Cat Tells & Dreams

We stayed at Thousand Trails Roundout Valley, in Accord, NY for two weeks. We had a spacious site in front of the pool. When we arrived they told us July was their busiest time of year – with “Christmas in July” and all the kiddos out of school. After the first week, many left and I was able so spend a relaxing lunch hour at the pool. We have stayed at a couple of campgrounds that had “adult” pools, which is always nice. And they had a big inflatable bouncy thing here – for the kids…which I tried out too! 🙂 No pics from that!

So, sometime things just don’t work out – no matter how much preparation you put into it. We planned to visit the Vanderbilt Mansion in nearby Hyde Park, but we sat in traffic for about an hour and 1/2 and when we arrived all tickets for tours were sold out. I was very disappointed having visited Biltmore (the Vanderbilt’s country estate) in Asheville, NC many times. So…we decided to go down the road to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s home and take a tour there. On the website they listed a later tour, but when we arrived were told there were no more that day. I guess there were just a lot of people from NYC escaping to the mountains that day – can’t blame them! But it was a beautiful day and a nice drive – when not sitting in traffic.

Our next stop for 2 weeks was a private (not Thousand Trails) campground in Clinton, CT called Riverdale Farm. It was a great location to visit historic towns and beaches.

Before visiting Connecticut, we watched a documentary on Katharine Hepburn, who has always been a favorite of mine. Two of my all-time favorite movies are “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” with Spencer Tracy playing Kate’s husband and “On Golden Pond”. I have watched “Guess…” so many times I can recite Christina Drayton’s (Kate’s character) speech when she dismisses “Hilary” because of her narrow views.

Spencer Tracy and Kate were together for 26 years and he passed away just 17 days after shooting his scenes for “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”. Kate never saw the completed firm, saying it was too painful for her. For the most part they kept separate residences, but Kate said they spent the last two years of his life, “living a quiet life”, reading, painting and listening to music. Out of consideration for Tracy’s family, Kate did not attend his funeral. It may be hard to understand their relationship and that of Spencer’s with his wife, who did not want a divorce (and that he reportedly had another affair during the time with Kate), but Spencer and Kate’s love was apparent. After learning so much more about their long relationship, their scenes together in “Guess” have new meaning.

Katharine Hepburn was a very private person and not typical Hollywood. She is remembered for her headstrong independence, her spirited personality and for not conforming to society’s expectations of women. Our guide at the Kate Museum had lived in Old Saybrook all her life and remembers seeing Katharine in local stores, playing tennis and riding her bike down the street – how cool! Love seeing the exhibits of her clothing (her beloved pants) and some of her writing at the “Kate.” I was in heaven!

During our stay at Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay (Gloucester, VA) – we visited Yorktown (the battlefield and visitor’s center) and waterfront Yorktown…it was so HOT! We forgot how hot and humid it is in the Southeast! And had my first blue crabs!

Next, we stayed at a Thousand Trails in Lebanon – very close to Hershey (that sweet town!)

We highly recommend the Hershey Story Museum – lots of information on how Milton & Catherine “Kitty” Hershey formed the town with tree-lined streets, handsome homes, inexpensive public transportation and first-rate public schools. He opened what is now known as Hershey Park (for the recreation of his employees and families) and the nations largest private zoo.

Catherine “Kitty’ Hershey was a force to be reckoned with! She was a working-class girl from western New York and met a rich Lancaster, PA businessman fourteen years older than her at the turn of the 20th century. They fell in love (had a year long courtship), got married (at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC in 1898) and moved to the farmlands of central Pennsylvania. As his company became world-famous, just three years after their marriage, Kitty showed her first signs of the debilitating muscular disease, that would eventually leave her paralyzed.

During her illness Kitty never stopped living life to the fullest. She never let her illness stop her from what she considered her responsibilities and she supervised the construction and landscaping of their new home in Hershey. Their home was not ostentatious and definitely did not reflect millionaire taste of the time.

A friend remembered: “She suffered from a kind of creeping paralysis, but she was very plucky and never made you feel uncomfortable about it. She loved to go and to dress. She loved gaiety and she never complained about her illness.”

