The End Sunday 17- Wednesday 20

Ed and Judi have invited us back to their house in Nevada City for a few days.  So Sunday morning we were up and hooked up for the last time in this trip and drove over the Sierras to Nevada City.  We will spend a few days here sleeping and getting back into the swing of things.  We have already done our laundry and taken a shower (this is very important). 

We will take lazy walks along the river and photograph wild flowers.  Sleep a little and then we will head home on Wednesday July 20, 2011 and into our regular schedule. 

For those of you that have been following along, we hope that it has been an interesting journey.  We want to thank all of the people who we have visited and been hosted by along the way.  This has been a truly memorable journey.  We have learned a lot about our country and the people who live in it.  We have visions of thunder storms, flat land, green hills, and amazing lakes.  Serendipity has been a real player in this trip.  We experienced great campgrounds, delicious food, helpful neighbors, lighting bugs, cicadas and odd detours around the Mississippi river floods.  We did not experience tornados, catastrophic failure of our equipment, or anything other than helpful, caring people who made our trip exceptional. 

Friday – Saturday July 15-16, 2011

While we were having breakfast a wild turkey came to visit our campsite and hung around to comment on our hooking up and leaving (look carefully and you can see the turkey).  We came down from 7,000 to the desert floor to follow Interstate 80 to Tahoe.  This is truly the last two days of our trip.  We have lived in California all of our lives and neither one of us has been to Lake Tahoe.  Much of the day was spent traveling through the desert and getting to the Sierras.  We got off of I 80 at Truckee and drove down to Tahoe City to the William Kent Campground (run by the BLM).  It was a nice campground nestled in-between condominiums.  It was a little weird, after spending so many nights in campgrounds that are secluded to be around so many people.   

Yvonne and I were up in the morning and went down to South Lake Tahoe.  Along the way we stopped to see Emerald Bay, the Tallac Historical Museum and several vista points for photo opportunities.  This lake is truly spectacular. 

Around 2:00 Ed and Judi Moncrief joined us to celebrate Ed’s first day of retirement.  We went up to Squaw Valley Village where an Arts, Wine, and Classical Guitar festival was taking place.  We found all the things that we like best.  We sat out in the square and watched people and drank wine.  What more can you ask for?  We went to a Thai restaurant in Tahoe City to continue celebrating and then back to the campground where we built a campfire and sat around singing and telling stories. 

Wednesday – Thursday July 13-14, 2011

Tuesday night we witnessed an amazing thunder storm.  Rain came crashing down on the trailer with thunder and lightning that woke us.  Wednesday morning found the Mackintosh kids tumbling out of bed.  We shared breakfast and then they headed out to work and school and we headed out to go through the Rockies.  In an hour and a half we arrived in Denver and then pulled up into the mountains.   The sun was shining and the sky was blue and last night’s display was nowhere to be seen. 

The truck did its job, though slowly, and we pulled up through 11,000 ft passes at Copper Mountain and Vail.  We pulled off into a vista point and ate our lunch on the tailgate of the truck under the impressive spires of the Rockies.  We followed the Colorado River downhill (the evening storms were apparent here also as the river was very high and muddy) into Grand Junction and then on to Highline Lake State Park Campground (outside of Loma) for the night.  Once again we were blessed with a wonderful campground nestled into the Grand Junction valley.  Today’s drive was challenging and exhausting.   We have learned that the next time we do a trip like this we will not schedule such long days and we will stay two nights at each camp site.  There is just too much to see.

Thursday dawned bright and clear.  We were leaving the high mountains, green forests, and cool nights (we thought) for the desert again.  We stopped at several vista points and remarked at the amount of land out here that is inhabited.    The land in Kansas and Eastern Colorado was all farmed and fenced but out here there was not a soul to be seen (except on the highway).  Yvonne drove through the Wasatch Mountains.  She is really getting good at making this rig work.  We dropped into the Salt Lake basin in time for lunch and once again asked Rosemary where to eat.  She led us to a little restaurant in downtown Pleasant Grove, “Simply Splendid” where we had some simply splendid sandwiches outside in the front lawn. 

We climbed back into the truck and headed out of Salt Lake  past the Great Salt Lake, salt mines, the Bonneville speed way, and miles of salt flats. 

