Oct 25th - Sat - Pigeon Forge, TN
Took me a while to catch up on 5 days in my blog - sorry Bob & Bonnie, my most faithful readers!
Around noon we took off with Billy & Lauri to check out “the largest flea market in the region”. I do not believe that the ad is an exaggeration! This place is big - a huge building surrounded by permanent small buildings and tent-type structures. We enjoyed perfect, partly cloudy weather as we wandered around and picked up a few items.
The traffic was still very congested so we figured we better go back to the rigs for a beer and to change clothes before going out tonight rather than misjudging how long it would take us and be late. We went to the Dixie Stampede which is a Dolly Parton dinner and show production. It is different from any other dinner & show that you may have attended as it takes place in an arena. I will start at the beginning and this entry will be long as no photography was allowed.
First was a 45 minute “pre show”. On the way into this show, photographs were taken which were for sale at the dinner. A group of 4 musicians on an elevated stage were absolutely wonderful - a very energetic, unique bass player, an award-winning yodeler (woman) who played guitar and sang, a multiple champion banjo player and another guy who played the fiddle, guitar and banjo. Then into the arena with 5 tiered rows of seating with long tables in front. Each seating section held a dozen people.
The show began before the food was served and it is impossible to describe it all here. Just let me say that it included a performer flying on a cable from the ceiling, long-horn steers, horseback riders, horse drawn wagons of several sizes, trick riders, ostrich races, fog machines, white pigeons, pig races, a chuck wagon race, a stage with “southern belles” in lighted dresses that descended from the ceiling, audience participation contests, foot and mounted “soldiers”, a couple of comedy acts and formation horseback riding. Over all the events was a North vs. South competition. The audience was divided into North and South and encouraged to cheer for their side.
Now for dinner, keeping in mind that about 800 people are being served at once. After the soup & biscuit course, the servers came by with large trays of one food and placed each item on your plate - a small, whole roasted chicken, baked potato quarter, corn on the cob and a slice of pork roast. The entire dinner was eaten without utensils which was interesting. Then warm apple turnovers & coffee for dessert which we all needed. Cheering and clapping for the sides diminished as the food was served so they came up with a way to make noise. When the master of ceremonies said “Stampede”, everyone stamped their feet on the floor. The exit was quite slow as they funneled everyone through the gift shop! There was another show right after us and the servers had the place nearly cleaned and reset by the time we got out.
Oct 26th - Sun - Pigeon Forge
Another lovely, sunny day. Got up to 74 degrees.
Terry & I went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park today. This took us through Gatlinburg which is a fun-looking town. Parking seems to be behind the stores and in parkades which leaves the narrow, only, main road through town packed with shops & restaurants. A stream runs through the town as well which adds to its charm.
The drive in the park was beautiful. Lots of traffic but there is a divided road with 2 lanes in each direction. We drove to Clingman Dome where the road ends at a ½ mile paved, STEEP trail to an viewing platform. The elevation is about 6600 feet so we gave new meaning to the phrase “sucking air”! The platform is on a huge concrete column which is accessed by a curving ramp - more climbing! You end up above the trees for a 360 degree view which includes Pigeon Forge 15 miles away. The walk down was much more enjoyable.
Stopped for groceries on the way back, had a sandwich and headed out to another flea market. Lauri had invited us for dinner and later we all went to a show called Country Tonite. Another very enjoyable performance of singing, dancing and a little comedy. An incredible harmonica player was showcased in Amazing Grace and Orange Blossom Special where he played the part normally performed by a violin.
Oct 27th - Mon - to Cherokee, North Carolina
After Billy & Lauri got their oil changed in Nashville, their “check engine” light came on during the drive to Pigeon Forge. A Chev dealer said no to worry if it wasn’t blinking and give it a chance to go out. They decided to go to Camping World in North Carolina to get it checked out and we would follow them in case they had problems. Just after we got into NC, we got a phone call from them saying the light went out and everything was working fine. So we stopped at a visitor center to decide where to go and picked a Harrah’s casino in Cherokee, NC. This meant driving around the east end of Great Smoky Mtn National Park which was OK as we would not have wanted to drive the RVs through the windy roads in the park. The casino allows an overnight stay so we parked, grabbed a bite to eat and went in to see how much damage we could do to the casino coffers.
Shortly after 5, Terry & I decided to call it quits and went back to find Billy & Lauri already in their rig. We went to their place and grumbled about our losses over a couple of drinks before returning to our rig to heat up some leftovers for dinner. It was pretty cold but we did not want to run the batteries down by running the furnace so we went to bed early. I read a line in my book about someone returning a call to their sister which reminded me that I had not called Marg so I called her and had a nice chat.
Oct 28th - Tues - to St. George, South Carolina
Woke up to see snow on the top of the truck. We were going to leave about 9 but we were ready sooner so headed out in light snow shortly after 8 - going east & south heading for South Carolina and hopefully some nicer weather. It snowed on & off for about a hour - sometimes quite a bit with maybe 4 inches accumulation on the side of the road. Then the sun came out and the drive became much nicer.
I have been intrigued by a large vine, like a big-leaved ivy, growing all over trees, power poles and rocks. I’m not sure what is - help, Georgia or Bonnie! Some areas are totally covered for up to a couple of hundred yards. DOT in SC has planted a lot of perennial flowers in large beds along highways and they are still blooming - very nice. We are in the southeast quadrant of the state and there are now a lot of pine trees along the highways.
We are staying at the Jolly Acres RV park (CCUSA) just out of St. George. Billy & Lauri pulled in quite a bit after us. Turns out Billy is not feeling well and they had to stop several times. Then their GPS sent them on a dirt road and they had to unhook their car so they could turn around. They have a much newer Garmin than we do and ours sent us right to the RV park - darned gadgets!
It is supposed to get down to freezing tonight in most of the local area. It is funny to see the “oh my gosh” coverage on TV even though it does freeze here every winter.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Oct 20th to 24th - KY to Tennessee
Oct 20th - Mon - Cave City, KY
We stayed an additional day here so we could go on a cave tour on a boat. Decided to do laundry as well so I got everything ready and we headed south to Bowling Green about 25 miles away for the boat tour. 3 miles from our exit, the 3 lanes of traffic nearly came to a halt. Soon, 2 large tow trucks passed us on the shoulder so we figured an accident was causing the problem. After about ½ an hour, where traffic merged to one lane, we passed the accident - a truck and large travel trailer sideways and on their sides with the trailer mostly off the pavement.
We got to the cave location and found out that due to construction, there were no tours right now! I asked about a scenic bi-way return trip but the guy could not help so we took the highway back to the laundromat in Cave City. Oops, the change machine did not work and the little business next door had run out of quarters so Terry went to a car wash with a change machine. But it only took dollars which gave us enough for the washers. Another guy directed Terry to the local bank. Terry washed the truck on the way back and we dried it while we waited for the wash. Then I decided to use a laundry sink to rinse our micro fiber cloths and then throw them in a washer. We used the 45 minute super wash cycle and discovered after about 10 minutes that the washer had barely started and then stopped. Opening & closing the door several times and pushing buttons finally got it going.
Found a grocery store, some diesel at $3.31 per gallon and wandered through an “import” store with an incredible amount of “who buys this?” stuff.
