Lelacks' Adventure Update

Moving Steadily South

2007-12-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

We have gone through a few states in the last month (or however long it has
been). At one of our stops in South Carolina we visited with Toni and Chris
Bennett. A few years ago they went to the same church as us. Recently we
had our children in the same school that their children attended. Last
August they moved out this way, they were very happy to see folks that have
suffered through Oregon's water weather.

We spent a day on the Atlantic beach, first hiking a shoreline trail to
visit a lighthouse. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was located in the middle
of a bay and only accessible by boat. After some beach combing we left and
went to play in the surf. What a relaxing time to spend a winter day
frolicking in the waves. We weren't alone, but there weren't crowds. The
water was very warm compared to Oregon's ocean. Quite a fun thought that in
a normal year we would be wearing winter coats.

There is a terrific park in Georgia which has some bicycle trails that rival
Sun River in every way...except hills. There weren't even bumps in the
landscape. Speed bumps are posted with the altitude so we can know how high
we will be going. Anyway, these bike trails go through forest and swamp
land and can be done without any major effort on our parts--except the
bearings on my bike failed, so I was working twice as hard as I needed. The
bike shop warned me that my bike was so old it needed to be retired (not
re-tired as in new wheels). If we ever have a space of a few days with
nothing to do, bicycle shopping may happen. The park in which we went
bicycling was the site of a major Christmas light pageant. In fact, as we
were finishing our ride some of the lights were lit. What fun to go through
the forest and have all those twinkling lights come on. Without a doubt
returning when the sun went down was our plan.

The evening trip through the same park we spent the day riding in was even
better. It surprised us to find a place with a better light display than
the Portland zoo. This was an amazing display of lights. In the middle of
the drive-through was a parking area to allow for walking down those bike
trails while Christmas carols were played. It was so refreshing to be out
in the woods at night with glorious music AND spectacular lights. It would
only be fair to mention the carousel and Christmas train ride as well. Oh,
did I say anything about the sand sculpture??? It was a group of Victorian
carolers about 10 feet tall. We truly felt christmasfied by the time we
finished the evening. The driving route through the lights was planned so
you could repeat as many times as you wanted. We went twice. It was still
good.

Did I mention we went to the beach? In November? The day before
Thanksgiving? And we weren't cold? Oh.

There was a hiking trail not far from our campground in North Carolina and
we opted to hike it on a cooler day. It was fun, but much calmer than
anything we did in Maine. In fact, there aren't many rocks here at all.
Different commentaries discuss the effort it took to get any granite markers
to this area. It seems the colonists would order the rock and have it
brought as ship ballast. Most of the cemetery markers are fairly new as few
could afford such luxuries for their loved ones. Imagine our surprise when
we were hiking through the swamp/forest and came upon a headstone. Only one
.. There wasn't even a homestead around there. The destination of the hike
into the forest, was to see alligators. Not sure what time they eat, but
they weren't interested in coming to see us on a cold day. We are holding
out hope that somewhere further south one will materialize for us. We did
get to see the nesting area for storks, and lots of swamps. Nice hike.

Speaking of further south, we entered Florida. There are a LOT of white
hairs here!!! My-oh-my. It is scary. Of course I live with one of those
critters so have faced that fear.

Oh, did I mention we went to the beach? In December? And we weren't cold? Oh

Well then, did I mention that we had fresh strawberries...picked that
morning from the field across the road from our campground? Sorry, can't
resist rubbing it in a bit.

Our first exposure to camping in Florida was in the jungle located on the
beach. It was beyond belief. Since it was the middle of the week (and
December) it was mostly empty. There weren't any evergreen trees, just palm
trees and hardwood trees with Spanish moss dripping from the branches. Very
picturesque. Signs warned us that there were alligators and to not feed
them. Yeah right. Didn't see any. We did see a blue crab. Chris made
friends (surprse?) and they invited him fish with them. He was the only one
to catch anything and it was blue crab. Very pretty color. Chris was a
friend, but they still took his crab to their campsite. That was the last
we saw the crab. To be honest, it was probably thrown back since the dad
said it wasn't big enough yet. Very nice friends.

We fully expect our next campsite to be more wonderful than this one since
it will be at Disney World. That will be another week and another email.

Til then you can find us at the beach.

Williamsburg

2007-11-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

The main event in the historic triangle is Williamsburg. The capital moved from Jamestown to Williamsburg because it was more central to all the other settlements. Settlements weren't called settlements, they were called plantations. That word (plantation) morphed later into what we understand it to be. The first words of revolution were spoken in Williamsburg by all those historically famous people (Washington, Raymond Burr, Thomas Jefferson ..bunch more, but it all becomes a blur). The revolution really got going once news came here of the Boston massacre and how the British were treating the colonists in Massachusetts. The final straw came one night when the colonists went to the armory to secure (steal) the powder and munitions and found the British already had it all loaded in carts and were hauling it away. Timing is everything it seems in war.

Williamsburg is an amazing living history village, complete with a palace, parliament, stores, taverns, colonists, soldiers and patriots. Each day they reinact a moment in history that happened there. There is a square-mile area that automobile traffic is restricted. We took this as an opportunity to use our bicycles. Good idea. Williamsburg can not be toured in a day...we took three. Part of the village includes the Rockefeller museum and their home. We were amazed at the part this family had in recovering this town so we could enjoy it. There was an amazing tree in their back yard that I had Rose and Chris hug.

A special treat was to go at night for a ghost walk tour. These ghosts were really story tellers of that era. The walk was by lantern to several buildings that were only open for evening adventures. What a delight when the first story teller told about the Cherokee Indians that came to Williamsburg. Rose was enthralled. Having stories told by candlelight was a wonderful experience for all of us.

When we toured the palace Chris and I were rather impressed by all the weaponry that was hung in the entry way. The picture shows only one wall, but every wall had the same sort of display. Chris was thinking they should give him one sword since they had so many. I was happy to know that would not happen. The gardens (acres and acres) behind the palace kept us amused for hours. One highlight was the maze. We are getting rather good at them now...
The cellar under the palace was a surprise. Chris was looking for the restrooms and found the steps. It was very quiet down there and enough separate rooms that our imaginations could travel back to what those locked rooms could really have held.

The last event of the week was meeting relatives of Chris and Rose. We were pleased to find family living in this area and we were delighted to spend an afternoon touring the Virginia museum with them. Rose and Chris talked non-stop (as usual) and had a great time with their new aunts, uncle and cousin.

This was a very busy week and we would love to return and do it all again. I failed to adequately mention how beautiful the gardens were in all the places we went as well as the wonder of driving the Colonial Highway between the cities. The arched bridges and waterways, deer and other wild life (.. but no hope of a moose, we are now watching for alligators).
Now we are moving to the deep south, and hopefully sunshine and warmth. Next stop: North Carolina.

Jamestown and Yorktown

2007-11-20T14:02:00.000-08:00

Some emails we have gotten question how we are going to handle the boredom
of living at home again. Rest assured that what I send you are the
highlights of our trip. What you are missing is all the laundry, grocery
shopping and cleaning days. It is a full day when we move from one spot to
another (mostly because when we get set-up we want to sit down). I am sure
when we get back to Oregon we will find this saying true: "Be it ever so
humble, there is no place like Home."

The area we have been for over a week is called the Historic Triangle. The
three towns are: Jamestown, Yorktowne and Williamsburg. The triangle is so
rich with activities that it could take a week to describe it to you, I will
limit myself to two updates.

This year is the 400th celebration of the settling of Jamestown. Jamestown
is the area that the first permanent English settlement was made...unless
you talk to someone up around Massachusetts. Up there, they say that the
pilgrims were the first characters to float across the big water and start a
settlement. Either way, all of them had a rough time! Most of that initial
group died the first year. In fact, they had several years of difficulty
until they brought over the first women. Then things leveled out and the
colony began growing. (All the women can smile here...)

There are two parts of Jamestown. There is the actual historic area (museum
and archeological dig) then there is Jamestown village which is a
re-creation for living history where children can learn without realizing it

A Powhotan Indian village has been recreated and the admission allows you to
be an Indian as long as you want. Every house is fully equipped in the way
it would have been 400 years ago. Rose and Chris told everyone that they
were Cherokee which raised a lot of eyebrows as they looked into those
honest blue eyes. There are several Indians doing Indian things...which
means they answered a lot of questions from these two. It wasn't an easy
task to convince them to see what else there was to see, mostly they wanted
to be Indians in the Indian village.

Down the hill from the Indian village was the dock complete with replicas of
the three ships that brought the first group to America. The ships were
fully furnished and everything could be touched and felt (as long as you had
an adult in attendance). While talking with the captain we found that if
you volunteer enough hours for the museum they will actually let you ride on
the ships when they sail them in the summer. Sounds like another "big field
trip" to plan for.

Along the shore is a ship-building area where we helped make a log canoe.
They built a ship last year, in fact it was one of the ships that was on the
dock.

To finish the day was the rebuilt fort. Every building was available to
explore and had everything just as it would have been 400 years ago. The
armor shop had complete suits of armor (child size of course) that could be
worn and played with (check out the cute soldiers). The only activity that
was restricted was cooking in the kitchen building. That was reserved for
the curator...but she patiently answered all the questions that Rose and
Chris could dream up. One flyer said to plan 3 hours at Jamestown....we
were there the whole day and could have played more, but it gets cold when
the sun sets.

Yorktowne is where the British surrendered, ending the revolution. The
British got hurt feelings when they lost the siege in Yorktowne. After the
terms of surrender were written, Cornwallis said he had a tummy ache and
wouldn't be able to relinquish his sword to Washington. He sent his aide
instead. Washington answered by not accepting the aides sword, but sent his
aide to accept the surrender. At any rate, the war didn't end immediately
but the fighting was pretty much over for the British.

While touring Yorktowne we saw what we thought was a misstatement. On one
plaque it said that the German forces were on the British side fighting.
Then another one said the Germans were helping the Americans. Turns out
they are both right. The Germans were on both sides. It seems the German
government was short of funds and England offered to rent soldiers. The
Germans who helped the colonists were promised a piece land if they would
help out. I guess they were making a gamble and bound to win. The French
were the deciding factor in our being a country. They had the ships that
were needed to blockade the English ships at the harbor mouth. The Freedom
Tower is a tribute to both the American and French troops. According to
what we learned, more French troops lost their lives than Americans at
Yorktowne.

There was a recreated army camp (not a fort) complete with muskets and
cannons. Chris was delighted that he could hold a black-powder rifle as
much as he wanted. Actually he couldn't hold it alone. Those guns are
rather heavy. A cannon demonstration included volunteers to help. Guess
who got to be a helper?? Even now they can explain how a cannon is loaded
and fired. At the end of the demonstration the cannon was actually fired
and we were all thrilled.

