October 27, 2006

October 27, 2006

Besides getting lots of rest, I am watching a ton of baseball. I cheer as my team, the St. Louis Cardinals, pound the error-prone Tigers and become World Series Champions again. Interestingly the Cardinals also won the World Series in 1982 when I quit my first job too. I guess I will need to quit my job more often.

October 25-26, 2006

October 25-26, 2006

We are back in Godfrey, IL again. It was cold and raining constantly in Itasca the whole time we were there, and it has not let up in southern Illinois. Aimee and my mom have been sewing a quilt while the weather is bad. We take a break one day and visit the Alton Museum of History and Art. It is a small museum and a big disappointment. The museum has a lot of artifacts but only about 5% are displayed. And of these, only the items associated with Robert Wadlow have explanations. The museum does have an interesting film on Wadlow’s life and an actual-size bronze statue of him across the street. Alton has spent its time and money on its nine-foot giant but left the rest of its history go. I am amazed that a one-time sideshow circus attraction is all that Alton chooses to remember.

After a burger and beer at Fast Eddie’s we stop at the Alton Cemetery to see the Lovejoy Monument. I couldn’t relate to Lovejoy as a kid but after our Civil War tour it is more meaningful. Elijah Lovejoy was a strident abolitionist. Born in Maine, he moved to the area and began publishing an anti-slavery newspaper. Slavery advocates destroyed his press three times before a mob finally murdered him in 1837. Lovejoy went on to be a martyr for “free press”. His murder in Alton is sometimes considered to be the first armed conflict of the Civil War. Later in the day I go online to get the story of Lovejoy. I am beginning to realize why Alton wants to forget its history. After Lovejoy was murdered while police stood by, Alton became a pariah of the nation for its apparent lawlessness. Up to that point Alton was one of the most thriving cities in the Midwest. Afterwards trade bypassed Alton in favor of its local rival St. Louis. It also lost out on the new Illinois capitol to Springfield two years later. It would be a generation before Alton would recover from the setback.

October 19-24, 2006

October 19-24, 2006

We are up before dawn to catch the 5:21 Amtrak train from Alton to Chicago. I think this is my first Amtrak trip. Aimee thought sure we were going to be the only one riding the train at this hour but we had lots of company. The 9:30 train would have been easier on us but was thrice the price (and you know I like to save a buck). By the time we arrive in Chicago the train is full. Riding the train sure beats driving. After a brief stop at Charles Schwab to deposit Aimee’s 401K transfer, we catch the commuter train to Itasca to stay with Aimee’s mother. My car is still there and starts okay, but there is a squeak from the rear axle for the first mile or two till the grease gets going again.

We spend a half-day at each of our storage units, reorganizing and pulling out things we will need this winter. I wish we had labeled the boxes on all four sides. Going thru all the boxes is pure drudgery. Both of us feel liking chucking everything and starting over. I give my mother-in-law a spin around the storage complex on the moving cart. She barely escapes being “stored” with the rest of our stuff.

Since we won’t be back soon we also take advantage of the new law and vote early. Republican, of course.

I also reviewed the statistics for our east coast trip. We drove 3200 miles on 315 gallons of gasoline. The mileage at 10.2 mpg is a little worse than our trip out west this summer but the cost was much better. This trip we averaged $2.25/gallon vs. $2.93.

October 14-18, 2006

October 14-18, 2006

All of our mail has been coming to my parent’s house since starting our Big Adventure. We haven’t been back for two months so the mail has really piled up. It is taking a few days to wade through it and catch up on everything. Fortunately, my mother is keeping us well nourished during my ‘work’ so it is less daunting.

Aimee meanwhile is sewing a quilt full time with my mom. It has been many months without a sewing machine and Aimee is making up for lost time. I can’t get her to even look up and talk to me. She does take time out to go with my mother to make flower arrangements for the local Catholic hospital’s gift shop. My mom has been volunteering there weekly for the last 30 years.

We also buy a train ticket to go back to Chicago to pick up the car and retrieve some items out of storage.

October 13, 2006

October 13, 2006

It was very cold last night. We should have slept on the sofa bed closer to the furnace. We were getting low on propane anyway and the cold last night almost sucked us dry of fuel. We decide to leave shortly after sunup. When I go to unhook the RV, I find frost on the ground and ice in my water hose connection. I think we stayed one day too long on our east coast journey.

