USS Salem & JFK

I'm spending the weekend in Rhode Island again and have a free Saturday so I decided to visit the USS Salem in Quincy, MA. Quincy is just south of Boston, about 40 miles from where I am. I checked out their website and thought it looked like an interesting ship to see. It was a tough place to find due to the lack of signs, winding roads and the fact that I forgot to bring my GPS receiver. As I pulled up I saw signs about a haunted ship thing going on for Halloween and when I walked up to the entry I was told the ship was closed for tours. I was really bummed, but probably not as much as another man who arrived just as I did. He came from California just to visit the ship which he had served on many years ago. Pretty poor way to run a visitor attraction if you ask me.

So, since that was out of the question I decided to visit the JFK Library and Museum located at the University of Mass. just a few miles away. I have visited several other Presidential Libraries including Reagan's, Nixon's, Truman's and Eisenhower's. This one is OK as these things go but I probably enjoyed it the least of any I have visited. Perhaps that is because we have been so bombarded with information on his life already that there was really nothing much new to learn. It's a dark, wet, dreary day in New England and not much fun to be outside so it was a good way to kill a couple hours. Unless you are a big Kennedy fan I would not waste my time.


Dianna is in California visiting her family so we are on opposite sides of the continent. Last night we played cribbage against each other on Pogo. Amazing how computers and the internet let us stay in such close touch regardless of where we are.

I'll let her tell you about her goings on.

Nautilus

I'm in Rhode Island again for a few days and had some free time this afternoon. I decided to drive down to Groton, CT to visit the Submarine Force Library and Museum. Electric Boat Company is based here and built many of the subs used by the US Navy over the years. This includes the Nautilus, the first nuclear sub in the world which is on display there.

The Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980, having been made obsolete many years before. She was built using the form of the WW II subs that spent most of their time on the surface, only diving when necessary. Subs now are built to operate under water and have a round front instead of a bow like a ship. The Nautilus was the first sub to visit the North Pole and to cross from the Pacific to the Atlantic through the Artic Ocean.

I have toured many WWII subs and they were all small and cramped. The Nautilus had much more space and felt less claustrophobic than earlier subs. The newest Ohio class subs are much, much larger so they would be something to see.

Only the forward areas of the Nautilus are open for visiting. Even though they have removed the reactor, there is still some residual radioactivity and they will not let you near that area of the sub. They say it is perfectly safe, but they are either being overly cautious or there are still aspects of nuclear propulsion systems they don't want the public to see.

It was a fun afternoon. Here are some pictures if you're interested: Photos

Battleship Cove

I know it's been a while since this was updated, but I can't seem to get Dianna interested in maintaining it. And me -- well, I have to work. Most of the time anyway. Today is
Saturday and I am in Rhode Island again. I came up on Wed and worked in the office Thursday and Friday. I have to go in tonight at 6:30 for a few hours, but I had the day to explore. The weather is warm and beautiful for a change so I drove down to Battleship Cove in Falls River, MA for the day.

Battleship Cove has several ships to explore. You can visit their web site at Battleship Cove to see what they are all about. I have toured many ships but this museum has to be one of the the best. Most ships I have toured in other places are only partially restored and you are guided along a fairly limited path through just some parts of the ships. These were almost completely open.

The destroyer Joseph Kennedy was quite interesting since I don't remember being on a destroyer before. Somewhat cramped quarters, but an interesting ship none the less. You sure have to learn to climb small steep stairways, and it is very easy to hit your head.

They had two PT boats restored that you could look into through openings in their hulls. You could not actually get on these boats. Pretty impressive wooden boats that could hit 50 MPH.

The Lionfish submarine is similar to others I have toured, but this one is in good condition.

The Hiddensee is a Russian missle frigate and it was interesting to see all the Russian writing on the equipment. It looked very much like the American ships except it seemed to me to be much more roomy for the sailors. Their rooms were larger and the whole ship felt uncrowded. That surprised me.

Then I toured the Battleship Massachusetts. That is one big ship! They give you a guide for a suggested way to tour the ship, and even with that I got lost several times. I toured the Texas several years ago and it was not nearly as good as this ship. I was able to go almost anywere I wanted. They were really small floating cities.

