One More Off Our Bucket List!

Yes, we did the zip line!  What a blast!

Yeeha!

What have I got myself into?

This walkway bounced all over the place, but we were hooked to a tie line.

Just step off the platform, lean back and go like the wind.  The hardest part is stepping off the platform!

Our guide, Michael, made it fun.  He's climbing up the stairs behind me bouncing the stairway.   

On our drive back to the RV park, we caught this beautiful sunset.  It was a terrific day.  The weather has been perfect!

Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains, VA

Gas and diesel prices were relatively cheaper in Virginia.  In fact, we found diesel at $2.81 per gallon today.  Gas seems to get less expensive as we travel south.



The Stoney Creek RV Resort outside Greenville, VA was beautiful so we stayed 2 nights and visited the area.

The Shenandoah valley is another location where the Civil War was fought.  Today the valley is beautiful, with small towns scattered throughout.  As we travel further south we follow the bright red, yellow, orange, and array of green colored trees which makes traveling a delight!

Above the valley is the famous Skyline Drive which winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah National Park.  The road looked just like this photo for the 30 miles we drove it, with many pull outs on either side with vista views of the valleys below.  Most of the trees were stripped of color leaves because of the wind blowing on the ridge.   Jim, nor I, were impressed with this national park, but hey, nothing can compare to the Rainer National Park!



I'd never been in a cavern before and it's been 30 years since Jim was in one.  There are hundreds of caverns in VA but not all are open to the public.  We picked the Grand Caverns because it was close to our camp site and we were glad that we did.

This particular arrangement was called the chapel room because of a side view of Jesus and the praying hands.  Can you find them?

We had a real nice and informative guide named Roger who took 5 of us through the cavern.  He explaned how many years the stalactites and stalagmites take to grow (about 1 inch per year), which means some of these have been developing thousands and thousands of years.   

The Grand Cavern was discovered in 1804 and visitors have been touring the cavern since 1806.  Both the Union and Confederate armies used this underground cave to rest and feed troops during the Civil War. 

The early visitors only went by candlelight and had to climb through narrow passageways and over the formations. Roger pointed out the old trails throughout and demonstrated how it would have looked by candlelight by turning off the electric lights; so dark you couldn't see your hands, let along the trail through the darkness. 

 

The stalagmite Roger is standing next to is 8 feet tall and this particular room is called the George Washington Grand Hall.

That's me on the lower left with the blue cap on.



As always, we enjoyed our trip through Virginia, our 23rd state.  Tonight  (Sat.) we're near Greensboro, North Carolina where I come every August for the Market America International Convention. 

The Banjo Creek RV Resort is full of RVers going from trailer to trailer trick or treating.  It's only the 23rd!  The hayride is at 8 pm and the dance starts after that.  Whoopee!

Stay tuned for North and South Carolina adventures. 

Gettysburg Battlefield, Pennsylvania

Jim was relaxing in front of the TV after a day of driving.  We average about 200 to 300 miles a day which isn't too far, but when you're going 60 miles an hour pulling 60 feet behind you, it's tiring, especially if the wind is blowing. 

The Gettysburg Battlefield Resort seemed an appropriate place to stay, close to everything.  The resort had small cabins, a lake, beautiful pool, small restaurant, and gift shop.

Visiting the Gettysburg Museum and refreshing the history of the American Civil War was interesting.  The northern Union forces were fighting to rid the southern Confederate forces of slavery.  The last 3 days were fought at Gettysburg July 1-3, 1863.  Confederate General Robert E. Lee and Union Major General Joseph Hooker led the battle.  A total of 620,000 people died during the Civil War!

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. The war led to a "new birth of freedom" for America.

Didn't we have to memorize the Gettysburg Address in high school?

The 24-mile battle ground is filled with monuments.   

 We drove by car through the entire battle area and stopped to climb an observation plateform.

Some of the monuments were spectacular.

We went through the city of Gettysburg which is located within the boundaries of the battle area.  This old building was the train station.

This old, stone house was very well maintained, probably built in the 1800s.  Typical of the area.

That's Jim standing on the right.  How'd you like to live in a 1918 home like this one?  It's now a museum.   

Across the street from Eisenhower's home is the Gettysburg College.

While driving through town I saw this sign and just had honor my oldest grandson, Colton.  I love you boy!!

Dobbin House is the oldest structure in Gettysburg.....built in 1776!



Check out the massive chinking between these old logs! 

This underground restaurant and pub was built in 1813.  The low ceilings and natural candle light helped make the atmosphere very authentic.  The "barmaids" were dressed for the occassion too.  

The countryside around Gettysburg was spotted with farms like this.

And new homes like this.  Space, green fields, and rolling hills everywhere. 

In our exploration of the country, we decided to ignore "Navigal".  Just then we arrived at this dead end with no warning!  We yielded to oncoming traffic alright....hehe!  A youy was in order and we turned Navigal back on.