Kitty and Milton were at Atlantic City in March 1915, when he was called away on business. Kitty made arrangements to return to Hershey, with a nurse driving her back in a convertible. The numbness in her limbs made Kitty oblivious to the heat and cold, and she insisted on driving with the top down. Her health deteriorated with every mile and by the time they made it to Philadelphia, she was checked into a hospital with pneumonia. Milton hurried to Philadelphia, arriving that same afternoon. After greeting him, Kitty requested a glass of champagne which her husband went personally to get for her. By the time he returned to her room, she had died. He had not realized the extent of her illness. True to form, Kitty had known how ill she was, but had not told anyone, not even Milton. She didn’t want to make a fuss.

Kitty was described as a beautiful woman, graceful and elegant with a bubbly and happy personality. Milton Hershey never remarried. He spent the next thirty years expanding his company and the Milton Hershey School, which he always said was “Kitty’s idea”. I did not know about Catherine “Kitty” Sweeney Hersey before this trip – what a great but short 44 years she lived! And what a legacy!

(this above information is from the Hershey Community Archives)

After being gone for so long, it was great to be back on the East Coast! No matter what time zone we’re in, I work East Coast time – so not getting up at 5am is a treat! And NC will always be “home” no matter where we roam. While in Fletcher, NC we visited with family and G and his brother added new batteries and Victron components to our 5th wheel.

We stayed a few days at Lake Norman, NC. We lived in Denver, NC when we were first married, very close to this campground, so always nice to go there.

On to the Raleigh area for my work and needed appointments. Oh…and to fly to Newark for a CRUISE to Canada! (our first time in Canada – we will definitely go back)

We went on a cruise with YouTubers, “Today is Someday” (Phil & Stacy). We started watching their videos (along with others) before going full time. They were all our inspirations for this lifestyle we love! We had about 100 people in our group, so it was a blast!

In between TX and TN, we spent a few weeks with dear friends, whom we met in South Dakota in 2021! As I’ve said before, one of the best parts and most rewarding about traveling is the people you meet and Dwaine & Eldora are just the perfect example. They made a detour last year and had dinner with us in Montana and we finally worked out a time to visit them in OK. We enjoyed all our time with them, exploring the area, learning about OK and meeting some of their friends!

After we left Las Vegas we headed back to one of our favorite campgrounds, Thousand Trails Verde Valley in Cottonwood, AZ. A great location, close to Sedona. The largest RV sites we’ve seen in over 2 years on the road and we finally visited Alcantara Winery right next door – don’t miss it!

Our last stop before getting back to NC was Tennessee. I didn’t know we were heading to part of “tornado alley” but we did. We stayed at Thousand Trails Natchez Trace. Huge campground! The parkway right outside the campground was really pretty – nice to see so much forest and greenery. This is where Meriwether Lewis, of the Lewis and Clark Expedition died and was buried.

This was Garland’s first time in Las Vegas and I had not been since the 90s. We saw a couple of great shows, ate really good food, more food, took in the lights AND weird spectacles and a visit to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.

In the middle of January we headed to Lake Havasu, AZ for the Xscapers Annual BASH. Xscapers is a group, under Escapees, geared more toward working-age RVers and many who travel with children. The Annual BASH is their largest event and is a week-long party, with tons of events for everyone. They have fitness classes, RV seminars, events for kids…but the nighttime is when the real fun begins. Themed nights with live music (the bands were awesome), a lip sync battle and the lot crawl was epic. The Xscapers Olympics was a blast – think bouncy castles for adults! I found I’m really good at flipping a solo cup! The common theme at this event is Work hard – Play hard! We took a few days off that week – just too much happening to work!

We spent the 2022 Christmas holiday in a little town called Coalinga, CA, in the San Joaquin Valley. It was formerly known as Coaling Station A. If you have been there I’m sure you’re wondering why we stayed there! Pretty much the only things in Coalinga are pistachio and orange orchards, cows and a State Prison. Oh and starting around November until Spring, they have what’s called Tule fog. The fog is different in this area, if you look up in the sky you don’t see it, it hangs low to the ground. Can’t imaging dealing with that every year for many months. This was just a good distance for us to stop and work, on our way to the Rose Bowl Parade further south!

