Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The Perfect Bus
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Evacuation at Cedar Point Campground
Oct 26 Grey but warm 74 Oct 27 Windy, showers 68
When we returned to our campsite the campground host was visiting every site informing all that as of tomorrow Oct 27 the campground was to be evacuated due to Hurricane Sandy. She advised us not to stay on the coast either north or south of this area as it would have the same low lying issues for flooding and wind damage.
Phew!!!! That was a first for our camping experience. Most campers were leaving today as well. On our way out of town (which was not a panic and looked like just another day in these local peoples lives) we saw about a dozen military vehicles and trailers coming in on highway 24. We heard later that the National Guard were moving in to prepare for after the storm to assist in cleaning up.
Looking at the map we did not have too many options except to head back up to Smithfield, NC which would be out of the way of any potential weather disasters. We knew the KOA was a good place to hunker down so back we went for the weekend. We are in a safe place and watching the Weather Channel for continuous updates like most of everyone else on the East coast and our Canadian friends too. Once it clears in the early part of next week we will head down to Myrtle Beach.
Today was a good day for reading and baking and fixing little things in the motorhome. And looking at our pics from the ride and updating the blog. Had to add this one,,, so many of the pickups on the Outer Banks and Carolina Coast had all their fishing rods and coolers mounted on the front !!! We found it quite comical. Would it be a bit annoying trying to look at that while driving, ha ha.
When we returned to our campsite the campground host was visiting every site informing all that as of tomorrow Oct 27 the campground was to be evacuated due to Hurricane Sandy. She advised us not to stay on the coast either north or south of this area as it would have the same low lying issues for flooding and wind damage.
Phew!!!! That was a first for our camping experience. Most campers were leaving today as well. On our way out of town (which was not a panic and looked like just another day in these local peoples lives) we saw about a dozen military vehicles and trailers coming in on highway 24. We heard later that the National Guard were moving in to prepare for after the storm to assist in cleaning up.
Looking at the map we did not have too many options except to head back up to Smithfield, NC which would be out of the way of any potential weather disasters. We knew the KOA was a good place to hunker down so back we went for the weekend. We are in a safe place and watching the Weather Channel for continuous updates like most of everyone else on the East coast and our Canadian friends too. Once it clears in the early part of next week we will head down to Myrtle Beach.
Today was a good day for reading and baking and fixing little things in the motorhome. And looking at our pics from the ride and updating the blog. Had to add this one,,, so many of the pickups on the Outer Banks and Carolina Coast had all their fishing rods and coolers mounted on the front !!! We found it quite comical. Would it be a bit annoying trying to look at that while driving, ha ha.
Outer Banks, North Carolina
Oct 25 Sunny 80+ next day Oct 26 Grey and Foggy 70
Overnight Trip from Cedar Point to Outer Banks then back to the mainland and looped back from Washington. 452 miles, yikes!!! we did not realize it was that far. I know we should have run the miles on mapquest.com to check.
We left at 8am to catch the 10am ferry at Cedar Island. At first we thought we had lots of time but it was farther than we anticipated; however no worries we got there with 30 minutes to spare. Good thing as it only holds 40 vehicles and it looked pretty full when we pulled up. There were at least 8 motorcycles going too. The crossing was 2 hours 25 minutes, only 24 miles. We did not have to tie the bike down as it was smooth ferrying waters.
Once we landed on Ocracoke (pronounced Okra- coke) there is a very pretty little ocean side village but knowing we had only today to ride we did not stop to snoop around. An interesting tidbit is that this is where Edward Teach - better known as Blackbeard the Pirate was killed. This island is only 14 miles long and so away we went to the other end to catch the next ferry to Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks.
A couple of things we knew about this area were the famous black and white striped 208 foot brick lighthouse, which is the highest in the country and that just off these banks are the Graveyards of the Atlantic. More than 1,000 ships have sank in these treacherous waters. Amazingly they had to move the Lighthouse in 1999 from its original base as it was eroding into the ocean. It was 4,830 tons to move, at $12 million dollars it only moved 2,900 feet and it took 22 days. Wow! A modern engineering feat.
