Wednesday, September 26, 2012 Raleigh, North Carolina

Today, Kathy and I hung around the campground until 1:30 pm. We then drove toward Raleigh, North Carolina to the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center, downtown on Salisbury Street.

We are here to attend the annual conference for Association of Rural and Small Libraries.

After cleaning up, Kathy and I walked 5 blocks north to the old capitol building for a little party.  Among the delicacies were homemade potato chips which Gail told us is a common local food. Kathy is intrigued with an upcoming event called "Shuckin' & Shaggin' at the Capitol". Searching Google shows lots of shuckin' and shaggin' on the east coast. I believe the phrase refers to shucking oysters and dancing the Carolina shag. The link goes to a Wikipedia article. Below the article is a link to a two-minute video of a couple shag dancing. Shag Dancing is a type of swing. The Carolina Shag is the state dance of South Carolina.

Gail Santy eventually showed up at the party. We walked back with her talking about library work, food and travel. On the way back we passed a Lebanese restaurant called the Mecca. After this conference, Gail and her family are going to Chincoteague Island as well. We told her about Wallops Flight Facility visitor center.

When we walked into the hotel we met Sharon Sturgis and Harry Willems just finishing dinner in a hotel restaurant.

Tuesday September 25, Kitty Hawk

Today Kathy and I visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk. It is full of great exhibits and some fun sculptures to play around with. The monument on the hill, pictured in the Wikipedia article, is the least interesting thing at the memorial.

There is a museum and a centennial pavilion. Both are worth visiting. The displays do a good job explaining the scientific tasks the brothers had to accomplish to fly. We point they make is that the brothers had to act as scientists, not just inventors. They conducted a series of experiments to discover the shape of wing with the greatest lift and least drag. They invented the wind tunnel for these experiments. We should also recognize that they had to invent not only the wings and the propeller, they also had to invent the engine light enough and with enough horsepower because no engine manufacturers would supply an engine that would meet their specifications for lightness and horsepower.

Chris holds on for dear life during the first flight.

Outside the museum, the hangers and living quarters are reconstructed. Beside these is the reconstructed track used for take off. Stones mark the distances of their first four flights:

1. 120 feet in 12 seconds (6.8 mph).
2. 175 feet in 12 seconds. (9.8 mph)
3. 200 feet in 15 seconds. (9 mph)
4. 852 feet in 59 seconds. (9.8 mph)

If these speeds seem to slow to lift a plane, remember that the Wright Flyer was flying in a strong headwind.

In the pavilion is video showing 2003 attempts at flying reconstructed Wright Flyers. These pilots did less well. One flight was only 97 feet.

On the other side of the Kill Devil Hills monument is a life-sized sculpture of the first flight. People can get up on the sculpture to have their picture taken. Fun.

Monday, September 24, 2012 - From Space to Kitty Hawk

Today, we drove from Chincoteague Island on Virginia's Eastern Shore to Bodie Island on the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

Very soon after leaving camp on Chincoteague Island stopped at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, a part of the Goddard Space Flight Center based in Maryland.

Wallops specializes in suborbital flights with high-flying balloons (20 annually), rockets (25 annually), and high flying airplanes. The balloons are composed of 0.8 mil polyethylene film, i.e., thickness of a sandwich bag, and taller that the Washington monument. They can carry 8,000 lbs. loads to 120,000 feet, i.e., 22.7 miles, and even higher with lighter payloads. They can rise above 99.5% of the atmosphere to even study space. Rockets carry equipment weighing up to 1,200 lbs. from 30 to 800 miles up. Their research includes measuring changes in the ice sheets over the north and south poles, changes in the land and sea temperatures, plant life, the sun and other planets, and testing instruments for use on such flights.

The coolest thing in the visitor center is a large globe that is a screen for projecting movies, called Science on a Sphere. Kathy and I saw a short film about Jupiter. Jupiter's surface on the sphere while a voice describes its features. (YouTube version slightly different) Actually, four projectors project the same film on four sides of the globe. Since you are sitting on one of the four sides watching only one of the projections, this gives the impression that the whole planet is being projected onto the sphere. It was very neat.

As we drove south down highway 13, etc. to the North Carolina Outer Banks, our hearts were warmed by all the "Eastern Shore for Obama" signs.

The Outer Banks are so built up and overcrowded I can't see why anyone would stay here any more. Tomorrow, I want to see the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk and leave.

Addition by Kathy: Wallops also has the distinction of being the facility that sent the first female into space. This was a rhesus monkey name Miss Sam in the early days of the space program! You can also read more about the future of the Wallops Facility in this Washington Post article.

