Sunday, January 16, 2000
Here we are at the end of the second week of travel and the end of the first week of sightseeing, etc. You probably don’t want to hear about the weather, but I’ll tell you so you don’t worry. The first few days were cool, low 40’s to mid 60’s and the last 3 days have been high 40’s to mid 70’s. It is supposed to rain tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday. We’ll see. They need the rain as it is very dry with high fire danger.
So far we have been to the Getty Museum, Bosa Chica Ecological Preserve, Los Angeles Auto Show and visiting and eating with Doug and Vicky.. All have been great.
The Getty Museum is very nice if you haven’t been. Entrance is free but you need an appointment to park your car. Fee $5. The Preserve is also free and they have about 7,000 birds at this time of the year. It was very nice and we enjoyed a nice long hike. The birds were mostly water birds. The Auto Show was nice. We rode the mass transit electric train to it. It was an interesting ride. It was $2.70 round trip. We rode about an hour each way. It passes through some of Los Angeles worst areas. We saw a lot of cars and pickups at the show. Prices range from $14k to $300k+. I was disappointed in that they are still not (in my opinion) doing much about the mpg. Most of them are 28 mpg or less highway. They did have some hybrid cars that are electric and gas engine that will get 50 or more mpg due out this summer.
The visiting and eating have been just great. We always have a great time with Doug and Vicky. As I write this on Saturday night it is raining. If you think of something you think we should see, please tell us and we will at least consider it. We like to see most anything and have seen a lot of things in our travels. If you would like more detail of something we have seen, please let me know and we will be happy to tell you about it.
If you don’t want to get this approximately weekly letter, let me know. We hope this finds you all well. We are just fine and are enjoying the sun.
Sunday, January 23, 2000
We started the week off by attending services at the Crystal Cathedral. If you have not seen it you should. Dr. Robert Schuller is the minister. We went sightseeing in San Pedro in the afternoon. We went to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. It has fish from Alaska to the Baja. It is beautiful. Lots of room to provide education for the children, there were lots of them there.
Marilynn and I went sightseeing while Dorothy and Roger entertained a couple of friends who were on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (cruise ship). We saw Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. It is nice, but this is the wrong season to see it. Then the El Dorado Nature Center. It is nice, has nice hiking paths and some birds and animals. Then we went to Central Park at Huntington Beach. Lots of birds but only a few species. Very nice and a large park with lots of things for the children.
Roger and I played 9 holes of golf and then all four of us went to Shoreline Village. That is a tourist area with small shops. We all did some general sightseeing in the area where the ground is slipping. The road is rough and paved, but is always being repaired. They are still building homes in the area. The Wayfarers Chapel is on the roadside. They have evidently stabilized the area, as they are trying to raise building funds. The Chapel is stone and glass, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is a memorial to Emanual Swedenborg. 3.5 acres of gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
We also went whale watching. We saw 2 gray whales go about their merry business while the watchers watched. We saw a couple of large schools of porpoises. They are fun to watch.
The weather has been nice in spite of the predictions of rain. The rain has produced .02 inch of rain. They are over 6 inches short.
Sunday, January 30, 2000
Each Monday while we have been here, is laundry day and whatever else needs to be done. Due to small refrigerators we usually hit a grocery store 2 times per week.
Tuesday it rained during the day so we went to Costa Mesa to the Mall. It has up scale stores that you find in NYC. Very interesting. They were having end of season sales so some prices were pretty good. In the afternoon we went to see the movie “Anna and the King”. The movie is based on the “King and I”. Very good movie. The scenery is beautiful. The movie is based on Anna’s writing. She is a broke war widow with a young son who is hired to teach the King of Siam’s many children, English. It takes place in 1862. The King has a harem.
Wednesday Roger and I played 9 holes of golf. The ladies get the day off.
Thursday we all went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It has about 6,600 African animals. Very nice park. The Wgasa Bush railroad is 5 miles long and is a guided tour. Great. We went to one of the bird shows and one of the birds was an Emu that they have been training for 19 years so far they have accomplished nothing. Very entertaining.
Friday Roger and I went to a golf driving range. After that the 2 of us went to see the Russian Submarine “Scorpian”. The ladies were not interested. It was interesting, but neither one of us wanted to go sailing on it.
Saturday Roger and I did some repair work on the truck bed cover. The rest of the day we rested. For dinner we went to Doug and Vicki’s and then to the movie “Snow Falling on Cedars”. Good movie. It is about a young Japanese-American couple and a white American man’s experiences during World War 2. The story line is a murder mystery. It had too many flash-backs to suit us, but over all we liked it.
Here we are at the end of the second week of travel and the end of the first week of sightseeing, etc. You probably don’t want to hear about the weather, but I’ll tell you so you don’t worry. The first few days were cool, low 40’s to mid 60’s and the last 3 days have been high 40’s to mid 70’s. It is supposed to rain tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday. We’ll see. They need the rain as it is very dry with high fire danger.
So far we have been to the Getty Museum, Bosa Chica Ecological Preserve, Los Angeles Auto Show and visiting and eating with Doug and Vicky.. All have been great.
The Getty Museum is very nice if you haven’t been. Entrance is free but you need an appointment to park your car. Fee $5. The Preserve is also free and they have about 7,000 birds at this time of the year. It was very nice and we enjoyed a nice long hike. The birds were mostly water birds. The Auto Show was nice. We rode the mass transit electric train to it. It was an interesting ride. It was $2.70 round trip. We rode about an hour each way. It passes through some of Los Angeles worst areas. We saw a lot of cars and pickups at the show. Prices range from $14k to $300k+. I was disappointed in that they are still not (in my opinion) doing much about the mpg. Most of them are 28 mpg or less highway. They did have some hybrid cars that are electric and gas engine that will get 50 or more mpg due out this summer.
The visiting and eating have been just great. We always have a great time with Doug and Vicky. As I write this on Saturday night it is raining. If you think of something you think we should see, please tell us and we will at least consider it. We like to see most anything and have seen a lot of things in our travels. If you would like more detail of something we have seen, please let me know and we will be happy to tell you about it.
If you don’t want to get this approximately weekly letter, let me know. We hope this finds you all well. We are just fine and are enjoying the sun.
Sunday, January 23, 2000
We started the week off by attending services at the Crystal Cathedral. If you have not seen it you should. Dr. Robert Schuller is the minister. We went sightseeing in San Pedro in the afternoon. We went to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. It has fish from Alaska to the Baja. It is beautiful. Lots of room to provide education for the children, there were lots of them there.
Marilynn and I went sightseeing while Dorothy and Roger entertained a couple of friends who were on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (cruise ship). We saw Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden. It is nice, but this is the wrong season to see it. Then the El Dorado Nature Center. It is nice, has nice hiking paths and some birds and animals. Then we went to Central Park at Huntington Beach. Lots of birds but only a few species. Very nice and a large park with lots of things for the children.
Roger and I played 9 holes of golf and then all four of us went to Shoreline Village. That is a tourist area with small shops. We all did some general sightseeing in the area where the ground is slipping. The road is rough and paved, but is always being repaired. They are still building homes in the area. The Wayfarers Chapel is on the roadside. They have evidently stabilized the area, as they are trying to raise building funds. The Chapel is stone and glass, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is a memorial to Emanual Swedenborg. 3.5 acres of gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
We also went whale watching. We saw 2 gray whales go about their merry business while the watchers watched. We saw a couple of large schools of porpoises. They are fun to watch.
The weather has been nice in spite of the predictions of rain. The rain has produced .02 inch of rain. They are over 6 inches short.
Sunday, January 30, 2000
Each Monday while we have been here, is laundry day and whatever else needs to be done. Due to small refrigerators we usually hit a grocery store 2 times per week.
Tuesday it rained during the day so we went to Costa Mesa to the Mall. It has up scale stores that you find in NYC. Very interesting. They were having end of season sales so some prices were pretty good. In the afternoon we went to see the movie “Anna and the King”. The movie is based on the “King and I”. Very good movie. The scenery is beautiful. The movie is based on Anna’s writing. She is a broke war widow with a young son who is hired to teach the King of Siam’s many children, English. It takes place in 1862. The King has a harem.
Wednesday Roger and I played 9 holes of golf. The ladies get the day off.
Thursday we all went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. It has about 6,600 African animals. Very nice park. The Wgasa Bush railroad is 5 miles long and is a guided tour. Great. We went to one of the bird shows and one of the birds was an Emu that they have been training for 19 years so far they have accomplished nothing. Very entertaining.
Friday Roger and I went to a golf driving range. After that the 2 of us went to see the Russian Submarine “Scorpian”. The ladies were not interested. It was interesting, but neither one of us wanted to go sailing on it.
Saturday Roger and I did some repair work on the truck bed cover. The rest of the day we rested. For dinner we went to Doug and Vicki’s and then to the movie “Snow Falling on Cedars”. Good movie. It is about a young Japanese-American couple and a white American man’s experiences during World War 2. The story line is a murder mystery. It had too many flash-backs to suit us, but over all we liked it.
Sunday, February 6, 2000
Well here we are at the end of our month here.
Monday Roger and I played 9 holes of golf.
Tuesday we took Roger and Dorothy to the Los Angeles Airport and they went back to Sumner and returned here on Friday. After going to the airport, Marilynn and I went to Little Tokyo, which is in downtown LA. We toured part of it and had breakfast there. Then we went to the Japanese American National Museum and World War Memorial. The docents were very good there and there were lots of children there.
We drove Long Beach Blvd. on the way back from LA, not recommended if you are in a hurry. It was interesting to see it start in the industrial area in LA through some of the poor areas into downtown Long Beach, which is very nice. The area where we are parked is next to the Aquarium and the area that has been fixed up by the city. New buildings and everything.
Wednesday I played 9 holes of golf in the morning and in the afternoon we went sightseeing around Palo Verde.
Thursday we went to Upper New Port Bay Ecological Reserve. It is a tidal bay, marsh area that is in town. Lots of birds. There were children there being told about Mother Nature and shown its and our affect on it. Then we went to Crystal Cove State Park. It is on the ocean and mainly used for access to the beach.
Saturday we did some walking in the area of the Park that we are parked in. It was beautiful and close to the water here in the bay.
Sunday we went to the Crystal Cathedral again. They were celebrating their 30th anniversary of TV broadcasting. They had the Zenshuji Zendeko Taiko Drums play. They were very good. They also have The Hour of Power Orchestra of about 45 members and the Cathedral Choir of about 80 members. Both were very good. If you get a chance you should watch The Hour of Power next Sunday as it will be the service that we went to. I think you will enjoy it. In the afternoon we took a 90 minute Harbor Cruise that lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes. We had to wait for 4 trains to cross over the bridge that we needed to have raised for us. We had a great time and the weather was great. Tonight we are seeing Doug and Vicky for the last time on this trip.
Tomorrow we leave here. Roger and Dorothy are headed for Yuma and we are headed for Lompoc, CA to see friends. We will be in Yuma with Roger and Dorothy.
Sunday, February 13, 2000
Monday Marilynn and I moved to Lompoc, CA. Roger and Dorothy moved to Indio, where we met up with them on Wednesday evening. At Lompoc we parked our motor home in some friend’s yard till Wednesday morning. Our friends, Harv and Eunice live in a beautiful home on 450 acres that is being developed into a winery and vineyard. The house and horse barn were built by a man from France. The horse barn when they have all the permits will be the winery. The farm was originally planned to be a horse farm, but by the time they got the buildings done the horse market had crashed. The farm has since been sold to Harv & Eunie’s son-in-law, who is doing the developing. We toured the farm and learned a lot about raising grapes. You need to pour in 4 years of work and money before you start to get a return. Quite an investment. We also toured some of the surrounding country. It is rolling hills and beautiful. We enjoyed our visit very much.
Thursday, Dorothy, Roger and we moved to Yuma, AZ. Roger has a cousin wintering there. We spent time visiting them off and on through Saturday night. Friday we all went to the Yuma Jaycees Rodeo. That was fun. Sunday Roger and Dorothy headed for home. We moved to Surprise, AZ where Marilynn has a cousin wintering.
I guess that is all for now. We hope everyone is well. Till next week.
Saturday, February 19, 2000
On Monday we visited Marilynn’s two cousins. One lives in a park model in Sun City. A park model home is 400 square feet. 400 is not a misprint. One of the cousins is just visiting. We had a good time.
Tuesday I played 18 holes of golf with one of the cousin’s friends and two of his friends. Great fun. In the evening we went to the resort Jam Session. It had two key boards, a piano, drums, guitars, etc. plus a harmonica player who also played the trombone. It was loud but we had a good time. The harmonica player used to play for the harmonicats. He was very good.
Wednesday evening we all went to Barleens Dinner Show. It was western style music. They had a young girl, who we think is about 20, who has been with the show for 7 years who played the fiddle. She was excellent. There were 7 other people in the show. They were all very good. You could understand every word they sang and that is very unusual for me.
Thursday one of the cousins returned to Michigan to the snow I suspect.
Friday we moved to Chandler where we are visiting the Restemeyers and other friends.
Saturday we goofed off. Till next time, good health to all, as we are in good health.
Saturday, February 26, 2000
It has been a quiet week here in Chandler. Sunday we went to the United Methodist Church in Gilbert with the Restemeyers. They have two ministers and an intern. The intern is a young woman. She had the sermon. It was good, but she talks too fast. We enjoyed the service.
Monday I helped Rusty by providing taxi service to get his car to the garage and back for a recall.
Tuesday I played 17 holes of golf. I started at 3 pm and it got too dark to play the 18th hole. Here it goes from light to dark, no getting dark. At 6:30pm it was black out. Had a good time.
Wednesday we did some shopping and rested.
Thursday we visited Joanne and Barry at their home. We had a very good time.
Friday we took a drive south of here to look at the desert. It’s different. We saw the monument where Tom Mix was killed (1880-1940). For anyone who did not know, he crashed his car at the edge of the road and his suitcase beheaded him. Moral: travel light.
Saturday we are taking it easy. During the week it was cold, but today is warmer and tomorrow is supposed to get to 80 degrees. We are fine and having a good time. Write when you have time.
Saturday, March 4, 2000
Sunday we again went to the UMC in Gilbert. In the afternoon Carl and Charlotte came to visit. We had a nice time.
Monday Restemeyers and we went to Stanfield, AZ and visited Annabelle and her sister. They were visiting friends there. We all had a good visit.
Tuesday I played 18 holes of golf with Barry.
Thursday we visited Carl and Charlotte in their home. They have a nice home down here. Park Model.
Friday Bev and Gordy arrived. So like all good Methodists, we have been eating, visiting, eating, you get the picture. They are staying with the Restemeyers while in Chandler.
Saturday we continued Friday’s routine and added to it a visit to Joanne and Barry. They are leaving for home tomorrow.
The weather continues to be good. As I write this it looks like rain. We shall see. It is needed here. Write when you have time.
Saturday, March 11, 2000
Last weekend we thought we were in Seattle. Saturday it started to rain and by morning we had 1.89 inches of rain. It continued to rain till Tuesday morning. There was a total of about 3 inches by then. The lows were in the low 40s and highs in the mid 50s. Sound familiar? Since then it has gradually warmed up. Supposed to be 80 on Sunday the 12th.
Sunday we again went to the UMC of Gilbert with Bev & Gordy and the Restemeyers. In the afternoon we visited some classmates of ours that we were with in grade and high school and church. We had a great time.
Monday we moved in the rain to Happy Trails where Gordy and Bev had made arrangements for a place to park.
Wednesday we went to a Mariners game. The Mariners WON. Mariners 5, Giants 1.
Thursday Bev, Gordy and we went to a Glass Harmonica Concert. It was a new experience for all of us. The Glass Harmonica is a series of tuned bowls mounted on an armature and slowly turned. The music is made by holding a wet finger against the edge of the turning bowls. It was invented by Ben Franklin in 1722. The concert was performed by a young woman with a Masters in percussion. She also played a set of Rice Bowls and Wine Glasses. They are tuned by putting water in them. The rice bowls are played by hitting with bamboo sticks and the wine glasses are played by rubbing with a wet finger. Very interesting and fun concert. If you ever get the chance, go see a performance.
Friday we went to a Padres and Angels game. Padres won 4 to 3.
