least an hour at the Cairo Cannon Ship, which was the only one of seven that did not make it during a trip down the Mississippi by Union soldiers in an effort to take Vicksburg. It was shot by Confederate cannons in strategic locations on the bank and sank in less than an hour. The Cairo was found in the Mississippi and raised July 4, 1965, exactly 102 years after it had sunk. Since it had been in silt/water, much of the ship and lot's of items from the ship were recovered. We were able to board the Cairo boat and took pictures (see slide-show for pictures). Then, we went into the Cairo museum. It was packed full of articles and personal items from the sailors, as well as items from the ship. Everything from spoons (sailors actually carved their name on their utensils), to the ancho, canons, doctor equipment, kitchen equipment, officer items, shoes, etc. etc. Wow! This was an awesome experience!
We then went across the street to the Vicksburg National Cemetary. Of the 17,000 graves from the Civil War era, only 4,000 were identified by name. The other 13,000 was simply buried and assigned a cemetary lot number in which they were buried. We also saw graves from the Spanish American War and World Wars I and II as well. I think that was one of our favorite venues...it's sobering to walk among the graves of these brave men, not knowing who the majority of them were.
Finally, we drove to downtown Vicksburg, to check out the historic Courthouse. This courthouse was established in 1835 and survived the civil war and the numerous bombardments by the Union to destroy it. The items in this historic Courthouse were, well........unbelivable. Beyond description. It was just awesome. Absolutely everything you can think of from the time period, was included. From old family portraits, to furniture, guns and ammunition, clothing, the chair of Jefferson Davis, items passed down from the Jefferson Davis family. In addition to the two story building full of items from the 1800's thru the early 1900's, we found the actual Courthouse which was used by various judges beginning in 1835. We also took pictures of the courthouse. It was the actual courthouse as it was used, with the old jury section chairs, as well as the defendant the judge areas.
Wow! Like I said, we had a busy, but awesome day! We're really glad we took time to make a stop here in Vicksburg. Everything from the Vicksburg National Park to the Cairo Cannon Boat and Museum and the Old Vicksburg Courthouse made for a terrific and wonderful day! I'll update the Blog Slide-show to reflect the 110 pictures taken during our day today.
Well, that's a wrap for today. We leave early tomorrow morning for Savannah, Tennessee. We're planning on spending Saturday & Sunday in the area to check out the Shiloh Civil War Park. Our current plans are to be in Savannah, Tennessee Saturday and Sunday. Moving on to Chattanooga, Tennessee for a few days and then on to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to spend a few days in the Smoky Mountains. Hope you've enjoyed the info...I'll update after we've seen the Shiloh Civil War Park. Stay tuned....~
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Natchez State Park
Well, we've settled in at Natchez State Park in Mississippi. This is our first stay in a state or national park and I think we're going to really enjoy staying in these parks and plan on staying in them whenever possible. Not only for the natural scenery and beauty, but it's also much cheaper...which is always a good thing!
We got a late start today. We didn't get up until 9:30 and didn't begin packing up to move until after 11:00 this morning...that's a first for us on move day. We didn't get packed up and out of Poche's RV Park until around noon today. And we miscalculated how long it would take to get from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana to Natchez Mississippi too. We miscalculated the estimated mileage; there was lot's of construction in several long sections of the highway and it took awhile to get to the state park campground and set up.
But we're here and it's beautiful. After setting up, we took a drive a couple of blocks down the road to the lake and took several pictures. We peeked out of the RV tonight after dark and Wow...is it Dark! If you stepped a mere 10 feet away from our RV to get away from the light inside, you literally cannot see your hand in front of your face! Now that's a tad scary for me. I told Mark if the dogs need to go out tonight...they'll just need to go in the 'house'--'cause I'm not stepping foot outside this campground until daylight!
Oh yea, on a side note, Mark took Duffy out for a walk earlier this evening, and we're right next to a big forest, and a deer had walked right out into the opening, just a few feet in front of them. Mark said the deer just stood there watching them for a minute or so, until Duffy decided to take off after the deer barking. We also saw a bunch of wild turkeys right down the road too. Hopefully we'll get pictures of those in the next couple of days. We're planning on staying here in Natchez State Park through Wednesday night and will continue north in Mississippi Thursday morning.
