Niagara Falls, Unbelievable!

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I have been told that Niagara Falls is a place that we had to see. I thought to myself, "OK, so there is a lot of places I need to see." Well, after seeing it for my self, I see what everyone was talking about. This is just one of those things that can NOT be described.

We started our tour of the falls by visiting all the view points around the falls. I was totally awed at the power and amount of water that goes over the falls. The absolute must do while at Niagara is the Maid of the Mist boat ride. This is a 30 minute boat ride that takes you right into the Horseshoe falls. They nudge in as close as they safely can and hold the boat there for about 15 minutes. Needless to say, you get totally soaked from the mist off the falls. The view of the water coming over Horseshoe falls is incredible! It has to be the closes thing to what Moses saw during the parting of the seas. Now, I know I have been lacking at updating the photo page, but the photos of the falls, especially from the Maid of the Mist, are a must see. So you must go to our photo page and see the photos of Niagara Falls.

Lost in Buffalo

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In our quest to stay off the interstates and toll roads we took our usual smaller country roads from Erie to Niagara Falls. This is normally not a problem but on this trip most of the towns we passed through had us down to 25 mph. This added a lot more time to our drive. But the big problem was when we reached Buffalo New York. The road I planned to take was detoured due to an event going on. This detour took us right into the heart of downtown Buffalo. Right where I carefully planned NOT to go. Lucky for us, it was Sunday and the traffic was very light. The weather here in New York is HOT and HUMID. Even just sitting outside, with no physical activity at all, you start sweating. And to top it off, the cottonwood trees are shedding. It looks, at times, like it is snowing, with all the seed flying from the trees. It is so bad that the campground has to clean the pool filters once a day. We are only about 15 minutes from the falls so today we made a planning trip to see what tours they had to offer. While there I got the above photo. We were literally 10 feet from the top edge of the falls. I didn't know you could get that close. Tomorrow we are going to see the falls from below on the Maid of the Mist boat that takes you right into the mist at the bottom of the falls. We WILL get wet.

Still on the road to Niagara

We decided after checking with the Good Sam Trip Planner and finding there is a Mountain Advisory (steep grades) on the route we were going to take, that we would go 100 miles out of our way and stick to the lesser inclines. This new route took us to Erie Ohio where we had already made reservations for the 4th of July weekend. There are 2 campgrounds in the area and since we had the reservations with KOA we decided we would try the other. Well the KOA looked better so we checked in. What I didn’t realize is this KOA has no sewer hookup in the whole park. This is not a problem for tonight except for the $45 a night fee for 30 amp electric and water only, not even cable TV. I couldn’t even setup the Sat Dish because of the trees. I canceled our 5 nights stay for the 4th and found a nicer park just 30 minutes down the road. They have no sewer sites available but is a much nicer park.

To Niagara

We are on our way to Niagara Falls. This has posed a challenge for me. I need to find the best route up and over the Allegheny Mountains. We are in a little town near Penn State College called Spring Mills. I mapped out two routes and couldn’t decide which to take. I took my map a couple of sites over to some locals and they set me straight. Thank goodness for locals. I will take the “Truckers Route”. This is less windy and hopefully less steep. It makes sense. Just before pulling into this campground we climbed a nice looong steep hill. It had me down to 3rd gear and 45 MPH but the Workhorse didn’t flinch. It will be interesting to see what kind of mileage I get going over the mountains since the last leg of the trip I averaged 9.8 MPG (I am real happy about that). We will be making one more stop before arriving in Niagara. Once in Niagara we will stay put for a few days.
The campground we are in is nice. I think we are the only motorhome here. All the rest are trailers and most are permanents, although their places are neat. I wasn’t going to setup the satellite dish just for one night but I had a clear shot of the southern sky and their cable is just hooked to a TV antenna and only picks up about 3 channels. I had the dish set up in a matter of minutes. I needed to set it up anyway because it has been a while since I last set it up and the receiver will shut you out if it hasn’t received a signal for a while.

Hershey Pennsylvania

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We are in Hershey Pennsylvania and this place smells like chocolate. I am not kidding. When you drive down Chocolate Avenue (what else) past the factory you really can smell the chocolate. We visited Chocolate World and took a simulated factory tour. This is as close as you can get to a factory tour. A short distance from Chocolate World is the Hershey Museum. The museum takes you through the early days of the town created by Mr. Hershey. We didn't get a chance to see the Hershey Gardens and the Car Museum but there is always next time. There is also an amusement park called Hershey Park. Needless to say, this place is loaded with kids.

The park we are in is nice but a lot of the sites are a real challenge to get yourself level. Ours is better than a lot even though my right front tire is hanging in the air and there is quite a leap out of the motorhome. We made reservations late so we didn't get full hookups. We only have water and electric. There is no cable at our site and the trees prohibit us from seeing the satellites for our DirecTV so we are stuck with the 3 channels we can pick up with our roof antenna. But we are only here for 2 nights so we will survive.

