Our RV Adventures

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When Jan got up about 7:30 it was 42 degrees and raining.

By 11:30 it was up to 43 degrees and raining.

Wheeee!  Heatwave!

About 12 the rain had slacked off so Jan went out to reload the bird feeders and I went out to re-align the sat dish. It had been blown slightly off target due to the high winds we had all last night.

Then about 1 I called Direct TV to get our DNS West Coast feed turned back on. What I found out was that to get the West Coast feed turned back on it was going to cost an extra $6 per month, but I would now get 2 new channels, CW and PBS, that I didn’t have before. These two extra channels had previously been an additional $5 each, so I didn’t get them since this would have increased our DNS service from $14 to $24, almost doubling the cost just for two extra channels.

I’m cheap. What can I say.

So now our DNS is going from $14 to $20, which I’m not crazy about, but at least I’m getting something out of it.

About 4:30 we drove up to La Brisa to meet our friend Maria for supper, after which she and Jan were going to play Bingo again down in La Marque at the Knights of Columbus Hall.

And she did good. She won $95 on a game and she was really happy.

Of course, when I ask her how much she’d spent the last 4 weeks to win that $95, she said she didn’t want to talk about it. I don’t think she wanted me raining on her parade.

Well, if she had fun, I’m happy.

It’s supposed to be even colder here tonight, with a low of 33 degrees, the coldest so far this year. But at least the rain is supposed to be going away.

More tomorrow…

I thought you might want a repeat of our visit to Colonial Williamsburg last year. Enjoy.

George Washington and Benedict Arnold…

Posted on July 1, 2009

Today Jan and I visited Colonial Williamsburg, and although it was interesting,  it was also disappointing in a way.

A lot of the buildings are closed on different days so it’s not possible to see everything on one visit.  So, many buildings were closed to us today.  Plus,  only a few buildings are set up to be toured.

The best one we saw was the home of Peyton Reynolds.  Peyton Reynolds was the first President of the  Continental Congress and the house dates from the 1720′s.

The interesting thing about this next picture is the table is not fully set.  According to our guide, the table would be set with 1 meat dish for each person.  So with a table set for six there should be six meat dishes on the table, not just three.

And there should also be six ‘heavy’ desserts on the table.   I’m not sure what constitutes a ‘heavy’ dessert.

Is it by ‘weight’, or how it sits in your stomach after you eat it?

Also interesting is the windmill.  It’s known as a ‘single post’ windmill, because the single post pivot allows the windmill to be turned into the wind for better performance.  This windmill was used as a grist mill to grind grain and the blades would  have been covered with cloth to catch the wind.

We also got to watch a trial reenactment at the Williamsburg Courthouse.

High Sheriff

One interesting thing was that the audience got to participate as jurors, plaintiffs, and defendants.

Judge and Jury

Court Clerk

I tried to get Jan to pose in the stocks, but I think she was afraid I wouldn’t let her out.

Also interesting was the Williamsburg Magazine and Armory surrounding by the barricade fence to help protect it from attack.

This building was where the militia’s guns and powder were stored in case of attack.

The Virginia Colony Governor’s House

The Bruton Parish Church was interesting, also.  It is one of the oldest Episcopalian Churches in America and services have been held here continuously since 1715.

Bruton Parish Church

You could also take rides in authentic-looking carriages.

There were also actors portraying famous and not-so-famous people.  Here we have Benedict Arnold, pre-traitor.

Many people don’t realize Benedict Arnold was actually a Revolutionary War hero and won many battles for the Colonies before he went over to the Loyalist side.  For what seemed to be political reasons, and perhaps jealousy, he was repeatedly passed over for promotion.  This perceived injustice ate at him until he arranged to turn West Point over to the British.  But his plan was discovered and he barely escaped capture by George Washington.

And speaking of George Washington, he was there also, along with his aide de camp, the Marquis de Lafayette.  One of the children present asked him if he was President.  He said he had no idea what that was, and it didn’t sound like something he’d want to do.

As I said, I wish more of the buildings were open. You’d have to go back over several days to see all the buildings. Of course, that’s probably their idea.

And when you consider that for the same price we could have gone to Busch Gardens – Williamsburg,  I mean,  Colonial Williamsburg doesn’t even have any roller coasters to terrorize Jan on.

Bummer!!!

Tomorrow we’re going to see Jamestown Settlement and the Yorktown Battlefield.

Maybe they’ll have roller coasters.

Thought for the Day:
Sometimes the only difference between an ordeal and an adventure is your attitude.

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Today began early for Jan, but lucky me I got to sleep in until 9 am.

She had to get up and put her Squash Casserole in the oven. She had prepared it yesterday, but it needed to cook for about an hour. Everything else was done.

Then a little after 10 we headed out toward Shawna’s, a trip of about 70 miles out to the Katy area. We did a quick detour by Brandi’s to pick up the Honeybaked Ham and the two pumpkin pies we had stored in her fridge there.

