Mike and Beth's Adventures

 Historic Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge across the Connecticut River Vermont and New Hampshire are GREEN in the summer time.  This is special to a California boy who is use to the "golden hills of California" once spring has morphed to summer.  It is also the land of covered bridges.  Sure we have a few rare examples back home, but in this lush and gorgeous section of the country they are everywhere!  You have to be cautious however.  Vertical clearance must be checked prior to entering a covered bridge.  Not all were designed to accommodate taller vehicles.  The Cornish-Windsor Covered Bridge caused us to stop and select an alternate route when we spotted its height limit. Some bridges have pedestrian walkways, but most are too narrow to allow vehicles and pedestrians to mingle and cross. Sugar River Trail There are even covered bridges on the bike trails.  Between Claremont and Newport New Hampshire you can ride or walk the Sugar River Rai...

The Nassawango Blast Furnace Our final stop, before rendezvousing with family, was a recreated early 19 th century village called Furnace Town.  It is the home of the Nassawango Iron Furnace, which operated between 1830 and 1845.  Low grade iron ore was reduced in a primitive blast furnace for use in regional industries.  Iron ingots were sold for blacksmiths to craft into nails, household objects, wagon parts, and for components used in ship construction.  The annual output of the furnace was approximately 700 tons of ingots. Furnace Town Visitors Center The blast furnace has been designated as a Mechanical Engineering Historic Site.  The only power available to operate the furnace was waterpower, which was used to turn a water wheel to operate a large bellow to inject a continuous stream of air into the furnace.  It was very clever considering the technology of the time. The Village of Furnace Town The Workshop Where Brooms were Manufactured Special Gr...

Beth and Orville Wright launch the World's First Powered Manned Flight As we neared our scheduled rendezvous with family in Maryland, our trip north accelerated.   We switched gears a bit and followed a pattern which illustrates how we integrate other activities into our travel routine. The way we do this is to reserve a period during the day to hit the gym, a market to reprovision, refuel the van,  and find a spot to spend the night.   We have a nationwide membership to Planet Fitness.   This gives us access to all their facilities, including their showers.   From examining towns along our route of travel, we found the town of Dunn North Carolina allowed us to complete all of these tasks within a tight radius just off the freeway.   Enjoying the Massage Chair at Planet Fitness The first stop was the gym.   We completed a good workout to offset the sedentary nature of van travel.   Next was a nice hot and unlimited shower.   This avoide...

Savanah Georgia Our 2500-mile eastward journey on Interstate 10 from near Los Angeles to Jacksonville Florida transitioned on this leg of our trip.  At Jacksonville we took a left turn and started travelling northward toward Chesapeake Bay. We chose the far southern route to avoid nasty weather, snow, and storm fronts that lingered in the mid-west.  Between Fairhope and Tallahassee, we did have one day of heavy rain, but it could have been much worse had we taken either Interstate 40 or 80. Florida Historic Capital Museum The stop in Tallahassee was short and decadent.  We opted for a Marriott with a gym and eating leftovers in our room.  Despite the rain, we were pleasantly surprised by the Tallahassee’s rolling hills.  Yes!  Hills in Florida!  We watched a movie on Amazon Prime, hit the sack and departed the next morning for Savanah Georgia.  I’m sure the town has much to offer.  We just didn’t have time to explore, and sadly, Ron DeSan...