Kathy's childhood memory comes to life... Sunday, September 23, 2012

We really liked the campground at Trap Pond State Park and recommend it to anyone heading that way. According to one of the employees at another Delaware state park, Trap Pond isn't as heavily used, but we thought it seemed liked a great place for a family to go camping. It is not near the Ocean, which is probably why it is not as popular for this area.

Today we finished working our way south through Delaware and entered the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia. This peninsula area of Virginia is not physically connected to the main portion of the state, somewhat like Upper Michigan...

We had planned to go to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but as we entered Virginia I realized that we were almost to Chincoteague Island.

Those that know me know that I have read voraciously since I was taught to read in first grade (good ole Tip!) During my dog and horse phase as a young girl, one of the series I enjoyed was the one that began with Misty of Chincoteague. This is where I learned of the wild ponies on Assateague Island and the annual Pony Penning when "Salt Water Cowboys" roundup the herd from Assateague Island and drive them across to Chincoteague Island during low tide. Some of the ponies are then auctioned to raise funds for the local fire department. You can read more details about the history of this event here (and read the books!).

Chris and I toured both the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service visitor center and the National Park Service visitor center on Assateague Island. Both discuss various aspects of their responsibilities toward the Island and its inhabitants. The FWS displays discuss the local species that are endangered or threatened and the efforts to increase their populations. These include the Piping Plover and the Delmarva Fox Squirrel.

The NPS displays discuss more about the Chincoteague Wild Ponies, since the NPS manages the southern herd on the Island. After visiting both centers, we took the drive out toward the beaches on the Island. During that drive we spotted a couple of groups of the ponies grazing in the distance.

The beaches on the Island are nice and sandy. This may seem to be a "duh" statement, but we were comparing the beach to those we found in Galveston in July while vacationing with Austin. The Galveston beaches were not at all pretty, with rotting seaweed everywhere. They didn't smell to nice either. Although we had fun playing in the Gulf, the beaches were not really conducive to just hanging around.

By contrast, the beaches on Assateague Island were clear of refuse and were inviting. Although we didn't actually go in to swim, we did wade in the Atlantic Ocean and subsequently became quite wet! The tide was coming in and the waves are larger than those we encountered in Texas. Even though the weather is cooler now, it was still not too uncomfortable for late September! We also simply walked along the beach for a short bit.

After finding a campsite in Chincoteague at the Maddox Family Campground, we went further in to town for supper at Bill's Seafood & Steaks and ended with ice cream at the Island Creamery. This was definitely a splurge night and we can't do that too much more!

On to North Carolina tomorrow!

Delaware, the first state... Saturday, September 22, 2012

Today both Chris and I went to Delaware for the first time. Period. That means ever. Over the last few years we've sometimes gone to states for the first time together, but this time neither one of us had ever been here!

We had both forgotten that Delaware was actually the first state in the U.S. It's even printed on their license tags. Another tidbit of information is that they have no sales taxes!

Have you noticed that when you use a road atlas they give Delaware (and other smaller states) a full page. Kansas gets two. So we think of the distances shown on the map as the same scale we are used to. Not true. We did most of the state north to south, from Middletown to Trap Pond State Park. Tomorrow we will go past the southern border, back in to Maryland for a brief spell.

It was interesting driving down the section that might be called "the beaches." This is a skinny section of Delaware running down the east side. From the highway you can see water on both sides, the Atlantic on one side and a couple of bays on the other! We wanted to camp there, but the campgrounds we were hoping to use were already full. We are here at Trap Pond State Park, which is further inland. It looks like it is a pretty good campground, but it was dark when we got here!

It started raining a little while ago, but appears to be tapering off. Today was the warmest day we have experienced on the vacation; even with the rain it may be warm sleeping tonight. (Quite a change from needing the sleeping bag as a comforter a few nights ago!)

We went grocery shopping both at an outdoor farmer's market and a supermarket (called Acme, no less) today and replenished some of our supplies.

All in all a pretty uneventful day. We watched the end of Season two of Deadwood tonight on DVD.

Tomorrow's plans (if you can call them that) is to keep moving south through Maryland and Virginia. We are aiming for Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, for sure.

Friday, September 21, 2012: It's the vision thing

Today we drove into Baltimore.

Our first and major stop was the American Visionary Art Museum. This art is very similar to the grassroot art in Lucas, Kansas, full of color and whimsy. Outside the museum is a large mirror egg I hugged.

The first major piece we saw inside was The Bra Ball, like Cawker City's twine ball, but made of bras donated to the cause.

In the basement, was The Flatulence Post by Bob Benson (scroll down page). I recommend watching the video. This is an exhibit Austin would love.