We put up Christmas lights on the pup fence outside and that made me happy! And I have small decorations for inside the 5th wheel. We had ham biscuits for Christmas eve – a family tradition and G smoked a prime rack of ribs for Christmas day. Like I said before, keep as many of your traditions that you can, even on the road. Also a funny tradition I keep is Sociable crackers with can-spray (yes I said can) cheese. I have many memories of having this at my Mom’s house and fighting over the “fake” cheese and crackers with my cousin Jonathan. 🙂

As I’ve mentioned before, we are members of Escapees RV Club and for the last week in December and New Year’s we attended our first HOP (Head Out Program) with this group. We stayed in Santa Clarita, CA and attended the Rose Bowl Parade and events, mostly held in Pasadena, CA. We loved the Santa Clarita / Castaic area. I grew up watching the parade with my Mom, so this was very special for me. Garland had a ball helping decorate the floats – he worked on the Blue Diamond Almond float. (I was working that day so I didn’t have to be at the bus at o’Dark:30 in the am to drive to Pasadena!) They start designing the floats in February – 10 months ahead of the actual flower decorating part. Every single float is decorated in purely organic material – flowers, seeds, rice, coffee beans, etc. Just amazing! Such detail work all done by volunteers.

I went to the Rose Bowl EquestFest. All the horses and riders participating in the parade put on a show at the LA Equestrian Center. It was FANTASTIC! I could watch horses all day! Bonus, I got to see the field where the polo scene in Pretty Woman was filmed!

We had catered dinners every night but New Year’s Eve was of course more of a party. AND we always have a great time celebrating our Anniversary (on January 1st) on New Year’s Eve! Garland says the reason he wanted to get married on New Year’s day is: #1 he’ll never forget the date and #2 everyone helps us celebrate and ring in our special day!

On our Anniversary we drove to the Santa Monica pier. I really wanted to go onto the pier but didn’t realize the amount of people who would be there on New Year’s day! Wow, was it crowded – too crowded with 3 dogs! I definitely want to go back someday as this is the end of Route 66 and it’s just a really cool landmark – not to mention a lot of movies and TV shows have been filmed there. But…we settled for walking on the beach with a view of the pier. It was raining that day, but the pups didn’t care – they love the beach. We also drove to the Griffith Observatory, but once again, it was too crowded. We couldn’t even find a parking spot – doesn’t help when you have such a HUGE truck. Funny, not long ago I mentioned that the Observatory was where Adelle had her television concert, which we loved. G said if he had known that was the place, we would have tried harder to find parking. Go figure! 🙂

The Rose Bowl Parade was held on January 2 this year since the first was on a Sunday. We left the campground VERY early to get parked before 6:30am with the parade starting at 11am. As part of our group package we had VIP seats for the parade and they were awesome and of course we ate some donuts while waiting on the parade to start. Tip: don’t forget to bring a blanket – its rather chilly in the morning. The parade is something I never thought I would see live and it did not disappoint! Loved seeing the floats, bands and horses come down the street in all their glory, especially the float G worked on.

After the Oregon coast, we headed to Mt. Hood, OR, staying at Mt. Hood Village RV Resort – would highly recommend it. They have a lovely restaurant and we even played some ping pong. Sites here were nicely spaced apart and they have yurts in the more wooded area, if you prefer that style of “glamping”. We also camped right beside a friend who we saw in Seaside – enjoying a meal and drinks together.

We of course went to a few really good restaurants in the area (and found our new favorite “Mexican Cabbage salsa”). We even had dinner with a friend from home – Rick, who played in a bluegrass band with Garland. Rick was visiting and we took advantage – always great to catch up. This was at one of our favorite chain restaurants – Black Bear Diner. There are no Waffle Houses in this part of the country, so Black Bear is our elevated Waffle House go to. 🙂

We drove up to Mt. Hood and it’s just beautiful. I should have tried skiing again, but another time. Mt. Hood is one of the only places you can ski all year long.

We left the Mt. Hood area and went inland to La Pine, OR. We were escaping the rainy weather and did not know we were moving into SNOW. Obviously needed to go further inland! Week one, we had 4 inches and week two, we had 5 inches. This may not seem a lot for you more Northern people, but to us Southerners, it’s a lot….especially living in a 5th wheel. When purchasing some newer campers, they will tell you it’s made for 4-Season living. Not really. Thank goodness for the fire place beside my desk and we definitely went through some propane keeping the underbelly of our rig warm. This is when you’re happy to have full hook-ups with 50amp power, to be able to use electric heaters if needed. Also, we would recommend tank heaters.

