2016 Road Trip Summary

2016 Road Trip

May 28 thru November 13, 2016

The blue line traces our approximate route through Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario,Canada, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, back through Illinois and to our hometown, St. Louis, Missouri.

During this almost 6 month journey, we encountered a lot of interesting places and things. We also had to bypass some other places that sounded just as interesting.  I have been overwhelmed by the beauty and the history of this Great United States.  

In Wisconsin, I was introduced to Cheese Curds.  How have I lived so long without knowing them?  I also learned that there are a lot of cool waterfalls in WI, chipmunks are cute, but they really bug Abby, the dragonfly must be their state bird, Lake Superior is huge, and when it gets cold, mice like to come inside our RV.  We have repellent now.  

Aw, Michigan... wish we could have stayed longer and seen more of the state.   We did see friends and spend time on the shore of Lake Michigan at Grand Haven. There's a  town named Holland with a windmill, that was cool.  MoTown in Detroit brought back memories of my youth.  The Ford Museum is a must see.  Family outside Detroit made that part of the trip complete.

New York New York.... What a large state.. Niagara Falls is as amazing as advertised and you don't have to be on the water to get wet.  MapQuest is not always right, sometimes there are simpler routes.  There are some really old locks (the boat kind) in Lockport, NY. Hyde Park and The Roosevelt family history, especially Eleanor, is really amazing.  I also discovered, the hard way, that it is not advisable to leave a cup of coffee in the microwave while traveling.  

New Hampshire....  We didn't go north into New Hampshire, maybe another trip.   We happened upon the little town of Exeter, there we found a museum where we got to see one of the Purple Hearts awarded by George Washington during the Revolutionary War.  A trip to Portsmouth to Prescot Park was well worth the time.  Mostly we drove south into MA.

Historic Massachusetts.....Salem, Lexington and Concord, Boston, The Kennedy Family, Cape Cod, Provincetown, Dighton Rock, Plymouth Rock, Sandwich Glass,  the Metro system, Too much to talk about.  They have signs along the smaller roads that say "Thickly Settled", I sure didn't know what that meant.  A local said that they were a sign of a speed trap.  Actually, they are suppose to mean that the area is densely populated and you should slow down.  Other than those areas, I found that speed limit signs were just a suggestion and if you obey them, you will annoy the locals.  On the other hand, it seems that you must come to a near complete stop on entrance ramps to the freeway.  A little extreme, I think.  As we drove across MA, there were Dunkin Donut signs at just about every highway exit, by the time we got to Boston, I wanted a donut. Never have I seen so many Dunkin Donut shops.  Well, they are headquartered outside of Boston in Canton, MA.  BTW, I didn't get my donut fix until much later.  I did, however get some Cape Cod Potato chips when we toured that factory.  Time with my great nephew and his family rounded out the stay here.

Rhode Island... Had dinner and walked around Providence with family.  Definitely a cool little town.  Trying to find a place to stop and have a picnic lunch brought us to a little memorial to the soldiers of RI who fought in the Revolutionary War. 

Pennsylvania... Hershey PA has a lot more than Chocolate, Milton Hershey was quite the philanthropist.  Worth the trip to learn about this man.  Harrisburg, PA.... State Capital is amazing, the National Civil War Museum, Hunter Mansion and Park, and the Susquehanna River are all great sites to see here. Not far from Harrisburg is Three Mile Island Nuclear Power plant. It's a good idea to learn about the history of this place and the scare of nuclear meltdown in 1979.  For more history of the Civil War, Gettysburg National Military Park is the place to visit.  You can see the Cyclorama describing the battle and then tour the battleground and see where it all took place.  Dwight D. Eisenhower built his retirement home here when he left the military only to be asked to run for president.  He tried to spend as much time here as possible.

Virginia...We had reserved a site in a Shenandoah Valley RV park.  When we arrived, we noticed there were many rabbits, (not an exaggeration to say there were hundreds) roaming around (they drove Abby crazy) and we had no WIFI, which Donna needs to work. We received a refund and left there and settled in at a different park.  If you are ever in the area, a must see is the Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National park. It runs along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the views are spectacular.  We also went to Staunton, VA and the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum.  It is supported by a private foundation and was established before the National Archives took over the maintenance of presidential libraries. He had his second stroke while in office and his then wife, Edith, hid the severity of it and made decisions in his name.  She is sometimes referred to as "the first woman president".

 We are nearing the end of our 2016 trip and need to visit St. Louis to vote in the election and then get out to Arizona for the winter. I hope you have enjoyed my blog this year.  We will begin our 2017 travels in the spring.