We were headed for Wells Nevada and an odd campsite that Stan had found at Angle Creek.  Now what would you think a campsite in the desert near Wells Nevada would look like.  We were a little afraid but….  We got off the freeway and turned into the Ruby Mountains and began to climb into snow studded high mountains that jutted straight out of the desert. 

We climbed to about 7,000 ft and found our camp ground in a little grove of quaking aspen.  Because of the angle of the site we had to unhook the truck so we could level the trailer.  So we hopped back into the truck and drove up to Angel Lake.  We were told that it was a beautiful glacier filled lake.  What an understatement!  It was such an unexpected gift considering that we chose the campground based on miles and not on environment.   The lake was at 8,400 ft tucked among towering 11,000 ft peaks covered in glaciers filled by a waterfall.  It was amazing. 

We watched a full moon rise over the high desert, had a cold night and a little bit of rain.  Tomorrow we leave for Tahoe.

Monday-Tuesday July 11-12

Leaving the Serdahl’s on Monday morning we had a bit of excitement as the truck would not start.  Dennis jumped us and we were off.  (We must have left a door open or something as the battery was completely drained.  We did not have any other problems with the battery for the rest of the day.) We headed back to Missouri through the rolling wooded hills of the Ozarks.   Skirted around Springfield Missouri on Interstate 44 and on into Kansas.  Do you know that Kansas is really, really, really flat!!!  Turning the page of the atlas to Kansas, Yvonne noticed that the map of Kansas looked different from the other states through which we have driven.  All of the roads on the Kansas map are directly North-South and East-West with only a couple of curves here and there.  So to get across Kansas in a Northwesterly direction it requires you to stair step your way from highway to highway.  The patchwork quilt of corn, wheat, alfalfa is similar to the agricultural valleys that we are familiar with but there are no mountains to frame the horizon.   It creates an uneasy experience of driving without moving.  

 Eight hours later we arrived in Marion Kansas and Hillsboro Cove campground.  This campground was well appointed and we were parked right on the water.  We watched some large catfish cruise through the shallows just a few feet from the water’s edge.  Once again we had no wifi but sat outside and wrote one of the blogs in Word.  Then it was off to bed so we could get up early in the morning and drive to Sterling Colorado and visit with Adam and Rachel Mackintosh. 

Tuesday we were up and out.  Do you know that Eastern Colorado is just as flat as Kansas but you are constantly and subtly climbing toward the Rockies.  Throughout Kansas and Colorado, because it was sooooooo boring, we began to listen to an audio book.  It really helped the time go by.  To help break up the day we stopped at the Fort Hays Kansas Natural history Museum.  We were surprised to find out just how many fossil sites had been discovered in Kansas.  The bulk of the collection in this museum was from a local archeologist who went on to become a professor at the University of Fort Hays.  It was an interesting interlude and then we were back on the road.   

Late in the day we arrived at Adam and Rachel’s home and were greeted by Kayleigh, Josiah, Zachery and Chip (a great Yellow Lab).  We had a wonderful evening with them.  Adam is the eldest son of our dear college friends, Doug and Jane Mackintosh, who live in Half Moon Bay.  Adam and his brothers and sister have been raised with our children and there are many fond memories that bind us together.  Adam left California to pursue his medical education, marry a Colorado girl and now he is one of a few doctors in Sterling Co.  We have not seen him for a number of years and it was great to see him as Dr., husband, father, and a grown young man.  Their children we a joy to be with and reminded us of our grandchildren that we will soon see again. They showed us the extensive remodeling work that they were doing on their house.  (If I did that to Yvonne I would be sleeping with Chip but Adam is used to the Mackintosh tradition of house remodeling).    As usual with this kind of visit the talking went well into the night.  There just was not enough time to get all the talking done and  Adam had to go to work in the morning and Rachel had to take Kayleigh to “Prairie School.”

