Virginia

Thur. We drove uptown so we could use the internet and the phone. It was nice having a day that we did not do much.
Fri. Another leisure day.  We did some cleaning  inside the rig and get some reading done.  We were going to have a cup of tea this afternoon and the coffee pot did not work.  So back up town to get a new coffee pot for tomorrow.  While there we got caught up on the phone messages and text.

 Sat. It rained all night but we still went to the Sutton Dam.  They had a 5k run and tours of the dam.  We elected to go on the tour.  We went from around 500 feet above the river to 100 feet below the river.  We had a picnic there(picture below of dam) then went to the bulk food where we can get internet, coffee, and ice cream.  We are trying to see where we are going to head to on Monday. We still do not know. After we got home we ate and played a game(boy did I get the right cards).

Sun. After a pretty sunrise(picture below) we went to church then to the grocery for graham crackers and marshmallows (bet you can't guess what we are having at the camp fire tonight). We went back to bulk food(the Amish) had a hot pepper turkey sandwich, some of their baked beans and coffee. They also gave us the best choc. mint candy.  When we got home we got the rig ready for our trip Monday to Virginia. It rained and got everything wet and I could not get the fire started.
Mon. We left for Virginia when we stopped at the welcome center. The info. Lady told us about the D-Day Memorial.  It was on the way in Bedford Virginia.  We stopped and we are glad that we did.  The picture below showes the entrance with Overlord on the National D-Day Memorial. Operation Overload was a high-risk undertaking that changed the war. Picture bottom left side is the American and right side  other countries that  some 4,500 allied serviceman lost there lives on Dec.6 1944.  Their names are all listed on these plaques.

 Top left is Eisenhower, the middle picture is the ceiling of the rotunda and shows the plan for D-Day. Top right is a close up of Eisenhower. It was taken from a picture when he was talking to some of the troops. He asked someone where he was from and what he liked to do. He told him  that he liked to fish. That's when Eisenhower  was telling him he liked to fly fish(that story was told when one of the men in the picture was on tour and told our guide about it). The bottom picture is the emblem all the men were given for Operation Overload the blue is for victory the flaming sword, the rainbow represents all the colors of the countries.

The memorial had many symbols but what stood out the most was VALOR, FIDELITY, and SARCIFICE. Top left man in water VALOR, two on land FIDELITY, and the one on the ground SARCIFICE.  Top right shows a boat that the men landed on the beach the brown things in the water were to tear up boats that came ashore at high tide. They had water spaying at different spots.  The noise when it sprayed sounded like bullets being shot. Bottom showed a wall they would have to climb over 100 feet tall. It to has the VALOR, FIDELITY AND SARCIFICE.  The bottom right shows what a shallow grave would look like.  The one dog tag was put in his mouth and the other on his rifle which had his bandit stuck in the sand with his helmet on top.

Left picture is called "The Bedford Boys". It is to give honor for the men that fought in this area of the country.  More lives were lost here on D-Day than any where else in the nation.  This is why the memorial is placed in Bedford.  The U.S. Government said they could have a memorial but they were not going to pay for it so the folks got funds and made the memorial. The middle picture, a man dragging a fellow solider. It is a statue honoring all the wives who lost their husbands.  The top right picture  you will notice the gold wedding band.  That was donated from a wife who lost her husband and asked if they could put it in a sculpture.  The bottom right is a statue from WW1 that was shot at and took his face apart.  They did not want to fix it so it is that way today.  Since it is where the D-Day invasion was and the damage was done than they left it.  The folks doing the memorial wanted it and got a sculpture person to do it.

 Tues. We got up did our bible study, went on a walk, and we talked to our neighbors. After lunch we drove to  Natural Bridge Va. There we went to the Natural Bridge(two pictures on left) it is 215 feet high, 40 feet thick, 100 feet wide and has a 90 foot span between the walls.  "Natural Bridge " (the Bridge not made by hands, that spans a river, carries a highway, and makes two mountains one) def by Henry Clay , American Statesman, 1777-1852.  In early American history the Natural Bridge ranked with Niagara Falls in the top of the country's natural wonders. The picture on right is a water fall about one mile up stream from the bridge.

The Monacan Indian village. Indians that lived there before white men.

