Two Lane Touring FOUR Announcements /  by Dave Hileman

Anxious to get Oliver back on the road again traveling West.

Southwest Trip Rescheduled - last winter we were stymied by the melt down of the electric system in the trailer. We had to end our travels, return the trailer to the factory and leave it for six weeks while it was repaired. We have since taken four trips: one to Cape Hatteras, one to Kentucky and Tennessee, a wonderful wedding in Florida and one to Pennsylvania. The problem seems to be resolved. We did have a glitch with the read out of the solar system and inverter but got that repaired locally. So we are planning to leave late January for Florida, spend five or six weeks mostly at state parks with a couple times at Disney (I do travel with Cindy after all) and then head west. The Harman’s will be joining us for a bit of the Florida stay and the first part of the western swing through Texas. We have targeted 35 new National Park units in eight states. I will have a lot more details later this year but the planning is well underway. Right now we have 57 separate camp sites with more to come.

Planning so far, lots of blanks to fill in plus back to NC.



Hawaii On Tap - We leave for Hawaii, a long delayed trip, on Tuesday night. We fly to Seattle and then leave in the morning for Oahu. We will be on three islands and visit 6 or 7 National Park Units. There are seven on the islands but one is closed and may not reopen for years but an eighth is set to open soon and I am hoping to get on the grounds. We have packed a lot of additional plans over our 16 days. Photos will be posted on TLT starting on Friday the 16th or maybe even the 15th. This will be our 50th state.

Lots of pins to turn from Red to Yellow. Note Hawaii is not really in the Gulf of Mexico, Cadillac!




Return of the Moose - Cadillac is back. That is good news for many and less good news for me. So, where has he been? It is a difficult story and I am sure he will share some of it as we travel but in short he has been away but not where he said. He left us this March shortly after the Texas issues and said he needed a break. He explained that he was heading to Tibet to reflect on life in a mountain monastery. If you know C you will be skeptical of that plan. First issue is Tibet is a long way for a geographically challenged Moose. And the second is that he has not been quiet for more than 11 minutes at a time. Ever. It may have been his plan but it is not what happened. He was really just mad because he wanted full control over the blog and a driver’s license. So he went off to sulk not reflect and he ended up in Toledo and not the one in Spain. A concerned citizen saw him and was worried so he posted to MooseStuff.com a very specialized social media site about the haggard moose he found in town. We were contacted by one of his old girlfriends and so went off to Toledo where we found him strung out on pastries living in an alley behind Dunkin Donuts. He was in sad shape. So we sent him to a Bakery DeTox Center & Nail Spa where he has been for the last four months. He came back home two weeks ago and is on track to go to Hawaii with us. That is scary but it is even more frightening to leave him on his own. He has agreed to scale back his excesses. We’ll see.

Cadillac is in a Hawaiian mood with his new shirt, shades and a pineapple beverage topped with fruit.




Posting Changes - The last note concerns the TLT post. Don’t panic you will still get an image a day — sighs of relief wash across the US, Canada and the world. What will change is that there will usually be more than one post. Restaurants will be in separate posts but in the main post stream. And there may be more travel story apart from the photo spot. Not sure but maybe. Also, I did agree to give Cadillac a bit of space, shudder.

Swift /  by Dave Hileman

The water of the Youghiogheny River flows fast through the Gorge at Ohiopyle. This area, famous as well for two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpieces, is a beautiful part of the Laurel Highlands in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Rusty Harman, his daughter Angie, and I biked along the bridge where I took this shot in the summer of 2013. The trail we traveled was 180 miles between Pittsburgh and Cumberland, MD. Over 20 miles of the trail. Great Allegheny Passage, was through Ohiopyle State Park. Great trip. It was fun this summer when we camped here to spend more time enjoying the park.

The kayaker is leading a group of rafters through some rapids.

S'more /  by Dave Hileman

I know you have all been anxious for me to show you “some more” of my carving projects, so here is a tasty little treat. This fellow is about two inches square and was a lot of fun to carve. I will have some additional carving along with an announcement on Friday. Stay tuned to TLT.

Theodore Roosevelt Island (NPS #318 Two Lane Touring) /  by Dave Hileman

This heavily wooded island in the Potomac River is a wonderful memorial to a President, Theodore Roosevelt, who did more than most to preserve and promote the National Park System in the US. The island is reached by a pedestrian bridge off one of the parking lots along the George Washington Parkway just a short distance from the LBJ Grove we posted last week. The island’s central feature is a plaza dominated by Teddy’s statue and encircled by a raised water feature that was dry when we visited. There are several trails including one that circles the island and crosses some swampy ground.

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Labor Day /  by Dave Hileman

While it is good to celebrate the kind of labor that builds, fixes, plans, writes, practices, meets, buys, guards and codes, here’s to a day that only includes labor that brings you joy & satisfaction.