Tomorrow morning we're planning on checking out some of the sites in downtown Natchez. There are over 100 antebellum mansions in the area and several of them are open to the public and we'd like to check them out. There are also walking tours of the downtown historic district that we're hoping to check out tomorrow as well. Well, that about wraps it up for another blog update. In the meantime, stay tuned! I've attached a few of the pictures from our current location.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Heading to Natchez Mississippi
We've finished up a very relaxing week here at Poche's Fish Camp RV Park. After checking out our "101 Most Scenic Drives in America" book yesterday, we're headed to Natchez, Mississippi for a week long trip from Natchez to Vicksburg.
We'll be following the Natchez Trace Parkway, starting in Natchez to check out the lavish homes from the civil war era that are still in existence. We'll move on to see beautiful pathways, a couple of State Parks and on to Windsor Ruins. I'm looking forward to checking out Windsor Ruins. It was built in 1861 for a whopping $175,000, which of course was an enormous sum of money in that day and time. It survived the civil war as first a post for Confederate soldiers and later became a hospital for the Union. Ironically, the building survived the Civil War only to be destroyed in 1890 by a careless smoker. All that remains of the structure are haunting skeleton of this once magnificent mansion is 23 weathered Corinthian columns, with ornate iron capitals touching nothing but the sky. I'll be sure and take lot's of pictures.
Then we'll check out a couple of Falls, a swamp, and Tombigbee National Forest. We hope to wrap up our Mississippi stay in less than a week, as we've made plans to be in West Virginia in 3 weeks for a Christian conference we'd like to attend. Sorry I didn't get pictures of where we've been, but if I get a chance, I'll snap a few on our way out of here tomorrow morning.
Mark finished up our week here by fishing again this afternoon. I think he got more 'bug' bites than fish bites! Well, that about wraps up the latest on what we've been up to and where we're headed...stay tuned, I'll update the blog with new pictures and info as soon as I can. Until later~
We'll be following the Natchez Trace Parkway, starting in Natchez to check out the lavish homes from the civil war era that are still in existence. We'll move on to see beautiful pathways, a couple of State Parks and on to Windsor Ruins. I'm looking forward to checking out Windsor Ruins. It was built in 1861 for a whopping $175,000, which of course was an enormous sum of money in that day and time. It survived the civil war as first a post for Confederate soldiers and later became a hospital for the Union. Ironically, the building survived the Civil War only to be destroyed in 1890 by a careless smoker. All that remains of the structure are haunting skeleton of this once magnificent mansion is 23 weathered Corinthian columns, with ornate iron capitals touching nothing but the sky. I'll be sure and take lot's of pictures.
Then we'll check out a couple of Falls, a swamp, and Tombigbee National Forest. We hope to wrap up our Mississippi stay in less than a week, as we've made plans to be in West Virginia in 3 weeks for a Christian conference we'd like to attend. Sorry I didn't get pictures of where we've been, but if I get a chance, I'll snap a few on our way out of here tomorrow morning.
Mark finished up our week here by fishing again this afternoon. I think he got more 'bug' bites than fish bites! Well, that about wraps up the latest on what we've been up to and where we're headed...stay tuned, I'll update the blog with new pictures and info as soon as I can. Until later~
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana
We're now in Louisiana. We dropped the RV off Tuesday morning for repair and they weren't able to finish and asked us if we could stay in a motel so they could finish up this morning. So, we spent last night at a LaQuinta in Lafayette. Mark and I felt like a fish out of water in the hotel, we Missed our home on wheels! We picked it up around noon today and headed a few miles down the road to Poche's Fish Camp in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.
We're planning on staying here through Sunday. Mark loves this place...it's like a fish farm of sorts. There are 4 separate ponds stocked with large trout. After cooking out this evening, I settled in for the night and curled up to watch TV with Clyde and Duffy. Mark grabbed his fishing pole and lawn chair and walked 10 feet over to the closest pond and fished for a couple of hours. I understand there were a few bites, but no fish...tonight anyway.
