A Visit With Carol & Don in NC

Saturday - Tuesday, October 22-25, 2016

Wilson and I were trying to figure our next move - go to the Great Smokies or maybe to the coast...so many options. I woke up on Friday morning remembering that my friends from GMCR, Carol & Don Ostler, had moved to North Carolina. Prior to leaving Waterbury I got their contact information just in case there was an opportunity to see them. Well I reach out to Carol and the next thing I know we're heading to New Bern NC the very next day. 

Carol & Don have been amazing. Opening their home to us, feeding us, acting as our personal tour guides, and offering us a real bed and a shower. Really, how many people do you know who would be so welcoming with basically no notice. We are truly fortunate to have them in our lives. 

We've had a busy time here, exploring New Bern and it's history.  I also participated in my first rally/demonstration which was organized by the local chapter of the NAACP to get people registered and out to vote. We even made it on the local news. We spent a day at the beach on Emerald Isle followed by dinner in Swansboro, an adorable little fishing village. The most enjoyable part of our stay really was connecting with them again, sharing stories, and just hanging out together.

 

Wilson, Carol, Patty, & Don at Emerald Isle Beach

Leave Peaks of Otter 8:06 am
Rte. 43E ►29S►86 (North Carolina)►119S ►40E ► 70E ►Detour to beach ►258►24S►58S
Arrive Emerald Isle Beach 4:07 pm - Leave Beach 4:31 pm
From beach to Carol & Don's 58N ►17N  
Arrive 5:20 pm
Miles traveled 363.4
Gas - Richlands Speedway, Kinston, NC $2.19/gal

Off to Myrtle Beach next....

Reflection

I don't have enough time to work on the map, but I do have a little time to reflect upon my journey thus far.  I'm sitting here at the public library in Bedford, VA, about 10 miles from our campground on 43E.

My first thoughts when planning this trip were of adventure and reconnecting with Wilson through a shared experience...All of which is happening.  What I didn't expect and probably should have, was that I would also be on a path to a variety of self discoveries.

As I mentioned previously, the timing of this trip was based on a variety of reasons; my parents deaths, loss of job, house sale, etc.  While on this journey there have been several things that have happened that keep those things close to mind, many of which are in the form of dreams.  I've had several dreams about our house and visiting there with the new owners.  Most of them focus on the changes that they were making to the house.  Generally speaking I might think that the dreams would be anxiety producing based on the fact that I identify the house as my home and the home of my family...not so though...there was a sense of peace that they were loving it as we have loved it, just differently (why they painted everything blue is beyond me :)).  Of course in a couple of these dreams other members of my family happened to be living in the house and/or making changes even though we didn't own it any longer....I have thoughts about this, but perhaps another time.

I also had a dream where a friend of mine had lost their job and was having a difficult time of it.  No one really stood up for her and I felt as if I needed to do so, mostly because I had been there and done that.  It's difficult to process a loss that defines so much of who you are and what you do.  My job loss was based on a huge downsizing in the company, it wasn't anything I did or didn't do....it didn't make it any easier and I spent most of my time talking about how it worked out ok for me given where I was in life and what I wanted for next steps....although this was totally true, it almost felt as if I was trying to convince them....it's been over a year and I still have a hard time with it...I'm lucky though, because I'm doing something that I've dreamt about for a long time.

My parents are with me on this journey...I feel their presence often in spirit as well as things happening around me....For example - Daily Grind Coffee in Front Royal, our server's name was Wanda (my mother's name).  Watching the sunset at Big Meadows, we were joined by a group of young folks from MA, one of which was called JP (My father's initials found all over his vehicles and what many people called him), and driving by a car with the license plate of XJT 7778 (244-7778 was the phone number that I grew up with).  Strange....

One other thing that seems to bring this all together is the fact that I went to pull out a book of short stories that I brought with us and instead pulled out a book called Many Lives...Many Masters by Brian Weiss.  I don't remember packing it, but thought, I pulled it out, why not?  Weiss is a psychiatrist, hypnotherapist, and author who specializes in past life regression.  His research includes reincarnation, past life regression, future life progression, and survival of the human soul after death. (Wikipedia)....Anyway, one of the themes is that we live multiple lives and that within the various lives we are reincarnated with many of the same people who are also being reincarnated....We all have work to do in order to reach the next plane, etc....It's difficult to explain, but in the end if you believe in such things there is a peace that follows...I'm not 100% sure about reincarnation and past lives, but I do believe in a certain spiritual feeling that I am not alone and that those who I have loved and lost are still with me watching over me.  Reading this book brings me peace.  Even if you don't believe in such things, you might find it interesting...I suggest you read it.

