ketchjb wrote:
We have just returned from two months on the road. This trip had a Civil War theme as I have always been interested in that period of our history. I had seen the Ken Burns series and read the trilogy by Shelby Foote so now it was time to experience the places firsthand.
We left Los Angeles on April 19th and headed east. Here are the main points of interest along the way
Winslow, AZ - La Posada (a restored Fred Harvey hotel on the Santa Fe RR - a must see - had lunch there in the Turquoise Room)
Springfield, MO - Wilson's Creek Battlefield
Branson, MO - saw a Beatles cover group called 'The Liverpoole Legends' - very good
Memphis, TN - stayed at the RV Park at the Heartbreak Hotel and took a taxi to Beale St. to hear some blues. Thought we we're going to get the free shuttle from the hotel but due to demand they only take RV parkers on a standby basis. Skipped Graceland as we had been there before.
Nashville - Stayed at Nashville KOA and took the bus to Grand Ole Opry. Trace Adkins was on the bill.
Stones River Battlefield (in the rain)
Land Between the Lakes (Piney CG)
Ft. Donelson Battlefield (on the Cumberland River)
Pulled Pork Sandwiches (everywhere)
Great Smokey Mtns. NP - entered at Townsend,TN - Cades Cove was great
Pigeon Forge, TN - stayed at KOA
** ABS light came on steady so went to Ford - mechanic said it was probably the speed sensor in the differential - no biggie - will fix it when we get home - finally got so I could ignore the light.
Drove over Newfound Gap Road and camped at Smokemont CG - stopped at Clingman's Dome - still some icicles up there – trees at higher elevations still bare
Pioneer Village (not far from Smokemont) was great.
Drove Blue Ridge Parkway north and camped at Asheville, NC KOA
Stayed here two nights as we went to see the Biltmore Estate the next day. It is expensive ($47 ea but we got a deal thru the KOA) but well worth it.
Drove the rest of BRP - we were hoping to stay in the NP CGs but they were not open yet. Seemed odd - the weather was beautiful...
Went to Blue Ridge Music Center - interesting museum about Appalachian Music - also there was a guy playing banjo on the porch.
Did a side trip to Floyd,VA - a quaint little artsy, music center town.
There were three road repair detours on the BRP (one rather long one)
Did our own detour to visit some wineries: Afton Mtn was great, also Veritas (very beautiful site). We decided to go to the Jefferson Winery near Charlottesville, NC (yes, that Jefferson) - their wine was so-so and they were trying to make the most out of the Jefferson connection.
Stayed at a KOA and went to see Monticello - Jefferson was an amazing man! Also walked around Michie Tavern area.
Drove back to BRP and then to Skyline Drive thru Shenandoah NP. Stayed at Big Meadows CG - quite nice - went to Lodge for breakfast.
Harpers Ferry – John Brown incident
Antietam Battlefield
Gettysburg - stayed here 3 nights (1 night at KOA, 2 at Gettysburg CG) - did the battlefield driving audio tour - a good way to experience it - also rented the DVD 'Gettysburg' from the CG. BTW, we highly recommend Gettysburg CG.
Went out to dinner at Farnsworth Inn - highly recommended - Crab Cakes, Filet Mignon, swet potato pudding, spoon bread & pumpkin fritters (Yum). And to top it off we had a family of four right next to us in period dress. They do reenactments but just dressed up for dinner.
Amish Country - Intercourse, PA (it was Sunday and there were dozens of buggies on the road – beautiful farming community)
Drove to the Coatesville, PA KOA - DW has relatives in Philly, one came out to have dinner in the MH and we took the train into Philly for the day and had dinner with the other one.
Saw Independence Hall, Ben Franklin Museum, Liberty Bell and the art museum which had a Frida Kahlo exhibit on - strange but interesting.
Headed south to DelMarVa peninsula on the Chesapeake.
Chesapeake City was neat - lot's of quaint Victorian B&B's. We had lunch right on the water with a view of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal bridge. Crabcakes, oysters on the half shell....mmmm
Stayed at a Bay Shores CG in Rock Hall, MD
Drove to St Michaels - went to St. Michaels Winery, had lunch at Foxie's Marine Bar (on the water). Went to Maritime Museum. Went on a 2 1/2 hr sail on a real skipjack Very interesting skipper - did a demo of a oyster dredge - has a bushel of oysters in about 20 min. Alas, we put them back...
Drove to Martinak SP and camped (in the rain)
Drove east and there was the Atlantic (Cape Henlopen)!
Drove thru Rehoboth Beach (four lanes, big box stores) and camped at Delaware Shores SP.
Bethany Beach was nice.
Ocean City, MD just happened to be having a hotrod show so we went. Lot's of neat cars.
We put up our folding chairs on the sidewalk and watched the cars zoom by (cops having a field day).
Assateague Nat. Seashore - beautiful place - stayed on the ocean side - looked for the wild ponies but not to be seen. About 2AM I awoke and heard snorting. 'That you, dear?'
Looked out the window and there they were right next to the rig (full moon). It was magical - we spent about 30 min peering at them whispering. Surprise! They were still there in the morning. Got some great pics on the beach.
Cincoteague Nat Seashore - stayed at Tall Pines CG. Drove around Cincoteague Is. and went to Visitors Center.
Drove south and stayed at Kiptopeke SP. Had a great dinner at Sting Ray restaurant. Soft Shell Crab stuffed with Crab Supreme! Heaven....
Crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in the morning. Amazing. How did they build two tunnels in the middle of the bay???
Williamsburg,VA - stayed at KOA – Went to Jamestown Archeological site
Went to Colonial Williamsburg – we were surprised – it was actually quite well done.
