Summer Travels
2013
click on state for write-ups and pictures
​Locust Grove, GA
Noah's Ark Animal Rescue Park
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Chattanooga, TN
Antique Tow Truck Museum
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Gatlinburg, TN
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
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Pigeon Forge, TN
​ Dolly Pardon Parade
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Frankfort, KY
Capitol building
Aviation Museum of Kentucky
Keeneland Race Track
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Indianapolis, IN
​ Fishing Tournament at campground
​ Indianapolis 500 Race
Disk Golf at Peru, IN campground
Elkhart, IN - RV Hall of Fame
Ashtabula, OH
​Smolen-Gulf Covered Bridge
- longest covered bridge in the U.S
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​​Geneva, OH
The Liberty Street Bridge
- shortest covered bridge in the U.S
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Jefferson, OH
​ Historic Jefferson Depot Village
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Clayton, NY
​​ Rock Island Lighthouse
Antique Boat Museum
Amelia Island Concourse d’Elegance Car
Show
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Geneva, NY
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Hogansville, NY
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​Niagara Falls, NY
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Pulaski, NY
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Seneca Falls, NY
It's a Wonderful Life Museum ​
Lyndonville, VT
Caledonia County Fair
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Newport, VT
Lake Memphremagog
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​Quechie, VT
covered bridge before & after flood
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St. Johnsbury, VT
​ Hawaiian Pig Roast
Moose Plop Bingo
Stephen Huneck Gallery & Dog Chapel
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Bellefonte, PA
Halloween at campground
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Columbia/Wrightstown, PA
25th Annual Bridge Bust
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Gap, PA
​ October Festival
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Ronks, PA
Amish Country
It's that time again
April 26 2013
Hi Everyone, It’s that time again! The motor home is packed and we are in our summer mode. Time sure flies by when you’re having fun. Once again we leave behind our life in Orange City for life on the road. So far the weather is great, traffic light and the campground is empty so we have the whole place to ourselves. We are in Cecil, Georgia and will be heading to Michigan (but not too fast) then on into Vermont. So check back again in a few days for more updates. Hope everyone has a great summer.
Georgia - April 2013
Noah's Ark Animal Rescue Park Pictures
Locust Grove, Georgia - April 30, 2013
The park was founded by one woman, Jama Hedgecoth, who had a dream as a child to help "all the animals in the world." We saw this advertised at the campground and decided to take a look. This place provides a permanent home to more than 1,200 rescue animals, domestic, exotic and wildlife and is non-profit and relying solely on donations. There are acres with beautiful grass, trees and lots of animals. You sign-in and walk along pathways which I suggest staying on because there are several animals, mostly peacocks, chickens, and roasters walking around free so you know what that means. The pathways go passed several large cages with birds, wolves, tigers, cougars, monkeys, emus, ostriches, bears and a large meadow with goats, buffalo and horses. The cages are very large and each animal has lots of room to roam. In fact, they close the Habitat to people at 3 PM and bring in the horses from the meadow. I guess this helps keep the grass trimmed and also another reason to stay to the pathways. There are people constantly riding around in carts caring for the animals and we were impressed.
Tennessee - May 2013
Antique Tow Truck Museum Pictures
Chattanooga, Tennessee - May 2, 2013
The museum has 15 tow trucks plus, tow truck toys, tow truck pedal cars, tow truck parts, and tow truck die casts models. On display was a 1913 Locomobile w/485 Holmes Wrecker from Ohio, a 1929 Chevrolet w/Manley Crane from California, a 1961 Auto-Car w/1953 Holmes from New York that is the Granddaddy of them all, and a Holmes W-45 Military Wrecker Diamond-T. There was also one of the O’Hare Towing trucks and a 1929 Packard Limousine Model 640 with a 3 ton Manley Crane. There was also the World’s Fastest Wrecker from Tennessee. This wrecker driven by Eddie Martin exceeding 130 MPH but only ran in one race because the tires began to melt from the speed and heat. They also have a Hall of Fame with pictures of tow truck drivers through the years and outside is a statue as tribute to those who died trying to save others. They say this is the only museum of its kind; we never saw this before.
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee Pictures
May 7, 2013
We traveled from Georgia into Tennessee and didn’t have one sunny day. There has been nothing but rain, rain and more rain. Finally, as we got to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the sun came out. So we spent a few days at Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg and drove through the Great Smokey Mountain National Park into Cherokee, North Carolina. Pigeon Forge is like Branson, Missouri and Disneyworld in one. The main street through Pigeon Forge is lined with so many amusements, restaurants, dinner shows, outlet malls, gift shops and hotels it’s hard to see it all. We walked around a few shops and watched a Homecoming Parade for Dolly Pardon. The parade was right down the north bound side of the main road, US-441. They close down the entire three lane north bound side of the road for three miles and turn the three lanes of the south bound lanes into two southbound and one northbound. The parade lasted an hour and had floats from all the dinner shows in the area, high school bands, baton twirlers, fire trucks, floats from the amusement businesses, antique cars, mini-trucks, army trucks, a torpedo, horses and other floats from businesses in town. Of course the highlight of the parade was Dolly Pardon riding on her newly opened River Rush water park float.
