Day 1 July 20 The first day actually started late last night. Just when we thought we had it all together for an early morning start, Barney found that we had lost AOL on the laptop, which we needed for Internet access. After much consternation, and numerous adjustments to downloaded files, we seemed to be back up and running.

It was hot and humid in the morning, and we were anxious to get going and head for the NC mountains and cooler climates. Somehow this year, it seems like we have packed much more, and it was a little tighter getting it all into the van. Regardless, it is now called “home sweet home”, so we will adjust and love it. Although we were only down a quarter of a tank, we could not resist topping off our tank when we found $1.099 gas in Brunswick, Ga.

We were on Interstates most of the day. About 5 PM we selected a campground near Mill Spring, NC. The campground was very secluded, hilly, wooded, cool and quiet. Our site was nice and away from the other campers. We dined on Cajun sausage (browned over charcoal, potato salad, and tomatoes. Great! Retired about 9 PM as we were both sleepy from a restless night last night.

So far we have discovered that Barney (me) forgot two things. His toothpaste and the remote control for the little TV. I can use Diane’s toothpaste but the remote is another problem since this TV requires a remote to get it set up properly.

Day 2 July 21 Spent the morning driving through the Lake Lure and Chimney Rock area and then headed north to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The temperatures are considerably cooler and very pleasant. While eating our lunch at an overlook on the Parkway, we decided that we were so close to our friends, the Fergusons, that we would attempt to reach them and stop in for a quick visit if they were available. Luckily, we were able to reach them and intended to only visit an hour and be on our way. Their home sits at the top of Sugar Mountain, and they have the most incredible view from their balcony of mountain ranges in both North Carolina, as well as Virginia in the distance. With a little gentle persuasion and a generous offer to spend the night as their guests, we decided to accept, and were so glad that we did. After dinner, they gave us a tour of the area including their beautiful golf course. It is no wonder why they love where they live. It was a real treat to become familiar with the area, and we will certainly return at a later time. Thank you Barbara and Bob.

P.S. By the way, the “gourmet” desert was a nice touch!

 

We awoke to the smell of brewing coffee. Soon Barbara and Bob had a large country breakfast ready for us. Right after breakfast we said our goodbyes and we were off for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Before reaching the Parkway we stopped at Wal-Mart and bought a universal remote for the TV. We will check its worth the next time we camp with electricity.

The Parkway is truly a national treasure. It is hard to not stop at every scenic overlook. There were wild flowers everywhere, and of course the Rhododendron bushes were abundant. A good sized deer crossed the road in front of us, and we felt honored that it showed itself just for us.

We found the Rocky Knob campground that folks had raved about, and proceeded to select our site for the night. The site that we chose, was as far back in the park as possible, and we were thrilled with the privacy and seclusion. The campground host stopped by to welcome us, and answer our questions. Two important ones were, that there were no mosquitoes, and she sleeps under TWO blankets every night.

Drove back to Mabry Mill, and enjoyed the walking tour of the buildings that dated back to 1910. In addition to the gristmill, there was a sawmill, blacksmith shop, a still, and a home built in the 1860s. A group of musicians were playing Appalachian folk music, and many of the locals were dancing to the rhythms. This was a nice diversion.

Back in camp, Barney built a roaring campfire and we were visited by a deer in the woods nearby. After dinner we walked up to the bluff at the entrance, and saw more deer in the valley below us. The ranger had told us that four black bears had been seen in the area and to be on the lookout for them. The rest of the evening was spent in the glow of our fire, and of course, roasting marshmallows. Ummm good.

Day 4 July 23 Awoke before 7AM to a beautiful daybreak, fully rested after a delightfully cool night. What a difference it is between Jacksonville’s muggy sea level temps and an elevation of 3572. Ate our breakfast overlooking the surrounding woods, packed up and reluctantly left our lovely spot by 8AM.

The parkway was nearly deserted with traffic, but within a very short distance we saw several more deer and numerous rabbits and other critters. It was so picturesque driving in and out of the sun rays and the morning dew glistening in the light.

Found a Wal-Mart in Roanoke, picked up a few things, grabbed a cup of coffee, and called to reserve a camp site for the evening near La Plata, MD. We arrived at the campground about 3:30PM and showered immediately as we were to meet Barney’s long time buddy, Jeff Ward at his home at 5PM.

