After a 7 week visit with family and friends we began our second year of full time traveling. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone but we're excited about what lies ahead. With so many new destinations on our list of places to see we know this trip is going to be another trip of a lifetime. After about 8 hours on the road we arrived at our first stop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Once there we started our visit with a stop at the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum where we learned about the importance and development of the railroad in the area. They had engines and rail cars that went all the way back to the late 1800's. After our visit there we headed off to Miller's Smorgasbord, a restaurant we were told about from a friend of ours who grew up around here and told us it was "the best". It turns out he was right. That lunch filled us up for the rest of the day. We also bought a homemade apple pie and some sticky buns while we were there. Guess what we had for dinner? The next day we headed over to the Strasburg Railroad for a 45 minute trip through some of the beautiful Lancaster farmland. This was Amish country and the farms were gorgeous and definitely had that old fashioned look to them. After that it was time for some ice cream at a small local creamery before returning to the RV. Our next stop took us to Staunton, Virginia where we enjoyed a visit to Monticello, the plantation of Thomas Jefferson. It was a very interesting tour in a place where one of our founding fathers, the author of the Declaration of Independence spent a good part of his life. The fact that the man, who spoke of freedom for all, also owned over 600 slaves during his life was a fact that was very apparent during the tour. The following day was great as Claudia and I had a wonderful lunch together at Buffalo Wild Wings where I stuck around afterwards and watched the Pats win their game against the Bills. I was the only Pats fan there but I made a lot of new friends anyway. We spent most of the next day driving in the pouring rain and receiving several tornado warnings along the way but finally arrived safe and sound in Asheville, North Carolina. Fortunately, the next day the weather cleared a bit so we decided to take a trolley tour through Asheville. It was a great take and after the tour we returned to a BBQ place that we saw along the way where we had a delicious lunch. Claudia had to try their ribs while I went for the Hogzilla Hoagie loaded with brats, bacon and pulled pork. So good!! The following day we decided to take Stella for a ride and a hike so we visited Chimney Rock Park. There we went on a couple of great hikes, one straight up to a towering overlook and another through the forest to a beautiful waterfall. It was at this second location where several sections of the area were used during the filming of The Last of the Mohicans. Our next stop took us to a campground in Chesnee, South Carolina to meet up with some friends of ours who we met 7 years earlier in St. Maarten. While we waited for our friends to arrive we met a lot of the other regulars as they were setting up to begin the process of making Apple Butter. By the time our friends arrived we had already become friends with many of the great people there. Once they did arrive, we were treated to a wonderful dinner as we caught up on old times. We started off Saturday morning with a big breakfast together and then enjoyed the day in some beautiful sunshine by the camp pool and watching the process of Apple Butter being made. After another delicious dinner hosted by our friends, we retired for the evening following a visit to the hot tub on a much cooler evening. On Sunday we enjoyed a brunch together before it was time to part company with our friends once again. It's been 7 years since we were last together and we've promised it'll be much sooner before the next time. Our next stops are in Nashville and Memphis so it’s on to our first visit in Tennessee. There’s always something new to look forward to. We’re still smiling every day. Ed and Claudia
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