Really the entire ride which is supposed to be scenic, was quite a disappointment for us. You hardly ever see the Atlantic Ocean or the Pamlico Sound on the intercoastal side. You travel for miles (about 60) through the Hatteras National Seashore only seeing sand dunes and sand dunes covered with vegetation..... :(
The Outer Banks are known for their unpainted stilt cottages tagged the Unpainted Aristocracy. The property here must be worth a fortune.
We continued on and crossed back to the mainland at Nags Head. Kill Devil and Kitty Hawk are just ahead of the bridge crossing. That is where the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane too. But we ran out of time and had to keep heading around the loop, after a little bite to eat it was approaching 4 pm and we had another 100 miles to cover for a hotel room. We found a good room in Washington, NC and in the morning headed back to our campground in Croatan National Forest. It was quite a long ride and to be quite honest not one of our favorites for the views; however so much history is tied to this geographic location it nagged at us to visit.
We left at 8am to catch the 10am ferry at Cedar Island. At first we thought we had lots of time but it was farther than we anticipated; however no worries we got there with 30 minutes to spare. Good thing as it only holds 40 vehicles and it looked pretty full when we pulled up. There were at least 8 motorcycles going too. The crossing was 2 hours 25 minutes, only 24 miles. We did not have to tie the bike down as it was smooth ferrying waters.
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| Billy checking our motorcycle |
Once we landed on Ocracoke (pronounced Okra- coke) there is a very pretty little ocean side village but knowing we had only today to ride we did not stop to snoop around. An interesting tidbit is that this is where Edward Teach - better known as Blackbeard the Pirate was killed. This island is only 14 miles long and so away we went to the other end to catch the next ferry to Cape Hatteras and the Outer Banks.
We continued on and crossed back to the mainland at Nags Head. Kill Devil and Kitty Hawk are just ahead of the bridge crossing. That is where the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane too. But we ran out of time and had to keep heading around the loop, after a little bite to eat it was approaching 4 pm and we had another 100 miles to cover for a hotel room. We found a good room in Washington, NC and in the morning headed back to our campground in Croatan National Forest. It was quite a long ride and to be quite honest not one of our favorites for the views; however so much history is tied to this geographic location it nagged at us to visit.
Cedar Point - Croatan National Forest
Oct 24 & 25 Sunny 80 plus
We had an extremely hard time finding a mainland campground that we could use as a base to ride the Outer Banks, that suited what we were looking for. After a few hours of searching the internet and scouring all our campground guides I remembered reading an article in Motorhome magazine about Beaufort, North Carolina and Beaufort, South Carolina. Then it dawned on me that is very close to where we want to be so I found the magazine in our drawer ( yes I keep them in papercopy and we have them stashed in the motorhome - much to my husbands chagrin).
Ah ha there is the article and they reference staying at the Croatan National Forest campground called Cedar Point. I never think to look at State Parks and Army Corp Engineers and National Forests..... giving myself a kick.... I need to start looking at those. You can reserve but we decided to pull in with a first come first serve hope to land a site as they keep 5 available. The price is basically a donation to the forest of $17 a night and you leave it in an envelope box - which is on your honor - no one checks! At this price it was perfect for us to leave on a ride overnight and stay at a hotel without incurring a lot of dollars. There were 40 sites, all paved, all electric hookups and a few with water, no sewer. We even got the only pull thru!!!
Now our only concern is that Hurricane Sandy is on its way to the coast but it looks like we have a window of really nice sunny warm weather 3 days before it will hit,,,, which means we will leave and do our ride and be back to get the motorhome and be out of here before Sandy comes!
We had an extremely hard time finding a mainland campground that we could use as a base to ride the Outer Banks, that suited what we were looking for. After a few hours of searching the internet and scouring all our campground guides I remembered reading an article in Motorhome magazine about Beaufort, North Carolina and Beaufort, South Carolina. Then it dawned on me that is very close to where we want to be so I found the magazine in our drawer ( yes I keep them in papercopy and we have them stashed in the motorhome - much to my husbands chagrin).
