ush Family Compound, and to make sure Jeb wasn't planning a secret Presidency of his own. Due to weather and time concerns, we jumped onto 95 South down to Boston and picked up Li'l Anna. The three of us drove south to Providence, RI for lunch, stopping at Uno's P
izzeria. I engorged my belly with a sausage/hamburger/roasted red pepper deep dish and Princess had Pancetta Tortellacci. She sure likes those Tortells! Traffic was light as we went back to Boston to meet TommyTip. We were TommyTip and Li'l Anna's guests for the next three nights, first in Bostonia and then at their lake house in Sunapee, NH. This night we relaxed by the TV with super mild cocktails and a giant bowl of beans/salsa/avocado dip with torilla chips. The next morning all four of us mounted our bikes and took the local bikepath to breakfast. It was a short ride - about five miles each way. We packed up upon returning to the house and got our driving game on to head out of state. There was a bunch of traffic leaving with us, but they didn't delay the drive too much. We stopped off at various stores for the necessary supplies, and made it up to Sunapee with plenty of time to spare.Within thirty minutes all four of us were submerged in the lake, thankfully with bathing suits on. Ok- Princess' turn, I was driving...but I started to nap...ya know how that goes!
I count all four of us as having bumped our heads, considering we jumped into the frigid waters of Mount View Lake. Li'l Anna was out as fast as she was in (the first), Tom showed us where 'The Rock' was and claimed sanity, while Hollywood and
I practiced our shoulder dives and hypothermia ;] Libations started flowing, and Tom and Hollywood made a tray of 'to-die-for' Nachos. Poof gone, and Hollywood and I had a 'lo
ok ma! no hands' vacuuming contest of the debris (who raised these kids???). Dinner of grilled sausage, sweet onion and peppers was consumed with a bottle of Rombauer. The neighbor put on a wonderful fireworks display for us, the first big boom almost sending me out of my skin! We ran across the lane to visit the neighbors and share in Whoopie... don't worry...it's a dessert! And quite delicious, soft chocolate cake outside with a perfectly sweet sugary whipped center. Additional libations new favorite: vanilla vodka, coke and a dash of vanilla extract. Something akin to 1Tequila, 2Tequila, 3Tequila, FLOOR! ;]I claimed bed long before the others, but rest was eventually found by all.
4th of July morning came with a headache to most, but it was sunshiney and warm. Brekky was had all around, and much liquid (of the non-alcoholic sort) was consumed. Jim and Kathy arrived and we celebrated - of course! Hollywood attempted a second bout of hypothermia while trying to locate the mooring for Li'l Anna and Tom's sailboat. Anna and I swam across our little bay to the rock pile and back, with a nice little downpour along the way. Tom and Hollywood (#1 Pyro) zipped to town to stock up on our own stash of fireworks (2 for the price of 1!!!). Pyromaniac #2 showed up: Jay and Noel were in time for continuing festivities. Hollywood and I cooked up Whisky Chicken and shrimp on the bbq, along with baked sweet potatoes and wilted kale. We enjoyed a scotch tasting during the pyro-technics show put on by H and Jay.
Thank goodness it wasnt New Year's Eve, as none of us made it til midnight, but all in all it was a wonderfully relaxing and funfilled 4th!The next morning was recovery day #2, and I spent the first part of it on the lake. July 5 was the first clear day at the
lake, without a cloud in the sky, so I hopped in the canoe and made off to the other side of the lake for a look-see. The winds were up, so the first part of the ride was fast and nearly smooth. However, when I got to the end and turned round, well, that's where the fast and smooth ended, too. The same winds that propelled me also kept on the other shore. I went left and took on water. Then I went right and rode the sand for a few. Eventually my massive musculos powered me into a dock, headfirst. A smart man would have gotten out and walked home, but I kept on paddling. I was determined to get home, safely or not, and a little (or a lot) water wasn't going to stop me. After a long ten minutes I made it back, my ego intact and my shirt soaked. Shhh...don't tell Princess! Next, I bellyflopped into the water, searching for remnants of the fireworks display. I soon found a tube buried under six feet of agua, and pulled it up. As it rose off the silty bottom, a visitor popped out and ran away. I was startled at first, and then looked into the tube to see what could have been there, and there lay another visitor...a mini-lobster! I was going to boi
l it with sausage and corn, but we didn't have a pot small enough. I snorkeled around the shallow end for a li'l bit, my lifevest keeping me afloat and the noodle making sure my feet didn't drop 8 inches into the mud. Wet dirt sure is purdy!