Next installment: Williamsburg

Getting some good history here

2007-11-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

While in New York state we found a grist mill to visit. We were hoping to
see a paddle-wheel turning and hear the mill wheels grinding the grain.
Unfortunately, they only run the wheel a few times a year and we were a week
early. Even so, it was a very informative tour. The picture is of the
gears used to turn the huge mill wheels. All the gears are made from wood,
so I was very keen on seeing them. Each cog is set in a clamp system that
is fascinating by itself. The paddle wheel was actually housed within the
building, and I couldn't get back far enough for a good picture, so we have
to be happy with the memory.

The rain moved into the Philadelphia area about the time we did. Since they
are having a drought the locals were happy to see us and what we brought
(rain). The whole Continental Congress and Ben Franklin thing was lost on
Rose and Chris. The Philly-steak sandwich was lost on me, as for
interesting things this place was it. The best fun was the time before a
movie in the visitor center when Rose and Chris had a friend to make faces
with. They had a great time. After the movie we "met" the friend and he
was probably in his 60's and very fun. He fished around in his huge
overcoat because he knew he had something in there begging to get out.
Finally he found two little piggy banks to give to them. Silly me, I didn't
think of a group picture until he was lost in the crowd. So, we have
another time to be happy with the memory.

Taking a break from all of our history lessons, we took another train ride.
This was a wish Rose has had since the beginning of our "big field trip"--to
go on a steam train. This one traveled about two hours (round-trip) through
the Pennyslvania countryside. Without realizing our good planning, we got
the first run of the day. There were less than a dozen passengers traveling
with us. When we returned to the station it was packed! On a nice day this
train would be a good one for a picnic as they have an area where the train
will stop to allow you to disembark and pick-up on one of the other return
trips. It was a delightful day. We at least have pictures to trigger this
good memory.

Back to more history meant a tour of Washington DC. There is so much to see
there it is almost overwhelming. The natural history museum was our first
stop (we needed a pit stop and that was the closest building). Then it was
the long walk up the mall to the capital. The safety restrictions won't
allow us to carry bags or packages inside, so Jerry opted to sit-out this
time and the rest of us went in. The guides do a lot of talking which isn't
at all interesting when you are five and six, so we did our own tour
(unofficially of course). While we were wandering around in the hall of
statues the minority whip came out of his office and did part of our
mini-tour with us. Uhm....again, another memory as I didn't think to turn
the camera on him. We are still happy.

Our map doesn't have the cat (what we call the fifth-wheel) traveling into
Delaware, so we took a one-day excursion to find the beach. The coast line
here is much different from what we have on the left-side of the country.
Here, there are a lot of spits and rivers, which means there are few ocean
beaches. Although Delaware is the smallest state, when you are driving the
length of it without beach success you quickly tire of the effort. We did
go into a wildlife viewing area...the rule sign informed us that we were to
stay inside our car and not make any noise. We did. No wildlife ever came
into view. Take all of this to mean that it wasn't worth a picture and we
don't need a memory.

Next stop: Virginia.

Fall is about over here

2007-10-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

My grandmother's family had their start in Connecticut and the family farm still exists. Seemed like a natural to go visit them. Even better since they had a corn maze and pumpkin festival. This is the first corn maze we have ever done and it was a very exciting thing to complete as a family. There were so many fun activities for children that it would be hard to say what was enjoyed the most, but both Rose and Chris said they liked rolling around in the culvert pipe best. The weather again was still very nice. We weren't the only ones still wearing shorts in October. Anyone could see that it was a good play day by how dirty two children were that night.

A second trip through New York state has us camping on the eastern part in the Catskill Mountains. When we pulled in we noticed there is a lot more color here than up north, but the first night we were hit with a storm. The weather report said that 11 inches of rain was dumped on this area in a 24-hour period. They said something about flash flooding in NYC. The next day the mountains had skeleton trees to view. This isn't a good year for color.

Did you know that all the trees always have colored leaves? The reason that we see green leaves is because the tree is sucking up water and making chlorophyll (which is green). When the temperature drops and the nights are longer the trees chemistry changes and the chlorophyll is restricted from going to the leaves. Then the true colors of the trees can be seen. We are learning a lot. Some of the trees are lacking that chemical that blocks the chlorophyll, and they just keep sucking (so to speak).

There is a lot of evidence that Rip Van Winkle truly did exist, but we are a bit skeptical. Just to be sure, we spent a day hiking in the woods--there are some terrific waterfalls to see and they have a bit of fall color around them. Kaaterskill Falls is a beautiful short hike. The signs all say that it is the highest water fall in New York, but it isn't true. We are discovering that you can't believe everything printed on signs. (More reason not to believe ol' Rip lived.) Even so, it is a peaceful place to go and quite impressive. An artist had set-up her easel at the pool and we got to watch her work. An exciting experience for our little artist. After viewing the falls from below we drove up the mountain and hiked to the top of the falls (second water shot). There was a rough trail up the canyon on the side of the falls we could have climbed, but it looked a bit risky since the wet leaves were piled on the rocks. A couple of hardy young men were doing it while we were there and managed it nicely.

We are satisfied with the fall color and now would like to go south so we can keep wearing shorts. It is starting to get cold here. They are talking frost in various places. We went to wal-mart yesterday and were the only ones with legs showing. Some folks even were wearing heavy winter coats. hmmm...we didn't even bring anything as heavy as they were wearing. I pulled out some jeans for Chris and he looked at me like I was crazy. He got his shorts out instead, he will change when he gets cold.

Until next time....

Working our way south

2007-10-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

Our last big event in New Hampshire was a bonus for Jerry. We read in a local flyer about a tree on Robert Frost's property that was to be cut down due to age/disease. The wood was going to be sold and/or given to those that made a reservation. Unfortunately the dead-line for the reservation was the day before we read the article. Jerry can sound pathetic when he wants, so he called and asked if they couldn't please make an exception. The lady took his name and number and added him to her list. She said not to expect the rule to be bent "just because you are from---where did you say you were from?" (truth is I don't know what he said or she said. It just sounds like a good story.)

No one called him that night and the next morning was the event. We drove there anyway. Jerry spoke with the distant cousin that was in charge of the wood dispersal. Like all good wood-turners they spent a lot of time yukking it up and eventually Jerry not only got several chunks of the tree, but also some other special wood. A letter of authenticity will be sent so Jerry has a real treasure. Needless to say he was floating on clouds for days. Seems that the tree holds significance as it was probably the one that inspired Robert Frost to write the poem "The tree from my window". Correct the name of the poem as I have never read it. I like another poem he wrote about the road less traveled. Seems to be the theme of our "big field trip", it has made all the difference. (Picture of Jerry on the stump of THE tree.)

While in Massachusetts we visited both Boston and Salem. We went to Boston to get a sense about the start of the Revolutionary War. The tour through the North End was easy since they have a red stripe that you walk along. It saves all of us from reading a map and getting lost anyway. The walk includes the home of Paul Revere and the Old North Church. It also took us over the river to the USS Constitution and up to Bunker Hill...which isn't really Bunker Hill--it is just called that because that is where the battle was suppose to be. It seems that the order was given to fight the British on Bunker Hill, but was disobeyed and fought on a smaller hill with a better view. To cover the foul-up, they called it Bunker Hill. There is a tower built there as a memorial of the battle. Rose and Chris felt like they needed to climb to the top. Jerry felt like he should rest. So--it is a total of just under 600 steps. There aren't any short cuts. The pain afterwards only last three days (unless you are in shape. Which I was not). There is a picture of Rose and Chris sitting on the top three steps where short people can go to look out the peep-hole.

Hearing about the witch trials in Salem and being so close, it seemed like a natural excursion. Besides that I found a pirate museum was located there as well. The pirate museum wasn't a museum. Think along the lines of a wax museum only with department store dummies dressed as pirates. There were some interesting stories told by a totally ungifted speaker. In other words, buy a book....or read about pirates on the Internet. It did have a lot of potential. Children under 12 will find it enjoyable. Parents will feel ripped-off as there is little value to any of it other than the knowledge that piracy still exists and they just got took.

In fact, Salem was a bust. Funny thing is that we enjoyed our day there more than Boston. The whole witch trials thing, didn't happen in Salem. They happened in the village next to what is now called Salem. That village at one time was called Salem Village. When the furor of the witch hunt and hangings subsided (probably 100 years later) and the good citizenry realized how far wrong they were, they became embarrassed. To keep the world from pointing a finger at them, they changed the name of their town. Then the attention shifted to Salem Harbor (present day Salem). These good folk realized they could cash in on the whole thing by making the world believe it happened there. That is just what they did, they dropped the Harbor part of their name and became Salem. Witchery is VERY much in vogue there. The whole month of October is a celebration. Think Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There is a lot of that sort of craziness there. We left before the evening really got started as it just isn't our thing. Strange people are there. Get the book instead--unless you really want to "get down and dirty".

We did go to the harbor and see the ship Friendship. Very picturesque. Also saw the home of Nathenial Hawthorne; House of Seven Gables fame. Saw that house as well. We didn't go through it...just a walking tour through the town. They did the same red-line trick to keep tourists from going astray. Very nice of them I'd say.

Our campground was close enough that we could visit other states besides Massachusetts. So while the weather was good we went to Rhode Island and found that it was over 80 degrees at the beach there. We spent part of our day and Rose accidentally learned how to body surf. She was all over it from then on. Chris even enjoyed the gentler surf and got wet clear up to his shorts. The day was a record breaker; 20 degrees above normal. Very nice.

The goal for our trip to Rhode Island was Providence for the WaterFire art show. A few years ago when the city center was dying, an artist decided to make a display using the canal that goes right through downtown. He started with a few urns which were piled with wood and fired them up at dark. Not sure just how often he did his art, but it has now grown to (I think) a thousand urns and he fires them every other Saturday from spring until sometime in October. Down town is now revitalized, the show is worth seeing. The lighting started at 6:30 and when we left an hour later they were still traveling the canal restocking the urns. The whole experience is wonderful as the wood is snapping dry and the flames make each of my pyromaniacs very pleased. Music is piped throughout the city during the evening from several stages. The urns stretched five or six city blocks long, maybe more. Very very good. To add to the ambience, the temperature was hovering around 78.

Just want you folks to know that we do miss you and it is sure nice to hear how things are going at home. We watch the weather just to see if we can see the west coast. Pretty thrilling when they mention anything about Oregon.

New Hampshire has waterfalls

2007-10-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

There are so many Kodak moments that I really am having a hard time limiting
myself to six pictures...

