Valley Forge, Friday, June 25

This morning was an early departure day. We arrived at our campground early enough to visit Valley Forge National Historic Park, Pennsylvania.

We are reversing the order of our wars, visiting the Civil War Battlefields a few days ago and now the American Revolution (1775- 1783). We toured the encampment of the 12,000 man Continental Army of 1777 led by General George Washington.

A visit to his head- quarters was really special. Many historic buildings and museums require walking in designated pathways only and a “no touch policy” is strictly enforced.

Here in this historic site, such a huge part of our American history, we were encouraged by park rangers to touch the actual stair banisters that were used by George Washington. It was quite an experience!

Pretzel Factory & Gettysburg National Cemetery, Thursday, June 24

Our “down days” rarely seem to be “totally down”. Ivan had a bit of RV upkeep to tend to this morning before the four of left to visit the Snyder’s of Hanover Pretzel Factory a few miles away in (of all places) Hanover, PA. Who knew? It was actually quite interesting and we did some shopping in their store for future snack times.

We visited the Gettysburg National Cemetery and the adjacent Evergreen Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. We stood on that actual spot! It is impossible to visualize what all of this could have been like, but we have been as close as one can get.


Pizza sounds pretty good to us now, especially since high winds and rain w/hail is predicted for this afternoon and evening. Tomorrow we leave for someplace in Pennsylvania that Curt has told us we are going before we hit The Big Apple!

Battle at Gettysburg, Wednesday, June 23

Our history lesson today was of the Civil War Battle at Gettysburg. We certainly learned more of the events of July 1, 2, and 3, 1863, by actually taking the self guided audio tour through the battlefields than we probably learned in school. We stopped at monuments and memorials along the way to take pictures and hear ranger talks on the events that took place at many locations. We stood on the grounds where more men fell than in any other battle fought in North America before or since.





We visited the Gettysburg Diorama, a scale model of the Battle of Gettysburg. It is the largest military diorama in the United States at over 800 square feet of display.




It was a great day and a wonderful experience, but we were all pretty exhausted and ready for burgers and dogs on the grill at the end of the day.

Passing of the Baton, Tuesday, June 22

I (Randi) will be accepting responsibility for the verbiage in our blog beginning today and Ivan will take credit for the pictures and posting the blog. We all have our strengths!

We drove across the parking lot to the garage at 8:00 AM, hopeful that our repair would be completed as expected before noon. The first report was not encouraging, but this facility really makes an effort to accommodate those of us who are traveling. They were terrific! We were on the road by 11:45 and on our way to Gettysburg.

We arrived at our campground early and had time to visit the Gettysburg National Military Park Visitors Center and Museum. It contains the film “We are Met on a Great Battlefield”, and the Gettysburg Museum of the American Civil War. The most impressive part of our visit was the Battle of Gettysburg” cyclorama, the original 377 foot painting by Paul Philippoteaux of Pickett’s Charge, completed in 1884. No cameras were allowed, so you will just have to visit this major piece of our history in order to appreciate the 2 ½ hours we spent there.

The early evening was spent sitting outside with Curt and Yvonne, catching up on the last 36 hours when we were separated. Good to be back together!

RV repair time, Monday, June 21

It was not meant to be. The repair facility that was to do the recall on our water pump informed us that they received the wrong part and the correct part is on indefinite backorder.



On to the next repair place to check out the problem with the jacks. We waited until about 4:00 to discover that the severed hydraulic hose would not be replaced until tomorrow AM. We stayed in their campground (which is nice) and will hopefully be on the road by noon Tuesday. Curt and Yvonne will have to have happy hour without us!
We have met lots of interesting people on this trip, the latest being Barbara and Al in the waiting area of the repair place. They are a hoot, as Randi would say, and we’ve spent several hours exchanging stories. They felt certain that they would be on the road this afternoon, but when we looked out the window from our campsite, there they were!

No this is not a picture of our RV or Barbara and Al's Rig, it's just a picture of the repair station. Randi said she had to get a picture for the blog and this is what she got as we were driving out the gate.