Saturday the weather is very different from last week. It is in the high 70’s and no breeze. This morning Bev & Gordy and we went to a local Flea Market that is having their grand opening next weekend. A lot of it was vacant but it was interesting. When I think of a flea market I think used goods but the vast percentage of it is new. We had a good time. We are visiting Bev & Gordy this evening. We are leaving here Monday morning headed for SLC provided the roads are not blocked by snow.
Saturday, March 18, 2000
Another week has passed already.
Sunday we went to church at the Happy Trails Resort with Bev & Gordy, nondenominational. The choir, made up of senior citizens, was very good. You could understand every word. The minister was OK. In the afternoon Marilynn and I went to the Phoenix Woodcarvers Show. We were surprised at how small it was. Very nice show.
In the evening we went to a concert put on by a men’s quartet. They were very good. They were all from Happy Trails.
Monday we moved to Boulder City, NV. Nice weather all the way.
Tuesday we moved Beaver, UT where I played 9 holes of golf.
Wednesday we moved to SLC. We drove through snow, rain and sunshine. Thankfully the snow did not stick to the highway.
Thursday I played 18 holes of golf. Nice day.
Friday we enjoyed with Jeannine and daughters Christine and Jennifer. In the evening we were joined by Bradley. Most enjoyable.
Saturday the six of us took their new light rail to downtown SLC. We rode it from one end to the other. Regular fare $1.00, senior citizen 35 cents. Nice ride. We had lunch and toured a mall. We went to Bradley and Jeannine’s for the evening. Great time.
That is it for another week. For those of you who are wondering we plan on being back on March 27th or 28th. See you after that.
Saturday, March 25, 2000
We started the week by worshiping at the All Saints Episcopal Church, where our son-in-law, Bradley is Rector. They have a newly remodeled church that is very nice. They have very good attendance and the church is growing. It is a friendly church and a good service.
In the afternoon it started to snow and by Monday morning there was 2 inches on the ground where we parked. So we stayed another day. In the evening the wind started to blow. During the night the gusts were up to 102 mph and blew 7 empty railroad cars off the track. I-15 was closed from 6pm until the following noon for high profile vehicles (us). The wind was not bad where we were parked. So we decided to stay Tuesday night also. Monday and Tuesday we took the UTA TRAX downtown to the Family History Library. We did accomplish a few things, but not as much as we would have liked.
Monday and Tuesday evening we spent with Jeannine and family.
Wednesday we moved to Mountain Home, Idaho. Nice weather all the way.
Thursday, while moving to Vale, Oregon, we stopped to visit a fellow High School student of mine (John) and his wife at Boise, Idaho. Then we went to Vale and visited with Bev’s Mother. Had a great time.
Friday we moved to Salem, Oregon to visit long time friends. We will be here until Monday morning, when we will move HOME. We WILL NOT be in our home, but by it in our motor home. Please use our cell phone number to contact us, as we have a couple living in our home while we travel. We will be in and out until late April, when we will head east for the rest of our trip.
I should say a few words about the drive from Salt Lake City to Salem, Oregon. The fresh snow on the Wasatch Mountains and the valleys and mountains in Eastern Oregon was very beautiful. I-84 is higher than some of the valleys in Eastern Oregon so you look down on the valleys and up the side of the mountains. The roads were clear and dry. The view of Mount Hood was gorgeous. The Washington side of the Columbia Gorge was greener than we ever remember it being before. Beautiful sight.
Hope to see everyone while we are home, except of course those of you that receive this who are out of state and we will see you later.
Tuesday, June 6, 2000
Here we are on the road again. We had a wonderful 7 days with Jeannine and two of our granddaughters, Christine and Jennifer. We all attended our granddaughter April’s High School graduation. It was nice having Brenda along as we visited Fort Walla Walla Museum and The Marcus Whitman National Monument. We also did a lot of visiting with Brenda and her family. We left Waitsburg with Jeannine and the girls and saw the Oregon Trail Museum and the 1,000 springs area along highway 30 in Idaho. We did some sight seeing as we headed south. After 2 more nights camping out, Jeannine and the girls left us at Burley, ID and headed home.
We continued east on Highway 26 to Idaho Falls, where we saw the Falls. Very different from others that we have seen. When we were in Idaho Falls, they set a new record for heat. It was 92 degrees. We continued on to Jackson Hole, WY along highway 26, through a couple of construction areas. The scenery has been beautiful, through the mountains and in the valleys. We went to Grand Teton National Park. It is beautiful. Besides the scenery we saw buffalo, pronghorn elk and a ptarmigan. GREAT.
Seen on a young man’s t-shirt in Jackson Hole Wyoming: “Why do they call it tourist season, when we don’t get to shoot them”.
Till next time.
Sunday, June 11, 2000
Do you remember the words to the “Happy Wanderer”? We don’t have the knapsack on our back and we aren’t on a mountain track, but I have the steering wheel in my hand and the track is paved. I thought I would put down the highways we are traveling for those who want to see how we travel. By the end of July, you will think we are crazy, or know we are, whichever.
I left you last week as we were camped by Grand Teton National Park. When we left there we went through the Park in the morning, and got some good pictures with sun on our side of the mountains. The Park is on the east side of the mountains. On the way out of the Park we saw moose, a coyote and lots of pronghorn. From the Park we took highway 26 to Casper, WY. We went over a pass that was over 9300 feet high and it was 70 degrees up there. Next we traveled to Orin, WY via I-25, then onto highway 20 to Valentine, NE. On the way the scenery was great and we saw lots of pronghorns. We went north from Valentine on highway 83 to Mission, SD, then 18 to Winner, SD, 183 to Presho, SD, I-90 to Fairmont, MN. I didn’t think I could ever say 88 degrees felt good, but after 101 on Thursday it did. The crops have looked real good to this point.
Saturday, we went on I-35 to just south of Twin Cities, MN for the weekend.
Until next time, so long,
Saturday, June 17, 2000
Sunday, we started by going to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife refuge. We did not see a lot of birds, but they were around singing. In the 1930’s, the refuge started as a fish hatchery, where one of the ponds was dug by 75 men using wheel barrows and shovels. It is a large pond. In later years the area was mined for gravel. Since then government has gotten control of it and it is being returned to the way it was before 1930. They are hoping to be done by 2010. There is still a problem of pollution.
In the afternoon, we surprised my nephew, Bruce and his family, who were having an open house for their son, Aaron, celebrating his graduation from high school. We had a great time visiting with family and great food.
Monday, we moved to Algona, Iowa, via highway 169 from Minneapolis. After we parked, we went to West Bend, to the “Grotto of the Redemption”. The Messengers had suggested that we include it in our tour. Thank you very much, Cecil and Doris. The Grotto was started in 1912, and is not completed yet. Currently they are doing restoration work. It was started by Father Paul Dobberstein. It has been and is funded by donations only. If you are ever in the area, don’t miss it. Hopefully I have some good pictures.
From Algona, we traveled highways 169 and 34 to Creston, IA. We are here to do some research on my maternal grandparents. In the evening the rain just poured. We wondered if we would be washed into the lake we are by. Temperature today in the low 80’s. Nice.
We spent all day, Wednesday, touring southeastern Iowa looking for information on my maternal Grandfather and his parents. We did get some information and everyone we talked to was helpful and kind.
We arrived at Cedar Fall, IA after following highways 36 and 14 to visit Dave and family. We had dinner and a great visit. The county park we were going to stay at was flooded, so we went to a state park. There was some minor flooding when we went to leave in the morning.
We traveled highways 218, 30, 38, I-80, I-74 and 97 to Havana, IL. There was flooding in Iowa and eastern Illinois. Further south the rivers were lower. Havana is the county seat, so we did a little more genealogy searching. Not much success.
We are now at Ramsey Lake State Park, getting here via highways 97, 29 and 51. There is the area where Marilynn’s sister Marj lives and her children. We will be here a week or so. The golf course I played at here last time was dry and hard then, but is really green and lovely now. It looks very wet here.
I guess that is it for now. See you next week. Thank you all for the letters. It is good to hear from you.
Saturday, June 24, 2000
We started the week off with a cookout with some of the nieces and nephews. We had a great time. Lots of visiting done.
Tuesday night we had a tornado go through the area. It broke some trees here in the park and some at a niece and nephews home. None near us though. It does know how to rain around here. It comes in inches per hour with the wind. The park here has lots of big trees, so we have shade and are protected from the wind.
We have been visiting Marilynn’s sister.
We also visited some graveyards, county court houses, libraries and museums, looking for dates and places of Marilynn’s relatives. We had some luck, but not as much as a person would like. It is interesting that there are marriage records back to 1835, but birth and death records only go to 1878. So you get to read newspaper articles, obituaries, and anything else that the people in charge suggest. Most of the places are very open and helpful. One library we were in, the genealogical section was locked and you could only take in paper and pencil. No one helped us there. Interesting the way different places do different things.
Wednesday night, we went to a Wal-Mart store that put on a country-western band. It was good. The band travels all over putting on these free programs for Wal-Mart. There were not as many people there as we thought there would be.
I played 27 holes of golf this week.
The weather has been hot and humid. The trouble is at 80 percent humidity, anything over 70 feels hot to us. It goes up to 80 most days and only down to high 60’s at night.
Friday night, we went to a niece and nephew’s daughters slow pitch soft ball game. Near the end it was called off because of the weather. There were severe thunderstorm warnings on till midnight. It rained hard for about 3 hours with lots of wind. At about 11pm, when we went to bed, it was letting up. It was still raining this morning when we woke up and then quit in a little while. Lots of lightning and thunder during the storm. We are not used to that. However all is well this morning.
Till next time, KEEP SMILING.
Saturday, July 1, 2000
Saturday, the 24th and Sunday ate and visited with relatives. We had a great time.
Monday we moved to Springfield, IL following highway 1 from Ramsey, to 16, 127 and I-55. We parked in Mr. Lincoln RV Park. Very nice park. We spent the rest of the day looking at old records and a graveyard for relatives.
Tuesday we went to Pekin, IL to the Historical Society and looked at more old records. These 2 days we did find some information that will need to be further researched to see if it fits. Then we moved to Big Foot State Park in Lake Geneva, WI where there are more relatives. We followed highways 29, 98, 150, 24, and 47 which turned into 120 in WI. The weather has been fairly nice but when we got to WI the temperature is a little cooler and the humidity has been in the 40’s and 50’s. A welcome relief.
Wednesday we did some visiting and some shopping. (For some reason, things we use get in short supply).
Thursday we went to Old World Wisconsin Museum. It is 576 acres that has ethnic farms scattered on it the way farms would have been scattered in the late 1800’s. Farms from all over Wisconsin have been researched and the buildings moved to Old World, sometimes in pieces and other times whole. The people representing the farmers in the museum know and tell of the families and are dressed as the farmers would have been. The chores on the farms are done the way they WERE done. No running water or electricity. For instance, some hay was cut with a horse drawn mower and another farm it was cut with a scythe. The people represented were Yankees, (people form the general New York area), African-American, German, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, and Polish. A lot of walking and we were tired at the end of the day.
Friday saw the Beloit Rotary Garden in Beloit WI. There are beautiful. A lot of the work is done by volunteers. Then we went to The Angel Museum, also in Beloit. The collection is of over 12,000 angels, of which, over 6,000 are on display. They are beautiful. The museum is an old Catholic Church that was rescued from the wrecking ball. Lovely old church. Most of the figures are ceramic, a lot of wood ones and the rest made of a wide variety of materials. The gift shop and a restaurant, a Taste of Heaven, which we tried out, are in the basement. The food was good. One interesting fact, Oprah Winfrey donated between 1 and 2,000 angels to the collection.
Saturday we moved to Baraboo, WI following highway 12 all the way. In the afternoon, we went to the International Crane Foundation. They have 15 species of cranes to be released back in their native countries. Took a guided tour that was very good.
If anyone has questions about something we have seen, please ask and we will try to answer the questions. This newsletter goes to 29 households, so any questions are welcome.
Till next time, be good and have fun.
Monday, July 10, 2000
We started off the week by visiting the Circus World Museum. They had some kind of promotion going on, so we got to $2 each instead of $12.95. The big top show was very good, but it took ½ hour to get out of the tent. The whole area is too small for that amount of people. The rebuilt trailer display was very nice. After we left there, the sky opened up and it poured for a while. The area is very wet.
Monday we moved to Wisconsin Rapids to visit some childhood friends, their children and grandchildren. We followed highways, 12, I-90, and 13. We visited and ate lots of very good food. On the 4th we all spent some time at a local lake with boat riding and watching the grandchildren being towed on an inner tube behind the boat. A great time was had by all.
Wednesday I played 9 holes of golf at a beautiful golf course, here at Wisconsin Rapids. In the evening our friends and we went to a nice restaurant for dinner.
Thursday, The 4 of us went to Consolidated Papers, Inc for a tour. It was very interesting. The paper making machinery was shut down for maintenance. The preparing of the paper for sale, by being cut into various sizes was interesting, but the best part for me, were the robots for moving the paper around. They have 49 of them at a cost of $110,000 each. They are computer operated and go to where the paper is and haul it to where it goes without human help. The storage area is 90 feet high and computer operated. The whole operation was very interesting. We had individual headsets so we could hear every word of the tour guide. After lunch at our friend’s home we moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, by following highways 54 and 57.
Friday we enjoyed going to Washington Island and taking the Cherry Train Tour. The train was a red pickup with 3 red 2 wheel trailers on behind. The young lady was very good narrating the tour. We toured the rest of the island after the tour. The ferry ride over and back was good, as was the weather. The island has about 690 permanent residents and about 2,600 in the summer to help with the tourists. This whole area is Door County. The county has more antique shops and tourist stores than you can count. A very touristy area. It is well known in the Midwest for that. It is called an artist and craft area.
Saturday, we toured lower Door County in the rain. We had a severe storm watch and lots of thunder, lightning, and rain in the early morning. By 8:30 AM the area had 3 1/2 inches. Green Bay had some flooded streets. It rained till about 4 PM. Now we are in another severe storm warning from 7:30 PM till midnight. Anyway, during the day we visited some craft shops, went to a light house, but it was raining and blowing so hard, we didn't walk into it, and we went to the Coast Guard Station and the canal next to it. The canal was opened in 1882 and shortens the trip from Lake Michigan to Green Bay by about 100 miles. The craft shops were interesting.
Till next time,
Saturday, July 15, 2000
Sunday, we started off the week with a different experience. Saturday, we looked in the phone book for a "local" Methodist Church. I called for the worship time. 9:30 AM. Great. We left the motor home about 8:30 with the address in south Green Bay. It turned out to be about 25 miles. When we arrived at about 9:20, it turned out to be a small office
building, with a sign on the door, saying the church was on the lower level. Problem, we were the only ones there and the door was locked. We assumed that the church office was on the lower level. We looked around the area, but didn't find the church, so we went to the Green Bay Botanical Gardens. They are beautiful. It consists of 60 acres, which they are developing. At the present it features, a contemporary rose garden, four seasons, an American perennial garden, children's garden, and a woodland garden. Almost everything was in bloom.
Monday, as I sit here overlooking Green Bay from J. W. Wells State Park, at Cedar River, MI, having enjoyed a beautiful day, I am thrilled. This country is so beautiful. We got here by highways 41 and 31. In the afternoon, we went into Menominee, Mi. to see the old North Pier Light. It was nice.
Tuesday, another beautiful sunshiny day for touring. The first stop was Fayette Historic Townsite in Fayette State Park. Fayette was a company town that made pig iron from 1867 to 1891. Nineteen buildings have survived and are being restored. There are a lot of signs to tell about the work and life there. You can see the charcoal kilns, furnace, and the company store to mention a few. We were there about 2 hours, as it is very interesting. From there we went to the State Fish Hatchery, where the Coho salmon, from Washington State, were introduced into Lake Michigan to counteract the alewives invasion, when the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened. They hatch and raise about 6 types of trout and salmon, from 6 to 8 inches, 16 to 18 months, then release them into the lakes. They have a big pond of all the types of fish they have and they take the fish from there, every 5 to 6 years to the lakes. There were a lot of big fish in there and will be a big surprise for some fisherman. On to Palms Book State Park and Kitch-iti-ki-pi (the Big Spring). It is 200 feet wide and 40 feet deep. You cross the pond on a self propelled raft, and look down into the crystal clear water at the big fish and the springs. A must see if you are ever in the area. From there we went to Rapid River Falls. The falls are 40 feet wide and fall 12 feet in 4 tiers. There are not to be compared to any falls in our home area. The setting is pretty and the water is Root Beer colored from tanic acid from the swamps. We enjoyed it. Back to the RV with 225 more miles on the car.
