We began out trip south on December 1st, after spending two weeks preparing Baby Hughey by loading items for our winter survival. We decided that we wanted to visit our grandson, Cody, who was attending school in Charleston, S. C. for further education while in the Coast Guard..
We left with our friends, Harry and Bobbi with our first destination being Paintsville State Park in eastern Kentucky. We had decided to stay off 75 and since we were heading east, caught Rt. 23 out of Columbus. We stopped for fuel at the Pilot in Circleville, OH, and sadly our friends had a bearing going bad on their camper. Since there was nothing we could do to help, we ventured on. Paintsville State Park is a very nice park. The only problem we had (or should I say, Roy had) was no TV or WIFI. It was one of the very few parks open all year.
Our destination for the second night was Spartanburg, South Carolina. Route 23 is a trek through the Appalachian Mountains. It would have been very beautiful, except that the rain decided to keep us company most of the day. The motor home performed quite well through the mountains with some pretty steep downgrades. Going up and winding around and around, we reached an elevation of 4,000 feet. The houses in the valley, looked like toys. Cunningham RV Park in Spartanburg was a nice park and with Passport America, was a very reasonable stay.
On the next leg, it was onward to Charleston, S.C. We stayed in Lake Aire RV Park, about 12 miles from downtown Charleston. They had experienced a huge rain the day before, and the park was a bit on the muddy side, but adequate. Harry and Bobbi met up with us there. On 12/4, we picked up Cody and headed to downtown Charleston. We ended up eating at Bubba Gump's. Good conversation and good food and then it was time to get Cody back to base. So very proud of him!
On 12/5 we left Lake Aire Campground heading for Jekyll Island, somewhere new for Roy and I. By that time we were traveling on busy I 95 and a truck driver let Harry and Bobbi know that they had another smoking wheel on their trailer. That meant another lengthy stop for them, but this time, all the wheel bearings were taken care of and they were on their way. We had gone on ahead once again, arriving at Jekyll Island Campground around 3 p.m. You have to pay a fee to get onto the island itself but the campground was very nice with lots of trees. Harry and Bobbi were only a couple of hours behind us, so once again we had our friends to enjoy Jekyll Island. We experienced some of the coastal fog the next morning, so it was a bit later that we explored the island.
In the early 1900's some of the rich and famous decided they needed a quiet getaway and invested in Jekyll Island. They built a hotel which is still in use and is, indeed, grand. Then came some "cottages" which are huge and quite elegant. It's always interesting to see how the "other half" lived and it's neat to have some of that lifestyle preserved.
On 12/7, it was time to move southward. This time the destination was Salt Springs which is in the Ocala area. We stayed in the Ocala National Forest Campground which turned out to be very nice. Because we have the National Park pass for seniors, it as very affordable with full hookups. The actual springs are a short walk from the campground and quite unique. The water temperature stays at 72 degrees and there were hundreds of mullets (fish) enjoying the warm, clear water. It was a bit too cool outside to put our suits on and test the water. H & B told us that the manatees come into the springs for the warmth in the winter. Harry took us for a ride in his truck down a two-track, dirt road to a "ferry" crossing. Apparently it is a one man operation and he must have been at lunch because we waited for about one half hour and turned back By crossing the lake, it is a much shorter distance to the town of Palatka.
While in the area, we made a trip to The Villages to visit a childhood neighbor of Roy who is battling cancer. The Villages has certainly gotten much larger than the first time we were there. Nothing but golf cart after golf cart. I might add some very nice golf carts !!
We said our good-byes and after a three hour ride, we arrived at our winter spot at Camp Florida in Lake Placid, Florida . Most of our time from now on will be enjoying our friends in the park, while exploring the the surrounding area..
Camp Florida
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Time to Head North
Well, enough of the Rio Grande Valley and time to start our trek north. But we didn't want to get back too early because of the cold and snow still happening in southeast Michigan!
On March 5, we left Tropic Star heading for Aransas Pass. We had made reservations to stay a week at Aransas Bay RV Resort. It just so happened that the wind was quite nasty--gusts up to 47 mph. Not much fun with this high profile motor home! We found the park to be very nice and had an ideal site.
The next couple of days were spent exploring the area. We went to Corpus Christi a couple of times and had delicious seafood each day. We found a German bakery that had apple streudel that was out of this world!! The seashore in Corpus is very nice and well kept. It was about a week early for spring break, so the beaches were deserted. We did take the ferry to Port Aransas a couple of times. That island is quite commercialized with t-shirt shops, etc. From our campground, we walked to Beals department store and found it to be nothing like the Florida Beals.
Time to meander up the coast. Our next destination was Beaumont. We had tried to stay in Galveston, but the campgrounds were booked up with spring breakers! We took the ferry to cross Galveston Bay. Kind of neat sitting in the motor home riding on the water! Gulf Coast RV Resort was our campground for the next three nights. Beaumont has a lot of oil history and we took advantage of that to learn about that history. We visited the Texas Energy Museum and learned about the discovery of oil in Texas in the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the information came from lifelike maniquins. The first oil well was called Spindletop and it was fascinating to hear just how many failures and hardships it took to perservere in the discovery. In the museum there were illustrations on what goes on in the refineries that we see all over the country, with huge ones in the gulf area. Still don't understand all the technical jargon, but we did get an overall understanding how we get to the gasoline that goes in our vehicles.
The next day took us to Gladys City on Spindletop Hill for a look into the past. Sightseers, fortune seekers and "boomers" poured into Gladys City to see the world's greatest oil well which was discovered in 1901. There are 15 buildings furnished with items of daily life in the boomtown. The city went from 50 residents to 50,000 in no time, but when the well went dry, Gladys City became a ghost town.
While in Beaumont, we went through the Chambers House, a beautiful old mansion. It was built around 1910 and was occupied by two daughters until 2004 when the youngest daughter passed away at age 90. During all the time it was occupied by the Chambers family, nothing was changed. There was a remodeling in 1924 which added a sunroom and a bedroom upstairs. The furniture was exactly the same as it was in the early 1900's. An interesting sideline--when the sisters inherited the house, they only had $40,000 cash. Neither of them ever worked and when the youngest sister passed away in 2004, the estate was worth 4.5 million, which was left in a foundation for future care of the house. They had enmassed their fortune in the stock market! Quite shrewd! We had a personalized tour given by a very knowledgable lady. All the original china, silverware, glassware and porcelin figurines were still on display. Very neat to be able to go back in time.
Well, on to the next leg of our journey north--New Orleans!! We had never been there and it was one of the cities on our bucket list. It truly is a place like no other! We arrived on March 15 at Pontchartrain Landing, a very nice park located on a canal that opened up into Lake Pontchartrain. This was our home port for five nights. On Saturday we took the shuttle offered by the park into the French Quarter. We walked and walked and walked!! It was quite a unique experience! We hit St. Patrick's Day weekend and spring break!! In New Orleans, one can walk anywhere with open containers of beer, mixed drinks or whatever, as long as it is not in a glass container. So there were quite a few folks that were a bit intoxicated. It was really neat to see musicians performing everywhere, sidewalks or streets. All were quite talented! Then, of course, you have the magicians and jugglers showing off their skills. We took Sunday off since it was St. Patrick's Day and booked a tour for Monday. The tour was very informative and we got to see a lot of New Orleans, both new and old. There is an entire section of antebellum homes. What was interesting to find out was that in order to be an antebellum home, it had to predate the civil war. If anything was done to the outside of the home to remodel, it was no longer to be an antebellum home. All of those homes are made of bald cedar wood, which the termites don't like and that's why they are still standing and looking so elegant. Of course, the azaleas were in bloom all over the south and made everything look beautiful.
