We're Back!

What a wonderful trip! We really feel like we got a good look at the places and events that shaped our country; the impact of European migration on the native population, the protestant reformation and its various splits, the Revolutionary war, the Civil War, and after standing at ground zero, a reminder of the fragility of it all. We are grateful for the freedom to travel, the means to afford it and the inspiration to be derived from our forefathers and ancestors.

Ah, but I am getting sentimental...

Until next trip!

At Steve & Lori's

We spent the last two days of our vacation with Doug's childhood friend Steve Richardson, his wife Lori, his sister Anne and her kids at the Richardson's wonderful home on the Northern Neck of the Chesapeake Bay. But we still didn't hold still. We went sea kayaking, wake boarding and tubing behind his boat; "Tini", ate crabs and even drove back in to make up our missed tour of Jamestown with the whole crew. What a blast! Jamestown was well worth the trip--a fascinating archaeological dig looking at artifacts from the European settlement established 400 years ago on the site.

Williamsburg & Jamestown

We arrived in Williamsburg in the evening, checked into our very charming Inn and had a lovely dinner, then headed out for a candlelit "ghost tour". Our guide looked like a Colonel Sanders in his younger years (and with his hair down). He obviously enjoyed his job--told us all about the haunted places in town and the meaning of a few phrases (ask us about "earmarked" and "dead ringer". It was good to go back in the daylight and find the town not so scary at all and still full of Revolutionary zeal. I think we even saw George Washington himself! We planned to spend out last couple of hours at Jamestown but when we got there is was closed due to a power outage. Doesn't seem fair since Pochantas never had power.

Man of Enlightenment

Today we took a detour and followed the Skyline Drive to Monticello and saw Thomas Jefferson's house. The Skyline Drive (Shenandoah National Park)was very pretty and worth the trip. Stunning panoramic views! Thomas Jeffersons house was cool. Truly a man of enlightenment (much like me, Dougie) and the best thing about going out to see it was that we spent a lot of time in the car with a/c because its freakin' hot out here. Then we drove to Williamsburg and took a night ghost tour around the town. That was scary and very fun and interesting. Our tour guide reenacts the Civil War battles each year in July (Gettysburg) to keep sharp on his knowledge of the era. Imagine doing this is wool suits! EEk! Tomorrow we are touring the rest of Williamsburg, seeing Jamestown, and then going to the Chesapeake Bay for some R&R.

Amish Paradise

Alright. Today saw Amish Country which was very interesting. We learned about how the Amish live by a tour through an Amish house. Then we drove to Gettysburg and decided to take a battlefield tour. We chose this company, and rejected the thought of a/c, because we truly wanted to know what it was like for the soldiers. When we got there we saw a whole bunch of 1937 Indiana Jones looking trucks. The trucks were used previously in Yellowstone as tour buses. The lack of air conditioning helped us understand how it felt back in the Civil War and with no power steering it was hard to get around the corner! We owe it all to Doug!

Two in one

So yesterday we drove which is why we didn't have a post. We stayed at the Hilton. It was nice but not worth the price. That night we woke up because the TV next door was BLARING so security came and took care of that. Today we toured Philly and saw everything there was to see. Then we drove to Amish country and are staying in a bed and breakfast. We learned a lot of history today including that there must be over 2 billion Dunkin Doughnut's here!

She's a witch! Burn her!

Witches float, if you are not a witch you sink--either way you are sunk - so we learned in Salem. I (Katie) would certainly have been a witch had I lived in the time--I know too much about contraception, I guess. We also went to Plymouth today--saw the pebble that is Plymouth Rock-disappointing. The Mayflower II was interesting but too hot to enjoy-looked around Plymouth. Tonight, we are staying at the Hawthorne Hotel, one of the "1000 Places to See Before You Die" Fabulous!!

Go Sox

Never have we seen so many Red Sox fans in one place! Katie is now the owner of a new baseball cap just to fit in. Doug has used the word sweltering 55 times, and stifling 37 times. He is right. It is hot and humid here, but we are having a great time. Today we walked the Freedom Trail in Boston and stayed at an old YWCA. Had a fire drill just before bed. Turns out, Sam Adams was quite ugly--Paul Revere was the poster child for about everything including the Sam Adams beer label . We are learning a lot about American History they didn't teach us in school
In this pic we are sitting on the Democratic donkey at old city hall. If you are a Republican you stand in opposition just a few inches in front.

B I

Today we woke up in Montauk and walked to have breakfast. Then we got on the ferry, to go see Block Island. We walked to town and rented scooters to ride around town. We saw the cematary, Normans property, and most everything else there is to see. It was a good day and we are excited for tomorrow to see Boston!






Nana's summer home in B.I

leaving nyc

Today we spent mostly waiting. Two hours to see the Statue of Liberty, more hours for the ferries to and from. We looked briefly at Ellis Island and paid our respects at Ground Zero, then cought a train at Penn Station. We were amazed at the number of people moving at a blistering pace there. Jackie mastered the subway in under a day - even the turnstiles!

The First Day!

Today we had many new adventures! It was our first time doing a Red Eye Flight, Boy was that tiring! After having to stay up all night we checked in at the Larchmont Hotel and headed off. We tried to act like natives on the subway but soon everyone knew. Because we couldn't the turnstiles. After that we headed off to the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Central Park where we jumped on a horse and buggy ride, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and lots of subway trains. Tomorrow we plan to go see Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty. We are having a great vacation so far!!!

Missing McCall This Year

The details are falling into place, the bags are being packed and the credit card charges are showing up. Shortly we will hit the road for two very busy weeks of travel (Degges style). Doug grew up going to McCall Idaho every year and you can understand why--it is beautiful and we will miss being there with the Morgans this year. I grew up with rare vacations but when they occurred we took some kind of strange, complex and circuitous itinerary. So this year at my request, we are going on that kind of trip. This requires us to prioritize our top sites to see in any one area, we know we can't see it all, but we are going on the road in search of adventure, friendly people, good memories and funky places to stay! Of course the road trip is different today, what with blog postings and GPS and all. But we still plan to sing "99 bottles of beer on the wall", fight over the front seat and get lost at least once. We do hope you will log in from time to time and drop us a note on this site--we will post our postcards here.

Here is the plan:
July 29 Red eye flight to NYC
July 30 sight-seeing in NYC and night at the Larchmont Hotel
July 31 more NYC and then the 5:50 train to Montauk (like in the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) night at the Montauk Motel
Aug 1 ferry to Block Island, to explore Nana's childhood summer home. Night at the Narragansett
Aug 2 Ferry to Providence, pick up car and drive to Boston. Freedom Trail and night in the Hotel 140 (a converted YMCA)
Aug 3 Plymouth Rock then to Salem night at the Hawthorne Hotel
Aug 4 long day driving to Philadelphia
Aug 5 Explore historic Philadelphia drive to Lancaster in the evening-night at Walnut Lawn B&B
Aug 6 Explore Lancaster County and Gettysburg --night at James Getty's Hotel
Aug 7 Drive to Williamsburg night at the Fife and Drum Inn
Aug 8 explore Jamestown and maybe drive to Monticello. End up in Killmarnock, VA with our friends Steve and Lori Richardson for a little rest before we fly home from Richmond on the 11th