We had just got a fire going after dinner when a woman came around the front of our rig. We thought it was Ruth from next door (yes, it was dark) and started asking her what she had seen in Nashville and what she recommended. FAYE didn’t bat an eye and started telling us what she knew about Nashville. How embarrassed where we?!
Faye’s husband Jim showed up looking for her after a bit so we got out a couple more chairs and talked a mile a minute until about 10 o’clock. They started full timing about 6 months ago and have lived in different areas of the US so had lots of information for us. Jim has lived in Gulf Shores, Alabama where we are heading this winter. They will be in the area in November so we are going to meet up with them somewhere.
Oct 21st - Tues - to Nashville, Tennessee
About an hour and a half to Nashville this morning so didn’t have to get an early start. We are staying at a PA park (Nashville Country RV) just north of Nashville where Billy & Lauri are staying. We didn’t decide to stay in Nashville until yesterday so they were surprised to see us. We set up, made a reservation for the Grand Ole Opry and relaxed a bit.
We drove with Billy & Lauri for dinner and the Opry. I was a little disappointed with the show - don’t know what I was expecting. I knew there were commercials during the show as it is taped live for radio broadcast but I didn’t realize how many commercials! The lineup included John Conlee, Josh Gracin, Connie Smith, Jesse McReynolds, Luke Bryan, The Whites and Tracy Lawrence. I knew some of the names and recognized a lot of their songs.
Oct 22nd - Wed - Nashville, TN
We drove today and started with a trip to Costco with Billy & Lauri. The main reason for the Costco trip was for them to buy a computer. They were delighted that we were staying at the same spot so I could help them get it set up.
On the way back from Costco, we went to downtown Nashville. The weather was wonderful and we happened to drive down a street where we found a parking meter and could walk past a lot of interesting stores to the waterfront. Nashville is an interesting mix of old and new buildings. Stopped for a late lunch on the way back to the truck and then back to the park to get the computer set up.
The wifi at the park did not work very well at our spot and was a little spotty at first when we started setting up the computer at Billy’s site. I just got their email situated after the basic setup and we called it a day.
Oct 23rd - Thurs - Nashville TN
We all went to the Lane Auto Museum today. They advertise “150 unique vehicles” so we had to check it out. It was great! Prototypes that never made it to production, cars with very few produced, an entire section of very small cars including the smallest car in the world and the smallest 2-seater car in the world, motorcycles and military vehicles. I will be posting pictures soon.
Next to a WalMart for some groceries and back to the campground to continue the computer set up and lessons. I loaded Picasa for them and got some pictures loaded from a camera card and a CD so I could show Lauri how to organize and include captions. Kind of overloaded her with information but who knows how long we will travel together and how much time we will have for more lessons.
We made RV reservations in Pigeon Forge for us and them and also made reservations for the Dixie Stampede which I will write about after we go.
Oct 24th - Fri - to Pigeon Forge, TN
It RAINED last night and continued the entire time that Terry was outside disconnecting and hooking up. His jacket & hat were soaked through. There was a tree at the front of our spot that we had to maneuver around to get out so I got out to make sure that our swing did not get the neighbors (a whole 4 inches to spare!) and then stood out while Terry backed up to get just enough room to get around the tree. When I got back in the truck, my hair was so wet that water was running down my neck.
At 9:30 we were going bumper-to-bumper through Nashville - don’t they know rush hour is supposed to end at 9? Finally onto 24 east with periods of heavy rain and fog that made it very difficult to see traffic ahead. A detour around construction in Knoxville that went better than expected. Then bumper-to-bumper traffic again from Sevierville to traffic light #3 in Pigeon Forge where we turned off for our campground - at 2:00 pm. Terry won’t like me including this in the blog, but we got unhooked and set up the front stabilizer before he discovered that the electric cord was about 4 inches short of connecting! Not a good day!
In our infinite wisdom, we decided to go exploring & shopping back towards Sevierville. Yup, crawled through the traffic again. There is only one main road through town so I expect this to last for the weekend. Good thing we had reservations as all campgrounds are full.
Our friends Billy & Lauri got an oil change in Nashville this morning so got here later. We phoned them about 5 and they were just getting to Sevierville. They thought they would be here shortly but I told them it would be a while. Then they ended up at the wrong campground and called us for instructions. Finally got set up in the dark - backed in with the help of a couple of flashlights - and came over for a much needed drink. I made fajitas for us all for a late dinner.
We stayed an additional day here so we could go on a cave tour on a boat. Decided to do laundry as well so I got everything ready and we headed south to Bowling Green about 25 miles away for the boat tour. 3 miles from our exit, the 3 lanes of traffic nearly came to a halt. Soon, 2 large tow trucks passed us on the shoulder so we figured an accident was causing the problem. After about ½ an hour, where traffic merged to one lane, we passed the accident - a truck and large travel trailer sideways and on their sides with the trailer mostly off the pavement.
We got to the cave location and found out that due to construction, there were no tours right now! I asked about a scenic bi-way return trip but the guy could not help so we took the highway back to the laundromat in Cave City. Oops, the change machine did not work and the little business next door had run out of quarters so Terry went to a car wash with a change machine. But it only took dollars which gave us enough for the washers. Another guy directed Terry to the local bank. Terry washed the truck on the way back and we dried it while we waited for the wash. Then I decided to use a laundry sink to rinse our micro fiber cloths and then throw them in a washer. We used the 45 minute super wash cycle and discovered after about 10 minutes that the washer had barely started and then stopped. Opening & closing the door several times and pushing buttons finally got it going.
Found a grocery store, some diesel at $3.31 per gallon and wandered through an “import” store with an incredible amount of “who buys this?” stuff.
We had just got a fire going after dinner when a woman came around the front of our rig. We thought it was Ruth from next door (yes, it was dark) and started asking her what she had seen in Nashville and what she recommended. FAYE didn’t bat an eye and started telling us what she knew about Nashville. How embarrassed where we?!
Faye’s husband Jim showed up looking for her after a bit so we got out a couple more chairs and talked a mile a minute until about 10 o’clock. They started full timing about 6 months ago and have lived in different areas of the US so had lots of information for us. Jim has lived in Gulf Shores, Alabama where we are heading this winter. They will be in the area in November so we are going to meet up with them somewhere.
Oct 21st - Tues - to Nashville, Tennessee
About an hour and a half to Nashville this morning so didn’t have to get an early start. We are staying at a PA park (Nashville Country RV) just north of Nashville where Billy & Lauri are staying. We didn’t decide to stay in Nashville until yesterday so they were surprised to see us. We set up, made a reservation for the Grand Ole Opry and relaxed a bit.
We drove with Billy & Lauri for dinner and the Opry. I was a little disappointed with the show - don’t know what I was expecting. I knew there were commercials during the show as it is taped live for radio broadcast but I didn’t realize how many commercials! The lineup included John Conlee, Josh Gracin, Connie Smith, Jesse McReynolds, Luke Bryan, The Whites and Tracy Lawrence. I knew some of the names and recognized a lot of their songs.
Oct 22nd - Wed - Nashville, TN
We drove today and started with a trip to Costco with Billy & Lauri. The main reason for the Costco trip was for them to buy a computer. They were delighted that we were staying at the same spot so I could help them get it set up.
On the way back from Costco, we went to downtown Nashville. The weather was wonderful and we happened to drive down a street where we found a parking meter and could walk past a lot of interesting stores to the waterfront. Nashville is an interesting mix of old and new buildings. Stopped for a late lunch on the way back to the truck and then back to the park to get the computer set up.
