Hugo Travels

October 22-23, 2009 - Birthday Girl

On the 22nd, a couple of Renée's friends wanted to have a birthday lunch for her. We went to a Mexican restaurant which was actually pretty good. The chips and salsa were really good and my quesadillas were good also. Best Mexican food I've had since we left Oklahoma.

The 23rd is Née's birthday but she had a busy day and we didn't wind up doing much celebrating. She was doing a photography job and I spent the day in the house waiting on UPS to delivery my new camera! You know how they are, we'll be there sometime between 8 AM and 7 PM, someone must be available to sign for the delivery. Needless to say, delivery was at 5:30 PM.

Today my baby girl is ?? yrs old! Who would have thought that sweet little baby girl would turn out to be a friend? I'm so proud of her and her family.

 

 

 

              HAPPY BIRTHDAY RENÉE !

October 20-21, 2009 - Just the Usual Stuff

Today we just stayed at the coach and enjoyed the day. We were tired from all the sightseeing and just wanted to chill out. In the afternoon, Ellie and I sat outside and talked (until she got tired and ran off to play). I just read my book and enjoyed the sunshine and no wind!

Renée and I both got Sony eReaders for our birthdays. We spent the next several days learning how to use it and finding free books to download. I am enjoying my Reader and I know Renée is too.

On the 21st, Richard and I made the rounds of Costco, Target and ate a late lunch at Piccadilly Cafeteria. Unfortunately, our lunch wasn't particularly good. Piccadilly Cafeterias used to be one of my favorite places to eat lunch ever since I was a young girl...their food was always good and tasty. They seemed to have really gone downhill in the last several years.

October 19, 2009 - Charleston House tours

We finally had a beautiful Monday so we're off to tour a couple of the downtown Charleston houses. Andy is off on Monday which is why we were trying to do our tours then. So, we jump in the Jeep and off we go. The kids are in school so it is just the four of us.

Our first stop is the Calhoun Mansion. "The Calhoun Mansion is an elegant Italianate mansion containing 24,000 square feet, 14 foot ceilings, ornate plaster and wood molding, elaborate chandeliers, a stairwell that reaches to a 75 foot domed ceiling as well as a ballroom with a glass domed skylight that is 45 foot high." (Straight from a postcard) Calhoun Mansion

It really is a beautiful old house. It was built in the late 1800's and is furnished with all kinds of art, religious icons, statues, glassware, etc. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the house but I did purchase some postcards that show the interior. The moldings in the various rooms was absolutely beautiful and the main doors into the house are gorgeous. If you are ever in the Charleston area, this is one house I would recommend you tour. The owner lives in the house on the 3rd floor (which we didn't see) and collects "stuff" from all over the world. It is crammed full! This is a guided tour. The gal talked so fast and so much that there is no way to get it all. You could tour this home several times and not see all the stuff.

 

 

We were allowed to take pictures outside in the patio/garden area so I'll include some of those.

 

This house was built by the same man who built the Calhoun Mansion as a wedding gift to one of his daughters. It is one of my favorite houses in Charleston. I love the round piazzas.

It was such a beautiful day that we walked over to the Battery area to tour the next house, the Edmondston-Alston House (Edmondston-Alston House/Middleton Plantation). The house was built in 1825 by Charles Edmondston and later sold in 1838 to Charles Alston, a member of one of the wealthiest rice-planting dynasties of South Carolina's Georgetown District. He made several changes to the exterior to conform to the popular Greek revival style of the period. He added a 3rd floor piazza and parapet emblazoned with the Alston coat of arms that altered the roofline. The house has only 4 rooms per floor with a large hallway between the front rooms and the back rooms. The best part of the house is the piazza area with the view of Cooper River and Sullivan's Island. You can also see Ft. Sumpter in the distance. The house is more in a preserved state rather than restored state so it was quite different from the Calhoun Mansion which had been restored for several million dollars. We enjoyed our tour though and you really get a feeling of what it was like back in the 1800's living in Charleston.

 

Renée and Andy sitting on a joggling board.

 

The view from the piazza - I could sit here all day.

Since we had had such a busy day we headed back to the house to meet the kids' school bus. We were all hungry and decided Five Guys sounded good for dinner. The kids love to go to Five Guys and so do I - Renée ordered our french fries and they cooked them just perfect! Five Guys

October 18, 2009 - Ft. Sumpter and the USS Yorktown

Our friends, Rob & Bobbie, came by the coach and picked us up for a day of touring. It's a beautiful day but windy and chilly. Our plans are to tour Ft. Sumpter and then the USS Yorktown. Rob was on an aircraft carrier (USS Hancock) when he was in the Navy so he was really looking forward to touring the Yorktown.