Gettysburg Pennsylvania

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We spent 2 nights in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. In stead of signing on with one of their tour busses we found that we could rent a 2 CD set tour that you can use to take your own personal tour. This was great because we could just pop it into the CD player in the car and go at our own pace. We could stop it at anytime and get out to get a closer look at the sights. They also say there is more information on these CDs than the busses give you. It took us a little over 2 hours to complete. This place is LOADED with monuments. Every couple of yards along the tour is a statue, plaque or monument. If we stopped to look at each one it would take us 2 days to complete the tour. The photo above is the spot where the Battle of Gettysburg started. The gun on the lower left of the photo was the actual one that started the battle and is points in the actual direction it was on the morning of July 1, 1863 We stood on the battle fields where the Battles of Gettysburg took place those 3 days in 1863. We visited the site marked by the Solders Monument (photo below) where Abraham Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address.


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The campground here is very nice. A little pricey but nice. I wish we could have spent a little more time here to just sit and relax but I made a few reservations ahead so we must be on our way. This is one reason I do not like making reservations but it is a must in popular areas and during holidays.

Chipmunks

We are now in Gettysburg Pennsylvania and there are Chipmunks running around everywhere. I would get a picture but they won’t stand still long enough to take the picture. I know I have said it before but the houses we pass by while taking the country roads are amazing. I just can’t understand why they need such big houses. These have to be 4,000 sq ft with there 3 stories and most likely a basement. Susan says they remind her of the White House with there tall columns in front. These are set back from the road a couple hundred yards with manicures front lawns. Some are surrounded with corn or wheat fields. It should have only taken us about 2 hours to get here but we had to take a detour that added another half hour to our drive. Looks like we are headed for the mountains. We have been traveling along the coast lines since entering the gulf coast of Texas and barely got higher than sea level. Now we are turning inland and have run into some foothills. We are only at about 700 feet now but once we head toward Niagara Falls we will be heading over the Allegheny Mountains. Since we have been heading down the country roads, I don’t think I have had the coach over 55 MPH in a while, mostly 45. Probably good on gas mileage.

George and I

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I knew if I hung out here long enough I would run into someone I know. Now that I got a chance to spend some time with George, I am ready to move on. Tomorrow we will be doing laundry and getting things ready to head on down the road. We are heading for Gettysburg to see more Civil War history. We had a great time here in DC. I just wish we spent more time seeing the sights. It's just that there is so much to see. The really cool thing about DC is most everything is free, except transportation. Well I've got to spend my money somewhere. Although I wouldn't mind driving around here, parking can be a challenge, and if you make a wrong turn you might end up in a bad area. We may be through here again sometime and if we do we can see the things we didn't get a chance to this time. It's not that we have to move on, it's just that I can't stay in one place too long before I get the itch to travel again.

Smithsonian Institution

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Boy are my "dogs" tired. Today we thought we were going to spend the day visiting the Smithsonian Museums. We only had time for one and a half buildings. There is so much to see, One could spend a full week and probably still not see it all. We are beat!
On the way to the Museums we were about to cross the street when a motorcade of police motorcycles and police cars came screaming down the street with sirens blaring. Between all the police vehicles were a limo and several security vehicles including one with windows down and weapon poised. This was in route down Pennsylvania Avenue, between the White House and the Capitol Building. Could have been the president.

Alarm Clock?

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Yes, this morning I woke to the sound of an alarm clock. We took an all day tour of DC and had to be on the bus by 7:10am. I forgot there even was a 7:00am.
The tour was totally awesome. We all loaded into a 40 foot tour bus and the driver did a monumental job of weaving through the streets of DC. We not only visited DC but went across the Potomac River to Mount Vernon to Visit George Washington's home. We also stopped at the Arlington Cemetery to see President Kennedy's gravesite and witnessed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknowns. I was quite impressed. We then went back over to DC and stopped at a number of monuments. The above photo is, of course, the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was a full day.

Washington DC

I tell you what, the back roads sure make the drive more enjoyable. The first 30 minutes and the last 30 minutes of our drive today was Interstate. Once we got off the interstate you could just feel the relaxation set in. It is also nice because you can stop at the road side stands, gas stations, and stores without having to get off the interstate.


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Damn! OK, so I nailed a tree backing into our site. It could have been a lot worse. A broken tail light lens is all the damage I did. The campground we are at has a well stocked RV parts store and I found an exact match. What luck!

Man it's hot here. It is over 90 and probably over 90% humidity. Thank god for 2 air conditioners. They work so well, after a short time, we had to turn one off since it was getting rather chilly inside. I understand though that it will cool down considerably when the remainder of tropical storm Arlene moves through here.