The wifi at the park did not work very well at our spot and was a little spotty at first when we started setting up the computer at Billy’s site. I just got their email situated after the basic setup and we called it a day.
Oct 23rd - Thurs - Nashville TN
We all went to the Lane Auto Museum today. They advertise “150 unique vehicles” so we had to check it out. It was great! Prototypes that never made it to production, cars with very few produced, an entire section of very small cars including the smallest car in the world and the smallest 2-seater car in the world, motorcycles and military vehicles. I will be posting pictures soon.
Next to a WalMart for some groceries and back to the campground to continue the computer set up and lessons. I loaded Picasa for them and got some pictures loaded from a camera card and a CD so I could show Lauri how to organize and include captions. Kind of overloaded her with information but who knows how long we will travel together and how much time we will have for more lessons.
We made RV reservations in Pigeon Forge for us and them and also made reservations for the Dixie Stampede which I will write about after we go.
Oct 24th - Fri - to Pigeon Forge, TN
It RAINED last night and continued the entire time that Terry was outside disconnecting and hooking up. His jacket & hat were soaked through. There was a tree at the front of our spot that we had to maneuver around to get out so I got out to make sure that our swing did not get the neighbors (a whole 4 inches to spare!) and then stood out while Terry backed up to get just enough room to get around the tree. When I got back in the truck, my hair was so wet that water was running down my neck.
At 9:30 we were going bumper-to-bumper through Nashville - don’t they know rush hour is supposed to end at 9? Finally onto 24 east with periods of heavy rain and fog that made it very difficult to see traffic ahead. A detour around construction in Knoxville that went better than expected. Then bumper-to-bumper traffic again from Sevierville to traffic light #3 in Pigeon Forge where we turned off for our campground - at 2:00 pm. Terry won’t like me including this in the blog, but we got unhooked and set up the front stabilizer before he discovered that the electric cord was about 4 inches short of connecting! Not a good day!
In our infinite wisdom, we decided to go exploring & shopping back towards Sevierville. Yup, crawled through the traffic again. There is only one main road through town so I expect this to last for the weekend. Good thing we had reservations as all campgrounds are full.
Our friends Billy & Lauri got an oil change in Nashville this morning so got here later. We phoned them about 5 and they were just getting to Sevierville. They thought they would be here shortly but I told them it would be a while. Then they ended up at the wrong campground and called us for instructions. Finally got set up in the dark - backed in with the help of a couple of flashlights - and came over for a much needed drink. I made fajitas for us all for a late dinner.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Oct 15th to 19th - VA to Kentucky
Oct 15th - Wed - Front Royal, VA
Our destination today was the Skyline Drive that goes south from here and follows the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 109 miles. Perfect sunny day for the trip with a picnic to enjoy somewhere along the way. Skyline Drive is within Shenandoah National Park and overlooks the Shenandoah Valley from many of the 75 lookout points along the way. Trees are not quite in their best fall colors but it was beautiful with not much traffic. We decided to drive only 65 miles rather than the whole 109 as Terry was thinking that it was all starting to look alike! So after lunch we left the drive on the west side and headed back to Front Royal.
We bought some firewood on the way back so we could enjoy the evening outside for a while. I caught up and posted the blog while Terry visited with some neighbors. After dinner, our golfing neighbor came by again and we chatted until the fire died down and it was cool enough to come in.
Oct 16th - Thurs - Front Royal, VA
Time to do some detailed cleaning inside the rig today - fridge, top of the stove, microwave & oven. Tip of the day - no matter how infrequently you use your oven, do not wait 4 years to clean it!
We went to Winchester, about 20 miles north, to Costco and got 2 new tires for the truck. It seems like we just got some but the back tires wear quickly with the weight of the 5th wheel. Back at the park, I put captions on pictures while Terry used dry wash to clean the 5th wheel. Dinner, TV and another day is done.
Oct 17th - Fri - to Milton, West Virginia
We are heading to Tennessee but it is about 10 hours so we split it into 2 days as we rarely drive that long in a day.
When we got into the Appalachian Mountains, the colors of the trees were gorgeous. There were some pretty long hills, both up & down but the highway was good. Occasionally in the median there were huge patches of purple/mauve flowers. I’m not sure what they were.
We are in Jim’s Camping in Milton which is west of Charleston & quite near Tennessee. Another “place to stay” for $20.
One thing that we have noticed for about 3 weeks is the emphasis on decorating for Halloween where we have been traveling. Some houses are just covered in decorations and most businesses have done some decorating.
Oct 18th - Sat - to Cave City, Kentucky
4 ½ hour drive in the sunshine today. We are at a PA park (Singing Hills) in Cave City which is a couple of miles from Mammoth Caves National Park. It is a small park with very friendly owners.
After setting up, we drove to Mammoth Caves and purchased a ticket for a cave tour tomorrow. Then we stopped at a gift shop with a “Mystery House” that we had to check out. For a $1 each admission, we joined 7 other people for a tour. It is an attraction where everything is built on a slant so it feels like you are working against gravity. They also have pictures that are optical illusions. It was a lot of fun for a buck!
We carried on to the most amazing collection of stuff for sale that I have seen since the bizarre place that we visited with Claude & Val in Quebec. The outside porch and 3 large rooms inside were crammed with everything imaginable. One room had a fun sign on the door - “This is not a museum, all the junk in here is for sale”.
Back to the park to relax and visit with some neighbors. We wanted to have a fire but it was too breezy & cool. We are now in Central Time but are not going to bother changing clocks as we will be heading east again soon.
Oct 19th - Sun - Cave City, KY
Our tour today was at 10:30 (Central Time) so we had lots of time to be lazy. Terry went for a walk and was amazed when someone called to him by name. It was Billy who we met outside of Buffalo when we were heading to Niagara Falls on Sept 18th. He and his wife Lauri do not have a computer so we had not kept in touch with them. Turns out they were at the same RV park as us in Front Royal but they were gone a lot so we never saw them. Unfortunately, they are leaving today so we just got to chat for a little while. Then we printed a list of new CampClubUSA campgrounds for them before we had to get going for our tour.
Made it there just in time to board the bus which takes you to an entrance. We chose the Grand Avenue Tour which is 4 ½ hours and 4 miles long. Mammoth caves are not “decorated” caves with formations which we have seen several times before. The tour guide provides a lot of history and geography at stops between walking sections. There are large caverns, slot caves where you may have to crouch to avoid overhead rocks, oblong caves where rivers dissolved limestone and places with flat roofs where limestone has fallen until a stable layer is encountered. There are also LOTS of stairs and inclines - up & down - quite a workout. There was a stop in the middle for lunch and a restroom break. At the end was a short stretch of very picturesque formations which are created by water dissolving limestone and re-depositing it. The main formation is called Frozen Niagara. Back on the buses for the ride back to the visitor center and then home.
One of the couples on the tour is parked next to us at the park so they joined us at our fire this evening. John & Ruth are from Ontario, retired recently and rented a motor home to try out the lifestyle for 6 weeks.
The temperature is pretty cool at night now but not even close to freezing.
