The Bear Went Over the Mountain

The Bear went over the mountain
The Bear went over the mountain
The Bear went over the mountain
To see what he could see…..
I think everyone knows what the bear saw, that’s right another mountain. Well Barbara and I felt like that unfortunate bear in the song. But unlike the bear we got pictures. We where on our way from Sweetwater, TN to Helen, GA going up and down mountain roads when we saw a sign for Chattahoochee National Forest, and we decided to turn in and check it out. After driving up the side of yet another mountain we got a great view of the mountains we had been driving through all morning. Then we took the shuttle ride to the observation tower at the summit were it was a little cold, there was ice on the stairs to the top deck so we had to use the elevator. Oh did I forget to mention it was 30 degrees when we woke up this morning? Sorry. Well once we got to the observation deck I started doing what I do best, take pictures. We noticed that there are a lot of rhododendrons all over the place it would be gorgeous to come back in the spring when they are all in bloom. We are so glad we took the side trip.
Our next stop was Helen, GA. A town in northern Georgia that decided to turn itself into a Bavarian Village, a total tourist trap. We had a very nice lunch at Hofer’s of Helen Bakery & Café. We both got a soup and sandwich and took half of our sandwiches with us to have for dinner in the room.
We then went on to the motel near Macon, GA were after going up to the room for a short rest we went for a swim in the pool.

Here Comes the Sun or We Finally Drove to Where the Sun is Shining

Today we headed out from our motel around 8:30AM and headed south once again. Today found us heading toward Knoxville Tennessee. We stopped at the Museum of Appalachia (http://www.museumofappalachia.org/) and had lunch, which was a little disappointing. We had the Chicken and Dumplings with two sides but there where more dumplings then chicken, oh well disappointment is part of life. We walked around the village for a short time, which has many buildings that where actually used at one time in the Appellation Mountains. There was one building dedicated to the people of the appellation mountains. It showed pictures and stories from many people along with the things they used. All in all a very interesting place. We then headed to our next motel in Sweetwater Tennessee. After checking in we rested for a bit then went down for a swim in the indoor pool, very refreshing. Tonight we had dinner in the room. It dinner consisted of raw vegetables, a bowl of soup, a ham and cheese wrap, and for desert a banana with milk and cookies (very good).

The Mountains, or Where is all this Rain Coming From?

We started the day by going to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (http://www.shenandoahmuseum.org/index.php). While sitting in the parking lot waiting for the museum to open Barbara suggested that maybe we should drive a bit farther today and stop farther south then what she had planned. She said she would need to get on her computer to do this and I said you can. So I got her computer out of the computer bag and got out our MiFi device and in just a few short minutes she was on the Comfort Inn website looking for a new motel for the night (isn’t technology just great?). After making a new reservation and cancelling the old one we went into the museum. It is a very nice small museum that shows the life of the first settlers of the Shenandoah Valley. The museum also houses part of the art collection of Julian Wood Glass Jr. who was the descendent of the founder of Winchester. Barbara’s favorite gallery was the one that contained the doll houses and miniature furniture made by R. Lee Taylor a man who worked for Julian Wood Glass Jr. during and after the restoration of Glen Burnie the family house that Julian inherited. If you are ever in Winchester Virginia it is worth a stop to go see. Of course I could not take any pictures in the museum or house and seeing as it was such a miserable day weather wise I did not stop to take any pictures of the garden.
After that we set out on our way. The drive was uneventful except for the rain and the trucks. Not that it was a heavy rain but it was just annoying, turn on the wipers, turn off the wipers, repeat…. Well we are in Wytheville Virginia for the night after a nice dinner at a Bob Evans, what can I say it was Bob Evans.

On Our Way

Barbara and I got up at 6:00 AM and where on the road by 7:30 AM. We drove and followed Hyacinth’s (our GPS) directions which had us go to the inner loop around Washington so we ran into a bit more traffic then expected but it turned out to be a good thing. Barbara had planned that we would stop at a garden that we would get into for free but seeing as the weather was rainy she thought we would do the house tour instead but that would cost us $14.00. Well we saw a sign to the National Air and Space Museum (http://www.nasm.si.edu/) and so we decided to do that instead. It cost us $15.00 to park the car but the museum was free, so it cost us $1.00 more but we saw something real interesting and we where out of the rain. We walked around the museum for about an hour and a half and saw most of it (it will need another visit) and I took as many pictures as I had battery life for (I forgot to put extra batteries in the camera case). We then headed to the motel we are staying at in Winchester, Virginia. Hyacinth had us go on VA 50 instead of the interstate and it was a nice change. We then went to have dinner at Barbara’s cousin Annie’s house with her family. We had a very delicious dinner and a great visit with her and her family. I will be posting the pictures from today tomorrow evening so come back often.

The Kitchen Sink is Missing

The kitchen sink, has anyone seen the kitchen sink? I think it is in the trunk of the car under all that other stuff. I am just kidding of course. I started packing the trunk yesterday and then today finished the trunk and did a test pack of the back seat. I say test pack because the coolers have to come out and get filled and ice added and then put back into place. Tomorrow we will clean the house so we come home to it clean. Then pizza with Louise and when we get up on Friday morning we will just have to pack the coolers and a few other small items (computers, a CD player, travel clock...) and do some last minute chores and we will be off to our first stop, Winchester Virginia.

Florida 2009-2010 Getting Ready

Well on Friday October 16th Barbara and I will be embarking on a new adventure. We will be making our maiden voyage as snowbirds to Florida. As you can see from the pictures there is a lot of stuff that needs to be put into the car. I am hopeful that we will get it all in and have enough room for us (it would be a real shame if I had to leave Barbara home). This being the first trip down we are hoping that we are bringing enough but not too much. Certain things we are sure of like the blowup bed, and clothes and our old stainless knives, forks and spoons. Some stuff may have to stay home until our second trip down next January. The plan is to go down now and get the place livable and then come home to New Jersey for December and go back down in January. Well I cleaned out the car, vacuumed the interior and washed the windows. I have even started packing some things under the front seats, quite a bit of wasted space under the front seats. I will be putting things into the trunk tomorrow and saving the back seat for Wednesday. That is all for now wish us luck in getting everything into the car.