St. Louis cemetery was a stop on the tour. All the graves are above ground, as they are all over New Orleans since the elevation is below sea level. Some of the grave markers are truly elegant. Of interest, a body could be placed in a crypt and the crypt could not be opened for a year and a day. This was a law and mainly because of disease. There is a "holding" area where a family member had to be placed if they died within that period of time. After that year and a day, they could be placed in the family crypt.
There are still a lot of areas in the New Orleans area that have not been rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina and lots of construction going on. The French Quarter was not affected by the storm, but most of the surrounding area was. We found out that New Orleans is the fourth largest port in the United States and the rebuilding process of that port was certainly a priority.
Of course, we enjoyed some good food while there. We tried gumbo, po'boys and red beans and rice along with other southern delacacies. Gulf shrimp still remains one of our favorites.
We took the 24 mile long bridge across Lake Pontchartrain and visited Fairview-Riverside State Park. Much of this park was damaged by Katrina, so all the buildings were new. Many new trees had been planted, but the old mansion that sits on the property seemed to have made it through with minimal damage. Another stop for a shrimp po' boy for Roy and a shrimp salad for me and we continued on to a maritime museum. Just got a bit more information on the Mississippi River's past.
Time to move further north into Mississippi. We spent the next night just outside of Jackson, Mississippi at a park called Swinging Bridge. It was an okay park with nice pull-thrus and had an excellent Mexican restaurant within walking distance. We got there for "happy hour" which meant we could get one medium marguerita and get a small one free!! Good thing we walked because the medium was huge!!
Up and at the next morning headed for Trace State Park just outside of Tupelo, Mississippi, the actual birthplace of Elvis Presley. This is a very nice park and we were backed up to the lake which should have been great; however, we arrived on Thursday, left the following Monday and it rained EVERY day and never got to 50 degrees!! We did some exploring in Tupelo, but had been to Elvis' birthplace and the hardware store where he got his first guitar when we were there in 2007. Still a neat area. Just wish it could have been better weather.
Well, the weather certainly didn't get better as we headed north to Cave City, Kentucky. The one stop we wanted to make before getting home was the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Cave City is only about 20 miles north of there and we had stayed at Cave Country RV Park before and knew that it was a nice park. We were surprised by snow flurries and the following morning it was only 33 degrees and snowing!! The corvette museum is really awesome. There are some gorgeous cars there and we drooled a lot.
On Wednesday, March 27 we got up early and headed for home! It was a clear, but cold day which was okay for traveling. We arrived home at 4:45 p.m. and was glad that our neighbor, had turned the heat up in the house! Then it was unpack and laundry, laundry and MORE laundry. We think the motor home rose about four inches once it was unloaded. It definitely let out a sigh of relief!! It's good to be home and look forward to our next adventure.
On March 5, we left Tropic Star heading for Aransas Pass. We had made reservations to stay a week at Aransas Bay RV Resort. It just so happened that the wind was quite nasty--gusts up to 47 mph. Not much fun with this high profile motor home! We found the park to be very nice and had an ideal site.
The next couple of days were spent exploring the area. We went to Corpus Christi a couple of times and had delicious seafood each day. We found a German bakery that had apple streudel that was out of this world!! The seashore in Corpus is very nice and well kept. It was about a week early for spring break, so the beaches were deserted. We did take the ferry to Port Aransas a couple of times. That island is quite commercialized with t-shirt shops, etc. From our campground, we walked to Beals department store and found it to be nothing like the Florida Beals.
Time to meander up the coast. Our next destination was Beaumont. We had tried to stay in Galveston, but the campgrounds were booked up with spring breakers! We took the ferry to cross Galveston Bay. Kind of neat sitting in the motor home riding on the water! Gulf Coast RV Resort was our campground for the next three nights. Beaumont has a lot of oil history and we took advantage of that to learn about that history. We visited the Texas Energy Museum and learned about the discovery of oil in Texas in the beginning of the 20th century. Some of the information came from lifelike maniquins. The first oil well was called Spindletop and it was fascinating to hear just how many failures and hardships it took to perservere in the discovery. In the museum there were illustrations on what goes on in the refineries that we see all over the country, with huge ones in the gulf area. Still don't understand all the technical jargon, but we did get an overall understanding how we get to the gasoline that goes in our vehicles.
The next day took us to Gladys City on Spindletop Hill for a look into the past. Sightseers, fortune seekers and "boomers" poured into Gladys City to see the world's greatest oil well which was discovered in 1901. There are 15 buildings furnished with items of daily life in the boomtown. The city went from 50 residents to 50,000 in no time, but when the well went dry, Gladys City became a ghost town.
While in Beaumont, we went through the Chambers House, a beautiful old mansion. It was built around 1910 and was occupied by two daughters until 2004 when the youngest daughter passed away at age 90. During all the time it was occupied by the Chambers family, nothing was changed. There was a remodeling in 1924 which added a sunroom and a bedroom upstairs. The furniture was exactly the same as it was in the early 1900's. An interesting sideline--when the sisters inherited the house, they only had $40,000 cash. Neither of them ever worked and when the youngest sister passed away in 2004, the estate was worth 4.5 million, which was left in a foundation for future care of the house. They had enmassed their fortune in the stock market! Quite shrewd! We had a personalized tour given by a very knowledgable lady. All the original china, silverware, glassware and porcelin figurines were still on display. Very neat to be able to go back in time.
Well, on to the next leg of our journey north--New Orleans!! We had never been there and it was one of the cities on our bucket list. It truly is a place like no other! We arrived on March 15 at Pontchartrain Landing, a very nice park located on a canal that opened up into Lake Pontchartrain. This was our home port for five nights. On Saturday we took the shuttle offered by the park into the French Quarter. We walked and walked and walked!! It was quite a unique experience! We hit St. Patrick's Day weekend and spring break!! In New Orleans, one can walk anywhere with open containers of beer, mixed drinks or whatever, as long as it is not in a glass container. So there were quite a few folks that were a bit intoxicated. It was really neat to see musicians performing everywhere, sidewalks or streets. All were quite talented! Then, of course, you have the magicians and jugglers showing off their skills. We took Sunday off since it was St. Patrick's Day and booked a tour for Monday. The tour was very informative and we got to see a lot of New Orleans, both new and old. There is an entire section of antebellum homes. What was interesting to find out was that in order to be an antebellum home, it had to predate the civil war. If anything was done to the outside of the home to remodel, it was no longer to be an antebellum home. All of those homes are made of bald cedar wood, which the termites don't like and that's why they are still standing and looking so elegant. Of course, the azaleas were in bloom all over the south and made everything look beautiful.
St. Louis cemetery was a stop on the tour. All the graves are above ground, as they are all over New Orleans since the elevation is below sea level. Some of the grave markers are truly elegant. Of interest, a body could be placed in a crypt and the crypt could not be opened for a year and a day. This was a law and mainly because of disease. There is a "holding" area where a family member had to be placed if they died within that period of time. After that year and a day, they could be placed in the family crypt.
There are still a lot of areas in the New Orleans area that have not been rebuilt since Hurricane Katrina and lots of construction going on. The French Quarter was not affected by the storm, but most of the surrounding area was. We found out that New Orleans is the fourth largest port in the United States and the rebuilding process of that port was certainly a priority.
Of course, we enjoyed some good food while there. We tried gumbo, po'boys and red beans and rice along with other southern delacacies. Gulf shrimp still remains one of our favorites.
