Wandering America
September 2008
| Good Friends
are Everywhere As we were planning to leave New Hampshire we learned of a couple, whom we knew through the RV-Dreams Forum, that were staying at a campground just outside of Scranton, Pennsylvania. We contacted them and they gave us directions to where they were so we spent the night with them at How Kola Campground. They followed the tradition of "no cooking on travel days" and prepared a wonderful dinner for us - how nice was that? Thanks Tom and Paula, we look forward to seeing you guys again in the future.  The
following morning it was off to Gettysburg in the rain no less. We had to wait
a little while before heading out to allow some "severe" thunderstorms to pass
by but we left with it still raining. It slowly cleared as we made our way
southwest toward Gettysburg, however, we continued to run into pockets of rain
along the way. We stayed at Artillery Ridge Campground in Gettysburg (just a
stones throw from the National Park's new Visitor's Center).
The Hersey RV Show We drove from Gettysburg to Hersey where we met up with Randy and Terry at the RV Show. As Terry would say, our conversation just picked up from right where it left off last March - didn't even miss a beat. It began with hugs and took off from there. The first thing on my agenda was a potty break so we headed for the Giant Center where we immediately found the Lake George Escape/Encore booth being manned by one of our old work mates, Matt. Being that we are no longer employees, Judy and I were allowed to "spin the wheel" and won a gift certificate for a one week stay at one of Encore's Florida resorts for $199 (we get to choose out of about six or seven resorts). From there we began visiting fifthwheels, then looked at some Lance truck campers, and finally the park models. Randy and Terry are thinking of setting up a park model at their summertime campground in Pennsylvania. Judy and I are just looking at future possibilities when we finally decide to settle down (don't worry - we still have a lot of traveling to do yet). The high end fifthwheels are nice but we were really impressed with the Landmark by Heartland. It is very well built mid priced fifthwheel with a lot of features that are usually found only on the higher end units. There are also some features that we didn't find on any of the other fifthwheels. If we were in the market today, the Landmark would be on the top of our short list. Terry summed it up quite appropriately though - "ours has a feature that none of these have - it's paid for!" Can't argue with that logic. After we finished "kicking the tires" of RVs we headed inside to see what the vendors were offering. You know, we've finally gotten to the stage where there really isn't anything that we are needing or wanting (other than a couple of kayaks) and nothing at the show jumped up and said "take me home". After four hours of wandering about the show our tummies were saying "feed me, feed me!" So we headed out to Applebee's for a burger, good friendship, and lots of laughs. Yep, we enjoy Randy and Terry's company and look forward to our next meeting (which, by the way, will occur before the end of this Travelogue). On our way home Judy snapped this picture of a bridge crossing the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It kind of looks like bridges that you'd find in Europe.  Two Generals, Two Strategies, and Location, Location, Location It was the end of June, 1863, in a small farming community in south central Pennsylvania. The weather had cooperated and the crops were in the ground with some already ready for harvest. Farmers were going about their business not knowing that in just a few days their lives would be changed forever. General Robert E. Lee, wanting to bring an end to the war, was leading his forces north along the Shenandoah Mountains with a plan to engage the union army on their own soil. The confederate forces had grown in discipline and strength and Lee felt that by defeating the enemy on his own turf then turning toward Washington D. C. would force them to surrender thereby ending the war.  Mean while, on June 28th a messenger was searching for Major General George Meade who was in command of the Fifth Army Corps, that was part of the Army of the Potomac, which was concentrated at Frederick, Maryland. General Hooker had resigned his command of the Army of the Potomac and the messenger was dispatched with Meade's appointment as the new commander. "I have been tried and condemned", the surprised general remarked after receiving word of his appointment. The day after his appointment Meade sent troops heading north in search of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia which was located west of Gettysburg. Being vastly out numbered, his strategy was to seek out the high ground and fight a defensive battle. By the end of the first day of battle, General Meade was able to establish his army in a line that stretched from Culp's Hill, across Cemetery Ridge, and south to Little and Big Round Tops which is referred to as a fish hook. But, it was basically a "circle your wagons" defense with the Calvary Corps of the Army of the Potomac defending the rear (the points between Culp's Hill and the Round Tops). This location provided General Meade and his troops the leverage they needed to win the Battle at Gettysburg against General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Location, location, location.  General Meade rode onto the scene just as the last shots died away and was informed by a staff officer that the southerners had been whipped. His army had done the unthinkable- beaten Robert E. Lee and the best troops he could throw at them. The tired general managed to utter a hoarse "Hurrah!", then rode on to inspect the line. Lee realized his army could no longer remain in Pennsylvania. Returning to his headquarters, he dictated orders for the army to withdraw, retreat to the Potomac River, and return to Virginia. "Too bad, too bad," a staff officer heard the general say in his discouragement. "Oh, too bad." While we were at Gettysburg we took an interpretive walk called the Cemetery Ridge Walk with Ranger Carlton Smith who gave us an excellent run down of the battle that took place on July 3rd, 1863. It it was a 90 minute lecture/walk which included Meade's Headquarters, Cemetery Ridge, and the High Water Mark. Ranger Smith's talk was from General Meade's perspective. The next day we did a drive around the battlefield and stopped at General Lee's position on that July day.  General Meade selected the widow Sikes' homestead as his headquarters. It sets just behind Cemetery Ridge and out of the view of the Confederate Army.  General
Lee's Headquarters was in a farm house near Seminary Ridge which is just west of
Gettysburg.
 Below are
pictures of the battlefield where Pickett's Charge took place on July 3rd, 1863.
The first picture is from General Meade's vantage point and the second picture
is from General Lee's vantage point. The third picture is at the High Water
Mark at the Corps of Trees where the Confederate Army's advance was halted on
that day.
