Where did the summer of 2011 go??? In June we drug the mobile motel behind the 1994 Ford pickup along Rt 66 to St Louis and followed the Mighty (still flooded and muddy) Mississippi River down to Cairo Illinois where the Ohio River joins it.
In July, Bud and Carol raced ahead of us to visit friends in Wisconsin and we lingered at home for H to go visit one of his growing collection of doctors. We pulled out on Friday and stopped overnight at the Otsego Lake State Park just SW of Gaylord Michigan. We were able to enjoy breakfast and a nice - but not nearly long enough – visit with Glenn and Beth before we pressed on and over the Mackinac Bridge and across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to meet up with B&C. Munising Michigan has wonderful pasties (yummy hot stew baked in tender flaky pie type crust sandwiches), great views of Lake Superior and IF you’re lucky – weather nice enough to enjoy a boat tour out to the colorful Pictured Rocks! Well, 2 outta 3 ain’t bad. But the day that B&C were to take their boat tour was a day full of thick blanketing fog that kept rolling in and out ALL day long! H and I were out exploring in the Jeep but talked to them via walkie-talkies right before the boat turned around and headed back to the dock. The next day we took them to see Miners Castle, one of the rock formations that they would have seen IF the ride had continued. On this trip, H had no off road competition going so he never got stuck and hence, never needed his brother to rescue him. Bud had to ride co-pilot and did seem a bit nervous whenever H sloshed down, around and thru some of those vehicle devouring, massive mud puddles! Especially when the Jeep was at a sideways tilt entering some of those dark brown, seemingly bottomless “ponds”!!
The month of August was a stay near home month so the grass was kept mowed and the garden was tended. Lots of sewing got done and lots of tomatoes canned Even managed a few leisurely bike rides!
September – school was back in session and the wanderlust hit hard! This time we headed south to Kentucky. B&C drove their motorhome and pulled our big boat, just as they have in the past. H pulled the truck out of storage and chose to put miles on it since he was going to use the Jeep again this winter when we head to Florida. There are hills in Kentucky! Some bigger than others! In the Lexington area, whenever pressure was applied to get the truck and trailer up or down a “hill”, the back of the truck began rattling and clanging and clunking. Do we go on or do we turn around? At each place we stayed, the guys lined up a transmission mechanic – just incase his services would be needed. Each time H backed the truck down the lonnnnnnnnnnng STEEP boat ramp, the question was – will it make it back up? And of course, the boat ramps were steeper than some of those other “hills” the truck had to strain to get up. Lake Cumberland was created back in the early 1950’s by damning up the Cumberland River, which caused it to fill up all the valleys and made a meandering snake of a lake, 100 miles long with over 1200 miles of shoreline, that wandered along sheer cliffs and snuck into a multitude of tree lined nooks and crannies. The weather held out and we enjoyed taking B&C on their first visit to the lake. In the two days on the lake we put on at least 80 miles! The Friday evening that we camped at Cumberland Lake State Park we lucked out and arrived in time to THOUROUGHLY enjoy to our VERY fullest, the seafood laden evening buffet! Oh My!! Crab legs, shrimp, catfish, more shrimp & crab legs, scallops, and yes, even those slimy oysters! And as the sun set over the peaceful lake, Carol and I tried to memorize the entire view from our high perch on the deck of the lodge.
From Jamestown and Somerset, we headed north to Frankfort, the capitol of the state. For H and I it was a case of SPB, but it was great to show our dear friends the views and sights of that neat town. We also decided to take them on a distillery tour because we had raved about our tour of Woodford Reserve several years ago. Our mistake was that we took them to a distillery that was closer to the campground where we were staying. H was hoping to get the truck back home before it quit all together yah know! Buffalo Trace Distillery was only a few miles away and is the oldest continually operating distillery from prohibition days. On the outside of the plant was the coolest painting. If you approach it from the right (see the picture) the angle of the picture faces you. As you pass it to the left – the picture angle follows with you! However - - the inside of the plant itself is loud, smelly and has 3 floors of open grated floors. Carol and I were both glad to get that tour over with. The guys weren’t even impressed with the bourbon that was offered as samples. Going out to dinner with Steve and Rachel made up for the bad taste in our noses and mouths! Now, hook onto this for a common thread - H, B and Mel (H’s buddy up in Michigan) all grew up together out in Swanton. H, Mel and Steve all went to Ohio University together! Anyway, it was wonderful to spend time with and introduce B&C to S&R!!
