Home Sweet Home

Here we are one year and 25,648 kms. later. Those are the kms. on Moho's wheels but we can't calculate the ones on our feet. We travelled through five provinces, twenty-one states and four southeast asian countries. It has been an amazing year and we have seen and learned so much. Travel truly allows one to step outside the comforts of familiarity and challenge each other. We learned that we make a "great team" and would not hesitate to repeat our adventure.

Already people have asked what was the best place orthing? We both agree that each experience was unique and all wonderful. There was no specific favourite.

So, in closing our blog, I want to thank everyone (and there are too many to name individually) for the hospitality, the great meals, and the help with minor Moho repairs along our way. The emails were a bonus in keeping in touch and some arrived very timely when a wave of homesickness occurred. Of course, Don never experienced that!

And for now the wheels areparked and so ends Moho0910 Blog.........

Pennsylvania

With our heads full of American Civil War history it was time to move on and enter the Amish farmland area of Pennsylvania. We found the ideal location; Intercourse in Lancaster County. Our campsite boasted "a relaxing setting where one could sit back and watch the cows come home." This was not a lie. Sites were set on a hill bordering a local farm where we watched an Amish farmer and his young son plough his fields with the aid of a team of mules. A short walk to town were the tour buses, buggy rides, shops, restaurants and promises of a taste of the Amish lifestyle. We instead chose the peddle option and climbed on our bikes to head out into the countryside.

Our first stop was Mascot Rollers Mills/Ressler Family House. It was a water powered flour mill built in the 1730's. The family acquired the Mill in 1864 and operated for three generations until it ceased operation in 1977. The Ressler Mill Foundation was setup by the family in 1967 to preserve the Mill and share with the public this part of history that was more than a business for this family. The house has been maintained in the way left by Anna before she moved to the Senior Home. We felt like we were introduced to the family and could feel their

presence today.

We continued to Bird-in-Hand Farmers' Market where local produce, cheese, meats and bakery goods were for sale. In our Pinksen style we purchased whoopie pies and a piece of shoo-fly pie to sample. Another item we purchased was pon pudding made from pork innards to try with our cheese grits. All turned out to be delicious. Pennsylvania was an even "drier" state than Utah. No alcohol was sold in the supermarket and we found one store that sold wine and spirits. Their beer was sold separately and the minimum purchase was 24.

Arising early we did a long run through the farmlands. Not realizing the Amish rose so early for Church we felt a little uncomfortable in our running attire passing the Amish families walking or buggy riding in their Sunday best. Despite our feelings we were greeted with wonderful smiles and waves.

Feeling well rested we travelled on a few more miles. One could not pass through Hershey, PA without stopping to sample and tour Hershey Chocolate World. Of course we had to purchase some dark chocolate for it's medicinal purposes.

We passed through Harrisburg for a night and by chance found Little Buffalo State Park in Newport, PA. Time to settle in for a couple of nights and hike the area around Holman Lake and the ridge. We had planned to also do some running but temperatures dropped and the rains came. We instead chose the option to stay bunked down in our cozy Moho and start planning for our return home.

However, our wheels kept turning over the rolling farmlands of Pennsylvania. A stop in

Cook Forest State Park gave us the opportunity to experience the Cathedral Forest with its old pine and hemlock. They were not the Redwoods of California but we enjoyed hiking there just the same. This was our quiet time to prepare for the return to our Canadian lifestyle.

Our last "adventure" was shopping at the Prime Outlets in Grove City. Charlene, not being a "shopper" faced the necessity of purchasing new clothes after a year of a limited wardrobe. So it was off to the border and our crossing back into Canada.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground

This drive stretches 175 miles from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia, through West Virginia, Maryland and ends at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Our visit to Monticello was covered in the Blue Ridge Parkway Blog.

From Monticello we decided to detour off the JTHG Corridor and drive through Shenandoah National Park on the Skyline Parkway. The drive was similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway but the mountains were not as intense and their were more views of civilization below particularly the Shenandoah Valley. We camped at Big Meadows in the Shenandoah National Park and had a great hike to Lewis Falls the next morning with a portion along the Appalachian Trail.

After finishing the Skyline Parkway at Front Royal we drove to Manassas National Battlefield Park. The First Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) on July 21, 1861 and the second battle on August 30, 1862 both resulted in victories for the Confederate Forces early in the Civil War. The farmlands of the fields of battle remain much as they were on those two days of bloody fighting. That and the excellent information provided on the walking tour of the first battle's locations brought that initial clash of the two armies of the divided nation with its unexpected loss of young men to life for us.