The Capitol, Saturday, June 19

We just couldn’t get enough of that driving and metro thing, so we left the RV park at 7 AM. We were pleasantly surprised to find a nearly empty parking lot at the Metro station and no wait to board a nearly empty train. Our first stop was the Capitol, where we did not wait long to have a wonderful tour. We exited the Capitol through the tunnel which leads to the Library of Congress. There are so many historic sites and interesting buildings that we could spend days here, but we chose to take pictures instead on our walk to the National Archives. It was worth the 45 minute wait in the heat and humidity to view our Declaration of Independence, Constitution of the United States and The Bill of Rights.

Again no pictures inside, I almost got shot taking the picture of the emblem on the floor just outside the door.

We were pleasantly surprised to meet Aaron’s friend Hillary, who lives in DC. Curt and Yvonne had not seen her in 5 years, so it was neat for her to call that she was in the city and wanted to see them. We had to “ditch” our water and snack food at the Capitol, so by the time we finished the time at the National Archives, we were in need of nourishment before heading back to the Metro. Hillary directed us to a cute place with really good food.

We took the Metro to the station close to Cookie, where she told us she would meet us in the “Kiss and Ride” parking lot to say goodbye. Of course, after we kissed and said goodbye, she talked us into letting her drive us to the Metro station where we had parked (another 30 minutes away). We cannot say enough about her generosity while we were here. The time was awesome!

Kayaked on the Shenandoah River, Friday, June 18

Curt, Randi and I kayaked on the Shenandoah River for about 2 ½ hours.









It was really fun (even did a little rapid running) and a beautiful way to see the beautiful banks along the river. It was great outdoor exercise and safe for Randi’s healing leg (that’s going fine), since it is all “arms”.
We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with Yvonne and Curt for dinner, then called it an early night to prepare for a busy day Saturday.

Down day,Thursday, June 17

Today was a much needed “down day”. We did a little shopping in the town of Front Royal and not much of anything else. Nice!

Washington DC, Wednesday, June 16

What a great day this was! Now that we have become “experts” on parking (or not) and maneuvering the Metro stations, we drove back into the city. This time, we drove to Arlington, VA, where we parked the car in the driveway of Randi’s close friend since age 12, Cookie. She left us a key to her house with an invitation to make ourselves at home before walking a few blocks to the Metro, which took us to the Pentagon. Cookie works at the Pentagon and gave us an extraordinary personal tour. It was truly an opportunity that not many have and we feel honored and privileged to have had the experience. Absolutely no pictures are allowed in or outside of the Pentagon. Pictured is the Pentagon 9/11 memorial honoring the 184 lives lost.

Our next stop was to be Arlington National Cemetery, so Cookie insisted on saving us the short rail ride by dropping us at the entrance in her car. We visited John F. Kennedy’s grave and viewed the thousands of gravestones from tops and bottoms of hills.

It was quite a heartrending few hours, but the most poignant was the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier…….an unforgettable experience.

We took the Metro back to Arlington where Cookie met us at the station and drove us back to her house. We all walked a few blocks to a little café in her neighborhood and had fun laughing and sharing stories. Cookie has certainly provided royal treatment for us today. We say goodbye for now and drive back to the park. 11:00 PM….party animals we are!

Washinton DC, Tuesday, June 15

We arrived at the Smithsonian at 11:00 AM, the Metro ride being part of the overall adventure.We visited as many historic sites as time permitted, which included the Air and Space Museum, Museum of American History, Washington Monument, World War II Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, and The White House. After return travel by rail and car, we arrived at the park at about 8:30 PM

Front Royal RV Park, Monday, June 14

Today was another drive with steep hills, but absolutely beautiful country. We drove down a winding road off the highway and checked in at the Front Royal RV Park, VA, where we will enjoy several days of a green wooded view from our front window. We won’t be sitting still long, however, because this is when we will be touring Washington, DC and surrounding areas.

