September 30, 2009. Day 73 Richmond VA.

On September 30th, we left Gaston VA and drove 2-1/2 hours to Richmond VA. We drove downtown and found a parking place for the RV. On the way to Richmond Kevin had talked to our good friends Kim and Glen Wood who live in Centreville VA. We were going to see them later that day after touring the capitol. Glen told Kevin to try to go to Bottom’s Up Pizza while we were in Richmond. He said it was a very good pizza place that he and Kim used to go to. Wouldn’t you know it that while trying to find a place to park we drove right by Bottom’s UP and parked a couple blocks away. We unhooked the Jeep and drove to the capitol. The capitol in Richmond sits on a hill and is so beautiful. They recently completed a full renovation inside and out so the entire complex is awesome. Everything has been restored to original appearances as much as possible. They also added a new entrance for visitor that takes you in through a tunnel. It goes by some exhibits and shops that are really great for visitors. Very few capitols have done much to provide for visitors but this one sure did. The tour was really good. We were impressed with this capitol and all its history. Since Richmond was the capitol of the Confederacy too, that added in interesting element to its history. After our tour we went to Bottom’s Up for lunch. It was every bit as good as Glen said it would be. We then drove 1-1/2 hours to Centreville, Virginia to spend the night and visit with the Wood’s. We camped at the Bull Run Regional Park which was a very nice park set in a wooded environment with a lot of wildlife.

September 29, 2009. Day 72 Traveling to NYC.

On September 29th, we left the Atlanta area and headed for Virginia. This was the longest drive we have had so far at 429 miles and 7 hours. We stayed at a great campground right on the lake in Gaston, Virginia at Americamps Lake Gaston. This was another of those places we would have liked to have stayed longer. We would have if we didn’t have to get to Richmond Virginia the next day to tour the Capitol then go on to Centreville Virginia.

September 28, 2009. Day 71 Atlanta GA.

On September 28th we left Aunt Dawn’s house and drove to the NE side of Atlanta to set up camp at Jones RV Park. After being in the Atlanta area for 4 days we decided we better get our trip to the Georgia capitol completed. We moved so that when we left the Atlanta area to head north toward NYC, our next stop, we wouldn’t have to deal with the morning rush hour traffic. Finding parking right near the capitol we walked a short distance to take a tour. Again we had to do a self guided tour and Kevin was our guide. He did another great job of showing us around his home state capitol. This capitol was OK but didn’t seem to have anything unique. After touring we walked a couple blocks over to Underground Atlanta to have lunch. It was pretty quiet in Underground on this Monday afternoon. Kevin told everyone how Underground had been a place he frequently went to party on the weekends some 30ish years ago.

September 27, 2009. Day 70 Aunt Dawn's House.

On September 27th, we went to church with Dawn and Dave (Kevin’s sister and brother-in-law). It was a really nice church and the message was very good. They had a drama also that was very moving. After church we came back to their house and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with family. The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool again while Kevin watched the Atlanta Falcons lose to the New England Patriots on TV.

September 27, 2009. More wedding pictures.

September 26, 2009. Day 69 The Wedding Day, more pictures

September 26, 2009. Day 69 The Wedding Day.

On September 26th, we all went to Kevin and Melissa’s wedding in the afternoon. The wedding was wonderful. Everyone looked great dressed up and Melissa was beautiful. They had a very traditional wedding, exchanging “Till Death do we part” vows. It wasn’t raining when the wedding began, but it was pouring – raining cats and dogs – when we left for the reception. We all got very wet. The reception was fun and the food was great. The kids and even the adults had a lot of fun dancing. We ended the evening saying goodbye to the bride and groom and blew bubbles for them to run through. We were so glad we had interrupted the trip to come to wedding.

September 25, 2009. Day 68 Rehearsal Dinner Day. .

