While we were in Virgina, we were able to see our friends from the time we were stationed in Iwakuni, Japan. We were there for 3 years and it was the best time we spent in the military. Bob and Nancy Noxon, with their son, Josh and his wife, Caroline, along with nephew, Will, and John and Brenda Harris with their son, John all came by for dinner and drinks over the weekend. Chris messed up the camera and the only pictures of the event are below. Good friends from a long time ago. We are lucky. Click the link, select slide show and hit F-11.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/NoxonHarrisFamilies?authkey=Gv1sRgCMax1-Cxl7DRYw#
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Squadron Friends
OK, we're still catching up the blog. Last month, on our way south, we stopped in Virgina to visit our good friends from our old squadron. We had seen JJ and Dina Standford in Hawaii when we went there for our Squadron reunion. (See the July 2010 entry). We got to see them and Maggie Bachelor when they came to our campground in Stafford, VA. We had a blast having them over for dinner. Pictures below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/StanfordsMaggie?authkey=Gv1sRgCMmJgv3EwZHSjwE#
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/StanfordsMaggie?authkey=Gv1sRgCMmJgv3EwZHSjwE#
Red Bay, Alabama
From November 1st: We are in Red Bay, Alabama getting some warranty work done on the coach at the Tiffin Repair Facility. Mr. Tiffin has sold so many coaches in the last few years that this place is packed. They do such good work that everyone comes here to get things repaired or to add things on their coaches.
Imagine, if you will, a big, busy Walmart parking lot, but with 40 and 45 foot motorhomes coming and going all day long. Early in the morning they will call your cell phone and say "Can you come to bay #49?" Well, you disconnect, pull the slides in and rush to get over to the bays. You and about 20 other motorhomes at the same time.
It's an adventure that's for sure. We feel very lucky that we don't have any big issues with the coach, just a few annoying things that needed to be fixed here. We were able to get them done in the "Express Bay". This is for small issues that can be done in 3 hours or less. If you have more serious problems that will take more time, then you have to be put on a waiting list. That list is 6 weeks out now at this point.
We are not sure where we are headed, but it looks like Florida for a quick visit.
We are free from any obligation anywhere and we will be happy to be able to go wherever we want.
The plan for now is to head out west after the new year. We plan on staying in the west for a year or two before coming back east. We hope to slow down a little and take more time visiting and experiencing the local areas wherever we are.
We are waiting for one small piece of wood work and we should be out of here today, headed south.
Stay warm.
Imagine, if you will, a big, busy Walmart parking lot, but with 40 and 45 foot motorhomes coming and going all day long. Early in the morning they will call your cell phone and say "Can you come to bay #49?" Well, you disconnect, pull the slides in and rush to get over to the bays. You and about 20 other motorhomes at the same time.
It's an adventure that's for sure. We feel very lucky that we don't have any big issues with the coach, just a few annoying things that needed to be fixed here. We were able to get them done in the "Express Bay". This is for small issues that can be done in 3 hours or less. If you have more serious problems that will take more time, then you have to be put on a waiting list. That list is 6 weeks out now at this point.
We are not sure where we are headed, but it looks like Florida for a quick visit.
We are free from any obligation anywhere and we will be happy to be able to go wherever we want.
The plan for now is to head out west after the new year. We plan on staying in the west for a year or two before coming back east. We hope to slow down a little and take more time visiting and experiencing the local areas wherever we are.
We are waiting for one small piece of wood work and we should be out of here today, headed south.
Stay warm.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Gettysburg National Park
Gettysburg National Park took us a full day to see and appreciate. It takes a lot of concentration, driving, walking, and for us,.....155 pictures.
If you go, you should go when the weather is agreeable. I would not want to go there in the heat or the very cold. Unless you are a Civil War buff, we would suggest two hours at least in the visitors center. The Cyclorama exhibit should not be missed. The history and restoration of the Cyclorama was very interesting itself. After the visitors center we did the Auto Tour. You can buy or rent audio tapes to listen to while driving. Here's the National Park site for Gettysburg. http://www.nps.gov/gett/
Alex and I were going to try and go through some of the pictures and explain each one in regards to the battle, however for your sake, we are going to post the best pictures and leave it at that. Our hope is that if you haven't been there, the pictures will make you want to. If you have been there, or you're a Civil War buff, then you will recognize some of the monuments and areas. Keep an eye out for pictures of Little Round Top with Big Round Top next/behind it. For those that don't know, Little Round Top is where the battle was decided and you will see pictures of those two hills. Of course Little Round Top is the smaller.
Alex had gone to Gettysburg with his class when he was at Command and Staff School in Quantico back in the 80's. They marched around and were given a close up tour and instruction of the battlefield. I appreciated his explanation of the battle. It was very sad and moving at times.