Between Frankfort KY and Madison Ind, the GPS took us north on some very narrow, up and down, winding 2 lane roads that had a lot of yellow paint down the middle. The scenery that was flashing by was full of red barns and colorful fall foliage but the guys did not get to enjoy much of it. H started going faster down hills so the truck would have a better running start up the next hill and would not rattle so much. Bud’s knuckles got pretty white, having to manhandle that milelong motorhome and boat around those curves. Ask Carol about crossing over the Ohio River on that extremely narrow old rickety bridge! She likes bridges about as much as she and I like open grated, 3 story high floors. NOT!! We all needed a break so we stopped for breakfast and a walking tour of that historic river town!
Once out of the “hills”, the truck quit clanking and just growled whenever pressure was applied. Yes, we did make it home! Three days later the truck was clean again and parked out in the front yard. 15 minutes later it was sold - - - bad differential and all.
H’s new love is a 2011 BRIGHT BLUE Ford F150, 4X4, complete with the new EcoBoost Engine. He traded in his beloved 2008 Jeep Liberty so our stable is down to only 2 vehicles. The new truck has a towing capacity of 9800lbs. Guess what he’s shopping for next! And the next trip will probably be to the sand dunes and/or the off road trails up north!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
RT 66
No - we haven’t really been staying home since our return from Florida this past March. Come on – you should know H better than that by now. In Mid May we took a long weekend jaunt up to Holland Michigan, accompanied by H’s brother Ron and wife Nancy. The multitude of beautiful tulips in my own yard rivaled the gorgeous blooms we saw during our stay in Holland, but we HAD to go see the parade – and thankfully it quit raining about an hour before the costumed teens clomped their big wooden shoes, showing their well practiced talents at performing the many Dutch dances. Following the parade the 2 camping units hustled up the road to Silver Lake Sand Dunes. If I had written this back then, I would have said SPB (See Previous Blogs). The new thing on that trip was our “discovery” of SP Hoffmaster State Park, just south of Muskegon Michigan. It’s very easily one of our favorite state parks!
Now, it’s mid June and once again we are “going places we have never been”. Last year we followed the famous Lincoln Highway (RT 30) from mid-Ohio to the New Jersey border when we went to Cape May. Get ready – SPB!! Now we have driven west on route 20 from Toledo to South Bend Indiana. The Kankakee River runs right thru downtown South Bend and used to be the source of waterpower for several factories and mills along its banks. The river has been given a new life by building a fish ladder along the side of the dam and on another section a kayak racecourse, originally done for the Olympic training teams. I would love to show you beautiful pictures of it all, but the batteries in the camera were dead and the replacements were in the charger back at home. The Potato Creek State Park just south of town was our home for the night. On Tuesday morning we finally connected with the Lincoln Highway heading west to Joliet Illinois where it crossed the Historic RT 66. After stopping at the Welcome Center and Museum we walked around the city. From the city of Joliet we followed the old Rt. 66 southwest to St. Louis, stopping at many of the quaint old little towns that were the stopping points when Rt. 66 was the main road from Chicago to Los Angeles. Some of the old towns are still preserved as they were then and many of them have museums that show what the road was like when it was the “ mother road to the west”. Traveling thru Illinois one has to stop in Springfield. There we toured the Lincoln museum and library and the city checking out the state capitol and the old state capitol building and the law office where Lincoln practiced law.
Moving on from the St. Louis area we traveled south following the Mississippi River to where it joins up with the Ohio River. From there we followed the Ohio to central Indiana and headed northeast stopping in Knoxville, In. and Santa Claus, In. then back home to Michigan for awhile to plan for our next trip.
