Wednesday June 27, 2007
Today we did lots of driving, or should I say riding. Jay and Betty knew we were interested in learning about Delaware and the area history. We first went by a hydroponic greenhouse. I know, I know that is not history but we heard about it and wanted to see the process. It is a quite unusual way to grow veggies. They are growing tomatoes, squash and cucumbers in this greenhouse. The veggies do not grow in soil but rather in pearlite and nutrient rich water is added to the pearlite. We bought a few of the tomatoes and they are very delicious.

In Dover we went to an Agriculture Museum. Outside they had several old buildings from around the area that had been restored on the property. These were built the first half of the 20th century and included, a home, church, school, blacksmith shop. Inside they told the history story of agriculture in Delaware and had lots of old farm machinery. Since Dover is the capital of Delaware we wanted to drive through the political area. They do have many beautiful old buildings and lovely colonial homes in the area. Following that it was only a short drive J to Suicide Bridge Restaurant in Secretary, DE. where we had fresh and tasty seafood dinners. We arrived back home and rested for a while then played Mexican Train again for the last time. Tomorrow we will be saying goodbye to them and we will look forward to the time we can meet with them again. Our thanks to Jay and Betty for a great visit. Right beside our motor home is Boot Hill, an old family cemetery or grave yard. It dates back to 1816 and has about 12 to 15 graves from the Staten / Hayes families. We just thought this was quite unusual to park along side Biggs’ Boot Hill.

Monday and Tues June 25 and 26, 2007
Today is a travel day to Greenwood. Our friends, Jay and Betty live here. We met them while we all were volunteering for Katrina Hurricane Relief in Goutier, MS. We vowed to spend time together again..and here we are. We spent the afternoon and evening just enjoying one another again. We are all about the same age, all grew up in small towns and seem to have lots in common. Betty fixed us a nice dinner and then we played Mexican Train Dominoes. We have so much fun laughing and just being silly. We had some dessert and then it was bedtime. It was a great evening.

Tuesday
Today Jay and Betty took us to the beach at Rehoboth Beach, DE. On the way we stopped in Lewes at the towns museum. Lewes is the first city in Delaware founded in 1813 and Delware is the first state,1876. This town has a nice museum telling its history. The town was originally founded by the dutch and named Zw… which means Valley of Swans. Later in it was taken over by the British and renamed Lewes. We drove on to Rehoboth Beach and had lunch at Nicola’s. They serve a Stromboli there that is called a Nicaboli. It is a crust kind of like a pizza crust that is rolled around ground beef and about anything else you could think of…sort of like ingredients in a pizza. We got ours with everything. It was quite tasty. Then we headed on down to the beach. We were amazed at how crowded the beach was. There was barely room to walk and of course, we were dressed in street clothes so everyone was really staring at us. Oh well!!! There is a Board Walk along the beach in the downtown area. It is quite nice and a fun place to enjoy “a day at the beach” and many many people were doing just that. We enjoyed burgers on the grill prepared by Gene and lots of other goodies as we enjoyed just spending time together on Jay and Betty’s patio.

Sunday, June 24, 2007
Today we went to church at the First Baptist Church in Newport News. It was an old fashioned church service with no musical instruments other than an organ and no beginning praise and worship singing but it was a very good message. In the afternoon we went to the Lee Hall Mansion. This mansion’s owner, Lee Hall, grew crops with the help of his 23 slaves. During the Civil War when things heated up in the area he moved his family to safer ground and the Confederate generals set up their command in the home paying him for the use of the home. After the war he moved back but was unable to recover from the loss of income for the several years the farm fields were vacant and so he declared bankruptcy. The antebellum home has been restored and decorated to reflect its pre-war beauty. More info about this lovely home and its history can be found at http://www.leehall.org/ We were not allowed to take pictures inside the home however, there are some at this website.

Saturday June 23, 2007
We visited The Maritime Museum, http://www.mariner.org/ which tells the story of ship exploration during the 1500’s to the 1800’s when explorers found new lands and vast changes were made in shipbuilding. It tells of the US Navy’s defending our nation and the story of the steamships through fascinating ship models. It has some of the most unusual watercraft from around the world including a handmade boat used by Cuban refugees. Also included in this museum is a replica of the USS Monitor, a Civil War Ironclad ship that sank near Cape Hatteras and was rescued from the bottom of the sea. Artifacts from the ship are on exhibit and the work continues on daily to reclaim more of them.