On September 25th, Kathleen and Kevin’s Mom, Allie, went to a luncheon for Melissa’s bride’s maids at Kathy’s house in Douglasville. Some of the roads in the Atlanta area were closed due to the recent flooding, so the traffic was bad everywhere. A ride that should have only taken a little over an hour, took twice as long. It took even longer for them to get home which was bad because they had to get ready to go right back down to Douglassville for the rehearsal dinner. Allie had to be there even earlier for the actual rehearsal. While Kathleen was gone the boys swam in Aunt Dawn’s pool, Rachel spent the day with Aunt Teri and Kevin washed the RV for the first time since we left. It took 4 hours to get her clean. Even though it was hard to get to because of traffic, the rehearsal dinner was very nice. Kathy, the bride’s mother, did a great job getting everything together and the food was really good. We met the groom, Kevin, for the first time. He is a true southern gentleman. Most of his family was there too and Kevin spoke so well of them all as he passed out the groomsmen gifts. It seems he comes from a wonderful family and he will be a fine addition to our family. Except for the fact that he’s a Florida State fan and not a Bulldog, Mellissa has chosen well.

September 24, 2009. Day 67 Traveling to Atlanta.

On September 24th (Grandma’s birthday), we left Frankfort, Kentucky and drove the 391miles to Atlanta for our niece Melissa’s wedding. We were a little concerned because for the last week Atlanta and the SE had been getting soaked with rain and there had been a lot of flooding. On our way there we stopped at a Camping World just south of Chattanooga for supplies and saw where they had been flooded too. This place sat right on a river and it flooded 15 feet above flood stage. They lost almost all their Class A RVs and many trailers too that they couldn’t get moved in time. It was pretty sad. We arrived at Kevin’s sister’s house in Marietta that afternoon. It was great to be able to park the RV right in their extra driveway to be close to family but it took a little effort to get it level. Kevin’s Mom and Dad came over and his sister Teri too. Kevin’s sister Dawn made us dinner and we visited and relaxed the rest of the evening. We were sorry it wasn’t much of a good birthday for Grandma but she said it was fine and she was just glad to be with us. There are a lot of good wedding pictures and since we can’t post more than five pictures each time we will include some with each of the next few posts.

September 22-23, 2009. Days 65-66 Frankfort KY.

On September 22nd, we left Indianapolis for Frankfort, Kentucky where we camped at the Elkhorn Campground for two nights. This was our 21st State Capitol to visit. When we went to the capitol we had to take a self guided tour of the capitol. We’ve had to do that a few times and whenever we do Kevin is the guide while Kathleen helps Rachel with her notebook to take notes. We always use the self guided tour brochure they give you which usually tells most all you need to know. This was Grandma Celine’s first Capitol with us and she enjoyed it. She said Kevin was the best guide she’d had so far. While we liked the capitol enough it wasn’t one of the better ones. The grounds were beautiful around the capitol and all but The Senate and House Chambers were nothing to brag about. We also noticed how the people inside the capitol were not that friendly at all. After that we went and toured the Old State Capitol building and we thought that it had so much more character than the capitol building itself. Even though it normally costs to tour it a guide there, who heard what we were doing took us on a free tour. She was very good and this tour made the Frankfort stop much better. We recommend going to both building’s but be sure to at least go to the Old State House if you can only do one. On our second day in Frankfort, Grandma and Kathleen had a girl’s day out to get ready for the wedding, while Kevin stayed with the kids at the RV.

September 21, 2009. Day 64 Indianapolis IN-again.

On September 21st, we left Great Lakes Naval Training Center and drove 216 miles, through a very busy Chicago, to Indianapolis for the night. It was nice that Grandma Celine was still with us to be a part of the trip for a while. We stayed at the Indiana State Fair grounds again. If you’re ever in Indianapolis and need an inexpensive RV place this is it. For $20 you get W-S-E. If you camp you know that’s "water, sewer and electric". We came here again because we were heading toward Atlanta for Melissa Timcho’s, Kevin’s niece, wedding. Kevin’s nephew, Ryan, lives in Indianapolis, so we called him and had him over for dinner. He said he was happy to see us because he got his first home cooked meal in quite some time. It was nice to visit and catch up with him too. We've included a picture of Ryan, on the left, at the wedding with his cousin Jordan.

