New York 2016

July 14, 2015

Decided to take it easy and just goof around the coach.  Did laundry, had some ice cream and took naps...relaxing day

July 13, 2016

Martin Van Burien, our 8th President, home is in Kinderhook, NY so we headed there.   It's interesting to see the style and how they've match the wall paper, furnishing, etc. to that time period.   It was also fun to see the modern touches they had (obviously money can buy things?), like electricity, running water, flush toilets, etc.

Our next stop was the Vanderbuilt home in Hyde Park.  This is a National Park facility representing the Gilded Age.  It's one of the most stunning homes we've seen, very comparable to the Hurst Castle.  The home cost 2.25 million to build, which included the furnishings.   It's amazing that this was their summer home and only used for a few weeks each year, I would have used it much more!!!!

July 12, 2016

Internet service is horribly slow so will add the pics at a later date, sorry!

Drove into Albany, NY to tour the capital building.   It's a stunning building that took 32 years to complete.  Actually, it was not completed when Governor Theodore Roosevelt (whom later became Pres) fired all the workers and declared it finished.  

Our guided pointed out the minor areas that were not finalized.   The exterior is striking and looks like a castle.   There is no dome, as it was one of the items not finished, so has a square look.   The interior is the most intrigue designed sandstone that you'll ever see, you see faces, vegetables, fruits, plants, etc.   It was just remarkable the work that these craftsman did back in 1876.   Most of the Sandstone was brought over from Scotland, can't imagine that!   The granite is the most remarkable colors you've ever seen, you must see this capital if you ever get to Albany.

We also toured the plaza area, our next guide showed us the "egg".  It's a performing arts area, more than anything.   It was built in 1978.   When we drove into town, it looks more like a spaceship than an egg! 

It's lunch time so we catch a bite at a local food truck and then head back into the Capital look at the artwork, etc that we didn't have time to admire on the tour.   

We are 1 1/2 hrs from coach, so at around 2, we head home, stopping in Kingston, NY at the Camping World Store.

July 11, 2016 

Played golf at the local golf course called Rondout Golf Club.   Nice little course, played horrible but had fun! 

We then drove to Mohonk Golf Course to check it out.  It's a resort up on a hill, only nine holes but looked very nice.   We had hoped to see the lodge but must have a room or dinner reservation to even get on the property, strange! 

Came back to coach and caught up on some much need paper work.

July 10, 2016

Bobby found this museum called Motorcyclepedia, located in Newburgh, NY.  It houses over 500 motorcycles, cars, etc. in this building.    You won't believe this collection, it was stunning!!!!   Bobby was in hog heaven, even took almost 300 pics, which he never does!!

The motorcycles run from 1900's to the present.   They have lots of one off's plus some that were used in movies.   You can sit and take pics on several and if you're lucky, one of the staff member's (Peter) will come out and give you a tour of certain areas!   He told us all about the moped's!

Orange County Choppers (OCC) is just around the corner, so that was our next stop.  This is Paul Senior's place, juniors is close by but it was closed.   He has several of his bikes on display plus you can buy merchandise, if you like.

George Washington's headquarters' is nearby, so we went to take a look.  They have a nice visitors center plus the house that he stated in while commanding the troops in this area, which was about 8 months.

West Point Army Academy is about 30 min away, so we drove down to see it.  Of all the three military academy's we seen, this is my least favorite.   Probably because you actually get to see very little here. 

It's a bus tour, but you do see the museum, the main Chapel, parade grounds and the memorial area, which overlooks the Hudson River.   Only the museum can you want around, everything else is done with a guide.   You are NOT allowed to walk anywhere except to the museum, unlike the other academy's.    

We did learn that the cadets have to be between 17-22, can't be married and get married until they finish their 4 yrs.   You also learn about the infamous people that attended here:  George Washington, Eisenhower, Patten and McArthur.     They have one statue of General Sedgwick, he thought he was invisible (apparently not) and got killed in Civil War, but apparently if a cadet is struggling with a class, he supposedly (if he can) come out after curfew and spin his spurs, it will bring him luck and he'll pass that class.   Our guided did not know if any ever got caught trying this!!  LOL. 

The  bus took us to the chapel, where we were able to go inside and learn of its history.   is beautiful, I must say.   Attending services is no longer required, but most still do at this academy.  

On the way home, we stopped at the overlook to take a pic of the academy from hwy 9, it is beautiful.   Drive took us 75 min to get home.  Long day, but so worth it!

July 9, 2016

Another history day today!!  Yes, I do love history.   This time it was to visit President Roosevelt's Home and Presidential Library.   They are located in Hyde Park, NY, which is about 45 min east of us.   Had to cross the might Hudson River to get there! 

This is the first Presidential Library and was designed by Pres. Roosevelt .   It's located on land that his mother owned.   She wasn't thrilled about having it located there, but he usually got wanted he wanted from her.  

