Following our great weekend in Delray Beach, we stocked up on some supplies that we may not find elsewhere on our trip: cold cuts, rolls, grape juice, and yellow cheese.  Then, a three-hour trip on the Florida Turnpike brought us to the entrance of Everglades National Park.  Our Seniors Pass, which we bought on our last trip, got us into the park for free, and we stopped at the visitor’s center to get some background information and maps of the area.

Everglades National Park was established in 1947 and covers 1,500,000 acres.  The name often brings up images of swamps, alligators, snakes, and jungles.  But the reality is different.  Much of the land is flat and covered by prairie-looking grass.  But it is not dry prairie; water is just below or on the surface.  Some of it consists of dense trees such as pine; much of it is the Florida Bay, a shallow lagoon between the southern tip of Florida and the Florida Keys.  Some of it is indeed marsh, but rangers say that the marshes are not the “real” Everglades.

There is nothing like the Everglades in the world.  The ecosystem is a story of balance – two seasons, dry and wet; tropical and temperate species which co-exist.  And it is the only place in the world in which alligators and crocodiles live together.

Before driving to our campground we stopped at the Royal Palm parking area from which we took two hiking paths. The first was the Anhinga Trail, a self-guiding trail along a boardwalk through a sawgrass marsh where we saw local wildlife in its natural habitat, all in fresh water. As the Everglades is mostly water, there are few real hiking trails; thus, the walks we took were mostly on boardwalks, built over the wet areas.

We saw and photographed anhinga birds, American alligators, tri-colored heron, great blue heron, purple gallinules, great egret, osprey, and other birds we’re not sure the names of, yet.  (We thank those folks who gave us some of these names.)  The Everglades is home to some 300 species of birds and is a birdwatcher’s paradise.  We became real fans of watching these large, graceful birds in flight.  In fact, the alligators (which are abundant) were interesting to find (some are hidden in almost a Where’s Waldo way), but they all look the same.  The birds, in their variety and numbers, were stunning.

The second hike was along Gumbo Limbo Trail, a path through wilderness that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.  Did I mention we were not far from a Nike Missile Base?

After an hour’s drive through the park (38 miles) we reached Flamingo campground, on the Florida Bay near the southern tip of the Everglades, our home for the next two nights.  Due to damage from Hurricane Irma in September 2017, only one of four sections of the campground is currently in use.  The rangers cleared the campground from debris and only recently were able to resupply usable water for the campers.  They are now starting to work on the other parts of the campground.

February 6^th, day 2 of our Everglades excursion

Hiking today was in a different part of the park; the habitat is more salt water.  Here we found the highly endangered American crocodile, manatees (large, relatively docile mammals), crabs, and again, multiple types of birds we could not name.

We learned to see the difference between the alligator and the crocodile.  Crocodiles live in salt water; alligators in fresh water (thus, alligators are found further north in Florida, crocodiles in this southern, salt water area).  Crocodiles have a blunt nose; alligators have a long, narrow snout.  Crocodiles show all its fierce teeth; alligators look like they are grinning.

After a 3-½ hour hike in the morning which led us along the Florida Bay and onto a trail, we returned to our camp spot for lunch and a well-deserved nap.  Weather-wise, we have been very lucky – it stormed last night; during the day it has been cool and windy – this is a good thing.  Normally, the Everglades are very hot and humid with clouds of mosquitoes ruling the area.  Though we were warned about the mosquitoes, we have yet to be bothered by them due to the heavy breezes.

Even on this trip we are still impressed with how friendly and creative other campers are.  In addition to the standard RV rigs which we discussed during our first trip, there are many homemade vans and station wagons which are being used as campers.  There are also a variety of tents, small and large, including one that has an air-conditioner.  People bring dogs, bikes, canoes, kayaks, motorboats, and motorcycles.  Though most people are here to vacation, we are meeting more and more who have sold their homes and are living on the road full-time, not out of need, but out of desire.  Some work from their RVs and some are retired.

February 7^th, day 3 of our Everglades excursion

After packing up up our RV and leaving the Flamingo campground, we began our 38-mile ride out of the park.  On the way, we stopped to take two more short hikes, across boardwalks to small islands called “hammocks.”  These little pieces of land are just a few inches above the water and are an oasis for trees and nesting wildlife.  Compared to our previous trip to the Great Smoky Mountains, it seemed strange to see signs on the road reading “Elevation 3 feet.” Elevation in the park is measured in inches, not feet.

