The Final Leg Home

We headed north along the Outer Banks through Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, through Virginia Beach, across the Chesapeake Bay Bride Tunnel      http://www.cbbt.com/    and up the Delmarva Peninsula.

We planned to stay in a campground near Salisbury, MD but our GPS sent us on route that led to a 5 ton capacity ferry over the Nanticoke River.  Since our 7 ton weight wouldn't work and the re-calculation was confusing, we decided to push on to Marlton, where we spent the night.  The next day we landed the RV at it's home in Branchburg, NJ.

The trip was wonderful and the girls were great travelers ......   and J.J. was an extremely relaxed passenger.

"On the Road Again"  with Grandpa at the wheel and Emily keeping an eye him.

......... ZZZZZZZZ .....

The Outer Banks

OBX Bathing beauties.

We've spent the past couple days at the Ocean Wave Campground in Wave, NC on the Outer Banks.  It's a great little park with full hook-ups located just north of Cape Hatteras.  The beach is just a short stroll over a dune from our rig.  It's hot but breezy and the ocean temperature is delightful 82 degrees.

Emily & Barb catching up on emails.

Caroline & Barb in the OBX surf.

J.J. not thrilled with a bath in the RV.

Wes & Caroline at the beach.

Back to Calabash

This morning we left the Blue Ridge Mountains and headed east through the North & South Carolina piedmont regions back to Calabash to pickup our grand daughters and J.J. the wonder dog after their week long visit with their Grandma & Grandpa Reger.  Here's a shot of sunrise in Calabash.

The Biltmore Estate

Today spent the whole day visiting the Biltmore Estate.  It was wonderful.  Here's a link to their web page

                    http://www.biltmore.com/

Put it on your 'bucket litst ......  if you're anywhere near Asheville, NC ..... make time to go see it ...... it's a "must see".

Our Lazy Daze with the "what-ya-ma-call-it" estate in the back ground.

Nice front porch.

One of the Biltmore's several gardens.

Great Smokey Mountains National Park

This morning we took an hours drive to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  It's the most popular National Park with 9 million visitors annually.  After a stop at the Park's information center we drove 20 miles that climbed over 2,500' up to Clingman's Dome.  We then hiked the very steep half-mile trail to the Dome's Observation Tower.  At an elevation of 6643' above sea level, it's one of the highest points east of the Mississippi.  It was breathtaking with the streaming clouds, mist and breaks in the clouds giving constantly changing views.

Clingman's Dome parking area

With the half mile we hiked here at Clingman's, added to the tenth of a mile we did a couple of years ago on Skyline Drive, we only have 2,183.4 miles to go before we complete the Appalachian Trail.

Clingman's Dome Observation Platform, 6,643 ft. above sea level.

Blue Ridge Parkway & the Pisgah Inn

Stuck in the clouds at the Mt. Pisgah Inn

The clouds parted .......

Today we took a ride up the Pisgah Road to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Unfortunately the visibility was severely limited because we were driving in a cloud.  For safety sake we exited the Parkway at the Pisgah Inn, a neat hotel sitting near the top of the mountain at 5000' elevation.  We visited the hotel gift shop, the nearby mountain top campground and general store and hoped the cloud would lift.  Out patience paid off ....... we were treated to a magnificent vista.  We resumed our Parkway drive and then headed down through Asheville.  It's a lovely city, built of hilly terrain and very busy with lots of tourists having a grand time.

Pisgah Mountain Road

We took a ride up the Pisgah Mountain Road.  We stopped at beautiful Looking Glass Falls.  Further along we came to Sliding Rock, natures own water park.  It was incredible watching the speed that people were propelled down the rock into an 8' deep ice cold pool at the bottom.  They had life guards on duty but it still looked like an awfully wild thing to do ...... we passed on it but got a real kick out of watching the show.

