WILLIAMSBURG - JAMESTOWN - YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

Thursday, April 17, we drove from Kosmo Village RV Park in Glen Allen, Virginia (near Richmond) to a Thousand Trails park, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. It is a very large park with 355 full hookups, gravel roads and sites. $2 extra for our 50-amp service. No cell phone service and the internet is very slow. Satellite is good. It is beautiful here with their 280-acre preserve situated on the Piankatank River, one of the pristine rivers in Virginia, located just 13 miles upriver from the Chesapeake Bay. Scattered with hardwoods, pines and dogwoods, the preserve offers two piers for fishing and many activities for the young and young at heart. Three quaint little towns nearby are Gloucester, Matthews, and Urbanna.

Gloucester is a county of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Formed in 1651 in the Virginia Colony, it was named for Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester, third son of King Charles I of Great Britain. Located in the Middle Peninsula region, it borders the York River and the lower Chesapeake Bay. It is about 75 miles east of Virginia's capitol, Richmond. As of the 2000 census, the population was 34,780. Gloucester is steeped in history of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. It was the site of Werowocomoco, a capital of the Native American group known as the Powhatan Confederacy. It was home to members of early First Families of Virginia and important colonial leaders leading up to the American Revolutionary War. Thomas Jefferson is said to have composed much of his early work for Virginia and colonial independence at Rosewell Plantation overlooking the York River, then the home of his close friend and fellow student in Williamsburg at the College of William and Mary, John Page. From one of the First Families of Virginia, John Page himself was a famous patriot serving as both Governor of Virginia and in the U.S. Congress; Gloucester County Public Schools named Page Middle School in his honor. As the war concluded at Yorktown directly across from Gloucester Point, the county almost served as the escape route for the British land forces led by General Cornwallis. A French effort kept British naval forces from assisting him. Long the domain of Virginia watermen and its fishing industries, Gloucester County is also rich in farmland. It is home to two Starbucks, a Wal-Mart as well as several smaller companies and a regional, family-owned chain of supermarkets that contribute to its small town, friendly, southern atmosphere, such as the stores around the main street area at the county seat, Gloucester Courthouse. Ray's Reflections: Although we spent most of our stay visiting the all-important past and the beginning of our great country, I did have time to enjoy the gently rolling hills dotted with many farms and beautiful spring blossoms on the bike. The country roads were very good with little traffic and comfortable to ride with few surprises, which is good. Chesapeake Bay has many fingers reaching out into the countryside and dividing the region with tributaries. The daytime temps around 70s. Although we did have several days of rain this was a good stop. The three historical sites above were 40 miles from our park, therefore a longer stay would have been more desirable April 18 - The Historic Triangle Story The Historic Triangle gave birth to the United States, and a huge nation grew from a tiny place in Virginia. In that same tiny place, Europeans, American Indians, and Africans first lived together and became the seed of the American people. The first permanent English settlers sent by the Virginia Company of London were at Jamestown. The ideas of revolution were fanned at Williamsburg. Independence was won in the final victory at Yorktown. Representative self-government started in the Historic Triangle, as did civilian control of the military and the right to private ownership of property. If even one of those concepts, any one, had been missing, the United States would be a completely different place. It might not even be the United States. At times before our independence, the Dutch were to the north, the Spanish to the south, and the French to the north and west. If the Jamestown settlers had given up or the revolutionaries in Williamsburg been less intent or the British had won at Yorktown, what nation might have moved in? We would not necessarily be better or worse, but we would be different. Europeans, American Indians and Africans met each other here. It was not an equal meeting. Europeans enslaved Africans and killed and displaced Indians. Four hundred years later, we are still trying to deal with the results of all that began in the Historic Triangle. COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG -1700s - We planned on at least two days to explore and learn all that there is available to us on our visit. We found the whole experience so much more than we anticipated. The Visitors Center is state-of-the-art, with two theaters that show two films every half-hour. Both are very informative and we saw them the second day due to timing. The film on the start of the Revolution was created with some well-known actors. The other film is about the Rockefeller Family and their commitment to preserving Colonial Williamsburg. To begin your journey, you take a bus to the Colonial Williamsburg entrance. They give a 15-minute orientation designed for young guests, "Get Revved" gives visitors the chance to hear a person from the past talk about the scenes they will see in Revolutionary City. You can hear a costumed interpreter explain differences between our world and theirs, and it gives you the opportunity to ask questions The people living in Williamsburg, preachers, house servants, farmers, actors, and artisans—both enslaved and free—were architects of a new nation no less than General Washington, Governor Jefferson, or Governor Henry. As you travel down the streets, you will meet the men and women who helped shape their times. See how their lives, like our own, are affected by the promises of the Declaration of Independence, whether realized or unfulfilled. A number of events occurred in Williamsburg that was pivotal to the evolution of Virginians from subjects of a distant monarch to citizens of a self-governing republic. These events led Virginians to declare that the colonies were no longer under British rule but free and independent United States of America. Witness the difficult choices facing the townspeople as you walk the streets, visit the many businesses, and hear from the townspeople dressed in period costumes. The only transportation allowed in Colonial Williamsburg today is by foot or horse driven. The colonists realized that Williamsburg was in danger if they went to war with England since they are located near a deep-water port. Colonial Williamsburg became run down and lost its appeal until the Rockefeller Family Foundation took a keen interest in the town and through trustees bought the town. The Foundation has invested over $68 million during the course of time to restore it to its present state. They moved the Capital to Richmond.

