AS Days 13-16

October10

Time to leave the relative warmth and sunshine and risk the weather on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We drove past the very large Fort Bragg, complete with razor-wire fences,  guard stations, and different “levels” of housing (from older looking barracks to relatively luxurious and spacious homes). Leave were really starting to change on the drive.

As we headed in to Virginia, we saw these things:

• sub-$3.00 gas (and Diesel for $3.53)
• “Hungry Church” (hungry for souls or feeding the hungry?)
• he’s back (from two years ago) and so are his signs “Hurt Congress”; couldn’t someone tell him to add the word “for” to his signs?
• another good church sign: “Exercise Daily: Walk with God”
• the BEST church (on wheels which we followed for several miles)-“Time for Jesus Ministries”:

We are not in any way finding religion, but it seems to keep finding us :-)

We got the Blue Ridge Parkway and saw some lovely views, but fog and drizzle were  starting:

We stayed at the Otter Creek Campground (Site 48, $16) and settled for a rainy, drippy but otherwise very quiet night. Here’s the view of the View at our campsite:

October 11

Driving north, we were thwarted in our ability to see the beautiful scenery (this was the kind of morning we had):

We decided to be safe, so got off the parkway and took the Interstate towards Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. On the way, we drove through some pretty countryside (and it was much clearer and drier out of the mountains). Who knew Virginia had a thriving winery scene (and it was the Harvest Festival, so buses and wine tours were everywhere).

We got to Harper’s Ferry in time to “vote” for the “1864 Election” (and yes, I voted Republican, sorry):

And enjoyed strolling the site of John Brown’s rebellion:

After this short Civil War “fix”, we headed to the Green Brier State Park in Maryland for the night (Site 39, $34 E/W). Here’s the view of the View in this campsite:

By the way, from her Cat’s Eye View, Mandy continues to be excited about the trip:

October 12

I have read about the bloody Battle of Antietam in my Civil War research and novels, so we headed to the National Battlefield.

It was a one-day battle in 1862, and it saw the worst loss of American life in battle forever! It’s said that more than 25,000 men died or were wounded, and you can really sense the bloodshed in this now beautiful part of rural Maryland:

As usual, I am moved by these places. And a little haunted. We didn’t see ghosts, but we DID see a Union soldier riding his horse down the road as we arrived then not again (though we saw one pile of horse poop). Eerie.

We also visited the National Cemetery there:

and the older, private cemetery across the road:

This was too strange as our War of 1812 saga continues:

We headed north in to Pennsylvania, got some new toys at a Camping World and settled in at the Moyer`s Grove Campground near Scranton (Site 54, $16.50 E/W PA price):

October 13

We seem to satisfy our Civil War (mine) and Railway (David’s) interests at the end of many of our trips. SO we headed to the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton (despite bad GPS instructions and signage that almost sent us home!).

We took a tour of the Maintenance area, a short train ride and a stroll through the rail yard and Roundhouse:

I must say, we much preferred the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania which we visited a couple of years ago.

Since we left earlier than we expected, we decided to head home. It was clear sailing through the colours of the Pennsylvania and New York countryside. Once we crossed the border, we faced the holiday weekend traffic, but arrived home safe and sound around 9:30.

Another great trip. Next fall, we’ll likely skip the Blue Ridge Parkway and stay on the beaches a little longer!

Now, four months of dreaming and planning our next trip!

AS 9-12

October 6

Oh, my. Another tough day at the beach!

But first, a 12 km bike ride to see the Ocracoke Ponies:

Then an afternoon the beach, sunning, walking, shelling, watching “vertical takeoff” planes flying overhead (maybe from Wilmington?) and sitting in our beach cabana and drinking a beer:

The view from my chair is of an ever-emptying campground:

October 7

Okay, just one more day!

We rode back into Ocracoke and sat on a dock overlooking the ocean from a different angle:

Then this phenomenon occurred: thousands and thousands of Pelicans and Cormorants flew by. We saw no reason why nor did we see a destination (talked to a local later who said he’d never seen anything like it before):

We recovered with a coffee and some treats at Ocracoke Coffee (for Heather, a food shot):

The coffee shop was just outside the school, and we watched as a dad picked up his kids in his golf cart (the vehicle of choice here) and later saw them pulled up to Eduardo’s Taco Truck for lunch!

AND another afternoon on the beach. Then we packed up for an early departure from the island tomorrow.

The final view from my chair is of the almost empty campground:

October 8

Neither of us slept well (Mandy always sleeps well), but that did mean we were awake to watch the Lunar Eclipse. It’s nice to be in an elevated vehicle with a clear view of a clear sky! It was very cool.

We dumped and got water and headed to the ferry terminal. This was our ride (and our warning):

It was a gorgeous day and a gorgeous two-hour crossing. David hung with the bikers and RVers, and I talked with three women: one from Germany and two who are on a whirlwind four-week trip from Utah and back via the Gulf Coast with their husbands. Yikes! It was fun to compare knitting stories (German woman) and travels.

We landed and headed towards Beaufort and really noticed a change in the scenery. Though we were still on the Atlantic coast, there were many Egrets and (finally) a flock of Ibis in the salt marshes. We both noted that this really was feeling like the South.

We drove to to Harker’s Island and contemplated talking the ferry to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse (and we decided not to) but you might see it in this view of the View:

We had lunch here then officially started North! We passed a “Collards Shack”, our first cottonfield and a lot of churches (yep, the South). The best church sign was:

• Get in touch with God through knee-mail

We drove by the Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Service (loved this sign):

Just a few miles later, we found the Neuse River National Forest campground and had a peaceful and air-conditioned (they had electricity!) night in this place complete with spacious sites (Site 10, $17), Spanish Moss in the Day Use area and a little beach:

And here’s the view from my chair:

October 9

Up early and heading to Fayetteville.

Here are some sights and signs:

• the first Chain-less Chain Gang picking garbage
• a Piggly Wiggly and BB Joint in one mall (the smiling Piggy sign did double duty!)
• rich NC farmland with cotton and tobacco (David used to pick it years ago in Kendall near our house so he was my expert):

• real Hispanic influence on the churches, stores and picking (we weren’t sure what this crop was):

• churches every two miles (and all different denominations) with the most interesting sign, “Be an organ donor. Give your heart to Jesus”
• Spivey’s Corners, The Hollerin’ Capital (there’s a Hollerin’ Festival there in September)

We found our way to Art’s RV Sites (15 sites in his backyard). He had the coolest Office:

We got Lot 3 ($15 PA, Full Service!) then headed out to the Cape Fear River Trail for a 14 km ride (no gentle, flat riding here; there were HILLS!):

A nice day in North Carolina.

Here’s the view from my chair: