Back in PA after 10,700 miles

We are back in Pennsylvania after completing our first circumnavigation of the US. Last year we took off from the Brandywine Campground on July 8, 2013 - we visited 27 states and traveled 10,700 miles - and now we have returned to our place of embarkation. 

Our temporary home on the Brandywine Creek in PA

Wow, what a difference from the West. The trees and grass are green and lush, the humidity is back and the spring rains come down most days. 

We have been spending our days visiting with friends, walking on the Struble trail and biking the Exton Valley trail. We've really enjoyed catching up and visiting to our old haunts. It feels a bit like home but also a little weird since we don't really live here anymore. 

Of course one of the first places we went was our "home brewpub" Victory Brewing. We met our friends Ann and Glenn there for Taco night and enjoyed some of the newest beers.

Denise, Glenn and a couple of Victory flights

Bob and Ann

We also have spent some time with Mandy and Jeff and their family, enjoying some sushi at a local place in Downingtown. 

Jeff, Mandy, Carson, Ian and Brielle

We were invited to an evening at Ricardo's house and enjoyed some authentic Spanish Fideua, which is very similar to Paella but made with short thin noodles instead of rice.

The Fideua was delicious

Ricardo is a great Spanish cook

Ricardo and Allan - friends from my years at GSK

I took in a Phillies game with Tony and Glenn. The game was kind of boring in the early innings and the Phil's were behind by one run in the 9th. But it got pretty exciting when Ryan Howard hit a 3 run walk-off homer to end the game! 

Citizens Bank Park - one of the nation's best parks

Glenn and Tony enjoying a beer at the game

We plan to spend about 6 weeks here in PA before resuming our adventure. For our second lap, we plan to head up to Maine, into Canada and then to the UP of Michigan before aiming toward the interior of the US. 

The mountains of Western NC

We spent a week at a place called Mountain Falls RV resort which is located in Lake Toxaway NC in Transylvania county. It's in the southwestern part of the state very close to the South Carolina border. This is a very beautiful area filled with lakes, mountains and waterfalls. In fact the tourism board calls this the "Land of Waterfalls" and claims that the area has the highest concentration of waterfalls in the US (250 in the county).

We visited about a half dozen of the falls including Whitewater Falls. They claim that it's the highest in the East but that's a fish story... 

Whitewater Falls in NC

We took a great hike called Whiteside mountain. From the top you could see 3 states - Lake Jocassee which is in SC and Brasstown Bald in GA. 

Lake Jocassee from Whiteside mountain

On another day we did several walks to various waterfalls. I had some fun trying to "blur" the water with a long shutter speed. Still need to work on this technique, but making some progress. 

Silver Run Falls

Rainbow Falls

We also visited our friends Pete and Barb who live near Greenville SC. We spend a great couple of days with them enjoying some golf practice (him), a dog rescue event (her) and some Carolina BBQ from Hubba Hubba in Flat Rock.

We left Lake Toxaway on a very curvy road (Route 64) but fortunately it was only about 15 miles before we came off the mountain onto a straighter road. We're headed to Lake Norman in the Charlotte area. 

Great Smoky Mountains NP

We are staying in the mountains of North Carolina and took a day to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I camped here with a friend 40 years ago when I was 17! The place hasn't changed too much - it's still beautiful, with ridge after ridge of rolling mountains. 

We drove from the North Carolina entrance to the Tennessee side and took a couple of hikes along the way.

A nice waterfall in the Deep Creek area

This doe was waiting for us at the top of the trail

It's a bit early in the season and many of the trees hadn't leafed out yet, especially at the higher elevations. The Smoky's top out at 6,643 feet, and the drive from Cherokee NC to Gatlinburg TN goes from 2,000 feet up to 6,000 and back down again.  

Fortunately some of the trails had wildflowers in bloom.

We enjoyed our day in the Smoky's. We found the serene beauty of these rolling mountains to be a nice contrast to the jagged peaks we had enjoyed in the West.

Red Bay Alabama - Where our motorhome was made

We visited Red Bay Alabama to tour the Tiffin motorhome factory and see how the coaches are built. This is a small town of about 3000 people and would probably be gone if it wasn't for Tiffin. They employ about half the town.

The tour was interesting. The factory is not that modern and many of the operations are done by hand. Even without automation they pump out about 12 motorhomes per day. 

They fill the interior before the walls go up. 

A beautiful Cummins diesel engine waiting for it's home

Walls up. Waiting for slide-outs to be installed.