Rainy drive, Sunday, June 13th

We left early this morning and drove the major portion of the day up many steep hills in a pouring rain. We feel fortunate that this was the first day on the trip that we had significant rain. Needless to say, it was a tiring day, so we were happy to relax early and enjoy Yvonne’s now famous crock pot chicken (remember, she cooks it on the way?).

Chimney Rock , Saturday, June 12

Aaron left early this morning to drive home to Hilton Head in order to be at work this afternoon. Randi and I have grown very fond of him and it was really great to spend a couple of days together.

Randi, Curt and I drove to Chimney Rock today. It was 25 miles of beautiful mountain roads bordered by green forest, charming mountain cabins along rocky streams and awesome vistas. At the “rock” we rode the 26 story elevator through the mountain where, at the top, we enjoyed the 75 mile views and ice cream. Yvonne stayed home today, but when we returned to the park, she couldn’t pass up an opportunity to check out an equivalent of our favorite store, Harbor Freight. She and Curt and I made the quick trip there, which didn’t interest Randi.

“Zip Line”. Friday, June 11

This was truly the best experience for me to date. Aaron and I did the “Zip Line”. If you’re interested, you can watch a video on their website to see what it’s all about. http://www.navitat.com/

At this site we were as high as 250ft above the ground and rode a zip line that was 1,100ft long (it took about 35 seconds from start to finish) and on some of the zip lines we went over 40 mph. If you pull up into a cannon ball you go faster.

In all there were 10 zip lines, from 120 to over 1,100 feet in length and from 2 feet to over 200 feet in the air, 2 rappelling descents of over 30 ft, 2 suspended sky bridges, 3 short hikes in the forest. The whole experience took approximately 3.5-hours with over one mile of suspended cable.

Randi and I did a zip line adventure like this on our Alaska trip a few years ago and loved it. We didn’t think it was a good idea for her to do this one because of her healing leg…..she was disappointed.

Curt drove Yvonne and Randi along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which they tell me (and I’ve no doubt) that it is a beautiful drive.

Biltmore Estate, Thursday, June 10

We spent most of today touring the famed Biltmore Estate, the largest privately owned home in America. Built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt for his family, the 250 room house sits on 8000 acres framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains. The day included a tour of the beautiful gardens, the shopping village and the winery where we enjoyed “tasting”. It is an incredible experience and is worth a few minutes of “googling” and a visit if you are ever in this area. Randi loves the afternoon T-storms and we’ve had a few, including today. We have been fortunate so far not to have had to drive in any.

Driving, Wednesday, June 9

We spent the major part of the day driving. It was a long day for us (about 320 miles); therefore, we were all pretty tired when we arrived at the RV park in Ashville, NC. Curt and Yvonne’s son, Aaron, arrived late tonight after driving to Ashville from Hilton Head after work to spend his days off with Mom and Dad.

Hardeeville & Savannah, SC, Tuesday, June 8

It was very hard to leave the kids, but the doctor gave us an OK to continue the trip. With his instructions, we left for Hardeeville, SC to meet Curt and Yvonne. It was fun to be together again. Our delay in Jacksonville prevented us from the planned tour of Savannah, so Curt gave us a quick drive around the historic district and then to the waterfront for dinner. We’ll have to spend more time there on the “next trip”? No one took a camera (what were we thinking) so no pictures.

Change in schedule, Monday, June 7

Change in schedule! The pathology report on the suspicious area removed from Randi’s leg turned out to be a squamous cell carcinoma, so off we went to have more taken out. We are so thankful for Lisa’s great friends (doctors and nurses) who took care of us right away. We have since received a good report and are greatly relieved. The most heartbreaking part of this ordeal is that we were unable to attend Brooke’s graduation, which was our reason for the extended time in Jacksonville.

A WEEK IN REVIEW ,Monday, May 31

Memorial Day was quiet for us. Lisa and Steven drove to Valdosta, where Steven will spend the summer with his dad helping at the restaurant. Lisa spent the night there, and then left at 4 AM Tuesday in order to get home and be ready for a 9 AM meeting at work.

