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.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
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.
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.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
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".
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)