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies Pictures
Gatlinburg, Tennessee - May 10, 2013
About seven miles south of Pigeon Forge is Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Gatlinburg is much like Pigeon Forge with almost as many shops, restaurants and hotels except here you’ll find more leather, iron, silver, crystal and clothing shops. We did go through the Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies said to be one of the best in the nation. The aquarium has two floors of tanks filled with all kinds of unusual and exotic fish. They have poisonous fish, a shark lagoon with12-foot sharks, giant sea turtles and exotic sea creatures. There was an octopus, piranhas, and the largest crabs called Coconut Land Crabs. There is a really long glass enclosed tunnel you walk through right under the shark lagoon making you feel like you are in the water with these big boys. Then we walked up to a large lake with sharks, sea snakes and some other fish with a beautiful moral on the walls. The Discovery Center has horseshoe crabs, stingrays and few other fish you can pet. They also have a small area for kids to learn about the fish. Then we walked through a really dark Dinosaur exhibit with large animated dinosaurs. The museum has a special exhibit this year called the Penguin playhouse that houses 12 to 14 penguins. There is a large glass walled tank where you can watch the penguins play in the water. The aquarium is done really well and is very interesting. One day we drove into the Great Smokey Mountain National Park over to Cherokee, North Carolina. The drive through the park was very nice but you have to watch the road with its curves up and down the mountains. Of course there were lots of trees and this time of year everything was green. In Cherokee we just had to try our hand at the slots in Harrah’s Cherokee Casino, a really nice casino with over 4,000 slot machines, what fun! Jack came out even but I left my contribution.
Kentucky - May 2013
Frankfort, Kentucky
Keeneland Race Course All Pictures (Keeneland Race Course, State Capitol, Aviation Museum)
Frankfort, Kentucky - May 15, 2013
We drove into Kentucky in the rain, in fact, the past several days that’s all we’ve seen, rain, rain, and more rain. What’s in Kentucky you ask? Well, beautiful rolling hills, bourbon, and lots of horse farms. We took a ride around the countryside looking at the beautiful horse farms and stopped at the Keeneland Race Course. The race course is a National Historic Landmark and one of the most genteel, beautiful racetracks in the world. There is a very nice area outside the grandstand with table and chairs and acres of beautiful rolling hills. The large grand stand has five floors and running the length of the track. I was disappointed there won’t any horses running because they only run in April and October and the place seemed deserted; except for those betting on the simulcast machines. We walked through the gift shop looking at the really expensive stuff, got a map of the building and told we could walk around anywhere. I saw some really neat hats in the shop but they had a sign, “No pictures allowed of our hats” so I couldn’t take any but boy were they neat looking. All betting windows, restaurants and most of the floors were closed except for the simulcast area. We walked out to the track and up to the fourth floor to the “overlook”, a glassed in area, where you can see the entire track.
We took a ride into downtown Frankfort. Frankfort is the State Capital. The town is very old and there are lots of old brick buildings and history here that makes you feel like you are walking back in time. We stopped at the Rebecca Ruth Candy Factory. This store, started by two women, almost closed during the depression but Rebecca started experimenting with different flavors of candy. She developed the “Mint Kentucky Colonel” and the “Bourbon Balls” which brought back the business. We tasted the Bourbon Balls that contain 100 proof bourbon cream covered by dark chocolate and topped with a pecan but they really didn’t taste like much to me and Jack didn’t like it at all.
State Capitol - State Capitol
We then drove to the Kentucky Capitol Building passing the Governor’s Mansion and the Floral Clock along the way. The Governor’s Mansion is modeled after Marie Antoinette’s summer home and home to Kentucky Governors since 2002. The Floral Clock, erected in 1961, is made of 20,000 plants and has a 34 foot wide face. We then took a tour of the Capitol building. This building was completed in 1910 and houses executive offices, legislature and Kentucky Supreme Court and considered to be one of the most impressive Capitols in the nation. The rotunda has a 212 feet high dome with a beautiful stain glass skylight and statues of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Dr. Ephraim McDowell, Alben Barkley and Henry Clay, all Kentucky dignitaries and murals high on the walls depicting Kentucky history. On the first floor there are displays cases of the First Ladies miniature doll collection wearing period dresses, a beautiful quilt of the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky wines, and various items telling about outdoor life in Kentucky. The second floor has the Reception Room that reminds us of the great mansions in Newport and the Supreme Court Courtroom is all solid Honduras mahogany paneling and said to be the most expensive room in the Capitol.The third floor houses the House of Representatives Chamber and the Senate Chamber. The building with its marble walls and stairs and 35 granite columns and portraits of past Governors, is very impressive.
