Trip Route, July, August, September, 2007

We will be leaving Fort Pierce this coming Monday, June 25th. Assuming my Mother's health remains good and no hurricanes blow the house away, we plan to get home sometime in late September. This will be our longest trip to date. About three months.





The map, Carol's idea, shows the approximate route. Our first stop will be in Brevard, NC then over to the 4 Paws Kingdom Campground in Rutherforton, NC for the 4th of July. After that it's north through far western Virginia, central West Virginia, western Pennsylvania then into New York, stopping in Niagara Falls for a few days. We chose this general route to take us through parts of America we've never seen. Then on to Burlington, VT arriving there on July 23rd. That gives us about a month for this leg of the trip. Carol's family reunion is in Mystic, Ct from July 26th through the 29th. After the reunion we drift slowly north to Maine then to Canada. We will be in Halifax, NS from August 10th through the 12th for the International Busker Festival. The plan is to spend August in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward's Island. There is a Lazy Daze rally in Booth Bay Harbor, ME from September 6th through the 9th. After that we'll head south to see Jennifer , Alex & families before heading home.


At least that's the plan. We'll see how it plays out.

Can't wait.

We've only been home for three weeks and we're ready to get going again. More then ready. We were ready last week. :-) Maintenance completed, shopping done, about packed, doctors visits completed. Just hanging out until Monday.

The trip home

Left Alex's house on Wednesday. Stopped at Carolina Beach State Park near Wilmington, NC for one night. Somewhat of a disappointment based on the brochure we read. Oh well. The next day we went on Huntington Beach SP near Myrtle Beach. Well worth the stop. Nice campground right on the ocean. Enjoyed our stay. On Friday we drove to the James Island County Park near Charleston, SC; one of our favorite campgrounds. Friday was a beautiful day. Took two long walks to the great dog off-leash area. There is a large lake surrounded by a very large field. Enjoyed the day. The weather forecast for Saturday & Sunday was for steady rain. It rained all night Saturday and was raining when we got up. About 10am we decided to just head home. We drove through the remains of a tropical depression all the way until about Daytona Beach. Arrived home about 7pm Saturday. Glad to be finished with that drive.
Going to use the next four weeks getting ready for our July/Auguat trip to New England & Canada. Had Mom over for dinner today. She seems quite happy with her home. Has a new best friend; Alice.

Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland

Forgot to add about the trip to Assateague.

After the rally at Tuckahoe, six rigs headed over to the Assateague Island National Seashore.

We stayed Friday & Saturday and headed to Alex's house on Sunday to avoid the Monday, Memorial Day, traffic. Had a very nice time, as we always do, when we are camping with this group.

May 30

We had a wonderful time visiting with Jen, Alex and families. Left Annandale this morning about 5:30am to beat the morning rush hour. We stayed the night at the Carolina Beach State Park near Wilmington, NC. Not what we had expected based on the NC State Park website but OK for one night. Hard to beat the $10/night cost. Tomorrow we take the ferry from Fort Fisher to Southport as we continue our way towards Charleston.

Southeast Lazy Daze Rally Tuckahoe, MD

Arrived at the Tuckahoe State Park near Queen Ann, MD on Monday the 21st of May for a get together of the Southeast Lazy Daze Club. There were ten rigs there. Everyone was surprised when Tedd and MaryLou showed up. Hadn't seen them since January of 2006. Since we last met, they had through hiked the Appalachian Trail. On Monday we all had subs for dinner. On Tuesday we went to Tilghman (pronounced Tillman) Island, MD for a two hour ride on a Skipjack sail boat, the Rebecca T. Rurak. It was built in 1886 and is the oldest Coast Guard registered boat in America. Carol stayed on shore with Dorothy Wockenfuss. Dorothy is from Tilghman Island and had been on the Chesapeake Bay since she was a child. After the wonderful cruise we had dinner at the Chesapeake House restaurant on the island. Carol had crab cakes. The best ever. After dinner, Dorothy's cousin Larry Gowe talked about the life of a Chesapeake Bay waterman. all about fishing, crabbing and oystering. A fascinating talk. On Wednesday we went to the Adkins Arboretum for a guided walk.

Wednesday night was the ice cream social followed by the Pot Luck supper on Thursday.