Wednesday, we moved to Iron Mountain, MI following highways, G12, 41 and 2. After parking, we went to Iron Mountain Iron Mine. We took the mine tour, where 2,625,000 tons of ore have been removed between 1877 and 1945. Interesting tour. From there we went to Piers Gorge Nature Trail. We hiked in 1/2 mile to see the tiers. A tier is like a shelf with water going over a series of them. Very pretty sight with the Root Beer colored water, gorge, and the trees. We thought this area would be very pretty in the fall with all of the hardwood trees.
Thursday, I played 9 holes of golf and Marilynn did the laundry. Very humid in the morning. Goofed off the rest of the day.
Friday, we moved to Hayward, Wisconsin along highways 95, 69, 2, 189, 70 and 77. 77 is labeled as a Scenic Highway and was better than the others. A lot of swamp land during the day. Weather continues to be good.
We safely arrived in Moose Lake, MN home area of our relatives, by traveling 63, 70, 35, 77, 48 and I-35. We were going to take 77 all the way but a bridge was out. The detour route was posted at 5 ton and we weigh 10 ton, so that dictated our route. Beautiful day.
Till next time, be well and happy.
Saturday July 22, 2000
After I closed out the newsletter on Saturday, Joyce, Sonny, Marilynn and I went to Hinckley, MN to hear Heart Song sing. This is the quartet that our niece, Shelby, sings in. We have wanted to hear them for a long time, but we were never in the right place. They were very good.
Sunday, we went to Barnum Methodist Community Church, the church we both grew up in. We talked some friends there. In the afternoon and evening, we visited Marilynn's brother, niece and nephew.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf. Goofed off for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, we shopped in Duluth and on the way to the RV, stopped to visit with my sister and brother-in-law. We went with them on a Garden Tour that started at the new Barnum Arboretum. We went to 2 other homes. Had a great time. This morning it was 48 degrees at 7 AM. You gotta love Minnesota.
Wednesday, we did a little more genealogy work and visited with a nephew. In the evening, we went to my sister’s home for a very delicious meal. Played hand and foot (card game). Had a great time.
Thursday, we went to Duluth to pick up parts that I had ordered on Monday and in the afternoon I did some minor repairs on the car and motor home. Also answered the E-mail.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf in the morning. I finally reached a major milestone, I broke 100, had 92. I was happy. In the afternoon we visited with a niece. She had been to the local newspaper and got my Grandfathers obituary. It had a lot of information that we have been looking for. We had not thought of the newspapers. Hint for anyone doing genealogy.
Saturday, Marilynn's brother had his 80th birthday party. It was a huge success. It was planned for 30 and about 50 came. It was potluck, so it worked out fine, lots of good food and lots left over. It had been advertised in the local newspaper, so some of his friends came, some of which we knew. Great fun. A good time was had by all.
The weather all week has been cool, but nice, highs in the low 70's. A lot better than in the 90's.
We are both still well and enjoying ourselves, as we continue to visit friends and relatives.
Till next time. PEACE
Saturday July 29, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Barnum Methodist Community Church. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday, we moved to Harn Lake following I-35, 22 and 65. We visited my cousin and his wife in the afternoon and evening.
Tuesday, we spent the day with Marilynn’s sister-in-law and son. We toured around Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles and the Lakewood Cemetery. The area is beautiful and has expensive, beautiful homes. The Cemetery is beautiful and old. There are huge and beautiful monuments, such as Hubert Humphrey’s. We had a great time all day. There were tornado warnings in the area in the evening all we got was some rain.
Wednesday, we had some spare time, so we returned to southwest Iowa. We had nice weather on the way down. So with our usual luck, we had another tornado warning. It rained heavy for about an hour with ¼ hail included. No damage in our immediate area. There was enough rain to cause a flash flood watch in this area tonight. Luckily we are on high ground. We came to Lewis, IA following highway 65, 694, 169, 60, 4, 175, 71 and 6. We are camped in a State Park. Nice Park. We are hoping to get more genealogical information in this area.
Thursday, we did get some information and the obituary for my great grandfather. We had a bunch of people who like to help. It was great. We finished early, so we moved to Adel, IA by following highways G43, 148, I-80 and 169. It was a beautiful day. We saw very little damage from the storm.
Friday, we moved to Marilynn’s cousin’s home in Rosemount, MN using highways, 169, 60 and 3. In the evening we visited my cousin and her husband in Minnetonka, MN. We had a very good time.
Saturday, we shopped in the morning and in the afternoon we visited with Marilynn’s cousin.
The weather has continued to be nice starting on Wednesday. The humidity is higher than we like, but that’s life.
Well here we are at the end of our month here.
Monday Roger and I played 9 holes of golf.
Tuesday we took Roger and Dorothy to the Los Angeles Airport and they went back to Sumner and returned here on Friday. After going to the airport, Marilynn and I went to Little Tokyo, which is in downtown LA. We toured part of it and had breakfast there. Then we went to the Japanese American National Museum and World War Memorial. The docents were very good there and there were lots of children there.
We drove Long Beach Blvd. on the way back from LA, not recommended if you are in a hurry. It was interesting to see it start in the industrial area in LA through some of the poor areas into downtown Long Beach, which is very nice. The area where we are parked is next to the Aquarium and the area that has been fixed up by the city. New buildings and everything.
Wednesday I played 9 holes of golf in the morning and in the afternoon we went sightseeing around Palo Verde.
Thursday we went to Upper New Port Bay Ecological Reserve. It is a tidal bay, marsh area that is in town. Lots of birds. There were children there being told about Mother Nature and shown its and our affect on it. Then we went to Crystal Cove State Park. It is on the ocean and mainly used for access to the beach.
Saturday we did some walking in the area of the Park that we are parked in. It was beautiful and close to the water here in the bay.
Sunday we went to the Crystal Cathedral again. They were celebrating their 30th anniversary of TV broadcasting. They had the Zenshuji Zendeko Taiko Drums play. They were very good. They also have The Hour of Power Orchestra of about 45 members and the Cathedral Choir of about 80 members. Both were very good. If you get a chance you should watch The Hour of Power next Sunday as it will be the service that we went to. I think you will enjoy it. In the afternoon we took a 90 minute Harbor Cruise that lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes. We had to wait for 4 trains to cross over the bridge that we needed to have raised for us. We had a great time and the weather was great. Tonight we are seeing Doug and Vicky for the last time on this trip.
Tomorrow we leave here. Roger and Dorothy are headed for Yuma and we are headed for Lompoc, CA to see friends. We will be in Yuma with Roger and Dorothy.
Sunday, February 13, 2000
Monday Marilynn and I moved to Lompoc, CA. Roger and Dorothy moved to Indio, where we met up with them on Wednesday evening. At Lompoc we parked our motor home in some friend’s yard till Wednesday morning. Our friends, Harv and Eunice live in a beautiful home on 450 acres that is being developed into a winery and vineyard. The house and horse barn were built by a man from France. The horse barn when they have all the permits will be the winery. The farm was originally planned to be a horse farm, but by the time they got the buildings done the horse market had crashed. The farm has since been sold to Harv & Eunie’s son-in-law, who is doing the developing. We toured the farm and learned a lot about raising grapes. You need to pour in 4 years of work and money before you start to get a return. Quite an investment. We also toured some of the surrounding country. It is rolling hills and beautiful. We enjoyed our visit very much.
Thursday, Dorothy, Roger and we moved to Yuma, AZ. Roger has a cousin wintering there. We spent time visiting them off and on through Saturday night. Friday we all went to the Yuma Jaycees Rodeo. That was fun. Sunday Roger and Dorothy headed for home. We moved to Surprise, AZ where Marilynn has a cousin wintering.
I guess that is all for now. We hope everyone is well. Till next week.
Saturday, February 19, 2000
On Monday we visited Marilynn’s two cousins. One lives in a park model in Sun City. A park model home is 400 square feet. 400 is not a misprint. One of the cousins is just visiting. We had a good time.
Tuesday I played 18 holes of golf with one of the cousin’s friends and two of his friends. Great fun. In the evening we went to the resort Jam Session. It had two key boards, a piano, drums, guitars, etc. plus a harmonica player who also played the trombone. It was loud but we had a good time. The harmonica player used to play for the harmonicats. He was very good.
Wednesday evening we all went to Barleens Dinner Show. It was western style music. They had a young girl, who we think is about 20, who has been with the show for 7 years who played the fiddle. She was excellent. There were 7 other people in the show. They were all very good. You could understand every word they sang and that is very unusual for me.
Thursday one of the cousins returned to Michigan to the snow I suspect.
Friday we moved to Chandler where we are visiting the Restemeyers and other friends.
Saturday we goofed off. Till next time, good health to all, as we are in good health.
Saturday, February 26, 2000
It has been a quiet week here in Chandler. Sunday we went to the United Methodist Church in Gilbert with the Restemeyers. They have two ministers and an intern. The intern is a young woman. She had the sermon. It was good, but she talks too fast. We enjoyed the service.
Monday I helped Rusty by providing taxi service to get his car to the garage and back for a recall.
Tuesday I played 17 holes of golf. I started at 3 pm and it got too dark to play the 18th hole. Here it goes from light to dark, no getting dark. At 6:30pm it was black out. Had a good time.
Wednesday we did some shopping and rested.
Thursday we visited Joanne and Barry at their home. We had a very good time.
Friday we took a drive south of here to look at the desert. It’s different. We saw the monument where Tom Mix was killed (1880-1940). For anyone who did not know, he crashed his car at the edge of the road and his suitcase beheaded him. Moral: travel light.
Saturday we are taking it easy. During the week it was cold, but today is warmer and tomorrow is supposed to get to 80 degrees. We are fine and having a good time. Write when you have time.
Saturday, March 4, 2000
Sunday we again went to the UMC in Gilbert. In the afternoon Carl and Charlotte came to visit. We had a nice time.
Monday Restemeyers and we went to Stanfield, AZ and visited Annabelle and her sister. They were visiting friends there. We all had a good visit.
Tuesday I played 18 holes of golf with Barry.
Thursday we visited Carl and Charlotte in their home. They have a nice home down here. Park Model.
Friday Bev and Gordy arrived. So like all good Methodists, we have been eating, visiting, eating, you get the picture. They are staying with the Restemeyers while in Chandler.
Saturday we continued Friday’s routine and added to it a visit to Joanne and Barry. They are leaving for home tomorrow.
The weather continues to be good. As I write this it looks like rain. We shall see. It is needed here. Write when you have time.
Saturday, March 11, 2000
Last weekend we thought we were in Seattle. Saturday it started to rain and by morning we had 1.89 inches of rain. It continued to rain till Tuesday morning. There was a total of about 3 inches by then. The lows were in the low 40s and highs in the mid 50s. Sound familiar? Since then it has gradually warmed up. Supposed to be 80 on Sunday the 12th.
Sunday we again went to the UMC of Gilbert with Bev & Gordy and the Restemeyers. In the afternoon we visited some classmates of ours that we were with in grade and high school and church. We had a great time.
Monday we moved in the rain to Happy Trails where Gordy and Bev had made arrangements for a place to park.
Wednesday we went to a Mariners game. The Mariners WON. Mariners 5, Giants 1.
Thursday Bev, Gordy and we went to a Glass Harmonica Concert. It was a new experience for all of us. The Glass Harmonica is a series of tuned bowls mounted on an armature and slowly turned. The music is made by holding a wet finger against the edge of the turning bowls. It was invented by Ben Franklin in 1722. The concert was performed by a young woman with a Masters in percussion. She also played a set of Rice Bowls and Wine Glasses. They are tuned by putting water in them. The rice bowls are played by hitting with bamboo sticks and the wine glasses are played by rubbing with a wet finger. Very interesting and fun concert. If you ever get the chance, go see a performance.
Friday we went to a Padres and Angels game. Padres won 4 to 3.
Saturday the weather is very different from last week. It is in the high 70’s and no breeze. This morning Bev & Gordy and we went to a local Flea Market that is having their grand opening next weekend. A lot of it was vacant but it was interesting. When I think of a flea market I think used goods but the vast percentage of it is new. We had a good time. We are visiting Bev & Gordy this evening. We are leaving here Monday morning headed for SLC provided the roads are not blocked by snow.
Saturday, March 18, 2000
Another week has passed already.
Sunday we went to church at the Happy Trails Resort with Bev & Gordy, nondenominational. The choir, made up of senior citizens, was very good. You could understand every word. The minister was OK. In the afternoon Marilynn and I went to the Phoenix Woodcarvers Show. We were surprised at how small it was. Very nice show.
In the evening we went to a concert put on by a men’s quartet. They were very good. They were all from Happy Trails.
Monday we moved to Boulder City, NV. Nice weather all the way.
Tuesday we moved Beaver, UT where I played 9 holes of golf.
Wednesday we moved to SLC. We drove through snow, rain and sunshine. Thankfully the snow did not stick to the highway.
Thursday I played 18 holes of golf. Nice day.
Friday we enjoyed with Jeannine and daughters Christine and Jennifer. In the evening we were joined by Bradley. Most enjoyable.
Saturday the six of us took their new light rail to downtown SLC. We rode it from one end to the other. Regular fare $1.00, senior citizen 35 cents. Nice ride. We had lunch and toured a mall. We went to Bradley and Jeannine’s for the evening. Great time.
That is it for another week. For those of you who are wondering we plan on being back on March 27th or 28th. See you after that.
Saturday, March 25, 2000
We started the week by worshiping at the All Saints Episcopal Church, where our son-in-law, Bradley is Rector. They have a newly remodeled church that is very nice. They have very good attendance and the church is growing. It is a friendly church and a good service.
In the afternoon it started to snow and by Monday morning there was 2 inches on the ground where we parked. So we stayed another day. In the evening the wind started to blow. During the night the gusts were up to 102 mph and blew 7 empty railroad cars off the track. I-15 was closed from 6pm until the following noon for high profile vehicles (us). The wind was not bad where we were parked. So we decided to stay Tuesday night also. Monday and Tuesday we took the UTA TRAX downtown to the Family History Library. We did accomplish a few things, but not as much as we would have liked.
Monday and Tuesday evening we spent with Jeannine and family.
Wednesday we moved to Mountain Home, Idaho. Nice weather all the way.
Thursday, while moving to Vale, Oregon, we stopped to visit a fellow High School student of mine (John) and his wife at Boise, Idaho. Then we went to Vale and visited with Bev’s Mother. Had a great time.
Friday we moved to Salem, Oregon to visit long time friends. We will be here until Monday morning, when we will move HOME. We WILL NOT be in our home, but by it in our motor home. Please use our cell phone number to contact us, as we have a couple living in our home while we travel. We will be in and out until late April, when we will head east for the rest of our trip.
I should say a few words about the drive from Salt Lake City to Salem, Oregon. The fresh snow on the Wasatch Mountains and the valleys and mountains in Eastern Oregon was very beautiful. I-84 is higher than some of the valleys in Eastern Oregon so you look down on the valleys and up the side of the mountains. The roads were clear and dry. The view of Mount Hood was gorgeous. The Washington side of the Columbia Gorge was greener than we ever remember it being before. Beautiful sight.
Hope to see everyone while we are home, except of course those of you that receive this who are out of state and we will see you later.
Tuesday, June 6, 2000
Here we are on the road again. We had a wonderful 7 days with Jeannine and two of our granddaughters, Christine and Jennifer. We all attended our granddaughter April’s High School graduation. It was nice having Brenda along as we visited Fort Walla Walla Museum and The Marcus Whitman National Monument. We also did a lot of visiting with Brenda and her family. We left Waitsburg with Jeannine and the girls and saw the Oregon Trail Museum and the 1,000 springs area along highway 30 in Idaho. We did some sight seeing as we headed south. After 2 more nights camping out, Jeannine and the girls left us at Burley, ID and headed home.
