Hello From Gatlinburg, TN

Yesterday we left North Carolina and made our way to Gatlinburg, in the Great Smoky Mountains. This is beautiful country, though right now, a bit soggy. Our site has plenty of puddles and soggy ground so Lenny and I do not get to play outside too much. Mom has this thing about us tracking mud into the trailer. After we arrived, we met up with Mom's brother Albert and his wife Diane and Mom's sister Laura and her husband Gene. They have been vacationing here for the week and will be leaving tomorrow morning. Tonight we are looking forward to the arrival of Trevor and Sharon, who will be here for the weekend. It will be special for Lenny to see Trevor again. We are looking forward to a fun weekend. Sunday we will be heading out for Fair Play, South Carolina for a three week stay.

The Tar Heel State

After two restful weeks at Lynchburg, Virginia, we are now in North Carolina. We left Lynchburg this morning and drove in rain the entire way. What's new, we have seen more than our share of rain since we left Texas. We enjoyed our time in Lynchburg. We met up with Mom and Dad's RVing friends, Bob and Kathy and Bob and Candy. We first met up with them in Arizona last summer. Lenny and I also made a new friend, "Granny", while in Lynchburg. "Granny" is a 94 year old lady who travels with her daughter and son-in-law. "Granny" would come over and pet us. She really adored us. Whenever her daughter would look to see where "Granny" had wandered off to, she would start at our place because she knew "Granny" would want to come see us. Mom and Dad did go to Appomattox Courthouse to see where Lee surrendered to Grant, ending the Civil War. By the way, North Carolina is the 27th state Lenny has traveled with us. He hasn't caught up with me on states visited but he is working on it. We will be in North Carolina for one week, then we will be off to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Signing off for now.....

Wonderful Week At Chesapeake

We are ending a wonderful week at the Chesapeake Thousand Trails. We have really enjoyed ourselves. Saturday night the park had a DJ playing music at the activity center, across from our trailer. We were able to sit at the trailer and enjoy the music, everything from the 60's to today, country and rock. That was really neat for me and Lenny. We have also done quite a bit of sightseeing while in the area. One day we toured Yorktown and the Yorktown Battlefield. This is where General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington, thus ending the Revolutionary War and giving independence to the United States. On another day we toured the Richmond area. We drove down Monument Avenue and saw all the neat monuments, including the newest one of tennis great Arthur Ashe, a Richmond native. We toured the Petersburg and Richmond Civil War battlefields and even had a picnic lunch at the Richmond battlefield. Of course the day would not be complete without Mom and Dad looking for historic graves. At the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Mom and Dad found the graves of Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler. We also saw the graves of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate General Jeb Stuart. We also got to see the Confederate White House in Richmond. It was a long but fun day.

Tomorrow we pull out and head for the Thousand Trails park in Lynchburg, VA. We will be there for two weeks. On Friday, Sept 4th, we will be celebrating Mom's birthday and then on Wednesday, Sept 9th, we will be celebrating my 3rd birthday. It should be a fun time.

Good Bye Washington

Tomorrow morning we pull out and head for Chesapeake. We have had a lot of fun visiting with family while here. Lenny and I had loads of fun playing with TJ, a goldendoodle puppy. TJ is only a pup but he is way bigger than me but not as big as Lenny, yet. We also had a blast playing with Monica, Angela, Alex and Ben. Mom and Dad enjoyed seeing nephew Mike and wife Ester and were pleasantly surprised to see niece Heidi and her husband Ryan. It was like a small family reunion. The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool here at the RV park. Today, Mom and Dad toured Washington without us. They decided to ride the Metro Rail into Washington and dogs are not allowed so we had to stay home and guard the trailer. Mom and Dad were exhausted when they got back. They walked 4 hours in the heat sightseeing around Washington. They were so proud of us guarding the trailer that we got special hot dogs for supper. Thanks to Mike and Ester for their hospitality.

