Hardeeville, SC
Our first stop after leaving Florida was a neat park in Hardeeville, SC, lake Jasper RV Park. This is a beautiful area, called “the lowlands”.
For our first day here, we decided to explore Hilton Head island. Boo was able to come with us, which was neat because she had stayed in the trailer a lot lately. We checked out the beach which had LOTS of jellyfish. It was windy and chilly again so we did not stay on the beach long. Instead we found a neat brewery,Hilton Head Brewing, where Boo made friends with everyone anywhere near us.
Our friend Wes Johnson suggested we visit his hometown of Beaufort, SC. I am so glad we went there. The parks are phenomenal and so were all of the old houses. This was once the home of some of the wealthiest southern gentlemen. Many of their homes were confiscated after the Civil War for lack of payment on taxes. Man of them were purchased by former slaves and the town started to thrive as a black community.
Of course, w=we stopped for a southern style beverage before leaving. Dave had strawberry lemonade and I had something with plums and thyme.
We went to Savannah, GA on March 29 where we took a walking tour of the historic district and squares. We learned a lot about the history of Savannah, founded by a scoundrel from England named George Oglethorpe. He had the town laid out like London with squares. There were 24 originally and 22 still remain. We walked through about half of them. Cherokee Square was the location of the opening scenes of Forest Gump.
We also saw the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Lowe, founder of the Girl Scouts.
After our walk, we stopped at an Irish pub and restaurant, Mcdonough’s, for a couple of beers. We asked some of the locals for a recommendation for supper. We ended up at Tubby’s Tank House, where we shared a seafood broil. The atmosphere was neat. See the seashell lights and the fans with very short fan blades.
Charlotte, SC
We drove about 90 miles on March 31, to the Charleston KOA. It was very windy again and afternoon storms were predicted so we wanted to get there and set up early. WE made it before the rain!
Friday, April 1 was Gavin and Kelsey’s graduation from “nuke” school. We were so honored to be able to attend this ceremony, on base. We got to meet Kelsey for the first time and also her mom and step dad. It was a full family day with those 4, Tom and Jane, Garrett, Hannah, Jordan and Blakely, Old Tom and his friend.
It took us a while to get to base. Google was not finding base with the address Gavin had given to Dave but we finally got there, on time! It was a beautiful day for an outdoor graduation. After the ceremony and pictures, we all went to Poblano’s for lunch.
The next day, we planned to all go to the Charleston Aquarium together but that plan was first delayed and later scrapped. Instead, we spent a lot of time wandering through the outdoor market. Tom, Jane, Dave and I wandered to Big John’s, a pub for a little food and beer while waiting for the rest of the group.
After everyone got there, we wandered the shops of Charleston again. Finally, Dave and I had to head back to our truck, parked in the aquarium parking garage, before it closed. We took a different route from earlier in the day and passed many beautiful southern mansions.
The rest of the group still wasn’t ready for supper so Dave and I found a local dive bar, The Recovery Room, to wait to hear plans. It even came with free covered parking!
We all met for supper at Mcdonoughs where Dave and I shared a shepherd’s pie. Yum!
On Sunday, almost everyone left for their homes. Hannah, Jordan and Blakely were still in the motel for the day so they came out to our campground so Blakely could enjoy some pool time in her mermaid swimsuit. It was great spending time with them.
Asheville, SC
Dave and I headed to Asheville on the 4th, to a neat campground, Wilson’s Riverside RV park. After a wrong turn or two that took us down narrow residential streets, we finally found the park.
We wanted to tour the Biltmore mansion, the largest house in America, while in Asheville. However, it cost $100 each for the tour so we passed!
We did not do a lot in Asheville except one rainy afternoon, we took a walking tour of brew pubs. There were 8 within about 1.2 miles. Unfortunately, one was closed. We also walked around historic Asheville and a little driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Mt Airy, NC
We moved on, on April 7, to Mount Airy, North Carolina to the Mayberry Campground. This is a great, well laid out campground and well maintained.
For our only full day in Mt Airy, we visited historic Mayberry, including replicas of the Mayberry TV show. Andy Griffith (also Donna Fargo) were born in Mt Airy and the TV show includes many of his hometown places.
We finished our tour of Mayberry at the Loaded Goat, as recommended by some friends.
