August 8-16, 2009

We left Virginia and traveled north to New Jersey. We spent a lovely evening and day with Coleen’s cousin Sandy & Frank. We hadn’t seen them for over a year and it was great to spend some time visiting with them. They graciously opened their home to us for the night. We worshiped with them at their church on Sunday morning. Coleen even visited 2 quilt shops with Sandy. Bob went with Frank to see the remodeling on Kathy & Garrett’s house. Kathy, Garrett and Alisa stopped in to see us Saturday night.

We left New Jersey early Sunday evening and drove to Shawnee-on-the-Delaware, Pennsylvania. We moved into a nice two bedroom condo. There were two floors with bedrooms up and a very nice screened porch. Monday we got our bearings and did some planning for the week. Tuesday Bob took the van to get and oil change. We then went to the outlet mall and found some really good bargains on some clothes. We stopped at the grocery and arrived back at the condo about 7 p.m. just in time to see a black bear tipping over the garbage cans in the parking lot. We guessed that the bear was about a year old but it sure knew what to do. We also saw a skunk walking around the parking lot of the recreation center.

We went to the Delaware Water Gap National Park at Dingmans Falls. We walked to see them and also passed by Silverthread Falls. We spent another day driving to the Upper Delaware Gap National Park. We stopped at the Roebling Delaware Aqueduct. It brought back memories of our canal trip in June. It is a road now but used to be a canal over the river. We stopped at Grey Towers which is a National Historic Site operated in Milford, PA. It was the summer home of the Gifford Pinchot family who was governor of Pennsylvania twice and was instrumental in starting the forest service.


Next was the Zane Grey Museum in Lackawaxen right on the Delaware River.

The last stop of the day was the Steamtown National Historic Park in Scranton.





It brought back memories of the Durango steam trains. The roundhouse, turntable and yard have been restored and there is an excellent museum. We went through a caboose,

box car,
sleeping car and then the mail car.


We got back to the condo just in time to see the 3 raccoon run under our porch.

As we returned from our Saturday morning walk we enjoyed another visit from a bear. This was a larger one and she also came back a second time about a half hour later. She just pushed the entire bin over so that the trash cans inside dump out and then she rifled through the garbage. We decided that this was our wild animal week.

We left on Sunday for Hancock, Massachusetts. On the way we stopped in Kinderhook, New York at Martin Van Buren Historic Site to see Lindenwald. Since we are seeing so many historic items I found a book called Presidents for Dummies and purchased it to see what we might learn in a short amount of time.

July 25 - August 9, 2009

DILLARD, GEROGIA

Oh, another long drive from Destin to Dillard, Georgia. It was stop and go traffic as we left Destin and in a couple of places in Alabama. Dillard is in the far north almost in North Carolina. In fact the road to the resort goes from Georgia, into North Carolina, into Georgia, into North Carolina and then back into Georgia to the resort. It is in the mountains and we had no cell phone service. We were able to have some internet at the office part of the time. We stayed in a fairly small unit but it was comfortable. A lot of our time was spent on the patio doing our cross-stitch. We also watched some movies and even a 12 part RinTinTin. We saw some falls close to the resort and also walked around a small mall in Franklin, North Carolina. It rained about half of the week. We enjoyed fresh Georgia peaches and corn-on-the-cob.

BAYSE, VIRGINIA
We left Dillard on Saturday, August 1 and drove to Bayse, VA. As we left the area we enjoyed the beautiful low white clouds in the valleys of the mountains.
As we drove into Highland, NC we saw a bear that crossed the road right in front of us. We drove from Georgia, through North Carolina, through Tennessee and into Virginia. We stayed in a two bedroom, two bath, 2 floor unit. Actually the second floor was like a loft and we used that for our bedroom. There was even a sauna.

We did quite a bit of exploring from here. One day we went to Front Royal and did a town walking tour which included many historic buildings and this clock.
We then entered the Shenandoah National Park at the north entrance and drove about 30 miles along what is called Skyline Drive. The view was nice but very hazy.

We went to the covered bridge which is about 15 miles from the resort. We also stopped at the Route 11 Potato Chip factory.
The chips can now be found in Cracker Barrel’s and yes we did get to sample them.