Now, it’s mid June and once again we are “going places we have never been”. Last year we followed the famous Lincoln Highway (RT 30) from mid-Ohio to the New Jersey border when we went to Cape May. Get ready – SPB!! Now we have driven west on route 20 from Toledo to South Bend Indiana. The Kankakee River runs right thru downtown South Bend and used to be the source of waterpower for several factories and mills along its banks. The river has been given a new life by building a fish ladder along the side of the dam and on another section a kayak racecourse, originally done for the Olympic training teams. I would love to show you beautiful pictures of it all, but the batteries in the camera were dead and the replacements were in the charger back at home. The Potato Creek State Park just south of town was our home for the night. On Tuesday morning we finally connected with the Lincoln Highway heading west to Joliet Illinois where it crossed the Historic RT 66. After stopping at the Welcome Center and Museum we walked around the city. From the city of Joliet we followed the old Rt. 66 southwest to St. Louis, stopping at many of the quaint old little towns that were the stopping points when Rt. 66 was the main road from Chicago to Los Angeles. Some of the old towns are still preserved as they were then and many of them have museums that show what the road was like when it was the “ mother road to the west”. Traveling thru Illinois one has to stop in Springfield. There we toured the Lincoln museum and library and the city checking out the state capitol and the old state capitol building and the law office where Lincoln practiced law.
Moving on from the St. Louis area we traveled south following the Mississippi River to where it joins up with the Ohio River. From there we followed the Ohio to central Indiana and headed northeast stopping in Knoxville, In. and Santa Claus, In. then back home to Michigan for awhile to plan for our next trip.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Florida 2010 - 2011 The last Chapter
Yep, Savannah was on his mind and the “no see ums” at Skidaway Island State Park had our tender tanned flesh on theirs! Not to worry- we didn’t stay in the park very long since we only took time to get the trailer set up and then off to see Tybee Island to see if it had changed much since our last visit. We were going to stop on our way there to also see Ft Pulaski again but we were distracted by two monstrous ocean freighters that were passing each other in the waterway that led to the harbor of Savannah. What a sight and what a deep rolling wake they each presented to the rocky shoreline! It was a sunny, warm day in the high 80’s – and it was the start of Spring Break! The island traffic was maddening at times and the parking was ridiculous! The restaurants, streets and beaches were mobbed with scantily clad young women and tattoo adorned young men, some carrying their coolers, laden, no doubt, with the afternoon’s supply of beer.
Friday and Saturday was the St Patrick’s Day celebration in Savannah! Parking was free and we found a spot to park the appropriately colored green Jeep and walked thru the quaint old neighborhood to the bustling waterfront. The residential areas were relatively quiet except for those of us looking for a parking spot for our vehicles. The front of the houses lined the stone sidewalks just as they did all those many years ago. The backyards were enclosed with the head high walls of rustic old red bricks and one in particular caught my attention. It’s gas lamp was burning brightly in the cool shadow of the wall but cascading over the top was a beautiful flowing bush covered with a multitude of soft yellow mum like blooms! The sun was shining from the other side and through it, causing it to glow! Nah, H didn’t see it and would not have been as impressed as I was anyway! On the waterfront the big nautical themed fountain had been turned green during a special ceremony. The shops were all busy trying to sell their remaining supply of Shamrocks, silly green hats and even goofier green tee shirts! Most of the people wandering in and out and up and down the walkways were wearing green! The beer tents and restrants were doing a thriving business and the big tour boats, full of passengers, were on the move up and down the river. I imagine those folks were trying to cool off from the 93-degree temperature that hovered on shore! We grew tired of the crowds and the noise of the blaring sound systems so we drove away from the hustle and bustle and found a nice family restaurant called Hilliard’s for our quiet dinner.
Sunday morning arrived and we were up early, anxious to be on the road. And we were on that road all day long! When it’s time to go north – it’s time to go north. I don’t remember too much about that day except we ended up north of where my son and his family live. I was saddened that we would not be able to see them on this return leg of our journey but it was not to be. It was late in the day when we parked in Cove Lake State Park just off I75 and north of Clinton Tennessee. A good nights rest and we were on our way again on Monday morning.
Now, spring had arrived in Florida and the robins were flocking in Georgia. Things were turning green and trees and shrubs were blooming in South Carolina. Tennessee was still pretty brown – except for the daffodils that were blooming profusely in the median’s of the expressway and at all the rest areas. Kentucky was brown. Ohio was brown. Cincinnati was a nightmare! Four and five lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic, most of it being semis and other large vehicles! Then there were all the potholes! At one spot a rather large box truck, following an even larger semi truck, decided to change lanes - without noticing that we were in the lane he chose to move to! H laid on the horn and locked the brakes and the truck driver swerved violently and then careened back into his own lane, just missing our front bumper. My heart raced and my chest pounded for many moments and several miles after that! Yes, I did offer several silent prayers of Thanks that we were able to avoid the collision with that truck or the looming cement wall in the next lane over. We made it to Michigan safely after that and H easily backed his rig into the driveway where it sat for the next several days.
