Our 2021 Review

WE WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2022

We started 2021 at NAS Jacksonville and finally left on January 20th, after 450 days there!!! It was as good a place as any to hunker down during the coronavirus and we were thankful we were able to stay so long but it was time to get on the road.  That in itself was a little daunting.  Getting back into our routine after sitting still for over a year didn't take long though.

We headed West from Jacksonville, Florida to Louisiana, then North as far as North Pennsylvania turning south west through Pennsylvania, Maryland & West Virginia, where we turned east, south east through Virginia, south through North Carolina, South Carolina,  and Georgia before finally getting back to Florida. We travelled 3,920 miles in Lily although we put far more miles on Tilly, our faithful car.

Our Travel Route 2021

Our first stop was our normal two week stay at Mayport watching the ships & dolphins.

Delbert D Black returning to Mayport

One of the many dolphins we saw

After a relaxing two weeks we moved to Madison Golf Course & campground. We had visited this one while at Jacksonville and got a fantastic introductory rate for a month stay. We spent a month here with as much free golf as we wanted and a golf cart for our use.

Bryan playing the whole course

A baby alligator in the small lake in front of the motorhome

Next we headed west to Eglin AFB campground as Bryan had jury duty. A couple of days before he was to appear he got excused. Yay!! 

We left early so we could spend more days at Blue Angel Recreation Park, which as you probably know is one of our favourites. 

We visited the Navy Museum on base in Pensacola again and stopped for a bite to eat in their cafe.

Cafe in Naval Museum at Pensacola

Next stop was a visit with Mom. We had a day out to Kentwood, Louisiana which was founded by Bryan's Gt. Gt. Gt. Grandfather Amos Kent. We visited the very small museum there which had more items about Brittany Spears as it was the town where she was born. Then we went to the cemetery where we found Amos and other family members. It was very interesting walking around as there was a section just for the Kents.

Bryan's Gt Gt Gt Grandparents

Then we went to Camp Moore where we found more Kent information.  The guide there may even be a very distant relation. What an interesting day we had and I think Mom enjoyed it but we may have worn her out.

We left Mom's and started our summer trip heading North. 

While we were at Gunter Hill we saw this Red Cardinal.

Red Cardinal

Prince Philips funeral was held so I watched it.  I'm still a Brit at heart. 

Christina sent me this picture, I love it

and Bryan went to Montgomery Speedway to watch the races which was walking distance across the road.

Our next stop was Lakeside Landing in Alabama. It was another nice park. 

We visited Southern Museum of Flight, a small air museum in Birmingham, Alabama. They were trying to talk Bryan into volunteering with them as they had a F-111 that needed restoring.  His ideal retirement volunteer position.  We seriously considered taking them up on it.  Who knows one day maybe. We certainly wouldn't mind a long term stay at Lakeside Landing.

F111A, needs a helping hand.

We also visited Barber Autosports Museum. It was mainly motorcycles but there were cars as well.

There's also a racetrack here and they have schools where you can take a race car out on the track. They were doing that today.  The landscaping out there is beautiful.

We left Alabama and next stop was Tennessee.

We stayed at Spring City for a week and got our prescriptions refilled which took 5 days. We visited The Lost Sea Adventure in Sweetwater.  We had a boat ride in an underwater cave which involved descending a lot of steps and then ascending them after the ride. We both struggled a little with the uphill climb but made it.

The water was so blue

We also visited Cumberland Mountain State Park which we both thoroughly enjoyed. It was a great place to take pictures.

Next stop was Ozone Falls State Natural Area. Unfortunately we couldn't climb down to walk behind the falls but it was a nice natural area.

                                

We moved on to Sevierville, Tennessee where we stayed at Douglas Headwater Campground. We really liked this campground. We only had 3 nights here and just relaxed and walked around the campground.  

The view from our front window

View from the sites opposite

We left and headed further north and into Virginia which was a new state for Lily.  We had an overnight stay at Fort Chiswell RV Park and had a welcoming committee.

Next we headed to Creekside RV Park in Edinburgh, Virginia where we had a week stay. Although the drive in was a little nail biting, I think it turned out to be one of our more relaxing weeks even though we did do quite a bit. Just backing onto a stream where Bryan could step outside and fish was awesome. 