FIRST time in California for this NC girl! Crossed into CA at the Siskiyou County line. Not long after crossing into CA Garland and I both agree, we saw the most amazing, awe inspiring sight we’ve seen in our travels so far. It was a very overcast day with lots of darkish clouds – not very pretty. I was taking pictures of some burnt areas beside the highway and of tumbleweeds. In front of us, without warning, a diamond shaped mountain covered in snow and ice just appeared out of the clouds. Since we were not expecting this, we were speechless. I think we said “WOW” quite a few times!

Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range at an elevation of 14,179 feet – not even the tallest in CA but so impressive! Native Americans believe in the mountain’s sanctity. They think of it as being the center of the universe and legend has it some believe it to be on the most sacred site and is the home of the Creator. The mountain flanks the territories of various American tribes.

We stayed in Yreka, CA and then Oroville, CA. Had a great Thanksgiving dinner for two with smoked turkey and traditional sides and then G tried out his new drone at Lake Oroville State Recreation area. There are a lot of places you can’t fly a drone – like National parks and lots of restricted air space so this was a great location for him to practice. Plus, it was a gorgeous November day!

Tip for new full-time RVers – make time to keep up your holiday traditions, even if they’re scaled down. While you will miss your family and friend’s back home, this life is so rewarding and probably a once-in-a lifetime opportunity.

The last weekend in November, we visited Bidwell Mansion State Historic park, in Chico, CA. This was the home of General John Bidwell (who founded the town of Chico) and Annie Bidwell from the late 1868 until 1918. When constructed, Bidwell Mansion featured modern plumbing, gas lighting and water systems. You can see the bell system in the kitchen – kind of like the system they used in Downton Abbey – for the upper floor occupants to notify staff of services needed – like tea, dressing help, etc. The tour was great and it’s a treat getting to see into that kind of life. They have actual photos of parties where the house was decorated in flowers and also a typical dinner menu – just amazing! Hard to believe they ate that much – very decadent!

They had some of the actual carriages used during the Bidwell’s lifetime and a massive Ginkgo biloba tree. Loved the unusual shaped leaves of this colorful tree.

On the top of my bucket list was going to the Oregon Coast. Growing up in the Southeast, I’m very familiar with a certain style of beach – like NC/SC and even Florida – with sand dunes and flowing grasses. I traveled to Gloucester, Massachusetts in 2009 and fell in love with the rocky terrain at the beaches there….so I knew I would love the Pacific Coast. Plus, I’m a huge movie geek, so visiting film locations is always a kick!

Cannon Beach in Seaside is a huge expanse of a beach and beautiful, even on overcast/rainy days. Some movies filmed at or around the “Haystacks” are “The Goonies”, “Twilight” and “Point Break”.

Seaside, OR was a place of firsts for both of us: -first time dipping our toes into the Pacific, -first time being in a campground with a Tsunami Evacuation plan and last but not least -first time driving our truck on the beach! I even did this one day when I was exploring by myself…Garland was not too happy when I told him after…guess I can’t blame him considering I couldn’t figure out how to turn on 4-wheel drive AND I admitted it. But I made it off the beach unscathed. 🙂

We stayed at Seaside Thousand Trails and when you arrive they give you a two page pamphlet with important Tsunami information and our site was directly across from the evacuation trail – which you have to walk – no vehicles allowed. One thing I would recommend is they should list (on the pamphlet) that the first Wednesday of the month (at Noon) the town of Seaside tests their Tsunami warning siren. Talk about giving me a heart-attack…until I released what it was!

We had dinner a couple of times with a co-worker of Garland’s (Mike) and were very grateful for his knowledge of the area. Enjoyed restaurants in Seaside near the merry-go-round and also the Sandrap Bar & Grill beside the beach. On our traveling weekend before this campground, we met a really nice couple at a Harvest Host, who we now call friends and had dinner with them also. Chris & John introduced us to Camp 18 Restaurant – “A Dining & Logging Experience”. Would definitely recommend! We also ran into a couple we met in Quincy, WA (at the hot tub there) (Julie & Gary) and joined them in the hot tub one evening in Seaside. This campground also has an indoor pool, which is great for families. You realize how small the world is – meeting up with new and old friends on the road.

We spent a day exploring Astoria and the nearby Cape Disappointment State Park (which is actually in WA). First we had lunch at a local restaurant (can’t fool anyone- trying local restaurants is one of our favorite things especially when there’s fresh seafood!), then we visited the Columbia River Maritime Museum and both loved it. Definitely worth the time.

