WOODROW WILSON & WAYNESBORO, VA OCTOBER 18-19, 2014

We were amazed at the change in the power of the RV after the week of repairs.  We were keeping a steady speed of 65 mph going up and along the little hills that had been a challenge the week or two before.  So very happy that things were working better.  We left really early from our camping site at Bill's Transmissions yard and drove further south. I didn't want to miss seeing the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in nearby Staunton, VA. It was only 65 miles south on I-81 and there was a nearby Elks Lodge on the hill in Waynesboro, a few mies east.  Perfect for a two night stay!

We joined the guided tour of President Wilson's birthplace, a beautifully restored Greek Revival mansion where he was born in 1856. It's furnished with Wilson family treasures and period pieces. 

The President's Pierce-Arrow Limousine is the highlight of the museum along with the new World War I trench exhibit with sights and sounds to give the experience of what life was like for soldiers engaged in battle.

 The museum is designed with severn galleries which explore his presidency; suffrage, prohibition and World War I.

 It was a beautiful fall day in the town as we walked all around Staunton.  Not much going on the day we were there, though it looked like a bike event was coming through town, streets were closed off and a sound stage was set up in the middle of town.

 We walked by historic Trinity Church but it was closed that afternoon. I had wanted to see the stained glass windows by Tiffany, next time.

Not far from the Wilson family home is Mary Baldwin College, the oldest institution of higher learning for women in the nation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. A beautiful campus.

 Saturday had been cold and cloudy but we woke to gorgeous skies on Sunday.  We had a long day of driving ahead of us.  I drove the car for about an hour through the Blue Ridge Mountains before we hooked it up onto the dolly for the rest of the day. We drove 380 miles, I64 to US 29S of Charlottesville.  A great route , beautiful trees with little traffic.
From US 29 to I-73 another beautiful drive. On US 52 we went through the darling town of Cheraw, antebellum houses and birthplace of Dizzy Gillespie.  We didn't stop but I think I sure would next time.  The Cheraw State Park is just south of town.

The afternoon was warm by the time we arrived at the Sumter Elks.  The lodge isn't open on Sunday, the parking lot looked a little too deserted to stay the night so I called the nearby Poinsettia State Park to see if they had a site available.  The ranger was just closing down and assigned us site #23, a pull through. We drove the 25 miles out into the South Carolina woods, a narrow windy road 6 miles off the main highway to get to the park itself.  It was one of the first times we've had a dirt road into a state park, but it was pretty, very wooded and perfect for an over night stay. Long days but almost to Florida before the weather changed. Now that the motorhome was running so well, w were making great time too.