Chincoteague, VA to Charlotte, NC: Headed West At Last !

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks in Maryland and Virginia leading up to our departure ‘Out West’. We plan to spend the winter in Arizona again this year. In fact, we will be staying at Palm Creek Golf & Resort in Casa Grande, Arizona for four months. Last year we stayed three months however Palm Creek was running a special and offered a discount if you stayed one more month this year than you did last year…. well twist my arm – I’m in!

We have been at the Rambling Pines Campground for the last month or so, tucked into a very nice & fairly secluded wooded site.  Over our last weekend in Maryland we enjoyed taking the girls to Medieval Times, which is located in the Arundel Mills Mall. This is an indoor Renaissance Dinner Theatre where you enjoy watching knights on horseback joust and ‘do battle’ while you eat dinner. The lighting is a little tricky however I was able to get a shot or two.

Mary Lynn and the girls have wanted to do this for awhile however I’ve always balked at paying $63 a person for a ‘chicken dinner covered in sawdust’ from the arena.

 

Wouldn’t you know Medieval Times offered tickets at only $25 dollars per person & promised to keep the sawdust to a minimum… In any case, we all enjoyed ourselves. They even have a small display of medieval torture devices which I found interesting although troubling. You can’t help contemplating man’s inhumanity to his fellow man.

MLA & the girls had no such problems – they quickly skipped out of the dungeon display and went off to enjoy shopping at one of Maryland’s largest malls – leaving me to ponder how we humans could at times be so cruel to each other.

Mary Lynn’s mom’s surgery went well and we moved her back to her own house on Tuesday, October 19. We drove the motor home across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to her home in Greenbackville, Virginia. This is located just outside of Chincoteague, Virginia where our good friends Patty & Craig live. As always, it was great seeing them last night before we ‘headed west’ this morning.

Today we left MLA’s mom’s house and headed south across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel. This 27 mile long bridge crosses the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay with two short a tunnels that burrow under the bay to allow ships in and out of the bay.

Quite an unusual feeling to drive down into a tunnel knowing there is enough water above you for an aircraft carrier and/or cruise ship to pass over you heads. I’m not kidding – Newport News is home to several ship building companies and a naval base or two. Lots of destroyers, submarines and an occasional aircraft carrier are stationed here.

The tunnels are narrow with one lane of traffic in each direction. Very exciting when the oncoming traffic includes a large percentage of semi trucks. All the drivers of big rigs ‘hug the center double line’ to keep away from the tunnel walls & railings which in turn means our driver’s side mirrors end up competing for the same ‘air space’. As I said, very exciting. Thankfully the tunnels are short and we managed to pass a number of oncoming semi’s & other RV’s without incident. Not difficult just took a lot of concentration.

We skirted along the edge of the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Area on Virginia State Road 58 and then stopped to buy a Virginia Country ham. Virginia Country Hams, sometimes called Smithfield Hams, are famous in these parts. They are salt cured – and come to find out – need a fair amount of preparation and cooking. But that is a story for another time.

Not knowing what was required to properly prepare and cook the ham we thought buying one of these hams was a great idea…

When we left Mary Lynn’s mom’s house early in the day we had planned to stop in Greensboro, NC to visit with our good friends Jack and Kathy. Well it turns out there was some special event happening in the Greensboro area that weekend and there were no RV campsites within 100 miles. Regrettably we passed through Greensboro and ended up in Charlotte, NC. We’ll have to catch up with Jack and Kathy next time…

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Medieval Times,Jousting,Dinner Theatre,Virginia,Cheasapeake Bay Bridge & Tunnel,Virginia Country Ham

Frederick, MD: The Great Frederick Fair

Frederick is the 2nd largest city in Maryland and The Great Frederick Fair is a long standing tradition. Jenna coordinated a time for several of us, including Sean and his niece, Melanie to meet on the last day of the fair.

Events like this are always more fun when you get to see them through the eyes of a little one.

Here are a couple of pictures from our day at the fair.

I especially like taking pictures of the rides with all of their decorative lights as they spin and rotate.

See Ya!