The museum tells the story of his four terms in office plus the challenges he had during the great depression, WWI and WWII plus his failing health.  It has lots of pics, letters, speeches, etc. of both him and Eleanor.   She was such an influential part of his career.   You also learn a little about his affair with  Lucy Mercer.  I especially like the portion about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the speech he wrote to inform America that we were now at war with Japan. 

It's an amazing library and everyone should take the opportunity to see. 

His family home is next door, so we took the tour (part of the entrance fee into the park).   You get to see the majority of the home.   You certainly realize that Eleanor and his mother Sally didn't particular care for each other and no wonder she wanted her own home (Val-Kill, we ran out of time and will have to see this on another day).  Eleanor room is more the size of a bathroom than a bedroom.

The house itself was quite small until President Roosevelt added two additional wings to house his family.  They had six kids, so need lots of rooms, especially bedrooms!   There are not wheelchair ramps, he didn't want to show his disability!  You do get to see the hand pulled lift (he had tremendous upper body strength), his wheel chair, leg braces, etc.    He had a terrible fear of fire, so we he remodeled the home, he installed state of the art fire doors, extinguishers, etc.   They are explained in the tour, really cool for that era.   

On the way back to the visitors center  you see the stables and the gravesites.   At the gravesites is a huge memorial with both his and Eleanor's names.  They are buried right in front of the marker, inside the family rose garden.    Also in this area are statues of him and Winston Churchill, who played a very important part in settling the war!   In fact, he came to the house for two separate meetings.

Top Cottage was our last stop of the day.   This was supposed to the house where he was going to retire after his 4th term, but died four months into his 4th term.   It's an extremely plain house, but here he didn't have to worry about hiding his disability, etc.  

July 8, 2016

Travel day, heading to Accord, NY, which is approx 1 hour south of Albany.   This is farming area and there are vegetable and fruit farms everywhere.  Most of them have u-pick stuff, which I really like. 

We got settled in and decided to go find a movie to watch, as the cable here at the park is being replaced and air system on coach doesn't pick up in this area.   Went to a town about 15 miles south of us.  On the way back, stopped at one of the farmers markets, got to see the world's largest Gnome!!!

July 7, 2016

Second day in NYC, this time however we got a much earlier departure and arrived in NYC around 8:30.   Found a place to have breakfast and then caught the Hop On Hop Off bus.  Today we decided to take the Upper Town Loop, which takes you around Central Park. 

On this tour we got to see where many of the Hollywood Stars live while they are in NYC, including Michael Douglas, Madona, Lady Gaga, Billy Joel, etc.  We also saw the building that  Donald Trump lives in, he occupies 3 entire floors!  One of the buildings they pointed out is the most expensive apartment building in the world, someone just paid $100 Million for an apartment.   Think that should have bought the entire building vs. just one apartment!

Central Park is huge.   Next time we get into NYC we'll try spending more than 20 minutes in the park.  It's beautiful and filled with many activities.

On the east side of the park, it's called museum row, this street has many museums' including the Guggenheim, which we didn't get to see because it's closed on Thursday!  On the West side is Grant's Tomb, which we did tour.   Amazing that his grave site is right inside NYC.

Once we finished the tour which took about 3 hrs do to traffic, we headed to Times Sq.  We were going to stop at Carnegie Deli for lunch, but one sandwich was $29.99 (later learned it's huge).   Should be for that price!

Time Square is not exactly what you think, it's basically a city street with all the buildings with billboards on them.  Lots of restaurants, stores, etc. for you to look at, which we did go into.  We finally found a deli and tried one of their sandwiches, it was excellent.

 Went into Macy's, had to see their signature store!   Believe me, it's nothing like you've ever seen before.   First off the building is huge, I think Portland's entire store could fit on one of these floors.  The women's shoe dept takes up one ENTIRE floor, obviously women like SHOES!!!!  We counted 8 escalators on each floor!

Caught the train home around 4,went to the elks and had a few drinks and talked to the locals about our trip.  Amazing how many don't go into the city!

July 6, 2016

Got a late start going into NYC because Bobby was trying to figure out why our inverter won't allow us to plug into a 15 AMP circuit.   Dave Parish gave Bobby some suggestions, but they still didn't work but we were able to learn how to by pass the inverter and use the AC without starting gen....yeah!!!!

Got on the train around 10 and arrived in NYC around 11:30, normally it would take 60 min, but they had problems in the tunnel which delayed us.

We arrived at NYC Penn Station, which honestly is a zoo....very intimidating for a new comer to NYC.  Took us a little bit to find our way to the street, but once we got there, it was shocking to see all those people and how crowded it was.

Found a place to buy a Hop on Hop off bus, got our tickets and then had to walk to the first stop for us (#7 on map).   While walking we found Al's Deli and had a wonderful club sandwiches, YUM.

