Summer Travels
2016
click on state for write-ups and pictures
Robertsdale, AL
Oasis Travel Center
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Tunica, MS
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Hurricane Mills, TN​
​Loretta Lynn's Ranch
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Bremen, IN
New York Central Railroad
Museum
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Marshall, IN
Turkeyville​ Turkey Farm & Restaurant
Dearborn, MI
Henry Ford Museum
Ford Rouge Factory
Greenfield Village
Fairlane (Ford's home)
Frankenmuth​, MI
Balloons Over Bavarian Inn​
Dog Bowl
Bronners CHRISTmas Store
Michigan Military & Space Museum
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Clayton, NY
Alexander Bay & Cape Vincent​
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Hogansburg, NY​
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Driving around Vermont & New
Hampshire
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Saint Johnsbury, VT
Beer Drinking contest
Campground 20th Anniversary
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Going to Tampa due to Hurricane Matthew
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Wyoming, ON
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Milton, ON
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Brighton, ON
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Oakville, ON
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Carrying Place, ON
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Kingston, ON
On the Road Again
April 16, 2016
We are starting our summer travels for this year. We drove from home to the campground up the street so we could close the house down and put in anything we forgot. Our drive has us driving north and west into Gulfport, MS before heading north into Indiana.
We said our goodbyes to our friends in Florida and will miss them. Hope everyone has a great summer. Keep in touch.
We traveled into the Florida panhandle and west along I-10. We got fuel in Robertsdale, Alabama and when I went to pay I was amazed at what was inside. This travel center has all the stuff other travel centers do except this one also looks like a museum with antiques, pictures and a horse drawn carriage. There is also a large Pirate ship that's a candy counter, a Subway, and a soda bar with a school bus on the back wall and the waitresses go into the kitchen through the bus double doors. Oh, the derailed train is also a full service diner. It's some place.
We drove into Gulfport, Mississippi and decided to stay a few days to wait out the storm that flooded Texas. So here we sit until tomorrow with nothing to keep us busy, oh except for the eight casinos in the area....We only went to five of them and I won $800. Now that's a nice way to start our travels. We also drove Beach Blvd. right along the coast. This whole area was hit by Katrina and there is still a lot of open land facing the beach. Homes are being built but on stilts and the white sand used to restore the beach is up to the curbs in the roads. They put up fences and planted grass to help keep it on the beach but it's not too successful from what I can see.
The weather for us has been just wonderful with sunny skies and mild temperatures. The rain we expected from Texas came in last night and was so light it didn't even wake us up. Well that's it for now. Check back in a few days to see where we've gone.
Alabama - April 2016
Oasis Travel Center Pictures
Robertsdale, AL - April 19, 2016
We traveled along I-10. The road is in very good condition now and the drive was great. We stayed a few places and got fuel at this travel center. I was amazed when I went in to pay and after setting up in the campground, we went back to walk around. It's like a museum but everything is for sale. Outside is a hippy VW bus driving out of the building and the other side is the entrance to the Derailed Diner. Two full size trains have crashed into the building with debris everywhere. Inside is a full service diner. Inside they have all kinds of stuff including a horse drawn carriage. There is a bar (food only) that has a school bus along the back wall and the bus doors is the entrance to the kitchen. You can also eat at tables and sit in a plush car seat or plane seat or eat on the tailgate of a truck built into the wall.
This place is definitely different and something we haven't seen before.
Mississippi - April 2016
Tunica, Mississippi (no pictures)
April 25, 2016
We are running from two major storms predicted to go through Mississippi the next few days. We did have three days of rain and one with heavy rain and high winds. We did some rocking but everything was fine.
We are now in Tunica, MS for a few days at the Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall. This was one of our favorite places to try our luck at the slots while getting free slot play, buffets and other gifts. I say WAS because today it is more like a ghost town and Harrah's casino, it's hotel and campground is closed down and is now all overgrown with weeds and bushes. The other casinos are really hurting also. They all need maintenance, have the older machines and comps, gifts and free buffets are very restrictive or cost a lot more points. We only had two free buffets, one with points the day we arrived because of double points and the other when I complained when the machine didn't work right. We asked one of the guards why it was so empty and he said there are too many casinos being built everywhere else. We've seen only about two dozen cars in the parking lots. In a way that's good because you can get on any machine you want, BUT, not good because they are hurting and maintenance and payouts are poor; for example, I hit four "jackpots" and walked away with $85. However, the people are very gracious and friendly.
We leave here tomorrow on our way into Tennessee and on to Kentucky.
Tennessee - May, 2016
Loretta Lynn's Ranch All Pictures (Ranch and Home)
Hurricane Mills, Tennessee - May 4, 2016
Loretta Lynn’s Ranch is situated on 3,500 acres in the beautiful Tennessee hills. There is a campground, a motocross track, a concert pavilion, an arena and a western town. At one time the “ranch” consisted of 6,500 acres but through the years partials have been sold. The campground is nestled among trees and two miles up the road from the Western Town and Loretta Lynn’s house. The office/Registration is an old western style building and another old building next to it where you can rent canoes. Across the street is a replica of a Frontier Homestead, two buildings with really old western antiques inside and outside, an old wagon and an outhouse. The General Store is right in back of our site but it wasn’t open yet. There is also a lower campground, a concert pavilion and a swimming pool.
As we drove toward the Western Town, we passed the Dave Coombs Motocross Track and primitive camping area. Loretta Lynn’s Ranch is host to the AMA National Motocross Championships, the MSXC Race, the MTDR Spring Ride, the ATV Quads Nationals, and the SWR Fall Ride. After our two-mile drive, we came into the town. This was the original “town” of Hurricane Mills with a post office and a mill but after Loretta and her husband Mooney bought the town, they built a several other buildings housing a general store, a gift shop, a doll museum filled with dolls given to her by friends, a museum and a replica of the house Loretta grew up in called the Butcher Holler Home. There is a nice specialty shop area with a western town facade of a saloon, a general store, a land office and a bank and a replica of coal mine #5. Up on a hill is the recording studio guarded over by a very large statue of a Cherokee Indian. Loretta Lynn is one-quarter Cherokee and friends had it made for her. We walked around the town looking into as many buildings as we could.
