Second Half of October 2011

                         We’re still on the road! ………

In St. Augustine, we visited Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of youth. 
I tried the water …… but it’s not working  J

Next stop – Miami Florida where we spent time visiting with our friend Sandi Space.  We have known Sandi for 44 years.  Mike and Ray were in the Marine Corps together.  Sandi introduced us to her birds ….. beautiful and colorful. 
We had a great time with Sandi.

Moving south, we went to Key West Florida.  We stayed at a
wonderful RV park right on the water.  It was tropical paradise.

Sunrise right out our front window.  It was so beautiful.

Key West is over 100 miles from the Florida mainland …. out in the ocean
and is only 90 miles from Cuba.

On Key West, we toured Henry Truman’s secondary Whitehouse.  We learned
that President Truman was quite a character.

Mallory Square at sunset …….. so much fun!  There were street performers,
folks selling their wares.  The cruise ships were in. 
It was so much of a carnival atmosphere.

Sunset was magnificent!

After we left Key West, we drove north on the west side of Florida.
After a few days of driving, we stopped in
Dothan Alabama to visit with our friends Tom and Linda West.   

We spent two nights parked at their house.  Mike and Tom played golf
while Linda and I checked out the local quilt stores.  

Then we drove to Panama City Florida each of us in our own motorhomes. 
We had a great seafood dinner and watched the fishermen on the
dock haul in fish as the sun set in the Gulf of Mexico.

Tom and Linda headed back to Dothan and we continued to the National Naval Air Museum at Pensacola Florida. 

Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels.  The air museum was outstanding.  

Moving on – we headed to New Orleans Louisiana.  What an interesting town.  The architecture is beautiful.  Many parts of the city are very old.  Many of the people live in areas that have no yard and their front doors open directly onto the very narrow streets.  We took a short ride on the Mississippi River.  We had beignets (French donuts) at the famous Café Dumond.  We took a great tour of the effects of hurricane Katrina and we took a horse drawn carriage tour of the French Quarter.

Heading north, we traveled through Mississippi and into Memphis Tennessee.  We toured Graceland……..the home of Elvis Presley.  The house is in the exact condition it was 35 years ago when Elvis lived there.  We saw his old cars ..... his old clothes …… his airplanes ……. A museum about his 1968 comeback (after years of making movies) ….. we toured the record company where Elvis recorded his first record…..

Elvis was a remarkable man - and what a voice!

After the tours, we went into the downtown of Memphis …… the famous
Beale Street.  There were some blues players on the street ….
 Many restaurants.  Quite the night spot.

Our trip continues …….. stay tuned.

First Half of October 2011

More with the Foxes Great Adventure ………..

Still in Washington D.C. – there is so much to see here.  The National Archives were awesome.  The original Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence.  Precious documents – no pictures allowed.

This building had an amazing ceiling – so beautiful.

At the National Policemen’s Memorial, every police officer in the U.S. who has lost their life during the course of duty, had their names listed on the walls of the memorial.

Pat hopped on a plane and headed back toward Oregon. 
We had a great time seeing Washington D.C. with her.

Next stop – The Outer Banks of North Carolina.  On the Outer Banks, we went to the
site where Orville and Wilbur Wright flew in their first airplane – 120 feet!  There is
a memorial, a museum and a sculpture of their first plane.

The Outer Banks were beautiful – very commercial but beautiful.  We were unable to
drive to the very south end – there was a bridge that was still out due to the recent hurricane……. but we were able to see a good portion of the Outer Banks. 
The northern end had so many beautiful – HUGE homes. 
A very ritzy area.

Our next stop was in Charlotte North Carolina.  We toured the NASCAR Hall of Fame. 
An outstanding museum dedicated to NASCAR racing.

Also while in Charlotte, we toured the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  It was really interesting – Here’s Mike in the Winners Circle!

From Charlotte, we headed back to the coast and spent some time in
Charleston, South Carolina.  Charleston has so much history and so many beautiful
old – really old homes.  The architecture is so very unique.  The tour we took was
very good and for the first time, I felt like the South was very
much alive…..You can feel it.

While in Charleston, we drove out to Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms.  We also toured the aircraft carrier “Yorktown”  The Yorktown was
active in WWII and also in Vietnam.  On board, they have created a
great museum dedicated to the Medal of Honor recipients
as well as the Yorktown and her numerous tours.

From Charleston, we headed south to Savannah Georgia.  We drove out to
Hilton Head – lots of homes, hotels …….
A great summer place.

Savannah seems to have much of the same history as Charleston….. with
a few minor differences.  Quite a bit of American and British history.  Savannah has a
history of their cotton harvesting as well as several
notable writers from the past.

We ate at Paula Deen’s restaurant.  Paula has made her fortune feeding the
people of Savannah as well as her television cooking shows.

Yes – now I know for sure ….the south is very much alive and
proud of their part in the Civil War.  I liked the city of Charleston very much ….
I liked the people of Savannah very much!

From Savannah, we headed even further south into Florida. 
While in Daytona, we toured the Daytona Speedway – Great tour. 

We stayed in St. Augustine ……. The oldest settlement in America.

This is the oldest wooden schoolhouse in the U.S.

While in New York, we met a great couple also touring the eastern US… The Roses.
Coincidently, we saw them again in Washington D.C.  What do you know – again in
Savannah and guess who we ran into in St. Augustine? A nice couple from
Redding, California – we went out to dinner with them in St. Augustine.