They offer a camp aboard program and during the summer they have hundreds of kids who spend the night. Most are boy scout or some other kind of group, but even families can make the arrangements if they wish. It's a pretty neat program, but it did result in hundreds of the little buggers running all over the place. Fortunately, it is a big ship and they all spent more time sitting on the guns than crawling through the engine rooms. It was really fine.

If I had one complaint it would be that there is so much to see and they do not really do a good job of posting directions. It would have been much easier to tour all the ships if they had painted some lines on the deck, or even had directional markers to guide you on prescribed routes so you could be sure to see everything and not spend so much time just trying to figure out where you were!

Anyway, it was a fun day for me. I'm sure Dianna would not have enjoyed it nearly as much so it worked out well. I return to Dallas tomorrow and we spend the week getting ready for vacation starting next Sat. Actually I will take Thursday and Friday off to go get the truck and make preparations to leave. Our plan is to tour Colorado this year. More on that later.

Back to Denton

It was only about 250 miles to Denton. We decided to have the truck and trailer washed before we parked it so we went to the truck wash just north of Denton. We arrived about 3:15 and waited until 5:00 before we gave up. By then they had only finished washing 2 trucks and there was one more ahead of us. We would not have gotten out of there before 7 PM so we drove to our permanent space at Destiny RV Resort.

Backing this rig into the space we have is a good trick. It is the largest space in the park, but we have to back in around a large tree and do not have a lot of room to maneuver. Everyone in the area has to come out to watch the show. I have disappointed a lot of people who are expecting to see yelling, screaming, crashing and cussing. Maybe I missed my calling as a truck driver!

Ruston, LA

Today was a driving day. We left early and gained an hour as we entered the Central time zone. We drove over 500 miles and found the nicest campground of the entire trip. It is the Lincoln Parish Park, just a couple miles off I30 in Ruston, LA. Being a parish (county) park, it was also about the least expensive. It is located on a man made lake with a paved walking trail all the way around as well as bike and horse trails. They had picnic areas and a sandy beach for swimming. We were able to back into a spot overlooking the lake and did not even have to unhook. They had full hookups, beautiful scenery and it was only $16 plus tax. We would not mind spending more time there.

Visiting Darin & Diane

We drove to Chattanooga today and checked into Raccoon Mountain Campground. Darin, Diane and Katie came over from Cleveland in the afternoon. We went to dinner at Cracker Barrel and had a good visit. Christine had to work so we did not get to see her.

Difficult Day

We received the sad news that Tina's sister Kim passed away recently. Tina is the Executrix and there are legal problems to sort out so it has been a double whammy for her. You are in our thoughts and prayers, Tina.

Biltmore Estate

Today we toured the Biltmore Estate, another of the Vanderbilt homes. This is still owned by the Vanderbilts and is a working estate, although most of the work is with tourism. The do have a winery and some farming still in existence, but they only have about 40,000 acres left of the original 120,000 acre estate. The Biltmore is the largest privately owned house in the country, with about 250 rooms. We toured the house and the gardens which were beautiful. The tulips were in bloom. We ate at the lunch room which used to be the stable. Nicest stable we ever saw!

We spent the night at Taps RV park in Ashville. It was listed as a place with Big Rig sites in the campground guide, and the manager who checked us in said it would be no problem to get in. "Bigger rigs than yours have been in here." Right. These people have no concept of a rig that is 65 feet long! We had to unhook the truck from the trailer and if the people in front of us had not left when they did, we would have had to back out. I hope I have learned my lesson. Don't trust anyone who stands to make a buck if I stay in their campground. Check it yourself!

Salisbury, NC

Dianna spent the day exploring the county records and library in Salisbury, NC and found several documents in her genealogy research. We spent about four hours there and then drove west about 10 miles to Mill Bridge where some of her ancestors are buried. The grave of her Revolutionary War ancestor, William Knox, was beside his parents' grave.

She didn't know his was there so it was a great find for her! The church was established in 1747 - years before this country was a country. Fascinating history. Spent the night at a lake resort near Conover, NC.