We ate lunch at the Crab Shack on the banks of the wide James River and then drove to Portsmouth to see this beautiful old historic town. We took a short walking tour to see the old restored homes in the downtown area. Portsmouth has a large US Naval Shipbuilding port there and we saw what we think is probably a ship being built or perhaps being refurbished. It is very large.

Friday June 22, 2007
Today we drove to see Yorktown where the final siege of the Revolutionary War took place and British General Cornwallis surrendered. We saw evidence there of the fortification trench lines that both sides had and learned how this fight between the English and the Americans and their ally, France, came about. By the early 1700’s the town of York was a major port, serving Williamsburg, the new capital of Virginia. The streets above the waterfront had stately homes built by the wealthy merchants. Many businesses and taverns were scattered throughout the town. In 1697 the first county court house and Grace Church were constructed. York had become a crowded town with 200 to 250 buildings. It reached its peak in 1750’s when the population became 1,800. The siege of 1781 destroyed so much of the town that by the end of the war there were only about 70 buildings still standing. The 1791 census listed only 861 residents. The town never did regain its prominence and a fire in 1814 destroyed much of the waterfront and many homes and businesses. Then during the civil war Confederate and later Union officers held the town and during that time another fire destroyed much of the town. Some of the buildings and home still stand today and the area is open for visitors to walk through.

Thursday June 21, 2007

We arrived in Newport News, VA about 10:30. The campground is in a city park, a huge campground with more than 400 sites. It is a heavily wooded area along the banks of the city reservoir. It should be much cooler than the last campground which was right out in the sun. Other than going to Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries we did not do much today. We needed a day to rest up. Had a nice walk this evening and saw evidence of civil war battle grounds here in the campground. Confederate fortification trenches are in many areas. Of course there were no trees then but it is very interesting walking around this area and imagining those times.

June 18 thru 20, 2007
Monday
We are in Williamsburg, VA where there is a great deal of history about Colonial America and the people who helped shape early America’s dreams and the promises of the Declaration of Independence. Today a big portion of the original Williamsburg has been restored. It is called Colonial Williamsburg and is a fantastic place to go to learn about the life, various customs and different ways of doing things in the 1700’s by interpreters of all ages. Restoration of Williamsburg began in 1928. During the restoration process, nearly 600 nonperiod buildings were razed or removed from the Historic Area; 88 original 18th-century buildings were restored or repaired; and almost 500 structures (including outbuildings) were reconstructed according to the specifications of colonial-period documents and archaeological. As you can see it was and still is a huge project. The cost to do this was all paid for by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. More information about this can be found at: http://www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/cw/history/restore.html. There are two museums, one an American Folk Art museum with artwork by self-taught artists dating back as far as the 1720’s; the other is a collection of British and American antiques for the 17th , 18th and 19th centuries. There are 36 exhibition sites where one can learn about colonial Williamsburg from the many interpreters of all ages, dressed in period costumes, and portraying characters from the 1700’s. Williamsburg became a self-sustaining community and all of the various businesses necessary for that are on display. We started our day at the Court House discovering what it was like to be accused of a crime and prosecuted in these early times. If convicted of a crime people were not sent to prison. Prisons were only for holding people until their time for court. If you were found guilty of a misdemeanor, say for stealing something from a store, you were branded on your hand with a “T” for thief. That would go with you for the rest of your life and probably people would not trust you very much. If you were charged with a felony you were hanged and the sentence was carried out quickly and publicly.

We were a part of interpretive political discussion byinterpreters: Patrick Henry, George Wythe, professor of law and teacher of Thomas Jefferson, Martha Washington who came to Williamsburg to receive honors for her husband, General Washington, and Lydia Bragnax, a slave servant to George Wythe. Lydia responded to the news that “all men are created equal” which she had read in the local newspaper. She believed, hoped, some day this would include the slaves. Another slave who had listened to her speak spoke up and said he more than freedom wanted to be allowed to “just go home”.

We went to the blacksmith shop, cabinet maker, foundry, silversmith, wig maker, harness and saddlemaker who actually was making a pair of leather britches when we were there. Just after lunch we went to a theatre to see a performance by Dean Shostak, Crystal Concert. He played a Glass Armonica which was invented by Benjamin Franklin. He also played several other glass ornaments including a beautiful hand blown violin. All had great sounds. His web site where you can seen and listen to some of his music is http://crystalconcert.com.