Got on the bus and headed out to learn about NYC, traffic is a nightmare and it takes us over an hour to get to the 911 Memorial where we decide to get off and tour the area.   The new One World Tower and memorial area are so impressive.   We located the plaque that has my co-worker (Kathryn Blair Lee) on it, very sad to see her name on the plaque, truly a very eerie feeling to realize she died on the tragic day.  After looking at the reflections pools (very impressive) we walked over to the new One World Tower (Freedom Tower) and went to the observation deck on the 102 floor.  They done a great job and the view are so impressive.  

Per our tour guide, this building has been built so that it will never collapse like the two towers on 911 did.

Our tour bus stops running at 6 and we know it will take us over an hr to get back so we decided to skip the museum and try and catch it tomorrow. 

Thankfully we did get on the bus as it took us almost 2 hrs to get back to Penn Station, traffic was horrible.   At least on the bus we learned about many sites, who lives where, etc.

July 5th, 2016

We left Marlton around 8 and arrived here in Warren, NJ around 9:30.   Realized that they only have 15 AMPs so we went to the Eagles Lodge about 6 miles away, as we were told they had 30 AMPS, nope, so we decided to stay at Elks.

Once we settle in and got coach set up, we headed to Liberty Harbor, where we could hopefully catch a glimpse of the State of Liberty.   While going to the Visitor's Center, we found the NJ memorial to 911.  Very impressive and gives you this eerie feeling about what should be visible across the way in NY.   Bobby said, he can't imagine what went through NJ residents as they saw those two structures come down.  So hard to visualize.

Once through with this area, we went to the visitor's center and I decided we should take the tour, so got on the boat that took us to Ellis Island.  Since we did not get there until 3:00, we decided we could only spend 1 hr, so we'd have enough time to look over Liberty Island.

When you get to Ellis Island you can take a ranger lead tour or a self guided tour, which we did since we had limited time.  Honestly we could have spent 2-3 hours there, learning about the history of the immigrants that passed through this area.   It was so interesting.

Got back on the boat and headed to Liberty Island.   Since we got there so late in the day, all the tickets to walk up the statue were sold out, so all we could do was take a self guided tour and walk around the outside.  We should have stayed on Ellis for 2 hrs, as this only took us about 45 min, but the boat won't take you back.

Got back to our car around 6:00 PM, thought it would be a nightmare getting home but once we got across the bridge it was a breeze get home.  Thankfully we didn't get into any BAD NYC traffic.

Philadelphia, PA 2016

July 4, 2016

While having breakfast, I saw a gentleman come and start to work on the float that the Elks lodge is going to put into today's parade, so you know me, went out to ask if he (Dave) needed help.  He said sure, so I proceeded to help him put this float together.  In a couple of hours, we were done!!!

Around 10:30 we drove to Marlton and found a place to sit and watch the parade.   Great little home town parade.

Afterwards we went to Old Navy and a few other stores.   Then headed home to wait for the fireworks.

We decided to watch the local fireworks as weather is supposed to get horrible, which it did.  We arrived around 8:00 at the Cherokee High School and about 15 later it started to pour.   We waited about 30 min and then I decided I did not need to sit in the rain and watch fireworks, I've seen enough.   Got home and about 30 min. later we could hear them but couldn't see them.  Oh well, we'll see them next yr!

July 3, 2016

First stop was the Liberty Bell, it's a free exhibit and well worth your time to see, but recommend getting there early, as the line can get blocks long.   It's amazing to learn how they attempted to repair the crack but only made it worse.   They explain all the details and the history on this very important piece of history.

We then bought tickets for the Hop On Hop Off bus.   Took the entire route so we could then decide what we want to see.   They did a great job of explain the sites and the history of this city.  You get to see the Museum of Art, Penn's Landing, different areas of the town where they point out different historical facts, etc.

When we got back to our starting point, we went to look at Ben Franklin's gravesite.   Since it's 4th of July weekend, they had people playing him so we got to meet Ben Franklin.  Along with him, their are seven other individuals buried here that also signed the Declaration of Independence.

July 2, 2016

Our plan was to see the Franklin Square area, it's basically everything that the National Park maintains.   It's a lot of walking, so unless you want to put 6 to 6.5 miles of walking under your feet, you need to break it up into more days but we are only here for 3 days.

Our first stop was the visitors center where we got our tickets (free) to see Independence Hall at 12:45.   After looking around and watching a movie, we headed to National Constitution Museum.   Here we listen to a narrative (given by a young gentleman) about the history of the constitution.   It's a great performance and worth your 20 minutes.   The theater is great, not a bad seat in the house.

Looked around the museum and then headed to the car to move it, as we were in a 2 hr parking spot, found a lot near by and then headed to our tour of Independence Hall.   I had been here in Philadelphia back in 2005, but it has changed.   Independence Hall is basically the same except they've spruced it up with paint.   Looks great!!

Started our tour at Independence Hall, here you see where the constitution was created and get to see the area where the participants sat.   Across the hall is the court house, here they tried individuals of their crimes.   The individual on trial would stand in the barred area during the entire trail and that's why they call it "Standing Trial".   Great piece of history.