Sunday July 10, 2011

About Dennis and Margot Serdahl,  Dennis was the Episcopal priest at St. Pauls when Yvonne and I first came to Salinas.  Dennis hired Yvonne and for 10 years they worked together developing creative liturgy.  The Serdahls left St. Pauls and after several years retired in Mountain Home Arkansas.  We see them periodically when they come to visit their kids in CA.   We have never been on the other side of the Rockies let alone Arkansas.  So we are pleased to be able to visit with them, tell stories of the Green River Wyoming canoe trip and liturgies gone badly. 

Today is Sunday so we attended St. Andrews Mountain Home Episcopal Church with Dennis and Margot.  Dennis was the rector here before he retired.  It was nice to see where they worshiped and meet their friends.  (It is hot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! here today)

After church our lunch was and Dennis Serdahl original receipt of fresh caught walleye sandwiches with tomatoes from the garden and the great Vidalia Onion dressing from the Outer Banks.  Yum!! then it was time for a nap because the late afternoon was going to be on the lake. 

About 5:00 we left for the lake with our picnic dinner and bathing suits.   Dennis and Margot have a pontoon boat at the lake.   We took our picnic dinner headed out to the middle of the lake to watch the sun set and cool off in the water.  Dennis spent some time fishing but no luck (maybe because Yvonne was “driving” the boat”.)  We put the boat away and went for DQ fudge sundaes, more late night conversation and off to bed. 

Saturday July 9, 2011

We decided on an early start and so we left our camp at 7:02 am.  (For those of you who know Yvonne you know what a sacrifice this was.)

Today’s drive took us on the Western Kentucky Drive Way (I64 still) through stunningly beautiful green pasture lands.  We suddenly realized that this was the land of the thorough bred race horses.  The houses and stables proved that there was some money in this project.  The parkway winds its way through Kentucky farmland and soon we found ourselves ready to cross the Mississippi River for the second time.  Rosemary’s directions told us to turn left to follow highway 60 into Missouri.  After we crossed the river there were large barricades blocking our entrance into Missouri and looking ahead we saw the highway descend into the farmlands that the Mississippi had flooded.  Instead we turned right and followed interstate 57 and were surprised to find ourselves driving through Cairo Illinois.  We were in this state for a whole 10 minutes but we get to count it as one of the states that we visited on this trip. 

We got back on Highway 60 when it reemerged from the flood lands and continued to Poplar Bluff where we succumbed to freeway food and ate at Applebee’s.  We stuttered a bit when asked for smoking or nonsmoking because we were so surprised by the question. 

Leaving Poplar Bluff we continued along the southern edge of Missouri on a country highway that would double as a roller coaster pasting farms and corn fields.  Missouri’s county roads are designated by letters (A – ZZ) that are not sequential but we did find road J (with Rosemary’s help) and turned south into Arkansas. 

We arrived at Dennis and Margot Serdahl’s in Mountain Home Arkansas.  It was hot, again, but they were waiting with their wonderful air-conditioned house.

This was a long day on the road.  There were definitely sights that we should have stopped at.  For Stanley it was the tour of the Bourbon Distilleries and for Yvonne it was Lincoln’s home.  Next time (if there is a next time) we will not have these long days just to get to the next campground. 

Friday July 8, 2011

Following the advice of our camping neighbors, we headed out today by way of the outflow of the Summersville dam.  It is pretty impressive even though the power plant was not in operation.  The Gauley River is really beautiful.  This was one of the points where the river rafters and boaters could enter the river and ride the rapids down stream.  This is an impressive waterway.  By the way, there is a humorous story about the naming of this dam.  It seems that most dams are named after the closest town (which is not Summersville [about 5 miles away]).  The closest town, now covered by the lake, was a very small mining and lumbering town by the name of Gad.  The powers that be decided they did not want to name the dam Gad Dam.  (Say it aloud and you’ll realize why they named the dam Summersville Dam.)

Our next stop was a little bit of backtracking back to the overlook of the single span bridge over the New River Gorge.  We took the short trail from the visitor’s center to view the bridge, a mighty construction, and to marvel at the engineering feat.  We chose not to climb the steep 600 step stairway down the cliff to view the bridge from the bottom.  Not because it wouldn’t have been a great picture, but because we didn’t want to climb back up the 600 steps to the top.

