This week the Troop went on our annual super trip. This year's destinations were Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, PA. It was a well planned and executed trip and most impressive was that the whole 7 days only cost the boys about $100!!! Where else can you get a week long vacation in our nations capital for that price? The following journal entries were recorded by the various attendees.
View the trip route here.
Sunday, June 3:
Entry by Frank Steinle
Tom Bentley has done a terrific job of planning options for the trip and getting a consensus as to what all to see. Getting closure was like herding cats – impossible. However, we were in good shape for all but the Washington DC area (including return). There was just too much to choose from. A certain amount of spur of the moment is just fine since the trip is for them. I learned that there was still some confusion regarding our plans to start out at 0600-tomorrow morning. Three telephone calls later, everything is set for the early departure. See the complete itinerary here.
Monday, June 4:
Entry by Frank Steinle
We’re loaded and ready to go on schedule and Joseph Marks leads us in a prayer for our trip including safety, good weather, and not too much trouble. I know that God listens to the prayers of Joseph and I thought that some trouble was possible – it was. A few miles short of Bristol, TN, the right rear tire de-laminated and slammed the running board with a chunk big enough to severely bend it and tear a piece at the wheel well. It also curled back under the bus and a piece slapped the right rear plastic quarter panel and cracked that as well. Some scuffing of the wheel well also occurred. We stopped safely with the tire still inflated, but down to the wire-reinforcing layer. Tom drove forward about ¼ mile to a better place to pull over to change the tire. We had no trouble getting the tire jacked up and the lug nuts off. However, the rim was rusted or swaged onto the rim and we couldn’t get it off. So, a quick call to AAA for road service and getting out bread, PB & Jam for sandwiches was done while we waited. The wait was short since the service was located less than a mile away. The AAA service was equipped with a crow-bar, which was used to pop the tire off. After 1:45 minutes we were on the road with the spare tire on. The spare tire was a bit low on pressure and we elected to get a new tire in Bristol. We went to a Walmart and had a new BF Goodrich mounted to replace the Firestone that had thrown its tread and the spare tire properly inflated. This delay cost another hour and we are now projecting a 10:00 PM arrival at Harper’s Ferry KOA campground – 3 ½ hours behind our original schedule. All told, Joseph’s prayer is holding – not too much trouble and I am glad it is us who were equipped for the situation and not someone else. We arrived at the KOA campground about 10:05 PM. Scott, Joseph, McKinley, Curt, and Chance elect to sleep in the van. Tom, John Higgens, and I set up our tents and go to sleep as quickly as we can. It seemed that every time I woke up I could hear someone talking. I’m not sure who talked the most – Scott, Chance, or Joseph.
Entry by McKInley Smith
Monday, 6:00 AM we leave on our tour of America (a day too early). Confusion still exists about the change of dates and times (nearly twelve hours later). Time passes slowly during these long hours. Music helps. I was discussing with Joseph Marks about his sleeping habits, when there was a sudden explosive sound, followed by a rhythmic ker-thud, ker-thud, ker-thud. We stopped and Dr. Steinle assessed that the tire must be changed. So we drove a little for a place to repair our injured vessel. A few instruction manual pages later the lug nuts were removed. Unfortunately the tire was fixed to the axle. So a quick call to AAA, a long wait, and a lunch later, our hero arrived with the tools of victory: a crowbar and some elbow grease. Finally the road was ours again.