We also saw Congress hall, which was used as the white house from 1890 until 1900.   In the lower floor is where they held meetings and President Adams was sworn in as our 2nd president.

We then went to the Bourse Building and had lunch, while there someone tripped the alarm and made all of us leave for about 10 minutes.   Other than the alarm was very loud, it didn't cause us an concerns.

We then walked around the square and saw Carpenter's Hall, Todd House, Bishop White House (these house are extremely small and very expensive to purchase today), Merchant's Exchnage

July 1, 2016

Left Port Republic around 9, it only took us a little over an hour to get here.  Traffic was great, I was concerned about it being the beginning of a long weekend, but worried over nothing.  Yeah!!!

We are staying at the Marlton Elks, which is about 30 miles outside of Philadelphia.   This is a small lodge but they have 30 AMPS and water, all that I need.

Got settled in and then drove into Camden, which is just across from Philadelphia on the Delaware River.   Looked around the waterfront, went into the visitors center for the battleship New Jersey and took pics of the battleship, Ben Franklin Bridge and of Philadelpia.   I didn't want to get stuff in traffic trying to get out of Philadelphia, so we headed back home around 3, it was smooth sailing.

Got back to the lodge, went in and had a drink, like I said it's extremely small, only holds about 20.  Very friendly and we watched the Philly baseball game with the bartender, there were only to other individuals there so very slow.

New Jersey 2016

June 30, 2016

Last day in this area, so we took the opportunity to catch up on laundry and do a few errands.
Moving tomorrow to Marlton, NJ

June 29, 2016

Played golf at Stockton Seaview Golf in Galloway, NJ.  We played the Pines course, they also have the Bay Course.  It was a difficult course in that there were trees and sand traps everywhere, but it was a well manicured course and fun to play, even though it was hot and humid.

Afterwards we stopped at the Elks and had a few drinks.  Very small lodge but friendly.   We then drove to Oyster Bar out on the bay, had another drink while enjoying the view of the Atlantic (way off in the distance.



June 28, 2016

Drove to Toms River to visit with our niece Val and her family.   This is Bobby's brother's daughter and they haven't seen each other in 45 years, she was 5.   We had a great visit and caught up on all her family.   She has 3 kids, two daughters and one son.  Her son Andrew was working, so we were unable to meet him or his family.   Her two girls still live at home and were there.

Left around 2 and headed towards home.   On the way, we needed milk so headed towards Walmart, along the way found this great Mexican Restaurant, http://tenamparestaurant.com/, it was the best Mexican food we've had in a very long time.   The avocado sauce on my enchilada was the best I've ever tasted.   Bobby really liked his burrito, it has a sauce that tasted more Italian than Mexican, but he loved it.

June 27, 2016

Drove into Atlantic City again, this time to do a little shopping at the outlet mall.  The mall is actually not a mall but just stores located in the heart of the city.   They take up about 8 city blocks.   Parking is a nightmare, as you have to find a parking lot (far and few in between) or try to find street parking, which we did after about 10 min.  The cost is great, only $1 per hour. 

Had lunch while we were there at Ruby Tuesday, Bobby had a wonderful hamburger and I had the salad bar (it was excellent).

We then drove over to the Borgata Hotel, very similar to the Bellagio in LV.   In fact, Dale Chully has created the centerpiece art work, that's why we came to see this hotel.   I must say, it was packed with people, much more so than hotels in LV.  Busy obviously is great for this hotel.

On the way back to the truck, we stopped at the Borgata Bakery and had one of the banana cream moon pies, it was scrumptious.   Best one we tried so far!!!


June 26, 2016

Lazy day, so I decided to go shopping at TJ Maxx and Lenox Outlet Store.   Found a couple of things!!!

Will spend the afternoon at the pool and watching TV.

June 25, 2016


Went to Toms River, NJ in hopes of connecting with our niece Val, but when we arrived at her house, found out she works on weekends.  We did hear from here later and we'll connect later in the week.   

When she called, we were heading towards Seaside, so she told us to have lunch at the Sawmill, it's a lunch spot on the boardwalk, known for it's pizza.   We parked the car in the middle and then headed south on the boardwalk.   This area is similar to the AC (Atlantic City) boardwalk but the stores are so much nicer and have great merchandize. 

Walked to the end where the Sawmill was located and had lunch.  We shared a piece of pizza as they are huge slices.   It was good
thin crust pizza.

Headed back to the North after lunch, looking thru the shops, watching kids play games, etc.  It's a beautiful day (78 degrees) so we are enjoying being outside.

Around 2:30 we head home, then I go over to a local fruit stand to look around.  The flowers are incredible, if only I could get them home with me.    Just afraid if we go into Canada, they'd take them away.