Our Winter 2010-2011 Journey has come to an end; however, H is planning our next adventure already! I am happy just to get our yard cleaned up from all the ice and snow damage and to get our vegetable garden ready for planting! Snow Drops and Crocus are blooming and the tulips and daffodils are budding! I’ve even decorated the little maple tree out in the flowerbed with colorful Easter eggs!
See you all on the next trip!
Friday and Saturday was the St Patrick’s Day celebration in Savannah! Parking was free and we found a spot to park the appropriately colored green Jeep and walked thru the quaint old neighborhood to the bustling waterfront. The residential areas were relatively quiet except for those of us looking for a parking spot for our vehicles. The front of the houses lined the stone sidewalks just as they did all those many years ago. The backyards were enclosed with the head high walls of rustic old red bricks and one in particular caught my attention. It’s gas lamp was burning brightly in the cool shadow of the wall but cascading over the top was a beautiful flowing bush covered with a multitude of soft yellow mum like blooms! The sun was shining from the other side and through it, causing it to glow! Nah, H didn’t see it and would not have been as impressed as I was anyway! On the waterfront the big nautical themed fountain had been turned green during a special ceremony. The shops were all busy trying to sell their remaining supply of Shamrocks, silly green hats and even goofier green tee shirts! Most of the people wandering in and out and up and down the walkways were wearing green! The beer tents and restrants were doing a thriving business and the big tour boats, full of passengers, were on the move up and down the river. I imagine those folks were trying to cool off from the 93-degree temperature that hovered on shore! We grew tired of the crowds and the noise of the blaring sound systems so we drove away from the hustle and bustle and found a nice family restaurant called Hilliard’s for our quiet dinner.
Sunday morning arrived and we were up early, anxious to be on the road. And we were on that road all day long! When it’s time to go north – it’s time to go north. I don’t remember too much about that day except we ended up north of where my son and his family live. I was saddened that we would not be able to see them on this return leg of our journey but it was not to be. It was late in the day when we parked in Cove Lake State Park just off I75 and north of Clinton Tennessee. A good nights rest and we were on our way again on Monday morning.
Now, spring had arrived in Florida and the robins were flocking in Georgia. Things were turning green and trees and shrubs were blooming in South Carolina. Tennessee was still pretty brown – except for the daffodils that were blooming profusely in the median’s of the expressway and at all the rest areas. Kentucky was brown. Ohio was brown. Cincinnati was a nightmare! Four and five lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic, most of it being semis and other large vehicles! Then there were all the potholes! At one spot a rather large box truck, following an even larger semi truck, decided to change lanes - without noticing that we were in the lane he chose to move to! H laid on the horn and locked the brakes and the truck driver swerved violently and then careened back into his own lane, just missing our front bumper. My heart raced and my chest pounded for many moments and several miles after that! Yes, I did offer several silent prayers of Thanks that we were able to avoid the collision with that truck or the looming cement wall in the next lane over. We made it to Michigan safely after that and H easily backed his rig into the driveway where it sat for the next several days.
Our Winter 2010-2011 Journey has come to an end; however, H is planning our next adventure already! I am happy just to get our yard cleaned up from all the ice and snow damage and to get our vegetable garden ready for planting! Snow Drops and Crocus are blooming and the tulips and daffodils are budding! I’ve even decorated the little maple tree out in the flowerbed with colorful Easter eggs!
See you all on the next trip!
Monday, March 28, 2011
NE Florida
Another new Florida State Park patch for my bright blue jacket! Favre-Dyke State Park has only 23 campsites and is at the end of a very long, very sandy, very winding, very narrow tree lined single lane forest road right off of Rt 1, 17 miles south of St Augustine. Once settled in, it was time to go explore the beaches! From Anastasia State Park, south to the inlet you can still drive your 4x4 vehicle on the wide flat sandy beach. During the day the charge is $7 but after 5pm the drive is free! The really nice lady at the guard desk said to come back after 4:30pm and she would look the other way! 40 minutes of shopping and we were back, waving to her as she left her post, her shift for the day being done. The speed limit on the beach is 10 mph and is one way – south. In the distance we saw a colorful semi circular kite weaving back and forth across the beach. As we approached, we found, anchored to the bottom of the kite lines, a young man whose feet looked buckled to a rather large skateboard with oversized wheels. It was like watching the Olympic snowboarders zinging from one side to the other and flipping up and around, grabbing their boards as they hung in mid air. So was this young man as he wove across the sand and back, leaning into the kite lines to change his direction.
