8 Blog
16 May and in the Blue Ridge Mountains, (go on sing the song and get it out of your system before I get back to Spain)
We went to a local beauty spot just five miles from where we are camped. Very nice lakeside area. As we left to head for the Blue Ridge Parkway, we noted the sign directing us towards it and the sat nav agreed. The road was not on our map but we did not have one with much detail.
We set off following the sign post along a not very wide road in our very, very wide truck (8Ft 10in or 2mtrs 97). After a mile the road became narrower and started to climb but we did get past the 4x4 coming the other way. The tarmac turned to gravel but the road was still on the sat nav so it must be OK, yes? It was OK, just. It was only a little narrower now and not much steeper but then there were no houses along the road as it got even narrower and steeper.
I started to worry just a little when I noticed the hairpin bends appear on the screen of the sat nav and now the hairpins (there were several on the screen at a time) had big banks to my left and big drops to the right and I wondered how stable this gravel road was!
All the time the road was getting steeper.
We eventually arrived at the top of the mountain 8 miles (11Km) later at something close to 1100 meters (3400 Ft) altitude but not without being very glad that we had four wheel drive. The views were spectacular (frightening) and at the top we found a notice board declaring this to be a “wilderness area”, well you could have fooled us! It was with relief that we then arrived 100m later at the tarmac road.
WILDLIFE
We have seen an amazing amount of wild life. Deer are more common here than foxes are in England and speaking of foxes, we have only seen one but it was an excellent specimen. Snakes have crossed our path with regularity, about one a week and the opossum is native to this area, usually lying in the road like a British hedgehog (squashed!) but seen just occasionally scampering through the undergrowth. There are NO alligators here, you need to go to Florida for those!
The weather in Spain is reasonably predictable. If its 29c today, it will be similar tomorrow. Not so in the USA. Temperatures this week will vary from 18c to 29c, what will happen to night temps is a similar lottery (22 May 6 centigrade at 7 am!) but if you look at the weather stats, the rainfall is spread evenly throuout the year. You may like to know that you can always check YOUR weather at www.weather.com
Yeeehaaa! Let’s mosey on down town for a little country music. We are in Bristol, Tennessee, where country music originated (not Nashville).
We went to town last night for some good ‘ol country sounds and tonight we will go back for a little “Blue Grass”.
Last night there was a free performance on the open air stage and we left it for a little walk and went for a coffee break where we found a group of six inside the cafe playing their kind of country music, very nice.
Bristol NASCAR (stock car) track is on the agenda today and we have to practice for the weekend’s games on site when we will be throwing horse shoes. Oh! Yes, we get to ride a horse as well and there will be a band to appear here too! Gosh, life’s tough but someone has to do it.
The Bristol Motor Speedway at $4 dollars a head for the tour was not going to break the bank so we did it! It’s quiet on the tour front so we had our guide and mini bus just for the two of us!
We got driven along the international drag strip and into the centre of the speedway. We had the opportunity to walk at the corners and walked from the inside of the track to the outside. Corners on these ovals are banked; the banking was so steep (33 degrees) that standing was positively dangerous and the best way down is to shuffle down on hands and knees! This ½ mile oval is the fastest race track in the world.
We got driven round the track for a few laps (500 laps at 130 mph would drive most mortals out of their skull) and we got taken to see the owners private box where the rich and famous watch from.
The owner is a multi BILLIONAIRE so his private box was a bit posh!! This is the fourth largest stadium in the world with seats for 160,000 bums.
We now have all the camp sites booked for the rest of the trip, most have cable TV but all have free Wi Fi. The internet is so useful, especially the ability to make phone calls over the net courtesy of Skype. Even calls to Spain or UK only cost less than 2 pence a minute and of course, some calls are free. I was able to give a friend the walk round video tour of our house this week, all for free. Good fun stuff.
We have a few more relaxing days here in the sunshine then it’s off to Nashville with a short break at Pigeon Forge on the way.