We drove back up to the turn off for Hwy 60.  Our neighbors warned us that this was a very twisty mountain road, but as we drove through the small villages we found it to be a very pleasant country road and were relieved to be off the interstate for a while.  We were told about the very picturesque Gauley Falls and were encouraged to stop for photos.  Once again having some local guides helped us to enjoy our trip.  The Falls are indeed picturesque and we took quite a few pictures.

After our many stops so soon on today’s trip, we needed to just drive or we wouldn’t make it to our Cub Run Campground on Nolin Lake in Kentucky.   We did stop for lunch, though.  Once again we asked Rosemary for a lunch spot.  She suggested CJ Maggie’s American Grill.  With that interesting name, we programmed in the address and proceeded to follow Rosemary’s directions not knowing that to get there we would have to drive over the Big Sandy River into Ohio and then over the river again and back into Ashland Kentucky.  We laughed as we added another state to our trip.  CJ Maggie’s was an award winning restaurant that specialized in American cuisine and the stop was worth it. Across from CJ Maggie's was an Episcopal church that Yvonne just hand to get into and see.  It was quite pretty.

Then it was back on the road to Cub Run.  This was a long day on the road.  There were definitely sights that we should have stopped at.  For Stanley it was the tour of the Bourbon Distilleries and for Yvonne it was Lincoln’s home.  Next time (if there is a next time) we will not have these long days just to get to the next campground. 

We arrived at Cub Run around 5:00, set up, and got ready for another long day’s drive to the Serdahl’s home in Mountain Home, Arkansas. 

Thursday July 7, 2011

We are leaving Virginia Beach KOA at 9:20 am with 4,019 miles of our trip under our belt.  It dawned clear and sunny this morning after the rain, lightning, and thunder of last night.  We are glad that we can hook up in the sunshine and not the rain but everything is muddy and wet. 

Michelle lovingly got up early to come down and help us this morning.  We have had a wonderful time here.  We can finally visualize her friends, home, street, favorite haunts and the beach where she takes her walks. 

The drive out of Virginia Beach is on I64, the interstate we will be on until Lexington Kentucky.  It passes through Norfolk, New Port News, and Hampton Roads, on to Williamsburg and Charlottesville.  We are driving on the tunnel bridge one more time and we cannot believe how large the Chesapeake Bay is—how deeply it cuts into the land.  And then all the rivers.  Again we are amazed at the amount of water and greenery that is in this part of our country. 

Our drive today is through the mountains of Virginia the highest peak of which is 5,700 ft complete with ski areas.  All of the mountains are old and rounded on top, not like our jagged topped like our Serria Nevada’s.  The Blue Ridge Mountains are hazy in the distance and our highway is wide and sunny and beautiful.   For lunch today was asked our GPS (Rosemary) for a place near Charlottesville.  She came with many suggestions from which to choose.  After reading through them, Yvonne naively chose Mitchie’s Tavern.  Now some of you may recognize that this tavern is right outside of the gates of Monticello and an historic mill and tavern.   And it is of course restored and “Disney’ed” up with people in period costumes and craftsmen in their workshops.  Bus loads of students make this stop for a tour on their way to Monticello. 

Never the less we had a lovely country lunch of , fried chicken, mashed potatoes, slaw, and the best peach cobbler we have ever eaten (Yvonne bought the cook book). 

Lest I lead you to believe that we did not like the place, let me say they do everything really well and it was fun to see all the families and kids enjoying the historical ambience. 

After lunch we had to keep driving so we only stopped at the tourist info office after we crossed the border into West Virginia to get directions into tonight’s campground.  (Rosemary could find Summersville but not the address).  The young woman there was quite impressed with Yvonne’s binder of campground reservations and MapQuest directions.  She said that most people come in with pages falling all over and some arrive with everything stuffed in a paper bag. 

Following the directions she helped us with we found our campground on Summersville Lake just up the river from the New River Gorge Recreation Area—a really big river in a really deep gorge which we drove over on the longest single span bridge in the US.  Also in this area is the new high adventure BSA camp (Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve).  We did not stop but we can really understand that the Scouts will enjoy the mountain climbing, white water rafting, and high adventure hiking provided in the area. 

