Saturday, 11 Sep 2010, Luray, Virginia

Our whole trip was scheduled around being in Luray today for the re-enactment of the Battle of Fisher Hill. It wasn’t as bloody or as lengthy as the original but it was a sight to see!

There were cannons blasting, guns smoking, horses charging, men whoopin’ and hollerin’, sabers clattering, and a whole lotta cheering…depending on who won which skirmish. I know one thing for sure…it’s a heck of a lot of work to put one of these things on and I guess it’s a good thing testosterone levels rise significantly to help these guys dress up and race around a battlefield in full historic dress. It’s impressive, to be sure. The Confederate's won today's battle which brought lots of cheers from the locals. There's a Local 406 Chapter of Daughters of the Confederacy and the Rebel flag is still evident.

I really enjoyed it and the bucket list has one more checkmark after today. There was also a mock military camp where I spent some time talking to a ‘Rebel’ soldier and his wife about life during that period. There was another fellow demonstrating basket making and he turned out to be quite a character. Mr. Jenkins lives on the ‘old homestead’ in the mountains (says it’s a log home with original clay and hog hair mortar) and his hobby for many years is finding, propagating, and growing the old, old types of apples. I guess he’s well known for having some of the oldest and rarest apples in existence and he can (and did) tell you the genealogy of hundreds of apples. He’s also quite an historian and gave me his lineage back to 1735…including their names as well as family stories from the Indian and Civil Wars. He was very interesting and would have talked non-stop but I told him I had to go and find my husband (who was napping in the van). I mentioned Mr. Jenkins to another guy I was chatting with and I guess he’s well known in the area as an historian and a talker. I enjoyed the encounter with him and if nothing else, he reinforced my belief that family history—written and verbal—is priceless. Our parents talked about their families and told stories but we don’t seem to do that any more…and we should!!!

We spent the better part of the day there after having woken up at 5 am!! Normally I can go back to sleep but couldn’t this morning so we were watching Sea Hunt and Highway Patrol on television. We took a walk through Luray and the farmer’s market before heading over to the park. Wayne decided to have a nap but I was too curious to see everything before the big battle and left him in peace & quiet for a while. By the time we were heading back to the campground though, I knew I needed a sleep before supper or I’d never make it to supper! We tend to be in bed earlier when we’re on the road, partially because we don’t get those afternoon naps when driving & sightseeing all day.

We’ll be starting the homeward trek tomorrow with a couple of brief stops at Camper’s World for interior light bulbs and Bass Pro Shop for half-price shoes & purses (Wayne assures me the best shoe/purse sales are there??). It’s going to rain tonight and possibly part of tomorrow but it’s the first wet weather we’ve seen since we left.

Till next time, love and hugs to all. xxx

Friday, 10 Sep 2010, Luray, Virginia

It was another beautiful day in Virginia…temperature was in the mid-70’s, the sun was shining…a great day to be on the road.

I think I fell asleep about 9:30 last night and except for the odd blanket toss, had a great sleep. We decided that because Luray wasn’t too far from Natural Bridge, we’d take the time to do a wash. We were on the road by 11 am and although we were on I-81, it’s not a major highway and went through lots of beautiful countryside. Virginia has not been a disappointment so far…so green and lush and incredibly clean.

We arrived in Luray and headed for the caverns where the re-enactment is happening tomorrow, just to get the lay of the land. A trip through the caverns seemed like a good idea and they were quite spectacular. The tour took about an hour and it was definitely worth the visit. They had the biggest car/vehicle museum I’ve ever been in. They had a Royal carriage from Portugal from the 1700’s and many cars from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s that are supposedly the only one of its kind left. Rudolph Valentino’s Bentley was on display as well as a couple of others belonging to ‘famous’ people.

We are in a wonderful RV park…the Luray RV Resort – Country Waye, a short distance from the caverns. It’s run by a lovely Swiss family and we had a long conversation with the woman who owns it…she had just had an unpleasant run-in with a man driving a 35+ ft RV who had scraped it on a post or something while trying to park and threatened to sue her. She was really upset and said it seems like these individuals who drive the huge rigs are so stressed trying to manoeuvre such large vehicles that once something sets them off, they are out of control. She is such a quiet person and the altercation was not pleasant.

