A Whale of a tail

Hi again:
We decided to go whale watching today. Our whale watching cruise started from Long Pier in Boston Harbor at 10:30. It was 50 degrees out when we left the motorhome so we took extra outer wear. They warned us in their literature to do so and we were prepared. The sky was mostly clear and with the cool air, it made for a nice day. It was very breezy going out to the area were the whales were. I believe they said it was 20 miles off shore. It took about an hour to get out there; an hour to watch the whales; and another hour to get back to the harbor. You could still see the Boston skyline in the background but it would have been a loooong swim back.Ha!

We got to see three pairs of whales. One of the pair was a mother and her calf that I believe were humpback whales plus another pair of adult humpback whales. The third pair was of a different breed. We got some fairly good video and some pictures. I'll upload the best video for this post. This area is feeding ground for the whales and they are usually here from April to October before they head down south. For being such large animals, they are sure graceful in the water.

After we got back from the whale watch, we went to visit Cheers (from TV fame) and have lunch. You walk downstairs and through the door just like on TV but everything else is different. We had to go to a different floor for our meal. The menu and quality of food was about like Applebee's. Nice meal. There is another Cheers a few blocks away that is set up like the TV show so we stopped to take a look. They had a square bar like the show but that was about all. It was in a big glassed-in area in a market area. A lot different than the show.

We got home about dark and ready to call it a day. It was a good day and we both enjoyed all the sites. We are not sure what direction we will head off into tomorrow so stay tuned. We think we will have two to three more days of sightseeing here before we move on. Having a great time and we'll write more tomorrow.

Cape Cod

We weren't able to post our blog last night as the WiFi service was down. We decided to stay around the campground today and just relax so disregard our last paragraph below. It is a beautiful day out in the 70's. Campground is full! There is a dealer who has some RV's set up for display here in the campground so guess we will walk up there and check that out.

Friday, Sept. 28

We headed for Cape Cod somewhat late this morning. We got up in good time but just took our time getting around. I-495 is about 4 miles south of the campground. We headed east and it was a straightt shot to the cape. The cape runs east and west and curls up to the north at its end. There are three roads you can take going east. They come together as you turn north. We ran the northern route most of the way going east. It is called Old King's Highway. The speed limit was 35 mph with lots of little towns. There really wasn't much to see except for trees and antique shops and art galleries. The architecture of the houses in the towns were typical New England. A lot of saltbox style houses with no overhangs on the roofs. For some reason, they reminded me of the houses in the Amana Colonies.



Except for a canal, we didn't see much water until we got to the northern end. That is where a lot of the beaches are. We did stop by one beach for a few minutes and take some pictures, At the very end of the pennisula is Provincetown and is somewhat of a tourist trap. We stopped and looked around for a while an had a bit of ice cream. On the way back we stopped at a light house and took some pictures and some video. I will upload it for this posting, it is 10 to 15 seconds long. We were running out of daylight so came back on Highway 6 which runs down the center. There wasn't much to see except trees again.



We are planning on going back to check out the southern part in a few days. Hyannis and Hyannis Port are on that part. Martha's Vineyard lies just to the south but a ferry or airplane is needed to get there. We will check into that as well.



We may end up back to Boston tomorrow, we will see. (More subway time) Hope you are all doing well and thanks for checking in with us. L&G

Downtown Boston

We made it into downtown Boston about 10:30 this morning. The drive to the subway station took about 40 minutes ii it is somewhere around 25 miles from the campground. It was about all interstate driving and there was traffic, not too bad though. We bought the tickets through a kiosk at the station. They were about like the ones in New York City. The train we rode on looked like it was in service when we were here in 1972.Ha! When we came back this afternoon, some of the trains looked a lot newer but not like NYC and nothing like Washington DC. The DC system is the newest in the country, I believe. Boston's subway started in the late 1800's by going under the harbor. The first of its kind in the world.

We got off at Park Station, which is the Boston Commons area. It is a small park in downtown Boston. After we came up from the subway and got acclimated to our suroundings, it seemed a little strange. After being in NYC, this area had a "small town" feel to it. Maybe it was the park, I don't know. Boston isn't a small town at all and it did wear off as the day went along, The state capital is at the top of the hill and we took a tour. The building dates back to the late 1700's. It has been added onto. The original dome was covered with wood shingles but leaked. Paul Revere (the same guy that made the midnight ride) was a metal smith by trade and later covered it with copper. Sometime in the late 1800's it was covered with gold leaf. We did see his grave in a cemetery just off the Commons.