As usual, click the link, select slide show, hit F-11 to enlarge.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/Gettysburg?authkey=Gv1sRgCM7x5YTOl72UqwE#
If you go, you should go when the weather is agreeable. I would not want to go there in the heat or the very cold. Unless you are a Civil War buff, we would suggest two hours at least in the visitors center. The Cyclorama exhibit should not be missed. The history and restoration of the Cyclorama was very interesting itself. After the visitors center we did the Auto Tour. You can buy or rent audio tapes to listen to while driving. Here's the National Park site for Gettysburg. http://www.nps.gov/gett/
Alex and I were going to try and go through some of the pictures and explain each one in regards to the battle, however for your sake, we are going to post the best pictures and leave it at that. Our hope is that if you haven't been there, the pictures will make you want to. If you have been there, or you're a Civil War buff, then you will recognize some of the monuments and areas. Keep an eye out for pictures of Little Round Top with Big Round Top next/behind it. For those that don't know, Little Round Top is where the battle was decided and you will see pictures of those two hills. Of course Little Round Top is the smaller.
Alex had gone to Gettysburg with his class when he was at Command and Staff School in Quantico back in the 80's. They marched around and were given a close up tour and instruction of the battlefield. I appreciated his explanation of the battle. It was very sad and moving at times.
As usual, click the link, select slide show, hit F-11 to enlarge.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/Gettysburg?authkey=Gv1sRgCM7x5YTOl72UqwE#
Jacobsburg State Park, PA
OK, so we will start to catch up after our computer problems.
Way back on September 23rd we went for a hike to Jacobsburg State Park in Pennsylvania.
http://www.stateparks.com/jacobsburg.html
The park has a lot going on. It's an environmental education center, hiking trail and home of the Henry Rifle. http://www.henryrepeating.com/history.cfm
The Henry family lived here for many generations and some of the homes and buildings are part of the park and hike. It's a beautiful area. Nice day. I'm very happy with these pictures. It was an overcast day but the pictures turned out better than I thought they would. Click the link below, select slideshow and F-11 to enlarge the screen. Hope you like them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/JacobsburgFarmHike?authkey=Gv1sRgCK2w24blzbqALw#
Way back on September 23rd we went for a hike to Jacobsburg State Park in Pennsylvania.
http://www.stateparks.com/jacobsburg.html
The park has a lot going on. It's an environmental education center, hiking trail and home of the Henry Rifle. http://www.henryrepeating.com/history.cfm
The Henry family lived here for many generations and some of the homes and buildings are part of the park and hike. It's a beautiful area. Nice day. I'm very happy with these pictures. It was an overcast day but the pictures turned out better than I thought they would. Click the link below, select slideshow and F-11 to enlarge the screen. Hope you like them.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/JacobsburgFarmHike?authkey=Gv1sRgCK2w24blzbqALw#
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Computers UGH
Alrighty. Back online after a trying few weeks with computer problems. I'll spare you the gory details. It wasn't pretty. We will work to catch up. Coming up..... Gettysburg, Raleigh and crazy Marine Corps friends. Later, Chris and Alex
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Orchard Beach and Kennebunkport, Maine
We went to Orchard Beach on the recommendation of our campground host. It's a popular family summer beach. Lots of hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts. Streets full of coastal bungalows that can be rented for a week or more. The beach has a perfect crescent shape and is 7 miles long. Apparently, sandy beaches are rare in rocky Maine. This one is ideal and the little town is charming. The first set of pictures are of Orchard Beach. Click the link below, select slide show and F-11 to enlarge.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/OrchardBeachMaine?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeg34nfyNm9mwE#
Another day we headed to Kennebunkport. We ended up right in front of the Bush compound. Wow, nice piece of real estate. It must be something to sit on the ocean front porch of this place. We then drove into the village of Kennebunkport. They have a small, sandy/rocky beachfront. It's lovely and the houses were just what you'd expect. The picture to the left is of Kennebunkport. On the link below, the first 2 pictures are of the Bush place.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/OrchardBeachMaine?authkey=Gv1sRgCKeg34nfyNm9mwE#
Another day we headed to Kennebunkport. We ended up right in front of the Bush compound. Wow, nice piece of real estate. It must be something to sit on the ocean front porch of this place. We then drove into the village of Kennebunkport. They have a small, sandy/rocky beachfront. It's lovely and the houses were just what you'd expect. The picture to the left is of Kennebunkport. On the link below, the first 2 pictures are of the Bush place.We would recommend visiting both of these places. They each have their own charm and both places are perfect for a picnic on the beach.
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