We took the 24 mile long bridge across Lake Pontchartrain and visited Fairview-Riverside State Park. Much of this park was damaged by Katrina, so all the buildings were new. Many new trees had been planted, but the old mansion that sits on the property seemed to have made it through with minimal damage. Another stop for a shrimp po' boy for Roy and a shrimp salad for me and we continued on to a maritime museum. Just got a bit more information on the Mississippi River's past.
Time to move further north into Mississippi. We spent the next night just outside of Jackson, Mississippi at a park called Swinging Bridge. It was an okay park with nice pull-thrus and had an excellent Mexican restaurant within walking distance. We got there for "happy hour" which meant we could get one medium marguerita and get a small one free!! Good thing we walked because the medium was huge!!
Up and at the next morning headed for Trace State Park just outside of Tupelo, Mississippi, the actual birthplace of Elvis Presley. This is a very nice park and we were backed up to the lake which should have been great; however, we arrived on Thursday, left the following Monday and it rained EVERY day and never got to 50 degrees!! We did some exploring in Tupelo, but had been to Elvis' birthplace and the hardware store where he got his first guitar when we were there in 2007. Still a neat area. Just wish it could have been better weather.
Well, the weather certainly didn't get better as we headed north to Cave City, Kentucky. The one stop we wanted to make before getting home was the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Cave City is only about 20 miles north of there and we had stayed at Cave Country RV Park before and knew that it was a nice park. We were surprised by snow flurries and the following morning it was only 33 degrees and snowing!! The corvette museum is really awesome. There are some gorgeous cars there and we drooled a lot.
On Wednesday, March 27 we got up early and headed for home! It was a clear, but cold day which was okay for traveling. We arrived home at 4:45 p.m. and was glad that our neighbor, had turned the heat up in the house! Then it was unpack and laundry, laundry and MORE laundry. We think the motor home rose about four inches once it was unloaded. It definitely let out a sigh of relief!! It's good to be home and look forward to our next adventure.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Off to be Winter Texans
We decided to try Texas again to see if we could find new adventures. We left Lambertville on December 6 heading southwest. It was fun loading Abby, as she sensed something was going on that she wanted NO part of. I grabbed her as she was headed into the bedroom to hide. She obviously had a full bladder and unloaded on me as I was carrying her out to the motor home!! Poor girl--one would think that she would be used to this routine by now!
Our first stop was in Effingham, Illinois at Camp Lakewood. It was a very nice campground with super nice owners. We had traveled 387 miles and that was definitely enough in the motor home for both the driver and passengers.
Day two took us to Southaven, Mississippi and EZ Daze RV Park. We had gone through several states--Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas and finally into Mississippi. The park was very nice with concrete pads, but the airplanes started flying at 4 a.m.!!! Much too early for us!
Our third day found us in Henderson, Louisana, and after a nights rest we spent another five hours on the road. Our next stop was in Beaumont, Texas staying at a passport America park called Gulf Coast Rv Park. We had stayed at this campground five years ago when were in Texas. We thought of spending an extra day here because it is such a nice park, until we saw the weather report with a cold front coming in.
Heading futher down the coast we ended up at Lagoons RV park in Rockport, Tx. We had spent a week in Rockport on our last trip to Texas. This time we only spent two days before heading to our final stop in Pharr, Texas. We scouted out the Rockport area looking for a place to stay on our return home. Port Aransas looked interesting and we may stay in this area on our way north. While on the coast we enjoyed the fresh seafood.
While on our way to Pharr we found a gas station that looked doable for the motor home plus a car, so stopped for a fill up. Having walked around the car and Baby Hughie (Roy's name for the coach), we started to leave only to hear a loud clunk! After getting out to see what happened we found the towbar no longer attached to BH!! Roy unhooked the cables and the rest of the towing stuff and put the BROKEN TOWBAR on the HHR. C followed R 150 miles to Tropic Star, our home for the winter. We sure were lucky that it didn't break while on the highway!! Guess we really had someone "upstairs" looking out for us.
Now settled in here at Tropic Star, R has found some carvers and they have many other interests to look in to. Our friends Denis and Karen will be arriving after Christmas. We were suprized to find our winter home did not offer cable tv,and wifi only in or near the club house! We are able to get the major channels ABC,NBC,CBS and FOX along with many Mexican channels using the antenna. If you know Roy, these facts did not make him a happy camper. The general condition of the park is in need of some renovation. We have found the folks to be friendly and there seems to be something going on most of the time.
Karen and Denis arrived on December 27 and we got busy trying to decide just what we wanted to do while in Texas. We decided that we had best wait until after the holidays, as stores and parks were extremely busy. We did have our "good luck" New Year's Day dinner with ribs and Roy's sauerkraut. That first week in January found the weather cold and rainy. Temps only in the 50's, but we knew this was only temporary.
Roy and I decided to "tidy up" our RV site by planting some grass seed on a good-sized bare spot. The only seed we could buy was Bermuda grass. These seeds are very small and much different than we're used to. We spread seed, watered and waited. The next day we had a highway of leave cutter ants coming from the next site over to our grass seed. They managed to take each and every tiny seed to their nest. We put out more seed and it all disappeared again. So, we gave up trying for green grass!
On January 8, we ventured to a relatively new outlet mall. Karen and I did some serious shopping, but didn't buy much. That evening we attended a show here in the park with Gold Wing Express. It's a father and three sons from Oklahoma and they put on a great show. We had seen them in Florida last year.
Later that week, we were excited to attend an RV show in the Valley. Well, the show was a huge disappointment to all of us and so we kept heading east to South Padre Island where they were having their annual craft show. Lots of neat stuff, but we didn't buy much. Denis and Karen had never been to the turtle rescue on SPI, so we had to stop there. Five years ago Roy and I had seen a turtle that had only one front flipper and they had been trying to fit her with a prosthesis. She had even made our Toledo Blade at home. Well, she is still at the refuge, much larger than five years ago and is now on her fourth type of prosthesis. She is fitted with this prosthesis and can swim for 1 1/2 hours each day under supervision. Really great to hear that she is still doing well and has a good home at the refuge. Our next stop on SPI was Schlitterbaun's Shrimp Haus for all you can eat shrimp. It was delicous, just as it was five years ago.
The next week, we took a trip a bit west and toured an RV park called Bentsen Palms. What a nice park! If we were to come back to the Valley, this is where we would stay. From there we ventured south to find Riverside, a club that had replaced Pepe's on the Rio Grande. Pepe's was destroyed in 2011 by a flood. Riverside is a very nice club and it's pretty cool to see all the "old folks" on the dance floor having a good time.
Every Thursday morning, Roy has been going to a carving "class". He has learned lots from the folks here. He took a two-day carving class and you can see by the pictures, that he's becoming quite good. The best part of his newfound hobby is that he enjoys it!
We had read about Quinta Mazatlan, a 1930's historic adobe home with beautiful gardens and lots of different birds and butterflies. It's located in McAllen, so very close for us. The spanish style of architecture is unique and quite colorful.
Since we felt that we were getting pretty good a identifying birds in the area, we signed up for a birding expedition through the park. We met a 9 a.m. at the Scenic Wetlands in Edinburg, about 20 miles north of here. Well, we discovered that none of the four of us gets too excited about a different species of duck! That was the first and last birding trip with the serious birders!
Next on our agenda was a return trip to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. All four of us had been there in the past, but we decided to take the tram ride again. It was extremely interesting. This refuge is also known as a premium birding center. We did see some green jays and other exotic birds. Also, while on the tram ride, we spotted a huge black snake, slithering across the road. It was nonpoisonous, according to our guide.
