Final Chapter for this trip

You didn't think you'd ever know the end of the story? Here it is finally.

We stayed two nights at Wilmington and left early (7:30!) to drive to Waverly, OH to go to church with our friends Paul and Barb. It's always a blessing to spend time with them. Barb fixed a delicious meal for us and we enjoyed both the food and the fellowship.

We left about 2:00 towards Mike and Diane's (son-in-law & daughter) in Mt. Zion, WV. The GPS said we'd arrive about 5:00. Someone has got to reprogram it for hills and curves! We arrived at 6:15 very thankful it was still daylight. They have a lovely home in a "holler" with a creek running through their property. Deer come into the back yard to eat and this year came close enough to munch on Diane's roses. Mike always says we can stay longer, but we don't want to wear out our welcome. We left Wed. morning and drove to their deli (Church Street Deli) in Spencer. They fixed us a wonderful lunch to go (complete with brownies) and we said our goodbyes before the lunch crowd descended.

I took my turn driving south of Charleston on I-77 for an hour. I negotiated the hills and curves including a 5% downhill grade using the downshifting that Gene has taught me. I was more than willing to turn the wheel back over to Gene at the next rest area. I prefer to learn in small increments as opposed to a long haul.

When we entered Virginia, the terrain changed to rolling hills with cattle and farmland. There was some fall color, but the prettiest was in WV. We continued through Virginia and into N. Carolina arriving at the Forest Lakes Thousand Trails. We had been there last year for one night and I was glad we could spend a little longer this time. The day after our arrival, Gene moved the rig to a site close to the water. He knows I love to sit & relax by water.

I had a wonderful surprise - Sharleen came walking over to the rig. I was so glad to see her as I hadn't had a chance to say goodbye at the rally. We sat and talked for awhile about our families and classes at the rally.

That evening we learned how to play Pegs & Jokers with Linda & Ray. I now have rules for several new games in my head. I'm sure I'll need a refresher course on all of them when I get to play them again.

Friday evening Sharleen, Gene & I met at the Lodge to listen to Mike Thomas play the guitar, keyboard and sing. He plays a wide variety of songs and we enjoyed him immensely.

Saturday we pulled out and started our homeward trek. We went over to Lexington, NC, the barbeque capital, ate barbeque, then took pictures of the pig statues that are all around town.

We continued south, spending the night in S. Carolina, close to Augusta, GA. Sunday morning we were up early and in the "go" mode. We stopped in Lyons, Ohoopee and Kingsland to visit with some of Gene's family and then into FL, arriving home about 9:30 pm.

It's always good to be home again and back in my comfy bed, but I would have liked to stay on the road a bit longer this time. There's always next year and we're already making plans to go the Gypsy Rally in Elkhart, IN.

As we are approaching the holiday season, I pray God's blessings for all of you and your families.

Happy Thanksgiving Merry Christmas Happy New Year

Gypsy Journal Eastern Gathering

Friday morning we drove back over to say good bye to Ruby and Sage, then headed south to Ohio. We arrived at the Mercer County Fairgrounds in Celine that afternoon.

Right across the drive was a group of Escapees (RV club http://www.escapees.com/ ). We met Rick and Terry right off and several others later. Saturday night they invited us to a local restaurant, SunnySide Inn, and then back to the fairgrounds to sit around the campfire. It was cool enough for it and I kept edging closer to the fire to stay comfortable. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening.

Sunday I volunteered to help with registration for the afternoon, so met a lot more folks. Nick & Terry Russell are the editors of the Gypsy Journal (http://www.gypsyjournal.net/) and put on two rallies a year - Western in Arizona, and Eastern in Ohio. They are the nicest, down to earth folks who want to encourage and educate people about the RV lifestyle.

We met with Sharleen & Mark, whom we had met last year at the rally, and Sharleen and I went to several of the same classes. It was great to see her and catch up on our travels.

The rest of the week was spent in attending classes and learning as much as our brains could hold. Although some of the classes were the same as last year, I still learned a lot. Repetition is a good thing. In the class "What Every RV'ing Woman Should Know", I was proud to be able to raise my hand in response to many of the questions, ie "Do you know how to dump the holding tanks?", "Can you drive your rig?". OK, that's an easy one for me - it's only 20' long.

Tuesday was Gene's birthday and I slipped a note to Terry R. so everyone could sing to him at the evening get together. He was very surprised. Wednesday evening we had a pizza party and Gene was busy setting up tables and chairs. After the party, Melissa & Larry, "One More Time" ( two very talented young people), sang a wide variety of songs. They did an impersonation of Sonny & Cher that knocked our socks off and Larry did a great Elvis.
Thursday evening they played dance music and Gene and I even danced a bit.

Friday was "say good bye" day. It's always sad to say good bye to old and new friends, but we know we'll quite possibly meet them again somewhere down the road.

