Day 27, August 5, Tuesday, Shartlesville, PA (331 miles)

After 6 days in Massachusetts we departed for a travel day on our way to Harpers Ferry, WV.  We were on the Mass Pike, a toll road, the condition of which was awful.  After 50 miles of bouncing around on the sorry excuse for pavement our front sun shade came crashing down.  Fortunately it did not impair my view much since it was rolled all the way up.  We stopped at a “parking area” (not a “rest stop” since it had no facilities) to figure out a solution.  I left a voicemail and a text for my Tampa RV guy.  I called Tiffin Motorhome and waited on hold for awhile.  The issue was 3 wires connected to the shade which were holding up one end of the shade.  I suspected I had to cut the wires to remove the sun shade but I did not want to leave the privacy shade inoperable if the wires also worked the privacy shade.  The service tech at Tiffin had to put me on hold several times to get an answer about the wires but made a suggestion to zip tie the shade all the way up.  My Tampa RV guy also called and confirmed the zip tie solution and recommended not to cut the wires.  I carry zip ties and tied up the shade with Rosemary’s invaluable assistance.  This will make for an easier fix when we return home and avoid any electrical issues.  The delay was about an hour and we did not get to the campground until 7 pm.  We checked into Appalachian RV Resort (FHU)  in Shartlesville, PA. 

Day 28, August 6, Wednesday, Harpers Ferry, WV (142 miles)

We checked in to the Harpers Ferry / Civil War Battlefields KOA Holiday (FHU) about 1:00.  After lunch we, visited the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park which is right next door to our campground.  We parked at the Visitor Center and took the park bus to the lower town, Harpers Ferry.  Harpers Ferry consists of the historic buildings that are part of the National Park and adjacent other buildings that are private commercial and residential buildings.  The town is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and is a very pretty area.  We walked to the overlook of the rivers and crossed the bridge over the Potomac into Maryland.  The bridge happens to be part of the Appalachian Trail.  Walking back to West Virginia, we walked all around the entire town.  We stopped at many of the historic buildings and there was much history to read.  We saw the John Brown Fort which was reconstructed from the original as it was moved several times.  The park buildings close at 5 pm so we did not get to see it all but we will be here tomorrow as well. 

Day 29, August 7, Thursday, Harpers Ferry, WV 

This morning we did the Park’s self-guided battlefield driving tour.  We visited all 5 battlefields and read the plaques describing the history of the area.  The area was strategically valuable given the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.  The area changed hands between the Union and the Confederacy numerous times.  In the afternoon we went back to the lower town and viewed the John Brown Museum.  The museum did a very detailed job of describing the life of John Brown, the town of Harpers Ferry which housed a Federal Armory and John Brown’s raid in October 1859.  The goal of the attack was to seize the armory to arm enslaved people and spark a rebellion to end slavery.  The attack failed and John Brown was hanged with several others who participated and survived the raid. In his time, John Brown was considered a hero by the  Abolitionists but a terrorist by those supporting slavery.  After the museum, we decided to take another walk to Maryland on the Appalachian Trail bridge across the Potomac.  After the park, we drove from West Virginia through Virginia and into Maryland and back into Virginia to access the Potoma wayside to see a waterfall.  It was not an impressive waterfall.

Day 30, August 8, Friday, Salem, VA (211 miles)

Late start to a travel day.  We arrived at Dixie Caverns just before 5 pm and checked into one of its rv sites (FHU).  Missed the last caverns tour but welcomed a little relaxation.

Day 31, August 9, Saturday, Hendersonville, NC (250 miles)

Departed Salem, VA, and arrived and parked at the house of my sister Staci and brother-in-law Jon about 3:30.  Dinner was chicken on the grill, salad and homemade cornbread.  My niece Avery joined us to dinner.  After dinner was a couple games of cribbage with Avery.

Day 32, August 10, Sunday, Hendersonville, NC 

Lunch at Umi, Japanese Fine Dining, was bento boxes.  The afternoon was spent at Burntshirt Winery.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather on the outdoor covered patio while we sipped on some wine.  I had the Cabernet Sauvignon which was very good.  On the way back home we stopped at El Rio, an ice cream shop where I picked up some mamey pops (my favorite) to take back to Tampa.  Light dinner with cold cuts and bagels.  After dinner was a game of cribbage with Avery.

