US Trip Part 10 November 14 - November 22

Day 85 Monday November 14
We left the Outer Banks and took highway 158 to I-64 to I-95 South. We spent the night at a Wal-Mart in Lumberton, NC.
Drove 242 miles

Day 86 Tuesday November 15
We drove further South on I-95 to exit 181 which is highway 38. This turned into highway 501, the road to Myrtle Beach, SC. We took the South bypass, highway 544 to highway 17 business. We drove to Lakewood RV resort and they gave us a spot right next to the beach and the heated indoor swimming pool. This park has about 2500 sites, of which 1300 are transient sites, the rest leased. After lunch we took a stroll on the beach, took a drive around the RV park and then a swim in the pool.
Drove 107 miles today.

Day 87 Wednesday November 16
We drove around Myrtle Beach to check the place out. We had tickets for Legends in Concert so we decided to find out exactly where it is so we would easily get there at 8 pm. Goofed off the rest of the day. Big storm coming tonight, possible tornados, but definitely heavy rain, thunder and lightening. After dinner we went to the show. The stars were Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe, Liberace and Elvis. It was very fun and outside the storm raged. Motor home was ok. No rain when we got out of the show and on the way home. More storms later in the evening.

Day 88 Thursday November 17
Did not go anywhere today. Read books, knitted, went swimming and hot tubbing. It got down into the low 30’s overnight. Burr.

Day 89 Friday November 18
We went shopping for groceries and electric shaver. Came home and went for another beach walk. I played with polishing some sea shells and they looked very nice. Judy played around in the motor home while I took the metal detector around the park. Found a few pennies and lots of aluminum pull tabs and other junk. We had stir fry for dinner.

Day 90 Saturday November 19
We left the campground and headed South on highway 17 . Near Charleston we took bypass I-596 back to highway 17 and continued South for about four miles to Oak Plantation Camp taking spot NN7. Weather very pleasant with temperature around 70 degrees with very little wind.
Drove 106 miles

Day 91 Sunday November 20
We went to St. John the Baptist Cathedral to mass at 11:15. After we headed to the waterfront and found a nice place to eat our lunch. From our lunch spot we could see the new two mile cable suspension bridge across the Cooper River. Beautiful day, got to about 75 today and no wind. At 3pm we headed back to the cathedral to hear a organ concert by Isabella Demers who was very good. The concert lasted about 1 and one half hours. It was very obvious that Charleston is loaded with churches and has been called the “City of God” because of it. Also, lot of old houses, many built or rebuilt after the Civil War since Charleston was burned and shelled.

Day 92 Monday November 21
We went to the Fort Sumter Visitor Center and took the tour boat to the fort which is at the entrance to the Charleston harbor. This fort was the were the first shots were fired in the Civil War. When the North tried to retake the fort during war about 44,000 canon shells were shot at the fort which, of course, pretty much demolished it. We got nice views of the city and harbor as well as some porpoises which were playing around the boat. Went past the US Yorktown aircraft carrier which is not a museum. Back on shore, we took the free trolley into down town to the “market” and looked at all the stuff for sale. There are a large number of locals who make sweet grass basket which are not cheap. They are very nice and well made. Another nice day of 75 degrees and light breeze.

Day 93 Tuesday November 22
We did laundry in the morning and did some grocery shopping while the laundry was going. After lunch we goofed off. I went for a walk to the RV park pond. I found great egrets, white ibis, and the resident alligator by the island in the middle of the pond. Saw one anhinga which landed in the tree above the alligator and was eating some berries. Last time I saw an anhinga was some years ago when son Daniel and I were in Texas traveling from Berkley to Bethesda. Another nice day of 75 degrees with a light breeze.

US Trip Part 9 November 5-November 13

Day 76 Saturday November 5
Today we went back to Jamestown Settlement which is a state park. There is a huge museum which depicts the history of Jamestown with stories and artifacts. They have an Indian Powhatan village with people describing how they lived at the time of Jamestown in 1607. There was a replica of the fort and the houses inside as well as people demonstrating live there. They also had full sized replica ships which brought the settlers and we could go into them. A fun and informative day even though it was cool and windy.

Day 77 Sunday November 6
We took today off from sightseeing. After breakfast we went to St. Olaf’s Catholic Church for Mass. We then spent the day cleaning and tiding up the motor home by vacuuming, sweeping, and cleaning the bathroom, etc.