Below is the link to our photo album, Click on it to go there. Note, you may need to hold down the CTRL key at the same time.
http://picasaweb.google.com/arthur.croasdell/Blog8
Fri 23 May We had breakfast at a local restaurant called “Cracker Barrel”. The breakfast was certainly crackerjack in the best American tradition and then we moved along with the day’s schedule. We put our two mountain bikes into the truck and headed for the trails in the local state park The specially designated tracks were graded like ski runs, green for easy and black for the most difficult, so we set off down hill on a bone jarring ride on a green run. In the tradition of all past international rally car navigators, my wife saw what was obviously a short cut on the map and so we turned off the lumpy green run and after a while, a very difficult while, I discovered that we were on a “black” run. Neither of us are very good at turning back from a chosen path so we slogged onwards and we are proud to say that one of us has the bruises to prove it!
As compensation, I took Freda out to dinner in the evening to the “Texas Roadhouse;” it was exactly the same as the one we had been to near Philadelphia, and the food was just as good.
Friday night is music night and it was more Blue Grass, in the main street of nearby Kingsport. This event was far more fun than the one in Bristol a couple of days previously. We think most of the town’s population had turned out for the event. We were both amused at some of the local “old boys” wearing something similar to a “tap” shoe! Determined dancers to the end, good luck to them!
Sat 24th May. A little bonus this morning, the camp site were offering free pancakes to every camper. Free, yep that’s right! Sit in the restaurant and get eating, no catch! I never got that anywhere else that’s for sure.. We got the pancakes shaken down through the system later in the day with a horse ride. I haven’t sat on a horse for many a long year and when our guide set off into the trees on a very narrow path I was just a little nervous but only for a few seconds. It was fun to ride Western Style on American Quarter horses.
It’s Memorial weekend, a time when all Americans remember their countrymen fighting abroad and those who gave their lives in past wars. It also means they get the Monday off so they all go away for the weekend. The camp site was full almost to capacity this weekend with much entertainment laid on for adults and children alike.
26 May We’ve just arrived at Pigeon Forge, near the Smoky Mountains National Park - Bear country! No! I didn’t say bare country. We’ll tell you more later if we don’t get eaten.
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Heading South
7 May 08
We had a good run down to the outskirts of Washington yesterday (6 May),
And on the way we passed through Lancaster County where we saw several Amish men out ploughing the fields with their teams of four horses. If you saw the Harrison Ford film “The Witness,” you will understand what I mean about the Amish.
Lancaster County is a very beautiful place, not one that the Americans should underestimate or undervalue.
We hove to not far from Washington D.C. in a very quiet area; we are camped in the woods. Perhaps not unlike the New Forest but without the rain! We are a bit short of amenities here; there is no Wi Fi internet or cable TV, but one can’t expect everything all the time.
Today we went to the Air and Space museum, not the one on Washington’s famous Mall where I am sure lots of you have been, but the one 25 miles out of town at Chantilly. This was built with a donation of $65 million from Steven F. Udvar-Hazy and houses all the exhibits that would not fit into the hall on the Mall. It can only be described as huge and if you like that sort of thing, fascinating. Of course if you don’t like that sort of thing, you could describe it as boring. Photo’s much later and only by request!
Tomorrow my wife tells me she is taking AC to DC!!! (me to Washington!) We haven’t been there for about 15 years so all will be fun and I will take lots of pics to remind me (us).
We will visit Washington centre. I spell that (centre) the English way, not the bad American way, so apologies to my American/Canadian friends. Interestingly, we are staying near a town called Centreville, yes, spelt just like that, with r before e.
May 8th
Washington, well it’s raining a bit which just puts the damper on things slightly. We are pretty determined but a full day in the (light) rain would not be a great pleasure. The Washington Monument was worth a visit even if all the tickets to go to the top had been allocated for the day; the visibility from the top must have been grim anyway. We walked some of the Mall and went into the American Natural History Museum for a quick coffee, thought we’d just have a quick look but couldn’t tear ourselves away for ages.
Washington was full of school children out on education trips and they were everywhere but no problem.
We also visited the original Air and Space Museum on the Mall. We had been there in 1993 and that Dakota is still hanging from the ceiling.
At the end of the day we made our way to the Metro and took a ride back to our truck. We were very tired.
I would like to thank you for those messages of encouragement; it’s nice to know that someone out there reads this stuff!
The facts man, just gimme the facts.