The Kancamagus Highway through New Hampshire is rated as one of the top ten
most scenic roads in the country. I would like the job of the person making
that decision. This 100-mile loop through the mountains and notches, along
rivers and lakes, is a wonderful auto touring experience. However, to
really appreciate what is here the car must be parked and the feet put in
gear. Someone must have thought the same thing since there are ample
turn-outs as well as parking lots. We couldn't stop at each one (there are
over 100 waterfalls), but the ones at which we did stop was a sensory reward
After a few waterfalls you would think that we would be calloused, but
that just didn't happen. Every waterfall is different and wonderful.
Turning corners on the trails reveal more wonderful sights. Even without
the leaves changing it would be a grand experience, but we are blessed with
the addition of the fall colors to the beauty of the trails.

Some of you may recognize the names of the sites from your own journeys. It
will be a pleasant memory when you hear them. Names like Sabbaday Falls,
The Basin, Crawford Notch, Franconia Notch, White Mountain.

A lot of the trails we hiked were on pavement. There were a few that are
rails-to-trails. One was a bit better than just blazing our own trail
through the mountains as the trees are marked (kept us from wandering).
Chris and Rose liked the rough trail the best. They really love climbing
over rocks and walking through the streams and spotting the trail markers.
Now that they both have water sandals they love crossing streams.

What an unexpected delight to find that our camping site was next to one of
the scenic rivers. We spent hours lolling along the shore (also known as
fishing), as well as trying our hand at painting. Neither activity produced
record breakers or masterpieces, but we are sure willing to try again..
until we get it right. The picture of Chris relaxing on the log over the
water should give you an idea of just how much effort we are giving to this
activity.

The fall colors are promising, but we haven't gotten to the peak yet. Each day we expect to be overwhelmed by red, orange and yellow hillsides. The locals say the season is over by Columbus Day. That is the date a lot of them close shop and head south. Having two residences in separate states isn't unusual back here for anyone. Even some campers rent their sites for months (or years) commuting between home and camp.

The Lelacks are moving south

2007-09-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Maine!

As we were camping in one of our last camps in Maine, we made friends with a chipmunk. To be fair, we were buying his friendship with chips and grapes. Rose and Chris stuffed their cheeks with grapes to see how many they could store. They did beat the chipmunk as he could only carry three. Chris and Rose must have had seven or eight packed in. Chris had the hardest time not biting and chewing...but with practice he should get it. Now if only I could find where they buried all that food. (picture of lumpy faces)

We hunted everywhere for moose. We asked the locals and game wardens and were assured they exist and where to find them. Did you know that the best time to find moose is at dawn, dusk and from noon to 2:00 PM? Now I understand dawn and dusk...but lunch time? We checked with a few authorities and they confirmed that moose do get up and wander out for lunch and after eating go back for their siesta. Too much!!!! The one we finally found was located in a moose rehab. There were several there for us to see...but it sure feels like cheating.

Next to the moose rehab was a fish hatchery. When I asked Rose what she enjoyed most that day I was ready to hear "seeing moose". But what I got was "feeding the fish". The hatchery has a coin-operated dispenser so we could get the feed. It was thrilling to see all those fish jump for the single piece of food we dropped (ever teased fish?). There were some real battles going on with them. Land-locked salmon seems to be the big sport fish in this area, and I think that is what were in the tanks. Rose was the last to leave, so I got a picture of her totally enthralled with the feeding process.

Unfortunately, we did get rained-out of a lot of outdoor activities that would have been awesome. We were camped close to Acadia National Forest and managed to get there a couple hours before the week long storm hit. This island was once owned by the Rockefeller family who developed the carriage paths to counter the road development for automobiles. The paths were all designed to not allow for cars. When they gave the island to the national park service it was decided to leave it the same--which is a treasure now. There are wonderful places to go and see. We managed to drive the 40-mile scenic route and play on the only beach, then it rained. And rained. And rained. It started to feel an awful lot like home. It rained until we left--we did not get to hike any of the trails. Maybe when we come back? I did manage a picture of Bar Harbour from one of the pull-outs on the scenic route.

The sun did return after we moved camp further south. It was time for Jerry to do some serious lobster eating. Rose and I begged off. Chris and Jerry had their share, but not their fill. I know there is more to come when we return again to the sea.

The only "old" historical site we found at the new campsite, was Fort William Henry. This is the third fort built on the same site. Each time the Indians managed to destroy it. The first fort (built in the 1600's) was built with wood and the formerly friend Indians burnt it. It was rebuilt with stone, (early 1700's) but the mortar was too weak to withstand the bombs lobbed from the French ships in the harbor. The third rebuild was with reinforced stone and it lasted long enough for a settlement to develop. The French-Indian war was waged in this area and pretty much routed this group. The site is a wonderful picnic site with a terrific view of the harbor. Chris found a fuzzy caterpillar (which shows on his arm). Both children wanted to adopt it until it turned into a butterfly. He managed to escape between the rocks, which saved me from saving him.

We had a wonderful time in Maine, but alas, it is time to move south. Bidding fairwell to such a beautiful state is with mixed feelings. We have thoroughly enjoyed everything (except the rain). We have picked some new places to go should we ever be blessed with a return trip. However, we know that there is just as much to enjoy in our next state: New Hampshire.

Had Our First Major Celebration

2007-09-23T16:38:00.000-07:00

Chris turned five on the same day we decided to travel way-up north. There is a picture of him with his favorite present from his best friend, Calvin. It is a rocket launcher fishing pole. All the males will like the idea of a gun-shooting-fishing-pole.

Our plan was to go to Camponella which is FDR's childhood summer home. It is also the only International Park in the world. The home is located on an island in New Brunswick. This island is tied closely with the United States so having a co-operative park makes sense. There are more Americans visiting the site than visitors from any other country. Going through customs was a piece of cake.

I must admit that we were jaded having already seen that summer cabin in Vermont. The Roosevelt cottage wasn't' as opulent as the Vanderbilt cabin, but beautiful nonetheless. Once again the rain prevented us from enjoying what the main attraction would have been--wonderful paths and trails all across the island. The paths were planned when the developers were marketing this island to the wealthy as summer retreats. The young FDR made full use of hiking paths and all kinds of water sports. It is a swell place. (Swell is a word used when FDR was young.)

Neither could we fully enjoy the wonders of the Bay of Fundy. This bay has the lowest low tides of anywhere in the world. When the tide is out...you know it. The bottom of the bay is exposed to all the beach combers (birds, animals and people). It seems like the tide was a -23 or -24 feet the day we were there. Very interesting to see. While we enjoyed our ice cream watching the tide turn, the proprietor told us that whales actually swim by the deck occasionally.

We bravely faced the rain and traveled to the north side of the island and thought to hike out to the lighthouse. What we couldn't see when we started this 15 minute walk (on a clear day) was the steps that had to be descended, mud and rock flat traversed and more steps ascended. The lighthouse can only be accessed by land when the tide is out. The steps looked steep but possible. That was when we lost the first in our party (Jerry returned to keep the truck warm). Chris, Rose and I held tight to the railing and descended. When we reached the rocks at the bottom we realized that they were more treacherous than the steps. Wet slimy rocks try to pitch you right over. Carefully we made our way to the other set of steps without incident. Ok, there were the stops to check on all the cool things caught in the tide-pools. At the top of the steps the trail wound through a small woodlot and then shazaam!! Another set of steps with the bottom of the bay between. At first I figured we did it once, we could do it again. But, there was a huge difference between these steps and the first ones: no barriers under the hand rails AND they were considerably steeper. The rain was really pouring by this time (see picture), Rose was without her sweatshirt and it just didn't seem prudent to jeopardize our well-being for this adventure. I was actually proud of myself that I did the common-sense thing and took their picture and went back to the truck. If it hadn't been for the rain it would have been less dangerous and a definite "do". Maybe next time?

I guess we can't do everything.

Chris got to choose what he wanted for dinner since it was his birthday and we were a long way from home. His choice was "Spaghetti or anything healthy." We hunted for an Italian restaurant for 70 miles, finally settling for a pizza place that advertised pasta. Guess what he ordered? Pizza. So much for healthy. The staff were great though and hunted up some candles to put on his piece of cake. They don't sing for people in restaurants here...so we didn't either. We sang in the truck.

Til next time

Hiking and resting a lot now

2007-09-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

We have discovered the most wonderful thing about these children--they have
incredible stamina. Also have realized they need better shoes. From our
camp, there are some really incredible hiking trails within shouting
distance (if you shout like Jerry).

The first hike we took was to a place called Step Falls. The rocks at the
bottom of the mountain allow the stream to fall into a serious of pools all
the way to the top third of the canyon. This last part is the most
impressive as it is one solid piece of rock that has been weathered by the
water into a serious of pools (hence the name Step). The folks in Maine are
not sissies when it comes to hiking. There are few switchbacks in the trail
so it is up and up and then straight up the face of rock cliffs. Rose and
Chris kept saying how awesome it all was. Trust me, they are children and
don't say things just to please. If they hated it they would just sit down
and say "no more" like any other child. They pressed on until the top and
still had stuff left to go some more.

Another day and another hike to a place set-up for field trips for school
children. There were interpretive signs along the trail describing the
flora and fauna ('sept there wasn't any of that fauna stuff). Jerry and I
both commented when we pulled ourselves up the last rock ledge to our
resting spot, that we wouldn't want to be responsible for a class of
10-year-olds on this trail. The view was spectacular. This trail ended up
being close to a six-mile loop. Again Rose and Chris were simply amazing.
They oohed and ahhed with the best of us. In the distance from the last
view area we supposedly could even see our campground.

By adding the hope of seeing a moose in the mix, we are all gung-ho to get
out in the woods. One thing lacking with Rose and Chris is quiet. They
both talk non-stop and when they finally run out of things to say, they
start making noises. Lots of different animal noises. Since we did hear a
wolf howl one night here, that is now their favorite animal sound to make.

We are close to the beach AND within driving distance of Tom's of Maine
Toothpaste factory, so we left the woods for a day. The funnest thing about
the factory was putting the first mark on their map for Salem, Oregon and
using crayons on their wall. Of course, we got gobs of samples of
toothpaste and dental floss, but if you asked for a vote, the samples from
Hershey's wins hands-down.

Playing in the Atlantic Ocean was exciting. They have huge clams that most
everyone was ignoring (but not our Rose and Chris). We had to limit them to
only taking two clam shells (empty) when we left.

It was a startling thought to stand and look out at the Atlantic Ocean and
realize how far we came to see it. We know we are extremely blessed to have
this adventure, and are so thankful to God for giving us this gift of travel
and time.

While traveling to the beach we came upon a real road sign. The names of
the countries are actual names of the towns in this part of Maine. Jerry
said that this is the same sign that was used in the TV program Northern
Exposure (which was filmed in Washington).

This camp is in North Central Maine in the Moosehead Lake region. You would
think with a name like Mousehead our chances would be better of seeing one
of those fellas...so far no go. Another camper that lives by the coast
(where we are heading tomorrow--Saturday) said they had a moose in their
driveway, so we haven't given up hope yet.

