Golden Hill State Park, New York

...I LUV NY...

...after picking up Gus, we headed north to New York...the drive from Harrisburg Pa to Lake Ontario thru the Sequahanna River Valley was just beautiful...each state and place we go seems to be more beautiful than the one before....we arrived at Golden Hill State Park around 8:15 just in time to see THE most beautiful sunset ever....just to the left of the sun you could just make out the CNN tower in Toronto...our campsite was right on the lake, which by the way looked like an ocean....also across the street was the Thirty Mile Point Lighthouse...OMG...being tired from the previous day, we decided to make it a "light" day...as if we know how to do that...he he...we met lots of wonderful people while walking around...hey to Ann and Reed, Tom and Marylynn and Annie and Roy...our "light" day turned into taking a boat trip down the Erie Canal...the ERNIE canal...can you believe...went thru Locks 34 and 35...kinda scary knowing a wall of water of 25 feet at a time was on the other side of the door...very interesting...our next day was the biggee....Niagara Falls...like I said each day just keeps getting better and better....you can't imagine the feeling standing by the railing with the falls behind me...we again took a tour which included the Discovery Center, Restaurant on Top of the Falls, Cave of the Winds, IMAX show on the history of the falls and my favorite, the boat ride into the falls...Maid of the Mist....it was definitely the best.....the next morning Bessie and Gordon and Jim and Karen left for Pulaski, NY....of course, Bill and I were not ready to go so we stayed behind for another couple of days....in that short time we shopped at an Amish store and bought some of the best goat white cheddar cheese, tasted wine at Shultze's Winery...met the granddaughter of the lady who at one time lived in the lighthouse in our campground...even a small world in NY...he he...drove to Olcott, walked the Wilson-Tuscarora State Park beach and found lots of sea glass...our last stop was Fort Niagara which was an important harbor in the War of 1812....arriving at the campground, we were given a private showing of the lighthouse....thanks Annie and Roy....hope your mom is doing well.....the next morning we were off to Pulaski, NY for our next adventure.....

...Gus goes to the clinic...

...Jim and Karen and Bessie and Gordon left for Golden Hill State Park in New York on Thursday morning and we went to York, Pa. to find out where the Ford dealership was located...once we checked in with them and everything was a go for Friday morning we headed back to camp...as we were on the way back we saw the Harley Davidson Factory/Visitor Center...not being bikers ourselves, we went in to get some brochures for the local area and decided to take the tour...why not...he he...turned out to be awesome....very interesting seeing the assembly line and the pride and dedication the employees take in building the bikes...everyone there LOVED their jobs...especially, the two guys that road test the bikes...of course, we had to see what we'd look like if the urge ever hit us...he he...we then continued back toward camp when we turned on a side road and found a great old covered bridge...glad we didn't come up on it in the RV...he he...next morning we were up and gone by 6:30 and had Gus checked in at 7:45...we found the coolest 24 hour diner and had breakfast...we even found out what scrapple was... by the time we finished and took a short shopping trip to the mall, they called and Gus was ready to go...only a bad coil that warranty took care of and we were on our way to Golden Hill State Park...right on Lake Ontario....

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

...four score and seven years ago....

...we left Fredericksburg and the Washington area and headed to Gettysburg, Pa...the drive was just awesome...the countryside was just beautiful...we have had wonderful weather the whole trip...as I'm trying to catch up on the travels, I keep getting farther behind...he he...I cannot believe we have been gone for over a month and are still in awe of our great United States...our campground in Gettysburg was the best yet...tall trees and huge boulders around the firepits...we even had birds on our feeder and chipmunks running around...we spent the first morning calling Ford dealers trying to get someone to look at Gus...he was missing out bad driving up the hills...we finally were able to make an appointment for Friday morning at 8am in the city of York, about an hour away...no problem, we decided to stay behind acouple of days...driving thru the town of Gettysburg gave you the feeling of being back in the 1800s...many of the old buildings were still standing...AND they are all so narrow and close to the street...we ate lunch at the Dobbins House...the oldest building in the city and it had been a tavern back in its day...it was soooo dark down in the basement we almost set our menus on fire trying to use the candles to see...he he...Bill was just speechless at the Cyclorama of the war at Gettsyburg,seeing the battlefield itself and the all the monuments honoring the states and men who gave their lives there...the museum housed thousands of artifacts...thought we'd never get out of there...our next stop was the Gettysburg National Cemetery where Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg address...what a feeling standing 300 feet from where Lincoln actually stood...this was a full day however, we saved the best for last...we took a tour out to Ike and Mame Eisenhower's farm...their home was a very comfortable modest little house...you just felt at home...his show barn was were he entertained many of the leaders of other countries, showing off his ribbons for his Angus cows...the next morning the others left and we had the whole day to "explore"....the following day would be an early morning to get to York by 8 o'clock for Gus' doctor appointment...

Washington DC

...TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION...

...Bill made the mistake of asking the tour guide why that phrase was on their license plates...holy cow...the "elderly" tour guide went off on a soapbox of how they live in the capitol city and pay taxes and do not have any representation in congress...we didn't think we'd ever get her back on track...he he...Washington DC was so much more than I expected...my favorites were the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial...the World War II and Korean War Memorials were awesome also...we saw the White House and the Capitol...the Smithsonians will have to be another trip...toooooo much...definitely will be back...the Arlington National Cemetery was huge...the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier was very emotional...the silence in the audience was touching...John F. Kennedy's eternal flame was a favorite spot...we also took a tour of Fredericksburg...it was amazing that so many of the buildings were the original buildings from the 1700s..to be standing at the grave of George Washington's mother...OMG...next stop Gettysburg, Pa...