We continued east on Highway 26 to Idaho Falls, where we saw the Falls. Very different from others that we have seen. When we were in Idaho Falls, they set a new record for heat. It was 92 degrees. We continued on to Jackson Hole, WY along highway 26, through a couple of construction areas. The scenery has been beautiful, through the mountains and in the valleys. We went to Grand Teton National Park. It is beautiful. Besides the scenery we saw buffalo, pronghorn elk and a ptarmigan. GREAT.
Seen on a young man’s t-shirt in Jackson Hole Wyoming: “Why do they call it tourist season, when we don’t get to shoot them”.
Till next time.
Sunday, June 11, 2000
Do you remember the words to the “Happy Wanderer”? We don’t have the knapsack on our back and we aren’t on a mountain track, but I have the steering wheel in my hand and the track is paved. I thought I would put down the highways we are traveling for those who want to see how we travel. By the end of July, you will think we are crazy, or know we are, whichever.
I left you last week as we were camped by Grand Teton National Park. When we left there we went through the Park in the morning, and got some good pictures with sun on our side of the mountains. The Park is on the east side of the mountains. On the way out of the Park we saw moose, a coyote and lots of pronghorn. From the Park we took highway 26 to Casper, WY. We went over a pass that was over 9300 feet high and it was 70 degrees up there. Next we traveled to Orin, WY via I-25, then onto highway 20 to Valentine, NE. On the way the scenery was great and we saw lots of pronghorns. We went north from Valentine on highway 83 to Mission, SD, then 18 to Winner, SD, 183 to Presho, SD, I-90 to Fairmont, MN. I didn’t think I could ever say 88 degrees felt good, but after 101 on Thursday it did. The crops have looked real good to this point.
Saturday, we went on I-35 to just south of Twin Cities, MN for the weekend.
Until next time, so long,
Saturday, June 17, 2000
Sunday, we started by going to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife refuge. We did not see a lot of birds, but they were around singing. In the 1930’s, the refuge started as a fish hatchery, where one of the ponds was dug by 75 men using wheel barrows and shovels. It is a large pond. In later years the area was mined for gravel. Since then government has gotten control of it and it is being returned to the way it was before 1930. They are hoping to be done by 2010. There is still a problem of pollution.
In the afternoon, we surprised my nephew, Bruce and his family, who were having an open house for their son, Aaron, celebrating his graduation from high school. We had a great time visiting with family and great food.
Monday, we moved to Algona, Iowa, via highway 169 from Minneapolis. After we parked, we went to West Bend, to the “Grotto of the Redemption”. The Messengers had suggested that we include it in our tour. Thank you very much, Cecil and Doris. The Grotto was started in 1912, and is not completed yet. Currently they are doing restoration work. It was started by Father Paul Dobberstein. It has been and is funded by donations only. If you are ever in the area, don’t miss it. Hopefully I have some good pictures.
From Algona, we traveled highways 169 and 34 to Creston, IA. We are here to do some research on my maternal grandparents. In the evening the rain just poured. We wondered if we would be washed into the lake we are by. Temperature today in the low 80’s. Nice.
We spent all day, Wednesday, touring southeastern Iowa looking for information on my maternal Grandfather and his parents. We did get some information and everyone we talked to was helpful and kind.
We arrived at Cedar Fall, IA after following highways 36 and 14 to visit Dave and family. We had dinner and a great visit. The county park we were going to stay at was flooded, so we went to a state park. There was some minor flooding when we went to leave in the morning.
We traveled highways 218, 30, 38, I-80, I-74 and 97 to Havana, IL. There was flooding in Iowa and eastern Illinois. Further south the rivers were lower. Havana is the county seat, so we did a little more genealogy searching. Not much success.
We are now at Ramsey Lake State Park, getting here via highways 97, 29 and 51. There is the area where Marilynn’s sister Marj lives and her children. We will be here a week or so. The golf course I played at here last time was dry and hard then, but is really green and lovely now. It looks very wet here.
I guess that is it for now. See you next week. Thank you all for the letters. It is good to hear from you.
Saturday, June 24, 2000
We started the week off with a cookout with some of the nieces and nephews. We had a great time. Lots of visiting done.
Tuesday night we had a tornado go through the area. It broke some trees here in the park and some at a niece and nephews home. None near us though. It does know how to rain around here. It comes in inches per hour with the wind. The park here has lots of big trees, so we have shade and are protected from the wind.
We have been visiting Marilynn’s sister.
We also visited some graveyards, county court houses, libraries and museums, looking for dates and places of Marilynn’s relatives. We had some luck, but not as much as a person would like. It is interesting that there are marriage records back to 1835, but birth and death records only go to 1878. So you get to read newspaper articles, obituaries, and anything else that the people in charge suggest. Most of the places are very open and helpful. One library we were in, the genealogical section was locked and you could only take in paper and pencil. No one helped us there. Interesting the way different places do different things.
Wednesday night, we went to a Wal-Mart store that put on a country-western band. It was good. The band travels all over putting on these free programs for Wal-Mart. There were not as many people there as we thought there would be.
I played 27 holes of golf this week.
The weather has been hot and humid. The trouble is at 80 percent humidity, anything over 70 feels hot to us. It goes up to 80 most days and only down to high 60’s at night.
Friday night, we went to a niece and nephew’s daughters slow pitch soft ball game. Near the end it was called off because of the weather. There were severe thunderstorm warnings on till midnight. It rained hard for about 3 hours with lots of wind. At about 11pm, when we went to bed, it was letting up. It was still raining this morning when we woke up and then quit in a little while. Lots of lightning and thunder during the storm. We are not used to that. However all is well this morning.
Till next time, KEEP SMILING.
Saturday, July 1, 2000
Saturday, the 24th and Sunday ate and visited with relatives. We had a great time.
Monday we moved to Springfield, IL following highway 1 from Ramsey, to 16, 127 and I-55. We parked in Mr. Lincoln RV Park. Very nice park. We spent the rest of the day looking at old records and a graveyard for relatives.
Tuesday we went to Pekin, IL to the Historical Society and looked at more old records. These 2 days we did find some information that will need to be further researched to see if it fits. Then we moved to Big Foot State Park in Lake Geneva, WI where there are more relatives. We followed highways 29, 98, 150, 24, and 47 which turned into 120 in WI. The weather has been fairly nice but when we got to WI the temperature is a little cooler and the humidity has been in the 40’s and 50’s. A welcome relief.
Wednesday we did some visiting and some shopping. (For some reason, things we use get in short supply).
Thursday we went to Old World Wisconsin Museum. It is 576 acres that has ethnic farms scattered on it the way farms would have been scattered in the late 1800’s. Farms from all over Wisconsin have been researched and the buildings moved to Old World, sometimes in pieces and other times whole. The people representing the farmers in the museum know and tell of the families and are dressed as the farmers would have been. The chores on the farms are done the way they WERE done. No running water or electricity. For instance, some hay was cut with a horse drawn mower and another farm it was cut with a scythe. The people represented were Yankees, (people form the general New York area), African-American, German, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, and Polish. A lot of walking and we were tired at the end of the day.
Friday saw the Beloit Rotary Garden in Beloit WI. There are beautiful. A lot of the work is done by volunteers. Then we went to The Angel Museum, also in Beloit. The collection is of over 12,000 angels, of which, over 6,000 are on display. They are beautiful. The museum is an old Catholic Church that was rescued from the wrecking ball. Lovely old church. Most of the figures are ceramic, a lot of wood ones and the rest made of a wide variety of materials. The gift shop and a restaurant, a Taste of Heaven, which we tried out, are in the basement. The food was good. One interesting fact, Oprah Winfrey donated between 1 and 2,000 angels to the collection.
Saturday we moved to Baraboo, WI following highway 12 all the way. In the afternoon, we went to the International Crane Foundation. They have 15 species of cranes to be released back in their native countries. Took a guided tour that was very good.
If anyone has questions about something we have seen, please ask and we will try to answer the questions. This newsletter goes to 29 households, so any questions are welcome.
Till next time, be good and have fun.
Monday, July 10, 2000
We started off the week by visiting the Circus World Museum. They had some kind of promotion going on, so we got to $2 each instead of $12.95. The big top show was very good, but it took ½ hour to get out of the tent. The whole area is too small for that amount of people. The rebuilt trailer display was very nice. After we left there, the sky opened up and it poured for a while. The area is very wet.
Monday we moved to Wisconsin Rapids to visit some childhood friends, their children and grandchildren. We followed highways, 12, I-90, and 13. We visited and ate lots of very good food. On the 4th we all spent some time at a local lake with boat riding and watching the grandchildren being towed on an inner tube behind the boat. A great time was had by all.
Wednesday I played 9 holes of golf at a beautiful golf course, here at Wisconsin Rapids. In the evening our friends and we went to a nice restaurant for dinner.
Thursday, The 4 of us went to Consolidated Papers, Inc for a tour. It was very interesting. The paper making machinery was shut down for maintenance. The preparing of the paper for sale, by being cut into various sizes was interesting, but the best part for me, were the robots for moving the paper around. They have 49 of them at a cost of $110,000 each. They are computer operated and go to where the paper is and haul it to where it goes without human help. The storage area is 90 feet high and computer operated. The whole operation was very interesting. We had individual headsets so we could hear every word of the tour guide. After lunch at our friend’s home we moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, by following highways 54 and 57.
Friday we enjoyed going to Washington Island and taking the Cherry Train Tour. The train was a red pickup with 3 red 2 wheel trailers on behind. The young lady was very good narrating the tour. We toured the rest of the island after the tour. The ferry ride over and back was good, as was the weather. The island has about 690 permanent residents and about 2,600 in the summer to help with the tourists. This whole area is Door County. The county has more antique shops and tourist stores than you can count. A very touristy area. It is well known in the Midwest for that. It is called an artist and craft area.
Saturday, we toured lower Door County in the rain. We had a severe storm watch and lots of thunder, lightning, and rain in the early morning. By 8:30 AM the area had 3 1/2 inches. Green Bay had some flooded streets. It rained till about 4 PM. Now we are in another severe storm warning from 7:30 PM till midnight. Anyway, during the day we visited some craft shops, went to a light house, but it was raining and blowing so hard, we didn't walk into it, and we went to the Coast Guard Station and the canal next to it. The canal was opened in 1882 and shortens the trip from Lake Michigan to Green Bay by about 100 miles. The craft shops were interesting.
Till next time,
Saturday, July 15, 2000
Sunday, we started off the week with a different experience. Saturday, we looked in the phone book for a "local" Methodist Church. I called for the worship time. 9:30 AM. Great. We left the motor home about 8:30 with the address in south Green Bay. It turned out to be about 25 miles. When we arrived at about 9:20, it turned out to be a small office
building, with a sign on the door, saying the church was on the lower level. Problem, we were the only ones there and the door was locked. We assumed that the church office was on the lower level. We looked around the area, but didn't find the church, so we went to the Green Bay Botanical Gardens. They are beautiful. It consists of 60 acres, which they are developing. At the present it features, a contemporary rose garden, four seasons, an American perennial garden, children's garden, and a woodland garden. Almost everything was in bloom.
Monday, as I sit here overlooking Green Bay from J. W. Wells State Park, at Cedar River, MI, having enjoyed a beautiful day, I am thrilled. This country is so beautiful. We got here by highways 41 and 31. In the afternoon, we went into Menominee, Mi. to see the old North Pier Light. It was nice.
Tuesday, another beautiful sunshiny day for touring. The first stop was Fayette Historic Townsite in Fayette State Park. Fayette was a company town that made pig iron from 1867 to 1891. Nineteen buildings have survived and are being restored. There are a lot of signs to tell about the work and life there. You can see the charcoal kilns, furnace, and the company store to mention a few. We were there about 2 hours, as it is very interesting. From there we went to the State Fish Hatchery, where the Coho salmon, from Washington State, were introduced into Lake Michigan to counteract the alewives invasion, when the St. Lawrence Seaway was opened. They hatch and raise about 6 types of trout and salmon, from 6 to 8 inches, 16 to 18 months, then release them into the lakes. They have a big pond of all the types of fish they have and they take the fish from there, every 5 to 6 years to the lakes. There were a lot of big fish in there and will be a big surprise for some fisherman. On to Palms Book State Park and Kitch-iti-ki-pi (the Big Spring). It is 200 feet wide and 40 feet deep. You cross the pond on a self propelled raft, and look down into the crystal clear water at the big fish and the springs. A must see if you are ever in the area. From there we went to Rapid River Falls. The falls are 40 feet wide and fall 12 feet in 4 tiers. There are not to be compared to any falls in our home area. The setting is pretty and the water is Root Beer colored from tanic acid from the swamps. We enjoyed it. Back to the RV with 225 more miles on the car.
Wednesday, we moved to Iron Mountain, MI following highways, G12, 41 and 2. After parking, we went to Iron Mountain Iron Mine. We took the mine tour, where 2,625,000 tons of ore have been removed between 1877 and 1945. Interesting tour. From there we went to Piers Gorge Nature Trail. We hiked in 1/2 mile to see the tiers. A tier is like a shelf with water going over a series of them. Very pretty sight with the Root Beer colored water, gorge, and the trees. We thought this area would be very pretty in the fall with all of the hardwood trees.
Thursday, I played 9 holes of golf and Marilynn did the laundry. Very humid in the morning. Goofed off the rest of the day.
Friday, we moved to Hayward, Wisconsin along highways 95, 69, 2, 189, 70 and 77. 77 is labeled as a Scenic Highway and was better than the others. A lot of swamp land during the day. Weather continues to be good.
We safely arrived in Moose Lake, MN home area of our relatives, by traveling 63, 70, 35, 77, 48 and I-35. We were going to take 77 all the way but a bridge was out. The detour route was posted at 5 ton and we weigh 10 ton, so that dictated our route. Beautiful day.
Till next time, be well and happy.
Saturday July 22, 2000
After I closed out the newsletter on Saturday, Joyce, Sonny, Marilynn and I went to Hinckley, MN to hear Heart Song sing. This is the quartet that our niece, Shelby, sings in. We have wanted to hear them for a long time, but we were never in the right place. They were very good.
Sunday, we went to Barnum Methodist Community Church, the church we both grew up in. We talked some friends there. In the afternoon and evening, we visited Marilynn's brother, niece and nephew.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf. Goofed off for the rest of the day.
Tuesday, we shopped in Duluth and on the way to the RV, stopped to visit with my sister and brother-in-law. We went with them on a Garden Tour that started at the new Barnum Arboretum. We went to 2 other homes. Had a great time. This morning it was 48 degrees at 7 AM. You gotta love Minnesota.
Wednesday, we did a little more genealogy work and visited with a nephew. In the evening, we went to my sister’s home for a very delicious meal. Played hand and foot (card game). Had a great time.
Thursday, we went to Duluth to pick up parts that I had ordered on Monday and in the afternoon I did some minor repairs on the car and motor home. Also answered the E-mail.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf in the morning. I finally reached a major milestone, I broke 100, had 92. I was happy. In the afternoon we visited with a niece. She had been to the local newspaper and got my Grandfathers obituary. It had a lot of information that we have been looking for. We had not thought of the newspapers. Hint for anyone doing genealogy.
Saturday, Marilynn's brother had his 80th birthday party. It was a huge success. It was planned for 30 and about 50 came. It was potluck, so it worked out fine, lots of good food and lots left over. It had been advertised in the local newspaper, so some of his friends came, some of which we knew. Great fun. A good time was had by all.
The weather all week has been cool, but nice, highs in the low 70's. A lot better than in the 90's.
We are both still well and enjoying ourselves, as we continue to visit friends and relatives.
Till next time. PEACE
Saturday July 29, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Barnum Methodist Community Church. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday, we moved to Harn Lake following I-35, 22 and 65. We visited my cousin and his wife in the afternoon and evening.
Tuesday, we spent the day with Marilynn’s sister-in-law and son. We toured around Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, Lake of the Isles and the Lakewood Cemetery. The area is beautiful and has expensive, beautiful homes. The Cemetery is beautiful and old. There are huge and beautiful monuments, such as Hubert Humphrey’s. We had a great time all day. There were tornado warnings in the area in the evening all we got was some rain.
