July 14, 2012 -- A change in plans

When we woke this morning, it was pouring rain. The weather forecast was for continued off and on rain throughout the day. We had originally planned to attend the Bastille Day celebrations in Philadelphia, and tour some of the historic sites. But with rainy, muggy weather on tap, and the fact that we were only a 45 minute drive from Philly, we made other plans.

We headed north to the winery that sells our favorite Chardonnay, Brimstone Valley Winery, in Pine Bush, NY. A 3 1/2 hour drive took us there, where we purchased a case.

From there, we headed home, arriving at about 7 p.m.

From this eclectic selection of destinations, we took away various musings and facts:

• We will probably never visit places east of the Mississippi ever again in the summer. Not because we don't appreciate the beauty and history of the places here. But---it's too hot and humid to walk around without sweating your brains out. On every single walk/hike we took, I needed to take a towel to wipe the sweat from my head and neck, or it would run into my eyes, and/or soak my shirt. This is an area best appreciated in the fall.
• We were pleasantly amazed at the lack of bugs on our hikes. We had fore-armed ourselves with 2-3 containers of bug spray for this trip, and didn't need to use any of them for any hike.
• All the Appalachian states are incredibly beautiful. As steep and craggy as the Rockies are, these mountains are a series of steep green hills and valleys. You can really understand the concept of "hollows" here. 
• Hotels would be doing their patrons a BIG favor by locating shower heads higher up on the wall.

We learned all kinds of cool things.

• Like the fact that during the American Civil War, the common term used in the United States was "sharpshooter", which is a reference to and a tribute to the Sharps rifles that were commonly used by Civil War "snipers". Those rifles could shoot accurately to 1000 yards.
• Cannon fire during the Civil War could reach 2 miles.
• To create Shenandoah National Park in 1935, they created a commission to investigate the people in that area. The "findings" were that the people were ignorant, non-religious, and probably unable to care for themselves adequately. So the federal government moved in to "help these people", by moving them out of the desired lands to property outside the proposed park. Never mind that the people had farmed and raised their families on this land for generations. 
• When Great Smoky Mountain National Park was established in 1934, 2/3 of the land had been clear-cut. Though Congress had authorized the park in 1926, there was no nucleus of federally owned land around which to build a park. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. contributed $5 million, the U.S. government added $2 million, and private citizens from Tennessee and North Carolina pitched in to assemble the land for the park, piece by piece. Slowly, mountain homesteaders, miners, and loggers were evicted from the land. This is the only National Park with no entrance fee, because it was mostly paid for by the citizens of North Carolina and Tennessee. 
• People who anchor the news on southern TV stations don't have the same accent as the people to whom they broadcast.
• West Virginia's governor was a shoe-in for the post, just based on his name: Earl Ray Tomblin.
• Robert C. Byrd, the longest serving member of the US Senate in history, has more stuff named for him in the state of West Virginia than anyone else in any other state: it brings new meaning to the words: pork barrel politics.
•  There's nothing quite like being in the woods, with no one around, and listening to the bright sound of wood thrushes singing to one another.

So, all-in-all, a wonderful trip.   2,912 miles, 104.73 gallons of gas at an average of $3.256 per gallon (highest in Rochester, NY at $3.499/gallon, cheapest in Gatlinburg, TN at $2.999/gallon). I'll be sending invitations to the pictures as I post them.  Thanks for coming along!