Everywhere we went there were people, dressed in period costumes, who shared great information about the areas. We did not have time to make it into every building but did tour a couple of homes of middle class residence and Bassett Hall, the 18th century country house and home of John D. Rockfeller, Jr and his wife, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, in the 1930’s and 1940’s. See more information about it at http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/hbbass.cfm Today it appears as it would have during that time period. A tour guide, who obviously loved the Rockefellers, shared much of the life of them during that period. The furnishings and decorations in this house are just as they were when they lived there. It was a great, great day. We would have needed another day at least to see everything. For more information go to: http://wwwcolonialwilliamsburg.com/.

Tuesday
Today we drove to Richmond, VA, about 50 miles away. We first stopped by the Visitor’s Center to find out what historical sites were in Richmond that we might want to see. We found many and decided on a few dependant on our time. We went first to The American Civil War Center to see the exhibit In the Cause of Liberty. It interweaves Union, Confederate and African American narratives into one story. Several short films answer the questions and tell the story of what caused the civil war, explains The Emancipation Proclamation, speaks of the war and what happens to the people on the home front even though the war was not fought there and talks of the legacy and memories of the war. We were not allowed to take pictures but did enjoy learning about the war and how it affected both sides, the African American (both slave and free) and especially those left at home struggled to survive. We drove to an area called Carytown to have lunch at a Mexican Restaurant and on the way drove through blocks and blocks of very old row houses. They were quite unique some were rather run down and some were very attractive.

After lunch we drove to an area where a hospital, Chimborazo, was built during the Civil War. It opened in 1861 and covered more than 40 acres and operated nearly 100 wards (individual buildings) grouped into 5 divisions. Each ward housed up to 32 patients, giving the hospital a capacity of more than 3000 patients. Every division had its own laundry, kitchen and bathhouse and a central bakery and serviced the entire facility. It was one of the best equipped as well as one of the largest. More than 76,000 Confederate sick and wounded were treated here. It had only a 20% mortality rate which was quite good in terms of 19th century medicine. The pictures is original and not very good so we have included a map of the area.

Wednesday
Jamestown is just a very few miles from Williamsburg and it is where, in 1607, a vessel carrying 104 men and boys landed on the James River and established the colony of Jamestown, VA. This area was in a drought period then and starvation, disease and attacks by Indians ravaged the colonists and so life was never easy. The purpose in coming to Jamestown was a British business venture and it wasn’t until 1914 that a product was found to support the colonies economic future. It wasn’t until 1614 a product was found to insure the future. That product was tobacco. After that the people who came to this new land had one thing in mind: buy land and plant tobacco. They would stay in Jamestown until they could move out along the rivers in the area and begin to work the land. Most of the labor was done by indentured servants who had to work for 7 years for the persons who brought them to the area and then they would be free to establish their own farms. Before long slaves were brought to the land too. Today archeologists are busy digging up artifacts and learning more about this settlement. We were able to watch them carefully sift through the dirt. They have marked where graves are and the foundations of several buildings. A memorial church has been built over the foundation of the old 1609 church. They have also erected an Archaearium (archaeology museum) over part of the very old capitol building. It houses many very interesting artifacts including pottery, tools, guns, children’s toys, sewing tools including items as small as straight pins and many other items.

When we first arrived we watched a film depicting life at that time and it set the stage for what we saw in the Jamestown village. A web site to find more information about Colonial Jamestown as well as Yorktown, where the “Siege of Yorktown” effectively ended the six-year struggle for American Independence is http://www.historyisfun.org. These two historical sites are a national park and so are free to anyone with a Golden Age Passport. We will go to the Yorktown area on Friday.
After leaving there we took a ferry, just a mile or so away to the other side of the James River, had lunch at a new restaurant that just opened this day and then drove around the area some. There were many tobacco plantations in this area and we drove by to see one. These are not the big beautiful homes like we see in the southern plantations but still fun to imagine life in those times. We have very much enjoyed the history here in Virginia. After making the reservations for this campground we decided to stay in the area for a few more days and made a reservation in a campground in Newport News, just about 20 miles away. We will head there in the morning.

