July 21, 2007- Captain, Gigi, and I left Boca Raton for a 2 week camping vacation. After packing all of our gear in Captain's Dodge Ram Diesel, we headed out a 3:00am on the first day and 5 hours later stopped at our hangar in Steinhatchee to mow the lawn. The next day we headed for Mammoth Cave, Kentucky where we spent 2 days and got to tour Mammoth Cave which was really cool- actually it was really COLD.
On July 25, we arrived in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for Airventure, which is the biggest airshow in the world. This was a dream come true since I have been wanting to go to Oshkosh for years. All the airplanes on display, the airshows, and all the people were amazing. We camped in our tent on the airshow grounds for 4 nights and were really busy all the time. They even had free movies at night.
On Sunday, July 29, it was time to start heading back south, so we got on the road at 7am and drove down to Kincaid Lake State Park in N. Kentucky. The next day, we broke camp and drove to Lexington, KY to visit my Auntie Courtney and her kids, Madeline and Emma Grace. They have a beautiful house and Courtney has a great fiance named Greg. After having lunch, Captain, Gigi and I got back on the road to finish our trip to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains.
We were worn out with all the bike riding and hiking that we did in the Smokies, so after 2 nights we packed up again and headed for the ruby mines in the Franklin, NC area and camped at Van Hook Glade outside of Highlands, NC. When we went ruby mining at Sheffield Mines, I was the only one of the 3 of us who found a ruby- 2.5 carats!
Just 2 days later we were home. It feels good to be home, but the trip was terrific.
Here are some pictures of my trip. Click on a picture to get a larger view.
First stop Mammoth Cave. This is our campsite. |
This deer was right behind our tent. |
Gotta have campfire. |
We're gonna go in the cave. |
Entrance to Mammoth Cave. |
An 1855 inscription on the ceiling. |
This is a huge round hole that goes down forever. |
This way to Fat Man's Misery. |
This is Fatman's Misery. It's a tight fit. |
We finally made it to Oshkosh and Airventure. |
This is a beautiful Ford Trimotor. |
This is the Ford Trimotor that I got to ride on. It sure was noisy. |
The first of many P-51 Mustangs.
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After Kenucky, we drove to Oshkosh, WI. |
All the warbirds at Oshkosh are my favorite. |
This is a Sea Fury. |
Sea Fury. |
Vintage airplane area. |
Waco biplane. |
This plane is 70 years old! |
This one is pushing 80. |
These vintage planes really have style. |
F7F Tigercat. |
This Tigercat is raced at the Reno Air Races. |
There were tons of AT6's. |
More AT6's. |
Cessna Bamboo Bomber. It's actually made of wood. |
This is my friend Sean D. Tucker's team "The Collaborators"
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The Collaborators
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The Collaborator pilots. Sean and his son Erik are in the middle. |
The Aeroshell AT6 team always puts on a good show. |
My favorite jet is the F86 Sabre. |
Ferry crossing the Green River near Mammoth. |
Michael Goulian, me and Sean D. Tucker |
Every night we had movie at Airventure. |
They even give you free popcorn. Gigi loved it! |
Astronaut wannabe's |
Curtiss P40 Warhawk |
B2 Bomber |
Cessna's Bamboo Bomber |
P40 Bengal Tiger |
B24, B17, B25, B25, B25 |
Air Force's new C-17. It lands very short then backs up on the runway. |
F22 Raptor |
P38 Lightning Glacier Girl |
Heritage flight |
One-of-a-kind Travelaire Mystery Ship |
Sean D. Tucker doing his thing in his Pitts |
Big Beautiful Doll P51 Mustang |
Another P51. |
Another famous P51. |
Reproduction of a Curtiss P6E Hawk. |
In the cockpit of the P51 Mustang "Quicksilver" |
Supermarine Spitfire |
Not every day that you see a U2 spy plane. |
This is the vintage airplane parking area. |
Kincaid Lake in N. Kentucky |
Kincaid Lake |
Emma Grace and Maddie |
Maddie |
Greg and Courtney |
Me and my Auntie Courtney where she works. |
Beautiful Cades Cove in the Smokies |
This was all farmland for the Cades Cove settlers in the 1800's. |
Cades Cove |
Cades Cove is like a bowl in the middle of the Smoky Mountains. |
Cades Cove campsite. |
The Cherokee indians believe that a giant buzzard formed the Smoky Mountains by flapping its wings. |
One of 3 churches still in Cades Cove. |
Inside the church. |
One of the tombstones behind the church. |
This is the Primitive Baptist Church. |
I got to do some blacksmithing and made a chuckwago dinner bell. |
This bat was in Isaih Oliver's pioneer home in Cades Cove. |
Crossing a tree on the hike to Abrams Falls. |
These log crossings were pretty neat. |
After 2.5 miles we made it to Abrams Falls. |
Captain went swimming but the water was too cold for me. |
The old grist mill in Cades Cove still works. Gigi even bought some corn meal there. |
The Green River Ferry near Mammoth. |
We went on a hayride around Cades Cove. This is the haywagon. |
This is the ski lift above Gatlinburg, TN in Ober Gatlinburg. |
We had to take this tram from Gatlinburg up the mountain to Ober Gatlinburg. |
There are lots of fun rides up on the mountain. |
This is one of 4 slides. |
Captain and I went ice skating too. |
This ride is called the Pirate. |
2 more slides. |
Captain could never beat me on the Alpine Slide. |
In Franklin, NC, we went ruby mining. |
I was the only one to find a ruby, 2.5 carats. |
After getting back from Airventure in Oshkosh, I just had to go flying. |