We know that storms, such as hurricanes, and fires are a natural part of nature that allow for new growth to replace the old.  At one time, fires would be put out as they occurred; now, however, the philosophy is to let them burn and allow nature to take its course.  At times, rangers use a “controlled fire” in specific areas to allow light to reach the ground and promote new growth.

The same is true of hurricanes.  A good part of the park was hit very hard during Hurricane Irma and others before it.  However, we already saw new growth and re-birth.

After leaving Everglades National Park we headed to our next destination, the Big Cypress National Preserve (729,000 acres, created in 1974), which is just north of the Everglades and is a part of the Everglades ecological system.   A preserve differs from a national park in the way it can be used: for example, oil and gas exploration and extraction, hunting, and private land ownership are allowed in the preserve (controlled and regulated), but not in the national park.  It is also home to Seminole and Miccosukee Indians.

We camped in the middle of the preserve for one night and took a few hikes – one in a cypress forest, for which the park is named, and one along a boardwalk near the visitor’s center.

We will return next week for another night after we spend three days, including Shabbat, in Key West.

We are writing this post from the Everglades National Park, where we arrived this afternoon (Feb. 5) following a wonderful Shabbat with the Chabad of Delray Beach, Florida.  (We will write more about the Everglades after we have experienced many of its wonders later in the week.)  Originally it was not our intention to post pictures and descriptions of this trip until after we returned home to Israel, but we had many requests to post as we go so that people could follow the adventure, and admittedly, we also have a desire to write about our experiences while they are fresh in our memories.

We are very lucky to have a close and dear friend who arranged for us to stay in the parking lot of her housing complex in Delray Beach.  She is also very active with the local Chabad which is only a short walk from where we were parked.

This Shabbat was a special experience.  The Chabad community in Delray Beach, though small, is warm and inviting, and welcomes everyone – at all levels of Yiddishkeit – who are treated with the kavod and dignity that they may not receive elsewhere.

Our acquaintance with the shul rabbi, Sholom Korf, goes back years, and we have personally witnessed his many acts of chesed.  Through his acts of generosity and compassion, he is a rav who leads by example: “acts of kindness are essential to Torah life.”

On Friday night the shul hosted a delicious dinner for about 50 people, the next day the congregation was treated to an outstanding kiddush, and on Sunday, there was a lox and bagel breakfast following davening.  Mix that with zemirot,  a series of devrai Torah which were inspirational, interesting, and timely, and the wonderful people we met, and we have a Shabbat we will long remember.

And what a small Jewish world we found once more.  We met someone whose daughter lives on the same street we lived on in Chicago (she moved in shortly before we left), and a couple whose son is now studying in the yeshiva where Sima’s brother is the rosh yeshiva.

Sunday morning we drove out to the cemetery where my parents and sister are buried.

Sunday night we watched the Super Bowl at a reasonable time.

And for those who may be interested: During our 3-day stay in Delray, we exceeded our past record in living in our self-contained RV, without outside resources.

Trip #2 of Kosher RVing

This is going to be a shorter trip than the last, just 3 ½ weeks.  Between welcoming our new grandson and wanting to be home for Purim, this was the amount of time we had, and we decided to use it to explore Florida.

The flight to Atlanta, where the RV is stored, was 24 hours, 5 hours of which were in the Paris airport.  It could have been worse; those nice Parisians have designated areas in the terminals for couches where you can lie down.  We napped a bit and it was much more comfortable than the hard plastic chairs you find in some airports.  After a night in a hotel, we picked up our RV, bought supplies at Walmart, hit an outlet mall for the fun of it, unpacked, and settled in for our first winter camping experience.  That night it was -3 degrees C in Atlanta.  I am glad to say our Winnebago Travato was nice and cozy; the furnace worked very well, and we had a good night’s sleep before traveling into Florida the next morning.

As an aside: We have been talking about a name for our camper and it has come down to two:  Gulliver (after the famous fictional traveler) and Binyamin of Tudela (after the famous, real, 12^th century Jewish traveler).  To be decided.

Following a full day’s drive we found our first scheduled campground, the Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park, west of St. Augustine, Florida.  Unlike our last trip, where we traveled and stopped where we wanted to on a whim, for this excursion we have almost all of our stops planned and reserved.  This is the busy season in Florida and snowbirds (including the many people who have RVs) move from the north in the summer to the south in winter, and campsites in the popular areas, and as one goes further south, are hard to get.