The park isn’t big but in typical Swiss fashion, is spotlessly clean and very well layed out. We may stay tomorrow as well if we end up spending more time than planned.

We had stopped to get gas yesterday and Wayne’s VISA card wouldn’t work. I gave him mine and it didn’t work either. I called them last night and apparently the gas station’s machine must have been dirty and tripped both cards. VISA like to know when you are travelling but I’m guessing our cards are used in so many different places within a year that it shouldn’t be a surprise when ‘Ottawa’ shows up on one charge and ‘Virginia’ or ‘Puerto Vallarta’ shows up on the next. We’re back in business!

The WiFi connection in the past couple of places isn’t strong enough to allow me to post the blog as well as a photo so when I do get a decent connection, I go back and add a photo.

Till next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Thursday, 9 Sep 2010, Natural Bridge, Virginia

(Video at bottom of this blog)

As much as we hated to leave the wonderful KOA in Fancy Gap, we knew we had to get on the road. I want to be in Lurayy, Virginia by the weekend as they are having a big battle re-enactment which will (hopefully) close the door on my mini Civil War fetish.

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs for 500 miles; it's a narrow 2-lane highway that snakes up, down, and around the mountains and in some spots, it not for the faint of heart. However, it's one of the most, incredibly beautiful drives in the world. Spring and early summer here must be beyond imagination as there are 20 and 30 miles stretches where wild rhododendrums line the road!! I can't imagine the sight!! These are trees, not bushes and they are not just along the road but all through the underbush. As often as we get to see some of these wonderful places, it nearly always happens that we say we need to come back at a different time to see the area when it's wearing a different set of colours. Needless to say, this spot is most popular in spring and fall.

The Parkway was started in the early 1930's and is very well maintain and is pristine in it's cleanliness. No highway litter here, or any other type of natural litter that would take away from the beauty of the drive. Little, old log cabins that were used by the early settlers have been moved and re-erected at some of the many overlooks that line the road. There are spots where you have an unobstructed view of the landscape for hundreds of miles..it's pretty impressive.

As beautiful as this drive is, it can be a bit exhausting for the driver (E-Wayne) as the last 50 miles to Natural Bridge were nothing but steep S-curves, both up and down. No commercial vehicles are allowed, which is a blessing, but by the time we pulled in here at 7 pm, we were tired.

I often joke about my battle with hot flashes but for Wayne it's no joke. Why is it that after 40+ years of me freezing and him dying of the heat, the scenerio totally changes. Now I have the big air conditioner going full tilt, the window above my head open to catch any snatch of breeze, and the little fan blowing on me? When he gets up in the morning, his teeth are chattering and I'm still tossing the covers around.

We are clean little campers so the laundry bag that is now overflowing tells me a wash and clean clothes are the order of the day. It's about 130 miles to Luray so we do our chores and then hit the road. It's another beautiful, sunny day.

Till next time, hugs and kisses to all. xxx

Wed, 8 Sep 2010, Fancy Gap, Virginia

Today was a day for driving…we wanted to get the Blue Ridge Parkway so that we could take a couple of days to just meander and see some of the sites that are just off the road in many of the little towns along the way.

The Parkway runs North and South through Virginia and North Carolina. On our way up to Fancy Gap and the KOA here, we hit 3000 ft elevation so it's ‘up there’. I asked Wayne to promise that the drive will be ‘slow and easy’…some of the curves we careened around were a little nerve wracking for me. We stopped at Lovers Leap (photo above) and the view was breathtaking. Unfortunately, photos don’t do it any justice when the sun is too high in the sky and unless we can hit one at sunrise/sunset, there’s not much point….. Definitely worth seeing and drooling over though.

However, there are lots of historic settlements in the area and numerous old log cabins that were built by early settlers so still lots of photo ops. For the life of me, I can’t imagine how/why people ever got up here 100+ years ago. The LuvMasheen had a hard enough time making it up some of those hills and around the mountains…how the heck did people do it with a horse & wagon? Where did they plug in their hair dryers? Clearly, I lack the pioneer spirit.

