The first morning I headed up to Corning, NY. In all my travels I've never been to the Corning Glass museum. It was worth the trip. I saw four shows and an incredible collection of glass art work. The shows included; a hot glass show where they made a beautiful cobalt blue vase, a flame working demo where they used different temperatures and created a little glass bear, glass breaking where they demonstrated both how fragile glass is and how bulletproof glass is made, an optical fiber show which explained how and why light follows the glass path. The art work was really beautiful. It seems that glass works are only limited by a persons creativity. The town of Corning was kind of cute, several little shops and restaurants. On my way out of town a saw a Home Depot. I bought an eight foot 2 by 6 and had it cut into eight one foot lengths. I was able to use these to almost level out the RV.
They call the deep valley that runs about 60 miles the "Grand Canyon of PA". It's beautiful. I parked at the bottom and began walking along a wide path. I hadn't walked even a mile when I met two guys also hiking. I asked them about the canyon and they told me a place I could drive where I'd be able to hike the rim and see the depth and breath of the valley. I ended up hiking a few hours along the rim. The "real" Grand Canyon is stark, desert and rock. I remember hiking into it and camping over night along the Colorado River. That was years ago and I doubt I'd be able to climb out at my age. I stayed along the top rim and didn't venture down the steeper side trails. These beautiful green hills are surely different than the Arizona canyon.
The campground has lots of hiking trails. I checked a few of them out, hiking a total of maybe 10 to 12 miles over several days. In the RV I can hear some road noise during the day from a highway about a mile away. Once in the woods, even 1/4 mile, all the noise disappears. Several people I met warned me about rattlesnakes in the area. I've seen snakes many times with all my hiking. I don't mind rattlesnakes. They warn you, unless you come up on them suddenly. If you're ever in the woods and you hear them rattle just freeze until you see where they are. Then make sure to give them lots of room. Down south is worse with the possibility of cottonmouths, sometimes called water moccasins. They've actually been know to chase people. For the most part I feel safer in the woods than driving on roads.
Yet another train ride. There was a Sunday brunch train ride thru the mountains. Very pretty. I was expecting breakfast in a bag. What a great surprise! They actually have a chef who cooks everything fresh right on board the train. The ham & egg casserole was really good. The table was set beautifully with linen, china, and glass. What a delightful ride.
The ride to Maryland is one of the longest I've taken at almost 6 hours. After about 2 hours, just when I was ready to take a short break, a Walmart appeared. It was like it was planned. A short stroll around the store and I was off again. About 2 hours later there suddenly appeared a road side rest area to once again take a short break. I got to the campground easy but was disappointed. Gambrill State Park is small, not well kept and there was no one around to check in. I drove the loop twice looking for a site or someone to ask. My truck and rig barely fit down the tight lanes with the trees brushing my top and sides. I finally back tracked about 8 miles to the Greenbrier State Park I had passed. This is a pretty park around a 42 acre lake. I took a site with no hook ups but it is a pull through. A park ranger came by as I was pulling in to let me know there was no electric at the site. I showed him my solar panels. He seemed amazed. A woman who identified herself as the cg host came by as I was almost set up to also share that there was no electric. She said they had a problem with a little pop up camper who thought there was electric and got upset when he found out there was none. I showed her the solar and we chatted awhile. After setting up I hiked around the lake. Several beaches, a few people out in row boats fishing. You can see the little dam on the far shore. Real pretty.
My first day was spent walking the Antietam Battlefield. This is huge. I walked for about 4 hours covering around 8 miles and more monuments than I could count. It is really incredible the stuff you don't learn in school. I never knew how close the south came to winning the Civil War. When you walk these battlefields you get more of an appreciation for what the combatants went through. It's ironic that much of this battle was fought around the Dunker Church. A church built by pacifists.
I seem to be checking out lots of caves. The Crystal Grotto Caves sounded interesting. A road crew digging out shale for a local roadbed stumbled upon these caves around 1922. The land has mostly been in the same family since then. They didn't want to conduct a tour for only one person so I hung around for about an hour waiting for someone else to show up. I got to chat with the current land owner. Strange guy! Finally a woman showed up from Indiana who had been visiting family nearby. She was funny in that she obviously didn't like the confined spaces of the cave yet went out of her way to take the tour. As far as caves go, this one was relatively small. They're still exploring and opening up new areas, after 90 years!