The Capital of Virginia. The first colony to speak for American independence did it with unanimous voices of the gentlemen who gathered in the Capitol. Patrick Henry's fiery 1765 "Caesar-Brutus" speech and the May 15, 1776 Resolution for Independence, which led directly to the July 4th Declaration in Philadelphia, is among the stirring events that occurred on the Capitol site. It is amazing how well preserved these sites are for the future of our children to learn about the history of the United States.

GOVERNOR'S MEETING ROOM - Capitol - General Assembly Room - HOUSE OF BURGESS IN CAPITOL - interpreter was the best one we saw - quite knowledgeable and great speaker. Day 2 - COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG - GOVERNOR'S PALACE - The elegant imposing Governor's Palace, residence of seven royal governors and the first two governors of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has been reconstructed on its original foundations on Palace Street in Williamsburg. The residence of seven royal governors and the first two elected governors of Virginia - Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson - is shown as it was when Lord Dunmore, the last British governor of the Virginia colony, lived here. It was truly the focus of the city's fashionable society and finest entertainment. You step back more than 220 years to the eve of the American Revolution. From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political and cultural center of Britain's largest New World colony. Governor's Palace Front and Back Views

Interior receiving area has the crossed swords and rifles on all four walls. The spinet and other musical instruments are in the large ballroom. THE COLONIAL NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK - YORKTOWN - Sunday, April 20 - We left around 2:30 pm (45-minute drive from our park). We stopped at the Colonial National Historical Park Museum, Yorktown. We were able to see a video, tour a famous house, etc. before Park Services shut down at 5-pm. One ranger told us we should rush over to see the Moore House before it closed. We had 45 minutes before the last film was shown. The famous Moore House is the site of negotiations for the last major battle of the American Revolution and a direct link to American independence, and has been preserved as one of the truly significant homes in American history. . In 1630s, Governor John Harvey named the site "York Plantation". A century later, it was part of a 500-acre plantation called Temple Farm where Lawrence Smith II built a family home. The home changed hands several times and in 1767, Augustine Moore inherited three plantations from his father and the following year he purchased the Moore House, and became a gentleman farmer. This is the room where the actual treaty was signed to end the American Revolution.

In 1781, the Moore family probably temporarily moved to Richmond during the Yorktown siege. What they could not have known was that their home would become a site of national significance on October 18, 1781, when it was selected to be the backdrop for one of the final scenes of the American Revolutionary War. In the spring of 1781, the American War of Independence was in its seventh year. The British has practically abandoned efforts to reconquer the northern states but hoped to defeat the South. By doing so, they unwittingly set in motion a train of events that would give independence to their colonies and change the history of the world. Yorktown TODAY is a picturesque and old-world town on the waterfront of the York River. Due to the late day, we were not able to tour the Yorktown Battlefield, but took this picture of one of the original embankments. JAMESTOWN and the COLONIAL PARKWAY - Tuesday, April 22 -The rains stopped and we quickly left for Historical Jamestown. We took the Colonial Parkway that would be beautiful under full sun, but was very dismal. Linking Williamsburg with Jamestown and Yorktown, it is the scenic way to get there. The Colonial Parkway was completed in 1957 to mark Jamestown's 350th anniversary. It's designed for pleasure driving and is an unusual road in many respects: three unmarked lanes (the center for passing) with a concrete/gravel mix surface rather than tarmac that results in a light tan color and a buzzing sound as you drive it. It's also one of the few roads in the USA to have distances marked in kilometers. The drive leaves Williamsburg via a tunnel under the Historic Area and then heads straight for the shoreline, following it to Jamestown. You have to cross a swing-span bridge over the Chickahominy River and it didn't look very sturdy as you can see in the picture below. The drive is 23-miles threading amid dogwood and redbud trees. The Parkway has several scenic pull-offs along the way with interpretive signs and historical markers. What is Jamestown, Virginia, you wonder. On 14 May 1607, an expedition from England landed here and founded what was to become the first permanent English-speaking settlement in North America. The settlement, initially led by Captain John Smith, was founded by the Virginia Company of London as a commercial enterprise. Eventually, the settlement grew and evolved into the Virginia Colony with the first representative government in the Americas. Wrapped up in this story are the encounter with members of the Native American Pamunkey people (including Pocahontas) who were already living in the vicinity, the search for a money-making crop that led to tobacco farming, and the first African slaves, brought by Dutch slave traders in 1619.

Jamestown Settlement - Ship Replicas- Susan Constant, Godspeed & Discovery in Jamestown Harbor Jamestown Settlement - Ship Replicas- Susan Constant, Godspeed & Discovery in Jamestown Harbor Jamestown Settlement is a museum of 17^th-century Virginia. We stopped by too late as it takes three hours to see everything and they were closing in one hour. We did see the docudrama film that chronicles Jamestown's origins in England, the colonists' struggle to survive and thrive in Virginia, interaction with the Powhatan Indians, the arrival in 1619 of the first Africans from the kingdom of Ndongo in Angola. You can experience the story of America's beginnings at Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center. Through film, artifact-filled galleries and outdoor living history, these museums engage visitors in nearly two centuries of our nation's history - from the founding of America's first permanent English settlement in 1607 to the decisive Revolutionary War victory in 1781 and implementation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The Godspeed replica was in the museum.