There was no cell phone or internet at our unit but there was a good hot spot at the library which was also the airport.


There was even a plane that landed when we were there.

We also found good roadside vegetable and fruit stands. We really enjoy fresh veggies.

We took a trip to the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park and then visited James Madison’s Montpelier.
We continued to Rockville to visit with Richard and Teresa. It was lovely to see them and we had a pleasant afternoon/evening. It was a very long day with a long drive back at night but we were so thankful that we were able to visit.

At the end of the week we had one night that we spent in New Jersey at Sandy and Frank’s. It had been a year since we had seen them and it was great to visit. Coleen even got to go to 2 quilt shops with Sandy. We also were able to worship with them on Sunday morning.

July 2009

NASHVILLE - We relaxed and unwound in Nashville even though Debby did keep us a little busy. We spent time with the Sammons,





went to a concert in the park for 4th of July (it rained),



to Bible study, church and Sunday school. We had hair appointments and dentist appointments. We repacked the van and tried to organize, at least somewhat. We got to ride in Debby’s “new to her” car since her Saturn died the day before we got back. We were very bad and didn’t even take many pictures. We left Nashville on Wednesday, July 8 and spent three nights in a Wyndham timeshare in Villa Rica, Georgia.
GEORGIA We walked, read, did computer and relaxed. During the Wednesday travel day I determined that “the agony of travel consists of the movement from place to place using any mode of transportation”. As much as I love to go there is still not a mode of transportation that I enjoy or even remotely like.

DESTIN, FLORIDA We arrived in Destin, Florida on Saturday, July 11. It was beautiful, hot and busy. We spent two weeks and Phil, Susan and James were able to spend about 4 days with us.


Unfortunately they had to leave early because her father was to have emergency surgery. We had a couple of days of rain but spent some time on the beach and at the pool. We also tried to do some walking in the mornings or evenings.

We ate fish and shrimp most days. My back was quite sore a couple of days and Phil got me started on Mafia Wars. By the end of the 2 weeks I was walking a little better and still feeling stronger.

Narrow Boat Trip

OK, so I took two months to start writing again. But we have lots to tell so hopefully you will have fun reading. We took a train from Nottingham to Long Eaton which was only about a 20 minute ride. Then it was a taxi to the Sawley Marina. We received lots of paperwork when we checked in, a notebook with information and a folder with additional information. We were taken to “our” narrow boat timeshare for the week.
We watched a 50 minute video on the details of the boat, what it contained, how to operate it and how to operate the locks. Then we had some hands on training including tying a knot.

The boat was about 10 feet wide and 45 feet long, hence the name narrow boat.
It was fully equipped with 4 burner gas stove with oven, microwave, refrigerator, hot water,






bathroom with shower and in the bow a king size bed which was the width of the boat so we had to get in from the end.
The boat ran on diesel power with 4 batteries to provide the electric power. It is steered from the back with a tiller. Bob had the easy job and operated the boat. He had to empty the bilge each morning and turn the crank on the grease gun.
We also had to add water each day.

I operated the locks.

DAY 1 - It was a tough day and I was not feeling well. I had gotten up with a sore throat. We picked up a few items in the marina store but they didn’t have much. Then we were taken out of the marina by one of the staff. He got off the boat after we entered the canal. We were then on our own. We started down the canal, went into the river for a short way and then into the Trent and Mersey Canal.
The canal system was built in the 1700’s for transport from the country to the cities. It is operated by the British Waterways. The top speed we could travel was about 4 mph and so we began our trip. We hadn’t gone very far when we came upon the first obstacle
– our first of 12 locks (one way). We went a total of about 24 miles one way and then came back. There were 6 double locks in which two boats could go through side by side
and 6 single locks which means we went through a total of 24 locks.





The process was not complex but had a specific order in which to do each thing.
1. Bob pulls the boat close to shore so I can get off and he can wait while I check the traffic in the lock.



2. If no other boats then I check the water level. If the level is the same as our boat then I can open the gate. If not I need to let the water out (pretend we are going up). To open the paddles I use my windlass to crank them open.
Bob has to hold the boat very firmly as it tends to move easily with the water surge coming from the lock.