What am I actually trying to say?  I'm not sure...other than this trip has been and I believe will continue to be something that is good for me and that I have lots to learn as long as I'm open to it....

Goodbye Shenandoah National Park

Thursday, October 20, 2016

This is a first, I'm trying to post from my phone 😊 - Post ok, but I'll need to download something to get pictures from my phone directly....I'm also posting a video, another first...This is just a short snapshot of the incredible views from the Skyline Drive....Beautiful!

The forecast calls for rain tomorrow so to avoid breaking camp and traveling in the rain we have decided to leave SNP a day earlier than we thought we would. It's been a great place to officially begin our adventure. 

                                                    

We head down the Blue Ridge Parkway without a set plan. We stop by Otter Creek Visitor Center (mile marker 63.7) to get information on campgrounds. While there we take a little walk to see a restored 1848 canal/lock on the James river (Kanawha Canal).

                                            

We decided to camp a little further down the parkway (mile marker 86), Peaks of Otter Campground ($16/night or $8 with the pass).

Here we meet two other Aline owners - we're now part of the "club". There aren't many of these campers around so seeing three in one site is a bit out of the ordinary.

Leave SNP (Loft Mountain Campsite) 11:15 am
Rte. Blue Ridge Parkway South
Arrive Otters Creek Campground at 4:00ish pm
Miles traveled 124.8

Presidential Homes

Today we left the mountain with the intention to make some calls....I was excused from jury duty, yeah!...find Internet so that I could update the blog, and to visit Presidential homes.  The plan was to go to Montpelier (James Madison), Monticello (Thomas Jefferson), Ash Lawn Highland (James Monroe), and Pine Knot Retreat (Teddy Roosevelt)....that was the plan....

In actuality, we started our journey with a stop at Lowes & Walmart in Ruckersville.  After that we went to Montpelier.  The admission was $20/person to tour the mansion, but with a limited budget we needed to choose the sites that we really wanted to tour and I have had a longtime wish to visit Monticello, so we did not pay for Montpelier.  We did see a couple gallery displays and learned a little bit about the Madison family and Marion DuPont Simpson. We also visited the family cemetery.

Gallery One:  Dolley/Dolly Madison, America's first First Lady, as we think of it today.  Her popularity and reputation as a "modern" woman made her name a household brand for items from cigar wrappers and paper dolls to ice cream and cakes.  Dolley was the way she spelled her name and Dolly was the marketeers version of her name.


Did you know?  James Madison and Zachary Taylor were related, sharing a grandfather (Ambrose Taylor)


Gallery Two:  Marion DuPont Scott, yes of those DuPonts, purchased Montpelier in 1901, where they added incredible stables and bred racehorses.  The racetrack and grounds are spectacular.  There will be a Steeplechase race on 11/5....too bad we will be gone by then.


                                     

On to Monticello.  The place is very crowded, we're told over 450,000 visitors each year.  $25/person for the house tour.  The tour was very interesting, filled with many original pieces.  The house itself was exactly how Jefferson designed it.  There were only two other owners (Levy) between when the Jefferson family owned it and when the Jefferson Trust took over, which allowed for so much authenticity to remain.  Jefferson was obviously an incredible statesman, writing the Declaration of Independence, but what you may not know is that he was also an inventor and agriculturist.  One of the items that he invented was a polygraph...no not the lie detector, rather a copier machine of sorts.  When he wrote, he rigged the machine so that another pen would copy what he was doing.  That invention allowed for a vast number of his papers to be viewed, as he saved everything.  In fact there are over 19,000 copies of letters that he wrote through the course of his lifetime that have been saved. A big theme of the tour was the fact that he penned the words about all men being created equal, but was a slave owner.  There were two other tours of the grounds available, Slavery at Monticello and Gardens and Grounds, which we did not do.

     


By the end of Monticello, Wilson and I were both tired and we still needed to find a library so that we could do our computer work....so Roosevelt and Monroe will need to wait for another time.