The KOA might have seemed a bit isolated but it’s beautiful. It’s much cooler tonight than last night but that might be a good thing as it will be nice not having the air conditioner going full blast in order to keep my body temperature at a reasonable level. The campground has WiFi and cable television so it’s not too isolated!

I’m missing little Beanie and looking at the photo of my Tutu angels that is on the van’s bulletin board. We were showing the inside of the van to someone and when they saw the photo, they laughed and said, “They must be Grandaughters!” Kim says Tori has found her toes and thinks they are the best toys around. Ty’s first days at school have been good and his best friend is in his class so the move to a new school hasn’t been too stressful.

Till next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Mon & Tues, 7-8 Sep 2010, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Monday: We stopped in at the Williamsburg Market Square on our way out. When the town was being ‘Colonialized’, the local business owners and merchants were encouraged to move their businesses to this new location….that’s where all the tourists would be…and they jumped at the chance. It isn’t a block of kitschy t-shirts and shot glasses but high end boutiques, shops & bookstores with a few that sell souvenirs. Didn’t spend a cent, which is unusual but I’d rather have photos and memories at this stage of life.

It was nearly noon by the time we got onto the Interstate and we arrived at the Virginia Beach KOA in a couple of hours. It’s a big site with two huge, beautiful pools and we got a location away from the main area with lots of big trees for shade. By 5:30 we’d decided we’d take the shuttle bus downtown and at the bus stop, met a couple who gave us the scoop on how, when, where, and why the buses run. The good news was that for $1 you get a senior’s pass which allows you to ride the bus all day until 1 am. The bad new was that this was the last day the shuttle bus would come out to the campground. It suited our purpose as we could get the lay of the land and could bring the van in the next day.

Wayne found a 2 for 1 coupon for streak and shrimp at the Black Angus restaurant so we hustled down there and made it just in time. It was an excellent supper and we splurged on a couple of glasses of good wine to round out the meal. It was then time to walk off all that food.

Virginia Beach is a newer, classier, nicer, upgraded version of Daytona Beach. It is gorgeous!!!! There’s 38 miles of sandy beach, a wide boardwalk all the way and the requisite pier for fishing. I tested the water and was amazed at how warm it was…definitely requires a day at the beach. The crowds left today (and we’re told they were here in record numbers) so the amusement park had only one or two rides going but there was a fantastic band playing in an amphitheatre between two hotels so we listened to them until they took a break and then did the bus thing back to the campground.

I’m hoping to be able to open the windows and just enjoy the breeze vice air conditioner but I keep forgetting I’m sleeping beside my mobile furnace (Wayne). I’m not sure how he gets any sleeps with me flinging covers off and then grappling to find them when the hot flash ends. It’s a great life!!

Tuesday: We decided early that we would head for the beach. Wayne brought his fishing rod and thought he might join some of the locals.

Early this summer I had picked up a beach sun protector at Giant Tiger and it turned out to be the ideal thing for today. It’s lightweight, easy to put up and certainly did the job of protecting us from the sun. There were lots of people on the beach but absolutely not crowded. We’d parked the van in a lot about 50ft away so I was able to go over and make some lunch to bring back. Having the fridge on propane is great..we can stop and buy groceries at any time through the day and the food stays cold as well as meat stays frozen. When we are at the beach, it means we have cold drinks and deli meat for sandwiches.
The water was warm, warm, warm…Wayne always says September is when the Atlantic is the warmest and it’s sure true today. The waves were high; a huge school of dolphins went by; the surfers were workin’ it; oh yes, it was a very good day to be at Virginia Beach.

There is a big Navy air base close by and I now understand why there are so many bumper stickers that say “I LOVE JetNoise’. A few jets went screaming over the campsite this morning that made dishes rattle in the cupboard.

Virginia Beach may become our ‘go to’ place in September…it’s off season so prices drop dramatically, the crowds are gone, and the weather is phenomenal! Apparently, Fall doesn’t come here until early November so the locals are still in summer mode. The city is extremely clean, given the crowds that are here all summer.

We are on the road again tomorrow and heading west towards Fancy Gap, Virginia which is near the start of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We won’t be taking the Interstate which will be a nice change of pace.

