DC trip conclusion

We headed back to Minnesota on Saturday, July 31 at a very leisurely pace. We tracked down two or three bookstores in Massachusets really enjoying the small towns and back roads. There was too much to see to read, even though we had started a book about the Mayflower. We camped in the corner of NY, NH, and MA at Privacy Campground which specialized in tents and tent trailers. They also had some tiny huts. The owner discouraged big rigs by having a height limit bar at the beginning of the driveway. He was quite a character. His wife died many years ago and he is still carrying on with their dream.

We stopped in Albany and enjoyed the Empire State Mall which fronts their capitol. We crossed the state to Cayuga Lake State Park on the finger lakes and stayed two nights. That allowed us to use the local history centers and also meet up with Diane, the author of a book on Belle Sheffer - part of our family!
The next day got us back across Ontario to Windsor and out to Pickney Recreation center at Crooked Lake campground. We were thrilled to capture on film four herons in the campground as we left.
Our last night out we stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Rockord, IL. We had one more history quest in Belvedir, IL which is in Boone County. They had a Joseph Case family with names similar to ours but I think someone got things mixed up. I need to read everything again, but it doesn't fit correctly in my scheme of things. There is much to integrate with what I already know.
We arrived home safely on Aug 5th. We are so thankful to God for our safety, for the friends we met and for the beauty of the country in which we live.

DC Trip Part 2

Sunday, Larry picked Marlys up at the hotel around noon. It was still HOT! We drove to Mr. Vernon, George Washington's home. The visitor center and movie were great, but then it was time for our tour at 3:10. We hustled to the tour area in the sunshine and warm day. The 3:00 hadn't left yet! Well, we finally got near the building by 4 or so. Then Larry had to go find a toilet! I stayed in line and entered Mt. Vernon. It was really interesting. We were 3/4 finished when we got word that a storm was coming, electricity was out and maybe we would need to evacuate!!!

For that short while when I was in the building, storm clouds had blown in from the west and the wind was really whipping up dust. We got to the entrance before the heavy rain came. It lasted about 1/2 hour and by the time we headed to our car, it was over and steam was rising from the pavement. We were heading toward Richmond for the night in a motel. The next day we'd visit Williamsburg. But, I was able to get a picture of the Capitol building before dark and we found a laundromat to get our clothes clean.


We had a day of history at Williamsburg and Yorktown before we headed north to Pennsylvania. We took time to do research in Lancaster PA but found no breakthrough's in the Rail, Riggle or Wilson families.
Then we went on toward Philadelphia to visit Phil and Elizabeth. We caught up with each family and seemsed to take up where we had left off last time we talked. Sharon and family joined us for dinner. We even were treated to deer in their back yard!
We stopped in Trenton, NJ for the Capitol picture and then drove throught the western part of the state. We touched a corner of NY and then drove to Hartford,CT (for the capitol, of course). We stayed in a State Forest in the east and then got to Rhode Island the next day. Distances are much shorter in the NorthEast. We did research in Providence and then stopped in Plymouth, MA to buy a book. We also took a picture of the capitol in Boston before heading to Tom & Diane's house on the coast. We enjoyed our two days with them. We walked the beach and even played 'Mayo' bocci with rocks.

Trip to DC Part 1

Our summer trip this year was to go to Washington DC. Marlys attended the Triennial XIII for women of the Covenant church July 22-25. Of course, that was the perfect reason to head east camping. We left July 15th heading to Wisconsin. Our first stop was in Appleton to see Marlys' cousins, Jud and Marge. We surprised them and had a nice visit. They even returned one of Larry's games which we promptly gave away again as we traveled. It was fun to share our travels to Norway and Ukraine with Marge and Jud.
We have always talked about taking the ferry to Michigan, so this year we did it! We enjoyed the historical sights of Two Rivers before driving to Manitowac to board the ferry. It was fun to visit with other travelers - sharing stories and getting advice.
We camped in Luddington, Mich. and then headed toward Detroit.
We were very disappointed to miss seeing Ryan & Laura and Elaine and Bud, but we appreciated the offer of a place to stay near Detroit. Since we were doing Wilson family history, we met Phil - a fellow researcher and distant relation - at a cemetry outside Detroit. We spent some time in history centers and county offices. We had to keep moving, so we took the short way east through Canada. It got late that day so we opted to stay at a campground near Niagra Falls in Ontario. Larry even took advantage of their pool!
Then it was on toward Rochester to look up more genealogy and visit cousin Tom's son, Tom Jr, Shelley and their 4 children. We had such a great time getting to know them. The last time we were there, they had no children! After two lively kids, they just had twins! It is a jumping place and we loved being there.


We continued east through the Finger Lake region for more genealogy and then headed south to Pennsylvania. We had been reading Chesapeake by James . They mentioned going to the head of the Sussquahanna River and we were camping on its banks! How neat!
By this time it was nearing time for the conference to start in Washington DC so we continued in that direction. Larry dropped me off at the hotel and continued on to TaKe It Easy Campground in Maryland. All would have been great except for the 105 temperatures over those days when he was camping and Marlys was basking in the luxury of hotel air conditioning. Continued n next blog...
The Sussquahanna River