After our visit to Natural Bridge went to Pink Cadillac for dinner. They have a ice cream shop next door(middle picture on right).  They had one room done with nothing but Elvis(bottom pictures). We had there famous Elvis Burger.  

Picture below is a light show they had staring at 9:30.  They had christian music and songs and read about the creation of the world from Genesis. It was very well done and worth waiting for.

 

West Virginia

Wed. The picture below is when we went on the coal mining tour. Top left is a coal miner with his hat and light and lunch bucket with the top being a pie tray, next his sandwich then the lower part for water which they would put their deceased false teeth in so no one would drink their water.  The top middle is a one ton coal car which they would fill and get paid for every car they filled. Top right they explained the different light they used over the years and how they worked. Bottom left the modern way they get coal not the pick and shovel.  Middle the train car that pulled us through the mountain.  Right I stood outside the entrance to the mine.  Although I could not stand up it would have been two foot smaller when the mine was in use.  They got around on knees and would lay on there side to pick at the coal.

 Top left is a church that the coal miner owners would build for the miners. Middle is a class room and rest are the rules. You should read some of them! Very interesting.

 Top left is a bachelor home the next picture is inside.  Right is a married housing which at time they would sometimes rent out the bedroom to a single or a man who came to the mine during the work week(if they lived far away the hours they worked they could not get their and home and have rested). Bottom left is the superintendent's home (The three story home was very nice).  All the coal miners would have to rent from the owners and the rent would be taken from their pay. Bottom middle was the company store. The owners would pay the miners money they had made for them so miners could not shop at other company stores or else where(so come the phrase from the song "I owe my soul to the company store" .  Bottom right each of the small homes had a "out house" but the super. had inside pluming.

 Top left is what was used for curling ladies hair. Middle was a barber chair (the barber were like physicians which they bloodletting and tooth extractions. The red stripes on the barber pole symbolised blood; white bandages; and the blue the veins). Top right some of the places had a doctor this is his office. bottom left is the post office. Middle we went to the Tamarack(which the people from West Virginia would display there arts, crafts, and other goodies)bottom right is one of the tables someone made(the fisherman on top of the table and his legs and fish under the table gave you the feeling the glass was the water.

Thur. we drove to Charleston W.V. we had tours of the 30 room  Governor's Mansion and the State Capital. Picture below in middle is the Governor's Mansion. Top left the formal dinning room in the middle is the every day dinning room.  top right is a table Linda loves with a antique clock. Middle left top the stair case as you enter with the Schwartz crystal at base. Middle bottom the columns with gold paint on top. Middle right two antique clocks. Bottom left in the library done in W.V. hardwood in the Georgian-style butternut paneling which was very rare wood. Right a statue in the garden.

 Below left is the seal of W.V. the seal is also on their flag. Middle is the dome which is covered in gold. Right is the Senate and House chambers. Middle left where the Governor will make his public announcements. Middle is a fireplace in the same room. Right is the W.V. Supreme Court.  We were lucky enough to have a cub scout troop on our tours and one of the  ladies knew the guide for the Supreme Court and he spoke to us about their Supreme Justice. Bottom left is Robert C. Byrd served for 50 years holding the Constitution and pointing to the Senate chambers. Next a picture of the Capital building next to that is a picture from the rear of the building and bottom right is taken from the second floor at the dome.

 Before the civil war she organized mother club to raise money for medicine and food.  She wanted them to be neutral during the war helping both sides with the wounded. After the war she organized Mother Friendship Day to bring soldiers and neighbors together. After her death in 1905 her daughter campaigned to establish a nationally recognized Mother's day.  The first one was May 10 1908 six years later Woodrow Wilson signed a resolution setting aside Mother's Day as a national holiday celebrated on the second Sunday in May. Top right civil war medals which their are still unclaimed ones.  Below the flag quilts by Mary Levy.  She collected flags in premium cigarette packages and made them into a quilt to teach her children.

 Some of the quilts that were showed  at the museum.

 Water drain barrels found in the middle of city.

Fri. At Little Beaver state Park we went on a walk along the dam and lake.  As you can see there were many  types of mushrooms and flowers.