June 24, 2016

Cape May Lighthouse

 Cape May is about an hour south of us, so we head there.   Once we find the beach, our first stop is the lighthouse area.   Here you can walk up the lighthouse, go to the beach or look around the outside of the old bunker 223 (it's from WWII era).  

WWII Tower

Next we drive to the WWII Fire Tower, this tower (similar to a lighthouse) was built in three days during WWII.  It was to defend us from a possible foreign attack, which never came.   When you get to the top, there is a gentlemen who tells you all about the tower and surrounding area.   Very informative and worth the cost to climb.

We then drove to the beach area near this tower, looked through the few shops (bought a Christmas gift for a friend) and looked at the remains of a ship called Atlantus.   It's one of 12 concrete ships built during WWII.   The gentleman who bought this ship has hopes of making it a tourist stop but a hurricane caused so much damage to it, it never came to fruition.  Today it's a fish habitat.

Shipwreck Atlantus

We then drove to the east side of Cape May, looked around and visited a fish market.   We could see the rain coming, so we headed home via hwy 9.   Had the opportunity to see some of the damage from the storm a few days ago.  

Got home around 3:30, just in time as skies opened up.   Found out later, Cape May area got 2" of rain, we got less than 1/2"




June 23, 2016

It's raining so we decide to go get me a haircut at a place about 15 miles away.   On the way back, we stopped at Historic Smithville.   This area is a small community that has 50 shops that we visited.   They are your local tourist stuff.   We did buy a loaf off bread at the bakery, but otherwise didn't find anything I couldn't live without.

Got home, still raining so we did a little house work.   Later in the afternoon, we did laundry and by then sun was out so we went swimming!

June 22, 2016

Absecon Lighthouse

Being crowned M

Atlantic City is about 25 miles from us, so that's our destination for today.   We arrive around 9 and headed to Gilchrist Restaurant for breakfast.  We had some of the best pancakes we've had in a long time.   They were thin and almost like a crepe.  Bobby had plain ones, while I had blueberry.  Yum!!  While here we also saw our first horseshoe crab, looks similar to a stingray vs. crab.

We then drove down towards the water, it's the north end and honestly it is nothing like the south end (learned this later in the day).  It was pretty much destroyed and what was not destroyed, hurricane Sandy removed the rest.   All that's left is pilings. 

Atlantic City from Steel Pier

We then went to Absecon Lighthouse, third tallest in USA, but closed today.  Will come see again later in the week.

Boardwalk

Board walk is about 1/2 mile from lighthouse, so we found a parking lot ($5) and walked the 1/2 block to the boardwalk.   It's nothing what I had imagined, very long and there's three main pier off it.   We walked from the middle south to the Tropicana and then to the North to Taj Mahal and then back to the car.  That's 7.35 miles or 16,442 steps!!!!   It's hot very, close to 90 but humid, however if you catch the breeze it's very nice but the hotels block most of it, making the boardwalk hot.
Add caption

Atlantic City and beach

We went thru many of the shops along the boardwalk, most tee-shirts, beach stuff, your typical beach stores.   We are going back on Sat. to see fireworks, might by a tee-shirt then.   Had lunch at Johnny Rockets, great lunch.

The boardwalk is home to the Miss America pageant, we took pics by the statue.  Fun to imitate Miss America getting the crown.

Steel Pier

Also saw the worlds largest Pipe Organ, has over 31,000 pipes.   We will go back and take a tour on Wednesday as we couldn't today because of a show going on the hall.   We did however listen to a concert from the small organ, 4,000 pipes.

On the way home, found a geocash, so now we have NJ...Yeah.   It's 4:30, so we are done for the day!!!!   Feet hurt but had fun.

June 21, 2016

View of LBI from Lighthouse

It's raining and we are supposed to have a major thunderstorm and large hail this afternoon!  Not my favorite thing, but getting better about getting through these storms.

Barnegat Lighthouse

Around 9 we headed out to see the Barnegat Lighthouse.  It's located on the northern tip of Long Beach Island in Barnegat Light, NJ.   This is your typical beach town, exept it's spread out over 6 miles.    It has the usual stores, etc.

Once we arrived at lighthouse, we took the walk out on the walkway to look at the ocean.  It was amazing that the breeze cooled it down 10 degrees, making it wonderful.   We then headed into the lighthouse and took the 228 steps to the top for the incredible view.    It's a stunning view, looking out towards the Atlantic and up and down the LBI (Long Beach Island).

We know the storm is coming so we decide to head home after stopping for a few groceries.  Got home just in time, as around 3, the storm is here.   We'll spend the remainder of the day inside, safe and sound.


June 20, 2016

We left Stevensville, Maryland around 9:30, as we had to pickup our mail at the post office.   It took us about 4 hrs to get to our next destination, made a couple of stops along the way at the visitors centers.   On the east coast, they have incredible rest stops, they are located usually in the middle of the freeway, shared by both directions of the traffic.  They have restaurants, gas, etc.  The last one even had a farmers market!   Very nice!!