We brought our passports and decided to head to Progresso, Mexico. This is the only Mexican border town that is reasonably safe for gringos. We did buy some medication which is very cheap. Roy now has enough of his acid-blocking medicine for a year for under $10.00! We had some "powerful" margueritas in the Canada store restaurant! Wow, after two of those, it was like we were walking on air (at least for me)! We had such a good time, we had to go back once more before leaving Texas. Yes, we did enjoy those margueritas again!
Towards the end of January, we headed east to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, hoping to see some Texas wildlife. After driving around the entire park, we saw absolutely nothing except for an owl and a couple of green jays at the Visitors Center. This park is close to South Padre Island and still has some endangered ocelots. But we only saw the "stuffed" one at the VC.
That night we had a fish dinner at the American Legion in Pharr. Nothing exceptional.
On 1/29 we once again visited the South Texas History Museum in Edinburg. We had gone five years ago, but Denis and Karen had not been there. It was just as interesting as it was before. The entire history is presented in such a nice way that it keeps the patron's attention. Still feel that this is northern Mexico, as most everyone in the Rio Grande Valley speaks Spanish and some folks that live here in the states, do not speak English!
Feb. 2 was another trip to South Padre Island for the kite festival. Once again, we weren't disappointed. The folks come from all over the U.S. for this competion. Everyone just takes their lawn chairs and finds a spot on the beach to watch the show. It's truly amazing what can be done with kites as they "dance" to music. We had dinner at Pier 19 overlooking the water. The bloody mary's were fantastic!
Denis and Karen went to Jamaica for week to spend time with their family and we were on our own. On Monday afternoon we headed out to find the McAllen Elk lodge. What a surprise to find a "polka jam/dance" going on! Those "old folks" really have a good time!
On Tues., Feb. 5 Roy and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Can't believe it's been that long and we're still in love! We celebrated by having a nice, romantic dinner at Milano's.
The only other item on our agenda was to visit the King Ranch which is about 115 miles northeast of here. We had heard so much about this ranch, so took a tour around a very small portion of it. Saw lots of horses and cattle, but not too much else. It is so very dry here. They've not had an appreciable amount of rain since 2007!! So, needless to say, there are no crops and all the ponds on the ranch are dry. We did tour the museum in downtown Kingsville, but didn't find it to be too exciting.
Denis and Karen left us on Feb. 26 to head back to Wisconsin. Their house sold while they were here and have to be completely moved by March 22. We sure miss them, especially at "happy hour" time! We are now preparing to leave Tropic Star on March 5. Overall we have enjoyed good weather and the beautifully landscaped pool here at the park. We'll be heading to Aransas Pass for a week's stay on the Gulf. Then it's on to Lousiana.
Our third day found us in Henderson, Louisana, and after a nights rest we spent another five hours on the road. Our next stop was in Beaumont, Texas staying at a passport America park called Gulf Coast Rv Park. We had stayed at this campground five years ago when were in Texas. We thought of spending an extra day here because it is such a nice park, until we saw the weather report with a cold front coming in.
Heading futher down the coast we ended up at Lagoons RV park in Rockport, Tx. We had spent a week in Rockport on our last trip to Texas. This time we only spent two days before heading to our final stop in Pharr, Texas. We scouted out the Rockport area looking for a place to stay on our return home. Port Aransas looked interesting and we may stay in this area on our way north. While on the coast we enjoyed the fresh seafood.
While on our way to Pharr we found a gas station that looked doable for the motor home plus a car, so stopped for a fill up. Having walked around the car and Baby Hughie (Roy's name for the coach), we started to leave only to hear a loud clunk! After getting out to see what happened we found the towbar no longer attached to BH!! Roy unhooked the cables and the rest of the towing stuff and put the BROKEN TOWBAR on the HHR. C followed R 150 miles to Tropic Star, our home for the winter. We sure were lucky that it didn't break while on the highway!! Guess we really had someone "upstairs" looking out for us.
Now settled in here at Tropic Star, R has found some carvers and they have many other interests to look in to. Our friends Denis and Karen will be arriving after Christmas. We were suprized to find our winter home did not offer cable tv,and wifi only in or near the club house! We are able to get the major channels ABC,NBC,CBS and FOX along with many Mexican channels using the antenna. If you know Roy, these facts did not make him a happy camper. The general condition of the park is in need of some renovation. We have found the folks to be friendly and there seems to be something going on most of the time.
Karen and Denis arrived on December 27 and we got busy trying to decide just what we wanted to do while in Texas. We decided that we had best wait until after the holidays, as stores and parks were extremely busy. We did have our "good luck" New Year's Day dinner with ribs and Roy's sauerkraut. That first week in January found the weather cold and rainy. Temps only in the 50's, but we knew this was only temporary.
Roy and I decided to "tidy up" our RV site by planting some grass seed on a good-sized bare spot. The only seed we could buy was Bermuda grass. These seeds are very small and much different than we're used to. We spread seed, watered and waited. The next day we had a highway of leave cutter ants coming from the next site over to our grass seed. They managed to take each and every tiny seed to their nest. We put out more seed and it all disappeared again. So, we gave up trying for green grass!
On January 8, we ventured to a relatively new outlet mall. Karen and I did some serious shopping, but didn't buy much. That evening we attended a show here in the park with Gold Wing Express. It's a father and three sons from Oklahoma and they put on a great show. We had seen them in Florida last year.
Later that week, we were excited to attend an RV show in the Valley. Well, the show was a huge disappointment to all of us and so we kept heading east to South Padre Island where they were having their annual craft show. Lots of neat stuff, but we didn't buy much. Denis and Karen had never been to the turtle rescue on SPI, so we had to stop there. Five years ago Roy and I had seen a turtle that had only one front flipper and they had been trying to fit her with a prosthesis. She had even made our Toledo Blade at home. Well, she is still at the refuge, much larger than five years ago and is now on her fourth type of prosthesis. She is fitted with this prosthesis and can swim for 1 1/2 hours each day under supervision. Really great to hear that she is still doing well and has a good home at the refuge. Our next stop on SPI was Schlitterbaun's Shrimp Haus for all you can eat shrimp. It was delicous, just as it was five years ago.
The next week, we took a trip a bit west and toured an RV park called Bentsen Palms. What a nice park! If we were to come back to the Valley, this is where we would stay. From there we ventured south to find Riverside, a club that had replaced Pepe's on the Rio Grande. Pepe's was destroyed in 2011 by a flood. Riverside is a very nice club and it's pretty cool to see all the "old folks" on the dance floor having a good time.
Every Thursday morning, Roy has been going to a carving "class". He has learned lots from the folks here. He took a two-day carving class and you can see by the pictures, that he's becoming quite good. The best part of his newfound hobby is that he enjoys it!
We had read about Quinta Mazatlan, a 1930's historic adobe home with beautiful gardens and lots of different birds and butterflies. It's located in McAllen, so very close for us. The spanish style of architecture is unique and quite colorful.
Since we felt that we were getting pretty good a identifying birds in the area, we signed up for a birding expedition through the park. We met a 9 a.m. at the Scenic Wetlands in Edinburg, about 20 miles north of here. Well, we discovered that none of the four of us gets too excited about a different species of duck! That was the first and last birding trip with the serious birders!
Next on our agenda was a return trip to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. All four of us had been there in the past, but we decided to take the tram ride again. It was extremely interesting. This refuge is also known as a premium birding center. We did see some green jays and other exotic birds. Also, while on the tram ride, we spotted a huge black snake, slithering across the road. It was nonpoisonous, according to our guide.
