Here's to 20 Years and Being Home

There's No Place Like Home

Don't get me wrong, I have 100% loved our first pilgrimage of exploring the USA and Canada.  But I guess the saying that "no matter where you roam your heart knows the place you call home" is true.  So coming back to my hometown of Lilburn, GA just feels right.  We will be staying at Jones RV Park for the next two weeks so we will be close to our doctors' appointments and then we will move over to Stone Mountain.

It's now been eight months since we set out as full-timers.  In some ways, it seems like we have been doing this for, well, forever and so far so good.  It has definitely been a learning experience for both of us and I'm sure there will be lots more to learn in our future endeavors.  But for now, we are looking forward to seeing family and friends and shopping and driving on familiar roads.

The culprit

I do have to confess we did have one small mishap - a $1,200 one to be exact- at our overnight stop at Hagan Stone Park in Greensboro NC. 
Dennis cut a corner too close trying to avoid folks that were walking in the street and the side of the fiver got caught on one of the posts that they use to mark off the driveway to the office.  Unfortunately, theirs did not have a rubber tip on it and dug into the driver's side panel

Luckily when we arrived here we met a nice gentleman that recommended an awesome repair shop that did a great job.  Two thumbs up to National Indoor RV Center!  If you ever need a repair on your RV in the Gwinnett County, GA area, we highly recommend these guys.   Also a big shout out to their customer service rep Amanda who was great about keeping us up to date on things.

Ted's Montana Grill

Happy Anniversary

It's hard to believe that D and I have been married now for 20 years.  I can say with all honestly that our life together has been so much more than I had ever dared to hope for.  He is by far the most patient and understanding man I know.  He is still my lifesaver and I pray we will have 20 more years together.

Comments from D:  It's true, but it feels more like 20 minutes.  Time has a way of moving into the background when you are sharing that time with your perfect mate.  

Family and Friends

My son Austin along with my daughter-in-law Ali and my two beautiful granddaughters Olivia and Isabel came to check out our location once we got settled in.  I think the kiddos had forgotten how roomy it is in here and had a blast exploring and climbing over every inch.  It felt good to be around family!  Olivia found a stray cat and HAD to feed it.  I have to admit I had been doing the same for a few days now.  Luckily, a day later, a woman came up and said it was hers.  After our catch-up visit at the 5th wheel, we all headed over to eat lunch at La Madeleines where Ali's parents and brother also joined us.  

 Twynhams and Crandalls meet again!

The next week we were surprised by a visit from Andrew and Connie!  It had been two months since we had last seen them in New Brunswick, Canada so we were excited to catch up with them again.  They too were here to visit family and friends in the Atlanta metro area.
 
On Thursday, Andrew and Connie were meeting with a friend of theirs to celebrate her birthday.  Happy Birthday, Ellen!  I hope you enjoyed your special day! 
We joined them after their dinner to see a performance of an ironically named play: Single Wide at the local Playhouse Theater in Cumming, GA.  The star of the show for me was definitely the son.  He was awesome.


During our week together, we had dinners together and also handed out candy to trick-or-treaters in the park on Halloween.  I think we had around 15 kids.  We were thrilled that we had any!  I feel this is one of those traditions that is going by the wayside.

On Friday we will be hopping over to Stone Mountain in order to be closer to my son and also my sister!  So excited about hanging out with Pam for a whole month and spending Thanksgiving with family!!! Wahoo!!

Pine Grove, PA

October 12th - 19th

As we bid goodbye to our tour of the New England states, our drive to the small town of Pine Grove in Pennsylvania took us across Connecticut, New York and finally into Pennsylvania.  Not knowing much about these states, I wasn't expecting to see such beautiful mountain views along the way.  It was worth the rough roads. Well for the most part.

As we continued west and entered into Pennsylvania, we crossed over the Delaware river where New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania meet up.  That was pretty cool!  We also got a glimpse of the Shawangunk Mountains.  This mountain ridge extends from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.  This portion of the Appalachian Mountains continues through Pennsylvania.  The ridge constitutes the western border of the Great Appalachian Valley.