Mechanicsville, MD
We spent one night at a Harvest Home site in Maryland, Suttler Post Farm. This is a working Clydesdale farm. That was really neat. We got to watch the owner Wayne, feed the horses. They are huge. One, Cash, has a growth on a hoof. They have to work on the hoof every few days and we got to see that also. This team has delivered the White House Christmas tree for the last 5 years.
The Dalmations seen on Budweiser commercials are offspring of the dogs on this farm. We took a picture of the female because many people think Boo is Dalmation. No, she looks very different.
Reston, VA
April 10 brought us to Reston, VA where we stayed for 4 nights.
We wanted to tour Mount Vernon on one of our days in Reston. First, I have to comment that there is so much road construction in this area. Ugggggg! Also, there are many, many, many huge, mansions.
Mount Vernon is beautiful and the grounds cover a lot of area. We spent 4 hours there.
George and Martha were originally buried in the old family tomb. However, it was in poor shape. George actually wrote in his will how he wanted a new vault built, where and what materials. He and Martha were moved to the new tomb 35 years after he died.
We ended our day at a brewery in old Alexandria.
The next day, we toured Manassas National Battlefield, site of the first and second battles of Bull Run. There is so much history that it is almost hard to “take it all in”. Jackson got his nickname of “Stonewall” at the first battle as he was seen standing tall and still, like a stone wall, while he watched and directed the battle for the Confederates.
Washington, DC
We have a new home for a week outside of Washington DC. Dave had stayed in this park many years ago with his family but the campground has doubled in size since then. It has been owned by the same family for 100 years! It is very convenient because a city bus stops here and takes us to the train/subway station. From there, we can catch a train, transfer to different trains or take circulator buses, to get around the DC area. We didn’t have to drive in at all.
Our first day, April 14, we toured the National monuments. Unfortunately, White House tours need to be requested months in advance and then still difficult to obtain. The Capitol tours are almost as difficult. We are still trying to get a ticket to the Holocaust museum.
After walking almost 20,000 steps, we decided to get a beer before heading back to the campground and Boo. We walked a few blocks to this Irish pub.
Day 2 is a day for the zoo. I did not realize this is one of the Smithsonian venues. Dave was not excited about going to the zoo but later admitted it had been great. We saw most of it but missed a few exciting exhibits like the cheetah. We also missed seeing the apes and orangutans swinging over everyone’s heads as they passed from one enclosure to another. That would have been neat to see but I would have been holding my breath so they wouldn’t drop down on us.
On Saturday, April 16, we had three destinations in mind. First, we visited the Pentagon and Pentagon 911 Memorial. No pictures are allowed, even of the outside, of the Pentagon. However, a bit of it can be seen from the memorial.
The benches, one for each person who died, face toward or away from the building, depending upon the viewpoint of the victim. Some were in the plane and face toward the Pentagon. Some were in the Pentagon, facing outward toward the plane.
We got back on the train and went to Arlington National Cemetery. This is on land owned by General Robert E. Lee. His wife was the step granddaughter of George Washington.
We wanted to see President Kennedy’s grave, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the laying of wreaths (we saw 2) at the Unknown and the Changing of the Guard at the Unknown. We got to the Unknown just as the first wreath laying ceremony started so we got to see everything.
People from the campground, names not known but they are from Maine, told us about a neat place to view Washington DC from an 31 story observation deck. What a neat way to see the city.
Our next stop was a Circulator bus ride and walk around Georgetown. This is a very old part of the city with a lot of expensive shops. We saw one of the oldest homes in DC and also the C & O, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. This is now a National Monument.
We ended our day with drinks at The Admiral.
Easter Sunday was spent going to church then relaxing in the trailer. The next day was also spent at home.
Our last day in DC, we hopped a train early to check our some Smithsonian museums. We were still unable to get admission tickets to the Holocaust Museum but still had a lot to see. We started by walking past some of the important buildings we had missed previously.
Our first museum stop was the Museum of American History. We were not able to take pictures of many of the things we saw but it was fantastic. We saw the Inaugural gowns of First Ladies, including Dolly Madison’s gown, singed by the fire that destroyed the White House. We saw Judy Garland’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. We also saw the American flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star Spangled Banner. (More to come on this topic later.)