Looking Glass Water Fall

Sliding Rock

Natural Bridge to Calabash to Pisgah National Park

We departed Natural Bridge and headed East along the James and Mousy Rivers, through the Blue Ridge Mountains, all the way to Calabash, NC on the Atlantic Coast just north of Myrtle Beach, SC.  We delivered the girls to their other grandparents, Dick & Michele Reger.  We had a lovely dinner in their new home and the next day drove back west toward the Blue Ridge & Smokey Mountains.  We arrived at the Davidson River Campground in Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC by 5:00pm.  The Campground is beautiful with very large, paved sites but once again we were dry camping.

Davidson River Campground Pisgash National Forest 

Yogi Bear Jellystone Campground, Natural Bridge, VA

After leaving Cranberry Lake, we traveled to the Villages RV Resort in Verona to attend the
Trunko-Cmaylo-Danko Family Reunion in Sherill, NY.  We had a great time with our 115 family members.

On Sunday, July 8th, we collected our two grand daughters, Emily & Caroline Reger and their dog J.J., and headed south on Route 81 toward the Shenandoah Valley.  After a stop in Hagerstown, MD we continued on to Natural Bridge, VA.  The purpose of the trip was to transport the girls to their paternal grandparents in Calabash.  The campground had all kinds of activities for the kids.  The highlight though, was swimming in the James River (J.J. Included).  Here are some pix of our stay.

Wes, J.J., Emily, Caroline & Barb with Cindy Bear, Yogi's "main squeeze"

Caroline ....... the miniature golf champ

Caroline & Em enjoying breakfast

J.J. exhibiting her excellent swimming form doing the ...... you guessed it ...... the dog paddle.

J.J. & Emily

Cranberry Lake State Park, Happy Birthday Wes

We left the Thousand Islands and headed to Cranberry Lake State Park in the Adirondack Mountains.  On the way we drove through Canton to visit Wes's Alma Mater, St. Lawrence University.  Needless to say, it's changed quite a bit.  Cranberry Lake is another beautiful park (see map link below).  We had a delightful two day visit in a very pretty place..

Cranberry Lake

Wes with the State Park beach in the back ground

Thousand Islands, Happy 47th Anniversary Us

We left Fair Haven Beach State Park on July 1st and headed further north to Wellesley Island State Park in the Thousand Islands.  This is great campground right in the middle of the St. Lawrence River.  Our site overlooks a pond that joins the Park's marina.  The only drawback is that it has no hook-ups but that's why we have a Lazy Daze with a solar panel, generator and house batteries.  During our stay we took a "cruise" on tour boat through the Islands.  It included a stop on Heart Island that gave us a chance to tour Bolt Castle.  We'll let the photos tell the story.

Bolt Castle

..... on one of the Castles many balconies

Bridge span over the Canadian channel in the St. Lawrence River

Fair Haven Beach State Park

We left Letchworth State Park on Thursday, June 28 and headed north along beautiful Canandaigua Lake through the city of Canandaigua to Fair Haven Beach State Park on Lake Ontario just west of Oswego (see map link below).  We had a nice site but spent the daylight hours over the next three days in the park's picnic area right next to the Lake.

Fair Haven Beach .... what a great place to set-up our rolling cabana.

Barb on the Fair Haven Lake Ontario Beach

Letchworth State Park

The Lazy Daze gathering wrapped up on Sunday morning with the gang bidding farewell.  We headed east along the shore of Lake Ontario to Rochester then south through the city to Letchworth State Park (see map link below).  We met the Pohlmans, Wilsons, Genests and Kubicks there who also wanted to extend their Lazy Daze contact.  We had an impromptu pot luck supper and campfire at the Kubick's rig.  The Genests and Wilsons left on Monday.  The Pohlman's joined us in our rig to tour the park and have a delicious  lunch at the park's beautiful Glen Iris Inn.  The Polman's departed on Tuesday.  We did some laundry and other chores and on Wednesday we spent the entire day parked by the middle falls.