The Godspeed was one of three ships that brought America's first permanent English colonists to Virginia in 1607. Re-creations of the three vessels are on exhibit at Jamestown Settlement, a living history museum of 17th-century Virginia located near Williamsburg, Virginia. John Ratcliffe (died September 1609) was captain of the Discovery, with 21 people on board, sailed from England on December 19, 1606 to Virginia, to found a colony, arriving May 14, 1607. He later became the second president of the colony, which later became Jamestown. He was killed by the Powhatan Indians.

Upon our return home, Ray rode the Gold Wing to pick up the mail and stop by the Historic Christ Church in Weems. It is a National Historic Landmark completed in 1735. Best-preserved and most finely crafted of Colonial Virginia's Anglican parish churches. Robert "King" Carter was one of colonial Virginia's most prominent citizens. Member of the House of Burgesses and Speaker, Treasurer and Acting Governor of Virginia. He built Christ Church for his family and his community at his own expense. Its brickwork, distinctive roof, compass-headed windows and monumental entablature are among the features that make Christ Church one of the most important examples of Georgian architecture in America. Robert Carter died in 1732, three years BEFORE his "new brick church" was completed. After the revolutionary war, Americans were free to worship anywhere. The Church of England was disestablished and the state confiscated its property. But, because Christ Church was built with personal funds on privately owned land, it was not seized. Hundreds of volunteers through the foundation today interpret and present the history of the parish and its people through guided tours, public lectures, etc. Congregation looked up from high-backed, wainscoted box pews to the rare triple-deck pulpit above. Notice the plainness of the walls and windows.

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RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

Wednesday, April 09, 2008 - We are preparing the coach for our 5-hr drive tomorrow from Advance NC to Kosmo Village RV Park in Glen Allen, Virginia (near Richmond). The park is nothing to rave about, but it was convenient to Richmond and other areas we wanted to visit. Spring in all its glory is here! Fresh, sweet scents swirl through the air, overtaking our senses and energizing us as few seasons do. The brisk air is invigorating as we take our daily walks. James River Plantations - Since weather predictions said we would have sunny skies, we drove on I-295 and took Exit 22A to visit the James River Plantations in Charles City County, between Williamsburg and Richmond. Both Williamsburg and Richmond were colonial capitals and part of an early westward expansion of English speaking America. Charles City has remained a rural oasis with extensive timberlands, tidal waters and thousands of acres of richly cultivated farmland. There are a number of colonial plantations southwest of Richmond along the James River. We toured the Shirley and stopped by the Berkeley. Each are built high on the northern bank of the James River and unique, but similar. Each is still an operational plantation, growing wheat, corn, and soybeans. In Colonial times, the James River was the primary means of transportation for people and goods. As in any English estate, the outbuildings are laid out symmetrically. The Shirley Plantation is the only known plantation that has eleven generations of one family who to this day continue to own, operate and work the land. It is Virginia’s first plantation (1613) and the oldest family-owned business (1638) in the country. The Georgian-style was employed by Virginia’s plantation elite along the banks of the James River and its tributaries. During its long history and under the leadership of one family, Shirley Plantation has survived the Indian Uprising, Bacon's Rebellion, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the Great Depression. Shirley Plantation is the most intact 18th century estate in Virginia". Several features such as the "Flying Staircase" and the Queen Anne Forecourt are the only remaining examples in America of this architectural style. The entire building was from materials made on the property, nothing was shipped in. There have been many fires, but the main buildings are still standing, some through renovation. Some of the buildings such as the kitchens were intentionally built away from the main living quarters in case of fire in the kitchen not everything would go up in flames. Although the buildings were built of red bricks, the interior walls and floors were made of wood covered with wallpaper and carpeting, of course furniture was wood. The temperature of a house fire was so hot the bricks would explode and melt. Fires were common and frequent with all of the candles, gaslights and fireplaces. A large plantation had 100 to 150 slaves to maintain the property. Root cellars, stored food supplies. The icehouses had a 35ft deep hole where they made and stored winter ice that lasted until fall. The working plantation consists of fields of tobacco, wheat, corn, and soybeans. There is an entrance fee to the grounds and it includes a 45-minute tour of the first floor of the Great House. Presently there is relatively little known about slavery at Shirley in the late 1600s and 1700s. Slaves were very likely important in aspects of the construction of Shirley’s famous buildings starting in 1723. By 1787, records tell us that there were 134 slaves residing on the property. Most of this number would have labored in the fields, while others were engaged in the functions and upkeep of the house and associated buildings. One foggy morning during the Civil War the plantation awoke to find many wounded Union troops camped out on their lawn. The women of the Confederate plantation went out and helped the wounded as best they could. This good deed was reported to the Union general and he sent an official letter of protection to the plantation and posted Union troops to guard and protect the residence.