There is a walking trail leaving from the Commons, named the Freedom Trail, set up for visitors to follow to the different historic sites in the area. What they have done is paint a red line down the sidewalk for you to follow. It is about 2 1/2 miles long. Some of the historic sites are free to visit and some are not. One of the buildings is the old state capital and dates back to the 1600's. Paul Revere's house is on the tour but we did not go in. We may go back and catch some of the things we missed today. There were several. The highlight today for me was a very good tour of the USS Constitution. It is the oldest commissioned ship in the world. They take her out on occasion and sail her. Hard to believe. I believe the highlight for Glenda was taking her shoes off when we got home. Ha! She can only take so much when it comes to museums, guided tours, and the like! I have added a picture of the Old North Church where Paul Revere warned the colonists that "the Red Coats are coming".

The ride home went quickly, but the train was full, we had to stand for about half the trip out. The traffic on the freeway was much better than this morning. We got home about 7 PM.

We are not sure what we will do tomorrow. We may take a day trip to Cape Cod. We will see. Thanks for checking on us. We will write more later. L&G

In Boston

Hi Again:

We left New York about 9 this morning. It was a leisurely drive and took about 4 1/2 hours long. We hit the I495 loop which goes around Boston sooner than we thought. Maps of small states can be deceiving.



The terrain that we drove through was all about the same. Except for some coastal water, there was not much but rolling hills with lots of trees. It is very scenic and the trees are beginning to change to their fall colors. We did not see one acre of farm ground. That was similar with our travels around New York as well. We may have seen 10 acres of corn altogether. The terrain around the campground that we stayed at was rolling with trees as above. As we rode in on the train the hills flattened out and then the trees just melted away and you could see the skyline of the city in the distance. The area from that point looked to be wetlands. There wasn't much there until we hit the big city.



I am sending a link to Google Maps to a picture of the campground. Our camp site is the center of the picture. http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.038758,-71.282647&spn=0.000809,0.001236&t=k&z=19&om=1 We are in Foxborough, about 5 miles from the Patriots stadium. We drove right by it.



As you can see, there isn't much to write about today. The weather has been perfect, in fact it has been great all month. We are planning on taking tomorrow off and just taking it east at the camper, so probably won't write. Stay tuned. L&G

Today At NBC'S TODAY

Hi,

We made it out of bed by 4:30 AM this morning and got down to NBC Studios by 8:00 for the broadcasting of the Today Show. Got to see Meredith Veira, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Ann Curry, and Tiki Barber. They would come out on the Plaza at different times to do parts of the show. When they were inside the studio doing interviews, the crowd could stand outside the studio windows and wave and be seen on TV. We could be seen in the background when Meredith is interviewing Jamie Foxx. To see the video clip, you can click on the following link: http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?f=00&g=991c12c0-7978-4d0d-830a-e4ba5ae2fd83&p=News_Editors%20Picks&t=m5&rf=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/12065856/&fg=Then we also saw Matt Lauer interview Tony Bennett in the studio. Outside we also were seen in the crowd while a "tango" dancing segment was done. Got some pictures and it was fun watching how everything takes place during a broadcast. Also visiting with the people that were around us in the crowd was fun. We were there for about two hours.

After the Today Show we had some lunch and then just walked around Broadway and Times Square doing some souvenir shopping and just trying to take in all the excitement of NYC as we knew it would be our last day in the Big Apple.

Got back to the campground about 4:00. We had some new neighbors that had moved in next to us and we visited with them. We exchanged some travel information -- they gave us information on Boston and we gave them our maps and time schedules for the trains and subways in New York City and showed them how we got around. They are a real nice couple from California and are on a three-month trip.

Larry is tired tonight so I told him I would type the blog. It will be an early night for us tonight since we got up so early. Hopefully, tomorrow we can sleep in for awhile. Plan to leave in the morning sometime and head to Boston. Take care everyone and thanks so much for the E-mails. Love, Larry and Glenda

World Trade Center Site

Hi to all:

As the title implies, we visited Ground Zero today. We took a tour of the area around the site. The actual site is a construction area and we couldn't get too close. There were places that you could look down from across the street and see a big hole. The site is about 14 acres. Some of the subways had gone right next to the site and were closed after 9-11. They are now building a major subway hub in the lower (underground) level before the rest of the reconstruction begins. That part will not be completed until 2010. We did see a drawing of what the reconstructed tower will look like. One thing I did not remember was that there was a third tower (50 story's) that collapsed. It was damaged so bad that it fell down later on. I am assuming it collapsed the same day but I am not sure. Everyone got out of it OK. The building where the 2 firefighters recently lost their lives is right next to the site on the south side.

There were two ladies giving the tour. One of them had been a volunteer with the Salvation Army and was there from 9-12 and for many, many days thereafter. Her job was to help the workers in any way she could. There was so much soot and dust in the air, all she did on the first day was wash rescue workers' faces and flush out their eyes with eye wash. She said that during the first day she worked (9/12), all of the sudden people started running and she had to also. She had no idea why, but she had to run or get run over. She later found out that there was fear that a building close to the site was going to collapse and that was why people were running. That happened 6 times before it was determined that the building was OK. She recounted seeing the video on TV of people running from the site and that she had gotten a little taste of the fear that they were going through.