Day 78 Monday November 7
Today we went to Yorktown, where George Washington and the Continental Army and the French besieged the British army and made them surrender. There was a place which had a nice museum and an reconstructed army camp and a family farm of the period. We drove around the battlefield looking at the sight of George Washington’s field command post, the surrender field and British, Continental and French army positions.

Day 79 Tuesday November 8
Slept in late and goofed off all day. Ahhhh.

Day 80 Wednesday November 9
We went into Colonial Williamsburg and listened to “Patrick Henry” talk about himself and his involvement in the American Revolution. The actor was very entertaining. We also went to the coffee shop and had chocolate with the owner, the silversmith, the millinery, and the joiner. We ate lunch in one of the restored taverns. Afterwards we did a little shopping, buying a suitcase at Good will for our trip to Mexico. We made a nice chicken dinner.

Day 81 Thursday November 10
We decided to take a look at the country side today. We headed Northeast out of Williamsburg and decided to head for a nature center on the Chesapeake Bay. Had a hard time finding it so we went to the Post Office to ask for directions. Closed for lunch. An older lady was in her car so I asked her for directions. She said follow me and she took us there. She then invited us to her house for a good view. Well we ate our lunch in the park which had old restored fishing boats and a nice museum with models of many different kinds of ships. Afterwards we headed to the lady’s house and showed us her view which was very nice and her house, octagonal shaped like local light houses. On the way home we stopped for gas and the truck next to us had baskets of oysters freshly removed from the bay and he was nice enough to sell us some. Appetizers for dinner. Yumm.

Day 82 Friday November 11 Happy 11-11-11
We left Williamsburg and headed East on I-64 through Newport News and under the water on I-646 to I 64 again. We took highway 168 south into North Carolina a toll road costing $4.00. Stopped in the visitor center for maps. Headed South on 168 to highway 34 for 3.5 miles. Then South on Indian Town Road for 8 miles, then right on a small road for 1.5 miles to Union River RV park taking space 12. A nice park with a five acre lake.
Drove 102 miles.

Day 83 Saturday November 12
Today we went to Cape Hatteras, the most Eastern part of the United States. The weather was great with temperature around 60 degrees and a light breeze and no clouds. We ate lunch at Cape Point watching the surfers and fishermen. We also collected some pretty shells. The light house at the cape has an apparently well known black and white spiral design. On the way down the Outer Banks, we saw the remnants of hurricane Irene with debris still piled up along side the road and mangled trailers. Some parts of the road had also been washed out. We drove a little further West to the small berg of Frisco where there was a fantastic Native American museum. Stopped and got some groceries and ate dinner at local restaurant which had been recommended to us. We had alligator chunks for appetizers and shrimp for the main course. A very fun day.

Day 84 Sunday November 13
Today we went to Kitty Hawk, site of the Wright brother’s first airplane flight. They had markers at the distances of the four flights they made in that December, 1903. The place was special in that it was the first design that could control all three aspects-pitch, yaw and roll. They had made several glides with which they tested the roll concepts in a thousand flights before putting in a motor. The park service had a very fun program. After that we went to Roanoke Island which is between the Outer Banks, noted locally as OBX, and the mainland. On this island in 1586, an English colony was established. They did find the original fort site (reconstructed after archeological dig). Two years after founding, it had vanished with no trace of the inhabitants and so was not considered the first British colony in America as that went to Jamestown. On the way home we stopped and walked on the Atlantic ocean beach for a while. Ah, another nice day of sightseeing in the sunny weather.

US Trip Part 8 October 27 to November 4

Day 67 Thursday October 27
Wow, Gettysburg was almost overwhelming. We went to the visitors center and saw a movie and then a 360 degree display of the battle, both of which were very good. Next to the museum which showed many artifacts, both in general and personal items of individual soldiers and officers, inter-dispersed among the displays of the battle story line. Then we took the auto tour which went along the Confederate lines and then Union lines, with lots of monuments showing where various troops were stations as well as monuments to individual officers. It was relatively easy then to see the strategic positions of each side.
On Little Round Top where the Union Soldiers held the high ground. View the Confederates had of the high ground the Union forces held.

It was sad to see how many young men had died in the few days of battle. We then drove around town to look at some of the old houses where were around in the 1860’s as well as the train station where President Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg to give his famous address at the battlefield cemetery. A fun but sobering day.