We brought our passports and decided to head to Progresso, Mexico. This is the only Mexican border town that is reasonably safe for gringos. We did buy some medication which is very cheap. Roy now has enough of his acid-blocking medicine for a year for under $10.00! We had some "powerful" margueritas in the Canada store restaurant! Wow, after two of those, it was like we were walking on air (at least for me)! We had such a good time, we had to go back once more before leaving Texas. Yes, we did enjoy those margueritas again!
Towards the end of January, we headed east to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, hoping to see some Texas wildlife. After driving around the entire park, we saw absolutely nothing except for an owl and a couple of green jays at the Visitors Center. This park is close to South Padre Island and still has some endangered ocelots. But we only saw the "stuffed" one at the VC.
That night we had a fish dinner at the American Legion in Pharr. Nothing exceptional.
On 1/29 we once again visited the South Texas History Museum in Edinburg. We had gone five years ago, but Denis and Karen had not been there. It was just as interesting as it was before. The entire history is presented in such a nice way that it keeps the patron's attention. Still feel that this is northern Mexico, as most everyone in the Rio Grande Valley speaks Spanish and some folks that live here in the states, do not speak English!
Feb. 2 was another trip to South Padre Island for the kite festival. Once again, we weren't disappointed. The folks come from all over the U.S. for this competion. Everyone just takes their lawn chairs and finds a spot on the beach to watch the show. It's truly amazing what can be done with kites as they "dance" to music. We had dinner at Pier 19 overlooking the water. The bloody mary's were fantastic!
Denis and Karen went to Jamaica for week to spend time with their family and we were on our own. On Monday afternoon we headed out to find the McAllen Elk lodge. What a surprise to find a "polka jam/dance" going on! Those "old folks" really have a good time!
On Tues., Feb. 5 Roy and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. Can't believe it's been that long and we're still in love! We celebrated by having a nice, romantic dinner at Milano's.
The only other item on our agenda was to visit the King Ranch which is about 115 miles northeast of here. We had heard so much about this ranch, so took a tour around a very small portion of it. Saw lots of horses and cattle, but not too much else. It is so very dry here. They've not had an appreciable amount of rain since 2007!! So, needless to say, there are no crops and all the ponds on the ranch are dry. We did tour the museum in downtown Kingsville, but didn't find it to be too exciting.
Denis and Karen left us on Feb. 26 to head back to Wisconsin. Their house sold while they were here and have to be completely moved by March 22. We sure miss them, especially at "happy hour" time! We are now preparing to leave Tropic Star on March 5. Overall we have enjoyed good weather and the beautifully landscaped pool here at the park. We'll be heading to Aransas Pass for a week's stay on the Gulf. Then it's on to Lousiana.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
New England Adventure
We had been longing for a return trip to New England for several years. On 9/11/12 we headed out on our journey after rounding up Miss Abby who just knew something was up and it wasn't to her liking.
It was a beautiful day and we made good time in the motor home (which is now affectionately known as Baby Hughie). We made it to Randolph, New York and found out that we were in the heart of Amish country! The bad part of this overnight stay was that there was NO tv service at all. Poor Roy!
The next day we got to Corning, New York because we wanted to go through the Corning Glass Museum. What an interesting place! We watched several folks hand blowing glass into animals and pumpkins for fall. We were amazed at how old some of the glass on exhibit was and everything was so well displayed. I did manage to get a small Christmas ornament and one of the pumpkins. Neat stuff!!
Next on our agenda was wine country in the Finger Lakes Region. Guess whose idea that was??!! We stopped by Glenora Winery on beautiful Senaca Lake. It was still morning, but we enjoyed our wine tasting and agreed on several bottles to bring home. That is truly a beautiful part of the state of New York.
We headed northeast in New York state and spent a night in Herkimer, N. Y. Apparently there is or was a diamond mine there and if we had gotten there a bit earlier, we could have tried our hands at finding diamonds. But we wanted to get a decent start the next morning, so it was kind of an early night for us.
The next day we traveled through the remainder of New York and across New Hampshire. Our destination was St. Johnsbury, Vermont where we had been about 27 years ago. We found Moose River Campground in Woodall's and gave them a try. What a nice park. We were able to back up to the Moose River and with the windows open in the motor home, could hear the water flowing over the rocks all night! How relaxing. But we wanted to do several things while in the beautiful state of Vermont--one was to find some covered bridges. We managed to find three of them. There had been many of the bridges damaged in the 2011 floods. Such a shame! We also stopped by a maple sugar farm and bought some candy. The owner told us this past year was the worst ever for havesting maple syrup. The winter was just too warm there. Upon the advice of the park owners, we took a side trip to visit the "Bird Man". He whittles birds from only one piece of green cedar! What an art! Of course, we had to purchase one. While driving around, we encountered the Cabot Cheese factory. This white cheddar cheese has been our favorite for some time, mainly because it is 50% less fat than regular, but doesn't taste like it. We stopped for some samples and had to buy a supply to bring home. We just had to make it a point to have breakfast at the same restaurant in downtown St. Johnsbury that we had done 27 years ago!! Hard to believe it's still there and still busy.
Vermont was difficult to leave because the colors were beginning to change and it is such a pretty state. Our next destination was Bangor, Maine. Since we had the GPS set for no toll roads, "Millie" took us on some interesting side roads. LOTS of hills and curves!! Roy does a fantastic job of maneuvering that big box of a motor home!!
But the countryside is so much neater to see from those "off the beaten path" roads.
We arrived at Pumpkin Patch RV Park in Bangor about 4 p.m. and found it a very nice, clean park with large pull-thrus. The main reason for stopping in Bangor is because Roy was stationed at Dow Air Force Base there in the 1960's. Of course, the air force base is no longer there, but he managed to find his old barracks which is now a college dorm. Amazing that the building is still there after 50 years!
After checking out Bangor and trying to find some of those old "haunts", we decided to stay in the RV park and travel by car to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We knew it would take up the majority of a day, but the scenery is still worth it. Bar Harbor is a place like no other. It is just so picturesque even though it has become quite commercialized. Acadia National Park is just as we remember it from years ago and we did have to drive up Cadillac Mountain just for "old times sake".
Three nights was enough in Bangor, so we headed southward down the coast. Our destination was Boothbay Harbor, which is only a short distance from Bar Harbor. We had previously stayed in Boothbay with our friends, Bob and Milissa and remember it being beautiful. We parked the motor home at Shore Hills Campground which was about seven miles from the shore. This, too, was a very nice park and from this site, we wanted to venture back to Portland, Maine. We had been there 27 years ago and found it was a neat seaport.
On the way to Portland, we decided to visit the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. What a unique experience! This is where the schooners were built in the late 1800's and early 1900's. They were built at this location because they could be launched into the Kennebunk River which was wide enough and deep enough to accommodate them. We didn't realize just how big these vessels were and just what went into constructing them. It was indeed quite interesting. We got to tour the Herman Zwicker, a schooner built in 1942 in Nova Scotia. This schooner was used in the Grand Banks as a fishing vessel. It was neat to be able to see the menus of the fishermen, along with their sleeping facilities. The Herman Zwicker is still operational today and is sailed from Bath to a northern port in the salt water which, of course, doesn't freeze in the winter and the Kennebunk River does freeze over. We also found out that Bath, Maine is where Navy destroyers are built and one was launched just after we had been there.
Portland was quite a disappointment to us. It is no longer a quaint seaport, but a bustling tourist port. We walked around a bit, had a good lunch and headed back to Boothbay and decided it was time to leave Maine and work our way back west.