On our way south, we stopped in Brock, OH, north of Greenville, where Annie Oakley and her husband Frank Butler are buried. I would have liked to visit the museum in Greenville, but we were on a bit of a tight schedule.

We stopped in South Charleston, OH for a visit with Gene's son, Robert, and Sue. Robert made an awesome homemade pizza (crust from scratch) and Sue gave me some delicious pickles she had put up from their garden.

We traveled down to the Wilmington Thousand Trails in southern Ohio and settled in for a couple days of rest.

This is another good stopping place. Until next time.

God's blessings and our prayers for all of you.

Pictures

Ruby, Gene and Sage at Grand Haven Lighthouse Grand Haven, Michigan

Top left - Gene at Meriwether Lewis Memorial on Natchez Trace Parkway

This butterfly at Callaway Gardens has a brillant blue color on the inside of it's wings. The large spot is called "Owl's eye". You really feel like it's looking at you.

More tomorrow.

God's blessings to all of you

Continuing Our Short Trip

Tuesday, Sept. 22, dawned a beautiful day - just perfect for my 65th birthday. Our travels have worked out that I've not been home for my birthday for three years. Thanks to cell phones, my daughters can call and wish me "happy birthday" where ever we happen to be.

We left Horseshoe Lakes and drove up Hwy 63 which is also named George Rogers Clark Memorial Highway. George was William's older brother. As we traveled into Northern Indiana, we saw many windmills. In Remington, IN, we learned that it is the windiest corrider with winds reaching 60 mph. The windmills have three 35 foot blades, can reach 130 mph at the tips of the blades and can produce 2100 rpm's. I was impressed.

We spent the night at a Passport America affiliated campground - Cassidy Motel & RV Park in LaPorte, IN (back into Central Standard Time). The owners had picked tomatoes earlier in the afternoon and gave me some. They had the most delicious flavor. I enjoyed every bite of my tomato sandwich.

We left the next morning and crossed into Michigan (back into Eastern Standard Time) and drove to Silver Beach County Park in St. Joseph. It has been our custom to dip our tootsies into each of the Great Lakes we've been near. Last year we wet our feet in Lake Huron (Canada side) & Lake Ontario (US side). I put on my crocs and windbreaker and Gene & I headed for the water of Lake Michigan. Yes, it was cold and I didn't leave my feet in for long, but sacrifices have to be made to keep up the tradition. We enjoyed a leisurely walk along the beach and then out to the pier that juts out into Lake Michigan. Warnings were painted on the pier about waves washing over it. It was a calm day so we felt safe, but didn't linger.

We journeyed on to Allendale to visit with Gene's granddaughters, Ruby and Sage. Over the next couple days we went out to eat, drove to Grand Haven and walked out to the lighthouse and then had a picnic lunch, and visited Post Family Farm where we enjoyed a hayride, pumpkin doughnuts and apple cider. We really enjoyed our visit with them.

Friday morning we were on the road again heading south to Celina, OH for the Gypsy Journal Eastern Gathering.

This is another good stopping point, so I'll bid adieu for now.

God's blessings to all of you.

Short Trip Continued

This will be much easier now. We're home and have internet at the house, so I can continue with our trip memories.

We usually try to avoid downtown traffic in large cities, but The Varsity is in downtown Atlanta, so there was no avoiding it. Gene did an admirable job of negotiating lanes and insuring we left Atlanta with no dents or anyone else's paint on our vehicle. About an hour and a half out of Atlanta, we stopped to stretch our legs and I took over driving for the next hour and a half.
As long as we're on an interstate or 4 lane road where people can pass me, I don't get nervous.
I like to tootle along about 55 - 60 mph and most folks like to go a little faster no matter what they're driving. Gene gets a little uptight watching me drive - he says I have a death grip on the steering wheel. Well, yeah, I don't want to hit a bump and have the wheel jerked out of my hands. So, lots of times he'll go to the back and lay down to rest (and so he doesn't have to watch me).

Shortly after we switched drivers again, we entered Tennessee and it began to rain. I was so thankful Gene was at the wheel as we were in the Cumberland Mountain area with 5% grades.
We arrived at Natchez Trace Thousand Trails (after a few unintended detours) and settled in for a few days. We were able to visit the death and burial place of Meriwether Lewis that is just a few miles down the road. I read "From Sea to Shining Sea" by James Alexander Thom about the Clark family and the Lewis and Clark expedition and have been interested in that aspect of our history ever since. History comes alive when one can walk the grounds where it took place.

We departed on Saturday morning (9/19), driving along the Natchez Trace Parkway for about 40 miles. It's a peaceful and scenic two lane highway. We saw deer near the edge of the woods and several groups of wild turkeys.