Our destination today was the Skyline Drive that goes south from here and follows the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains for 109 miles. Perfect sunny day for the trip with a picnic to enjoy somewhere along the way. Skyline Drive is within Shenandoah National Park and overlooks the Shenandoah Valley from many of the 75 lookout points along the way. Trees are not quite in their best fall colors but it was beautiful with not much traffic. We decided to drive only 65 miles rather than the whole 109 as Terry was thinking that it was all starting to look alike! So after lunch we left the drive on the west side and headed back to Front Royal.
We bought some firewood on the way back so we could enjoy the evening outside for a while. I caught up and posted the blog while Terry visited with some neighbors. After dinner, our golfing neighbor came by again and we chatted until the fire died down and it was cool enough to come in.
Oct 16th - Thurs - Front Royal, VA
Time to do some detailed cleaning inside the rig today - fridge, top of the stove, microwave & oven. Tip of the day - no matter how infrequently you use your oven, do not wait 4 years to clean it!
We went to Winchester, about 20 miles north, to Costco and got 2 new tires for the truck. It seems like we just got some but the back tires wear quickly with the weight of the 5th wheel. Back at the park, I put captions on pictures while Terry used dry wash to clean the 5th wheel. Dinner, TV and another day is done.
Oct 17th - Fri - to Milton, West Virginia
We are heading to Tennessee but it is about 10 hours so we split it into 2 days as we rarely drive that long in a day.
When we got into the Appalachian Mountains, the colors of the trees were gorgeous. There were some pretty long hills, both up & down but the highway was good. Occasionally in the median there were huge patches of purple/mauve flowers. I’m not sure what they were.
We are in Jim’s Camping in Milton which is west of Charleston & quite near Tennessee. Another “place to stay” for $20.
One thing that we have noticed for about 3 weeks is the emphasis on decorating for Halloween where we have been traveling. Some houses are just covered in decorations and most businesses have done some decorating.
Oct 18th - Sat - to Cave City, Kentucky
4 ½ hour drive in the sunshine today. We are at a PA park (Singing Hills) in Cave City which is a couple of miles from Mammoth Caves National Park. It is a small park with very friendly owners.
After setting up, we drove to Mammoth Caves and purchased a ticket for a cave tour tomorrow. Then we stopped at a gift shop with a “Mystery House” that we had to check out. For a $1 each admission, we joined 7 other people for a tour. It is an attraction where everything is built on a slant so it feels like you are working against gravity. They also have pictures that are optical illusions. It was a lot of fun for a buck!
We carried on to the most amazing collection of stuff for sale that I have seen since the bizarre place that we visited with Claude & Val in Quebec. The outside porch and 3 large rooms inside were crammed with everything imaginable. One room had a fun sign on the door - “This is not a museum, all the junk in here is for sale”.
Back to the park to relax and visit with some neighbors. We wanted to have a fire but it was too breezy & cool. We are now in Central Time but are not going to bother changing clocks as we will be heading east again soon.
Oct 19th - Sun - Cave City, KY
Our tour today was at 10:30 (Central Time) so we had lots of time to be lazy. Terry went for a walk and was amazed when someone called to him by name. It was Billy who we met outside of Buffalo when we were heading to Niagara Falls on Sept 18th. He and his wife Lauri do not have a computer so we had not kept in touch with them. Turns out they were at the same RV park as us in Front Royal but they were gone a lot so we never saw them. Unfortunately, they are leaving today so we just got to chat for a little while. Then we printed a list of new CampClubUSA campgrounds for them before we had to get going for our tour.
Made it there just in time to board the bus which takes you to an entrance. We chose the Grand Avenue Tour which is 4 ½ hours and 4 miles long. Mammoth caves are not “decorated” caves with formations which we have seen several times before. The tour guide provides a lot of history and geography at stops between walking sections. There are large caverns, slot caves where you may have to crouch to avoid overhead rocks, oblong caves where rivers dissolved limestone and places with flat roofs where limestone has fallen until a stable layer is encountered. There are also LOTS of stairs and inclines - up & down - quite a workout. There was a stop in the middle for lunch and a restroom break. At the end was a short stretch of very picturesque formations which are created by water dissolving limestone and re-depositing it. The main formation is called Frozen Niagara. Back on the buses for the ride back to the visitor center and then home.
One of the couples on the tour is parked next to us at the park so they joined us at our fire this evening. John & Ruth are from Ontario, retired recently and rented a motor home to try out the lifestyle for 6 weeks.
The temperature is pretty cool at night now but not even close to freezing.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Oct 12th to 14th - NJ, MD, Virginia
Oct 12th - Sun - Pomona, NJ
No, we didn’t move. Pomona is actually where we are staying near Atlantic City.
Catch up day so we had a nice, late breakfast and then walked around the park and chatted with the owner for a while. I needed to do laundry again but only 3 washers were functional so it took a bit longer to get it done - which was fine as the laundry room was near our site so I didn’t have to stay there all the time. Went for a drive and found a WalMart for a couple of items. I had a nice chat with Aunt Jessie before starting dinner.
Oct 13th - Mon - to Maryland
If you remember from my Friday entry, we got new springs put on the other side of the 5th wheel today. We got there about 10 and the mechanic had us back into a bay and took off the old springs. Of course, the new ones weren’t there yet (I think they waited until we were there to pick them up even though we had paid for the parts & the work) so we ended up not getting on the road until 2:30.
We just wanted to get to Maryland at a reasonable time so took some toll roads. We ended up paying 5 different tolls (3 roads, 1 bridge & 1 tunnel) for a total of $22.50. Went through Baltimore in rush hour traffic made worse by an accident that was almost cleared up as we went past it - only one smashed car on the shoulder. We decided to stay in a WalMart in Frederick as it was late (6:45) and we just wanted to stay the night. I called ahead to make sure we could stay there and the lady was so nice, saying “just don’t park too close to the store”. We “paid our dues” by picking up some ready-made dinner and hit the sack.
Oct 14th - Tues - to Front Royal, Virginia
Sunny day for a nice drive through lovely countryside this morning. Rolling hills, lots of green fields, tidy farms and trees changing into their fall colors. Set up at the Front Royal RV park, had lunch and went into town. At the information center, we purchased discount tickets to the Skyline Caverns and decided that we had time to see them today. We waited about 20 minutes for the one hour tour to start.
The tour was interesting. The caverns are a modest size but you get to see formations close up and even flash photography is allowed. There are formations called anthodites which are only found in 2 other locations in the world. They are 4 to 7 sided crystals that grew on ceilings in only one section of the caves that was a vacuum before it was discovered. Now that the vacuum no longer exists, the crystals are not growing. There are also some fish in a pond and a beautiful reflecting pond that you will see when I post my pictures.
We fueled up at $3.47 per gallon (love it!) and picked up some steaks for the barbeque since it was 86 degrees. We were sitting by a fire when our neighbor came home and he ended up chatting with us for quite a while. He stays here during the week and works at a nearby golf course. Then he goes home to West Virginia on the weekend, opposite to the other seasonal campers who are here on the weekends.
No, we didn’t move. Pomona is actually where we are staying near Atlantic City.
Catch up day so we had a nice, late breakfast and then walked around the park and chatted with the owner for a while. I needed to do laundry again but only 3 washers were functional so it took a bit longer to get it done - which was fine as the laundry room was near our site so I didn’t have to stay there all the time. Went for a drive and found a WalMart for a couple of items. I had a nice chat with Aunt Jessie before starting dinner.