Chestnut Lake

We'll be staying at Chestnut Lake RV Park for 10 days.   This will give us time to just relax plus see all the sites, including Philadelphia, while we are here.

Once settled in, we headed to the pool....it's extremely hot with the temp and humidity.   Temps are in the 90's, but the humidity makes it feel like it's in the 100's.

Deleware 2016

June 16, 2016

Old Light Ship

It's cold and pouring outside! 68 degrees is just not want I thought this part of the country was going to show us!  It certainly will make a change in our plans for today.

We had planned to go to Lewes, DE and spend the day at the beach, but honestly it's raining way to hard for that, so, off to the outlet stores we go.   I need to return a pair of pants and of course look at all the other stores!!

Lewes, DE beach

We finish and head towards the beach so we can see the Overflash, a lighthouse on a ship.   It was once used in the harbor to mark shoals for incoming vessels.  Reminded us of George Peraults old tug, except for the light on top.

We then took the country roads back to the coach, as the rain in not letting up and I don't hae an interest in walking in the rain today.   Getting Old I guess!!!

Tomorrow we head to a new location, Stevensville, MD

June 15, 2016

Legislative Building

The capital of Delaware is Dover, 11 miles down the road.  Delaware is the first state to ratify the declaration of Independence and this is why it's called the First State.  Our first building was the Legislative Building (we'd call it the capital), it's a plain building but what did I expect from a building built to resemble something from the 1777. 

Old State Capital

They were not giving tours today, as they were having a group of high school kids practice becoming legislative representatives.  Some were in the Senate and others in the House of Representatives.  We watched them practice for a while, very impressive, sure some will go into politics.

Next was the Old State Capital Building.   This was the orginial building, it once again is very plain, wooden floors, plain walls, no fancy decorations, etc.  Nothing like the many other capitals we've seen, but it was the first one!   Most impressive thing we saw was a portrait of George Washington, first it was over 7' tall, it's a true replica of him and since he was over 6', it's huge.   We asked about the value as it's an original, but the guide didn't know.  It is electronically protected!

Dover Downs

We then took a walking tour around the area called the "Green".   It's like a lawn in front of the capital, here they held meetings, etc.  In fact the Independence of Declarations for Delaware was read here in front of the Capital Building.    We learned about the importance of The Golden Tavern (no longer a tavern), it acted like the capital while the true one was being built.  Our guide also told us about several of the other buildings and who once occupied them.

AMC Museum

Dover Downs Casino and Dover Speedway are just down the road, so that was our next stop.  The Speedway was not giving tours, due to the Firefly Event (supposed to be similar Woodstock).  They are anticipating 80,000 to attend.   We did take pics of the Monster Mile but that's all.   We then went to the casino to get a souvenir but they didn't have much for sale, few shirts.   Apparently they are changing vendors, why the actual track doesn't have a gift store is beyond me.

It's raining so we are making our last stop of the day the Air Mobility Command (AMC) Museum.   Here we had the opportunity to see many planes up close and personal.   In the museum you learn all about the AMC and how it's evolved over time and the importance it plays into today's defense of the USA.  It was fun to get inside the cockpits of the monsters!!!

June 14, 2016

Travel day, headed to Dover, PA, which is our destination for this leg.  I decided we'd take the back roads and avoid the tolls, boy was that a mistake!   We got to see the countryside but the roads are narrow, winding and not meant for this big beast!   From now on, we'll stick to the toll roads in this area.   One thing, we did cross the infamous Mason-Dickson line (border between Pennsylvania and Maryland).

We arrived at Killen Pond State Park, our home for next 3 days.  It has a pond in the middle of the park with a nice walking around it.

Maryland 2016

June 19, 2016

Last day in Maryland so we took a tour around the area to the west.   We are on an island so real there is not much here other than marina's, restaurants, beaches and lots and lots of people.  

Once we finished touring, we headed to the Blue Heron Golf Course to get 18 holes in.   Bobby played well, not so good for me.   The humidity gets to me quickly and lack of play is also part of it...OK, maybe I'm just not that good...lol.

Tomorrow we hope to travel to Port Republic, waiting for mail to catch us.   If it doesn't arrive today, we'll travel tomorrow.

June 18, 2016

Left early to get into Annapolis, heard the crossing on the Bay Bridge could be difficult, it was a breeze!   Got into downtown Annapolis, finding a parking spot was a little difficult but we finally found one near the Marina.

We were earlier to get a ticket for the parking (didn't start until 10 AM) so we went to find a geocash, so we could have Maryland in our system.   Then we walked back to the marina and looked around.  This area is filled with large yachts that are allowed to tie up and enjoy this area.  