To see Ft. Sumpter, you have to take a boat tour from either Patriot's Point or a place in downtown Charleston. Since we were going to tour the Yorktown later, we opted for a tour from Patriot's Point. The boat tour lasts about 30 minutes with a narration about how the Fort was built and why.

While we were on the boat to Ft. Sumpter, we spotted a couple of dolphins swimming along side the boat. That was neat! 

After arriving at the Fort, we opted for the 15 minute narration from the Park Ranger about the beginnings of the Civil War. The first shot of the Civil War was fired upon Ft. Sumpter from Ft. Johnson. Later Ft. Moultrie joined in the battle against Ft. Sumpter. The fort was not fully stocked with cannon or soldiers so the Commander of the Fort surrendered in order to save his men. When you look at the pictures, keep in mind that at one time, the Fort was three stories tall, not one.

 

Notice the holes where the Fort was hit by cannon fire.

It was interesting to see where the Civil War started since we also saw where it ended at Appomattox Courthouse. We learned quite a bit about the Civil War during our travels this summer.

Here is a model of the original Fort.

 

This is the U. S. flag that flew over Ft. Sumpter.

After a quick snack, we purchased our tickets for the USS Yorktown, the submarine and what normally would include a tour of the battleship. The battleship had been removed for repairs, so we didn't get to tour it.

We toured the submarine USS Clamagore which is anchored there at Patriot's Point. I can tell you this...I would never make a submariner. I am not claustrophobic particularly, but...not in that small a place, not that deep under the water. NO WAY!

The inside of the submarine...too crowded for me!

We then started our tour of the Yorktown. The Yorktown would be considered a medium size aircraft carrier but that doesn't mean it is small. It is really big but there are bigger carriers out there, i.e., the Kitty Hawk among others. Since Rob had served on a carrier it was interesting to talk with him as he reminisced about his time on the ship. It made it more personal than just walking around. There is lots of climbing of ladders to get between different levels of the ship.

Bobbie joined the Waves. She met Rob while they were both in the Navy stationed at Corpus Christi.

 

Rob said he slept in beds like these.

A perspective view of the size of the carrier.

Look at me, I'm driving the ship!

By the time we finished our tour, we were all tired and ready for something to eat. Since it was still cold out, we went to Jason's Deli for chili. We all enjoyed our warm up meal!

We sure enjoyed our visit with Rob and Bobbie. We haven't laughed that much in a long time. They are off on the rest of their trip tomorrow.

Wildlife sightings:  dolphins

October 2-17, 2009 - Charleston, SC

Eloise spent the night with us and the deal was she had to get up early and go home to get dressed and ready for school. They catch the bus at 7:25 AM. Sure enough, this morning, she was waking me up at 5:30 AM. I told her to go back to sleep until 6:30. As soon as the others were up next door, she was off to get ready for school. She stayed with us the first few nights like that but by the weekend, she was tired and ready for her own bed.

On the weekend, the "brothers" came over to spend the nights. Of course, the first order of business when they are there is breakfast...Poppy the pancake meister is on call then. All three of them are early risers; they are up at 5:30 ready to play and make noise which is a little hard on us old people. We try to keep them down until 6:30 but that doesn't work easily.

One night Noah stayed over by himself on a school night. I got up at 6:30 to wake him and send him home to get ready for school. He was nowhere to be found! I thought he might be hiding under a chair or blanket but no...he was gone! I had been up at 5:30 and he was still sleeping so this freaked me out! He had woke up, afraid he would be late for school, unlocked the door and headed home. Usually when anyone goes in or out of the coach, the whole thing shakes so it was hard to believe we didn't hear him leave but we didn't!

The first weekend we were in Charleston, a new movie theater opened near the kids' house. We went over on Friday and bought tickets to 4 movies at $1/person. The first night, Richard, Renée and Andy went to see Angels & Demons; the next day, Renée & I took the kids to see Ice Age 3. On Sunday afternoon, the whole family went to see, Night at the Museum, Battle for the Smithsonian II; later that night, Renée & Andy went to see another movie that I can't remember, all for $18. Pretty sweet! (Popcorn and cokes were $1 each too!)

The next week, Richard had a major project going in the coach. We had ordered new blinds from MCD while we were at the Bowling Green FMCA rally. They were shipped here to Charleston just before we got here so they were waiting. He started on Monday and had them finished by the weekend. They look great and I think we will really enjoy them. He was worried about getting them installed but he did just fine and they look great. It is really dark in the bedroom now (except for the skylight in the shower).

