Savannah

Skidaway Island State Park November 18

Our journey continued with a rather short drive from Charleston SC to Skidaway Island, GA home of  Skidaway Island State Park near Savannah. Based on recommendations from several people and neighboring RVers, we used Hwy 17 until it blended with I95. Hwy 17, often passing under a canopy of Live Oaks, was a scenic, non-hectic yet 50 mph route to our next home. We had pleasant drive and arrived at SISP mid afternoon. The staff indicated which sites were available to pick from (a different approach from having a specific site assigned, here they reserve a type of site and you pick yours from the available ones at arrival). Until the 1970’s, Skidaway Island was only accessible by boat and at this time is rather natural. Wetlands, marshes, Spanish Mosh, Live Oaks, alligators, Herons, Civil War earthworks and moonshiner stills can be seen walking or biking the trails within the park.

Our Site - #44 very nice

Palmetto and Live Oaks abound

The staff at the park office suggested the trolley ride by Old Town as a good way to see Savannah and we took this advice and headed into the city. The GPS took us right into the historic area and soon we were riding the trolley and getting Savannah History 101. Sitting on a high bluff over the Savannah River, the city was founded in the 1730’s by James Oglethorpe as the center point of a new type of colony. Built according to a well laid out plan, Savannah survived the Revolutionary War, Civil War, fires and disease to offer a beautiful look at earlier times. Many houses, ornate with wrought iron gates and balcony railings, join numerous parks created at the founding at the city. 

many fine older homes can bee seen downtown - notice the  wrought iron railings -a sign of prosperity

Jones St, considered the prettiest street in America, was enjoyed by us when we took advantage of being able to hop off and on the trolley at designated points.

Jones St - one of the prettiest street in America!

In the midst of the historic area is the church where the  song "Jingle Bells" was composed in the 1850's.

interesting place for the  creation of an all time classic!

The water front, in spots untouched for many years, offers great views and many dining choices. We chose the Boar’s Head Grill and Tavern (a restored cotton warehouse on the river front) and enjoyed the lunch special.

many fun places to eat along the waterfront

Needing a Wifi fix (SISP doesn’t have it), we ventured over to Barnes and Noble the next day. There we enjoyed a hot beverage, did some downloads and a bit of shopping. Back at the campsite we enjoyed a walk later followed by some RV maintenance items and it was time to call it an evening. 

Tybee Island lies 28 miles away by car (or Jeep) and offers a restored Lighthouse and Lightkeepers’ cottages, nice beaches, museum and coastal artillery fort. The light house, standing over 190’ tall,  stands on a nicely restored campus the includes 3 Keeper’s cottages (the head keeper’s cottage would make a really cool house) and the first 60 or so feet of the tower stands on the original 1773 brick base. At the top, a 1st order Fresnel lens, 9 ft tall and 6ft in diameter, still operates to guide ships. 

Lightkeeper's station - since the late 1700's

Thanksgiving Day began with a steady rain, but the plans of the day revolved around watching the Macy’s Parade followed by the Purina dog show. That evening found us joining the crowds at Target. Our mission to get a 3ft artificial, pre-lit tree for the RV was successful and combined with the beach theme snow globe, Santa floormat and outdoor signs, we are now decorated for the holidays.

a little touch of the Holiday

Friday and Saturday were worked on the RV (which included a trip to Camping World to pick up two LED twin light fixtures for the main living area, replacing the  dimmer original units) , cleaning house, walking dogs, exploring more of the local area. 

Sunday we visited the nature center at SISP, and viewed their Giant Sloth, followed by walking the nature trails back to the campground.