We drove around Astoria to see some of the “Goonies” filming locations – the county jail where they have the black jeep seen in the movie and the Flavel House. Plus, Astoria is just a really cute town.

After going over the metal bridge (back into WA), we hiked one of the prettiest trails I’ve ever been on – in Cape Disappointment State Park. The massive trees, all the moss and magical light – transports you to another place. And the views of Long Beach at the lookout will take your breath away. We went to Waikiki Beach and had a view of the lighthouse there. Next went to the Benson Beach trail – don’t miss this one! We were the only ones on the trail and then were afforded the most magnificent sunset – on a practically deserted beach. Just magical – although a little chilly on the beach.

Seaside will definitely be someplace we visit again and again. Still need to ride our eBikes on Cannon Beach. 🙂

We have utilized Harvest Host a lot this past year, since we have a 5th wheel that’s has more boondocking capabilities. You have to be self contained to stay with HH. Mostly wineries, breweries and farms with some golf courses and other businesses sprinkled in. They just ask you spend $20 with the host business. Such a hard thing – tasting some wine and or having a good meal. 🙂

We stayed at a farm in Bonners Ferry, Idaho – beautiful country! Would definitely go back to Idaho to see more.

Next stop was Colbert, WA – close to Spokane. We liked this area and the campground was adorable with a pick-your-own veggie garden. We would recommend visiting High Country Orchard, nearby for lunch and Frank’s Diner (an old railway dining car) in Spokane for breakfast/brunch!

We went to Riverfront park in Spokane – what a beautiful day and lots of things to see there. Many families and people with their dogs, enjoying the day.

Our next stop was Crescent Bar RV Resort on the Columbia River Gorge, in Quincy, WA. We absolutely loved this park. We love hearing and seeing the fighter jets that use the gorge as a training ground. Nothing like the sound of freedom! And our camp site didn’t hurt either – just mere steps from a hot tub. And like normal we made new friends there.

From Crescent Bar, we took a day trip to Leavenworth, WA. A Bavarian-styled village in the Cascade Mountains. Loved all the Alpine-style buildings with German restaurants and tasting rooms. Would absolutely love to go back during the holidays and when they have snow!

I can’t speak for everyone, but I don’t think you can spend any time in or around Glacier National Park and not be awed by the beauty and wonder of our great land. To me, it’s simply God’s country and we have the pleasure of visiting for a while. Garland had this on his bucket list even before we went full time and it did not disappoint. This was also another place we had friends come and visit, which is always a BONUS!

We stayed at a campground over looking Saint Mary’s lake in Babb and ate at St. Mary’s restaurant a few times. Take time to look around at all the history at the restaurant. We drove to the Many Glacier Hotel on Swiftcurrent Lake. Absolutely gorgeous “Swiss” style hotel with awe-inspiring majesty outside and a magnificent towering lobby.

We visited Running Eagle falls. During the wet season it’s a double waterfall with water coming from above and from inside the mountain. We only saw the single but a great short hike.

We took two tours during the week with Roger and Corina – the Red Bus tour and the boat tour on Many Glacier lake and Lake McDonald. There is a bit of walking in between the two lakes, so just be prepared or you can just do one of the boat tours. Would very much commend both! You learn so much about the park on both the Red Bus and Boat tours. We also had great meals at both Many Glacier Hotel and Lake McDonald – would recommend both. And always try the “Huckleberry” desserts and drinks. 🙂

If the only thing you do in Glacier is driving the Going to the Sun road, you won’t be disappointed. Luckily Roger rented a truck (smaller than our dually) so we were able to to drive this gorgeous road a few times – maximum length is 21 feet. Tip – if you have a reservation for a tour or dinning in the park, you can access the Going to the Sun road or you’ll need to purchase an entrance time.

From Cody, WY we went to Custer, Montana. If you don’t take it with you, you won’t have it – not much in Custer but this was just a stopover for us on the way to Glacier. We stayed at The Fort @ 49. Full hookup RV sites (in a field) and the Fort @ 49 restaurant. Would definitely recommend eating there but make a reservation! People drive from hours away for the great food. Bonus, we had friends that detoured to us for a night’s stay and dinner at the restaurant – best part of being on the road is meeting new friends. We had some beautiful sunsets and the night sky is vivid with very little light pollution. We were able to see multiple Star Link satellites being launched – very cool!

