A Different World in Maine

We left the Boston area and headed for Maine. Maine has a beautiful coastline with many lighthouses and of course, World famous lobster. We booked into an RV park called Wassamki Springs for the 4th of July weekend. The campground was inland a few miles just south of Portland, Maine. This was a very nice place with a private lake, large campsites and lots of activities for the 4th of July celebration, including a breakfast, a pork and chicken dinner, games for the kids, a rock concert and more. Even though the park was packed for the weekend, you still had your space.

We went for a drive into Portland and discovered it to be a quaint old town with some nice green space along the water. We drove out to one of the city parks that had one of many lighthouses in the area. It was well preserved and the park was very nice. We drove down to Orchard Beach and found it to be like so many other beach towns that we have visited; lots of bars, restaurants, souvenir shops and it also had an amusement park on the beach complete with a ferris wheel. The next night we went out to Pine Point and found a lobster joint right on the beach. As we ate we watched boats coming and going and we had a nice view of the ocean.

July 5, 2010 We drove up to Bar Harbor, following the coast all the way. We drove through many small, fishing villages and beach towns. In almost every town there are beautifully restored old Victorian homes and a Main street that is made up of brick buildings, which are pretty much the way they were 100-200 years ago. We stayed at Hadley Point Campground which was only a few miles from the town of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. On our second day there a big “toy-hauler” pulled in beside us and we were happy to discover that it was the same couple from N. Vancouver (Dave and Brenda) that we hung out with at Virginia Beach. What are the chances of them ending up in the same location as us for a second time. We still had only seen one other BC license plate (in Boston) in our entire travels. We had no idea where each other was headed when we left each other in Virginia Beach. Since then they had travelled up to Ottawa and then headed into the States again, putting on many miles. We were happy to see them and we had a couple of good nights around the camp fire and talked about the differences between Canada and the USA.

The next day Laurie surprised me by suggesting that we rent mopeds to cruise around the island. This came out of the blue as Laurie has always said that she would not get on a motorcycle because she had known people in high school who had been killed on them. We rented the mopeds for 3 hours and we both had a blast. We toured around Acadia National Park, which is beautiful, and we drove up to the top of Cadillac Mountain, which is right in the park. It is the highest mountain on the Atlantic coast. Laurie said that she would like to ride a moped again.

The last night in Bar Harbor we went out for dinner to another lobster joint with our friends Dave and Brenda. Tomorrow we head for Canada!

Oh CANADA!!!

On July 8, 2010 we left Bar Harbor and headed north along Hwy 1 which follows the coast to some degree. It was slow going as they slow you down in every little town, plus we hit road construction in a few places. We decided to head inland and get to a main highway. We crossed into Canada at the Calais/St. Stephen crossing in New Brunswick. The crossing is fairly new and it seems huge for the trickle of cars that actually cross the border there. The Canadian Customs officer was a nice, young woman who was very friendly to us. Unfortunately, she told us that the computer had chosen us for an inspection and we had to pull over. It felt odd because there was no one else around and the nice new customs office was empty. The inspection was a piece of cake; it was just weird to get pulled over when the place was dead. Laurie and I joked that the reason for the inspection was that they were bored and needed something to do.

We continued on Hwy 1 and stopped in Saint John, NB for a few groceries. We pushed on to Fundy National Park which is 45 kms off the main highway but it is really a nice park on the incredible Bay of Fundy. We found out that at Canada’s National Parks you not only pay your campsite fee, and your reservation fee, but each individual has to pay a daily user fee ($7.60/day) on top of that. In the end, we paid about $52. per night to camp there. That is one of the highest costs per night that we have ever seen in our camping experience, in either Canada or the USA. In Oregon for example, if you are camping in the National Park your campsite fee includes your daily user fee. I recognized that they

do a nice job of developing and maintaining our National Parks, but come on people??? At the edge of Fundy National Park is a little village called Alma that has most of the things that campers require and there are few restaurants.                                           Watching the Fundy tide come in!

I feel like the Government is like the Pirates of yester-year, they seem to always steal from you!!!


One of the things that strikes you when you enter Canada is the high cost of everything. Fuel costs are about a $1/gallon more, pop is 2 or 3 times more expensive, and beer…… oh my God!!! In New Brunswick a dozen beer cost me $22.90 and I have been used to paying $10/dozen in the USA, or $11.50 for a premium brand. I guess it’s the cost of living in such a wonderful country?