Formula VEE Competitors /  by Dave Hileman

Abby, who I wrote about earlier, was not the only woman driver, there were several, These two campaign across the country in Formula VEE, a VW engine based open wheel series. They were quite fast on the track, especially Emily in her distinctive Bumble Bee VEE!. Enjoyed meeting and talking to both of them in the paddock. Emily also motored around in a vintage pink Vespa. Cool.

Emily

Lauren

The Bumble Bee VEE at speed

Automotive Art /  by Dave Hileman

This hood ornament is from a 1931 Lincoln Model K 202A, Sport Phaeton. It is found in the Frick Museum Car and Carriage Shed and was purchased by Frick’s widow who bought this new the year she died at the estate. This sprinting greyhound is part of the radiator cap - sometimes called a Murphy cap. It was designed at the request of Edsel Ford in 1927 and used on the Lincolns for four years. Then as an option on a deluxe version Ford for one or two years. The depression ended its run. They were lost wax castings and there are many “fake” ones on the market. The real ones are much more accurate sculptures, note the ribs, and have spaces between the tail. This is from the era where cars were much more than appliances and the amazement people felt driving a hundred miles in a day was hard to believe. It was an exuberant time.

Another View /  by Dave Hileman

We are looking back from the flight path of Flight 93 as it descended. One of the small details of the monument is that the concrete walls of the Memorial are impressed with the bark pattern of the hickory trees that we still standing near where the impact of the plane occurred.

LBJ Memorial Grove (NPS #317 -Two Lane Touring) /  by Dave Hileman

File the under the “really” category. That there exists a monument to Johnson and, just for one example, none for John Adams, is baffling. LBJ was a character, an adapt politician, a gruff and profane man who became president unexpectedly and did such a job he lasted one term, but there is in DC a memorial to him. Appropriately it is not in the main stream of DC nor is it an imposing edifice. There is a small marina and park along the George Washington Parkway near the Pentagon that honors Lady Bird Johnson - the marina and LBJ - small grove of trees with a stone. Not a statue and not even a plaque to tell you about the stone. The best thing about the grove is the view of DC from the lone picnic table. Doing all the parks brings serendipitous finds and, occasionally, some you wonder who thought this was a good idea.

That is the Old Post Office peeking out from the most well-known of DC’s monuments.

A Neat New Place /  by Dave Hileman

The city of Raleigh just opened the Wooten Meadow Park a short distance from my house. There are four small ponds, lots of greens and flowers, a large open grass space and a wooded area behind and between some housing. Still it has promise as a wildflower and birding spot. We shall watch.

Just missing a frog or an emergent prince.

Behind the Street /  by Dave Hileman

A lot of people travel to Colonial Williamsburg, buy their ticket and tour the main streets and open buildings. If you have time, or make some if you don’t, go behind the buildings on any of the streets and wonder among the garden paths. You will find flower, herb and formal gardens, small spaces to sit, nice views, architectural gems and cool(ish) green spaces. Follow an alley or walkway off the street tp discover CW.

One More Time /  by Dave Hileman

Another of the orchids from the Longwood Gardens near Chadd’s Ford, PA. One characteristic that all orchids share is that they are symmetrical. Hard to imagine given some of the elaborate shapes, but they are.

Dwight D. Eisenhower ( NPS #316 Two Lane Touring) /  by Dave Hileman

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial is one of the newer of the National Park units, established in 2000 it opened to the public in September of 2020. It is a large plaza with two statue groupings one as the Commander of the unified forces that defeated Germany and the other as President. There is a swath of grass diagonally along the block long plaza bordered by Kansas prairie grasses and flanked by two tall towers with his highest military rank and civilian achievements inscribed on them. The Memorial is located on Independence across the street from the Air and Space of the Smithsonian. Towering over the entire memorial is a 60 foot by 440 foot metal tapestry of the Pointe du Hoc cliffs at Normandy. It is illuminated at night - during the day is it difficult to view the whole scene. There is a small VC and audio tours are free.

Inspiring a new generation?

Memorial /  by Dave Hileman

This unique memorial is on the campus of William and Mary in Willimasburg, Virginia. The structure is just off Jamestown Road near the intersection of Richmond Road. It is near the original Indian school location. It has the names, if known, on raised bricks of the enslaved people who worked on the building of the campus from the late 1600’s. It is designed to resemble an open hearth where many enslaved worked and where they could congregate and talk. It is connected to a walk that leads to a small sculpture dedicated to the first black students who integrated W&M in 1967.

The students names are on the lower left side of the pillar and the bird represents an African proverb.

Honor /  by Dave Hileman

This morning we are attending the burial service at Arlington National Cemetery for our good friend, Tom Light. We arrived in Arlington yesterday to be here for the 8 am arrival time. In Philippians chapter two Paul commends a faithful believer who has worked hard with these words, “Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve.” We do that for Tom even as his country honors him for his long service. When John Glenn lifted off in Friendship 7 he inspired a young man on a journey that led to military aviation and to this sacred place and so we echo the words to Glenn on that morning in 1962, Godspeed, Lt. Col. Thomas Light.

One of the many National Cemeteries.