While Richard was working on the blinds, Renée and I went shopping for school uniforms for the kids for winter. They all needed long-sleeved shirts and long pants. They wear khaki pants and blue shirts for school here. Sure makes it easy to decide what to wear. Since we didn't take the kids with us, we wound up making three trips to fit Elijah. He's at that hard-to-fit stage.

On October 7th, Renée & I went to get our hair done. We both got hair cuts and she got color/highlights. My haircut cost $55 - I was floored! I've never paid that much before. I think $30 is expensive for my short hair. YIKES! We won't even go into what Renée's cut & color cost.

On the 9th, Renée and I headed up to North Charleston to the new scrapbook store to check it out. Of course, we had to make a stop at Michaels also. We then had lunch at Kyoto Express. It was a nice day out while the weather was still good.

On Saturday the 10th, Andy, Renée, Elijah and I went to the book fair for the Charleston Library. Books were $1 or $3 for hardbacks. They had a huge room full of books. I wound up with about 20 books and a few for the kids. Andy and Renée did OK too.

We were going to go to Boone Hall Plantation on the first Monday we were here but it rained. So our next day would be Monday when Andy is off again. This time it was cold and cloudy so we just ran some errands like a trip to Costco, the Mall and Target. It was nice to just have a family day together. This was just the beginning of the week of rain!

On the 15th, Rich and I took the Jeep to get new front brakes. We had been hearing a grinding noise when we were out riding around so decided we would get that checked out. Of course, we needed new brakes...don't you always?

Our friends Rob & Bobbie from Bartlesville came to town and called. We went out to their campground and picked them up. We wanted to show them Charleston. We took them downtown, to Mt. Pleasant, Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms. We ate lunch at a place called Mamma Brown's BBQ but it was a buffet with soul food. We had greenies, field peas, lima beans, etc. Pretty good!  Unfortunately, it rained all day we were out sightseeing but we showed them around anyway. We had a good time.

 

On Saturday, we hung around the house with the kids until late afternoon. Rob & Bobbie called so we went to dinner at Five Guys. We got there at 5:30 and left at 10 that night. We just sat and talked and laughed. We had fun just laughing at everything! 

That pretty much catches up the first couple of weeks in Charleston. It's been fun to be with the kids. They are growing up so fast! I wonder how much Eloise is like her namesake. I know my Mom is looking down and watching over us.

October 1, 2009 - Finally, Charleston and the grandkids

RIchard went to the office at 8:15 and paid the bill for the service we had done. Only surprise was a broken muffler bracket. Our coach has 97K miles on it, and so far we haven't had much go wrong with the chassis or engine. Praise the Lord for that!

We made a quick trip in the Jeep to McDonalds for breakfast, back to the coach, hooked up, and then headed toward Charleston. We stopped a couple of hours down the road at a rest area and called MotoSat again. We put up the dish and set it to searching. Matt walked us through getting back on line. For the first time in 3 days, it actually found a satellite. I finally was back on line after about 45 minutes. The satellite I'm assigned to is having lots of problems and I think I have inherited all of them!

After getting a few bills paid and checking email, we were back on the road. We got to Renee's just before 3:30. We had the coach in the yard and parked before the kids got off the school bus. We were able to greet them when they got home. They were excited to see us and we were excited to see them!

We tried to get the internet dish in and no luck. We couldn't get the Kingdome in either. We finally pulled the coach forward about 5 feet. The internet dish eventually came in and we were on line. We never did get the Kingdome to work. We are using the bird on the wire to get sat TV here.

Renée fixed a nice spaghetti dinner for us. It was really good and we enjoyed it. Ellie spent the night with us by herself. She promised to get up in time to go home and get dressed for school.

September 30, 2009 - Freightliner appointment

The service tech was at our coach about 8:10 AM this morning to take it into the bay. We are out for the day and will have several hours to kill!

Our first stop was the Waffle House for breakfast. We made that last as long as we could, then a trip to WalMart. Leaving WalMart, we headed to the Freightliner plant where Richard went on a plant tour. I stayed in the Jeep, using the laptop to watch some digital scrapbooking videos on Photoshop Elements 7 while he did the tour. It was such a beautiful day, that sitting in the shade in the Jeep was very comfortable.

After the tour, we decided to take a drive in the countryside. About an hour or so later, we wound up in York, South Carolina. As we were driving through the historic district, we came across some really BIG houses. We went back to the Chamber of Commerce and talked with the Assistant Chairman. He told us a lot about the area and gave us some literature and a walking map. Well, you know us, no walking for us! We did, however, spend some time driving the route and reading about the houses. I wish I knew a lot more about architectural styles.