All y'all are probably asking yerselves why I'm talking 'bout me being a munchkin in the water...within two hours we were on the way to crossing through six new states. You didn't really want to read about that, did you?
We pulled into the Allentown KOA around seven in the evening, put up the tent and began to watch Ice Age: the Meltdown. I say began cause we both passed out halfway thru, or at least that's where I think we were. The next morning we packed up and headed out, taking the long sixty-mile drive t
o Hershey, PA. Yessiree Bob, we were at Chocolate World! The home of Hershey bars, Kit Kats, Reese's Peanut everything, Jolly Ranchers, Good n Plenty, York Peppermint Patties, oh, and those li'l buggers that melt in your mouth and in your pock
et, Kisses! We took the free tour, seeing how Mr Milton made his millions and donated $60M to the boys school way back in the 1920s. Then we took inventory of the free Cherry Cordial Kisses, and perused the vast quantities of chocolate products for sale. I really wanted the 5lb bar of Hershey, but wasn't prepared to pay $40 or lug back a ball of chocolate sludge all the way to California. We actually ended up buying nothing, and then ran over to the classroom to learn about chocolate. We actually already knew about chocolate, but we wanted the freebies! We sampled dark chocolate and Reese's and Hershey and Kisses and the Bliss...I liked that one most. Princess says the same. I'll have to get me, er, us, some later. We didn't actually spend that much time at Hershey...would you really want to?
We sped out of chocolate town ASAP and headed for Gettysburg. We weren't sure
exactly how to manage the visiting and the extra driving to Virginia, but we took the auto tour around the park, looking at all the markers, statues and cannons from those four fateful days in June/July of 1863. The battle fields were lush green with lily patches throughout. Quiet and a bit somber. Hollywood and I stopped for grub at a local pub, had some great beer and food, I got beat at Dominos AGAIN, and we continued our tour and travel. We made camp just as the lightning bugs came out to greet us; what wonderful little creatures, it is soooo very sad we don't have them out west.
The next morning, after taking my vacation face off, (OMG! What a startle to wake up to!!!) we drove out to Natural Bridge,
one of the seven natural wonders of the world. No, the Pyramids at Giza are not natural. It's a giant, natural bridge (did you see that one coming). It was once owned by Thomas Jefferson and carved up by George Washington. There's a little old crick that runs up to some falls, which is a nice relaxing mile walk after a long day of driving. Unfortunately, this was in the early morning, so we had a bunch of driving left over. We headed down through Virginia, crossing first into Tennessee and then over yonder to North Carolina. We finally reached the Blue Ridge Parkway, albeit for only 20 miles or so. We got lost trying to find the KOA, but eventually reached our tent site after using the logic part of our brains. Dinner was late, but we had arrived, ready for two days of leisure. 
With an early rise and shine, Hollywood and I hopped in the Jeep an
d headed for the top of the Smokys. Ya know that song, On Top Of Old Smoky? Well that was us. There were numerous signs that bragged about the wonderful views of the surrounding mountians...our view was of the fog racing thru the tree tops! Dripdrops kissed our cheeks and the moist air kept us refreshed. It was a short visit, as we wanted to check out Peter's - a local breakfast joint that claimed to have the best. All in all, it was quite good, the grits and honey some of the best I've had - considering they were grits. Then we headed back to the KOA and checked out the Tubing schedule. It was just shy of 2:00 so we quickly got ready and joined in. We were driven up river a couple miles and put in just as the sun broke thru the clouds...which didn't last. The father/daughter duo who joined us were much fun. Water fights, rapid races and re-runs, a rather icky river weed fight and eventually another bout of hypothermia were shared by all! The sky opened with lightning, thunder and fat rain drops. Much fun, but by the time we reached the KOA again H and I were ready for the indoor hot tub. What a relief! Rain continued to fall so we went out to dinner and turned in after an hour of relaxed reading and a get-to-know-your-traveling-partner session: positively revealing!
