We arrived at a motocross track in Uhrichsville, Ohio (south east Ohio, Crown Canyon MX) which was an area qualifier to go to the mid east regional qualifier sometime in June. We got there Thursday afternoon and stayed until Monday. There was a practice on Friday and racing on Saturday and Sunday. It rained all day on Friday and in the evenings on the weekend. Josiah got a first, second and third in three classes (65cc 7-9 stock, 65cc 7-11 modified and 65cc 7-11 support class). On the Saturday night we went out to dinner at Applebee’s with Larry and Liz Jenkins (and their son Ben) and then went to the movies to see Prince Caspian. We were homesick from watching the movie because it was made in NZ. It was nice to get away from the track that evening and have a good time with the Jenkins. We all fit into their big rig on our way to dinner and the movies (see blog photo of the three Raptors at “Raptorville”).
On Sunday night we decided to stay the night at the track and then go to Holmes county on Monday. Holmes county is the hub of the Amish and Mennonite communities. The Amish are conservative compared to Mennonites. We got to Berlin and looked around some of the stores before going to the Amish and Mennonite Information Center for an understanding of the background of these “religions”. From there we went to Yoder’s where we saw how a typical Amish family live out their daily lives. There were houses, barns and horse and cart rides. The house of the stricter Amish reminded me a little of my grandparents home in Wairoa, NZ. It only had the bare essentials. The toilet was outside. There was no electricity (although other Amish sects have generators to generate electricity). The Amish are very communal. They can build a large barn in a day. We got to see the Amish making bread and other goodies which we purchased. It tasted great.
On Monday afternoon we travelled back to Pennsylvania (near the town of Washington) to stay with Chris and Maria. Chris and Maria (and their three children Ryan, Erin and Evan) are friends of Larry and Liz who we caught up with at Crown Canyon MX and also at Rolling Hills. We had received an invitation to stay at their place which was great. We got to do washing, have great showers and meals provided. Chris and Maria have a fantastic block of land out in the country with a motocross track. They also have a friend who is an orthopedic doctor who helps out with their kids when there have broken bones. Maria called and made an appointment for Joel to have his arm looked at and the doctor recommended that the sling be removed from Joel’s arm. Joel was very excited. We were very appreciative of Chris and Maria’s hospitality and connections. It was sad to leave!
On Thursday we travelled to Pleasure Valley Raceway in Pennsylvania(http://www.cernicsracing.com/pvr.htm) for the first regional qualifier to get to Loretta Lynn’s where the American national motocross championships are held each year in Tennessee. The regional qualifier was for the north east of the USA and you have to first of all qualify at an area to get to a region (we had qualified for this regional two weeks beforehand in Virginia at Actiontown MX). To give you an idea of the standard of motocross racing at a regional, an area qualifier would be a similar standard to a New Zealand national. The top eight riders from each class at an area qualifier are eligible to race at a regional. If you finish in say the top six or seven at a regional you then qualify for Loretta Lynn’s. So at a regional you are racing against some top riders from the region and some of them are top at the national level. There are some very fast kids on bikes.
It had rained for 12 straight days before we got to Pleasure Valley Raceway (PVR). We got there early enough to get a good dry spot. Others who turned up later on had to be dragged into a spot by a bulldozer (they were subsequently waiting to be pulled out three days later). Friday’s practice was muddy but the sunshine began to dry out the track. Lots of water blasting the bike. Chris had hoped it would stay muddy for the weekend as it suited Josiah but as the day dried out the track suited everyone and there was a freight train of fast kids zooming around the track.
The track was cut up on Saturday morning and it looked really good. As the day wore on ruts began to develop and it even became dusty so it was a completely different track in the afternoon. The progression of the track on Sunday was similar to Saturday. Over his three races in the 7-9 year old 65cc stock class, Josiah got two hole shots and ended up third overall. This is a fantastic result. Josiah didn’t qualify for the 7-11 65cc modified class but we used it as good practice to make it to Loretta Lynn’s for the 7-9 65cc stock class. If you want to see a video of the racing at PVR, go to http://www.motoxposure.com/tv/ and click on the right hand side (Pleasure Valley day one and day two LL NE youth qualifier). Josiah is about a third of the way through day one (and very briefly at the end of day two). Look for # 413 in the 65cc 7-9 stock class getting the holeshot.