Colonial Williamsburg

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We spent yesterday visiting Colonial Williamsburg. This is a part of Williamsburg that has been restored to what it was during the 18th century. Everyone is dressed in the costumes of the era. We decided instead of paying the $34 each admission which allows you to enter the buildings, that we would just walk the area and use the money for breakfast and dinner. The nice people running this campground advised us to not waist our money on the admission and they were right. We even passes 2 couples that said, "see, they didn"t pay the admission." Apparently they were disappointed that they did.
Today we did nothing but sit outside the motorhome and enjoy the day. I spent a few hours on the computer and phone making reservations. I normally would not make reservations but we are stopping at Gettysburg, Hershey, Niagara Falls, and the 4th of July is coming up so I thought we would be safe and make reservations. We lucked out and got a site that someone canceled out on for the 4th so I guess it was a good thing I decided to make reservations. We will be spending the 4th on Lake Erie, should be fun.

To Williamsburg VA

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The above photo is the roads leading out of Virginia Beach on our way to Williamsburg. Yes I did drive the motorhome down there.
The drive here to Williamsburg, VA was short even with all the road construction going on. As we traveled up the interstate, I noticed a motorhome back behind me and wondered if they were going to the same campground as us. Sure enough they pulled in right behind us at the campground office. I jumped out the door and the other guy said, "Your from California." And pointed to his plates which were also California plates. After talking a while I found that they had just about followed the same route as us. We looked forward to sitting down with them and swapping stories but shortly after pulling into their site they fired up their motorhome and took off. Something about the campground didn't satisfy them. We find this campground to be quite nice.
Last night I hooked up my data cable from the computer to the phone and my software did not recognize the phone. Oh No! I fooled with the cable and found that if I hold it just right it would work. I found some pins on the phone connector had been pushed back into the connector and apparently were not making good contact. So today it was off to the Verizon store. It turns out that I had about 10 days left on my warranty so they just gave me a new phone at no charge. Sometimes life can treat you right. Then it was off to get a haircut so not too much excitement today.
I had a very difficult finding a campground at our next stop, Washington, DC. All the reviews I read for the campgrounds in the area were not favorable. I did my best, I hope, to pick the lesser of the evils and made reservations. This is for a week so I hope it is tolerable. I need to get on the ball and make reservations for Niagara Falls because that will be the 4th of July weekend. Nice place to spent the 4th if I can get a spot. It looks like most of the campgrounds are on the Ontario Canada side so I am going to see what it takes to go through Canada. It looks like leaving through Canada is also the best bet to avoid the toll roads around Niagara Falls.

Digger’s Dungeon

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Those of you that are Monster Truck fans will get a kick out of this. As we were running through Kill Devil Hills we came across Digger's Dungeon which is the Race Shop of Grave Digger. I had to make a big U turn and head back to check it out. They had a couple of Grave Diggers in the shop being worked on, or built. Digger's Dungeon is a gift shop filled with bits and pieces of his crashed trucks. Behind the counter in Digger's Dungeon is a big window that looks directly into the engine shop. They were putting together engines and had one monster of an engine on the dyno. Just out of curiosity I asked where Dennis is today and the girl behind the counter said, "He is back there in the shop somewhere." I looked but didn't se him. Being the Grave Digger fan I have been for 20 years, this was a real treat for me.

Cape Hatteras

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This is a view of our site on the Outer banks on Hatteras Island. Note the house in the background. There are lots of these along the beach. We finally got some good weather so we could get out and enjoy. We visited Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and on the way I thought I had forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures. I was so mad at myself. After getting back to the motorhome and unloading the car, I spotted my camera right there in the back seat where I had left it. I was even madder then. Oh Well, at least I got a postcard of the light houses (see the where have we been section).


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This is a photo of the road leaving Hatteras island. The sand dunes are quite a contrast from the tree covered roads of the country we have seen.

Bad weather on The Outer Banks

It’s raining and the wind has been blustery from yesterday afternoon through all day today. We did nothing. Well I actually spent a lot of today tracking down and temporally patching a leak in one of my windows. Hopefully I found the problem. I am not sure yet because the rain slowed down shortly after I found what I think is the problem. On top of all that, the power went out in the area for about 4 hours, but we live in a self contained motorhome, who needs power, we can make our own. Since we have not been out and about, I have no pictures to post.
As I mentioned, our cell company has let us down by deciding to not serve this area. This means we still have phone service (extended network) but no internet service. I have found a weak wireless signal here so I can get on the internet sporadically. Don’t know where it is coming from and I really don’t care. So if you don’t hear from me for a while, I have lost the signal. We move up to Virginia on Monday and should be back in network then.

Outer Banks

We are now on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This is where Cape Hatteras is located. We are on the Extended Network with out cell phone which means I have no internet connection but I found a weak wireless signal so I will take advantage of it as long as I can. It is suppose to rain for a few days but the weekend is supposed to be great. There are many light houses to explore here also Kitty Hawk is near by so we will do some sight seeing.