Aviation Museum of Kentucky - Aviation Museum
Frankfort, Kentucky - May 20
We left the track and drove up the street to the Aviation Museum of Kentucky. They have several modern and historic aircraft in two rooms. We saw the A-4 Skyhawk from the Blue Angels, a Kiowa helicopter, biplanes, a replica of Kentucky’s first aeroplane, turbofan engines and a few other planes. There was a grammar school class of kids going through the museum but only the adults were listening to the guide.
It started raining again so we headed back to the campground.We got drenched from the car to the motor home and we didn’t go out again. Jack noticed our neighbor was leaking water from underneath their fifth-wheel and went over to tell them. They just bought it brand new in Indiana and drove it here but when they checked underneath they found the entire bottom was sealed and extremely wet. They called the manufacturer and now have to take it back to Indiana to get it fixed.
Indiana - May 2013
Indianapolis, Indiana Pictures
Indianapolis, Indiana - May 22, 2013
We spent a few days south of Indianapolis. The tornado that hit Oklahoma came our way but passed to the north of us. We had some winds which downed a few trees and some damage to the office roof, but the most we got were scattered leaves. It was also Indianapolis 500 weekend but we didn't go to the race. I took a few pictures off the TV of the thousands trying to get in. Security caused the delay and several fights had to be broken up. Lots of people missed the start of the race. We did also because it was blacked out...
Fishing Tournament. Our campground has at least five lakes and hosted a fishing tournament during the weekend. They give cash prizes anywhere from $20 to over $2,000 for weight, type or if you catch specially tagged fish. The largest one caught was 43 pounds. They said there is a 90 pound fish in one of the lakes but no one caught it yet. All are catch and release and was interesting to watch.
Disk Golf. One campground, Circle B RV Park, had an entire wall covered by Frisbees. This campground has an 18-hole championship Frisbee Disc Golf course; well, we never saw one of those before. There are hundreds of different styles; ones like the “Pig” for windy days, the “Hydra” that floats, the “Dart” for practice and many others. They come in all colors and they have hats, bags, place disks and baskets. She said it is played the same as regular golf but instead of putting a ball in a small hole, you throw a disk at the chains hanging in the basket to keep the disk in it. The disks aren’t all that expensive, ranging from $8 to $20. She said people lose them all the time and they have over 200 that were found in the fields. They cut down a tree last year and found 14 of them. She also showed us a book that has all the places that play Disk Golf all over the world; one was right in DeBary, Florida! I couldn’t believe how popular this sport is.
We did get a few days without rain but it didn’t last for long in fact, it is raining now. We also saw a limo in camouflage with the words AmericanGunDog.com on the side. The couple had five children and they all stayed in the limo for the night. It’s apparently a new show on TV about shooting, hunting and fishing with your dog. I guess they have to keep up with the show Duck Dynasty.
We haven’t done much and are now in a nice campground in Angola, IN with a pretty lake and beach. There’s not much around the area but the campground has plenty of things to do and lots of campers. I found a place to play bingo in town and won $100.
Elkart, Indiana
RV/Motorhome Hall of Fame Pictures
Elkart, Indiana - June 8, 2013
This is a small museum and after you pay entrance, the guy walks you over to a large board with pictures of RV’s from 1910 to 2000. After telling you a little about it he tells you about the next three rooms and the second floor that has pictures of individuals who helped shape the RF/MH industry and a library. The first room, Go RVing Hall, has a film on RVing but not about RV units but more about what you see while traveling. There is one RV and one that Senator Mitch Daniels used during his campaign for Governor. He visited each county in Indiana and all kinds of people signed it; there were signatures everywhere. We next walked into the RV Founders Hall exhibiting historical RV’s from pop-up units to a 42-footer and even one that was used by Mia West. It was an interesting place.
Ohio - June 2013
Geneva, Ohio All Pictures (Covered Bridges, Conneaut Harbor, Jefferson Depot Village)
June 15, 2013
We traveled into Geneva Ohio and stayed at a really nice campground with four lakes, a river, lots of seasonal sites with really nice homes, and activities. One night there was a poker run with 85 golf carts participating. The town of Geneva is just a small town but we did find a place called Chops Grill & Tap House that had eighteen different kinds of beer and really good ribs and other food. No, we didn’t drink any beer but surely ate the ribs. We found a market right down the street that made the best pies; there goes my diet again.
Geneva is in the heart of wine country and there are twenty vineyards around here. Yes we did stop at a few but I really didn't like the wine. While there we added to our “I can’t believe this” that campers do. A motor home pulled into a site in front of us and as it wasn’t very level, put down his jacks to raise the front. The wheels were off the ground by at least ten inches. He then lowered the jacks and starting raising the side jacks which made the motor home lean to the driver’s side. He kept raising the jacks until the motor home looked to be at a 45% angle....We both thought it was going to fall over for sure. He lowered them again and finally realized that he had to lower the rear FIRST then raise the jacks.