On Sunday afternoon after the races we packed up at PVR and headed to Cleveland Ohio. We decided to go and spend a few days with Cara and Tiana from our church at CBC in New Zealand. We were looking forward to seeing them. That night we arrived in Cleveland and parked the night in Walmart.
We caught up with Cara and Tiana on Monday morning and parked the RV at their church. We stayed at their mum’s place the next two nights and really appreciated their hospitality. On Tuesday we went with Cara and Tiana to the Cedarpoint amusement park which is rated as the world’s best rollercoaster park (http://www.cedarpoint.com/). We spent the whole day and night at the park. It was awesome. One rollercoaster is called the Dragstar. It propels you to 120mph in four second before climbing up vertically about 400 feet and then back down again. Other awesome rides were the Millenium Force, Magnum, Raptor and Maverick (go to http://www.cedarpoint.com/public/park/rides/coasters/index.cfm for details on the rollercoasters). We all had a real fun time.
On Wednesday we travelled north east from Cleveland to Madison and caught up with a friend of Janine’s called Leslie. Janine met Leslie over 15 years ago when she toured around Europe. We also met Leslie’s husband, Tim. They kindly put us up for two nights. On Thursday we travelled north east again on Interstate 90 for 200 miles to Niagara Falls. We got there late afternoon and went on the boat the ventures up to the bottom of the waterfalls. We then went over to the Canadian side of the Niagara Falls and stayed there until night time when the lights shine onto the falls. We then crossed the border back into the USA and drove back to Tim and Leslie’s place.
On Friday morning we left Tim and Leslie’s place to head back to Myrtle Beach SC. We drove nearly 12 hours on Friday before finally pulling over at Statesville in Ohio and parking up for the night in Walmart. We then hit the road early the next day. After 750 miles and close to 100 gallons of diesel (plus lots of cans of coke) we safely arrived at Myrtle Beach just after lunch on Saturday. We arrived in early 90s F temperature (just over 30 degrees celsius) having come from around 50 F (around 10 degrees celsius) four days earlier at the Cedarpoint amusement park. It felt good to be back in Myrtle Beach. Alot has happened in the last month since we left this place.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
North Carolina to Pennsylvania
We travelled from South Carolina to Reidsville in North Carolina to attend a motocross race. We were one of the first to arrive at the track and get parked up under some trees. Within a short period of time two other fifth wheelers (that were Raptor models like ours) parked either side of us. Our truck was small compared to the rigs towing the other Raptors (refer photo). However, we were in “Raptorville”. We got lots of questions from people about our Raptor and truck for towing.
North Carolina is still considered part of the South. Chris thought it would be less South and more of the North but you could tell within a short period of time we were still in the South, eg. the spitting, the accent. Also, they played two types of music from 7am to 10pm on the loud speakers (which were inconveniently placed right outside our Raptor in the trees) which were country and western. Also, Jessica, Alex, Caroline and Jessica’s parents (Bob and Angela) came to the track to watch. It was good to see the Tews again and meet Jess’ parents.
We left the track at Reidsville late on Sunday afternoon and travelled to Pocahontas State Park in Virginia (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/poc.shtml). It is located 20 miles south west of Richmond, the state capital. It is a nice clean park with good facilities and has a lake and walking/biking trails which we all did on Monday afternoon.
There is a lot of history in Virginia, eg. the early colonies, revolutionary war and civil war. So on Tuesday we went into Richmond and visited the state capital and then onto Petersburg to visit the Pamplin Historical Park (http://www.pamplinpark.org). This is a 422 acre park that relives the life and times of soldiers during America's "War Between the States." There is a National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, Tudor Hall and a recreated Military Encampment. It was fantastic.
