Halloween & Castle McCulloch

Here I sit typing on the computer listening to the Weather Channel covering Hurricane Sandy in the background. We are inland North Carolina and well away from the storm but we are concerned about our house in Connecticut. Hopefully Wayne & Joann's cottage in Milford will not get flooded.

The electric heater is running in the camper because it is only 50 degrees out side. We use the electric heater instead of the furnace because I don't have to pay for electricity in the campground but it costs me to buy propane for the furnace. This is suppose to be a cold week with lows in the 30s at night. I guess we didn't head for Florida quick enough, well we will be heading south next week.

Saturday 10/27 was a busy day at the campground. There was a Flee Market along with Halloween activities and Trick-or-Treating.

Bev was busy all week getting ready for the Flee Market and spent 11:00 am to 3:00 pm sitting at a table outside in the cold with her crafts. It wasn't a real great Flee Market because there were only three tables including Bev's. It was cold out and she froze her butt although she enjoyed doing it.

Here is Bev's table and she did sell some of her goodies although she didn't expect to get rich here.

When she returned to the camper she told me not to expect to buy a new Class "A" motorhome with her proceeds.

They also had a band "Amber Waves" playing in the area of the Flee Market which detracted from their sales. Amber Waves band is a family of full time RVers that travels around in their converted old bus. The family consists of the Father, Mother, twin 18 year old girls, a 12 year old boy, and the youngest daughter 7. They are a Blue Grass Band from Colorado that started their new life in January of this year. Bev thought they all had lovely voices however the 12 year old boy was really exceptional on the violin. Living on the road the children are "Home Schooled". (I did not get a picture of them.)

On the other side of the building was Halloween entertainment for the kids.

Everybody in the campground gets around on their golf carts.

There was a costume contest for Kids, Adults, and their furry friends. One guy had his pet pig in costume. (I did not attend so no pictures.)

I had to hang out at the camper because from 3:00 to 5:00 pm was Trick-or-Treat. Bev was still at the Flee Market so I had the awesome responsibility of passing out candy. This is the view from my patio waiting for the kids to arrive. The bucket has the candy.

We had a ton of candy but after one hour I had to shut down because I ran out of candy. (Yes I did eat some.) We bought a bag of 230 mixed candies from Walmart and it went fast. The problem was I thought they were the small bars but they were actually micro mini bars with only one bite per. I passed out 3 at at time but should have only given out 2 at a time. Well there are a ton of campers at this campground so the kids made out pretty good anyway.

It was a lot of fun interacting with all the people that came by.

Sunday 10/28 was time to check out the area now that Bev is done with her Flee Market. We headed for Castle McCulloch in Jamestown, NC.

Castle McCulloch is an old gold mining area that has been converted to have all types of events. They hold a lot of events and Wedding receptions there and have a place to pan for Gold and Gems. You buy a bucket of dirt and try your luck at panning. Bev was interested in checking out the panning because she is always looking for rocks and gems for her beading.

When we arrived though the panning area was shut down. Probably because it was the end of the season. They did have an event going on though, The Wizard of Oz. They had characters from The Wizard of Oz along a trail that kids would follow and interact with. The place was filled with kids and their parents.

Good Witch

Here are pictures of the Castle and grounds.

It was interesting walking around the area even though Bev didn't get a chance to pan for Gold & Gems.

On the way back we stopped at the North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park which is located at a rest area along I-85. It is dedicated to the 216,000 North Carolinians who survived and the over 1,600 who were killed or missing in the Vietnam War.

Wall of Names

Any war memorial touches me deeply.

Along the way we stopped at Super Walmart to pick up groceries. We got a great looking steak so guess what we had for supper. There is nothing greater than steak on the grill which we had with baked potatoes and fried onions. Oh the life of an RVer.

Good luck to anyone waiting out Hurricane Sandy.

Good-by Williamsburg on to Advance, NC

Good-by Williamsburg, we had a great time and we will return.

Tuesday 10/23 we were up early and on the road by 9:00 am. We headed west on I-64, picked up I-295 south, crossed over to I-85 picking up some gas along the way. We followed I-85 all the way to Lexington, NC where we picked up U.S. Highway 64 west for about 8 miles to Forest Lake Thousand Trails Campground, Advance, NC.