Taken from behind our site

Yay!! Bryan caught a fish.

While here we drove Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. It was a long drive with lots of scenic overviews but one was much like the next. This is my favorite picture from the drive.  You probably know that because it has been the main picture at the top of my blog ever since.

We visited the Virginia Museum of The Civil War & The Virginia Museum of the Civil War & New Market Battlefield State Historical Park. I will ignore the Virginia Museum of the Civil War and focus on the other two as I feel we were conned into visiting the first one which is explained in the blog. 

The Battle of New Market battlefield was well laid out with detailed explanations of the events. There is a movie Field of Lost Shoes that recreates the battle here where VMI cadets were called into battle. (May 15th, 1864)

                                                  

                                   

We drove through West Virginia and Maryland on our way to Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, where we had a two week stay. We knew there was a lot of Civil War history here that we wanted to see and we weren't wrong.

Touring the battlefields took us two days and there are 8 blogs that cover those days. If you are interested please read the blogs.

North Carolina Monument

Lt. Gen James Longstreet(Confederate)

Little Round Top was one of my favorite parts of the Battlefields. It overlooked Devils Den which was my next favorite. 

General Warren (Union)

Devils Den

Pennsylvania Monument

We also visited Gettysburg National Cemetery where Abraham Lincoln made his famous Gettysburg Address.

We did a tour of the town another day where we visited President Eisenhower's Farm that he used as a retreat, Jennie Wade House, Shriver House Museum, Sachs Covered Bridge, Gettysburg Town & Train Station.

Sachs Covered Bridge

We went for a day trip across state lines to Maryland. We stopped at Catoctin Furnace African American Cemetery and Trail, Cunningham Falls State Park,

Antietam National Battlefield,  & the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Williamsport. It was an awesome but long day, with lots of variety - History, Waterfalls, Canals, Aqueducts, Nature Trails. Read the blogs........

One of our best days out was to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. The park is actually in Maryland, West Virginia & Virginia. We also walked part of the Appalachian Trail here, yay!! It was such a picturesque place with a great variety.

St. Peters Roman Catholic Church in the distance

                                

Where the three States meet

Harpers Ferry Tunnel

We saw Peregrine Falcons in the cliffs above the tunnel.  There are babies there and the trail up there has been closed to protect the babies.

We also got new tires on Lily. The tire company came to the campground to put them on.

It was time to move on and we were going to another new state, Pennsylvania and none other than Fantasy Island Campground for a couple of the nights.  The drive here was beautiful as we followed a river for most of the way. 

Our next stop was Ives Run Campground in Northern Pennsylvania and we would be here for two weeks. We were looking to relax for a while. However almost immediately Bryan's laptop stopped working and we couldn't fix it.  We found a reasonably priced replacement 90 minutes away in New York State and made a successful road trip for a very good bargain. 

View from our campsite, looking through to the lake 

We went on a covered wagon ride to a waterfall in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

Here comes our wagon

It was a beautiful ride

and a nice walk up to a waterfall

We went to Watkins Glen State Park in New York State. We loved it there, it is the most amazing place with a pathway through the gorge and many waterfalls.  Unfortunately I had an episode where I had shortness of breath and it scared me. I knew we had to pace ourselves and we probably wouldn't be able to walk the whole trail.  There were over 800 uphill steps spaced out along the gorge.  We found the quickest way back to our car and slowly made our way back. I was disappointed we didn't see it all but we will return one day.  What we did see was amazing. Here's the LINK to the blog that has many more pictures.

Walking behind a waterfall

What a great two weeks that was. Next we had a month log stay at Woodland, Pennsylvania. We did several day trips.

We visited another cave. Penns Cave also has a boat ride through it.  This one was MUCH better than the one in Tennessee as the boat went through the cave and out the other side to a small lake before returning a different way back through the cave. We definitely recommend this one. Here's a LINK to the blog as there are a lot of pictures and a VIDEO going through the cave.

Going through the cave lead us to this lake which we went around before returning back through the cave.