Day 68 Friday October 28
We went to the post office after breakfast then come home and got the motor home ready to leave. We took hwy 116 West to hwy 16 to I81 South. Filled up with diesel just before getting on the freeway. The weather report called for possible snow as far down as Virginia so we decided to find a place to stay for a few day. Also we thought the area around Colonial Williamsburg would be crowded. Found a campground off I-64 south of Charlottesville, VA. On the way we got a good view of the Shenandoah mountains and crossed a pass through them. The leafs were past their prime but still pretty.

Day 69 Saturday October 29
Well we slept in late then went to Thomas Jefferson’s home Monticello. It was cold and windy, burr. We toured the first floor and the basement. In the basement were work and storage areas. Here slaves cooked, did laundry, smoked meat, make beer and wine and took care of the horses. Between the house and garden was Mulberry Way were the slaves quarters and various shops to make barrel, carpentry and saw mill, and iron works. It was very interesting. No pictures were allowed inside the house. Lots of stuff was the actual things in the house when he lived there. Much was lost over time and a lot was sold off by the heirs. He had some interesting innovations in the house, much of it ideas from Europe when he was ambassador to France. Thomas Jefferson's grave (tall monument) and family cemetery.
Not only did he write the declaration of independence but was a scientist too, and interested in all kinds of area of human endeavor. I wonder what he would think of today’s society and government’s roll as it has become.

Day 70 Sunday October 30 Happy Birthday Jessica
Well we went West to do the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park through the Blue Ridge mountains but lo and behold it was closed because of last night’s now. So, off we went to visit President James Madison’s home just North of where we are staying in Charlottesville. He is considered the writer of the Constitution . He apparently spent a lot of time researching previous government types before doing his writing. The house is in the process of being restored to what it was like when Madison retired from political life. The DuPont family owned it for many years and sold it to a private foundation who is now the owners. The house tour was very good with lots of information about him and his family.

Day 71 Monday October 31 Happy Halloween
We left Charlottesville and continued East on I-64 along the tree lined freeway with lots of color in the leafs. We left the freeway at exit 231A and went South to the American Heritage RV camp just off the freeway. We settled into space 51. Ordered tickets for Colonial Williamsburg which were a special for seniors costing a day’s entrance fee good for the rest of the year.
Drove 122 miles today.

Day 72 Tuesday November 1
We went into colonial Williamsburg and listened to “George Washington” who gave a brief talk and then answered questions. We then walked around looking at various places. Went to the noon prayer service of the Bruton parish church built in 1715. It was here that all the public officials went to church on Sunday since it was mandatory as the Church of England had complete control of the government. It is obvious why Virginia was the seat of anti-state sponsored religion. In the afternoon, there was an outside play about the start of the American Revolution from the state of Virginia perspective. It was very fun and interesting. This is the powder magazine where the British Governor took all the powder in the middle of the night to keep the Virginian's from getting it.
The scene starts in front of the Charlton’s Coffee house where locals harass the British tax collector. The next scene is in front of a Raleigh tavern where locals tar and feather a man who favored the crown. It was in this tavern where the local House of Burgess met to draft the Virginia Declaration of Independence and Constitution which became the models for united colonies. The third scene at the Capital is the development of Declaration of Independence. Cool though sitting outside with a breeze and 55 degrees.

Day 73 Wednesday November 2
We went to hear Thomas Jefferson speak and answer questions. He was very good and entertaining. Next was the museum which started out in the first insane asylum in Virginia in the early 1700’s. The main museum was very incredible with lots of exhibits from the period of the revolution. Today’s outside play was the capture of Williamsburg by Benedict Arnold and the British. The next scene is in village green where Washington is exhorting his troops to march on Yorktown where the British were trapped. The local troops showed how they fired their muskets and cannons. Very fun.

Day 74 Thursday November 3
We went for a drive and headed to Jamestown where the first British colony was established in 1607. We just drove around looking at the scenery and will come back here later. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home.

Day 75 Friday November 4
Today was kick back day. I read and Judy knitted. In the afternoon we went to the Williamsburg Pottery and found out it was a huge complex that was slowly reducing inventory in anticipation of moving to a new set of stores. Not much pottery and it was seconds. Disappointing. Had a nice meat loaf dinner.