Tuesday, June 5
Entry by Frank Steinle:
When I woke them up at 6:30 I was surprised that they all came alive. Chance came up like he had been shot from a cannon and was running at full speed as soon as his eyes opened. Not so for the rest of them. We got underway ½ hour earlier than planned – amazing! Our first stop was Harper’s Ferry. Since I have a golden eagle pass our entrance & parking was free. It was an interesting self-guided tour. The old firehouse where John Brown was captured by troops led by then Lt. Col. Robert E. Lee was not in its original location. In fact, it had been torn down and moved three times to various places. The conjunction of the Susquehanna and Potomac rivers is awesome. We passed by a portion of the now not used C&O canal. The Canal was constructed at the direction of President George Washington for purpose of shipping goods by water around the Susquehanna rapids. The arrival of the railroad put the canal out of business. Harper’s Ferry had an arsenal there for the manufacture of firearms. The town had a population of 3000 in 1861. It was pretty well destroyed during the Civil War and then had a population of about 100. We left Harper’s Ferry & headed to Gettysburg for a short tour. Scott set off with Chance and one other in search of an ancestor who is buried there. He found the site and photographed it. There are around 3500 persons buried there and the cemetery is closed. One oddity is a Confederate soldier buried with persons from Massachusetts. Apparently, a knapsack with a name on a note was found with a person and the abbreviation for Miss. was misread as Mass. This came to light when the person identified showed up years later and spotted his name and allowed as how he was still alive. Many years later someone researched records and determined that no one by that name was ever in the Union Army & one by that name was a Confederate. The named individual had been wounded and someone took his knapsack. The spot is now marked as Unknown, CSA. From Gettysburg we headed for York, PA and the Harley Davidson factory there. We just made it by 1:30 and met Ian Lee there who had just arrived. We started the tour at 1:50 and were fortunate to have a Scouter be our tour guide. Since it was the last tour of the day, he took extra time and our tour lasted 1:15 instead of the 40 minutes, which is customary. From there we headed for the town of Bird in Hand to an Amish restaurant (buffet that Tom had his teeth set for) and passed on that because of the prices. After some negotiating we ended up at a Wendy’s. From there a quick stop to refuel the van and then on to a camping spot managed by Venture Crew 73 at Valley Forge. We set up camp and enjoyed the hospitality of VC 73, who also had invited another Venture Crew. This was a debating discussion form to go along with snacks and bonfire. The two topics were women in scouting and abortion. The latter provided more animation; but both were lively. Scott proved to be an apt person – not shy at all about speaking his mind. I thought he was very cogent and held his own. During the introduction phase (name, toothpaste used, and favorite activity) Ian spoke well – he isn’t shy at all.
Entry by McKinley Smith:
Its day 2 on our round-about trek. We start the day with the small sleepy tour of Harpers Ferry. Not much interesting there (not anymore anyways). Back to our bus of refuge- We spend several hours passing mile markers on the interstate. Finally when restlessness has just about had its way with everyone, we arrived at the Harley Davidson plant in York, PA. Our tour guide happened to be a Scoutmaster (or was at some point) (my memory eludes me). Therefore, we got a longer tour, instead of the rushed quick-pace 45 minute tour that most people get. After the tour, while Joseph stocks up on his manly Harley Davidson wear from the gift shop, Curt and I drool over the Harley Davidson Buell. (Wow!! What a sexy, down right awesome bike.) We hit the road accompanied by our new companion, Little Ian. We took a long drive through nowhere, to see the Amish Paradise. (Why?) After a long tirade over where to eat, we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at Wendy’s. The road then brought us to our resting place, a tiny campsite owned by Venture Crew 73. It was quite a successful night for Joseph and Scott, who spent their time smacking on the ladies of Crew 73 (Joseph even got a number!). After the rambunctious crew left we piled into the van for another comfortable night’s sleeping. Just when things were cooling down, an incredibly loud siren sounded. It sounded like one of the sirens on an old WWII film when there was a bomb threat. After the long winded siren wound down, there were several emergency vehicles audible through the woods. They faded, all went quiet.