Till next time, love and hugs to all. xx

Sunday, 5 Sep 2010, Williamsburg, Virginia

We spent the day in Colonial Williamsburg and what a treat it was! Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown form the ‘historical triangle’; an area steeped in history dating back to the early 1600s. An impressive restoration project in Williamsburg, that started in the 1930’s and continues today, has created an historical area that makes you believe you’ve stepped back in time.

We got to the beautiful Visitor Centre and Wayne stood in line to get our entrance tickets. He asked the girl for a 2-day pass for each of us…cost $46 each. There’s always a discount for AAA, seniors, etc. and she asked him if he had military service. He replied that he did and showed her his retirement service card. Her response was, “Thank you for serving Sir—there is no charge for your tickets.” How nice is that!!

A shuttle bus runs through the entire town—yes town—and I have to admit, I had no idea the size and magnitude of it. It has an amazing history—the short version is:

In 1926 a church minister in Williamsburg, who felt strongly about preserving history, talked John D. Rockefeller Jr. into funding the cost of creating an historical community, composed of many existing building and re-building or recreating structures that would fit the towns long history. An anonymous benefactor for two years, Rockefeller spent $3 million (worth 10x that today) buying houses, businesses, etc and setting up a foundation to continue the project. Architects, archeologists, researchers, and restorers were hired to ensure authenticity of building being restored, rebuilt and refurbished.

Many residents sold their 18th Century homes to the Williamsburg Holding Company and were offered special incentives to sell such as allowing them to continue living in the house for the duration of their lives—rent free. Their homes and gardens were repaired, restored, and refurbished to look as they did when originally built. Newer homes were either hauled away or torn down to make room for historic buildings being brought in or re-built on their original location. I thought it was interesting that during the Great Depression, when jobs were non-existent, work continued in Williamsburg and there was no shortage of work. There are still over 100 buildings to be re-built in the town. Of course, there are many costumed people assuming the roles of every profession in the town and I loved the wig maker while Wayne’s favourite was the cabinetmaker. They go in to their roles totally and are very knowledgeable about the profession they portray in the time period.

All that to say, it’s far more than one or two streets—it’s really an entire town (and not a little one either) and it was quite an experience to spend time here. Thanks to Bob & Carol for encouraging us to see it…I’m so glad we didn’t miss it. There’s a wonderful shopping and dining area that we didn’t get to but may stop tomorrow to have a look around. We’ll be heading for Virginia Beach and if we can find an RV site close to the water, we may stay for a couple of days before heading west and then up the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Until next time, hugs and kisses to all.

Saturday, 4 Sep 2010, Williamsburg, Virginia

We had booked in to Richmond KOA for 3 days but after one night we thought we’d call ahead and see if there were openings (given it’s a long weekend) in Williamsburg. The air conditioner had shut out the sound of the I-95 about 200 ft from us but we didn’t feel the need to venture into Richmond anyway so we hit the road.

We decided to take Hwy 5 vice I-64 and what a treat it turned out to be! It was a quiet road, lined with trees that formed a canopy and as an extra bonus, had four different plantations along the route, of which we visited two. The interesting part is that both of the plantations we visited are still occupied by families of the original owners.

Shirley Plantation is the oldest plantation in Virginia (1610) and the current owners are the 11th generation of Carter’s to live there. It’s 3 floors; the first floor is open for tours—much of the furniture is original to the home and the family occupies the top two floors. It has been beautifully restored and from old photos, looks very much today as it did 200 years ago. There’s so much history here and the guide told us there are thousands and thousands of volumes of plantation information dating back to the 1600’s which has provided amazing information and documentation of how the plantation was run.

The Tyler Plantation was formerly owned by former President John Tyler (10th President of the US) and currently occupied by his grandson. The house itself isn’t open to the public except by appointment so we didn’t go through but the grounds are free to wander and old buildings are marked as to their age and history. I’m not sure the yard outside their kitchen door is for the public but Wayne wanted a good photo of the kids house so didn’t hesitate to walk back…nobody stopped him.

The Williamsburg KOA is huge and there’s lots of kids but we don’t plan to be here much anyway as we’ll head in to Colonial Williamsburg tomorrow for the day. On the way in however, we spied the Prime Outlet Mall and decided to do some retail therapy before setting up for the night.

