And now the long run to St Augustine Florida… Through the rest of Alabama, and across Southern Georgia, stopping only to get peaches. Ok, some peach pie too. Oh, and I like that Peach Cider and a jar of peach salsa please! DON’T SLIP ON A PEACH A quick wave to the Burtons up North, and before you know it, we are in Florida. I have never been a big fan of Florida. I don’t like the politics there and find them to be the opposite of the America we aspire to be. But every time I’

After Richmond we joined old acquaintance of Bobs, Daniel Shanks, and his lovely wife Linda at their home in Alexandria. Daniel worked with Bob at Domaine Chandon in Napa as the General Manager of the restaurant. One day he got a call from the White House to offer him a job managing the affairs there, most importently, the food and wine service, and to bring it up to par with the concept of fine dining. His title would be usher, and the job would be far more encompassing than

We never realized how wonderful this State is. It has produced the most Presidents of any State, and has so much history it makes our heads hurt. It has mountians and seashores. We are talking Virginia here. Northern Virginia is one of those places we knew little about. OK, we knew it was steeped in History- Jamestown, Revolutionary War, Civil War were very much centered here. Lots of commerce in the early days so that the money here is old money… you can just feel it. The ho

In our travels we really wanted to see history, no, we wanted immersion. We went to two Presedential estates particularly recommended, Thomas Jeffersons Monticello, and Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington. We went there with great expections, to see first hand how these great men, Fathers of our country, lived and became inspired. We saw the grand houses, the beautiful gardens, and all the trappings of a totally self sufficient property. These were great men with ideas

To this date it was the biggest surprise and the most fun we had on the trip. When researching this epic journey around the country, we consulted Chat GPT (AI) and requested info that had to do with history, music, food, and all things Americana. A small blurb told us that this particular area was known for its music that was rooted in the confluence of Scott-Irish, German-Dutch, and African cultures. Immigrants (that’s right Donald ), who brought with them many things, inclu

We are starting to see a pattern out here in our travels. History is thick, and it is everywhere. If we were to stop at every marker we would be dead in our tracks. Road signs, Memorials, battle fields, cemeteries, museums, statues, and other roadside attractions. Businesses even have names commemorating some event, or person. It being the 250th year only adds to this in a Patriotic fever of commercialism mixed with an altruistic sense of pride. Bunting is everywhere, on lots