Wednesday, June 6
Entry by Frank Steinle:
We had a good night’s sleep and we were off by about 8:00 AM to Valley Forge with a stop at Freedom Friends nearby where a giant US flag could be seen from where we camped. Freedom Friends has created groves where there is a memorial to the Medal of Honor winners from each state. I visited the one from Texas and from Tennessee. Audie Murphy’s name was the top of the 2nd column of names. There is also a tree with a plaque commemorating each person in each grove. In some, the trees had died and were not yet replaced. I did find the tree for then Corporal Alvin York. It was within a few feet of the monument for Tenn. On the way out, I saw one listed as Ireland. There are 68 Medal of Honor recipients who were born in Ireland. At the Arizona memorial it seemed like about half were ascribed to Native Americans who were scouts – a truly brave and honorable bunch. After this, we were on our way to Baltimore via a short drive through Valley Forge and a quick stop at George Washington Chapel. It wasn’t open so we couldn’t go inside. From there, we drove to Philadelphia, and I left Tom and the boys out near where the Liberty Bell is located. A short while later I made my way to a Parking Lot where it cost $13 for all day (anything after 2 hours). I met the boys and Tom at the visitor’s center for a quick look and then we went to the US Mint for a tour. Since cameras aren’t allowed, I stayed outside with everyone’s camera & cell phones with image capability and listened to a red-headed woman with her three red-headed sons in tow talk about her frustration with the change to “block scheduling” for the school system. It made me remember what I thought about it and resulted in my sending James to Webb so he could get the education he needed when Tullahoma changed to that plan. After the tour of the mint, we went to the Franklin Courtyard and toured the Franklin museum and then headed to the van. On the way to the parking lot, we stopped at a take-out lunch place where everyone but Scott tried Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches. Mine was great (no onions). We left and headed for Baltimore. After two toll payments, we arrived in Baltimore, parked, & Tom and the boys headed for a tour of the USN Constellation. I stayed with the bus to look for the charger to my cell phone and to write this log. So far, I haven’t found the chord, but I should since I know I didn’t take it out of the van; correction – I just found it in my bag. No excuse for not looking closely enough! After all returned we were off for our trip to the Washington D.C. area. Our first stop was to deliver Scott to the Metro station for Dunn Loring. We exited off the beltway OK, but it turned out Scott didn’t recognize the area as we thought & Tom’s map wasn’t precise enough. So we turned around just short of our destination (like ¼ mile) and backtracked a mile or two with a turn off and a loop before contacting my brother-in-law, Don Johnson, who got us properly oriented. We dropped Scott off and headed for the Johnson residence in Annandale. Just as we cleared the station and were on our way, Scott’s mother called about Scott since his Aunt hadn’t heard from him as expected. Tom’s navigation from the station to the Johnson home was perfect. We unloaded, got cleaned up and feasted. The evening was relaxing and DeEtte (my sister for those who don’t know) was impressed with the good manners of the boys. Tom made use of Don’s PC. The Class B shirts were washed and hung to finish drying and three Scout shirts were washed & dried (mine, John’s , and Chance’s) – then I headed for bed.
Entry by Ian Lee and Chance Baxter:
Today we all had a lot of fun. I bought the Declaration of Independence. I had fun today. I am glad I came. We went to the Ben Franklin museum. I went into the Printers Shop, Bookstore, and Printers museum. I liked the Liberty Bell. I saw a lot of homeless people. The other museum we went to the “Mint” museum. The “mint” museum is where they made “cents”. I liked the Philly cheese steaks. They were real good. My favorite thing I got and the only thing I got was my Declaration of Independence.
Thursday, June 7
Entry by Frank Steinle:
Everyone up at 7:30 and ate breakfast at 8:00 – another feast. I ironed my shirt and helped John and Chance with ironing theirs – I think it was their first time ironing. We headed for DC about 9:00 and it was confusing to say the least in finding a place to park. With some help from Lincoln Davis’s assistant and a little luck we found a parking garage at Pentagon City that had enough clearance (7 feet) to park the van.) From there, we took the Metro from Pentagon City to South Capitol Station and headed for Congressman Davis’s office. We arrived there about 15 minutes early for our 11:30 visit and were greeted by Monica Hayden (Scheduler). Congressman Davis greeted each of us and we followed him to the Rayburn room and sat while he headed to vote on whether or not to bring up the question of further debate on stem-cell research and funding for a project at AEDC. He voted no on continued debate and yes regarding the AEDC project. He took Chance and Ian in with him for the vote. A summer intern, Margaret Franklin followed us to the Rayburn room. After the vote, Congressman Davis returned with Ian and Chance. Monica arrived with a camera and took a picture of us with Congressman Davis. We then talked with Congressman Davis about the Immigration Bill and the situation in Iraq. Congressman Davis is not in favor of amnesty for illegals and wants stability in Iraq as a condition of our leaving. After Congressman Davis left, Margaret took us on a tour of the Capitol and then to the two cafeterias in the House office building complex. We chose the best one, had lunch late, and headed for the National Air and Space museum. We stayed there until closing and walked to the metro at L’Enfant Plaza. From there, it was back to Pentagon City and the van. We took a few minutes for Joseph to make a purchase. While waiting, I talked with one of the guards – a native of Ghana, Africa, who had been a Boy Scout. He was studying for the ministry and talked briefly with the boys about serving God in the way they lived. Getting back to home base was mildly confusing and I ended up on 395 but exited on Glebe road and turned left on Columbia Pike, which put us back on track for home base. We ate another great meal, relaxed, and shut down for the night.
