We started the Year still at Lazydays RV. The parks we stayed at while in FL is as follows:01/13/2014 Lazydays Ralley Park – Seffner, FL01/15/2014 Encore Vacation Village – Largo, FL01/22/2014 Encore Winter Quarters – Bradenton, FL02/05/2014 Encore Terra Ceia Village – Palmetto, FL02/12/2014 Mid Atlantic Three Flags – Wildwood, FL02/18/2014 Cummins – Ocala, FL — Service RV
We drove to Lake City, FL and Stayed at Casey’s Jones Campground, on 02/24/2013, we took the RV to Camping World in Lake City, FL to have worked done on RV and stayed at Red Roof Inn close by. During the DC Trip we stayed at the following RV Parks:
- 03/04/2014 Casey’s Jones Campground – Lake City, FL
- 03/05/2014 Southern Trails – Unadilla, GA
- 03/09/2014 Jones RV Park – Norcross, GA
- 03/12/2014 NACO Carolina Landing – Fair Play, SC
- 03/18/2014 KOA Spartanburg/Gaffney – Gaffney, SC
- 03/20/2014 Thousand Trails Forest Lake – Advance, NC
- 03/26/2014 Parkview RV Park, – Appomattox, VA
The RV Parks we visited without Site seeing in the DC Area is as follows:
- 04/02/2014 Outdoor Williamsburg – Williamsburg, VA
- 04/23/2014 Wilderness Presidential Resort – Spotsylvania, VA
- 04/30/2014 Cherry Hill RV Park – College Park, MD
- 05/14/2014 Outdoor World Gettysburg Farm – Dover, PA
- 05/28/2014 Thousand Trails Hershey – Lebanon, PA
- 06/11/2014 Outdoor World Gettysburg Farm – Dover, PA
- 07/02/2014 Cherry Hill RV Park – College Park, MD
- 07/09/2014 Thousand Trails Hershey – Lebanon, PA
- 07/23/2014 Outdoor World Gettysburg Farm – Dover, PA
We arrived at Cherry Hill RV Park on 08/13/2014. Then we drove to Monocacy NB in Frederick, MD for a visit. In the summer of 1864, the American Civil War was still a long way from conclusion. Union and Confederate armies were still spread out across the country, with battles and campaigns still racking up casualties by the thousands. With Union forces under Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant deep in Virginia at Petersburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee devised a bold plan. Lee ordered General Jubal Early to take the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia and link up with General John C. Breckenridge to clear the Shenandoah Valley. After securing the Valley, Early was to invade Maryland, putting pressure on the Federal capital, Washington D.C. By the first week of July, Confederates had entered Maryland and caught Union forces largely off guard. As the Federals scrambled to gather a defensive force, Major General Lew Wallace and roughly 3,200 inexperienced troops of the Middle Department, headed west from Baltimore, MD and took up a position just south of Frederick, MD at Monocacy Junction along the Monocacy River. Grant ordered the third division of the Sixth Corps north, hoping they would reach Maryland in time to slow Early’s advance. By the morning of July 9th, nearly 6,600 Union troops had gathered near Monocacy Junction, with Wallace in command. Early’s 15,000 Confederates were to the north in Frederick – the stage for battle was set. The picture is of Worthington Farmhouse.
Our next stop was at Outdoor World Gettysburg Farm in Dover PA on 08/20/2014. We ove back to Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park, MD on 08/27/2014. We visited South Mountain Battlefields SP on 09/07/2014. South Mountain State Battlefield seeks to preserve and interpret the first major Civil War battle to take place in Maryland. Fought on September 14, 1862, the Battle of South Mountain was a critical turning point in the American Civil War. The Union victories at South Mountain and Antietam (fought three days later) led President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The state battlefield, located along the gaps of South Mountain, includes valuable farm and forestland, and is home to diverse wildlife. Only here does the Appalachian National Scenic Trail intersect a major Civil War battlefield. The Battle of South Mountain (which was actually two separate battles), broke out on September 14 in the Fox’s Gap and Turner’s Gap areas after Confederate gunners opened fire on Federal forces moving toward the base of the mountain. The picture is of Crampton’s Gap Correspondents Memorial.