We are dry camping here, which is a first for us. It really isn't a problem
doing without hook-ups since last year at this time we only had a tent. Uhm
..that is, until morning latte time. I brought a latte machine (I have
chosen my addiction wisely) but it needs electricity. The only outlet is in
the day-use area, which is where we are this morning. Breakfasting in the
park so Oma can have a latte. No complaints from the crew. They love being
outside.

Next stop: the coast.

Mmmmmoose? Yeah right

2007-09-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Made it to the far Northeast. Things are different here, let me tell you.
For one thing they have the most incredible road signs. (Picture included)
One sign in particular is interesting. It says something like "Moose are 6
times more likely to be hit for the next few miles. Avoid moose." I should
take a picture of that sign. So far, we haven't seen any. Rose is starting
to think moose live with the big fat dude (Santa Clause).

Our first campsite in Maine is located in the resort town of Bethel.
Believe it or not, but winter is high season here. Activities for the summer
are boundless and the weather sounds much better. A guy at the gas station
said it was 70 below zero last winter (with the wind-chill factor). Can you
believe they will tolerate that sort of temperature without even ONE coffee
shop in town? A person could make a mint here with a latte machine (and I
am not talking about a mint latte).

We toured the Bumpus Mine and actually got to dig for some of the rare gems
that still remain in the tailings. All of us got "rock fever". We hardly
go anywhere now without trying to find a beaut. While on our tour of the
mine we did find several pieces of tourmaline. The better grades of this
semi-precious gem is aqua-marine. Our pieces were small, but a trophy for
us never-the-less. One of the better parts of the experience for Rose and
Chris was carrying a flashlight into a cave. They were wonderful at the
digging part as well. In fact, the tour-guide was impressed enough with
them that he worked with us an extra hour, after everyone else had left, to
make sure we even found some rose quartz. We had ourselves a couple of
happy pebble puppies.

Here is something interesting (especially for our friend Todd). Way back in
the olden-days in Maine, they mined and cut granite to use as curbs for
their streets. This must be better than cement...or at any rate cheaper.
But wait--there is an update! We witnessed new curbing being done and they
are still using granite! Pretty curbs. Bad roads.

We did get a couple of days of rain. In fact, one day we left camp with the
temperature inching up to 80 and bright sunshine. We left our awning down,
and when we got home it was down further and slightly lobsided. It seems
thunderstorms build quickly when the humidity is high. That is exactly what
happened and no one was available to put our awning away. The park managers
were busy rescuing a group of 60 teachers stuck on the river avoiding the
lightening bolts. Smart teachers decided to stop on an island rather than
go to shore to wait for the storm to pass. The managers apologized to us as
they usually go out in the park to rescue awnings, but just couldn't do it
with those teachers being stranded and all. Of course, we understood.

Believe me, we are learning from every mistake--so far there hasn't been any
mistakes that have even slowed us down, or changed our mind about this
adventure.

Traveling is a hard job...but someone has got to do it.

2007-09-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

We are two states away from these pictures, but this is where we left you.

Seems we are still playing catch-up...where does the time go?

When we were in Shelburne, Vermont we visited the local museum. This must
be the mother of all museums. The approach they took to display all their
collections is to place them separately in houses. The houses are unique as
well. Each one has some historically interest and were moved to the grounds
at different times. It isn't just houses, there is a jail, a couple of huge
barns, a covered bridge, a depot. The round barn had a quilt show. (Picture
of Rose at the Shaker barn.)

A U-shaped barn had a zillion carriages and sleighs. There was a gypsy
wagon that captured my attention since that is the role we have assumed.
Sure would have been a miracle for us to cram all our junk into something
the size of that little number. It was quite colorful, however.

The Ticonderoga was moved onto the museum grounds sometime in the '50's.
The video of the move is worth watching since the museum is miles from the
lake. They built a special train track to pull the ship across the farmland
dismantling the track from behind and relaying it in front. They were
happy counting feet in a day. (picture attached)

One historic farmhouse was converted into a revolving children's learning
center. On our visit it was dedicated to art. Water painting was the
inter-active sport. Rose camped there for quite a while. Besides the
calendar, her artwork is the only thing on our wall.

A covered bridge held a special fascination since it was actually placed
over a pond. The pond held the real show. It was jam-packed with turtles.
There were so many we couldn't even count them...besides they refused to
stand still so we could. There were some rather large ones that could hurt
if they latched on to you.

The following day was so beautiful and sunny we just had to give the bike
trail a try. What a wonderful experience!!! Especially discovering that
Rose can bicycle for 11 miles without complaining!!! Of course, we did take
lots of breaks to help. At the turn-around there was a beautiful park for
us to rest in. Jerry and I rested. Chris and Rose made friends and played
on all the equipment until time to get back on the bikes and head back the 5
5 miles to our truck. (Several pictures documenting our day on bikes.)

Great place Vermont. Should be full of leaf-peepers by now.

Mixed Bag

2007-09-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

We are deep into the New England states. You know they talk a lot different from the people we met in Kentucky...almost like two different countries. (Did I really say that?)

Got a call from social security the day we got here and they discovered that Jerry died some time ago, and they wanted his money back. Hmmm....that explains the smell. It took a couple trips to the office here and several calls to the office back there to get them to believe he was really alive and well (also known as fat and sassy).

After that mini-adventure, we needed to be treated--what could be better than having a bit of fat with our sugar? Ben and Jerry's is a beautiful 20 minutes from our camp. We may need another trip that way before we are through here. Not sure which is more enjoyable, the factory tour or the drive out there. This country is very inspiring. I knew there would be adventures here when I saw the "watch for moose" sign on the freeway. Our eyes haven't stopped watching for them yet.

We must be in factory-tour mode as we also toured a mom-and-pop chocolate factory and a teddy bear factory. But wait...the best is yet to come.

Over a century ago when railroads were being built, one of the barons came up this way to negotiate for a choo-choo to go through this region. He fell in love with it and brought his wife up to check things out. They bought thirty farms, combining them into one estate (Vanderbilt-Webb estate). They decided to built their hunting cabin on the part of the property that overlooked Lake Champlain. By the time the depression hit, they had several residences and their children were now maintaining them. They found they were a bit short of funds to continue all the homes, so this one was donated to a non-profit. It has been kept with the original furnishings. The barn is the first building that comes in view...and it is a show-stopper. It is now used as a children's educational farm experience. Every animal that is there is allowed to be touched by the children, and they do have a bunch of animals. We were entertained for many hours. Rose and Chris both were able to milk one of the dairy cows. They make cheese in another part of the barn which is sold locally. Another part of the barn is a huge bakery--ahhh...I can still smell the warm bread. There is a renaissance school also. That is only the first floor level of the barn. It is three-stories with a loft. No idea what they do with all of it. When you walk into the center courtyard you feel like you have entered a castle keep.

When the two oldest in our group got rather bored with chasing chickens, we decided to walk to the "cabin". It is 1.5 miles from the barn down a wonderful country lane. The air was incredibly fresh and cool...there wasn't a bit of complaining about spending our day thus engaged. When we rounded the corner giving us the first view of the dwelling, our breath stopped. The house was used for hunting parties and entertaining the local elite. It now is used as an Inn. We could only tour the lower floor...but it was almost too much for us. The original family consisted of the parents and four children. There must be 30 bedrooms. All rooms with a view of the lake. Many other out buildings are close-by that look like fancy servant houses. Below the house is the stables (can't keep the horses over the hill, you know). This stable is about half the size of the barn (which means it is still an immense castle). By the time we got there, I had used up both picture chips...sadly no pictures of it. But if you ever come here--this estate is a must see. Take the time to walk ALL the way out to the house and enjoy the view of the lake and the thrill of seeing those structures. One word--incredible. Made us wonder what their full-time house was like if this is the hunting cabin.

Moving Slowly East

2007-08-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

Our last excursion in Pennsylvania and our first in New York included some baseball "musts". Pennsylvania is where Little League had it's beginning and we picked the right day to visit it's home base (hehe) as there were no crowds. Pictures show the swing technique of Rose and Chris. In the lower level of the museum they have several interactive exhibits. Each participant is filmed for a minute either batting, pitching or running. Then the replay can be viewed so improvement can be made in their technique. Rose and Chris loved batting most, throwing next-best. Of course they didn't mess with the film thing, who cares about technique? We just hit until we got tired and threw about the same. RUN???? That is too much like work, so we skipped it altogether.

Cooperstown, New York is home to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Enough said of that. It is also the place where baseball had it's start. Now that really is enough of baseball. Jerry toured the town alone because he couldn't find another party remotely interested in spending a day looking at baseball stuff. However, we did make him go back a second time as we wanted to see where James Fenimore Cooper had his start in life. To be fair, only one of us was interested in the author's start...and it wasn't Jerry.

If that name rings some kind of bell, but you can't quite place him, he wrote Deerslayer and Last of the Mohicans (two of his most famous works). At the bottom of the lake (or the top of the Susquehanna River) lies a rock: "Council Rock" (picture included...looks like a rock with a cannon on it). The story with this rock is what is most interesting. Besides being part of the opening of Deerslayer, this rock was used by Indians and white men alike as a meeting place. One legend tells of a white missionary that was asked by the local Indians if he thought his God was big enough to actually move this rock. Swelled with pride, the missionary responded "Indeed He is." The Indians proceeded to roll the rock on the missionary telling him to ask his God to move the rock. No one has moved the rock yet to check for the bones...but rumor has it they are there.

The cannon on the rock is another story. The American army needed to move provisions and weaponry down stream to fight the Indians (I am thinking it must have been the French and Indian war...but I could be wrong). Part of the army marched down beside the stream. The other part with their flat-bottomed boats waited while a group of engineers went to the headwaters (right at council rock) and built a dam across the narrow inlet. In a few days the lake level rose four feet and the boats down stream were made ready for a white-water trip. The dam was breached and the boats passed the marching soldiers, getting to their destination somewhat before them. The Indians seeing the flood of water realized they were up against a phenomenal army and lost the heart to fight. The American army won. Now to the cannon part. For many years afterward fishermen were hanging up on all the left-over rocks from this dam. They got tired of cussing them and decided on the 100 year anniversary of the dam episode to blow the left-over rocks off the face of the earth. They used a cannon to do the deed. The current cannon is a memorial to that event. Now on every July 4th they have some sort of explosive party at council rock with that cannon. We weren't there then, so I must take their word for it.

The group shot is us standing at the foot of Otsego Lake, renamed by James Fennimore Coopers as Lake Glimmermore or something like that. Anyway....that was a lot of words compared to the four or five minutes we stood there for our picture.

