2100 miles to go

Canadian Maritimes behind us, it was time to complete our loop. We always consider central TX as the start and end of our annual trekking since that is where we first started 6 years ago.

We began by heading to Scarborough near Maine's coast and found it to be a typical beach vacation spot. Temperatures were still very warm and the local beach was PACKED as school hadn't yet started for the local kids. The campground we had picked was a destination in itself and even had an "adults only" pool due to the large number of families. There was also daily live music, games, karaoke -- you name it. We got in some nice long walks as the place was huge -- over 700 camp sites.

The next stop was Springfield, Massachusetts, and there is a lot to do in this area. A friend tipped us off that Volleyball was invented in nearby city Holyoke and there is a small Volleyball Hall of Fame there that was first on our list to see. Just north of that was Northampton and the home of President Calvin Coolidge's museum/library. There is also an impressive museum collection in downtown Springfield that included one dedicated to Dr. Suess (and yes, we may have been the oldest visitors there).

Jeffrey horsing around with a mural at the Volleyball Hall of Fame

Jeffrey with the Cat in the Hat

What we thought would be simply a Labor Day weekend stop in Jonestown, Pennsylvania actually put us within an hour of Lancaster, home of President James Buchanan (called Wheatland). His Presidency occurred right before the Civil War and he failed to prevent it because he felt that secession was illegal but also that going to war to stop it was illegal. He was our only lifelong bachelor President.

We were now skirting along the west edge of Virginia, enjoying a brief stop near the town of Natural Bridge, home of a small zoo where I could feed carrots to a few giraffes. Just over the border into Tennessee we stopped for a few days in Baileyton, which put us within easy visits by car to Brights Zoo in Limestone and President Andrew Johnson's complex in Greeneville. I was especially excited about this zoo because it is the home of Alf. He had a rough start in life and had to be bottle raised. Instead of seeing him moved to a different zoo as he grew up, his Facebook supporters raised over $150,000 so the zoo could expand their giraffe barn and keep him.

Natural Bridge Zoo Giraffes getting carrots from Maren

The famous Alf at Brights Zoo

Enjoying a break on one of the #TeamAlf benches purchased by Alf supporters

I say "complex" for Andrew Johnson because it is probably the best collection of original places and artifacts we have seen for a President. In addition to a museum, they had both of his family homes, one of which had mostly original furniture. They also had a reproduction of his Raleigh, NC, birthplace (a simple room above a tavern). Of course his grave was also nearby. As the VP to Abraham Lincoln, he became President when Lincoln was assassinated, so much of his Presidency was filled with reuniting the former confederate states back into the Union.

A short drive to the next campground put us in Sevierville, TN. Only 20 minutes away by car is the American Eagle Foundation where we had an appointment for a tour of their headquarters. We were surprised to find it was just the two of us that day, and we really loved meeting all of the amazing raptors who call AEF home. Sadly, they are all non-releasable, but they are very well cared for and in many cases are able to be ambassadors for their species through local education programs. Some are even able to pick lifelong mates and raise young that can be released into the wild.

Maren and Bald Eagle "Mr. Lincoln"

With most of the day still ahead of us, we enjoyed lunch in Gatlinburg and enjoyed their local aquarium -- ranked as one of the best in the United States. It was also air-conditioned -- BONUS! (it was a hot day).

One of my favorite aquarium residents

Our next significant stop was Birmingham, Alabama. At this point we were closely watching the development of hurricane Florence as it was wobbling its way to the SE states. Thankfully Alabama looked to be in a safe zone. That said, one of our big goals for getting to Birmingham was for me to catch a flight to Baltimore to join my wonderful dad as his volunteer guardian for his Honor Flight from Puget Sound (Washington state). My flight was originally scheduled to fly through Charlotte, NC, but American Airlines was gladly swapping travelers to other flights to avoid the storm path. Even better was that the Honor Flight organizers were willing to take a chance that Washington D.C. would be spared enough that the trip was still given a green light.

Three days later dad and daughter each successfully caught flights to Baltimore and met up for an amazing 2-day experience together! The Honor Flight volunteers handled absolutely EVERYTHING, including all transportation, meals -- even arranging for dad to have an oxygen concentrator in our hotel room. It was very exciting and moving to be with the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans as we were transported into D.C. to see all of their war and service branch memorials, the FDR and Lincoln memorials, the Women in Military Service for America and Navy museums, and the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery. At several of these locations there was a special ceremony or recognition of the veterans, including numerous members of the public thanking them for their service. One even asked me to take a picture of him with my dad :-)

The special Alaska Airlines plane that brought the veterans to Baltimore

Dad and daughter hanging with FDR

One of my favorite pictures of the trip!

Sadly I had to fly back to Birmingham by myself and wasn't able to accompany dad on the Honor Flight plane back to Seattle. Not only did I miss the wonderful welcome his flight received by family and active service members at the Seattle airport, but I also missed the "mail call" of touching letters and cards from friends and family that had been collected for each veteran. Though I didn't need my newly-purchased raincoat in D.C., I surely would have needed it on that plane. Apparently Alaska Airlines made an announcement that the plane was riding with the nose tipped up a little because of the puddle of tears collecting at the rear.

Dad being welcomed back home and escorted by an active duty sericeman

Our remaining RV trek west included a quick stop in Vicksburg, MS, to see its Civil War Military Park -- one of the main locations of huge Civil War campaigns that eventually led to the capture of Vicksburg by the Union and control of the Mississippi river. We also enjoyed a weekend in College Station, TX, so we could add George H Bush's Museum to our list of visited Presidential sites. This is our third attempt to visit this one because plans changed in prior years and we kept skipping it. FINALLY able to check it off!

The restored remains of the USS Cairo, which was used to clear mines as part of the battle of Vicksburg

As I finish this post, we have stopped briefly in central Texas to do our cycle of doctor/dentist visits and trying to catch up on the never-ending list of car and RV maintenance items that exist with "life on the road". We are actually getting pretty good at fixing little (and some not-so-little) things ourselves -- in addition to the big efforts of washing, waxing, sealing and polishing our 40 foot home. All that said, our RV extended warranty expires this November, so we are also focusing hard on making the final list of items for that service appointment in Florida!  It is most definitely the only extended warranty we've owned that MORE than paid for itself.

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