Located atop South Mountain, Washington Monument State Park is named for the first completed monument dedicated to the memory of George Washington. The Washington Monument is a rugged stone tower that was initially erected by the citizens of Boonsboro in 1827. The monument makes it an ideal site for spotting migratory birds such as hawks, eagles and falcons, especially in mid-September. The picture is of Washington Monument.
We traveled to VA to stay at Outdoor World Habor View in Colonial Beach, VA on 09/27/2014. Also in colonial Beach, VA is Monroe Birthplace which we visited on 09/21/2014. James Monroe Family Home Site, also known as James Monroe’s Birthplace, is a historic archaeological site located near Oak Grove and Colonial Beach, Westmoreland County, Virginia. The site includes the ruins of the Monroe Family Home and birthplace of President James Monroe (1758-1831), which were uncovered in 1976, by a team from the College of William & Mary. Monroe spent his entire youth working the farm until he left for his education at the College of William & Mary. The archaeological team uncovered a house foundation measuring 20 feet by 58 feet. The known 1845 etchings of the birth home indicate a small four room, rough cut wooden farmhouse with few outbuildings on a 500-acre farm filled with wetlands. The picture is of Monroe Birthplace Soldier Statesman Plaque.
On 09/24/2014, we moved to Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay in Gloucester, VA. We then visited Tyndall’s Point Park on 09/28/2014. Civil War Trails site with self-guided interpretative walking trail. Public Park open, seven days a week. The site of the first shot of the Civil War fired in the State of Virginia. The fort was fortified in 1667 and played an important role in the 1781 siege of Yorktown. The fort was rebuilt for use in the Civil War. Union troops captured the fort in 1862 and occupied it throughout the remainder of the War…calling it Fort Gilpin. The Picture is of Defender York Area Earthwork.
We traveled to Outdoor World Williamsburg in Williamsburg, VA on 10/15/2014 as we ready our trip to FL.
We left for FL on 10/29/2014 and stop for a week at RV Resor at Carolina Crossroads, Rocky Mount NC. Then on 11/05/014 we moved to Bass Lake Campground, Dillon SC for another week.
Continuing our Trip, we arrived at Thousand Trials Oaks at Point South, Yemassee SC on 11/12/2014. While there on 11/16/2014 we visited Tuskegee Airmen Monument, Walterboro SC.
Despite the many hours of flight training, and the enemies that they faced at home and away, the Tuskegee Airmen still have one of the best records out of any fighter group during WWII. The airmen flew over 180 combat sorties (missions) without losing a single bomber. When the airmen were first deployed during WWII, they did not have the best or up to date airplanes to use. However, the crew chiefs, line chiefs, and mechanics were very creative in finding ways to fix the airplanes so they could head back out to complete the missions that they were assigned. This illustrates that the airmen weren’t only the pilots who flew combat missions overseas, but they were also the support men (overseas combat) and women (stateside preparations, civilian mechanics) who make up the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen.
The legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen is about more than the airplanes they flew, their combat records, or their fame. It is about overcoming obstacles no matter how large or complex they are. The Tuskegee Airmen prescribed to the theory of winning a “Double Victory”, which meant winning the fight against fascism and racism. Many of the visitors that visit the Tuskegee Airmen site don’t initially make the connection between the success of the airmen and the role they played in the Civil Rights Movement. The Airmen, along with the various other African American units that fought during WWII not only demonstrated that African Americans were willing to fight for the freedom, but they were also willing to fight under strenuous (racial) conditions, with the h ope that their actions would help to open doors for all Americans back home in the United States. The picture is of the Tuskegee Airman Monument located at the Walterboro Army Airfield Memorial Park.
