Saturday, October 29, 2011

Mississippi

We made it to and through Mississippi.   We decided to stop for a night at Percy Quinn State Park and ended up spending a week there.   This is a must stop for anyone traveling I-55 through MS.  The park was upgraded to be a hurricane escape site and all sites have sewer, water, and 50 amp power.  The sites are large and the views are beautiful.  There is also a championship golf course.  The course was well maintained and the price for 18 was right!  We could have stayed here easily for a month, but we forced ourselves to leave to find some Cajun cooking in Louisiana. 

Our campsite at Percy Quinn

A "cabin" you can rent at the park.

View from the club house deck down the fairway.

It was NOT very crowded on the weekdays.

and a little wildlife

Friday, October 21, 2011

October in TN

 We love Tennessee!

I've discovered that if we move along too quickly, I have a hard time remembering where we've been and what order.  That's what's nice about digital pictures.  They not only give you the date and the time, but often, through Google, they give you the location of where the pic was taken.  Whew....


Our campsite at the TVA campground

Tennessee River, dam and locks
We made it to Shiloh, TN.  Dale was anxious to see the Civil War Battlefield and National Cemetery.  We stayed at a beautiful site along the Tennessee River.  But... as there is always a "but" , there was a paper mill on the other side and the smell was awful.  The view was beautiful and we had a nice site along the river with good 50 amp power and nice water.  Water and power...it's those simple things in life! 




Shiloh 


Shiloh is the place for Civil War buffs.  If you want to know where each division sat, slept, where they walked at each hour of the day, where they shot and when they were shot at, then this is the place for you.  It is a large place with monuments, plaques, statues, etc., everywhere explaining each detail of the battle.
The monuments are striking.  There are so many that you lose the beauty of each one.  The bronze relief shown below was on a monument.  I was so impressed with the detail.  We learned a little more about the Civil War.   We wanted to go to Vicksburg, but alas, our heater core started leaking so we decided to head more directly to a large Texas repair place to get it fixed.


Even the pups were allowed to walk around in the fields.
This bronze relief was just a small part of a huge monument.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

From Ohio to Kentucky




After all this time on the road....we have finally made it to KY.   Now that's traveling slowly!  I think the pioneers moved faster than we are.  There is so much to see that we could have stayed in any of the cities for a much longer time.  

I spent my last full day in Ohio visiting with my Aunt Dot and my Aunt Jean.  It was good to see them and my Uncle Bill. 
We waved goodbye and headed for KY. 
My Aunt Dot  in her cozy room at Bethany Lutheran Village.  

Our first stop was Lexington, where we visited Mary Todd Lincoln's Home.  Beautiful place filled with antiques.  My only complaint was that we had 14 people in our group and could barely fit into the rooms to hear the guide's narrative.

 We packed up the rv again and moved to an rv park called Chimney Rock.  It was not my favorite rv park by any means, but it was close to Shaker Village.  Anyone traveling through this area of KY should stop and see this large village built by the Shakers.  They were a religious sect in KY who were highly organized and motivated.   Each person had a job, and all were treated equally.  In a time of history when people were barely producing enough to eat, the Shakers had their own infirmary, laundries (3!) , three large apartment type buildings with dining halls and a large farm complex.   We were amazed at the size of the buildings and by their exquisite architecture.
The main highway ran through the middle of the village.

A typical Shaker room.  Men lived on one side of the hallway and  the women lived on the other side.  They even had separate front doors, but no wall between the halves of the building.

Three and four stories of rooms, meeting rooms and dining areas.  Notice the two separate staircases?  One for men and one for women.

Baby goats on the farm

Can't miss mealtime sleeping here.

One of three very large buildings that housed the residents.

This building had 25,000 square feet of living space and each  part was kept neat and clean.
 The next day we visited the Toyota factory in Georgetown.  No pics allowed inside, but it was huge.  Everyone seemed to be pretty happy working here, but I found it rather dark and gloomy inside.  No windows.
We hit the road then and went on to Elizabethtown for a three night stay over.

A replica of Lincoln's log cabin home.

Quite an impressive place.

Lincoln's boyhood home.
We visited Lincoln's birthplace and saw a replica for the cabin he was born in.  Not much compared to Mary Todd's place.

 I was anxious to get to the huge and I mean HUGE fall festival in Glenwood.  A million and one crafts for sale.  Ribbon potatoes??? I have no idea what they are, but they must be good because people stood in long lines for them.  It was a beautiful fall day.  Shorts weather, leaves falling and many campfires in the park each evening.  The dogs loved the place.  Oh, we also had to visit the vet here because Miss Tooie was not feeling well.  All her tests came back fine so I guess she had traveler's upset stomach.  Tomorrow we head into TN, through Nashville and on our way to Shiloh Battlefield.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Still in lovely Ohio

Blowing out the candles.
We're still here in Ohio, but our visit is quickly coming to an end.   We've had a great time celebrating double birthdays.  Dale's is October 6 and my Aunt Jean's is October 8.  There was no dieting going on down here.

We stayed three nights in a nice Rv park not far from Yellow Springs, OH.  Yellow Springs is a cute little town with coffee shops,  little stores and the history of Antioch College is everywhere.  I didn't know that Antioch closed in 2008, but is now open again with one class of 34 students.  Now that's a small, friendly college!    We are planning to hit the road tomorrow in the early afternoon and will head to Lexington, KY.
Cute town with unique stores.
Great used book store.



coffee shops and bakeries

and an old train station

Monday, October 3, 2011

Airstream Factory Tour

Sandy Bullock and many other stars have Airstreams.

Dale and I stopped in Jackson Center, OH to take a tour of the Airstream factory.  It was nice to see a US company doing well, increasing sales and hiring people in the US.  I was surprised to find out that the trailers are so light weight that they are actually  moved down the line by hand!  It brought back fond memories of the 32 ft Classic Limited that Mom and David lived in for many years.  Even when they bought a home in Texas, they still lived in the trailer at least 6 months a year. 


 It was well worth the stop.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Visiting Relatives

Bill's Grill
We wanted to make sure we were able to visit with some relatives while we were in OH so we made a stop by my Aunt Jean and Uncle Bill's house in New Lebanon, OH.


Jean's Kitchen








 We also stayed two nights at my cousin's farm in Sunbury, OH.  We're trying to stay in touch with family even though we are on the road!  Actually, being on the road makes it easier.  You can park at their house!






Always make friends with the big dogs
Nice Campground!
Spoiled Rotten Babies!

Monroe, MI Sept. 2011

Hello Friends,


We left the family cottage on Lake Huron in Sept. to visit our friends, Pat and Al in Monroe, MI.  We were really looking forward to this visit.  While it was cool at night, the weather was good and we were able to do some visiting at the Lord Willing RV Park.   Pat and I were able to take a day for shopping and a day for the To

The Gypsy Journal Rally

Hi Friends,

Nick making a serious statement????
We made it to the Gypsy Journal Rally in Celina, OH and had a heck of a good time.  It rained every day, but it didn't matter because all the activities were held indoors anyway.  It was a real learning experience for us.  Dale was attending a "learning" session early each morning with the coffee and donut guys.  Then we were both off to sessions to learn about computers, software, security, microfiber, electronics, electrical management systems, and so on.  Each seminar was excellent and we learned more than we thought our brains could hold.  For our RV friends, if you haven't attended a Gypsy Journal Rally, what the heck have you been doing??? 
Caught in another downpour.
Finally, a drop of sun.