After an abbreviated Happy Hour with Jeff, we packed a cooler and headed to the Marina where we enjoyed Jeff’s boat and a ride down the Port Tobacco and Potomac Rivers, then docking at Captain Billy’s II for a dozen Maryland Blue Crabs for dinner. Thanks to Jeff’s instructions and patience we all feasted on the delicious crabs and made the biggest mess you can imagine. It was a lot of fun.

The boat ride back in the moonlight, and warm breezes were the perfect topping to a wonderful day. Thanks to Jeff, and to Bev, who we missed because of her being out of town, but who we hope to see very soon.

Day 5 July 24 Although we had already paid for our campsite, we did accept the offer to stay the night at Bev and Jeff’s home, and were grateful to do so. It had been very hot yesterday, and the AC was very welcome during the night.

Early this morning we savored a cup of coffee, took a couple of pictures out by the pool, and said our goodbyes. We were facing the drive around Washington DC, and were eager to get it behind us.

We arrived in Gettysburg, PA, around noon, and decided to check in a motel so that we could upload to our site, however, Internet access was not available except through long distance dialing, and we quickly changed our plans, did our sightseeing in the afternoon, and drove on to Harrisburg for the night.

Both of us were amazed and impressed with the enormity of the Gettysburg National Military Park and the detail of information provided visitors. We elected to use the self-directed auto tour after browsing through the visitor center, and were more than satisfied with that arrangement. It is easy to become overwhelmed and moved when you stand in the spots where so many men lost their lives, and you look out over the ridges where battles were won and lost. There are monuments of every description honoring the fallen men. The final stop on the tour was a statue of Lincoln near the spot where he gave his Gettysburg address, and you almost feel his presence when you read the words he spoke. This was definitely a stop that we were glad that we made.

Day 6 July 25 Spent the night in Harrisburg, PA. It was our first night in a motel and a chance to catch up with our email and upload our web pages. Today was spent mainly on interstate highways as we could not find a decent small road crossing Pennsylvania in anything near the direction we wanted to head. Shortly after entering New York State, we found small back-roads heading toward Gilbert Lake State Park where we hoped to spend the night. If they have a spot for us we intend to cook pork chops, fresh sweet corn, sliced tomatoes and white wine. See ya tomorrow.

We were lucky to get a spot at Gilbert Lake SP which is about 50 miles south of Utica, NY. It was a beautiful park. Our campsite was on top of a hill and in deep woods. We spotted several deer in the trees as we approached our site. Our meal turned out to be wonderful and brought back memories of Hershel Rose’s sweet corn enjoyed on our way to Alaska last year. Zzzzzzzz.

Day 7 July 26 We awoke during the night to the sound of rain hitting the roof of the van. Remembering that I, (B) had left a cardboard storage box outside, I got up and brought it inside. Other than that it was a nice restful night.

The rain had stopped but we had extra cleanup to do this morning as it had made a mess of our BBQ grill, firewood, and a few other things we had left outside. Another lesson learned. After the packing chores and a nice shower we drove down to the lake and had our breakfast and then got on the road about 10:30AM.

The countryside in this area of New York state is positively beautiful. Lots of rolling hills, big farm homes, old barns, and quaint little towns which remind you of another place in time. If they are big enough, each of them seem to have a Main Street USA through the center of the town, and we have seen a number of charming bandstands in the parks. With the state speed limit only 55 MPH, you have the time to take in the sights.

After going through Utica, we took a route eastward that the road atlas had marked as ‘scenic.’ After waking to the rain this morning, the day turned out to be perfect weather. It was cool and brisk at times, exactly what we have been wanting.

Found the Mohawk Campground that was right on Lake George. Walked down to the banks of the lake and took a few pictures. There were actually whitecaps on the water with the strong breeze coming out of the north. Feasted on chicken and macaroni salad for dinner, then spent the rest of the evening staring into the campfire that Barney had built. While he napped in front of the warmth of the fire, I had my quota of marshmallows.

We actually had to get out our jackets for the first time, and during the night, used the electric blanket. Perfect sleeping weather! It was 58° at bedtime.

Day 8 July 27 Beautiful morning! We had planned on moving on today, but after our showers and breakfast, we decided to stay in Lake George and enjoy the town activities. Today is their Water Fest. Drove to town, and spent the day walking the streets, darting in and out of some of the shops and enjoying some of the local color. All of the activities were on or near the lake. There were boat rides, parasailing, kayak and boat rentals. We even got lucky and were able to spend a few minutes at the library checking our email.