SISP has over 4 miles of great trails

We wrapped up our last day by driving a few miles over to Wormsloe Historic Site. You may recognize the long driveway with the Live Oak tunnel from several Hollywood movies

Wormsloe Driveway , over 1/2 mile long - used in many movies

All said, Skidaway Island State Park is a very nice place to stay.

take care

Cooper and CJ

South Carolina

Charleston James Island County Park November 12

After a smooth trip down I26 we arrived at James Island County Park. This was our home for the next 5 days after Morrow Mountain. JICP came highly recommended by several of our RVer friends and we were not disappointed. The park is very well maintained, offers numerous activites such as swimming, dog park, bike and walking trails, fishing and this time of year- Winter Wonderland a fabulous display of over 750 Holiday light arrangements and a beautiful Holiday theme sand sculpture made from 50 tons of sand. This years theme was 1960,s cartoon Christmas shows!

Sand sculpture at JICP, other sides include Charley Brown, Frosty and Rudolf

Winter Wonderland lights even on Palmetto trees!

The sites were well spaced and had full hookups. The office/camp store staff were very friendly and helpfull. This will be a definate place to stay if you are in the area and able to get a site. They stay quite full here.

Our first full day had us feeding the history buff in me. We navigated back across the river over the cool Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge to Patriots Point, home of the WWII aircraft carrier USS Yorktown CV10. Very cool, lots of supporting items as well, anti-aircraft guns, a WWII destroyer and submarine are all available to visit. A Vietnam War museum and a monument to Cold War Submariners are also located at this site.

USS Yorktown CV10 

However, these were not the focus of this visit. Also located at this site is the boat that takes you out to the mouth of the harbor to Fort Sumter, where the opening shots of the Civil War took place in 1861. Having been a student of the Civil War since grade school, I was eager to set foot there and look around.

Fort Sumter - start of the  Civil War

flag that flew during the battle

While there, I was also able to look South across the harbor to the area where Fort Wagner stood during the Civil War. This fort was made of sand and palmetto logs and was washed away by the 1880’s. Made famous a few years ago in the movie ”Glory”, my great-great grandfather Hugh Calvin McKee fought there with the 76th Pa Vol Infantry. The park rangers give a nice talk and the museum has the original flag that flew over the fort during the bombardment.

Life on a journey like this has its days of routine stuff and our second day was just that. I had several maintenance things to do to both the RV and the Jeep and Cindy needed some laundry time. With that in mind and wanting to get the dogs to the dog park, we filled up our day by going to the Holiday Light display.

JICP Dog Park - lots of fun!

This area is quite different from Lancaster County in many ways, palmetto trees, sandy soil, marshes, tidal flats and swamps are abundant. Our third day we drove over to Caw Caw Interpretive Center at Ravenel.

swamp at Caw Caw- those things sticking up are Cyprus knees

This nature center/preserve is on the site of several colonial era rice plantations and today provides habitat for numerous waterfowl, raptors, alligators, otters, deer and others. You may walk the grounds on several designated trails and we chose the combination that took us through the forrest out to the tidal marsh, across the rice field dikes and back along a boardwalk through the swamp and fresh water swamp.

colonial era rice field - now wildlife habitat

Yes, we did see alligators!

young alligator in center

A trip was laid on to spend the day in downtown Charleston. JICP has a shuttle service available that drops you at the visitors center downtown for pretty much what it would cost you to park there. With the traffic in Charleston being rather heavy and the reports of parking being an issue we didn't want to deal with, we opted for this service. The visitor center staff were friendly and informative and we took their advice to tour the historic old city section via horse drawn carriage.

retired Amish farm horse took us through the historic city with a well informed guide - old dungeon ahead

Charleston real estate gets quite pricey as you approach the old town and water front. Here houses start at $1 million and go up in proportion to closeness to the water!! Houses in the historic area must follow strict codes as far as maintenance and outside appearance.

door leads to the veranda!

Rainbow row is a block near the waterfront where all the houses are pastel colors and must stay that way!