We are not only in apple season, we are also where they are grown. A cider mill isn't far from Cooperstown, so we had to stop and give them some money. The cider was good and it is gone. Rose and Chris had a grand time playing in their park and tractor speed-way. They managed to have the usual farm animals that we could buy feed for.

Our travel through the state of New York illustrates that east and west don't understand each other. New York state is NOT all cities...not by a long shot. There is wonderful countryside, complete with farms, rivers and hills (called mountains here). A bit further east and those hills really do grow larger and even more beautiful. They are then dubbed the Adriondack Mountains.

We must have gone to heaven

2007-08-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ok...ok...I know that we couldn't possibly have entered heaven. But this is
Hershey World...land of chocolate!!! How much better can life get? Do you
know they actually pay people to hand out chocolate there? How hard of job
is that??? Can you think of anyone declining their offer? Hershey is a
tourist trap, no doubt about it. But it was delicious to be trapped that
way. There is a "tour of the factory" which is educational...sort of. All
is forgiven as at the end they give you candy. Then there are several
interactive stations that are designed to take the adult's money and delight
children. One that we did was to let Chris and Rose try their hand as
factory workers. They, of course, loved it. We did take the Hershey
trolley to see what was left of the original factory town. The tour guides
kept us entertained with antics while they gave us the history of Milton
Hershey. In actuality the best thing he did had nothing to do with
chocolate. He and his wife were told they would be childless, so they
started an orphanage for boys. This orphanage was unique in that the boys
were raised in a houses (built by Hershey) with house-parents, giving them a
"family life". Besides the regular schools he also built a college. A boy
could decide if he wanted to learn a trade or go on to school. Each
graduate was given $100--a huge amount when it was begun. When Milton
Hershey died, he willed the Hershey empire to the orphanage...not a trifle,
I'd say. There is an amusement park, water slide, restaurant, and gardens
there. We didn't make it to all of them...just didn't want to get trapped
that much I guess. Warning: They charge for EVERYTHING, and not just a
little, for example parking: $15 for four hours. No way did we eat that
much free chocolate.

Gettysburg was our first civil war battlefield tour. Our campground has a
guided horse tour that sounded fascinating. Unfortunately (hooray for me),
Rose and Chris were too young...so Jerry had to go without us. He wasn't
thrilled with the experience since they don't go in a loop to give you
continually new vistas. We later did the motor tour and it was much better.
The campground also has a diorama that is worth seeing to give insight into
just what that battle was all about, besides it is incredible how many tiny
soldiers and horses it took to lay out the battle field.

Here I go with the history stuff--again. The battle of Gettysburg was a
three-day event, happening on July 2 - 4. The confederates amazingly came
up from Virginia without being detected with their host of soldiers. The
plan was to win a major victory and get the north to concede. The north
realized they would need to win to finish the war. This battle was pivotal
for both sides. When hearing about the battle while in school it never
dawned on me just how massive it was. When we drove we noticed it was about
20 miles long and easily 10 miles wide. There weren't "pockets" of soldiers
there were armies over the whole landscape. Over 23,000 were killed in
those three days. I appreciated that the monuments were for both the
northern AND southern states. Each company has a monument, most of them
were erected within 10 years of the battle. Picket's charge was the most
notable part of the battle. This one company fought bravely...and broke Lee
s heart with their valor. Of course, we all know the outcome. The site of
Lincoln's address is in the National Cemetery...a most hallowed field. The
silence both in the cemetery and on the battlefield is noticeable.

After a couple of days hanging-out in the pool and making new friends, it
was time to visit Antietam. It is fun to travel through these states as you
can actually go through two or three of them in less than an hour. Makes
you feel like you are getting somewhere. We happened to visit Antietam on a
day when they were having a reinactment. They also had a children's program
where they were teaching them what a confederate soldier's life was like.
Rose and Chris both enlisted. They were drilled and given sticks to
practice firing. At the end of the program they were given a three-day pass
and paid an apple and $3 confederate.

Two days later, Rose decided to leave our family. When they paid Rose and
Chris they warned them if they weren't back in three days that they would
send the provost to get them. Rose has a keen memory and takes everything
literal. She brought up that she had to be going back to the army, I told
her that is was just for fun and we wouldn't be going back that way. She
started tearing up, that is when she said she was leaving the family. She
was going to go back to the army...she had to! I asked her how she was
going to do it, she said she would be going on her bike. RATS!!! Trying to
convince her that those soldiers were only pretend soldiers was hard. They
had shown they were real by shooting their guns during the reinactment.

Chris was very impressed with the firing of guns. He was very into it, his
very words were: "this is sooo cool". They had musket loaders. Now, he
must prime his sticks and pack the ball before he can lift and fire. They
both bought Yankee caps so they could look the part. I am surprised how
much they are getting of this history stuff.

Tah-dah!!! You are now up with us in our latest campsite in Pennsylvania. Thought I would send a picture from our window--just so you could see how we suffer.

Can you still hear me?

2007-08-16T09:01:00.000-07:00

Not sure just where I left you folks, but I think you are still in West
Virginia. My intention is to get a couple installments done while Jerry is
driving. We are on the interstate and there just isn't much to see…so I can
get some work done. Oops, just left the interstate and I want to watch..
will get this one finished and work on the other--later(?).
WORK???? That is a four-letter word that we just aren't too familiar with,
but I will try.
Here is a warning for anyone thinking of hooking up their rig to a camping
device and pulling it all the way to the other side of the world…avoid
lesser highways when going through the Appalachian Mountains. These
mountains tend to run north and south, so if that is the general direction
wanted….no problem, the roads hug the valley floor. However, if you decide
to go the other way (east or west) you have to go across their spines. The
lesser highways follow the basic geography up and down and up and down (got
the picture?). Nice for a Sunday drive, but not when you have to use breaks
going down and the transmission going up. We made some unscheduled stops on
turn—outs to cool things off. Oh, by-the-way did I mention we didn't have a
back window? And it was raining? We can laugh about it now, because we are
not going back through that country when we head south.
Now about that window. We were hungry. There was a sign (somewhere in West
Virginia) that a county park was on the next exit. Seemed like a smart
decision, except…secondary-secondary roads should be posted that no
foreigners are allowed…not even on a bike. We realized our mistake when we
got on the one-way bridge that our cat had about an inch on each side for
clearance. Turning around wasn't an option...we were committed. We did
make it to the park and ate lunch before we lost the window…of course then
Jerry about lost his lunch. Fifth-wheels and tow vehicles cannot occupy the
same space—this is one of the basic laws of physics. Something gave and it
was the window. Like I said, we can laugh about it now.
Phew…got you through West Virginia.
Looking at the map we noticed that we were going to be rather close to a few
sites that someone recommended. Silly us...we thought we could do them all
in one day, and on the same day we were traveling to our next camp stop.
Around 3:00 in the afternoon we realized we might be able to make one stop
and still get to our campsite. We chose to go to Harper’s Ferry.
Skip this part if you don't want a brief history lesson. I am so impressed
with John Brown’s resolve that I must tell you the story.
John Brown had the same success rate for business as Abraham Lincoln. He
tried several businesses, failing at most of them. He was a devote
Christian which also was similar to Lincoln. Both men were gifted orators.
Before Honest Abe could act, John Brown convinced some followers that it was
time to get rid of slavery. He had a plan to overtake the supply depot at
Harper’s Ferry and give the guns and ammunition to the slaves to start a
revolt against their masters. His plan was so well made that he was able to
secure the supply depot (which consisted of 20 buildings) with less than 30
men. He held it for several days before the federal troupes recovered the
buildings and captured John Brown and his followers. He was hung some
months later. Not sure if all of them were killed or not. The slaves that
were to be armed didn't have the heart to follow through, John was left as a
leader without a following. Eighteen months later, the civil war started,
with the first major battle being in Antietam just north of Harper’s Ferry.
He truly was a man of conviction, as was President Lincoln. They were both
killed for living-out that amazing trait.
We had enough time to race through the John Brown museum and then we hiked a
bit up the cliff. There were two churches worth noting at the top of the
cliff. Both were there during the civil war. One is a beautiful
structure…the other is a ruins. The one still standing was saved by the
priest because he flew the union jack during the civil war. The destroyed
church was used as a barracks by one side or other (maybe even both).
During that war property changed hands a lot.
The Shenandoah and Potomac merge at Harper's Ferry. The Shenandoah River is
worth singing about. It is the most beautiful river I have ever seen. It
would be a great one to find a camping spot next to, alas our reservations
are further north.
Still with me? On to Pennsylvania. We are camping on what was part of the Gettysburg battlefield.

Our country is amazing

2007-08-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is Susan again…this time leaving Ohio and entering West Virginia.

You must know how nice it is to get all of the wonderful messages from you. We enjoying knowing that all is well with the friends we have left behind. We will return!!! But the catching-up won’t be so hard since you are still in touch with us.

It was truly a surprise to find Ohio so delightful. Our destination was Wayne National Forest along the Ohio River. Getting to the campground on Monday means that the weekenders have gone home and the campground was mostly ours. The few campers that were there were treated to Chris in full measure. None of the campers were strangers long. He brings all his new friends home…but they are all retirees. When we left this morning all his new friends were very sad to see him go. What a treasure he is.
Marietta was the first settlement in the Northwest territory. It boasts (complete with brass markers) of having the very first white woman to settle there in the frontier days. It was the shipping center for the Ohio River for many years as well the shipbuilding capital. Why, right next to the downtown DQ is a momento of that industry…a smoke-stack. This smoke-stack has never been used on a ship since the company that ordered it never could come up with the money to pay for it. It sat along the shore for who knows how many years until the local citizenry said it was an eyesore and something needed to be done. Someone suggested digging a hole and burying it…which is just what they did, all but the very top, which is now a planter. It also has a brass marker. In fact, in less than a block there is over a dozen brass markers about every little known historical fact or person that stepped foot in the town. Some of them are interesting…but I already told you them, so if you come here you can find something else to do. The icecream at DQ was just as good as in Oregon. (Picture of Jerry, Chris and Rose next to the Ohio River. The site is where a fort once stood.)
Having two active children means we are limited to how many “talking” things we can do. One we choose was to go to the Fenton Glass Factory across the river in West Virginia. Think West Salem, over the river. Most of you probably have heard of Fenton glass (I hadn’t). They have been making a huge assortment of gee-gaws and doo-dads for several generations. The factory tour is rated one of the top ten by some organization that has merit (don’t remember who it was). The tour was interesting…and fun for Rose and Chris. What made it fun for them was after each station the tour guide would ask if anyone had any questions. Two short little arms would shoot up. By the end of the tour, she quit asking. But we now know why they have a fan over a machine, and why the glass is colored….just in case that question is in a trivial pursuit game. I was surprised how expensive this stuff is. Included a picture of some glass-blowers...very interesting.
Our afternoon’s entertainment was going by bicycle on a beautiful bike trail along the river to the aquatic center. It is a new 3.3 million job. I think they got their money’s worth as it was a blast! It was complete with slides and many fountains and pools. The biggy was the pirate ship with cannons that shot water. Rose spent most of her time floating the lazy river on tubes. Chris was entertained with the escape slide from the pirate ship…until he had to sit-out for going down head first…the second time. Those lifeguards are GOOD!! Of course, I think Chris was more interested in sitting next to a pretty girl than being in trouble. It was fun to watch him wrap her around his finger. By the time his time-out was over they were holding hands. Are we in trouble, or what?