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, START YOUR ENGINES

Ever since the Jack Nicolson/Morgan Freeman movie came out called “The Bucket List”, Laurie and I have been talking in those terms when planning for the future. Our helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon last March was one of the items that we stroked off our list. This trip, “the Odyssey”, is another item on the list. One of the items on my personal list was to see a NASCAR race. I have been checking the NASCAR website as we have been travelling and it seemed that we couldn’t catch up to the NASCAR tour. While we were in Newport RI I found out that NASCAR was in Loudon (Concord) New Hampshire the following weekend. So I bought a ticket on the internet and we took off from Newport (June 25) and checked into Blake’s Brook RV in Loudon NH, which was a way up in the mountains. It was camping with the hill-billys. When we arrived, Laurie and I drove over to New Hampshire Motor Speedway to scope it out; location, parking, and to get a feel for when I travelled there for the race on Sunday. We pulled into a parking lot to look at race souvenirs at a road-side stand and I bought a Jeff Gordon (#24) hat. While I was standing there a car pulled up behind me and a guy asked “Do you want tickets for tomorrow (Saturday)?” I said “How much” and he said “Free”. Apparently he works for the city of Loudon and they have promotion tickets to give out. Saturday has a race for open-wheel stock cars and a Nationwide Series race, which is the training ground for the big time Sprint Series. Danica Patrick drove in the Nationwide, but she was really out of her league.

We go back to the campsite and two trailers had pulled in beside us and I made friendly, and found out these people have been going to the race for over 10 years. The next day (Saturday) I went to the track with my 2 new friends (Skip and Leo) (both in their late 60s) and they educated me about car racing. What a hoot! The next day I drove to the track on my own for the big show, and is it ever a show. If you don’t know, NASCAR is the example for promoting a sporting event. Each driver has a semi-trailer where the side drops down and they sell their souvenirs. There is a rock concert and an Air Force fly-by before the day gets started, there are venders everywhere, they rent RV spaces in the fields around the outside of the track (I would guess that there were between 800-1000 RVs), there were 4-6 helicopters in the air at all times during the race, and much, much more. The noise that these powerful cars make is unbelievable, and you can actually get to within 10 feet of the cars while the race is going on, and they are travelling 160-180 miles per hour…..10 feet away. On the Sunday I wore ear-plugs and I was walking along the wall when they dropped the green flag after a yellow “Caution” flag, so all the cars, grouped together went roaring past me. Even with the ear plugs the noise was painful to my ears, and I had to go under the bleachers to stop the pain. To be there with 100,000 people and most of them are adamant fans of one particular driver, is quite a spectacle. It was well into Monday before my head stopped ringing. WOW!

June 28, 2010 On the Monday after the race, Laurie and I headed to Littleton, Massachusetts which is 25 miles out of Boston. We did a driving tour, stopping to walk through the park known as Boston Common and we went and had a drink at the bar called “Cheers” where they filmed the TV show. We drove through Harvard University and went for a walk along the Boston waterfront. Boston seems to be a very nice city with some very distinct areas; Historical District, Waterfront District, China Town, the University District, etc.

The next morning, June 30, (Sara’s Birthday….HAPPY BIRTHDAY) I went golfing at Shaker Hills Golf Club and that night I took the subway, “the T”, to Fenway Park to watch the Boston Red Soxs play the Tampa Bay Rays. Fenway was built in 1912 and it is one of the last remaining, old, classic ballparks in the Majors. You can probably guess, this was on my “Bucket List” as well. Just to be in that stadium where Babe Ruth pitched (yes he started out as a pitcher), and Ted Williams, Carl Yastremski, and Carlton Fisk all played was a special experience for me. It was a day I will always remember!

"The Green Monster"  If you know about Fenway Park, you know about the Green Monster!







Observations:

* Throughout Connecticut and New Hampshire, we saw many homes that have stacked rock fences. I believe that it is to give the home a historic look.

* While we were camped in Newport, we discovered that there was a polo practice field next door. One evening, 7 huge horse trailers with 3-4 horses in each, drive up and they have a polo practice. The horse groomers/trainers get the horses ready and then a bunch of fancy cars pull up and the polo players get on their mounts that were prepared for them, have some fun and then get back in their cars and leave the groomers to pack up the horses and the gear. What a life!

* At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, fans could bring coolers in with alcohol in them, as long as the containers weren’t glass. And boy, was there ever a lot of booze consumed that day. I don’t know if that is the norm at all tracks, but I can’t help but think that NASCAR is letting a lot of revenue slip through their fingers. Mind you, fans were still spending money hand over fist.

* We are really happy with our truck and 5th wheel and then you see the ultimate.  These people are from Alaska and both the truck and 5th wheel are each worth over $100,000.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
* We are amazed that there are police officers in their cars at every road construction site.  It seems that it would be more cost efficient to hire traffic control???