We drove a long day and ended up staying at Tall Pines Campground in Bainbridge, New York. After a good night's sleep, we were back on the highway. This time our destination was Wellsboro, Pennsylvania which is in northern Pennsylvania on Route 6. We were told by our friends, Harry and Bobbi, that this was a quaint little town that still had gas lights lining the main streets. Our park of choice had no openings, so we chose Stony Fork Creek Campground. This was an interesting last mile or so because if we had met another vehicle, not quite sure what would happen. The road was very narrow and there's no way we could back up. But the campground was adequate (no TV or cable) and the scenery was beautiful. There were beautiful mountains on either side of the park and with the leaves changing color, the views were breathtaking. We also discovered that this was the home of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, so had to check that out.
We enjoyed the area but was time to continue our trek home. We decided our last night would be in Amish country Berlin, Ohio . We just HAD to go to Lehman's Hardware one more time and was disappointed to find that most items are made in CHINA!! However, the food in Holmes County is excellent. On the morning of our departure, we splurged with apple fritters!! Wow, they were fantastic!
This ended our summer excursions. The time went by so fast. This summer we had a great trip to northern Michigan with Harry and Bobbi, rode on a 1929 Ford tri-motor airplane, had a delightful ride on Bodi's boat to see the Navy ships and some other short trips. You can honestly say, we didn't let much grass grow under our feet! Now for our next adventure! Texas here we come!
It was a beautiful day and we made good time in the motor home (which is now affectionately known as Baby Hughie). We made it to Randolph, New York and found out that we were in the heart of Amish country! The bad part of this overnight stay was that there was NO tv service at all. Poor Roy!
The next day we got to Corning, New York because we wanted to go through the Corning Glass Museum. What an interesting place! We watched several folks hand blowing glass into animals and pumpkins for fall. We were amazed at how old some of the glass on exhibit was and everything was so well displayed. I did manage to get a small Christmas ornament and one of the pumpkins. Neat stuff!!
Next on our agenda was wine country in the Finger Lakes Region. Guess whose idea that was??!! We stopped by Glenora Winery on beautiful Senaca Lake. It was still morning, but we enjoyed our wine tasting and agreed on several bottles to bring home. That is truly a beautiful part of the state of New York.
We headed northeast in New York state and spent a night in Herkimer, N. Y. Apparently there is or was a diamond mine there and if we had gotten there a bit earlier, we could have tried our hands at finding diamonds. But we wanted to get a decent start the next morning, so it was kind of an early night for us.
The next day we traveled through the remainder of New York and across New Hampshire. Our destination was St. Johnsbury, Vermont where we had been about 27 years ago. We found Moose River Campground in Woodall's and gave them a try. What a nice park. We were able to back up to the Moose River and with the windows open in the motor home, could hear the water flowing over the rocks all night! How relaxing. But we wanted to do several things while in the beautiful state of Vermont--one was to find some covered bridges. We managed to find three of them. There had been many of the bridges damaged in the 2011 floods. Such a shame! We also stopped by a maple sugar farm and bought some candy. The owner told us this past year was the worst ever for havesting maple syrup. The winter was just too warm there. Upon the advice of the park owners, we took a side trip to visit the "Bird Man". He whittles birds from only one piece of green cedar! What an art! Of course, we had to purchase one. While driving around, we encountered the Cabot Cheese factory. This white cheddar cheese has been our favorite for some time, mainly because it is 50% less fat than regular, but doesn't taste like it. We stopped for some samples and had to buy a supply to bring home. We just had to make it a point to have breakfast at the same restaurant in downtown St. Johnsbury that we had done 27 years ago!! Hard to believe it's still there and still busy.
Vermont was difficult to leave because the colors were beginning to change and it is such a pretty state. Our next destination was Bangor, Maine. Since we had the GPS set for no toll roads, "Millie" took us on some interesting side roads. LOTS of hills and curves!! Roy does a fantastic job of maneuvering that big box of a motor home!!
But the countryside is so much neater to see from those "off the beaten path" roads.
We arrived at Pumpkin Patch RV Park in Bangor about 4 p.m. and found it a very nice, clean park with large pull-thrus. The main reason for stopping in Bangor is because Roy was stationed at Dow Air Force Base there in the 1960's. Of course, the air force base is no longer there, but he managed to find his old barracks which is now a college dorm. Amazing that the building is still there after 50 years!
After checking out Bangor and trying to find some of those old "haunts", we decided to stay in the RV park and travel by car to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We knew it would take up the majority of a day, but the scenery is still worth it. Bar Harbor is a place like no other. It is just so picturesque even though it has become quite commercialized. Acadia National Park is just as we remember it from years ago and we did have to drive up Cadillac Mountain just for "old times sake".
Three nights was enough in Bangor, so we headed southward down the coast. Our destination was Boothbay Harbor, which is only a short distance from Bar Harbor. We had previously stayed in Boothbay with our friends, Bob and Milissa and remember it being beautiful. We parked the motor home at Shore Hills Campground which was about seven miles from the shore. This, too, was a very nice park and from this site, we wanted to venture back to Portland, Maine. We had been there 27 years ago and found it was a neat seaport.
On the way to Portland, we decided to visit the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. What a unique experience! This is where the schooners were built in the late 1800's and early 1900's. They were built at this location because they could be launched into the Kennebunk River which was wide enough and deep enough to accommodate them. We didn't realize just how big these vessels were and just what went into constructing them. It was indeed quite interesting. We got to tour the Herman Zwicker, a schooner built in 1942 in Nova Scotia. This schooner was used in the Grand Banks as a fishing vessel. It was neat to be able to see the menus of the fishermen, along with their sleeping facilities. The Herman Zwicker is still operational today and is sailed from Bath to a northern port in the salt water which, of course, doesn't freeze in the winter and the Kennebunk River does freeze over. We also found out that Bath, Maine is where Navy destroyers are built and one was launched just after we had been there.
Portland was quite a disappointment to us. It is no longer a quaint seaport, but a bustling tourist port. We walked around a bit, had a good lunch and headed back to Boothbay and decided it was time to leave Maine and work our way back west.
We drove a long day and ended up staying at Tall Pines Campground in Bainbridge, New York. After a good night's sleep, we were back on the highway. This time our destination was Wellsboro, Pennsylvania which is in northern Pennsylvania on Route 6. We were told by our friends, Harry and Bobbi, that this was a quaint little town that still had gas lights lining the main streets. Our park of choice had no openings, so we chose Stony Fork Creek Campground. This was an interesting last mile or so because if we had met another vehicle, not quite sure what would happen. The road was very narrow and there's no way we could back up. But the campground was adequate (no TV or cable) and the scenery was beautiful. There were beautiful mountains on either side of the park and with the leaves changing color, the views were breathtaking. We also discovered that this was the home of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, so had to check that out.
We enjoyed the area but was time to continue our trek home. We decided our last night would be in Amish country Berlin, Ohio . We just HAD to go to Lehman's Hardware one more time and was disappointed to find that most items are made in CHINA!! However, the food in Holmes County is excellent. On the morning of our departure, we splurged with apple fritters!! Wow, they were fantastic!
This ended our summer excursions. The time went by so fast. This summer we had a great trip to northern Michigan with Harry and Bobbi, rode on a 1929 Ford tri-motor airplane, had a delightful ride on Bodi's boat to see the Navy ships and some other short trips. You can honestly say, we didn't let much grass grow under our feet! Now for our next adventure! Texas here we come!
Winter in Florida
We guess it's about time to attempt to bring our blog up to date!
We started down good ole Route 75 on November 28th. We had planned to take our time and see some different places, but that thought went away due to weather conditions. It rained the emtire way south! Once settled in Camp Florida the first project was to wash the roadhouse and the car. They were very, very dirty!!
We were not able to get our old lot, but still got a site in the same circle that our friends are in. Some folks were here by the begining of Nov. and others filtered in as we did. The entire circle was filled by first of Jan.
