http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/OffOurRocker/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from OffOurRocker en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:21:09 +0000 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 10:21:09 +0000 Hey all we've been home since last Wednesday but I haven't had a chance to post. So here's what happenedWe left Florence on Sunday morning under overcast skies and occasional sprinkles. As we headed downriver the sprinkles turned to drizzle and the drizzle to rain. We anchored again at Whetstone Branch thinking we'd be sheltered from the wind finding instead that the surrounding hills funn http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/blog-444802.html We left on Tuesday morning and stopped for the night at Marsh Creek an anchorage we'd always wanted to try. It was a beautiful spot quiet and off the river. There was a dredge working near the mouth of the creek but they quit around 430 and we enjoyed the peacefulness and the solitude. The next morning we were greeted with fog which cleared out by mid morning. We were surprised when we go http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/blog-441820.html Wednesday morning after breakfast I headed to Greenville Ohio and the Garst Museum. I left Kerry and Ethan at the campground to entertain each other with the swimming pool ping pong table and basketball.The Garst Museum is a good source of Genealogy information for Darke County where my father was born as well as surrounding Ohio counties. The folks there were helpful and pointed me in th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/blog-419444.html Monday 13 July 2009Western Pennsylvania is beautiful and green a very nice drive this morning. Then we got into Ohio not special. It looks like just about anywhere flat and fairly forgettable. We did stop in Wadsworth at a Walmart but Wadsworth is just not the same since Mary Saylor left.We stopped for the night just north of Columbus at a nice campground at Marengo where Kerry and Ethan http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Ohio/blog-418632.html Friday July 10 2009We loved Mt. Desert Island but it was time to move on. We headed west across Maine on US 2. The countryside was not as pretty as I remembered probably due to all the road construction going on. What a rough road the road construction was needed but a pain to us travellers. We relished the nice stretches of road. Once we crossed into New Hampshire the roads were much s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/blog-417947.html As cold wet and dreary as yesterday was today was bright and sunny. Blue skies and warm temps are a welcome change.After stopping at the Visitor Center for Acadia National Park we headed for the Park Loop Road and went up Cadillac Mountain with its spectacular vistas. We saw the Schoodic Peninsula where we were yesterday in the rain and Bar Harbor and the Cat Ferry that goes to Nova Scotia. http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maine/blog-416924.html Tuesday 7 JulyWe continued to follow US 1 north. At Damariscotta we took 130 south to Pemaquid Point andthe Pemaquid Lighthouse. It was a fairly long drive down there and back so I decided no more really out of the way lighthouses. The Pemaquid Light was really pretty but the day is cold overcast and blustery with intermittant showers. Yesterday's blue ocean is gray and rough today.At Rock http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maine/blog-416604.html We left the campground in Epsom NH driving east on Hwy 4. At Portsmouth NH we picked up I95 for just a few miles to the Welcome Center. There we picked up some brochures and advice and got onto US 1 heading north in search of lighthouses.We lucked onto our first at Cape Neddick the famous Nubble Light. It was quite pretty on its little island but a real pain to get to as we had to mane http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maine/blog-415950.html This is the first chance I've had to blog since being at Deanna's. So Ill try to keep it brief.Thursday we left Deanna's in Fairfax and headed north toward Dulles Airport then west to I81. Not the straightest route but we decided to go that way in order to pass through West Virginia and Maryland on the way to Pennsylvania giving Ethan 3 new states to add to his list of states he has visite http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/New-Hampshire/blog-415559.html We got out a little earlier this morning and headed to the ViennaFairfax Metrorail station again thinking that perhaps this time we'd find parking. We were excited when the north parking garage was still open but after driving aroiund for 30 minutes and not finding a vacant parking spot we gave up and went to West Falls Church station again where we found a spot on the roof again.We got off http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/blog-414242.html We dawdled this morning before heading to DC to see the Mall and the memorials. We checked early around 930 and there was still parking available at ViennaFairfax Metrorail Station but by the time we got there after 1100 all lots were full. So we headed on in to West Falls Church Station and managed to get the last parking spot in the parking garage. That's a lot of cars Fairfax has 5 http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/District-of-Columbia/Washington/blog-413889.html Finishing up Skyline Drive we passed a large group of young people on bicycles heading south and spread out over several miles. They were all wearing the same bicycle shirts so we guessed they were all together. We met a bicyclist heading north who flagged us down. He had 2 flat tires and wanted a lift to the final Visitor Center to pick up his car. We managed to make room for his bike and hi http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Virginia/Fairfax/blog-413552.html Continuing north on the Blue Ridge Parkway we stopped at the James River Visitor Center and walked around some. Next we stopped at Yankee Horse Ridge to see Wigwam Falls. When we stopped at Humpback Rocks Visitor Center they were setting up for a musical afternoon but we were there only for a stamp on my National Park Passport and a sticker that read I drove the entire Blue Ridge Parkway.The http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Virginia/Shanendoah-National-Park/blog-413548.html We continued north on the Blue Ridge Parkway into Virginia. What a beautiful drive. The Parkway connects the Great Smoky Mountains NP in North Carolina with the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. But don't expect it to be the quickest route because that is definitely not its purpose. With a maximum speed limit of 45 mph it is meant to be savored. It's a perfect road for motorcyclists and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Virginia/blog-413545.html Another Pull Up the Blankets night. That's good sleeping weather. Tom and Brenda came by for a few minutes this morning before we closed up the camper and headed out. We stopped at Looking Glass Waterfall just a few miles up the road from the campground. We continued on the Blue Ridge Parkway stopping at overlooks and the Destination Center in Asheville. At Linville Falls we walked down to http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/North-Carolina/blog-412652.html The stream sang us a lullaby last night and we slept very well though it got cool enough for us to pull up the blankets.We drove south through the Great Smoky Mountains NP on 441 to Cherokee NC where we picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We stopped at several overlooks which are plentiful but it was pretty hazy and we couldn't see far. We were lucky to get a campsite at Davidson River Campgr http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/North-Carolina/Brevard/blog-412647.html We all slept very well last night and broke camp this morning uneventfully. We went the wrong way upon leaving the park but just called it a sightseeing detour and went on our way. We went through SoddyDaisy Dayton and Athens towns I hadn't been through in many years. They've grown a bit. We got on the Foothills Parkway and headed toward Townsend. We intended to go south from Wear Valley http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Great-Smoky-Mountains-Parkway/blog-412643.html This morning started out poorly. Kerry got up early and researched our problem on the net with less than encouraging results. At 8AM he started calling local RV dealers. No one answered at one another told him they couldn't work on Jayco campers another didn't open until 10. He called a Jayco dealer in Knoxville but no answer there either and no call backs from the messages he left. Final http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Chattanooga/blog-412638.html Hello all. We're on the road with our camper again this time bringing our grandson Ethan along. As seems to be our habit we've started another trip with screwups.We were about 23 of the way to Chattanooga when Kerry realized we forgot to take the meats we had purchased for our first few days out of the freezer. We will have some nice meals to look forward to when we get back home. And it http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/Chattanooga/blog-411320.html We're home at last and everything is green and lush. It has rained since we arrived. The grass is knee high but it's too wet to mow so that will give us a chance to relax a little. Michael came over last night and had supper with us. It was so good to see him now we can't wait to see David Misty Sara and the grandkids.We had a couple of incidents in our last hundred miles. First we hear http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Tennessee/blog-395636.html