Oct 13th - Mon - to Maryland
If you remember from my Friday entry, we got new springs put on the other side of the 5th wheel today. We got there about 10 and the mechanic had us back into a bay and took off the old springs. Of course, the new ones weren’t there yet (I think they waited until we were there to pick them up even though we had paid for the parts & the work) so we ended up not getting on the road until 2:30.
We just wanted to get to Maryland at a reasonable time so took some toll roads. We ended up paying 5 different tolls (3 roads, 1 bridge & 1 tunnel) for a total of $22.50. Went through Baltimore in rush hour traffic made worse by an accident that was almost cleared up as we went past it - only one smashed car on the shoulder. We decided to stay in a WalMart in Frederick as it was late (6:45) and we just wanted to stay the night. I called ahead to make sure we could stay there and the lady was so nice, saying “just don’t park too close to the store”. We “paid our dues” by picking up some ready-made dinner and hit the sack.
Oct 14th - Tues - to Front Royal, Virginia
Sunny day for a nice drive through lovely countryside this morning. Rolling hills, lots of green fields, tidy farms and trees changing into their fall colors. Set up at the Front Royal RV park, had lunch and went into town. At the information center, we purchased discount tickets to the Skyline Caverns and decided that we had time to see them today. We waited about 20 minutes for the one hour tour to start.
The tour was interesting. The caverns are a modest size but you get to see formations close up and even flash photography is allowed. There are formations called anthodites which are only found in 2 other locations in the world. They are 4 to 7 sided crystals that grew on ceilings in only one section of the caves that was a vacuum before it was discovered. Now that the vacuum no longer exists, the crystals are not growing. There are also some fish in a pond and a beautiful reflecting pond that you will see when I post my pictures.
We fueled up at $3.47 per gallon (love it!) and picked up some steaks for the barbeque since it was 86 degrees. We were sitting by a fire when our neighbor came home and he ended up chatting with us for quite a while. He stays here during the week and works at a nearby golf course. Then he goes home to West Virginia on the weekend, opposite to the other seasonal campers who are here on the weekends.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Oct 9th to 11th - Delaware & New Jersey
Oct 9th - Thurs - to New Castle, Delaware
A neighbor in the park suggested that we do not take Hwy 30 east as it was windy and went through a lot of small towns. But any other route looked quite a bit longer so we took Hwy 30 and it was lovely. Nothing wrong with driving through the countryside on a nice sunny day. We discovered another product of Pennsylvania grown in this area - mushrooms. Maybe due to the proximity of dairy farms for manure.
We checked into what initially looked like a scary place - a motel & RV park. But it was clean and there were other rigs there so it turned out OK.
We went for a drive to Historic New Castle. It is an old (as the name would suggest) town with very narrow streets - not great for the pickup. Stopped at a nice park right on Delaware Bay. A quick stop at a couple of stores and back to the park to enjoy the sun. We actually had to put on shorts to sit outside as the temperature reached 80.
Oct 10th - Fri - to Atlantic City area, New Jersey
Didn’t want to get going too early as it is another short drive and we didn’t want to hit rush hour traffic. Diesel was more expensive where we were in Delaware so we stopped just into New Jersey where it was $3.68 a gallon. The entrance to the service station had a large dip but we didn’t drag the back end.
Shortly before Pomona, where we had a reservation, Terry noticed that the 5th wheel seemed to be lower on the curb side. He found a wide spot on the shoulder and discovered a broken spring. We were just on the edge of nowhere so he continued to drive while I searched the GPS for a repair shop. Then I had the bright idea of calling the RV park to see if they could help. The guy said he would make a few phone calls and he found a tire & repair shop just before we drove past it - about 11 o’clock by now.
Turns out we had 2 broken springs! The only reason that Terry could think of was the dip at the service station that he took on an angle to avoid dragging when we left. I suppose age & miles had a lot to do with it. The shop had to send someone to pick up the parts once they found them so by the time it was back together it was nearly 4 o’clock. The tires were closer together on the repaired side but the axles were straight. They let all the jacks down and I noticed that the rig was noticeably higher on the repaired side. The springs (with the same part number) had one more leaf and of course more curve with no wear. What could we do but get them to replace the springs on the other side?! Monday is Columbus Day but they are open and the parts pick-up guy will get the springs first thing Monday morning. Shouldn’t take too long to replace the springs.
Wiggled our way into a tight spot in the RV park and finally got a bit of luck today when the big slide stopped ¼ inch short of the power post. I put a scotch in Terry’s hand even before he finished setting up!
Oct 11th - Sat - Atlantic City, NJ
Another beautiful, sunny day. After breakfast, we picked up a map from the RV office and headed into Atlantic City which is only about 9 miles away. We went first to the Trump Marina casino as they were offering $50 in slot machine credit (and free parking) when you signed up for a player card. At 2 o’clock we finally left with some money ahead.
The mechanic at the tire shop had recommended parking at the Quarter at the Tropicana but the parking garage that we tried did not have enough clearance for the truck. Narrow streets and lots of traffic before we finally found outside parking that we could actually get into. We were looking for something to eat and ended up at a Hard Rock Café - last time for that if the prices are as high at other locations. But we sat outside in the sun and watched people on the boardwalk - how bad is that?
Then we walked a long way down the boardwalk. It is a great idea - a long, wide “sidewalk” with no traffic to worry about except the human-powered “rickshaws”. We walked through The Quarter at the Tropicana which is a shopping area and ended up gambling a bit at the casino there. Then the long walk back down the boardwalk and back to the RV park.
We have cable TV here so it is nice to be able to watch my favorite HGTV and have a clear picture.
A neighbor in the park suggested that we do not take Hwy 30 east as it was windy and went through a lot of small towns. But any other route looked quite a bit longer so we took Hwy 30 and it was lovely. Nothing wrong with driving through the countryside on a nice sunny day. We discovered another product of Pennsylvania grown in this area - mushrooms. Maybe due to the proximity of dairy farms for manure.
We checked into what initially looked like a scary place - a motel & RV park. But it was clean and there were other rigs there so it turned out OK.
We went for a drive to Historic New Castle. It is an old (as the name would suggest) town with very narrow streets - not great for the pickup. Stopped at a nice park right on Delaware Bay. A quick stop at a couple of stores and back to the park to enjoy the sun. We actually had to put on shorts to sit outside as the temperature reached 80.
Oct 10th - Fri - to Atlantic City area, New Jersey
Didn’t want to get going too early as it is another short drive and we didn’t want to hit rush hour traffic. Diesel was more expensive where we were in Delaware so we stopped just into New Jersey where it was $3.68 a gallon. The entrance to the service station had a large dip but we didn’t drag the back end.
Shortly before Pomona, where we had a reservation, Terry noticed that the 5th wheel seemed to be lower on the curb side. He found a wide spot on the shoulder and discovered a broken spring. We were just on the edge of nowhere so he continued to drive while I searched the GPS for a repair shop. Then I had the bright idea of calling the RV park to see if they could help. The guy said he would make a few phone calls and he found a tire & repair shop just before we drove past it - about 11 o’clock by now.