The truck cost us $45,000, I suppose if you bought these things by the lb then this would represent the best deal in the world. It is certainly a lot of truck for what is realistically 23,000 English Pounds. It burns gas at 16 miles per English gallon but when it is towing our house, the consumption is frightening I kid you not!!! We now find that we are doing around nine to the gallon with our house in tow. Perhaps I worry too much.
Diesel is not as cheap as anticipated; the fuel companies are taking the p...s quite a lot. Diesel is a by-product and should be cheaper than regular gas (petrol) but it is a dollar dearer at close to $4.50 per gallon.
Our “house” weighs 6½ tons and takes some dragging around but is very easy to set up when we arrive on site. I can sort the water, power, TV, and sewage quicker than I can with my German Hobby or previous English caravans and the air con is good too!
In terms of value for money, the thing cost $36,000 which makes the value we get in Europe look very poor indeed.
For the most part, it’s cheap living, the only major expense is diesel. Apart from that, everything else rates good value with good service.
My friend Chris once said, “Sat nav is the one thing you didn’t know you really needed until you’ve got one”. Gosh Chris, were you ever right about that? Somehow, getting round England can be achieved without it (but why struggle?). Over here if my sat nav burnt out I would stop at the next Walmart, Costco or Target and replace it instantly. These days they are down to $150.
Planning ahead, as we normally do, we bought a US map program for the computer and it is truly amazing; any of you who are planning a trip to the USA would do well to give me a nudge when I get back, it is truly amazing and definitely indispensable.
May 10th
We have now moved to Charlottesville which is 100 miles south of Washington. Our first day here we have been to the home of Thomas Jefferson, the third President and author of the US constitution.
May 14th
Another day, another town and we are another 100 miles further south at Natural Bridge. You will see why it’s called that when you see the picture.
We have had a couple of nice sunny days; this is not Spain I can tell but still very nice.
Yesterday we went to the nearby town of Lexington, VA (there are lots of Lexington’s in this part of the country) where we did a walking tour of the town, taking in Robert E Lee’s chapel, Stonewall Jackson’s house and the George Marshall museum, he of the Marshall Plan for Europe and winner of the Nobel Peace prize which was on display.
We can’t help but notice that the parts we have seen on this holiday are very clean and green and that the whole place, generally, is very tidy and worthy of note for the fact that we do not have to keep dodging piles of doggy stuff on the sidewalk (speaking American already!). Not seen a single pile yet this holiday!!
Today we “did” the Natural Bridge after an American breakfast at “The Pink Cadillac“; no more food needed till evening after that! Enjoyed a lovely walk along the trail to see the bridge and a pretty waterfall, also lots of Monarch butterflies and different birds.
We plan to have a quiet week here and move on to Bristol, on the Virginia/ Tennessee border where they all tawk reeel furny.
Pictures are on Album three at
http://picasaweb.google.com/arthur.croasdell/AlbumThree
We had a good run down to the outskirts of Washington yesterday (6 May),
And on the way we passed through Lancaster County where we saw several Amish men out ploughing the fields with their teams of four horses. If you saw the Harrison Ford film “The Witness,” you will understand what I mean about the Amish.
Lancaster County is a very beautiful place, not one that the Americans should underestimate or undervalue.
We hove to not far from Washington D.C. in a very quiet area; we are camped in the woods. Perhaps not unlike the New Forest but without the rain! We are a bit short of amenities here; there is no Wi Fi internet or cable TV, but one can’t expect everything all the time.
Today we went to the Air and Space museum, not the one on Washington’s famous Mall where I am sure lots of you have been, but the one 25 miles out of town at Chantilly. This was built with a donation of $65 million from Steven F. Udvar-Hazy and houses all the exhibits that would not fit into the hall on the Mall. It can only be described as huge and if you like that sort of thing, fascinating. Of course if you don’t like that sort of thing, you could describe it as boring. Photo’s much later and only by request!
Tomorrow my wife tells me she is taking AC to DC!!! (me to Washington!) We haven’t been there for about 15 years so all will be fun and I will take lots of pics to remind me (us).
We will visit Washington centre. I spell that (centre) the English way, not the bad American way, so apologies to my American/Canadian friends. Interestingly, we are staying near a town called Centreville, yes, spelt just like that, with r before e.