The other lady worked at a hospital not far from the site. She said that they had went through drills many times to prepare for a disaster and all the victims that it would bring. In this case there were no victims to treat. (Her Words) I would think there would have been a few.

This was all very sobering to look at and to hear about. It is hard to imagine what the people went through. There are two memorials that were shown to us. One is to the firefighters, paid for by a law firm who lost an employee and and the other company (we can't remember the name of firm) who lost 11 employees in the disaster.

The area is beginning to recover. The third tower that collapsed has been rebuilt. It is now 80% occupied. The twin towers were about 110 stories tall.

After leaving the WTC site, we took the subway to Central Park. We have heard stories about the park and didn't know what to expect but found it to be very nice. It was Sunday though and there were a lot of people in the park. We were comfortable with the surroundings as we walked around, but at 10:00 PM on a Friday night might be a different story.

It is about the same with the subways. We were not uneasy on them but the time of day could make a difference. We were able to get right on and go where we wanted to go. They listed the trains by their final destination, and we were unfamiliar with the names. That wasn't really a problem, the worst that could happen is you might end up going north when you were wanting to go south, for example. As long as you had a sense of direction, you were OK.

Tomorrow we are planning on getting up early (about a 60 mile ride on the trains and subways)and checking out the "Today Show" on NBC. We may even get a chance to wave at you. We will see if we can get out of bed that early. Big Question?

We will write more later. The plans are right now to leave the Big Apple on Tuesday and head for Boston. Baked Beans anyone? Bye Bye

To West Point

Hi:

We decided to take a driving trip today to West Point. It is about 50 miles away. We didn't know it was as close is it was. It was a nice change of pace from riding the trains and subways. West Point has been in continuous use since 1786 if I remember correctly. Lots of tradition there. They give tours starting at the visitors center which is off the base. It is the only way you can get on the base, which is different than Annapolis. There you just had to show a picture ID and go through security. The campus is older looking than Annapolis but it is an older campus.

We did take a few pictures and will include one of the parade grounds which we think is the cafeteria in the near background and one of the 9 chapels in the upper background.

Day three, New York

Hi Again:

This was written Friday evening.

Our wifi was not working last night when we got home or this morning so was unable to post. Yesterday we first went to the NBC studios. They were still doing an outside shot where they do the "Today Show." It was another show though. We then took a tour of the studios where Conan's show is done and "Saturday Night Live" is shot. The tour was a little disappointing as they didn't show where "NBC Nightly News" and the "Today Show" studios were. The tour brochure advertised it, but also said that the studios were subject to change if they were filming at that time. We are planning on going back to the "Today Show" Monday morning if we can get our bodies out of bed!

From there we went to the Empire State Building and went up to the observation deck on the 86th floor. What an awesome view! It takes a while to take it all in, there is a lot to see. I will try to download a picture. The picture is looking to the south. The taller buildings are in the financial district were Wall St. is. Off to the right in the distance is Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Then we took our first subway ride down to "Ground Zero". We couldn't see much because they had tall fences all around it. We could see through a crack once in a while and there is a big hole in the ground. They are giving tours and we may take one. It is hard to imagine what went on there.

We walked down Wall Street but it was somewhat disappointing. They have it blocked off to cars so you can walk on the street anywhere you want. The street is very narrow anyway as are several of the streets in the area. George Washington took his first oath of office at a site on the street.

I was looking for the sculpture of the Raging Bull(the one they show on TV all the time) but was unable to find it. However we walked right up to it today. It was about a block off Wall Street.

It was time to head home from there and it was late when we got home.

Today we got into the city a little earlier and headed for the UN building. I thought it would be a quick walk by and that would be it but they were giving tours. As it turned out, today was the last day they would be giving tours until sometime next March. We got lucky.

From there we took the subway to lower Manhattan at Battery Park where we took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and then on to Ellis Island. Be forewarned, we took 90 some pictures today. Ha! It was a nice day, the sky was clear, and not too hot. A good day to do just about anything outside.

We went back to Wall Street and walked around the New York Stock Exchange Building to see if they gave tours but they did not. Then it was back on the subway to Penn. Station and the ride home. We got home late again tonight and our "tails are dragging the ground a bit" so will write more later. L&G

In New York

Hi to All:

We made it into Manhattan this morning about 10:30 AM. It is about 20 minutes to the commuter station from the campground. We didn't time the trip going in because we had to figure their system out and how the transfer worked. The trip home took 1 hour from downtown with the one transfer. It was faster than our trip into Chicago which surprised me. We just about had a snafu at the transfer point, it seem there are two Penn Stations. One in Newark and one in Manhattan. We just happen to catch the right one.

