Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

We awoke at 4:30 AM this morning to get over to the Balloon Fiesta Park in time to see the Mass Ascension where about 500 hot air balloons from 17 different countries were scheduled to launch into the morning sky over a period of an hour or two. This is THE event to see at the Fiesta! The sun began rising, the sky was clear, the wind was light, and then, almost like magic, you would see balloons begin to inflate all around you. At first, only a few... then a few dozen... then as others began to grow, some began floating into the sky. Before you knew it, the sky was lit up as the morning light illuminated all the balloons and the sky filled with color.

Some of the more unique special shaped balloons (87 of them in total) included a giant cow (not jumping over the moon), Darth Vader, a swarm of bees, a witch and Spongebob Squarepants. What a fantastic way to spend a morning!

Albuquerque, NM

Today, after our ship's memorial service in the Chapel of Kirtland Air Force Base, our group toured the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History where we learned a lot about how atomic energy has been used to develop everything from the fluoroscope x-ray machines to the atomic and hydrogen bombs. Then, in the early evening, we went to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta to observe their Special Shape Glowdio where all of the special shaped balloons were inflated while tethered to the ground, then lit using the gas flames that are used to heat the balloon. We were allowed to walk among them and observe the event really close up and we did so with smiles on our faces the whole time. What an awesomely beautiful jaw-dropping experience!!

Santa Fe, NM

 We are now in Albuquerque, NM to attend my Navy ship's annual reunion. Today, we took a side trip up to Santa Fe to explore some of the southwest's history and culture. The architecture of this area is very unique. This building is one of the museums that surround the town square. In the square proper are many booths manned by the local Native Americans selling their jewelry and other local art. We visited Loretto Chapel which contains the Miraculous Stairway that was built by hand in 1873 and has no visible means of support, yet still stands strong after all these years of use. Simply amazing.

NC Good Sam Samboree in Marion, NC

Our last stop before heading back to Florida was at the NC Good Sam Samboree that was held in Marion, NC. We camped with five other RVs from our Sams-O-Wake club (plus about 275 other RVs from all over) for the week and took part in the many activities these gatherings offer - like playing bean-bag baseball, ring toss, bingo, hide and seek (only kidding on this one!), shopping at vendor booths, enjoying to the evening music performances and waiting to see if we won anything at the Chinese Auction - and we did!

We also took a few side trips early in the week. On Tuesday, our friends Art & Sandy took us to the mountains where we visited Cherokee, NC. This is a touristy area mainly populated by the Cherokee Indian Tribe with most stores and decorations depicting their lifestyle. While there, we went into their humongous casino and spent some time playing the penny slot machines (we're not big gamblers). I didn't win anything but Susan came out over $6.00 ahead. Wow! The next day, we drove up to visit Little Switzerland up in the mountains. It was a beautiful drive but there wasn't much to see in the town itself - especially since the fog was so thick on the mountain tops that we almost missed the town when we got there. Tomorrow, we'll drive home to Florida and prepare for our next big adventure.

Heading South

We spent the following week at another campground near Lancaster to attend an RV club outing with our long-time friends from the Sams-O-Wake club in Raleigh. While we were there, we visited even more fascinating Amish places, ate way too much good food and got caught up with what's happened since we moved away. What a fun time!

Then we headed South to Greensboro, NC to attend the High Lonesome Strings' Fall Camp n' Pick. We have belonged to this bluegrass club for many years and really enjoyed this opportunity to see some old friends, eat some fine country cooking and play some good old bluegrass music with them again.

Strasburg, PA

Another short drive from the campground finds us at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. What a cool place! Inside their humongous building are a wide variety of locomotives from the very first steam carriage (ca. 1825) through the mid-1900s, passenger cars, freight cars, mail cars and cabooses in near perfect condition. They even have an exhibit that looks like an early 20th century passenger depot. You almost fell like you've gone back in time. Outside are even more locomotives (more than 100 of them in all) and various other rail cars. A very impressive collection.

On our way home, we passed through a small town by the name of Paradise, PA. This must really be Paradise since, as this sign shows, there is a very important office here.

Harrisburg, PA

We went to Harrisburg to do some genealogical research into Susan's family. We visited a large cemetery searching for the burial site for one of her relatives. While we didn't find the one we were looking for, we did find some other Facklers (Susan's family name) and even some Cooks (my mother's family).

After returning to our campsite, I noticed that the gate to the Museum of Antique Machinery had been opened for a blacksmith class so I went in and watched them work - notice the hot fire on a collapsible wooden bench - look safe to you? Then I went to look at some of the old steam-powered equipment (like this 1908 Avery tractor) on display. Pretty cool stuff.