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Potomac, MD: Scott & Diana’s Wedding

Our son Scott was married on Saturday, September 18th during a wonderful outside service right across from Rock Creek Park in Potomac, MD. Everything about the event went perfectly, including the weather, which is always a concern for an outside wedding.

We are very excited for Scott & Diana. They seem so happy and we are incredibly happy for them. As many of you know, the process of planning and getting married can add a lot of stress to your life. Well, not to my life -- certainly to Scott & Dianna’s life. That said, they did a great job and managed to stay pretty sane throughout the whole process.

A special treat for us was that our oldest son Christopher was both the Minister and the Best Man. When Scott asked Christopher if he would perform the marriage ceremony Christopher said he would be delighted to as long as it didn’t interfere with his Best Man responsibilities.

And of course, having Kasey & Jenna in the wedding just made it all the more special. Truly a wonderful day. It was a real thrill for Mary Lynn and I to enjoy the ceremony in such a unique way.

Diana’s parents are terrific and treat Scott as their own son. You can’t ask for anything more than that.

We are very lucky to have Diana as our daughter-in-law; she & Scott make an excellent couple and we feel blessed to have the two of them together. The two of them recently ran a half marathon and seem in perfect shape to chase each other around for the next 60 years and beyond… 

And of course, Diana’s surprise Harley cake for Scott was a huge success!

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Scott & Diana's Wedding,Christopher,Minister,daughter-in-law,marathon,Rock Creek Park,Potomac,MD

Newport, Rhode Island: Summer Cottages

Mary Lynn and I drove down to Newport, RI, which is a beautiful seaside community with several spectacular rivers. It was also home to the “summer cottages” where society’s richest families escaped from the summer heat and sickness that hit New York City. At least half a dozen of these ‘cottages’ have been lovingly restored by the Newport Preservation Society, and are available to tour. Most are located in the same section of Newport however be forewarned, it’s hard to visit more than two in a day. If you do it easy to rush through and miss some of the spectacular architecture and history. 

In fact, there is a famous path behind the mansions called Cliff Walk, where you can get a view of the mansion’s backyard and rear elevation. The path is, as the name implies, along the top of a cliff overlooking one of Newport's most spectacular bays. Beautiful views in all directions.

We toured the Breakers, the summer home of one of the many Vanderbilt's. The Breakers is considered by many the most opulent example of these ‘summer cottages’, most of which were built in the early 1900’s.

I was a little disappointed to find that no photography was allowed inside the mansions. Usually museums restrict the use of flash photography but here it was no photography, flash or otherwise. What a shame. the interiors of these mansions are truly unbelievable and photos would help convey just how over the top the mansions interiors are.

So I had to settle for pictures of the outside of The Breakers, which hopefully gives you an idea of just how lavish these cottages could be. The small house with the red roof in the picture below is actually the children’s play house.

All in all I highly recommend a trip to Newport, RI. The traffic can be a real bear however the views and the architecture make the trip worthwhile.

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Newport,Rhode Island,Newport Mansions,Cliff Walk

Middleboro, Mass: Cape Cod and Sandwich Glass Museum

We drove from Middleboro to Cape Cod to explore a bit of that famous territory. Cape Cod is home to lots of famous communities (Sandwich, Woods Hole, Hyannis Port, Provincetown,etc.) as well as several ferries that provide access to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.

We spent some time at the Sandwich Glass Museum: fascinating. Sandwich was home of several large glass making factories. It is also where glass making went from a highly specialized skill that took a minimum of seven years as an intern/assistant to develop to a mass production business.

Using a “Glass Press”, anyone who could ‘dip glass’ could place the molten glass under the press and, with the pull of a lever, turn that molten glass into almost any type of decorated item: cups, saucers, plates, bowls. You name it and an unskilled worker could produce it with the glass press and the appropriate molds. Truly revolutionized the glass business.

The Sandwich Glass Museum has a demonstration of traditional glass blowing as well as a demonstration of the glass press. Plus lots & lots of colorful glass displays. And you know I can’t resist taking pictures of collections of colorful items.

