About That Poconos, West Point, and Hyde Park (May 4 - 10)

Dear Family and Friends,

We are truly wending our way into New England! This week we spent time in the Poconos and at West Point.

We left the Washington DC area early on Sunday morning, driving northward to Pennsylvania. We reached Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania and Hemlock Campground. It is located at the top of Mt. Pocono. Wild Turkeys roamed around our campsite. Spring was just beginning to show itself and the trees were still without leaves. The temps were in the low forties at night.

                                    

Gobble, Gobble

                                    


Bushkill Falls is located about thirty minutes from the campground so on Monday morning we loaded Bear into the car and drove there for a hike. Because of the eight waterfalls at the park it is sometimes referred to as the "Niagara of Pennsylvania." With four great hikes at the park, the three of us had a wonderful time.

We drove to West Point, New York on Wednesday and arrived in time to tour the military academy. What an impressive site West Point sits on (at the major turn on the Hudson River). The Point has had a continuous military presence since pre American Revolution times.

 Crossing into New York

 West Point

 The chapel

 Looking onto the parade ground with Washington's bronze in front of Washington Hall and the chapel up on the hill.

 Hudson River 

The turn in the river can be seen looking to the right of the picture, midway up.

On Friday morning we followed the Hudson River north to Hyde Park, New York. Hyde Park was the home of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He and his wife, Eleanor are buried on the estate. We enjoyed a tour of the home and grounds by the National Park Service. FDR's library is located near the mansion.

Roger stands in front of the mansion.

 FDR's bedroom

 The graves of the Roosevelts

We leave New York for the Concord, Lexington area of Massachusetts on Sunday. Thank you for checking in with us.

About That Washington DC (April 27 - May 3)

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello from Washington DC! Washington is very special to us as our son, Rob, was born at Ft. Belvoir in 1975. From that time on we have  spent a total of ten years working in the area, during five  different assignments. Roger was at the Pentagon and I taught school for Fairfax County. Rob and Michael spent some of their elementary and middle school years here.

We drove into the DC area on Sunday morning and were amazed at the amount of traffic. Our commute to Andrews Air Force Base (home of Air Force One) took several hours, with the stop and go traffic. Once on the base, we found our spot to park for the week. We are staying at the FamCamp located on base.

                                     

                                     

                                     

Security is tight at Andrews

This little guy (a groundhog) was in out camp site.

On Monday morning we drove to the Addison Road Metro Stop in Maryland and boarded the subway for downtown DC. The trip took us 30 minutes, but would have been much longer in the car. Our goal was to see the beautiful monuments, museums, and Capitol building along the Mall. We were mainly interested in the World War II monument that was built after we left Washington, sixteen years ago.

 World War II Monument

 WWII monument with the Washington Monument in the background

 A group of World War II vets from Montana were visiting the monument on Monday morning. What a thrill it was for us to talk with them about their service to our country. In the picture above, each vet posed in front of the Montana stone.

 The White House

Roger and I love the Smithsonian museums. In fact, they have spoiled us for other museums in the country. Though we have spent days touring them during our assignments here, we still had to see our favorites: the American Museum of History and The National Air and Space Museum. 

 Orville Wright on the Kitty Hawk

 The Spirit of St. Lewis

                                       

Predator Drone (a new exhibit)

We enjoyed walking along the Mall, taking in the tourists, the walkers and joggers getting their exercise and the beautiful Spring day.

 The Capitol

The absolute best part of RVing is having the opportunity to see old friends from the Air Force days. Bill and Susan are friends of ours from Alabama days (1979) to Ramstein to the Pentagon. We knew their grown children when they were very young. Now those grown children have five grandchildren for Bill and Susan.

Roger, me, Susan and Bill

Roger and I had five assignments in the DC area. We lived in an apartment first and then the two homes below. We lived on Bolling Air Force Base for our final two assignments.

 South Run Oaks

Lake Braddock Drive

We were eager to see the new Air Force Memorial that was completed in 2006. The memorial sits on a hill top overlooking Washington DC.

 Roger is looking at the Medal of Honor recipients that are behind the clear glass, Missing Man Formation.

The Honor Guard

Our week passed quickly. We leave tomorrow morning for Pennsylvania, as we continue to work our way north. Thank you for checking in with us on our adventures.

About That Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, and Spotsylvania, Virginia (April 18 - 26)

Dear Family and Friends,

We spent a very busy week in Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Spotsylvania, Virginia.

In Charlottesville, we dropped in for PickleBall one morning. The group was very welcoming and we had a lot of fun playing indoors.  In addition we spent time with our Air Force friends, Beth and Greg. They entertained us royally with a bike ride, a fun evening at their local pub and some fabulous meals (thanks Beth) in their beautiful home in the Virginia countryside. We had so much fun reliving Air Force days and catching up with their lives.

Dogwood

Roger and Greg

Greg, Beth and Roger

The four of us enjoying a pub evening.

Of course no visit to Charlottesville would be complete without a visit to Monticello. Thomas Jefferson's beloved home has never failed to amaze us as a symbol of the genius of our forefather. This was our fifth time to see it. Two years ago additional rooms were made available for viewing. It is now possible to go up into the dome, as well as viewing rooms on the second floor.

 This Linden tree is over 150 years old.

Spring time at Monticello with beautiful tulips, dogwood and redbud trees.

We left Charlottesville for Harrisonburg on Tuesday morning. Harrisonburg was great for a three night stay. We were able to play PickleBall at one of the best indoor courts that we have seen.

On Friday we arrived in Spotsylvania, Virginia. We were thrilled to stay with our friends, Judy and Barry, at their beautiful home in an area south of Washington DC. Roger and Barry were Air Force Academy classmates and worked together during one of our assignments in Washington. They were outstanding hosts and we appreciated their hospitality so much.

 Barry with Bear

Judy and Roger

Barry volunteers as an interpretive guide at the Ellwood Farm. We had a private tour of this mid size farm that sits on a knoll overlooking Wilderness Run. Barry explained that this was the site of a a civil war battle that lasted for three days in May of 1864, called the Battle of the Wilderness.

 The headquarters of Generals Warren and Burnside during the war.

 This painting depicts General Grant (on the horse) demanding of General Warren his reasons for starting the battle so late in the day.

General Stonewall Jackson's arm is buried in the cemetery at Ellwood. General Jackson had been shot in the arm at Chancellorsville the year before. His arm was removed. Jackson's chaplain was the brother of the man who owned Ellwood. That chaplain was responsible for the arm being buried in the family cemetery.

It was hard to say goodbye to Judy and Barry on Sunday morning. We are now at Andrews Air Force Base where we will stay for the week. We spent ten years in the Washington DC area so it will be fun to see our favorite places again. Thank you for checking in with us.