Smolen-Gulf Covered Bridge & Liberty Street Bridge - Bridges
This area in Ohio also has eighteen covered bridges including the longest and shortest covered bridges in the U.S. The Smolen-Gulf covered bridge is the longest at 613 feet long and is in Ashtabula, OH but when an existing culvert over Cowles Creek needed to be replaced, the town determined that the cost to replace the existing bridge or to build a covered bridge would be the same, the Mayor decided to build a covered bridge so Ohio could now have not only the longest covered bridge but now the shortest covered bridge.
The Liberty Street Bridge is now the shortest bridge in the U.S. at only 18-feet long. It even has a “toll booth” (not being used) but is representative of the days when they charged toll to cross.
Conneaut Harbor - Conneaut Harbor
June 16, 2013
We drove along Lake Erie for a stretch of about 30 miles to Conneaut Harbor, Ohio. The drive along the lake was nice but not too many areas to actually see the lake. At Conneaut Harbor there is a really nice beach, a marina and the Conneaut Harbor Lighthouse or Channel Marker (which one we can’t decide) that sits off the breakwater to the marina. I found out it is a lighthouse but it is really a strange design; it looks like a rocket.
Historic Jefferson Depot Village - Jefferson Depot Village
Jefferson, Ohio - June 16, 2013
For Father’s Day we drove into Jefferson, Ohio for a strawberry festival with car show. It was held at the Historic Jefferson Depot Village. This village is a living history village reminiscent of the early life in the 1800’s in Jefferson. There is a train depot with a ladies waiting room, an old 1918 PRR Tuscan Red Caboose, an 1848 church, a Methodist Episcopal meeting house, a 1849 church barn, a 1838 one-room schoolhouse, a General store, a two-room pharmacy, a 1888 Victorian home and a 1845 post office and blacksmith shop. Sales of most crafters and all the food were by donation only. However, there were only three cars in the show because once again the threat of rain was in the air and the only strawberries were those on top of ice cream for dessert.
Ashtabula, Ohio - Ashtabula
June 18, 2013
The town of Ashtabula, Ohio has hanging baskets of flowers lining both sides of the street that makes it very pretty. The local drug store is Ree’s Drug Store that’s an old fashioned soda fountain with lots of stuff inside. They also have one of only a few “Lift Bridges”. This bridge has a huge block of concrete on one end and lifts the other to allow boats to pass under. I sure hope that concrete block doesn’t break off as it is right over the roadway. The Smolen-Gulf Covered Bridge in Ashtabula is the longest covered bridge in the U.S at 618-feet. This covered bridge has a people walkway on both sides, is thirty-feet wide and built to accommodate large trucks.
New York - July 2013
Hogansville, New York (no pictures - too busy at casino)
July 17, 2013
The biggest thing we have been doing, or should I say, I’ve been doing is play bingo. Yep, that right, I said playing bingo. We stopped for five days at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino which seems like a bad idea but believe it or not we actually won. We both like playing the penny slots and after five days we walked out $348 UP. However, the casino had bingo every night and twice on Saturday. Naturally I played every day and twice on Saturday. You can play paper games and/or machines where the only thing you have to do is call “Bingo”. The first day I didn’t win anything but the second day I won $400 by myself. I was so shaky I could hardly mark my cards. On the third day I won again but this time is was $999. Talk about shaky hands. I’m now set to play bingo for the rest of the year......
As I said they played twice on Saturday, once during the day and again at 10 PM. It was called Cosmic Bingo that was a real hoot. About 20 minutes before the games began the ceiling lit up with all kinds of small spot lights, colored lights and disco balls then they turned on the music, really loud 70’s music. I thought it would be really difficult to see the cards but they had special blue lights in the ceiling that made the cards and daubers glow. It was surprising but we could still hear the bingo numbers being called over the speakers but a little more difficult to hear someone call Bingo. They had lots of helpers walking around with blinking hats to call back the bingos. It was wild and fun playing with everyone really getting into music. They only played seven games at $100 each but after each bingo game they would call names from our admission slips and those people went up front to play a type of “minute to win it” games. The first was to balance four dice on a tongue depressor in their mouth for 60 seconds and each received $100 for their efforts. The second was to cover a hula hoop with toilet paper so no color was showing in 60 seconds and each received $75. The third had a person throwing ping pong balls into a basket on the head of another person for a prize of $50 each. The fourth had six people dancing their best disco moves for a prize of $50 for the best dancer and the last game had two people stacking paper cups hand over hand for 60 seconds for $100 each. I didn’t win any games nor was I called to participate in any of the “minute to win it” games but had a ball. I didn’t get back to the motor home until Midnight.