Chris and Rose are still going to bed very late, but now my attitude is much different. I know that this is a once in a lifetime trip and they should not waste any more time than necessary with sleep. Our evenings are spent figuring out dinner which happens anywhere from 8 on. Then it is time to collect the magic! I am talking fire flies. There are millions of them. Our camp-spot has an unobstructed view of the Ohio River. We can sit at our table and watch the tugboats pushing the barges up and down the river. There are some huge fish that jump periodically. At night the barges turn on a bunch of lights and it is similar to the river parade in Portland at Christmas...except we are wearing shorts and it doesn’t last as long. There are a few houses across the river have that romantic reflective light at night. There is a picture with Rose, Chris, Buttercup and Spotty taken from the table in our camping site.
We rode the bike trail through our campground one morning and was surprised by a magnificient flower garden tucked away at the end of a trail. When Rose saw it she said someone should paint it. I told her that God already had. An observation platform was built so we could stand above the slough. About 30 feet out was an island that was covered in an array of wonderful flowering bushes. Some of them looked like bright pink wild roses, and then there were purple spikes of flowers amongst the roses. At the waters edge were water lilies and hyacinths. There were so many orange and yellow butterflies that they made it look like flying flowers. This evening I rode back over there again to see it and there was a deer standing amongst all that splendor, adding to the magic were the fireflies just starting to light up. It was the most beautiful flower garden I saw this whole trip. (Of course there are several pictures of what we saw, but it just doesn't do justice to the real thing.)

It is a hard campground to leave…but West Virginia beckons.

This is too much fun

2007-08-06T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is Susan again...a bit behind, but hopefully will catch-up with this
installment.

Part of our trip through Kentucky included stopping at what remains of a
Shaker Village. At one time there were over 1000 residents living in a type
of commune. They not only were self-sufficient, but they increased the
local economy with their trade as well as taught the local residents what
they were learning in the way of farming and industry. I don't know if all
Shaker Settlements had the same industries, but this one had a broom factory
creamery, sausage production, cabinetry, fabric production among more that
I forget. Of course the sect was doomed since their belief was based on the
belief that God did not want them to marry. Several times ambassadors
traveled south and collected orphans in Georgia to bring them to live at the
village and learn their beliefs. The very remarkable thing about this
effort, is they allowed the orphans to choose for themselves if they would
join the community or not. Most didn't and left when they were old enough.
We can thank the Shakers for the flat broom, circular saw and advances in
many other fields. They were certainly an industrious group and have my
admiration. It was interesting how they established their celibate
life-style. The main building was built with two identical sides. It is
four stories high. The east side was men-only and the women would be on the
west. Each sex had their own staircases and doorways and would not cross
the center line. This is not unlike what parents do with children when
traveling in a car. Both groups are serious that men and women shouldn't mix
Parents are sometimes more serious about the whole separation thing not
even willing that one child should breathe another child's air. Oh, yeah..
I was explaining about Shakers--their meetings included dancing and partying
..but you can't convince me that it was all that much fun. Their dances
were circles within circles. Each ring was an opposite sex ring. Could
work...but I don't think you would get any teen-agers to agree to a life
like that now.

We stayed in the northern part of Kentucky for a week or so...in Berea.
Berea doesn't have as much history as other areas, but what it does have is
impressive. The college in town is the central point of the community. It
was started just after the civil war as a place for the poor (or
economically challenged if you are politically correct) mountain folk to
finish an education. The president would take periodic trips to market the
college and to solicit support from other areas of the country. On one of
the trips he took some of the local crafts (quilts I believe) to display and
found there was great interest in them as well as a profitable market. He
returned and offered the students free tuition to the college if they would
be willing to work in the craft department 20 hours a week. It was the
first integrated college and as far as I could figure the only college that
still has a no tuition policy. It now draws students from all over the
world and they do have wonderful crafts to see in the area.

There is a beautiful hotel/inn/restaurant in the downtown core called Boones
Tavern. We immediately assumed that Daniel Boone had something to do with
the place and decided we must eat there. Rose and Chris were staying with
our friends, so it seemed like the perfect place to dine--NOT! We knew it
was out of our league when there were linen tablecloths on the table for
lunch. It seemed way fancy for ol' Dan to sit in...but we decided to read
the menu just for fun...then we went next door for a sandwich. Later we
checked on the Internet to see what history Daniel had in the area. Well
now, we were making the wrong assumption all together. This place is called
Boones Tavern because that is a catchy name. Daniel may have walked through
this area, but he never stopped long enough to put up a tent...let alone a
whole big building. The tavern was built in 1911 because the wife of the
college president was tired of housing all the guests that were showing up
to visit the school. It is reported that she had 300 house guests at one
time. I would think something would need to be done, but we still felt
tricked somehow with that name...but felt much better at not spending so
much for lunch as well.

The main reason that Berea had captured our attention was due to Rose and
Chris having a half-brother living in that area. Rose has been asking to
visit Jonah for months and adding a stop in Kentucky was a natural thing to
do. Prior to this week we had never really known much of this part of their
life, but we are willing to learn. We are so very thankful that we did!!
We had a rare opportunity to get to know a living mountain man that had the
kindest heart of anyone we have ever known. A picture is attached of one of
the many meals they hosted for us...Wayne is the tall one with the white
hair and beard, you should recognize the short critters. Wayne has so much
knowledge about the hills and nature. When he is explaining things you don
t realize how much you are learning until you think about it later. Then
there is Peggy...somehow we got away without me getting a picture of her.
She has a way of making you feel like you have known her most of your life
after you have only been there a few minutes. If there is any kindness that
can be done you can count on her being there to do it. They have a most
interesting farm in the hills and share it with Jeremy and Jonah. Jonah is
the half-brother that accepts his role very seriously. Jeremy is Jonah's
dad. There is more people coming and going there than there would be in a
train station (I exagerate...but you get the point). They are a wonderful
family and we fell in love with them. We are hoping they will come to
Oregon and you all can see what I say is true.

Rose and Chris were also blessed with a week-long visit with their mother
Jennifer. She has been spending some time in Kentucky with Jonah and waited
for our visit before returning to her home.

Jonah stayed a day with us in the cat and we took all of them to the aquatic
center to swim. Jonah and Chris were inseparable on the slide. Rose was
reluctant to go through the slide-tube until the last hour or so...then it
was a huge competition who was going to go down the most. Another day they
went swimming at the newest Kentucky lake. I expect in a few years this
lake will have a lot of houses built around it, so it was a treat to see a
lake without any development.

One event that Peggy and Wayne took us to was the Amish produce auction.
While the children played hide-n-seek we watched (and sometimes
participated) the bidding of the most beautiful produce I have seen in a
long time. Of particular note was the green beans that sold for more than
$25 a box. Amazing. They looked good, but not that good. We did buy some
vegies and cantelope. It will all be gone in a week so I can only tell you
it was good.

Parting gifts were given to Rose and Chris from our new friends. Their
names are: Buttercup and Spotty...unless Chris changes his name again. They
are a pair of turtles. Not as cuddly as a puppy, but smaller and never
whine.

The Country Music Hall of Fame Museum was within 20 miles of where we camped
We wouldn't know anyone listed in it if they sat next to us on the bus,
but we decided to go look anyway. What we found was more than the museum..
which was good because it was closed that day. There is an old dance barn
there that was famous in the past for being a hotspot for radio programs.
That wasn't nearly as interesting to us as a small area behind it that is a
museum of mountain living. There are a dozen or so buildings that have been
moved there from all over the area. All of the buildings are what they call
log buildings. The logs have all been squared before they stack them for
walls and then chinking is added. The chinking sometimes is thicker than
the logs. Uh...Jerry made me take a picture of him in the library building.
.there is also one of him in the stocks. You figure out where he looks more
at home.

The building that gave us pause was a two-story, four room structure. It
was brought there sometime in the last ten years when the last resident
moved. She was 70+ when she moved into an assisted-living center. The
house had never had electricity and there was no indication of plumbing. We
were able to look behind the scenes a bit (no one was around) and we could
surmise where the wood stove might have been. Mountain people are very
hardy...it must come from all the work they do.

Our leaving Kentucky was bitter-sweet. Happy to continue our adventure
across America, sad to leave some very good friends.

If someone were to ask us the highlight of our stay in Kentucky it would be
the people--hands down. We found the natives to be warm-hearted and most
welcoming. They are perhaps the most colorful and interesting people we
have met so far.

We were camping next to one of those nice people. She has been a full-timer
for ten years...started when her husband was alive, but now travels "with
God leading her and Henry by her side." Henry is her dog. If I were to
guess I would say she is in her 70's...at least she looks a bit older than
Jerry.

Amazing people. Our lives are truly rich because of all the people we know--and you are one of them. Thanks for enriching us.

Howdy all you-all

2007-07-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the mountains of Kentucky sending you greetings!!

We have been doing lots of wonderful things and I am a couple of installments behind. This is going to be a brain search for me to remember back to last week to chronicle our adventures. They say if you don't use it-you lose it. Wonder what the saying is if you haven't used it and you try?

We had a terrific time in Paducah, Kentucky. The best part for Jerry was getting the plumbing fixed. The rest of us enjoyed lounging at the pool.

After Jerry's chore was done, we went to the old down-town area. There is a flood wall that is amazing to see. The mural isn't finished yet, but it already goes for three city blocks. I tried to get a picture that would give an idea of how many frames of mural are there. The artist has one in production and can be watched...when he is at work. I guess you could watch him anytime if you knew where he was, we were too busy to track him down for that sort of nonsense. The mural has interpretations beneath each frame and it helps to understand the history of this area. The break in the wall is where the on-coming streets intersect. Cars can drive through to get to the waterfront just on the other side. In fact, on the other side is grassy areas and trees. It is used for outdoor concerts, has a boatramp, all that sort of thing.

On another day in another place we made friends with a family that gave us the inside skinny on the politics of Paducah. They told us there is talk of removing the wall as some think the river should be in view from the city. Discussion is happening to do that very thing, which we find amazing. I am sure the artists are as amazed as we are at such a thought. Not to mention the reason for the wall was flood control.