Shirley Plantation - Kitchen - One of eight original colonial outbuildings. ORIGINAL SMOKE HOUSE and a Willow Oak - 350 years OLD on James River We also stopped by 1726 Berkeley Plantation. It is the birthplace of a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a U.S. President, Benjamin Harrison, Charles City VA On Saturday, although rain was expected today, we decided to visit the Museum of the Confederacy. The museum is located directly downtown Richmond in the historic Court End neighborhood, about two blocks from the historic State Capitol and Capitol Square.

The museum concentrates its efforts on the South's side of the Civil War. It is home to the world's most comprehensive collections of artifacts, manuscripts and photographs from the Confederacy, including 1,500 decorative objects, 550 flags, 300 edged weapons, 177 firearms, 3,000 military accoutrements, 25 sculptures and 1,000 military buttons. The 200th Anniversary of Jefferson Davis is 2008, the President of the Confederate States of America. He was born in Kentucky in 1808. The youngest of ten children, he was educated at West Point and served in the U.S. Military, fought in the Mexican War, was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from Mississippi, and served as Secretary of War for President Franklin Pierce. On February 9, 1861, Davis was elected president of the Confederate States of America and served until the end of the war in 1865. Davis died in 1889 in New Orleans and his body was moved to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond in 1893. We took a guided tour (a few steps away) of the Confederate White House, a mansion occupied by Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family, It is now a National Historic Landmark and has 11 period rooms decorated with Victorian furniture and textiles. The house was built in 1818. We were not allowed to take pictures of the inside for the preservation of the numerous antique furnishings. Inside the foyer has two original statues; one called Comedy and one called Tragedy. The Washington Post has written that the White House of the Confederacy “is a meticulously restored neoclassical masterpiece that, in terms of quality, historical associations and authenticity, probably is second only to Mount Vernon among restorations of historic American dwellings.” This was the Executive Mansion of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. The official residence of President Jefferson Davis, his wife Varina and their children, the house was also the social, political and military center of the Confederacy. The mansion has been restored to the splendor of its mid-nineteenth century phase, with over half of the original furnishings from its wartime role as the Confederate White House, supplemented by a rich collection of period fabrics and furnishings. The low handrails, low furniture, and short beds are a testament to period fashion, not period height. However, on average, individuals were approximately one inch shorter during the period compared to modern times. A more substantial trait was that an individual of the mid-1800’s weighed less than our modern generations. The first floor was reserved for formal state affairs, with the exception of a small, private library. The second floor was the family’s private living quarters. Davis’s stern devotion to work and unpredictable health, frequent bouts of debilitating illness with malaria forced him to conduct much of his military and state business in his private office in the Executive Mansion. Military advisors, members of his cabinet, other political aides and petitioners were often met in the White House. Despite the stress and business of war and state going on so close about them, the Davises maintained a warm family life. Many Southern generals including Lee and Jackson visited this house many times. The neighbors complained about the 10-year-old son firing his miniature, but real cannon at targets in the back yard. Too much noise and an occasional stray cannon ball were the complaints, but Davis refused to stop the “fun”. On May 10, 1865, Davis was captured in Georgia with his family and members of his cabinet and staff by Union cavalry. Indicted for treason, Davis was held in Federal custody for two years in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Though a trial was never held and Davis never convicted, he lost his US citizenship when he refused to ask for a pardon. Barred from politics and unable to reoccupy “Brierfield”, he pursued a short and unsuccessful career as the president of a life insurance company. Jefferson Davis never returned to his former executive mansion, but he did return to Richmond -- to the federal courthouse building where his own executive office had been during the war -- in 1867 following his release from imprisonment at Fort Monroe, Virginia.

The Capitol of Virginia was built from 1785-92; the two wings added 1904-06 is the first public building in the New World to be built in the Classical Revival style of architecture designed by Thomas Jefferson, with assistance from French architect Charles-Louis Clerisseau. The Virginia Capitol houses the oldest legislative body in the United States. In May 2007, the Capitol completed a sweeping renovation -- from the foundation to the roof, the legislative chambers to hearing rooms, the plumbing to the security system. It ranks as the second oldest working Capitol in the United States, having been in continuous use since 1788. No Union troops, other than prisoners, reached Richmond until after the Confederate government evacuated the city on April 2, 1865. The Confederate government hired slaves from the Richmond vicinity and employed them in the construction of fortifications protecting the capital city Richmond - VIRGINIA & the Civil War - The 1864 Campaign of the Civil War was the bloodiest march in American history. Two of the greatest armies this country has ever fielded slugged it out for more than a month in the spring and early summer of 1864. They battled across 100-miles of central Virginia, leaving tens of thousands of dead and wounded in their wake.