I decided to go on a tour guided by a young girl that took you through the Butcher Holler Home, down into the coal mine and through Loretta Lynn’s House. Our tour began at the Butcher Holler Home. This is a replica of the original five bedroom home in Van Leah (Butcher Holler), Kentucky where Loretta was born and raised. This replica was built in memory of her parents Ted and Clara Webb. Inside, the bedroom walls were covered in newspapers from Sears, Roebuck (helped to keep the room warmer and they used the paper in the outhouse). The rest of the home was very simple and hard to believe a family of ten lived here. Loretta was born Loretta Webb in April of 1932, the second child of eight but the first girl and really was a coal miner’s daughter. After going through the home we walked over to Loretta Lynn’s #5 coal mine replica. She numbered it #5 because that was the mine number her daddy worked in. Inside were examples of equipment used in the coal mines and the currency used to pay the men. We walked down a ramp into a simulated cave made to look like a coal mine with tracks, coal cars, etc. In those days men were paid $1 per ton of coal and were paid $3 per 3-ton coal car. It was dirty and dangerous work. Even Loretta’s future husband Oliver “Mooney” worked the mines.
Once out of the coal mine we walked over to the bus and drove over to Loretta Lynn’s House. Our guide told us that our bus driver drove Loretta’s tour bus for 20 years and was even in the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter. We walked around looking at the house, the barn and the carriages on display. The street entrance to the house has four steps and a long sidewalk to the front door. The steps greet you with the names Loretta Lynn, Mooney Lynn and Hurricane Mills, TN. We drove through the iron gates with the words “Coal Miner’s Daughter” on them.
Loretta Webb was married to Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn when she was 15 years old and they had six children. Loretta and Mooney loved to just drive around the area and found this house when they got lost. The house was an old 14-room pre-Civil War home owned by the Anderson family but left sitting empty for ten years and in bad condition. Loretta just loved it and even though Mooney wanted to demolish it, Loretta didn’t and so began extensive restorations. The only change she made to the original was to add a country kitchen to the back. It is a beautiful home and contains pictures, private possessions and gifts from friends. The movie Coal Miner’s Daughter was also filmed here. Our guide took us through all the rooms downstairs but said we couldn’t go upstairs because the house was haunted and someone may be pushed down the stairs by the ghost. Now that’s something I didn’t know. This house is one of the most haunted houses in America and was featured on the Travel Channel as part of Celebrity Ghost Stories. Loretta, being one-quarter Cherokee, felt she always had the ability to see ghosts, even as a child and told about her experiences and those in the house. Both her son and two daughters saw soldiers or a woman standing by their beds at night and Loretta saw a woman standing on the balcony. Loretta invited a Medium to the house and she determined that there were numerous ghosts around as many men died here in battle and the house was a make-shift hospital. However, the woman ghost more likely was Mrs. Anderson trying to find her baby boy who died at birth. The Medium told Loretta that she could help the woman by telling the ghost that her son had crossed over and she should also. I wonder if she ever did. You can read and see the interview on the internet at: Loretta Lynn's ghost story.
Haunted Celebrity Homes: Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn's House
November 6, 2010
Coal Miner's Daughter-turned country music star, Loretta Lynn, claims to have psychic powers and has come in contact with many ghosts, including that of her father. Her home is located in Hurricane Mills, Nashville, TN. She found it back in the 1960s when she and her husband Oliver Lynn (aka "Doolittle" or "Doo," or “Mooney” for moonshine ) went on a drive in the country to find a larger home for their growing family. According to town lore, it is an old plantation with a dark history -- 19 Confederate soldiers are buried on the property, and the home is haunted by the original owner of the plantation, plus a woman in white (isn't there always a woman in white?) and slaves that worked the plantation and were kept in the "slave pit."
A few years ago, Loretta brought in spiritual medium James Van Praagh to try help her rid her home of spirits and during the filming for the TV show "The Insider," Van Praagh said he could see blood everywhere. He was supposed to spend the night, but decided to leave when spirits told him to "'Get out." He thought, 'I should probably get out...' It feels like I'm in somebody's place and they don't want me to disrupt it."
For all you Loretta fans, here's a song she wrote for her gal pal, the late Patsy Cline, who was her inspiration and reason for her success. The song? "This Haunted House," recorded from a wonderfully scratchy album.
Hear her song: Loretta Lynn's This Haunted House Song
Loretta Lynn still lives here in a smaller house built in back. One son and one daughter work for the estate and live nearby and one of her grandsons’ was mowing the lawn. Loretta has 35 grandchildren and they haven’t counted all the great-grandchildren yet. Loretta’s sisters are also country singers one more notable is Crystal Gale. Loretta didn’t start her career until 1960 when Mooney bought her a guitar and through his encouragement, became a multi-award winning country singer. Loretta continues to sing even after her husband’s death in 1996 and still tours today at age 84. In fact, she just released her latest album, Full Circle, in March of this year.
The tour dropped us off at the Loretta Lynn Museum where we did our own self-guided tour. It contains thousands of pictures, a tour bus, cars and memorabilia from Loretta and friends with notes hand written by Loretta. There is one room dedicated to Conway Twitty, Loretta’s business partner and best friend.
The place is fascinating, the house and scenery just beautiful. If you want to read more check out :
http://www.lorettalynn.com/bio/
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Indiana - May 2016
We are now in Columbus, IN about 45 miles south of Indianapolis. Tons of traffic in the area because today is Derby Day. The 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby and Jack didn't want to go. What? There are only going to be over 200,000 people there, why weren't you want to go. We will watch it on TV and I'll have my wine (no mint juleps here).
The weather has been on and off rain but no major storms, however, they are calling for severe storms tonight but we'll see. From here we will be heading into Bremen, IN. Hope everyone had a great Derby Day and even greater Mother's Day tomorrow.