By the time we finished with York, we decided we had better get back to Gaffney and check on the coach. We sat in the Jeep and downloaded the files sent by MotoSat so we would have them later. We finally got the coach back about 4:15. We got set up, then started working on the Internet dish again. The sat table didn't solve the problem so we called MotoSat and they walked us through part of the firmware update. That always makes me nervous to start messing with the equipment like that! Unfortunately, none of that made any difference.It still didn't work. I let the dish search and search for a couple of hours but still no satellite.

Once more, we watched the National Park series and to bed.

September 29, 2009 - Our move to Gaffney, South Carolina

We only have to drive a couple of hours today, so we didn't hurry around this morning. Looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. 

We arrived at Gaffney about mid-afternoon, got set up (electric only) and checked into the office at Freightliner. Our appointment to have the coach serviced is at 8:00 AM tomorrow. We are having what is called an M-3 service done. Rich would have to explain what all that covers but suffice to say, it will be pricey!

We spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get my satellite dish to work. I guess I will never understand why it will work at 11:00 AM and two hours later, it won't even spot a satellite. I called MotoSat and they said I needed to update my sat table and also the firmware on the D3. Since I didn't have internet, I couldn't retrieve the files until the next day when Freightliner has their wifi up and running.

A couple we met at Freightliner told us about Donnie's Cafe and how good their food was. They said it was really good food but absolutely no atmosphere and reasonably priced. Well, they were correct on all points! It was an all you can eat buffet for $9 including tax and drink. The veggies were really good. The best dish for me was mac & cheese prepared the way my mom used to make it.

After dinner, back to the coach to watch the National Park series.

September 28, 2009 - Quaker Cemeteries

We came to the Greensboro area because Karen wanted to visit a couple of Quaker cemeteries where some of her ancestors were buried. There were at least two major Quaker meetings in the area - New Garden and Cane Creek, along with several other smaller ones. Cane Creek was the "ancestor" of monthly meetings in North Carolina and was established in the mid 1700's.

Both of the meetings are still active communities. New Garden does not encourage people to visit their cemetery. We did drive through the cemetery but didn't spot any old tombstones that we were looking for.

We drove about 30 miles to Cane Creek Cemetery. While we were out in the cemetery, the pastor came out, introduced himself and asked if there was anything he could do to help. We visited with him a few minutes and then he called John Allen, their local genealogist. John would be some type of cousin way back to me as we shared some common ancestors. We walked the cemetery together, while Richard kept taking pictures. After finishing taking photos, we followed John to the Pike homestead. He pointed out where their land was, along with the Stuarts, Doans, etc.

This is the Cane Creek Meeting House. Of course, as you can tell, it is not the original built in the 1700's. John Allen is standing there with Karen. they are "shirt-tail cousins" way back...We share common ancestry of John & Abigail Pike. John Pike was given one of the original land grants in North Carolina, at least in this area.

Ruth Dixon Doan, died & buried 1764.

Unfortunately, a lot of the stones look like this, with no dates and initials scratched into them.

We then drove to Spring Meeting House and photographed that cemetery. John left us at that point.

Many descendants can trace their Quaker ancestors back to the people buried above.

We finished there and drove by Lindley Mill where another skirmish of the Revolutionary War took place. The land around there was owned by Thomas Lindley, my patriot Revolutionary War ancestor. He didn't fight in the War because of his Quaker beliefs but he did give aid & comfort to the Rev. War soldiers. We didn't take any pictures of Lindley Mills - it has been so modernized that it doesn't look anything like it would have back in the day.

After leaving that area, we drove a loop around which took us by several other Quaker cemeteries but we didn't spend much time in those.

As we headed back to the coach, we drove into a major rainstorm. The rain was coming down in buckets! It stopped just as we got back to the coach. We changed clothes because the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and then we went to eat at P. F. Chang's. We certainly enjoyed that meal!

Tomorrow we are on the move again.

September 27, 2009 - Guilford Courthouse Military Park

After the rain quit, we headed out to tour Guilford Courthouse Military Park where a significant skirmish was fought during the Revolutionary War. We watched a couple of interesting videos at the Visitor Center.

Nathaniel Green's men fought against General Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse and eventually lost the battle. In the course of the skirmish, they inflicted great damage on Cornwallis' troops. General Cornwallis lost 1/4 of his troops so even though Green lost the battle, eventually it cost the British the war.