We drove into the town of Richmond to explore both past and present, of our nation's most celebrated tribute to the Confederacy: Monument Avenue. The symbolic language embodied within the boulevard's public statuary has secured the avenue's significance as both a memorial and "a state of mind”. A century after its first monument was unveiled, the avenue continues to evoke pride in the southern cause, commemorate the fortitude of heroic men, and spark controversy as Southerners' "idea of the Old South" clashes with the idea of a national "American" identity. One of America's most beautiful boulevards, tree-lined Monument Avenue is the only street in the United States that is a National Historic Landmark. It runs through the heart of Richmond's historic Fan District and was originally built as an extension of Franklin Street (already an established neighborhood) toward the Lee Monument. The avenue eventually became a sought after neighborhood and continued west over many years following the placement of new monuments along the street. The type and style of architecture seen in the homes, churches and apartment buildings that line the avenue range from English Tudor, Colonial, Georgian, Spanish, Jacobean, Beaux Arts to Italianate. The avenue stretches into Henrico County and ends at Horsepen Road running five miles in length. Monument Avenue has a wide, two-lane street on both sides of the generous

median, going east and west.

Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873): "Pathfinder Of Sea" Psalms 8 is considered the father of oceanography. We are indebted to his discovery of the warm and cold continental currents. His book on oceanography is still considered a basic text on the subject and is still used in universities. Maury used the Bible as a guide to scientific discovery. If only more would use the Bible as a guide in their personal lives!

GENERAL “STONEWALL JACKSON” aka Thomas Jonathan Jackson - No war has produced a military celebrity more remarkable, nor one whose fame will be more enduring.

Jefferson Davis, the first and only President of the Confederacy, was an orator, statesman and politician including positions as a United States Congressman, Senator, and Secretary of War. He was an ardent defender of the rights of the South and the institution of slavery. Davis died on December 6, 1889 and was buried in New Orleans, Louisiana. His body was moved to Richmond in 1893; Davis' monument was dedicated on June 3, 1907. His monument is lined with a row of thirteen Doric columns, representing eleven seceding states and the two states that sent representatives to the Confederate Congress, with a central pedestaled figure of Davis.

Monument to the Army of Confederate States - From Sumter to Appomattox - Four Years of Unflinching Struggle against Overwhelming Odds. We drove on to see Tredegar Iron Works. The Richmond National Park Service's main visitor’s center is located at 470 Tredegar Street on the James River in downtown Richmond Virginia. Its main purpose is to assist visitors wishing to go to the 1862 and 1864 Civil War battlefields located around Richmond. "Tredegar" is a Welsh name brought here by the original owner. It is pronounced "Tre-dee-gar" over there, but it is pronounced "tred-e-gar" over here.

Tredegar Iron Works made the iron plating for the first Confederate ironclad warship, the CSS Virginia which fought in the historic Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862. Tredegar is also credited with the production of approximately 1,100 artillery pieces during the war which was about half of the South's total domestic production of artillery between the war years of 1861-1865. Tredegar also produced giant rail-mounted siege cannon during the conflict. Tredegar Iron Works is one of few Civil War-era buildings that survived the burning of Richmond. Although we didn’t have the time to visit the battlefields, there are many historical treasures inside the museum at Tredegar Iron Works.

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FLORIDA - SOUTH CAROLINA - NORTH CAROLINA

Friday, March 28 – We left Elite RV Park in Salt Springs, Florida around 8:15 am with a beautiful morning and clear light-blue sky. Little fog pockets along the way evaporated around 9:00 am. Pine trees, scrub oaks, and underbrush fill the landscape and rolling hills make it a very nice drive. The acorns of the scrub oaks supply food for scrub jays and many other animals and scrub oaks are the "backbone" of the Florida scrub. March 20 was the spring equinox where the length of the day and night were equal. Now the days will get longer and we will have more daylight to explore I like that thought. We are staying at an OK park tonight at New Green Acres RV Park in Walterboro SC for $19 using AAA membership discount. This park is known for “The Longest & Widest Pull-Thru Sites East of the Mississippi. We pulled in around 1:30. We had no reservations and all that is available is water/electric/30 amp. However, for one night we can handle it. Our SAT will not work with the pines all over so we can get our reading and computing done listening to our CDs.

FUEL & RV PARK FEES– we thought that the diesel costs out in California last year were extreme, but we are beyond that now and we are finding that our RV site costs are way above what we averaged last year - $14.50 a night. We used our Thousand Trails membership preserves that helped with the costs with 84 days. We are making reservations ahead to travel the northeast, and it will be during their “high season” (summer). We have to make the necessary adjustments where we can to compensate for the additional expenses. We are also using three of the Thousand Trails Preserves. Friday, March 29 - We left New Green Acres RV Park in Walterboro SC at 7:15 am to get an early start traveling toward Forest Lake Preserve (Thousand Trails Membership) in Advance, NC, 30 mi south of Winston Salem, NC.—66 mi east of the Blue Ridge

Pkwy.