June 14 thru 16, 2007

We are in Edenton, NC close to the North Carolina Outer Banks. Our campground is several miles out in the country. The weather has become quite cool which is a welcome relief to us. This campground has about 25 RV sites and lots of space for tents. Last weekend there was a motorcycle rally at the campground. Today there are only about 5 or less RV’s in the park so it is quiet. We do not plan to do anything today as we did not arrive till late afternoon. On Friday morning we drove over to the Outer Banks, Kitty Hawk, Nags Head and other towns along the narrow strip of land. We thought it would be much like other beach towns with huge hotels and tourist shops but we saw very few hotels and not nearly so many restaurants and shops. We ate at a very nice restaurant with good food and then went to the Wright Brothers Memorial and Museum. There is a full scale replica of the first airplane to fly as well as a full scale replica of a glider they built. An employee there gave a very interesting talk on their life leading up to the construction of the airplane. It was quite interesting. There also is a museum telling of problems they encountered along the way and other interesting facts about their drive to fly an airplane. We did find a spot to park and walked out on the beach. The beaches in this area are not nearly as pretty as we have seen before, no white sands and no shells. The ocean is much rougher with bigger waves.

6

When we arrived and registered at this campground the owners told us there would be a free Gospel and Bluegrass band playing at the club house on Friday evening. We decided to go and were quite surprised.
They told us we should plan to go early which usually means they will have a big crowd. Since there were less than 10 RV’s in the park we wondered where the people would come from. The people started pulling into the park about 45 minutes before the band was to start playing. We walked to the club house and saw several elderly ladies carrying in food. We picked a place to sit and watched the people coming in. It was quite a sight to behold. Over 100 people came and very few were younger than us. There was a small stage and 15 people came to play in the band!! Several guitars, a banjo, a sax, a steel guitar, a fiddle and drums made up the band and several of them sang. The only young person was the drummer who looked to be a teenager. Some of the singing was quite good and some not so good. There were couples dancing nearly every song and even some who danced by themselves. During the break they all passed through the food line and ate what appeared to be a full meal. We were invited to join but had just eaten dinner at home. In was quite an evening and we enjoyed the music and watching the goings on. Several people stopped to talk to us and we found that they were from small town all around this area. There was very little gospel or Bluegrass music…mostly country music…down home country music!! We wished we had brought our camera.
On Saturday we took an historic tour of the city of Edenton is “small town America”. Edenton was discovered in 1580’s and incorporated in 1722. It was once the state capitol and is the second oldest city in North Carolina. When we were at the visitor’s center they told us Edenton has more old historical homes and buildings than some of the larger cities in North Carolina so we decided that might be a fun thing to do. The tour was very interesting and the guide was quite knowledgeable. The Cupolo Home pictured below was built in 1758 and gets its name from the cupola on top which was built there to create a draft through the house when the windows were opened in the summer, sort of like a whole house fan. The wood work in the house is an exact replica of the original. At one point in time a granddaughter who had inherited the home needed to rent out some of the rooms for living expenses. An antique dealer came to live there for about a year. He became friends with this lady and eventually talked her into selling him the windows, doors, woodwork, then called the house furnishings. When the towns people saw him dismantling the home they were outraged and talked him into selling what remained to the city. He had already resold most of the downstairs furnishings to The Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts. The museum owner allowed them t take accurate measurements so that they could faithfully recreate the beautiful paneling and woodwork that you see in the picture below. The color of the paneling is original and is made by soaking copper in a pickling brine. The sediment soaks to the bottom and is then cooked and made into a paint. The St Paul’s Episcopal Church was finished in 1736 and the church “boxes” are original. The doors on the pews are there to keep away a draft of cold air on the feet and legs as there is no heat in the church. The “boxes” were often rented out to families and the closer to front the more they paid. The balcony on the right was for the poor who could not afford to pay and the balcony on the left was for the black congregation as this was the only church at that time. There is a cemetery that surround the church on all sides. One thing we found interesting but not on the tour was the Cotton Mill Project. The cotton mill was built in 1898 from one million brick made on site. It is no longer in operation and the property, purchased by a local doctor, is being renovated into condominiums priced from $450,000 to $750,000 each. Also on this property are 57 houses that were built for the workers and a church built especially for the mill employees. More information on Edenton and the walking tour can be found at http://www.edenton.com/history/walktour.htm

