Wednesday, October 18, 2006

A day without internet access is like a day without sunshine...but 10 days with no internet drove me crazy!

I have not been able to update the blog or send e-mails since we left PA 10 days ago. We connect using our cell phones and need a digital Verizon signal. All through Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky we were on an extended network that is OK for phone calls but doesn't work for data. Finally, in Cave City, KY, we got to an RV park with free Wifi, but their system kept crashing. Yesterday, we arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, and we are back in touch, much to my delight.

Back in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, a fellow camper mentioned that he visits each year to get his train "fix". We got ours by taking a 45 minute ride through the countryside on a fully restored coal-fired steam train, complete with parlor car adorned with stained glass, a white-tablecloth dining car, an open car, and coach cars for us regular folk. Each car cost over $200K to restore.



The National Toy Train Museum is also located in Strasburg. I had as much fun as a kid - pushing buttons to activate trains laid out on elaborate sets of villages, countryside snow scenes, trains from other countries, toy trains of various gauges and manufacturers. If we were not traveling by RV, we might have been tempted to stay at the adjacent Red Caboose Motel. Each "room" is a restored car, laid out on a track, set up as a 'sleeper". How fun! "Rent a caboose for the night and wake up on the right track!" (as seen on the sign below.)

Moving south from Strasburg, we spent two nights at Rocky Gap State Park, just east of Cumberland, Maryland. Our campground was situated on a man-made lake with lots of walking trails. The dogs enjoyed that tremendously.




Next up...Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.

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