No big plans tomorrow...we're planning on just hanging out and chilling the remainder of the week. I'll take some pictures of our park and post them tomorrow. Well, that about wraps up the latest for us...stay tuned~
We're planning on staying here through Sunday. Mark loves this place...it's like a fish farm of sorts. There are 4 separate ponds stocked with large trout. After cooking out this evening, I settled in for the night and curled up to watch TV with Clyde and Duffy. Mark grabbed his fishing pole and lawn chair and walked 10 feet over to the closest pond and fished for a couple of hours. I understand there were a few bites, but no fish...tonight anyway.
No big plans tomorrow...we're planning on just hanging out and chilling the remainder of the week. I'll take some pictures of our park and post them tomorrow. Well, that about wraps up the latest for us...stay tuned~
Friday, July 10, 2009
Clyde Cleared for Travel/Heading Out Monday
We took Clyde to the vet today for his follow up visit and to have his stitches removed. The doctor said that as long as we were careful with Clyde for the next few weeks that we could go ahead and take Clyde back on the road. Yippee!!! We got our truck worked on today. We had the 20,000 mile check up (already!) and they had to replace the radiator due to a seam leak and they also found a problem with the A/C condensor and replaced that as well. So, the truck should be good to go for some time now, Lord willing.
We're still leaving Monday morning for Lafayette to have the RV worked on, but rather than return back to the Dallas area we'll continue East. We're heading to Tennessee for a few weeks to check out the Smokey Mountains and lot's of the civil war sites (thanks for the info Julie!). We're not really sure where we'll go from there, but have several ideas. We'll be back home for the holiday season, November and December.
We're planning on spending tomorrow going to East Texas to get some peaches with the family and Sunday Chris wants us to all go to 'Twisted Root', a new burger bar in North Dallas that he found out about on Diners Drive-In's and Dives. Then Mark wants to wash the RV and truck Sunday afternoon before so all is clean before we head out Monday morning.
We're still leaving Monday morning for Lafayette to have the RV worked on, but rather than return back to the Dallas area we'll continue East. We're heading to Tennessee for a few weeks to check out the Smokey Mountains and lot's of the civil war sites (thanks for the info Julie!). We're not really sure where we'll go from there, but have several ideas. We'll be back home for the holiday season, November and December.
We're planning on spending tomorrow going to East Texas to get some peaches with the family and Sunday Chris wants us to all go to 'Twisted Root', a new burger bar in North Dallas that he found out about on Diners Drive-In's and Dives. Then Mark wants to wash the RV and truck Sunday afternoon before so all is clean before we head out Monday morning.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Just "Where" Are We and Where Have We Been?
I apologize to those folks that have begun following our blog and e-mailed wondering what has happened to us since our trip to Yosemite in late June. To better track where we are and our plans, I'll 'try' to update our blog, even if just briefly, daily...or at least 'most' days.
Ok, where are we? We're back home in the Dallas area. Why? During our last day in the Yosemite area our little chihuahua Clyde injured his back leg some how when we had left to grab a bite to eat for Fathers Day. He couldn't put any weight on it and it was quite apparent it was serious, so rather than heading on to Malibu and Simi Valley to see the Reagan Library the next day, we decided to go ahead and head East as planned, only a few days early and a detour back home to Dallas, rather than on to Kentucky as planned.
So...we got back home to Dallas on June 25th and took Clyde in to see the Vet the following day. We were surprised that he had actually ruptured his "ACL" (the same injury that athletes have--didn't know dogs even had an ACL!). He also dislocated his knee. He required emergency surgery according to the vet. So Clyde had surgery the following day and we're still in the area awaiting clearance from the vet to leave. Actually, they want us to stay "at least 4 weeks"...! That's gonna be really difficult for us having traveled so much. Clyde is doing quite well so far and they say he's ahead of schedule and his stitches will be removed this Friday.