Entry by Ian Lee:
I got to go to the floor of the Congress. When I got there they were casting a vote on stem cell debate. I met some of Congress it was cool. Our other Congressman gave me a lucky penny.
Friday, June 8
Entry by Frank Steinle:
Breakfast was bacon & eggs again with biscuits and fruit. We all put on our class B shirts and left at 8:00 with plans to walk the monuments, have lunch & then cover the Spy Museum. It was hot so getting an early start is good. We parked again at Pentagon City and took the Metro to the stop near the Museum. From there we walked to the WWII memorial, then to Lincoln memorial, then to the Vietnam memorial, to the Korean memorial, and then a long hot walk to the American Indian museum for lunch. From there we walked to the Spy museum, getting there about 1:15. We had to wait until 2:00 to get into the Spy Museum. We finished that about 4:45 and headed back to the Metro Stop to retrace our route home. Despite our intention to avoid the freeway we were fooled by there only being one left turn lane where we wanted to turn and then couldn’t move over enough lanes to avoid the 395. We repeated our Glebe Road route back. That night we ate leftovers and watched the movie, “Forbidden Planet”, while the Class B’s were being washed for Saturday’s trip segment. We all headed for bed at various times, Tom being the last sometime after 10:00 PM.
Saturday, June 9
Entry by Frank Steinle:
I woke the boys at 6:30 and we ate at 7:00. We were off to see Mt. Vernon after saying goodbye at 7:30. There had been some discussion the night before about Mt. Vernon vs Monticello. Tom had planned on seeing both and had made motel reservations in advance at Roanoke, VA, expecting that we would get there late in the afternoon. Mount Vernon has been enhanced considerably since I was there years ago. This time I saw parts of the estate I hadn’t seen before. As it was, the boys were toured out and weren’t interested in Monticello. So, when we got there shortly after 1:00 they were disappointed we weren’t going on. I ordered Pizza to be delivered. Tom & John avoided it and Joseph only ate one piece so there was quite a bit left over for the next day.
Sunday, June 10
Entry by Frank Steinle
Those that wanted to eat breakfast (John, Tom, McKinley, Curt, & I) did. We were packed and on our way by 7:10. At mile marker 47 on US 81, the left rear tire threw its tread just like the first time. Here, the lug nut I tried to remove was on so tight that because of the poor fit of the lug wrench it slipped (the flat on the nut yielded). Tom ended up with a lacerated finger and I have a contusion near my left knee as a result. So, I called AAA and they sent someone out. It took longer than expected because the dispatcher gave the wrong information. While waiting, the left-over pizza evaporates and we take time to have our Sunday worship. It is good that we didn’t press on – having the problem at 5:00 is much worse than in the morning. The damage wasn’t as extensive (not break the left-rear quarter-panel, but a small dent in the door); but the tear in the running board is much worse. I will purchase a new tire and, as Tom suggests put the two new tires on the front and the ones on the front in back because they are Firestones, just as the rear were. We would rather lose another tire on the rear than the front. At Knoxville, we go to Walmart and learn that they were mistaken about having a Goodrich tire on hand. So, I opt to purchase a UniRoyal brand of tire. In the course of moving the ones on the front to the back, the left front tire was found to have a small delamination. So, I purchase three new UniRoyals instead, throw away the spare (turned out to not be the correct load rating for the van) and leave the one remaining Firestone as the spare. It looks fine, but I expect that it will be discarded as soon as we return. It takes a while to get all this done and now my estimate is for us to arrive in Tullahoma at 6:30. Joseph’s prayer is still working to the benefit of who drives next. Over all, it hasn’t been much trouble. The rest of the trip home was uneventful. After dropping John off at his home, then Tom at his house and McKinley walks from there to his home, Joseph, Curt, Chance and I head to Drewsky’s to fill up the gas tank. Chance’s mother picked him up there. Joseph, Curt, and I head for the carwash to give the van a bath. From there, we go to the Church lower parking lot to unload, finish cleaning out the van, and put it away. At the end, only one ground pad and a tent are left over that belong to McKinley. Everything is done just in time for me to get home, clean up, and make it to a dinner party at 7:00 PM with 5 minutes to spare – not too bad. It was a great trip and faith-building as well!