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Sandwich,Cape Cod,Massacusetts,MA,Glass Museum

Middleboro, Mass: Rocking In Plymouth

We moved from Newburgh, NY to Middleboro, Massachusetts. Middleboro gets its name from the fact it is just that: in the middle of everything. Easy access to Boston, Cape Cod (Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Sandwich, etc.), Plymouth, New Bedford, Newport, RI, etc. You name it and you can get there pretty easily from Middleboro.

We went to Plymouth to see Plymouth Rock, which turned out to be a large rock under an open-to-the-air gazebo. Not a lot to see, IMHO. There is controversy about whether or not the ‘Pilgrims’ actually stepped off of the Mayflower onto Plymouth Rock at all; the first mention of the famous rock was over 100 years after the pilgrims landed.

Regardless, there is no controversy about the Pilgrims landing right in this bay and Plymouth still holds a lot of history and interest. There is a replica of the Mayflower as well as a re-enactment of what life was like for the early settlers at Plimoth Plantation. And yes, “Plimoth” is how the first pilgrim’s originally spelled Plymouth. Lots to see and do in a very scenic area.

See Ya!

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Newburgh, NY: New York City Bus Tour

Yesterday Mary Lynn and I took the train into New York City. Actually it’s was the NYC metro from Beacon into Grand Central Station. Grand Central Station is a beautiful old building with a rich history. As I’m sure you know, New York is filled with beautiful architecture and many interesting stories.

From Grand Central Station we walked up 42nd street to Times Square. No visit to New York is complete with at least spending a few minutes there. Years ago Times Square was pretty run down but not these days. Mayor Giuliani cleaned it up and offered incentives for companies to move back into the area.

There are almost always a tremendous number of people in Times Square. It starts early in the morning and build throughout the afternoon and into the early evening, when the crowds are at there peak. That’s also when the sounds and sights of Times Square are at their peak. The electronic billboards are overwhelming these days and in the evening they are a sight to behold.

Plus Broadway’s theater district is right next to Times Square and of course the discount ticket kiosk, which has discount tickets for all but the latest shows, is located right at the foot of Times Square.

MLA and I took the Graylines City Bus tour; the weather was perfect and we grabbed two seats upstairs. All the tour bus companies use special buses that have seating upstairs, no roof and allow you to hop on/hop off all day long. Our narrated tour started in Times Square and included a ton of sights including Broadway Theater District, Macy’s, Empire State Building, Penn Station, Madison Square Gardens, the Flat Iron building, Greenwich, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, City Hall, World Trade Center site, Battery Park, the South Street Seaport, United Nations, Central Park, Waldorf Astoria…  this is just a partial list. A great way to get oriented to New York City.

 

Lots to see and do. Make sure you wear your sneakers; you will do a lot of walking as well.

We also saw several items related to 9/11 and the World Trade Center. The most impactful to me personally was the Engine 55 firehouse, which lost several firefighters when the building collapsed. We also saw the remains from a piece of artwork that sat on the plaza between the two World Trade Center buildings.

This artwork, a large ball, has been moved to Battery park just as it was found. Well almost. When it was uncovered two weeks after the buildings collapsed, it was too hot to handle because of the beams and fires that surrounded the artwork. We also saw the constructions sites where the buildings are being rebuilt.

We had a terrific time in New York and late in the day we collapsed on the metro which motored back out to Beacon and then across the Hudson to our campground in Plattekill. About two hours from Grand Central to our doorstep however its the only way to travel. Driving in New York is no way to enjoy yourself plus parking is non-existent at many of the sites you will want to visit.

 

I almost forgot to mention MLA was in heaven. Her favorite TV show is Project Runway and she saw the Parsons: The New School for Design building where the show is filmed and the fashion designers ‘work their magic’.

Today we drove to Pete and Jeannine’s house about an hour south, where we spent most of the afternoon and evening getting caught up with each other. Pete & Jeannine were one of the couples we would go camping with back when both of our families were just getting started. And of course we all camped in tent and slept on the ground. Didn’t take too many years for that to get old and then MLA and I bought a pop-up.