On Wednesday we went to (Colonial) Williamsburg which has a living history museum (http://www.history.org/). Colonial Williamsburg was the 18th-century capital of Britain’s largest, and wealthiest settlement in the New World. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has attempted to interpret the origins of American life through re-enactment of the daily life of colonials in a 301-acre area populated with restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings. Fully costumed Colonial Williamsburg Foundation re-enactors, not allowed to break character, tell the stories of men and women of the 18th-century city, from all races and backgrounds. It really was like being there 300 years ago. When you first arrive, you freak out at the sight of men wearing the tight pants they used to wear at that time.
On Thursday afternoon we packed up and drove an hour to Dillwyn VA for another race on the weekend. Josiah got first in both motos to take the overall win in the 7-9 stock class but mishaps in the 7-11 open class meant he didn’t qualify. We were glad to leave the motocross track as it had rained a lot and Chris overused the water blaster to clean the bike so we ran out of water on Saturday afternoon.
We travelled north from Dillwyn VA on Sunday afternoon. We had planned to be in Pennsylvania that night but it didn’t work out that way. First, the weather was torrential rain so it made the driving slow. Second, the GPS unit took us along a track in the boondocks that ran parallel to the interstate. The roads were small, winding and hilly. By the time we got onto the interstate to Harrisburg PA we had crossed the state line into West Virginia and decided to stay the night in a parking lot at Walmart. The store was right beside the interstate. Some of us didn’t get much sleep due to the continuous thread of large rigs traveling by during the night. Sarah also hurt herself falling out of the fifth wheeler.
In the morning we went into the Walmart to get supplies (it was also warmer in the store than in the RV - the temperature was around 8 degrees celsius). We then left to stay in a RV park in Gettysburg (near Harrisburg PA). It was timely (well overdue) to get cleaned up at the RV park.
Gettysburg is such an interesting place to visit. It was a major battle in the five year American civil war between the Confederacy (South) and the Union (North). It took place in the Union's territory as General Lee pushed up from the south after some victories over the Union. The battle took place on 1st to 3rd July 1863. The South was under the command of Robert Lee (General Lee) and the North was under the command of Major General Meade (Army of the Potomac). There is an auto tour in Gettysburg so you can drive along the roads, stop off at a location and learn what happened there. There were around 50,000 casualties from both sides during those three days. When you look out over the rolling fields you can almost picture men being ploughed down from both sides. This is particularly so when you look out from Seminary Ridge over the low lying fields as General Pickett from the South advanced 12,000 Confederates (referred to as Pickett's Charge) to try to take a strategic point on the battleground. The North had the superior position (eg. high ground, walls for protection) led by Chamberlain (this is referred to as the High Water Mark, ie. a defining moment in the Gettysburg battle).
We also stopped off at the National Park Service’s Museum and Visitor Centre (http://www.nps.gov/gett/ & www.gettysburgfoundation.org) which provides history and artifacts from the battle. You really need to experience a place like this and see it for yourself. Writing about it in a blog does not do it justice at all.
The following day we went into Harrisburg to the State Capitol and the State Museum of Pennsylvania. The building was most impressive. It was inspired by Michelangelo’s design for St Peter’s in Rome. When you walk in the main entrance it is just over 80 metres to the top of the rotunda (52 million pound dome). In the Senate and House of Representatives chambers the chandeliers weigh between two and four tons each. The Senate chamber is Italian designed and the House chamber is French inspired. The stained glass windows in these two chambers weigh over 200 pounds each. There is a mountain of gold (23 carat) in this place as well.
The State Museum (http://www.statemuseumpa.org/) covers the history of Pennsylvania along with archaeology, paleontology, industry, science, animals and the planetarium. The kids really enjoyed the museum.
