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Sept. 26 – A Day in Gettysburg

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Sunday, September 27th, 2015

Our plan for today was to visit Gettysburg National Military Park in the morning and then spend the afternoon in Lancaster, PA. I guess we should have done a little more research because it would have been impossible to spend less than a day here and still be able to claim that we visited Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg was a critical turning point in the Civil War and claimed more lives than any other battle. It also inspired the Gettysburg Address, Abraham Lincoln’s most famous speech and arguably the most famous presidential speech ever written.

Once we were in the Visitor’s Center, it was difficult to decide what to see first, so we started in the gift shop. We got our park passport cancellation and spent about 40 minutes just looking around. This is definitely the largest national park gift shop we have seen and is a must for any Civil War buff!

There are several options for touring Gettysburg but we decided to drive Lady T into the park and explore on our own. When we were reviewing the package options, we noticed the Eisenhower National Historical Site Shuttle. For a small fee, a shuttle takes you down to the private home and farm of President Dwight D. and Mamie Eisenhower. Visitors are able to tour the only permanent home that the Eisenhower’s ever owned, which was donated to the National Parks system while the late General and President was still alive.

According to the tour guide, many people to this day are not aware that the President and his wife lived in Gettysburg during his presidency. Many of their personal items are still in the home and it was quite amazing to step back in time and peek in on each of the rooms. President Eisenhower also owned several prize-winning Angus beef cattle and he stipulated that the farmland be used for that purpose after his death.

After the tour, we returned to Lady T for a light lunch and then drove to the battlefield. If you have never been here, it’s difficult to describe the feeling you get when you see it for the first time. There is a sense of reverence and sadness but also triumph. The grounds are massive and we followed the visitors guide to each of the stops. The self-guided auto tour will also take you through downtown Gettysburg, which is a nice little tourist town these days.

We thought we had hit the monument mother load in yesterday but DC’s got nothing on Gettysburg. There are 1,328 monuments and memorials in Gettysburg National Military park! The pics below represent just a fraction of them.

Lancaster will have to wait for another trip but we are so glad we spent the day in Gettysburg. We just settled in at our last Walmart in Hazel Township, PA and will be up bright and early tomorrow to begin the 6-hour journey home. Check in then for one last post from the Along the Way with J&J 2015 Road Trip!

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Categories : #RoadTrip2015

Tags : Gettysburg, National Park, Road Trip, RV Travel

Sept. 25 – Antietam & Washington DC

By jayjazz · Comments (2)

Saturday, September 26th, 2015

We continued our Civil War-themed tour of the National Parks system this morning by visiting Antietam Nation Battlefield in Maryland. Antietam was the bloodiest one-day battle in American history and the Confederate loss provided the opportunity for Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. It’s hard to imagine that something so horrible occurred is a place of such serene beauty.

Without a tow vehicle, we had to find somewhere close enough to DC to park Lady T for the night that was also close to public transportation. Cherry Hill Park is exactly what we were looking for! This full-service RV park in College Park, MD is less than 40 minutes from downtown DC and the shuttle bus to the subway stops directly across from the camp store.

After a quick shower and late lunch, we walked to the entrance of the park and arrived just as the shuttle was pulling in. You can either pay with cash or a SmartTrip card and the subway only accepts the SmartTrip cards, which can be purchased on site.

We’ve both been to Washington DC before but it was a long time ago. I’m going to let the pictures speak for themselves but suffice it to say that we visited a LOT of monuments today, mostly in the National Mall. My favorite was the Lincoln Memorial, partly because Abraham Lincoln is my favorite president and partly because we are huge Forrest Gump fans! I couldn’t help but imagine that Jay was Forrest, standing on the steps facing the Washington Monument and I was Jenny, running through the reflecting pool calling his name. I’m glad that we were here together in our nation’s capital.

On the way back to the subway station, we ran into a few street performers who had quite a crowd gathered and put on a pretty decent show. We caught the last shuttle of the evening back to Cherry Hill and are now relaxing as we prepare ourselves for our last full day on the road before heading home.