After crossing over the dame that creates Summersville Lake we turned down into our campground,  grassy hills with sites right down to the lake.  The campground was nearly full with RV, trailers, tents, boats, jet skis, kids running round in bathing suits and towels hanging out to dry. 

It was warm but not has humid as Virginia Beach in the rain so it was quite pleasant.  Yvonne fixed a plate of cheese and crackers and apples and grapes, Stanley got the wine and the peanuts in the shell and we sat outside to enjoy our “Dinner” and the setting sun. 

Between our CA car license and our “Dinner”, our neighbors noticed that we “weren’t from around here.”  Several wandered over to talk about our Hi Lo trailer and to tell us what we should stop and see as we leave in the morning.  They suggested that we stop and look at the out flow at the bottom of this dam and they also told us about Gauley Bridge and waterfall.  We put those on our list for tomorrow and went to bed.

Friday - Wednesday July 1-7, 2011

Well, dear readers, we have finally made it to our destination.  The reason we began this trip was to visit Michelle.  We hadn't been to see her since she moved to Virginia Beach.  She planned a great week for us, a lot of places to ser and people to visit.  She really kept us busy.  Our schedule has been such that we have not written much.  So here are the highlights of our week with Michelle. 

1.        We participated in a Native American water blessing ceremony at one of the many waterways in the area.  A friend of Michelle’s is a Native American healer.  She is being trained by a group of 13 Native American Grandmothers who are reestablishing this blessing after 150 years.  It is only done by the women so Stanly attended as an observer and “warrior” to protect us from any intrusion. 

2.       Michelle set up appointments for us – Stanley got a wonderful massage from Meghan and Yvonne received an acupuncture treatment from Michelle’s acupuncturist. 

3.       We were able to meet one of Michelle’s coworkers (Ziamara) and her fiancé for dinner.  We had a great time with much laughter and storytelling to go around.   One of those loud, fast talking, and joking waitress kept us in stitches and added to the hilarity of the evening.

  4.  We went to church with Michelle where Yvonne played the offertory anthem on their very nice Yamaha baby grand piano.  Everyone was very friendly and it was a good service.  Michelle has recently been elected to the board so she is involved in the life of the church – building and grounds committee, solving the problems of rotten gutters and crumbling foundations. 

5.       We took a 4^th of July walk on the beach boardwalk which was packed with people, umbrellas, boogie boards, children and towels.  We threaded our way through all of this down to the water so that we could put our feet in the Atlantic Ocean.  We planned to return to the beach after dinner for the fireworks over the ocean, but an enormous thunder storm blew in and they cancelled the fireworks, the bands, and the celebration.  The lightening was spectacular, though!

6.       On Tuesday we drove the Outer Banks on the coast of North Carolina.  Took a ferry across the Currituck Sound and drove down to Kitty Hawk.  What a great day.  We drove along a country highway, stopped at “Mel’s Dinner” for lunch, and Grandy Farms Vegetable Stand for some beautiful fresh tomatoes and a tasty Vidalia Onion Summer Tomato Dressing. 

The Wright Brother’s Memorial and Museum was great with a full size replica of the plane that made that historic 852 foot 59 sec. flight.  We walked to the top of Kill Devil hill to take photos of the monument.  As we left we drove along the beach road to see all of the rental houses nestled into the dunes about which so many books we have read have been written. 

7.        On Wednesday we drove up to Williamsburg.  It was a rainy day, but we went anyway.  We went across our first bridge-tunnel.  It’s just like it sounds – a bridge out into the middle of the water, then the road dives into a tunnel and back up onto the bridge.  Two of Yvonne’s favorite kind of roads---and the tunnel is under the ocean. 

First we went to the historic part of Historic Williamsburg.  What a great place to visit.  We went through print ship, candle makers and several other shops.  We had lunch in Chowning’s Tavern.  Stanley tried ale from a 1752 Williamsburg recipe.  It was quite tasty.

The next stop was at the Williamsburg Salt Spa for a 45 minute treatment in their Polish salt cave.  Salt treatments have been used for respiratory ailments for centuries.  This room was built from several tons of salt and salt crystals brought from a famous salt cave in Poland that is used for therapy.  Underground 30 meters, there is the spa, shops, a cathedral, carvings and sculptures, a whole city.  Above ground are the hotels for the guests who spend a week or two in the cave breathing the salt dust. 