Niagara Falls, New York Pictures
June 28, 2013
We spent a few days in Niagara Falls but the weather was cool and it drizzled constantly. We walked around the island between the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls and down to Terrapin Point to look at the Horseshoe Falls. There were lots of people there and the falls were thunderous as always. The Maid of the Mist boats were cruising the river getting everyone even wetter from the spray. We had our rain jackets so we walking over to Luna Island. Luna Island is a small island splitting the river creating Lace Falls and the American Falls. I took a few pictures but the view was pretty much obscured by the bushes, fog and heavy rain. By the time we got back to the car our pants were soaked right through to our bones. We felt like we had jumped into the river rather than looked at it. We were sitting watching a movie all dry and warm now, when we saw our neighbor come out, in the pouring rain, with a scrub brush and bucket. He washed his motor home and jeep. He said the campground doesn’t allow using their water to wash the rigs but he figured he wasn’t using any of their water this way. Wish I had gotten a picture. We talked with them the next day and told him he was even more nuts than Jack about washing the rig. They also had a big beautiful black and white fluffy cat called “Miami” so I got my petting in.
Seneca Falls, New York All Pictures (Seneca Falls, It's a Wonderful Life Museum)
July 2, 2013
We stayed in Geneva, New York a small town on the northern shoreline of Seneca Lake, one of the Finger Lakes and the large trout capital of the world, so they say. I saw in a local paper that there was a place that sold wine ice cream; this I just had to try. Gifford’s Hard Ice Cream store is right on the shoreline of Seneca Lake in Geneva and I got a small cup (which was two large scoops) of Red Raspberry Chardonnay. It really did taste like Raspberry wine and very good. Seneca Lake must be 40 miles long and probably the biggest of the six Finger Lakes.
It's a Wonderful Life Museum - It's a Wonderful Life Museum
Seneca Falls, New York - July 2
We also drove through Seneca Falls on the northern end of the second largest of the Finger Lakes, Cayuga Lake. Seneca Falls is a pretty town and center for Women’s Rights. There is a small museum called the IDEA Center for the Voices of Humanity and the Seneca Falls “It’s A Wonderful Life Museum.” This small museum has items and pictures of women who contributed to the world’s humanity celebrating Women’s Rights and items and pictures from the movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. Seneca Falls feels it is the town that Frank Capra modeled Bedford Falls after even though Capra states it was a compilation of several towns. Seneca Falls feels it has a larger portion because of all the similarities. They also say that in Frank Capra’s original play George never jumps off a bridge, instead he is stopped by a mysterious stranger who advises, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” They said that Capra was probably inspired by the story associated with a plaque on a bridge dedicated to a young Antonio Varacalli. In 1917, Antonio Varacalli jumped into the cold water to save a young suicidal woman and managed to get her to safety but was himself swept away by the current and drowned. They say Capra after seeing this, took his original concept of contemplated but averted suicide and crafted it into contemplated suicide turned into an unselfish act of heroism. They also say that Karolyn Grimes, known as ZuZu in the movie, comes back to Seneca Falls every year to celebrate the movie. She is now 72 years old.
Pulaski, New York (no pictures)
July 3, 2013
In Pulaski, New York we stayed in a campground on the shores of Lake Ontario. We met a couple last year who are seasonal campers and spent a week visiting them again. We celebrated the 4th of July here and had a really good time visiting and eating. Mary-Beth is a really good cook but not to be outdone by her husband, Daryl who made the best beef brisket. We also celebrated OUR birthdays, yep, Mary-Beth’s and I have the same birthday. One day Jack got a real shock, literally. We bought a bug zapper that looks like a tennis racket and puts a 1500 watt charge to the metal mesh to kill small bugs. This day Jack grabbed the metal mesh when Mark handed it to him and accidently pushed the button that activated the charge. He got shocked and his hand went numb for a few minutes. I also won $50 at bingo and we won third prize for decorating our site and our friends did too.