Back at the campground I chatted a little with some campers who seemed to have more kids than I could count. Turns out there are two families home schooling about 8 kids. One of the little girls, maybe 5 or 6 years old, saw a baby bear wandering around. The kids had me checking the woods every time they heard a twig crack. They were cute. Also met an interesting couple from North Carolina. The guy is part of a Civil War reenactment group up here for the 150 year anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. He sure looked the part of a Confederate soldier. We chatted for a few hours. Unfortunately, the reenactment is a few days after I leave.
I hiked around the lake each day and checked out two local towns, Boonesboro and Sharpesburg. Both towns had been very active during the Civil War. Boonesboro was reportedly founded by two cousins of the real Daniel Boone. Four days at a site with no services, no problem. On to Trap Lake State Park in Laurel, Delaware.
The drive was easy. One short stop for gas where the RV actually fit in fine. The area is very rural, lots of pretty farms. The campground signs were a little confusing. I went into the day park area and fortunately had an easy turn around. The site was to be a pull through for a 30' rig. There was no way to fit my rig in. I got out and paced the site. It was barely 30' which will never accommodate my RV plus another 20' of truck. I drove around, found another site, left the truck and RV at the new site, and walked to the registration cabin. The campground people quickly switched my reservation to the new location. The campground is packed with almost every site taken. As I walked back to my rig a big old class "A" burped it's way past me, obviously on its last legs. As it rounded the turn for the sites, black smoke began to billow from the engine and the rig died. A couple and their two teenage daughters ran out as someone walking nearby called the fire department. Apparently they've had the rig for about 20 years, definitely got their money's worth. The two teenage girls seemed relieved and stood around texting their friends. The family lives fairly close and had an undamaged car.
This park seems to surround a fair sized pond. There is a trail that runs around it. I'm told it takes between three and four hours to hike completely around. A short walk around the camp sites and an early night. Next day a few hours of driving to the main Delaware beach, Rehobeth, and the beach at Ocean City, Maryland. Rehobeth Beach seemed like a typical busy tourist beach. Lots of shops and restaurants. Very congested, especially for a Monday in mid-September. There are what seems like two races going on. One running and another on bikes. As I rode toward Ocean City I was amazed at the number of motorcycles. Turns out this is "bike week". There are easily 10,000 motorcycles, they're all over the place. Some very pretty ones! Another short walk around the site area when I returned in the evening. Saturday I decided to take the long hike. The trails are mostly wide and well marked. I froze and just stared at the two little fawns. Beautiful! Dozens of tree frogs. Two graceful blue herons. Woodpeckers, ducks, and even a loud hoot owl. About half-way around there was a small country church originally built in 1720. In my travels I've seen so many of these little white churches. They are the backbone of our country. As I entered back into the day area of the park I came upon a nature center with a small museum of sorts. This is a nice little park. Lots of cypress trees which I didn't know grew this far north. One pretty tree had apparently decided to become an island (lol).
The drive to North Carolina was pretty easy. Still, I don't like the long stretch of route #13 which runs through the spine of Delaware. The road always seems to go on forever. I've driven over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on a motorcycle and car. This was my first time over it with my rig. It's a very pretty drive. I stopped at the rest area/restaurant for lunch. Fried oysters, nice! I've driven the North Carolina Outer Banks in years past. They're very scenic, connected by several ferry's. This trip I'll explore the Inner Banks of NC. The cg is a little off the beaten path. When I checked in they gave specific warnings about black bear that have been roaming the cg and bobcat that have been spotted in the woods adjacent to the cg. Apparently, the bobcat are fair size and more than capable of carrying off pet cats and dogs. I guess I'll rest up and not take any hikes in these woods (lol).