After we got to Penn Station (the right one) we bought our tickets for the return trip right then, we learned that in Chicago. After we found daylight on 7th and 34th streets( also the location of Madison Square Garden) we headed north to Times Square. We took some pictures but didn't get to see the big ball about to drop. It must be the wrong time of the year or something. Ha!
We next went to the NBC studios and found they give tours but will wait until tomorrow to take the tour.

Somewhere about that time we stumbled into an information area and they were selling tickets to Broadway Plays. We came out with tickets to "Grease", not the back row kind, the 7th row from the front kind. Being that today is our 36th anniversary, we went all out. Ha! I was prepared just in case. I had cleaned the stuff off my boots, put my best John Deere T shirt on, washed behind my ears and had my Pioneer Seed corn hat on straight. A guy needs to be prepared in the big city. Ha!

There are some really weird characters around the downtown area. One guy was standing in the middle of an intersection with traffic all around him strumming on his guitar wearing only a cowboy hat, cowboy boots and his white briefs. I liked to never got Glenda away from the intersection -- she was so mesmerized by him! Ha! She has a couple of pictures of him so let us know if you want us to e-mail them to you. Ha!

We both really did enjoy the play. The actors were good and they could sing. It was worth the money. Glenda had been wanting to see a Broadway play, especially this one, for a long time. She told me this was one anniversary she would never forget. I am glad she enjoyed it and so did I.

Right now, the plans for tomorrow are to take the NBC tour and then on to the Empire State Building for a tour. They are about 15 blocks apart. An easy walk. From there we will play it by ear. We have had a good day today, very enjoyable and are looking forward to tomorrow's adventures. We will send more later. L&G

In Florida

We are in Florida, I'm not kidding. No, we didn't take a wrong turn, it is Florida, New York. The URL is as follows for our location on Google Maps.http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.317915,-74.370747&spn=0.052345,0.079136&z=13&om=1

This campground wasn't our first pick. There is a campground in Jersey City, across the bay from Manhattan that we wanted to go to, but we could not get into until next Tuesday. So here we are in Florida. From what they told us at the office, we are not much farther from downtown than we were in Chicago. We will have to take the commuter train and transfer to the "tube" (subway) to get to downtown. We should know more tomorrow.

The trip north was uneventful. It was basically I-95 to I-287 (in New York it became I-87) and we were here. We did take the I-695 loop west around Baltimore, the long direction around because of restrictions on I-95 and I-695 east. One restriction was a 96 inch width limit and the other was a propane restriction through a tunnel. Traffic was about like in KC on the south side of I-435 at noon on a week day. Later, we took I-295 on the east side of Philadelpha and did not know there was a town within a 100 miles. We caught I-287 west ane skirted around the Big Apple. Again trafic was not bad at all. We left D.C. about 9:20 A.M. and arrived here about 4 P.M, driving 309 miles.

The campground is OK but not real fancy. They have cable, wifi and 50 amp. electical service. What more does a person need. The campground in DC was very nice. They didn't call themselves a resort but they could have. The city bus came by about every 20 minutes and several tours picked up people there as well.

I am including a picture of the chapel at the Naval Academy. It seems I can only upload one picture per posting. L&G

Note: Here is the URL for where we were thinking of staying. http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.712295,-74.044118&spn=0.000825,0.001236&t=k&z=19&om=1 Talk about down town, this is it.

Arlington Cemetery

Hi to all,

Well, we made it through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. As it turned out, it was first come, first serve. The rule for visiting the bureau changed after September 1st. We have run into that several times. Anyway, we got right in. It was interesting but in the end there was just a bunch of printing presses chugging away. Glad we went though, lots of money.


Visiting Arlington is always a sobering event. We have visited several times and it always gives one pause to reflect on the sacrifices of those who have served our country. We saw the Kennedy graves and the "Changing of the Guard", always impressive. They have also added memorials for the Challenger and Columbia shuttle tragic events.

As we did yesterday, we were planning on going to Mt. Vernon but ran out of time. I think we are going to scrub that tour and save it for another time. (We have been there two or three times before). It is time to move on.

Tomorrow we are planning on heading for the Big Apple. We we will be staying at a campground in Florida, NY. I am not sure about Internet service so this may be the last blog for a while. I know you will be disappointed reading that. Ha! We will write when we can. L&G

Good Morning:

It is 50 degrees this morning. We are going to try to see the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. They hand out tickets for the day starting at 8:30 AM. They say the days supply goes quickly. Will probably go on to Arlington National Cemetery after that. This picture is of the main entrance in Bancroft Hall at Annapolis. This is were the cadets reside. L&G

Annapolis

Hi Again:


We woke up to a 55 degree morning, the furnace running and the sun shining bright. Outside, it was cool in the shade and warm in the sun, a great fall day. Today, we decided to use Plan B from yesterday, the trip to Annapolis. It was a 25 mile trip from our home base.