Gettysburg Lazy Daze Rally

We arrived in Gettysburg on Thursday the 17th for the Northeast Lazy Daze Caravan Club rally held to the Gettysburg Campground. In total there were 29 rigs in attendance.

On Thursday we had a cookout, hamburgers, etc. On Friday we toured the battlefield. Carol's scooter allowed her to go most places everyone else went. I even put her in her wheelchair and managed to push & pull her up the trail to the top of Little Round Top; one of the major sites of the battle. Carol & I drove the camper and then did the self guided auto tour. We both read the book Killer Angels by Michael Sharra, a story about the battle. It really helped us better understand the events and places we saw. A very enjoyable day. That evening we all went to a wonderful B & B that also hosted parties. Great family style dinner. On Saturday day, we stayed at the campground and waited for our friends, Joe & Clara, to arrive. They were delayed caring for Clara's Mom like we care for Granny. That evening we had the pot luck supper. We made shrimp jambalaya. On Sunday most people left to head home but five rigs stayed with plans to leave Monday. We both agree that the best part of these rallies is the great company. The Northeast Group is having another rally in Booth Bay Harbour Maine in early September. If all goes well with Granny, and baring any major hurricanes around home, we would like to leave Ft. Pierce in early July, tour New England, attend the reunion in Mystic and then attend the Booth Bay event. A few other couples are planning to tour Canada in August (after Mystic and before Booth Bay) and invited us along. That's the plan. We'll see what really happens.

Tomorrow we are driving with four other couples to Tuckahoe State Park via Wal-Mart and a Trader Joe's.

Yet another nice day

This morning Enterprise delivered the rental car at 9am. We spent the morning at the Lancaster City Market. Per the brochure it's the oldest continuously operating Farmers Market in America. Since 1730. It was interesting. A nice assortment to meats, cheeses, fresh veggies, baked goods, etc. We bought an assortment of prepared salads for lunch & dinner. When we got back to the campground we were surprised to find two other Lazy Daze motor homes. Mike & Jan ? from Maine and Don & Bonnie Hunt from Mass. We spent the afternoon visiting, then went to Miller's Buffet for dinner. Oink, oink. One of these days I need to stop eating like this. I can feel myself getting fat. We had a wonderful day. Carol's reading the Gettysburg book to learn something about the war before we get there this coming Thursday. Almost finished.
I got an e-mail from Don Hughes today. We worked at Harbor Federal for years together. He & Lee have a motor home and are headed to Alaska. Asked us if we wanted to join them. Would have been fun but this isn't the time just yet, for a really long trip. Soon perhaps.

Lancaster area

On Saturday we drove around the area stopping at the Bird-In-Hand farmers market and a few other such places. The Amish farms are beautiful. The land has either just been planted or being plowed. On Sunday we went to dinner at the Miller's Buffet for Mother's Day.

Today we went in town to get a new battery then drove to a nearby Lancaster City Park for a nice walk. Did a load of laundry and read our books. Carol is reading the book on the Civil War battle at Gettysburg that I just finished. We'll both be better prepared to understand the battle when we get to Gettysburg this coming Thursday. The rental car is being delivered tomorrow.

First day in PA Dutch Country

This morning we drove the motor home to the Green Dragon Market in Ephrata,PA. It's a huge combination of permanent stalls inside buildings and outside vendors. The outside vendors are your typical low quality flea market stalls. Everything for a dollar junk. The vendors in the buildings sell prepared food, fruits & vegetables, meats, cloths, furniture, on & on. There was a hay auction going on. Interesting to watch as the growers sold their hay to the buyers then transferred the hay bales from their truck or trailer to the buyers. We bought some scrapple (for me) a crab cake sandwich (for Carol), some apple fritters and a shoofly pie. A wet bottom shoofly pie is the classic PA Dutch desert. It has a sweet molasses bottom covered with a crumb filling that is basically brown sugar, butter & flour. Very tasty.
Mid afternoon we went to the Shady Maple Buffet for lunch. An absolutely huge buffet of typical PA Dutch cooking. Pot roast, sauerkraut, roast pork, sausages, fried chicken, lots of veggie dishes and a very nice desert bar. Oink, oink!!.
Returned to the campground about 5pm. Stuffed. Sat around and read our books until bedtime.

