Maryland and Eastern Virginia Peninsula

I was close to the Maryland border and, after a day of of errands, I camped near Frederick at Gambril State park.  I opted out of a hike after the ranger told me they had recently seen a large black bear on the trails and the rattlesnakes and copperheads like to lay out on the trail!  I stuck to the paved paths and enjoyed a campfire.

I had reservations at Assateaque national seashore on the east coast of Maryland and drove in the freeway near Boston and Annapolis and across the Chesapeake Bay bridge. Then I drove through flat farmland towards the Atlantic, arriving at Assateaque in time to have a quick swim in the Atlantic Ocean.

There were ponies on the beach!  There was a group of 1 stallion, 8 mares, and a baby with wobbly legs!  They like to come to the beach in the evening to cool off and the breeze chases away the mosquitoes!  There was a lone young stallion that was not allowed near the herd.  The national park tries to keep these ponies wild.

I camped on the island on the Bayside and on the oceanside.  The mosquitoes and biting green flies were vicious!  It was a great place for biking, except for the bugs! The oceanside campsites were pretty. I enjoyed swimming and just sitting on the beach reading. 

Fiddler crabs were all around and came out to watch me when I was quiet. I also had my first softshell crab dinner and it was so good! (not the same type of crabs as those scurrying around on the beach)

On Friday I headed inland to Blackwater national wildlife refuge and saw Osprey with fledgling, Eagles, egrets and many other birds. Blackwater is on the migration path for birds.

I camped near Blackwater on Taylor Island at a campground where I could see the lights of Washington DC across the Chesapeake Bay.  

I had another birding morning and rode my bike on the nature trail.  Biking is a perfect way to observe the birds and animals!

Soon it was time to head on to my next stop at the Virginia end of Assateaque Island at the beach town of Chincoteague.  This herd of ponies are managed differently and they annually auction off ponies to raise funds for the fire department. The ponies were hiding from me but I enjoyed swimming at the beach and climbing the lighthouse.

Then I headed to the tip of the East Virginia Peninsula to the Kiptopeke state Park near Cape Charles VA.  I swam in the quiet and shallow waters of Chesapeake Bay.  It was very hot so I enjoyed cooling off in the water.

More of Pennsylvania

I wanted to see more of the first capital of the United States than Fran and I had time to explore.  It is a fascinating city, so rich in history! I did one more power day in Philly, using the free for seniors public transportation. First I had a soft pretzel at the Reading terminal and then stood in line to see the Liberty Bell.  

Then I went on a tour to the foot of the William Penn statue at the top of the city hall.  At 40 stories up, it has great views of Philadelphia (and the weather was good).  It was the tallest habitable building in the world until 1908 and is still the tallest masonry building in the U.S.

Then to Christ Church for an interesting tour. This is still an active Espiscopalian church. Then it was on to the Betsy Ross house. Then I walked through the grounds of the Friends Meeting house, also still an active congregation.  

Then I used the free bus to the Rodin museum for a quick visit.

I was hungry so I just had to have another Philly cheesesteak before I left!  Then it was a quick tour of the Ben Franklin museum.  Last I caught the bus from Old City back to the shuttle and back to the RV.  I did a lot of walking that day!

The next day it was a great tour of Valley Forge.  I had such a knowledgeable tour guide, Mary Kay, and she made the history of the time come alive.  

Then it was back to Gettysburg.  I enjoyed my prior brief stop so much, I wanted to spend more time and take a tour.  Also I needed to be in one place for a few days so I could receive a letter from home. 

Gettysburg is in a beautiful area of Pennsylvania, surrounded by farms.  As a national cemetery, it honors soldiers from both the North and the South.  So many men died!

I walked part of the battleground in the evening and saw thousands of fireflies dancing in the grasses and trees!  So cool!  I attempted to take a picture of a firefly.

I went to the Eisenhower Farm.  This was the first presidential election I paid attention to as a girl!  I remember the "I like Ike" slogan.

Next I headed to the Allegheny forest in northern Pennsylvania.  It was a beautiful campground but it stormed!  I was on the freeway and could barely see ahead. It was scary!

It rained much of the weekend but I did some hiking along Millstone creek at Loleta campground outside of Marienville. It rained so hard Sunday night that I needed earplugs to drown out the noise so I could sleep!

Then it was on to Frank Lloyd Wright's home he built for the Kaufmann family at Fallingwater near Mill Run, PA.  This home was built over a waterfall!  And with the recent storm, the creek was rushing over the falls!  Wonderful!