Yvonne could breathe better after the treatment, so we feel like it has some positive effect on our respiratory systems.  Anyway it was an interesting and restful time.

After the salt spa we went to Discover Teas, a tea shop.  Michelle knows the proprietor.  This is a lovely little shop and the 3^rd distinct environment we had been in today---an American Historical village, the Salt Spa, and now a very light and airy shop that greets one at the door with a variety of scents of tea and fruit and herbs and flowers.  Besides a sample cup of tea as you enter, Kenneth has a little table where his teas are in small tins to be sniffed.  He then tells you about what is in each blend and also includes the health benefits of each.  What a pleasant way to end our day.  We also found that he carries a Kenyan tea, so we told him about our tour of the tea factory last summer.

As we left for home, the skies opened up and poured rain.  We drove in the 5”00 traffic in a driving rain, thunder and lightning.  After 2 hours for a 1 hour trip, we pulled into Michelle’s with Chinese take-out for our last dinner together.

Tomorrow we leave and head West for home.

Thursday June 30, 2011

For those of you asking we are still alive.  We just have not had Internet access.  I will post the week with Michelle later today and we will only be two days behind.  Love you all.

We left Gaffney KOA this morning.  It was hot.  Today we will make it to Michelle’s house but we have time to stop at a museum.  Yvonne found one in Greensboro NC on the Internet.  It is called the “International Civil Rights Museum.”  So we programmed “Rosemary” to find it for us. 

When we stopped we had no idea what an experience we would have.  It took a bit to find the museum as it had been moved from a 25 story office building to the original Woolworth’s store where the incident that the museum commemorates happened. 

This museum, through relatively small, tells the civil rights story through graphic photo collages of KKK lynching, police dogs and water cannons used on protesters.  High tech video’s and holograms, and the original Woolworth’s lunch counter where 4 African-American freshmen from the local university sat one day, asked to be  served and started a revolution.

Because of these four brave young and the people they inspired to support and help them, a nonviolent sit in of about 6 months accomplished the desegregation of all the Woolworth’s lunch counters in the south. (Blacks had always be able to shop in the store, it was the lunch counter that was the issue)  Young blacks throughout the south continued the daily ”sit in” until Woolworth’s stores finally buckled due to the financial impact on the stores bottom line.

Our docent, Anita, was an active a passionate story teller and several members of our tour group remarked that they remembered having to abide by some of the “Jim Crow” laws that Anita explained to us.  (Colored and white restrooms, drinking fountains, waiting rooms at the train and bus stations and Coca Cola machines that had cheaper cokes for the whites.)  The tour ended with a room that displayed the names of many famous and also the not famous victims of the fight for civil rights. 

The museum tells an extremely moving story designed to educate and keep us from forgetting the courage and perseverance of those involved in the struggle.

Back on the road we pulled into the Virginia Beach KOA 3 hours later and got set up, met Michelle for hugs and kisses and then a great Thai dinner. 

Wednesday, June 29

This morning we knew we had to leave early because we had a lot of miles to cover and a stop to make before we got to Gaffney, South Carolina for the night.  We were up and on the road by  7:30, wishing we could stay longer with Kathy to see all the things we missed.  ("There are some lovely old Victorian homes that have been restored down that road.  I guess I'll have to take you there next time.")

Now every morning as we drive, we have written part of the each day's blog, commenting on what we see as we drive through this country.  So shortly after leaving Kathy's house, Yvonne reached for the journal she has been writing in and couldn't find it in the truck.  We called Kathy to see if we had left it at her house.  When she reported that she'd even looked under the bed and it wasn't there, we decided it had gotten packed in the trailer and figured we'd find it when we set up.  It wasn't in the trailer and we were stumped as to where it could be.  We eventually found it way under the driver's seat of the truck having slipped down off the back seat during some re-organization of the things that travel there. 