We visited Gobblers Knob, the home of Punxsutawney Phil. This is where Phil comes out of hibernation every year on February 2nd(Groundhog Day) and we all watch to see if he sees his shadow as he emerges from his burrow. If he does there will be another 6 weeks of winter.

After visiting Gobblers Knob we decided to go in search of "Phil Statues" that have been placed throughout the town.  We had a lot of fun and found 24.

Here's Freedom Phil.

Freedom Phil

On the way home we stopped at McGees Mill Covered Bridge.  

                               

We got to visit our friends Jack & Bev at their summer home and enjoyed meeting their neighbors and catching up. Unfortunately we were so busy catching up we didn't get any pictures. We stayed overnight in a hotel nearby and then went to Williamsport, the home of the Little League World Series on our way home.

Howard J Lamade Stadium

It was amazing to see the field where we watch the kids, on tv, every year compete in the finals.

We also visited Elk Country in the Pennsylvania Wilds, although didn't see any Elk as we were a little early for mating season and I guess they were all sleeping, ha!!ha!! We did see this in the Visitor Centre though.

We also drove to several viewing areas but even using binoculars there were no elk. 😒. I don't think we'll ever beat our Elk viewing in the Smokey Mountains!!

We did save the day by finding a small stream and some waterfalls, yay!!        

Wykoff Run Falls

                                       

It was soon time to move on, that month flew by. On our way out of Woodland Campground I got a picture of the bear trap that had been set up by the dumpster. Bryan had thought he heard growling one night when he went to throw out the trash and a couple of days later this appeared.  The owner told us there had been no sight of the bear since the trap appeared!!

Bear Trap

Our next stop was Hickory Hollow campground where we had another month stay. 

We did a lot of relaxing here but still found time to explore.

We went to Fort Necessity National Battlefield & Museum.

We thoroughly enjoyed the museum. It had a lot of interesting information that was presented in an inviting manner that made you want to read about it.

We went to see the fort re-creation, which was just as interesting.

Fort Necessity

It was blatantly obvious that the Fort was inadequate to defend from the French attacking from the surrounding trees.

Washington Tavern, a stop for travelers on The National Road

Next was a trip to the Old Bedford Village which has a lot of original houses that have been moved here to recreate an old village.  I loved reading about the old buildings.

Biddle House

Interior of Biddle House with a lady in costume dress telling us about living here .

Very close to the campground is the Flight 93 Memorial. Flight 93 was the fourth plane that was supposed to cause destruction in the capital on 9-11. The passengers on the flight stopped that from happening by attacking the cockpit forcing it to crash here. 

"A common field one day. A field of honor forever."

Wall of Names with the Visitor Center & Flight Path Memorial in the distance

A butterfly in the wild flowers here

It was one of the best memorials we have been to, very thought provoking.

We visited Ohiopyle State Park & Cucumber Falls.

Ohiopyle Falls

Bald Eagle at Ohiopyle

Then we went to Cucumber Falls.

How amazing is this!! 

Bryans view from the picture above

Next was a trip to Fallingwater, a famous Frank Lloyd Wright house. The grounds were nice.

Fallingwater, we were not impressed. I know we are in the minority. 😂

We went on a scenic train trip, The Frostburg Flyer, Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. Unfortunately we weren't impressed and didn't find it very scenic. Fortunately this doesn't happen very often!!

Our train

Cows at Hickory Hollow

It was time to move on.......but we got a flat tire on the motorhome and it was one of our new ones.  We got delayed by a day while someone came out to change it. 

It took us a couple of days to get to our next week at Clifton Forge, Virginia.  We went to the Clifton & Ohio Railway Heritage Center. We enjoyed looking around the trains and the small museum.

Bryan imagining driving the train

Next stop was Falling Spring Falls, a magnificent waterfall on private property so we viewed it from the road.

Falling Springs 

and a Humpback Bridge in a picturesque setting.

While we were at the bridge a vintage car appeared. The owner was doing a photo op. We asked permission to take a picture of his car.

We moved on again to Williamsburg, Virginia. 

We went to the U.S. Army Transportation Museum. They had a lot of interesting exhibits.

