Sundown

That's the sun setting behind our daughter's house in West Virginia. The sun has set on our trip as well. We left WV Tuesday morning and headed for Virginia. We took route 50 from central WV over to Winchester, Va. and then route 17 down to Fredericksburg, Va. What a terrific route it turned out to be. It took us right up over the Allegheny mountains with stunning views and fall colors at their peak. It also took us up and over quite a few 9% grades with tight twisty curves. But we went up and down just fine, if slow.

We got to Fredericksburg about 3:00 and set about finding the military visitor center. Signs directed us West to the Chancellorsville site but there didn't seem to be much there so we returned to Fredericksburg and found a different set of signs that led us to the National Military Cemetery visitors center.

By then it was 4:00 and they close at 5:00. We inquired about Diane's ancestor and were shown where his grave was located. Then I pushed her up the hill and over the grass until we found it. There are 15,243 sets of remains interred there but the identities are known for only 2,473 of them. Luckily, one of those is Diane's Great Grand Uncle, that is, her Great Grandfather's brother. He was a member of B Company of the 2nd Michigan Infantry and was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness. When we visited the family plot in NY last fall, we saw that his name was carved on the family monument but there was no headstone for him. I did a bunch of research and found his military record and his burial spot. This was our chance to check it out. No one else in the family has ever been to the grave site.

By the time we returned to the visitors center it was almost 5:00 and I just had time to get some names of references to pursue for further research. Then we headed South out of town to a huge shopping complex. After snagging some snacks for dinner, we settled in for the night in the parking lot of a Walmart. The temperature remained mild over night and the site was well removed from the highway so it turned out to be a good choice. In the morning we headed right down I95 and then I85 to home. We got home just at noon. I filled up at the Flying J near home and was pleased to see that for the last tank of fuel I got 11.8 mpg, the best I've recorded so far.

Altogether, we've been gone about 6 months and have traveled about 7,000 miles. It has been a good trip. There have been highs and lows but we're both glad we went and did what we did. We'll never do a trip West like that again but we'll certainly plan more trips. The motor home has proven trouble free on the return trip and I feel confident taking it anywhere this side of the Rockies. For us, this is the ideal way to see the country and visit family. Thank you all for following along with us.

Local Color

We pulled out of our Ohio campground Tuesday morning in the face of what was predicted to be heavy rain and wind. I had been watching the radar over the past several hours and it looked like a reasonable chance to move so we decided to take off and see what happens. Well, the storm turned out to be a non-event. We ran into light rain a couple of times but nothing dramatic at all. It was only 182 miles so we arrived here in mid afternoon and set up in the driveway.

We have been fortunate that we have enjoyed really great weather on the whole trip back. The last couple of days have been overcast but the sun is just starting to appear today and it promises to be beautiful. Ever since we crossed over into Wisconsin and then into Michigan we have been able to observe the changing fall colors. While nowhere near peak, there are some stunning views none the less. We're really enjoying it.

While we were in Arizona I had the constant feeling of being out of place, like being in a foreign country without knowing the language. Now that we're back in the East the weather patterns and the plant species and the flow of the land is familiar and comfortable. It's a more peaceful feeling.

Archery season for deer has started this year around here. A customer brought in an eleven point buck yesterday to our daughter's husband's butcher shop. Our daughter's family has gotten three deer so far this year, two bucks and a doe. State law allows them to get as many as six apiece between gun and bow seasons but that's way more than they've got room for in the freezer. Each fall they clean out their freezer and give away whatever meat they have left over from the season before so we're bringing some back with us.

We'll hang out here until after the Columbus holiday and then start home but not in a straight line. We're going to take some country roads across the hills and into Virginia and wind up at Fredericksburg. Diane's great grand uncle is buried in the national cemetery there, a victim in the Battle of the Wilderness in the Civil War. We're going to visit his grave and get information on his unit and their campaign. Then it's home from there about mid week next week.

Old Timey Time

We left our son's place in MI yesterday 's and, after fighting with Michigan traffic and lousy roads, we made our way into East central Ohio. We are camped at the Amish Country Campsites in Winesburg, Ohio in what seems like the center of the Amish settlement area. We hear the horse drawn buggies going by frequently.

After settling in yesterday we took today to roam the area to see favorite spots and find new ones. Probably our favorite spot is Lehman's Store. We started there this morning. In case you've never heard of Lehman's, it's a store which got its start providing hard to find items to the Amish who settled in the area. They sell all those old time products that we used to rely on before there was electricity and indoor plumbing. Pretty soon the survivalist crowd was looking for the same type of products. And since a lot of the stuff was either antique or retro, Hollywood came calling to equip movie sets. The store today is a blending of five barns which have been moved and attached to each other making a maze of rooms inside. They have a lot of everything from kitchen appliances to wood stoves to kitchen ware to books to toys and hardware.

Diane had to check out the cookbooks.

If you've ever been to an old time field days, you may have seen the setups with the hit and miss engine turning an old fashioned ice cream maker. Lehman's has 'em for sale, complete and ready to go.

They have one entire room dedicated to lamps. Kerosene, gas, and electric. Lamps and lamp parts are there to build or repair just about any type of lamp you've ever seen.

They have the most complete stock of kitchen tools, equipment and accessories that I've seen anywhere. My eye was attracted to these turned rolling pins.

It goes on and on. It's really worth a stop when you're in the area.

Leaving Lehman's, we travel Southwest to Millersburg, a town with a designated historical district with a glass museum. Then it was on to Berlin, the closest that his area gets to the commercialism of the Lancaster,Pa. area. But it's still fun and they sure have some terrific items from the local woodworkers. Wood furniture built from solid oak or cherry seems to be the area specialty and there are lots of makers to choose from.

Just North of Berlin on route 62 is Heini's Cheese Store with over 100 kinds of cheese and many other goodies. We bought some Lacy Baby Swiss and some Farmer Cheese. then we went across the street to Kaufman's Bakery. They have the biggest selection of breads and rolls and pies and cookies to be found. I got a blackberry pie and Diane got some peanut butter cookies, among other things. Then we went up the road to Wendell August Forge a rather unique place that has  various plates and bowls made from aluminum or pewter or brass sheet which is pounded into engraved molds.

All that shopping and looking had us tired out by that time so we went on up the road to the Amish Door Restaurant for dinner. Reminiscent of the big restaurants like Good N Plenty in the Lancaster area, this new operation offers family style, buffet and menu ways to order your meal. They have an attached bakery and also a gift shop and an inn. The food was very good and the service was outstanding. The prices were very reasonable. We were too stuffed to be tempted by the bakery but we did find some black raspberry jam in the gift shop.

One last stop one the way back to the campsite lead us to the Gateway Place, a shop which specializes in Ohio wines. We had a delightful time chatting with the hosts while tasting some of the local wines. And of course, a few bottles managed to accompany us out the door. Then it was back to camp. Tomorrow, we'll head out of Ohio and on to West Virginia to our daughter's place. The forecast is for thunderstorms and wind but we're going to head out and  see how it goes.