Right after breakfast I headed out for a long day's drive and sight seeing. It seemed like a cool idea to completely circle the Albermarle Sound. First stop, Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers memorial. Last time I was along the Outer Banks was over 30 years ago. Wow, has it gotten built up! I don't remember any strip malls. It was a sleepy, pretty area with beach houses and large sand dunes. It still has some old beach houses but also lots of condos, strip malls, putt putt golf centers, and other touristy stuff. Now you can barely see the ocean and sand dunes. The Wright Brothers memorial was nice. Lots of walking around the field where they flew their flyer. It's amazing to think that in a mere 66 years we went from the first manned flight to walking on the moon (1903 to 1969). Where will flight be in 2035? What will the Earth be like in 2035?
Continuing around the Albermarle Sound I drove over several long causeway's, at least a couple over a mile long. This is a very pretty area which has a strong link to fishing. Several small towns, lots of farms. I stopped for dinner at Frog Island Seafood. A fellow RV'er had recommended it and luckily warned me that it looked kind of dumpy on the outside. The crab cakes, rice pilaf, and fried okra were delicious. I bought some fresh crab and catfish to take back to my rig.
I'd heard about the Dismal Swamp National Refuge, an area that covers well over a 100,000 acres, part in Virginia and part in North Carolina. It's a protected coastal ecosystem with lots of wildlife, once estimated to be over 1,000,000 acres. The visitor center told of the areas history from native Indians, to escaped slave encampments. I admit to being a little nervous hiking in a swamp area with lots of protected bears, bobcats, and other wildlife. I was surprised at how few bugs there were in a swampy area. I did work up a light sweat after a few hours and about 7 miles of hiking. It was a nice afternoon.
The camp ground has a stocked pond and I've yet to use the fishing gear I took with me over a year ago. The old saying of "... you don't have to catch fish to say you went fishing", sure held true for me. Oh well, at least I finally went fishing. Rick told me about a nationwide internet group called meetup.com. They seem to have lots of different interest groups. I've looked for one in the last few places I camped with no luck. There is one meeting in Elizabeth City, about 20 minutes away, called the Freethinkers. Sounds like an evening of conversation and a few brews. Eight of us met in a local sports bar. Very little talk on the topic. Mostly just friendly conversation for a few hours. An enjoyable evening.
The ride to Wilson, NC was unexpectedly easy. On MapQuest it looked like many different back country roads going through lots of little towns. My GPS routed me mostly along three US roads with up to 70 mph speeds, very few lower speeds areas, and only a few lights during the entire 150 miles. As usual, a Walmart magically appeared at almost my exact half way point of 90 minutes. The campground is right on the main road, run by two sisters who bought it less than two years ago. My site is mostly open with one little tree. The one tree is enough to block the sat. dish so no TV for the next three days (lol). There's a tobacco plantation and museum a few miles down the road that sounds interesting. The older I get the less I can stand cigarette smoke but somehow the smell of tobacco leaves is sort of pleasant, a little sweet smell. The process of farming tobacco is very labor intensive, a lot of work. It's an amazing process. The museum included several out building showing farm life of about 100 years ago. It's strange to see so many things that I remember from my home as a kid. A washboard I'd help my mom do clothes on before we got a washing machine. A hand wringer I helped start the clothes drying process even after we got the washer. An ice box similar to one we had until the first refrigerator we got around 1960. Old school desks and chairs which were attached to each other with little ink wells always on the right side of the desk (we weren't allowed to be left handed, lol). Lots of old family medical remedies from chest rubs, gargles, liniments, and salves. Interesting exhibits.
Over the few days at this park I also checked out a walking tour of the town of Wilson, a local barbecue place and conversation with a Ford truck technician. My truck pulls with no problem. In fact, unless I check the mirror I don't even know the rig is back there. Going up a steep hill slows me down, but no problem pulling. It's going down on roads with 8% grades or more that doesn't seem to be working the way I'd like. This is the first automatic vehicle I've ever owned. When going down a steep hill I use the brake to slow a little. As soon as I touch the brake the truck downshifts. That's not a problem until I get to around 3rd gear and see the RPM's getting higher than I want. Now what do I do? I can't let the rig continue to build speed and I can't touch the brake. It's a conundrum! Here in the coastal area of North Carolina they don't have many hills and didn't have an answer.
