Travels in 2000

On September 7, 2000 I boarded the Alaska State Ferry M/V Matanuska for a 36 hour trip to Bellingham, WA. I retired from my job as a Procurement Officer with the Alaska Marine Highway System on August 30, 2000, anxiously awaiting the start of my travels. In my mind I titled the picture below "Ketchikan in the rear view mirror".

My goal was to circumnavigate the United States starting in Key West Florida (most southern point) and drive to Prudhoe Bay (most northern point) on the road net of the United States and Canada and to travel through and see things in all of the States and Provinces. On my way I planned to visit friends and relatives.

I arrived in Bellingham on September 8th, but, before I got on the road I visited with my son John and with friends in Bellingham, Friday Harbor & Seattle. I thought that I would stay longer in the Seattle area but there was almost a compulsion to get on the road so I got on I-90 on September 14th and headed east. I traveled through Washington, Idaho and part or Montana before I switched to I-94 just east of Billings. The weather was very hot well into North Dakota. There were forest fire warnings out but I did not see any fires, just smelled smoke. When I got to Glen Ullin, ND I just had to take a picture of a sign posted at the entrance to the city.

I continued on to Minneapolis, MN where I stopped and visited a cousin and then continued my trip into Wisconsin stopping in Catawba. I was trying to find the cemetery where my grandfather, Anton Gruber was buried but didn't have any luck. I did get the following picture of the sign at the intersection of Main St. and Gruber Ave.

I arrived in West Bend, WI on September 22nd and spent many enjoyable days visiting my sisters, brother and other relatives in the area. I had a Class III receiver hitch installed on my truck and other routine maintenance work done. I did some genealogy work on my family tree and generally caught up with paperwork that had been in limbo since I left Ketchikan. I ordered and received a Cannon Power Shot S20 Digital camera. I finally pulled out of West Bend on October 12th having had a wonderful time.

I took I-94 out of Wisconsin and used the bypass (I-294) around Chicago and then got on I-55 to Springfield, IL. I spent a couple of days in Springfield being a tourist and visited President Lincoln's Tomb and various memorials and a couple of museums. There was an exhibit on Amish Quilts at the State Museum, some made more than 100 years ago, that were very impressive.

 

I headed east from Springfield on I-72 & I-74 to Indianapolis, IN stopping a bit east of the city in a RV park that had only a few customers as it was very late in their season and it was starting to get cold. The next day I toured President Benjamin Harrison's house and then the Indiana State Museum which is located in the Old City Hall, a rather ornate building constructed around 1902.

Next stop was to be Cincinnati, OH, however there was a lot of construction in the downtown area and the signage was not helpful. I decided to skip Cincinnati at this time and headed south into Kentucky on I-75.

When I was a kid I enjoyed reading about Daniel Boone and other pioneers who explored and opened up the new territory west of the United States. Just south of Lexington there is a replica of the original fort at Boonesboro. It was an interesting stop on the way and I enjoyed the exhibits and people who showed what life was like in those days.

I continued south into Tennessee on I-75, visited the Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge and the Museum of Appalachia near Clinton. I also stopped at the Art Museum in Knoxville but most of the stuff on exhibit there was a bit too deep for me. I took I-40 for a bit and then turned off on TN-66 and went to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. The working exhibits in Dollywood tied into a lot of the exhibits at the Museum of Appalachia, both were very interesting and educational. I enjoyed both places.

After I left Dollywood I took the scenic route through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and headed into North Carolina. I stopped overnight did some sightseeing and then drove into South Carolina on I-26 and visited the Cowpens National Battlefield. A major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here. I walked around the battlefield and then watched a film on the battle. The museum is small, but very well done as is the film.

I stayed in South Carolina for about 10 days visiting and sightseeing in Columbia and Charlestown. I spent a week at Short Stay, a Naval Outdoor Recreation Area on Lake Moultrie just relaxing and working on a genealogy project for one of my cousins. One night the sunset was pretty spectacular.

 

I continued south on I-95 into Georgia. While there I went out to Fort Stewart and pulled into the parking lot by the Commissary. Just as I pulled in the entire area was sealed off by the Military Police. Someone had tried to break into an ATM machine. I never did find out if they caught the individual but for about 15 minutes it was real exciting around there.

I stayed on I-95 until I got into Jacksonville, FL and then turned off on US-A1A and drove to St. Augustine. I had passed through here in 1992 but didn't get a chance to really look around. I toured the town on one of the trams and enjoyed it very much. Especially interesting were the defenses that the Spanish set up around the city including the Castle of San Marcos.

Near St. Augustine is an Alligator farm where alligators and crocodiles from around the world were displayed. One specimen that caught my eye was an Albino Alligator of rather large size. The tour guide said that in the wild it would not have survived.

I continued down the coast and stopped at the JFK Space Center and took a couple of tours there and took a picture of one of the space shuttles. I didn't go out to the launch area because it was too late in the day. From there I headed toward Orlando and pulled into a RV park for a couple of days. The next day I went down to Cypress Gardens and wandered around a bit and took a few pictures. 

 

I spent a couple of days going through Epcot Center and Disneyland. It is nice to just relax and enjoy sometimes and not have to worry about anything. I headed next to Avon Park where a cousin of mine manages Bonnie Brae Estates, a large mobile home park. While there I relaxed, worked on my camper and did some sightseeing.

 

 

I left Avon Park on US-27 heading south, picked up FL-997 around the Miami area and then caught US-1 to Key West. I stayed at Sigsby Park Naval Air Station RV Park for a couple of weeks and wandered around Key West sightseeing and enjoying myself. When I left Alaska I had decided to start my travels around the United States by visiting the southern most point in the United States and then driving to the northern most point. I have a long journey ahead of me but it looks as though it will be fun.

 

 

I left Key West on December 3rd on US-1 north until I got to US-41 and headed west and north stopping in North Fort Myers where I picked up my new Wells Cargo trailer. On the way I visited a couple of parks and took a boat ride and visited the Collier County Museum. I toured the Edison-Ford complex in Fort Meyer and spent time transferring stuff from the camper to the trailer.

 

I spent a couple of weeks in the Tampa vicinity looking at various attractions including the Ringling Museum & Bush Gardens. Part of the time I stayed at the Coon Creek RV Park at MacDill Air Force Base. I spent some time at museums in St. Petersburg and visited Bush Gardens with my nephew Vince Gruber who I ran into by accident at the Base Exchange at MacDill AFB. On the way north I stopped and picked up my new moped in Ybor City on December 20th. I visited with cousins in Kissimmee and Silver Springs and then headed to Panama City where I spent New Years Eve.

  Last updated: 12/16/2006