Old Home Week

We left Machicomoco and headed up Route 17 through the Northern Neck. It was time to visit our old home area. We stayed at Ft. AP Hill in their rv park. We had a great end site and except for the periodic training exercises, it was quiet. Even the training exercise noises weren't that bad. 

We noted some new construction in the Dahlgren area. Hey, the new Nice Bridge is completed. It wasn't even started when we left the area in April 2020. We opted not to cross it but did drive to a viewpoint to take a look. 

We got in the area on a Saturday and headed to our former church, New Life in Christ, early on Sunday. They have two services now, and we hear there are plans for a balcony section. It's good to see growing churches.

Afterwards we drove through our old neighborhood. We didn't see too many outward changes to our former home. We did see the backyard fence that former neighbors told us had been added. We had hoped to visit a few folks, but schedules didn't work out. 

We did see several friends and former co-workers and enjoyed catching up. The bonus was the beautiful fall weather and trees! However at the end of the week, we realized that we really hadn't taken many photos. Oops!

Gun mount on Dahlgren base

The new and old Nice Bridge

Ft AP Hill famcamp site

 Where Are We Going Next?

Beauty of Christmas

I confess that I occasionally miss having a real house. That sentiment is especially true going into fall and Christmas. I'll see some wall art or décor and wish I had a place for it. I usually spend a little time admiring the item in the store and move on. My practical side reminds me of the lack of storage and the over abundance of similar items in a thrift store, where anything I purchase along decorating lines will end up in a very short period of time. 

Granted, décor pales in comparison to the beauty of the mountains, the seas, the prairies, and plains. Still, we admire art and all kinds of things. Why?

Just a little decoration

Years ago I saw Jim Croegaert at a church concert. The title of one of his songs, "Why Do We Hunger for Beauty" has been a subtle reminder through the years of our God-given longing to see beauty around us and to be at peace within ourselves. God has provided the way for us to experience peace and beauty through His Son. This is what we celebrate at Christmas. We wish you a peaceful and beautiful Christmas. 

 Where Are We Going Next?

Machicomoco State Park

After leaving the AKA Convention in Ocean City, MD, we headed south through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel again. Our destination was Machicomoco State Park where we were meeting up with our friends Will and Heidi. We camped with them last year at Hungry Mother State Park.

Machicomoco is one of Virginia's newer state parks. We liked the spacing of the 23 sites, but wished they would have put in some full hook up sites. There's some biking and hiking in the park, an interpretative area, a boat slip, and a kayak/canoe put-in spot, complete with handicap access, but not a lot else. The land was going to be a high-end development with 49 houses at one point. You can see the landscaping fences and where the driveways were going to be. 

We drove to nearby Gloucester and walked around their historic area. It gave us something a bit different to see.

Gloucester goofiness -- me with a statue

Where Are We Going Next?

Go Fly a Kite

After being canceled the last two years because of covid concerns, the American Kitefliers Association held its annual convention in Ocean City, MD.  We stayed down the road at Sun Ocean City, about a 30 minute drive to the convention activities. 

We enjoyed seeing people we hadn't seen in quite some time. Then there's those kites. I love all the color in the sky. I am amazed at what people make - the design, the craftmanship, it's all there to enjoy. 

Paul can land it in your hand

Joyce leading her miniature kite workshop

Memorial kite fly

Silent auction time

Getting the kite ready

Judging time for Pete

Pete's kite in distance; Mike's kite in foreground

Mike after fighting the high winds

Deb's kite

Paul and Barbara

Where Are We Going Next?

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel

We were on our way to Ocean City, MD, for the American Kitefliers Association's national convention. After leaving the Hoots Rally in Tennessee, we spent about a week in Virginia, splitting the time between Natural Bridge and JEB Little Creek.  We were quite glad to be able to spend time with my sister Karen and her family and with Charlie and Joan, kite flying friends. 

Our stay at JEB Little Creek positioned us for our Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel (CBBT) crossing to the Eastern Shore. Despite the $34.00 cost and the tight tunnels, we still preferred that route over the Washington, DC, beltway and Route 50 way to Ocean City.  You can zoom on the last photo for some factoids about CBBT. 

Charlie and Joan

Aim for the dark hole in the center...

A little tight

13' 6" height restriction...we had a little over a foot in clearance

Where Are We Going Next?

Hoots Rally

My cousin Steve had been encouraging us to attend a Hoots rally for some time now. So this year we decided that the rally in Sevierville, TN, would work out well with our plans. We did have a "hoot" catching up with Steve, Junelle, and others we had met earlier in the year. Plus we made some new acquaintances. Who knows when we'll meet them on the road again. We'll see where the roost ends up for 2023. 

Larry and Linda out and about

Sponsors help

Bring on the bacon

Newmars roosting

More Newmars

Side trip to the Moon Pie General Store

Ugh! Good thing we had sponsors for food! 

Where Are We Going Next?

K-25, Y-12, S-50, X-10

K-25, Y-12, S-50, and X-10 may sound a bit like a bingo game gone very wrong. However, they are the random names of site complexes within Oak Ridge, TN, one of the three secret towns built by the Manhatten Project in WWII. Each of the work sites was dedicated to a separate process to determine which would be best to produce the uranium and plutonium needed for the atomic bomb.

K-25 was the world's first gaseous diffusion enrichment plant. Many were not sure the gaseous diffusion process would work on a large scale and considered the K-25 facility one of the biggest gambles of the war. K-25 was one of the world's largest buildings. Built in only 18 months, it was 44 acres under one roof. Workers used bicycles to travel inside the building. 

44 Acres under one roof

Y-12 used the electromagnetic process and was the world's first electromagnetic plant. The Calutron Girls operated the vacuum chambers. Originally, powers-that-be thought the chambers would have to be operated by Ph.D. level scientists. The local high-school graduate girls proved them wrong. Out performing the male scientists and engineers in a production run test, they were quickly hired.

Calutron Girl

High school graduate job

S-50 was the world's first production size thermal diffusion enrichment facility. It called for exacting piping on 2,142 columns, 48 ft. long and 4 in. in diameter. Many thought it was undoable. Twenty-one different American firms turned down the job. 

In addition to working with uranium, the secret city also worked to make plutonium for the atomic bomb. X-10 was the site of the world's first plutonium production reactor. While plutonium would be produced in Hanford, WA, the processes were tested at Oak Ridge. 

The log book is open to the first entry of "critically reached" stage

We were able to visit K-25, Y-12, and the graphite reactor through a DOE bus tour offered by the American Museum of Science and Energy. We enjoyed our tour guide, who retired from DOE, and knew lots of little tidbits of information. The X-10 graphite reactor site is accessible only through the tour as it is on the grounds of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. K-25 is open to the public as is the New Hope Center at Y-12, though you'd definitely want to call to confirm either in this ever changing world of security measures and pandemics.

Oak Ridge is an amazing story, and thankfully, a successful one. 

If it all went south...

Jenny!

Where Are We Going Next?