Other thoughts - This is the land of acres and acres of wooden fencing surrounding estates that are, in my mind, reminiscent of South Fork.  I say this because the entry drives are so long I can only imagine what lies beyond.


Deep Thoughts by Wilson.....
You know when you're driving down the road and it strikes you that you just love the road...The back roads of Virginia offer well paved roads, 55 mph speed limits, little to no traffic, beautiful farms, polite drivers, and no rumble strips.


Leave Shenandoah at 7:30 am

Rte. 33E ► 20N

Arrive Montpelier 10:45 am - Leave 12:05 pm

Rte. 20S ► 231S ► 250W ► 20S ► 53E

Arrive Monticello 1:09 pm - Leave 3:28 pm

Gas purchased at Exxon - Ruckersville, VA - $1.93/gal (cash)

Total miles traveled -

Big Meadows ► Loft Mountain

Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Headed out of camp, going south to Loft Mountain, another campground in the park.  Of course we do this after a cup of coffee, .2 mile scenic vista "hike", laundry, and packing up Alex.  Loft Mountain is my favorite site so far.  The sites a huge and beautiful. 


Once we got Alex situated we took a short hike up Frazier Discovery Trail.  A short, 1.3 mile, moderate hike with fantastic views.  This hike is the only one thus far that we hiked where we started going at an incline.  All the others we started going down, which is completely backward in my head...that is until I realized we are on the top of the mountain to begin with.



           

Please don't think me vain, but I've been practicing the art of selfies....while Wilson was exploring, I kept myself busy....trust me there are more where these came from :)

        

Once the hike was done, we stopped for a shower and then followed up with a strong desire to "nest".  We got back to our site and set up the Clam (outdoor enclosure - which we did not name :)), made a fire, dinner, and unpacked the inside of Alex.  A lovely day/evening all the way around.


What exactly constitutes the difference between a walk in the woods and a hike?

Delays & Map

My apologies for any delays in getting things posted.  As I may have mentioned there is no Internet where we are staying and it makes it difficult to stay current.  There are many more things I want to say and at some point will be able to find the time to do so...they'll just be a little delayed and obviously not in chronological order.


Also, I have not yet had time to update the interactive map.  At one of our hotel or home stays I will be able to play with that and will make the necessary updates.


Thanks for your understanding!

Fredericksburg & Chancellorsville

Off to Civil War battle sites today.  This area is so rich in history, one could never expect to see it all. We drove for a little over two hours to get to Fredericksburg Visitor Center, where we perused the displays, walked around the Sunken Road, and received directions to Chatham Manor.  Once we toured the manor we headed off to the Chancellorsville Visitor Center.  Both of these battles were won by the Confederate Army...high casualties on both sides.  Because of these wins, Lee felt he could move on to fight in the North, heading to Gettysburg, which was his only offensive battle in the North and the beginning of the end.
I guess this is a good time to add a disclaimer *The events in history that I describe are based on what I remember, which I can't be 100% is accurate :)

Touring these sites I come away with a couple of different thoughts...

• General Lee was an incredible strategist and surrounded himself with very able generals, including General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who was shot by his own men at Chancellorsville.  
• The Union generals were often indecisive and ill prepared.  Until Grant, the plan was to take Richmond.  Once Grant was brought on the tactic was to go after Lee, a strategy that proved to be successful.
• I wonder if it's hard for people in this area, as the battlefields are a constant reminder of the Souths loss?

History becomes real when you are able to surround yourself with it. There is so much to share, but so little computer time, plus we have another hour or so drive back....

Chatham Manor

To Fredericksg - Skyline Drive ► 211E ► 522S ► 15S ►3E
Gas purchased at 7-Eleven in Wilderness Corner, VA - $2.05/gal
Total miles travelled - 176.5

More from Shenandoah National Park

Take Two! -- I'm currently at the Culpepper Public Library, where I am still getting used to using a public computer.  Why is this take two you may ask?  Well of course the answer is because I lost Take One :)  Will I never learn the lesson of save often?

Anyway, Take One went on about being without Internet or cellphone coverage in the park and how it really doesn't bother me at all to be disconnected from the rest of the world.  I also go on to say that the only downside of this is in case my family needs to reach out to me....but what did we do before cellphones anyway?