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Bremen, Indiana Pictures
May 12, 2016
We drove into Bremen to Precision Painting to have our coach door repainted. I guess they had to put some filler in the door when they painted it two years ago and that part started to bubble, so it had to be fixed. It only took them one day and we stayed in the motor home inside the building. We had to leave for the day so we took a tour of the New York Central Railroad in Bremen. It's just a small museum but interesting and they have a large train engine done in toothpicks. Afterwards we drove into Elkhart, took a tour of the Hartland RV factory and visited with friends. From here we will be going into Ypsilanti, Michigan to see the Ford Museum and Village, Greenfield. There are a few picture from the train museum so take a look.
Marshall & Turkeyville Pictures
Marshall, Indiana - May 15, 2016
We stayed in a small town of Marshall, Indiana. It's an old town from the 1870's and has some really unique buildings. Our campground was right in back of this place called Turkeyville. This is a turkey ranch that raised, processed and served turkey. Due to health regulations they no longer process turkey here; that is done down the street. They have a General Store, dinner theater, bakery, deli, fudge and ice cream. What an interesting place.
Michigan - May, 2016
Henry Ford Museum, Ford Rouge Factory All Pictures (Henry Ford Museum, Ford Rouge Factory)
Dearborn, Michigan - May 19, 2016
We drove into Dearborn, MI to The Henry Ford Museum. Once there we found the bus for the factory tour was leaving so we left the museum and boarded the bus.
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The Ford Rouge Factory in Dearborn builds the Ford F150 pick-up truck. After going inside a woman told us to take elevator to the Observation Deck first, walk through the factory next and watch two movies last. On the Observation Deck (rooftop) we could see the factory complex and the “Living Roof” where the entire 10.4 acre roof of the plant was covered by a perennial ground cover. This living garden lowers the temperature inside by 10 degrees, absorbs up to 4 million gallons of rainwater and converts carbon dioxide into oxygen improving the air quality. The tour of the factory is a self-guided walking tour high above the manufacturing floor. You can stop at each station and watch them putting parts on the truck, welding, etc. At a station where two guys are needed like the tailgate assembly, the work station moves with the truck and it's amazing how in sync both guys are. Once they are done, the work station moves back to the start of another truck. It was fascinating seeing how each station works and watching them put a truck together. Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures.
We left the factory just as the bus arrived. Back at the The Henry Ford Museum we watched a movie about Ford, his life and his company and another on the future of Ford. It was a fast moving demonstration of new equipment, procedures and innovative ideas. A full scale truck rose up from the floor and was used to show lasers, body parts, painting and the finished product at the end of the film. We then walked through the museum. This place has a time line of cars over the past 100 years, presidential vehicles, race cars, and recreation vehicles. It also has a collection of giant steam engine locomotives and passenger cars and a model train display. We saw two kids running back and forth following one train and saw that the train had a camera on the front and they saw themselves when it went by. There is also the first 40 years of aviation with planes like the Kitty Hawk and the Spirit of St. Louis. Then we walked into an area with really large steam engines and agriculture equipment. We walked through the round Dymaxion House, built for returning servicemen out of leftover plane parts. There is also furniture, heating stoves, clocks, and doll houses. This is one interesting museum.
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Greenfield Village & Henry Ford Home All Pictures (Greenfield Village, Fairlane, Henry Ford Home)
Dearborn, Michigan - May 19, 2016
The Greenfield Village. Greenfield Village is a 90 acre complex that Henry Ford sought to recreate the world that inspired him to greatness. It’s like stepping back into the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. There are four vehicles you can ride on; an Omnibus Shuttle that’s a horse-drawn wagon, a tour bus, the Weiser Railroad Train and a Model T ride. We took the Model T ride just for the experience; felt neat! To see all the buildings you really have to walk. Only the train and bus stop at a few spots but the horse-drawn wagon and Model T ride does not stop anywhere. As you enter the Village there is a large steam engine train that goes around the village. To the left are working farms where people dressed in period costumes till the soil and demonstrate what life was like on a farm in the early 17th to 19th centuries. The rest of the Village consists of a dozen streets lined with businesses and homes keeping with the authenticity of the periods. We walked through the Ford Motor Company, a village candy store that is also the village clock, the Henry Ford Theater, a School, a General Store, a Tavern, the County Courthouse, Town Hall, Post Office, a Carrousel, a Jewelry Store, a Millinery Shop, a Cycle Shop and an area dedicated to Thomas Edison. Here we walked through two replicas of Edison’s Laboratory and office. There was also the Martha-Mary Chapel Henry Ford had built to pay tribute to his mother and mother-in-law facing a beautiful garden and the Village Green. Near the back of the Village is a covered bridge and what is thought to be the oldest windmill in the United States. There were homes of Thomas Edison, Noah Webster, Robert Frost, and ten or so more. They even had George Washington Carver’s Cabin. Beyond this were a lake and a steamboat, a large field where they play vintage baseball and the Henry Ford Academy. Then we walked through an area called Liberty Craftworks with a Gristmill, Weaving Shop, Pottery Shop, Sawmill, a Printing Office, a Tin Shop, a Glass Shop, Beer Hall, Machine Shop, Silk Mill, a Carding Mill (process where they comb the knots out of wood for weaving) and a store. For a price, you can learn to make or help make candles, a glass flower or weave a basket. At the railroad junction you can even try your hand at turning the 40-ton turntable. Throughout the Village there are costumed people, storytelling, outdoor plays and music. What a great place to forget about all the troubles of today.
Henry Ford Home Henry Ford Home
We left the museum and found our way to Fairlane, the Ford Home. The house is still under restoration but we walked around the grounds and looked at the outside. It is a huge mansion of 56 rooms built in 1915 of Marblehead limestone and concrete. By 1920 the estate was approximately 1,300 acres and included orchards, agricultural fields, seven gardens, greenhouses, servant cottages, a boathouse, a skating house, a maple sugar shack, a pony barn and a hydroelectric powerhouse and a large garage that Jack just loved. Ford and his wife lived here from 1915 until their death in 1947 and 1950. The house is under restoration so we couldn't go inside but what a sight from outside. Most of the orchards and field are now maintained as a bird sanctuary. The grounds are beautiful and a stream runs next to the house but the boathouse is gone.