Once we paid for our meter on the truck, we went to the Naval Academy, which is about a block away.   Took a self-guided tour.   Saw the Chapel, Museum, John Paul Jones crypt, many statues on the grounds and some of the buildings.    We were restricted on what we could go into, but still enjoyed our time at the Academy.b

We then went back to the truck, got more time on the meter and then walked up to the Capital 
Building.   Again to a self guided tour, that's all they do here.   This is a piece of history (other than being a capital) in that George Washington gave his resignation speech here.   We got to stand where he gave this speech, pretty cool if I say so myself.

We then walked across the street to see the statue of Mr. Thrugood Marshall, first black man to become a supreme court judge.

Had lunch at a local facility, just ok.  Our smoothie cost more than our hamburger!!!  Imagine that!

Main Street is filled with shops and restaurants, so we walked up and down that street.  This put us back at the marina, so we took another walk up and down.   They were having a Corvette Cruise-In, so of course we looked at the cars.

Got home around 3:30 and now just got home from Dinner at the Crab Shack, which is about 3 miles up the road.  Food was great and inexpensive compared to Annapolis.   We've been without Internet for over a week, so I apologize for not posting sooner.   Lots to catch up on!  Sorry but intenet is not working so I'll have to post pics later.

June 17, 2016

Left Dover around 9 AM and headed west towards Annapolis, MD.   We are staying at the Kent Island Elks Lodge in Stevensville, MD.  It's about 30 min west of Annapolis.  

Once we got settled, we went into town to find the Post Office as our mail is being sent here.   Found it and then we went looking around.   We had a strap that broke on the drivers side awning, so we looked up a local canvas place and they were able to fix it quickly, plus they didn't charge us anything.  So very nice of them!!!

We then took a look around the marina, lots and lots of very expensive boats but nice to look at!   Hemingway's Restaurant is at the end, so we walked out to look at the menu and see the view.   Great view of the Bay Bridge.

On the way back to the coach, we stopped at several other spots to take in the views.

Went to the Elks Lodge for their Friday night Chicken Parmesan special.  It was good.   Then we drove back to the Marina to take in the sunset.   It's bright orange by the time it sets!   With the Bay Bridge behind it, it's specular.

Pennsylvania 2016

June 6, 2016

This is our last day in SW Pennsylvania so we went to see Fort Ligonier.  It

June 5, 2016

Fallingwater

Busy, busy day today.   Started off by driving to Fallingwater but it didn't take us long to arrive, so we continued onto Ohioplye State park and found a Farm Market, place to have breakfast.

Back of Fallingwater

We then toured Fallingwater, the infamous home that Frank Lloyd Wright built over a waterfall.   I saw it back around 2005 when I came to Pittsburgh for an NAIW conference.   The entrance and visitors center has been updated, but otherwise it's still the same amazing home it was plus they don't let you take pics of the inside as that's a separate tour.

It's amazing that Mr. Wright had the vision in 1935 to build the home over the waterfall vs. overlooking it.  The owners, Mr. & Mrs. Kaufmann (owners of a department store in Pittsburgh) had him build this for their weekend home (they used it from 1937 thru 1963).   All of the family members including their son Edgar are buried on the grounds. 

Patio at Kentuck Know

Cucumber Falls

Mr. Wright had many ingenious ideas, some of which included the furniture being built into the walls, windows that had no supports, very few internal walls and loved to use natural items (boulders, etc) as part of the homes.   When the son gave the home to the Pennsylvania Conservancy, it included the home, original furnishings (many created by Mr. Wright) and the artwork.  I loved it, Bobby was not as enthralled.  Ceilings are low: 6'4" and floor are stone.  This house cost $150,000 (2.5 million in todays dollars) to build.  The owners thought it would cost around $10,000....way over budget!!!!

Next we toured another home Mr. Wright built, called Kentuck Knob.  It is totally different than Fallingwater and Bobby loved this one.   It gave you a warm fuzzy feeling.   It was built in 1953 and cost $90,000, it's considered a Usonian house (it's Mr. Wright's invision to control costs by having no attics, basements and little to none ornamentation).  It does have an attic, but was added after Mr. Wright had designed it.

Fort Necessity

Braddock's Grave

If I owned it, the only thing I'd change was the kitchen.   Very small and no stove, Mrs. Hagan (original owners) used hot plates, which are still in the house.  The deck off the main room has skylights without covers, so that light can shine into the house.   Very unique and beautiful home set in a rustic location (it's inside Ohioplye State Park).  Also they have a huge collection of outside artwork, so we took the 1/2 mile walk from house back down to the visitors center.

Artwork at Kentuck Knob

We then drove to Cucumber Falls, it was specular, as they've had so much rain this spring.

Next stop was Fort Necessity, stopping first for a late lunch/early dinner at Pizza Hut.   Fort Necessity is where the shot heard around the world occurred.   Here George Washington lead a group of British soldiers to confront the French soldiers, a confrontation occurred and their Commander Mr. Jumonville was killed, which started the American Revolutionary War of 1775.  