We're planning on staying here at Plantation Place in Sunnyvale through this Sunday and plan on leaving this Monday 7/13 for Lafayette to have some warranty work done on our RV. So we'll be in the Lafayette area thru at least 7/15 and will most likely head back home for a quick follow up visit with the vet. We hope Clyde is doing well enough for us to get back on the road and head East some time the week of 7/20. We always enjoy coming back home and visiting with the boys and Mark's family.
As for "where" exactly we're going when we finally head East...well, we're still not sure. We've kicked around lot's of ideas but haven't made any decisions yet. We want to check out some of the Civil War sites, maybe Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia/West Virginia and ultimately, we'd like to camp near Washington DC. We spent a few days there several years ago but didn't have nearly enough time to see all the Smithsonian buildings and only had a couple of hours at Arlington National Cemetery...so we're planning on spending a couple of weeks in the area so we can take our time checking out all that Washington DC has to offer.
We've talked about heading up to New York State for a few weeks as well, but of course, no firm plans have yet been made. Well, that about wraps up our current status and plans, at least, what we've planned so far...but that's one of the awesome things about this lifestyle, flexibility. When something comes up it's so easy to just change our plans. Well, that's a wrap for this entry...I promise I'll try to update the blog daily, even if we don't have pictures to include, as was our previous blog update schedule. Stay tuned~
Ok, where are we? We're back home in the Dallas area. Why? During our last day in the Yosemite area our little chihuahua Clyde injured his back leg some how when we had left to grab a bite to eat for Fathers Day. He couldn't put any weight on it and it was quite apparent it was serious, so rather than heading on to Malibu and Simi Valley to see the Reagan Library the next day, we decided to go ahead and head East as planned, only a few days early and a detour back home to Dallas, rather than on to Kentucky as planned.
So...we got back home to Dallas on June 25th and took Clyde in to see the Vet the following day. We were surprised that he had actually ruptured his "ACL" (the same injury that athletes have--didn't know dogs even had an ACL!). He also dislocated his knee. He required emergency surgery according to the vet. So Clyde had surgery the following day and we're still in the area awaiting clearance from the vet to leave. Actually, they want us to stay "at least 4 weeks"...! That's gonna be really difficult for us having traveled so much. Clyde is doing quite well so far and they say he's ahead of schedule and his stitches will be removed this Friday.
We're planning on staying here at Plantation Place in Sunnyvale through this Sunday and plan on leaving this Monday 7/13 for Lafayette to have some warranty work done on our RV. So we'll be in the Lafayette area thru at least 7/15 and will most likely head back home for a quick follow up visit with the vet. We hope Clyde is doing well enough for us to get back on the road and head East some time the week of 7/20. We always enjoy coming back home and visiting with the boys and Mark's family.
As for "where" exactly we're going when we finally head East...well, we're still not sure. We've kicked around lot's of ideas but haven't made any decisions yet. We want to check out some of the Civil War sites, maybe Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia/West Virginia and ultimately, we'd like to camp near Washington DC. We spent a few days there several years ago but didn't have nearly enough time to see all the Smithsonian buildings and only had a couple of hours at Arlington National Cemetery...so we're planning on spending a couple of weeks in the area so we can take our time checking out all that Washington DC has to offer.
We've talked about heading up to New York State for a few weeks as well, but of course, no firm plans have yet been made. Well, that about wraps up our current status and plans, at least, what we've planned so far...but that's one of the awesome things about this lifestyle, flexibility. When something comes up it's so easy to just change our plans. Well, that's a wrap for this entry...I promise I'll try to update the blog daily, even if we don't have pictures to include, as was our previous blog update schedule. Stay tuned~
Friday, June 19, 2009
Yosemite National Park
We left Vallejo California Monday morning and moved on to Yosemite National Park. We're staying at an "Escapee" Park. Escapees is a member organization that actually owns several RV Parks across the country. So we stayed at the local Yosemite Escapee Park, which is just beautiful, quiet and peaceful. We went on an all day tour thru all the key places to see in Yosemite on Wednesday.