Ah ha there is the article and they reference staying at the Croatan National Forest campground called Cedar Point. I never think to look at State Parks and Army Corp Engineers and National Forests..... giving myself a kick.... I need to start looking at those. You can reserve but we decided to pull in with a first come first serve hope to land a site as they keep 5 available. The price is basically a donation to the forest of $17 a night and you leave it in an envelope box - which is on your honor - no one checks! At this price it was perfect for us to leave on a ride overnight and stay at a hotel without incurring a lot of dollars. There were 40 sites, all paved, all electric hookups and a few with water, no sewer. We even got the only pull thru!!!
Now our only concern is that Hurricane Sandy is on its way to the coast but it looks like we have a window of really nice sunny warm weather 3 days before it will hit,,,, which means we will leave and do our ride and be back to get the motorhome and be out of here before Sandy comes!
I40 East to Asheville, North Carolina and beyond
Oct 22 2012 Sunny 73 degrees
When you turn off at Knoxville to head east to the Carolina's the I40 is a good route; but just be prepared for a bit of downhill and winding interstate highway (about 20 miles) before you get into Asheville and again when you leave till Old Fort (16 miles). The freeway runs right over the tail end of the Smoky Mountains and then drops again off the Pisgah National Forest. A great stop in Asheville for camping is a suburb called Fletcher where the Rutledge Lake RV Park will give you a nice overnight or longer stay if you want to visit the area.
We rode this area previously on the motorcycle and it is a very beautiful area to see. A must visit is the Biltmore Estate and a ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway. This time we are passing through - destination is the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
On our way leaving the park we spotted this old firetruck sitting at the yard next door!
The next overnight will be past Raleigh near Smithfield. There is a great KOA with many, many pull thrus - very clean and convenient to grocery and supplies which we want to stock up on before reaching the coast.
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| Tunnels through Smoky Mtn |
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| Rutledge Lake RV Park |
The next overnight will be past Raleigh near Smithfield. There is a great KOA with many, many pull thrus - very clean and convenient to grocery and supplies which we want to stock up on before reaching the coast.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Cumberland Falls, Kentucky
Oct 21/12 Sunny and warm 75
When you ride a motorcycle you are always checking for scenic drives and trails and roads that would be great on a bike. Asking when you check-in at campgrounds and going through the brochures as well as the Harley dealerships is always a great source of information. We also subscribe to Roadrunner Motorcycle Magazine and they do rides all across the country which they provide to you in tankmaps + digital GPS files. One other favorite of our is www.motorcycleroads.com. So at check-in the owner gave us a brochure of Kentucky Scenic Trails which we ended up doing a couple of the suggestions..... well worth it.
Cumberland Falls Trail, also known as "the dog" was our venture out today. We took highway 90 west, then down 27 and jumped back on 478 east. The brochure said to take 92 east but I found this hwy 478 on the internet on mapquest and it looking inviting. Inviting means twisting, winding, swooping curves and up and down. OH it was!!!
Cumberland Falls is known as the mini Niagara Falls of the south and has the only moonbow in North America. A moonbow is a lunar rainbow.... so when it is a full moon and a clear night you will see a rainbow in the dark at the base of the falls. Well we didn't stay till night especially with these curving backroads ! But we still saw a rainbow :)
When you ride a motorcycle you are always checking for scenic drives and trails and roads that would be great on a bike. Asking when you check-in at campgrounds and going through the brochures as well as the Harley dealerships is always a great source of information. We also subscribe to Roadrunner Motorcycle Magazine and they do rides all across the country which they provide to you in tankmaps + digital GPS files. One other favorite of our is www.motorcycleroads.com. So at check-in the owner gave us a brochure of Kentucky Scenic Trails which we ended up doing a couple of the suggestions..... well worth it.
Cumberland Falls is known as the mini Niagara Falls of the south and has the only moonbow in North America. A moonbow is a lunar rainbow.... so when it is a full moon and a clear night you will see a rainbow in the dark at the base of the falls. Well we didn't stay till night especially with these curving backroads ! But we still saw a rainbow :)
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Corbin, Kentucky Original Fast Food Restaurant KFC
Oct 20, 2012 Overcast and cool 59 was the high
The sun just could not break through today but we were die hards and put on all our black leathers to head out for a motorcycle ride.