Hollywood and I broke our soggy camp and headed to Peter's for another delicious brekky. Once we were fueled, and George (the jeep) was fueled we hit the road for Tennessee.
Up and over the Smokys we went, heading for the western half, which is on the other side of the Appalachian trail. We had planned on biking the 11 mile, one-way loop thru Cades Cove, but we decided with the intermittent rain and unsure road conditions that we would forgo that little adventure. Instead, we drove in and were happy we did, as the road was narrow and shoddy and packed with cars. There were several slowdowns, meaning the bears were out finding a late breakfast. We saw a few: scruffy, little, big, and one idiot human jumped the fence of a meadow to chase down a BIG bear, he thought acosting it with a camera was a good idea...some peoples' children! Eventually we were free of the masses and trekking out on a dirt road, through the forest and over the rushing creeks that crossed our path. It was slow going but beautiful. Eventually we reached paved road and were on our way with more speed. This is when I started to get excited. Now - in case y'all didn't know, I have a bit of a motorcycle fetish. One that is un-appreciated by Mom, Dad, Hollywood, and most everyone else that knows I'm accident prone. Well, a couple years back I read an article in a moto mag that mentioned an AWESOME moto road down in this area. I couldn't recall where it was, but when we started driving this wonderfully twisty road, and were met by dozens of motorcycles, my moto blood started to thrum. I turned to Hollywood and mentioned the article, remembering with uncertiantly that the road was called The Dragon. The article said there was a camera crew who took photos of riders, and how on occasion the photos were of not-so-smart riders crashing... Quite entertaining. Low and behold we passed a camera crew. OH BOY!!! Full board excitment! How I was wishing for that Gladius I'd seen in Bar Harbor! A mile or two down the road we pulled off to take in the view, and I had the opportunity to ask a rider what this road was called. He said Hwy 129. I asked if it had a nickname. He said....... THE DRAGON!!!! Yeehaw!!! I did a little jig! :] On we went, and the river of motos continued to flow by. The wonderful thing about the Dragon is that there are 318 curves in only an 11 mile span. Add motorcycle and you have FUN FUN FUN!!!! After picking up a momento, I finally settled down and we headed to Nashville.
l it with sausage and corn, but we didn't have a pot small enough. I snorkeled around the shallow end for a li'l bit, my lifevest keeping me afloat and the noodle making sure my feet didn't drop 8 inches into the mud. Wet dirt sure is purdy!All y'all are probably asking yerselves why I'm talking 'bout me being a munchkin in the water...within two hours we were on the way to crossing through six new states. You didn't really want to read about that, did you?
We pulled into the Allentown KOA around seven in the evening, put up the tent and began to watch Ice Age: the Meltdown. I say began cause we both passed out halfway thru, or at least that's where I think we were. The next morning we packed up and headed out, taking the long sixty-mile drive t
o Hershey, PA. Yessiree Bob, we were at Chocolate World! The home of Hershey bars, Kit Kats, Reese's Peanut everything, Jolly Ranchers, Good n Plenty, York Peppermint Patties, oh, and those li'l buggers that melt in your mouth and in your pock
et, Kisses! We took the free tour, seeing how Mr Milton made his millions and donated $60M to the boys school way back in the 1920s. Then we took inventory of the free Cherry Cordial Kisses, and perused the vast quantities of chocolate products for sale. I really wanted the 5lb bar of Hershey, but wasn't prepared to pay $40 or lug back a ball of chocolate sludge all the way to California. We actually ended up buying nothing, and then ran over to the classroom to learn about chocolate. We actually already knew about chocolate, but we wanted the freebies! We sampled dark chocolate and Reese's and Hershey and Kisses and the Bliss...I liked that one most. Princess says the same. I'll have to get me, er, us, some later. We didn't actually spend that much time at Hershey...would you really want to?We sped out of chocolate town ASAP and headed for Gettysburg. We weren't sure
exactly how to manage the visiting and the extra driving to Virginia, but we took the auto tour around the park, looking at all the markers, statues and cannons from those four fateful days in June/July of 1863. The battle fields were lush green with lily patches throughout. Quiet and a bit somber. Hollywood and I stopped for grub at a local pub, had some great beer and food, I got beat at Dominos AGAIN, and we continued our tour and travel. We made camp just as the lightning bugs came out to greet us; what wonderful little creatures, it is soooo very sad we don't have them out west.The next morning, after taking my vacation face off, (OMG! What a startle to wake up to!!!) we drove out to Natural Bridge,
one of the seven natural wonders of the world. No, the Pyramids at Giza are not natural. It's a giant, natural bridge (did you see that one coming). It was once owned by Thomas Jefferson and carved up by George Washington. There's a little old crick that runs up to some falls, which is a nice relaxing mile walk after a long day of driving. Unfortunately, this was in the early morning, so we had a bunch of driving left over. We headed down through Virginia, crossing first into Tennessee and then over yonder to North Carolina. We finally reached the Blue Ridge Parkway, albeit for only 20 miles or so. We got lost trying to find the KOA, but eventually reached our tent site after using the logic part of our brains. Dinner was late, but we had arrived, ready for two days of leisure. 