After an hour and a half we are on the outskirts of Nashville and we spy a sign for the Hermitage. Needing a short break from driving we decide to stop. Before we get there we also spot a Panera Bread restaurant. Panera is known for their free wireless so we stop for coffee and croissant, emails, and a blog upload. This is our first time making use of Panera.

A few miles farther off the exit, we arrive at the Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson, our seventh president. We start off with the requisite film, which is surprisingly good with details of Jackson’s life we were unaware. Jackson was orphaned at an early age and traveled to the new territory of Tennessee to practice law. He gained national fame after defeating the British in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812. After a quick tour of the Jackson museum we head towards his house and take a guided tour. The house has been very well restored to the 1840 period and is nicely decorated. A large group of local middle school students are spread out over the museum and grounds acting as guest docents for the day. Each one is dressed in period costume and has a short speech memorized for us. They are cute. Aimee and I are both happy we stopped.

From Nashville, we get on I24 and drive through Tennessee and into Kentucky and finally across the Ohio River into Illinois. Right over the border I spot the exit for Metropolis and make Aimee pull off. (Yes, Aimee is driving the RV). We have to take our picture in front of Superman. Back on the road, we continue towards the St. Louis area. Finally at 7pm after a long day of driving we get to my parents house in Alton, IL and the end of Chapter 3 of our Big Adventure.

October 12, 2006

October 12, 2006

Last night we were attacked by acorns thrown on our roof. They are really loud when you sleep with your head next to the ceiling. I wonder if Mother Nature is telling us louder to head south. Around 10am we head west along I40 across the Appalachians. They are getting prettier everyday with colors. At the Tennessee Visitor’s Center we come across a brochure for a map store in Knoxville. It is just ahead so we stop. I must admit I like maps and globes so we spend more than an hour looking through their large inventory. I buy a few things, including a raised relief map of the US and a laminated US map we are going to use to plot our future travels.

We had intended to stop at Oak Ridge to visit the Science and Energy Museum but it is already 2:30 so we decide to leave it for our next visit. We drive on and stay at a small campground near Crossville, TN. It is cold. I think the first evening we can’t sit out before dinner.

October 11, 2006

October 11, 2006

Yesterday evening before going to bed we heard a loud boom on the roof of our RV. After investigating we found we were parked under a Black Walnut tree attacking us with it’s baseball size nuts. Earlier in the evening while BBQ’ing I had cracked one open with a hammer but found the nutmeat too much work to collect. Wanting to have a good nights sleep, Aimee and I inched the RV as close to the road as our power cord would allow us. It was enough to get us mostly out from under the tree.

In the morning we head towards Asheville and stop at the Biltmore Estate. Biltmore was the home of George Washington Vanderbilt. George’s father and grandfather had made a vast fortune in the shipping and railroad business (more than Bill Gates). George took his part of the inheritance and built the ultimate estate. He bought 125,000 acres in this area and opened the country’s largest private house in 1895. It has 250 rooms, 35 bedrooms and 65 fireplaces. It was also state of the art for its time with electric lighting, an elevator, mechanical refrigeration, bowling alley and heated indoor swimming pool.

The entrance fee is stiff. We pay the slightly lower non-summer price of $42 each. That gets you in the door to look around and gives you the right to purchase audio tours, guided tours, and specialty tours for an added cost. Despite the high price the place is packed. Don’t these people know it is the off-season!

We splurge and get the audio tour. The house is nothing if not impressive. The scale is awesome, and the decoration rich but not gaudy. The driveway up to the house is 3 miles long. The setting of the house in the middle of a mountain forest (that he planted) is gorgeous. With the audio tour it takes us several hours to go thru the house. You can tour mine in 60 seconds. It is amazing how much money the ‘robber barons’ had in those days. There is also an extensive garden outside the house. After the house tour we fall in line for the shuttle back to the parking lot. As we wait for the bus, I am thinking that coming here was an expensive mistake. Aimee got way too many ideas for her dream house she wants in Tucson.

The estate grounds also contained a working farm partly to earn money and partly to feed the household, the many servants, the many guests who visited, and the guest’s servants. From the house, we drive five miles to the winery on another section of the estate. In the 1970’s they started a winery on the grounds of the original dairy. It is billed as the most visited winery in the country. We do the self-guided tour in record time and head to the tasting. The wine is actually pretty good. Near the winery we also see some more of the original farm buildings.