 

After a quick stop at Sam's Club, we headed home to watch the National Park series on PBS which was starting at 6 PM on the local channels. We have been waiting for this series to come on TV. Even though we are recording them on Tivo, we can get high def on the crank-up antenna, so the picture is much better.

September 26, 2009 - Move to Greensboro, NC

We had gloomy, misty weather today as we headed out to Greensboro, North Carolina. We only have about 125 miles or so before we settle in for three more days. We arrived at Greensboro Campground and were lucky to get hooked up before the rains came! Once more the front wheels are way off the ground. Would it be too much to ask for a level spot?

We were hungry (as usual) and decided we wouldn't let a little rain keep us from getting out and seeing some of the area. Karen had read in a guidebook about a place called Fincastle's that had good hamburgers. We set out to find Fincastles which was located in downtown Greensboro. Lucky for us it was Saturday and not as many people are downtown so we were able to find a parking place in the same block and we dodged the drops to get to the cafe.

Even though it doesn't look busy in this picture, people came in and out the whole time we were there and it was pouring down rain outside.

We both ordered hamburgers; Richard got onion rings with his and I got fries with mine. We both agreed that the hamburgers were really, really good! The side dishes were not quite as good as they could have been.

Our next stops were a couple of scrapbook stores to check out the supplies. I don't spend as much time in scrapbook stores (or $$$) since I've switched to digital scrapping but it is always fun to look at the "stuff."

Back to the coach and TV and listen to the rain on the roof for the rest of the night.

September 25, 2009 - Rainy, rainy day

Today we woke up to cool weather and rain and it rained off and on all day. We used the time to do "not much." I worked on digital scrapbook and Richard worked on whatever he does on the computer. We had a big breakfast so we didn't eat until much later in the afternoon. We broke out some Central Market chili we had frozen, fixed some rice, found some fritos in the pantry and had a yummy meal. Can't beat that with a stick!

Our friends David & Brenda came over since it was too cool to sit out and we visited with them for a while. After they left, we watched a little TV and then off to bed. A long, slow day. Tomorrow we're off to North Carolina.

September 24 - Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

After doing a few things around the coach, we decided to drive over to Lynchburg and see what they had at Best Buy. Karen found her next Christmas present... A Nikon D5000. We'll see. We ate a 5 Guys burger & fries and then drove to Red Hill - the home of Patrick Henry.

We got there at 4:00 and it closed at 5:00. We paid our 4 bucks a piece and looked around the small museum before walking to the house itself. There, we viewed a 15 minute video about Patrick Henry and his life at Red Hill (so named for the red Virginia dirt). We didn't know much about him except for his famous quote above in the title. He worked at getting the Bill of Rights written but didn't actually write them. He was known as the voice of the American Revolution. He was the first Governor of Virginia and served a total of five terms. If you are interested in learning more about Patrick Henry you can go to this website. Red Hill

The original house burned but this house has been reconstructed to match the original.

The kitchen of Henry's house was located in a different building as was most of the kitchens of that time.

September 23, 2009 - Stayed at home

Today is the first time in I can't remember how long we didn't even start up the Jeep! Rich walked up to the office and paid for two more nights here at Appomattox. We did some laundry, cooked a little and worked a LOT on trying to get this Blog up-to-date. Richard must have been bored, as he placed all the appropriate state stickers on the new map.

In the evening, we sat out under the awning and watched some TV and then our neighbors came over and we visited with them until about 8:30.

September 22 - Gloomy day

We got up this morning to a cool, cloudy day. Not too conducive for doing much outside. About noon Rich decided to put the new states map on the side of the coach. Our old one had faded and started to peel so he removed it a couple of months ago. He only got the outline portion of the US and Canada on before it started to sprinkle. Guess the actual state stickers will have to wait for another day. We have driven the motorhome in Alaska and all but the nine most north easterly states, plus two Canadian provinces and the Yukon Territory.

Good afternoon for napping. After a short nap, we headed out to the post office to mail Dad's ticket for his trip to Charleston. It was raining pretty good now so we just drove around Appomattox a little bit. We found a little Mexican restaurant in a shopping area so we stopped for nachos. After our little snack, we went back to the coach. Later in the evening, we went over to visit our neighbors, David and Brenda. We sat outside and visited with them until the rains came again.

September 20 - 21 - Lynchburg, Virginia

Not much going on here. Decided to add three more days to our stay here in Appomattox since we don't have any schedule until going to the Freightliner Service Center in Gaffney, SC on Sept 29.

We drove around Lynchburg Sunday afternoon and saw the historic district and some really big old houses. We couldn't figure out the purpose of the high pressure fountain in the river, but it was neat to see.

