A Big Rock in West Virginia

Day 4  - July 30, 2019 - Bristol TN to Ramsey NJ

From Bristol TN we continue on into Virginia, staying the night in Harrisonburg.  Morning gives us a cooler 74 degrees, which is not too bad for late July.  

Herb meets a man who makes bluebird houses and the two of them compare notes.  The guy is totally delighted to see on our Nest camera the bluebird house Herb made at Sweet Caroline's home in Avinger TX, and to be able to hear the baby birds tweeting in the nest.

Continuing on our journey, we take US Hwy. 81 into West Virginia, where we stop at the Welcome Center.  The landscaping is lovely with a large rock surrounded by low shrubbery.

Closer to the building are many varieties of flowers, but realizing that I should not take the time to photograph them all, I choose the red Tropical Hibiscus.

My GPS tells me we are at Bunker Hill-Mahwah.  

Then on to Maryland. Just as we leave the city of Hagerstown, I get excited to see the "Welcome to Pennsylvania" sign.  It invites us to "Pursue Your Happiness."

In this part of the country we go through many states in a day, while seeing signs of other states.  

When we get to New Jersey, I learn that its nickname is The Garden State.   I am not sure why it is has that nickname, but I found this on the Internet:  

The Garden State

This nickname seems to have originated at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia on Jersey Day, August 24, 1876. Alfred M. Heston states in his 1926 work, Jersey Waggon Jaunts, that "The Garden State" was used by Abraham Browning, of Camden. "In his address Mr. Browning compared New Jersey to an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and the New Yorkers from the other. He called New Jersey the Garden State, and the name has clung to it ever since."

I would say it could be because it is so green.  We spend the night in Ramsey, where I take a photo of some of the flowers and trees on the grounds of our hotel.

,Willie of Sweet Caroline

and of Walldog and Willie

Tuesday, July 30, 2019