Hershey, "The Sweetest Place On Earth"

For the past week we have been based in Hershey, PA, the last stop of our Pennsylvania visit. We have had a busy week of sightseeing. Our first excursion was to the Crayola Crayon Factory in Easton, PA. I wonder how many people have used Crayola Crayons in their lifetime? Of course Lenny and I were treated to a Happy Meal that day. One day Mom and Dad left us home and went to the Hershey Chocolate Story Museum. Dad is fascinated by the Hershey Kiss street lights on Chocolate Ave. On Thursday we had a long sightseeing day as we went to the Philadelphia area. We visited Hopewell Furnace, a self-contained plantation where they didn't grow crops but worked with iron ore and limestone. From there we went to Valley Forge to see where General Washington based his troops during the Revolutionary War. In Philadelphia, we visited Edgar Allan Poe's home, Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell. And of course, Lenny and I got our Happy Meals for lunch. It was a long day for us. On Friday, Mom and Dad left us home to rest up while they went to Gettysburg where they toured the battlefields and President Eisenhower's home and farm. Tomorrow we pull out and head to the Washington, D.C. area to visit Mom and Dad's nephew Mike, his wife Ester and their daughters Monica and Angela. Mom and Dad have also promised to show us some of the sights in Washington. It should be a fun time. Until then, take care.

More Travels In Pennsylvania

Yesterday we left Kane, PA and traveled to Champion, PA on the second leg of our Pennsylvania visit. Our trip took us through Punxsutawney, home of the world famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil. It was early so we were unable to stop and see Phil in his home at the library complex. However, we did see lots of statues of Phil all over town. We also traveled through Indiana, PA, hometown of the late movie star and retired Air Force Reserve Brigadier General, Jimmy Stewart. Today we had a long day of sightseeing. We started near Shanksville at the Flight 93 Memorial. This somber memorial is at the sight of the crash of the hijacked plane on that fateful day of September 11, 2001. The passengers and crew of that flight were heroes and deserve to be remembered. Through their efforts, the plane never reached its intended target in Washington, D.C. We then went to Johnstown, PA to visit the Johnstown Flood Memorial. We also got to walk on the remnants of the dam that broke away on May 31, 1889, killing at least 2209 people. We also visited a cemetery in Johnstown where the victims are buried. There were hundreds of graves that were inscribed "Unknown Victim". Our last stop for the day was in Latrobe, the hometown of Arnold Palmer. There we found the gravesite of Fred Rogers, of TVs Mr Rogers' "Its A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood. Also while in Latrobe, we went by St Vincent College and saw the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers working out at their training camp. Boy do the Steeler fans turn out for training camp. The place was packed. Man what a great day we had, Lenny and I were also treated to Happy Meals during our day out.

Thursday we plan to do more sightseeing at Fort Necessity, Friendship Hill and Braddocks' Grave (not the Chuck Norris Braddock). This Braddock was a pre-Revolutionary War General from England. That's all for now!

Enjoying The Alleghenies

Boy are we having fun here in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. Here at the RV Park, Lenny and I have been able to play with Bo, half lab/half shepherd, and Squirt, another long haired Chihuahua. I met and played with Squirt when we were here two years ago. It is great seeing him again. We are also having a great time playing with cousin Smokey,(pictured above). Lenny is getting along real well with other dogs and is having fun playing with them. Mom and Dad have been busy visiting with Mom's brothers and their families that are in the area. Mom and Dad have also been doing some sightseeing. One day they went to Bradford, PA to the Zippo Lighter/Case Knife factory and visitor center. Dad was fascinated with the Zippo Lighter street lights at the visitor center. Hershey, PA has the Hershey Kiss street lights and Bradford has the Zippo Lighters. Mom and Dad also visited the Straub Brewery in St Marys, PA. Dad enjoyed the "Eternal Tap" at the brewery where he was allowed to help himself. Tomorrow Mom and Dad are taking us to Salamanca, NY to the Seneca Indian Reservation for a picnic. That should be loads of fun. This weekend we will be winding up our visit with a cookout at Uncle Albert and Aunt Diane's. We will be fed real well and get to spend more time playing with Smokey. Later folks!