1. WESTBOUND - FROM NEW JERSEY TO THE LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES, KENTUCKY

Day 1: Sunday, October 21

Up at 7 AM and on the road by 9 AM. Took I-80 westbound to the Delaware Water Gap. A beautiful drive, the sun illuminating a carpet of yellow and red leaves. Stayed on I-80 through the Poconos and then switched to I-81 southbound. Attractive scenery and a well-maintained road almost all the way to Harrisburg, PA. Some road construction east of Harrisburg, and then smooth pavement again. This used to be a horribly bumpy stretch, but it has been repaved and rebuilt to within 25 miles of the Maryland state line.

Picked up I-70 west near Hagerstown and jumped over to US 40/SR 144 near Hancock. What a scenic road! Although the foliage is past its prime, the vistas down from mountains and ridges were spectacular.

Pulled into the Rocky Gap State Park and Resort about 6 miles east of Cumberland. 30 sites have electricity, the other 248 do not. No water hook-ups. The sites are beautiful, level, and well maintained. The best sites adjoin Lake Habeeb. Seniors (over 62) get a 50% discount Sundays through Thursday, so my site cost me all of $11.50

Beautiful weather all day, temperature climbed from 50F in the morning to the low eighties in the afternoon. Drove 320 miles today, was on the road for 5 1/2 hours. Will have beef tartare for dinner, "thank you" Antje. No TV reception, will spend the evening playing on the computer while listening to classical music. Will go to bed early.

Day 2: Monday, October 22

Crawled into my sleeping bag at 9:00 PM last night and promptly fell asleep. I guess NPR playing some obscure baroque music did me in. Woke up at 4:00 AM but managed to go back to sleep. Woke up again at 7:15 AM and turned up the thermostat to get the cabin temp from 50F (same as the outside temp since I had kept the windows open) to a more hospitable 70F. Enjoyed a lengthy shower with plenty of hot water in the OK bathhouse. After the standard breakfast of orange juice, banana, cereals and coffee hit the road at 9:00 AM.

Enjoyed a leisurely drive on US 40A and US 40, pretty much paralleling I-68. A very scenic byway that took me through such pretty little towns as Cumberland, Frostburg, and Grantsville to the Keysers Ridge. Detoured briefly into Pennsylvania and then picked up SR 281 through Markleysburg to get back to I-68. US 40 and US 40A follow old Indian paths through the mountains -- so it's a bit like a rollercoaster. Climbing from less than 1,000' ASL to almost 3,000', then down again and up again and down again. Many sharp turns along the way. I-68 would be a better choice, if you're in a hurry or don't like mountain driving. Had a good drive, despite the cloudiness. This was the first federally funded highway, begun in 1806 to link Cumberland, MD with Vandalia, IL. For a while this was the best way for early settlers to get through the Allegheny Mountains.

The next six hours were spent on interstates. I-68 and I-79 were quite scenic most of the time as they took me to Charleston, WV. I-64 to Huntington, WV and Ashland, KY offered much traffic and little scenic beauty. Jumped off near Farmers, KY to take very scenic and windy roads to Salt Lick, Frenchburg, Mariba and through the outstandingly beautiful Red River Gorge to Slade and the Natural Bridge State Resort Park.

The park has two campgrounds, and both are not particularly attractive. The sites are very close together, no privacy at all. No TV or good radio reception. There aren't many campers here this late in the season and on a Monday night, so I could manage to separate myself from the nearest neighbor by a campsite. Cost for the campsite, water and picnic table included, was $7.65. The smoke of my neighbor's charcoal fire is drifting into the van and reminding me that I'm hungry and ought to start dinner.

Dinner tonight will be a German specialty that Antje secures from the German butcher back home. Fleischsalat. Take chopped up cold cuts, mix with chopped pickles and onions, blend together with spices and mayonaise. Definitely not kosher. Spread on black bread and enjoy a Beck's beer with it.

Drove 410 miles today and was on the road for 7 1/2 hours. Bought gasoline in West Virginia at the outrageous price of $1.359/gal. Saw prices as low as $1,199/gal in Maryland and Kentucky. Averaged 16.1 mpg on the last tank. The sun came out mid-morning and the temperature climbed into the low eighties. It's a pleasant 65F after sunset.