We enjoyed touring the  old market, eating at Fleet Landing restaurant where we had delicious She Crab soup, seafood stuffed hush puppies and boiled shrimp - all served to us by our waitress from....Pottsville PA! (this came out when I ordered a Yuengling Lager to go with lunch) We walked cobblestone streets brought over in the late 1600's as ballast, looked at the beautiful architecture and thoroughly enjoyed our day. Cindy's Fitbit showed over 15000 steps and we were very glad when the shuttle driver offered to drop us off at our campsite at the end of the day.

fountain at waterfront

US Customs House

Our last full day in the Charleston area saw us head over to the only tea producing farm in the Northern Hemisphere - Charleston Tea Plantation. There we took a brief factory tour and a half hour trolley ride through the only tea producing fields in the USA. We never knew tea comes off a woody shrub, similar to a boxwood (in appearance only) and they can live for hundreds of years. The climate and soil of the Charleston area is perfect for the Tea plants and the farm is producing and shipping to 17 states as of this time under the name "American Classic Tea" and others.

Tea plants - they get trimmed about 8 -10 times a year by a special machine

Cindy and Waddy

On our way to the Tea Plantation, we stopped to see Angel Oak an enormous 400 yr old oak tree.

look at the people near it for scale!

We have kept quite busy this week, trying to utilize the few days we had in the area to our utmost advantage. Next stop will see a bit more down time, but still things to report on.


Cooper is ready to turn in now.

Good Night

Cooper and CJ

North Carolina

Morrow Mountain State Park November 9

After relocating from central Kentucky, and spending a night at a Walmart in North Carolina, we arrived at our camp site in Morrow Mountain State Park near Albemarle, NC. This turned out to be a a real gem - electric hook up, spacious sites, nice view and well kept. The weather was unseasonably cold, dropping down into the upper 20’s at night. On the plus side, the sun shone all day for the first time in over a week! If you ever go there, be sure to check out the scenic vista - you can see for well over 10 miles from the summit.

crisp Autumn sunrise at Morrow Mountain State Park

Our travels to this area were fueled by the goal of visiting Guilford Courthouse, site of a turning point battle in the Revolutionary War. My ancestor, Isham Sellers, fought there and we were able to stand in the area where he and his fellow North Carolina Continental Soldiers fought the British under Lord Cornwallis. Quite stirring. The National Park staff have done a great job with the visitor's center and battlefield tour. You can even walk the battlefield and use your  smart phone to get audio lessons at designated spots.

We would also like to report that we had an amazing burger at the Village Tavern, just a half a mile down the road from the battlefield. Highly recommend stopping by there if you visit Greensboro.

Our stay in North Carolina was cut short due to the repairs on the RV slide out so not much to report on from there.

More coming in a few days from our next stop!!

Cooper and CJ

Kentucky

Kentucky November 1

Next on our journey is the Bourbon Trail and other sights in the state of Kentucky.

crossing at Cincinnati into Kentucky

This has long been on my list of destinations for not only the cultural and historical locations but also the fact that my ancestors were from western Kentucky, and I wanted to go to the area where my grandfather was born and raised. Part of the plan is to meet with my cousin Casey and head over to visit the area outside the small town of Sebree to take a look around. But first there are other things to see and do.

We reserved a site in Bardstown at My Old Kentucky Home State Park. The park is located on the grounds of the home immortalized by songwriter Steven Foster, in the heart of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. The vast majority of the bourbon is made in this area with many distilleries offering tours.

CJ surveying the campsite

Our first day had us setup camp then go for a short drive to see the immediate area. Heaven Hill distillery is only a half a mile down the road with Willet’s a half a mile beyond that. We planned to make a stop at Heaven Hill later on in the week.

The town of Bardstown is a mile in the other direction and offers a Civil War museum, historic Talbott’s Tavern (check it out to see all the  famous people who stopped there and where we had a fun dinner)and Abraham Lincoln's childhood home not half an hour away.

Talbott's Tavern -famous people have stopped here

 Getting the local scoop is always appreciated on what to see and where to eat and in this case, cousin Casey suggested some great places- Keeneland Racetrack, Woodford Distillery, Historic Midway, the Kentucky Scenic Byway to Frankfort - were all acted upon and greatly enjoyed.
We started by setting an alarm for the first time in months and making the one hour drive back East to Keeneland Racetrack . (Built in the 1930’s, This track provided the location for the movies Seabiscuit and Secretariat). Very cool. We arrived in time for the 8:30 tour of the track and fortunately they were exercising numerous horses while we were there. 