We were on the road by 7AM and it started to drizzle rain at Charlotte, NC. Moreover, it rained until we were 8 miles from the park in Advance, nice timing. Arrived at noon, rolling hills most of the way, with beautiful lavender and cherry blossom trees in bloom. Ray was watching our MPG very close; although not much difference between 60-70 MPH (Around 8 MPG), that is not bad pushing 45,000 lbs down the road. Arrived around noon at Forest Lake Preserve. Our site is at the highest point of the park. There are almost 300 large sites, very nice, and quiet. Hard gravel roads, many hills, small lake with Canada Geese, ducks and signs of wild, small pigs around, many cardinals, and loads of robins. About 15 cabins surround the lake, with a large recreation center. We selected a treeless site on top of the hill, hoping our satellite dish could find its path... At least we have four bars on cell phone as we are looking at a 300-ft cell tower outside the preserve. Wow, what a break after no phone service or internet for the month. Our Verizon Air Card is working to full capacity on one computer and the other picks up the parks WIFI. We are “loving life”. The foliage in Advance looks the same as when we left the Smoky Mountains last October. Few trees have leaves, overcast skies and cold. Forecast for the next 7 days is 30-50% rain Hi 45-60 - Low 38-45. Right now 11: AM it is 45. The word for the week is bleak, wet & sunless. Once again, they are saying this is very unusual. I have heard enough of that. Maybe we left a couple of weeks too early. We have now extended our stay another week due to the inclement weather... Many states have towns named "Lexington", but only one claims to be the "Barbecue Capital of the World.” More than 20 restaurants serve up pork shoulder barbecue cooked over hot wood coals - in a town of 20,000 people! One restaurant has been named the best in the world! You never know who is going to sit down beside you - movie stars, governmental leaders, major sport figures and other notables. Keep your camera and autograph book handy! Sunday, March 30 - Rain and overcast skies again today. We drove into the town of Lexington with light drizzle and took some pictures of the Uptown Lexington. The have the largest collection of locally owned businesses in Davidson County with 55 retail establishments. Of course, it was Sunday and everything was shut down for the day.

Lexington - church w/unusual architecture Statue commemorating fallen Confederate soldiers. .

Wednesday, April 2 - Today was beautiful as we drove to Winston-Salem to get Mitzy groomed. We spent the three hours waiting to pick Mitzy up visiting an interesting historical site called Bethabara.

It was the first Moravian settlement in North Carolina founded in 1753. Archeologists have preserved as much as they could find of the old structures, reconstructed others, and have a museum and walking trails. We took time to see a short film about the Moravians journey walking from Pennsylvania to this area of the Carolina back country of nearly 250 years ago. A small group of fifteen German-speaking, Protestant Moravians daringly settled this religious village and trade center in an 18th-century wilderness, full of bears, wolves, Indians and outlaws. Moravians are acknowledged as the first Protestants, pre-dating the Lutherans by 100 years.

This picturesque, wooded 175-acre wildlife preserve has 126 kinds of area birds. The museum features a unique, restored and furnished 1788 church, archaeological ruins, Visitor Center with the introductory video we saw, exhibits and tours with costumed guides, a reconstructed village, a French and Indian War fort and colonial and medical gardens. We explored the nature trails to the mill site, and strolled the boardwalk over the beaver pond but did not spot the otters, mink, foxes, deer and woodchucks that they claim are seen on occasion at the picnic grounds overlooking the village. Below Herman Buttner House, built in 1803

Blessed with a beautiful, crisp, sunshiny day, we found great enjoyment walking the beautiful grounds with the pink, white, and fuchsia blossoms on the trees in every direction. Most trees and shrubs were tagged with their particular name and who donated it to the museum. The mass of written records, journals, inventories and maps, generated by the early Moravian settlers at Bethabara forms one of the most important bodies of research materials for the study of United States colonial history.

Ray in front of “Pavilion” - the only protective barrier for the Moravian’s village Pink Memory Tree called MAGNOLIA ANN Gemeinhaus - 1788 The only German Colonial Church with attached Minister’s living quarters remaining in the United States. Moravian Wachovia tract leader Frederic Marshall designed the building. The 1757 God's Acre is the oldest Moravian graveyard in North Carolina and the site of the first sunrise service, in 1758.

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OCALA NATIONAL FOREST - FLORIDA

February 26 - We arrived at Elite Resorts of America. It is a very large RV park on Little Lake Kerr. We love, REALLY LOVE, our site with the full deck to relax and cook on the BBQ. To be out of dirt and sand and room for the truck and bike is awesome. Our walks down to the lake everyday are quite enjoyable. This is one of the sunset pictures Ray was able to capture.

Sunday, March 16 - After experiencing a mild winter in central Florida, Marsha and I are enjoying our second residency for the winter in Salt Springs, located east of Ocala and at the north end of Ocala National Forest. This morning we decided to ride our 2005 Gold Wing motorcycle into the area of the famous horse ranches around the Ocala area. The temperature in early AM was already 60 with a high predicted near 80. We dressed in layers, with our outer layer being leather. We took route 316 west. Most of the roads in the Ocala National Forest are relatively straight with a very slight roll to them. At any moment, you expect to see any one of many native animals that inhabit the forest. Today, many black birds, buzzards, squirrels, raccoon, armadillo and many small birds welcomed us as we rode into the morning haze. North of Ocala, approximately 7-miles, we started to pass horse ranches. Shortly after crossing over I-75 on route 316, we turned south on route 225. It is hard to explain the vastness of this area and each ranch has its own identity, some with large metal gates with initials or names. The ranches are divided with wood fences painted mostly white, black or stained dark. The land is cleared for grazing and looks like a manicured yard except for occasional large moss-laden oaks. The barns or stables appear to be so upscale they could be fit for human habitation rather than horses. In addition, the most pleasant surprise was the magnificent horses, most of them quarter horses with their colts staying very close to their mother. Moreover, we admired the amazing homes sitting majestically down the very long entrance driveways.