Day 33, August 11, Monday, Hendersonville, NC 

After lunch, Jon and I went to the Appalachian Pinball Museum on Main Street in downtown Hendersonville while the girls went shopping.  For a flat fee of $13, one can play pinball all day long.  The museum has both contemporary and vintage pinball machines, some dating back to the 1960's.  I lost track of the amount of time we spent there but after we left I did notice my hands hurt from all the flipper pressing.  Back at the house we walked to and along the Ecusta Trail.  We visited the Ecusta Market & Café where I purchased some local chow chow, bread and butter pickles and salsa.  Next stop along the trail was the Trailside Brewing Company.  Jon and I enjoyed the beers (I had the Red Sunset, an amber ale, while Jon had the Nitro Stout) while the 4 of us sat and relaxed the afternoon away.  Dinner at home was BBQ ribs from Hubba Hubba Smokehouse which we picked up the day before.  We bought 3 racks but I got rationed since Jon did not reheat all 3 racks.  I had to settle for 7 ribs but they were so good that no sauce was needed.  My rating is a 9 out of 10.  And best of all, I got another dinner worth of ribs to take with us. 

Day 34, August 12, Tuesday, Brunswick, GA (358 miles)

Travel day.  We said our goodbyes after a great visit with family and checked into Coastal RV Resort (FHU) about 5:30. An after dinner walk around the campground as I got reacquainted with real southeastern humidity.  And I thought Montreal was hot!

Day 35, August 13, Wednesday, Tampa, FL (246 miles)

Travel day to home.

 Day 22, July 31, Thursday, Bellingham, MA 

We drove to our nephew Jamie’s new house about 20 minutes away and met with Kathy and Bob, Rosemary’s sister and our brother-in-law.  We had lunch at the Medway Café were we also met with our sister-in-law, Amy.  Amy recently lost her husband Johnny, Rosemary’s brother.  After lunch, we all visited Johnny’s grave site at Lake Grove Cemetery.  The three girls spent hours talking at the cemetery with a light rain and a cool temperature.  We said our goodbyes to Amy and it was time for dinner.  We had Jamie join us at the Lilac House Chinese Restaurant.  After dinner we returned to Jamie’s house and met Jamie’s fiancée Amy (not our sister-in-law also named Amy).  The engagement began just this past Saturday when Jamie popped the question.  

Day 23, August 1, Friday, Bellingham, MA 

We spent the morning with Kathy and Bob at Jamie’s house.  Jamie joined us in the afternoon and we drove to Mashpee on Cape Cod to visit our nephew Brian, his wife Christy and their two kids, Kaiden and Lana, ages 3 and 1.  Christy cooked a good spaghetti and meatball dinner.  A lot of catching up since we had not seen Brian and Christy since their wedding in 2019.  Also a lot of playing with the kids.  A wonderful day with family.

Day 24, August 2, Saturday, Bellingham, MA 

Rosemary and I drove to Boston today about 47 miles from our campsite.  We parked at a parking garage near Faneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace and arrived about noon.  The Marketplace was jam packed with people and we quickly decided to move on.  We walked to the North End which includes Little Italy.  Our first stop was to famous Mike’s Pastry.  We tried on a prior visit to Boston to go there but the crowd and line was way too long.  Today the line was only about a dozen people outside the door so we waited.  However, once inside the place was packed but we waited it out and bought a chocolate chip cannoli, an almond croissant, a rainbow cookie and an almond biscotti.  We then walked to Villa Francesca for lunch.  We had eaten there before and had a good experience.  Rosemary and I shared a salad and the chicken parmagiana.  The portions were huge and delicious.  We ate it all and both of us were stuffed.  We continued walking around and found a nice shady bench to eat our cannoli.  The cannoli was very big and I would rank it as the best one I have ever had.  We spent the afternoon walking around Boston including the Boston Commons and Public Gardens.  The weather was great with a high of 72 and we had a very pleasant day.  The only downside was several traffic slowdowns both coming and going.  Dinner in the coach followed by the almond croissant which disappointingly had an apple filling not almond paste.  

Day 25, August 3, Sunday, Bellingham, MA 

We spent today in Rockport, MA, with Kathy, Bob, Jamie and Amy.  Beautiful weather for our walking around the town.  Lunch at The Fish Shack where Rosemary and I had lobster rolls (no mayo but melted butter on the side) which were piled high and delicious.  The lobster rolls looked so good we dug right in and forgot to take a photo which has happened at quite a few meals on this trip.

Day 26, August 4, Monday, Bellingham, MA 

A relaxing day with Kathy and Bob.  The afternoon was spent at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlet Mall.  Jamie and Amy joined us for dinner at 110 Grill.  Alas, after dinner we said our good byes.  We our hopeful that we will see Jamie and Amy soon at their wedding.  The time spent with our family was very precious.