We stopped at Flying J along the way to fill our propane tank and get more gas.  Flying J has an RV island where you can get propane, gas, water, and dump your tanks which is convenient but it's not easy to pay. Pilot owns Flying J and I have a loyalty card for both which gives me a discount off gas but Flying J is getting to be a real pain. (I only use Flying J when I need propane otherwise I use Pilot.)

At Flying J you have to walk from the fuel island to the store and wait in line to pre-pay for the gas. That means you have to guess how much fuel you will use and charge that amount to your card. Then you walk back out to the pumps (the fuel island is not very close) and fill your tank. Now you have to walk back to the store and wait in line again to get a receipt. They will usually bill you for only what you used not the amount you first pre-paid however every now and then someone will get charged for the pre-paid amount causing them to fight with the credit card company and Flying J to get it straightened out. That has not happened to us but it has to people we know.

It was a very easy 5 hour drive which is the maximum distance I can handle in a days drive. I use to like driving around the clock but those days are gone. I much rather have a two hour or less drive from site to site.

When we arrived we were concerned because the dirt roads through the campground were narrow and twisting. I'm glad we don't have a 42 foot class "A".

We unhooked the car at the registration office and drove the car all through the Campground looking for a site. We finally did find a great site though overlooking the lake.

Once I connected the utilities and of course the Direct TV we are home.  It's now time for my traditional beer and relax for the rest of the day.

There is a lot going on at this campground including a costume contest Saturday for the Kids, Adults, and of course their furry friends. Kids will trick-or-treat Saturday evening so we stocked up on candy. Hopefully there will be candy left for me.

Bev is excited because there is a Flee Market here Saturday that she signed up for. This week we haven't traveled around because Bev is hard at work crafting and beading for the Flee Market. Oh how she loves to craft.

Next week we will check out the area. Leaf peeping is about over here because the color is gone. I don't think there was much color around here because what we did see was very muted.

We are here for two weeks before we start working our way south following the sun.

Traveling Around the Williamsburg, VA Area

Well we are still here in Williamsburg relaxing around the campground and touring the area. Today is our last day though, tomorrow we head to our next stop Forest Lake Thousand Trails in Advance, NC. We will be there for two weeks and then keep moving south following the sun.

Last week our days consisted of relaxing at the campground in the mornings and hitting the road to see the sights in the afternoon. We drove the Colonial Parkway again which has fantastic views along the James River.

The Indians knew the James River as the Powhatan River, the colonists renamed it in honor of their sovereign, James I. It is one of Virginia's longest and broadest rivers. Rising in the Appalachians it flows eastward, often soil laden, 340 miles to the Chesapeake Bay. Its mouth is the world famous Hampton Roads.

The great Indian massacre of March 22, 1622, during which a quarter of the population of Virginia was slain came nearest to Jamestown here in a community known as Archer's Hope.

Along the way we stopped at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center. To experience all that the Revolutionary City has to offer -  including live action, theatrical performances, vibrant gardens, guided tours of the original 18th-century buildings, and museums you need an admission ticket. A single day ticket is $39.95 each so we decided it was to rich for us. I have seen old buildings before and didn't want to spend that much to see these.

Here is a view just outside the visitor center.

Another day we headed back up the Colonial Parkway this time stopping at Historic Jamestown Visitor Center. Now this is a National Park, which we entered for free with our "Old Timers Pass".

In the visitor center there were exhibits and a informative video. The walking tour of the historic town site includes Old Towne and New Towne. Old Towne has the site of the 1607 James Fort, the remains of the 1600s Church Tower, and the 1907 Memorial Church.

Nearby is the Jamestown Settlement which we saved for another day. Hey, we're retired and we don't want to work hard touring everything in one day.

A day or so later we returned to the Jamestown Settlement which is administered by the Commonwealth of Virginia. (That means they charge a fee and our National Park Pass would not get us in.) This time the fee wasn't that bad and only cost us $13.50 with our senior discount. Although we have been to the settlement a few years ago we decided to enter.

In the visitor center we saw an introductory film describing how the settlers left from England, their route of travel, and their arrival up the James river to the settlement.

In the gift shop there was an extremely talented entertainer, Timothy Seaman, playing the Dulcimer. (A stringed instrument of trapezoidal shape played with light hammers held in the hands.) The music was so relaxing we could have stayed there all day just listening to him play. I believe he was there all day because when we returned to the gift shop after our tour he was still playing.

You can check out Timothy Seaman on his web site: www.timothyseaman.com.