Frankenmuth, Michigan Pictures
May 25-30, 2016
We’re here in Frankenmuth, Michigan and the temperatures have been 15 to 20 degrees hotter than normal for this time of year. Figures, we leave Florida for the cooler weather of the northern states and they are just as hot. Our campground is 3 miles from downtown Frankenmuth and is completely full. Frankenmuth is having a Dog Bowl and the 10th Annual Balloons Over Bavarian Inn festivals. There are thousands of people and dogs everywhere, including the campground.
Frankenmuth was founded in 1845 by German immigrants from Bavaria and has maintained its Bavarian Heritage with every building in town. Frankenmuth is best known for the Bavarian Inn with their Glockenspiel Tower, Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth and their famous all-you-can-eat chicken dinners and Bronners CHRISTmas Shops. We walked around the River Place Shops, a shopper’s paradise. They have shops for just about everything. We stopped in the Sugar High Bakery and boy did they look good. Sugar High one of the winners on Cupcake Wars. After looking in all the shops, we sat in the shade and watched and listened to the Glockenspiel Tower tell the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, Germany. The tower houses 35-bell Carillon, a round “stage” beneath and an illuminated clock all imported from Germany. Four times a day, the Glockenspiel plays several German and American tunes before 14-1/2 foot tall carved wooden figures appear and move across the stage to disappear again behind copper doors, as the Legend of the Pied Piper of Hameln, Germany is narrated, first in English than in German, to the haunting tunes of the Pied Piper’s flute. The carillon bells were cast in Asten, Holland and shipped to Buer, Germany where they were assembled, tested and then shipped to Frankenmuth in October, 1967 to be reassembled and installed into the bell tower. The tower itself was constructed as authentically as possible to that in Hameln, Germany.
Legend of the Pied Piper - Glockenspiel Watch a video
The Legend of the Pied Piper, as told in the visitor guide, goes like this:
Severn hundred years ago in the beautiful town of Hameln, Germany there occurred a terrible plague of rats. No one in the town knew a cure for the dreadful condition. One day there came into the town a stranger dressed in brightly colored clothes and sang to them a song telling of his great skill for ridding the town of the hideous rats. He asked but a penny for each rat he removed. The town council agreed and the Mayor told the stranger to proceed with the deed. Late that night when the moon was full, the stranger pulled from his pocket a silver flute and began to play a melody both strange and enticing. The piper strolled down the street playing his pipe and lo and behold, from every cellar, larder, dark hole and crevice came rats by the dozen, then fifty, then hundreds. The magical notes of the melodies drew the entranced creatures from each narrow street in a long grey winding procession. On and on the rats followed the piper who charmed them right into the River Weser where they were horribly drowned. The citizens watched with amazement from windows and cracks; the piper had forbade them to be in the streets. The relief of deliverance from the appalling creatures was great. However, such an astonishing feat seemed to be a black art and the citizens were filled with suspicion. They felt the stranger was in league with the devil. When the piper came for his money, the Aldermen and the Mayor had conferred and the Mayor refused to pay the promised fee. The cheated piper refused the small token payment that was offered. Instead, with a great bitterness, he gave a serious warning of evil to come. The people shrugged off the threat with a smile (after all the rats were gone) and without further ado, drove the piper from the town. Then, on a Sunday, the piper came back. All the parents were attending church and the children were happily playing in the streets; the piper appeared and pulled out his flute. The melodies that followed were more strange and unknown than those played in the past. The children stopped at their play and ran forward with laughter and song to follow the piper through the streets. Small children and older ones alike ran forth after him, afraid to miss the fun, unaware they were becoming entranced. They followed through the Bungelosenstrasse, the street where no music has ever again been played, and from there through the east gate they were drawn from the town, on to the Seven Hills land where they vanished through a rock into the mountain. Two children, one lame and one blind, could not keep up the pace and were left behind. They related the sorrowful story to the wretched parents who made a long search to no avail. The children have disappeared from the city, forever, never to be seen again.
Afterwards we walked around downtown looking at the shops. I was a little disappointed because there won’t all the flowers I saw last time. There’s a great General Store, Bakeries, Toy stores, a Wool Stop, a Brewery, the Bavarian Inn and Zehnder’s. You can even take a horse drawn carriage ride around town. One deli we walked into has a drink called bubble tea. It’s flavored tea put into a 16oz glass with rounded fruit on the bottom looking like bubbles. We came back to the Bavarian Inn Restaurant for dinner. The Inn has eight rooms that serve dinner and all the waiters and waitresses are dressed in Bavarian clothes. We asked how many people they can serve and our waiter said “lots”. On the stairs are beautiful murals of the Legend of Hamelin each room is beautifully decorated with murals, mirrors and Tiffany style lamps. They serve really good German food and our Frankenmuth sampler had a piece of chicken (white or dark meat), a schnitzel (breaded loin of pork) and Sauerbraten (roast beef) with corn cake and sauerkraut. Everything was really good, especially the raspberry lemonade.
We also ate dinner Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth. They are famous for the all-you-can-eat chicken dinners but we did that last time and we just can’t eat all that food. So we ordered the smaller portion of two or three pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes and stuffing. The chicken was really good, especially the breading. We still ended up bringing some home. Downstairs is the Z-Chef’s Café. They serve all the same food as upstairs but cheaper and you serve yourself (cafeteria style).
I also found that the Knights of Columbus plays bingo twice a week so I just had to go; it’s been over a month since I’ve played and I’m having bingo withdrawal. All the regular games are played on “hard cards” using chips and only the specials are played on paper. Even with the sparse crowd, I only did my usual of waiting and didn’t win anything.