Alex's house. Enjoying our visit.

On Sunday the 6th, the girls had an early Mother's Day party for Carol since Jennifer & Karen will be in Florida next week. Jennifer treated Carol to a manicure on Saturday. On Sunday Britta Bar-B-Qued a super dinner for all of us.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I've been helping Britta with chores. Pulling weeds, mowing, fixing things. Walking Gopher every day.

On Thursday we leave for Lancaster, PA. Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

At Alex's house again

Left Assateague Island about 8:30 this morning. We'll be back to this campground. One of our favorites. Arrived at Alex's early afternoon. Played out back with Finn for an hour or so. Rolled trucks down the slide, played on the swingset, threw the rope for Gopher. Carol enjoyed Teagans company as always. Going to stay for the weekend washing cloths, cleaning the RV and enjoying the kids company.

Another Wonderful Day

Here is one of our neighbors having lunch next to our campsite.

Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland

We left the Delaware Beach Campground about 9am. Our plan was to visit Ocean City, MD then stay at the Pocomoke River State Park. Ocean City was such a mess we didn't even stop. Solid condos & hotels. The ugliest resort town we've come across ed so far. Reminded us of Ft. Lauder dale. Instead of Pocomoke we decided to go visit the Assateague Island National Seashore located about 8 miles south of Ocean City, MD. What a great choice. We have a campsite backing right onto the dune line that separates the campground from the ocean. There is a dune crossover and Carol was able to ride her scooter to get a good view of the ocean. There are wild horses on the island. " They are descended from domesticated stock that was grazed on the island as early as the 17th century by Eastern Shore planters. These farmers grazed their horses and other livestock here to avoid the mainland taxes and fencing requirements. Only slightly smaller than other horses, these shaggy, sturdy animals are well adapted to their harsh seashore environment". The horses, as you can see from the picture, wander through the campground.

We're staying here until we head back to Alex's house on Thursday.

Maryland & Delaware

On Thursday & Friday we camped at the Tuckahoe State Park near Queen Ann's, MD. Nice place. Large campsites, nicely wooded. The Lazy Daze Rally we're attending in May is here. On Friday it rained all day. About mid-morning we needed to do something. The Delaware Visitor Guide had a nice article on the slot machine parlor that's part of the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, DE so off we went. A beautiful drive through farmlands. We have no interest in slot machines but were intrigued by the International Buffet. What a joke. Soggy egg rolls, ravioli that had been soaking in red colored water for who knows how long, and fried everything. We both settled on some chicken wings & meatloaf. The bread pudding was very good. Oh well, it gave us something to do on a rainy day.

We called Charlie & Pat Wagner and told them of our Delaware travel plans. They invited us to a late lunch on Saturday. The lasagna, salad and strawberries were great; the company was even better. Carol & I thoroughly enjoyed our visit. When we were leaving, Charlie asked if we wanted to stay the night. We said "no" but on the way to Rehoboth both said we wished we had said "yes" instead. The next time we'll say "yes".
We stayed at the Delaware Beach State Park on Saturday & Sunday nights. An OK campground but the location was perfect. Right on the inlet and across the street from a very nice beach. There was a wood dune crossover for Carol to get to the ocean. In season they have a special beach wheelchair to use. The "season" begins on May 1st. On Sunday we drove to Rehoboth Beach. There is a small convention center next to the municipal building on Rehoboth Street (Blvd?). Since it was Sunday, there were no cars in the lot. We were able to park there and use Carol's scooter to drive down Rehoboth Street to the Boardwalk. We spent most of the morning just walking around downtown. Rehoboth is much like Panama City Beach, FL, Myrtle Beach, SC, Ocean City, MD, on & on. Interesting to visit briefly but once is enough for us. We did find a nice bakery. That alone was worth the trip. Later we went to Safeway then back to the campground. a nice sunny day. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
Tomorrow we head out towards Pocomoke State Park, MD. Going via Ocean City, MD. Not sure why, but we are. We've hit Myrtle Beach & Rehoboth on the trip. Why not Ocean City?