We could see the huge LU monogram (for Liberty University) so decided to drive up closer and see how it was made. Somebody hauled a LOT of rocks.

On the way up the mountain, we stopped by the new Snow Flex park and watched a couple of hot doggers. It's kind of like skiing on wet Astro Turf. They even had a small slope for the young ones to tube down. Too bad this wasn't here when Renée and Andy went to school at Liberty. Students can ski for $2/hr.

Monday we had a big breakfast and did a few chores before getting in the Jeep to to drive around. We drove over to Farmville and got the oil changed in the Jeep. With all the sight seeing we've been doing, it didn't take very long to put 3,000 miles on the Jeep. Not much in Farmville, but the Walmart had just been remodeled and was nice.

When we got back to the coach our neighbors were sitting out and asked us to join them. We visited with David and Brenda for a couple of hours and learned he is buying right-of-way for AT&T and will be here for about a year. It was getting cool so we said good bye and settled in for an evening of TV.

September 19 - Appomattox, VA

Our campground here in Appomattox is only about 3 miles from Appomattox Court House where General Lee surrendered to General Grant. On the way to the National Park, we stopped at the small Confederate cemetery where 18 Southern soldiers and one Northern Soldier are buried. They were killed in battles on April 8 and 9, 1865.

We drove on to the National Park (Rich always likes it when he can use his park pass to get in free) and parked in the lot with several restored Model A's traveling to Charlottesville for a rally.

Neither one of us are much of a Civil War buff, but we really enjoyed the afternoon listening to the period actors telling about their experiences in April, 1865.

Lee pretty well figured out that he had no escape, due mainly to the lack of food and supplies, so he agreed to surrender and save the lives of his 9,000 remaining troops. On April, 9, 1865, Lee met with Grant and they worked out the terms of surrender in a house belonging to Wilmer McLean.

Appomattox Court House was actually the name of the village and not the actual courthouse building. Since April 9 was Palm Sunday, the courthouse was closed and the McLean house was offered as a place to meet. We learned that McLean was somewhat of a con man and would do about anything for a buck. He even sold the desk that Lee sat at for $40. In the end, the joke was on him because all his money was Confederate.

The above desk is a reproduction of the desk where General Robert E. Lee signed the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865.

The terms of surrender from General Grant were really very generous. Instead of taking the confederate soldiers as prisoners and shipping them north, he allowed them to return to their homes. They were able to keep any personal items including a sidearm if it was not government issued. One of the terms of surrender was to issue each of the Confederate soldiers a "Parole" which would enable them to travel safely back home without being accosted by the Union troops still fighting in other areas or even shot as deserters from the Confederate Army. The end of the Civil War did not occur for another couple of months. It took two days and nights to print the 30,000 Parole certificates needed for all the "Johnnies" affected by Lee's surrender.

This was an interesting and unexpected stop on our schedule. We learned much about the ending of the Civil War that we never heard before.

September 18 - Gordonsville to Appomattox

Our 7 nights of Coast to Coast camping ended today, so we have to move. It's cloudy but not raining as forecast. Not in any big hurry since we are only driving 85 miles.

We arrived at Park View Mobile Home Park about 1:00 and found the park to be wide open with no trees. Satellite reception should be no problem. Well... four hours later, we finally locked on the internet satellite and were in business. Never did figure out what the problem was, but after stowing the dish, unplugging the power and starting over, it worked.

Karen cooked a pork roast while we were messing around with the DataStorm, so all wasn't wasted time. We drove into the town of Appomattox but didn't find anything interesting, so decided to drive over to Lynchburg (about 20 miles) to make a Walmart run and look around a bit. Friday night in a college town is not the best time to get into a restaurant. We tried a Mexican restaurant but after standing in line about 5 minutes behind four other groups, we figured out that hardly anyone seated had their food yet. We left and ended up at a Sonic. The tator tots were cold and we sent them back for hot ones. Burgers were typical Sonic - nothing to brag about.

Stopped for gas on the way back to the coach. Gas is $2.39/gal here. 

September 17, 2009 - We're just chillin'

Today is our last day here at Shenandoah Crossing so we're just chilling out and enjoying the place. We decided to try out the little cafe in the General Store for breakfast. It was a little like McDonalds. Eggs are scrambled only. Richard tried the pancakes - not as good as McDonalds. I opted for bacon, hashbrowns and toast. Once again, frozen hashbrowns like McDonalds. So...next time, we will just go to McDonalds and it will be as good and cheaper! It was fun though to get out of our rut. While sitting there enjoying our coffee and coke, we met another couple and visited with them and their family.

