Our “Bare Bones” Web Site
Updated: August 23, 2004
North Carolina (again)
June 1-5
Spent a day in the Monrovian
living history settlement called Old Salem and saw how life was in the 1700’s.
We then visited Seagrove a community with over 100 potters. We only managed to
visit 5 different potters and the NC pottery museum, but did get a taste of the
Carolina pottery tradition. We also
stopped in the Bar-B-Que capital of North
Carolina called Lexington.
Had lunch at Speedy’s Bar-B-Que
which lived up to the advice we got “the worse it looks outside, the better it
tastes inside”.
Virginia
June 6-8
We hit a small “speed bump” on our grand adventure. On our
way to Roanoke, VA
to visit friends, a wheel fell off our trailer and we were stranded by the side
of the road. With the help of the state highway patrol who slowed down/stopped
traffic both directions on the interstate for us, Aldo managed to drive slowly,
flip a U-turn across 6 lanes of interstate and get us to the repair shop 2
miles back where they fixed us up in 2 days. While we were stuck, we visited 3 Virginia
wineries that were clustered in the Blue Ridge Mountains
near Roanoke, tasting 30 different
wines (they are much more generous here in Virginia
then they were in the Napa Valley!).
June 9-11
Visited Monticello
built by Thomas Jefferson and featured on the US nickel. This estate features a 1000 linear feet of
herbs and vegetables, fruit trees and vineyard. We were amazed how far along the vegetables
were as the peas were already done and it’s only June 9. Thomas Jefferson also designed the University
of Virginia campus, and we took a
guided tour of the Rotunda (built to be ¼ of the size of the Parthenon in Rome). We have also discovered the great taste of
Virginia cured ham, however due to the salt curing process our blood pressure
can’t take too much of it - on the plus side you don’t have to refrigerate it
until you open it, so we are contemplating hanging a ham from the bike rack for
the trip home J.
June 12-13
Drove down to the Petersburg
National Civil War
Battlefield Park
and spent the day following in the footsteps of the civil war soldiers. These
civil war parks are huge places, with big trees and monuments to the war --- it
is amazing that a place which saw so much death and misery 140 years ago can be
such a peaceful place now.
June 14-15
Stepped back even further in time to 1774 and visited
Colonial Williamsburg. It is the biggest living history museum in the U.S and
after 2 days and 12 miles of walking we covered almost all of it. Actors portray various prominent citizens of
that era (including Thomas Jefferson) and artisans work in the style of the
1700’s, all in a restored town. One of our favorites was the bricklayer, where
they squished together the clay and water with their feet. As per usual, we
tried out the cuisine of the 1700’s --- favorites included the pumpkin bread
pudding, chicken and dumplings and carrot fritters.
June 16-17
We drove down to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to visit Kitty
Hawk site of Orville and Wilbur’s flight. They have distance
markers to show the length of the 4 flights they made that day, the first being
only 112 feet which doesn’t seem much to have kicked off the aviation boom we
have today. We spent a few hours walking on the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore – saw some dolphins and heard a
sonic boom which rounded out our aviation day. Speaking of food, we had some
fresh frozen custard. It is a new trend here and is delicious, however I think
it has even more calories than premium ice cream.
June 18-19
It is HOT!!! We
haven’t had much ambition to do anything, but did visit Norfolk’s
harbour to check out the ships in town. Virginia
Maryland
June 20-29
We will be in Washington, D.C.
for 10 days and plan to see all the sights. From our campground you can take
the bus and rail pretty much anywhere you want to go, so our truck (and driver)
will have a few days rest.
- Since
Day 1 is forecast to be the coolest day this week, with temperatures is in
the low 80’s and no humidity, we decided to walk down the National Mall.
After 3 hours we had seen the Washington, Lincoln,
Korea, Vietnam
and WWII memorials and the White House. Next stop was the 3rd
floor of the American History
Museum where we saw everything
from the First Ladies inaugural dresses to a Stradivarius violin, to the
red slippers Judy Garland wore in the Wizard of Oz. After 2 hours it was
time to go home…. And there are still 2 more floors to do another day!
