South Dakota

This past weekend we got to camp on the Missouri River by Oacoma, SD. We attended a tiny branch on Sunday with only about 20 people in attendance. I've never been in such a small branch, we had some good meetings. This is really a pretty area.
On our way to Rapid City, we drove through the Badlands National Park. It's really pretty and really different. We dropped the coach at the Visitor's Center and drove the CRV through the park. The road was really windy and curvy, but we probably could have taken the coach on it.
At the end of the drive we came to Wall, SD and had to go to Wall Drug. We had heard it was a must see in SD. It was really fun to visit. We even ate lunch here and got to do lots of shopping.
We stopped at a little roadside store on our way back to pick up the coach and spotted these baby prairie dogs playing around their holes. There were quite a lot running all around and they were very friendly because people had been feeding them.
This guy was eating at his hole. He (or she) just stood there for quite awhile like it was posing for me to take a picture! We also saw antelope as we were leaving, but of course we were on the interstate and going too fast to get a good shot. This week we'll visit Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. I'll post more later. Hopefully it won't rain the whole time we're here!

Rock Island Locks

This one is mostly for the grandchildren! We're in Davenport, IA for a few days to get the coach fixed. We decided to go sightseeing today, so we drove to the Mississippi River Visitor's Center and Locks. We got up to the observation deck to see a boat in the lock going downriver. As we were watching, the lock started opening so I started snapping pictures -- all the way until the lock closed again and traffic resumed on the drawbridge over the lock. As we were leaving the Visitor's Center we spotted another boat getting in position to enter the lock. What a cool experience! Hope you enjoy the video!!!

DC with Loriann

We got to tour Washington, DC with Loriann for three days. We picked her up Wednesday evening to go on a moonlight trolley tour of DC. We got to see The Mall and Memorials all lit up. It really was a neat tour. Then Thursday afternoon we drove out to Mount Vernon and spent the day going all over the plantation grounds and got to go on a tour of the house. On Friday, we go up early and drove to the MARC train station in Odenton and rode the train down to Union Station. From there we boarded another trolley and got to drive all over DC. We walked around the Mall and visited the Jefferson Memorial again, the FDR Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean Memorial, and the Washington Monument. We then went on the trolley past the National Cathedral, through Georgetown and stopped at the White House just in time to see a motorcade leaving the grounds! (While walking around the Mall area we saw lots of Marine One helicopters flying around so something was going on.) On Saturday, we visited the Pentagon Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. At the Pentagon Memorial we looked up my high school best friend's brothers memorial (it's the foremost "slide bench" in the picture I posted). At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier we were not only able to see the changing of the guard, but we got to see two wreathes presented, that was REALLY cool!! The pictures are not in order, but hopefully give a good representation of our visit to the DC area.

On Friday, we drove down to Union Station in Washington, DC and then walked to the Smithsonian Museum. I thought this was a really pretty picture of the capital with the fountain.
The Museum we spent the most time in was the Air & Space Museum. There were a lot more exhibits since either Howard or I was here last. Howard was last here in 1966 and I was last here in 1986.
This is the Smithsonian Castle and Visitor's Center. We just walked through it to go to Printing and Engraving. On the way to Printing and Engraving, we stopped in the Holocaust Museum. It really makes you think and is worth several hours to go through.
We got to walk by the Washington Monument on our way to the Museum of American History.Lots of people, lots of cars and 85 degrees. In all we visited the American Indian Museum, Air & Space Museum, American History Museum, Printing & Engraving, and the Holocaust Museum. Not enough time in some, but it was a good day.
You may have to click on this one to get it big enough to read. I think this was on the Newseum Building, right next to the Canadian Embassy. By the time we got here we felt we'd walked way too many miles and we were ready to get back to Union Station and our car. In all we got to DC about 10 am and got back to Union Station about 6 pm, a long day of walking and standing.
On Saturday, we decided to drive to Delaware so we could see that state. We had decided not to take the coach into Delaware because you can't get into the state without going over some kind of toll road or bridge. This is a scenic view looking over the WWII Monument across the river at the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
The Naval Academy reminded us more of a really old college campus. It is a really pretty campus and has LOTS of really old buildings. We only drove around the campus because we couldn't find any parking anywhere (there was a wedding at the chapel).
This is Camden, DE just outside Dover. There was street after street of these row houses built really close to the road. Delaware was a surprise to us, much more rural and smaller town instead of so much urban.
This is a farm in Delaware. There were lots of farms and vegetable stands. We also saw fields of asparagus, we haven't seen that since Walla Walla! Once we crossed the Bay Bridge over the Chesapeake Bay we were in much more rural country. It was a really pretty drive and we had a really good day!