 We then drove to New River Gorge National River Park.  We went for a walk along the Grandview top left if you look you can see Linda at bottom of picture.  Top middle the path was very narrow and steep we walked 1.6 miles to a overlook as you can see in the top right.  The picture just does not capture the beauty God has made in these mountains.  At the park they had a play,before the play a church group came and sang songs for hour (bottom left). Then you have the McCoy's middle and the Hatfield's right. I know the story of the Hatfield and McCoy's but I can't remember seeing it.

 Sat. After a short night we went to Babcock State Park.  Along the way we passed a coal train (top left). They had a mill there(bottom left).  At the park office built in the 30's(Top 3rd picture) they had many items carved out of coal(top right). In the Second row left Linda and I stopped for lunch overlooking the mountains. Next picture you see a swinging bridge which was close to the two log cabins also built in the 30's(last two in the row). At the park they had a swimming pool,volleyball, baseball, tennis and a lake where you could rent boats (third row). Next to the lake a person was driving along the rocks which was like us extremely narrow road. In the fourth row you can see the road in the woods.

 This is Hawks Nest State Park. top three pictures are of the famous New River Gorge Bridge.  We took pictures from many angles(walking, truck and boat).  They had a cat walk which you can go across and we were going to do that but ran out of time.It spans 1,700 ft and is the largest single span arch bridge in the hemisphere.To picture it: It is 876ft high.Beneath the bridge, the Statue of Liberty could stand twice atop the Washington Monument with 20 ft to spare!! Second row first two pictures we were driving over the bridge.  second row right we drove over  the narrow old bridge which was the bridge before the big one. While we were down there we picked and ate red raspberries they were ripe and full of flavor(THIRD LEFT). Next we went to Hawks Nest State Park and walked a trail to lovers leap(3rd middle)Short of the story goes Indian chief daughter forced to marry chief of another tribe. She is in love with warrior of her tribe they escape hunted by tribe end up on cliff wanted to be together so with arms around each other they jumped to death. We went on the tram 3rd row right then on a jet boat (4th middle) on our boat ride we passed many fish houses on the river(4th row right). None of these houses have elec. sewer, or water.

Sun. Linda made pancakes for breakfast then we went to church and at bible class they had sausage and biscuits. We went shopping then back to Church.Mon. It was time to move again.  We drove to Flatwood, West Virginia a core of eng.park called Gerald R Freeman Campground.  It is a very nice park with alot of tent sites.  They have 3 playgrounds, 2 volleyball courts, 2 boat launches,marina, and Snak Shak(Top two pictures). They also have washing machine so we got caught up on it.  Tues. We had a hard rain last night and most of the morning.  We drove to a Amish bulk store had ice cream and did some work on the computer.  There is no internet (that is with our personal hot spot) and poor phone service at the camp ground. We drove to Flatwoods, Sutton(bottom four pictures), and Gassaway.  I did not know that there was so many Civil War battles in this area and in W.V.  The top right picture is of Holly Gray Park a park used for their fairs and special events.

 We also found out that in this area there was a Legendary Branxton County Monster aka the Flatwoods monster or Phantom of Flatwoods short of the story 4 boys playing football on Sept 12, 1952 they saw like a shooting star adjacent hill top.  Went to check it out Mrs. May and her 2 boys came. they saw object glowing and hissing about 10 feet tall. Two lights about 12 inches apart, bright red face, bright green clothing. Face looked like ace of spades, and it looked like it was floating on air  toward them.

Wed. We traveled to Cass W.V.  where they started logging in 1901 and the town started in 1902.  They have many trains from the early 1900's.  They have taken the train cars that carried the logs from the mountains and made them so they could carry people (top right). Top left picture is the conductor oiling the engine. This train was made to haul heavy loads in the mountain top speed on flat ground was around 10 mph.  If you look closely you can see the gears are on the side of the wheels and only driven from the one side of the train. Top middle you can see how crooked the tracks get going up the mountain. Middle left top is a wood mill that has been burned down. Middle bottom left a diesel and steam loaders built in the 30's. Picture in the middle is at  Cass station. Middle right pictures of the caboose. It was a kitchen on tracks. Bottom a portable camp shanty 12 x 16 built for the cook, superintendent, lever man, and surveyor the rest of the crew lived in bunk cars. Bottom right a view from camp at Whittaker.