Our next stop was Harpers Ferry National Historic Park which also saw battles fought during the Civil War and actually changed hands several times during the war.

It is located on the Potomac River where the Shenandoah flows in. This strategic location on the border between West Virginia and Maryland (north) and Virginia (south) led to the transportation and industrial town being nearly destroyed during the war.

But the most important role Harpers Ferry played in the Civil War was its setting for John Brown's Rebellion for freedom of the slaves on October 15 1859 which was one of the triggers of the Civil War.

Our last stop was Gettysburg National Military Park the site of the a three day battle involving more than one hundred thousand soldiers from July 1-3 1863. T here were more casualties (51,000) than any battle fought in North America before or since. The battle ended with the failure of Pickett's Charge by the Confederates and victory for the Union forces. This would be the last incursion by the south into the north and would turn the tide in favour of the north. The war would drag on for two more years. The Visitors Centre has extensive presentations on the battle. We decided to bypass this for a twenty four mile self guided tour of the significant sites of the battle and views of some of the thirteen hundred monuments that decorate this large park surrounding the town of Gettysburg.

Our drive ended at the Soldiers' National Cemetery where many thousands of soldiers from both sides are interred. This cemetery is most famous as the site of the delivery of the Gettysburg Address by President Lincoln four months later at the dedication of the cemetery. This two minute speech changed Gettysburg from a field of death to a symbol of sacrifice and an inspiration to the living.

The Blue Ridge Parkway

The Blue Ridge Parkway often called "America's Favourite Drive' is deserving of this label. The 469 miles commenced for us in the Great Smokey Mountains, North Carolina and moved north to the Shenandoah National Park in the Appalachians, Virginia.

Our scenic drive which joined the two parks took us through mountains, valleys, meadows and more mountains. We got a sense of the life of mountain people in this area of the United States. The views were breathless at times and thankfully there were lots of pull-offs to stop and enjoy the landscape below us.

Construction began in 1935, and the final leg was finally completed in 1987 with the spectacular Linn Cove Viaduct which looks as though it's suspended from Grandfather Mountain. This September 11th marks the 75th anniversary of the Parkway. We can thank the initiative of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for this wonderful drive. His intent was to give travellers a scenic drive and use the labour of CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) during the Depression of the 1930's. Our drive was slow with the speed limit being 45 mph and sometimes it was difficult to even achieve that.

There were so many highlights of our week long drive that I will mention but a few. The Parkway had several Craft Centres and we visited two. The first was the Folk Art Centre near Asheville, NC operated by the Southern Highland Craft Guild and has been in operation for the past 60 years. The handicrafts of the region were well represented. The second was the Parkway Craft Centre part of Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. This stood out for us not only because of the quality workmanship but the beautiful grounds of the Park.

We continued on to the Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, NC. This store established in 1883 is still in operation and some of the items looked as though they were there since the beginning. There were barrels of candy selling for a penny. The store's motto was that it sold everything from "cradles to coffins" and after a short visit we believed it except for the fact that we had actually gone to buy a loaf of bread and couldn't find one.

The Mabry Mill, the most famous attraction on the Parkway, was well worth a stop. As well as the working of the Mill we saw an example of an Applachian home and a real whiskey still tucked in the woods. This spot brought us back the next morning for breakfast. Buckwheat flour ground at the Mill made very delicious pancakes as well as the sweet potato and cornmeal pancakes too. It was our opportunity to try famous Country Ham and biscuits. The ham was not a big hit. With full bellies we moved on and thankful that there were stops along the way to hike and work off the calories. Two of our favourite hikes were Fisher Peak Loop and Sharp Top Trail which gave us a panoramic view of the Peaks of Otter area.

Monticello or "little mountain"; home of Thomas Jefferson was one of the best tours we took on our trip. We commenced our tour with Susan our guide in Monticello Hall where visitors waited to speak with President Jefferson. The room was filled with artifacts including giftsbrought back by Lewis and Clark from their expeditions. One of the most amazing facts we learned was that the house was designed by President Jefferson and it incorporated open-air living spaces, skylights, terraces and cooking/storage spaces in the basement. It is said to be his "essay in architecture". Walking through the home gave us a clear understanding of this man's intellect. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and author of the Declaration of Independence held many talents. He was fluent in many languages, possessed thousands of books, was a self taught architecture, a pioneer in agriculture and travelledoverseas to Europe on several occasions. As well as our tour of the home we toured Mulberry Row and got a true sense of the life of a slave. Jefferson himself was conflicted by the idea of slavery his whole life. After visiting Monticello we more fully understood the ideas of "life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" and "that all men are created equal" that established the foundations of self government and individual freedom in America.