There are so many cities, historical sites, and places of interest in Florida that one could spend months and never visit them all, but that is not the main purpose of our travels.  We like nature and peace and quiet.  The Mike Roess State Park has beautiful lakes, forested areas, marshes, and hiking trails.  Just taking a stroll in the morning with my cup of coffee gave me a sense of peace.

A bit later in the morning, we took a 3 ½ hour hike, partly along the Florida Trail, 5.44 miles of which are in the state park.  (The Florida Trail, one of eleven national scenic trails in the U.S., currently runs 1,000 miles, with another 300 miles planned, from the Big Cypress National Preserve near the Everglades to Fort Pickens at Pensacola Beach.)  We walked from lakeshore to pine forest, up and through a ravine, and observed the sandhills which are home to animals such as gophers, tortoises, turkeys, and others.

And of course, we took photos.  Sima and the kids gave me a new camera for my birthday and I am having the time of my life playing with it – who needs video games and TV when you can be out in the middle of nature taking pictures.

We will be spending Shabbat with friends and the Chabad of Delray Beach.

Shabbat Shalom

Bill and Sima

Our Route

We are now home in Efrat, Israel.  After a dinner with the kids and grandchildren, a restful Shabbat, and seeing old friends, we have time to reflect on the last three months.  It was an amazing trip, one that dreams are made of, and we feel lucky and blessed that we were able to do it.  We both had cameras and took hundreds of pictures, but they do not do justice to the actual beauty we saw and experienced.  Mostly, like the blog, they are to remind us of where we had been and what we had seen.

We went through 19 of the United States and two Canadian provinces.  We saw and traveled along the five Great Lakes, visited three national parks, the St. Lawrence Seaway (including watching an oil tanker go through the locks), and the Thousands Islands (well, not all of them) in the St. Lawrence River between the U.S. and Canada.  We crossed the Mississippi River, the Erie Canal, the Chesapeake Bay, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  We drove and walked in the Adirondack Mountains, the White Mountains, the Green Mountains, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Appalachian Mountains, six national forests, and numerous state parks.  We explored Duluth, Salem, Boston, Newport (including the Touro Synagogue), and Washington D.C.  We re-lived a bit of history in Fort Ticonderoga (New York), Gettysburg (Pennsylvania), and at the Wright Brothers National Memorial (North Carolina).  We saw six covered bridges In New Hampshire and Pennsylvania (drove through two and walked through three; one had been re-figured into a tourist store), six lighthouses in the Midwest (toured the inside of one), a solar eclipse (90% from North Carolina), and numerous waterfalls (including Niagara), lakes, and rivers – as well as the Atlantic Ocean.  We visited and sometimes spent some time in the small towns along the way, and learned of different cultures (the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and the Cherokee in North Carolina).

All by living and traveling inside an RV camper van.

We can’t get over how much interest people showed in the RV (small ones like ours are not the norm).  Some asked to see the inside, some appreciated it from the outside; many had questions, and we even had a thumbs up and a smile from a biker.  For us, the 2018 Winnebago Travato 59K was the perfect choice for our style of living and traveling.  There were many ways and modes of transportation we could have chosen, but a class B van fit us and our lifestyle the best.

Our philosophy was to take things as they came.  We stayed in many different campgrounds; we did not know what to expect when we arrived at one and they ranged from okay to great.  State parks were our favorite as the campsites are well-spaced and often separated by trees, giving more privacy.  Private campgrounds are more crowded but often have more amenities (full hookups, for example).  We had rain, cold, heat … and did not let that bother us.  We looked for shopping (Walmart, almost always) and laundromats (Google “laundromat near me”) on the road.

Many people asked the standard “where are you from” question.  For those to whom we answered Israel, their main interest was “what is it like there.”  We had no negative reactions, just interest.  For others, in casual meetings, Chicago sufficed.

We have also been asked about our relationship with fellow campers.  During the entire trip, we didn’t meet “a single jerk” (I’m quoting another traveler).  Everyone was friendly, polite, and helpful.  The campgrounds all had a quiet time from 10 pm to 7 am and it was strictly adhered to.  Campsites were always clean.

Obtaining kosher food was never a problem.  With the exception of those items that we knew we would not find (meat/poultry, hard cheeses, regular yogurt – and sugar-free gum), we were able to adequately stock our refrigerator, freezer, and shelves.  We always found bread (and we made challah with our bread maker, since finding rolls that were not pre-cut was a challenge).  Our kitchen was dairy/pareve – a few utensils of each.  The exception was cold cuts from Chicago and Montreal, which we saved for Shabbat.