There are several waterfalls in the Park...one of them is the 4th largest Fall in North America. We also went to Glacier Point, which is the highest peak in Yosemite. We took lot's of photos and I'll update our Slide-show with our new Yosemite pictures. Towards the end of the day on our trip to Yosemite, we took a break while waiting on the bus. I found a bench and sat down for a snack. I had a Baby Ruth candy bar and drink.
and Wow! The squirrels in the Park are more than just friendly! As soon as I sat down a couple of squirrels ran straight for me and thinking they are sooooooooooo cute, I started talking to them, the way I'd talk to Clyde or Duffy. Guess I shouldn't have done that, because that really got them excited! They acted just like Clyde and Duffy do when we return home and are thrilled to see us. One of the squirrels stood up and looked just like he was begging for food. Before I could do anything, that little squirrel climbed right up my pants leg! Ok, they're cute, but that's a little too close for me. Yikes! Unfortunately, by the time Mark got the camera turned on the little guy wasn't in my lap. I gently stood up...hoping he'd jump down without biting me.
Mark was able to get a few pictures of me feeding the two squirrels. I picked out the peanuts of my candy bar and they must have been hungry...they even got in a fight, right between my legs on one of the peanuts I'd dropped. Anyway, I really enjoyed the encounter...but it reminded me of the time a deer 'nipped' me on the rear and I took off running from him, and he ran after me (well, actually he was running after the food, but I'd forgot I took off...with the deer food still in my hand!) Anyway, we enjoyed our little encounter with the squirrels. It was a nice ending to a wonderful day.
We'll be leaving our current location in Coursegold, California on Monday. We're planning on heading to Malibu, California Monday...it's right next to Simi Valley, CA, where the Reagan Library is. Mark's always wanted to see his library. On the website, there's apparently a lot more to see, compared to many other Presidential Libraries. In addition to being buried there, Airforce One is also on location and you can actually take a tour of the plane as well. So we're excited about that. We'll keep you posted on our wonderings...just click on the slideshow on the upper lefthand corner of the blog, for the latest pictures of Yosemite National Park. Until later~
Friday, June 12, 2009
San Francisco
Sorry for no updates in over a week. Last update we were at Klamath River, California. We did spend another day in the Redwood Forest before leaving, but the pictures were very much like the ones I last posted, so no need to add those here. We enjoyed our week on the river, but were glad to move on where we had cell phone service too.
We decided to continue south and are currently in Vallejo, California, about 40 miles from San Francisco. We got here on Monday but didn't make it out for site-seeing until yesterday. We left early yesterday and headed a couple miles from our RV Park to the Vallejo Ferry, which runs between Vallejo and the San Francisco Port. So we boarded the Ferry for the 1 hour drive across the San Francisco Bay to the San Francisco Port, located in downtown San Francisco, and only a couple of miles from Fishermans Wharf.
We spent the day checking out all the sites. We last went to Fisherman's Wharf 10 years ago when we took the boys there. Things are pretty much the same, maybe a little more built up than it way the last time we were there. We walked the entire Pier from 1 thru 42. We ate at one of the local fish places on the Pier. Checked out the seals, piers and eateries. We also thought we'd walk to Chinatown...(it didn't look that far on a map...)Big Mistake! We walked a couple of miles, Uphill--and I do mean Uphill, it was more steep than any hill or mountain I've ever even thought about tackling!
After a couple of miles walking, we realized there were just too many remaining streets, that were all uphill, so we aborted the thought of Chinatown. So we decided to head back towards the San Francisco Ferry to head back across the Bay, it was getting later into the afternoon. Unfortunately, "I" was the one with the map--so it probably isn't a shock to anyone that we ended up Totally LOST! We ended up at the top of Nob Hill...only to discover there are no streets connecting it to roads leading back to the Pier!
We walked THREE PLUS Miles back, re-tracing our steps back to the Pier. Then another mile and a half from Pier 41 to Pier 1, to catch the Ferry. We walked Two solid hours just to get to the Ferry yesterday afternoon and my feet were literally numb for hours. I didn't get any feeling back in my feet until this morning! But besides our fiasco getting out of San Francisco yesterday afternoon, we did have a great time. (Now, will someone tell Mark to Never, Ever let me hold the map or provide directions in the future! Sheesh...you'd think he'd know better by now huh? He he he).