Turns out we had 2 broken springs! The only reason that Terry could think of was the dip at the service station that he took on an angle to avoid dragging when we left. I suppose age & miles had a lot to do with it. The shop had to send someone to pick up the parts once they found them so by the time it was back together it was nearly 4 o’clock. The tires were closer together on the repaired side but the axles were straight. They let all the jacks down and I noticed that the rig was noticeably higher on the repaired side. The springs (with the same part number) had one more leaf and of course more curve with no wear. What could we do but get them to replace the springs on the other side?! Monday is Columbus Day but they are open and the parts pick-up guy will get the springs first thing Monday morning. Shouldn’t take too long to replace the springs.
Wiggled our way into a tight spot in the RV park and finally got a bit of luck today when the big slide stopped ¼ inch short of the power post. I put a scotch in Terry’s hand even before he finished setting up!
Oct 11th - Sat - Atlantic City, NJ
Another beautiful, sunny day. After breakfast, we picked up a map from the RV office and headed into Atlantic City which is only about 9 miles away. We went first to the Trump Marina casino as they were offering $50 in slot machine credit (and free parking) when you signed up for a player card. At 2 o’clock we finally left with some money ahead.
The mechanic at the tire shop had recommended parking at the Quarter at the Tropicana but the parking garage that we tried did not have enough clearance for the truck. Narrow streets and lots of traffic before we finally found outside parking that we could actually get into. We were looking for something to eat and ended up at a Hard Rock Café - last time for that if the prices are as high at other locations. But we sat outside in the sun and watched people on the boardwalk - how bad is that?
Then we walked a long way down the boardwalk. It is a great idea - a long, wide “sidewalk” with no traffic to worry about except the human-powered “rickshaws”. We walked through The Quarter at the Tropicana which is a shopping area and ended up gambling a bit at the casino there. Then the long walk back down the boardwalk and back to the RV park.
We have cable TV here so it is nice to be able to watch my favorite HGTV and have a clear picture.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Oct 5th to 8th - WV to PA
Oct 5th - Sun - to Weston, WV
So we made it to West Virginia today, barely a 3 hour drive. We are staying at the park we were heading for yesterday (Broken Wheel CG) as it has wifi which seems to be rare in this area. Nice setting in the trees and we got a lovely long site so had lots of room for the truck in front.
I thought the park also had a laundry but it didn’t so we had some lunch and headed into town with the dirty clothes and some driving instructions. Terry dropped me off and went for diesel & propane. He had to get back on the freeway and go about 8 miles to find an open station with diesel. Propane is not available in the area on Sunday except to exchange 20 lb tanks. Luckily the laundromat was not busy as there were more “out of order” machines than working ones. Plenty for me to get the job done.
We spent quite a bit of time in the office using the wifi - updating the blog, posting pictures and searching for campgrounds. Then we got some firewood and enjoyed some more of the lovely day with a fire. We were boiling ribs for dinner and I suggested to Terry that we go for a walk and see if the only other overnighters were outside and invite them to come over. They were inside so we continued to the end of the road and then came back by their rig. I decided to just knock on the door and ask if they wanted to join us a bit later at our fire. This is not usual behavior for me but it turned out great as they (Mike & Leslie) came by about 8 and we gabbed until after 11. Very nice evening. They are full-timers from California so they spend the winter there which is different from most other full-timers that we have met.
Oct 6th - Mon - to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
We are not doing well with our planning. Thought we were going to stay in Maryland but we couldn’t find a park on our route with reasonable rates. Next decided to stay at the Keystone RV campground just across the border in PA and look through 5th wheels. Turned out to be a smaller dealership than the advertising would have you believe so we carried on to Gettysburg. We are staying at a PA park (Artillery Ridge) with wifi at our site and is close to town.
Set up, had a late lunch and headed for town to check things out. When we got in the truck we saw that there was bird poop all over it. There are some trees with berries that have branches hanging over the site - lovely! Looked for a car wash on the way back but Wanda led us astray so Terry washed the truck (against park rules!) when we returned. We can barely fit the truck behind the 5th wheel where there are no trees so that is where we are parking.
Oct 7th - Tues - Gettysburg, PA
Beautiful sunny day, just right for sightseeing. We started out by viewing a diorama that is in the RV park and is free to people staying here. There is a huge “table” with the whole Gettysburg area where the famous 3 day battle of the Civil War in 1863 took place. It includes models of houses, fields, trees, fences, roads and thousands of soldiers. There are also paintings, artifacts and mini-dioramas around the edge of the room. There are three rows of bleacher seating from which you view the narrated presentation. Lights turn on & off to highlight the area corresponding to the narrative. The 1863 fight was won by the “north” and was the start of the fall of General Lee and the “south”.
Next was a trip to the visitor center which is new - just opened last year. It is amazing. There is a museum, theatres, gift shop and an incredible display area consisting of many connected rooms branching off a curved corridor. The rooms have things such as letters from soldiers, a separate area for each of the 3 days of the battle, uniforms and living quarters (tents), the Gettysburg Address and many other items. I am not a history buff but I could enjoy this and appreciate how well it was done.
We thought about going on a bus tour or hiring a tour guide to drive with us but we decided that the information that we got from the diorama and from the visitor center was about all the history that we needed. So we drove around some of the battlefields (empty fields with statues), past the cemeteries & colleges and then hit a grocery store. Had an early dinner and then Terry cussed out the presidential candidates as they debated.
Oct 8th - Wed - Gettysburg, PA
Another nice day in the morning, getting cloudy in the afternoon. Today was for chores and relaxing. After trying to figure out the next few days’ itinerary, we went to town to find a post office and to pick up a couple of items at the ever-present WalMart. Then Terry used dry wash on the truck to remove the water spots from the quick wash on Monday. This got him going so he cleaned the bugs off the front of the 5th wheel and waxed it, swept the tree debris off the roof & slides, helped me make a new buddy burner and did other puttering around. I worked on the buddy burners and the computer and read for a while.
So we made it to West Virginia today, barely a 3 hour drive. We are staying at the park we were heading for yesterday (Broken Wheel CG) as it has wifi which seems to be rare in this area. Nice setting in the trees and we got a lovely long site so had lots of room for the truck in front.
I thought the park also had a laundry but it didn’t so we had some lunch and headed into town with the dirty clothes and some driving instructions. Terry dropped me off and went for diesel & propane. He had to get back on the freeway and go about 8 miles to find an open station with diesel. Propane is not available in the area on Sunday except to exchange 20 lb tanks. Luckily the laundromat was not busy as there were more “out of order” machines than working ones. Plenty for me to get the job done.
We spent quite a bit of time in the office using the wifi - updating the blog, posting pictures and searching for campgrounds. Then we got some firewood and enjoyed some more of the lovely day with a fire. We were boiling ribs for dinner and I suggested to Terry that we go for a walk and see if the only other overnighters were outside and invite them to come over. They were inside so we continued to the end of the road and then came back by their rig. I decided to just knock on the door and ask if they wanted to join us a bit later at our fire. This is not usual behavior for me but it turned out great as they (Mike & Leslie) came by about 8 and we gabbed until after 11. Very nice evening. They are full-timers from California so they spend the winter there which is different from most other full-timers that we have met.
Oct 6th - Mon - to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
We are not doing well with our planning. Thought we were going to stay in Maryland but we couldn’t find a park on our route with reasonable rates. Next decided to stay at the Keystone RV campground just across the border in PA and look through 5th wheels. Turned out to be a smaller dealership than the advertising would have you believe so we carried on to Gettysburg. We are staying at a PA park (Artillery Ridge) with wifi at our site and is close to town.