Richmond, VA – Chimborazo Vistor Center – largest Confederate hospital area
Cold Harbor Battlefield
Malvern Hill Battlefield
Fredericksburg,VA - Sunken Road Battlefield
Chancellorsville Battlefield
Wilderness Battlefield
Holed up at Haymarket,VA for the Memorial day weekend at Greenville Family Farms.
Manassas Battlefield (first & second)
** got oil changed
Visited La Grange Winery – beautiful day, beautiful scenery, great wine, it don’t get much better….
Drove south to Appomatox – stayed at Lynchburg KOA
Petersburg,VA – bought a new LF tire – the old one had developed ‘cupping’ due to alignment problems
Petersburg Battlefield
Drove south to Kitty Hawk, NC – stayed at Kitty Hawk RV Park right on beach
Visited Wright Bros. Memorial and Museum – raining the first day so did inside stuff – went back the next morning (gorgeous day) to do the outside stuff.
Drove south on Outer Banks to Cape Hatteras – visited lighthouses and walked beach
Took free ferry to Ocracoke Is. (40 min) – drove to Ocracoke town (saw more wild ponies – walked on the beach)
We had reservations for the 2PM ferry to the mainland (Cedar Is.) $30 – 2hrs 15 min
Got off ferry and drove to Moorehead City (Whispering Pines CG)
Drove south to Myrtle Beach,SC with a detour to Topsail Beach
Man! Myrtle Beach is tourist town big time…
We stayed at the Ocean Lakes CG. It is a small city. 3412 sites here. It is very well organized and the beach is very nice – they put out umbrellas and pairs of beach chairs. People bring their golf carts – it is a regular parade. The ocean water was quite warm and the pool was not crowded after dark They also have several fishing / boating lakes.
Drove south to Mt. Pleasant, SC (Charleston) and took the boat tour to Ft. Sumter.
Next stop Ft. Pulaski and Tybee Is. near Savannah,GA. Rumor had it that Johhny Depp was getting married at Tybee. Neat little beach town. Stayed at River’s Edge CG.
Andersonville Confederate Prison Camp – stayed in Americus,GA at Brickyard Golf Club & RV Park.
Visited Plains,GA and the Jimmy Carter Museum. Tasted boiled and fried peanuts.
Chicamauga Battlefield (at Chatanooga)
Next stop: Lynchburg,TN - stayed at Wilderness CG (mgr was absent – left bill on door)
Did Jack Daniels Distillery Tour – Note: this is a dry county so no tastes – tour is good and if you deep breath in the barrel room you get a nice buzz. I have been nominated a Tennessee Squire so we got a little special treatment.
Also had lunch at Ms. Bobo’s Boarding House – highly recommended – southern family style – quite good.
Pickwick Landing Sp – very nice SP. - elec. & water. Great place if you are a boater or fisherman.
Shiloh Battlefield
Tupelo,MS – visited Elvis Presley birthplace – they have the original shotgun shack he was born in and a nice museum.
It just happened to be Elvis Presley Festival time so we went. (To the free part anyway.) $25 ea to get into the main show place but it was late so we just went to the ‘Down on Main’ part. Main St. closed off – selling beer and free bands playing. Had dinner at Benjamin’s Bar on Main – oyster Po’boy – yum….
Drove south on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Interesting stops along the way: Indian Mounds, cypress swamp walk, very nice peaceful drive with great scenery.
Got on I20 at Jackson and drove to Vicksburg,MS.
Vicksburg Battlefield – Grant conducted 47 day siege to win – display of ironclad Cairo that was sunk
Fast drive home via I20/I10 Odessa,TX, Deming,NM, Tonopah, AZ and home.
Comments:
Timing: We went early in the year to avoid the heat, humidity, crowds and hurricanes. We were pretty much successful in these goals. The down side was: some NP campgrounds weren’t open yet, and the weather was cool and a bit on the rainy side. But I’ll take cool over hot any day. It did start to heat up towards the end of the trip.
Gas: 3.67 in CA when we left – much less on trip - steadily climbed though. Paid 3.81 in AZ on the way home. When we got back to CA it was 4.51 or more (shock).
Repairs after trip:
ABS light – got a rear speed sensor for $32 and changed it myself – problem went away
Alignment: Got new shocks (KBR) and alignment (had to change RH ball joints) – total $825.
Trip mileage: 9,455 Total on rig now: 67,566
We stayed mostly in full hookup parks with WIFI. - some state parks with only elec & water.
Still have to tally expenses.
Battlefields: These are Nat. Parks so the Golden Age (age 62) pass works (free admission). Our basic routine was: go to the Visitor’s Center, see the video, watch the fiber optic battlefield map if they had one, go to the museum, and walk or drive the battlefield. The battlefields are beautiful, well groomed, with lots of markers and monuments. Also, many cannon at the places where artillery was during the battle.
It is hard to imagine, given these peaceful fields today, what horror this war was. The large caliber, slow velocity, minie balls destroyed bone when legs or arms were hit resulting in huge numbers of amputations. Not to mention what the cannons did, especially canister and grape shot at close range. More soldiers died during this war than almost all other US wars, mostly due to the battle tactics and poor medical procedures of the time. There are many strange ironies resulting from this civil war; families divided against each other, West Point classmates fighting each other, teacher fighting student, it goes on and on. The futility of war in solving our problems is written large in the cemetaries of the Civil War. When the first battle (Manassas / Bull Run) was fought, civilian spectators with picnic lunches were on hand to witness what was thought to be the one and only battle of the war. Boy, were they wrong.
In the end, the Union was preserved and the slaves were emancipated and the southern way of life was ended.
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