Genealogy in North Carolina

We made it to the Raleigh, NC area so Dianna could do some genealogy research. We spent the night at an RV park very near Duke University where Lauren was initially treated. Dianna did not find much at the State Library, but it was an interesting place to visit. She has high hopes for her visit to Salisbury, NC tomorrow.

Four States in One Day

Yesterday we left MA and got as far as Mountain Top, PA, between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The owner once lived in Cuba, NY (where Richard was born and lived until he was 11), once owned the hotel on Main St. and loves Cuba Cheese! The world continues to shrink!!

Today we drove from Pennsylvania, through Maryland and West Virginia and are spending the night in Petersburg, VA. We've enjoyed absolutely gorgeous weather, finally seeing some green lawns and green leaves on the trees. We're sooo glad to be on our way home and back to warmer country!

On the Road, Again

The trailer is packed and we are ready to leave Rhode Island/Massachusetts first thing in the morning. After 70 degrees last Sunday we have had temperatures no higher than 50 this week, but the trees are just starting to push buds so leaves can't be far behind. Today we saw some daffodils growing along the highway. That's the first color we have seen!

We are on our way to Raleigh, NC so Dianna can do some genealogy stuff, then to Salisbury, NC for the same reason. Then we plan to go to Ashville, NC and tour the Biltmore mansion after which we head for Chattanooga to see Darin's family overnight. Then it's on to Denton and home. Our route from here to Raleigh will be anything but a straight line. We plan to head west through CT, missing Hartford this time, and then across the Newburg Bridge above New York City and over to near Scranton, PA. Then south on I81 until we are into Virginia. The route through PA is pretty mountainous but we will miss all the Atlantic seaboard population centers like New Haven, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. Those areas are bad enough in a car, let alone 65 feet of truck and trailer.

Postings may be sporadic the next few days as I don't usually bother to set up the satellite when we are just stopping overnight. More and more parks have wireless connectivity, and many of them offer it for free, so we will try to update our progress as we go.

Even with the bad weather the past two months, we have enjoyed seeing the new places here. But we are also excited about seeing our kids and grandkids again so leaving is not hard at all. In fact, we long for the day when we can spend a few weeks in some place and then move to the next whenever it suits our fancy. We really are vagabonds who love to be "on the road again".

Embroidery Days

Here is what Dianna spent the past several days working on. She finished these for Donna today.

Genealogy Hunt

I've been doing some genealogy research for my mother-in-love since we've been back here. The Briggs' are from Rhode Island so there is a lot of information about them in various places. It's too bad it hasn't helped unravel the mystery of all the John and Job Briggs'! She had high hopes for me to try to resolve what the professionals haven't been able to. I went to the Newport Historical Society today as that is the area many of them are from.

Now that we're leaving I'm finally beginning to have a better feel for where I am and how to get to where I'm going! It's confusing countryside with no roads running NS or EW.

I was hoping to find something different from what I found at the Providence H.S. Other than a listing for the birth of John Briggs of South Kingstown in the Friends (Quaker) records and a few pages on the Coggeshalls - a line that married into the Briggs - I was unsuccessful. So, unless I make a trip to D.C. to check the National Archives there I don't think I'm going to find anything else locally. Sorry, Mom.

Ouch!

Remember those 294 steps up the Bunker Hill Monument? Well, my aching legs sure do! I am so sore today I can hardly walk. Dianna was up and down all day and is doing pretty good, but I worked at my desk for a couple hours at a time. Every time I got up I almost fell back down.

I climbed the monument about 10 years ago when I was in Boston for a conference, and I don't remember being anywhere near this sore. I guess I really need to get back in shape. We went up to the hot tub tonight, and it helped some but I still hurt.

Boston

As we had another gorgeous, warm day today we decided to tour the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides). The last time Richard was in Boston it was closed for rehab so we were glad to find it open. They've added another level for touring so it was better than he would have seen had he been able to do so. It was awe inspiring to find ourselves on the decks of a ship that has been used to fight for our country's freedom for so many years. It's the oldest commissioned naval vessel, built in 1793-96. The still take her out and sail her 4 or 5 times a year.