Next we went to the Museum of Natural History. A note about all of the museums is that they are huge. One neat thing there is the Hope Diamond, more than 42 carats.
We decided to stop for lunch at the Capitol Club. We were a bit underdressed!
In order to see a little of each, we had to pick and choose what exhibits we would stop at.
Our final museum was the museum of American History. This is neat both inside and out. Something that caught my attention were the placards and exhibits that dealt with AMERICANs, not American Indian or Native Americans. The Indians were and are the first Americans. One hall was devoted to images, logos and slogans with Indian logos and themes. Dave even found the Sleepy Eye Flour from Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.
We stopped at the National Archives where we were able to see the original Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. We were not able to take photos.
We also walked past and got photos of the Library of Congress and Supreme Court.
Baltimore, MD
On April 20, we moved to Woodbine, Maryland where we were close to Baltimore. We stayed at Rambling Pines RV park. What a neat park with a lot of things to do and curvy, hilly roads. It is a very unique park and we really enjoyed it.
We did not plan on doing something each day that we were here, but decided to go to the Antietam Battlefield one day. It turned out to be chillier that first forecast, drizzly and Dave was not feeling well. We went to the Visitor Center for a film on the battle but decided to return to the trailer instead of touring the grounds. We may be back because another campground that we plan to stay in is close by.
The next day was perfect weather, in the low 70s. We went in to Baltimore. Our first stop was the birthplace and home of Babe Ruth.
Baltimore has some very narrow cobblestone streets. I did not get a picture of one this narrow that was 2-way.
We did a driving/walking tour of part of Baltimore to see some of the ornate churches. The one were were the most interested in was the Basilica but they were all beautiful.
Then we went to the Inner Harbor. I had been here before but wanted to show it to Dave. We had lunch at an Irish bar that was decorated like a church. The food was not spectacular but the setting was fun. Walking around, we saw a World Trade Center – Baltimore tribute to Baltimore natives who dies on 911. We also saw a couple of very old ships and one submarine.
Our last stop of the day was a tour of Fort McHenry. Here, the British were trying to take over Baltimore in 1814. Francis Scott Key was held on a British ship beyond the fighting. The next morning, he was not sure who had one the battle after 25 hours until he saw the stars and stripes, prompting him to write The Star Spangled Banner.
The flags at this time had fifteen stars and fifteen stripes. The original flag was 30 x 42 feet. Today, a similar flag flies over the fort at the same location, 5 days a week but there are 4 sizes. In windy or inclement weather, smaller banners are flown. The current US flag flies on weekends.
Archeologists have unearthed the crossbar that held the flag from the battle. It is on display a the fort. Again, pictures were not allowed.
We found a brewery before leaving Baltimore. This one was really hidden. GPS showed us where it was but we had to park and walk around an industrial area before finding it between the industrial sites and an apartment complex.
We spent the weekend at the park. The weather was perfect for being outside and we wanted to take advantage of some of the free activities. We played 18 holes of mini golf and shuffleboard. Also, I tried to put one of our folding tables back together but it jumped out of my hands.
On April 25, we went to the Gettysburg Battlefield. It was a chillier day than we had planned but picnic lunch was still good.
We watched a film at the Visitor Center which included a panoramic painting of the battle, completed just a few years after the battle. This was a very decisive battle and turning point in the Civil War. Because of this battle, Abe Lincoln decided to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, something that was naturally opposed by the south but also by many northerners.
Because we see so many battlefields and more names are discussed than what we learned in school, it can be difficult to keep timelines straight. We took several pictures that discussed the Potomac Theater.
Harper’s Ferry, WV
On April 27, we moved to Harper’s Ferry KOA in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. In the photo, note the trench right behind our trailer. This was one of the trenches dug during the Battle of Harper’s Ferry.
This is a new state for us and we will be in this campground for a week. A replica of the fort where John Brown was captured is located in our campgrounds. Today it is called Grapes and Grinds, a coffee and wine shop for the campground.
There is so much history here. George Washington was impressed with the area and had a Federal arsenal built here to store weapons. Several of his brothers settled in the area. A nearby town is named after his youngest brother. It is Charles Town. We will visit it while in the area.
John Brown attacked the arsenal in 1859, trying to obtain weapons to use in freeing slaves. He failed, was captured, tried for treason and hanged. This was the unofficial start of the Civil War.
