Travel Blog Posts
November 22nd 2009
November 19, 2009 Well… we cannot put it off any longer…today we will start our two day journey…home! The van is packed, the pictures are taken, the gifts purchased, the memories made and the plan for the next adventure has already begun to take shape…we are happy/sad, excited/reluctant, tired/energized…we are on our way home. We left our Maryland house at about ten this morning and what do you suppose greeted us once we reached the interstate…FOG! Is this a recurring theme with us? What could all this fog mean??? Is it a message about the end of our trip? Are we “foggy” about how to get home? Does the fog represent our feelings about our adventure coming to an end…ambivalence, lack of clarity? Is the fog “blocking” our way home…suggesting we restock the van and continue ... read more
November 22nd 2009
November 18, 2009 We are so relaxed at our rented house and we are literally doing nothing! Today we got up and decided that we should go back into town and get MORE movies to watch…it’s sinful really the movie watching, reading, eating and drinking…Have any of you seen the movie Wall-E? In it there are futuristic humans that have evolved into people that are very large in the trunk but have short insignificant legs and arms…their extremities have atrophied from lack of use…and they roll around in these wheeled chairs…well…that’s kind of what we look like now!!! We have gotten so little exercise lately that we are turning into Wall-E people…the only difference is that we still feed ourselves…a lot!!! Anyway at the video store, we could not be more diverse in our selections. On ... read more
November 20th 2009
November 17, 2009 Before I move on to today’s activities…which by the way were minimal…I wanted to tell more about the ride yesterday from West Virginia into Maryland. First I have to confess once more about my total lack of geographic knowledge…I didn’t even know that West Virginia bordered on Maryland which is where we wound up today. But while still in West Virginia riding through beautiful farmland we came upon a sign in the road that said “Smallest Church in 48 states”. We pulled in and there indeed was a tiny church. It had a tiny alter and a few pews. It even had a miniature confessional! But what was really fun was that right outside the church there was an elderly (90 on his next birthday) man who was as small as the ... read more
November 19th 2009
November 16, 2009 ANNOUNCEMENT! ANNOUNCEMENT! Today John and Bill actually turned down the free hotel breakfast and we went to Shoney’s. It turned out not to be so great…but at least it was something different! We began our drive through the western part of West Virginia, which is just spectacular. We drove a roller coaster road through the Blue Ridge Mountains…so pretty. This is definitely some of the most beautiful country we’ve seen…somewhat surprising to me. There were farms with quilt like patches of land, straw colored fields, old barns, bales of hay, silos…and always…the cows. Perhaps it is time I say a word about the cows. If I had to choose the one single most constant companion on our journey…it would be our bovine friends! They have followed us everywhere; up through the northeast, into ... read more
November 17th 2009
November 15, 2009 “Almost heaven, West Virginia”…after leaving our hotel this morning, we started on our search for Donna’s West Virginia roots! We drove through the western part of the state and arrived in Welch at about noon. This is where Donna was born. After getting herself oriented, Donna directed us to her aunt’s home up a road in an area called “Junior Pokey”, where cousin Jean and her son Randy still live. Of course they weren’t expecting us. When we drove up into the driveway, a man standing there came over to the car…Donna started to tell him who she was, she hadn’t been back in 25 years, but he immediately said in his West Virginia twang “Oh I know who you are; I recognized you right away”!! It was her second cousin Randy, who ... read more
November 17th 2009
November 14, 2009 We met for breakfast at about 9am…the “free” continental breakfasts, which were a draw at the beginning of the trip, are now like a punishment each morning. They all have the same food: a waffle maker, hard boiled eggs (gag), mini muffins (double gag), occasionally a bagel, dry cereal and sometimes a crock pot with gravy for the biscuits (triple gag). Donna and I would love to skip this for a cup of good coffee and a do-nut…but frankly, Bill and John are too cheap to pass up a free meal! Anyway… we started out at about 10am to find Abe Lincoln history…all in a town called Hodgenville. The first spot we found was actually Lincoln’s uncle Mordecai’s home. That was a beautiful old mansion and while there, we made friends with some ... read more
November 14th 2009
November 13, 2009 Today was another driving day…all day. We left Pigeon Forge a bit late because we had a couple of errands to run…so it was probably noon when we left. We drove through Tennessee and in the early evening we reached Kentucky. We had some trouble finding a place to stay, but the road that we were on took us through beautiful Kentucky farm land. Finally at about 7pm we landed in Danville. We were exhausted…Luckily the hotel was a connected to a restaurant so we could just walk over to it. The meal was ok and ended with someone in the attached bar singing very bad Karaoke!!! We went back to the hotel and went to bed! Today’s Road Lesson: We miss Rocky! ... read more
November 14th 2009
November 12, 2009 Today we went back into town and did a bit more exploring. We decided to go to Dollywood and take a look from the outside just to see what it was about. When we found it, you could see nothing from the parking lot. After hemming and hawing…it costs $50.00 a person to get in, Donna and I decided to go…after all, when would we be in Pigeon Forge again? Dollywood was quite a surprise! I expected a high tech type place with crazy rides. It wasn’t like that at all! If you’ve ever been to Clark’s Trading Post in New Hampshire…that’s what it’s like…only much much bigger. It even has the train ride! The Christmas lights were all on and when it got dark it was lovely. Of note is that within ... read more
November 14th 2009
November 11, 2009 We continue our stay in the mountain cabin. Today is Veteran’s day and we are mindful of our men…boys many of them, so far from home, putting their lives on the line so that people like us, have the freedom to enjoy a trip like this…may they be safe and return to us unharmed. We thank Tim, now home safely, for his courageous service and we send our hopeful prayers out to Tom, who is home from Iraq on leave but heading back shortly. We think of him often and wait for his final safe return. (Tom… DVWCS) We risked the gauntlet today and went down into town. It was still rainy and dark. We drove into Smokey Mountain National Park…it was beautiful even in the rain. The river that passes through it ... read more
November 12th 2009
November 9 and 10, 2009 We left our hotel in Memphis early this morning. We were on our way to Nashville and had many miles to cover. The ride to Nashville was uneventful and actually shorter than we thought. We had arranged for a hotel on the internet and got there around 2pm. We started to look for tours of the city but we had pretty much missed the day’s opportunities because of timing. We made arrangements to go on a “Music Tour of Nashville” tomorrow morning and head off after that. We spent the afternoon catching up on the blog…thanks for your comments… and then went to dinner at a place called Darfon. The food was quite good but while there, we were privy to a conversation in a booth behind us that could have ... read more
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