My feet are tired so we head out of the estate and stay at another campground on the west side of Asheville.

October 10, 2006

October 10, 2006

Today we make the short drive to an attraction called Chimney Rock. Chimney Rock is a private forest, its centerpiece being a mountain ridge with a large, exposed granite face along one side over a mile in length. It also has a flat barrel-shaped outcropping that gives the park its name. The main reason I wanted to stop was that the park was the site of the film, “Last of the Mohicans”.

This hiking park has gone out of its way to cater to the sedentary type. They have an elevator cut into the rock to take you up to the top of Chimney Rock. We defer and take the manual route. Even that route is almost 100% wooden steps and catwalks. My feet barely touch any rocks. The top of Chimney Rock gives us a stunning vista of the beautiful landscape. From there we take the couple mile hiking loop that traverses the top of the ridge to a waterfall and back along a ledge along the exposed granite face. Both the waterfall and the granite ledge played a big part in the climax of the movie. I just don’t remember the guardrail and boardwalk in the scene.

Before leaving we also hike the loop trail to the bottom of the waterfall. The waterfall is a wisp of water that rolls down a couple hundred-foot rock face. Pretty.

Afterwards we drive east of Asheville and stay at a beautiful hilly-forested campground with immaculate amenities. The Asheville area has many great campgrounds to choose from.

October 9, 2006

October 9, 2006
This morning we head to downtown Charleston aiming for the visitor’s center. The road leaving the park goes along a road lined with overhanging trees that are dripping with Spanish moss. Exactly the way we have seen in movies of the South.

Downtown Charleston doesn’t seem to have any large commercial buildings but rather mostly residential and light retail. We are hoping to see old colonial structures. Unfortunately, the area is very congested and we can’t find any convenient spot to park the RV despite information to the contrary. We get a little frustrated and decide to punt. We head to I26 and make the long drive to the Asheville, NC area.

Along the way I fill up twice. I can’t pass up sub $2/gallon gas. The fuel bill on this trip has been considerably less expensive then our venture out west where we never paid less than $3.

As we approach the Asheville area we hit the foothills of the Appalachians. The trees are just beginning to turn. The scenery is gorgeous. Asheville is on many retirement hot spot lists. I can see why. By the time we arrive at the campground the sun has come out and the weather is also beautiful. This campground has everything including cable TV, free Internet, pool tables, and a fitness center.

October 8, 2006

October 8, 2006

The weather is overcast and cool. This morning we drive back to the eastern shore of Charleston harbor to Patriots Point. Here we pick up a tour boat to Fort Sumter National Monument. Fort Sumter is a surprisingly small dot in the neck of Charleston harbor guarding its entrance. The Civil War was started when southern rebels fired on this undermanned and undersupplied fort. With the fort in Confederate hands, Charleston was an active port for ships running the Union blockade of the South. Later in the war, Union forces bombarded the fort to rubble in an attempt to tighten the Union blockade. Besides the remnants of the original fort walls, there is a small museum inside detailing Fort Sumter’s role in the war. Interestingly, Abner Doubleday, of baseball history, was at the fort and ordered the Union’s return fire. We had previously read about his exploits at the battle of Gettysburg. To Aimee’s liking, the tour limits us to one hour at the fort.

Also at Patriots point are several military ships, including the carrier, USS Yorktown. It is of WWII vintage so it is smaller than I expected. Even so we spend a few hours touring its large interior. The ship is also a museum with numerous naval displays scattered throughout. I fear Aimee is going to need some serious retail therapy after this.

Finished with the Yorktown, we make a quick tour of the destroyer and the submarine. Like submarines I have toured before, the living and working spaces are uncomfortably cozy. I would have gotten claustrophobia the first day aboard. I am not sure if the carrier would have been much better, especially seeing the submarine saying, “There are only two kinds of ships, submarines and targets.”

October 7, 2006

October 7, 2006

Today is cold. Almost like somebody turned a switch. I guess that is our cue to move on. I have to drag Aimee out of the house. She groans about having to go back in the RV. We head southeast on Rt. 17 along the coast. We bypass Myrtle Beach. I would have liked to stop and play golf but I am a fair weather golfer especially when my swing is rusty. Around 5pm we roll into Charleston, SC and stay at a county park. Surprisingly it is pretty crowded.