Before leaving the Monticello area we stopped for lunch at Michie Tavern. This historic tavern gave us the opportunity to sample fried chicken, pulled barbecue pork, stewed tomatoes, black eyed peas, cornbread and biscuits in a cafeteria style tavern. We did not eat another meal for the rest of the day. The site also contained a General Store, and museum shops of artisan works.

Our most exciting adventure in the Charlottesville area came when we decided to take a tour of the University of Virginia. After passing the Rotunda we continued and very quickly came upon an overpass that had a 10 foot clearance. Moho needed 11 feet. Keeping in mind that we were travelling on a narrow street with cars parked on both sides Don came to an abrupt stop. Faced with the fact that we had to make a quick decision all my thoughts diverted to the crazy motorhome movies of Chevy Chase and Robin Williams and how I now found myself in one of their crazy scenarios. There was no alternative but to back up several feet and attempt a U-turn. Charlene made her debut as the newest Charlottesville policewoman; waving and directing traffic. After several minutes we cleared what felt like a disaster and got back on the Interstate for our campground. Later that evening we laughed and pledged to write that episode in our memories.

After all the excitement of Monticello and Charlottesville it was time for relaxation. We found the perfect spot. Humpback Rocks Mountain Farm Exhibit presented an outdoor concert of bluegrass music. After feeling cheated because the Blue Ridge Music Centre was closed when we travelled through, the local band; Loose Gravel gave us the music we searched for. Humpback Rocks was ideal. We sat under a big walnut tree with the local mountain people and with the warm afternoon breezes we listened. It was very relaxing to listen to the banjo, violin and mandolin, watch the volunteers re-enact life in previous generations and generally soak up the ambiance.

So our wheels keep moving but we will not forget the picturesque lookoffs, the tunnels, the wild azaleas, the clean mountain air and the people of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Carolinas

After our good-byes to Kirsten and Stella in Savannah airport it was time to get back into Moho rolling mode. Time to head north and enter South Carolina. We settled into our KOA campsite in Mt. Pleasant just the other side of the river from Charleston and hit the hay early. We realized that company and especially babies can zap your energy in a wonderful way.

With a good nights sleep we were rejuvenated and ready to explore Charleston. The KOA staff gave us a good suggestion to park Moho and use the water taxi. It was a short scenic ride and saved us the hassle of traffic and parking in downtown Charleston. An added bonus was the swimming dolphins along side the water taxi.

Charles Town named for King Charles I was established in 1670. Charleston was the capital of the Carolina colony and the southernmost point of English settlement in the late 1600's. By the mid-18th century it had become the wealthiest and largest city south of Philadelphia and the centre of a successful shipping industry. Following independence from Britain Charleston became more prosperous in the plantation dominated economy. The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 revolutionized production and it quickly became South Carolina's major export. Of course, plantations relied heavily on slave labour. On December 20, 1860 South Carolina voted to secede from the Union making it the first state to do so. One of their reasons was the president's hostility to slavery. On January 9,1861 the first shots of the Civil War were fired in Charleston Harbour. By 1865, Union troops took control of the City. A short ferry ride away was Fort Sumter. www.nps.gov/fosu During the Civil War, this Fort became the focal point of tensions between North and South. The war had shattered the prosperity of the antebellum city. Freed slaves were faced with poverty and discrimination but as the city's economy slowly improved so did living conditions for all.

We strolled along the River and onto Broad Street, home to many of the banks and commercial establishments. Then we walked the full length of Meeting Street known as the Museum Mile. Again the architecture and old homes similar to Savannah and St. Augustine were present. There are over 1200 architechurally significant buildings within Charleston's historic district. Many were built in the late 1700's. Charleston has many examples of 18th century single homes. Of all three antebellum cities I liked Charleston the most.

Another city bites the dust. We were rolling..... I knew we were heading into the mountains because temperatures dropped, the humidity disappeared and two extra blankets came back out on our bed. The air had a clean, fresh, crispness. The town of Cherokee, North Carolina had a main street lined with cheap souvenir stores and a casino run for the tribal band by Harrah's.

Luckily, our campground was several miles out of town and we settled into it and took the weekend to prepare our journey across the Blue Ridge Parkway. The 469 miles spread from North Carolina to Virginia. Of course we did not want to miss anything. Before commencing our journey along the Parkway we stopped by the Great Smokey Mountain National Park Visitor Centre and Mountain Farm Museum. www.nps.gov/grsm So in closing, next blog: The Blue Ridge Parkway and our adventures.

Tybee Island and Savannah

River's End Campground and RV Park on Tybee Island, Georgia became our home for 11 days. Moho, our home on wheels got a long rest and enjoyed our family visitors; Kirsten, Jeff and Stella.