The leaves were just beginning to turn all along our trip which made the landscape even prettier.  It made me miss home even more and I can hear the mountains calling me home.

The trip, for the most part, took us on I-84 aka the Yankee Expressway.  In Newburgh, NY we crossed the Hudson River via the Newburgh–Beacon Bridge.

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge over the Hudson River

When we arrived at our campsite, the park was in the middle of a Halloween festivity.  We arrived right in the middle of trick or treating time and kids where everywhere.  And I am talking about tons of kids!  We had to be extra careful driving to our site since we didn't want to hit a goblin or a superhero!

Gettysburg

On Sunday we headed out to Gettysburg and learn a thing or two about the Civil War.  The small historic town was not as busy as I thought it would be for a holiday weekend.  We were able to find parking without an issue near the square.  We walked around and looked in some of the shops then decided to have a bite to eat in one of the cute restaurants.  We first tried the Blue & Grey Restaurant but the waiting time was over an hour so we headed down the street and found an Irish Pub called Garry Owen and decided to give it a try. They too were busy but we hung.

After lunch, we headed out to the National Military Park where the  Battle of Gettysburg was fought and said to be the turning point in the Civil War.  Gettysburg was what inspirited President Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"speech.

Four score and seven years ago...

The Battle, fought in July 1863, was a Union victory that stopped the Confederate General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North.  More than 50,000 men fell as casualties during the 3-day battle, making it the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War.

Georgia's Monument

There are 12 state monuments honoring Confederate soldiers, including Maryland, which honors the men of the state from both sides. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.

There are 18 state monuments honoring Union soldiers.  Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Main, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, and Missouri had no units at Gettysburg.

Each monument was required to be placed at the location of its main line of battle.  Many have a secondary monument showing different locations.

 

We drove around until we each found our state.  Dennis debated whether to stand in front of North Carolina or Indiana since he was born in Indy but was raised in Asheville,  Eventually, North Carolina won mainly cause we couldn't find Indiana and we were running out of daylight.

Hershey, PA

Thursday after D got off work we visited the Hershey Park.  Even though there are tons to do there, the only thing I had on my mind was visiting Chocolate World! They claim to be the largest candy store and I believe them!  The place was huge and there was chocolate floor to ceiling. Pure heaven! 

Tomorrow we leave out at 7am and head down to Greensboro NC.  We are going to visit with my sister and brother-in-law and to see Chris Tomlin perform at their church.  This for sure is going to be a long, long day for we will be hauling for 8 hrs.  :-(

Chaplin, CT

Oct 5th - 12th

Driving along Hwy 198

You never know what to expect from RV park to RV park when you are not familiar with the area.  I was a little concerned about this one.  Not because of the location but just that our rig would not fit!  Getting into our spot was definitely one of the roughest yet but we managed and it has been so worth the trouble for the view is to die for!

Natchaug River

Diane's Pool located just a hop, skip and jump down the road!

The park sits along the Natchaug River in the Natchaug State Forest.  We are surrounded by beautiful fall foliage in every direction.   I was so afraid we were not going to see much fall foliage before we headed back down to Georgia but at least in the little spot in the woods we got lucky.

Visiting Mark Twain's House in Hartford, Connecticut

Guest room with private bath

Pool Room where he did his writing

Library with a conservatory. Sweet!

On Sunday we headed 38 miles west to the capital of Connecticut.  I was looking forward to visiting where he wrote Tom Sawyer and so many other books.  Dennis and I neither one have ever read Tom Sawyer so for the last couple of moves we have been listening to it via Audible. 

He, along with his wife Olivia and their daughters Susy, Clara, and Jean, lived in the house from 1874 to 1891 but didn't sell the house until 1903.  Clemens wrote many of his best-known works while living there, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Prince and the Pauper, Life on the Mississippi, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Tramp Abroad, and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.




 

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Sunday, Sept 29th

Our drive along the cape's shore line took a little longer than we had expected.  We chose to drive  through all the small little towns along the way rather than the main highway.  Mainly so we could say we visited the town of Dennis!  I tried to get him to buy a shirt but it was a no go.