May 8th
Washington, well it’s raining a bit which just puts the damper on things slightly. We are pretty determined but a full day in the (light) rain would not be a great pleasure. The Washington Monument was worth a visit even if all the tickets to go to the top had been allocated for the day; the visibility from the top must have been grim anyway. We walked some of the Mall and went into the American Natural History Museum for a quick coffee, thought we’d just have a quick look but couldn’t tear ourselves away for ages.
Washington was full of school children out on education trips and they were everywhere but no problem.
We also visited the original Air and Space Museum on the Mall. We had been there in 1993 and that Dakota is still hanging from the ceiling.
At the end of the day we made our way to the Metro and took a ride back to our truck. We were very tired.
I would like to thank you for those messages of encouragement; it’s nice to know that someone out there reads this stuff!
The facts man, just gimme the facts.
The truck cost us $45,000, I suppose if you bought these things by the lb then this would represent the best deal in the world. It is certainly a lot of truck for what is realistically 23,000 English Pounds. It burns gas at 16 miles per English gallon but when it is towing our house, the consumption is frightening I kid you not!!! We now find that we are doing around nine to the gallon with our house in tow. Perhaps I worry too much.
Diesel is not as cheap as anticipated; the fuel companies are taking the p...s quite a lot. Diesel is a by-product and should be cheaper than regular gas (petrol) but it is a dollar dearer at close to $4.50 per gallon.
Our “house” weighs 6½ tons and takes some dragging around but is very easy to set up when we arrive on site. I can sort the water, power, TV, and sewage quicker than I can with my German Hobby or previous English caravans and the air con is good too!
In terms of value for money, the thing cost $36,000 which makes the value we get in Europe look very poor indeed.
For the most part, it’s cheap living, the only major expense is diesel. Apart from that, everything else rates good value with good service.
My friend Chris once said, “Sat nav is the one thing you didn’t know you really needed until you’ve got one”. Gosh Chris, were you ever right about that? Somehow, getting round England can be achieved without it (but why struggle?). Over here if my sat nav burnt out I would stop at the next Walmart, Costco or Target and replace it instantly. These days they are down to $150.
Planning ahead, as we normally do, we bought a US map program for the computer and it is truly amazing; any of you who are planning a trip to the USA would do well to give me a nudge when I get back, it is truly amazing and definitely indispensable.
May 10th
We have now moved to Charlottesville which is 100 miles south of Washington. Our first day here we have been to the home of Thomas Jefferson, the third President and author of the US constitution.
May 14th
Another day, another town and we are another 100 miles further south at Natural Bridge. You will see why it’s called that when you see the picture.
We have had a couple of nice sunny days; this is not Spain I can tell but still very nice.
Yesterday we went to the nearby town of Lexington, VA (there are lots of Lexington’s in this part of the country) where we did a walking tour of the town, taking in Robert E Lee’s chapel, Stonewall Jackson’s house and the George Marshall museum, he of the Marshall Plan for Europe and winner of the Nobel Peace prize which was on display.
We can’t help but notice that the parts we have seen on this holiday are very clean and green and that the whole place, generally, is very tidy and worthy of note for the fact that we do not have to keep dodging piles of doggy stuff on the sidewalk (speaking American already!). Not seen a single pile yet this holiday!!
Today we “did” the Natural Bridge after an American breakfast at “The Pink Cadillac“; no more food needed till evening after that! Enjoyed a lovely walk along the trail to see the bridge and a pretty waterfall, also lots of Monarch butterflies and different birds.
We plan to have a quiet week here and move on to Bristol, on the Virginia/ Tennessee border where they all tawk reeel furny.
Pictures are on Album three at
http://picasaweb.google.com/arthur.croasdell/AlbumThree
Monday, 5 May 2008
Rolling at last
May 05
Collecting the fifth wheeler from the dealer was no problem; all I had to do was convince myself that it was just a big caravan. Ha! Easier said than done and I was not able to convince myself at all!
I looked at this lot sitting in the yard. It was all hooked up to the truck by me under the careful supervision of Seth, my tutor for the morning. No problem if I could ignore the sheer bulk of the thing, it’s 12ft high and 34ft long, and 8ft 4” wide and I have the longest truck that Ford make. No doubt about it, this is kinda BIG. When it is on site and the slide outs are out, it is 13ft 6” wide, kinda spacious!