Shabbatot were quiet, and late; we used the Chabad website to determine Shabbat times – typing in zip code or city (the latest motzaei Shabbat was about 10:45 pm).  We always made sure we had a suitable campsite by Thursday night or Friday morning.  Preparing for Shabbat took about four hours (making one thing at a time), and our meals were served warm (Friday night) or cold (Shabbat lunch).  Hot water was kept in a thermos which stayed nicely hot through morning coffee.

As we did not make an eruv and were careful about techum Shabbat, we made do with walking around the campgrounds, using the non-electric back door key and Shabbat key belt.  Some campgrounds were larger than others; some had beautiful views and places to sit.

It was an interesting experience to keep Shabbat on our own.  We felt different, and special.

We learned many lessons along the way – the most important is to live life while you can.  We were impressed with how big and beautiful the world is outside of our own little area and experience.  Our style of traveling, going where we wanted without a daily plan, also worked for us.  We saw so much by changing direction on a whim and were constantly delighted by our choices.  True, though, by traveling so much we missed out on really mastering a designated area.

We have been asked if we would do it again and the answer is “in a second.”  We need to catch up on our life in Israel, but we also know there are still more roads to travel, G-d willing.

Thank you for joining us on our journey.  Below are some additional photos of our trip.

Shana tova,

Bill and Sima

1. Plane Chicago, IL to Forest City, IA

2. Lichtsinn RV, Forest City, IA

3. Campground, Forest City, IA

4. Campground Residents, Forest City, IA

5. Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Campground, MN

6. Rice Creek Chain of Lakes Park, MN

7. Voyageurs National Park, MN

8. Voyageurs National Park, MN

9. Voyageurs National Park, MN

10. Congregation Adas Israel, Duluth, MN

11. Madeline Island Ferry, WI

12. Madeline Island, Big Bay Town Park, WI

13. Madeline Lake, WI

14. Copper Falls, Upper Peninsula, MI

15. Eagle Harbor Lighthouse, Upper Peninsula, MI

16. Eagle River Falls, Upper Peninsula, MI

17. Huron Falls, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI

18. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, MI

19. Pasquel Island Lighthouse, MI

20. Au Gres Municipal Park, MI

21. Wind Turbine Farm, MI

22. Port Stanley, Ontario

23. Spring Water Conservation Area Campground, Ontario

24. Niagara Falls, Ontario

25. 4 Mile State Campground, NY

26. Alexandria Bay, 1000 Islands, NY

27. Alexandria Bay, 1000 Islands, NY

28. Eisenhower Lock., St. Lawrence Seaway, NY

29. St. Lawrence Seaway, NY

30. Adirondack Visitors and Interpretive Center, NY

31. Eagle Point State Park, NY

32. Higley Flow State Park, NY

33. Adirondack Road View Turnoff, NY

34. John Brown’s Farm, NY

35. Lake Placid, NY

36. Lake Champlain, NY

37. Fort Ticonderoga, NY

38. Fort Ticonderoga, NY

39. Walmart Overnight, Ticonderoga, NY.

40. Cable-pulled Ferry, Ticonderoga, New York to Vermont

41. Branbury State Park, VT

42. Branbury State Park Campsite, VT

43. Branbury State Park Campsite, VT

44. Warren Falls at Mud River, VT

45. On the Road in Quebec

46. Mount Royal, Montreal

47. View of Montreal from Mount Royal

48. Maine Overlook from Road

49. Cathedral Pines Campground, ME

50. Wild Gardens, Acadia National Park, ME

51. Ocean Path, Acadia National Park, ME

52. Ocean Path, Acadia National Park, ME

53. Bar Harbor, ME

54. Southwest Harbor, Acadia National Park, ME

55. Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park, ME

56. Carriage Road, Acadia National Park, ME

57. Bubble Pond, Acadia National Park, ME

58. Bass Harbor, Acadia National Park, ME

59. Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, ME

60. Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, ME

61. Kancamagus Highway, White Mountains, NH

62. Swift River Covered Bridge, NH

63. View from Swift River Covered Bridge, NH

64. Mt. Washington, NH

65. Top of Mt Washington, NH

66. Salem Harbor Lighthouse, MA

67. Salem Harbor, MA

68. Paul Revere’s House, Boston, MA

69. USS Constitution (Old Ironsides), Boston, MA

70. Old State House, Boston, MA

71. Holocaust Monument, Boston, MA

72. Site of Boston Tea Party, Boston, MA

73. Touro Synagogue (built 1658), Newport RI

74. Touro Synagogue, Newport, RI

75. Amish Farms, Lancaster County, PA

76. Gettysburg, PA

77. Gettysburg Battleground, PA

78. Capitol Building, Washington, D.C.

79. Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C.