For those that are statistically minded, we have driven 1734 miles so far, which by Barney’s calculation is 247.714285714285714285714285714286 miles per day. For those that are statistically challenged, this means that we may not make it to Newfoundland before winter sets in. We must make a statement right now to the fact that we love this pace. Barney is surprised by the fact that he had estimated that we would be in Montreal by now…and probably already gone! Perhaps you can tell, we are having a GREAT TIME! Actually, we think we are no more than 125 miles from Montreal at this point, but we have no idea how many days that will be. We hope to be home by Thanksgiving, since we have plans to go to Key West between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Had dinner at the Boat House Restaurant, which was within walking distance from our campground, however, we were told that the walk back up the hill was a real killer, and that driving was highly recommended. As it turned out, we probably owe our lives to the young man that told us that tidbit. It was a real test to even get back to the van after dinner. Now that we think about it, we did not see one person walking on the road.

 

Day 9 July 28 Left camp around 10:30AM. We were in no hurry, since we are only going to Burlington, Vermont today. This will be the last town of any size in the USA, and we need Internet access for Barney to upload to this website as well as his JAGA website.

Our drive north to Burlington was very scenic and interesting. Many of the old historic homes in this area have been converted to Bed & Breakfast accommodations, and it was not unusual to see late 1700s and early 1800s markers on them. We intend to try a couple of B&Bs at some point on our sojourn.

Located a room and spent some time working on our chores. We took a break and drove through Burlington. Either we did not make the effort, or else we were just not in the mood, but after a short stroll through a pedestrian outdoor mall, we were ready to head back to the room.

Day 10 July 29 We had a leisurely start this morning, had several phone calls to make and a few cleanup items on the Internet. We were off for Montreal, Quebec, Canada at about 11:00AM. We estimated the mileage to Montreal at about 80 miles.

Our route to Canada took us through a series of small islands in Lake Champlain, and it was a pleasant Sunday morning drive, minimal traffic, and lots of countryside vistas. We were able to get through Canadian Customs without an inspection, which was a break. Our bottle of wine put us one bottle more than the allowable, but she was having so much trouble trying to figure out the duty on it, that she tore up her sheet, and told us to have a nice time. We think the fact that we were going to be in Canada at least a month, probably helped.

As luck would have it, we found the very first campground to be perfect for us. It is small, quiet, big shade trees, pool, laundry, Internet access, clean showers, and best of all, the nicest hosts you could ever want. Jocelyn must have spent at least a half an hour providing us with tour guides, circling places of interest on the map, and giving us directions to save time and effort by using the subway (Metro) system.

From Burlington, Diane had phoned her friends, the Bilodeaus, who live in Delson, just south of Montreal, so next stop……….the BILODEAUS! We were able to find their home with ease thanks to help we had been given at the campground. It was great to see Manon and Jean, and also the girls, who have grown and changed so much. It has been almost 4 years since I last saw them in Tokyo, Japan, and I never expected to see them again. They are close friends of my son, Fred and Ann, and we had spent a good bit of time together in the two months that I was there. We all talked non-stop trying to get everything covered, and they were extremely helpful in giving us many suggestions of things to do and places to go between Montreal, and Quebec City, which is where they were both from. Although we stayed longer than we had planned, the time just seemed to fly by. Maybe some day they can come to Florida and visit us!

Stopped by an ATM to get some Canadian currency, and then off to the Metro. Our first stop was in the Old Montreal section which also includes the Port Montreal. There were people everywhere enjoying the delightful weather, and all of the street activities. Many of their municipal buildings are in this area, and they are old and massive structures with lots of character. Notre-Dame Basilica was so impressive. You could spend hours inside studying all of the art, the ornate carvings, and the stained glass windows. The church itself dates back to 1642, and the present structure was built between 1824-1829. The pipe organ has over 7,000 pipes, and was built in 1891.

Our evening ended up by taking another Metro ride to Rue Crescent, which is known for it’s many restaurants, most of which had some     seating overlooking the street, and all of the activities. Although we found the rock band a little too loud for our liking, we thoroughly enjoyed strolling the street, watching the people, and did end up at Cafe Paris for a light dinner. By the time we worked our way back to the van, and found our way back “home”, it was quite late, and we were tired with a capital “T”.

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