 From their we traveled to National Radio Astronomy Observatory.  Top right is a example of the world,s largest movable radio telescope and bottom two pictures we are just outside of the fenced in area.  The surface is bigger than a football field by 20 yards.  It is as tall as the Washington monument. We saw a short movie presentation of what it does and I still do not understand it (but I think it is important to discover outer space).

 We then went thou Seneca State Forest to Cranberry Mountain Nature Center to find it closed on Tues. and Wed. We then traveled to Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where we took pictures of some of the flowers.  Then to Cranberry Wilderness trail where we saw one of the three falls(bottom middle.  Bottom right is a swing bridge to a house along the highway.  Folks park on the highway and walk to there home across the river!

Fourth Of July, Trip to West Virginia

Thur. We stayed home and went through our mail.  After paying alot of the Dr. visit bills we drove around some of the small towns found a Starbucks, had dinner and I got a hair cut we came home.
Fri. Happy Fourth of July!!!  Today we got up at 6 after a night of rain from Hurricane Arthur was hitting N.C. coast. The temperature was 60 with no humidity.  We spent the day reading outside and having a cook out.

 As night came we had a campfire and had s'mores (yum yum).  We then watched the fireworks on TV.

Sat. We had a hard time sleeping during the night it was 9 when we woke.  After breakfast we sat down with the maps to see where we are going to go.  The outer banks will be on hold till a later date.(thanks to the hurricane) It will give them time to get things cleaned up after the hurricane.  The park had a golf cart parade to celebrate Fourth of July.  I lost count when we got up to 40.

 Sun. We went to church I got lost on the way home so we stopped by the store and got some more ice cream and things.  We played putt putt for the third time, had a nice dinner, then back to church.  One of the ladies there gave us some cucumbers and squash. It is so nice to eat fresh veg's. right out of the garden.
Mon. We got the rig ready and left for West Virginia. The first two pictures show the beginning of the tunnels we went through and the top right we are in the tunnel.  Middle left row rt. coming out of the tunnel, middle picture is a run off ramp for folks that have lost there breaks on these steep mountains, right and bottom first two are of the parkway, and bottom rt welcome to West Virginia.  We got set up at Beckley Exhibition Mine Campground. We hope to go on the tour this week while we are here.

Tues.  We left for Lewisburg on the way there we stopped by a Info and exhibit of the sand stone in Blue Ridge.  He told us about the Greenbrier Valley.  We found they had a bunker tour at Greenbrier so we got reservations.  Upon arriving there the place was magnified. It has five champion golf courses and last week-end they had the PGA at Greenbrier. As you can see in the middle picture the front of the hotel and top left the side entrance. Top middle is a place where the spring water came in old days people thought it was healing waters. Top right is the swimming pool Middle top some folks playing croquet below it is one of many flower beds. Middle top is the front entrance from the hotel below it and the bottom row some of the golf course.

 The top left is the check in at the hotel, middle the pattern of carpet, right is one of the many meeting rooms with a fireplace. Middle left a ball room, middle meeting room, and right some of the figurines around the hotel.  Bottom left coming up the stairs, right of it is a dinning room, next to it a section of drapes and bottom right a meeting room.

 As we traveled around the courtyards there were many statues and fountains.  I like the top two on the right where in the garden they are across from each other and it looks like they are racing. Some of the statues were hidden or had vines on the picture bottom third from left.
What we do not have pictured of is the  bunker.  We went on a tour of it and had to give up phones and cameras.  It was built at height of cold war and kept a secret for 30 years. It was never used but came close during the Cuban crisis. It had 112,544 square feet, could house 1,100 people in the 18 dormitories.  It had its own power plant, communication area, clinic, meeting rooms and lounges.  The house could meet in its own room and the Senate in its room. It had 20 to 60 feet of dirt between it and the hotel above it. It stood in ready mode till May 31, 1992 when a article "The Last Resort" exposed the site. We both enjoyed the tour and the grounds.

  First two pictures top row are some of the buildings in Lewisburg where we ate at "Food and Friends" (the ribs and mussels were wonderful a large salad, mashed potatoes and veg. melody. This restaurant was featured on the food network. The last two picture top were of Carnegie Hall one of four in operation in the world. The middle four pictures the Cemetery where 95 Confederate soldiers were buried during the May 23, 1862 battle. The middle right is grave of Dick Pointer a slave who defended Fort Donnally in May 1778.  In 1801 he asked for his freedom because he defended the Fort but was denied and the town's people built him a cabin where he lived till his death in 1827. Bottom left was a Coffman Covered Wagon built before 1788 and bottom right two pictures our trip home on I64.