Will keep you posted ………. More to come

Second Half of September 2011

Our travels continue ………..

The second half of September finds us just outside of Philadelphia in a rural area … Strasburg Pennsylvania.  Some of the houses in this town were 350 years old.

While in the Philadelphia area, we drove to Gettysburg.  The visitors center, museum, movie and driving tour of the battlefield were incredible.  Most of the day was spent looking at the numerous memorials to those lost in the battle fought here.  Such a dark time in our history with Americans fighting against Americans.

We went on a walking tour of Old Town Philadelphia.  We visited the original Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Thomas Jefferson’s living quarters while writing the Declaration of Independence, the Philadelphia Mint, the tavern where Benjamin Franklin hung out and the spot where Tun Tavern was once located (Tun Tavern was the birthplace of the Marine Corps.)

Next we traveled to Washington D.C.  We picked Pat (Mike’s sister) up at the airport and went directly to the U.S. Capitol Building where we met at one of the
Washington State’s senators offices and from there we were taken on a private tour of the Capitol.  At the end of the tour we were allowed into the House of Representatives.  Unfortunately they weren’t in session and we weren’t allowed to take pictures …. But the room looked just like it does when the President gives the

State of the Union message.   The building was very impressive.

The Capitol has beautiful ceilings and beautiful light fixtures.

The floors in the Capitol are incredible mosaics.  On our second day in Washington D.C. we went back to the Capitol and visited the Senate.  The Senate was in session and we were amazed when all of the senators came in for two different votes.  All of the names you see in the newspapers …. They were there!  John McCain, John Kerry, Orin Hatch, John Thune, Barbara Boxer, Dianne Finestein, Patty Murray, Ron Wyden, Joseph Liberman and more.

Next stop was the Library of Congress.  In my opinion, the most beautiful piece of 

architecture in Washington D.C.

Look at those ceilings, AMAZING!!  Built at the turn of the century (around 1900)

The Washington monument………so beautiful and majestic.  Unfortunately, we weren’t
allowed to go up into the monument as there were some structural damages in an
earthquake about a month ago.

The World War II Memorial was very impressive.

The Vietnam Memorial wall was very solemn.  Mike fought in Vietnam –
it was the war of our generation.

The Lincoln Memorial was very impressive and stately.

I learned that the great President Lincoln wasn’t really very popular and that the Union came very close to losing the Civil War.  Surprising isn’t it?

The Korean War memorial was very haunting.  I didn’t realize that we lost over
50 thousand Americans in the Korean War.

The Martin Luther King Memorial is very new and was very popular.

We had tickets to tour the White House.  The rooms we were able to see were large, decorated many years ago and they were very formal.  We weren’t allowed to see any of the West Wing where the President’s offices are located or any of the Presidents private living quarters.  It was awesome to think the President and his family live there.

 Our friend, Neil Peterson works part of the time in Washington D.C.  

We were lucky that Neil was in town for a few days during our stay.  He rented a car and took us for a “Progressive Dinner”  So much fun!  We went to a fish market near the Kennedy Center.  

We went to a Washington D.C. institution – Ben’s Chili Bowl!

So much fun!!

Next we went to two different Book stores that are well known in Washington D.C.

Then the National Cathedral – and some ritzy homes in the Georgetown area.

Georgetown Cupcake – Have you heard of it?  Fabulous cupcakes!  What a great idea.  The line was outside the door and the cupcakes – YUM!!

Arlington Cemetery was even more than I expected.  Rows and rows, acres and acres, hundreds of thousands of white markers.  We visited the grave and the eternal flame of John F. Kennedy’s gravesite.  We also saw Ted and Robert Kennedy’s gravesites.  The tomb of the Unknown Soldier was so solemn and sobering.  It was pouring down rain – the guard never flinched.

The Marine Corps Memorial – the flag raising at Iwo Jima
was also very impressive.  

The National Cathedral was also amazing.  Because this building was also damaged in the recent earthquake, we weren’t allowed to go inside.

Just south of Arlington, Virginia, we visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps.  This museum told an excellent story of the Marine Corps from it’s very beginning.

Another day, we drove to Mount Vernon, home of George Washington.  This was a beautiful home on many acres that has been well taken care of.  Did you know that
Washington had over 300 slaves?  I didn’t know that. 
At his death, he gave them all their freedom.

We went to the Supreme Court.  This building was awesome.  There is so much
power in this place.  I was surprised that the actual courtroom
was rather small and unassuming.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum was depressing and very emotional. 
I would recommend it to every Washington D.C. visitor.
We must never forget.

We went to the Pentagon.  Although we weren’t allowed inside, we were able to go to the Pentagon Memorial.  It was well worth the trip.  It was a moving tribute to those who lost their lives at the Pentagon on 9/11.

We spent a day at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  This museum chronicles air travel from Orville and Wilbur Wright through our
space exploration and moon landings.

We drove to Annapolis to tour the United States Naval Academy. The museums, movies, tour, books …. It was all very regimented.  We thought of our friend
Bob Lucas who was a graduate of Annapolis.

Just like Westpoint, this was an amazing experience.
I can’t believe we have seen so much……. 


The Subway System (Metro) in Washington D.C. is fantastic.  No need for a car - very efficient!

Stay tuned - We still have more to see on this great trip!