We're still in Shenandoah, having spent our first three nights at Matthew's Arm campground in the North ($15/night or $7.50 w/senior pass).  While there we hiked a short trail at mile marker 4.6. Fox Hollow Trail...round trip only 1.2 miles, which was a good start.  We also hiked Matthew's Arm trail from the campsite, which met up with Overall Run trail taking us to the tallest falls in the park (93 ft).  We worked ourselves up to a moderate trail already, we're that good :)  The falls were unimpressive, not a clear view to be had, but it felt good to be able to hike the 4 miles.

Yesterday we drove south on the Skyline Drive (105 mi scenic road running through SNP) to Big Meadows campground ($20/night or $10 w/senior pass), where we plan on staying for two nights. Interesting that we have experienced so much wooded area to come to a campground which is more or less flat and open.  We listened to an interesting Ranger Program about birds of prey and hiked to Rapidan Camp, President Hoover's retreat (Parking at Milam Gap and following Mill Prong Trail).  It was the first presidential retreat and he paid for the land and all of the building materials out of his own pocket.  It appears that he felt that public servants shouldn't be paid...He could well afford it because, although he grew up poor, he became a multi-millionaire in the mining industry in China prior to taking office.  I love learning little things like that....anyway, the hike was a bit over 4 miles and was once again rated moderate. We followed up our day by watching a beautiful orange sunset across the ridge, then by a beautiful orange full moon rise over the meadow.

Shenandoah National Park

Yes, we found an internet cafe in Front Royal, PA called the Daily Grind.  They make a delicious horseradish like sauce that they serve with their breakfast sandwiches...yummy!

Last night was a cold one, but Alex is very well insulated so much so that there was condensation along the top where the two sides meet.  Of course he's not airtight, so there is a bit of cool air coming in which apparently reacted to our body heat.  I think I have a lot of body heat :)

There is a large concentration of black bears here in the park.  There are a lot of rules in an effort to keep them out of the campground.  Included in the rules is to make sure that all scented things, not only food, are locked in the car or lock boxes that are at some camps.  Anal that I am, our little bathroom caddy with our shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. had to be locked up in the car.  A bit inconvenient, but a visit from a black bear is not something I'm looking forward to.  Of course when I got up to go to the bathroom at 1 am I was a tad bit disappointed that I didn't see one.  How whacked is that?

We will finish up our coffee and then look for a service station that can change our oil and the Harris Teeter grocery store that we're told is here in Front Royal.  Wilson loves Harris Teeter and I love almost any grocery store.  Once that is complete, we're back to the park where we'll make a short stop at the Visitor Center and then take a short, easy-moderate hike.  Later in the day we'll work our way up to the moderate hike...we mustn't rush this exercise thing.

Gimlet Ridge Overlook - 2,175 ft 8:45am

Harper's Ferry ► Shenandoah National Park

Thursday, October 14, 2016

We left Media, PA at 11:03 where the sun was shining and it was a lovely 64° heading to the Shenandoah National Park.  Our first stop, after a lovely foray through the residential streets of Media, was my sister-in-law's mechanic, where we added air to Alex's tires.  I question the overhaul at the RV dealership as our spare tire measured only 19 psi.  Having just downloaded the owners manual, we know that the pressure should be 50 psi. Oh well, we still love our camper!

Our journey will include portions of a National Trail byway, which includes many historical sites including major Civil War battlefields.  Our goal was to get to Matthew's Arm campground, but we did make a stop at Harper's Ferry Visitor Center because it was on our way.  Beyond John Browns rebellion attempt the site was very strategic due to its location.  Harper's Ferry went back and forth a couple of times between Union & Confederate forces....It's very close to the borders of three states- MD, WV, & VA and two rivers - Potomac & Shenandoah.  There is a bus that runs into the old district from the Visitor Center and we waited for a short bit but decided our time was better spent getting to our destination before dark.  We did sight something from the endangered list, something I've only seen recently at the Vermont State Capitol building....

Endangered 

We arrive to Shenandoah National Park and set-up camp before dark.  The campground is nice but there is no electrical or water hook-up which is new to us.  We're learning more about Alex, what he can and can't do...he's really quite impressive.