We got to Shawna’s beautiful new house a little before noon and the first words we heard were “Where’s the Sausage Balls?”. Just like I said yesterday.

Jan, of course, immediately went for Landon.

And here’s Mr. Landon getting the giggles, bouncing on Lowell’s knee.

And here he is surrounded by his many female admirers.

As always, the meal was fantastic, with ham, turkey, cornbread dressing, corn casserole, squash casserole, green bean casserole, salad, rolls, and a number of great desserts.

After lunch, some people wandered off to watch the games, some of the kids went upstairs to watch movies in Shawna’s beautiful new theater room with a really big screen, and some people, like me, wandered off to take a nap, after that great meal.

A little after 4 we headed back home to the rig, getting back about 5:30 pm.

And once again, IT WAS NICK’S FAULT!

I mentioned yesterday about the changes in Direct TV’s Distant Network Service that let’s you get the East Coast and West Coast Network Stations.

Well, after reading about the changes in Nick Russell’s blog last night, I checked my Direct TV service and found that I had lost the West Coast feed. I figured I would call them on Friday.

But getting back this evening, I found we had not only lost the West Coast, but now we had lost the East Coast feed, and the Houston local channel spotlight, as well.

It took almost 30 minutes on the phone to get things turned back on, but I still need to call them tomorrow to try and get our West Coast feed turned back on. The guy on the phone had no idea why I had lost the feeds as there was nothing in my records about them being turned off.

Below I’ve posted a repeat of our visit last year to the Biltmore Estate and Chimney Rock State Park, both in North Carolina.

More tomorrow…

Thought for the Day:
"Last century over 170 million people were murdered by their own governments, and your government doesn’t want you to have a gun. Doesn’t that bother you just a little bit?"

Estates and Rocks…

Posted on June 23, 2009

Today was Biltmore Estate  day, the main reason we did a 500 mile jog in our trip up the East Coast to Nova Scotia.

First off, the reason I don’t have any pictures in the Biltmore is that they don’t allow ANY pictures anywhere inside.

It’s hard to realize how big this place really is.  The house is 175,000 square feet inside.  That’s FOUR acres!

It has a total of 250 rooms, with 35 bedrooms for family and guests, and 43 bathrooms.  It is/was the largest private home in the US.

It took about 6 years to build and was completed in time for its first party on Christmas Eve, 1895.

It was built by George Vanderbilt,  grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, the shipping  magnate.  No one knows exactly how much it cost to build, but it’s estimated to be about 10 million dollars, and that’s in 1895 dollars.

The stables shown above are to the right of the main house.  I couldn’t get back far enough to get everything in one shot.

Originally, the Biltmore Estate consisted of 125,000 acres.  Now it sits on 8,000 acres.  The rest is now part of the Pisgah National Forest.

I was also amazed at the landscaping involved.  They used over 2 million plants to landscape the grounds.

What I found even harder to believe was this view from the loggia (porch) at the back of the house.

When the house was built in 1895 this view was of scrub brush and bare hills, with eroded gullys and fire-blackened tree stumps.

So Vanderbilt decided to have this area completely re-forested.

They resculpted the hills for the rolling look you see today, and then planted 10 of thousands of large trees and 100′s of thousands of bushes and scrubs.

It’s  amazing what you can do if you have more money than you know what to do with!

After our tour of the house which took about 3 hours, we ate lunch at the Stable Cafe, which as the name indicates, is in the old stables.

The stalls have been converted into dining areas with tables also out in the center.

The food was very good, with Jan having a Chicken Salad Sandwich with Sun-dried Tomatoes on a croissant, and I had the Harvest Turkey Sandwich with melted brie, arugula, and blackberry mustard spread on a panini.

In addition to the Cafe, the stables also houses several gift shops and guest services.

After we left The Biltmore, we headed out about 25 miles northeast to Chimney Rock State Park.

Chimney Rock has been a tourist attraction since 1885.  Over the years paths,  staircases, and trails have been added to make access easier.

Finally in 1946,  a 198 foot tunnel was tunneled into the side of the mountain,

and then a 268 foot vertical shaft was blasted down from the top to provide an elevator to the top.

After taking the elevator to the top, the path leads thru the obligatory gift shop and then out on a walkway to the stairs that takes you up on Chimney Rock at a height of 2280 feet.

Jan only made it 2270 feet, but I was really proud of her. She has a real fear of heights and I think she only does things like this to humor me.  She made it to the top of Chimney Rock, but couldn’t do the last 10 feet to the edge.  Honestly, I was really surprised she made that far.  After 42 years, she still manages to surprise me.

From there you can see for 75 miles on a clear day.  Our day was a little hazy, but still a great view.

After having ice cream at the cafe on top of the mountain, we headed home about 4 pm.

A long day, indeed

Thought for the Day:

"Democracy means that when there’s a knock in the door at 3 am, it’s probably the milkman." – Winston Churchill

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