Wednesday, we had some spare time, so we returned to southwest Iowa. We had nice weather on the way down. So with our usual luck, we had another tornado warning. It rained heavy for about an hour with ¼ hail included. No damage in our immediate area. There was enough rain to cause a flash flood watch in this area tonight. Luckily we are on high ground. We came to Lewis, IA following highway 65, 694, 169, 60, 4, 175, 71 and 6. We are camped in a State Park. Nice Park. We are hoping to get more genealogical information in this area.
Thursday, we did get some information and the obituary for my great grandfather. We had a bunch of people who like to help. It was great. We finished early, so we moved to Adel, IA by following highways G43, 148, I-80 and 169. It was a beautiful day. We saw very little damage from the storm.
Friday, we moved to Marilynn’s cousin’s home in Rosemount, MN using highways, 169, 60 and 3. In the evening we visited my cousin and her husband in Minnetonka, MN. We had a very good time.
Saturday, we shopped in the morning and in the afternoon we visited with Marilynn’s cousin.
The weather has continued to be nice starting on Wednesday. The humidity is higher than we like, but that’s life.
Saturday August 5, 2000
Sunday, we followed 1-35 back to Moose Lake, MN. In the afternoon and evening we visited Marilynn's relatives. We had a good time.
Monday, in the morning, I played 18 holes of golf, Marilynn did the laundry and we again visited Marilynn's relatives. The afternoon and evening we spent with my sister and her husband eating and playing cards. We had a good time all day and evening. We also planned for the family reunion happening next Sunday. We are expecting 20, so it will be fun.
Tuesday, I did some washing on the exterior of the motor home, while Marilynn ironed. In the afternoon we went to the local newspaper and got some more information on my relatives. Then we went to the cemetery, where our relatives are buried.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf. In the evening we went with my sister and husband to Virginia, to celebrate my Niece's birthday. We had a great time.
Thursday, Marilynn went to lunch with former classmates and friends. Sonny (brother-in-law) and I went to lunch. Both of us had a good time. Then we went to visit Marilynn's brother and sister-in-law.
Friday, Marilynn did the laundry again and I prepared the motor home to stay here 4 more days. (Polite way to say I dumped the waste tanks.) Then we visited Marilynn's brother.
Saturday, in the afternoon we visited the couple who lived next door to my Mother during her final years on the farm. We had a good time. The weather has been nice all week. Cooler than before.
Saturday, August 12, 2000
Sunday, we again attended Barnum Methodist Church. Then in the afternoon, we went to my sister and brother-in-law's home for our family reunion. There were 19 of us there. The weather, food, and fun were great.
Monday, in the morning we said good bye to Marilynn's relatives. In the afternoon, we went to my sister’s home, where we visited with my brother, his wife, and daughter. My niece was unable to attend the reunion, having come this afternoon. We had a great visit and great food as usual.
Tuesday, we went to my sisters for breakfast and said goodbye and thank you to all. We hope to visit my brother at his home later on in the fall. Then we moved to Ontonagon, MI following highways 4, C, 2, 28 and 64. On the way, we visited Michigan Regional Visitor Center. They had nice displays of the industry and animals in the area and the fish in Lake Superior. The fish in Lake Superior have been over fished, the same as the salmon in our area. The fish are slowly recovering.
Wednesday, we toured the Ontonagon Light House. The Historical Society is trying to get possession of it and restore it. Big job ahead. The tour was very good. There are 116 light houses in Michigan. Then we went to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. The Visitor's Center had a very good slide show. We saw some waterfalls, and went to Summit Observation Tower. At the top of the tower, you could see around about 250 degrees. It was beautiful. Next month, with the Aspens, Oak, and Maple Trees, it will be even more beautiful. A few trees are already beginning to turn color. We had an interesting dinner at a local restaurant. When we sat down, the waitress brought us a menu, placemat, and a fork. That was the only utensil we got for a turkey dinner. Interesting putting butter on a bun with a fork, but it works. Good food.
Thursday, as I sit at the table, looking East over Keweenaw Bay, part of Lake Superior, in Baraga State Park after a truly great day, with the sun setting in the West, we wish every one of you were here. We moved here this morning down highway 38, an amazing 40 miles. Then we drove out highway 41, with the car to Copper Harbor. Beautiful scenery all the way. There we toured Fort Wilkins State Park. It is being restored to the way it was in 1840. It was built by the Army, to prevent Indian uprising and keep the peace for the copper miners. It was abandoned 2 years later. Twelve of the original 19 buildings are still there and have been restored. They have college students dressed in 1840's clothing, telling of the way things were then. A MUST SEE if you are ever in this area. We saw a deer and a coyote on the way back. We took some side roads too. The weather was great all day.
Friday, we moved to Munising, MI along highways 41, and 28. After doing a little sight seeing, we took the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise. 21/2 hours of viewing stained cliffs. They are very colorful. I hope my roll of pictures turns out well. It surprised us, when they said that the water in Lake Superior is pure.
Saturday, we started the day by taking the Shipwreck Tour. We went on boat that has glass panels on the bottom. Lake Superior water is very clear. The 3 ships we saw were between 4 and 20 feet below the boat. The guide did a very good job explaining what we were seeing. It was a 2-hour trip. From there we went to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. It has a 7-mile auto tour. We saw more than 20 Trumpeter Swans. They had been hunted to extinction in Michigan, they were reintroduced in 1991 and 92, and they are doing very well. We saw some Loons, a pair of Sandhill cranes, and other water fowl. The weather has been good all week.
That's it for this week.
Sunday August 20, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Munising UMC. The minister wasn't there and there were about 30 in attendance. Nice service. We went to Marquette for lunch, have 5 rolls of film developed and a little shopping. Very nice day.
Monday, we moved to St. Ignace on a roundabout way. We took 28, turned left on 123 and around the loop to St. Ignace. While we were on the upper loop we stopped at both upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls. The upper falls are the largest falls east of the Mississippi River. 50 feet high and 200 feet wide. They were pretty.
Tuesday, we went over to Mackinac Island on a high-speed catamaran. We took a horse drawn tour. It is a Michigan State Park, which owns 80 percent and is slowly getting more. It has the only highway in the state that hasn't had a traffic accident. Clue; there are no motorized vehicles except emergency vehicles. There are between 550 and 600 horses on the island. The company that provides the people transit, tours, taxis, etc. own 350 of those horses. The tour we took was pricey but not too bad. You can rent bicycles, horses, and horse and buggies if you want. Bring lots of money. We had a good time.
Wednesday, we moved to Barton City, MI by following I-75.along the beach of Lake Huron on 23 and 72 and are camped in Marilynn's cousin's yard. Scenery and weather was beautiful. The drive was beautiful and we are seeing more and more fall colors. It is definitely fall here.
Thursday, we all 3 went to the Lumberman's Monument. It remembers the logging of the white pine here for ships and buildings. It was interesting and well done. Then we saw the lake behind Foots Dam. Then toured the general area here. Pretty here. The summer is way too short for us here. Around here and all over the country around here. The land is being bought by people from out of the area for summer homes, which drives up the prices and also the taxes. This morning when we got up the temperature was in the 40's and didn't get up to 70 during the day.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf. Pretty course. The girls went sightseeing. We loafed the rest of the day.
Saturday, I played 9 holes of golf. In the afternoon we went to Alpena, MI to do a little shopping and get another roll of film developed. Cold in the morning but nice after the sun came out.
We are sorry that you on the e-mail list got two e-mails at the same time, but it looks like that will be the way it is at times.
Saturday, Aug 26, 2000
Hello to everyone on another beautiful day,
Sunday, it was in the low 40's this morning, but warmed up to 70. We said farewell to Marilynn's cousin and moved to Birch Run, MI on highways 72, F-41, 23.13. and I-75. After we parked, we took the car and went to Frankenmuth. The founders were Germans who came over to make Christians of the Indians. They bought land from the Indians and started a town. The Indians moved on and now the tourists have moved in. The whole town has a German flavor. We had dinner at Zehnders of Frankenmuth. The labels on their seasoning said they are the biggest restaurant in America. The waitress said biggest in the world. There are 11 rooms with a total of seating for 1,500. When we entered, they said it would be a wait of 15 minutes in a long line. In less than 10 minutes we were seated and the food was excellent. We walked around town. It is pretty. Then we saw the Glockenspiel, the 35 bell carillon, and it told the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlen. The figures for the Pied Piper were hand-carved wood from Germany, and up to 4 1/2 feet tall. Very interesting.
Monday, we went to Saginaw to look for my dad's birth record. No luck in either the courthouse or library. Then we went to Kinkos and sent the e-mail. I got a book with all their locations in the U.S., so that should help. We went back to Frankenmuth for lunch and wished afterwards we had returned to Zehnders. Oh well.
Tuesday, we started the morning going to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.
They have all kinds of crèches from full size figures to tiny ones. They were beautiful. Then we moved to Flint, MI on highway 54. In the afternoon and evening we visited Marilynn's cousin and husband. We had a good time. In the morning it rained and in the evening it poured. Nice in the middle of the day. The area is very dry. Rain was welcome.
Wednesday, we got groceries in the morning. There is a big church in the area of the campground that had a sign out front, that they have valet parking. In the afternoon, Marilynn's cousin took us to the genealogical part of the Flint library. No luck. In the evening we all went to dinner, we visited a while, and then we said our thanks and goodbyes. It was a most enjoyable day.
Thursday, we moved to Niagara Falls, NY having followed I-69, 402, 403, QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way), 405, and 18 to the campground. 402 through 405 were in Ontario, Canada. The freeway through Ontario was the best one we have ever traveled and the scenery was beautiful. After we got set up, we went in to town to do the tourist stuff. We started with the National Shrine Basilica Of Our lady Of Fatima. It has 100 life size statues, a giant rosary, and a translucent domed chapel that has an observation deck on top. Beautiful view from there. Then we wandered around the Falls area. Lots of tourists and if you spoke English, you were in the minority. The area around the Falls is a State Park. Very nice. On the sports news tonight was a statement I thought was interesting, being a farm boy. The Wheaties with Tiger Woods picture on it. Tiger gets a dime for each one and the farmer who raised the wheat gets a nickel for the contents.
Friday, laundry day. Then we went south to North Tonawanda, to see the Herschell Carousel Factory Museum. For those of you who don't know, we have been known to drive a long way to see a WOOD carousel. The museum has an original 1916 Herschell Carousel that you can ride. It is all original, and restored, except the lead horse. The person who owned it before would not part with the lead horse. I don't blame him. The museum made a duplicate. The owner let them take pictures and measurements. A very nice museum. Then we drove along the Erie Barge Canal for a short way. Built in 1823-25 and modernized 1918. It starts at Waterford and ends at Buffalo. Then on the way back to the motor home we stopped at two more parks to overlook the Niagara River.
Saturday, we moved to Fulton, NY along highways 18,104 and 3. The State Park we wanted to stay in was full. I’m sure we will have the same problem next weekend. The scenery along Lake Ontario was great there are a lot of orchards, apples, peaches and apricots that we know of. It must have something to do with the lake, because when you go inland a' few miles, there weren't any orchards, that we saw. Cloudy today and it is supposed to rain over the weekend. Last weeks newsletter was sent via Kinko's. Hope to do the same with this one.
Take care and have fun.
Saturday, September 2, 2000
This week the newsletter will be much shorter then usual, as you will see. I am getting this started on Thursday afternoon.
Sunday, we went to the Fulton First United Methodist Church. Good sermon. After that we went to Syracuse to Kinko's to send the newsletter, Sam's Club for film, and to the Erie Canal Museum which is in the 1850 Weighblock Building. It was designed to weigh 100-foot canal boats so that a toll could be collected to pay for the building and maintenance of the canal. It was very interesting. The Erie Canal in Syracuse has been filled and paved and is now Erie Blvd. While we were there, I became very ill. Marilynn drove us back to the RV. I hoped a good nights rest would be a cure.
Monday, 8:30 AM finds us at the Fulton E.R. After a CAT Scan, 2 EKGs, and 30 hours of heart monitoring, it was decided I have an inner ear infection. My roommate was a 68 year old man with brain cancer. He was loud, fowl mouthed and uncooperative. So almost everything took longer than it should. After talking to his brother, I discovered that he is 11 months younger than me, which was funny, because the nurses kept telling him, his roommate was a nice young man who didn't like that kind of language Last part was true. Luckily, he slept most of the time. I have a new appreciation for both the people who are in the hospital and those who work there. This was my first real hospital experience as a patient. I have been a hospital patient before, once military and once in Puyallup for a couple of hours. So I have my hospital experience to tell about. Look out.
Wednesday, 1:00 PM discharged from hospital. Came back to the RV for a 2 hour nap and a good shower. The food was good, but not much sleep.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry in the morning and I rested. Still only about 75 percent well.
Friday, we rested, but we did go into town for a little while. The sun was so hot we came back. Marilynn had talked to the people parked behind us, and as we have found in talking to other people in other parks, the people from the state you are in, are usually less than 30 minutes from their home.
Saturday, we went southeast to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We took the 4 mile auto tour. We saw lots of birds, especially herons and egrets. They have reintroduced bald eagles; we saw an adult and a juvenile. Nice trip as the weather was overcast and not as hot, 15 degrees cooler than yesterday.
Friday September 8, 2000
We visited the State Street United Methodist Church in Fulton, NY to start our week off. We really enjoyed the service. One of the interesting parts was the service was at 9:20 including communion and then they had a memorial service for one of their members at 11:30. We thought they were pushing it. Then we went to Syracuse to send and receive email, pay bills and do a little shopping. We looked at the country as we went down and back by different routes. The City Campground was overflowing this weekend. They have plenty of space for overflow but no hookups.
Monday we moved to Verona, NY via highways 481 and 31. It rained some on the way. The main reason we came here was to see some harness races. Some people that we sat by and talked to, their son’s horse won his race. Had a great time and learned a lot. If anyone wants to know more about harness racing, send me an email and we will try to answer the questions.
Tuesday we took one of the scenic tours on the map. It was a 2 lane road with trees lining the road up into the Adirondack Mountains. We got as high as 1800 feet. Problem was, there were only 3 turnouts in about 200 miles. In a lot of spots there were nice lakes, just beyond the trees we could barely see as we drove by. The highest peak in the mountains is about 5400 feet. Didn’t see it.
Wednesday we took to highways 365, 69, 13, 3, I-81 and 12 to Kring Point State Park, just east of Alexandria Bay, NY. The park has the St. Lawrence Seaway on one side and Alexandria Bay on the other. Half of the campsites are on the water and the other half can see one or other of the bodies of water. Very pretty. We over look the Seaway. Then we took the car and went on highways 12, 12E and 180 to see the sights. We saw some nice views of the water and of the farms in this area.
Thursday we went to Alexandria Bay visited the city park on the Bay. Very nice. Then we went to the 1000 Island Skydeck. On the top deck you are 400 feet above the Seaway with a beautiful view of the 1000 islands and you can see for 40 miles. The trip to the Skydeck was interesting in that from the information we thought it was in the US. Wrong. It is from there we went back to the US and the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center at Wellesley Island State Park. Nice Nature Center and we did see some white tail deer. We also saw some wild turkeys while driving around.
Friday here we are at Massena, NY following highways 12 and 37. After set up we went to the St. Lawrence Seaway, Dwight D. Eisenhower Lock Visitors Center. The lock uses 22 million gallons of water of water to raise or lower ships. It does it in less than 10 minutes. Then we went to the St. Lawrence FDR Power Project. They have some very interesting displays about making electricity with dams and water power. The project was started when FDR was governor of New York and dedicated by Vice President Nixon. The project broke ground on August 10, 1954 and brought to full power July 20, 1959, two years ahead of schedule.
You will get this a day ahead of time due to the campground we are in. I can get on-line. The weather has been pretty good. I am feeling better and hope to be fine next week. Til next time.
Sunday September 17, 2000
Saturday we followed highways 37, 122 and 11 to Chateaugay, NY. Marilynn did the laundry, we checked out Chateaugay UMC, 9 am service. Then we toured around the local area. There a lot of small diary farms here. The spring and summer has been cold and wet, so the corn crop is poor. Some of the land was never planted.