Set up, had a late lunch and headed for town to check things out. When we got in the truck we saw that there was bird poop all over it. There are some trees with berries that have branches hanging over the site - lovely! Looked for a car wash on the way back but Wanda led us astray so Terry washed the truck (against park rules!) when we returned. We can barely fit the truck behind the 5th wheel where there are no trees so that is where we are parking.
Oct 7th - Tues - Gettysburg, PA
Beautiful sunny day, just right for sightseeing. We started out by viewing a diorama that is in the RV park and is free to people staying here. There is a huge “table” with the whole Gettysburg area where the famous 3 day battle of the Civil War in 1863 took place. It includes models of houses, fields, trees, fences, roads and thousands of soldiers. There are also paintings, artifacts and mini-dioramas around the edge of the room. There are three rows of bleacher seating from which you view the narrated presentation. Lights turn on & off to highlight the area corresponding to the narrative. The 1863 fight was won by the “north” and was the start of the fall of General Lee and the “south”.
Next was a trip to the visitor center which is new - just opened last year. It is amazing. There is a museum, theatres, gift shop and an incredible display area consisting of many connected rooms branching off a curved corridor. The rooms have things such as letters from soldiers, a separate area for each of the 3 days of the battle, uniforms and living quarters (tents), the Gettysburg Address and many other items. I am not a history buff but I could enjoy this and appreciate how well it was done.
We thought about going on a bus tour or hiring a tour guide to drive with us but we decided that the information that we got from the diorama and from the visitor center was about all the history that we needed. So we drove around some of the battlefields (empty fields with statues), past the cemeteries & colleges and then hit a grocery store. Had an early dinner and then Terry cussed out the presidential candidates as they debated.
Oct 8th - Wed - Gettysburg, PA
Another nice day in the morning, getting cloudy in the afternoon. Today was for chores and relaxing. After trying to figure out the next few days’ itinerary, we went to town to find a post office and to pick up a couple of items at the ever-present WalMart. Then Terry used dry wash on the truck to remove the water spots from the quick wash on Monday. This got him going so he cleaned the bugs off the front of the 5th wheel and waxed it, swept the tree debris off the roof & slides, helped me make a new buddy burner and did other puttering around. I worked on the buddy burners and the computer and read for a while.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Oct 2nd to 4th - Indiana to Ohio
Oct 2nd - Thurs - Howe, IN
Another late start including a nice breakfast. Today we went to Goshen to tour the Keystone manufacturing plant where Challenger 5th wheels are built. We had to wait a while for a salesman to take just the 2 of us to the factory. There was no one working so we could go into several units being built to see the “latest & greatest”. A redesigned frame results in even larger storage compartments which Terry loved. I would have to say that I would not trade our rig (as long as it stays in good shape) for any of the new models that we saw - and this is in spite of a very attractive promotion package of extra “goodies”.
On the way back we managed to find a pet store that carries the brand of dog food that Dolly eats. Back at the park we found that someone had finally moved in next to us but it was a couple with 2 young kids and friends nearby in the park so we didn’t get to chat with them. Quiet evening. I posted pictures of the Auburn, etc car museum.
Oct 3rd - Fri - Howe to Huron, OH
We had planned to go to the RV Hall of Fame & Museum in Elkhart and then kind of forgot about it until Claude reminded us of it in an email. So we went early this morning and enjoyed it very much. There are a few current RVs but mostly vintage rigs. I took tons of pictures and will post them as soon as I get decent wifi.
By the time we returned, had lunch and got packed up it was after 1 (2 pm checkout at this campground). We hit the 80/90 turnpike going east to Ohio and discovered an interesting ticketing difference. On this turnpike, the toll is based on weight, not number of axles. With the 5th wheel, the system thought we were a larger truck and sent the ticket out the slot that is really high rather than the one at window level for the pickup. Terry thought the ticket was not issued until he got out and happened to look up. It seemed to take no time at all until we were getting a campsite at the Huron River RV Resort (PA). We didn’t sleep well last night so I thought we better not push too far and risk Terry getting sleepy.
Pot-hole filled windy road into the campground through lovely park-like trees. Disappointing place but adequate. We walked around and ended up chatting with a guy who lives here during the summer even though he & his wife have a house 15 miles away. The campground is on the Huron River which enters Lake Erie about 4 miles from here so there are lots of seasonal people with boats.
We drove through a section of Ohio that apparently is representative of a lot of the state - flat! But as we neared Lake Erie, it became hilly and lightly wooded again.
Oct 4th - Sat - Sugarcreek, OH
We set the GPS for West Virginia this morning but didn’t make it there. We stopped at a rest area with some visitor information and the lady told us about a nearby area with a flea market and small towns with lots of interesting shops. Another lady in the rest area said there was lots of parking for large rigs at the flea market so we drove there and right past as we could not see the parking area. By then I had found a PA park in Sugarcreek that we had just passed so we turned around and got a site. Pretty basic but what can we expect for $9? It is just a parking area with water & electric (and some grass!) behind a grocery store in town.
Before we got to go shopping, Terry had to fix another broken bolt in the small slide as it started to go out crooked. Didn’t take him much time to fix it. Then we took off and drove to the flea market (quite large and all inside), had lunch there while we listened to live music and then drove to several other shopping areas. The countryside is very pretty here - rolling hills & farms. Lots of Amish families here so there are lots of buggies on the roads and tied to their special hitching rails. There are quite a few open buggies rather than the closed ones that we saw in Indiana - maybe because it was mostly sunny today. We called them the sporty models.
Did some odd jobs when we returned.
Another late start including a nice breakfast. Today we went to Goshen to tour the Keystone manufacturing plant where Challenger 5th wheels are built. We had to wait a while for a salesman to take just the 2 of us to the factory. There was no one working so we could go into several units being built to see the “latest & greatest”. A redesigned frame results in even larger storage compartments which Terry loved. I would have to say that I would not trade our rig (as long as it stays in good shape) for any of the new models that we saw - and this is in spite of a very attractive promotion package of extra “goodies”.
On the way back we managed to find a pet store that carries the brand of dog food that Dolly eats. Back at the park we found that someone had finally moved in next to us but it was a couple with 2 young kids and friends nearby in the park so we didn’t get to chat with them. Quiet evening. I posted pictures of the Auburn, etc car museum.
Oct 3rd - Fri - Howe to Huron, OH
We had planned to go to the RV Hall of Fame & Museum in Elkhart and then kind of forgot about it until Claude reminded us of it in an email. So we went early this morning and enjoyed it very much. There are a few current RVs but mostly vintage rigs. I took tons of pictures and will post them as soon as I get decent wifi.
By the time we returned, had lunch and got packed up it was after 1 (2 pm checkout at this campground). We hit the 80/90 turnpike going east to Ohio and discovered an interesting ticketing difference. On this turnpike, the toll is based on weight, not number of axles. With the 5th wheel, the system thought we were a larger truck and sent the ticket out the slot that is really high rather than the one at window level for the pickup. Terry thought the ticket was not issued until he got out and happened to look up. It seemed to take no time at all until we were getting a campsite at the Huron River RV Resort (PA). We didn’t sleep well last night so I thought we better not push too far and risk Terry getting sleepy.
Pot-hole filled windy road into the campground through lovely park-like trees. Disappointing place but adequate. We walked around and ended up chatting with a guy who lives here during the summer even though he & his wife have a house 15 miles away. The campground is on the Huron River which enters Lake Erie about 4 miles from here so there are lots of seasonal people with boats.