On Thursday we travelled from Harrisburg PA to Uhrichsville in Ohio. This was a big trip. We travelled along the I 76 turnpike. The bridges along this interstate were low at the sides so we had to move over to the left hand side so that we felt comfortable we were not going to hit the top of the fifth wheeler. The trip through Pittsburg was a bit more demanding. We passed a sign saying the tunnel ahead was 13 and a half feet high (which we understood to be the height of our fifth wheeler). We took a detour before the tunnel but the streets through the town were extremely narrow. We turned around and measured the height of the fifth wheeler at 13 feet and 3 inches so we decided to give it a go through the tunnel. We didn’t drive fast through the tunnel as any undulations could mean we would hit the top of the fifth wheeler. The tunnel felt like it was the longest tunnel we had been in. We got through fine but with less than 10 cms of space. We are now in Ohio.
North Carolina is still considered part of the South. Chris thought it would be less South and more of the North but you could tell within a short period of time we were still in the South, eg. the spitting, the accent. Also, they played two types of music from 7am to 10pm on the loud speakers (which were inconveniently placed right outside our Raptor in the trees) which were country and western. Also, Jessica, Alex, Caroline and Jessica’s parents (Bob and Angela) came to the track to watch. It was good to see the Tews again and meet Jess’ parents.
We left the track at Reidsville late on Sunday afternoon and travelled to Pocahontas State Park in Virginia (http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/poc.shtml). It is located 20 miles south west of Richmond, the state capital. It is a nice clean park with good facilities and has a lake and walking/biking trails which we all did on Monday afternoon.
There is a lot of history in Virginia, eg. the early colonies, revolutionary war and civil war. So on Tuesday we went into Richmond and visited the state capital and then onto Petersburg to visit the Pamplin Historical Park (http://www.pamplinpark.org). This is a 422 acre park that relives the life and times of soldiers during America's "War Between the States." There is a National Museum of the Civil War Soldier, Tudor Hall and a recreated Military Encampment. It was fantastic.
On Wednesday we went to (Colonial) Williamsburg which has a living history museum (http://www.history.org/). Colonial Williamsburg was the 18th-century capital of Britain’s largest, and wealthiest settlement in the New World. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has attempted to interpret the origins of American life through re-enactment of the daily life of colonials in a 301-acre area populated with restored, reconstructed, and historically furnished buildings. Fully costumed Colonial Williamsburg Foundation re-enactors, not allowed to break character, tell the stories of men and women of the 18th-century city, from all races and backgrounds. It really was like being there 300 years ago. When you first arrive, you freak out at the sight of men wearing the tight pants they used to wear at that time.
On Thursday afternoon we packed up and drove an hour to Dillwyn VA for another race on the weekend. Josiah got first in both motos to take the overall win in the 7-9 stock class but mishaps in the 7-11 open class meant he didn’t qualify. We were glad to leave the motocross track as it had rained a lot and Chris overused the water blaster to clean the bike so we ran out of water on Saturday afternoon.
We travelled north from Dillwyn VA on Sunday afternoon. We had planned to be in Pennsylvania that night but it didn’t work out that way. First, the weather was torrential rain so it made the driving slow. Second, the GPS unit took us along a track in the boondocks that ran parallel to the interstate. The roads were small, winding and hilly. By the time we got onto the interstate to Harrisburg PA we had crossed the state line into West Virginia and decided to stay the night in a parking lot at Walmart. The store was right beside the interstate. Some of us didn’t get much sleep due to the continuous thread of large rigs traveling by during the night. Sarah also hurt herself falling out of the fifth wheeler.
In the morning we went into the Walmart to get supplies (it was also warmer in the store than in the RV - the temperature was around 8 degrees celsius). We then left to stay in a RV park in Gettysburg (near Harrisburg PA). It was timely (well overdue) to get cleaned up at the RV park.