This area is in the Daniel Boone National Forest. We picked up a Scenic Driving Trails brochure and took one of the small routes around Laurel River Lake. Oh if that sun would have come out it would have been breath taking with the colours of the fall leaves; every shade of red and gold. I did not take any pictures today cause I did not want to take off my nice warm gloves while we were riding. Sorry :( Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and I will get them then. One funny, cheesy thing we did was find the first fast food restaurant in America. Colonel Harland Sanders and his Kentucky Fried Chicken started here in 1930. He had a small gas pump, motel and restaurant on Hwy 25E. When they came along and put in the Interstate 75 he decided not to let it deter him and he took his restaurants to the franchise level in the 1950s.
When in Corbin you eat the chicken, so we got a couple of meals and sat down to the best KFC we have ever had...... it really was better than the chain stores at home. There is some cool old memorabilia and rooms inside showing the Colonel's artifacts.
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| Sanders Cafe |
This area is in the Daniel Boone National Forest. We picked up a Scenic Driving Trails brochure and took one of the small routes around Laurel River Lake. Oh if that sun would have come out it would have been breath taking with the colours of the fall leaves; every shade of red and gold. I did not take any pictures today cause I did not want to take off my nice warm gloves while we were riding. Sorry :( Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and I will get them then. One funny, cheesy thing we did was find the first fast food restaurant in America. Colonel Harland Sanders and his Kentucky Fried Chicken started here in 1930. He had a small gas pump, motel and restaurant on Hwy 25E. When they came along and put in the Interstate 75 he decided not to let it deter him and he took his restaurants to the franchise level in the 1950s.
When in Corbin you eat the chicken, so we got a couple of meals and sat down to the best KFC we have ever had...... it really was better than the chain stores at home. There is some cool old memorabilia and rooms inside showing the Colonel's artifacts.
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| Rosey with her new friend |
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| KFC |
Friday, October 19, 2012
Kentucky Horse Park
Oct 18 Cooler about 63 and sunny - good day to take in the Kentucky Horse Park right next door to the campground.
Everyday there are shows to see and museums dedicated to horses and other live events. This is definitely the place to come if you love horses. Man O' War is buried here under his statue - he was such a big guy and there is a spot where you walk from post to post showing his gait length, something like 24 feet!!! It's really his son War Admiral that had more accolades since he was a Triple Crown winner.
After we went over to see the International Horses show which is many of the different breeds of the world on display for you to watch and pet after.
Then inn the Big Barn,,,,, which yes of course is for the Budweiser Clydesdale's team you can get up close and personal to these beautiful giants.
Many of the famous horses are brought here after their useful racing and stud life are over. They are kept in a special barn for the "Champions" and are brought out for display. They are certainly icons in their time. Some of the stories of their lives are real "rags to riches" tales. When we were at the track one of the fellows there told us about John Henry; he was purchased for $1100 and he went on to be the winning-est horse of over $6,500,000 dollars. He has passed on but was kept in these stables for 22 years.
Everyday there are shows to see and museums dedicated to horses and other live events. This is definitely the place to come if you love horses. Man O' War is buried here under his statue - he was such a big guy and there is a spot where you walk from post to post showing his gait length, something like 24 feet!!! It's really his son War Admiral that had more accolades since he was a Triple Crown winner.
Then inn the Big Barn,,,,, which yes of course is for the Budweiser Clydesdale's team you can get up close and personal to these beautiful giants.
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| Belgian |
Many of the famous horses are brought here after their useful racing and stud life are over. They are kept in a special barn for the "Champions" and are brought out for display. They are certainly icons in their time. Some of the stories of their lives are real "rags to riches" tales. When we were at the track one of the fellows there told us about John Henry; he was purchased for $1100 and he went on to be the winning-est horse of over $6,500,000 dollars. He has passed on but was kept in these stables for 22 years.
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| Funny Cide - first New York bred horse to win Kentucky Derby |
Bluegrass Country Scenic Drive
Oct 17 Sunny and Warm about 73 Perfect Day for a Ride
Today we rode the bike on a scenic tour through the surrounding countryside with magnificent horse ranches, it also had a stop at Keeneland Race Track where in April and October they have their Thoroughbred races.
As we followed the miles of fences through the countryside we realized that most of the barns that the horses live in are more ornate and stately than most of the houses back home.
Well when you are putting a horse up that wins millions of dollars I guess they deserve a nice pad too!