June 11 thru 13, 2007
We stopped in Myrtle Beach, SC to see the grandparents of Jessica, a foster daughter who was with us way back in 1987. She was 4 months old and stayed with us for 4 months. She was adopted by her grandparents and we got to know them during that time when they came back to Kansas for the adoption proceedings. Some of you will remember Jessica and how attached we got to her. We saw her again at Christmas of that year when she had her first birthday and saw her again when the grandparents, Bill and Sue brought her back to Kansas to finalize the adoption and had not seen her since. We have kept in touch with Bill and Sue over the years and it was very good to see them and catch up on what is happening in their lives and they in ours. Gene cooked burgers on the grill on Tuesday night as we visited and on Wednesday we met them at their home and went out to dinner with them, Jessica and her fiancé and another daughter, Becky and her husband. We dined at The Bistro, a very nice upscale restaurant in Pawleys Island. Jessica is now 20 but she still has the round sweet face we remember when she was a little girl. We had such a good time visiting and enjoying these good friends. And it was especially good to see the “grown-up” Jessica. We hope to do a better job of keeping in touch with Jessica and her family. We did not have time for much more in Myrtle Beach area. It is definitely a tourist trap much like Branson, MO.

June 6 to June 10, 2007
We arrived in Charleston, SC on June 6 to enjoy the beauty and learn some of the history of this very old city. The first afternoon we walked around parts of the downtown area. The Market is an open air market selling mostly hand crafted arts and crafts. One of the handcrafted items we saw a lot of there and all over the city is Sweetgrass Baskets. They have a long and interesting history. If you are interested please read about them and see pictures at http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-442.html#HISTORY It is quite a story. The baskets are quite expensive. A small one, about the size of a dessert dish was $55. I am not sure why they are so expensive. We were quite surprised as the baskets we saw made by the Indians in Mexico were just as nice and much less expensive. These buildings where the crafts were displayed were originally tobacco warehouses. There are blocks and blocks of these old warehouses which have been converted to many kinds of businesses. Even the Visitor’s Center is a tobacco warehouse. Both of the days we were downtown it was very hot and humid so doing much walking was not fun. We did walk through a couple of The Market shops and then found a good seafood restaurant for our late afternoon fish sandwich lunch. The next day we went to Patriots Point. The USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier is docked there. Inside are several WWII airplanes and two war museums. It was quite interesting to see the inside of this big war ship and see how the young men lived while on board. On the flight deck were a few fighter planes and we could imagine how they were able to take off and land without falling into the ocean. Also at Patriots Point are a Coast Guard Cutter and a submarine. The newest addition to Patriots Point is a War Memorial to Fallen Soldiers.
The following day we took the City Tour by bus. They also offer a walking tour and a carriage tour. Do to the heat we were very glad to be in an air conditioned bus. It was a narrated tour and the driver gave us lots of facts about the city and the wars. The mansions in the area closest to the ocean are just beautiful homes and well kept. They have ordinances there as in many historical cities that do not allow them to make major changes to the outside of these homes.

For history buffs, this web site gives much information about the history of the Revolutionary War http://www.ushistory.org/march/toc.html and this one the history of Charleston. http://www.sciway.net/city/history/charleston.html

Our final day in Charleston we took a tour of the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. This home actually burned to the ground two times. The first by natural causes, probably lightening; and the second time it was burned by the enemy during the civil war. The owner was a preacher and did not have the money to rebuild this home as it had been so he dismantled another home he owned and shipped it by water to the location and rebuilt on the foundation. It was a much smaller home and was eventually added on to in the 20 century. It is not a fancy home as we have seen in Louisiana but the history was very interesting as well as the period furniture and other furnishings.

For further information on the Magnolia Plantation go to http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/ and click on history. It is very interesting if you like history from that period. Charleston is a very pretty city with its many historical buildings and beautiful old homes. Shopping in the old downtown district is very good and there are many good places to eat. Take a trip to Charleston sometime.

June 3 thru June 6

We left Morristown on June 3 heading for Asheville, NC. We stayed at a very small RV Park, only 5 spaces. It was nearly new, very quiet and just right for us. We drove 75 miles up Blue Ridge Parkway. This great 469 mile scenic highway follows closely the highest ridges between the Shenandoah and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, attaining altitudes of between 3000 and 4000 feet. It was designed for drive-awhile, stop-awhile enjoyment of the scenic views and small towns and attractions along the way. We had hoped, at one time, to drive this route on our motor cycle but never did. Someday, perhaps, we will be able to drive the other nearly 400 miles of this beautiful Parkway. We made several stops along the way. We stopped in a very small town, Little Switzerland, for lunch and to take a self guided tour of an old turn-of-the-century mine. Feldspar and Mica were mined here. About 60 other minerals, some valuable gems, were mined and sold for about $2 a bucket! Feldspar is in Bon Ami and used in other products for polishing and cleaning. We were surprised to learn that Mica is used in cosmetics to give the product a shine. This mining operation was inside of a cave alongside a river. It is a picturesque scene. Another of our stops was to Linville Falls. Here we hiked one mile up a mountain to see beautiful waterfalls on the Linville River as it cascades through 2 falls and begins its 2000 feet descent through the beautiful gorge. There are several other hiking trails in this area to view the beautiful rhododendron and other native wild flowers of this area. It is a spectacular area