Each May the American Visionary Art Museum sponsors an annual Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race. One of the museum's out buildings had several entries in this year's race.

After the museum, we followed Google Map instructions through narrow streets to Edger Allen Poe's house and museum. Unfortunately, it was closed.

Then we tried driving out of town east toward Annapolis. We made slow progress through Baltimore's after work traffic.

We are at a KOA camp just outside of town. This camp has a giant jumping pillow that even adults can jump up and down on.

Antietam and Harpers Ferry... Thursday, September 20, 2012

Today we visited Antietam Civil War battlefield and Harper's Ferry. Antietam happened on my birthday, September 17th, 150 years ago. This day is known as the bloodiest day of the Civil War because 23,000 casualties. The federals had 2,108 killed, 9,450 wounded, and 753 missing in action. Other battles had greater casualties, but not in one day.

So the United States had almost 10,000 wounded. Antietam was one of early battles where Clara Barton started traveling to the front lines to care for wounded soldiers. She followed the sound of the cannon to arrive on the northern end of the Antietam battlefield. She brought medical supplies. She and her companions also served gruel to the wounded men still lying on the field.

Historians have always claimed Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg was the high point of the Confederacy. Pickett's Charge may have been the high point of the Army of Northern Virginia, but I think the battle of Antietam was the high point of the Confederacy.

On the military front, Lee had taken command of the Army of Northern Virginia during June 1862. He won the Seven Days Battles June 1862, the Second Battle of Bull Run, August 1962 and was invading Maryland to resupply his army. And rebel forces were planning an invasion of Kentucky which ended at Perryville, October 8, 1862.

On the diplomatic front, England wanted to recognize and support the Confederacy, but were held back because of slavery, a practice England had outlawed 30 years before and the potential of going to war with the United States. However, if the confederates won a major battle on union soil, England would propose negotiating peace between the United States and Confederate States on humanitarian grounds that the war was a stalemate. So if the confederates had won Antietam, they had a chance of winning the war.

When the north won Antietam, Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation. This made the war also about ending slavery, seriously damaging England's and France's ability to officially recognize and support of the Confederacy. Even though Lee invaded Pennsylvania with an even larger army in 1863, it may be the case that the Confederacy's real possibility of victory vanished in 1862, not 1863.

Kathy and I arrived at Harper's Ferry too late to see the movie about John Brown's raid. The firehouse where John Brown made his last stand has been return to within 150 feet of its original spot, but it is empty. So Kathy and I saw streets looking a little like a Civil War town. There are some shops and restaurants, but it is no Williamsburg. So the drama of those events is lost on us. We were disappointed.

Tomorrow we head to Baltimore. I have never been to Baltimore.

Four states in a day... Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Today was another driving day, but we did have the distinction of driving through parts of four different states: Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. We even were in West Virginia two different times! Our route consisted of following I-70, then south on I-79, then east on I-68 until it runs into (and becomes) I-70 again.

For lunch, we continued our mission of eating at the
restaurants listed as the best, according to recent issues of Consumer Reports. In Wheeling, West Virginia, we ate at Cheddar's Casual Café. Since we we have only eaten there today we can't really decide whether the CR rating seems right or not. The most unusual item we tried was the edamame appetizer (that's soybeans!). The pods are served with a ginger soy sauce and a southwest seasoning. One dips the pod in the sauce, then the seasoning. The beans are eaten by pulling the pod through your teeth and discarding the shell. Although it was interesting eating them this way, I still prefer mine already shelled and in a salad or other dish. The other dishes were tasty.

The photos accompanying this post show that the leaves are already beginning to turn colors along the way. Last night's temperature was in the lower 40s! We had to break out the sleeping bag for a comforter since it was so chilly!

We entertained ourselves today with flights of fancy. One such episode was when we were at the West Virginia welcome center. A display included the motto: "A state born from a nation torn." Since we both don't like the Kansas tourism motto, "Kansas, as big as you think," we decided we should copy the idea from West Virginia and use "A state started as a nation parted."

Our campsite tonight is the Hagerstown/Antietam Battlefield KOA in Maryland. The road to the campground would through the tree-lined back roads, along a sizable creek. The sites are on a well-wooded hillside, although the pads are level. Even though the sites are close together, as is usual at most KOAs, the feel is much more like a Forest Service campground.

Tomorrows plans include visiting Antietam Battlefield and Harper's Ferry, definitely. We'll then move east toward Baltimore.

At the crossroads... Tuesday, September 18, 2012.

Chris grabbed a breakfast right there at the KOA in the morning before we began our day.