This being our third year in the same place there is not much that we haven't seen. Sad to report Roy's u-pick orange grove is no longer. The owners health has failed and he can no longer keep up with the needs that must be done to maintain his trees. He has found another but it's further away! We have visited several flea markets, outlet malls, restaurants, and some beaches, both east and west coast. R is enjoying a carving class in Lake Placid, and C is learning to line dance.
Our friends Bobbi and Harry were nearby in Sebring so we were able to enjoy their company for a few days. We also enjoyed a visit with Jim and Beth, C's brother and sister-in law on their way to their son's home on the east coast. Sadly we missed them on their trek back as we were not at home and C didn't hear her phone that was in her purse.
Our son Chris was able to join us for 10 days. We were hoping for the weather to hold so he will be able to enjoy the pool. It was very nice while he was with us and we made several trips to the pool. We are also looking forward to visiting our ex-neighbors that sold their home across from us and moved down here. John and Sue Rochowiak came down to spend a week with us in their motor home before heading to the Keys. We always enjoy our time with them.
We finally made it to Solomans Castle. One would think Soloman was deceased and someone made a museum out of his estate---- not true. Soloman himself is still living and enjoying his paying visitors. He's quite an artist making things out of scrap metal. Bok Tower was also very pleasing to visit. Very interesting history there and the carilon was amazing to hear.
The happy hours at Camp Florida were always a nice time for conversation and lots of laughs. We decided to check out the coast when we left CF. We stayed near Ruskin at EG Simmons county park. We enjoyed Karen and Deny's company, but we did not enjoy the no seeums. Those little critters wouldn't even let us sit outside for happy hour! We scouted the area, said our goodbyes and started our trek north.
We decided to take a different route home . We had been told that Helen, Georgia in the northern mountain area was very similar to Frankenmuth, Michigan. We traveled north on 441 as was suggested by our friends Harry and Bobbi. We found a nice highway and new scenery! The mountains in northern Georgia are really beautiful and since it was spring, the redbud trees were in bloom. Our destination was Dillard, Ga where our our friends, John and Susie joined us. Dillard isn't far from Helen, so we spent a day there. Helen is not nearly as nice as Frankenmuth. We enjoyed some of the gorgeous scenery in the mountains and decided that it was time to head north. Next stop was the Kentucky Horse Park, then home.
We started down good ole Route 75 on November 28th. We had planned to take our time and see some different places, but that thought went away due to weather conditions. It rained the emtire way south! Once settled in Camp Florida the first project was to wash the roadhouse and the car. They were very, very dirty!!
We were not able to get our old lot, but still got a site in the same circle that our friends are in. Some folks were here by the begining of Nov. and others filtered in as we did. The entire circle was filled by first of Jan.
This being our third year in the same place there is not much that we haven't seen. Sad to report Roy's u-pick orange grove is no longer. The owners health has failed and he can no longer keep up with the needs that must be done to maintain his trees. He has found another but it's further away! We have visited several flea markets, outlet malls, restaurants, and some beaches, both east and west coast. R is enjoying a carving class in Lake Placid, and C is learning to line dance.
Our friends Bobbi and Harry were nearby in Sebring so we were able to enjoy their company for a few days. We also enjoyed a visit with Jim and Beth, C's brother and sister-in law on their way to their son's home on the east coast. Sadly we missed them on their trek back as we were not at home and C didn't hear her phone that was in her purse.
Our son Chris was able to join us for 10 days. We were hoping for the weather to hold so he will be able to enjoy the pool. It was very nice while he was with us and we made several trips to the pool. We are also looking forward to visiting our ex-neighbors that sold their home across from us and moved down here. John and Sue Rochowiak came down to spend a week with us in their motor home before heading to the Keys. We always enjoy our time with them.
We finally made it to Solomans Castle. One would think Soloman was deceased and someone made a museum out of his estate---- not true. Soloman himself is still living and enjoying his paying visitors. He's quite an artist making things out of scrap metal. Bok Tower was also very pleasing to visit. Very interesting history there and the carilon was amazing to hear.
The happy hours at Camp Florida were always a nice time for conversation and lots of laughs. We decided to check out the coast when we left CF. We stayed near Ruskin at EG Simmons county park. We enjoyed Karen and Deny's company, but we did not enjoy the no seeums. Those little critters wouldn't even let us sit outside for happy hour! We scouted the area, said our goodbyes and started our trek north.
We decided to take a different route home . We had been told that Helen, Georgia in the northern mountain area was very similar to Frankenmuth, Michigan. We traveled north on 441 as was suggested by our friends Harry and Bobbi. We found a nice highway and new scenery! The mountains in northern Georgia are really beautiful and since it was spring, the redbud trees were in bloom. Our destination was Dillard, Ga where our our friends, John and Susie joined us. Dillard isn't far from Helen, so we spent a day there. Helen is not nearly as nice as Frankenmuth. We enjoyed some of the gorgeous scenery in the mountains and decided that it was time to head north. Next stop was the Kentucky Horse Park, then home.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
September Getaway
September was around the corner and we needed to get one more getaway before heading south for the winter. During one of the "happy hours", Harry, Bobbi, Roy and I decided to head to Kentucky to Cumberland Lake. H & B had been there, but we had not, so it was a new excursion for us. We towed Harry's boat behind the Winnebago while H. towed his trailer with his truck.
Our first stop was one of our favorites--The Kentucky Horse Park. When we pulled in, H. told us that his truck was really "growling" which meant that the rear end was going bad. From then on, the truck had to be "babied" and didn't like the hills at all.
We arrived at Cumberland Lake State Resort Park in the early afternoon, so it gave us time to do a bit of exploring there. We discovered that the evening we arrived, there was a seafood buffet being offered in the restaurant/clubhouse at the park. Wow!!! What a spread! We "pigged out" on crablegs and many other offerings of a variety of fish, froglegs, etc. etc. We thought we wouldn't have to eat for a couple of days after that meal, but you know it just doesn't work like that.
The next morning we packed some sandwiches and headed out on the beautiful Cumberland Lake. This lake is manmade, 100 miles long with many, many private inlets. It is known for the renting of houseboats that can cruise, park and swim and party for a week at a time. Our ride took us by several marinas where we got to see some of the huge houseboats--115 ft. long, 23 ft. wide!! We toured one of those boats which rented for around $6,000 a week! Of course, that would be for 6 couples. Back on H's boat, we explored some of the beautiful coves, enjoyed the scenery on the banks--neat rock formations and lots of pines. Lunchtime--H. cut the engines and we just peacefully drifted which having our sandwiches. What a nice day.
The next morning we headed to the other end of the lake to Burnside State Park. This was a very nice park and it was great to have a nice campfire to relax by in the evening. Morning #2 at Burnside was another lake exploration day. Lunch again was on the water and another beautiful day. We found that the pictures taken of Cumberland Lake just didn't capture the true beauty.
Instead of going directly home, it was decided to spend a couple of nights in Frankfort, Ky. We stayed at Elkhorn Campground and spent a day in Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky. We toured the statehouse and found it very interesting. The marble statues and overall architecture was quite awesome. The capital grounds were still colorful with flowers.
We didn't want to go home through Cincinnati, so took route 127 all the way. The bridge over the Ohio River that we crossed in Madison,Indiana was quite scary--extremely narrow!!! We made a stop in Madison. It is a quaint small town with neat shops and a nice water fountain in its center. At bit further up 127, we made a stop in Metamora. There we got to see the horse drawn canal boat. Most of the shops were not open so we didn't linger long. One more overnight stop for us was Mounds State Park in Brookville, Indiana.