Sunday we got to the church at 8:45, we are all alone. Found a telephone and called the church’s number. The sign hasn’t been changed; the service is at 11am starting today. Good service. We went to Malone for lunch; we ate in what was advertised as a bistro and then toured some more of the countryside.
Monday we have now received snail mail without going to a friend or relative. We used General Delivery and it works very well. After getting the mail we went to Plattsburg, NY to get a roll of film developed and to look the area over. We have noticed an odd home building pattern in upper NY. They evidently build a big home then they add another one to it on the side, then another smaller addition to those and then possibly a garage on to that . The roof line, roofing, siding and sometimes the floor level don’ts match. It makes some weird looking homes. We have seen up to 4 additions on the original home. They are on farms and in the cities. It rained all day.
Tuesday we moved to Fairfax, VT having followed highways 11, 2, 78, 7 and 104. It rained during the night daytime was nice, but windy and rained again in the evening. After parking we went to Burlington, VT and did some sightseeing. Nice City. The drivers here in Vermont are the most courteous we have seen. An example, in downtown Burlington, a gal stopped in the middle of the block to turn left into a parking space that someone was leaving. The traffic behind her, we were right behind her, was backed up about a block, no horns honked, no fingers thrown in the air, nothing, and then the traffic on the left side stopped so she could park. We saw other types of courteous driving all over town, even in the long backup we got involved in. Amazing. Sure would like to see more of it. Beautiful rolling hills country here. The trees are starting to turn color more here.
Wednesday we went to the north end of the Champlain Islands, following highway 2 south. The islands are beautiful and the farms look like they are doing well. On Isle La Motte we went to St. Anne’s Shrine. It is very nice and is on Lake Champlain shore line. The weather was beautiful. When we left the islands, we went to Barre, which is south of Montpelier, to the Rock of Ages Visitors Center. They quarry granite there. We took a tour of the quarry and then went to the manufacturing plant. Very interesting. This plant only makes Memorials (mausoleum and grave markers). There are other plants that make rollers for the paper industry and other things that use granite. They also make granite flat surfaces that are within 25/one millionths of an inch of being flat. The quarry opened in 1814 and in 1914 became the Rock of Ages Quarry. The quarry they are now working in has enough granite to last 450 years. They have several other quarries east of the Mississippi River for the different colors and import some also. For hardness from 1 to 10, 10 being hardest, marble was 3 and granite is 7.
Thursday we went to Stowe and looked at the area around the Von Trapp Lodge (Sound of Music fame). It is at the 1350 feet level in the mountains. Beautiful up there. Then we took highways 100, 105 and 104 on the scenic tour. The red colors are coming on good and the yellows are just beginning. We saw a lot more farming than we expected. The corn was in a lot better condition than we have been seeing. Nice trip.
Friday it’s supposed to rain for the next 3 days, so we are touring indoors. We started at Stowe; Cold Hollow Cider Mill, they make apple cider and sell tourist stuff, then Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. They ship ice cream all over the world then on to Montpelier; Morse Farm, they tap maple trees and make maple syrup and finally to Randolph; Porter Music Box Company; they make large disc style music boxes and discs. They have a music box museum and gift shop. Had a good day and it rained off and on all day.
If anyone wants to know more about the things and places we see, Marilynn keeps the brochures so send us an email or letter and we will tell you what you want to know, hopefully.
Saturday I took a fellow from the park and went to 2 golf courses. First one there was a tournament and the second one it was raining. So we came back to our RVs. Marilynn did the laundry. Wet and cold. In the afternoon we went to the Birds of Vermont Museum. A retired gentleman has carved most of the birds there. The museum was set up to educate adults and children about the birds. The displays were very good.
Til next week, keep smiling.
Saturday September 23, 2000
Sunday we went to St. Albans, VT St. Paul’s UMC. Very nice service. It was good to hear a pipe organ again. We think that is only the second church we have visited since we left in May that has a man minister. We have enjoyed all the churches.
Monday we moved to Lancaster, NH over highways I-89 (exit 18 to exit 8) and US 2. I sent and received our email I answered the email and sent it. The weather was nice all day.
Tuesday we followed highway US 2 to Farmington, ME. The afternoon we spent in the mountains around here. The colors are coming on. We saw some beautiful scenery and some beautiful trees. Good weather.
Wednesday we followed highways 2, 150, 6, I-95, 11 and 163 to Presque Isle, ME. We encountered the worst roads since we left home. There are log trucks everywhere and the outside edges of the roads are in bad shape. So it took a little longer, no big deal. The weather and the scenery were great.
Thursday I played 9 holes of golf at the Country Club with 2 local guys. Played poorly, but had a good time. It was very windy and blew in an afternoon rain storm. In the afternoon we went into town and looked around the town. Nice and the people are really friendly. We talked to a gal at the Chamber of Commerce they have a farm with 480 acres in potatoes and the schools shut down on the 28th of September for 3 weeks, so the children can help with the potato harvest. School had started in August. If the harvest is not completed by then, the schools remain closed till it is done. Aroostook County (here) produces 90 percent of the state crop.
Friday we went north on highway 1 and south on 161. We saw lots of potato fields. We watched the digging and loading potatoes into trucks. The field we were at, must be a big farm, as there were 3 diggers digging. The first digger digs 3 rows of potatoes and puts them between the rows on the right, the 2nd digger digs 3 rows and picks up all the potatoes, putting all of them between the rows on the right and the 3rd digger which is much bigger digs 3 rows, picks up the other potatoes, the rocks and other debris are removed and then all the potatoes are put into a truck. It is amazing how quickly those big trucks are loaded. Great trip. Then we went to the launch site of the Double Eagle II on August 11, 1978. Six days later they landed in France. There is a replica of the balloon and gondola there. We also visited Aroostook State Park. Both were nice.
Saturday we moved to Houlton, ME following route 1. After lunch we followed routes 1, 169, 171 and 2A as we looked the area south of us over. Nice day and the colors continue to come out. Next week they are supposed to be at their best.
We are both in good health and continue to have a good time. We miss you all.
Saturday September 30, 2000
Sunday we went to the Houlton UMC. The congregation was very friendly. The pipe organ/piano duets were beautiful. Great service. Then we went to lunch and to the “Boy With Leaky Boot” statue. They don’t know who the artist was. It rained all night and to about noon. Wet and cool. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday I played 9 holes of golf at the Houlton Country Club while Marilynn did the laundry. I played better today. After lunch we went to see a local covered bridge and watched some potatoes being dug. It was interesting, in that, this machine was smaller than the other one we saw. We were surprised that they were digging the day after all the rain.
Tuesday we moved to Perry, ME having followed highway 1. Nice day. After we got set up, we went to Eastport to look at some of Cobscook Bay. Lots of islands in the Bay and New Brunswick in on the other side. Beautiful. It was 34 degrees overnight.
Wednesday – more adventures. We decided to go out for breakfast, we had a restaurant picked out from our travels yesterday, it didn’t open until lunch. About an hour later, we did have breakfast. After Labor Day some of the restaurants close, tourist area. After that we went to Roque Bluffs, then Bucks Harbor, Jasper Beach and out in the bay there was an Aquafarm (salmon). Then we took 191 south out of East Machias to Cutler to the area of the Navy Base, where they have the most powerful radio station in the world to communicate with the US. Submarine fleet. There were 25 towers with antenna strung between them. From there we went to Quoddy Head State Park to the Lighthouse. The Ranger there told us about wild blue berry crop care and harvesting. Interesting. Then to Canada to Roosevelt Campobello International Park. It is the only International Park in the world. The cottage was built in 1897, bought by FDR’s mother in 1909, in 1915 FDR added a wing for his growing family, and FDR’s family spent summers there until 1921. FDR only went there again in ’33, ’36 and ’39, after being elected president because of security issues. 34 rooms, 18 bedrooms, 6 full time servants. Quite a place. Had dinner and came back to the RV.
Thursday we went to the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, first thing. No wildlife. Then we took highways 1 and 182 to Ellsworth, ME. In the afternoon we did a little shopping and had some pictures developed. Rained all morning and cold all day.
Friday we spent the day in Acadia National Park, beautiful. We were on top of Cadillac Mountain, highest point in eastern US, 1530 feet. It was the first National Park east of the Mississippi River and the first to be given to the US. The island is not totally owned by the US but is slowly getting there. There were a lot of people there. We were surprised. We have had most other places, pretty much, to ourselves. There used to be a lot of cottages on the island, owned by millionaires, but in 1947 there was a huge fire that destroyed most of them. John D. Rockefeller Jr. had 47 miles of carriage path and 17 bridges built, today used for walking, bicycles and horseback riding. Each bridge is hand carved granite and individually styled to fit the location. Cottage; local definition; a summer home, regardless of size. The weather was nice, but cool. 28 degrees when we got up in the morning.
Saturday we spent the day looking at the various small villages in the local area. A lot of them used to be fishing villages, now they are set up for tourists. There were no places to pull off the road and view the scenery, so had to sightsee on the fly.
Thought for the day; the trick to eating crow, is to pretend it tastes good. Seen on a billboard.
The fuel prices have begun to come down a little as we head south. Not sure why.
SMILE, so other people wonder what you have been up to.
Saturday October 7, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Ellsworth UMC (United Methodist Church). It was the smallest congregation we have been to. 23 total. The Lay Speaker did the sermon. She was very good. Friendly people. Then we went to lunch and had Maine Lobster. It was alright, but we would take a Dungeness Crab instead anytime. Beautiful day.
Monday, Following highways, 3, 202,133, 219, 26, and 2, we moved to Shelburne, NH. Then we visited the Visitor's Center to see where to go to see more color. Then we went to the grocery store. Marilynn did the laundry, while I rested. Terrible to get old, but better than the alternative.
Tuesday, I played 9 holes of golf at the Androscoggin Valley Country
Club, then we had lunch and took the Mt. Washington Stage Tour. The average grade is 12 percent. It is a 12 passenger van to the top of Mt. Washington, 6,288 feet. The first auto to go to the top was a Stanley Steamer in 1899, took 2 hours, fast considering, it took 2 teams of 6 Morgan horses each, 6 hours with a Concord Wagon. It was beautiful, till we got almost to the top, then we entered a cloud. Wind was between 40 and 50 MPH and it was 45 degrees. Other than that the weather was great and the leaf colors are gorgeous. Then at dusk we went moose hunting and we saw one, also a red fox.
Wednesday, we toured the White Mountains, going North as far as highway 26 and as far South as highway 302, about 200 miles total. The scenery was better than yesterday. It rained all day, but we had a good time.
Thursday, with a lot of help from our son, Brian, I have figured out how to send pictures. Thank you, Brian. The picture is of Quoddy Head Light House in Maine.
Today we moved to Newport, NH. following highways, 2, 115, 3, I-93, 104, 4, and 11. After we got set up, we each got a cheap haircut. Mine was $5 and Marilynn's with a shampoo and blow dry was $8. The Salon was different; it is in the same building with the Post Office. Walk-ins are welcome and the beautician said that helped business. They were busy. 2 young ladies. Did a nice job. After that we toured some of the local area in the rain. It was cloudy on the way down.
Friday, It rained all night, most of the day, and low clouds. So we stocked up on groceries and developed more film. We did go see another covered bridge on the way home. Speaking of pictures, I checked to see how many we have added to the album in the last 60 days. 272. So be careful when you say you would like to see our pictures. We are seeing something we have never seen before. On the street to town, there is a yellow caution sign that says "OFFICER AHEAD, when yellow light is flashing". We have been by several times and the yellow light was flashing. NO officer. The only thing there is a factory entrance. Different.
Saturday, the morning started out sunny, but turned cloudy. We started our touring at New Hampshire's only National Park. Saint-Gaudens National/ Historic Site. He was a world famous sculptor. He was the first sculptor to fully design a US coin, the 1907-1933 twenty dollar gold coin. After his death, his wife and son started the Saint-Gaudens Memorial to preserve his home and the rest of the property as a historic site. In 1965 the Memorial donated the property to the National Park Service. There is some of his work there. It was great. Then we went to Quechee Gorge. You look down 163 feet to the cascading waters of the Ottauquechee River. It is beautiful, especially with the fall colors. The traffic is terrible there. Tourists from everywhere. We looked at some more of the area, also 5 more covered bridges, and then returned to the RV.
Have a good week.
Saturday, October 14, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Church Of The Good Shepard UMC at Newport, NH. The minister is very talented. He is the church minister, organist, pianist, and choir director. They are looking for someone to take over the music program. Friendly people and a nice service. Seems to be an active church. The church was founded in 1850 and the building built in 1851. They still worship in the original sanctuary. After lunch, we went Concord, looking at the scenery both ways. Very nice. We did see 2 more covered bridges.
Monday, we traveled to Catskill, NY, via highways, 10, 9, 9 across Vermont, 22, 295, and 66. On 9 in Vermont, we climbed the steepest grade we have ever with an RV; I guessed it to be at least 14 %. The level I use to level the RV is graduated in inches, but 8 % is the middle of the up grade, and the bubble went to the end. Luckily it was only about 1/4 mile. It wasn't a problem, as we have plenty of power. At the top is the 100 mile view, elevation about 2.400 feet. The view was breath taking. That whole highway was jammed with traffic. It took us 45 minutes to go thru the town of Bennington. It wasn't a real big town. The color in places was all done, other places, just getting started. It was cloudy all day.
Tuesday, we started the day doing a little RV maintenance. After lunch, we drove around in the Catskill Mountains. There is snow at the higher elevations. The picture I took is Windham Mt. 3,524 feet. In Maine today, parts got 6 inches of snow.
Wednesday, we moved to Corning, NY, on highways, 23, 1-88, and 1-17. Part of 23 we traveled yesterday and today the snow was gone. Lovely day, as it got into the 60's.
Thursday, I played 9 holes at Kent's Golf Course, Corning, NY, with frost on the ground, a challenging condition to play in. Then we went to the Corning Museum of Glass. Wonderful museum. They show and tell how glass has been made through the ages and is made now. Lots of displays and a live glass blowing demonstration. The gallery has thousands of glass objects made through the ages. Well displayed. There are over a million recipes for making glass. As always, the gift shop where you can spend a few dollars to thousands. They recommend planning 2 hours, we spent a little over 4 hours. Then we came home and rested.
Friday, we toured Historic Downtown Corning in the morning. It is now listed as a National Historic Site. It is 5 blocks long and both sides of the street. Really looks nice. Corning is the National Headquarters of Corning Glass. In the afternoon, I played 9 holes of golf at Kent’s again.
Saturday, we moved to Elizabethtown, PA on highways, 15, I-76, and 743. Nice day. It was 80 degrees when we got here.
I guess that is it for this week. SMILE
Saturday, October 21, 2000
Sunday, we attended Saint Paul's UMC, Elizabethtown, PA. The 18 member adult choir, 7 member bell choir, and 2 trumpets performed. Also 12 member children's choir, (oldest about 10), 2 flutes, performed, both accompanied by piano. The whole service was very good. Big church, guessing it seats about 400. For 3 services, 425 attended last Sunday. Over $737,000 contributed this year thru last 10/8. 5 ministers. Nice day.
Monday, we toured the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in York, PA. We walked about 1 1/2 miles on the narrated tour of the assembly lines. Very interesting. In 1997, 108,000 people toured the plant. They build 90 motorcycles in an 8 hour shift. In 1999 they built over 177,000, and in 2000 they expect to build over 205,000 in their 2 plants. Then we went to Historic Downtown York to look at some of their murals. They are of local history. I took a picture of the one about the Harley-Davidson Company. It was cloudy and rainy all day. We are parked about 5 miles from 3 Mile Island.
Tuesday, we took the Pennsylvania Turnpike, both ways, to Philadelphia. We wanted to get there fast, and avoid the traffic on the way back. The freeway was bumper to bumper and slow at 3:15 PM out of Philadelphia. We went to the Presbyterian Historical Society to do research on my grandfather. We did well. Then we toured the U.S. Mint. Very interesting and very good displays.
Salada tea quote; OLD AGE IS ALWAYS FIFTEEN YEARS FROM NOW.