Clayton, New York All Pictures (Clayton, Rock Island Lighthouse)
July 10, 2013
Our campsite in Clayton, New York is right on the St. Lawrence River. While here we were finally able to enjoy sunny, dry days. Clayton is a very nice town on the St. Lawrence River. The waterfront has several open grassy areas for picnics, a pavilion for concerts and chairs for just sitting around enjoying the river. While there I took a boat cruise to the Rock Island Lighthouse. This tour was in a glass bottom boat so we could see fish and ship wreckage on the bottom of the St. Lawrence River. There were only 26 people on the tour and Jack wasn’t one of them. He walked around town for three hours while I was on the cruise. We left town and took half an hour to get to Rock Island being told some history of the area and pointing out a few significant homes. At the island we walked around on our own. We had an hour to check out the Keeper’s House and Lighthouse. The Keeper’s House is a pretty red house but you could only walk through four rooms that only had pictures and posters about the island or lighthouse and one room was a small gift shop. The island is very small but there are picnic tables around the grounds and it is very pretty. The Rock Island Lighthouse was first built in 1847 along with four other lighthouses to help navigate the dangerous waters in this narrow section of the Thousand Islands. The lighthouse was operated until 1957 and is a typical all white lighthouse with a black band around its middle. They said this band separated the old brick on top from the new tower. When it was first built it was part of the house with only the top portion extending from the roof. As trees grew the light from the lighthouse became obstructed and there were numerous ship wrecks, so in 1894 the lighthouse was removed from the house and put in the middle of the island on top of a 5-foot cast-iron tower doubling its height. However, visibility was still a concern and in 1903 the lighthouse was moved out into the river improving the lights visibility. After going up the last steps into the light room of the lighthouse, a guide was standing there to answer questions about the lighthouse. Originally the light was simply six oil lamps but has been changed several times and eventually outfitted with electric. Now it is a fixed white light powered by a solar cell and is no longer used for navigation. You can see miles up and down the river with its many islands and the view is spectacular. On the way back to Clayton the boat stopped over sunken beams from docks long gone and the hull of a sailboat caught in a storm. We didn’t see much fish and the bottom was sand and seaweed with an occasional bottle of booze but that’s another story. Okay, I’ll tell you now. During prohibition, run runners hauling booze from Canada into the U.S. would simply drop their cargo into the river when confronted by the law instead of getting caught with it. They say there are thousands of bottles down there.
Clayton, New York
Antique Boat Museum & Concourse d'Elegance Car Show Pictures
Clayton, New York
We also took a tour of the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton. The museum is on the waterfront and was hosting the Amelia Island Concourse d’Elegance Car Show. Oh my, another car show, imagine that... The museum has several buildings filled with gorgeous boats of all kinds. One building was the world of powerboat racing and had boats from 1939 up. There was a really old B202 Little One II wooden boat that saw better days and the Chrysler Queen, National Champion in 1956, 57, 59, 60, 61 and 62. There was also a timeline on the wall showing speed records from 90 MPH in 1940 to 317 MPH in 1978. Another building had canoes of all types and canoes with sails known as Sailing Skiffs used for racing. Another building had river ferries and other really nice pleasure crafts. We saw a canoe that made a 12, 192 mile trip paddled by two men in 1980 from Winnipeg, Manitoba and ended at the mouth of the Amazon River in Belem, Brazil. For that type journey, the canoe looked remarkably good. Another building was a repair shop and a large covered boat garage.
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The museum’s largest acquisition is a houseboat that was owned by George C. Boldt, the owner of Boldt Castle called La Duchesse. The houseboat was used as a hunting lodge for guests and was rented out to wealthy businessmen. The houseboat is basically a barge and never had an engine so it had to be towed to various locations along the river by Boldt’s 1897 tug boat. It was later sold and used by the Thousand Islands Yacht Club until 1943 when she sank in her slip. It was sold again to the McNally family for $100 and after much time and money in repairs and upgrades, enjoyed her for over 50 years as their summer home. The museum acquired it from the family in 2005 and had to build a special dock to secure her at the museum. She is 106 feet long, has steam heat, open fireplaces, ten bedrooms, five baths, servants’ quarters, dining room, salon and dancing deck. When the museum acquired the houseboat, the McNally family also donated all the furnishings and a pewter collection, a dollhouse furniture collection and several collections of china used by the Boldt’s and McNally’s. The fireplaces are still all original, the bedrooms are very small except for the master bedroom with a sitting area and wrap around windows. The halls are all mahogany wood or dark walnut I think, and there is a large piano in the dancing hall on the second floor with a Tiffany stained glass window over top.
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We then walked outside and looked at the cars as Jack said, “Finally”. 75 cars were parked all over the grounds along the waterfront. There were MG’s, Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Lotus, Mini Minors, Jaguars, Bentleys, and some other really nice cars. We met a lot of people and one couple from Wellington Island who had a 1965 Mustang in the show that Jack talked to for a while. The museum has some really nice boats and the cars were great too. AND the weather was wonderfully warm, sunny and DRY.
Vermont - July 2013
St. Johnsbury, Vermont
All Pictures (Pig Roast, Moose Plop Bingo, Pig Roast, Vermont Maple Museum, Dog Chapel
July 26, 2013
We are now in St. Johnsbury, Vermont in the White Mountains for the next three weeks. Weather here has been good with temperatures in the high 80’s but going down into the 60’s at night. We still have had some rain but no severe storms. Last weekend the campground had a “Turkey on a Stick” pot luck dinner. Never had turkey on a stick? Well neither have we. They actually put aluminum foil on a stick and hammer it into the ground. They then put aluminum foil all around the bottom of the stick and charcoal on top of that and lit the charcoal. They then put a whole turkey on the stick and cover the whole thing with a large metal barrel. On top of this they put aluminum foil and charcoal and let it all cook for three hours. The turkey was cooked all the way through and good and juicy. This weekend they are supposed to have water wars with super soakers but it is raining now so it may be postponed or maybe not, hey, you’re only going to get wet anyway. We haven’t done much sightseeing but I have been playing bingo at several locations and as of today am only down about $30. Not bad. We did take a ride up the road to the Farmer’s Daughter. This is a large barn that had all kinds of stuff piled up inside that took hours to see it all but was sold and now sells ice cream, cheese, and fudge but the other “stuff” is all well organized and on shelves and looks like the usual stuff in every other tourist stop. What a disappointment. My neighbor across the road who is a seasonal resident, has taken up the art of rock painting. She painted a small stone with a cat for me and a larger rock in the shape of a heart for our garden.