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Categories : #RoadTrip2015

Tags : National Park, Road Trip, RV Travel, Washington DC

Sept. 24 – Shenandoah National Park and Harpers Ferry

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Friday, September 25th, 2015

Yesterday, we had hoped to take Blue Ridge Parkway all the way North, which ends just shy of Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive. However, we ran out of time after admiring all there is to see and didn’t want to rush through like we had to in The Smokies. Skyline drive is 105 miles long and runs the entire length of Shenandoah National Park. We drove about 70 of them, stopping frequently to take pictures of the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. We also visited the Harry F. Byrd Visitors center within the park for our first passport cancelation of the day.

Unfortunately, we weren’t going to have much time to explore West Virginia so we decided to spend it in Harpers Ferry. Most of the town is part of the National Parks system and we arrived at the main Visitor’s Center just before 5 PM. A shuttle bus brought us down to the historic town, where the Battle of Harpers Ferry was won by the Confederate Army, resulting in the largest surrender of Federal forces in the Civil War. This is also where abolitionist John Brown was captured and hanged after attacking a federal arsenal.

Harpers Ferry has been maintained to conjure the Civil War era and many of the storefronts have been restored to their original appearance. Most of the stores were closed by the time we arrived but we did stop in Cool Confectionaries, a candy store that offers authentic treats from the Civil War era all the way up to the 1950’s. I was psyched to find a peanut brittle made from an original recipe by George Washington Carver that was sans dairy!

Next, we visited St. Peters Roman Catholic Church, a active Gothic style church which is also the meeting place for Ghost Tours of Harpers Ferry, which claims to be the best ghost tour in the U.S. We then crossed the road to the Harpers Ferry Railroad Bridge, which is short a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Potomac. Along the walkway, we saw a number of different locks randomly placed along the fence and had to look up their significance. They are called Love Locks and it was pretty neat to read the inscriptions. Lastly, we walked down to the waterfront, where we watched two huge ducks placidly floating in the river. That is until they heard me open my peanut brittle. Jay and I almost had to make a run for it as these tourist-fed fatties waddled after us and my candy!

Our home for tonight is a Walmart in Charles Town. WV. This may be our last Walmart sleepover on this trip and I think it’s my favorite. Although I already had dinner planned for the evening, we were mesmerized by the intoxicating smell of Chinese food emanating from China Fortune Restaurant, which is less than 300 feet away from where we parked Lady T. While I waited for our takeout, I watched the second most beautiful sunset on this trip from the parking lot.

Check in with us tomorrow as we head to Washington DC to explore the capital city!

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Categories : #RoadTrip2015

Tags : National Park, Road Trip, RV Travel, Virginia, West Virginia

Sept. 23 – Blue Ridge Parkway & Natural Bridge

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Thursday, September 24th, 2015

I’m embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of the Blue Ridge Parkway before a coworker insisted that we visit it on our road trip. After driving 115 miles on the parkway this afternoon, we fully understand why it has been the most visited unit of the national parks system for almost 70 years! At 469 miles, Blue Ridge Parkway is the longest linear park in the U.S., running through North Carolina and Virginia. We stopped frequently to take pictures and we spent additional time exploring Mabry Mill and Peaks of Otter, where you can also obtain cancellations for your national parks passport.

Shortly after returning to the highway, we began seeing signs for Natural Bridge. I had heard of Natural Bridge before but I couldn’t remember where. The increasing number of signs as we approached the exit suggested something cool, so we decided to stop and check it out.

Natural Bridge is a natural arch carved out of limestone by the continuous flow of Cedar Creek. It was one of the first tourist attractions that Europeans visited when they came to America, was surveyed by a young George Washington, and was once owned by Thomas Jefferson! Natural Bridge is also the name of the Virginia town where the attraction is located.

A set of steps descends onto an open walkway and at first, we didn’t see anything impressive. As the path began to wind, we were not prepared for what was just around the corner. The arch stood looming before us, 215 feet high and 90 feet wide! It was so awesome that we stood there for about 20 seconds in order to process what we were seeing. After passing through the arch, there is a long path, surrounded by woods and wildlife, that ends near a small waterfall.