Back to the coach and worked on the blog and my digital scrapbooking class that I've been taking. Later in the day we decided to drive up to Orange, VA and see the historical area there. Last stop for the day, dinner at Inwood Restaurant again.

September 16, 2009 - Errands in Charlottesville

Cloudy, gloomy day today so we're off to run errands in Charlottesville. There is a good used book store that Julie and Renee told me about so I'm off to see if I can find some books for Dad. I have his current booklist and have an idea of what to look for.

We hit paydirt at the book store! I bought Dad 24 books. He was excited when I called him and told him. I have updated his booklist and will send him a copy in a few days.

For dinner, we stopped at a little Japanese/Chinese restaurant. We split a steak/shrimp meal and fried rice. It was pretty good. Not quite as good as Benihana's but OK. The decorations on the plate were really cute. You could see the little Japanese touch.

September 15, 2009 - Off to Staunton, VA, birthplace of Woodrow Wilson

If you've been reading our blog, you can tell that this is the summer of history, president's homes, etc. Today we're off to visit the birthplace/home and presidential library of Woodrow Wilson. This is before the Presidential Libraries that are national places, there are a few that are privately owned.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton, Virginia in 1856. His father was a Presbyterian minister. They only lived in Staunton, VA for two years before moving farther south to Rome, Georgia.

Wilson's birthplace was the Presbyterian Manse. This is the front of the house.

Most of the furnishings in the home are period pieces but there are a few that belonged to the Wilsons. Once again, no pictures of the interior. We enjoyed our guided tour and learned more about the mid 1850's.

In the Museum that is part of the tour, Wilson's Pierce-Arrow limousine is garaged. It's in good shape now but when they found it, it was in BAD shape! The Museum dealt with his parents, his life and presidency. There was very little that was personal about his life itself, very little mention of either of his wives.

After touring the house and museum, we walked downtown and ate at a little cafe called the Pampered Palate Cafe. I had Quiche Lorraine and Richard had baked potato with chili and salad.

Leaving town, we headed back across the Blue Ridge Mountains. As we neared the entrance to Shenandoah National Park, we decided to drive part of Skyline drive and see the vistas. We drove about 60+ miles of Skyline Drive before heading back down. Before heading out of the park, we did make the Visitor's Center at Big Meadows. After leaving the gift shop and getting my National Parks passport book stamped, we drove through the campground. Wildlife sighting - 27 deer! That made our day!

We saw lots of vistas like the one above. Unfortunately the blue haze on the horizon doesn't allow very good pictures.

We got back down out of the mountains just before dark. By the time we got to Gordonsville, it was about 8:30 and dark! We were hungry (imagine that!) so we stopped at the local Tastee Freez for a burger. Well, enough about that.

September 14 - Monticello

In 1982 we both toured Thomas Jefferson's house known as Monticello. Karen toured it again in 1996 with her Mom, Renee and Andy. We wanted to do it again on this trip and really enjoyed it. The weather was great and we listened to the talk on slavery outside plus the guided tour inside. We walked through the gardens on our own and took several pictures - outside of course. The view of the back side of the house is the one depicted on the nickel.

This is the front of the house.

If you notice in the picture of the front porch, there is a clock. Having a clock was a sign of wealth as they were very expensive. Jefferson had a clock in EVERY room! The windows are double pane glass. As everyone knows the house is eight-sided. Jefferson didn't want to waste any space. He used alcove beds which took up less space; in his bedroom, his bed fit in an alcove but with no sides so that he could go into either room (either his bedroom or his study). After listening to the tour guide and noting all the clocks, the records he kept, etc., we believe that Jefferson suffered from OCD.

Since Jefferson spent a lot of time in France as ambassador, he loved French food and wine. In the picture below, notice the seven areas on the side of kitchen. In all the old kitchens we have looked at this year, this is something we have not seen. These were areas where a dish could be cooked in the French style - it was set on a brazier over a fire so that it wouldn't cook as fast and the fire could be easily controlled. Fascinating.

There's a great garden at Monticello.

Richard took this picture while we were walking through the flower gardens.

The Jefferson graveyard. Burials are still done here but you must be a Jefferson descendant.

A brand new visitors center was added this year and we viewed an introductory movie before riding the bus up the hill to the house and grounds. The path back down the hill passed the grave sites of Thomas Jefferson and the Jefferson family. Even with all the walking we have been doing the past few weeks, we were pretty tired after walking the steep 0.6 mile trail to the visitors center. They told us it was down hill but it was more like a "black diamond."