The tour guides are Navy personnel, some in regular uniform, some in period costume. Our guide has had a tour in the Mediterranean, carrying on the tradition of fighting for our freedom.

At Bunker Hill we decided to climb all 294 steps. Boy are we out of shape!

It's been so wonderful to see so many historical places while back here. The east is truly a fantastic place to visit and steep ourselves in our country's early history.

Road trip across Massachusetts

Since this is our last weekend in the area we decided to see as much as possible in the next couple of days. It was a gorgeous, warm, clear day so we enjoyed our time, some of it outdoors.

Today we went to Concord, MA to see the Minute Man memorial where "the shot heard round the world" started the Revolutionary War. Normally you can walk from the Visitor's Center across the North Bridge to the memorial. But as you can tell from the picture that was an impossibility. With the tremendous snow melt off and rain we've had the river is way over it's banks. Fortunately there's a road that will take you to it.

In the area is Walden Pond where Henry David Thoreau lived and wrote his book by the same name and Louisa May Alcott's home. It was also the home of Henry W Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne at one time or another.

Then we drove by Clara Barton's home, the founder of the American Red Cross and on to Old Sturbridge Village, a village much like Williamsburg, set in colonial times with all the shops and homes set in period. It was closing in an hour so we decided not to spend the $40 to see it.

On to the Blackstone Valley where the American Industrial Revolution began. Mills were built along the Blackstone River and they used the water to run them. There's not much left now except for a lot of stores to tempt the tourist. Along the route we visited Purgatory Chasm, a chasm full of rocks to make your way over and around, at times with much difficulty. It reminded Richard of Chochise Stronghold near Wilcox, AZ.

We ate dinner at the Lafayette House, a former tavern built in 1784. The room we ate in is part of the original carriage house. George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Lafayette all ate there and some spent the night. Great food and wonderful history.

Don't try to understand it

After much discussion and debate the company decided to have me return to Dallas. We will be here thru next Friday and leave Saturday the 16th. When we came up from Dallas we made the trip in 4 days. Since it was the middle of winter we had to miss the storms and the window of good weather followed us accross the country. That was really pushing hard . We drove over 600 miles one day. We are going to go back a lot slower than we came. We are going to take the whole next week and be back in the office on Monday the 25th.

Now, here's the part that is hard to understand. There is a lot of work for me to do up here but they want me to fly back and forth from Dallas. I will actually put in just as many hours either way (although much of it traveling and doing no productive work) so there is no difference in the cost of my salary. They will just get less work done.

The cost of my flying back and forth will exceed the cost to keep me here full time, to say nothing of the inefficiency from wasted time travelling and the impact on my family life, but it will cost the company less since they will be able to charge our customers for my travel expenses from Dallas but could not charge them if I was here.

I bet this sounds as stupid to you as it does to me. I just keep telling myself that I only have about 15 months left until I can retire!

Warming Up

Today it was over 60 for the first time since we have been here. It's finally beginning to feel like spring.

It looks like we may be asked to stay here through the summer. There is more work to be done than we thought and they are not sure if they want to hire someone permanently or not. So I may need to stay for a while and see how it goes. This will mean a trip back to Dallas to move our stuff out of the space in Destiny so we are not paying for two places. Not sure if we might bring the truck and boat backup up with us.

Dianna went to the National Archives today. She didn't find anything except the National Archives, which is a feat in itself! The nice weather makes it much more enjoyable to get out.

Looking for a new campground

Yesterday we drove over 100 miles in search of a possible new campground. We have to be out of Normandy Campground here in Foxboro, Massachusetts on the 1st of May. We didn't find anything very promising on our tour. It is surprising how few campgrounds there are in this area, and how few of the ones in existence that we would consider living in. And then there's the cost!

Today we went to one more place and found a great spot. It's expensive and does not open until May 1, but that is exactly what we need. It's on a lake and the sites are quite large. We were shown a spot where we will have no problems with the satellite and it is no farther from work than were we are now.