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2007-RETURN TO FLORIDA

Our Blog was officially wrapped up September 28, 2007. Our year on the road ended without much fanfare in St. Petersburg, Florida (our beginning). We accomplished most of our goals. We visited many parts of the country neither of us had ever been to, we got to do and see some amazing things, we came in on budget, we didn't go crazy living in 400 sq ft.
We hope that all of our faithful readers will join us on a new journey once it is started in April 2008 as we head up the eastern coast.
We'll continue to chronicle our adventures, exploration and travels. Right now we are taking a break and visiting family, friends, and acquaintances along the way. We stayed at our son's home in Summerland Key, Florida for the month of December. We took a bike ride into Key West and of course had to get a shot of us at the Southern Most Point in the Continental USA.

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Rushmore Shadows RV Park - Rapid City, SD

Sunday, July 29 - Our journey has us departing Lionshead RV Resort in West Yellowstone, Montana. We drove back across the Rocky Mountain range north on SR 191 . The scenic drive is awesome and a different perspective as the sun was reflecting on the rock formations and illuminating their colors. We are headed to Billings, Montana for service on the RV. After 2.5 hour wait, they couldn't find the filter for our RV and charged us for service anyway.
Arrived around noon at Yellowstone River RV Park & Campground, Billings, Montana. Nice park, but full to the brim due to Sturgis annual event starting August 3. We saw two couples in the valley camping in tents and they had Goldwings and a tow. Every biker we met recently was heading for Sturgis. The temperature gage showed 106 in the shade, so our evening walk around the park at 8pm was still warm and the breeze was actually hot. We saw deer around the outside fence of the park. Just a one-night stay. Moved on to Gillette to spend the night in a non-descript park off the interstate.
Tuesday, July 31 - We left High Plains RV Park in Gillette, Wyoming around 8:30 am. Wyoming is a great plateau broken up by several mountain ranges. The basic elevation of this plateau is 5,000 feet above sea level. We only have 150 miles to get to our next destination, Rushmore Shadows Resort in Rapid City, SD. Located in the heart of the beautiful Black Hills at 4,300 ft. elevation. The drive was all I-90 and, at times, very boring landscape until we reached Sundance. The resort of Sundance is not to be confused with the town of Sundance, Wyoming, the location from where the Sundance Kid received his name.
Along our drive, we saw many trains with over 50 cars filled with coal. They are Wyoming Coal Trains filled with thick, easily strippable seams of low-sulfur coal. The coal has made Wyoming the nation’s #1 coal producer. Burning Wyoming coal is plainly the cheapest option, and meets air quality emission standards for many electric utilities. The railroads’ substantial investment in coal transportation demonstrates their belief in the long-term viability of Wyoming’s coal industry. Ray spoke to a rancher at our last stop who has 350 head of cattle. The state of Wyoming requires a rancher to have 22 acres for every one cow on his ranch. It takes 14 cowboys to run these cows. They no longer use helicopters or ATV’s. The rancher’s neighbor has 22,p000 head of cattle and bunkhouses scattered over his acreage housing the cowboys that keep watch on the herds. The terrain changed to red rock pillars scattered about the rolling hills. All the grass fields have been cut and bundled for winter food. Each bale is about 750 pounds.
Rapid City is nestled on the eastern foothills of the Black Hills and shines as the hub of this legendary region’s vacation activities. Built in the 1880's to intercept and re-supply miners on their way to the gold fields. Today, this community of 60,000 is the cultural and commercial headquarters for a trade area that includes four states and 120,000 sq. miles. It is the nucleus for the Black Hills visitor industry. ”The name “Black Hills” comes from the Lakota words Paha Sapa, which means “hills that are black.” Seen from a distance, these pine-covered hills, rising several thousand feet above surrounding prairie, appear black.

Wednesday, August 01 - We met with an agent to explain the Midwest Outdoor Resort (Coast to Coast & Resorts of Distinction). We were very interested until we reached the bottom line. We can’t see getting involved with another major membership like Thousand Trails, although their locations in the east coast interested us. There are certain positives, but to lay out $4000+/- after all the discounts they were willing to give us, it is still entirely too much and we can't justify the expense.

There are bikers everywhere due to the Sturgis Rally next week and our drive today saw so many more at every twist and turn of the road. After lunch, we drove to Mount Rushmore National Memorial at 5,251 elevation.

The monument on Harney Peak is 7,242 feet, the highest point between the Rockies and the Swiss Alps. Mt. Rushmore is often referred to as America’s Shrine of Demorcracy. Over 25 million visitors in 2006. Mount Rushmore – Sculpture took 14 years starting in 1927 and ending 1941. The actual time spent working was a total of 6 ½ years. Gutzon Borglum preferred carving the presidents so that the sculpture would be of national significance. The four presidents represent 150 years of American History. Federal funds and the death of Gutzon stopped the carving and remains as it is today. Total cost was a million dollars. The full sculpture is 185 ft. across and 150 ft. tall. The four presidents represented are: Washington; Jefferson; Lincoln; and Theodore Roosevelt. Ninety percent of the mountain carving was done using dynamite. It took a crew of approximately 400 workers led by sculptor Gutzon Borglum and carved the faces.
I walked up to the primary viewpoint at Mount Rushmore to get some pictures. Thousands of people but yet it was very subdued, even the bikers were in awe of this great masterpiece. Ray stayed below with Mitzy as they are very strict about dogs walking near the monument. The Grandview Terrace provides an unobstructed view.
The Black Hills are incredible and we thought we had seen it all. Summer daytime temperatures average around 80 degrees or higher but it was nice at the monument with a breeze blowing. The Needles Highway (SD 87) includes picturesque lakes, towering granite formations and picture-perfect tunnels. Plus there’s tight hairpin curves, spiral “pig-tail” bridges, mile-high overlooks and the wildlife ranges of Norbeck Wildife preserve. . .