With Seth sitting beside me, we departed for a short drive, leaving Freda biting her nails in reception (she was actually making a video with rude comments).
Seth suggested we make right turns, the hard ones of course as they drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road over here. For the non drivers, the trailer always tries to take a short cut on the corners, and with a fifth wheel hook up, even more so than a caravan does
I survived and then gathering confidence, practiced reversing in the car park after we returned! Dead easy! (who am I kidding?)
We had chosen a campground about 30 miles from the dealer and 15 miles from daughter Caroline’s house not far from Philadelphia, so we made our way at a sedate 60 mph to our first overnight halt. Another consideration for choosing this campground was that there was a large branch of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, nearby. We made several trips there to equip our new house without too much fuss or expense.
We have been treated with tremendous courtesy and professionalism wherever we have been and are delighted to be back in the USA (bloody good job too!!)
We now have the 32 inch HD TV and a ton of other bits including surround sound. The campground also has broadband internet and we have lashed out $10 and bought a pay as you go phone with calls at 20 Cents (10p) per min. We are getting well organised but now I’m feeling “shopped out”. The truck has now exceeded one thousand miles and turns heads wherever it goes; this is a big truck even by American standards.
We have made a few plans and expect to depart for Virginia/Washington DC tomorrow (Tuesday 6th). Watch this space, share our holiday with us. We are being read by over 100 good friends in at least six different countries and by about six different nationalities! My, how life moves on.
We visited the beautiful Longwood Gardens this last week. What a fantastic blast of colour! I have put a few pic’s on the album. I think I will have to take some pictures off the album or it may become too unwieldy or perhaps open another album. Any comments/suggestions would be appreciated (Fredy?)
See the pic’s at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthur.croasdell/AmericaTwo
Collecting the fifth wheeler from the dealer was no problem; all I had to do was convince myself that it was just a big caravan. Ha! Easier said than done and I was not able to convince myself at all!
I looked at this lot sitting in the yard. It was all hooked up to the truck by me under the careful supervision of Seth, my tutor for the morning. No problem if I could ignore the sheer bulk of the thing, it’s 12ft high and 34ft long, and 8ft 4” wide and I have the longest truck that Ford make. No doubt about it, this is kinda BIG. When it is on site and the slide outs are out, it is 13ft 6” wide, kinda spacious!
With Seth sitting beside me, we departed for a short drive, leaving Freda biting her nails in reception (she was actually making a video with rude comments).
Seth suggested we make right turns, the hard ones of course as they drive on the ‘wrong’ side of the road over here. For the non drivers, the trailer always tries to take a short cut on the corners, and with a fifth wheel hook up, even more so than a caravan does
I survived and then gathering confidence, practiced reversing in the car park after we returned! Dead easy! (who am I kidding?)
We had chosen a campground about 30 miles from the dealer and 15 miles from daughter Caroline’s house not far from Philadelphia, so we made our way at a sedate 60 mph to our first overnight halt. Another consideration for choosing this campground was that there was a large branch of Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, nearby. We made several trips there to equip our new house without too much fuss or expense.
We have been treated with tremendous courtesy and professionalism wherever we have been and are delighted to be back in the USA (bloody good job too!!)
We now have the 32 inch HD TV and a ton of other bits including surround sound. The campground also has broadband internet and we have lashed out $10 and bought a pay as you go phone with calls at 20 Cents (10p) per min. We are getting well organised but now I’m feeling “shopped out”. The truck has now exceeded one thousand miles and turns heads wherever it goes; this is a big truck even by American standards.
We have made a few plans and expect to depart for Virginia/Washington DC tomorrow (Tuesday 6th). Watch this space, share our holiday with us. We are being read by over 100 good friends in at least six different countries and by about six different nationalities! My, how life moves on.
We visited the beautiful Longwood Gardens this last week. What a fantastic blast of colour! I have put a few pic’s on the album. I think I will have to take some pictures off the album or it may become too unwieldy or perhaps open another album. Any comments/suggestions would be appreciated (Fredy?)
See the pic’s at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthur.croasdell/AmericaTwo
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