HOLY HUGE SALES BATMAN! It’s Labour Day and the discounts are humungous! The cashier at one store started to tell me the discount on each item, plus the additional discount on various items, plus the discount on the final amount….I figured she was going to give ME money. The Coach purse store was having a mega-big-huge sale….well, every woman should own at least one Coach purse before she dies. Oh yes, Lynnie had lots of fun…although a significant number of bags belonged to Wayne!

I’m looking forward to seeing Williamsburg…I’m embarrassed to say we’ve never been to Upper Canada Village…but the Scotts were here last Spring and said it was awesome. The weather report says there’s lots of sun in Virginia Beach so that will be our next stop…and thanks to Hurricane Earl for not destroying the place!

Until next time, hugs and kisses to all.

Friday, 3 Sep 2010, Richmond Virginia

We got an early start this morning as we wanted to do a quick tour through the town as well as the National Cemetery. It was cloudy and not quite as hot in the morning but it heated up during the afternoon.

We drove through part of the National park that we’d seen on the bus tour. I wanted to get a few photos of some of the monuments and have a chance to read a few of the inscriptions. As I wrote yesterday, each of the monuments are dedicated to a particular group of soldiers, Union and Confederate, and details what their positions were on each of the 3 days during the battle. It also lists how many were in the group, the numbers that were injured, died, or ‘missing’….very impressive. No two monuments are the same and some are very detailed and ornate as well as being every size imaginable. I’m assuming the home State of each of these groups paid for their own monument as they are each so different from the other.

Downtown Gettysburg is lovely and there are 4 ‘main’ streets that run off the central round-a-bout. The buildings and shops are nearly all historical buildings and it was interesting in that a photo of the original building and a history of it’s occupants was listed on a sidewalk pedestal. It’s a clean, organized town and except for it’s history, isn’t much different from many other little towns in the U.S.

We decided to have something to eat before we left town and went in to ‘Ernie’s Texas Diner’ for a late breakfast. An elderly lady came over to our table and asked what we wanted to drink. When we told her we’d like coffee, she asked, “High-test, low-test; with or without titty?” I thought my hearing was off until she repeated it. It’s a 3-rd generation owned restaurant and later I asked the waitress if that was ‘Gramma Ernie’. She laughed and said it was just a woman who has been coming in for years…I guess she just thinks she’s related. All that to say, Wayne had his ‘with’ titty…mine was black. The good laugh was free.

We took a quick run up to the cemetery (Lynne the Ghoul). I would have liked to see the podium where Lincoln gave his famous Gettysburg Address but it was humid and my mini-fetish for civil war history was waning so after a quick look around we went across the road to Cemetery Hill...the site of a big battle. Enough and enough…time to get on the road to Richmond.

The I-95 came to a screeching halt about 75 miles from Richmond…Labour Day traffic and people heading out for the long weekend. We got off the interstate and had a much nicer drive and pulled into the KOA at 4 pm. We’re here for 3 nights but now that Hurricane Earl has done his business, we’ll probably spend tomorrow in Williamsburg.
Hope my babies in Halifax weather the storm okay! Big hugs and kisses to all.

Thursday, 2 Sep 2010 - Gettysburg, PA

We made two good decisions today: the first was to stay put in Gettysburg for a second night and the second was to take the shuttle into Gettysburg and do the bus tour thing. The digital sign on the bank said the temperature at 2 pm was 101 degrees and I don't doubt it for a second!

We had intended on staying downtown after the tour but as soon as we got off the bus, I knew that I would not last one minute in that heat, even if we stayed on the 'shady' side of the street. Fortunately our shuttle driver was free and had no problems delivering us back to the KOA early. According to her, this area is seeing increasingly higher temperatures every year and they hit 107 degrees this summer. There was no one wandering the streets and I'm hoping that we can park the van somewhere downtown on our way out in the morning just to have a quick look and take some photos.

I've said it before and I say it again.....no-one does historical restoration or re-creation like Americans and Gettysburg is at the top of the list! Considering the Battle of Gettysburg occurred over a 3-day period during a war that lasted 4 years, a person wouldn't think it was that big a deal. However, it had the highest number of casualties (51,000) and is considered to be a major turning point in the Civil War.