I drove up the winding road and even from my position behind the wheel it was breathtaking.  It reminded me of the drive along the California coast, where you are on the ledge are and nothing but rocks and ocean below.  I was afraid of that drive and insisted that Wilson move inland, but this one didn't bother me.  The trees give the impression of a soft carpet should we go over the cliff...or was it because I was driving?

Leave Media, PA at 11:03 am

Rte. 95S ► 695W ► 70 ► 340S

Gas purchased at Exxon - Circle K in Berryville, VA - $2.19/gal (although it's cheaper in Front Royal, VA, only a little bit further along)

Arrive Harper's Ferry 2:17 pm - Leave Harper's Ferry 2:50 pm (166 miles until this point)

Arrive Shenandoah National Park - Matthew's Arm Campground 4:57 pm

Total miles traveled - 232.31

On The Road Again

Monday - Thursday, October 10-13, 2016
I just can't wait to get on the road again....so many songs in my head, of course I only know a few of the words so, lucky for you I won't recite any more:)

It's been a lovely time in Philadelphia, as it always is.  We've spent a lot of time here recently and it really feels like a second home.  So much like home that I feel as if our adventure hasn't quite started. Yes we've had a little taste, but I believe that after we leave here it will truly sink in.

I'm currently on hold with Vermont Health Connect.  I watched the time and pressed dial as soon as it hit 8:00 am.  Dealing with insurance is a royal pain in the butt.  I explained the reason for my call and they put me on hold, I'm assuming to confer with others.  The people are always nice, but I don't have much confidence in them, mostly because they don't sound confident themselves.  50 minutes and counting...

Not only am I dealing with this, I have to deal with trying to get out of jury duty, since I'm not in VT. I just want to be away and not think of any of it...urgh..

Enough venting.  Once I'm done here Wilson and I will be getting ready to head to Shenandoah National Park in VA.  While there we will be doing a variety of day trips, including following a civil war trail and visiting Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home.  I'm especially excited about that. Hopefully I will be able to report in real time.  I may have to find a Starbucks so that I can stay on top of this....really, I've just discovered their new chili mocha latte....yummy!

I'm off the phone....only 1 hr. and 7 mins

Off to Philiadelphia

Monday, October 10, 2016

Today we are heading to Philadelphia, where we will house/pet sit for Chloe, a 10 year old Clumber Spaniel.  We'll also visit with family.

We head out at 9:42 am, deciding to stop along the way for the much needed coffee which helps me have a much better outlook on life.  We stop along the way for breakfast at a diner in Hanover, PA - Menges Diner, approximately 15 miles west of York, PA.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that we walked into the diner and everyone there stopped talking and stared at us.  It was like a scene from a movie, really.  I think that they saw us parking Alex and their interest in us peaked, because I watched as others came in and the reaction wasn't the same.  I was fully clothed so I know that that wasn't it :).  We had a great diner breakfast and spent only $10.50. For those who are interested in value, we had a breakfast which included 2 eggs, sausage, toast, hash browns, coffee (Wilson - $4.95) and 1 egg, toast, homefries with chipped beef gravy, and coffee (me). Crazy...We ate around 11 am, so considered the meal equivalent to two meals for each of us.

We arrive at Stolzfus RV & Marine, where we purchased Alex, at about 2 pm.  We are new to all of this so we had several questions regarding our experience with Alex, wanting to make sure we were doing everything correct.  Our salesman, Chris, was incredibly helpful.  We shared with him two beers; Alchemist Heady Topper & Focal Banger.  We were back on the road by 3:35 pm arriving in Media, PA at 4:20 pm.

Happy Birthday John Prine!  70 years old today and the singer of one of Wilson's song options for his funeral playlist :)

Leave Gettysburg, PA at 9:42 am
Rte. 15N ►30E ► 100 ► 202S - (Stolzfus) ►Rte. 1N
Gas purchased at Rutters (next to Menges Diner), Hanover, PA - $2.35/gal
Arrive Media, PA at 4:20 pm
Miles traveled 133.1

A Day at Gettysburg National Military Park

Sunday, October 9, 2016
We started the day with a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield Resort & RV Campground.  They clearly state that it is not a timeshare spiel.  Of course you get there and you hear about the whole program where you become an "owner" and all of the benefits of the program.  They start with a $19,000 price tag which got brought down to $8,000 which actually got brought down to $1,600 (call received today).  The whole thing sounded timeshare to me w/o the time constraint of 1 week a year.  Either way it's ridiculous for them to think that we would commit to that kind of money with being so new to the camping world.  The campground itself was clean and nice, but I wouldn't call it "camping", it basically was a spot to park.  The best part of the program was the ability to camp at "sister" campgrounds across the country for only $10/night.  If truth be told I'm a sucker for the sales pitch, but not because I'm naive, but because I recognize the pitch and still could see value.  Of course it always sounds better than it really is.  We did receive 21 free days of camping as our gift, which we will certainly take advantage of.