The land of the Rich & Famous

NOTE:  I have changed the format of the Blog slightly because I believe the new format gives me more room on the page.

June 18, 2010 We left New York looking to get away from the “Big City” and we headed for the coastline of Connecticut. We found a nice KOA in Clinton, CT and decided to stay a couple of days. We drove around and found Clinton is part of a small cluster of seaside towns that are nice, quiet, places. I wanted to play golf and was very frustrated that the only 2 full size golf courses in the area were private and do not allow the public to play. After much research I destined myself to the fact that I would have to play a 9 hole course. Usually, 9 hole courses are farm pastures and not that great to play. I drove to a little town called Old Saybrook and went to Fenwick golf course. I pulled into the drive way and there was no clubhouse, just a barn. A guy there said you pay the starter across the street. I crossed the street and as I cleared the trees I could see that it was a fairly nice course. I talked to the starter and he had me join up with a long time resident of the area and his son. Fenwick is a small peninsula with only 72 houses on it and the residents manage their own community including the golf course. The inhabitants of Fenwick are celebrities and well to do people, and the houses that they built are mansions, in the early 1900s Cape Cod style. Catherine Hepburn was a long time resident here as was the Governor of Connecticut. Many of the homes are owned by the wealthy of Hartford and these mansions are simply their “summer homes”. The course was gorgeous!! All but 2 of the holes had views of the ocean, and a few of the holes were laid out along the coast. The guy I was playing with said the golf course is just a playground for the residents and no one takes their golf too serious. It turned out to be one of the highlights of my golf career. You never know.

June 20, 2010 We got up early and drove to Newport, Rhode Island. Although the original town of Newport dates back to 1755, at the end of the 1800s the wealthy moved in and built mansions (called summer cottages) along the cliffs, right above the ocean/beaches. The mansions are of all types and designs, many with beautiful gardens and huge gates at the road.

We went on the "Cliff Walk" which takes you along the cliffs at the back of these mansions and the sheer opulence is numbing.  The Walk is 3.5 miles out and then we walked about 2.5 miles to get back to our truck, quite a hike!

Not a bad "Summer Cottage".  Kind of like our cabin at Baker??? 

The International Tennis Hall of Fame is there and they have a huge playing facility behind it. There is also a Polo club in Newport, and there are hundreds of giant yachts in the many mooring facilities along the coast. They also have some nice beaches in different locations but they charge $20 to park.

The downtown section of Newport is really well done with restored colonial buildings, a beautiful harbor with lots of restaurants, water tours, and souvenir stores.


 Notice the reference to the America's Cup on the banner....big time sailing!

The sheer number of boats, some yachts as large as my house, is unbelievable. It is definitely a playground for the rich and famous. I think this entire area, from Connecticut, through Cape Cod, up through Maine, has a lot upper class residents.

 An interesting aside is that I was playing golf with a 17 year old high school student, who was well educated and from a well to do family, who told me that he had played golf in the “South” (Carolinas) with his school’s golf team. He said that he loved the courses but the people were not that nice. I asked “Why is that” and he replied, “They are Confederates”. I asked “Is there still a division based on Yankee/Confederate lines?” He looked at me and paused before saying “It’s like the Berlin Wall was”. I had no idea that people still thought in those terms, in this day and age!

Atlantic City and on to New York

Atlantic City

June 13, 2010 We left Washington DC and headed up through Wilmington, Delaware and on to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Atlantic City was kind of out of our way but are we ever glad that we went there to see it. It is like Vegas, but all of the casinos are on the beach along the board walk. Many of the Vegas casinos are also there, Caesars, Harrah’s, Bally’s, Tropicana, and of course, Donald Trump has at least 2 casinos there.

There is even a Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Atlantic City was simply a very old city until the government of New Jersey decided to develop a Las Vegas styled resort. The island it is on is surrounded by beautiful beaches, but what really makes Atlantic City so different is the Board Walk. It is mile upon mile of wooden walkway with restaurants, souvenir shops, casinos, arcades and even an amusement park complete with a roller coaster. The people-watching there was very entertaining. The place is a contradiction because beside a giant, glitzy casino is a vacant lot or a run-down apartment building. Because of the layout of development along the strip, it seems that development did not quite happen at the rate that they had planned for. All in all, Atlantic City has the same draw as Vegas; gambling, partying, but it also has the beautiful beaches. We even saw two full bars built right on the beach. It is definitely worth a look.