We drove through a section of Ohio that apparently is representative of a lot of the state - flat! But as we neared Lake Erie, it became hilly and lightly wooded again.
Oct 4th - Sat - Sugarcreek, OH
We set the GPS for West Virginia this morning but didn’t make it there. We stopped at a rest area with some visitor information and the lady told us about a nearby area with a flea market and small towns with lots of interesting shops. Another lady in the rest area said there was lots of parking for large rigs at the flea market so we drove there and right past as we could not see the parking area. By then I had found a PA park in Sugarcreek that we had just passed so we turned around and got a site. Pretty basic but what can we expect for $9? It is just a parking area with water & electric (and some grass!) behind a grocery store in town.
Before we got to go shopping, Terry had to fix another broken bolt in the small slide as it started to go out crooked. Didn’t take him much time to fix it. Then we took off and drove to the flea market (quite large and all inside), had lunch there while we listened to live music and then drove to several other shopping areas. The countryside is very pretty here - rolling hills & farms. Lots of Amish families here so there are lots of buggies on the roads and tied to their special hitching rails. There are quite a few open buggies rather than the closed ones that we saw in Indiana - maybe because it was mostly sunny today. We called them the sporty models.
Did some odd jobs when we returned.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Sept 29th to Oct 1st - Howe, IN
Sept 29th - Mon - to Howe, Indiana
Quiet night in the WalMart parking lot. It is a 24 hour store but the parking lot is huge and we parked at a far corner. So other than the light from the lamp posts that made us feel like we were in Alaska, it was a good night.
We backtracked a bit to head for a main state route to Indiana and listened to Wanda telling us to turn on all sorts of “lesser” roads. Still lots of construction with a final detour that took us about 12 miles out of the way because of a 5 mile stretch that was closed. We left the flat corn fields for more rolling land and still lots of farms. Arrived at the campground about 2:30.
We are staying at Twin Mills CG (CCUSA), a large place with about 300 permanent sites and 300 “overnight” sites. Again, only a few temporaries - 5 in our pull-through row that holds about 20. We are near Elkhart & Goshen where a lot of RVs are manufactured. We are also in Amish country and there are lots of horse drawn buggies on the roads. Amish houses can be identified by clothes hanging on lines and no power lines running to the house.
I think we should charge people for our rain-producing abilities! This area has not had rain for 13 days and this evening it had to start raining. Not too much but we certainly were not sitting outside.
Sept 30th - Tues - Howe, IN
Apparently there is another state in this part of the US. Newscasters and weather reporters refer to this area as “Michiana”. The parts of Michigan and Indiana wrapped around the lower south-west portion of Lake Michigan are so connected with businesses, towns & roads that they are referred to as one area.
Lots of things to see here so we started today by checking out an RV parts/salvage/everything store. It is actually several building and gets a lot of the inventory from the RV factories around this area. It also has such things as appliances, furniture & tables that people trade in or just change out while new or near new. I keep thinking that I would like different recliners but it probably won’t happen. Next we went to the large flea market in nearby Shipshewana which is open on Tuesday & Wed. Clouds threatened and there were puddles to show a downpour before we got there but we experienced only a few drops of rain. The flea market is open until the end of October but quite a few vendor spots are already vacant. Still lots of things to look at.
We didn’t have lunch while we were out so we came back to the rig where I decided to make an early dinner instead of ruining our appetites with a snack and then not wanting dinner until very late.
Posted some pictures this evening - check them out.
Oct 1st - Wed - Howe, IN
It is not getting light in the morning until nearly 8 so it is easy to be lazy like we were this morning. When we got going we headed to Auburn, about 40 miles away, to see the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. It is an amazing collection of cars, design plans, films and misc other related stories & items. The building used to be the manufacturing site for the cars but is beautifully redone for the museum. I have a lot of pictures that do more justice to the cars than anything I say here.
We stopped at a fast food place in Auburn on the way back for some great chicken strips. Then I found a salon for a haircut in a small town. We had our mail forwarded and it was here when we returned. There were a couple of rebate checks that were issued 7/3 and were not good after 90 days so we immediately made a trip to the Bank of America in Elkhart to deposit them - by my calculation tomorrow would have been 31 days. I guess we will have to get our mail forwarded more often.
Some phone calls based on received mail, dinner, some TV and the day is done.
Quiet night in the WalMart parking lot. It is a 24 hour store but the parking lot is huge and we parked at a far corner. So other than the light from the lamp posts that made us feel like we were in Alaska, it was a good night.
We backtracked a bit to head for a main state route to Indiana and listened to Wanda telling us to turn on all sorts of “lesser” roads. Still lots of construction with a final detour that took us about 12 miles out of the way because of a 5 mile stretch that was closed. We left the flat corn fields for more rolling land and still lots of farms. Arrived at the campground about 2:30.
We are staying at Twin Mills CG (CCUSA), a large place with about 300 permanent sites and 300 “overnight” sites. Again, only a few temporaries - 5 in our pull-through row that holds about 20. We are near Elkhart & Goshen where a lot of RVs are manufactured. We are also in Amish country and there are lots of horse drawn buggies on the roads. Amish houses can be identified by clothes hanging on lines and no power lines running to the house.
I think we should charge people for our rain-producing abilities! This area has not had rain for 13 days and this evening it had to start raining. Not too much but we certainly were not sitting outside.
Sept 30th - Tues - Howe, IN
Apparently there is another state in this part of the US. Newscasters and weather reporters refer to this area as “Michiana”. The parts of Michigan and Indiana wrapped around the lower south-west portion of Lake Michigan are so connected with businesses, towns & roads that they are referred to as one area.
Lots of things to see here so we started today by checking out an RV parts/salvage/everything store. It is actually several building and gets a lot of the inventory from the RV factories around this area. It also has such things as appliances, furniture & tables that people trade in or just change out while new or near new. I keep thinking that I would like different recliners but it probably won’t happen. Next we went to the large flea market in nearby Shipshewana which is open on Tuesday & Wed. Clouds threatened and there were puddles to show a downpour before we got there but we experienced only a few drops of rain. The flea market is open until the end of October but quite a few vendor spots are already vacant. Still lots of things to look at.
We didn’t have lunch while we were out so we came back to the rig where I decided to make an early dinner instead of ruining our appetites with a snack and then not wanting dinner until very late.
Posted some pictures this evening - check them out.
Oct 1st - Wed - Howe, IN
It is not getting light in the morning until nearly 8 so it is easy to be lazy like we were this morning. When we got going we headed to Auburn, about 40 miles away, to see the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum. It is an amazing collection of cars, design plans, films and misc other related stories & items. The building used to be the manufacturing site for the cars but is beautifully redone for the museum. I have a lot of pictures that do more justice to the cars than anything I say here.
We stopped at a fast food place in Auburn on the way back for some great chicken strips. Then I found a salon for a haircut in a small town. We had our mail forwarded and it was here when we returned. There were a couple of rebate checks that were issued 7/3 and were not good after 90 days so we immediately made a trip to the Bank of America in Elkhart to deposit them - by my calculation tomorrow would have been 31 days. I guess we will have to get our mail forwarded more often.
Some phone calls based on received mail, dinner, some TV and the day is done.
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