Day 3: Tuesday, October 23

Woke up at 7:15 AM and it was still pitch dark outside when I headed for the shower. Was ready to roll at 9:00 AM and drove to the trailhead for the climb up to the Natural Bridge. This was supposedly the easiest and shortest trail, just 3/4 of a mile. But the last 1/4 mile seemed to go straight up -- so I gave up and drove over to the chairlift. $5.00 got me a roundtrip ticket to the top. The views from the bridge and from the Lookout Point were magnificent.

Took the Mountain Parkway to Lexington and Map 'n Go did a good job of routing me around the downtown area. Took the beautiful US 68 through the spectacular Kentucky River gorge and the highlands to Harrodsburg and the mostly scenic (and very winding/up-and-down) SR 152 to Springfield and Loretto, home of Maker's Mark Distillery.

The free guided tour of the distillery is fairly interesting and very popular. However, no samples and no "factory outlet" with discount prices.

On my way to Bardstown stopped at the Gethsemani Trappist-Cistercian Monastery. The monks supposedly make famous cheese and fruitcakes. None were on display and there were no samples. Looking at the catalogue I thought the prices were sinfully high. Made my way to Bardstown and the My Old Kentucky Home State Park campground, where $12.60 got me a fairly level paved site with water and electricity.

Drove all of 170 miles today and was on the road for 7 1/2 hours. Am able to receive the Louisville TV stations, so got to watch the news and some favorite shows. Temperatures today ranged from 51F during the night to 82F in the afternoon. Everybody is commenting on the unseasonably warm weather, but the forecast is for a major temperature drop and the possibility of snow. Enjoyed snacks, chicken-noodle soup, and cookies for dinner.

Day 4: Wednesday, October 24

Woke up in the middle of the night when a thunderstorm passed overhead. There is something soothing about rain hitting the fiberglass roof, so went back to sleep and didn't get up until 7:30 AM. Enjoyed the comfortable bathhouse and hit the road by 10 o'clock.

First stop was My Old Kentucky Home State Park on the outskirts of Bardstown. The park honors the memory of Stephen Foster and the stately mansion on the Rowan estate known as Federal Hill that inspired the ballad My Old Kentucky Home. A guide in a beautiful period dress took me through the impressive mansion which was completed in 1818 and was owned and occupied by three generations of Rowans. Definitely worth the $4.00 admission charge.

Explored Bardstown a bit. It is Kentucky's second oldest town and quite picturesque. Especially liked Court Square.

Headed out of town on US 62, a mostly scenic two lane highway with little traffic (it parallels the Western Kentucky Parkway.) After an hour or so jumped over to the Parkway which took me through rolling hills and farmland -- mostly tobacco fields and interesting homesteads and cabins with nearby tobacco barns. When I passed through Elizabethtown suddenly got a strong Sprint PCS signal -- so was able to connect to my ISP and download e-mail.

The parkway merges into I-24 and Map 'n Go misdirected me so that I went southeast rather than northwest. It took me a while to realize that I was heading in the wrong direction. But it gave me an opportunity to visit the lovely Lake Barkley State Park.

Picked up the Trace and headed north. Took the 3.5 mile loop drive ($3.00) through the interesting Elk and Bison Prairie. Spotted a small herd of elks and a fairly sizable herd of impressively large bisons. Continued on the Trace to the Hillman Ferry Campground (USDA Forest Service) where I got a pleasant site overlooking Kentucky Lake. Paid $11.00 (after Golden Age discount) for a level site with water, electricity, picnic table, and fire ring.

The weather started out this morning with partly cloudy skies, then the sun came out and the temperature climbed into the mid-eighties. By the time I got to the campground the radio started warning of a front coming through with thunderstorms, heavy rains, and a major drop in temperature. The forecast was accurate and after an hour of heavy rains and thunderstorms the temperature dropped from 85F to 55F.

Was on the road for six hours and traveled 245 miles. Bought gasoline at $1.119/gal. Averaged 15.7 mpg on the last tank.

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