Our agenda was pretty relaxed and mostly working around Stella's eating and sleeping.

It was great that Don & I had the opportunity to catch up on the weeks we've been missing with Stella by being on the road.

In the usual Pinksen fashion we did our homework on "best eating spots" and hit the top three on Tybee Island. The remainder of great meals were prepared by Don & Jeff and included oysters, shrimp, crab and scallops bought fresh from the local fish monger.

Weather cooperated and allowed us to spend most of our time outdoors giving Stella the opportunity to nap in her new digs. There were a lot of "firsts" for our baby granddaughter: riding on an airplane, beaching it, sitting in the sand, swimming in the outdoor pool, going to a baseball game and staying with Nanna and Poppy while Mommy & Daddy had a night in Savannah.

We did take one day to walk through Savannah. The City's beautiful parks and twenty-two historic squares made it easy to explore on foot/stroller. The Bull and Abercorn street corridors took us past nine of the squares. It was quite pleasant to walk along the Savannah River and watch the many boats sailing along.

Of course we had to give Stella a little history lesson. We toured Fort Pulaski on Tybee Island. The Fort was built to guard the river approaches to Savannah. Construction began in 1829 and required $1 million, 25 million bricks, and 18 years of toil to finish. By the end of 1860, however, its armament was still not completed and it was not yet garrisoned. As it turned out, before United States troops could occupy the fort, they had to conquer it from the Confederate troops. On January 3, 1861 two weeks after South Carolina seceded from the Union and one week after Federal troops occupied Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, Georgia Gov. Joseph E. Brown ordered state militia to seize Fort Pulaski. There was lots of history to learn about but we just strolled and enjoyed the musket firing.

From beaching to hanging out at the pool to history lessons we found time to do the best thing of all - shop. Kirsten & Nanna had the most fun of all checking out the many bargains in children's clothing. Stella is totally outfitted for this summer and a good start to her fall wardrobe.

But it was time to say our good-byes. However, only 4 more weeks before we cross back to Canada!

Florida

It was now time to move away from the coast and commence our journey inland. Our choice, Ochlockonee River State Park provided a peaceful atmosphere with only thirty campsites nestled in the shady wooded forest. It was also a great place to host our neighbours Diane and Glenn as they were making their way north to home after a month in the sunny south. We ate, drank, ran, biked and shared our stories. Though our quarters were small it was still fun to camp out and relax together. The weekend flew by and they were anxious to get motoring. We on the other hand still had six weeks to get to the US/Canadian border. Lots more to see and do.

Our wheels took us next to the St. Augustine area. Again this proved to be a very touristy site but we settled just outside at Anastasia State Park and made day trips. Our first stop in the City was the Tourist Information Centre where an elderly volunteer lady provided us with more information than we would use but helpful tips on where to go and not to go. Moving very slow because of the heat we headed toward Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. www.nps.gov/casa The Castillo (castle) was initially built by the Spanish in 1672 to protect their empire in America. The construction is unique with it's diamond shaped projections at each corner of the fort. This design eliminated blind spots for the guards and increased the firepower by allowing multiple cannons to fire on the same target. This fortress has served six different flags, survived hurricanes, withstood bombardments but appeared very much like it's final completion in 1756.

We meandered along St.George Street with its original houses and newer replicas. It was very similar to a walk along St. Jacob's Main Street or Niagara on the Lake. One interesting site was St. Photios National Greek Orthodox Shrine. It gave an explanation of the early Greek immigrants to the United States.

We continued along our walking tour and viewed Ponce de Leon Hotel - now Flagler College. This was a very prestigious hotel built between 1885-1887

by Henry Flagler. Mr. Flagler was a busy man back in the 1880's when he constructed a sister hotel to the Ponce de Leon. This hotel named the Alcazar is now the home of City Hall. Before leaving St. Augustine we stopped at the San Sabastian Winery to tour and sample some Floridian wines. Wines are produced with the native Florida Muscadine grapes. They proved to be a little sweeter than our palattes were used to.

The next stop Tybee Island in Georgia to prepare for the visit of family.

Mississippi_Alabama_Florida Panhandle

After the craziness that is New Orleans we left to drive across the North Gulf Coast through Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. Our first stop was Davis Bayou State Park, Mississippi (part of Gulf Islands National Seashore) which turned out to be a perfect spot to spend three days. The park sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina but like everything else along this coastline life is returning back but repairs are progressing slowly. It was an ideal location to bike and run. On our long run along the beach front we witnessed vacant lots where only the exterior staircase remained and the houses gone! On the last day the heavy rains of the tornadoes just north of us allowed us to hibernate and not feel guilty. Between the rain storms we did manage to bike into Ocean Springs (15 minutes away) to buy some supplies and luckily a gentleman was selling fresh crawfish from a massive boiling pot. We purchased a couple of pounds and came back to the Moho to feast on our treat.

