This is an historic treasure! I highly recommend a visit to anyone!Abe and I became great friends on this visit!
Wow! It was amazing to see the Gettysburg National Military Park. I had heard from several people how powerful it was to go through the exhibits and visit the battlefields. I bought a ticket to do everything. I watched the movie, viewed the circular painting of the battle, and went on the bus tour with a guide reviewing the three day battle.
Everywhere you turn there are monuments.This is our guide showing us the pivotal battle on the third day that was key for the union to win.
My tour guide spent 30 years in the army special forces, so he especially enjoyed telling us about the respective army strategies and high terrain and it implications. I spent more than 7 hours going through everything and I think I only touched the surface of what is there.
The Union had the high ground and that was very important!Some of the sculptures were quite impressive.
I highly recommend a visit!!
President Lincoln showed tremendous leadership!Although a brief speech, it is incredibly powerful and famous!!
A common mode of transportation is this part of the country!
I really enjoyed seeing Lancaster, PA today. This is where Neil grew up, so it was extra special to explore the area. The area is beautiful with rich farmland. The Amish community gives the area a very nice flavor. It also is rich in history.
I really liked this sign in one of the Amish shops. Yes, life is a series of new beginnings!Interesting history of the area.
In the afternoon I shopped in Amish stores in the towns of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania and Intercourse, Pennsylvania. Two very unusual town names. The Amish had quilt stores, baked goods, desserts, and all kinds of craftworks. I did not buy anything but a snack, but it was very fun to walk through all the shops.
Sculpture in downtown Lancaster, PA.
I love all the green rolling hills. The streets are often narrow and wind up and down and left and right. I am staying in nearby Ephrata, PA. The GPS took me down a road where I was supposed to cross covered bridge over a river. The problem was that there was a huge sign that said the bridge is 10 feet 6 inches and the motorhome is 11 feet 3 inches tall. Rather than crash into the bridge, I spontaneously turned left and hoped to find another way over the river. Fortunately, I connected to another road that had an uncovered bridge and I was able to cross the river. I love GPS systems, but sometimes they drive me crazy. Thank goodness I saw the sign and could reroute myself!
Bird-in-Hand farmers market was great to see!!Not a town name you see too often.
I am really enjoying the weather here. The high is 76 degrees and the low is 53 degrees. No air conditioning needed. No heater needed. Great temperatures to enjoy being a tourist!
This is my nice and cool camping spot in Ephrata, Pennsylvania!
What a beautiful setting!! I love all the green trees and grass! Very peaceful!
When traveling, there are all kinds of unexpected discoveries. For me, one of the special discoveries in Delaware are all the trees! They are beautiful and very green. After spending so much time in Texas and Arizona, it is beautiful to see such lush vegetation.
I love this location!!
As I drove into Dover, Delaware I was surprised to see pine trees along the route. Suddenly the trees shifted into being more and more pine trees. I love them! They made me think of growing up in Flagstaff.
The pine trees were my favorite!
When I arrived at my spot to park the RV, I was pleasantly surprised to see all the trees around me. I was the only person there, so it was extremely quiet and peaceful! What an incredibly beautiful setting!!
I had this entire space to myself. Extremely quiet and nice to enjoy the rain and the trees!
The high temperature was 77 degrees when I arrived, and it started raining. This is a huge change from Texas and Arizona in June!! It was a powerful rain that was nice to watch and listen to the sound on the motorhome. This morning, it was 54 degrees!! I needed my house shoes. I have not needed them since leaving Colorado Springs!
Simple things like green trees and rain are very nice to enjoy!
I was so excited to discover that I was less than an hour away from Assateague Island!
After arriving in Maryland, I discovered that the Assateague Island National Seashore was less than an hour away. I remember has a child in elementary school reading about the wild horses on Assateague Island. I made that my first stop this morning!
Sorry the photo is not great, but I was so excited to see the wild horses on Assateague Island!!
The horses on Assateague Island are wild and roam freely. When people visit the island, there is no guarantee that you will see the horses. When I entered the area, I drove carefully looking for horses, but I got to the end of the road and never saw anything. I did see an 8 inch turtle motoring along the ground, but no horses.
I felt fortunate to see the wild horses!!
However, as I was driving back, I saw a herd of wild horses eating along the bank. I turned the motorhome around and came back and was able to use my telephoto lens to better see the horses!
I also walked along the beach on the island. This is the only beach I have ever been at where there is horse poop on the beach.
Assateague Island has beautiful beaches that are not crowded!!
The beaches are beautiful and people in the campgrounds primarily come to enjoy the peace and quiet and beautiful beaches.
Colorful kayaks are available for rent
I was so happy that I stumbled upon the wild horses! It was a special treat to see them!
I was driving to mail some postcards and came across the Sinepuxent Brewing Company in Berlin, Maryland. I love to discover breweries and distilleries, so I had to spontaneously stop. I did a tasting of 4 different beers and selected two for takeout purchase. The sealed them in large “beer cans.” I absolutely love spontaneous discoveries when traveling!!
I drove the motorhome from Norfolk, Virginia to Virginia Beach. Yesterday it was hot and humid, but today was overcast and much cooler. The beach was beautiful and I walked down to the water and touched the Atlantic. The water was cool, but nice. The beach was filling up with people wanting to cool down from the hot weather and to enjoy Father’s Day.
Great sand, sun, and water!