I knew it was the home of the Naval Academy but had forgotten it is also the capital of Maryland. The capital building is the oldest in use in the country. George Washington resigned his commission in this building. I think we have all seen the painting of that. The streets and sidewalks in the area are brick. I will try to include a few pictures. Very impressive!


As for the Naval Academy, impressive is a good word here too. I should say here that we took a walking tour of the Academy and the capital area. The chapel will seat around 2500 people. John Paul Jones remains have been moved and buried in the chapel. It was worth the trip just to see the chapel.


Bancroft Hall is the dorm for all the cadets. It is a massive structure. The tour took us inside where we were able to see an example of a dorm room. The main entrance into the hall looked like something that might be found in a capital building. Again,very impressive!


All in all it was an enjoyable day. We had made plans to drive out to Mt. Vernon after Annapolis but we ran short on time. So we came back home, did some laundry and a little cleaning around the place. We are getting ready to watch some football. We haven't decided what we will do tomorrow so stay tuned. If you aren't bored to tears yet, I'll try again tomorrow. More later. L&G

Note: I tried to load more than one picture but no luck.

Night lights of the Capital

Yesterday evening we took a night tour of the Capitol. The tour started at 7:45PM at Union Station downtown. There was light rain falling the whole time we were on the tour. If you didn't take an umbrella, you would have to be out in it for a while before you would feel wet. They picked us up at the campground about 15 minutes late and still made it to the station with time to spare. It was a good tour but most of the smaller attractions such as single statues and other small memorials were not lit up well and made them hard to see. The lady that narrated the tour was excellent. She had a Masters in History. I haven't seen the pictures yet but I think we got some good ones at the main attractions, the Lincoln, Jefferson Memorials and the Capitol. We had missed the FDR Memorial when we were at the mall before so was able to see it then. It was poorly lit but was able to read most inscriptions. We got home about 11:30 and was ready to "hit the hay".

For today we had originally planned on going back into DC today. but there was a war protest going on today so decided to go to Plan B and go to Annapolis. At the last minute we happen to think that there may be a football game there today. So got on the Internet and, sure enough, there was. Plan C was a trip to Dulles airport to the Air and Space Museum's annex so that is what we did. They have everything from an Air France Concord to the Space Shuttle Enterprise and many other historical aircraft and artifacts that they can not house at the museum on the mall.

We stopped at a local Italian Restaurant and ended up with a very good New York style pizza. We were home by 6PM.

I don't remember saying anything about I-70. It was a lot different than I thought it would be once we were somewhere in Ohio. They did not have a medium as we are normally used to seeing. They had a concrete barrier in the center and an area to pull over and that was it. A lot like you would see going through a town. There were trees on each side and you could not see the country side. It reminded me of the interstate version of the Blue Ridge Parkway. There were very few straight sections of road. You were turning right or left all the time. Somewhat surprising.

We are downloading a picture from last light. I'm not sure how it will show up. The plans are to try for Annapolis again tomorrow. More Later. L&G

National Cathedral

Hi

We took it easy this morning, just being lazy. This afternoon we drove to the National Washinton Cathedral. What an impressive site! We had been by it before but had never taken a tour. It took 80 some years to complete and was completed during the first Bush's Administration. There are crypts in the lower level. Woodrow Wilson is interred there along with his second wife, Edith, whose maiden name was Bolling.

We are leaving the campground at 6:40 PM for an after dark Gray Line tour of the Capitol, White House, both Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials and other government sites. We will be picked up right here at the campground. The weather has been cloudy all day with a little shower this afternoon. The traffic was not bad at all on our outing this afternoon. Will add more later tomorrow as we will be getting back tonight way past our bedtime!

Back to the Mall

Thursday
A quick note. We went back to the mall and went through the Air and Space Museum. We had an appointment at two o’clock at Congressman’s Graves’s office for a tour of the capital. As it turns out that is the only was you can get onto the capital building is through one of these tours. We went though security checks three times and never left a secured area. Security is tight. We went out for dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, stopped and picked up some groceries and got home a little after 9pm. Not very exciting news but maybe we can add more tomorrow. As for tomorrow I don’t know what we will be doing, it may be a day of rest, we shall see. Love to all L&G

The National Mall

We caught the 9:06 bus out of the park this morning. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the train station. From there it was a 40-minute ride to L'Enfant station, a couple of blocks from the mall. We didn't have a plan as to what we were going to do but walked to the mall and on to the Washington Monument. They issue free tickets but it was first come, first serve basis. Glenda did not want to go but I was able to get one for 12 noon. Was back down by 12:30 and got some good pictures. I had gotten the ticket a 11 am and had an hour to kill so went to the WWII Memorial. It was not built the last time we were here, and we were impressed. It is well done. I wished it had been here when we were out here with my folks as my Dad served in WWII.

We went to lunch in the Reagan Building. They had a food court there and wouldn't you know it, you had to go through a security check. I guess a person should feel secure eating out.