Wednesday, we got a late start. Stayed up too late for the Mariners game. We went to Lancaster for brunch and then to the Historical Society to look up Marilynn's relatives. Found some information, but not sure of its worth. The people there were very helpful; we spent 4 1/2 hours there, and then returned to the RV.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry, while I vacuumed the RV. Then we went to Creative Carving. It was an older gentleman carving tourist stuff. Quality was so so. Then we hit 2 Factory Outlet Malls. We visited a Bose Factory Store and got a demonstration. Impressive. Didn't buy.
Friday, we went to Harrisburg and toured the Capital Building. The first one burnt down in 1897. The current one opened 0ctober 4, 1906. Covers 5.5 acres. 600 rooms. Very nice. We got our snail mail today. Marilynn took care of the bills. I prepared to move in the morning.
Saturday, we moved to New Market, VA. on I-81, when we finally got on it. We weren't lost, just didn't know how to get where we wanted to go, and we were low on fuel at the same time. We made it though. Paid $1.63 per gallon and it is coming down as we move south. $1.50 the last price we saw.
I guess that is it for this week. Till next week, so long.
Sunday, October 29, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Manor Memorial UMC at New Market, VA. I think the church could hold about 150 people. I think about 130 were there. It turned out the minister just returned from Brazil. The service was geared to the children. The children’s bell choir and choir performed, they were both very good. The homily was also for the children. We think the children of all ages (1-100) enjoyed it. Very nice service.
Monday, we followed 11 and 33 to move to Elkins, W.V. We traveled across the Shenandoah and the Allegheny Mountains. We were at the highest, 3,450 feet. A lot of the road is 9% grade. One section we went down was 9%, 41/2 miles, with curves at 25 M.P.H. I'm glad we have an exhaust brake, so I did not use the regular brakes much. In the afternoon we went to Spruce Knob, highest point in W.V. There is an observation deck there, and on a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see for 50 miles. It was hazy, but we could still see a long ways. It was nice up there.
Tuesday, we toured on highways, 33, 47, 16, 50, and I-77 to Marietta, Ohio. I say toured because the roads are so crooked, I drove slowly. The speed limit in most places was 55 MPH, but the curves are advised at 20 to 40 MPH, and there were lots of them, so I didn't get up to 55. The drive was interesting. We couldn't tell what the people in the hills did for a living, as the land is very steep, and little land for farming.
There were some sheep and goats. In the afternoon, we went to Fenton Art Glass. There was a tour, museum, and gift shop. The tour was very interesting and different from Corning glass. Fenton uses ten person teams to make their Art Glass. It looked cumbersome to us. The plant looked very old. We got to see them hand decorating the glass ware. The ones that look painted have the artists name on the bottom. The paint is made of enamel paint and finely crushed glass, then after application, the piece is heated to high temperatures to ensure it fusing to the glass.
Wednesday, we moved to Grayson, KY. following highways 7, and I-64. It was foggy till midafternoon, but not thick. Hot later in the day. The trip along the Ohio River was nice.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry, while I cleaned the RV. Then we went to the Pilgrim Glass Factory. A much smaller operation than Fenton. We did some sightseeing in the area and in the late afternoon, went to Huntington to pick up Jeannine. She is visiting us until we take her to the airport Sunday afternoon.
Friday, we went to Lexington, KY. via I-64 and I-75 to the Horse Park Campground. The Horse Park is famous for its horse Museum. We didn't go to it. In the afternoon we went to Jeannine's company’s office in Lexington, and then we toured the local area and especially the Paris Pike area. Beautiful horse farms in the area. Then Jeannine took us to dinner to celebrate Marilynn's birthday.
Saturday, we went to Natural Bridge State Resort Park. There we took the Sky Lift up 600 feet to view and walk on the Natural Bridge. We had a great time. Then we toured the Red River Gorge. Very pretty. In the evening we went to dinner at my Niece's home.
Both she and her husband are great cooks. We enjoyed visiting them and their 3 boys.
That's it for this week. Have fun.
Saturday November 4, 2000
Sunday, we went to Frankfort to see Daniel and Rebecca Boone's grave. Impressive. Looking across the Kentucky River is a great view of the Capital Building. We went to the Capital Building from there and also toured the old part of town. The old homes have been kept up very nicely. At the Capital Building, there is a floral clock. It is 34 feet across with cast aluminum hands. Minute hand is 21 1/2 feet long and the hour hand is 15 1/2 feet long. They are finished in Kentucky blue. Very nice. I have included a picture of the clock. Then we toured some more of the area on the way to the Cincinnati Airport, which by the way is in Kentucky. There we left Jeannine to return home to her husband and 2 girls. We had a great time with Jeannine, and would like to thank Brad, Christine, and Jennifer for doing without her for 3 days, while she visited us.
Monday, we toured the Toyota Manufacturing and Assembly Plant. Good tour. The tour is by tram inside the plant, and the tram is wired so each person has a headset. Great way to go. They only repair 50 to 75 vehicles out of 2,000 each day. Mostly minor repairs. We thought that was really good. Then we toured Rebecca-Ruth Candy, lnc. They are famous for their bourbon chocolates. There is bourbon mixed in the filling. We didn't care for the sample and we didn't buy any. Then we went to the State Capital Building for the tour. Turned out, we had the guide to ourselves. The young man was very good. Great way to do a tour. According to some poll, the building is the third most beautiful capital building in the US. It is beautiful.
Tuesday, we moved to Boonesborough State Park, KY via I-75 and 627. Short trip. We have a friend whose mother lives near here and we are going to visit her. We've both known her since childhood. We got our snail mail today and we voted. We hope everyone else does also. In the afternoon we went sightseeing and the road we were on ended up at a 3 car ferry across the Kentucky River. It is the oldest continuous business in Kentucky. Started in 1785. Paddlewheel ferry and its free. Supported by the state.
Sunday, we followed 1-35 back to Moose Lake, MN. In the afternoon and evening we visited Marilynn's relatives. We had a good time.
Monday, in the morning, I played 18 holes of golf, Marilynn did the laundry and we again visited Marilynn's relatives. The afternoon and evening we spent with my sister and her husband eating and playing cards. We had a good time all day and evening. We also planned for the family reunion happening next Sunday. We are expecting 20, so it will be fun.
Tuesday, I did some washing on the exterior of the motor home, while Marilynn ironed. In the afternoon we went to the local newspaper and got some more information on my relatives. Then we went to the cemetery, where our relatives are buried.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf. In the evening we went with my sister and husband to Virginia, to celebrate my Niece's birthday. We had a great time.
Thursday, Marilynn went to lunch with former classmates and friends. Sonny (brother-in-law) and I went to lunch. Both of us had a good time. Then we went to visit Marilynn's brother and sister-in-law.
Friday, Marilynn did the laundry again and I prepared the motor home to stay here 4 more days. (Polite way to say I dumped the waste tanks.) Then we visited Marilynn's brother.
Saturday, in the afternoon we visited the couple who lived next door to my Mother during her final years on the farm. We had a good time. The weather has been nice all week. Cooler than before.
Saturday, August 12, 2000
Sunday, we again attended Barnum Methodist Church. Then in the afternoon, we went to my sister and brother-in-law's home for our family reunion. There were 19 of us there. The weather, food, and fun were great.
Monday, in the morning we said good bye to Marilynn's relatives. In the afternoon, we went to my sister’s home, where we visited with my brother, his wife, and daughter. My niece was unable to attend the reunion, having come this afternoon. We had a great visit and great food as usual.
Tuesday, we went to my sisters for breakfast and said goodbye and thank you to all. We hope to visit my brother at his home later on in the fall. Then we moved to Ontonagon, MI following highways 4, C, 2, 28 and 64. On the way, we visited Michigan Regional Visitor Center. They had nice displays of the industry and animals in the area and the fish in Lake Superior. The fish in Lake Superior have been over fished, the same as the salmon in our area. The fish are slowly recovering.
Wednesday, we toured the Ontonagon Light House. The Historical Society is trying to get possession of it and restore it. Big job ahead. The tour was very good. There are 116 light houses in Michigan. Then we went to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. The Visitor's Center had a very good slide show. We saw some waterfalls, and went to Summit Observation Tower. At the top of the tower, you could see around about 250 degrees. It was beautiful. Next month, with the Aspens, Oak, and Maple Trees, it will be even more beautiful. A few trees are already beginning to turn color. We had an interesting dinner at a local restaurant. When we sat down, the waitress brought us a menu, placemat, and a fork. That was the only utensil we got for a turkey dinner. Interesting putting butter on a bun with a fork, but it works. Good food.
Thursday, as I sit at the table, looking East over Keweenaw Bay, part of Lake Superior, in Baraga State Park after a truly great day, with the sun setting in the West, we wish every one of you were here. We moved here this morning down highway 38, an amazing 40 miles. Then we drove out highway 41, with the car to Copper Harbor. Beautiful scenery all the way. There we toured Fort Wilkins State Park. It is being restored to the way it was in 1840. It was built by the Army, to prevent Indian uprising and keep the peace for the copper miners. It was abandoned 2 years later. Twelve of the original 19 buildings are still there and have been restored. They have college students dressed in 1840's clothing, telling of the way things were then. A MUST SEE if you are ever in this area. We saw a deer and a coyote on the way back. We took some side roads too. The weather was great all day.
Friday, we moved to Munising, MI along highways 41, and 28. After doing a little sight seeing, we took the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise. 21/2 hours of viewing stained cliffs. They are very colorful. I hope my roll of pictures turns out well. It surprised us, when they said that the water in Lake Superior is pure.
Saturday, we started the day by taking the Shipwreck Tour. We went on boat that has glass panels on the bottom. Lake Superior water is very clear. The 3 ships we saw were between 4 and 20 feet below the boat. The guide did a very good job explaining what we were seeing. It was a 2-hour trip. From there we went to the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. It has a 7-mile auto tour. We saw more than 20 Trumpeter Swans. They had been hunted to extinction in Michigan, they were reintroduced in 1991 and 92, and they are doing very well. We saw some Loons, a pair of Sandhill cranes, and other water fowl. The weather has been good all week.
That's it for this week.
Sunday August 20, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Munising UMC. The minister wasn't there and there were about 30 in attendance. Nice service. We went to Marquette for lunch, have 5 rolls of film developed and a little shopping. Very nice day.
Monday, we moved to St. Ignace on a roundabout way. We took 28, turned left on 123 and around the loop to St. Ignace. While we were on the upper loop we stopped at both upper and lower Tahquamenon Falls. The upper falls are the largest falls east of the Mississippi River. 50 feet high and 200 feet wide. They were pretty.
Tuesday, we went over to Mackinac Island on a high-speed catamaran. We took a horse drawn tour. It is a Michigan State Park, which owns 80 percent and is slowly getting more. It has the only highway in the state that hasn't had a traffic accident. Clue; there are no motorized vehicles except emergency vehicles. There are between 550 and 600 horses on the island. The company that provides the people transit, tours, taxis, etc. own 350 of those horses. The tour we took was pricey but not too bad. You can rent bicycles, horses, and horse and buggies if you want. Bring lots of money. We had a good time.
Wednesday, we moved to Barton City, MI by following I-75.along the beach of Lake Huron on 23 and 72 and are camped in Marilynn's cousin's yard. Scenery and weather was beautiful. The drive was beautiful and we are seeing more and more fall colors. It is definitely fall here.
Thursday, we all 3 went to the Lumberman's Monument. It remembers the logging of the white pine here for ships and buildings. It was interesting and well done. Then we saw the lake behind Foots Dam. Then toured the general area here. Pretty here. The summer is way too short for us here. Around here and all over the country around here. The land is being bought by people from out of the area for summer homes, which drives up the prices and also the taxes. This morning when we got up the temperature was in the 40's and didn't get up to 70 during the day.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf. Pretty course. The girls went sightseeing. We loafed the rest of the day.
Saturday, I played 9 holes of golf. In the afternoon we went to Alpena, MI to do a little shopping and get another roll of film developed. Cold in the morning but nice after the sun came out.
We are sorry that you on the e-mail list got two e-mails at the same time, but it looks like that will be the way it is at times.
Saturday, Aug 26, 2000
Hello to everyone on another beautiful day,
Sunday, it was in the low 40's this morning, but warmed up to 70. We said farewell to Marilynn's cousin and moved to Birch Run, MI on highways 72, F-41, 23.13. and I-75. After we parked, we took the car and went to Frankenmuth. The founders were Germans who came over to make Christians of the Indians. They bought land from the Indians and started a town. The Indians moved on and now the tourists have moved in. The whole town has a German flavor. We had dinner at Zehnders of Frankenmuth. The labels on their seasoning said they are the biggest restaurant in America. The waitress said biggest in the world. There are 11 rooms with a total of seating for 1,500. When we entered, they said it would be a wait of 15 minutes in a long line. In less than 10 minutes we were seated and the food was excellent. We walked around town. It is pretty. Then we saw the Glockenspiel, the 35 bell carillon, and it told the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlen. The figures for the Pied Piper were hand-carved wood from Germany, and up to 4 1/2 feet tall. Very interesting.
Monday, we went to Saginaw to look for my dad's birth record. No luck in either the courthouse or library. Then we went to Kinkos and sent the e-mail. I got a book with all their locations in the U.S., so that should help. We went back to Frankenmuth for lunch and wished afterwards we had returned to Zehnders. Oh well.
Tuesday, we started the morning going to Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.
They have all kinds of crèches from full size figures to tiny ones. They were beautiful. Then we moved to Flint, MI on highway 54. In the afternoon and evening we visited Marilynn's cousin and husband. We had a good time. In the morning it rained and in the evening it poured. Nice in the middle of the day. The area is very dry. Rain was welcome.
Wednesday, we got groceries in the morning. There is a big church in the area of the campground that had a sign out front, that they have valet parking. In the afternoon, Marilynn's cousin took us to the genealogical part of the Flint library. No luck. In the evening we all went to dinner, we visited a while, and then we said our thanks and goodbyes. It was a most enjoyable day.
Thursday, we moved to Niagara Falls, NY having followed I-69, 402, 403, QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way), 405, and 18 to the campground. 402 through 405 were in Ontario, Canada. The freeway through Ontario was the best one we have ever traveled and the scenery was beautiful. After we got set up, we went in to town to do the tourist stuff. We started with the National Shrine Basilica Of Our lady Of Fatima. It has 100 life size statues, a giant rosary, and a translucent domed chapel that has an observation deck on top. Beautiful view from there. Then we wandered around the Falls area. Lots of tourists and if you spoke English, you were in the minority. The area around the Falls is a State Park. Very nice. On the sports news tonight was a statement I thought was interesting, being a farm boy. The Wheaties with Tiger Woods picture on it. Tiger gets a dime for each one and the farmer who raised the wheat gets a nickel for the contents.
Friday, laundry day. Then we went south to North Tonawanda, to see the Herschell Carousel Factory Museum. For those of you who don't know, we have been known to drive a long way to see a WOOD carousel. The museum has an original 1916 Herschell Carousel that you can ride. It is all original, and restored, except the lead horse. The person who owned it before would not part with the lead horse. I don't blame him. The museum made a duplicate. The owner let them take pictures and measurements. A very nice museum. Then we drove along the Erie Barge Canal for a short way. Built in 1823-25 and modernized 1918. It starts at Waterford and ends at Buffalo. Then on the way back to the motor home we stopped at two more parks to overlook the Niagara River.
Saturday, we moved to Fulton, NY along highways 18,104 and 3. The State Park we wanted to stay in was full. I’m sure we will have the same problem next weekend. The scenery along Lake Ontario was great there are a lot of orchards, apples, peaches and apricots that we know of. It must have something to do with the lake, because when you go inland a' few miles, there weren't any orchards, that we saw. Cloudy today and it is supposed to rain over the weekend. Last weeks newsletter was sent via Kinko's. Hope to do the same with this one.
Take care and have fun.
Saturday, September 2, 2000
This week the newsletter will be much shorter then usual, as you will see. I am getting this started on Thursday afternoon.