New Jersey is full of toll highways and they charge by the number of axles. Today we spent $39 on road tolls in a little over an hour and ½. One section of road took us over a bridge and it cost us $23! Now don’t get me wrong, I believe in tolls to pay for a new highway or bridge until it is paid for (like the Couqhala) but $23 for a 12 mile section of highway seems crazy!

New York City

June 15, 2010 We headed north along the coast known as Jersey Shores looking for an RV Park. We pulled into a place called Toms River, continuing our search, but we weren’t successful. There are many beautiful homes along the beach but it has limited public access, and certainly no RV parks. Laurie and I think that the Jersey Shores is the area that New Yorker’s have their beach homes. We stopped for lunch in a little shopping mall and found a tiny restaurant called Andy’s Place. This place was run by Italians and they had wonderful, authentic, Italian food; a real treat. Of course they had the World Cup soccer on a TV in the back.

We decided to make a run to the KOA for the New York area. It is 60 miles from New York (north), but apparently there is only one other campsite closer, but it is booked months in advance. We checked in and the next morning we took the train into New York City. The train ride was along the Hudson River and the river is huge. The scenery along the river was very picturesque and our train took us to Grand Central Station. The station is an incredible building and it has over 100 different train tracks arriving at this hub. The train arrived underground and we climbed the stairs and walked out onto 42nd street.

I will never forget that feeling when I walked out. I felt the size an ant as there are huge building on both sides of the street and they run as far as the eye can see in both directions. Next block over, is the same thing. The noise, the smells, the mass of humanity; it was like arriving on a different planet.

We made our way over to Times Square and it was noon and the lunch crowd was on the move. WHAT A ZOO!! Much of Time Square and 7th Avenue are cordoned off to vehicles and there are tables on the street to eat your lunch, or sit and rest.  They had bleachers set up and a huge crowd was watching a World Cup game. 

We walked around for a while to get a feeling of the magnitude of the place and we passed by the Empire State Building.  The Empire State Building is dwarfed by many building in Manhattan now and the tourists are not really interested in it any longer.  New York City is made up of a number of areas; Manhattan which is the main part, Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem and so on. After walking for a while Laurie and I headed back to the train for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to our station.

The next day I headed for New York on the train but Laurie decided to take a rain-check.  Once I arrived at Grand Central Station I immediately went to the subway and caught a train to the bottom of Manhattan to Battery Park (to see the Statue of Liberty).  There are many, many subway lines under the city and they travel in every direction.  At some stations there are 3 tracks stacked on top of each other.  I planned to catch the Yankees-Phillies ballgame later that day so I had to watch my time.  I saw the Statue of Liberty from a distance because I didn't feel I had time to go on the Ellis Island ferry.  I wandered over to Wall Street and the NYSE New York Stock Exchange.

I went to the site of the World Trade Centre towers and found out that they are building another single tall tower in it's place (so it is a construction zone).  Right across the street is Ladder Company 10 which was a first responder on Sept.11 and virtually all their firefighters were killed that day.

I went over the to Brooklyn Bridge (you can see the Manhattan Bridge in the distance) on the East River and had lunch on a pier with this view.  The pier was called the South Street Seaport Pier and it was a hive of activity.  There were boat and helicopter scenic trips and you could go on a sightseeing trip on the river in a tall ship.  A great place to kick back on a beautiful day.  I planned my walking tour so that I would end up on a subway line that would take me directly to Yankee Stadium....or wrong-go.

As it turns out I had to transfer 2 times and every person I asked seemed to give me a different answer about which train to get on.  The subways are just like you see on TV; dirty, noisy, super crowded and they really travel fast.  There was one Metro employee who's job it was to hurry people along the platform and to push people from behind to jam them into the car and get the doors closed.  Can you say sardines.  The train/subway system is widely used by people of all economic classes and therefor you don't see many metro buses on the streets.  The subway is so much faster because the buses get stuck in the traffic so people take the subway.  I now understand why so many people in New York do not own a car...why bother?

And of course, I finally made it to Yankee Stadium.  That night was a rematch of last year's World Series as they played the Philadelphia Phillies, plus Andy Pettite was pitching, so the game was a sell out.  By the way, the Phillies won the game.  Then after the game, back on the train for a hour and 1/2. 

the CAPITOL - Washington DC

June 10, 2010 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB - hope you enjoyed the pink flamingos all over the lawn when you woke up this morning.  30 years old!  Man I remember when I was 30, it was like it was only......

On June 10 we drove up to Washington DC and checked into Cherry Hill Park, and as their brochure says "A Monumental Experience", oh brother.  It is quite the park with over 300 sites, a restaurant, 2 pools, a transit station right on the property, a movie every night, a couple of lakes (ponds) with fountains; well you get the picture.  The next day we jumped on a bus that took us to the rail transit and we zoomed in to downtown Washington.  And I mean zoomed; the high speed rail went twice as fast as our rail transit in Vancouver.