80. White House, Washington, D.C.

81. Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC

82. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC

83. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC

A funny thing happened on the way to Atlanta – we kept going and ended up in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  We needed to go to Atlanta to sign our contract for storing the RV while we are home and to get a few items repaired while they are still under warranty.  This happened quicker than we expected, so we decided that with the few extra days we had left before returning home, we would make a bonus trip to the Smokies.

In four hours we were there; we rejected the first campground we saw as being too far away from where we wanted to be.  The next campground was near one of the entrances to the park, on a river.  We arranged our spot which is right next to the river and continued one mile to the national park, parked the car, and went hiking.  In our walk we came across three waterfalls.

Mountains and clouds from the campground

Our campsite

Day 2:  A half hour away from where we camped is the southern entrance to the national park which is located near the Cherokee Indian Reservation.  We followed Newfound Gap Road, Highway 441, which is a high mountain road that cuts across the ridge near the center of the park and goes from Gatlinburg, Tennessee to Cherokee, North Carolina.  (The park is in both states.)  It provided outstanding scenic views all the way to Clingman’s Dome, the highest point in the Smokies, 6,643 feet in elevation.  Once we got to the Clingman’s Dome parking lot there was still a ½ mile walk, almost straight up, to the observation tower that has a view above the trees.  Unfortunately, the tower was in the clouds and we saw very little.  We did have the feeling of success, however, at doing the climb.

View from Clingman’s Dome

As we drove down from Clingman’s Dome, after coming out of the clouds, we stopped at many spectacular turnoffs; we even saw a bear cub climbing a tree along the road.  We didn’t want to get out of the car for pictures because the mother was sure to be close by.

Also on the way out of the park we visited the Mingus Mill, a water-powered turbine, and still working, mill ­built in 1886 for the grinding of both corn (for cornmeal) and wheat, as well as for sifting the wheat.

Day 3:  Shabbat was exactly as we had expected and hoped for with lots of time to daven, talk, eat, and quiet contemplation.

Day 4:  We spent the morning and early afternoon exploring the Cherokee Reservation located just before the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We began at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian.  A word about the Cherokee Indians:  They were one of the five peaceful tribes who traded with the pioneers and fought side by side with both the British and later the Americans.  They assimilated with the Europeans in both clothing and speech and many converted to their religion.  The Cherokee were an important part of Andrew Jackson’s army, to the point that one saved his life in battle; more loyal allies could not be found.

However:  In 1838, President Andrew Jackson forced the 13,000 peaceful Cherokee Indians to march from their native homeland in North Carolina to Oklahoma in what has become known as the “Trail of Tears.”  This was so white farmers and gold seekers could settle on their land.  About 1/3 of the tribe died along the way due to starvation and disease.

Supreme Court Justice John Marshall ruled that it was unconstitutional to forcibly evict the Cherokee from their homeland, but President Jackson refused to follow his ruling.  A handful of tribesmen disobeyed the government order and hid out near Clingman’s Dome and Mount Guyot in what is now the national park.  Their descendants, and those who returned on their own, are the tribesmen who live on the reservation today.  They are called the Eastern Band of the Cherokee; those who live in Oklahoma are called the Western Band.

We then traveled further into the reservation to view both the Mingo and Soco waterfalls, sites worth viewing, and a good ending to our explorations.

We are now at the campground, cleaning and preparing the RV for storage, and packing for our trip home.  Tomorrow we will return to Atlanta, spend the night in the storage facility’s parking lot (along with other “campers”), the next night in a hotel close to the airport, and then fly home.

It’s been an amazing trip; we have seen the quiet beauty of the land and experienced the pull of history, and are returning home with priceless memories, as you our readers know.  At some point, after we have returned home, we will write the last post, a summary of our travels and feelings.

This is not the end, it is only the first chapter to be continued with our next trip.

Thank you all for following the adventure and for your encouragement and support.

Bill and Sima

After our stay in Washington, D.C. we crossed the Chesapeake Bay (for the first time) and camped at Trap Pond State Park Campground in Delaware for Shabbat, voted one of the top ten state campgrounds, and we believe it.  After being in big cities it was nice to get back to nature.  There were more places where we could walk within techum Shabbat in this park than anywhere else we have been.  A nice lake, plenty of trees, and a large but quiet campground all added up to a restful Shabbat after the hustle and bustle of Washington.

