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GTW

The Great Trip West (2012)

Knoxville, TN

First, let me tell you that the truck started yesterday.  Started right up.  No hesitation, no evidence of a dead battery.  Nevertheless I took it to the nearest Sears Auto Center to have the batteries tested.  Both were fine, according to them. So we are left with a mystery: why the drained battery on Saturday … Continue reading »

Categories: GTW, Places, TN | 1 Comment

GTW Hop 9: Heiskell, TN, to Knoxville, TN

22 miles via I-75 and I-40.  Cumulative distance: 1,325 miles. This was more of a “limp” than a “hop.”  The original plan, before the devastating Thursday blowout, was to put the RV in the shop for one day to fix the assortment of minor problems that we had accumulated to date.  The idea was that … Continue reading »

Categories: GTW, Places, Routes, TN | Leave a comment

GTW Hop 8: Hillsville, VA, to Heiskell, TN

225 miles via VA 100, I-81, I-40 and I-75. Cumulative distance: 1,303 miles. It just keeps getting worse. Another day, another blowout.  This one occurred at 60 mph in the middle lane of a very busy I-81 on a downhill curve near Wytheville, VA, less than 30 miles into our 225-mile journey.  It was the … Continue reading »

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GTW Hop 7: Luray, VA, to Hillsville, VA

207 miles via US 340, I-81 and VA 100. Cumulative distance: 1,078 miles. We traveled to Hillsville for one reason and one reason only: it was just over 200 miles from Luray. We have determined that we don’t want to travel more than 230 miles in a day, that being the comfortable limit of a … Continue reading »

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Luray, VA, and the Shenandoah National Park

The plan for our 2-night stay in Luray, VA, was to take a leisurely road trip along Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and, possibly, take in the famous Luray Caverns. But I learned that Jett is not a spelunker (her response when asked if she would like to tour the caverns was “No freaking … Continue reading »

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Amish furniture

We love Amish furniture.  Part of it is that we love furniture made from solid wood.  Another part is that we appreciated craftsmanship.  The third part is that we like a bargain. Which is why I drove for 8 hours on Saturday to pick up two oak swivel gliders to replace the very uncomfortable loveseat … Continue reading »

Categories: GTW, MD, PA, Places, Routes | 2 Comments

GTW Hop 6: Lorton, VA, to Luray, VA

96 miles via I-95, VA 234, I-66 and US 340. Cumulative distance: 871 miles. Our first non-ding hop! OK, it was just 94 miles, mostly over interstate, but we have done short-and-easy before and still managed to collect a ding.  Let me feel good about this. The route was pleasant enough, with rolling hills lining … Continue reading »

Categories: GTW, Places, Routes, VA | 1 Comment

Lorton, VA

We are currently 5 days into our 7 days at Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton, VA. We are spending a week here not because we love Lorton or northern Virginia (though we are growing more fond), but because the park is less than 30 minutes from the house shared by Jett’s twin sons. It … Continue reading »

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GTW Hop 5: Gettysburg, PA, to Lorton, VA

101 miles via PA 116, US 15, I-270, I-495, I-95 and VA 600 and 242. Cumulative distance: 775 miles. A ding-a-day. It is the theme of this trip. It would be more accurate to say “ding a hop” but that doesn’t have quite the same ring. So a ding-a-day it is. The Hop 5 ding … Continue reading »

Categories: Adventures, GTW, MD, PA, Places, Routes, VA | 1 Comment

Gettysburg, PA

If you want to swim for a few hours in a deep pool of American history, just visit the Gettysburg National Military Park. I can’t say that I have been to all of the great battlefields of the world, but this one is huge (24 square miles), relatively new (the battle was 149 years ago) … Continue reading »

Categories: GTW, PA, Places, RV Parks | 1 Comment