It made me think that last month I was at the Pacific Ocean visiting John, Michelle, and David and now I was on the Atlantic coast.
Proof that I touched the Atlantic Ocean!
I enjoyed walking along the boardwalk and going in different shops. There was one path for walking and an adjacent pathway designed only for bikes. After going through many shops, I went back to the motorhome and got my bike.
I came across this intense sculpture as I rode my bike along the bike bath!
The weather was cool and I had a wonderful time riding my bike. I went all the way north to the military base. It was a perfect day to people watch, see a perfect beach, and enjoy excellent weather for bike riding. I think I was smiling from ear to ear.
It was breathtaking to stand next to this replica of the plane that actually flew!This is one of my very favorite places to visit in North Carolina!
North Carolina is a wonderful state and one of the highlights for me was going to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. I loved seeing where the first working airplane actually flew!!
This very famous photo shows their actual first flight!Wilbur and Orville would practice gliding from this hill
It was amazing to learn about the Wright brothers’ creativity in approaching an unbelievable complex problem. Figuring out the wing design, propeller design, engine, and steering were simply astounding to me. They were insightful and “out of the box” thinkers. I truly marvel at their achievements! Their first successful flight was on December 17, 1903. They were the first to have powered flight with a “heavier-than-air machine!” It is truly a remarkable achievement!
It is astounding that these guys funded, designed, and tested how to build and fly an airplane!The plane would start on the wooden runway track and it lifted off where the large stone sits. The 4 marking stones in the distance and the length of the first 4 flights. Each was a bit longer. Truly amazing!I am amazed at the complexity of their achievement!
It is difficult to summarize the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in a few words because it is so large and involves so many features. There are rivers running many places. There is intense growth of thick trees. There are mountains that are quite steep. It overlaps into both Tennessee and North Carolina. There is wildlife. There is hiking. There are roads. There are people.
I loved listening to the water runningThis is Cataract Falls. Not too mighty right now.
I now understand why so many people visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is beautiful! Every trail head I saw was overflowing with cars for people wanting to hike. The campground sites were all full. The parking areas along the main road were filled with cars of people wanting to see such beautiful views. It is hard to describe the grandeur because the views are so wide in scope. I thoroughly enjoyed my time today!!
The views are beautiful! The trees are so dense!I loved a!ll the variations in green treesBeautiful vistas in all directions!It is interesting to have a national park sit right on the border of two states.
This was an excellent distillery tour!All the Jack Daniel’s whiskey sold anywhere in the world is made in tiny Lynchburg, Tennessee!
I spent a wonderful afternoon learning all about Tennessee whiskey. When I went on several distillery tours in Louisville, Kentucky three years ago, several people told me how much they enjoyed the Jack Daniel’s distillery tour. It has been on my list of things to do and finally, today, I made it to Lynchburg, Tennessee.
When alcohol was illegal, they made money with a hardware store.
This whiskey is primarily corn-based, and it is filtered with charcoal. The process of making the whiskey was interesting to learn about. It was also interesting to learn about the history of the company. At the end of the tour, we had a tasting of five different whiskeys. I almost bought a bottle of single batch, but they also sold some unique products only available in Tennessee. I decided to try one that was partially stored in a wine barrel to give the whiskey a different added flavor. I really enjoyed learning about the whole operation.
This unique whiskey finished in red wine barrels is what I purchased. I hope it is good. It is only available in Tennessee.
During the tour, they made it a point to note the fire trucks and showed us two of their old fire trucks. Since alcohol is very flammable and whiskey is stored in wooden barrels in wooden storage structures, the fire risk is very real and it is very important to minimize this risk.
Obviously, this is their extremely famous logo.
I knew there were many distilleries throughout Kentucky. What I learned today is that there are also quite a few distilleries throughout Tennessee. Maybe I will be able to visit another one along the way?
This is titled “Jack on the rocks!”This was my favorite whiskey from the tasting of 5 different whiskeys.
It has been great to be in Denver, Colorado celebrating Amy’s graduation! We are so very proud of Amy!! She is an amazing person with tremendous accomplishments!
Amy is such an accomplished woman! Truly amazing!
We have had a wonderful time together! Amy and Neil are great for each other and they are tremendous parents! It has been a tremendous blessing to be together!
Amy and Neil are a wonderful team!The university colors are beautiful!!Amy’s academic program is the the building in the backgroundEarning her third college degree!!The University of Denver campus is beautiful!A proud dad because Amy is such a wonderful woman!
I loved spending time with Sally, George, and Sally!!
While in Denver I was able to meet with some very dear friends!! During my growing up years I spent wonderful times with a very special family. Miles and I were very close and his whole family had a major impact on my life. Sally was basically like a second mother to me. George took us on all kinds of outings, and I learned about tying knots, camping, hiking, and loving the outdoors. My ski bindings were specifically recommended by George. Robin was involved in many family activities. I cannot begin to list all the things I learned from them.
They now live in the Denver area, and it was an incredible blessing to spend the afternoon visiting with George and Sally. We talked about how wonderful it was to grow up in Flagstaff. It was fantastic to have Robin join us for dinner too. The last time I had seen Robin was at our wedding 41 years ago!
Time moves on, but special friendships last forever! I will always cherish the special friendships with Sally, George, and Robin. I look forward to seeing Miles in the future too.
Fiesta on Wheels 