If you go to Paducah and it is summer-time, make sure you schedule yourself to be there on Saturday as they close the streets in the down-town core and have lots of musicians in different locations to keep you entertained. We sat on a bench when someone explained to us what was going on (it was around 5). We finally asked when the music would start and was told at 7. Hmmm... tired cranky children and still another hour til show time. We did the responsible thing and took our charges home for a good night's sleep. I tried to talk Jerry into going back but he didn't think it would be much fun by himself.

There is a lot to do that we didn't do. There is a wonderful quilt museum that I peeked into. It would be a wonderful place to visit...but not with a man and two children. We made plans that I could go on the next day and Jerry would stay with Rose and Chris and swim. BUT...the next morning while reading about the area we found something that we ALL would enjoy. We went to the Land Between the Lakes National Park. It was a beautiful day for a picnic.

A children's hummingbird activity was planned at the Nature Center, so that was our target (I include a picture of volunteer Rose dressed in the hummingbird costume for the children's activity). This Nature Center was remarkable. Inside, besides the classroom, there was a section that housed small critters. Lots of turtles, frogs and snakes. We had perfect timing as Sunday is snake feeding day and they allow the public to watch as the care-taker drops the cute fluffy little mice into the cage. Then the snake injects the mouse (think bite) and swallows the little guy whole. Pretty cool stuff. Personally I don't like mice and it seems like a slow way to get rid of them. Maybe if they fed the snakes more than one a week??

Outside is even better than inside. There is a natural trail that has exhibits more like a zoo would have. A lot of woodland creatures that I would imagine were injured and retrieved. We saw owls and a bald eagle. There were also wolves and deer and bobcats...other things that just aren't coming out of the depths of my memory. There were a lot and the trail was fun to walk. The meadow part was where they fed the hummingbirds and butterflies. Let me tell you that the hummingbirds were thick!! It looked like a swarm of very large bees. They were everywhere. The monarch butterflies use this center as a stopping place on their migration as well, but there weren't any there the day we stopped.

Leaving the nature center and going down the road several miles was a viewing area to see elk and bison. In Kentucky you get corrected if you call them buffalo. Same animal tho. We opted to pass since we had already traveled with a much larger herd while we were in South Dakota. Instead we went on several more miles to the Homestead.

The Homestead is a working 1850 farm. They do everything the same as would have been done way-back then. It impressed us how many buildings they needed in order to have a functioning farm. Every task seemed to need it's own residence. There were a couple of them that they don't use now, but still maintain: the smoke house and spring house. Everything else was being used. The house had an interesting construction. Each room was called a pen and stood seperately with a common roof over all. This made breeze-ways between each room. I would imagine it helped to keep the sleeping areas cool at night since nothing was connected to the cooking area.

A picture is included here of Jerry at the wood shop. The lathe is operated with a foot peddle. There is a rope that wraps around the work and a counter-weight that is almost the length of the building. Jerry spent some time talking with the woodsmith (surprise?), and this guy was nice enough to go chop down a tree to give Jerry a couple hunks of wood so he could turn them when we get home. There are the typical farm animals in abundance. We didn't allow enough time to really tour the farm well. The woman-in-charge. .was, and kicked us out at closing time (we had only been there an hour).

While driving through the forest there are lots of side roads. Each one has at least one cemetery sign. The story on this is one we heard in school, but now makes sense. One of the programs that was implemented to end the depression was the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority). That was a huge water-control project that involved the government buying (willingly or not) land in the Tennessee Valley so a dam could be built and jobs generated. That was where we were. The agreement that was made included moving the cemeteries to higher ground and allowing access to them in perpetuity. As Paul Harvey would say: Now for the rest of the story. The government is now negotiating with developers to sell this same land. It is wonderful view property and in very high demand. Not a few families of those that were dislocated are miffed. They were forced to sell their land for a pittance and now developers will make a bundle. Carpet-bagging continues in the south. That is the story told to Jerry as he was doing what he does best.. talking with new friends.

More to come as we break camp and head to Northern Kentucky.

A bit of bathroom humor

2007-07-23T15:25:00.000-07:00

Bet that subject piqued your interest...Here is the story (with pictures).

After we spent two nights in the so-called campground in Iowa (with WI-if), Jerry reserved us a spot in Missouri. I will have to admit the ad in the book made it sound like a utopia. The only honest part of the ad was that it did NOT have a connection. We managed to camp without one before so figured we could handle that again. Everything else sounded pretty good.. showers, restrooms, swimming and a small store. It was close to Jefferson City and lots to see. I included pictures of what the campground looked like. There is one of our cat and truck parked under the wonderful trees. The picture of the building with two doors being kept closed with the 2X4's is a picture of the showers/restrooms. On the last day, Jerry actually went in them--he had to. Somewhere along the trip, our toilet uhm..broke. So, we were very creative about that whole part of life. At least the shower in the cat worked and we could stay clean. The swimming area was a lot less than we were used to as well. The campground was a called a marina. I think they called it that because it was within a mile of a river. There was a stagnant slough to the side of where we parked (swimming area?). I warned Rose and Chris to NOT go down there...and of course at night we had the skeeters. That is what you call them in Missouri.

We did have some wonderful things in camp. We had fireflies. Not millions of them, but enough to know they are not a fantasy. There were also some very large old oak trees. I paced one and it was at least 20 feet around. Beautiful tree.

You would be amazed at the amount of forest here. It started in Iowa and went all the way through Missouri. We are still in it in Kentucky. When the road got to the top of a rise so we could look out, there was no end to the hills and all of them were covered with trees. It amazes me to think that someone actually tried to cross that mess without a map only using deer paths and Indian trails. We had the advantage of clearings now and again to see the forest, but the frontiersmen would only have one tree after another. The trees grow rather close together, so it is dark and formidable. Makes sense that the settlers traveled by river. Daniel Boone was truly trail-blazer.

Speaking of him, we went to his grave site. (There is a picture of Rose and Chris by a monument.) It was mostly his wife's family graveyard, but the monument did address the fact that he WAS buried there. Several years ago, Kentucky asked for his remains so they could duly honor him. There are two stories. One is that Missouri honored the request and exhumed his remains and gave them to them no problem. The other story (far more interesting) is that Missouri didn't want to give the bones to Kentucky so they dug up a slave and gave them those bones. Part of that story is if they did get the wrong bones it was an accident. Let's see--politics. Would they really make that mistake??? Or did they get caught?? Anyway, they are discussing digging up some more bones to satisfy Kentucky's request. Now the plot thickens because the property which is connected to the graveyard is for sale (graveyard is not state property) and the sellers don't want the mystery solved as the value of the property will go down if his bones leave the area. They have 30 acres they are asking 1.2 million for. If ol' Dan's bones leave they will only get market value.

While we were driving the scenic route, we were interrupted by a huge thunder/lightening storm. They experience some kind of rain!!! I guess it was close to an inch within just a few hours. They have moved whole towns up into the hills after they flood a couple of times.

A lot of the little towns could be fun, but they don't even use the old buildings. We were intrigued by them and you now have our pictures. The jail-house picture was one of those buildings. It was obviously the oldest building in town, but they were using it to store plastic barrels. When we stopped for the picture-taking, the locals thought we were up to no good. I expect they wanted to know what was so interesting about that old building. Poor Jerry, I made him get in there for his picture and he broke out in a sweat--there was a nest of hornets right behind him. Even our bug girl refused the second picture. Jerry was a trouper. For those that don't know Jerry is allergic to bee sting. We have to carry one of those bee-shot kits. Hmmm...maybe that made up for the campground choice?

When we traveled into Kentucky we had to cross the confluence of the Ohio and another big river. Both bridges went way up so the ships could go under They are the old steel girder type of bridge. I took a picture as we entered the second bridge which had one lane closed. Good idea as this was a very narrow bridge and it was a white-knuckle ride the way it was. Jerry was strangely quiet.

We will be in Kentucky for a bit longer than a week. On Monday we will head to the north-central area to try the National Forest. Rose and Chris have a half-brother living up that way that they want to visit. We are hoping he can camp with us a few days as well.

Stay cool if it is hot, get warm if you are cold. Just some practical advice from someone who has been to Missouri.

Still on the Road

2007-07-18T18:22:00.001-07:00

We made it through Nebraska...alive. It was part of our adventure to see
the United States.

If given a choice between the NorthWest corner of the state and the
SouthEast...I would pick the northwest. Maybe it was driving I-80 for a few
hours that made it boring...miles and miles of corn. They still grow it
there, a lot.

Btw...my mom and sister sent me an email (which I just got) that I was
roaming around the town my dad was born up there in Nebraska. Didn't even
know it. I sent a picture of the Cow Poke hotel in my last posting...that
was it. Has the same 20 to 30 families living there now as when he was born
in a sod house.

While still camped in Nebraska's National Forest we were treated to a
tornado alert. A rather exciting afternoon with lots of lightening and big
drops of rain. Our camp was snuggled down in some hills, so I don't think
we were in eminent danger. Unfortunately...they had to close the swimming
pool on the only day we would have been able to swim. Only another
over-heated mother can understand the frustration of two small children. As
we were walking away from the entrance Rose asked if we couldn't please go
swimming in the river again. Mind you, the storm has already started. I
had walked them to the pool only to allow them to know for themselves it was
closed--after all, I didn't want to be the bad guy. Good plan, went bad as
I was the bad guy anyway when I told her we couldn't even swim in the river
during a lightening storm and tornado alert.

They got to do their second favorite activity--watch a movie. Same one they
watched 20 times. Before we left the next day, I let them back in the river
while Jerry did the dump thing. Pictures included.

It gets hot in Nebraska! Thanking God for an air conditioned pick-up. Rose
can now read the temperature and the travel direction from the rear-view
mirror...and does, moment-by-moment. We are giving her an education.

There were very few Kodak moments the next few days. Nebraska is one of
those states that you must make an effort to find something worth
appreciating. We finally got that on the last night...a brilliant sunset
and electrical storm show. The sunset was amazing. If we didn't know
better we would have thought we were in a prairie fire--it was amazing. It
had been a while since taking a picture, but I joined the other campers and
we were all snapping away. I have included the shot I took just outside our
door.

It is hard to tell if Nebraska is behind the times with technology or not.
The camp-hosts suggested that we go back up the highway to the big town
(York) and go to Wendy's as they are a hotspot. We did, and low-and-behold
there is a Starbucks right next door!! Shazamm!! This is a no-brainer.
Got Rose and Chris and frosty at Wendy's and went next door to the world
renown WI-if hotspot for a latte and some civilization. Â That is what folks
from the northwest expect. Change that thought. Starbucks has decided that
folks in Nebraska aren't up to laptops at coffee shops yet. None of them
have service. Jerry was a trouper and drove everywhere I pointed to try and
plug into an unsecured network. The list of parking lots we visited for the
next hour or so is mind-boggling. There were networks, but none strong
enough to penetrate all those brick buildings. Folks, I was hanging out the
window trying to get on the Internet.