We then went to the White House Visitors Center to see if it was possible to get a tour of the White House. Well another security check. As it turns out you need to apply at least a month in advance and be in a group of 10. I did ask if there was other options and was told if you know a congressman or senator they could walk you to the White House. Scratch that one off! It is good to know they are giving tours again, the last I heard they were no longer doing that. That is why we never thought about checking.

We did do a lot of walking today. Walked around the White House and saw the Presidential John Deere parked on the front lawn. Yes, I did take a picture. Of all things, it looked just like mine but was too far away to tell for sure. It did have different tires though.

From there we walked to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We looked through the catalog of names for Bowling's and found 5 with that same spelling plus other different spellings of the name. I was surprised to see that as there are not that many of us out there. I understand the name is a lot more common in Ohio and that is where one of the persons was from. There is an old family Bible where someone has written that the Bowling's moved to Ohio on April 9th, 1837. So our line came through there also.

So much for that, from there we walked to the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Veterans Memorial and then on to the Jefferson Memorial. We had a bite to eat at one of the hotels and then to the train station for the ride home. I will try to load up a few pictures. The Internet speed is real slow tonight though.

We are taking a tour of the Capitial at 2PM tomorrow. We may go the Air and Space museum until it is time. More Later

At Home In DC

We arrived about 11:30 local time this morning. We are set up except for not having enough TV cable but will fix that shortly. (Go to the office/store, buy some cable) Lunch is over and and are planning a lazy afternoon. At 4pm they will put on a seminar on area attractions and how to use the public transportation system and we are planning to attend. It should help get us started tomorrow.

Coming from PA to Maryland was a beautiful drive through the Allegheny Mtns. Some of the trees have started to lose their dark green color preparing to show their fall colors.

When I got ready to unhook the car,, I found that the electrical cable to the car was disconnected. The ends were damaged a little so I think I will replace them. Another item to look for at the store. I never had that happen before. We did stop at a rest stop this morning and I almost always do a walk around but did not this time. It was raining. A cheap lesson to do it right. The car brakes are applied with the supplemental brake system anyway so the brake lights were still working.

When we woke up this morning, a light rain was doing a rhythmic dance on our roof. It would have been a good morning to hunker in under the covers but not this time. We needed to get going and did. It rained on us a good lot of the way and is raining now. Hum, maybe its time for an afternoon nap.

I am including a Google map link so you can see our location. The URL is http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=39.024085,-76.939638&spn=0.006635,0.01442&z=16&om=1 . Just click on it and it should take you there. The satellite view is a lot better this time. More later

We made it to the meeting OK and learned what we needed to get around on the Metro. I got the electrial connections fixed as well. The other side of the closet pole failed like the first side did on our first day out so fixed that also. Its just like being at home.

Thanks to all of you who have sent us E-mails and IM messages. It is so good to hear from home. Please keep it up. Only wish Ella was old enough to talk on the phone or type on the computer!

We hope all are doing well.

Larry and Glenda

On the Road

Since we did not have wifi Sunday I went ahead and wrote the Sunday blog and saved it as a Word Doc. to see if it could be done. It seems to have worked. I hope you are not too bored with all of this.

Sunday
There isn’t much news today, just a day of travel. We did not push it hard at all traveling. I now think it will be a 3 day trip into DC at the rate we are going. We left Sycamore at 8:10 this morning and jumped on US-47 through Elburn on our way to I-80. Elburn was where we caught the commuter train into Chicago. Glenda was looking at the map after we were rolling and said if we go a little farther south, we can take US- 24 straight east to I-65 so that was what we did. I do kind of wish we would have went through the main part of Chicago for one last look, but it was a nice drive through the country. We had lunch at a rest stop right after we got on I-65. We are spending the night at the Natural Springs Resort in New Paris Ohio, on the Indiana and Ohio border. They were supposed to have wifi but a storm came through, I think she said Saturday, and took their system out. They still had a couple of trees down. There is not much else to report on right now but will send this when we can.
I forgot to mention one thing about the CNBC video clip. Toward the end of the clip you can see a hand waving. It was Glenda. She was on the phone with Connie who was at work. They turned the TV on in the dealership's showroom waiting area to CNBC and did see her waving. She enjoyed waving to all of you.

Monday
Hi to all: We are in Bedford Penn. Got in a little after 6 this evening. We drove 374 miles today and 337 yesterday. That isn't setting the world on fire but we are not wearing ourselves out either. The price of gas has been all over the place. When we were leaving the Chicago area I found a station I could easily get into and the price was $3.19. We drove maybe 30 miles and the price was $2.91. We filled up this morning for $2.89 and the price here is $2.69. At that rate. by the time we get to the east coast they will be giving the stuff away.ha!

