After the night at the brewery on the 3rd, we headed to see my sister, Diane, and her family for the 4^th.  It was 260 miles to go from Waynesboro to Plymouth, NC so we left early and hit Interstate 64 down to Richmond, I-95 to the border and then the back roads to her house.  Not the way we like to travel but it was a holiday and the traffic at least started out light.

We arrived after lunch and relaxed by the Roanoke River behind her house with no 4^th festivities except grilling some hotdogs on our new grill.  And finding out that my sister had a large, and very aggressive rooster living with her!

My nephew and his family were due the next day but did not arrive until the evening.  This is where the rooster story needs to be told.  They had purchased 6 chicks for Easter for their kids and 2 turned out to be roosters which they could not nor wanted to keep.  So, a few weeks before they had brought a large orange guy to Diane’s house.  He turned out to be a mean one!  He chased and nipped at everyone and crowed all around the neighborhood. 

Surprisingly, they showed up with the other rooster (who was a much calmer and friendly) on the 5th. Long story short, they realized that the situation would not work the way it was planned.  So, on the way home the next day, they found a farm who liked roosters, and everyone was saved.

It was good to see Diane and everyone and catch up on family news and remember some old family stories.  We also enjoyed swimming in the river and the river sunsets.

After 3 days with only 15amp power for the RV, we headed north to the Solomons, MD area to visit with our grandson, Wesley, and Bob and Mal Banks, friends from Dallas days.  On the way, we stayed at our first Thousand Trails Park in Gloucester, MD which was free due to the group membership we got from the RV dealer.  We got to pick our site with a view of the small lake in the grounds. Then we headed up to Solomons the next day.

We found an RV park relatively close that turned out to be more of a trailer park than a campground.  We got a nice spot with full hook ups.  And it ended up that we were never at the park except to sleep. All was good.

The visit with Wesley was dinner of really good BBQ at Mission BBQ in California, MD where he lives now.  He came out to the RV first to see the set up and talk, then we all went for dinner.  He looked great.  It was wonderful to see him and hear his stories.  We are very proud of what he has accomplished. 

We spent time with Mal and Bob at their new home visiting and getting some work done. Gail went to a line dance class with Mal and did better than expected (stayed on the beat most of the time)! David went with Bob to help a friend launch a small power boat, so he got out on the water for a short time. (It was very hot and not much wind, so we did not get to go sailing as hoped.)  We also did some sight-seeing at Leonardtown with them including a visit to the Flour Donuts Bakery for custom made cake donuts!  And driving down to the end of the peninsula to Point Lookout Lighthouse on our own. 

Next stop was an overnight in eastern Delaware.  We took some time to walk Broadkill Beach near Lewes, DE, which is a horseshoe crab sanctuary.  Crabs of all sizes and all states were scattered all over the beach.  We weren’t sure if we should do anything, but we finally saw a lady who was picking up the live ones and helping them back into the water.  So, with her info and “training”, we even helped about 5 horseshoe crabs that were stranded on the beach.  A very interesting and satisfying walk. 

Nex day we were off again to southeastern Pennsylvania to see a Tony and Beth on their farm(Aristos Harvest) in the small town of Lincoln University, PA.  Their house and some of the buildings dated back to the 1790’s!  The visit, though with only 15-amp electric hookup for the RV, turned out to be very enjoyable.  And we learned a lot.  They raise bees (and honey), chickens, peacocks, donkeys, goats and stable some friend’s horses.

We went exploring to find the 3 corners spot where PA, DE, and MD all come together.  Turns out you had a 3.3 mile walk through a state park to find the exact location.  But we found it and got some hiking in as well.  We also learned that the highest point in Delaware (447 ft.) was nearby, so we had to find Ebright Azimuth in the Brandywine area of north Wilmington 100 feet south of the Pennsylvania border.

We went for dinner at a busy restaurant about 30 miles away on the Susquehanna River in Port Deposit, MD.  Nice drive and good crab cakes. Good friends.

So onward we go.  Next leg to New Jersey and then through New Yor City!!!