Through April 26th

Had a wonderful stay with Alex & family. Worked with Britta building a bench for the back yard. Alex & Carol went shopping one day. Searched all over for a little swimming pool for Finn but no luck. Probably too early for stores to stock pools.
Today, Thursday, we left for Tuckadoe State Park near Queen Anne, MD. http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/tuckahoe.html
Spending the next two days here.
Cool & cloudy with rain in the forecast.

Alex's house.

Arrived at Alex & Britta's house about 6pm on Friday. Had great bar-b-que Britta had bought. On Saturday & again on Sunday, Jennifer & Karen came over for the day. Had a week late birthday party for Britta. Great Chinese takeout. On Sunday, Jen & Karen took Carol out for lunch. They stopped by to see & walk Balou & Bagera. Carol said the dogs are going great. They have lost weight, finally, and have two very, very good care givers. Jen & Karen walk them three times a day, take them to the vets, feed them properly, etc. Carol & I talked time & again about bringing them with us but Carol says, and she's right, that's it's hard enough on me travelling with her given her current condition . Two more dogs would really complicate our lives. Our real hope is for Carol's continued improvement . We will always be grateful to Jen & Karen for caring for the dogs.
Seeing Teagan & Finn was the real highlight of the trip. They are two wonderful children. Finn is a live wire. Non-stop action. He tires me out just looking at him. We had a great time playing together. Monster trucks time & again. He doesn't tire of playing with them. Finn adjusted to Gopher after a few hours. He'll get her rope toy and throw it for her. Mostly he's comfortable around her considering Gopher outweighs him by 25# or so. When Balou & Bagera come over for a visit Finn enjoys walking Balou.

We are having a wonderful time.

Yorktown, VA

We spent Friday touring the City of Yorktown, Va. This was the site of the Battle of Yorktown. In the spring of 1781 the American War of Independence entered its seventh year. In May British General Charles, Lord Cornwallis moved his army into Yorktown to built a naval base. On September 28th, General George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette began the siege of Yorktown. On October 19, 1781 Lord Cornwallis surrendered. This was the last major battle of the war. The Treaty of Paris was signed in September 1783.

Later in the day we visited the "famous" Williamsburg Pottery Factory. The brochure we read lead us to believe it was a collection of quaint, quality shops based around the oldest operating pottery factory in America. What a joke. It's really a collection of flea market quality stalls. Lots of junk. We left Williamsburg and arrived at Alex's house about 7pm.

Jamestown, VA

Visited the Jamestown area today. Started with the Jamestown Settlement exhibit then went to the actual site of Jamestown; a part of the Colonial National Historical Park. Carol used her electric scooter at both places. Worked well. Jamestown, Va was the first permanent English settlement in America. Roanoak, Va, which we also visited, was settled earlier but the colony did not last. The 104 colonists at Jamestown, under the leadership of Capt. John Smith, landed on May 13, 1607. In 1619 the first Africans arrived to work the tobacco crop. This is the 400th anniversary of the founding of the colony. It's interesting to note that the Spanish explorers had established colonies in the Southwest about 500 years ago.
We spent the night at a campground operated by the city of Newport News. Very nice. Our site is right on the river.
Tomorrow we tour Yorktown.

Kitty Hawk, NC area

Camped at the Oregon Inlet Campground run by the National Park Service. Our site backed to the high dunes right on the ocean. On Tuesday we drove to the Jockey Ridge State Park. It's an area of huge moving sand dunes. There was a boardwalk to a lookout area. From there, Gopher & I climbed around the dunes. On Wednesday we went to the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site located on Roanoak Island, NC. This is the site of the first English settlement in the New World. Spent most of our time wandering around the beautiful Elizabethan Gardens, "A living memorial to our English Colonists".
Had a great lunch at a place that bakes bread & pastries and serves wonderful sandwiches. Carol bought two jumbo chocolate chip cookies for the road. :-).
After that we went to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, NC. Toured the museum.
We decided we had seen most everything that interested us in the area so about 2:30 we decided to drive to Jamestown, VA. Got here about 6 pm. Stopped at WalMart for some food and decided that since all we were going to do anyway was read, to just sleep here for the night. Got a pound of greasy chicken tenders, some broccoli salad and had a nice parking lot dinner. It's us, three other RV's and a few semi's. The view's not much but you can't beat the price.

Tomorrow we're going to Jamestown Settlement.