Some parts of this adventure are only funny when they are behind you.

It is soooo very nice to be connected. I was having withdrawal. I was
carrying this laptop everywhere we went hoping to find a connection. The
next day Jerry went golfing and was telling the owner about my difficulty.
The golf-guy told Jerry that the local crowd all huddled around those tall
grain elevators next to the railroad tracks. You probably remember seeing
them, every little town has one. He said that you can connect in the shadow
of the tower.

"Alrighty", I said. "This is Nebraska. It is weird. I am desperate." I
put Rose and Chris to bed, Jerry was watching the one channel on TV. Into
the pick-up I jump with the laptop in tow heading to the nearest tall
landmark...six miles away. I was thinking the whole way how incredibly
strange this felt. How totally impossible that they would have a router on
the top of those things. Sure enough, when I set up the computer there was
a connection! It was the strongest one I had found so far...so quickly, I
connected hoping that I would get the meager band-width before the crowd
started forming around the railroad tracks. I managed to send most of my
back-log and received six emails apiece for Jerry and I before the
connection just disappeared. You must understand this whole process wasn't
at lightening speed. I had already been there almost an hour to do the
little that I got done. I decided that if I really needed to connect again,
there were elevators at every poh-dunk crossing and could use them at will.
Of course, I never did again. Still am amazed that is the only way to
connect in Nebraska. There were a couple more cars pulling into the area
when I left. HA! I win!

We are now in Iowa. Getting here was an experience in itself. When we got
to the border (which is the Missouri River) there was a very old steel
bridge. It was about a lane and half wide. Two cars could probably pass on
it, but a camper must go it alone. Unfortunately, when it was our turn
there was a tanker-truck half-way across coming toward us. Jerry stopped to
wait for him to finish. He stopped and started to back-up. He finally
relalized that we were waiting and continued crossing. We were laughing so
hard at how Nebraska needs visitors so bad they charge them to leave!!!
This was a toll-bridge. I am sure it has been paid for many times over as
it looked like it was built in the 20's or 30's. Trust me, the toll-booth
and fee-taker were originals as well.

We will be in Iowa until tomorrow, then it is off to Missouri. I suspect
there will be more moments for pictures there. Our wonderful neighbor,
Monya gave us the Reader's Digest Scenic drive book and we found a drive
that is close to where we were going. Now, it is where we are going.
Looking forward to something a little less high-way and a bit more relaxing
and historic. While searching for campsites we found that the national
parks in Missouri are called Mark Twain National Park...all of them. There
are many in various locations. So if someone ever says that is where they
are--you will have no idea where that is.

You can tell I have been away from civilization for a while, as this is
quite long. I feel no guilt as you can delete at any time and I won't know
the difference.

Hugs from all of us to all of you.

Entering Nebraska

2007-07-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!!

This is Susan again from Nebraska this time.

We sure didn't know what to expect when we made reservations at the National

Forest in Nebraska. In our mind, Nebraska was long miles of corn fields.

We have yet to see any corn yet.

The trail here went the through the area in South Dakota that was dealing

with a forest fire that was destroying homes and had killed one person. We

did see the pillars of mad smoke, but it was quite a ways from the highway

we were traveling.

Leaving the Black Hills was a bit sad since we had enjoyed ourselves so much

there. Our last day was spent cleaning with a couple hour break for a bike

ride on the rails-to-trails path. What a enjoyable experience that was!

Rose is able to ride without training wheels and Chris has one of those

wheel things that attaches to my bike. We were able to ride 3 or 4 miles.

In that period we saw a beaver cross the path in front of us and raced a

deer.

The Nebraska landscape was a bit barren after such lushness in South Dakota,

but after a few miles we started to see the natural beauty. The area we are

camping in is an oasis in the prairie. Someone said this man-made forest is

three miles across, not sure how long...but it is a ways. Jerry is going to

hike to the look-out tower today while the rest swims. This is the only

National Forest that boasts a swimming pool. When the forest was built by

CCC in the 30's, they included a swimming pool with all the other buildings.

The pool is used by local residents as well as visitors to the forest.

There is a minimal charge ($1.00) and the pool is only open certain hours..

but believe me having that water available in the heat (and humidity) is a

blessing. Unfortunately the pool is closed on Wednesdays so poor children

had to wait one more day to hit the water.

Since swimming was out yesterday, and we were needing some supplies, we

back-tracked to the nearest town (Thedford, population: 450). It is the

county seat so it has a lot going on with the fairgrounds, courthouse, etc.

It also has a grocery store (think what might be in Falls City). Not only

that there is a museum (which will open if you give them a call) and an art

gallery. Not to mention the local hotel--the sign was so interesting we

couldn't resist a few pictures. All you cowboys are probably green with

envy about now.

When we were returning to camp we notice a dirt road that was the back road

to the forest and decided to take it. It wasn't long before we saw the sign

that said only 4-wheel drive vehicles allowed. Couldn't figure out why for

the first 20 miles, then we hit the wash-outs. It sure was fun to drive

it!!! Told Jerry that I like off-roading. Really kicked up the dirt (not).

Jerry is pretty protective of his truck and actually told me to slow down.

Oh well, I pretended. We were a bit used to grassland scenery, but this was

so much better!!! There were so many flowers blooming and everything seems

to be well-watered. I included some pictures from our back-road experience.

A mini-adventure occurred when an unknown visitor flew through Chris's

window and landed below him. I included the best picture we got of this

little fellow. Chris shrieked and Rose said that a tiny owl was on the

floor. We have no idea what this bug is, but it was strikingly beautiful.

The picture needed to be better to appreciate all the colors he has. He was

probably 2 to 3 inches long. There were hundreds of them flying with us the

whole time we were in the grassland area. When we get Internet access again

we are going to find out what it is. Jerry was the brave one to remove him,

Chris didn't want anything to do with it. Rose is our bug girl. She wanted

to keep him for her collection. You can rest easy knowing he was returned

to live free--will maybe. There was a very pretty bird eyeing him when we

left.

About 10 miles from camp the forest began. It is hard to imagine how much

work was done to plant this area. My understanding is there were two

forests planted. This is the smaller one and it is incredible. One area

was posted that it was planted by school children in 1960ish. Those

children are probably now bringing their grandchildren to see the trees they

planted. It is mostly various species of pine, but there are elm and

cottonwood as well as spruce and cedar. The smell is amazing!!! Even Rose

and Chris have noticed.

Rose and Chris are delighted with this place. The loop we are camped around

is about 20 acres...with nothing but trees a knolls in the center. We all

have hiked through this mini-forest and deemed it "good". Rose and Chris

are allowed to wander this area at will. Their only rule is they cannot

cross any road. There are so many paths to entertain their imaginative

play! We are still heavy into the cowboy/Indian stuff. I asked them

yesterday if they were hiking through there like Indians, Rose said, "No, we

are noisy white men."

The pictures this time are sent smaller...should be quicker to open as well

as download. I had several people mention they had some trouble. This is

the smallest size I have available-hope it works for you.

We are on a grand adventure and do think of our friends that we have left

behind, often.

Best wishes to all of you--til next time--where ever that is.

Today's Journey

2007-07-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

Of course, it was bound to happen that one day I would forget the camera..

today was that day.

I will now describe to you the pictures that didn't get taken.

We wanted to be sure and take a picture of the Calvary Chapel we visited in

Rapid City, so that is the first picture we didn't take.

After church, we missed taking the funniest one of the day. It is Chris

cowering behind my legs as we watch an animated T-Rex growl and steam at us.

We are in Wall, South Dakota. For any of you that haven't heard of Wall

Drug, I will tell you a bit of the story. (I got this from the menu.) A

young pharmacist decided to run his own pharmacy in a small town. He found

one for sale in Wall and decided to use his inheritance from his father to

purchase it. Let me tell you he was a visionary if he thought there were

enough people to keep him busy out there. Anyway, he told his wife that if

he was unable to provide a living within a year they would move on.

Sometime during that year she came up with this idea to offer free ice water

to travelers on the highway. This was in the 30's and people were traveling

in them old model T's or whatever else. He thought that was an excellent

idea and with the help of a high school student made some signs and posted

them on the side of the highway...like the Burma shave signs. The idea

worked wonderfully well and the people came to the drug store. Of course,

when they got there they bought stuff. Within a year they had eight

employees. Now the store is a full city block and the only reason the town

still exists. Should you ever go there I would recommend you eat at any

other restaurant in town. The food at Wall Drug is not good and very

expensive as well.

The next picture that we didn't take was of Rose and Chris sitting in a

covered wagon (again at Wall Drug) pretending to go across the prairie.

There is a courtyard of fun activities for children to do which makes it a

nice break from driving through the center of South Dakota. We didn't take

a lot of other pictures of them playing...which I won't bore you with.

When we were shopped out (only took some of us a few minutes), we headed

south into the Badlands. They start less than ten miles from Wall. The

advice we had was to go to the Badlands either at sunset or dawn to have the

best show of colors. We have two reasons why we didn't want to do it at

that time of day: 1) Rose 2) Chris. So we went in the middle of the

afternoon. The next non-picture is incredible. You must understand just

how rich and lush the Black HIlls are to really appreciate the rare

starkness of the Badlands. It is as if all the good is sucked out of one

area (Badlands) and dumped into another (Black Hills). The scenery in the

Badlands is surreal. We were amazed by it. At the pull-outs we joined many

other tourists in quiet amazement. The picture not showing here is of us

high above a plateau of folding hill sides separated by huge cracks and

canyons--with no vegetation to be seen.

The last shot is of a place called Pig Dig. You will especially like not

seeing the one with Chris quizzing the archeologist about how she came to be

in a hole to dig in the dirt. It was more like an interrogation. Of course

you can't see Rose in the background going through their trash can looking

for???? Who knows what. Those two little girls you can't see are her new

friends, neither of which can speak English. Rose believes she was speaking

Spanish with them, but I am not so sure as there seem to be many Ukrainian

people here.

There were many many pull-outs that we refused to leave the car to enjoy the

view. Maybe it was just today, or maybe they are always there...but, there

are some nasty little flies in the Badlands. They refuse to be brushed away

and will only leave you alone if you swat them. Not only that they are

quick--and bite. I mean BITE HARD!!! We are all full of welts from them.

Either they prefer ankles or white colors as they went for our feet.

I truly do feel bad spamming everyone. It must feel like you are watching

someone's home movie. Remember I will never know if you just delete these

missives. So don't feel guilty at all if that is what you do.

Probably no pictures tomorrow either. Not because I am planning to forget

the camera, but because we are going to be cleaning and only have a bike

ride planned.

Enjoy your sunshine!