A trip into American History

 NOTE:  We have had limited access to the Internet for the last week so the following entry covers quite a lot of material, and mileage for us.  It covers Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, New Bern in North Carolina, Virginia Beach in Virginia and Fredericksburg in Virginia. 

June 3, 2010 We left Charleston and booked into Huntingdon Beach State Park which is just south of Myrtle Beach. We could only get one night because it was booked solid for the weekend.  A very nice campsite with a beautiful beach.  As you drive in to the park we crossed a cause-way that crosses over a lagoon that has a fair population of Gators, including some fairly big ones. The Huntingdon family donated the property to the State on the condition that they make it into a park.  

The family home is on the property but it is in disrepair, but the gardens are incredible. They have an incredible statue at the entrance. I went for a long bike ride in the area and saw many beautiful homes built along the water. Some of the new houses are really nicely done and they are made to look like the colonial homes.

The next day we drove up to New Bern, North Carolina. It is named after Bern (bear), Switzerland and they have the bear motif everywhere in town.

Man, when it rains down here it really rains.  This is a picture at New Bern.

We stayed at a KOA which was very nice and it was a rest stop for us. I went and played golf at a very nice course (Emerald Golf Course) and I played with a retired teacher from Pittsburg and his wife. They are avid golfers and they told me that they decided to retire here and found a nice gated community with 2 full size golf courses, swimming pool, commons room, etc. Well, they had no sooner moved in when one of the golf courses closed because the ownership had run into financial problems. Then, a year later, they closed the second course because the housing development in the community was not selling. So now they have to drive across town to play golf. Man, the economy sucks!

June 6, 2010  We left New Bern and drove up to Virginia Beach, Virginia. We pulled into First Landing State Park, made our way to our campsite, backed in and got set up. Then I look across the road and there is a Dodge pick-up with BC plates. I went over and introduced myself and had a few beers with Dave and Brenda from West Vancouver.  They have been on the road longer than us and they have a giant 5th wheel that is a toy-hauler. They each have a BMW motorcycle, a regular bicycle, and they have a 2 person kayak, and it is all stored in their 5th wheel. Dave reminded me of my friend Henry Wantke; big tall guy, talks sort of slowly, a great story teller, gets sidetracked quite easily when telling a story, and boy does he like his beer.

The classic Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach.

A walk along the beach at First Landing State Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia.  I'm thinking "I wonder if I can get Hooch into the water" and you can tell by the photo that he is thinking "No way in hell"!

The next day we toured the Historic Triangle; Jamestown, Williamsburg and Yorktown. Jamestown was the first English settlement in America in 1607.  Williamsburg was the state capital in the early days and the Governor’s palace is there. Yorktown is where the Americans finally defeated the British to establish their independence. All three towns are part of a National Park and very well restored, and the parks include tours of the towns.

Virginia really hasn't developed road building technology yet!
Actually this is part of the driving tour at historic Jamestown.

This is the Victory Monument in Yorktown to signify the final battle in which the Americans defeated the British to win their independance.





In that I am sort of a History buff, I found these tours fascinating, but did require a maximum of Laurie's patience. I am reading a book called The Civil War by Bruce Catton and I am travelling through the territory that the battles took place; it just doesn’t get any better than that for me. On our way back we drove down to the Virginia Beach strip which is made up of giant hotels on the beach, restaurants, bars, girls dancing on tables (oh, did I really log that).  Then back at camp later that night, we went over to visit our fellow BCers, a campfire, and a few more beers. This was the first time in a long time that the temperature was only in the low 80’s during the day (not the 90’s), and then it cooled off at night. They are forecasting cooler temperatures for the next couple of days. What a relief!!!

Observations: * We have seen many places just like Virginia Beach, with lots of action and they are great places for young people to hang out. When I was young I aspired to go to California to live the beach party life. After touring the Gulf Coast and now the Atlantic, there are a 100 fold more opportunities and beaches to attract that life style.

* I now know what they mean when they say the Carolinas are a mecca for golf.  In some cases there were golf courses on both sides of the highway and a real variety; expensive resort courses and moderately priced courses.  I can see another trip down here in my future!

* You may find this hard to believe, but there is a major grocery store chain down here called “Piggly Wiggly”…..I’m not making that up….I’m not that creative to come up with stuff like that. What were they thinking???

* This beautiful home is very new yet it is designed to look like one of the colonial classics, Myrtle Beach.

June 8, 2010  As a result of my interest in the Civil War, we headed up to Fredericksburg and checked into a nice KOA about 9 miles from the historic Old Town. When we arrived we kicked back, did a couple of loads of laundry, and had a nice BBQ.

Fredericksburg has two events from history that caught my attention: 1) It is where George Washington grew up, and 2)Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania was the location of 4 major Civil War battles between Confederate and Union armies. I toured the museum at Ferry Farm which is the farm where George Washington grew up. Apparently, the famous apple tree incident happened there. Fredericksburg has a major university called Mary Washington to commemorate George’s mother.

I also toured the visitor’s centre that explained the battles (December 1862) that took place in this area which saw more than 100,000 casualties. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson (Confederate) defeated General Ambrose Burnside (Union), but later was defeated by Ulysses S. Grant. Stonewall Jackson took a bullet during one of these battles and died 8 days later. Historians say that this defeat set the stage for the Union army to finally defeat the Confederates.

I also toured the Chatham mansion that was built in 1768 and in its time, hosted two of America’s most famous Presidents – George Washington in 1785 and Abraham Lincoln in 1862. All in all, a very interesting history lesson.