We were hoping to stop in Birmingham, AL to visit the Civil Rights Museum there, but as the hours passed we had to give that up.  You see, we had a very important stop to make in Zirconia, NC.  Today we drove across beautiful green Alabama, across the northwest corner of South Carolina into western North Carolina and back into South Carolina to our campsite in Gaffney.  In SC the freeways are lined with gorgeous flower gardens, I think they are Peruvian lilies, mostly yellow but some orange and coral colored ones.   Everything is so green.  The woods continue to line the freeways as well.  We know that California was essentially a desert until we began to irrigate it, so we are not used to all this greenery.  Also there are rivers, large and small, and lakes and ponds and bayous everywhere.  No wonder everything is green.

Back to our special stop in Zirconia.  Most of you know that Yvonne has been studying the harp for the last year and a half.  Our friend, Donna Luder, graciously loaned Yvonne her beautiful Hidden Valley harp to use.  Well, Yvonne has decided to train to become a Certified Music Practitioner, which allows her to enter hospitals, hospices, convalescent homes, etc. to play for those who are ill or dying.  This means she will have to carry her harp  up and down stairs, and in and out of the car.  The Hidden Valley harp weighs in at 48 pounds and that is a little more that she wants to wrangle.  Her teacher told her about a harp builder that makes harps out of carbon fiber fabric which weigh less the 10 pounds and his workshop, Heartland Harps, is in Zirconia, NC,  near Asheville, NC (for those of you who are familiar with the territory.)

We wound through the Smokey Mountains following the directions that Rosemary dictated and drove right to the front door of Heartland Harps (unfortunately Stanley did not believe Rosemary so we went by and had to get turned round on these little back roads. How fun)  Then it was up the driveway to their shop. 

There we met Dave (the harp builder) and Pamela (his harpist wife).  We were introduced to the harps and got to listen to the wonderful sound that this plastic harp produces.  (We had an unintended example of how tough these harps are when Dave knocked over one of the harps and it banged into another.  No damage.  They are just amazing.)  We spent time learning how these harps are made and coming to the conclusion that this harp was for Yvonne.  All of these harps are made to order so we put a down payment and the harp should arrive (by fed ex) late August or early September. 

Then we had to get the truck and trailer turned around in their driveway and it was back on the road to South Carolina (Haven't we been there before?).  Another hour and we were in Gaffney KOA, set up and exhausted.   We are just not made to be on the road for 9+ hours.  We will try not to do that again but it was worth the trip to the harp workshop. 

Tomorrow we are up and off to Virginia Beach to greet Michelle.

Tuesday June 28

Folks we are really behind in our blog.  We will work to get caught up.  Love you all. 

  At Kathy's we all have so much to say to each other that the conversation swirls around a lazy morning and a late start.  Much was planned ( travel to Indian mounds and museums) but the sky darkened and the heavens opened up and a torrential downpour ensued.  Being Californians we immediately ran out onto the porch to watch the lightning and the rain bouncing off the trailer.  Kathy was not so excited about watching the lightning and told the story of her mother being struck by lightning while standing in the doorway of her house.  Following her admonition we went into the house and turned on lights as the sky continued to darken.  (I am so glad that we were not driving in this.  We would have had to pull over. )  We reevaluated the activities of the day based upon the weather.  What was amazing was the storm blew through and the sun came out and we were off.

The day  before, Yvonne had received a phone call from her sister (Michelle) who asked if Yvonne could play at her Sunday service.  Yvonne had not brought any music so one of the tasks of the day was to find a music store and purchase appropriate music.  After a few phone calls to the Tuscaloosa music stores we were directed to Southwestern Music Gallery.  Kathy did not know that end of town so we drove off into unknown territory.  We were told it was behind the Kmart.  Behind is an interesting term.  A mile down the road from the Kmart we found a warehouse with a piano keyboard attached to the side of the building.  We were there.  We walked into a warehouse full of grand pianos and bins and bins of music.  We were greeted by Gary who, when asked if he carried Christen music said, “Of course we do Ma’am.  We are in the buckle of the bible belt.”  Yvonne was in hog heaven.  Bins of music.  Kathy and Stanley gave her a time limit and we were out of there in under two hours. 

Kathy then took us a twisting tour of the University of Alabama and the city of Tuscaloosa.  We saw some of the damage caused by the tornadoes, much of it already cleared. 