We paid $20 to visit Natural Bridge, which we thought was a bit steep, but what we didn’t know is that the price included a light show. On the way back up from our walk, the ticket taker informed us that the show would begin at 8 PM. Since we hadn’t eaten, we decided to have our dinner in the parking lot and return for the show.

The second time around, we opted to ride the free shuttle bus down to Natural Bridge. There are a number of benches on each side of the arch and we sat on the side closest to the exit. As soon as it was dark, the show began. A deep voice recounted the “Dawn of Creation” as told in the Bible while classical music boomed in between the narration and a myriad of colored lights flooded the archway. It was truly a sight to behold!

It has been a long day and we are presently resting at a Walmart in Staunton, Virginia. Follow us tomorrow as we visit Shenandoah National Park and another famous road, Skyline Drive!

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Categories : #RoadTrip2015

Tags : National Park, Road Trip, RV Travel, Virginia

Sept. 22 – Diamond Caverns and The Smokies

By jayjazz · Comments (0)

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2015

After we settled in at the campground, I wondered if we should have kept moving. The Great Smokie Mountains were about 5 hours away and we would be shaving time off of our visit there by staying in Kentucky to check out Diamond Caverns.

Well, I’m happy to report that it was TOTALLY worth it! We were up super early this morning to catch the first tour but we ended up missing it. Diamond Caverns actually opened at 9 AM but the off season hours were posted online already, so we arrived just after they first group went down. Bummer, but it worked out because the first group was huge. There was only one other couple with us and we didn’t realize what a benefit this was until we had to maneuver the cavern. This tour is a bit more strenuous than Frozen Niagara and there are a couple of very narrow spots that we barely slithered through.

However, the cavern itself was stunning. There was so much more to see here and we must have taken a zillion pictures! We visited Meramec Caverns last year on Route 66, which was cool also, but Diamond Cavern has been the nicest cave/cavern we’ve visited so far. So much so that our tour guide, Mikel, mentioned that during the “cave wars” back in the day, employees from other caves broke in and stole stalactites from Diamond Cavern to sell them in their gift shops! By the way, do be sure to spend some time in the gift shop if you ever visit Diamond Caverns. They have a stunning array of stones, rocks, and minerals, plus your usual tourist fare.

After the tour, we hopped in Lady T and drove straight to Tennessee without stopping. We drove for about 20 miles in Smokey Mountain National Park but of course, we arrived at the Sugarlands Visitor’s Center two minutes after they closed. As I pressed my sad face up to the glass, I noticed movement inside. I knocked on the door to get the Ranger’s attention and held up my passport. He was nice enough to come out through a side entrance with the stamp and ink pad so we could stamp our books!

Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay in the Smokies overnight so we decided to drive into Gatlinburg. We figured it would be a small quite town and were surprised as we drove through the downtown area. Gatlinburg has to be one of the biggest tourist towns we’ve ever seen! By now, it was about 7 PM and the place was packed. Thankfully, we found a safe place for Lady T to rest while we scoped out the place. Candy shops, restaurants, theme parks…you name it, Gatlinburg has it.

We were strolling along, taking everything in, when we came upon the Gatlinburg Sky Lift. The lift consists of 2 person seats that shuttle you 1800 feet in the sky to a small gift shop and overlook. Since we weren’t going to have an opportunity to explore the mountains, this was the next best thing. If you are even the slightest bit afraid of heights, you should probably not even look at the lift. I am not and I could barely breathe the entire ride up. Once you reach the top, though, you have a birds eye view of pure beauty, especially at dusk.

If you do decide to ride the lift, calm your nerves afterward by visiting one of the several moonshine distilleries on the strip. We stopped at two, Ole Smokey Distillery and Sugarlands Distilling Company. We also passed a third one but two was enough! On the way out of Gatlinburg, we drove through Pigeon Forge, which is like Gatlinburg but several miles long! It was fun to look at all of the pretty lights.

We just pulled into a Flying J rest area in Wytheville, Virginia. Check back tomorrow as we visit two of the most scenic roads in the country!