- Day 2
we walked down to the US Capitol, but it was a 4 hour wait for a tour so
left it for another day. Visited the top floor of the Air
& Space Museum
where Aldo’s favorite exhibit was a mock-up of the control rooms on an
aircraft carrier. Finished the day with a stroll through the U.S.
Botanical Garden. There are painted panda bears everywhere and Shauna has
had her picture taken with many of them.
- Day 3
was a 5 hour visit to the Museum
of Natural History, our
favorite so far. A few of the highlights were the Hope Diamond (45 carats)
along with rooms full of minerals and gems, mummies, a giant squid and
skeletons of every animal you can name.
- We
took a nighttime tour of Washington, DC
on Day 4. It is a beautiful city at night as the monuments and buildings
are all lit up.
- Strolled
around the National Zoo on Day 5 where the star attractions are the giant
pandas. Like most everything in Washington,
the zoo is free (paid for by the U.S.
citizens through their federal income tax).
- Visited
the National Archives on Day 6 and viewed the Declaration of Independence,
checked out the National Postal Museum and Union Station, then spent 2
hours in the National Art Gallery admiring the Van Gogh’s, Renoirs,
Cézannes and Monet’s
- Day 7
took us to Arlington National
Cemetery where we visited JFK’s gravesite and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers
where we saw the changing of the guard. Back into downtown Washington
to finish up the last 2 floors of the American History museum
- Pooped
from all of our sightseeing, we took the Day 8 off to rest &
recuperate
- Back
downtown on Day 9 to visit the Library of Congress (a gorgeous building
both inside and out) the Sculpture
Gardens, Hirshorn Art
Gallery, and one last peek at
the Monet’s in the National Art
Gallery
We admit defeat – after 8 days of
full-time sightseeing we still didn’t get to many of the sights Washington
has to offer….. Oh well, there is always next time!
Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania
July 1-4
We are in the heart of Amish
country, rolling green hills covered with corn fields, Amish families with
their horse and buggies sharing the road with us, and wonderful food
everywhere. Toured the Hershey chocolate factory, made pretzels at Stoltz’s Pretzel Factory and tasted every homemade jam we
could at the Kitchen Kettle Company. We are staying just east of Paradise,
and just south of Intercourse (I am not making this up). Ate shoofly pie for
dessert tonight and a whoopie cookie at lunch (both
were very yummy).
July 5-6
We traveled to Gettysburg
National Battlefield, famous for Lincoln’s
“Four Score & Twenty Years Ago …” speech, which was given at a ceremony to
remember the deaths from the Battle of Gettysburg. We were up at the crack of
dawn to tour the battlefield before the crowds awoke.
Pennsylvania
Ohio
July 7-8
We zipped through West Virginia,
then on to Dayton, Ohio.
We spent 7 hours visiting the US Air Force Museum which has the world’s largest
collection -of airplanes. Saw everything from the Air Force One plane used by
John F. Kennedy, to a Stealth Bomber (B2). Aldo was in his glory – we will be
back as we didn’t get to see it all.
Illinois
July 9-10
Drove through Indiana
on our way to Varna, Illinois
where we found the gravesite of Shauna’s great-grandfather. A few
thundershowers around as it’s very hot and humid
during the day.
Iowa
July 11-12
We stayed in Clear
Lake, Iowa – famous as the site
of Buddy Holly’s last concert (the plane crashed a few miles from town). Toured
the nearby Winnebago factory and watched how everything came together to build
an RV.
Minnesota
July 13
Visited Pipestone
National Monument where Native
Americans quarry stone to make peace pipes. It was very peaceful and serene. Continued on to South & North Dakota on our trek home.
Manitoba
July 19
Well we have made it to Manitoba
and are visiting friends and relatives. I don’t think this is what was intended
with the term “Wheels Up”.
This
is what happens when your Campground fee is late (updated July 19)