Last night we had decided to do a couple of "touristy" things in Terre Haute. The first place we went was not open yet, so we walked along part of Indiana State University's campus to the business district. There we visited the Clabber Girl Museum. The familiar label of Clabber Girl Baking Powder caught our eyes, although neither of us pretends to actually bake that often!

The museum illustrates not only the history of the company, but also explains about the "Baking Powder Wars". (3-minute Video) Many companies were making baking powder. The Royal Baking Company convince many that alum, an ingredient used by other companies, was poisonous. This started the war. It appears competition was fierce for awhile until companies folded or many were purchased by competitors. Clabber Girl weathered these storms and is still produced.

After visiting Clabber Girl, Kathy and I purchased a number of items from an oriental grocery included some quite delicious Armenian string cheese.

On the corner near the grocery store was the "Crossroads of America". US-40 traces the National Road route early pioneers traveled from Maryland into the mid-West starting in the early 1800s. US-41 travels north and south along the border of the early frontier. These two highways became part of the national highway system in 1926. The two highways cross at 7th and Wabash in Terre Haute, a corner that became known as the "Crossroads of America".

Behind Kathy and to her right is a bronze Max Ehrmann sitting on a park bench. Ehrmann is the author of the popular 1960's poem Desiderata, falsely claimed to have been found in Old Saint Paul's Church, Baltimore, dated A.D. 1692. This is rubbish. Ehrmann published this poem in 1927. In the picture, Chris is showing Max the stuff purchased in the oriental grocery store.





We left Max sitting on the bench and walked to Eugene V. Debs' house. Debs was a union leader and Socialist in the early 20th Century. He was the Socialist Party candidate for president 5 times from 1900 to 1920. (Short biography) Today, Socialism is frowned upon by those ignorant of the history of worker abuse by early capitalists. Many of the conditions that make working for someone else tolerable, e.g., 8-hour work day,were promoted by unionists like Debs until finally adopted by some companies and US Congress legislation.

After Debs' house we drove east. Along the way we purchased some Firehouse subs, rated #1 on Consumer Reports list of best sub and sandwich chains. (The paper version of the same report lists Firehouse as #2 behind Jason's deli.) Chris had a New York Steamer. Kathy had a Veggie.

We are now camping in Buck Creek State Park between Dayton and Columbus, Ohio.

Happy birthday, Chris! Monday, September 17, 2012

Did a few chores for Mom, ate some breakfast, visited a bit, and then headed away from Admire.

We didn't have any plans for the day, just mainly driving east on I-70.

Lunch was in Concordia, Missouri, at Topsy's Restaurant. They serve breakfast all-day (hear that, Maribeth?), so Kathy had a very good veggie omelet and Chris tried the salisbury steak special.

The only actual other time we did something other than drive was stopping in Greenup, Illinois, to do a small amount of grocery shopping (need bread!) and picked up a few odds and ends at the local Dollar General.

Our campground was in Indiana at the Terre Haute KOA. It was dark when we arrived, but we still had plenty of evening. We're in Eastern Daylight Time now, so we actually stopped later than we thought!

Today was Chris' birthday, probably the first one in years when we didn't, at least,  go out to eat! Well, unless you count eating there in Concordia, or eating in the camper van in Indiana!

On the Road Again! Sunday, September 16, 2012

Well, it's time for the two us to have another vacation for just us...

Once again, vacation has come sooner than we expected and we weren't mentally or physically ready for it. Since we know we need to be in Raleigh, North Carolina, for a conference in a week and a half, we are heading East. The only other plan we made was that we would head for Maryland and Delaware because we haven't yet been there in the camper van. Actually, neither of us have ever been to Delaware at all.

We did most of our packing on Saturday, although the food had to be packed on Sunday morning. Before leaving Great Bend, we went to Perkins for brunch with Ben. Saturday was his birthday (and Jason's!!) and Monday is Chris' birthday, so we went for a "birthday brunch."

We then headed out for Admire, Kansas! First stop was south of town at the farm of Joyce Theier and Ann Birney, also know as Ride into History. Joyce was the principal entertainment for the evening and did a performance as a woman who had settled in Kansas as a child and later served in the U. S. Army during the Civil War. There are several hundred cases of women serving in the War on both sides of the conflict, disguising themselves as men. The composite character that Joyce has created later returns to Kansas and secures a homestead.

The well-attended performance was both entertaining and informative and the audience seems very attentive. Later, we were served an outdoor meal that was very good! Ann gave me the recipe of the black bean/corn/avocado, etc. salad. It was great and should be a dish that I'll be taking to potlucks in the future!

We drove in to Admire after the festivities to spend the night with Kathy's mom, Dee Reid. We had a good visit and then headed to bed.