We also visited the paint shop a few miles away in Mississippi. They use several coats of paint with careful taping in between to achieve the desired graphics. 

Worker removing tape from painted coach

Emerging graphics

There is a free campground adjacent to the factory and it was filled with at least a hundred Tiffin's waiting for service, with several coaches in an overflow area dry-camping. Some people told us they had been waiting for 2 weeks and were just managing to get an appointment. Fortunately we didn't need any major service and therefore only stayed a couple of days to take the tour and check out the scene.

Although we enjoyed the visit, we both came away from the experience hoping that we never have to return to Red Bay for service. Everyone who was there seemed to be extremely bored and frustrated sitting around waiting. There is nothing to do and no restaurants worth visiting, so it's not a very pleasant way to spend 2 weeks. The factory service currently has a first-come first-served policy (no appointments) which is not very customer-friendly. We'll keep our fingers crossed that we don't have to return. 

Hot Springs National Park

We visited Hot Springs National Park in our quest to hit all 59 parks (this makes 35... only 24 to go). I have to say that this one is different and doesn't really measure up to most of the parks. It's located in and around the city of Hot Springs AR and is based on the natural hot spring baths of the 1920's. The visitor center is located on a street with several historic bathhouses.

Quapaw Baths in Hot Springs National Park

We toured the Fordyce Bathhouse - it's like stepping back in time. The contraptions look pretty scary but I guess this stuff was pretty luxurious and modern back in the day. 

Therapeutic whirlpool from the 1920s

Either a multi-head shower or some kind of torture device

I wonder if people 100 years from now will look at our modern spas and think the same thing as we thought looking at this stuff.  

There is also a nice drive and hiking area in the Ouachita mountains around the town - pretty but certainly not anything to compare with the bigger National Parks. 

In any event, we enjoyed the day and checked the box. Onward to the deep south. 

View from Oswald's window

We visited the Sixth Floor Museum in Dallas Texas. This museum is located in the old Texas School Book Depository building on the very spot where Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK on that fateful day in 1963. The museum does a fantastic job of describing the culture of the 1960's leading up to the assassination, the event itself, the subsequent investigation and various conspiracy theories.  

Shooter's view from the 6th floor window 

The investigation concludes that Oswald shot Kennedy from this window. The motorcade made the sharp left turn from Houston onto Elm street. Three shots rang out just after Kennedy's car passed under the green road signs seen on the right in this photo (the white car all the way to the right is about where JFK's car was when he was hit). 

Looking at this view from the 6th floor window was bone-chilling. You could see how easy it was to make a shot, even for a moderate marksman. I always thought it was a lot further away, but it's pretty close.

Oswald's window is on the 6th floor
(the square one on the right)

Like many, I still remember that day in 1963. I was in the 3rd grade in school when it happened. They let us out early - and when I heard the news from a schoolmate I didn't believe it. Once we got home I saw the news on TV. 

View from street level of a car driving through the spot where JFK was shot 

If you look carefully at the photo above you will see an "X" on the street just ahead of the car. This is about the spot where JFK was first hit. 

The museum does a good job describing the investigation and various dissenting views to the theory that Oswald acted alone. If you look to the right of the photo above, you can see the grassy knoll - the spot where many believe some of the shots came from. We went up there to take a look, and it's clear that an assassin would have an easy shot from there. 

We both came away from the museum believing that Oswald acted alone, although there will always be that sliver of doubt. The museum was fascinating on many levels - it invoked in us many memories of the 1960's, described the facts of the investigation and brought back the feelings of a nation in mourning. We highly recommend a visit.

Remember the Alamo!

We made a one day stop in San Antonio to see the Alamo and River Walk. The Alamo was pretty interesting, and seeing it helped to explain why Texans are so proud of their state. The description of the fight for Texas independence was compelling .

The Alamo - San Antonio Texas

In 1836, Mexican troops under General Santa Anna laid siege around the Alamo for 13 days before launching an assault. All of the Texan defenders were killed. This event inspired many Texans to join the army, and motivated by revenge they eventually defeated the Mexican Army and established their independence.

The River Walk is an area on the banks of the San Antonio river, one story below the street level, lined with bars and restaurants. It was originally devised to control river flooding in the 1920's after a disastrous flood took 50 lives. Today it's a successful tourist area. We found the River Walk to be an enjoyable stroll with many beautiful views, but it was a bit "too touristy" for our tastes. The restaurants were just ok and there were few locals around. 

Overall, we enjoyed our day in San Antonio but it doesn't compare to Austin.