Oh ya, I forgot to share my fruit fly experiments.  A bag with cantalope rhines with toothpick holes, wine, margarita mix, and vinagar.  The fruit flies go through the holes and can't get out.  I think I've got those little shits under control now.   :o))

New York City via Sandy Hook, NJ

 We arrived at a nice campground in Freehold, NJ called Pine Cone and decided to check out the area the next day before making our way into Manhattan.  It was a gorgeous day so we drove out to Sandy Hook to visit what's left of Fort Hancock.  Of course we had to stop for lunch on the beach.

The locals were friendly and very informative; Frank is a bridge structural engineer and "Seaweed" (also known as Jim) is a fisherman.  Can you tell which one's which?  The cute guy in the middle is a traveler from way out west.  





Hancock Fort is located at the very tip of the NJ peninsula, and during  WWI and II the fort protected the NY harbor.   There are several of these very large guns on display, but you could see where others had been removed.  

 I had to "stop and smell the roses" and get a photo of these large butterfly.

 There were a few people enjoying the beautiful fall day playing volleyball on the beach.  Some of the sun bathers were nude!!  They were too far away for Jim to see.  Poor baby.

 Old, decaying steps leading up to a bunker....isn't that exciting?

Jimmy Joe enjoying every nook and cranny.

This whole area is a bird watching sanctuary.  This "Wandering Warblers" sign made me think perhaps our feathered friend, Hamburger, might have "wandered" off to unknown territory.

These 70-year old barracks were probably filled with snakes and spiders and I wasn't about to explore.  Notice how far away I took the picture?

Of course we had to visit the only light house on Sandy Hook. 

The Park Ranger is looking us over to see if we were qualified to climb to the top.  Jim's thinking, no problem.  I'm glad my mug wasn't in the photo.

A very narrow stair case of approximately 100 steps.  Whew!

View from the top looking out over NY harbor.

Now both Jim and I can say we've climbed a lighthouse!  It was a great day on Sandy Hook Peninsula. 

*******************************************************************

Thursday was our BIG and exciting day visiting New York City!  We went via ferry through NY harbor and passed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge extending from Statten Island, NJ to Brooklyn, NY. 

This double decked suspension bridge and span is 4,260 feet long, almost a mile! It has the eighth longest center span in the world, and is the longest suspension bridge in the United States.  The Hudson River flows into the upper NY harbor and this bridge separates the upper NY Harbor from the lower NY Harbor.  Our ferry passed under this bridge into upper NY Harbor.

I've waited all my life to see the Statue of Liberty....it was a thrilling moment!

The Statten Island Ferry

We're almost there!!!!!!

We're arrived!

This building was different from the others with an ornate green design.

The corner hot dog stand.

The New York Stock Exchange is very well guarded.

This is one of many subway entrances. 

Down under.....Jim's getting our all day subway passes.

The subway system is very efficient and cleaner than I thought it'd be.

Four musicians in the subway trying to make a living.  Their money basket was full!  All the people we met were very friend and nice.

This corner art display was taken from the 9-11 disaster aftermath.  

The reconstruction of the World Trade Center is very much on its way.   One of the buildings is now 6 levels below ground and 6 levels above ground.  Hundreds of constructions workers continue to recreate the area.

According to the plans, there will be three 100-story structures with two memorial fountains in the location of the two buildings that were destroyed.  If you enter WTC on Google you can see pictures of what it will look like when finished.  One of the buildings will look a lot like the Empire State building. 

Every large crane had an American flag hanging.  It was very touching.

Ah,....Times Square.  Never thought I'd see this either. 

There were flashing, glittering lights everywhere;  advertisements and billboards.   I think of New Year's Eve when Times Square is on TV for the count down.   

M&M billboard on top of the M&M store.

Can you imagine an entire store devoted to M&Ms?

And....an entire store devoted to Legos.  Each one of the colored bubbles on the right are filled with Legos!  Colton, Ian, and Beau would have a blast in there!

The first Rocketts started here at Radio City Theatre, and they still entertain here.  Just imagine downtown Manhattan around the Christmas holidays.

Among the tall modern Manhattan buildings was this old cathedral.

The Rockefeller Center was another highlight of my day.

We ate lunch at the Rockefeller Restaurant and watched the skaters go round and round.  Some were better skaters than others. 

Many of the people we've met in the northeast are immigrants from Ireland, that's why it's NOT hard to find an Irish pub.  Claire traveled to NY by herself from Ireland and had a wonderful accent.  We became fast friends when she told me she was recently diagnosed with Parkinson's decease.  After her chemo treatments were completed, she decided to visit NY where she had always wanted to visit.  She was on "holiday" and her plane left at 6:30 pm that day.  She was so friendly and sweet, I hated to see her leave.   

The weather turned from sunny to rain, but that didn't slow us down walking through Central Park.

We have many more pictures of our NY visit.  There's one more thing off my bucket list!  I hope we can come back when the World Trade Center is completed.

We have traveled through 21 states so far, and have enjoyed every minute.