I went to Google maps and got the location we are at. I am pasting the URL for our location just to see if it will work.http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=40.044208,-78.518128&spn=0.006669,0.009892&z=16&om=1. If you really get bored click on it and it should show where we are. For even more excitement you can zoom the map in and out. The satellite view is of poor quality to see much. The campground is on Friendship Rd.More later.

Farewell to Chicago

Just a short note: Yesterday we stayed around home. We did go out for breakfast at the same diner we had blogged about earlier. Then tidied up the place inside and out a bit. It seemed like we spent most of the afternoon on the Internet deciding on places to stay in D.C., New York City and Boston. Anyway we are headed to D.C. next. We estimate a two-day trip. The campground we plan to stay at in D.C. does have WiFi so should be able to communicate once we get there but don't know about in between. More sometime later.

An Interesting Day

We caught the 8:05 into downtown this morning. By the time we were ready to leave the train station, it was raining "cats and dogs',. So we headed for Dunkin Donuts for dounts and coffee. By the time we were done with our snack the rain had stopped and we were on our way. We headed for the Navy Pier but had to go about 4 blocks to catch the bus first. After we arrived we decided to take a boat tour to see the sky line of Chicago. It was enjoyable and informative. At the end of the pier CNBC was doing a live shot on the economy of Chicago. We knew they were going to be in town but did not know it was today. It was held outside and we just walked by. We were in one segment very briefly, and I think we were in another one as well. The one we were in is at this URL address. http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=504711082&play=1. If this doesn't work go to http://www.cnbc/, look for video, and scroll down until you see "stocks blown away by jobs". We were in another segment but it is not posted. Mike or Scott, could you please save a copy of the segment to your computer for us?

For lunch, we ate at Billy Goat's Tavern. hey are famous for their "cheez borgors" and Saturday Night Live used them in a skit where they would holler out "Cheez Buorgor, Cheez Buorgor, Cheez Buorg0r -- No Fries, Just Cheeps".

From there we walked the Magnificent Mile, a shopping area on Michigan Ave. Except for buying something at Wal Greens, we just looked. After that it was time for dinner. Glenda wanted to eat at Portillo's and try out their world famous hotdogs and we did. The only problem was we had just finished walking the Magnificent Mile when we started asking about the location and found out it was halfway back and 3 blocks west from were we had just come! We had already walked off the hot dog before we got it, but it was good.

We did decide to come home early and caught the 5:04 back home. We didn't know it was the express train, so we got home a half hour earlier than planned. Once in awhile you get lucky.

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMANDA -- Hope you had a great day celebrating with Mike and Ella!

Time to Rest

Thursday

We decided to take the day off. We have had a half day to take it easy since we left a week ago last Wednesday. Got up after 8 AM and after we got around decided to go out for breakfast. We asked the campground owners about a place to eat and they recommended a little place a block away. They served breakfast and lunch only. It was a great meal. The people running the place were very friendly and we didn't get out of there until about 10:30. Glenda was so impressed that she went back and took some pictures -- Miss "shutter bug" you know.


Then it was time to do a little laundry. Went to the local laundry and was out of there about 12:30. After we came back to the camper to put the laundry away, it was on to Wal Mart for some shopping. They were having a 50% off sale on their dress shorts. They fit well so I bought several pair. I should be set up for next year as the shorts season is about over.

This evening we are getting the grill out and are having steak and baked potato with a salad. We ate breakfast so late that we dispensed with lunch.


I will say everyone has been very friendly to us. We had just gotten off the train downtown and were looking at the map trying to decide where we were at and what we wanted to do, when a lady stopped and asked if she could help. It wasn't long before someone else did the same thing. The bus drivers were very helpful as well as anyone else you might ask.


I think tomorrow we will get an early start an to see the Chicago History Museum. We talked to a lady when we were there briefly Tuesday and she was very impressed. She was originally from Chicago so that might have influenced her. I am making the assumption that the museum is about the Chicago area. We will see.


Glenda does want to take in some of what they called the Miracle Mile on the north side of the downtown loop. It is a mile of stores for shopping. What else could it be?Ha! We may also take a look at the Navy Pier, plus Glenda wants to have a Chicago-style hot dog at Portillo's before we leave town. Our dau ghter-in-law, Tricia, highly recommends it! After that I think that our stay in Chicago may be about over. It depends on how we feel as to when we will hit the road again.


It is 82 degrees this afternoon and it feels warm but the leaves are rattling in the trees like its fall. The weather people are talking about highs in the 70's in a few days so the weather may change rather quickly. We had a bit of rain this afternoon but not much. More later. I can't seem to load any pictures so I'm sending a video of the L train.

Learning the Ropes

Tuesday
We left the motor home about 8:15 this morning and got into Elburn about 8:35. The train did not leave until about 9:20 so had quite a wait. The ride into downtown took 1hour and 20 minutes. It was our first trip on a commuter train so we were on our toes a little learning how things worked but wasn't a big deal once we figured it out. I can not imagine making that trip twice a day for 40 years but I'm sure there are some out there that have done just that.