September 17-20, 2009. Days 60-63 Great Lakes and Chicago IL.

On September 17th, we left our campsite in Springfield on our way to Chicago for Thomas’ graduation from Navy basic training. We picked up Lauren Rivera (Thomas’ girlfriend) and Grandma Celine from the Chicago Midway airport - they had flown in for Thomas’ graduation. Once we got them, we drove to Great Lakes Naval Training Center, where we were staying at the RV Park on the base – right along Lake Michigan.

On Friday, September 18th, we woke up early and left for Thomas’ graduation. We were there early, so we got great seats. Thomas was in the only performing division and he was in color guard. He held the American flag. As we were sitting in the stands on the second floor, we could see some sailors across the way in an open door. We couldn’t believe that one of them was Thomas. They all seem to look alike with that short hair. We were so happy to see him and we waved. A little while later, Kathleen went downstairs to find the restroom and as she was trying to find it, Thomas came walking up the stairs down below. She couldn’t believe that it was him. For nine weeks she had not seen him and had missed him so much. They hugged and she cried. It was so great to see him. Since Thomas was in the performing division, he did not have to stand at attention for the hour and a half ceremony like all the other divisions. After Thomas performed, he stood not far from us and watched the rest of the ceremony.
After graduation, Thomas was able to spend the day with us. He just wanted to relax at the motor home and visit with us. That was nice catching up with him and hearing all about his friends and the last nine weeks. Thomas was happy to see us, but he was mostly happy to see his girlfriend, Lauren. Thomas had to be back to his division that night.

On September 19th, we met Thomas at the train station and took a train into Chicago where we met Lauren’s mom, Carol. We toured Sears Tower (now named Willis Tower). We walked around downtown Chicago a bit. We saw “the Bean” at Pavilion Park and walked to the pier – then all the way back to the train station to get Thomas back to his division by a certain time. It was very sad for Thomas to say goodbye to Lauren. Lauren and her mom were staying at a hotel in downtown Chicago. It was nice to visit alone with Thomas on the train ride back.

On September 20th, we again took the train into Chicago to have brunch with Lauren and her mom, Carol. Today was our last day with Thomas. We visited a little, and then we all (including Lauren) took the train back to the Naval Station. Thomas and Andrew wanted to watch a football game before Thomas had to be back to his division. Thomas and Lauren were so sad to say goodbye to each other. Lauren’s train left at 5:15 p.m. Kevin and I took Thomas back to his division at 6:00 p.m. It was so sad to say goodbye to him. We are so proud of what he has accomplished. He was leaving Tuesday morning very early to fly to Pensacola.

September 16, 2009. Day 59 Indianapolis IN and Springfield IL.

On September 16th, we toured the Indianapolis State Capitol. At first we didn’t think there was a guided tour so we took our own. By the time we finished we saw that there was a tour starting so we took it in case we missed anything. They almost always tell you things not included in any literature and this guide did. You can also get into some places on a tour that you can’t by yourself although we don’t let that stop us. See August 29, Concord NH. After the tours we walked to the Indiana State Museum along the canal to get some souvenirs. It’s a really beautiful part of the city. We are finding that there is so much to do in the cities we go to and that we just don’t have enough time. Indianapolis is one of those cities we need to go back to do more. After lunch we drove three hours to Springfield, Illinois and toured their capitol that afternoon. It was the first time we have toured two capitols in one day. This capitol was interesting in two ways, the building itself and the fact that they don’t seem to do much government here because they seem to do most everything in Chicago. The guide seemed to be upset about that but still gave an interesting tour. We have really enjoyed all the capitols we have seen. They have been so beautiful. There is so much history in them. We also toured Abraham Lincoln’s home and his neighborhood. That was so interesting and cool to actually be in Abraham Lincoln’s home where he had lived. The National Parks System has done an incredible job of recreating the area as it was when Lincoln left for the White House. His home is original but nothing else is.