We ate lunch at Old South BBQ in Oak Grove, KY - just a little past Ft. Campbell. It's a little place with great barbeque and huge servings. Our leftovers fed us for several meals. We traveled through Kentucky and into Indiana. I lost track of how many times we have been in and out of Eastern and Central time zones on this trip. The only sure way to know the correct time was to check my cell phone.

The countryside in Indiana was farmland. There were fields of corn and soybeans and produce stands full of pumpkins and watermelons. A definite sign of fall even though the temperatures have been in the 70's. Shortly after crossing the Wabash River (and another time zone change) we arrived at Horseshoe Lakes Thousand Trails. We have visited this one several times, but chose a campsite in another section - right next to one of the small lakes. Very serene - I love to sit and watch the water. There was bird seed left from the previous campers, so I watched a chipmunk and several wrens feasting on the bounty.

On Monday, we reacquainted with Al & Dixie whom we had met at Indian Lakes Thousand Trails last year. They taught us the domino game of Mexican Train. It was a brief but enjoyable visit.

This is a good stopping place for now.

God's blessings to all of you.

Short Trip

We are out for the first and only RV trip of the year, so we're cramming a lot into it. I'll post this in stages so as not to wear you out.

We left Ocala Sept. 10 and traveled to Tallahassee to visit my sister and husband. We always enjoy garden and cooking talk and they took us out to dinner for my birthday. Afterwards we sat in their rocking chairs and relaxed. I love the "rocking chair thing".

Our next stop was Daphne, AL to attend a revival service at Church of His Presence. It was truly a refreshing for me.

We met up with good friends Bill and Penny at Callaway Gardens on Monday. I had never been there before and was awed by the butterflies and myriad of flowers and plants. We wandered around for a few hours, then went to their home near Atlanta for a few days. They are wonderful hosts and we enjoyed our time with them very much.

Next we drove into Atlanta to meet Frank, one of Gene's high school classmates, at The Varsity.

It's an intriguing place to eat. He was very interested in our Roadtrek and traveling. We encouraged him to "just do it".

Happy Valentines Day

We've been happily busy since the beginning of the year.

Gene plays tennis three times a week - as long as the temperature is above 50. His spare time is spent working in the "annex". We now have the carpet installed in the tv room and all the equipment moved into it. We've enjoyed several family movie nights watching "Facing the Giants", "Flywheel" and the 3 "Left Behind" movies.

Next he painted the ceiling and walls, redid the wood floor and put baseboards in the game room.The foosball table has been moved from the living room to the game room. I'm delighted to have my living room back to normal.

He is currently working in the former kitchen which will now be my laundry room. He's taken out the cabinets, stove and sink, has put up drywall and painted the ceiling. Thanks to power tools borrowed from Carl and advice and free paint from Brad, he's made great progress.

Last week we traveled to Brooksville for the FMCA rally. We stayed at Hidden Valley Campground in Brooksville (a Passport America participant) for $11.00 per night. We purchased a three day pass which allowed us to attend seminars, visit the vendors and look at the new and used coaches/r v's that were on display. The first one we looked at was a used Prevost (1996?) that looked like it came off the showroom floor. It was top of the line with wine racks, floor track lighting, & mirrors throughout. One gentleman said he'd like the profits from the Windex that would be needed to keep them all clean. Such coaches are lovely to look at, but certainly not my style. We looked at many types of rv's, but didn't find anything we would want to buy. We still love our Roadtrek for maneuverability, good gas mileage, lots of storage space and all around convenience.

We decided to join FMCA while we were there. We had met Jack and Peggy Webb in Minden, NE in 2007. They live in Conyers, GA and own a Roadtrek. They had given us an application back then with an application also for the Roadtrek chapter. We visited with them on our way back home in November 2008 and told them we were still thinking about it. I'm sure they'll be delighted that we finally made up our minds. Since we don't see that many Roadtreks on the road, we think it will be fun to belong to a chapter just for "trekkers".

We are enjoying warm weather at the moment - in the 70's and 80's. This is why I live in Florida! Last week was pretty cold, but since we had electric hookup at the campground, we stayed nice and cozy.

We've decided not to get Internet service at the house. Our library has Wi-Fi service there, so I can take my laptop and stay as long as I want - no more 30 minute time limit. I should be able to stay in touch better now.

Until next time, God's blessings and our prayers to all of you.

Happy New Year

It's 2009 already! We had a blessed Christmas with family. We gathered at Brad and Candy's for brunch and then at Jen and Carl's for evening dinner. It was a lively, loud and happy occasion.

New Year's was relatively calm. Gene and I spent the day painting and cleaning. Slowly, but surely the "annex" is taking on a fresh look. Carpet will be installed in the tv room this week and I hope to move the tv, DVD equipment, etc. into it by the weekend.

In February we hope to attend the FMCA gathering here in Florida. Our feet are starting to itch a little bit, but we can't "fix up" and travel at the same time.

Will try to keep everyone a little better up to date.

Until next time, our prayers and God's blessings to you.