The area has two major rivers, the Potomac and the Shenandoah. They are both very rocky and full of rapids around here.
Also, this was a border state (then part of Virginia) between the north and the south so it was important to both sides of the Civil War. Five major battles were held here and the town changed hands eight times in four years.
On the 29th, we toured the Harper’s Ferry Battlefield sites. By now, I have seen so many battlefields that I have lost a little interest but it is still important to visit them.
We ended our day at a brewery in Charles Town, the Abolitionist Brewery. We weren’t in town to explore history so will return on another day.
On Monday, May 2, we toured the town portion of the Harper’s Ferry National Park. We were closer to the point of the three states, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. We saw the Engine House, also called John Brown’s Fort, located about 100 yards from it’s original location. (It has been moved 5 times.) We walked part of the Appalachian Trail, to Jefferson Rock. At this spot, Thomas Jefferson declared the area so beautiful that all of England should get on a ship and come to see it.
Because of the rivers, Harper’s Ferry was an important industrial hub. It is one of the reasons George Washington wanted to build and arsenal here. Also, Merriweather Lewis stopped here to gather supplies for his great expedition with William Clark.
Our last day in the Harper’s Ferry area was spent touring Charles Town and Shepherdstown. Charles Town is where John Brown was tried and convicted of murder and treason and hung. It is the only courthouse in the US that has held two treason trials. The second was labor leader Bill Blizzard who incited coal miners to rebel against mine guards in 1921.
Elkins, WV
On May 4, we reached Stuart Recreation Area in the Monongahela National Forest near Elkins, WV. What huge sites! We had passed by the birthplace of pearl S. Buck on our way here, along the curvy roads of West Virginia.
That evening, we drove up the mountain to an observation tower. I hate heights and open spaces. Dave was lucky to get me to the first landing. He went to the top and took some neat photos of the area from up high. It was cloudy but we still thought it was beautiful.
The next day, we decided to explore Elkins. We went to the depot first, which was the Visitor Center. Across the street was a Delmonte Market, which used to be a hotel, 1899, when Elkins was a bustling railroad town. Then we went to the Coal Museum. It was somewhat interesting to me but more so for Dave. I did learn that there are basically two coal mining areas in the state, north and south. Some of the best coal in the world comes from the Shenandoah mines. At one time, the coal was mainly used locally but the advent of trains made it possible to ship it all over and the area thrived. With coal usage slowing, the area does not have much for income.
We wanted to tour the Forest Museum, in the first floor of the same building but it was closed. That looked like a permanent closure.
We also drove past the historic mansion of Governor Guy Buck, built in1925.
We were done touring earlier than expected. The plan had been to go to the Beander’s Tavern for their wing special, after 4. That would be our supper. However, we decided to go anyway and met some awesome people from Elkins. Tim, in particular, is quite an ambassador for his state and town. For no reason we could figure out, he bought our wings which we ate in front of a fire at the campground!
Alderson, WV
May 6 took us to Alderson, WV where we stayed at Greenbrier River Campground for 2 nights. It was rainy and we did not have any sight seeing plans so we stayed in the trailer. We were parked parallel to the Greenbriar River with tent sites in the tier below us. We woke up on the last morning to find the river had risen A LOT. It is a good thing there were no tents out at the time!
On Sunday, May 8 (Mother’s Day), we drove to our next stop. We passed more campgrounds that had some trailers sitting in water. We also passed a really neat waterfall. We were able to pull over and walk back to take pictures of it.
Kenna, WV
When we got to our campground, there was evidence of high water near and over the road. The owner at Rippling Waters Campground told us the roads had been closed for 3 days and only opened a few hours earlier.
On the way, we passed some coal plants and I had to take a picture of one.
This is a really pretty campground. They are very religious and the rule is, no alcohol, nowhere in your trailer even. Yeah….right… They also host geese, ducks and a swan.
We spent an afternoon touring Charleston, capitol of West Virginia. What a pretty capitol building and city but we were amazed at how little foot and auto traffic there was.
One of our stops was the Market. We had walked through the Market in another Charleston (South Carolina) and thought it would be fun to compare. This one is much smaller but they had a huge garden section. We bought some flowers for our additional pots.