Last year I'd stayed in a South Carolina SP (Little Pee Dee). I met some nice folks at the cg but the park didn't have much to offer. I had stopped by the Bass River cg to get a cap for my sewer outlet (the original had gotten loose and disappeared). The cg owners, Guy and Judy, were very friendly and I'd made a mental note to stay if ever in the area. The ride was real easy, straight down I-95. Guy was even more friendly than I'd remembered and his hosts were great also. A nice open full hook up site. Long showers, washing machine, and sat. dish. Life is good! There's not much in the area to do or see. I checked out a Radio Shack and a truck stop store, looking at CB radios. I'm getting ideas, seeing different features, but nothing a really like yet. I also strolled around the giant South of the Border complex. It was only a couple of years ago I stopped here when driving to FL with Alex and Zack. I think they were fascinated with the size and variety of the fireworks. Todd, a fellow camper and ex-marine got to chatting with me in the afternoons. He was cleaning his awning and his mom's on her camper. I couldn't let a marine outdo an army guy so I scrubbed my awning also.
I'd been looking forward to getting to Skidaway SP in Savannah. This is one of two southern cities I really like, the other being Charleston, SC. The cg is a pleasant surprise. While there aren't any sewer hookups they do have water and electric in pull through sites. My site even has sat. dish access. There are about 6 miles of hiking trails, a very nice interpretive center, lots of beautiful live oak trees, and we're within the Savannah city limits. 
The park even has a swimming pool (closed after Labor Day). Savannah is just as I remember it. Lots of pretty squares, a walking street with quaint shops, lots of restaurants and "junk" shops, all with interesting stuff of course. I took an cruise up and down the Savannah River on a paddle wheeler. The captain giving background and descriptions of the area. Did you know that Savannah is the 4th busiest port in the entire USA and the 2nd busiest container ship port? There were two immense ships in port. Both near a 1,000 feet long and 13 stories high. Incredible! The oceanographic institute on Skidaway Island was great.
The park even has a swimming pool (closed after Labor Day). Savannah is just as I remember it. Lots of pretty squares, a walking street with quaint shops, lots of restaurants and "junk" shops, all with interesting stuff of course. I took an cruise up and down the Savannah River on a paddle wheeler. The captain giving background and descriptions of the area. Did you know that Savannah is the 4th busiest port in the entire USA and the 2nd busiest container ship port? There were two immense ships in port. Both near a 1,000 feet long and 13 stories high. Incredible! The oceanographic institute on Skidaway Island was great.
Typical aquarium exhibits of inhabitants of this area but they also had a nice little hiking trail part way along a salt marsh and part along a woodland trail. The 300 year old live oak is magnificent! I spent a day in and around Tybee Island, one of the larger barrier islands along the coast of Georgia. Walking the beach, seeing the huge sand dunes was great.
If you're ever in this area don't miss the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. The center is actually run by the Savannah public schools. It includes over a mile of trails with wildlife exhibits spaced throughout your walk. The wildlife include; several varieties of owls, falcons, bald eagles, herons, cranes, gators, cougars, bobcat, bear, fox, deer, wolf, bison, armadillo, and even a pond to sit and ponder by. I couldn't believe how many turtles were in the pond, amazing! Savannah also has a train museum and a museum of the area. The train museums central feature is a roundhouse housing about 10 old cars in various stages of restoration. Visitors ride on an old passenger car as we're taken down several short rails and around the roundhouse while provided a description of rail travel in the Savannah area. The local museum has lots of exhibits from prehistoric times, to American Indian culture, to the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. Back at Skidaway State Park I hiked about 8 miles of their trails. I love the live oak canopies framed on one side by salt marsh. My last hike along the last park trail caused some excitement. I had strolled about 1 1/2 miles out of the park to pick up the Sunday papers. On my 1 1/2 mile stroll back, my son Zack thankfully called. Holding the phone in one hand and the Sunday papers in the other, I was looking down a little more than my usual tree and sky observations. As my right foot was about to go down the copperhead moved slightly. I jumped back at what had to be the last moment. The three foot snake was already coiled and ready and exactly where my foot had been about to land. I magically became a lot more observant the rest of my walk back to my rig. Returning to Florida tomorrow and the peace of easier to spot gators (lol).
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