Horse and Jockeys enter track thru this rubber floored tunnel

Grandstand and Winners Circle

Horse workout

Then on the way to historic Midland, a drive through the beautiful Kentucky horse farm area on the Kentucky Scenic Byway to Woodford Distillery.

Kentucky horse country

scenic drive towards Frankfort

Woodford Reserve is a smaller distillery with a very nice tour and sample tasting at its conclusion. (as we are going to visit 4-5 distilleries, I'll include sample pics from each)

mash cooking in 7500 gal Cyprus tanks

tasting room at Woodford - well done

Leaving Woodford around 2PM , we had enough time to continue on to Frankfort, state capital, and Buffalo Trace distillery. This distillery is the oldest continuously operation distillery in the country on is on the National Historic Register. Another fine tour and tasting was enjoyed here. It should be noted that all tours included some overlap of information and some unique info as well.

National Historic Site

The next day we scaled back a bit and drove around the corner (literally) to Federal Hill mansion, more often known as My Old Kentucky Home. Stephen Foster wrote of this site after his visit here.

My Old Kentucky Home - Federal Hill

Being a history buff, next was a 25 mile hop over to Knob Creek NHS and site of the childhood home of Abraham Lincoln. Little has changed since his time there. The cabin is not the original one, but is actually one that Lincoln's friend lived in nearby. The Lincoln birth place is only a few miles farther down the road at Hodgenville, where there is also a National Historic Site and memorial which includes a replica of Lincoln's birthplace.

cabin at Knob Creek similar to the one Lincoln lived in

Knob Creek farm land

As mentioned above, there are numerous distilleries in the area, each one unique and worth the visit. Our goal was not to see them all, but a sampling based on preference, site location and weather (as tours take you outside between buildings). Markers Mark, only 15 or so miles away offers a nice tour and at this time is in its final days of displaying some fabulous blown glass artwork by Chihuly.

one of several Chihuly pieces on display

With one of the larger distilleries in sight from our RV, we would have been remiss in not visiting Heaven Hill. Just a half a mile away from MOKHSP campground, it offers a very nice tour and tasting experience. We went over there as our trip was drawing to a close and ended the visit with the purchase of a bourbon Twinkie! ( a bit different for sure, but we ate it anyway)

each rick house has tens of thousands of 53 gallon barrels aging in them

Heaven Hill rick house-stores 50,000 53 gallon barrels of whiskey being aged

The trip to my grandfather's boyhood town, Sebree, (he was a farm kid living a few miles outside of it) was on for Monday. I traveled to Owensboro to meet up with my cousin Casey and we then proceeded to Sebree. (after having some awesome BBQ at the Sticky Pig ). Sebree hasn't changed a whole lot in the 100+ years since grandfather moved away, at least the downtown area. I checked out a few places the he and his family would have gone to, including the bank and drug store.

1890 vintage bank in Sebree. Original teller windows inside

We then cruised the general area where the family farm was located ( house no longer stands) and wrapped things up over at the Shady Grove Cemetery where many ancestors are buried. While there we did find a few headstones of ancestors while the sun was rapidly setting. We headed back to Owensboro where my cousin Amy, Casey's sister, joined us at Casey and Kristin's house for a long overdue family chat and info session. Casey graciously provided adult beverages, including a taste of Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon - smooooth! )

Our last day was spent doing the daily things like going to the Laundromat, putting things away for moving down the road to the next site and reviewing travel routes. Last item on the list - Hurst Drug Store Soda Fountain in Bardstown!

yummy!!!

nice soda fountain inside

The day was done and travel tasks begun. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here!