The next morning was the trek home. Harry's poor truck did make it, and we were all extremely happy it made it to Lambertville. (Note: a couple of days after arriving home, that truck was sold and a brand new one was on the horizon).
Our first stop was one of our favorites--The Kentucky Horse Park. When we pulled in, H. told us that his truck was really "growling" which meant that the rear end was going bad. From then on, the truck had to be "babied" and didn't like the hills at all.
We arrived at Cumberland Lake State Resort Park in the early afternoon, so it gave us time to do a bit of exploring there. We discovered that the evening we arrived, there was a seafood buffet being offered in the restaurant/clubhouse at the park. Wow!!! What a spread! We "pigged out" on crablegs and many other offerings of a variety of fish, froglegs, etc. etc. We thought we wouldn't have to eat for a couple of days after that meal, but you know it just doesn't work like that.
The next morning we packed some sandwiches and headed out on the beautiful Cumberland Lake. This lake is manmade, 100 miles long with many, many private inlets. It is known for the renting of houseboats that can cruise, park and swim and party for a week at a time. Our ride took us by several marinas where we got to see some of the huge houseboats--115 ft. long, 23 ft. wide!! We toured one of those boats which rented for around $6,000 a week! Of course, that would be for 6 couples. Back on H's boat, we explored some of the beautiful coves, enjoyed the scenery on the banks--neat rock formations and lots of pines. Lunchtime--H. cut the engines and we just peacefully drifted which having our sandwiches. What a nice day.
The next morning we headed to the other end of the lake to Burnside State Park. This was a very nice park and it was great to have a nice campfire to relax by in the evening. Morning #2 at Burnside was another lake exploration day. Lunch again was on the water and another beautiful day. We found that the pictures taken of Cumberland Lake just didn't capture the true beauty.
Instead of going directly home, it was decided to spend a couple of nights in Frankfort, Ky. We stayed at Elkhorn Campground and spent a day in Frankfort, the capital of Kentucky. We toured the statehouse and found it very interesting. The marble statues and overall architecture was quite awesome. The capital grounds were still colorful with flowers.
We didn't want to go home through Cincinnati, so took route 127 all the way. The bridge over the Ohio River that we crossed in Madison,Indiana was quite scary--extremely narrow!!! We made a stop in Madison. It is a quaint small town with neat shops and a nice water fountain in its center. At bit further up 127, we made a stop in Metamora. There we got to see the horse drawn canal boat. Most of the shops were not open so we didn't linger long. One more overnight stop for us was Mounds State Park in Brookville, Indiana.
The next morning was the trek home. Harry's poor truck did make it, and we were all extremely happy it made it to Lambertville. (Note: a couple of days after arriving home, that truck was sold and a brand new one was on the horizon).
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Too Hot-- Going North !!
We decided to take our summer vacation in July before the garden started bearing fruit. Our destination was Wisconsin Rapids to visit our friends, Denis and Karen . The first stop was St. Ignace where we overnighted at the State park which is just across the Mackinac Bridge. One of us is always glad to get over that "monster"!! We then traveled Rt.# 2 heading for Escanaba. The day was picture perfect, and the two lane highway was like we pictured rving to be, sparse traffic, no trucks, 55 mph, and great scenery! We finally stopped at Oconto, Wisconsin city park. The park is near a river and just a clean neat place to stay! We followed Rt. 54 to Rapids, again two lanes and a nice easy drive. The Wisconsin dairy farms are just as we had imagined they would be. Lots of green, rolling hills with well-kept farms. After a warm welcome from Deni and Karen, we took the motor home to South County Park where the Erdman's had already taken their camper. This was a very nice park on Lake Wazeecha. We had a nice visit and planned breakfast in the AM. It is no secret Roy likes his breakfast, so Denny and Karen had a place picked out that they knew we would like. Much to our surprise, we had someone waiting for us to join them!! What a great surprise to see Wendell and Loretta sitting at the table !! We enjoyed the day doing some sightseeing , then back to the campground for a cookout, and some libations. The day was great sightseeing and visiting with our friends. We had another surprise when we found that Diane and Moe had come down from their vacation up north to spend some time with us! We enjoyed another day with our friends, and another cookout and an evening around the campfire. One of K&D's friends stopped by to visit and brought us a fire poker he makes from old golf clubs, and some rerod. Makes a great fire poker. Well, having loaded up with some great Wisconsin cheese, and having a great visit, it was time to start our trek back. Time sure flew having spent a very enjoyable six days.
We said our goodbyes and headed for Copper Harbor in the UP. We took the northern route and were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the upper portion of Wisconsin. There are lots of lakes and thick green forests. We had made our reservation for two days at Fanny Hooe RV Park in Copper Harbor. Unknown to us, there is no cell phone service, and no TV signal!! They did have VERY weak WIFI. Thank God for Sirius!! We drove along the coast on Rt. 26 taking in the beauty of Lake Michigan. We had lunch at a small local restaurant . When we saw all the "locals", we knew we had made a good decision. The homemade baked goods definitely had our names on them, so we HAD to purchase some.
Our next stop was Munising Tourist park. We met up with our friends, Bobbi & Harry. We were very close to the lake and found Lake Michigan to be very cold . We got our feet wet and that was enough! The water was 56 degrees! We had visited Munising before to see the Pictured Rocks, but the weather had turned and the water churned. This time we found better weather and purchased our tickets a day in advance. The next morning, the fog had set in. We did get a very nice boat ride, but had to turn around because of the thick fog. Just couldn't see anything on the shore. We did get our money refunded, so we're hoping the the third attempt will be successful!!
After several days in the Munising area, we headed south with Harry and Bobbi to Indian Lake State Park. This was another very nice park and we did a bit of "off roading" in Harry's jeep. It was a bit scary for a while, but we did end up on a "sort of" main road. We spend two nights at the State Park and then headed home. Our original plans were to stop around the Gaylord area for one night, but once Roy gets behind the wheel, it's let's just go home. After being gone 15 days, it's always nice to get back to Glenmore Drive safely!
We said our goodbyes and headed for Copper Harbor in the UP. We took the northern route and were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the upper portion of Wisconsin. There are lots of lakes and thick green forests. We had made our reservation for two days at Fanny Hooe RV Park in Copper Harbor. Unknown to us, there is no cell phone service, and no TV signal!! They did have VERY weak WIFI. Thank God for Sirius!! We drove along the coast on Rt. 26 taking in the beauty of Lake Michigan. We had lunch at a small local restaurant . When we saw all the "locals", we knew we had made a good decision. The homemade baked goods definitely had our names on them, so we HAD to purchase some.
Our next stop was Munising Tourist park. We met up with our friends, Bobbi & Harry. We were very close to the lake and found Lake Michigan to be very cold . We got our feet wet and that was enough! The water was 56 degrees! We had visited Munising before to see the Pictured Rocks, but the weather had turned and the water churned. This time we found better weather and purchased our tickets a day in advance. The next morning, the fog had set in. We did get a very nice boat ride, but had to turn around because of the thick fog. Just couldn't see anything on the shore. We did get our money refunded, so we're hoping the the third attempt will be successful!!
After several days in the Munising area, we headed south with Harry and Bobbi to Indian Lake State Park. This was another very nice park and we did a bit of "off roading" in Harry's jeep. It was a bit scary for a while, but we did end up on a "sort of" main road. We spend two nights at the State Park and then headed home. Our original plans were to stop around the Gaylord area for one night, but once Roy gets behind the wheel, it's let's just go home. After being gone 15 days, it's always nice to get back to Glenmore Drive safely!
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