By this time it was 5:00 and time for BBQ. She took us to Dreamland BBQ, a local favorite.  We were greeted by Cooper (Y’all).  His accent was so thick that Kathy had to translate.  We were introduced to an Alabama BBQ tradition.  In Alabama, after you order instead of a basket of bread and butter you get a plate of Wonder Bread and a cup of their signature sauce. We learned to dip our Wonder Bread into the BBQ sauce (yum).   Stan’s tour of BBQ continued with some amazing ribs and a bottle of Naked Pig beer.

 We went home to finish the laundry, pack the trailer, tell more stories and get ready for the longest driving day in our trip.  While we were loading the trailer, Stan came running in to the house.  There were fireflies in the yard.  Here are two Californians jumping up and down and running around watching something that they  had only read about but never see.  (Each night we see fireflies and exclaim over them the people around us are incredulous.  They just cannot believe that there are no fireflies in California.)  It was at least and hour of entertainment for both Kathy and the Californians. 

We cannot thank you enough Kathy for hosting us here in Tuscaloosa. It has been a wonderful time but too short. We will be back.

Monday June 27

We are packed up and ready to leave Lake D’Arbonne at 7:30 this morning.  Wonders never cease! The cicadas are quite this morning.  We wonder what is happening or if they just don’t get up this early and stay up late.   We wandered through the bayous and villages, on country roads as Rosemary leads back to Interstate 20 E to Vicksburg MS. 

In a little while we tried to find a place for breakfast and Rosemary took us to Tallulah, LA.  A very small town, but once again we struck out.  (I think that Rosemary enjoys these extrusions off the Interstate). 

Rolling along on the interstate, we near Vicksburg and one huge river.  We are sooooooo dumb it is the Mississippi.  Wow is it huge and fast.  Cross over from LA to MS and into Vicksburg.  We are trying to stop each day at a museum and today we decide that the Court House would be our destination. 

The stately Court House graces the top of a hill in downtown Vicksburg near the Mississippi River.  The bell tower is perched on top of the building like a ballerina of a girls jewelry box.   The Court House was rebuilt in 1856 and stands proudly as a monument for a city that withstood a 47 day siege by the Union forces. 

As we entered the Court House, a young man (Rusty) at the front desk engaged us in conversation.  We kept talking just to hear his accent.  He suggested that we start in the “Confederate Room” (Not surprisingly we never found a “Union Room”)  We walked in holding many western prejudices about southerners and their reluctance to give up slavery and walked out with a new sense of sympathy for the people caught in that horrible war.  In this museum there was much more than rifles, bullets and cannonballs in the display cases.  The stories of the heroism of the citizens as well as the soldiers was told through newspapers articles and personal letters.  The southern perspective was never laid out like this for us in school. (History by those who won.)  This is not to suggest at it changed our mind about slavery just that there was more it than that. 

Upstairs was the court room.  (There were very comfortable swivel chairs for the jury and church pews for the observers and the prosecution and the defense attorneys sat at the same table.  I am not sure but there seems to be a message in the layout of the room.) 

Also there was a room devoted to Jefferson Davis and his wife, the only president of the Confederacy and his 1^st Lady.  He was elected President without his running for the office.  He reluctantly accepted and took on the task proving to be a very capable politician and president.  After the war he was imprisoned and released after 2 years.  He never recanted the cession of the south because he had been taught at West Point that this was a legal process and he had done nothing illegal.  Because of this he lost his Constitutional Rights (to vote, etc.) but was still elected and served in several public offices including Senator.  

After looking through the museum we asked Rusty about a place for lunch.  He sent us to an eastern/southern chain called Heavenly Ham.  They make sandwiches and actually had a veggie sandwich.  The to-go box lunch suited our need to get on the road.

We are driving Lake D’Arbonne ½ way through Louisiana, all the way across Mississippi, and ½ way through Alabama today to Kathy Sproles house in Tuscaloosa.  We are amazed at how many states one can travel through in a day.  Everything gets greener and greener.  Pine woods line the highway. 

Around 4:30 we pulled into Kathy’s house to hugs and kisses.  Then it was off to Wintzell’s a favorite fish house along the river.  Great food (Fried Pickles and Key Lime pie) and then back to the house for more conversation and eventually off to bed.