M29C Amphibious Cargo Carrier, Weasel

This area is well known for its history. We did tours of Yorktown, Jamestown & Fort Monroe. We will return for Colonial Williamsburg as we will be back this way hopefully next year. There is so much to see here and it's about 90 minutes from Ryan, Christina & Trystan.  They came to visit us and stayed overnight.

Model of ship in Museum at Yorktown

Jamestown, where the English first landed in 1607

Old Point Comfort Light at Fort Monroe

                                          

Fort Monroe Battery

Next stop was Little Creek, Virginia where Ryan works. 

Trystans first T-Ball practice this season

Trystan's birthday party where they all made pizza and cupcakes

His first game, fielding, looking the part!

after the game, we went to the Botanical Gardens

We had a good visit but all to soon it was time to move on south. We stopped and visited two lighthouses. We had a tour of the second one which was very interesting.

Roanoke River Lighthouse

1886 Roanoke River Lighthouse

We continued south to our next stop at Pelican Point RV Park on Cherry Point Marine Base. Unbeknown to us they were having an air show while we were there. Having our "house" on base saved us waiting in traffic lines to get in and we actually left before the Blue Angels display and watched it from the RV park.

We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary while we were here and treated ourselves to a 3 day trip to Okracoke Island, part of the Outer Banks. The only way to get there was a ferry trip.

                                          

There's our hotel

Sunset from our balcony

Lighthouse view from our room

Living Room in our suite

The room was amazing. We had an anniversary meal take out from the Fish Restaurant across the road.

The next day we went to visit the lighthouse.

Okracoke Island Light Station

We also stopped at the British Cemetery. The HMS Bedfordshire was a British trawler which was helping to protect the shore in the early part of WWII.  It was sunk by a German torpedo.  All hands were lost and these four were the only bodies recovered.

4 British Sailors from HMS Bedfordshire

We rode another ferry to Hatteras Island, just to see the famous lighthouse there.  

Cape Hatteras Light Station

Our Anniversary Gift to ourselves!!

Our stay ended all too quickly and the next morning we visited Okracoke Museum before boarding the ferry back.

Interesting

Our next stop was Smith Lake Army RV Park at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While there we visited the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum. It covered all of the wars very well.  Of course, Desert Storm directly affected us as Bryan was involved at various times. 

He has this medal, amongst others

We continued south, stopping in Lake City, South Carolina for a few days to catch our breath!!!!

Bryan was eager to see the F-111 that is on display at Shaw AFB, as it was at Upper Heyford at the same time he was, and he worked for the pilot whose name is on it.

                                 

We had a one night stop at Creekfire RV Resort, which was a fun family resort. Our site looked out on the Lazy River, which we didn't go on but it was very tempting.

Before we knew it we were back at Pelican Roost in Mayport, Florida for our 2 week stay before returning to NAS Jacksonville and our work camping job.     

                               

We arrived back at Jacksonville on October 28th and quickly settled in to our duties as camphosts.  We had our covid vaccinations, we had held off until we got back to where we know people, in case we got sick. We were ok apart from some aches and pains for a couple of weeks. The base had fireworks on November 11th for Veterans Day. 

 

We travelled to Ryan & Christina's for Christmas.  It's a 10 hour drive, so we stopped overnight at a hotel on the way there and back.  The journey back was horrendous though as it took us 3 hours just to get through South Carolina!! However, it was worth it as we got to be there and watch Trystan open his presents on Christmas Day.

We visited the Military Aviation Museum there. They'd decorated an old landmine as a Christmas bauble!!!

They also had a small display of dinosaurs there which Trystan loved.

Quick, run before they catch us!!!

Xmas Morning

So, although Covid still affected our travels this year with some places closed, we still managed to travel and see a lot, using the safety of our self contained home to protect us. 

Ian, Kris, Bailey & Kai are settling into a new home that they moved to at the beginning of the year.  

Brenda, John, LeeAnn & Aimee are all well. Aimee is working toward graduation. Ryan, Christina & Trystan are expecting a baby boy in 2022. Trystan is very excited and so are we!!  

Next year we hope to complete our travels and see the remainder of the North East States.

If you've got this far, thanks for staying with me as I wrote War & Peace yet again!!!

We wish you all a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year.

Love & Best Wishes Bryan & Sue