Hawaiian Pig Roast - Pig Roast
The campground had a Hawaiian Pig Roast one night. Our neighbors, Cathy and Al from Ocala, joined us and we were able to talk with them for a little while. This time Mary called the tables randomly and we were the last table up. Needless to say some dishes were empty but we still had enough to eat and there were plenty of desserts. The pork was really good as was most of the other food. Afterwards they had a singer that sounded like Johnny Cash.
Moose Plop Bingo - Moose Plop Bingo
No, not a moose but a cow. One weekend the campground played Moose Plop Bingo with a cow. To play you buy a “plot” or “square” for $5 and if the moose or actually cow, plops in that square you get half the proceeds. The other half goes to a local animal shelter. Gary and gang set up the “bingo board” on the grass in front of the pavilion and at noon a truck brought in the cow and let her out onto the bingo board. They also wanted people to dress Kentucky Derby style and set up tents with finger food to compete for prizes. They also allowed “cheating”. You buy a bag of food for $5 to entice the cow to move where you wanted her to be. After 2-1/2 hours the cow finally plopped on square 93 spilling over onto 92 and guess who had 92...That’s right, me. I received ¼ of the proceeds because no one bought 93. I got $85 and the shelter got $300 and that was after giving me the $85. I donated some back.
Stephen Huneck Gallery & Dog Chapel - Dog Chapel
One afternoon we took a ride over to the Stephen Huneck Gallery & Dog Chapel up the street on what is called Dog Mountain. Stephen Huneck created Dog Mountain so people could experience his artwork and share his passion for nature. He built the Dog Chapel as a place where people can go to celebrate the spiritual bond they share with their dogs. He has written various children’s books based on his black lab Sally. The Chapel has an entry room where all the walls are completely covered with pictures, notes and letters to pets. The Chapel is just that. It has stained glass windows and benches that are supported by dog sculptures on each end where you can sit to reflect on your pet. We have never seen anything like this before. We thought there may have been a cemetery on the grounds but there is not. They used to have a dog agility course up the hill where you could train your dog or just play with them but most of it has been removed. There are several trails around the mountain. Next to the Chapel is the Gallery that has a number of Stephen Huneck’s artwork and a gift shop of books, paintings, t-shirts and other items.
Newport, Vermont
Lake Memphremagog Pictures
Newport, Vermont - August 18, 2013
One day we drove up to the northern border of Vermont into the town of Newport, Vermont. The town is busy with all kinds of stores, library, museums and a marina on the shores of Lake Memphremagog. After walking around town we took a boat cruise aboard the Northern Star cruise boat. The cruise took a half hour longer than normal because the captain saw a sailboat that had broken away from its mooring and was sailing out into the lake. He decided to be a Good Samaritan and pulled up close to the sailboat so the crew could get the tie line and secure it to the back of the cruise boat. He then called the State Police and they sent a boat out to get it from us after which we were able to continue on our way up the lake. Lake Memphremagog is 168 miles long with the southern point in the U.S. and its northern point in Canada. It is 2 miles wide at the widest part and 395 feet deep and was created by ice glaziers. There is only one river that flows into the lake and that is in Canada controlled by a dam. They said the dam is controlled by a tour boat company who kept complaining the lake level was too low for their boats so the state gave them control of the dam and the lake level. There are 28 islands in the lake and there are several species of fish in the lake and in winter it freezes over with 3-foot thick ice. The captain said the lake becomes a small city with all the fishing shanties. He also said the state has declared the lake a highway in winter with a 50 mph speed limit because it is used by the locals to get to town instead of driving the roads. Fourteen miles up the lake we passed over the border into Canada and the only marker was a split in the trees like a fire line. We went another half mile or so before turning around and heading back into the US. We stopped to pick up a woman from Alaska who was dropped off this morning so she could kayak around the islands. She was interesting.
