Day 13: The First and Second Battles of Manassas

Wednesday, June 13 was spent at the site of the First and Second Battles of Manassas. The First Battle of Manassas, known as the Battle of Bull Run in the North, was the first major conflict of the Civil War. What the Federals and Confederates lacked in experience, they made up...
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I Know I'm Behind

I know I'm behind. I owe information on Manassas, the ride to Antietam and the Battlefield at Antietam....but we spent last night exploring downtown Frederick, Maryland, and excellent town, and tonight celebrating (also in Frederick) the last night of our amazing vacation. We...
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Day Twelve: Blue Ridge Parkway and on to Manassas

If your coffee doesn't wake you up, starting the day driving directly into the sun on the Blue Ridge Parkway certainly will. Tuesday was Part Two of our ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We'd crossed into Virginia as the end of the day on Monday and would continue to the Parkway's...
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Day Eleven: The Ride through the Blue Ridge Mountains

Sorry for the delay... the network was down at our hotel in Manassas, so I'm a bit behind.... We left Cherokee, NC on Monday and began our two day trek through the Blue Ridge Mountains. One of the first signs I saw when we entered the Blue Ridge Parkway read, "CAUTION: Steep, winding...
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They Certainly Can Cook in the South

I know these are late posts, but now that I've got a bit of downtime, I wanted to catch up. The South is famous for hospitality and food. We've experience both on our journey. In Pickwick Dam, Tennessee, we had dinner at a place called Freddy T's. The atmosphere was a bit like Margaritaville Meets Pirates of...
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Riding with the King

As part of our  our ride today, we cruised along Route 53 in Pickens County, Georgia. We had Eric Clapton and BB King's "Riding with the King" jamming on the iPod. We stopped at a BP gas station for water and a break and found three friends standing in front, having a conversation....
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From Tara to TeePees

We crossed into Georgia in short order on Sunday, June 12,  however shortly into our drive, our trip was waylaid by a group of bikers - the Lance Armstrong kind. We waited for nearly a half hour in Troup County while literally hundreds of bikers sped past participating...
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The Charge Across Mississippi and Alabama

When we stepped outside the hotel into the Mississippi sunshine, the heat and humidity enveloped us like a second skin. You could feel the moisture in the air, and it hung as thick as molasses. We left Vicksburg on Saturday morning at 7:15am and began Brock's Charge across Mississippi and Alabama. Our goal -...
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Day Eight: Vicksburg National Monument Park

Vicksburg was more than just a battle - it was a siege - a military waiting game, and marked a critical turning point in the course of the Civil War. Control of the city was crucial, as Vicksburg was considered a defensive position on the Mississippi River. In May 1862, Confederate...
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Traveling the Natchez Trace Parkway

The Natchez Trace Parkway takes you on a nearly 450 mile scenic drive from Tennessee through Alabama and Mississippi. There are thousands of years of history marked along the way. In our journey, we've done two stints on the Natchez; first from Franklin, Tennessee down to Shiloh...
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The Ride to Vicksburg

We made it to Vicksburg earlier today, and the battlefield is literally across the street from our hotel. I'm so excited. We took a quick loop... quick isn't exactly the word.. it took an hour with only two stops.. just to get the lay of the land. I've loaded a bunch of pictures...
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The Battle of Shiloh

Today was the first day that we were stationary - no where to go except the battlefield. Despite weather reports of area thunderstorms, the skies over Pickwick Dam, Tennessee looked blue, so we headed to Shiloh National Military Park. As we pulled in, past several monuments to the troops that fought here and...
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The Battle of Franklin

The bloodiest battle no one one has ever heard about. That's how the Battle of Franklin is best described. I'd never heard of the battle either, until I read the book, "Widow of the South", a work of historical fiction based on the Battle of Franklin. In 1864, Franklin, Tennessee...
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Why Don't Men Ask for Directions?

It's the question women have been asking since the dawn of time, and I found myself asking it...repeatedly... as we headed unassumingly into Nashville in search of the Harley Davidson dealer we thought might be there. As we got closer and closer to the city...yes...it is a city....I questioned (silently) the...
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Day Four: On to Tennessee

Monday greeted us with perfectly blue skies, a welcomed sight after the gray skies of Saturday and Sunday.  The ride itself was probably the best of the vacation to date - the landscape, the roads, the weather (not a drop of rain!!).  It was another early start, as we...
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The Battle of Perryville

When one thinks of Civil War battles, the state of Kentucky is not one that readily springs to mind.  When we arrived in Danville yesterday (yes, I'm a day behind), I leaped through the Guest Services Guide and under Area Attractions was information on the Battle of Perryville....
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The Bluegrass State

Our day started early this morning. By 7:15 we were on the bike and riding west. (The vim and vigor I had at 3:00 today is rapidly fading.) The skies in West Virginia didn't look every promising as we rolled out on today's journey to Kentucky, but I kept my fingers crossed that it was simply early morning haze. When...
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Live from Danville, Kentucky

I'm coming to you live from today's winner in the Local Fare Lunch Raffle... a great little place called "The Hub" in Historic downtown Danville.  It's been a long ride again today...,not as long as yesterday.. and definitely not as wet, but we did have to dodge a few...well, more than a few... raindrops. So...
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Day Two: Wet and Wild West Virginia

It's 11:00pm EST and we're exhausted. We left Gettysburg at 8:30am and got to Princeton, West Virgina 12 hours later. Not because it was twelve hours of driving time, but we had several rain delays, and unlike yesterday, not a bar in sight. It was cloudy and overcast when we left...
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Day One: Gettysburg

What a great start to the vacation! We headed out Route 57 and had our first offensive smell...skunk.. before we got out of Hackettstown!! One thing about being on the bike.. there's no place to hide from nature's fragrances. We had the iPod blasting tunes, and we sang alongwith...
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Today's the Day!

It's here!  After months of preparation, we're ready to head out on our two week sojourn. The bike is washed and waxed and I have successfully packed all my stuff into the equivalent of a laptop bag....okay.. maybe a bit bigger, but not much. (And for those of you who have traveled with me, and know...
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Memorial Day Weekend Test Drive

We're less than a week away from the Civil War Harley Tour, so Jason and I decided to take advantage of the weather this Memorial Day weekend and do a "test drive". It gave us a chance to test a bunch of things, including shooting pictures from the back of the bike. I think the...
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The Route is final.. I think

Last Sunday, we sat down to finalize the route, and realized we may have bitten off more than we could chew.  We took it back a notch and a few hundred miles, but I think our final route is a much better one. Our first stop is Gettysburg, and we'll be hitting Franklin (Tennessee), Shiloh, Vicksburg, Washington,...
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The Civil War Harley Tour

My husband has ridden dirt bikes all his life, but for as long as I've known him, he's mooned over the idea of owning a Harley. When he decided he'd reached a point in his life where he was sure he could keep both wheels on the ground, I decided he needed to have one.  He reached...
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