  One Last Battle for Gettysburg He was Thirty-five years old when the Civil War broke out in 1861 and by October of that year he just knew that he had to enlist in the Union Army to "fight for the cause". Born in Monroe, Maine where he grew up, continued to live, and raise his family as a farmer, George Washington Riley was about to embark on a mission where he would see more than his fair share of pain and suffering. He became part of the First Maine Calvary which served primarily in Northern Virginia. In the July of 1863 the First Maine Calvary was part of the Calvary Corps of the Army of the Potomac and was just arriving at Gettysburg under the command of General David M. Gregg. On July 3rd General Gregg's was ordered by General Meade to protect the rear flank of the Union Army at a position along Hanover Road (now known as East Calvary Field which is east of Cemetery Ridge).  Brig. General George Armstrong Custer (of Custer's Last Stand fame), who was in command of the First Michigan Calvary. was, also, under General Gregg's command and took up a position on the high ground of East Calvary Field. General Lee had ordered Colonel J.E.B. Stuart to attack the Union Army on Cemetery Ridge from the rear at the same time as Pickett's charge was taking place on the front lines. However, Col. Stuart was late getting into position and then encountered the General Custer's brigade on East Calvary Field.  Here is a short historical account of the battle at East Calvary Field the afternoon of July 3rd, 1863. Stuart successfully marched east of Gettysburg and turned his force south where they encountered a strong Union cavalry force blocking the Hanover Road. A spirited battle ensued with troopers of both armies fighting on foot and horseback. Southern charges meant to slice through the Union line were stopped cold by Union cavalrymen led by Brig. General George Armstrong Custer. His attempt to raid the Union rear thwarted, Stuart withdrew and retired toward Gettysburg. Therefore, my great-great grand father, George Washington Riley, and the First Maine Calvary fought along side of Brig. General Custer on East Calvary Field that day in what would be the final battle at Gettysburg. He would continue to see many more battles before the end of the war and his "mustering out" of the Army in June of 1864.  (Note: The all italiced references above were taken from GoToGettysburg.com)
The Gypsy Journal Rally We left Gettysburg heading for the first Eastern Gypsy Journal Rally. The rally was hosted by the Publisher of the Gypsy Journal newspaper, Nick Russell, and his lovely wife "Miss" Terry. The sight was at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celina, Ohio. There were around 120 rigs which meant about 240 people in attendance.   We arrived on Sunday around noon time and by two o'clock the remnants of Hurricane Ike were upon us with winds up to 60 MPH and a couple of gusts close to 70 MPH. We pulled our slides in and sat out the storm which lasted about three hours with the most intense winds being toward the end of the storm. At one point some sheet metal roofing, which was stacked along side one of the buildings, started making its way toward our RV. I dawned my work gloves and went out to retrieve it being careful to stay down wind of it. Our neighbor, Bev, came out to assist me in getting all of the pieces (which were 3' by 12') around the upwind side of the building and then we put a heavy beam on top of them to hold them down. The winds from the hurricane picked up dirt and dust from the farmlands that surround the area and deposited it all over the truck and the rig - what a mess, it finally got washed off after we got to Nashville.   Monday, about noontime, Randy and Terry arrived and, as always, it was a joy to see them again. It had been almost a week since we saw them last at the Hersey RV Show. We spent some time together each day while at the rally. It will be December or January before we see them again at Rainbow Plantation. 
The rally kicked off Monday afternoon with Nick being in rare form and "Miss" Terry being sort of shy. We had lots of laughs and were introduced to the seminar staff along with the vendors (some of which were both). During the two hour break we went with Randy and Terry to a local Mexican Restaurant for dinner - the food was okay but the friendship was great. Then it was back to the rally for the first drawing of door prizes. There were several of us who follow Howard and Linda Payne's website RV-Dreams at the rally so we began seeking each other out. Each morning started with a "continental breakfast" which is where we met Bob and Molly on Tuesday. Then Tuesday evening at the door prize drawing we met up with Jon and Kathleen, later that evening Judy and I joined them at there place. The other couple was Randy and Terry and, as you know, we had already found them. We attended several of the seminars through out the week, enjoyed gatherings each evening (with a pizza party and live entertainment on Wednesday evening), meandered around the vendors' booths during the break times, and visited with friends (old and new alike) each day. What a great way to spend a week.   
 This being our first rally we can say with
certainty that they are a lot of fun and worth attending.
We are looking forward to the Escapee's
Escapade in May of 2009 in Missouri.
On Friday morning we departed the Mercer County Fairgrounds heading for Nashville, Tennessee where we will be workamping at Nashville KOA until the end of November. Here are some pictures of new friends that we made at the Rally.    Back to the Beginning When we "hit the road" two years ago one of our first destinations was to Nashville, Tennessee to workamp at the Nashville KOA. Well, here we are finding ourselves returning to the Nashville KOA to do workamping again. We will be here for at least two months and have a great schedule which will allow us to visit our children and grand children every weekend. Plus, we have our mornings off which will give us time to finish several projects while we are here - the first one of which was washing the grime off our vehicles that Hurricane Ike deposited on them in Ohio. Of course, it's all about grand daughters so that was one of the first things we did. Kalina Marie Patterson was born on July 1, 2008 and this was the first time we had gotten to see her so, naturally, here are some pictures.  Here's a
couple of proud grand parents with their newest grand daughter (come on, smile
grandpa).
 Grandma is just as happy as a tornado in a trailer park holding her two grand daughters.   When we passed through the area last April we saw Matthew and Jackie's new home being framed up. Well, they moved in last July so we got to see the finished product but didn't stop and think about taking some pictures so you'll just have to wait until October's Travelogue to see them. Until next time, Take Care, Have Fun, and God Bless. |