Caledonia County Fair Pictures
Lyndonville, Vermont - August 23, 2013
This weekend we went to the Caledonia County Fair in Lyndonville, VT. We walked around looking in buildings with rabbits, goats, cows, sheep, chickens, pigs, horses, and 4-H exhibits. We watched the Lumberjack competition between on the two man saw and individuals with chainsaw, including women. We walked through the amusements with the usual carnival rides and a few different ones. We also watched a three-horse pull pulling over 5,000 pound concrete blocks. I even played five games of bingo that Jeff, the guy who calls bingo at the VFW, was also calling here. He recognized me but I still didn’t win. J We ate some good food at the numerous food stands and watched a little of the Redneck Games. People volunteer to play games like throwing tennis balls to their partner who caught them in a toilet plunger; throwing ping pong balls into a basket taped to the others waist and rolling a large log a certain distance and back. Okay that was enough. They give you a schedule of events when you enter and one thing on it that we didn’t know was something called “Endurance”. We asked several people but no one knew. Jack even asked one of the security guys and he didn’t know either. He called over his walkie-talkie to all the managers to ask them and there was dead silence. No one knew what it was! Finally, one person said it “It’s a rock band”. We all said we should have asked some young kids; they would have known. We continued our walk through the rides and back to the car. We were stuffed and ready for a nap.
Woodstock, Vermont Pictures
Woodstock, Vermont - August 27, 2013
We took a ride into Woodstock to check out the condition of the town. The last time we were here most of the town was closed down due to a hurricane. Today all the stores and restaurants are open. This is such a pretty little town and I have posted some pictures of the damaged covered bridge and what it looks like today.
Pennsylvania - September 2013
Gap, Pennsylvania
Oktoberfest 2013 Pictures
Gap, Pennsylvania - September 12, 2013
We drove through New York heading back down to Pennsylvania just enjoying the countryside. Once in Ronks, PA I have been having fun playing bingo and enjoying good Amish food. One weekend we have our friend Karyn come up and she went with me to play "Vera Bradley & Coach Bingo". Prizes were Vera Bradley or Coach pocketbooks or purses. Unfortunately, neither Karyn nor I won any games. I thought we would win at least ONE game. Karyn was amazed at the "sub-culture" of bingo players that exists. She had never played before. She even brought us a pot of her mom's Portuguese pot roast that was really great.
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​We went to an Oktoberfest 2013 in Gap, PA. You buy tickets to purchase any of the food which was all typical German food. We had Schnitzel sandwiches that were very good. We listened to an old guy paying an accordion and singing, or at least that's what he was supposed to be doing but he wasn't very good. They did have lots of places to buy beer. We walked several table with crafts and we were a little disappointed in what they offered as entertainment. There were a few people dressed in German clothing but that too was a disappointment.
We had Jack's high school friends come up one weekend and we had a ball drinking wine and laughing so much. We did some shopping and of course ate loads of good Amish food. We also had friends from our car show days come up and we got pumpkins, ate Amish food and I had a Girls night out at the Greenfield Inn, a very upper-class restaurant with really good food.
Columbia, Pennsylvania
25th Annual Bridge Bust Pictures
Columbia, Pennsylvania - October 5, 2013
Each year the towns of Wrightville and Columbia close down the Memorial Bridge between them over the Susquehanna River and have over 300 vendors lined up along one side of the 1-1/2 mile bridge. Fortunately we parked the car at a high school parking lot and were shuttled to the bridge entrance. They had everthing and lots of food vendors. We walked a mile and Jack had to find some shade. It was 86 degrees and full sun and the only shade was under the vendor tents. He gave up walking and found a little shade provided by the bridge pillers but I went on the rest of the way. Besides the vendors I also saw a clown selling pulled pork and doing triks fo kids. There were also guys playing music. It was fun watching people and looking at all the crafts.
Ronks, Pennsylvania
Halloween around the campground Pictures
October 13, 2013
Gram & Pap's Fort Bellefonte Campground - Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
The campground was pretty nice and the sites are in the woods or on rolling hills with the mountains around us. They really decorate for Halloween and I took some pictures.
Driving Back Home
October 18, 2013
We drove the motor home back up into Bremen, Indiana and left it there to have it repainted. Jack cleans it just too much and the clear coat is coming off and they can't just put more clear coat on, so we have to get it completely repainted. So we are driving back home in our car and will return to pick it up in about a month. At home again we are already back into our "retirement" mode. Our drive home was long but good with no problems. We had to stay in hotels and only had one semi-bad experience. The first motel we stayed at was the America's Best Inn & Suites in Arkansas. The room was already occupied and we almost walked in on someone in the bath. We were a little on edge after that. I didn't want someone walking in on us. The other three hotels were very nice in Tunica and Biloxi, MS. Yes, we stopped to play a few slots on our way back. We didn't win anything but had fun. A few days of getting the house back in working order and we were settled.
Back Home Again
Orange City, Florida - November 24, 2013
Well we drove back up to Bremen, Indiana and picked up our motor home. We stayed in the motor home overnight inside the paint shop to check out everything. After they painted the motor home they put it inside the building partly because it was really cold outside and partly because we requested that they do it. They did a really good job and we were on our way the next day. No stops along the way except for overnighters; we wanted to get home to the warm weather.
Well that does it for our trip this year. Hope everyone enjoyed it with us and join again next year when we head out in our freshly repainted motor home.