Once our commitment to listen to the camping spiel was completed, we headed out to the Gettysburg Military Park.  We followed the self-guided auto tour and then a presentation from one of the park rangers about the medical personal of the civil war.  The park ranger programs are definitely worth your time if you have interest in the topic.  I was hoping they would mention Dr. Janes, Waterbury physician, who served in the civil war.  The current Historical Society location was Dr. Janes' home.

Interesting information - There is a new estimation of 800,000 casualties of the battle of Gettysburg. People think of amputation as the first thought regarding deaths at Gettysburg, but the majority of deaths were caused by disease.  38,000 deaths were recorded from diarrhea/dysentery.  Much was learned about germs from the civil war.

Of course I knew that Vermont had been a very big role in the battle of Gettysburg, so I spent much of our time looking for the monuments that represented our great state.  I found them near the huge Pennsylvania monument.  I certainly have a huge sense of pride for Vermont!

Vermont Mouuments

Abraham Lincoln, Wilson, & me at the Visitor Center

Battlefield - Little Round Top

Gettysburg
Miles traveled - 19.2

Delaware Water Gap - Take Two

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Wilson and I both up early, knowing that we had to go back to Dingmans Ferry to pick up our backpack.  We were out of the campground at 4:24 am since we were up and knew we had to backtrack a bit.  We leave Alex at the campground and make the trek back to the Delaware Water Gap.  We arrive at the campground at 8:15 to find that our backpack was in good hands.

We get gas at the same WaWa that we visited the day before and head to Gilbertsville, PA where we visit family.  After an enjoyable visit with Ray and his family we head back to Gettysburg.

Once we arrive back in Gettysburg we stop by the Visitor Center to make a plan for the next day. Interestingly enough the museum, film, and cyclorama are a part of the Golden Pass program because they are managed by Gettysburg Foundation.  To get into those it was going to cost $12.50, not a lot really, but we didn't want to pay for it and we've both been there before.  Actually, I hadn't been there before because the old Visitor Center was torn down and moved to this new location in 2009.  They also sold the old cyclorama which had Vermont prominently displayed during the last battle.  I was afraid that it might not reference our state in the same way which would have really been disappointing.

Dinner at the Appalachian Brewing Company restaurant.  Good beers at very reasonable prices ($5/pint) and some yummy apps.

All in all a good day.  A great relief to get our stuff back.  It would have been difficult to not have this experience taint the rest of our trip.

Leave Gettysburg, PA at 4:24 am
Slight route change from previous day - not enough worth mentioning :)
Gas purchased WaWa E. Stroudsburg, PA - still $2.35/gal
Arrive Dingmans Ferry, PA at 8:15 am
Arrive Gettysburg, PA at 4:30 pm
Miles traveled 426.3

Gettysburg

Friday, October 7, 2016

Heading to Gettysburg today.  We pack up early, grab a cup of coffee from the General Store and head off on the road.  

We stop for gas at a WaWa in Marshall's Creek, which I'm told is technically East Stroudsburg about 30-45 minutes into our days travels.  If you've never been to a WaWa they are quite enjoyable as far as convenience stores go :) They have decent breakfast sandwiches, free air and WiFi.  The timing on this is important as you will see.

Wilson and I are enjoying the car ride, coming up with lists of things that we want to learn more about based on what we are seeing and the conversations that we are having.  Really interesting things like why are there so many McDade trail entrances our route and what is the difference between horns and antlers?  Interestingly enough the McDade trail runs for 37 miles through the Delaware Water Gap on the PA side, which is a part of the Poconos.  As for horns vs. antlers, a couple of major differences regarding class of animals, difference in structure, but the easiest way to think of them is that horns are permanent and straight while antlers are shed and branched.  I'm not sure if these things are interesting because we're in the car for long periods of time or if they truly are interesting - I'll let you be the judge of that.