We soon made our way to the National Mall which is about 2-3 miles long and you can see from one end to the other.  At one end is the US Capitol building and at the other is the Lincoln Memorial.

This green space is a beautiful park like setting with all kinds of monuments, museums, art galleries, food and souvenir kiosks...it is a happening place.  There are monuments to WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, John F. Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Roosevelt, and many more.  There are museums for Air & Space, American History Natural History, National Art Gallery, and many more.  The Smithsonian has a number of buildings with awesome displays, and they even have a castle there.  Directly behind the Capitol Building are the Library of Congress Jefferson Building and the Supreme Court Building.  All of the buildings are works of art themselves, mostly Roman-Greco with huge pillars and massive entrance stairs.

I am sure most people recognize this tall tower as the Washington Monument.  The amazing thing about the National Mall is that most of the popular tourist attractions are all located in one place.  We saw many school tours; what an awesome way to teach children about their history, nature, space, and other topics.

And of course the White House.

I know this may seem hard to believe but I had a chance encounter with the President.  While I was on a bike ride I stopped at a store to get a bottle of cold water.  All of a sudden about 5 black SUVs came to a screetching halt in front of the store; these dudes in dark suits and dark sunglasses jump out of the SUVs and start tearing around the store, checking things out.  After about 3 minutes of this intense scruntiny, the front door of the store opens and in walks President Obama.  I was at the cash register paying for my water and the President walks up and asks the clerk for a package of Camel cigarettes.  He said "Hi, where are you from".  I explained that I was Canadian eh and he asked me if we could sit and chat for a while because he would appreciate a Canadian point of view.  He told his body guards to give us some space and we talked about some major issues; the War in Iraq, and the Gulf oil spill to name a few.

He said that he only smokes when he is away from Michelle and the kids, and from media scrutiny.  He asked me to call him Barack.  We became quite friendly during our 1/2 hour conversation and he thanked me for my input.  We exchange phone numbers and he said he would look me up during his next visit to Vancouver.  What a nice guy!!

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.

South Carolina

May 31, 2010


We left Savannah and drove up to Charleston (Charles Town), South Carolina. We checked into a nice campsite called James Island County Park. What a great park. They have many facilities located in the park including a fishing pond, a dog off-leash area that includes a lake, a major water park, cycle trails, and a climbing wall/facility. The park has nice big sites amongst the trees, full hook up, and laundry facilities. The park is located about 15 minutes from the historic district of Charleston.

We drove into Charleston and visited the Charleston Museum which is the first and oldest museum in America. They have a full-scale Confederate submarine outside the building. Yes a submarine dating back to the mid 1800s. Charleston has an incredible past including the first attempt at settlement dating back to 1560, it was the nation’s commercial leader in exporting rice, and later, cotton, the area was full of plantations producing these products, it was also a major centre of the slave trade, it had a very active Pirate community (including Black Beard) that wreaked havoc on the shipping lanes, the first shot of the Civil War happened here April 12, 1861, to name just a few.

The Historic District is very well preserved with cobblestone roads and antebellum homes and buildings. Generally, the old homes and buildings are not as grandiose as Savannah, but what I liked is that many of the buildings look out over Charleston Harbor, as the Historic District is built on a large peninsula. All along the road that runs along the water are historic mansions and beautiful homes. They are the kind of homes I would love to own.

For lunch we went to Queen Anne’s Revenge which has many artifacts from the pirates of the era, and in particular, Blackbeard. The restaurant displays many pirate pistols, grenades, blunderbuss (like a spray shotgun), pieces of eight, grappling hooks, helmets and more, some of which were on Blackbeard’s ship, Queen Anne’s Revenge.

"Laurie, never mind the damn umbrella, RUN!!!!!"








Observations:

* Ever since that first night in Louisiana, we have heard a locust insect called a Cicada that makes an eerie, screeching noise that sounds like someone letting out air pressure. All it takes is for one of them to start, then the whole forest has the screeching sound.

* We have found that many cities have claimed retired Navy ships like the USS Lexington that we toured in Corpus Christi Texas. Sometimes the town has a affiliation with the ship and in others, it is claimed to be used as a tourist attraction.

* June 1 is the official start of Hurricane season. There are TV programs dedicated to preparing for, and surviving a major hurricane. They predict that this year will see a very active hurricane season as the temperature of the Gulf of Mexico has risen, plus other factors. They predict between 14 – 24 hurricanes that will actually be named, meaning that they are of major concern.