3. When the water levels are the same I then lean against the gate and open it for him to bring the boat into the lock. To open the second gate I have to walk across the other two gates at the other (forward) end of the lock and around to the other side.




4. I close the paddles while he is bringing in the boat and then close the gates behind him reversing the walk around order.

5. Then I use my windlass to open the paddle on the forward gates of the lock which lets the water flow into the lock so it becomes full and the same level as the new section of canal.


6. Again I just lean against the long wooden arm and when the water levels are the same the gate pushes open easily.

But I do have to walk across the water again now on the rear gates in order to open both of the gates so Bob can move the boat out of the lock.



7. When he has the boat through, he moves to the side and waits for me because I must close the gates behind us. We don’t have to change the water level but all gates are to be left closed and all paddles are to be down.
8. Then I make sure that I have my windlass and get back on board.

Whew. That accomplished we can continue traveling on the canal.

Now actually it wasn’t too hard because often there were other boaters and everyone helped. It was especially nice if you met someone coming from the opposite direction because then you didn’t have to close the gates when you left. There were a couple of difficult times and Bob did have to help me because my back just couldn’t do it but otherwise I did ok.

The first night we tied up at Shardlow

and only did the one lock for the day. We could moor anywhere along the tow path side as long as it wasn't at a lock or close to a bridge.

The tow path side is public property and there were folks walking, jogging, riding bikes and walking dogs all along it.
We ate a lovely meal at a pub in the little village. I slept almost 12 hours and got up feeling much better.

DAY 2 – We did 5 locks total and went about 10 ½ miles. We traveled from Shardlow, Weston, Swakestone, Stenson to just short of Willington and moored for the second night. We again found a great pub and then a small grocery where we picked up a couple more items. We saw many mud hens


and one was sitting on her nest. We saw a swan with 7 grey babies

lots of ducks


and other animals.


We didn’t realize how popular the narrow boats were. Many folks own their own boat and each was decorated and painted quite fancily. They all also seemed to have pots of flowers on top as well as some herbs.

DAY 3 – It was a sunny and hot day.
We had a nice long stretch with no locks from Willington to Barton-Upon-Trent. Then we had 6 single locks. At one of them we had to wait over and hour in line to go through the lock. It was busy.

It was a long day as we didn’t moor until 7pm in Alrewas. We went a total of 12 miles and this part of the canal didn’t have as much tree cover so we were in the sun. What was really neat was that the next to last lock was the one we crossed over off of the dual carriageway to go to Wychnor Park. So we were in the same area but had only driven quickly through Alrewas.

DAY 4 – We spent the day moored in Alrewas and walked around the town. We found a small butcher shop and bought a few more groceries for cooking in our kitchen. We spent the rest of the day resting, reading and playing Tic.

DAY 5 – We walked to the post office to get stamps right before leaving and heading back down the canal. We traveled all day and went through 6 locks. We moored in the countryside away from all the towns and the evening was very nice and very quiet.

DAY 6 – We didn’t leave until after 11 and it started raining in the afternoon which was not fun. We did 3 locks and the last one was in the rain. And I was not careful. We had shut the hatch to keep the rain out and I forgot as I came up and really whacked my head. Not good. We moored again in the countryside all by ourselves
and had a relaxing evening.


DAY 7 – Today was the last day on the canal. We went through the last three locks and made it to the Sawley Marina by 1 pm. They were able to bring us into the marina so we spent the last night on board the boat but in the marina itself.

We checked out by 9 am and then took a taxi to the train station where we went from Long Eaton to St Pancras International train station. We changed there to the underground but of course they were doing maintenance and we had to go on the Picadilly Line to Picadilly Circus, then the Bakerloo line to Paddington Station and then got a train to Heathrow airport of course hauling all of our luggage with us. We got a bus from Heathrow to the Marriott where we ate and went to bed. We had a 9:30 flight which turned into about 1pm as there was a maintenance problem with our plane and we had to take another one. But it all went smoothly and we were back in Nashville before 10pm.

Our almost 5 weeks in Great Britain was over and most of it was great. I am sure that we will go again and hopefully the next time we can go to Scotland and of course Ireland.