Michigan’s Military and Space Heroes Museum Pictures
Frankenmuth, Michigan - May 26, 2016
This museum is dedicated to those men and women of Michigan who fought in World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War on land or in water. Glass cases honor each man or woman with pictures, uniforms, books, etc. The admission price was $5 each and after you pay, the guide gives you a tour of the first few cases and explains the rest then lets you explore yourself. Each case is a display of Michigan Medal of Honor recipients from all the wars with actual uniforms, medals, pictures, current pictures and a write up about the person and is said to house the Nation’s largest public display of Medal of Honor recipients. There are more than 600 uniforms and artifacts of Michigan men and women who have served in foreign wars. They also have several cases of Michigan’s 17 Astronauts uniforms and flight suits with pictures and write-ups. There is one case with artifact, uniforms and weapons from Japan and Germany as a remembrance of the reason for war with these countries. There are several displays of model ships made by local artists. The museum is very extensive and very well done.
Dog Bowl Pictures
Frankenmuth, Michigan - May 27, 2016
Frankenmuth has made this an annual event and there were thousands of people and dogs. The River Place Shops were covered with pop-ups selling all kinds of stuff for dogs. The first competition was Dock Dogs where the dog would run off a ramp and jump into a large pool of water and retrieve its toy. Some just barely jumped at all while others jumped high and far and the people near the pool appreciated getting wet. Another station was the Frisbee throw. The dogs would catch the Frisbee in the air. Some did flips and jumped off his owner before he caught it. It was fun to watch. It started to rain but thankfully only a sprinkle which actually felt good because it was almost 90 degrees.
Another station was the Rock-N-Roll K-9’s Performances. Each dog ran through poles in a zig zag pattern and one dog did it through people. Then each ran up and over a wood ramp, over hurtles and through tunnels. Only a few dogs ran the entire course correctly; most wanted to play more than do the course. There were all kinds and sizes of dogs including a pink poodle. After watching a demonstration of a high jump, we found a place to sit in the shade and wait for the Pet Parade. They blocked off one lane of Main Street and owners and their dogs paraded through the street, across the covered bridge and back to the field. A lot of the dogs were dressed in costumes looked really cute. Two medium sized dogs were dressed to look like skunks and they really did and I don't know how the owner did it because the dogs were brown. They even had a King and Queen of the parade.
Take a look at the video of the agility performances.
It was hot but I went back to the Sugar High Bakery and bought four cupcakes then walked up the street to get a bubble tea. I saw this yesterday and wanted to try it. The guy in the Bakery said his favorite was strawberry-mango but I don’t like mango so I got strawberry-pomegranate. They take strawberry tea, mix in the “bubbles” of pomegranate, a little ice and shake it up. The bubbles of pomegranate are like little marbles filled with pomegranate juice that you suck up through a wide straw to burst in your month. It was really good but expensive.
Balloons Over Bavarian Inn Pictures
Frankenmuth, Michigan - May 27, 2016
This was the 10th Annual Balloons over Bavarian Inn. The balloons were being set up in the field in back of the River Place Shops so we found a seat in the bleachers to watch the show. Only seven balloons were on the field at 7 PM but by 7:30 PM there were twenty-five. There was a concern about bad weather about 20 miles from here and it took an hour to send up “pie” or test balloons which lets the pilots know how fast and in what direction the winds are blowing, and to decided to fly or not. The decision was made to leave it up to the pilot’s discretion and by 8:20 PM all twenty-five balloons were in the air. What a sight. Each balloon was "cold" filled about three-quarters of the way and then the heaters came on. Once they were fully inflated they took of one or two at a time. When all the balloons were in the air they brought out three others and inflated them but they didn’t leave the ground. They were part of the “Glow” show a little later. They also inflated one really large balloon called Sugar Bear, sponsor for Post cereal, to cheers of the crowd. Sugar Bear holds 105,000 cubic square feet of hot air where the normal balloons hold from 50,000 to 90,000 cubit square feet and is used for demonstration only. An hour or so later the other balloons returned and several were re-inflated again. By this time it was darker and when the heaters came on an extra bright light was added and lit the entire balloon making it “Glow”. It was wonderful. The “Glow” was done several times so everyone could get pictures or videos or both. They were so beautiful. Afterwards, the fences were torn down so people could walk onto the field and meet the pilots.
Bronners CHRISTmas Shop Pictures
Frankenmuth, Michigan - May 27, 2016
Bronners is the world's largest Christmas Store in the nation. They have over 100,000 Christmas lights and that's outside. This place is the size of five and a half football fields and the parking lot is decorated with lights on all the trees and bushes. The Silent Night Memorial Chapel is Bronner’s replica of the Silent Night Memorial chapel of Oberndorf, near Salzburg, Austria. A walkway is lined with lamp posts and signs with the hymn ”Silent Night” written on them in over 300 languages. They say Silent Night is the most beloved and widely known Christmas hymn in the world. There is a life-size Nativity in front of the Chapel that is just beautiful. Of course, the song Silent Night is playing inside and out on the chapel grounds. Very nice and listening to Silent Night walking around Christmas lights warmed our hearts. Inside all the floors, walls and even ceiling is just loaded with everything Christmas. If you can't find it here it doesn't exist.
Canada - May, 2016
May 31, 2016
We will be leaving the U.S. and go into Canada. We expect to be there for three weeks and as we don't have phone service for Canada, will not be reachable. So this will be the last blog for at least that long. Be back on-line and phone on June 16th.
Ontario Canada Pictures
May 31, 2016
We have WiFi at the campground so I am able to send this update. We left Frankenmuth, Michigan, grabbed our passports, our “cheat sheet” for converting to Metric equivalents and English to French language and headed out across the border. Besides the usual questions they ask going into Canada, he also asked us our car’s license number; never asked that before. He then asked where we were going in Canada and when Jack told him each place he asked what made us pick those places! Jack told him we were driving through Canada and back into New York as a shorter route and just didn’t drive very far between stops, he gave our passports and licenses back and said okay, enjoy your stay. Piece of cake.