From Delaware we went south, across 23 miles of alternating bridge-tunnel-bridge-tunnel-bridge called, fittingly enough, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel (the second time crossing the bay).  This was the longest bridge system we have ever been on – and it is pretty spectacular – but it was not the last.  Hopping from mainland to peninsula to island to mainland in North Carolina, we crossed over four additional bridges, two long and narrow (and a little hair-raising, if I had hair), two just long.  For anyone who wants to look at a map, we drove along a very narrow strip of land called the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with the Intracoastal Waterway on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.  At one point, we could see both at the same time.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel:

Bridge to and from Roanoke Island

Two things of interest with important messages:  The first was stopping in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina to visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial.  This was both educational and impressive (and we had the opportunity to use, for the first time, our National Parks senior cards, so the entrance was free, as it is to all national parks and monuments and historic sites).  We were at the actual place where Wilber and Orville built gliders to learn how to fly, and then built their heavier than air airplane; finally succeeding when they flew it four times on December 17, 1903, an event that changed the course of modern civilization.  For years the Wright Brothers had trudged up Kill Devil Hill with their gliders, thousands of times, until their ultimate success.

Monument on top of Kill Devil Hill

A testament to perseverance, hard work, and belief in what you do.

We then drove through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge; we didn’t see any alligators but the scenery was pretty.

The second was the solar eclipse.  We did not realize until just a few days before that North Carolina was right in the path of the total solar eclipse, and in the area we were in, it was about 90%.  So, we stopped at the side of the road to witness it.  Luckily, they had handed out protective solar eclipse viewing panels at the Wright Brothers Memorial, for without these panels, we would not have been able to actually see the moon passing in front of the sun, with just a very bright sliver of yellow showing.  (The day was still light, though; there was a slight graying of the sky, as if on an overcast day, but it was not dark.)

It was breathtaking.  (No pictures; you had to be there.)

A testament to the wonders of Hashem.

And, of all the explanations we read about Jewish sources and solar eclipses, the one we liked the best is attributed to the Lubavitcher Rebbe-Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson who explained that eclipses are meant to be opportunities of increased prayer and introspection.  And when we think that the eclipse took place on erev Rosh Chodesh Ellul….

Washington is an exceptional city and one of the most interesting places we visited in our travels, so much so that we stayed an extra day – four days in total – because we felt that there was still more we wanted to do and see, and did not want to leave without experiencing them.

On our first day we did the tourist thing – and the thing we like to do best: We walked all over and took as many pictures as we could.  We surely know that they are better photographed by professionals with professional equipment, but these are ours.

To say that we were totally impressed with the magnificence of the seat of the greatest and most powerful country in the world would be an understatement.  We will always be Americans living in Israel, we love the U.S. and what it represents; and we love Israel and what it represents, and where we choose to live.

The central part of D.C. is logically organized with a large number of sites and buildings situated around the “National Mall.”  The mall is a large (between the Capitol and the Washington Memorial it is 1.2 miles), oval walking area with grass and pools of water in between two streets.  Around the mall are museums, government buildings, and monuments; the quality souvenir shops are in the museums themselves.

Our second day was spent at the Holocaust museum, a very emotional five hours, in a well-designed self-guided walking tour which takes you from the rise of Nazism through liberation.

General (later to be president) Dwight D. Eisenhower’s quote: “The things I saw beggar description…The visual evidence and the verbal testimony of starvation, cruelty and bestiality were so overpowering….I made the visit deliberately, in order to be in a position to give first-hand evidence of these things if ever, in the future, there develops a tendency to charge these allegations to propaganda.”  What great foresight to realize that there will be people in the future who will try to disavow or even change history.  Humanity, and Jews in particular, will have to be vigilant, “Never Again!”

One of the really good parts of the visit was being able to get together with my old friend Robin Cook.  The three of us went out to dinner at one of the very few kosher restaurants in D.C. (and saw a fellow Efratean there), and I had the first hamburger, and Sima the first grilled chicken, that we’ve had in the last three months.  One of the sacrifices of traveling the way we do (but well worth it, we think), and it sure tasted good.

The following are some of the places we visited:

Library of Congress –Thomas Jefferson Building.  There are three buildings that make up the Library; this is the oldest and the most opulent.