The bus took us on a tour of the battlefield while a very well-versed individual with a microphone provided a running commentary of the success/failure of the Union and Confederate troops at each stage of the battle. I'm not being glib here...the guy was amazingly knowledgeable and entertaining and I loved every second of it! But what amazed me most was the 1400 (not a typo) monuments, statues, historical markers, et al that lined the roads that meandered through the 6000-acre battlefield area. For example, each town, state, or private militia unit, from each side, that participated in the battle, has a monument erected in the exact spot that they fought. There's often a H-U-G-E statue of the the corresponding General, sitting on his horse. Some of the monuments are beautiful and I'd like to drive through part of the area when we leave tomorrow to get a few more photos as well as the cemetery where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address. If it's still 90 degrees or more though, we may put it off and try to do it on the return trip.

We did a short walk around the block before getting on the bus. There are a number of houses that were built before 1863 that have maintained their 'civil war' look, including one which still has Union bullet holes over one side. About 160 houses have been identified with plaques indicating their Civil War authenticity at this point and more are expected. The Federal, State, and community groups who are involved in historical research really try to ensure every piece of memorabilia is identified correctly.

We will be on the road early and will spend the next 3 days at the KOA in Richmond. Hopefully the internet service will be strong enough and I can post some photos. Until then, take care.

Wednesday, 1 Sep 2010 - Gettysburg, Penn

Three days on the road and we've finally found an RV site with decent internet service!

We left Monday morning after the requisite stop at Tim Horton's and happy to be on the road again. It lasted until we crossed the border at Ogdensburg and realized the fumes we'd both been smelling...and ignoring...were the brakes overheating. A quick stop at the local Dodge dealer resuled in a diagnosis of 'over-tightened' and after 4 hours of hanging around, we were on our way again with the lowest repair bill we've ever had. We stayed at Association Island RV Resort near Watertown, which is far too fancy a name for the accommodation. I figured at the rate we were going, we'd get to Virginia by December.

Tuesday was hot, hot, hot and it seemed as though each time we stopped for something, the van took longer and longer to cool down. It was well over 90 degrees and we didn't realize how hot the outside temp and sun were making the inside of the van until we left the interstate and drove along a tree-lined highway in the shade! By 3 pm we'd decided that a campground with a pool was necessary (my body was starting to confuse hot flash and heat stroke) and found the Forest Shoreline RV Park in Hop Bottom, Penn, which turned out to be the answer to the body heat issue. It was a great park...mostly seasonal campers but they had a nice area for short-term campers/trailers. We thought about extending our stay for one more night until our neighbour behind us started building his deck at 9 am. We were out of there by 10 am and pulling into the KOA at Gettysburg by 4 pm. It has been a hot, hazy couple of days with not much to see as we've stayed on the interstate and probably won't do any meandering on secondary highways until after our next stop when we head west.

The heat here is crazy and from the news reports, Ottawa is having much the same (who's the @#%$ that shut down the pool?). We're keeping a close eye on the hurricane and have made reservations for the weekend in Richmond, Virginia which is far enough away from the coast that we should be fine. If things settle down we will make daytrips to Williamsburg and Virginia Beach...otherwise we'll check out the Richmond area. Heaven knows there are enough historic things to see to keep us busy for the long weekend.

L-O-V-E shopping in the states...especially groceries. Considering Loblaws is foreign territory to me at home, grocery stores in the states are a whole different ballgame. I squealed like mad when I found single serving sized portions of Hagen Daaz ice cream for $1 each...in all the best flavours! We had the best steak frajitas...$5 for 'everything in a bag' from TGIFridays. Everything is packaged for both 2 or 10 people and all those little packaged things are excellent for the van. We don't lack for many luxuries on the road.

We are here for 2 nights and planning on taking a tour of the city tomorrow. I only had a taste of some of the beautiful old homes on the way in and anxious to see some of the magnificant restored houses. KOA provides a shuttle into the city and we can pick up a tour...on a big air-conditioned bus.

Till next time...keep cool.