As we followed the miles of fences through the countryside we realized that most of the barns that the horses live in are more ornate and stately than most of the houses back home.
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| Horse Barn |
Well when you are putting a horse up that wins millions of dollars I guess they deserve a nice pad too!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Kentucky Horse Country
Oct 16, 17, 18 Lexington, Kentucky
We have heard so many good things about this RV park that we had to come and see for ourselves. Kentucky Horse Park is a horse lovers dream. The campground is a State Park and thus very reasonably priced. Sites are a good size, all paved, all back-in. Just enough room to swing our trailer sideways right in front of our motor home so we could let the door down to get the motorcycle out.
We would have booked in for the week but they are having a Halloween camping event this weekend and it is full to the brim. In the States Halloween camping is a huge deal.
When you walk out the back of this park you can walk right into the Kentucky Horse Park complex. Here you find the International Museum of the Horse, American Saddle bred Museum, Man O War Memorial, Hall of Champions and many polo fields, paddock barns, arenas and so forth. Extremely well manicured.
We would have booked in for the week but they are having a Halloween camping event this weekend and it is full to the brim. In the States Halloween camping is a huge deal.
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| Entrance to the Park |
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| Dressage Arena |
Starting the Cycle Again
Oct 15/ 2012 Windy, Windy, Windy Fall Day
Today the park we called our home base for the summer closed for the season. Our time to leave felt right. Just in the weeks past we attempted to see all the kids and the new grandchild and said quick goodbyes to family and friends till we fly back for Christmas.
Even though the Detroit Ambassador Bridge was a bad memory from our first trip away last year we decided with a year under our belt we would take it again. Yes! This time was much better, the lanes across the bridge were all open no jersey walls or cones to narrow us into threading the needle.
We also thought this year we are taking more groceries and alcohol. When questioned by the customs officer we reported we had half a dozen bottles that were partial and about one case of beer - that was ok with him. Vegetables and fruit? We reported we had no seed type with us, just some lettuce and celery - that was ok with him too. Meat? Yes we had some lunchmeat and some frozen chicken - chicken is ok (but not beef, which we did not have). He asked Billy to look in the trailer and then gave us back our passports and told us to have a good trip!!!! Yeah, we were good to go and this time we will be able to have a beer when we stop.
There was a high wind advisory thru the night last night and it was still pretty gusty today however; we were only planning on going a couple of hours to Van Buren, Ohio. The campground we hit last on the way home in the spring which is Pleasant View was a perfect stop to a short day. It's quite a nice little spot and the best thing was that we were able to be reunited with our friends that we had many a Happy Hour in Aruba. They just live a short drive away and came for a great visit - only thing missing was the ocean and the bunker bar :) We had a great afternoon and night - Cheers to our friends the "Buckeyes".
Today the park we called our home base for the summer closed for the season. Our time to leave felt right. Just in the weeks past we attempted to see all the kids and the new grandchild and said quick goodbyes to family and friends till we fly back for Christmas.
Even though the Detroit Ambassador Bridge was a bad memory from our first trip away last year we decided with a year under our belt we would take it again. Yes! This time was much better, the lanes across the bridge were all open no jersey walls or cones to narrow us into threading the needle.
We also thought this year we are taking more groceries and alcohol. When questioned by the customs officer we reported we had half a dozen bottles that were partial and about one case of beer - that was ok with him. Vegetables and fruit? We reported we had no seed type with us, just some lettuce and celery - that was ok with him too. Meat? Yes we had some lunchmeat and some frozen chicken - chicken is ok (but not beef, which we did not have). He asked Billy to look in the trailer and then gave us back our passports and told us to have a good trip!!!! Yeah, we were good to go and this time we will be able to have a beer when we stop.
There was a high wind advisory thru the night last night and it was still pretty gusty today however; we were only planning on going a couple of hours to Van Buren, Ohio. The campground we hit last on the way home in the spring which is Pleasant View was a perfect stop to a short day. It's quite a nice little spot and the best thing was that we were able to be reunited with our friends that we had many a Happy Hour in Aruba. They just live a short drive away and came for a great visit - only thing missing was the ocean and the bunker bar :) We had a great afternoon and night - Cheers to our friends the "Buckeyes".
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| View from our motorhome at Pleasant View |
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