We almost collided with a biker that decided to take a piece of our road on a curve and Ray had to go off the road and there are no guard rails and the road is very narrow. It was after

3 pm when we left Mount Rushmore and we decided it was too late in the day to take the loop called Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. The park is just south of Mount Rushmore and 71,000 acres. has over 1,000 head of Bison and we were fortunate to see one scratching his hide on a tree. Other than that sighting, wildlife was not seen.

History of South Dakota: First inhabitants lived more than 9,000 years ago. Most of these nomadic tribes migrated with the massive herds of bison that roamed the grasslands of the Great Plains. Of course, Sitting Bull was medicine man and leader of the Sioux through turbulent times when the white man started encroaching on their land. Hunting bison, or tatanka, and processing the meat, hide, and bones were tasks for the entire tribe. Trappers and mountain men had been trading with native tribes for decades when Thomas Jefferson became the nation’s third president. His policy of westward expansion led to the 1803 purchase of the 828,000-square-mile Louisiana Territory from Napoleon of France for three cents an acre. The land deal included most of what would become South Dakota. Lewis and Clark journals frequently refer to the wide-open spaces and black herds of bison they viewed from vantage points along the Missouri River. There is so much history in what occurred over the years, mainly the homesteaders and sodbusters, the land treaties, and Gold Rush untimately led to the Battles and Losses of June 25, 1876 in the valleyof the Little Bighorn River, when Sitting Bull and his 4,000 warriors were encamped when Custer and his troops mounted their infamous attack. Hopelessly outnumbered, Custer and his entire force of more than 200 soldiers were killed. The Massacre at Wounded Knee has a solitary stone memorial marking the site of the tragic story.
Thursday, August 02 - Got a late start, but drove to Sturgis to see what all the commotion was about. Highway 14A was a great road and very scenic. Sturgis is home to the premier motorcycling event known around the world as the Sturgis Mororcycle Rally celebrating its 67th year. The crowd number estimated for 2006 is 456,498. It is the largest tourism event in South Dakota. Each August the population of 7,000 welcomes half-a -million motorcycle enthusiasts. Over 800 temporary businesses set up vending—everything from tattoos and body piercing and exquisite jewelry and, of course, leather everywhere! Don’t know what we expected, but it was the same as Leesburg, or Daytona to us. Bikes everywhere and no one was acting crazy, as it was only noon. The bikes came in all sizes, shapes, models, and colors, just as the people that were riding them. Vendors were everywhere but didn’t see where we could park and grab a bite to eat, so we drove over to Deadwood, population 1,380. We found one Pizza Hut in town and no other fast food possibilities unless you gamble. We did not have the time to see this historic Wild West town as we should. Colorful personalities and now famous names like Hickok, Bullock, Canary, Seeargengen, and Adams created their own legends and fortunes down the Deadwood Gulch. In 1989, legalized gaming was introduced to Deadwood creating a new “gold rush”. The casinos are everywhere. Can you believe from the beginning of legalized gaming in 1989 through 2006, nearly $9.5 BILLION was wagered at the tables and slots in Deadwood. As staggering as that number is, over $8.5 Billion of that was paid back to bettors (90.8%) over the same period of time.
On our return, we saw a herd of Elk grazing or just sitting it out enjoying the weather. They are a beautiful animal and looked very unconcerned with the traffic noise or seeing us gawking and taking their picture.
We received two free tickets from the Park for listening to their presentation. Fort Hays “Dances With Wolves” film set and Chuckwagon Supper & Show. We thought it would be lame, but the six-member band was very enjoyable.
Friday, August 3 - Rain started during the night and it is overcast and appears to be an all-day grey-sky kind of day, so we decided not to see the Crazy Horse Memorial. Too much to do so we move on Saturday towards the Badlands.
Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski moved to what is now known as Crazy Horse Memorial on May 3, 1947. Tremendous changes both visible and cultural have occurred because of the man and his mountain carving in the sixty years that have now passed. Korczak and Lakota chief Henry Standing Bear picked the mountain 60 years ago to honor the great heroes of the Lakota people. Although Korczak died in 1982, his work has never stopped due to the steadfast commitment of his family and the Memorial’s multitude of friends and benefactors. It is the world’s largest mountain carving. When completed, the three-dimensional carving depicting Lakota leader Crazy Horse astride his horse, will measure 641 ft. long and 563 ft. high. The horse’s head is 220-feet long. Ruth Ziolkoowski leads the work on her late husband’s project.

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