Our next stop was Fort Benton, MT. Very cool town – it is the oldest continuously occupied settlement in Montana and at one time their main street was considered the “Bloodiest block in the West” with gunslingers walking the street. Poker was played with six-guns atop the tables and females from the brothels were as tough as the men. A lot of history at their waterfront, including the first bridge in Montana to cross the Missouri river and the story of Shep’s vigil – dog stories always get us. We would also recommend eating at Wake Cup for breakfast or brunch!

Garland and I took vacation for the week of July 4th and our Faux kids Nathan and Mackenzie came out to visit. They flew in to Billings, MT and we stayed in Cody, WY. We drove into Yellowstone for two days. If you don’t stay in the park you have to travel quite a ways to just get there – but it’s so worth it! We hired someone to come and take care of the pups those days – too long to leave them. 🙂

I fell in love with Park City! Could see us retiring there…if housing prices were not so high! Wow. Just gorgeous everywhere you go. Weather was awesome and it even snowed on Labor Day! I got up at the usual 6am to take the pups out and we had about an inch and 1/2 and it was snowing like crazy – big wet flakes – beautiful. Of course since it was a holiday, so we went back to bed and by the time we got up a few hours later all the snow was gone. But everywhere you looked you can see snow-capped mountains. Don’t think I would ever get tired of seeing that. We could look at our windows and see the Olympic Ski Jumps from the 2002 games!

One of the best parts of Park City was having our friends (Leslie & Scott) join us for the holiday weekend – we had so much fun and love sharing places with our friends!

Stayed next in Coalville, UT – very restful and Garland took advantage of another stream.

Riverton, WY (our stop on the way to Cody) Enjoyed a nice quiet stay at Stilson RV Sites. Got to know our hosts – very nice and helpful and we enjoyed riding on the trail behind our site – very convenient to shopping in town. The drive to Cody through Shoshoni and and Thermopolis is very pretty.

The fabulous Monument Valley, UT. I visited here with girl friends in 2007 and could not wait for G to experience the “out of worldlyness” of the monuments! Highly recommend the tours offered at Goulding’s – worth it and more!

We drove out to Goosenecks, past Mexican hat and drove the 17 mile road through Valley of the Gods. And of course stopped at Forest Gump’s point, where the speed limit drops to 35 mph since so many people have been hit by cars – you just have to get that picture in the middle of the road!

Moab: Canyonlands National Park and Arches (just WOW)

We did not get close to Delicate Arch – that’s the most famous one and most recognizable. There were just too many people.

Spent a full month with the snow birds in Picacho Peak – one of our favorite campgrounds ever and met some really great people. Very much a resort park with many activities!

Visited Rooster Gogburn Ostrich Ranch (right beside Picacho Peak RV Resort). G and I both loved the Rainbow Lorikeets, all the different goats and I fed the Cownose Stingrays!

Saguaro, saguaro and more saguaro – my new favorite cactus!

Cottonwood, AZ We stayed at Verde Valley Thousand Trails – the sites are huge and we like the high desert. Location couldn’t be better – 30 minutes from Sedona.

We visited Sedona, Montezuma Castle National Monument and Jerome!

And while in AZ, we upgraded to a bigger 5th wheel – oh moving even from one tiny space to another is NOT fun. 🙂

We headed back out on the road after my Mother-in-law’s funeral – to Pennsylvania.

Stayed at Gettysburg Farm in Dover, PA. Great location and we were lucky to have some friends came to visit from Maryland for the Halloween celebration. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate, but we had a good time anyway…with less trick or treaters. More candy for us! Loved the animals they have at the campground, including Alpacas! Great paths to ride bikes also – through the corn fields.

Would highly recommend purchasing an audio tour when visiting the Gettysburg battleground. We learned so much of the history driving through the park. Twice we went into the town of Gettysburg, dining at a local Distillery and the famous Dobbin’s House – oldest house in Gettysburg and was used in the Underground Railroad. Make reservations early – wait was over 2 hours! Friends we met in Kansas drove to have dinner and visit. That’s the best about meeting new friends on the road – seeing them again!

We were home from Thanksgiving to right before Christmas – doing a lot in a short time!

Went to the Chinese Lantern Festival – first time for both of us and it was Beautiful!