Okay now we have to use our cheat sheet to see how fast we are going. In Ontario most everything is in English except the speed limits, fuel and temperatures. Miles are in Kilometers and a kilometer is approximately 0.6 of a mile. So the signs we see that the speed limit is 100 km/h is 65 MPH. A liter is .26 gallons so the sign you see for fuel at $107.9 is approximately $4 U.S. gallon. The temperatures are in Celsius and when you hear the temperature is going to be 24 degrees you start shivering until you realize that’s Celsius and means 75 degrees Fahrenheit. We also had to exchange American money for Canadian. Their denominations are about the same except they have no pennies, their dollar is a coin called a loonie, a C$2 coin called a toonie and their paper money is made of thin sheets of polymer and has see-through spots in it and makes me think of play money.
Our first campground was in Wyoming, Ontario and boy what a difference in the weather. Being near the shores of Lake Huron we have a wonderful breeze and the temperatures have dropped making for some wonderful sleeping weather. In town I saw a sign for Meat Bingo at the Lion’s Club. Seems this has gotten popular even here. Yes I played but didn’t win anything. They use hard cards and chips and play the same games we do, except on any game if you get four corners, you yell “O’Henry” and get a candy bar. I sat with five other women and had a ball trying to get that candy bar. One of the women asked if the U.S. had a high instance of cancer and it wasn’t until we drove into the towns of Petrolia and Oil City did I realize why she would ask such a question. Petrolia is Canada’s Victorian Oil town and the whole area is big on oil production, maybe that’s why cancer is high here. Even walking around we could smell something strange that Jack thought may be methane gas.
We tried driving along Lake Huron but we really couldn’t see much of the lake and one marina we stopped at was closed and marked as private property. We continued to Point Edward and walked along the St. Clair River separating Canada and the U.S. watching the birds and ships going up and down the river. A beautiful statue recognizing the long history of gatherings of First Nations on the site is in the park under the bridge. At 4 PM we walked through the Point Edward Moonlight Farmers’ Market under the Bridge. They have all the usual in most farmers’ markets and call it moonlight because it stays open until sunset, around 8 PM, and most people stay to see the sunset; we didn’t. The Blue Water Bridge spans the St. Clair River between Canada and the U.S. and is the largest capacity bridge crossing on the Canada-U.S. Border. We can see why because when we came over there must have been a two mile back-up of trucks going into the U.S. The bridge is also unique with two spans, one using a truss system built in 1938 and the other an arch support system built in 1997. I got a picture of a guy doing some maintenance work on the bridge, hanging over the side.
We are now in Milton, Ontario Canada. We’ve had a few days of really heavy rain and high winds but we’ve been settled in before they hit and haven't had any problems.
Milton
Ontario Canada All Pictures (Milton, Carrying Place, Brighton, Trenton, Kingston)
June 6, 2016
The drive wasn’t bad at all and it seems that they improved the roads quite a bit. It is well traveled by truckers and seems to be more trucks than cars. Our campground is just off Hwy-401 and is a fair size. The two young girls in the office are very friendly and helpful and even gave us four coupons for $10 free slot play at the Mohawk Casino. Mohawk casino? Where is that? Turns out it was only 12 miles from the campground so guess where we headed after setting up....Yep, the Mohawk Casino & Racetrack. We took our $10 free slot play and played for two hours. I lost my $10 but Jack actually increase his.
We did drive into the town of Milton that isn't really a town but area with clusters of homes and lots of large industries. We checked out a little town called Oakville, Ontario Canada. This town is on the shores of Lake Ontario and has some very nice shops, marina and boardwalk.
Carrying Place
June 11, 2016
Our drive took us through the city of Toronto. The city is huge and the traffic bad. There were stops, back-ups and lots of traffic. Our campground in Carrying Place, Ontario Canada is on Weller’s Bay just south of Lake Ontario and very nice with a nice breeze.
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We decided to take a drive into the town of Carrying Place. On our way there, we had to stop at an intersection and were confronted by three police cars. The officer bent down and got real close to Jack’s face and asked him if he had anything to drink today. The police were checking to make sure no one was driving under the influence. Another first.
We stopped at an antique shop at an intersection and found out that intersection of Hwy 33 & Hwy 64 WAS Carrying Place; a Post Office, General Store, Antique Shop and a trailer selling Fish & Chips & ice cream, that's it. The fish & chips place was called George’s Fish & Chips and turned out to be two buses welded together with a porch on the side and has been there for 35 years. Food was pretty good too.
Brighton - Brighton Speedway
We drove into the town of Brighton. Brighton is a fairly large town with all kinds of shops lining the streets. We noticed several people sitting along Main Street so we asked what was going on. We were told they were waiting for the Prom parade. Every year the seniors from Brighton High School parade through town on their way to their Prom. It has become so popular that the seniors compete for the most unusual way to get to the prom. They drove muscle cars, antique cars, pick-up trucks and even boats and one couple was in a beautiful white horse drawn carriage. There was even a VW camping van, a big foot truck and four were on skate boards; all in gowns and tuxedos. Well that’s another first. There’s always something new to see when you travel.
Back at our campground we kept hearing race cars from the Brighton Speedway just up the road and decided to take a look. The Brighton Speedway is a round dirt track that they spray down with water and run late model, modified, pro and stingers divisions. Once inside, we sat in the bleachers about three levels up. One guy said we might want to go higher because the cars drift around the corners and send mud into the crowd. We moved up and glad we did because those where we were did get hit with mud. They ran six or seven cars in each division and even had six mini vans race. One van was just too top heavy maybe or maybe not because he was flying the Canadian Flag but he turned over and ended up on his roof. All the other race cars ran pretty good races and only two went off the track up over the hills. After all the divisions finished racing, the final race took place for all the final top five. It was fun to watch.
Trenton - National Air Force Museum of Canada
We found a place called the National Air Force Museum of Canada. This is a small museum dedicated to the men and women who served in the Canadian Armed Forces. The cost for entrance is donation only. The museum is basically one floor with planes, helicopters, engines and memorial displays. A second floor walk around also had planes and more memorial displays. In the back we saw guys working on two planes in the restoration room. One guy was like a walking encyclopedia telling us about the Canadian/American conflict against the Germans, the planes being worked on and about the museum. We then walked outside where all the sidewalks are outlined with cement blocks with the names of those honored here around several airplanes. We saw a mother and her three baby groundhogs running around the grounds disappearing back into their hole when approached. The weather here has been cold and 58 degrees F. warming up to the 70’s. It is also windy from time to time.