Intercourse, PA

A short drive from here is a little town with the most unusual name of Intercourse. It is loaded with a variety of small shops that mainly peddle Amish goods and other local art and foods. One of our stops was at the People's Place Quilt Museum, located in the Old Country Store, where some awesome quilts (this one is called Picket Fence) were on display. The we went across the street to a collection of small shops where a band played to amuse the husbands while their wives shopped. I listened to them a lot. ;-)

Lancaster, PA

We started the day by taking a Segway tour of downtown Lancaster, Our tour guide provided us with a lot of local history and showed us many interesting sites such as their local farmers market, several large art murals and lots of old buildings.



Our next stop was at Wheatland, the home of our 15th President, James Buchhanan. The house tour was very interesting and I was even able to get a picture of Susan with our 8th dead President.

Lititz, PA

We took a short trip to Lititz, PA (just north of Lancaster) where we visited the Wilbur Chocolate Company. Local folks say they make the best chocolates. Well, they've been making chocolates here since 1884, so they must know what they're doing. We toured their chocolate museum displays, watched women making chocolates and, of course, bought more chocolate than we should have...but, what the heck, chocolate is supposed to be good for you. I'm not sure if it is really good for you but it sure tastes good! Yum! I agree with the locals.

Kinzer, PA

We're now in southern Pennsylvania where we'll spend the next week and a half - mainly due to the Labor Day holiday (campsites are hard to find). We're in the heart of Amish country and literally surrounded by large Amish farms. Most of the crops are corn but they also grow tobacco and a few other crops interspersed between the rows. The scenery is beautiful. Right behind the campground is the Museum of Antique Machinery which, unfortunately, is closed. This doesn't stop us from admiring some of their collection through the chain-link fence. Besides old farm tractors, there have antique trucks, steam shovels, steamrollers and other heavy equipment. I sure wish it was open.

Nazareth, PA

This was a two stop day - both with surprises. Our first stop was the C. F. Martin & Company guitar manufacturing plant in Nazareth, PA. We took the free, hour-long guided factory tour where we saw all aspects of manufacturing some of the finest guitars in the world (according to some of my musical friends). Some of the more interesting things seen was the largest guitar in the world and watching a giant robotic arm pick up and polish guitar bodies with style and grace. Then we toured the Martin Guitar Museum which contained many interesting instruments including the One Millionth Martin guitar made in 2004.

When we first arrived, Susan had asked someone in the gift shop about buying some strings for her new dulcimer (she broke a string last night). They checked but none were in stock or could be found anywhere. Our surprise came at the end of the tour when a gentleman approached the tour group and asked who the dulcimer player was. He then gave Susan a complete set of Martin dulcimer strings at no charge. That was so nice!

Then we went a few miles down the road to Easton, PA to take a tour of the Crayola Factory. Our surprise here was that the Crayola Factory wasn't a real factory but was a place where kids of all ages could play with Crayolas. Oh well, you can't win em all.

Stockbridge, MA

This morning, we drove back into Massachusetts to see the Norman Rockwell Museum. On display was the complete collection (about 45 years worth) of Saturday Evening Post covers that he had painted plus a large number of his original paintings that covered everything from his early years with the Boy Scouts through the 1960's political art. Each piece had an interesting story to tell. Before leaving, we visited his studio where much of his later work was done. Fascinating...

Then we went to Pittsfield, MA where we toured the Hancock Shaker Village. The Shakers built this village back in the 1770's and, while they no longer exist, have become well-known for their beautiful handmade furniture, chairs, baskets, wooden boxes and other craft items still made by local craftsmen. As we walked the grounds, there were people working in the various shops, fields and barns who answered questions and even encouraged visitors to use some of the tools and machines they use. Another fascinating place.

Presidents in New York

This was a historic day for us - we visited not one, but two, Presidential Historic Sites. Our first stop was in Hyde Park, NY where we visited the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. As proof, here's a picture of Susan with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt relaxing in the fresh air. We also toured Springwood, home of FDR. The tour was most interesting and, besides the usual home stuff, we saw some of the things FDR used to hide his disability (he contracted Polio at age 29 and was paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life). His major contribution to us was Social Security - for which we'll be forever grateful since, without it, we wouldn't be here now.

Then we drove up to Kinderhook, NY to visit the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site. There we toured Lindenwald, where Van Buren lived after being our eighth President. Here is a picture of Susan with another dead President - this one was taken in downtown Kinderhook.

Plymouth, Mass.

We awoke this morning to see the sun after five rainy days. Being such a good birth of our day, we took this as an omen to go see the birth of our country in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Mayflower II was on display at the dock but we didn't take the tour. Instead, we took a stern-wheel boat tour of Plymouth Harbor which gave us a nice overview of the area. Then we walked over to see the actual Plymouth Rock, where our ancestors first set foot on American soil.

Then we went to Plimoth Plantation (that is not a misspelling, just one of the ways the English spelled the place). This interesting walking tour took us to a recreated Wampanoag Homestead where Native American docents explained their life before and after the Pilgrims arrived. Then we walked to a 1627 English Village where costumed role players demonstrated how life for the Pilgrims was back then, from building homes to explaining daily life. All of the people in these villages welcomed questions and gave informative answers. It was fun going back in time.