We then took a ride on the L, the above ground subway. Again it wasn't a big deal but did have to figure their system out. As with the train above, each route is color coded.

We ended up at the Chicago Zoo but decided to go on down the Chicago History Museum. After we arrived we found out it was to close in about an hour so we went on our way. That was OK because what we really wanted to get done was learn the area and how to get around. The only thing left is the buses and think we have that covered too.

We did go to the Sears Tower and up to the Sky Deck. It was an impressive view. We stopped by the Chicago Board of Trade. They had a visitor's center but would not let visitors in to see the trading floor due to security concerns.

The Chicago River runs right through the downtown area just like we all have seen on TV. A person's neck could get a little sore from looking up at all the tall buildings. It is beginning to get late so will conclude for tonight. More later.

Wednesday
We caught the 8:05 this morning and was downtown about 9:30. Jumped on the L and headed for the Museum of Science and Industry. We had to transfer to a bus to get there but all went well. I think it was around 11 am before we finally arrived. That was a lot of riding. I don't think we saw half of what was there. It closed at 4 pm. The highlight of the day for me was the German U Boat what was captured during WWII. It was very impressive to see. For an extra charge we took a tour of the inside of the boat. There is not much room inside one of those things and they were at sea for 3 months at a time.

It did rain on us after we got back to the downtown loop but it never rained hard. After about a half hour it was all over. We did duck into a couple of stores to look around but didn't buy anything. We ate a bite of supper and headed home. It was a little after 8 when we got home. More later.

Time to Tour

Yesterday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and hung out with the family and friends until most had left. Around 10 am we came back to the campground were we had been staying. We checked in for 3 nights but may stay longer. This morning we are headed to the train station to go to downtown Chicago to see the sites. We are looking forward to it.

Last evening I was sitting outside watching a hot air balloon drift by when one of the folks staying next to us came over. They were from New Zealand. They had rented a Cruse America mini-home and had to turn it in today. They had items to get rid of before returning their camper. They had 5 collapsible chairs as well as other items. I did take a couple of chairs but was not comfortable taking more. They went about the campground until all was gone. They were in a band and had been in the US for four weeks and had been in this area about two weeks. It was interesting to talk to them and they did have quite an accent.

Wedding Day

Our day got started by leaving the camp ground around 9:30 and headed to the hotel where we stayed with the wedding party. Roger and Suzanne, the groom's parents, took all of our side of the family that could come, out for lunch at Chilis -- another nice meal. Mike, Scott and Tricia joined us there before we were done as they had just flown in from KC. Then it was back to the hotel and had time to take a little nap before getting ready for the festivities. It felt good.

A shuttle was provided for those going to the wedding from the hotel to the golf course where the wedding was held. It was a nice touch and very thoughtful.

The setting for the wedding was at the Prairie Landing Golf Course on the green of the 19th hole. It is my understanding that some PGA tournaments have been played there. It is a beautiful golf course. The weather was almost perfect. A clear sky but just a touch warm with a little breeze.

The wedding started at 4:30. As with the rehearsal supper the night before, there were some tears of joy shed. The Dupage County Airport is on the north end of the golf course and a business jet or two took off during the ceremony to salute the new couple. As well planned as everything was, I thought maybe that was what was going on. Ha! Being an old aviation guy, I did wonder if the Thunder Birds or the Blue Angels would make a fly by for a salute, but they must have been tied up with other commitments.

The reception followed in the country clubhouse with a formal sit-down dinner followed with a dance. The five course meal was quite delicious. Everyone had a great time and our two little great-nieces, Tacy and Gena Mitchell, danced their little hearts out as well as some of us "oldies" -- Davis' and Southard's side. The table of first cousins had a little too much of a good time. Ha!

The Bride wore---Well ,you won't get that kind of information here but we would like to extend our congralulations to Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Southard and all the best in the years to come. Dana, we are so happy to have you join our family. Curtis, you did a great job! Thank you, Roger and Suzanne and Keith and Janice Nelson, for a wonderful and very memorable time. Larry and Glenda

day before wedding

Not much going on so far today for me. Some went golfing and some went shopping. The rehearsal was at 11 this morning. We hung out at the hotel and just took it easy. The rehearsal supper is this evening.

I don't know where we will be camping from Monday night on. We may move in a closer to downtown. The ride in on the train to downtown is an hour and 25 minutes from where we are now. I think it would be 20 minutes from the closer location. There is no wifi there so we will see. We plan on staying a few days and taking in some of the sites in the area. From there we will be heading east. More Later, Larry

The rehearsal supper was very nice. There were some tears of joy shed. It was a great evening. We made it back to the campsite about 11pm. We will be taking the motor home with us today but are planning on returning tomorrow and doing our touring from here. Larry