Gettysburg is such an interesting place to visit. It was a major battle in the five year American civil war between the Confederacy (South) and the Union (North). It took place in the Union's territory as General Lee pushed up from the south after some victories over the Union. The battle took place on 1st to 3rd July 1863. The South was under the command of Robert Lee (General Lee) and the North was under the command of Major General Meade (Army of the Potomac). There is an auto tour in Gettysburg so you can drive along the roads, stop off at a location and learn what happened there. There were around 50,000 casualties from both sides during those three days. When you look out over the rolling fields you can almost picture men being ploughed down from both sides. This is particularly so when you look out from Seminary Ridge over the low lying fields as General Pickett from the South advanced 12,000 Confederates (referred to as Pickett's Charge) to try to take a strategic point on the battleground. The North had the superior position (eg. high ground, walls for protection) led by Chamberlain (this is referred to as the High Water Mark, ie. a defining moment in the Gettysburg battle).
We also stopped off at the National Park Service’s Museum and Visitor Centre (http://www.nps.gov/gett/ & www.gettysburgfoundation.org) which provides history and artifacts from the battle. You really need to experience a place like this and see it for yourself. Writing about it in a blog does not do it justice at all.
The following day we went into Harrisburg to the State Capitol and the State Museum of Pennsylvania. The building was most impressive. It was inspired by Michelangelo’s design for St Peter’s in Rome. When you walk in the main entrance it is just over 80 metres to the top of the rotunda (52 million pound dome). In the Senate and House of Representatives chambers the chandeliers weigh between two and four tons each. The Senate chamber is Italian designed and the House chamber is French inspired. The stained glass windows in these two chambers weigh over 200 pounds each. There is a mountain of gold (23 carat) in this place as well.
The State Museum (http://www.statemuseumpa.org/) covers the history of Pennsylvania along with archaeology, paleontology, industry, science, animals and the planetarium. The kids really enjoyed the museum.
On Thursday we travelled from Harrisburg PA to Uhrichsville in Ohio. This was a big trip. We travelled along the I 76 turnpike. The bridges along this interstate were low at the sides so we had to move over to the left hand side so that we felt comfortable we were not going to hit the top of the fifth wheeler. The trip through Pittsburg was a bit more demanding. We passed a sign saying the tunnel ahead was 13 and a half feet high (which we understood to be the height of our fifth wheeler). We took a detour before the tunnel but the streets through the town were extremely narrow. We turned around and measured the height of the fifth wheeler at 13 feet and 3 inches so we decided to give it a go through the tunnel. We didn’t drive fast through the tunnel as any undulations could mean we would hit the top of the fifth wheeler. The tunnel felt like it was the longest tunnel we had been in. We got through fine but with less than 10 cms of space. We are now in Ohio.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (and getting there)
From Prentiss Mississippi our plans were to head back to Myrtle Beach in SC before commencing another journey in two and half weeks time to the north east of the USA.
After leaving Prentiss in Mississippi we travelled west on Sunday afternoon to Meridian, Mississippi. We stayed the night in a RV park, had long showers and cleaned the truck and fifth wheeler. The next day we continued our trip on the I-20 back to Myrtle Beach, SC. We passed through Birmingham, Alabama again and nearly ran out of diesel waiting too long for nice place to stop. After passing through Atlanta Georgia we got to Aiken near the Georgia & SC border. We decided to stay the night rather than drive another four hours to Myrtle Beach.
The next morning we packed up to drive to Myrtle Beach. When we pulled away with the fifth wheeler the truck had no power. It was blowing a lot of smoke. We called the RV helpline again and they arranged for a tow truck driver to tow the F250 to the local Ford dealership. After doing their initial review they said the EGR valve needed replacing (again as it had been done in Plano Texas) and that it would take a day or so to fix. Later that afternoon we got a call to say the EGR cooler needed replacing as well.
The next day (Wednesday) we got a call in the afternoon to say the F250 also needed a new turbo. So, on Thursday afternoon the F250 was ready. The truck was much quieter and smoother in its power delivery. So, after picking up the truck we hooked up the fifth wheeler and drove to Myrtle Beach. We were so keen to leave Aiken as our food and drink supplies had completely run out, along with our patience! We weren’t stopping for anything to get to Myrtle Beach. Thanks to the team at Satcher Ford for fixing the truck.