Kingston - Pictures
Another day we drove into Kingston, Ontario. Kingston was Canada’s Capitol until 1843 but in 1841 plans were made to build a civic building for the new capital. However, the building wasn’t completed and opened until 1844. Today it is the City Hall and houses administrative offices, staff offices, Council Chambers and the Mayor’s office. We walked through on a tour looking into the Major’s office and several staff offices, not very impressive, but the Memorial Hall is huge and lined with stained glass windows depicting scenes of battle from the First World War. We were about to leave when we passed a group of high school kids on tour and the guide said, now we’ll go see the prison. Prison? We followed them down into the basement where there is a display of criminals, some artifacts and three rooms used as a prison. Since 1844 they have had 126 prisoners here. They even had kids in prison. The youngest was an eight-year old boy that just couldn’t keep quiet in school and was reprimanded 47 times before being put here with all the other criminals.
We walked along the streets, ate at an outside café and took a Red Line Tour of the city. Kingston is a beautiful city and has a large area in back of City Hall called the Market Square. They have concerts and a farmer’s market here in the summer. The driver of the trolley talks about the city and information on building he passes. You can get off and on anytime if you want to stop to see something. One thing that was different in Kingston is most roads has one lane as a “Share” lane for bikers, not just on the shoulder, but a full traffic lane. Most people don’t drive in it. Lots of people ride bikes and most respect that.
We did get off at the Pump House Museum and took a tour. Wow, the sizes of the pumps inside are enormous. There are displays and interactive exhibits describing how the pumps work. One room has a large O scale railway crafted by Klaus Jechel. He was completely devoted to his train hobby from a young age and as a mechanical engineer and skilled craftsman constructed model engines from scratch based on photos. He put his skills together and meticulously crafted this layout containing more than 450 meters or 490 feet of track over a 35 year period. The display is amazing with a turntable and tracks, some three levels high. Another stop was at the Bellevue House. This is the restored home of Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. We then drove passed the Women's Penitentiary and the Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada across the street. The Women's Penitentiary was closed in 2009 and is now a museum. The Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada is huge and must be three blocks long. It wasn't until after we left that they opened it up for tours. Shame, I would have liked to see it. We drove through the Queen’s University that is spread out over blocks and blocks of the city. Queen’s University is a prestigious school for the study in medicine, engineering and the arts. We drove past several concrete towers around the harbor. These were defensive fortifications of Kingston and a total of nine were built. We then drove into the Royal Military College looking at a plane, tanks and gun turrets on the grounds. Up the hill is Fort Henry National Historic Site. Fort Henry National Historic Site of Canada is a 19th-century British military fortress situated on Point Henry, the highest point in Kingston. Construction of Fort Henry by the British military began in 1832. The fort was garrisoned by units of the British Army until 1870, and then by Canadian forces. It never saw military action but was used as a prison for combatants captured during the 1837-38 Rebellions and again during the first and Second World Wars. It has now been restored and open to the public.
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Back in the USA
June 17, 2016
We crossed the US/Canadian border on the 17th back into New York. I had to make sure I drank most of my wine and didn’t have any citrus fruit to bring back but otherwise didn’t have any problems; in fact, we were through in five minutes. Our campground is in Clayton, New York so I can get more wine! We are in the Thousand Islands area and the temperatures are back in the 80’s and sunny. We’ll be here for several days.
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New York - June, 2016
Clayton, Alexandria Bay, Cape Vincent, New York All Pictures (Clayton, Alexandria Bay, Cape Vincent)
June 17, 2016
We drove over the Thousand Island waterway and into New York and Customs. We had our compartment sheet, passports and licenses ready and got in line. One Class C motor home went through and before another car could pull up to the window, they closed off the lane. We couldn’t tell what happened but after about ten minutes, all lanes opened again; guess it was a shift change. We now had a lady in our lane. We pulled up, she asked the usual questions like where we were coming from, where we were going, did we have any tobacco or firearms aboard, handed back our passports and licenses and said to have a good day. They didn’t even check out our motor home or its compartments.
Our campground was in Clayton, NY directly across the river from Kingston, ON Canada. One day we went to a car cruise at the Coyote Moon vineyards, met a lot of our neighbors and had a good time almost every night sitting outside talking, drinking wine and eating crackers and cheese. We met a great couple, Ginny and Art from Massachusetts that have a Class C motor home on their first voyage and no car so we offered to take them downtown and had a good time talking with them. Ginny came over later with something called Ice Wine. Boy, talk about sweet. I like sweet wine but this stuff is even too sweet for me. Ginny called me after they left and ended up making reservations in St. Johnsbury, VT while we are there. One day someone said two Canadian destroyers were coming up the river so everyone had to go down by the river for a look. They were smaller than I thought. We drove into Alexandria Bay, NY to walk around town. The town has shops, a pretty marina and all kinds of cafes and restaurants and a nice little town.
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Hogansburg, NY
We left Clayton, NY and drove into Hogansburg, NY where I had a ball playing bingo every day while Jack played the slots at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino, okay, I also played the slots.
1812 Re-enactment
Cape Vincent, NY - Video from 2015
We also drove into Cape Vincent, NY for their War of 1812 Re-enactment. Cape Vincent is a small town with several shops, cafes, ice cream shops and restaurants. We were here last year for the re-enactment so I included those pictures here. This year there aren’t as many people and it was nearly 90 degrees. We walked around looking at the encampment tents, vendors and people but didn't stay to watch the re-enactment.
Vermont - July, 2016
St. Johnsbury, Vermont St. Johnsbury
July 17, 2016
We are now in St. Johnsbury, Vermont and will be here for a month. It is like coming home when we pull in because we now know most of the seasonal campers and the owners.