National Archives Building – housing the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights; also one of the four existing copies of the Magna Carta is here

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

Ulysses S. Grant Memorial

World War II Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial

Smithsonian National Gallery of Art – West Building for classical art; East Building for modern art

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – two halves: one side of the building “air” and the other side “space”

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History – specifically the collection of gems (including the Hope Diamond) and minerals, and the prize-winning nature photos

United States Botanical Garden – a stunning collection of plants from all over the world.  In the Mediterranean section, we saw several plants that we have in our yard.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (a very rainy morning when we got there just before it opened, and no photography is allowed inside)

All Smithsonian museums (and there are more that we did not have time to see) and government offices are free to the public.

We also saw the White House, the Supreme Court, and the Capitol Building (but were not able to enter these buildings), as well as numerous, humongous buildings dedicated to assisting the three cornerstones of government keep the wheels of bureaucracy turning: Departments of Justice, Treasury, Agriculture, Interior, the Senate and House office buildings….

Capitol Building

Supreme Court

White House

We spent more time in Washington than in any other place we have been and still feel we have only just begun.  This place is worthy of a return trip and additional exploration.

As we realized last night, our travels are winding down and we will be on the last leg of our journey.  In the next week and a half we will be making our way down the east coast to Atlanta, Georgia, where we will be storing the RV.

When I am asked what my favorite part of the trip was, now that it is almost over, I realize that it’s living and traveling in the RV.  For Sima, it’s the beauty we have seen. There is a quote on one of the walls of the Library of Congress, “Nature is the Art of G-d” – how true.

We’ve traveled with only a general idea of how and where we were going and had the freedom to change our route and destination on a whim.  The Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Madeline Island, Salem, and Boston were some of the places we went to just because we wanted to.  It is true that this way of traveling sometimes came at the cost of efficiency, but it gave us the freedom to follow our wishes of the moment.

On our way to Washington, D.C., we decided to make a stop in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (the history bug has bitten).  There, we took an open-deck bus tour of this famous Civil War battlefield where the Union and Confederate forces fought for three days in July (1-3) of 1863 and which is considered a turning point of the war.

Though the 6,000-acre battlefield area is filled with 1,400 statues and monuments honoring those who participated in the battle, the real point of interest was in seeing the actual locations where the fighting took place. Our guide was animated and interesting as he spoke of the military tactics which both sides used.

The Union fielded 93,000 troops and the Confederate army 75,000.  The following are the statistics of the carnage:

In three days.

Though Robert E. Lee, commanding general of the Confederate forces, had won the first day – including the taking of the town of Gettysburg and its supplies – George Meade, commanding general of the Union army, ended the third day with a decisive win.  Lee had to retreat with a loss of a third of his troops.

The so-called glory of the actual fighting in battle is what most people talk of and read about, but the success of battle is often determined by other factors.  Many of the deaths were not due to the fighting, but to disease, lack of clean water, lack of proper bathroom facilities, and lack of healthy food.

After the armies departed, they left behind the bodies of thousands of dead soldiers (as well as horses) in the fields; most every building that remained standing was turned into a field hospital for the wounded.  Food supplies were almost completely confiscated by both armies and there was a shortage of adequate water for the town’s people and the wounded soldiers left behind.

An original house which became a field hospital

While taking a walk in the city before the tour, we came across a monument dedicated to the musicians of the two armies.  On one hand, they were entertainment for the troops at rest.  But the trumpet, drums, and flag bearers were also – as we learned in Ticonderoga – the method officers used to communicate with their troops.  Different sounds and melodies represented the different orders.  On a side note (pun intended), the youngest soldier to ever win a Congressional Medal of Honor was a 13-year-old drummer boy who later became a general.

On November 19 of that same year Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address (in a dedication ceremony for the cemetery for Union soldiers killed at Gettysburg), 272 words that lasted two minutes, and which live on forever in the history of the country.  It was a call for hope and healing.

Thursday was a travel day; we drove from Fisherman Memorial Campground in Rhode Island to Newburgh, New York.  The interesting part of the story is that in trying to find a specific New York State campground and driving for miles down a winding, twisting, single-lane, two-way, dirt road, we ended up at a dead end.  Literally, in the middle of a forested area; the first time Waze has failed us.  Solution: we went to our favorite old reliable spot, Walmart, and that is where we spent the night.

Day 2:  We drove to Pennsylvania and checked into the Pitch Pond Campground.  It’s near a small and not that attractive pond, but it is a pond and thus the name.  We secured a campsite in a semi-secluded section which is exactly what we like for Shabbat.