Sunday was Flea Market Day in St Augustine! What a bunch of “stuff”! And we didn’t buy any of it, but it was fun to look. Instead we donated some funds to Wal-Mart and got the oil changed in the Jeep since there was no trailer attached and the change was overdue.
On Monday we had a very long road trip ahead of us – 50 miles from St Augustine to Jacksonville - but H still took his time and enjoyed his morning pot of fresh brewed coffee and the Good Morning America show on TV. Up Rt 1 we went and over to A1A, then north to Jacksonville along the Atlantic coast sometimes lined with dunes and tall sea oats and sometimes the view was completely blocked by ritzy homes with fancy landscaping and steep cement driveways. Ron had told H about a very nice city park that was right on the ocean and we headed there!
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park has a full hook up campground of 293 sites, a nature preserve, 3 levels of off road bike trails, hiking trails, a 33 acre fresh water lake and a mile of Atlantic coast beaches. The wooden boardwalks that led to the beach were lined with the Live Oak trees, whose dark limbs stretched out like knarly witch’s fingers entwined and dripping with silvery Spanish moss, so reminiscent of many Northern Florida/ Southern Georgia back roads.
Our next stopover on our slow trip north was Ft Clinch State Park on Amelia Island in the extreme northeast corner of Florida. The 3 miles from A1A to the campground amazed me at each of our entering and exiting! When the sun was shining, only a portion of the sunny rays managed to make it thru the under-canopy of mossy doilies being held aloft by those knarly fingers! While at Ft Clinch we toured the old fort again but this time without the really neat young corporal tour guide. The fort is in a constant state of being restored but it still was familiar and brought back fond memories of when we were there with R&N! We walked the beach and strolled all the way out on the lengthy fishing pier that extended out into the ocean. I took more pictures and gathered more seashells! And of course we HAD to check out the touristy little town of Fernandina! See our Previous Florida Blogs to see the fort and more details of the area! And double click the photos to enlarge them!
From Amelia Island it was back to the mainland and, sadly, north out of Florida. Savannah is on H’s mind!
Sunday was Flea Market Day in St Augustine! What a bunch of “stuff”! And we didn’t buy any of it, but it was fun to look. Instead we donated some funds to Wal-Mart and got the oil changed in the Jeep since there was no trailer attached and the change was overdue.
On Monday we had a very long road trip ahead of us – 50 miles from St Augustine to Jacksonville - but H still took his time and enjoyed his morning pot of fresh brewed coffee and the Good Morning America show on TV. Up Rt 1 we went and over to A1A, then north to Jacksonville along the Atlantic coast sometimes lined with dunes and tall sea oats and sometimes the view was completely blocked by ritzy homes with fancy landscaping and steep cement driveways. Ron had told H about a very nice city park that was right on the ocean and we headed there!
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park has a full hook up campground of 293 sites, a nature preserve, 3 levels of off road bike trails, hiking trails, a 33 acre fresh water lake and a mile of Atlantic coast beaches. The wooden boardwalks that led to the beach were lined with the Live Oak trees, whose dark limbs stretched out like knarly witch’s fingers entwined and dripping with silvery Spanish moss, so reminiscent of many Northern Florida/ Southern Georgia back roads.
Our next stopover on our slow trip north was Ft Clinch State Park on Amelia Island in the extreme northeast corner of Florida. The 3 miles from A1A to the campground amazed me at each of our entering and exiting! When the sun was shining, only a portion of the sunny rays managed to make it thru the under-canopy of mossy doilies being held aloft by those knarly fingers! While at Ft Clinch we toured the old fort again but this time without the really neat young corporal tour guide. The fort is in a constant state of being restored but it still was familiar and brought back fond memories of when we were there with R&N! We walked the beach and strolled all the way out on the lengthy fishing pier that extended out into the ocean. I took more pictures and gathered more seashells! And of course we HAD to check out the touristy little town of Fernandina! See our Previous Florida Blogs to see the fort and more details of the area! And double click the photos to enlarge them!
From Amelia Island it was back to the mainland and, sadly, north out of Florida. Savannah is on H’s mind!
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