Cross Country 2004-part 1

As a review for most, we traveled across America for the summer of 2004 in our Class C rv. This was a first for us, as we had no rv experience, and relatively little travel experience outside of New England. But, with a sense of adventure and a few places in mind to visit, we headed out for 52 days of fun.

We spent the first night in New Hampshire at a small campground.
Next, we were off to Mt. Holyoke in Massachusetts. We had wanted to climb it, and had quite an adventure in parking at the mountain. The signs weren't exactly clear, so we had a last minute decision to make at an intersection. We chose a place that said "bus parking" even though it really didn't look like any such thing. Scraped the back end of the rv on the way in as it was a bit steeply pitched. It was a good thing we made this choice! After hiking up the mountain to the facilities on top, we looked at the parking area up there. If we had chosen to continue, we might still be there. No way would we have been able to navigate the tight turns in the parking areas. In this case, way better to be lucky than good (as Glen is always saying).We enjoyed great views of the Connecticut River from the top and learned that the building at the summit used to be a gentlemen's club where much drinking would occur. Paul decided to sit on the edge of every cliff he found, and Kyle started his mission of the trip--not to smile in any photos.

After the climb, and lunch in the rv, we headed on to New York. We stayed at a little place that was repairing the pool. They sent us down the road to a pond to swim. Let's just say...yuck! The guys did go in, but I opted to watch from shore. Later, we see a "No Swimming" sign. Looks like Mom was the smart one!

One overnight, and we head off to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. We camp at Artillery Ridge Campground, and break out the bikes to travel to and from the park. We took a tour with a ranger that was a great way to really put what we were seeing in proper perspective. I am amazed that any of the soldiers had energy to fight after the heat and humidity they experienced in their wool uniforms. We saw the location of Lincoln's Gettysburg address, Little Round Top, and many other places we have studied in history class.



At the time, the boys were just as happy that we finally found a campground with a pool!