Mr. Washington was a 21 year old and later promoted to Colonel, knew the French would retaliate and built Fort Necessity. The Indians knew it would not support an attack and abandoned the British.  Eventually the British surrendered but Mr. Washington had to sign a letter saying he was at fault for killing Mr. Jumonville.

Mt Washington Tavern

During the film you watch at the Visitors Center, you learn about the National Road (now hwy 40) and how it came about.  It was original called Braddocks Road, named after Mr. Washington's general who was killed and they buried him in the road, then walked over his grave to hide it from the Indians, so we would dig it up.  Along this original route, Mt. Washington Tavern was built, which was built as a stagecoach stop.   You can see the rooms, etc.

Our last stop of the day was General Braddocks grave site. 

June 4, 2016

The park that we are staying is allowing everyone to wash their rigs if the so desire, so we took advantage of this opportunity to give her a bath.   She was extremely dirty and certainly need sprucing up.   We also gave the truck a bath.  

Next we caught up on some much need house work, has we had done any deep cleaning since we left plus I worked on my Classie Ladies tournament stuff, so it can be mailed on Monday.

The park has breakfast on Sat & Sundays, so we took advantage of that.   Visited with the General Manager, great crew they have here.   They were testing cookies that they'll sell, so they let us try them...yum.

We thought about going to Fallingwater, but all the tickets were sold out, so we made a reservation for 10 AM tomorrow.

Got finished with our chores and my tournament stuff around 3, so we decided to play36 holes of putt putt golf, wouldn't you know it, Bobby won!!!  They have a nice little 18 hole course here.   Thought about going to the Olympic size pool, but decided nay!


June 3, 2016

Memorial Wall at crash site

 Laundry need to be done, so we headed to Someset to the closest laundromat.  Then we drove to the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, PA.  This is a brand new facility created by the National Park System.  It's very impressive and displays that events that lead up to that horrible tragedy that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001.  

They've done an incredible job of showing the timeline, along with the individuals that were killed and how they tried to overtake the hijackers.  It's very difficult to listen to the recordings that some of the passengers left for their loved ones via cell phones. 

Once you visit the visitors center, you can walk out on the platform that allows you to view the crash site.  They've created this memorial down by the site, that lists they passengers/crew that lost their lives that horrible day.   This memorial is in the direct path that the plane took just before it struck the ground.

If you're ever in this part of PA, I highly recommend visiting this facility.

Looking at Visitor Center from crash site

We then drove back to Somerset, had lunch at a great little restaurant called Summit Diner.   We tried their specialty dessert, burnt sugar cake with maple cream filling.  I liked it, Bobby didn't.

On the way home, we stopped at Hidden Springs Golf Course, might play it on Monday.

West Virgina 2016

June 2, 2016

Jackson Mill location

On the road again, heading to Weston, WV.   I wanted to see a couple of things in this town, however most were closed, who know why, as the store hours showed they should be open.  

Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Aslyum

Our first stop was the Appalachian Glass Company, they are a well known glass blowing company in WV.  We were too early to see them blowing so just looked at some of their products.

Next stop was the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.  It used to be a psychiatric hospital.   Was supposed to house 250 but had 2,400, obviously very offer crowed.  This is the hospitals main building is one of the largest hand-cut stone building in the USA and 2nd in the world.  It didn't open until later this afternoon, so we just took pictures.

We then headed to the Museum of American Glass.   This part of the country is famous for all types of glass that has been created, but this museum displays glass from every state.  They had some very unusual pieces, of which some were for sale.  

Glass Museum

We stopped by the Mountaineer Military Museum, again it was closed but the building used to house the Weston Colored School. 

Colored School

Our last stop for now, is the Farmstead at WVU Jackson's Mill, once again it's closed but this gentleman was nice enough to give us a map, so we did a walking tour.   All we could see was the outside, as buildings were locked.   This is the boyhood Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.  It was owned by his uncle, he lived here until he went to West Point. 

We decided that we'd skip Morgantown, home of WV University and head to our next stop, Roaring Run RV in Champion, PA.  We'll arrived at 3, got settled in and will spend the next 5 days.  The weather is raining and very humid.   Temps are in the mid 80's.

June 1, 2016

Warning light is still on, will just have to accept that, drives me crazy though!

Arrived in Charleston around 11, staying at the elks lodge.   Had lunch, then drove to the capital.  Did a self guided tour, as they were busy giving tours to young children.   Must say, after seeing Frankfort Capital, this was nothing spectacular but it did have some interesting features, one being the chandeliers.  They were so striking. 

Across the lawn is their History Museum, very impressive.  It takes you through West Virgina's history and important individuals.   They were also having a quilt show, so many talent people.

We then drove to the Capital Market, it's an outdoor market, mostly plants, but they did have some vegs.   There's also an indoor section, similar to Pikes Market in Seattle, but on a much lessor scale.  The plants were amazing, huge and beautiful and only $15.  Which I could have brought several back but could not get them into Canada.

Drove down by the river, not much to see plus it's very hot, so we drove home.