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eric on Feb 9th 2007 at 12:04 pm Civil War,Motorscooters,Random Life Stuff,Route 66,Scooter Trips

Civil Wargasm (or Eric bids farewell to the east coast, pt 1)

Trip planning part 2! Or three. I can’t remember. Anyway, I’ve got the rough draft of my Southern Tour hammered out.

Before explaining it, let me explain something that not a whole lot of folks know about me. I’m a Civil War geek. Pretty big time. I used to be a reenactor and still frequent battlefields. I know strategy, leaders, armies, weapons, etc. I know how to fire a cannon. I’ve fired a full size cannon countless times (was reenacting with an artillery unit).

This trip will hopefully start after the Gettysburg anniversary tours, from July 1 – 4. I’ll be hopefully starting from Caledonia State Park on the 5th. But as I have it laid out now, I start from home. We’ll see what actually happens.

I start off by going down Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway, then down to Andersonville to visit the old Civil War Prison. Then up to Charleston to visit my sister and Fort Sumpter (where the first shots of the Civil War were fired). Then up the coast and inland to Bentonville, NC where some of the last shots of the Civil War were fired. From there, I trek up to Appomattox Court House, VA where Lee surrendered to Grant, effectively ending the war. The Wilderness battlefields of Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg and The Wilderness are next (spending two nights in the area). And then up to Manassas (Bull Run) and Ball’s Bluff Battlefields. Antietam is next, and I’ll probably hit South Mountain Battlefields as well before ending up back in Gettysburg before home.

All that in 15 or so days. That, my friends, is a Civil Wargasm.

Here it is, all nice and pretty for you:

  • Day One – Front Royal, VA. (visiting Cedar Creek Battlefield) – 198 miles
  • Day Two - Traveling Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway to campground – approx 275 miles
  • Day Three – Blue Ridge Parkway to end of Parkway – approx 300 miles
  • Day Four – Athens, GA – 135 miles
  • Day Five – Andersonville, GA – 152 miles
  • Day Six – Savannah, GA – 200 miles
  • Day Seven – Charleston, SC (to visit my sister) – 117 miles
  • Day Eight – Surf City, NC – 200 miles
  • Day Nine – Near Bentonville, NC – 113 miles
  • Day Ten – Appomattox, VA – 178 miles
  • Day Eleven & Twelve – Near Fredericksburg, VA – 135 miles
  • Day Thirteen – Leesburg, VA - 89 miles
  • Day Fourteen – Caledonia State Park, PA (visiting Antietam) - 78 miles
  • Day Fifteen – Home (visiting Gettysburg) - 122 miles

A total of about 2,300 miles.

Combine that with the New England trip of 1444 miles, I’m racking up roughly 3,800 miles before I even start Scoot 66.

The Civil Wargasm will come first, then the New England trip. Then Scoot 66. One in July, one in August, one in September.

Fun!

2 responses so far

2 Responses to “Civil Wargasm (or Eric bids farewell to the east coast, pt 1)”

  1. little blog star :: sometimes i write. here it is. » Blog Archive » Farewell bittersweet February! says:
    February 28, 2007 at 10:57 am

    [...] This month has been quite the memorable one, I think. Got really geeky and fixed up a couple of scooters and planned a few trips. Saw a movie or two, wrote a poem. Tried to sell some tshirts on ebay. Met a few new friends. Thought about New Mexico for about a second. It was cold and I got all pissed about the snow. Installed a new operating system for my computer, loved it, got worried about it, ditched it and then took it back. I don’t have a link for that, cause I just did it last night. Uninstalled the “dapper drake” version and installed the newer “edgy eft” and everything works like a dream. [...]

  2. little blog star :: sometimes i write. here it is. » Blog Archive » Scheduling my summer schedule. says:
    March 10, 2007 at 9:47 pm

    [...] I’ll leave on June 30, camping at Caledonia State Park, stay there for four night and then leave for Skyline Drive/Blue Ridge Parkway. That trip should take three weeks, counting stops. You can read about that here. Upon returning to Pennsylvania (tentatively, on or around July 20), I will stay in the area until just after my birthday (Aug 3). On August 4-ish, I’ll leave for Canada and New England. That trip should also take roughly two weeks, counting stops. I wrote about that particular trip here. By this time, I’ll have ridden roughly 3,500 miles. [...]