Hope you enjoyed this

Cooper and CJ

Maintenance interlude

Maintenance interlude

To explain the silence of the last 3 weeks, Winnie the RV was in sick bay for a dinette slide repair. This slide was showing increased crankiness to open and with a long trip ahead of us we decided to get it into a dealer to be repaired. Initially we thought it was a motor issue, which was to be determined true. However, after getting a new motor installed, the slide was stilll not operating smoothly. The cause would have to be discovered by removing the slide itself! There really was no option, so we winced and gave the go ahead. Monday the 30th we got it back and Tuesday morning headed out for new sights and experiences. If you have been awaiting updates, we appologize, but now we are moving forward. That being said we are back at seeing this beautiful country and a new post with pictures and details should come in a week or less!

Til then take care

Cooper and CJ

Vermont

Randolph Center, Vermont September 27

After leaving Camden, Maine Wednesday morning, we drove down the coast, hopped on a few side roads and ended up on I89 North to arrive at our next location outside Randolph Center, Vermont. For the first time in a few years we stayed at a private campground. Our usual preference leans towards state or national parks, but in this case, this private park met our needs and gave us some additional luxuries such as cable TV, full hook ups (water, sewer and 50 AMP electric) as well as a nice view for roughly the same cost as state park fees!! Our site for the ten day stay is at the end of the line, giving us unobstructed view of the small valley and hills beyond. Facing almost due East rewards us with a front row seat to view the sunrise with out having to even go outside.

sunrise from our campsite

Our first full day was very low key, just checking out the immediate area and laying in supplies. Our second day had us driving over to Burlington and spending half the day along the waterfront of Lake Champlain and getting long walks with Cooper and CJ on the paths beside the lake front. The Adirondacks are visible across the lake, most impressive.  We plan on returning without dogs in a few days to ride bike in the 8 mile long bike trail.

Burlington Lake front walk. Adirondacks across the lake

When we arrive in a new location, we have a general idea of what points of interest the area might hold for us. Here, outside of Stowe, is the Von Trapp Family Lodge. Of course having seen the movie  "The Sound of Music" several times, we headed over to see their American home. (Cooper and CJ opted to stay back at camp.) Wow! Set on top of a mountain outside of town, on 2500 acres with a breath taking view of the valley and mountains, is an Apline Lodge that is still run by the Trapp Family. Miles of trails, nice restaurants, a beer hall and other activies are possible while there. (Note: this is not the house they started in, unfortunately there was a fire in the early 1980’s).

Trapp Lodge at Stowe VT

Also in the area, beside the quaint town itself are the numerous ski resorts and heading back out towards I89, a chocolatire. This stop provided us with a supply of coco for the coming Winter.

ready for the cold weather

Arriving back in the area of the campground, we went to check out a nearby apple orchard. This was a pick them yourself orchard and so we did. Lots of fun! We had never done that, even though there are numerous orchards in Lancaster County that offer the same opportunity.

as fresh as can be!

Cooper and CJ joined us for our next trip. This time heading South to Quechee to hike the Gorge at Quechee Gorge State Park and then travel over to the Green Mountains and back to our RV using local roads. The hike from US 2 down to the bottom of the gorge is posted as 4/10 of a mile is is great going down but does increase your pulse coming back up. That being said, there were numerous bus groups hiking the trail with many people in their 70’s making the trek. Cooper and CJ of course had no problems.

Quechee Gorge

We stopped across the road from the Gorge and ate our picnic lunch at the State Park picnic area, then continued up the road to a cluster of shoppes centered around Cabot cheese. We sampled almost to the point where we could have skipped lunch, bought a couple of blocks of cheese, crackers and some locally produced adult beverages- wine for Cindy and hard cider for me.

Next we headed west on US 4 towards Woodstock and Killington. Part of this trip is to see America from the side roads vs the Interstate, and this route was perfect for this. Beautiful mountains, with foliage trying to pop, but not there yet due to the recent heat wave. Near the village of Bridgewater,just east of Killington, we pulled in for gas at a country store. The place was great, full of activity and charm. Oak and glass display cases from decades ago, deer heads on the wall and selling a wide variety of local items.

Great country store!

On westward for a few more miles, then swung North up thru Killington and to Rochester where we picked up a township road that brought us east to VT 12 and back home. Our search for the  renowned Fall foliage eludes us as it has been unseasonably warm until recently. The colors are arriving but slowly.