Jersey Shore

Delay again in posting due to no wifi! On Wednesday we headed down to the Jersey Shore where Fran went for summer vacations when she was a girl. The weather did not cooperate with our plans of sitting on the beach and enjoying the sun! It rained and the wind blew but we enjoyed seeing the beach and driving to the Cape May lighthouse.

I dipped my feet in the Atlantic Ocean and it is warmer than the Northern California ocean waters, but too cold to go swimming (although two kids were swimming)!

We were on our way to camp at the Belleplain State Forest in Woodbine NJ, but as we were heading there I was rear ended as I was at a stop sign.  Minor damage but I had to get the rear lights fixed to drive legally.  The guy yelled at me and said it was my fault because I was in his way!  We stayed in Cape May and was referred to the Country Garage for repairs.  The guy was great to fit me in and fixed my lights.  The bumper will wait till I get home. He had been to Martinez!

 

The next day we made it to the Belleplain state forest, which was pretty.  Lots of mosquitos!

The rain prevented us from enjoying swimming in the lake.

We drove to Wildwood, NJ, to see the boardwalk and people watch.  The town ha 8 miles of boardwalk with all the attractions that go along with it.  It was cold and raining so there were few people.

Due to the rainy weather we stayed in camp on Saturday.  I took a walk around the lake and came back with extra company--ticks!!!  I found 4 ticks on me that had already started to bite!  I found out online that Belleplain is one of the worst places for ticks. 

We had a great campfire and enjoyed the lightning bugs (or fireflies).   I found out that the bugs have a chemical glow at dusk to attract a mate or prey.

Fran flew home on Sunday June 7.  I'll have a few weeks on my own to explore before my volunteer stint starts in West Virginia.

Philadelphia

It is so good to see Fran and visit as we go exploring Philadelphia!  She rented a car so I don't have to drive the rig in the city streets.  We drove to Old City on Sunday and walked the historical city area, took a tour of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed.  Great tour!  

Then we had a lunch at the City Tavern where the signers of the Declaration of Independence hung out a long time ago.  I enjoyed Kielbasa and sauerkraut with an old brew beer.  So German and so good.

On Monday we went to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA.  The gardens were developed by Pierre DuPont who bought an aboretum to save it from being forested in1906 and then expanded it.  These gardens are beautiful and rival Buchart Gardens in Victoria.

This is a dogwood!  So much bigger than in California!

It stormed buckets of rain with lightening and thunder just as we were ending our visit at Longwood Gardens.  We slowly made our way back to our New Jersey RV park.  

Tuesday it was back to Old City, Philadelphia.  We did the National Constitutional Center (along with many classes of kids on the end of year field trips)!  The museum was fascinating!  Makes me want to take a class in political science!

We also went to Reading Terminal, the old train station turned into ethnic shops.

I also had an official Philly cheese steak! So Good!

On my way to Philly

I left the beauty of Shenendoah Valley national park reluctantly, after enjoying the green and lush mountains and forests  for over a week.  I headed toward historical sites and tourists.  But I was delighted to find I enjoyed learning more about our country and find it stimulating. 

I left Shenendoah to go through parts of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland!  It is amazing how much smaller the states are in the east!  

I spent several hours at Harper's Ferry, WV, and learned much.  I remembered John Brown but did not recall much about the civil war impact on Harper's Ferry.  The town was restored and I could walk in old boarding houses, stores, factories, churches and schools, etc.  it was interesting!

I camped that night in Cumberland Falls State park near Thurmont, Maryland.  It was just as nice as the national parks, plus they had electric and water!  I was able to hike a bit before dark.

The next day I drove to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania and again spent several hours at an impressive national park.  This park has a great deal of high tech presentations and they were well done!  After seeing and hearing much about the civil war in the museum, I walked to the battlefield and could envision the troops marching over the now quiet countryside.  It was a sobering afternoon to reflect on the civil war.

I again spent the night in a great state park, French Creek State Park near Everson, PA.  In the morning I drove through Amish country and spent time in Intercourse, PA, browsing Amish stores, enjoying a soft pretzel and buying sticky buns for breakfast the next day.  I saw Amish and Menonite families in their traditional clothes, followed horse and buggy down the road, and watched a young man plowing the field with a horse drawn plow.  But I especially enjoyed talking to an Amish quilter and her young granddaughter about quilting!

The Penstlvania farmland is beautiful and green.

Soon it was time to head to the RV park in New Jersey, which is my base for touring Philadelphia.  My friend from college, Fran, grew up in Philadelphia and she is showing me some of the sights.