Jill and I left Union City on October 4, 2009, and took a northeasterly route up through Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. We spent a couple of days at Gettysburg, PA and were both touched by the reverence one feels when on the battlefield. It's a remarkable study and reminder of the gamble in which Lee marched his massive Army of Virginia north with the avowed purpose of engaging federal troops in what he thought would be a decisive final turning point in the war and force a much troubled President Lincoln to finally acquiesce to the seceded states and let them live alone outside the Union. Lincoln's federal armies had been soundly defeated up to that point and he had replaced and fired several generals trying to defeat the Confederates. On July 1, 1863 the 70,000 Confederates and 90,000 Union troops clashed on Cemetery Ridge outside Gettysburg and the South prevailed routing the Union troops. Federal reinforcements arrived on July 2 and the tide turned with the Union prevailing by virtue of outnumbering the Confederates and maintaining high ground in a defensive position. The rest is history and the Confederates retreated on July 3 and Lee headed South to Virginia thus literally sealing the ultimate victory for the Union in the war. Jill and I have visited several Civil War battlefields, but Gettysburg is special and is a recommended stop for anyone interested in our history

From there, we headed East in Pennsylvania and spent three days in Lancaster County..........more specifically Intercourse, Pennsylvania........where we toured Amish country. I still cannot imagine why they did not name the town Mayberry or something like that. Again, having never been there, we were amazed at the simple life and how beautiful the countryside was. It's like a time warp with a people we are not familiar with living without benefit of motorized farm equipment, cars, electricity, etc............and they are perfectly fine living peacefully and productively in their little niche. The rest of America should take stock in the Amish and Mennonites and incorporate some of their "how to's"........e.g., their homes and property are immaculate, no trash, every square inch of ground growing something, and everyone works with the goal of being productive in everything they do.

From Pennsylvania, we headed North and wandered for more than two weeks in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine chasing nature and her glorious fall foliage transformation. It was beautiful to say the least and the rugged nature of the landscape is softened by the serene beauty of all the little towns and throwback in time when this country was being settled. It's a place for "blue bloods" and a lot of well-to-do New Englanders have left their mark there..........Rockefellers, Carnegies, Billings, etc. Their opulence is very obvious and has been perpetuated in variety of ways including museums, working farms, etc. Quechee, Vermont and Woodstock, Vermont may be the two most quaint and beautiful little towns we have every visited. We woke up on October 14 in Quechee with snow on our camper. Both towns are authentic late 1700 and early 1800 pictures in time.

We roamed all of the mountain ranges in the Northeast, tried to drink a different brand of beer at all the micro-breweries, ate lobster and haddock at every occasion, and toured as far North as Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park (ironically the oldest national park in the eastern US). If rugged is a good adjective, then Acadia is rugged. Its massive rocky shoreline, cliffs, inlets, bays, and forests are mother nature at her raw best.

Having driven over 2,000 miles, we headed South down the coastal Highway 1 and rubber necked our way through all the little seaports and villages for four days all the way to Gloucester and Cape Ann. We ate seafood in all the little diners and followed the locals to their favorite watering holes all the way down the coast.

On our way to Acadia National Park we made it a point to get in touch with Peb Stone who lives in Freeport, Maine, enjoying a long lunch and visit. He lives in an apartment in this beautiful home overlooking the Atlantic. Absolutely beautiful with lobster boats anchored in the bay in front of his home. Picturesque to say the least. He previously lived in Wolfeboro Falls, New Hampshire for 27 years. Our time together was well spent on catching up on the 43 years since he was a groomsman in our wedding. He has not grown any taller but has maintained his dry wit and infectious smile. The house in which he lives adjoins L. L. Bean's canoe paddling school facility and is typically New England pristine. Jill and I were taken back by the beauty!!

Our route home took us around Boston to New York where an error in navigating took us right through the Bronx, by Yankee Stadium, and across the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey. That eventful drive pulling a camper in New York traffic with what seemed to be a million Latinos waving at us with one upheld finger made me appreciate my Xanax more than ever. We drove through Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Delaware, to Pennsylvania where we it the home stretch through Virginia to Tennessee. We even took a side trip in Virginia cutting across the mountains to Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC to Marietta, GA where we refueled our grandparents' tanks with our grandchildren.

Jill and I spent a magnificent 25 days in our camper touring New England. Covered 16 states and drove 4,100 miles. On our New England journey, we I had no agenda for our trip and Peb made several suggestions on routes, things to see, etc. Was very helpful. Peb still has excellent taste in women 5'3" and under as is shown in the photo with Jill. Peb told us that he would be back in the Memphis area around Thanksgiving and on to Atlanta to visit his daughter. If I recollect, he plans to attend the Ole Miss vs LSU game in Oxford. Lynn Preston Smith will know more details. What a great time we had rekindling a friendship spanning nearly a half century