Several times a day there is a 90-minute guided tour of the outdoor living-history areas, where costumed historical interpreters describe and demonstrate activities of early 1600s Virginia. We decided just to wander around by ourselves.

The first stop was the Powhatan Indian Village. This depicts culture of coastal Virginia's original inhabitants with re-creations of reed covered houses, ceremonial circle, and crop fields.

Next we walked to the riverfront area where a re-creation of the three ships that sailed to Virginia in 1607 were. We were able to board and tour the three ships, Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery.

Susan Constant 

The Susan Constant was the flagship and largest of the three ships that brought the first permanent English settlers to America in 1607.

While anchored in the River Thames near Limehouse, it was involved in a minor collision with another vessel which led to a case in the High Court of Admiralty. The resulting court records were used to assist in determining the size of this re-creation. The original was probably built in 1605 and almost certainly built on the River Thames near London. Soon after the Jamestown colony was planted, the Susan Constant returned to England, continuing its career as an ordinary trading vessel.

We watched these two girls furling up the sails for the night on one of the ships. They did have on a protective harness, but the old time seamen didn't have that advantage.

This sign shows the route they sailed from England to America.

Continuing our walk we arrived at the James Fort. It represents 1610 -1614 time period with thatched-roof houses, storehouse, court of guard and church inside a triangular palisade.

Back at the visitor center we listened to Timothy Seaman again for a while before we headed back to the camper.

On one of our rides around the area we came upon the Presidential Park, very large busts of all the United States Presidents. It has been closed for quite a while, the busts are in disrepair and the area is overgrown.

We found one of the gates with a broken lock so we entered the park to check it out.

All the presidents were their from Washington to George W Bush. At each bust was a sign describing who they were, what they accomplished during their presidency, and famous quotes.

I was very interesting but I guess they didn't have enough activity to stay open.

On another one of our rides we headed to Newport News to check out the Shipbuilding. We crossed the James River Bridge and on the way back across Bev took these pictures from the car window.

We really enjoyed this area and will return on our way back to Connecticut in the spring. There is so much to see and do there is never a dull moment. We also like the fact that there are so many restaurants in the area. Did I mention that we like to eat out.

Just click on the photos to enlarge.

Yorktown Riverwalk Landing & Colonial Parkway

Yesterday 10/13 was another day to check out the sights in the Williamsburg area. We took a nice drive down the Colonial Parkway to Yorktown and the Riverwalk Landing. There is so much history in this area we can keep on the move everyday.

The Colonial Parkway is a 23 mile scenic parkway linking the three points of Virginia's Historic Triangle, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. It is part of the National Park Service's Colonial National Historical Park.

With portions built between 1930 and 1957, the Colonial Parkway links the three communities via a roadway carefully shielded from views of commercial development; a major effort has also been made to keep traffic signs and other modern roadside items to a minimum and make them unobtrusive where unavoidable. This helps visitors mentally return to the past, and there are often views of wildlife and waterfowl in addition to the river panoramas along the way.

The roadway, a National Scenic Byway and All-American road (one of only 27 in the U.S.) is free of trucks and is a popular (but not the quickest) way to move between the three points, especially for tourists. Near the James River and York River ends of the parkway, there are several pull-offs. It is toll-free, and has moderate speed Limits (45 MPH).

The Colonial Parkway took over 25 years to create from concept to completion. In 1930, a survey of the area was undertaken by National Park Service engineering and landscape architect professionals for a 500-foot right-of-way for the parkway. The road was aligned along the York River through U.S. Navy land.

By 1937, the road was completed to just outside Williamsburg. There was some debate over the routing in the Williamsburg area, and eventually a tunnel was selected. The tunnel under the historic district of Colonial Williamsburg was completed by 1942, but opening was delayed by World War II and some structural and flooding problems. It finally opened for traffic in 1949, leaving only the Williamsburg-to Jamestown section to be built.

On April 27, 1957, the colonial Parkway was opened for traffic along the entire route between Yorktown and Jamestown.

Here are some views on our drive from Williamsburg to Yorktown along the York River.

View of the York River

Hey Wayne, this may be one of your relatives.

Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.

The piers extending into the York River serve a major Navy installation and are part of the Naval Weapons Station. Since its establishment in 1918, then as a Mine Depot, it has served our country in two World Wars and the Korean conflict as well as in peace time.