October 6, 2006

October 6, 2006

The weatherman got it wrong again. Today was beautiful. We repeated yesterday’s activities. Our afternoon beach stroll though was cut short by a thunderstorm.

October 5, 2006

October 5, 2006

Right after breakfast Aimee and I take a nice walk on the beach. We almost have the whole beach to ourselves; we only pass a couple people along the whole stretch. Along the way we watch a few dolphins playing in the water in the distance and flocks of pelicans diving into the water for food.. After breakfast we sit on the balcony watching the ocean, soaking up a few rays and reading a good novel. Life is good! We have to enjoy it today as Aimee says the weatherman is predicting a cold wave coming through tomorrow.

October 4, 2006

October 4, 2006

After saying goodbyes to my sister, we load up the RV and head south on I40 towards Wilmington, NC. Along the way we pass a battlefield and a battleship but Aimee doesn’t let me stop. Around 5pm we roll into Oak Island on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. My rich sister bought a beach house here as an investment and occasional getaway. The rentals dry up after Labor Day so we have this big beautiful house all to ourselves. Free Internet and cable too, beats a campground by a mile.

October 2-3, 2006

October 2-3, 2006

My sister lives across a gully from the University of North Carolina. We get the bikes off the RV and our daily exercise is riding around the campus. Most campus buildings are built in the colonial style befitting its start in Revolutionary times. The second day we run across Gimghoul Castle in the woods off campus. It is supposed to be the home of a ‘secret’ society of the University.

In the afternoon I watch Oprah with the girls. Oprah must be reading my blog as her show is about her and her girlfriend driving across the country seeing the sights. She even stole my title. She calls hers her Big Adventure too! Well, after thinking about it I guess I am complimented. After all imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But she could have at least sent us a couple tickets to the show.

October 1, 2006

October 1, 2006

We spend the day visiting with my sister and her family. My businesswoman sister has learned how to cook so we may be here awhile. Taking care of four young kids and a husband, I don’t think she will notice two more mouths at the table.

September 30, 2006

September 30, 2006

We are ready to head south to North Carolina. On the map, I notice that we are not far from Five Forks Battlefield and convince Aimee that it is not another battlefield but just the end of the Petersburg Battle Park. We drive the five miles to the intersection of five roads (hence the name). There is not much here, a small ranger hut, a few interpretative signs and a couple cannon. Five Forks is considered the Waterloo of the Civil War. (Waterloo was Napoleon’s last defeat). After nine months of siege at Petersburg, Grant kept pushing the line to the west to hopefully cutoff Lee’s last supply line. At Five Forks, General Sheridan (with help from George Custer’s cavalry) routed the Confederate defensive line and captured the last rail line into Petersburg. The next day Lee knows he is trapped and flees out of both Petersburg and Richmond. Retreating with his supply lines cut, Lee surrenders five days later, ending the Civil War, finally.

From there we head south on I85 to Chapel Hill, NC. We get there shortly after 1pm. Chapel Hill is the home of the University of North Carolina and my little sister.

September 29, 2006

September 29, 2006

On the recommendation of some fellow Chicago campground acquaintances, we drive back to Richmond this morning. We immediately head towards the waterfront on the James River to the site of the old Tredegar Iron Works. The Civil War South was mostly an agricultural economy. Richmond was not only the Confederate capital but also one of the few industrial centers; its production kept the South in the war. Because Richmond was so important, the North worked very hard to capture it and the South worked equally hard to protect it.

Tredegar Iron Works was the heart of Richmond’s manufacturing, producing nearly half of Confederate cannon. The site has been long abandoned except for a few water-driven turbines. A Civil War museum and the Richmond National Battlefield Park Visitor Center is housed in one building. A film explains that near the end of the war, Grant drove his army to the northern and eastern outskirts of Richmond but could not dislodge the Rebels from heavily defended Richmond. After a bloody battle, Grant quickly moved his army across the James River to Petersburg just south of Richmond, hoping to surround Richmond. At Petersburg, he setup a siege operation to take the town. We drive 20 minutes to Petersburg to see that battlefield.