We had a great time this weekend and plan to visit some local (to Newburgh) sites tomorrow. maybe West Point and some of the estates along the Hudson River that are now open to the public.

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: New York City,Metro,NYC,Times Square,Pete,Jeannine,tour bus,Grayline,Empire State Building,World Trade Center site,Rockefeller Center,Radio Music Hall,Engine 55 Fire House,Project Runway

Newburgh, NY: Hey-a Wait-a Minute! Sooo-a Whoooz-a Mary?

Before I tell you about this afternoons move from Verona, NY to Newburgh, NY and my visit to Orange County Choppers, let me tell you a little about what happened last night and early today.

Yesterday, after taking some late afternoon pictures of the Turning Stone Campground, Mary Lynn settled down to watch three episodes in-a-row of her favorite show (Project Runway). Then she informs me that each show has been increased from one hour to an hour and a half. Well three hours of Project Runway would have put me into a comma but watching 4.5 hours of Project Runway would have killed me.

The previous evening MLA went gambling at the casino and still had a few bucks on her card so I decided to leave her in peace to watch her TV show while I went to the casino and ‘cashed out’ her card. She gave me her ‘pin’ for the casino card and off I went to seek fame & fortune, that is if you can seek a fortune playing on the nickel slot machines.

As luck would have it, after a couple hours of playing I managed to add a few more nickels to her card. So I marched up to the cashiers cage and stood waiting in line for at least 15 minutes before my cashier asked for my card.

He swipes the card, I enter the pin#, he counts out the $$$ and then, just before he hands me the cash he says ‘Heyyyyy-a, wait-a minute.  Sooo-a whoooz-a Mary? You-a notta Mary.” Apparently he’s from strange parallel universe where an ‘a’ is appended to every word.

Maybe it was the language barrier or the fact he didn’t want to count out all those nickels, but in the end he insisted Mary had to cash out the card. So this am I drove the RV to the casino while MLA drove the toad. She pulled up behind the RV and I hooked the toad to the RV while she hiked into the casino.

So all day I have been driving the RV down the road and and every time MLA thinks I’ve forgotten about what happened I shout out “Sooo-a whoooz-a Mary? Whooz-a Mary?”. It’s just . That’s just the kind of sophomoric humor I get a kick out of. A kick that is right up until MLA threatens me with ‘bodily harm’. Even now I can hardly keep from yelling it out although I know I must, because I know MLA is serious about the whole bodily harm threat. And she is smart enough to make sure not to leave any marks…. I tell you, my life is tough!

So the next time you speak to MLA just shout out “ Sooo-a, whoooz-a Mary?”. Just be sure to be at least an arms length away…

Once we arrived in Newburgh, NY we found out there are a ton of things to do around here. There’s bus service into New York City every day during the week and train service to NYC is just down the road, lots of Hudson River Valley mansions and historical sites. Plus we are going to our friends house for dinner on Sunday. They live about 45 minutes away and we have not seen them in a couple of years. The fact that Jeannine is a great cook has nothing to do with my looking forward to Sunday…

Newburgh is also the home of Orange County Choppers; their showroom/TV studio/t-shirt factory is a 10-15 minute drive from the campground. This evening I drove over to check it out.

On display, OCC had several of the custom bikes built on the show, including the New York Yankees bike and the New York Jets bike. One of my favorites was not there: the Fire bike, built in honor of the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The picture above shows the spot where the bike is usually displayed which has been turned into a memorial by firefighters around the country. In addition to all of the badges on the wall the floor is littered with clothing, axes, and especially helmets brought by fellow fire fighters from all over the country for their fallen comrades. Truly a touching memorial.

I want to give a special birthday wish to my Grandmother’s sister, Aunt Edna, who turned 100 years old today. She’s as sharp as a tack; may we all be so lucky whatever our years ahead. We Love You Aunt Edna!

MLA and I are excited about exploring this area and New York City for the next couple of days. That’s all for now…..

See Ya!

Technorati Tags: Firefighter,911,Hudson River Valley,Verona,Casino,Turning Stone,firefighter memorial,New York City