The trip to Gettysburg takes about four hours.  Approximately 45 minutes before we are scheduled to arrive there we receive a call from the Dingmans Ferry Campground.  Apparently they tried calling us earlier and left a message on our phone letting us know that we left our backpack in the store.  Urgh!!! If only we had checked when we got back into the car at the WaWa we would have saved ourselves a headache and the need to return to the campground.  We continued on to Gettysburg, where we set up camp at Gettysburg Battlefield Resort and make a plan for the next couple of days.

Gettysburg Battlefield Resort - RV Park

Leave Dingmans Ferry, PA at 8:45 am - 47°

Rte. 209 ►80 ► 81 ►83 ►581 ►15

Gas purchased at WaWa, E. Stroudsburg, PA - $2.35/gal

Arrive Gettysburg, PA 2 pm

Miles traveled - 233.9

Delaware Water Gap - Take One

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Off to the Delaware Water Gap, where we had our first real camping experience with Alex.  We left CT at noonish and arrived at Dingmans Ferry, PA around 4 pm.  Prior to getting to the campground we stopped by the Visitor Center and took a small hike to see a couple of the many waterfalls in the area. We hiked up 247 stairs (one-way) to get a view of the falls from above.  I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that I felt the burn...baby steps with this hiking thing will definitely be needed :)

Overview Delaware Water Gap

Dingmans Falls

After our little hike we found the campground and made camp.  The DWG is a part of the National Recreation, Parks, & Forest System so we were able to camp at 1/2 price ($20) because Wilson has the Golden Age Passport.  This pass has saved us a lot of money over the last couple of years as it gets you into National Parks, Monuments, Historical sites, etc. at no cost.  It also offers 1/2 off pricing for camping in a variety of National areas.  If you are 62 or older, it's the best deal in town - only $20 for a lifetime pass.

Wilson's 1st Campfire

Leave Wolcott, CT at Noon

I84 ► Route 209

Arrive Dingmans Falls, PA 4 pm

Miles traveled - 126.9

The Adventure Begins

Packed and ready to go!

Wednesday, October 5, 2016
We're packed and ready to go.  It's amazing how much we were able to pack into Alex (our camper) and Carrie (our mini-van).  The first stop is Stateline Sports in West Lebanon, NH where I picked up a pair of running sneakers.  I know, running is so not in my wheelhouse, but they are light weight and will be good for hiking.  Our final destination is Wolcott, CT to visit with my cousin Kathy and her family.  We had delicious meals, good conversations, and a wonderful tour of the house that they are building.  I really should have taken a picture of all of us, but didn't think of it until after the fact.

Leave Waterbury, VT at 11:24 am - 52°
I89 ► I91 ► I84
Gas purchased off of Exit 26 on I91 in Greenfield, MA - $2.15/gal
Arrive Wolcott, CT 5:05 pm
Miles traveled - 242.3

Blogging & Backtracking

Blogging is new to me and as often happens when I try to journal I first have to play catch up before being able to write in real time (I'll also need Internet access which I'm finding requires more planning than I anticipated).

The plan is to blog about my travelling companion, let's call him Wilson, and my adventures as we crisscross the country for the next six months.  Our goal is to see and experience America's history, beauty, and attractions without the constraints of a set schedule or plan.  Of course this doesn't mean that we haven't planned some stops, but as a general rule we're "winging it".

With that in mind, I really should have chronicled the process to get our house ready for sale as it was at that time that I really began believing this trip would happen.  Having gone through two major renovations in the 26 years that we've owned the house, I can honestly say that preparing for sale has been one of the most difficult things that we have had to do.  Not only were we wrestling with our own feelings about giving up our home I was also going through a similar process with the home that I grew up in as that too was being sold.

Back to our house....besides the stress of leaving our home, we also had to go through all of our stuff and decide what to keep, give away, sell, or trash.  We tried really hard to keep only that which we could carry but in the end we did need to store some things with family and friends.  As for the work to be done on the house we had very different ideas of what needed to be done in order to put it on the market.  In the end everything worked out o.k and we found a wonderful couple who have fallen in love with our home and will take very good care of it moving forward.  Having found them, it helped make the transition a little easier.