Aviation Field Yorktown

From July 1919 until August 1921, the U.S. Navy operated an aviation training school at the U.S. Navy Mine Depot, today's Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. The school provided the first advanced aviation training for naval pilots in bomb, torpedo, and gunnery operations.

Less than a year after its initial closure, the Navy decided the airfield, located in close proximity to a deep water channel, was needed again in order to conduct experimental aviation test aboard the USS Langley (CV-1), the Navy's first full-deck aircraft carrier. On October 17, 1922, while the ship was anchored in the York River a Vought VE-7SF became the first flight to lift off from the carrier's deck. A month later, on November 18, a Patrol Torpedo (PT) seaplane was the first to be catapult launched from the Langley. In August 1926, the Navy Mine Depot Airfield was closed and the space was converted for munitions storage.

The York River, known to the Indians as the Pamunkey.

The colonists named it first Charles and then York, both in honor of the Duke of York. While only 26 miles in length, the tidal waters of the York River flow over the deepest natural channel of and Chesapeake Bay tributary. This makes it a great port for the Navy.

Our next stop was Yorktown. The signs along Main Street show how it looked in the past.

Here is how it looks today East along Main Street. Bev visited the Yorktown Shoppe, she loves to checkout little old gift shops like this.

Custom House, circa 1720

In 1691, Virginia's colonial legislature passed "An Act for Ports," in an effort to better regulate trade for the collection of import and export fees and duties. The act called for the creation of several ports, including Yorktown, and the appointment of Collectors of Ports by the royal Governor. During Yorktown's peak as a commercial port in the mid-1700s, Richard Ambler, and later his son, Jacquelin, served as collector of ports.

In 1721, Richard Ambler built this large, brick storehouse and from here he and his son handled their collector duties. Ship captains recently arriving and merchants arranging for transport of goods would convene at Ambler's storehouse to complete the required paperwork and pay the assessed fees.

The outbreak of the American Revolution brought an end to many port activities, including the collection of customs. In 1776, Virginia militia troops were using the Custom House for barracks and two years later, Jacquelin Ambler sold the property.

In 1924, the Comte de Grasse Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution purchased the Custom House and restored it five years later. Today the Custom House still continues in use as a Chapter House and Museum.

Cole Digges House

Throughout is long history, the Cole Digges House served many roles in the village of Yorktown. Originally used as a residence and warehouse, in later years it was a tea house/store and the First National Bank of Yorktown.

In 1921, Mrs. Helen Paul of Michigan bought the building and four years later began a major remodeling project transforming the 200-year old building into is current appearance by applying the Colonial Revival style made popular at Colonial Williamsburg.

The view in the next photo is the place where two Mercenary Units were located. Two battalions at Yorktown were from Anspach and Bayreuth, tiny independent kingdoms in southwest Germany. Their ruler, deeply in debt, had let these troops for hire to the British for some 45,000 pounds. Their camp covered several blocks in this vicinity.

From here we walked down the hill to the York River and the Yorktown Riverwalk Landing. As we reached the river our first view was of this magnificent Three Masted Schooner sailing up the river.

Here is a nice view of the draw bridge crossing the york river. Naval vessels have to pass through the bridge.

The Three Masted Schooner made it under the bridge without a problem.

Here are some views of our walk west along Riverwalk Landing. 

Along the walk we saw these statues of General George Washington (in command of the allied ground forces) and Admiral Francois De Grasse (in command of the French Fleet controlling the nearby waters). Their roles were closely linked but they met only twice, both meetings were held on De Grasse's flagship, Ville De Paris. The first was on September, 20 to complete planning for the attack on Yorktown and the other was on October 21st to explore future operations in the South.

From here we walked back up the hill to our car and headed back up the Colonial Parkway to our home in the Williamsburg Outdoor World campground.

We had a great time enjoying the scenery and walking around the Riverwalk. So much history so little time to see it all.

Back at the campground we had a great steak dinner cooked on our crappy Walmart Grill. The steak came out great but the grill doesn't heat evenly and usually burns part of the meal. That's what I get for buying a cheap grill.

We need a small grill so it fits in one of the storage spaces in the camper. I will start shopping again for a small Weber gas grill like I use to have. The old one lasted for years but I was not able to find one when it finally fell apart. I'll have to check out Home Depot or someplace like that.

After our great meal we propped up our feet and watched TV the rest of the evening. The weekend crowd is here with their kids and although they were having a great time outside they were quiet and didn't bother us at all.