With an early rise and shine, Hollywood and I hopped in the Jeep an
d headed for the top of the Smokys. Ya know that song, On Top Of Old Smoky? Well that was us. There were numerous signs that bragged about the wonderful views of the surrounding mountians...our view was of the fog racing thru the tree tops! Dripdrops kissed our cheeks and the moist air kept us refreshed. It was a short visit, as we wanted to check out Peter's - a local breakfast joint that claimed to have the best. All in all, it was quite good, the grits and honey some of the best I've had - considering they were grits. Then we headed back to the KOA and checked out the Tubing schedule. It was just shy of 2:00 so we quickly got ready and joined in. We were driven up river a couple miles and put in just as the sun broke thru the clouds...which didn't last. The father/daughter duo who joined us were much fun. Water fights, rapid races and re-runs, a rather icky river weed fight and eventually another bout of hypothermia were shared by all! The sky opened with lightning, thunder and fat rain drops. Much fun, but by the time we reached the KOA again H and I were ready for the indoor hot tub. What a relief! Rain continued to fall so we went out to dinner and turned in after an hour of relaxed reading and a get-to-know-your-traveling-partner session: positively revealing!Hollywood and I broke our soggy camp and headed to Peter's for another delicious brekky. Once we were fueled, and George (the jeep) was fueled we hit the road for Tennessee.
Up and over the Smokys we went, heading for the western half, which is on the other side of the Appalachian trail. We had planned on biking the 11 mile, one-way loop thru Cades Cove, but we decided with the intermittent rain and unsure road conditions that we would forgo that little adventure. Instead, we drove in and were happy we did, as the road was narrow and shoddy and packed with cars. There were several slowdowns, meaning the bears were out finding a late breakfast. We saw a few: scruffy, little, big, and one idiot human jumped the fence of a meadow to chase down a BIG bear, he thought acosting it with a camera was a good idea...some peoples' children! Eventually we were free of the masses and trekking out on a dirt road, through the forest and over the rushing creeks that crossed our path. It was slow going but beautiful. Eventually we reached paved road and were on our way with more speed. This is when I started to get excited. Now - in case y'all didn't know, I have a bit of a motorcycle fetish. One that is un-appreciated by Mom, Dad, Hollywood, and most everyone else that knows I'm accident prone. Well, a couple years back I read an article in a moto mag that mentioned an AWESOME moto road down in this area. I couldn't recall where it was, but when we started driving this wonderfully twisty road, and were met by dozens of motorcycles, my moto blood started to thrum. I turned to Hollywood and mentioned the article, remembering with uncertiantly that the road was called The Dragon. The article said there was a camera crew who took photos of riders, and how on occasion the photos were of not-so-smart riders crashing... Quite entertaining. Low and behold we passed a camera crew. OH BOY!!! Full board excitment! How I was wishing for that Gladius I'd seen in Bar Harbor! A mile or two down the road we pulled off to take in the view, and I had the opportunity to ask a rider what this road was called. He said Hwy 129. I asked if it had a nickname. He said....... THE DRAGON!!!! Yeehaw!!! I did a little jig! :] On we went, and the river of motos continued to flow by. The wonderful thing about the Dragon is that there are 318 curves in only an 11 mile span. Add motorcycle and you have FUN FUN FUN!!!! After picking up a momento, I finally settled down and we headed to Nashville. 
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