Glen Iris Inn

The Trunkos & the Pohlmans

Part of the Genesee River Gorge

Middle Falls

Old Fort Niagara

Today we toured Old Fort Niagara.  It played important rolls in the French & Indian War and the War of 1812.  It happened that a group of Civil War re-inactors had a gathering at the fort.  Here's a shot of a man, who in real life is a school musical director, giving a demonstration on how drums were used as a communications devise "back in the day".

We had our "Barb Thomas Tech Talk" in the afternoon and that evening we had our Pot Luck Supper. It was coordinated by Barb Trunko, Mary Ellen Matthew and Marianne Moore.  After dinner we had a Silent Auction.  The evening also included the reading of a blond joke.  Since Bev Schultz, our offical blond joke reader, had to leave early to attend a family event, a qualified "volunteer" was called upon
(see below).

Old Fort Niagara entrance

Barb was qualified because she was once a blond ...... but then again she was once
 a red head .... and a brunette ... and when a blond job went bad she was green .... we'd better stop there.

Civil War "wireless" communications device.

Hydro Power & the Underground Railroad

Yesterday Barb went back to Niagara-on-the-Lake with the Moore's and Carol Pohlman while Wes & H.T. Pohlman accompanied Bruce Rex to the Anchor Bar (where Buffalo Chicken Wings were "invented").  Our job was to sample wings (of course washed down with a pitcher of McSorley's Ale) and to bring back a batch back to the campground for the evenings Meet & Greet (hosted by the Rex's).  They had a selection of Yancy's cheeses and Zwigles Red & White Hots.  The Meet & Greet was preceded by a wine tasting hosted by Nelson & Marianne Moore.

Today the group headed to the New York Power Authority's Power Vista Visitors Center to see the hydro electric generating station.  Here's a picture of the "Tilley Hat Quartet" getting ready to head out along with a shot of the power plant with the Canadian's plant on the opposite side of the river.

During the afternoon, Jan Genest led a lively book chat centered  on “Bridges: A Tale of Niagara”  by by dk LeVick.

The third shot shows Barb and Joe & Ruth Quinn with re-inactors from the Lewiston Council of the Arts who gave a presentation about Lewiston's crucial role in the Underground Railroad that helped slaves escape to Canada during the 1800's, prior to the end of the Civil War.  Their presentation followed our delicious group buffet dinner at the Water Street Landing Restaurant.

Mike Genest, Larry Wilson, Fran Kubick & Wes  .... the Mad Hatters.

The Falls

Today Ken & Bev Schultz chauffeured us on a sightseeing trip to the beautiful town of Niagara-on-the-Lake just over the River in Ontario.  The flowers in the public spaces of this town are magnificent.  Here's a picture of Shaw's Restaurant where we had a delicious lunch.  From there we continued down  the Canadian side of the Niagara River to take in that famous view.

Shaw's Restaurant

Maid of Mist heading into the Canadian Falls

Four Mile Creek State Park

After an overnight stop in Horseheads, NY, we've made it to Four Mile Creek State Park Campground in Youngstown, NY.  (see Google Maps link below)

This evening, our Lazy Daze friends and events hosts, Bette & Bruce Rex took us on a tour of Lewiston, NY, which is located on the Niagara River.  We had supper at the Silo Restaurant.  Their specialty is a Haystack Sandwich ..... shaved rib-eye steak, melted mozzarella cheese topped with French-fried onions on a roll.

Here's a picture at sunset taken at the campground looking across Lake Ontario.  We'll be meeting with our the rest of our Lazy Daze friends over the next five days.

Niagara Falls ..... here we come!

Well, we're in Marlton, New Jersey, getting ready to get "On the Road Again".  We'll be packing up over the next couple of days, traveling up to Branchburg, New Jersey, where we keep our Lazy Daze motor home and heading north toward Niagara Falls, New York.

We'll join our friends in the Northeast Lazy Daze Caravan Club at Four Mile Creek State Park on Lake Ontario (click on "location" link below).  It's nearby where the Niagara River flows into Lake Ontario.