Sep 24, 2010 - Days 30-31-32 Hagerstown, MD

these are mostly family and good friends photos, some taken by the kids and some taken with my broken camera dropped in photo taking... i have another on order from ebay because it is the only camera that takes great out the window photos as we drive, old, but great and i was lucky to find a good one on the bay for a nice price... you'll see that some photos are blurred on the lower right, those are from the bad camera... some are photos my daughter took... enjoy my some of my family, they are ONE of a kind... our days 30-31-32, kids. camp...

Sep 23, 2010 - Day 29 Hagerstown, MD Camp

day 29 was uneventful driving down I-81 thru penn., one of the prettiest states in the USA for foliage but our trip down from top to bottom was marred with heavy fog/cloudy and road construction - i would suggest taking some other route other than I-81 for the next few years due to construction...it is everywhere... our day 29 photos... http://picasaweb.google.com/108840958615003100265/Day29HagerstownMd# where we are camped... http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39.57769,-77.79785&ll=39.57769,-77.79785&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1 some ot...

Oct 12, 2009 - Saying Good-Bye to Williamsport, MD

I know it’s been a while since I put my two fingers to the key pad but there’s just not the much going on and in all probability this will be the last post from Williamsport. We did manage to get back over to the Antietam Battle Field to do a little more looking around and we went out to dinner with friends Brad and Beth Clawson one evening and had a great time. We did some checking on the Antietam Creek campground host site with the thoughts of returning here again maybe sometime in the near future, 2011 season. The Trolley Barn where Jane...

Sep 29, 2009 - Great Falls & Antietam Battlefield

This past Saturday the Gummy’s saddled up and headed out to find high adventure and to step back in time. We had our daughter Beth and youngest grandson Hunter along with us as we went looking for a lesson in the life style of the eighteen hundreds. Our destination for the day was the Great Falls on the Potomac River. The journey was two fold, first to take a ride on a canal boat at The Great Falls Tavern and to see the Falls on the Potomac River. The Great Falls Tavern and Falls is located about twelve miles up the C&O Canal. The tavern...

Sep 22, 2009 - Ramblings & Pissed

There’s not a lot to talk about since everything at the canal has been SOP the past couple of weeks. The number of visitors is just beginning to drop off and we now have a school group everyday Monday Thur Friday for field trips to the Turning Basin & Canal exhibit. That exhibit will be leaving on October 11th and then it will be like a ghost town around here. We will be finished up here on Oct. 18th and as soon as I can get a appointment at the local Cat Dealership to have a valve adjustment done on the coach we will be heading south. I...

Sep 12, 2009 - Fort McHenry

Stamps while in Williamsport 11, 68 stamps total. Sept. 12, 1814 The successful defense of Baltimore City during the War of 1812. Sept. 12, 2009 Defenders' Day--Commemorates the writing of the "Star Spangled Banner" our National Anthem, and the successful defense of Baltimore. The holiday honors all individuals who contributed to the victory in 1814 - soldiers, sailors, and citizens. Citizens from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds rallied to defend the city from British invasion. They dug entrenchments, made ammunition, and improved...

Sep 11, 2009 - 1300

Sept. 11th -- 8 years has gone by. Where?? The forecast for today was scattered rain showers, and rain we got. The first thing we did today was drive the Honda to The Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center for a canal boat ride. The Tavern is 75 miles from the bus, and we wanted to catch the 11:00AM tour. The Park Service operates the boat ride on a small section of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Two mules use the original towpath to pull the boat along at walking speed, just under 4 miles per hour. One person on the boat steers, and two people...

Sep 10, 2009 - 23,000

It seems that we are doing these couple of days chronologically backwards. Yesterday at Gettysburg it was July 1863. Today at Antietam, it's Sept. 17, 1862. Some of the Confederate players are the same: Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet. A different commander for the Union: George McClellan, appointed by Lincoln for this battle. Next week is the 147th Anniversary of the single bloodiest day in American History!! We arrived at Antietam National Battlefield, MD just in time for a Park Ranger orientation, given on the top of the visitor center....

Sep 9, 2009 - 51,000

For the next couple of days we switch from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. Our first stop today was Catoctin Mountain Park in Maryland. This is a typical mountain park with mostly hiking trails and picnic areas. The early settlers here logged the area pretty heavily. The tree bark was used to make tannin for the tanneries, and the logs were used to make charcoal for the local iron works. The latest claim to fame was the discovery of a large still operation here during prohibition. Our next stop was the Eisenhower National Historic...

Sep 8, 2009 - Two Classic's & A Ponder Bench

The past week at the Visitor Center has been pretty much SOP and busy over the Labor Day weekend. I don’t know why but I was a figuring everyone would be on a picnic somewhere but instead they were all at the canal riding bikes and asking questions. I have been amazed that people right from the area don’t have a clue about the history that resides right in their back yards. Jane had her fair share of visitors to the Trolley Barn with around two hundred or so coming in to see the Americas Canal Exhibits. She had two Civil Engineers that...

Sep 8, 2009 - Williamsport, MD - Day 1

The bus is parked in Williamsport, Maryland at the Jellystone RV Park ========================================================================= Drivers Log: 256 miles this leg, 7967 miles total. Fuel Stop--73.86 gallons @ $2.559 How we got here--See Google Map "Drive to Williamsport, MD" -- A to B 256 miles Stamps in Avon 2, 57 stamps total ========================================================================= Because of a very slow Internet connection here in Williamsport, I am going to try to publish the journal every day while we are...

Aug 27, 2009 - More Canal Pic's & Williamsport Day's

The ole Gumpster is plum tuckered so this is going to be a short blog. Jane and I did some more site seeing along the canal last week and I've been able to get out twice now to play a little golf. Last weekend was very busy for everyone at the canal visitor center with the Williamsport Day's going on Saturday & Sunday. Jane Spent both day's in the trolley barn and had a lot of people participating with the canal exhibits. I spent Friday with others setting up and on the weekend I was all over the town from working the park service tents to...