Author: karenbpalmer

Drove back to Minnesota for a couple Doctor appointments, another sample came back with a <5% abnormal cells, we are keeping with active observation for another year.

We took Gwen shopping for her birthday/Christmas present. We had a lot of fun picking out the perfect bike with her.

After shopping we spent the rest of the day at Jordan’s. Ben and Gwen hosted and cooked dinner. Thanks for arranging Abbie, hosting Ben, and suppling the place Jordan, we had a very fun and relaxing evening.

Dinner with good friends

On our way back to Florida we hit the once every 10 year Atlanta snowstorm, was not fun to drive through with inexperienced Alantians. The roads look clear but are covered with deep slush.

Atlantic Ocean tide pools

Budweiser brewery

The Clydesdale’s were there for the day.

Bottling and packaging.

Georgia railroad museum; roundhouse

Roundhouse turntable

The workshop, steam was the main source of power and heat.

The back streets of Savannah

Down by the waterfront.

Proabition museum. Somewhat interesting but not worth the cost.

St John the Baptist, the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Georgia.

St John’s Cathedral’s pipe organ

Tybee Island, commercialized, expensive, quaint but still beautiful.

Cool and windy day, ocean is a little chilly.

Local seafood market, not much to look at but well worth a stop.

John finds a cool treat.

The Angle oak tree, estimated to be 300 – 400 years old.

Visited Patriots Point home to the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, the destroyer USS Laffey, and the submarine  USS Clamagore.

John the navigator

John trying his hand at steering.

Guess who was busy taking pictures, John going thru the submarine.

South Carolina’s wayside rest vending area.

Cowpens a turning point in the Revolutionary War. The victory was won by the use of a tactic known as double envelopment, the only time it was successfully used in the American Revolution.

A blackpowder demo.

Pearson Falls

We had the Fall to ourselves, only about mile hike and easy path. We really need better directions.

Yeah, we’re going to need to fold in our mirrors.

Drive to Caesar’s Head

The higher we get the foggy it’s becoming.

Pretty sure the views are not going to be there.

Kind of creepy.

Yes, there is a path somewhere here.

Long hike

The log bridge to nowhere.

We toured the Freightliner facility but were not allowed to take pictures. We would recommend doing this if you are ever in the area.

This is also a BMW plant that does tours however they were redoing some of the production lines so the tours were suspended until spring of 2018.

Finally a brick and mortar Krispy Kreme store.

This bench was outside a local BBQ joint.

Tanglewood golf course, 18 hole par 3 for 9 bucks.

We just missed seeing their Christmas lights, they start decorating in August and have around 250,000 visitors every year.

Um, we’re thinking the GPS is taking us on a wild goose chase.

We’re here, I think?  The places you can find on the internet.

Kanawha Valley Arena Resort, we’re  liking it.

He has a huge shed full of carriages.

Stumbled on a local gathering. It was an interesting stop.

Nice day for a cruise on the New River. Except for a couple fisherman we had the river to ourselves. It was very relaxing not counting the small stretch of class 2 rapids.

So many roads like this….asking wonder what’s over the hill. Beautiful scenery, always.

We hiked Jones run in the morning, didn’t make it to the bottom of the waterfall as seeing the lack of water on the top we skipped out on the last mile.Even without going all the way, it was still a 714’ elevation change and a 4.6 mile hike.

Some paths are better than others.

Dark Hallow Falls elevation change was 340’ in 2 a mile round trip hikeWe’re still smiling, but we have a long way to go back up.

Decent path.Beautiful roads in the Shenandoah Skyline Drive.

On the top of the world at least it felt like it as we climbed Humpback Rock, 3.1 mile round trip walk, 940’ elevation change.

First view near the peak.

Lots of steep stairs, above these the path turns to basically rock climbing.

4.93 miles hike with a 1041’ elevation change. I don’t recommend doing this the same day as Humpback Rocks.

Muddy, fallen trees, rocks, and lots of tree roots on the path.

View from the top of Crabtree Falls.

Kind of still smiling?

 

 

The first bridge we did (could) not go under…Toured the second best chocolate factory.John hanging with his buds.Liberty Bell, they even turned this into a “teachable moment “USS New Jersey located across the river from the Independance Seaport Museum.Valley Forge, Muhlenberg Brigade Huts.National Memorial ArchWashington’s Headquarters during Valley Forge winter encampment. He had it much easier then his troops.

Side note: It was a nice park to drive and walk around. Short video at the visitors center, interesting and worth the time

One of the signs we wish more people would follow. The number of monuments at Gettysburg is amazing, the above are just a fraction of what you can see there.One of the Minnesota’s monuments in Gettysburg.The lives lost on both sides makes these monuments and battle sites very emotional to visit.

Ohiopyle State Park

Hike to Cucumber Falls, 5.23 mile hike today, with a 250’ change in elevation.

Cucumber Falls, late fall and a dry year.

Cucumber FallsBeautiful drive in Pennsylvania They put together an amazing memorial, a must see.

You could sit here and just imagine Flight 93 doing it’s roll over the visitors center and crashing in the field to the left.The flight path and wall of names of the 40 brave souls.They filled in the 40 foot deep crater and placed a 17 ton boulder where the flight crashed.