Gulf State Park in Alabama with over 460 sites was the next stop. Our paved campsite backed onto Middle Lake and proved to be another great spot to exercise and enjoy the warm temperatures. We biked to the beach one day but winds proved a little too uncomfortable to lie and read. So instead we biked around the City of Orange Beach. The extensive developed paved trails through the Park were great for biking/running. On one ride we actually saw an alligator beside the trail.

Finally Florida! Temperatures were getting warmer so we decided to take a break and play tourist while enjoying some needed air conditioning. TheNational Museum of Naval Aviation was a nice reprieve. www.navalaviationmuseum.org

The site was definitely worthwhile for the aviation enthusiast but non buffs like ourselves also saw and learned a lot about air travel in the war time periods. The WWI exhibit included such planes as the Sopwith Camel Fighter, the plane used by both Snoopy and the Red Baron. It made us wonder how a flimsy craft could cover the distance and increased our respect for WWI aviators. More astounding were the early aircraft carriers and the short distance the planes had to land while at sea. We travelled through time all the way to examples of jets used in Desert Storm and the Blue Angels, an American equivalent to our Canadian Snowbirds.

Continuing our travels we entered another unique tourist area; Seaside. It was comparable to entering a "perfect world". Yes, it was perfect because it was actually the movie set for Jim Carey's movie "The Truman Show". White picket fences lined the streets and finely groomed landscaped gardens. Retro Air Stream trailers were the local ice cream and chip wagons. But fantasy land soon ended as we travelled further down the road to Panama City or better known as the "Redneck Riviera". Of course we hit it during a biker event which added to the ambiance. We pushed on to find Mexico Beach which

gave us a more tranquil picnic opportunity. We both agreed that our travels along this coast gave us a different impression of the State of Florida.

Again it was an opportunity to sample seafood. A short stop at Joe Patti's proved a great experience. It was the biggest seafood supermarket that either of us had ever shopped at. There were many different fresh fish on ice than we'd ever seen. We settled on the Royal Red shrimp and Chef Don's culinary skills made them as good as any restaurant along the Panhandle coast.

We were definitely on a State/National Park roll. Our love of the outdoors was evident again when we arrived at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in Florida. We were overwhelmed by the number of birds and wildlife that visited our campsite.

Commencing with the Red Headed Woodpecker that was just outside the Moho bedroom window to the deer that visited our campsite at lunchtime and finally the armadillo that skirted the bushes around sunset. The Park was quiet and ideal to

catch more of that laid-back feeling.

Southeast Asia Top Ten + One Favourites -Part 3

9. Temples at Angkor Wat

The Angkor Wat site is massive with a mesmerizing number of Temples. How this all could be built 800-900 years ago and then "lost" for centuries is astounding.

10. Thong Nai Pan Noi Beach on Koh Phanang

This remote small village and beach was our favourite stay on the southern Thai islands. From our beach hut to the tiny restaurants in the village it was totally relaxing.

11. Koh Lanta

We ate at many beach restaurants but those on Koh Lanta best exemplified simple Thai cuisine eaten in a laid back atmosphere. Koh Lanta is also a great island to tour independently by motorbike while learning about the devastation caused by the tsunami.

Southeast Asia Top Ten + One Favourites -Part 2

5. Motor bike tour from Hue, Vietnam

We took a motorbike tour through small villages and through rice paddies.We toured a small rice production museum with an elderly woman as our guide and lunched on vegetarian Vietnamese food at a monastry.

6. Tailors in Hoi An

Hoi An is famous for it's tailors - over 200 and many shoe makers. We worked with Mr. Xe and his staff and besides the fun experience we ended up with some custom made garments and shoes which we shipped home. Besides from this Hoi An is a beautiful Unesco Heritage town.

7. Tunnels outside Saigon

While in Vietnam you cannot escape reminders of the Vietnam/American War. The most memorable for us was our visit to the Cu Chi tunnels. Three storeys deep and 200 km. long, these tunnels were used by the Viet Cong to help defeat the Americans outside of Saigon.

8. Killing Fields

It was amazing to us that while the Khymer Rouge slaughter of millions of Cambodians was occurring in the late 1970's back home in Canada we were leading our normal lives and oblivious to it. Our visit to the Killing Fields included the school converted to a jail and the Fields themselves.