The Petersburg Battlefield Park is on the eastern outskirts of town. The Visitor’s Center has an electronic battlefield map but it doesn’t work (the main thing I wanted to see). We look at their small museum and then do a quick driving tour of the park. Like Yorktown the battlefield is mostly earthwork trenches and cannon. One interesting spot is called the ‘Battle of the Crater’. Early in the siege, the Union had the innovative idea to let some former Pennsylvania coal miners secretly tunnel 500 feet to the Confederate line and blow up a huge section. The plan worked except the Union soldiers gawked so long at the resulting crater they didn’t press their advantage and they were quickly driven back. The huge crater is still there along with the entrance to the tunnel. It is pretty neat. Studying Civil War history though is very depressing for a Yankee. So many times the North squandered advantages or made costly mistakes and lost the battle along with thousands of men. I feel like I am rooting for the losing team.

Aimee has had enough with my battlefields so she makes me quit early and we head towards a campground just south of Petersburg. On the way we drive thru the old section of Petersburg. Petersburg was virtually devastated by the siege and this area looks like it has been frozen in that time period. Once at the campground we are disappointed. It’s in a pretty area but looks very “southern’ with abandoned cars, overgrown grass and most things in need of maintenance.

September 28, 2006

September 28, 2006

Today we head to Jamestown, the third and final colonial attraction on the Virginia peninsula. Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in the US. The Spanish had earlier settlements in Florida, and the English had made other settling attempts but they all failed. In 1607 three English ships dropped off 104 Englishmen on this shore intent on building a colony and finding gold like the Spanish had. These adventurers had a rough time and almost failed several times from starvation and Indian attack. Historical legend says that the colony was saved by the actions of John Smith (who instituted ‘no work, no eat’) and a local Indian princess Pocahontas who fell in love with a colonist. Not finding gold or silver, the colony resorted to other moneymaking schemes until they discovered tobacco grew well here. Fortunately, this venture succeeded and paved the way for further colonial expansion and the later birth of the U.S.

Like Yorktown, Jamestown has two separate sites. The first site is the Jamestown Settlement, which is a living history museum with a Jamestown theme. They have a recreated Indian village, Colonist Fort, and the three Sailing Ships. We see the movie and tour the demonstration areas. They are interesting and have good guides but we are finding it somewhat repetitious with earlier days. But I am learning the finer points of musketry. In the 1600’s, I learn that they used matchlock-firing mechanisms vs. the flintlock muskets of the Revolution (the earlier match-lock uses a glowing ember vs. a flint spark to ignite the gunpowder).

After lunch we drive next-door to Historic Jamestown. This part of Colonial National Historical Park sits on the original site. Archeologists are still excavating the site. They have found the original fort location and numerous artifacts, many of which were found in abandoned wells. A small museum displays the huge variety of artifacts and bones found. A ranger gives us a very interesting retelling of the early days of Jamestown. To the east of the fort are the building foundations from the abandoned village of Jamestown. Jamestown was never very large even though it was the Virginia capital until around 1699 when the capital was moved to Williamsburg. We are tired so we pass on this ‘new-town’ and also the driving tour of the rest of Jamestown Island.

September 27, 2006

September 27, 2006

This morning we head ten miles east to the Yorktown Battlefield Park. Yorktown was the site of the final battle of the Revolutionary War where George Washington defeated the British in a decisive victory. We see a movie at the Visitor’s Center and listen to a ranger talk about the battle. Afterwards we do most of the auto tour around the park visiting the highlights of the battle.

At the end of 1781 after a summer of war campaigns, British southern forces under Cornwallis were retiring to the coast of Virginia at Yorktown so that the British Navy could reinforce them. By this time, the French were more directly helping us in our war effort and Washington took advantage of fortuitous events to trap Cornwallis. The French Navy at our disposal blockaded the water entrance to Yorktown preventing British re-supply. The joint American and French armies marched to Yorktown, surrounded Cornwallis and proceeded to siege him. With huge cannon and gunpowder provided by the French, the armies jointly bombarded the British into surrender. It was in the nick of time as the British Navy arrived from New York with gun ships and fresh armies only five days later.

After touring the recreated earthwork lines and cannon emplacements on the battlefield, we walk next door to the old city of Yorktown where the British were holed up. Most of the city was destroyed in the siege but a few buildings still stand; the city looks like it is making a comeback as a cute tourist destination.

On the far end of Yorktown is the Yorktown Victory Center. This separate attraction run by Virginia is a history park on the Revolutionary War. Demonstrations manned by knowledgeable guides are fascinating. I especially like the cannon and musket firings, while Aimee likes the fire-making talk (she thinks it will help her if she gets on “Survivor”).