Our last stop and our main destination was Grandfather Mountain. It is a private owned attraction with a wild animal exhibit (small zoo) and a nature museum. The mountain itself is very high up, reminiscent of Pikes Peak on a much smaller scale. There is a swinging walking bridge out to the peak of the mountain and then a climb across the rocky face to the pinnacle. We made it across the bridge and out onto the rocks a ways and then Sue chickened out. L. It was an awesome view but I am sure more beautiful out on the edge. Oh well! It was quite windy and cool but we had a good time

Asheville is noted for their abundance of Folk Art dealers and we wanted to see some so the next day we traveled to downtown Asheville and walked the streets going into stores we found interesting. We saw some interesting and some beautiful crafts. It is good to find things made in the USA. We don’t see much of that as we shop in Wal-Mart and at the malls which is where we went after leaving downtown. We had lunch there and then did some walking.On our way home we stopped by a huge Farmers Market that was much like a flea market. There were about 4 big building with all kinds of fruits and veggies, jams and jellies, bakery products, nuts, cheese, ice cream and candies. In and around these booths were every kind of craft you can imagine. Another building had landscaping plants and supplies. We did not make it around to everything. We bought a few veggies and some fruit and ate an ice cream cone. This was a full day for us and we were tired when we arrived home about 6 pm.

2007
The first 2 weeks of May we spent at Blueberry Hill Resort in Bushnell, Florida which is about 90 miles from Tampa. We arrived here hoping to see our grandson who was going to be working there but his plans changed after we arrived and had already rented the space for 2 weeks. It is a very nice campground. It appears to be used mostly by “Snowbirds”. So there were lots of empty spaces while we were there. Much of northern Florida is forest which is harvested mostly for pulp. This part of Florida is very dry now and fire is a real danger in fact before we left the area fires from Georgia spread into Florida and burned many acres and closed down highways. On one day the smoke was so bad here it was nearly dark at 7 pm.
We did go to Tampa, drove along the beach areas and walked along one short section of the beach. The beach areas here are lined with condo’s and homes, all with private beaches. We only saw one public beach. We know there were others but we did not see them. We did not find much to do in Tampa in the short time we had there. On Mother’s Day weekend we did finally get to see our grandson and it was a great time. Time was short but it was good to spend time with him and see him doing good, maturing and enjoying his work.
After leaving Bushnell we drove to Gold Camp State Park about 25 miles south of Orange Park, Florida. Gene’s brother and wife live there and always show us a good time. While there we drove to the beach, then took a ferry across the St. John River and ate a good seafood dinner at the Sand Dollar Seafood Restaurant. Ron and Liv are excellent cooks and prepared an excellent dinner another night. We had a great time visiting with them. The time was short but we had to get out of Florida as the temperatures are getting way too hot and the humidity is high for us. Our destination now is to Morristown, TN to visit our daughter. We stayed one night, along the way, at a Walmart in Forsythe, GA and then made our way on to Cherokee RV Park for a 2 week stay. This RV Park is in a County Park along Cherokee Lake, a nice and busy place. We were there over Memorial Day and the campground was full. It is built on a hill so on our walks we got good exercise. We spent quite a bit of time with our daughter and son-in-law. They have a nice home just a few miles from where we were camped. Jackie shared some of her knowledge, skills and talent in jewelry construction. I, Sue, am again fired up to maybe make some, hopefully, beautiful pieces. We have a store on the internet, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5095676. Please, go there and see what we have made. I am very proud of Jackie’s accomplishments as she is really good at what she does. We have been to Morristown so many times that we have seen most of the sites and traveled the scenic routes but we did find time to eat out and shop at the mall. Jackie fixed a nice dinner with one of our favorite meat dishes for Sue’s birthday…and had an ice cream cake. Mmmm good.