Elgin S.C.-Advance-Charlotte-Greensboro N.C

Thur. I could not sleep so we got up at 4:45 and left by 5 to drive to Shannon's. They just moved to Elgin S.C. where Al has been transferred there in Columbia.  We got there about 8 had the coffee cake I made and coffee.  Then we got to work.  Everyone worked so hard and we emptied a ton of boxes. After wards Al and Shannon took us out to Buffalo Wings. They can be very hot and we enjoyed them alot.

 Fri. It was nice to sleep in for we choose today to relax.  We did go on a bike ride, took time to read a book, and I greased and worked on the rig.  It was time to do the yearly maintance.

Sat. We got up and went toward Charlotte N.C. Named after  German born Queen Charlotte wife of King George third from England.  We went to Hendricks Motor Sports Museum where alot of the cars that they raced the last 20 years are. We found that the garages that held the cars they are racing in the future are open Mon. to Fri. ( what a disappointment we were hoping to see how they were made).

 After we left there we drove down town to the visitor center. She gave us info of the town and suggested Mellow Mushroom for lunch we shared a pizza there. We walked through Romare Bearden Park where they were getting ready for three or four bands to play in the  afternoon. We went to Wells Fargo Museum which was nice to see the history and enter act with the displays they had set up.

We saw the Nascar Hall of Fame(below bottom middle picture) and are going to go later with the kids.

We walked to the center of town where they have a different statues on each corner past present and future. The gold miner for commerce, a female mill worker strong textile heritage, a railroad builder transportation hub, a mother lifting her child skyward hope for the city future.

We drove through a section where we saw many old homes.  Then to Billy Graham's library. It was the first time  we went through a personal library.   We went through the downstairs of his two story home on the farm where he grew up. We went on a tour of about 14 rooms which each had its own video. About him living on the farm telling of his life till now.  They had a memorial to his wife where she is buried.Bottom last picture is when we got back they had a band playing so we came and listened to it for awhile,

Sun. We made a squash casserole for the potluck dinner at church.  They had church service then the pot luck dinner then the evening service. We have enjoyed all the services we have been to the speakers do a great job.  We got back to the rig and took a nap then walked around talking to folks and played a round of putt putt ( Linda beat me bad).

Mon. We did laundry and did odds and ends around the rig.

Tues. We drove to Greensboro. We went to four different gardens Bicentennial, Bog, Greensboro Arboretum, and Gateway Gardens.  Everyone was a little different but all had beautiful flowers.  Below shows some of the trees and lake.

Top two pictures show the holly leaves and the huge tree it is.  The bottom two pictures show the magnolia tree leaves and the huge tree it is,

 Below are just a few of the pictures we took of the flowers.

 Each park has many statues and displays, In the middle is a very large chime that really did chime.

 Below the top left is downtown top right Nathaniel Greene whom the city is named after bottom left is outside the cheesecake place, bottom right cheese cakes that were to die for!  Of course we had to share a piece(Sweet Potato Souffle) and then they had a blueberry velvet cake that we took to go.  It never made it home!!!!!

We visited Greensboro Historical Museum which is a building three stories tall and has many displays. Top left is O'Hendry at a young age, Dolly Madison our fourth first lady of USA. Top right blue car Cadillac red car was the fore runner to the olds.  Middle is display of a class room. Bottom left a display of many old items such as a bike with a 15 inch diameter wheel and bottom rt. is the counter where four black freshmen came and wanted service at a F.W. Woolworth Co. It was the start of the Civil Rights movement.

Vicks VapoRub was developed  and where Wrangler jeans got started.

We went to Replacement LTD. which covers eight football fields, has over 400 employees, 12,000 sq.ft. of retail store, and has 360,000 patterns which 2,000 are rare pieces. It also cares crystal and silver wares and restoration and repair on items. We went on a tour of how they package check items in and where they do ebay etc..Get this they are animal friendly and all dogs are allowed in and employs bring their dogs to work there!!With all the china she said nothing has ever got broken?????

Wed. We got caught up on paper work and blog.