Colonial Williamsburg

This is the old Colonial Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg. The governor was appointed by the King and he had full power over the Virginians. This was at a time when Virginia covered the states of Kentucky, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and West Virginia -- a huge area!
There are fun carriage rides through the streets of Colonial Williamsburg. We walked quite a ways between the craft shops. We visited a blacksmith, silversmith, print shop, gun smith, taylor, and saw a wig maker.
This is the Colonial courthouse. Trials in this courthouse would have mostly been for misdemeanors (missing Sunday services, swearing), all felony cases (grand theft, murder, kidnapping) were tried by the Governor in the courtroom in the Colonial Capital.
This is the interior of the Williamsburg Courthouse building. Lots of woodwork. The stocks were outside so everyone walking by could see who was being punished.
All the arms and ammunition for the Colony were stored in the building on the right. The building on the left was the guardhouse. The Colonists couldn't pick up any arms from here, they had to request what was needed and they were sent out to them. Every man from 16-60 was in the Militia and required to have a weapon in their home.
This whole wall of arms are actually from the pre-Revolutionary War era. Every wall on this level was covered with arms, but these were the only authentic weapons.
These are just some of the homes on the street where we were walking. Some were really tiny and others were quite large. Private homes were mingled in with businesses all along the street.
This is the front of the Capital Colonial Williamsburg. The building on the left was where the Governor and his 12 appointed directors were located. The building on the right was where the House of Bourgeois was located, where the likes of Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson represented their respective counties. The met twice a year at the pleasure of the Governor, but if the Governor didn't like what they were doing he could send them all home!
This is the front of the House of Bourgeois. The Chair was elected by the members of the House and sat in the chair on the raised platform.
This is the back of the House of Bourgeois. The coat of arms is a wood carving and really beautiful. Colonial Williamsburg is part of the historic triangle. There is Colonial Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown. We were only able to go to Colonial Williamsburg, but would like to come back to the area to visit. There is so much history around here it's just amazing!!

St. Augustine, FL

St. Augustine is the oldest continually occupied city in the United States. It was already several hundred years old before it became a part of the United States when Florida came into the States. The Castillo on St. Augustine harbor was built in the 1600s. The white on the walls is still some of the paint. It was originally white with red towers. The small sign says "stay out off moat wall."
This is the entrance into the Castillo. There are actually 2 drawbridges and gates to go through prior to entering. The Castillo was never captured by enemies, it was too well defended.
This is up on top of the Castillo looking out into the harbor. It was quite a view!
This is actually a mortar canon and it is pointing toward land, not the bay.
These are some of the canon that were used by the Spanish during their occupation of lands in the new world.
This is a cool pirate ship docked in the harbor. The tour guide said that rides are available on the ship. Maybe next time.
Mr. Flagler built lots of hotels to draw people form New York down to Florida in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This hotel is now a college in St. Augustine's. It takes up a whole city block and is really beautiful. It was a 5 star hotel and lots of dignitaries and presidents stayed in the hotel before it closed in 1967.
Neat architecture in St. Augustine and very narrow streets in the old part of town. The streets were made narrow and perpendicular to the ocean so the sea breezes would be funneled into the town to cool off the houses.
The cross below marks the spot where the first Spanish explorers landed in the 1500s! About a block from here there is an oak tree that is 600 years old -- it is huge. I couldn't get a picture of it because it was so big!
I am posting this from Williamsburg, VA. We are hoping to visit Colonial Williamsburg tomorrow afternoon. Then on Monday we'll head up to Washington, D.C. actually Ft. Meade, Maryland for about two weeks. Should have some pictures from there!

Lots since OKC

It's been awhile since we've posted our wanderings! After we left OKC we traveled back to Sherman, MS to get some warranty work done on our new coach. We had to travel on the weekend because of our appointment with Sherman RV, but it worked out great because it was Conference Weekend and we were able to bring up the link on our laptop in the coach and listen to the broadcasts as we traveled. Isn't technology great! We were in Sherman for two days and just camped at the RV dealer. The next leg of our journey took us from Sherman to Cumming, GA where we visited with Betsy's cousins and got to sitesee around the area. We spent almost a week in Cumming before we left for Gaffney, SC. Howard went to the Freightliner Chassis School for two days while I stayed home and caught up on sewing and other projects. We met some really neat people there and even got to go out to dinner with Carl and Tina. While in Gaffney we visited the Cowpen Battlefield, it's a battlefield from the Revolutionary War. Very interesting!

The azaleas were in full bloom around the south. I took this at the Cowpens Battlefield Visitor's Center. Some of the bushes we saw were 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall and just covered in blossoms. The flowers and trees are really pretty and the pollen is so thick it's visible in the air.
I had to take a picture of the Gaffney water tower! We thought this was pretty cool and you can see it for quite awhile when driving up I-85.
This is a part of the actual battlefield at Cowpens. History says this was a decisive battle during the war, because prior to this battle the war was at a stalemate and France was trying to decide if the colonies were worth investing in. When the colonies won the battle (and the next one in the South) France entered the war and within a year was the battle of Yorktown.
Howard checking out the uniforms of the colonial soldiers. The were quite a mixed bag with quite a few from the militia (just farmboys who agreed to be in this battle from around the area).
This picture was taken from the front window of the coach in a campground at about mile marker #1 just over the Georgia border from Florida. First park we've been in that had horses grazing! After the school in Gaffney, we drove down to Florida to visit the kids. I think everyone knew we were coming except Di & Rick. They were surprised!! It's been fun visiting with them and with our friends at Treasure Coast that haven't left yet. I'll try to be better taking pictures of where we are wandering. Sometimes we're having so much fun, I forget to take pictures!!