Tuesday found us once again heading to Burlington. This time to use our bikes and explore the 8 mile long trail along Lake Champlain. We parked at the South end of the trail and snagged some free parking, unloaded our bikes, geared up and pedaled off. The Vermont State Police Scuba Team was practicing in the area as we were starting on the trail.

VT SP SCUBA Team

The trail is nicely done, takes you along the shore line for the majority of its length with a small dose of thru town and along the rail yards. We road past where we had walked last Friday and discovered that just beyond where we had turned around, the is a fenced dog park! This we will possibly use in the next few days.

Very nice bike trail along Lake Champlain

We rode to where the trail detours due to construction, turned around and headed back to the North Beach lakefront picnic area to eat lunch. Here we also discovered a rather nice municipal campground. May be worth reserving in the future to be based in Burlington for a few days.

North Beach, Burlington VT

Cooper and CJ were very excited to discover a place on the visitors map that offered great promise -  Dog Mountain . Looking at he visitors map, we located this paradise over NE of St Johnsbury. Also in the area is Cabot Creamery.

Cabot Creamery

Off we went, again taking some lesser roads to see the sites and by 11 AM pulled into Cabot to take the plant tour. Very nice, through the working plant tour, to see how cheese is made - plant tours are always great. Cooper and CJ waited patiently in a shady parking spot. The tour was nicely done, lots of samples :), a few purchases and then back in the Jeep and off to Dog Mountain!

The location was well marked in town and we arrived in short order. We hit a good day , mid-week, mid-afternoon and the dogs loved it! Trails, water bowls, a Chapel dedicated to pets. Nice views of the valley and a gallery selling art items created by the late founder rounded out an awesome visit. After weeks of mostly on leash time, Cooper and CJ thoroughly enjoyed running free for an hour :)

ever friendly CJ meeting a new friend

Cooper and friend cooling down in small pond at Dog Mountain!

We had a few small repairs crop up during this time, a cracked bathroom roof vent cover and a broken screen door latch spring were on the list. On our return back to camp on US 2, just East of Montpelier ( smallest State capital in the US, pop 7800)  we came upon a RV dealer! I pulled in, went to the parts department and they had several options for both items that needed repairs. Not being certain of exactly which one would be the correct choice, I opted to return to camp and return the following morning with the damaged items to match with what was available. The following morning I removed the items, Cindy, Cooper, CJ and I got in the Jeep and headed to.....Waterbury to visit the Green Mountain Coffee visitor center (didn't know they owned Kuerig), then over to apple cider pressing near Stowe and finally down to the RV dealer. The parts were matched up and by suppertime we were back home and all items were repaired (nice when things work out that way especially before a big rain ).

Our quest for Fall color showed sign for promise as we ended the week. We were told of an interesting local item only miles from camp  - a  Floating Bridge

Floating Bridge

As we drove to the floating bridge, we caught glimpses of things a changing! Our next few days took us to more of the back roads and small towns that make this such a quaint place to visit, and yes, we did find some absolutely beautiful areas of Fall color!

the change is a coming

Saturday morning was to be our last big foray to seek foliage. Cindy had researched to find that north of Montpelier on US 2 down VT 100b to VT 17W  was in  peak color. We combined this with a quick breakfast at the New England Culinary Institute, where we enjoyed a delightful Bear Claw and cup of coffee before driving the leaf route.

mmmm.....Bear Claw

Out drive took us thru same neat small towns and villages and yes!!! the color was there, Quest successful.

the Vermont color is a sight to behold

imagine this in the Summer

As we were heading out 17 looking at leaves, we also came across a gem - a very old , still operational saw mill! having unloaded many boxcars of lumber in my youth for our grandfather, I had to include it in the narrative!

coolness!

machinery visible inside

We have wrapped up our stay here in New England and will be heading back to PA for some PM to both ourselves and the rig before heading out for the long portion of the trip. Next post will be in a few weeks.


Cooper and CJ