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We are enjoying the weekend activities and just enjoying the cooler weather. The past weekend the campground celebrated Christmas in July with gift exchange, a visit from Santa Clause and an auction. The auction was so much fun. When you bought an item you were given a ticket and at the end of the auction, all the money was divided into several envelopes and tickets were drawn to win it. All the items for auction were things people had and didn’t want anymore. Some stuff was good, some not so good. I got a cheese board, puzzle books and candy. Gary, the campground owner bid $25 and won two plastic Christmas lawn ornaments and afterwards the woman who brought them said “do you want to know the story behind them?” Of course everyone said YES. She drove by a yard sale that day and picked them up out of a box marked “take for free”....I think the town of St. Johnsbury three miles away, could hear the laughter. Camping here is fun. We have enjoyed the weekend activities at the campground and I have been playing bingo and winning a little more than paying out which makes me pretty happy. The campground celebrated their 50th anniversary and treated all residents to a free dinner. The food was really good, provided by a local restaurant (there was no way Mary was going to cook) and a cake large enough to feed all of us. They even had a beer drinking contest in an usual way; you had to drink the entire glass of beer out of a baby bottle with nipple. No biting or squeezing allowed. What a hoot! It took the winner almost 20 minutes to finished his beer.
The campground has three cats and the second day after we arrived, the all white one named Sweetie Pie came over for her scratching. She comes every day to be scratched and even sits outside the motor home and meows for Jack to come out if he's not sitting outside. It's so funny and Mary, the owner, is amazed.
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Oh, one big change. We decided the time has come to stay in one place for the summer months and to sell our motor home and purchase a fifth-wheel, becoming “seasonal” campers here in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. So, two days after we arrived here, we put the “For Sale” sign in the window and it sold. Not only did we sell the motor home but we sold the car with it. It was very tough for me to do but the time was right and I really like this place and people here. We sold it to a really nice couple from Vermont and spent several days teaching them about the motor home and car. But the best part is they weren't retiring until June, next year, so they were willing to wait until October to take possession. We could continue our summer travels back to Florida. What could be better than that! Now, the work begins. We had to find a storage unit to put those items we have that will be going into a new fifth-wheel we had planned to buy. We were going to purchase one from a place in Vermont so why take everything back to Florida only to bring it all back up to Vermont. It still amazes us just how much stuff we put in this motor home. So, for the next few weeks, we found a storage place just up the road and took the last unit they had. What a break! We spent several days putting stuff in that storage unit before leaving for Florida.
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We will be leaving here next week weaving our way back down to Lancaster, PA. spending about three weeks there before heading back home.
Driving around Vermont & New Hampshire Vermont & New Hampshire
August 17, 2016
We have been here for two months now. Wow, the time just flew by. We did take a ride into Maine driving along the coastline wondering around Kennebunkport and into New Hampshire staying in a nice Bed & Breakfast about a half block from downtown Conway, New Hampshire making it really easy to walk around town.
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White River Junction, Vermont (no pictures)
August 26, 2016
We moved on to White River Junction after 50 days. We can't believe how fast the time has passed and neither did anyone else. They didn't want us to leave which is a really good feeling.
Yesterday morning we had a new neighbor pull in with a fifth-wheel. Don't know if the woman driving the truck was mad or what but she kept braking fast rocking both truck and rig. By the fourth move, we jumped when we heard a loud BANG. She apparently unhooked the fifth-wheel and pulled out before her husband put down the front jacks which meant the gooseneck of the fifth-wheel came crashing down on the truck's body. Everyone heard the mishap and she put sizable dents on the truck side rails. They were able to lift the fifth-wheel just enough to hook up again. Talk about embarrassment.
Pennsylvania - September, 2016
Big Change - We found our new fifth-wheel
September 28, 2016
When we arrived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania we went to the Hershey RV Show and met the General Manager of Hartland Industries (manufacturer of the fifth-wheel we are interested in) and found one only 40 minutes from the campground in Vermont. The dealer at the show gave us a good price but we called the dealer in Vermont and got an even better deal than at the show. The dealer is making some changes we wanted, gave us an additional $1,000 off the price and there’s no delivery charge to the campground. Wow, we did good.
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So this means that we will not be traveling around the countryside anymore. We may take trips around Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and even Canada but not like in the past. If we have anything for the website I will post it so it will still be active, just not as much. The last two months have been a kind of whirlwind for us.
So that’s our story. Hope everyone has enjoyed our travels through the years and wish us well as we enter another phase of our lives.
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Back Home - Florida - October, 2016
Home BUT Running from Hurricane Matthew to Tampa, FL (no pictures)
October 5, 2016
We came home early from our summer travels to have time to clean out our motor home and within two days ended up running from Hurricane Matthew. So we put back a few essentials and drove it to Tampa on the West Coast to wait out the storm. We kept in touch with friends in our community and like the rest of the East Coast of Florida, everyone was evacuated.
Jack and I got back at home on the 10th to find everything in good shape and no damage to our home. From all accounts, our neighborhood has come through with only some damage to a few carports and lots of downed trees. Hope everyone has gotten through the storms okay and are doing well.
We are now cleaning out the motor home and car getting ready for them to go to the new owners and getting back into our Florida lifestyle. We still can't believe how much stuff we managed to pack into that rig.
There probably won't be much to report on our website until we once again travel north into Vermont for the summer. Things will be a little different staying in one place all summer and I don't know just how much I will be putting on the website anymore but will send out notifications if I do. We hope everyone has enjoyed our travels through the years as much as we have enjoyed putting them together and sharing with you.
Home
November 11, 2016
We are now without a motor home. The new owners spent a week here learning the ins and outs and even had a professional instructor teach them both how to drive it. They couldn't be happier and just love it. As for us, well I received a call from the campground in Vermont and told they changed our site to a river site which I had wanted all along. We just couldn't believe our good fate. Everything just worked out perfect. It is sad driving by the compound and not seeing our motor home there but with the way everything worked out, it was time for a change. We have ordered our new 43-foot fifth-wheel to be delivered to the campground in Vermont and have our reservations on AMTRAK for April. We'll travel by train to Virginia and drive up from there. It will be different staying in one place all summer but being along the river will make me very happy. Hope everyone has a great winter and we will keep in touch and probably add to this website sometime during the summer.