After walking and walking, it was time for a cooling beer before heading back to the campground.
Weston, WV
We had a one night stay at Broken Wheel Campground in Weston.
Our purpose for coming here was to tour the West Allegheny Insane Asylum, open for 125 years. It is the second largest hand cut limestone building in the world, with only the Kremlin being larger.
This was purchased privately a few years ago for $1.5 million and is slowly being restored. It is beautiful but scary. A man could declare his wife insane if he got mad at her and commit her. He was the only person in the world who could have here freed. There was also criminally insane people here. Old practices such as lobotomies were even performed here. It is also said to be haunted.
We did a tour of the first floors which took almost 2 hours. We were interested in the Clinically Insane tour but did not want to spend another 2 hours touring. Our tour guide was Jessica and she did a great job of explaining the history of the asylum.
Triadelphia, WV
Our last WV stay was in a remote campground in the northern panhandle where we stayed for 2 nights. We crossed from WV to PA and back to WV to reach Creekside Camping. This is another beautiful spot. We simply enjoyed the scenery with no touring.
Greenfield, IN
May 13 found us in Indiana. We left the panhandle and drove across Ohio to get here, to Heartland Resort where we will stay for 2 nights. I really didn’t like this campground because it was very buggy. It is also probably the most partying campground we have been in and everyone was super friendly.
We went to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday as we were leaving town. We had not been able to go earlier because of the Grand Prix race on Saturday.
We took the “Kiss the Bricks” tour and wandered around the museum. For the tour, we took a lap around the track and stopped at the only visible bricks left from the original Brick Yard. In the museum, Dave was able to get into an Indy car. I was afraid I couldn’t bend enough to get either in or out. We also got to do a 4 lap simulation. Fun!
We were parked in a lot across the street from the speedway so enjoyed our weekly Bloody Mary’s across from the entrance.
Casey, IL
After the Indy tour, we drove to Casey, Illinois for a one-night stay at Fairview Park. This is a large city park. It was first come first serve but there were 25 sites and only one other trailer. The park looked neat but was set up badly. There were gravel pads for trailers but no path to each site or parking pad. It was all grass, laid out in three rows. I’m not sure how anyone could get in or out of the middle and back row if there were other trailers in the way. Also, it was soft because they had gotten a lot of rain a couple of days earlier and it rained again the afternoon/evening we were there. Unfortunately, we tore up the grass a bit as were were leaving.
We had come to Casey because it is a small town with big things. We had a fun afternoon touring.
There was a large concentration of oil wells as we were leaving town. I think we saw about 50 within a mile. We even saw and smelled one being drilled.
Springfield, IL
We found inexpensive camping at the Illinois State fairgrounds for 2 nights. We had a nice grassy spot but on a hill. Our jacks were way to the ground!
Tuesday May17 was a day for Abe Lincoln history. We started by visiting Lincoln’s tomb. This sent chills through me! Buried in his vault are his wife Mary and 4 of his sons. The only son to survive to adulthood, Robert, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery but there is a marker for him in the vault.
There is a neat house on the cemetery grounds and we were not able to determine what it was.
Next we went to the old state capitol, with the dome of the new capitol in the background. This is where Lincoln served as an Illinois legislator and where his body lay in state after his death. It was here where Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th amendment, abolishing slavery. It is also where Obama announced his bid for the presidency.
It was interesting to tour this capitol building. The dome is undergoing restoration.
Next we toured Lincoln’s home, the only house that he owned and where he lived for 17 years before moving to The White House. Most of the houses in the neighborhood were here when the Lincolns lived here and Lincolns knew the neighbors.
Wow, touching a handrail that Lincoln touched!
The house was one story when the Lincolns moved in. The house grew as the family grew.
We had one beer at a nearby microbrewery before heading to back to the trailer. Two other full-time RV couples that toured the Lincoln home with us were also at the brewery.
Hampton, IL
We spent 2 nights in an Army Corps park near Moline,Fisherman’s Corner Rec Area, arriving on May 18. This was a lovely park as all COE parks are. It was across the river from a dam and was home to geese, wood ducks and pelicans.
Hampton, IA
We went from one Hampton to another for a stay at a Harvest Host winery for our last night on the road. We were parked behind between the apple trees and a field, behind the vineyard.