The rest of this week has included several house projects, motorhome projects (installed a new bathroom faucet, water purifier in the kitchen and a propane connection from RV to grill). Meanwhile, Randi was busy having a suspicious place on the back of her leg removed. It was not a big deal and we expect a good lab report.

Saturday morning Randi began her mowing again. The saranwrap around her right knee is to keep the dirt out of her surgical wound.

Because she was having so much fun, I decided to visit Herlong Field, an airport where there is a glider operation. I was disappointed that I didn’t experience the usual Southern hospitality there. Curt, their senior instructor was the only one to make an effort to talk to me and introduce me to other members of the club.

After the introductions there was very little interaction. During a rain squall I sat with the club members and no one made any effort to engage me in conversation quite the opposite form my club Cypress Soaring. In contrast the members of Cypress Soaring where I have been a member in California for about 25 years, are always so anxious to meet strangers on the field, engage them in conversation and involve them in our activities. The day wasn’t a total loss however, since Jason, Tamara and Trent joined us for dinner and a great visit at Lisa’s.

Sunday was yet another day of home and garage projects with lots of help from Lisa’s brother and sister in law (Sherry and Leon). Brooke has been busy working and attending graduation parties with fellow classmates, so our visits with her have been brief, but we’ll be sharing her excitement at her graduation tomorrow night. Tonight we enjoyed another good time with Jason, Tamara. Trent and neighbors, Kristen and Kenny.

We have been pretty busy during our visit here, but there is never enough time with family and friends. We only enjoyed one day with Diane, Randi’s friend since age 10. Days became weeks, then the time was gone. We will continue our journey early Tuesday AM.

A day of movies & then dinner with frinds, Sunday, May 30

Today we have a few really good rain showers. Good day to watch movies before going to friends Carol and her mother Shirley’s house for dinner.

We had a great evening with dear friends, Carol and her mother, Shirley. Randi and Carol worked together at Baptist Hospital in Jacksonville and have been friends since 1978. Our friends Judy and Frankie were there also and the six of us had a wonderful time sitting by the pool, grilling burgers and looking out at the lake.

Family get together, Saturday, May 29

We had a great evening with son, Jason, daughter in law Tamara, granddaughter Brooke, grandson Trent

and Randi’s cousins, Randi (yes, another one) and Jesse.

Failed to get grandson Trent and granddaughter Brooke on film, I blew it...

Burning leaves, Friday, May 28

Friday, May 28, 2010
Randi and Lisa spent another day today working on house, yard and garage projects. This was another great opportunity for me to do more shopping at my favorite places. I returned to find Lisa, Randi, Kristen and Kenny burning leaves in the ditch between the two houses (it is lawful to do this). It was apparent that the fire bugs had too big a task for the day, so we spent the next two hours dousing the fire. Ordered pizza.

Dinner with Brother Jim, Thursday, May 27

Thursday, May 27, 2010
We met Randi’s brother, Jim, his daughter, son-in-law and their three children for dinner at one of our favorites—Mongolian BBQ. Lisa joined us on her way home from work and it was really fun for all of us to be together.

Credit card Fraud, Wednesday, May 26

Today was a bit more exciting. Ever had your credit card denied and found out that there was fraudulent activity on it? Scary! Thankfully, our bank recognized the Thailand hotel reservation for $2,000 and the donations to the mil. family fund for $1500 & $1,000 plus several other charges adding up to $7,000 was a problem, but we still will have to deal with paperwork, new card, calling auto-pay folks, etc. Though it is a pain, we will chalk it up as part of the adventure!

We are having dinner with Lisa’s next door neighbors, Kristen and Kenny. They are the nicest young couple and really look out for Lisa and help her with lots of things, especially since Bill isn’t home much. They have all become really good friends.

Buddy gets a oil change, Tuesday, May 25

Sorry we don’t have any really exciting things to tell you. We are just really enjoying the relaxation time. More than one cup of coffee in the AM (since we aren’t on the road early) is a treat.
Today has pretty much been spent taking care of business. The motorhome (our Buddy) is due for an oil change, so we took him over to the service center in Jacksonville where he spent the night. It is a good experience dealing with these “good ‘ol boys”.