my travels in pixels

Shenandoah National Park Sunset at one of the many overlooks Shenandoah National Park surrounds the Skyline Drive which is an extension of the Blue Ridge Parkway and is still in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tom Turkey When we tried to book a campsite in Shenandoah online there were no sites available. There are two loops that are non-reservable, but that doesn't mean that they will be available, so we rang the National Park, as we have been disappointed before and we were worried because the weekend was the Memorial Day weekend. We told them we were planning to come in on Monday, shouldn't be a problem they advised and it wasn't. We got a great site on a corner but when we went to put our rams down, nothing happened. So Lindsay put the generator on and we brought the rams down and opened the slides. There was no power going from the batteries into the trailer and he couldn't work out why. The fridge can work off gas, but it needs power to operate. No batter...

Williamsburg Virginia Williamsburg is a colonial town, a couple of blocks in the centre of town have been blocked off to traffic. There are numerous free long and short-term carparks dotted around the perimeter. People are dressed up in period costume and talk as though they are still living in that period, sometimes giving a history of the town. It’s probably the only town in America who still love the English! Booking for busy periods Graduation Weekend This weekend is graduation weekend, where relatives come from all around to see their grandchildren etc graduate from school. No such pomp and ceremony like this happens at home, it’s nice to see that some traditions still continue, especially ones that involve the whole family. For us, it meant that we couldn’t get a site at the RV park in Charlottesville on the Friday night, luckily we had booked the next two nights last week when we worked out what days would suit Wells and Dana to cat...

Colonial National Historic Park - Jamestown Historic Jamestown is the #1 attraction in the Williamsburg area according to Trip Advisor. Someone mentioned the Ranger talks, so we rang them to find out what time they ran. The Archeological Ranger Talks are at 11am and 2pm. One of the dig sites As it was still raining in the morning, we went got to the Jamestown Settlement just before 2pm. The docent was a guy who has spent his working life doing character reenactments. He told us the story of how the English came here in 1607. They were lucky that John Smith documented everything that went on as it gave them a wealth of information. They always thought the original settlement was out in the river. But one person didn’t believe them and begged to be able to excavate, he was given permission to search for ten years, that was 28 years ago. He had financial backers, so the Government didn’t have to pay for any of it. They have found more than 2,000 artifacts. This is wha...

We were going to fill up with water when we arrived at Oregon Inlet but we couldn't find the dump station, it turns out, it's down the road at the marina. We decided to set up camp without filling up. We had enough to get by but not enough for showers. So we resorted to our solution that we use camping in the bush at home. Fill a bucket with water, from a tap or the river.  Pour some of the water into a kettle and boil it on the stove or fire.  When hot, tip it back into the bucket, and mix it in. Repeat the previous two steps until the water is the right temperature. It usually only takes two kettles.  Take it into the shower and use a small saucepan with a side handle to pour the warm water over yourself. In the bush we use a 12V shower, the pump sits in the bucket and the showerhead fits onto a shower tent or a window on the car Of course there are times when you have no water except for drinking and cooking, like when we travel for a week or two acro...

The Wright Brothers National Memorial No cockpits yet Capturing history Full sized replica at the spot where they took off The only monument to be erected when the people were still alive This is where the Wright Brother’s came to test out their gliders and Flyer. It all started when their father brought home a rubber band operated helicopter when they were very young which they played with it until it broke. So they rebuilt it, but made a bigger one, then a bigger one. Their interest in flight had begun. Orville & Wilbur were the two older brothers in the family of five children, who became inseparable. The local helpers There were many people trying to achieve motorized flight around the world at the time, but no-one had succeeded. They thought they had as good a chance as anyone else. I better take one just in case you miss it Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina fit the criteria they needed for testing their theories – wind ...

North Carolina’s Outer Banks We have come to North Carolina’s Outer Banks (OBX for short). It’s a slither of land that runs along the ocean. We drove over three long long long bridges to get here, we have finally left the I-40 which we have been travelling on since California, behind us. Nags Head Beach Houses Some pastels Driving down through Nags Head I couldn’t help but think about the show Beach Flip and Income Property where they renovated some houses just like these. They are colourful weatherboards, two to three stories tall, often on stilts. Some small, some huge. The lucky ones get the perfect position right on the beach. There is a place here that has 28 bedrooms and 35 bathrooms and rents for $40k a week, who has that sort of money? Rents double after Memorial day. Bodie Lighthouse Bodie Lighthouse The lighthouse was built in 1872 and still has it’s original Fresnel lens. The lighthouses try to make a notorious stretch of sea a little safer. They ...