Pitch Pond is in Lancaster County, home to over 31,000 Amish people.  (Pennsylvania as a whole has almost 64,000, second in the U.S. after Ohio.)  So, as we had Friday morning open, we drove to an old Amish farm house – now a visitor’s center – and demonstration farm and joined a tour.  From our interesting guide, we heard about this unique group of people leading a simple, religious life in their own way.

When you think of the Amish you usually think of them as farmers, but this quickly growing community – they have up to 10 children per family with only a small percentage of dropouts from the fold – are doing other things (such as crafts and small businesses) which allow them to keep their isolated lifestyles.

In other ways, though, there is a certain amount of mixing with the outside world.  They see doctors and use hospitals.  They shop at local stores, and places such as Target and Walmart have set up separate covered parking areas for their horses and buggies.

In driving through Lancaster County after the tour we found many extremely attractive, well-taken care of farms, without equipment lying all over the place, and beautiful houses and lawns: Amish farms.  The countryside is not grand as in some places – no lakes or mountains or waterfalls – but the sheer beauty of land that is well taken care of with obvious pride.

And on our drive, we found more covered bridges.  Pennsylvania has over 200 covered bridges, with Lancaster having the most at 29. The ones we saw were one lane for two-way traffic and are still in use.  Unlike those we found in New Hampshire, there were no name plaques on these bridges.

We also drove to a city called Efrata, spelled Ephrata; we had to go.  Small town, not much going on….

As our day ended, we returned to our campsite to begin preparing for Shabbat.

For such a small state, Rhode Island has had a major impact on one of the most important tenets of the U.S. Constitution.   It refused to ratify the Constitution (it was the last of the 13 colonies to do so) until assurances were made that a Bill of Rights including – most importantly for us as Jews – complete religious freedom would be a part of it.

The story has it that George Washington was miffed at Rhode Island for holding out and would not visit.  Once the colony joined the Union, he returned to the city, and from this third visit to the synagogue (he visited it twice as a general), came the famous letter he wrote to the congregation.  In response to a note from shamash Moses Seixas sending his good wishes to the administration, President Washington wrote, in part, that America “gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.“  And he added, “…May the children of the Stock of Abraham…continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other Inhabitants….”

This was the guarantee of religious freedom; Jews were not here by tolerance, but by right.

From the beginning, Rhode Island welcomed people of all religions, and Jews found a home there.  The earliest Jewish residents came from Barbados and were of Spanish and Portuguese origin.  As the Jewish community grew, it requested that a rabbi be sent from Amsterdam to Newport to guide them.  Nineteen-year-old Issac Touro, a yeshiva student, was the only one willing to come as the chazzan (he was not ordained).  After being in Newport for a time, he worked towards the creation of the first synagogue.  Peter Harrison, a well-known architect, was hired, and the beautiful structure we see today was built, completed in 1763.  It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Isaac Touro also immediately demanded that a school be built adjacent to the synagogue; through the school is the entrance to the women’s balcony.

Isaac Touro guided the synagogue through the Revolution, when the British occupied the city.  A loyalist, he offered the use of the synagogue to the British, and they occupied it for three years as their field hospital.  But Isaac Touro had another motive: at a time when most of the town was being destroyed, the shul remained untouched.

The building is almost a complete square and is considered one of the finest examples of colonial architecture: from its columns to the ornate chandeliers to the brass candlesticks – a gift from a member in honor of the bar mitzvah of their son and so inscribed in Hebrew.   One of its treasures is a 500-year old sefer Torah, gifted to it from Amsterdam when the synagogue was founded.

Touro Synagogue is the oldest functioning synagogue in the United States, is orthodox, and has minyanim twice a day and on Shabbat.  Three sitting presidents, along with other notable personages, have been among its visitors – George Washington as mentioned above, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy (who was married in Newport but not at the shul).  A special “box” is on one of the side walls  (the only part of the shul that is not symmetrical), and this is where the president of the shul and dignitaries sit.  The president of the shul today, who is a woman, sits upstairs.

Photography is not allowed inside the building, so these are taken from the open doorway.

After the tour of the shul – hosted by a knowledgeable and interesting guide – and the visitor’s center, we spent a few hours in the afternoon walking around Newport.  We found, by accident – as we got lost looking for our car which we had parked on a side street – a kosher vegan restaurant under the supervision of the rabbi of the Touro Synagogue.

As in Salem, we walked past old buildings from the 1700s still being lived in.  Large and small ships fill the harbor.  Lots of shopping, lots of tourists, a mixture of old and new – Newport was a delightful place for a pretty summer afternoon.

This had been an enjoyable, educational day, with what turned out to be beautiful weather.