After touring Monticello, we went to Chad and Julie's for a lovely dinner of pork roast, potatoes, carrots, green beans, and salad. Doesn't get any better than that! We had a nice visit and it was good to catch up. Chad and Julie are Renee and Andy's age. Renee met Julie at Teen Missions and became best friends back in the 1990's. They have stayed friends and in the course of the way things work, we have become friends with them also. They are a neat couple with lots of kids and hospitality! Since I forgot to take pictures, here's a picture of Chad & Julie from 2005.

September 13 - Sunday

Our friends Chad and Julie live in Charlottesville and Chad pastors the Calvery Chapel church there. We heard Chad teach while in Charleston several months ago and wanted to hear him in his home church. They were surprised to see us there since we hadn't told them exactly when we would be in their area. We enjoyed Chad's teaching on Hebrews. Since they  were busy with all that was going on, we only visited for a few minutes and made arrangements to have dinner with them Monday.

We toured James Monroe's house - Ash lawn-Highland. It is a relatively small house for a former President, but he lived there to be close to his friend Thomas Jefferson who lived 2-1/2  miles across the valley at Monticello. We had a guided tour of the house, but once again - no pictures allowed. We did get a few pictures of the outside. They said they don't know which was was the front of the house, so we don't know if this is the front (pix 1) or the this one (pix 3).

Some of the outbuildings...slave quarters, overseer, guest room.

We found this peacock sitting on a bench outside the gift shop.

Back in Gordonsville we found the Inwood Resturant and decided to try it. Their special was Choice Sirloin, soup & salad bar, potatoe and desert. We split that with an extra salad bar. Not bad but more than we could eat.

September 12, 2009 - Montpelier

Our goal for the day was to visit Montpelier, the home of James Madison. Our campground was located about 15 miles from Montpelier so it was an easy drive. Once again, there was a really nice Visitor Center where you pay your admission for the house/grounds tour, a film about James Madison, a snack area, and most important - the gift shop. Just as we were turning into the grounds for Montpelier, we were passed by this Stanley Steamer. We don't know who these people are, but they were having fun.

We were right on time for the next film showing, so we went in to watch the video. It was very good. It is surprising how little we remember about this time in the history of our country. We have learned so much this summer (or should I say, re-learned?). He was the author of the Bill of Rights. I had forgotten that.

James Madison inherited Montpelier from his parents at the death of his father, James Madison, Sr. His mother was still alive so she continued to live in the house along with his younger siblings. He added to the house to accommodate himself and his wife. If you look at the front of the house, you see three doors. The center door would not have been there during most of Madison's lifetime; it had the two doors on the side and the house basically was a duplex. Unusual.

Once again, no pictures inside the house but you didn't really miss much. There was no furniture inside. They are in the process of restoring the house and trying to locate original furniture. It will take several years before this is a completed project.

The view from the front porch. It is very nice. During Madison's time, this would not have been his view. In those fields, there would have been slaves, buildings, etc., but now it is beautiful!

Our tour guide for the house was really good. He knew his facts, stories, and was a good storyteller. He made James Madison seem so real and fascinating. He said being a guide was his "stress-free" job; he had a regular job during the week.

After going through several owners, the estate was purchased by William duPont. While owned by the duPont's, the house was enlarged, changed and painted and became an estate dedicated to horses. It was inherited by Marion duPont Scott and she lived there until she died. At her death, she willed the house and estate to the National Trust. The National Trust is in charge of the restoration and has removed all the additions and changes so it looks like it did when Madison lived there.

After leaving the house, we drove by the Madison cemetery to see where James & Dolley Madison are buried. James Madison's stone just says MADISON.

Dolley's tombstone.

September 11 - Shenandoah Crossing

Today we left Cherry Hill and drove about 125 miles to Gordonsville, VA, just east of Charlottesville. We checked in to a Coast to Coast park called Shenandoah Crossing. The RV part is new and very nice. Wide concrete pads and patios, gas grills, full hookups and NO trees. The only complaint is the fact it is thirty miles from any sight seeing spots. This park has four levels of facilities - the least is 30 amps, next 50 amps, third is 50 amps and extra patio furniture, and the "presidential  suite" which has a hot tub right on the patio. Rich opted for the basic 50 amp site which was fine for us though several rigs were at the "presidential suite" sites.

After getting set up at Shenandoah Crossing, we jumped into the Jeep to check out the area. They have a very nice General Store with a small cafe and the pool area here. The pool area is VERY nice - two jacuzzi pools plus a small pool and a large pool.

For dinner, we went into Gordonsville. We wound up at Inwood Restaurant where we had a nice sirloin steak dinner - which we split.