*Check out the Updated Slideshow...I've updated it with all our San Francisco pictures...there's lot's of pictures. Just double click on the slideshow and it should pull up, so you'll be able to 'click' thru each picture individually, in a 4x6 format. Enjoy! Not sure where we're headed next, but we'll let you know as soon as we've figured it out...until later~
We decided to continue south and are currently in Vallejo, California, about 40 miles from San Francisco. We got here on Monday but didn't make it out for site-seeing until yesterday. We left early yesterday and headed a couple miles from our RV Park to the Vallejo Ferry, which runs between Vallejo and the San Francisco Port. So we boarded the Ferry for the 1 hour drive across the San Francisco Bay to the San Francisco Port, located in downtown San Francisco, and only a couple of miles from Fishermans Wharf.
We spent the day checking out all the sites. We last went to Fisherman's Wharf 10 years ago when we took the boys there. Things are pretty much the same, maybe a little more built up than it way the last time we were there. We walked the entire Pier from 1 thru 42. We ate at one of the local fish places on the Pier. Checked out the seals, piers and eateries. We also thought we'd walk to Chinatown...(it didn't look that far on a map...)Big Mistake! We walked a couple of miles, Uphill--and I do mean Uphill, it was more steep than any hill or mountain I've ever even thought about tackling!
After a couple of miles walking, we realized there were just too many remaining streets, that were all uphill, so we aborted the thought of Chinatown. So we decided to head back towards the San Francisco Ferry to head back across the Bay, it was getting later into the afternoon. Unfortunately, "I" was the one with the map--so it probably isn't a shock to anyone that we ended up Totally LOST! We ended up at the top of Nob Hill...only to discover there are no streets connecting it to roads leading back to the Pier!
We walked THREE PLUS Miles back, re-tracing our steps back to the Pier. Then another mile and a half from Pier 41 to Pier 1, to catch the Ferry. We walked Two solid hours just to get to the Ferry yesterday afternoon and my feet were literally numb for hours. I didn't get any feeling back in my feet until this morning! But besides our fiasco getting out of San Francisco yesterday afternoon, we did have a great time. (Now, will someone tell Mark to Never, Ever let me hold the map or provide directions in the future! Sheesh...you'd think he'd know better by now huh? He he he).
*Check out the Updated Slideshow...I've updated it with all our San Francisco pictures...there's lot's of pictures. Just double click on the slideshow and it should pull up, so you'll be able to 'click' thru each picture individually, in a 4x6 format. Enjoy! Not sure where we're headed next, but we'll let you know as soon as we've figured it out...until later~
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Redwood National Forest
**CHECK OUT THE "SLIDESHOW" IN THE UPPER LEFTHAND CORNER...IT INCLUDES ALL PICTURES FROM TODAY!!
We took off early this morning for the Redwood National Forest, just a few miles down the road from us. Wow, what a treat. I expected to see big trees, but didn't expect how unbelievable the giant forest as a whole would impact me. It's another one of those sites that I just can't seem to find the right words for. Magnificent? Awesome? Spectacular? The trees were "Gi-normous"! We took lot's of pictures and Mark and I look like little 'ants' when standing beneath them.
We went to the Lady Bird Johnson State Park, which was dedicated to her by Nixon in 1968. It's a 2 mile walk thru some of the largest trees in the world. As you can probably tell from some of the pictures, there's a fog that is pretty much constant here...especially in the forest. The forest is so close to the ocean, that's it's also quite cool here year round. The average annual temperatures are 40 - 60...which is why the Redwood's can grow so large. Many of them are 1200 - 1500 years old and at 30 - 40 feet around the trunk. Walking thru the forest in the fog and wet dewiness reminds me of what the Rain Forests must be like. It was actually kind of eery walking thru it. Dead silence with only the sounds of birds. Viewing this forest reminds me of just how small we are in the scheme of life and once again, I'm reminded of the greatness of God. I cannot grasp how anyone can observe something this magnificent and not believe in a God...of some kind.
It was a wonderful hike and we had a great time. We'll be heading out for other recommended hikes and scenic drives tomorrow. In the meantime, here are a few pictures from today:
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