We arrived at Kyle and Michelle’s place Thursday evening. They kindly allowed us to park the fifth wheeler there as we were going to stay with Jessica and Joshua Tew (we stayed with them when we first arrived in the USA). We had not seen Kyle since September last year and missed him when we arrived two months ago. It was great to finally see Kyle and meet Michelle. Kyle has been a tremendous help to us and “hooking us up” with different things. We were keen to see Jess and Josh as well. Both are doctors and Josh is a specialist radiologist so they were a good match to help us out with Joel’s broken arm. All of the Natzkes were real glad to be back in Myrtle Beach.
The two weeks we spent in Myrtle Beach were fantastic. We had the opportunity to relax and have some fun. Some of the things we have done have included going to the main beach and a private pool club, going out to Mayabi’s Japanese restaurant (the chefs cook in front of you and do all sorts of entertaining tricks), trying Krispy Kreme donuts (they make delicious donuts), shopping, motocross riding at some local tracks, mini putt and going to Riley‘s Aquarium. One paragraph does not really do justice to the excellent time we have had with Josh and Jess and also with Kyle and Michelle. But, it is late at night and we need to write something of what we have been up to over the last few weeks before it is forgotten.
Our journey is now to travel up the north east of the USA.
After leaving Prentiss in Mississippi we travelled west on Sunday afternoon to Meridian, Mississippi. We stayed the night in a RV park, had long showers and cleaned the truck and fifth wheeler. The next day we continued our trip on the I-20 back to Myrtle Beach, SC. We passed through Birmingham, Alabama again and nearly ran out of diesel waiting too long for nice place to stop. After passing through Atlanta Georgia we got to Aiken near the Georgia & SC border. We decided to stay the night rather than drive another four hours to Myrtle Beach.
The next morning we packed up to drive to Myrtle Beach. When we pulled away with the fifth wheeler the truck had no power. It was blowing a lot of smoke. We called the RV helpline again and they arranged for a tow truck driver to tow the F250 to the local Ford dealership. After doing their initial review they said the EGR valve needed replacing (again as it had been done in Plano Texas) and that it would take a day or so to fix. Later that afternoon we got a call to say the EGR cooler needed replacing as well.
The next day (Wednesday) we got a call in the afternoon to say the F250 also needed a new turbo. So, on Thursday afternoon the F250 was ready. The truck was much quieter and smoother in its power delivery. So, after picking up the truck we hooked up the fifth wheeler and drove to Myrtle Beach. We were so keen to leave Aiken as our food and drink supplies had completely run out, along with our patience! We weren’t stopping for anything to get to Myrtle Beach. Thanks to the team at Satcher Ford for fixing the truck.
We arrived at Kyle and Michelle’s place Thursday evening. They kindly allowed us to park the fifth wheeler there as we were going to stay with Jessica and Joshua Tew (we stayed with them when we first arrived in the USA). We had not seen Kyle since September last year and missed him when we arrived two months ago. It was great to finally see Kyle and meet Michelle. Kyle has been a tremendous help to us and “hooking us up” with different things. We were keen to see Jess and Josh as well. Both are doctors and Josh is a specialist radiologist so they were a good match to help us out with Joel’s broken arm. All of the Natzkes were real glad to be back in Myrtle Beach.
The two weeks we spent in Myrtle Beach were fantastic. We had the opportunity to relax and have some fun. Some of the things we have done have included going to the main beach and a private pool club, going out to Mayabi’s Japanese restaurant (the chefs cook in front of you and do all sorts of entertaining tricks), trying Krispy Kreme donuts (they make delicious donuts), shopping, motocross riding at some local tracks, mini putt and going to Riley‘s Aquarium. One paragraph does not really do justice to the excellent time we have had with Josh and Jess and also with Kyle and Michelle. But, it is late at night and we need to write something of what we have been up to over the last few weeks before it is forgotten.
Our journey is now to travel up the north east of the USA.
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