So......80 miles later we finally reached the tip of cape cod in Provincetown.  P-town as it is know by the locals is the site of the Mayflower’s first landing in 1620.  It offers beautiful beaches, top-rated restaurants, art galleries and charming shops.  It is also a top LGBTQ destination that has a rich creative history and is home to one the oldest continuous art colonies in the country.

Cape Cod Sand Dunes

As you approach Provincetown you will pass through Cape Cod's National Park Sand Dunes.  They are absolutely beautiful.  The coastal dunes make up roughly one third of the Cape Cod National Seashore, covering approximately 8,500 acres.  There are tours available or you can take a bike and ride along the many trails too.

Pilgrim Monument

Pilgrim Monument

Above the crowded coastal town of Provincetown looms this huge monument to the pilgrims.  It was founded in 1892 with the purpose is to commemorate the Mayflower Pilgrims' first landing in the New World in Provincetown, in 1620.  Here the Pilgrims spent 5 weeks exploring the tip of Cape Cod, before they sailed on to Plymouth.  This is were they also drew up and signed the Mayflower Compact, which established the rule of law for the new land.

Truro Highland Lighthouse

On our way back we stopped to check out The Highland Light.  It's a active lighthouse on the Cape Cod National Seashore in North Truro, Massachusetts. The current tower was erected in 1857, replacing two earlier towers that had been built in 1797 and 1831.  It is the oldest and tallest lighthouse on Cape Cod.

The lighthouse was in danger of falling down the cliff due to beach erosion, so the structure was moved 450 feet over a period of 18 days in July, 1996.  In 1998, the keeper's house is now a gift shop and museum.

Well that wraps up our visit to Plymouth and now we set our eyes on Connecticut.

Plymouth, massachusetts

Sept 28th - Oct 5th

Saturday, we took our time getting ready to haul down to Plymouth since it was only a couple hours drive.  We ended up adding a little bit of time to our trip by swinging way out along I-495 to avoid driving through Boston.  In all, it only extended our drive time by an hour but so worth it.

Notes from D:  It cracks me up that there is actually a wiki page for I-495!

Burial ground of a passenger of the Mayflower

What's left of the rock

Pilgrim Hall Museum that houses Plymouth Rock

Plymouth is a coastal town in Massachusetts, south of Boston.  It is the site of the first Pilgrim settlement, founded in 1620.  Plymouth Rock, a boulder in Pilgrim Memorial State Park, marks the place where settlers are thought to have landed on shore.  The Mayflower II, a full-scale replica of the ship that carried the Pilgrims across the Atlantic, is usually anchored at the park but during our visit, it was out for repairs. That figures!

The National Monument to the Forefathers commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims.  Dedicated on August 1, 1889, it honors their ideals that brought them here and was as later embraced by the United States.  Education, Law, Liberty, and Morality.  It is thought to be the world's largest solid granite monument at 81 feet tall.  The original plans date around 1820.  The first cornerstone was laid on August 2, 1859.  The monument was completed in October 1888.

Massasoit Sachem 1581 – 1661 was the great leader of the Wampanoag tribe.  According to Colonial sources, Massasoit prevented the failure of the Plymouth Colony and the almost certain starvation that the Pilgrims faced during the earliest years of the colony's establishment.

The Pilgrim Mother Statue

This granite figure stands on the waterfront near Plymouth Rock.  On the back are listed the names of the women on the Mayflower. The inscription reads: “They brought up their families in sturdy virtue and a living faith in God without which nations perish.”

For lunch, we stopped in at The New World Tavern.  We picked this place because most of the other spots were very loud due to folks watching the Patriots play.  This place did have the game on but luckily it only had two televisions going compared to fifteen like the other places.  I had a grilled cheese sandwich with a huge slice of caramelized onion on it and I have to say it was awesome.  I think I have a new favorite grilled cheese.  By the expression on D's face in this picture, I think he is getting a little tired of being my photo subject.

Our next stop was Provincetown! We have a long drive ahead...