Sunday, we went to the Fulton First United Methodist Church. Good sermon. After that we went to Syracuse to Kinko's to send the newsletter, Sam's Club for film, and to the Erie Canal Museum which is in the 1850 Weighblock Building. It was designed to weigh 100-foot canal boats so that a toll could be collected to pay for the building and maintenance of the canal. It was very interesting. The Erie Canal in Syracuse has been filled and paved and is now Erie Blvd. While we were there, I became very ill. Marilynn drove us back to the RV. I hoped a good nights rest would be a cure.
Monday, 8:30 AM finds us at the Fulton E.R. After a CAT Scan, 2 EKGs, and 30 hours of heart monitoring, it was decided I have an inner ear infection. My roommate was a 68 year old man with brain cancer. He was loud, fowl mouthed and uncooperative. So almost everything took longer than it should. After talking to his brother, I discovered that he is 11 months younger than me, which was funny, because the nurses kept telling him, his roommate was a nice young man who didn't like that kind of language Last part was true. Luckily, he slept most of the time. I have a new appreciation for both the people who are in the hospital and those who work there. This was my first real hospital experience as a patient. I have been a hospital patient before, once military and once in Puyallup for a couple of hours. So I have my hospital experience to tell about. Look out.
Wednesday, 1:00 PM discharged from hospital. Came back to the RV for a 2 hour nap and a good shower. The food was good, but not much sleep.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry in the morning and I rested. Still only about 75 percent well.
Friday, we rested, but we did go into town for a little while. The sun was so hot we came back. Marilynn had talked to the people parked behind us, and as we have found in talking to other people in other parks, the people from the state you are in, are usually less than 30 minutes from their home.
Saturday, we went southeast to Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. We took the 4 mile auto tour. We saw lots of birds, especially herons and egrets. They have reintroduced bald eagles; we saw an adult and a juvenile. Nice trip as the weather was overcast and not as hot, 15 degrees cooler than yesterday.
Friday September 8, 2000
We visited the State Street United Methodist Church in Fulton, NY to start our week off. We really enjoyed the service. One of the interesting parts was the service was at 9:20 including communion and then they had a memorial service for one of their members at 11:30. We thought they were pushing it. Then we went to Syracuse to send and receive email, pay bills and do a little shopping. We looked at the country as we went down and back by different routes. The City Campground was overflowing this weekend. They have plenty of space for overflow but no hookups.
Monday we moved to Verona, NY via highways 481 and 31. It rained some on the way. The main reason we came here was to see some harness races. Some people that we sat by and talked to, their son’s horse won his race. Had a great time and learned a lot. If anyone wants to know more about harness racing, send me an email and we will try to answer the questions.
Tuesday we took one of the scenic tours on the map. It was a 2 lane road with trees lining the road up into the Adirondack Mountains. We got as high as 1800 feet. Problem was, there were only 3 turnouts in about 200 miles. In a lot of spots there were nice lakes, just beyond the trees we could barely see as we drove by. The highest peak in the mountains is about 5400 feet. Didn’t see it.
Wednesday we took to highways 365, 69, 13, 3, I-81 and 12 to Kring Point State Park, just east of Alexandria Bay, NY. The park has the St. Lawrence Seaway on one side and Alexandria Bay on the other. Half of the campsites are on the water and the other half can see one or other of the bodies of water. Very pretty. We over look the Seaway. Then we took the car and went on highways 12, 12E and 180 to see the sights. We saw some nice views of the water and of the farms in this area.
Thursday we went to Alexandria Bay visited the city park on the Bay. Very nice. Then we went to the 1000 Island Skydeck. On the top deck you are 400 feet above the Seaway with a beautiful view of the 1000 islands and you can see for 40 miles. The trip to the Skydeck was interesting in that from the information we thought it was in the US. Wrong. It is from there we went back to the US and the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center at Wellesley Island State Park. Nice Nature Center and we did see some white tail deer. We also saw some wild turkeys while driving around.
Friday here we are at Massena, NY following highways 12 and 37. After set up we went to the St. Lawrence Seaway, Dwight D. Eisenhower Lock Visitors Center. The lock uses 22 million gallons of water of water to raise or lower ships. It does it in less than 10 minutes. Then we went to the St. Lawrence FDR Power Project. They have some very interesting displays about making electricity with dams and water power. The project was started when FDR was governor of New York and dedicated by Vice President Nixon. The project broke ground on August 10, 1954 and brought to full power July 20, 1959, two years ahead of schedule.
You will get this a day ahead of time due to the campground we are in. I can get on-line. The weather has been pretty good. I am feeling better and hope to be fine next week. Til next time.
Sunday September 17, 2000
Saturday we followed highways 37, 122 and 11 to Chateaugay, NY. Marilynn did the laundry, we checked out Chateaugay UMC, 9 am service. Then we toured around the local area. There a lot of small diary farms here. The spring and summer has been cold and wet, so the corn crop is poor. Some of the land was never planted.
Sunday we got to the church at 8:45, we are all alone. Found a telephone and called the church’s number. The sign hasn’t been changed; the service is at 11am starting today. Good service. We went to Malone for lunch; we ate in what was advertised as a bistro and then toured some more of the countryside.
Monday we have now received snail mail without going to a friend or relative. We used General Delivery and it works very well. After getting the mail we went to Plattsburg, NY to get a roll of film developed and to look the area over. We have noticed an odd home building pattern in upper NY. They evidently build a big home then they add another one to it on the side, then another smaller addition to those and then possibly a garage on to that . The roof line, roofing, siding and sometimes the floor level don’ts match. It makes some weird looking homes. We have seen up to 4 additions on the original home. They are on farms and in the cities. It rained all day.
Tuesday we moved to Fairfax, VT having followed highways 11, 2, 78, 7 and 104. It rained during the night daytime was nice, but windy and rained again in the evening. After parking we went to Burlington, VT and did some sightseeing. Nice City. The drivers here in Vermont are the most courteous we have seen. An example, in downtown Burlington, a gal stopped in the middle of the block to turn left into a parking space that someone was leaving. The traffic behind her, we were right behind her, was backed up about a block, no horns honked, no fingers thrown in the air, nothing, and then the traffic on the left side stopped so she could park. We saw other types of courteous driving all over town, even in the long backup we got involved in. Amazing. Sure would like to see more of it. Beautiful rolling hills country here. The trees are starting to turn color more here.
Wednesday we went to the north end of the Champlain Islands, following highway 2 south. The islands are beautiful and the farms look like they are doing well. On Isle La Motte we went to St. Anne’s Shrine. It is very nice and is on Lake Champlain shore line. The weather was beautiful. When we left the islands, we went to Barre, which is south of Montpelier, to the Rock of Ages Visitors Center. They quarry granite there. We took a tour of the quarry and then went to the manufacturing plant. Very interesting. This plant only makes Memorials (mausoleum and grave markers). There are other plants that make rollers for the paper industry and other things that use granite. They also make granite flat surfaces that are within 25/one millionths of an inch of being flat. The quarry opened in 1814 and in 1914 became the Rock of Ages Quarry. The quarry they are now working in has enough granite to last 450 years. They have several other quarries east of the Mississippi River for the different colors and import some also. For hardness from 1 to 10, 10 being hardest, marble was 3 and granite is 7.
Thursday we went to Stowe and looked at the area around the Von Trapp Lodge (Sound of Music fame). It is at the 1350 feet level in the mountains. Beautiful up there. Then we took highways 100, 105 and 104 on the scenic tour. The red colors are coming on good and the yellows are just beginning. We saw a lot more farming than we expected. The corn was in a lot better condition than we have been seeing. Nice trip.
Friday it’s supposed to rain for the next 3 days, so we are touring indoors. We started at Stowe; Cold Hollow Cider Mill, they make apple cider and sell tourist stuff, then Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory. They ship ice cream all over the world then on to Montpelier; Morse Farm, they tap maple trees and make maple syrup and finally to Randolph; Porter Music Box Company; they make large disc style music boxes and discs. They have a music box museum and gift shop. Had a good day and it rained off and on all day.
If anyone wants to know more about the things and places we see, Marilynn keeps the brochures so send us an email or letter and we will tell you what you want to know, hopefully.
Saturday I took a fellow from the park and went to 2 golf courses. First one there was a tournament and the second one it was raining. So we came back to our RVs. Marilynn did the laundry. Wet and cold. In the afternoon we went to the Birds of Vermont Museum. A retired gentleman has carved most of the birds there. The museum was set up to educate adults and children about the birds. The displays were very good.
Til next week, keep smiling.
Saturday September 23, 2000
Sunday we went to St. Albans, VT St. Paul’s UMC. Very nice service. It was good to hear a pipe organ again. We think that is only the second church we have visited since we left in May that has a man minister. We have enjoyed all the churches.
Monday we moved to Lancaster, NH over highways I-89 (exit 18 to exit 8) and US 2. I sent and received our email I answered the email and sent it. The weather was nice all day.
Tuesday we followed highway US 2 to Farmington, ME. The afternoon we spent in the mountains around here. The colors are coming on. We saw some beautiful scenery and some beautiful trees. Good weather.
Wednesday we followed highways 2, 150, 6, I-95, 11 and 163 to Presque Isle, ME. We encountered the worst roads since we left home. There are log trucks everywhere and the outside edges of the roads are in bad shape. So it took a little longer, no big deal. The weather and the scenery were great.
Thursday I played 9 holes of golf at the Country Club with 2 local guys. Played poorly, but had a good time. It was very windy and blew in an afternoon rain storm. In the afternoon we went into town and looked around the town. Nice and the people are really friendly. We talked to a gal at the Chamber of Commerce they have a farm with 480 acres in potatoes and the schools shut down on the 28th of September for 3 weeks, so the children can help with the potato harvest. School had started in August. If the harvest is not completed by then, the schools remain closed till it is done. Aroostook County (here) produces 90 percent of the state crop.
Friday we went north on highway 1 and south on 161. We saw lots of potato fields. We watched the digging and loading potatoes into trucks. The field we were at, must be a big farm, as there were 3 diggers digging. The first digger digs 3 rows of potatoes and puts them between the rows on the right, the 2nd digger digs 3 rows and picks up all the potatoes, putting all of them between the rows on the right and the 3rd digger which is much bigger digs 3 rows, picks up the other potatoes, the rocks and other debris are removed and then all the potatoes are put into a truck. It is amazing how quickly those big trucks are loaded. Great trip. Then we went to the launch site of the Double Eagle II on August 11, 1978. Six days later they landed in France. There is a replica of the balloon and gondola there. We also visited Aroostook State Park. Both were nice.
Saturday we moved to Houlton, ME following route 1. After lunch we followed routes 1, 169, 171 and 2A as we looked the area south of us over. Nice day and the colors continue to come out. Next week they are supposed to be at their best.
We are both in good health and continue to have a good time. We miss you all.
Saturday September 30, 2000
Sunday we went to the Houlton UMC. The congregation was very friendly. The pipe organ/piano duets were beautiful. Great service. Then we went to lunch and to the “Boy With Leaky Boot” statue. They don’t know who the artist was. It rained all night and to about noon. Wet and cool. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday I played 9 holes of golf at the Houlton Country Club while Marilynn did the laundry. I played better today. After lunch we went to see a local covered bridge and watched some potatoes being dug. It was interesting, in that, this machine was smaller than the other one we saw. We were surprised that they were digging the day after all the rain.
Tuesday we moved to Perry, ME having followed highway 1. Nice day. After we got set up, we went to Eastport to look at some of Cobscook Bay. Lots of islands in the Bay and New Brunswick in on the other side. Beautiful. It was 34 degrees overnight.
Wednesday – more adventures. We decided to go out for breakfast, we had a restaurant picked out from our travels yesterday, it didn’t open until lunch. About an hour later, we did have breakfast. After Labor Day some of the restaurants close, tourist area. After that we went to Roque Bluffs, then Bucks Harbor, Jasper Beach and out in the bay there was an Aquafarm (salmon). Then we took 191 south out of East Machias to Cutler to the area of the Navy Base, where they have the most powerful radio station in the world to communicate with the US. Submarine fleet. There were 25 towers with antenna strung between them. From there we went to Quoddy Head State Park to the Lighthouse. The Ranger there told us about wild blue berry crop care and harvesting. Interesting. Then to Canada to Roosevelt Campobello International Park. It is the only International Park in the world. The cottage was built in 1897, bought by FDR’s mother in 1909, in 1915 FDR added a wing for his growing family, and FDR’s family spent summers there until 1921. FDR only went there again in ’33, ’36 and ’39, after being elected president because of security issues. 34 rooms, 18 bedrooms, 6 full time servants. Quite a place. Had dinner and came back to the RV.
Thursday we went to the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, first thing. No wildlife. Then we took highways 1 and 182 to Ellsworth, ME. In the afternoon we did a little shopping and had some pictures developed. Rained all morning and cold all day.
Friday we spent the day in Acadia National Park, beautiful. We were on top of Cadillac Mountain, highest point in eastern US, 1530 feet. It was the first National Park east of the Mississippi River and the first to be given to the US. The island is not totally owned by the US but is slowly getting there. There were a lot of people there. We were surprised. We have had most other places, pretty much, to ourselves. There used to be a lot of cottages on the island, owned by millionaires, but in 1947 there was a huge fire that destroyed most of them. John D. Rockefeller Jr. had 47 miles of carriage path and 17 bridges built, today used for walking, bicycles and horseback riding. Each bridge is hand carved granite and individually styled to fit the location. Cottage; local definition; a summer home, regardless of size. The weather was nice, but cool. 28 degrees when we got up in the morning.
Saturday we spent the day looking at the various small villages in the local area. A lot of them used to be fishing villages, now they are set up for tourists. There were no places to pull off the road and view the scenery, so had to sightsee on the fly.
Thought for the day; the trick to eating crow, is to pretend it tastes good. Seen on a billboard.
The fuel prices have begun to come down a little as we head south. Not sure why.
SMILE, so other people wonder what you have been up to.
Saturday October 7, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Ellsworth UMC (United Methodist Church). It was the smallest congregation we have been to. 23 total. The Lay Speaker did the sermon. She was very good. Friendly people. Then we went to lunch and had Maine Lobster. It was alright, but we would take a Dungeness Crab instead anytime. Beautiful day.
Monday, Following highways, 3, 202,133, 219, 26, and 2, we moved to Shelburne, NH. Then we visited the Visitor's Center to see where to go to see more color. Then we went to the grocery store. Marilynn did the laundry, while I rested. Terrible to get old, but better than the alternative.
Tuesday, I played 9 holes of golf at the Androscoggin Valley Country
Club, then we had lunch and took the Mt. Washington Stage Tour. The average grade is 12 percent. It is a 12 passenger van to the top of Mt. Washington, 6,288 feet. The first auto to go to the top was a Stanley Steamer in 1899, took 2 hours, fast considering, it took 2 teams of 6 Morgan horses each, 6 hours with a Concord Wagon. It was beautiful, till we got almost to the top, then we entered a cloud. Wind was between 40 and 50 MPH and it was 45 degrees. Other than that the weather was great and the leaf colors are gorgeous. Then at dusk we went moose hunting and we saw one, also a red fox.
Wednesday, we toured the White Mountains, going North as far as highway 26 and as far South as highway 302, about 200 miles total. The scenery was better than yesterday. It rained all day, but we had a good time.
Thursday, with a lot of help from our son, Brian, I have figured out how to send pictures. Thank you, Brian. The picture is of Quoddy Head Light House in Maine.
Today we moved to Newport, NH. following highways, 2, 115, 3, I-93, 104, 4, and 11. After we got set up, we each got a cheap haircut. Mine was $5 and Marilynn's with a shampoo and blow dry was $8. The Salon was different; it is in the same building with the Post Office. Walk-ins are welcome and the beautician said that helped business. They were busy. 2 young ladies. Did a nice job. After that we toured some of the local area in the rain. It was cloudy on the way down.
Friday, It rained all night, most of the day, and low clouds. So we stocked up on groceries and developed more film. We did go see another covered bridge on the way home. Speaking of pictures, I checked to see how many we have added to the album in the last 60 days. 272. So be careful when you say you would like to see our pictures. We are seeing something we have never seen before. On the street to town, there is a yellow caution sign that says "OFFICER AHEAD, when yellow light is flashing". We have been by several times and the yellow light was flashing. NO officer. The only thing there is a factory entrance. Different.
Saturday, the morning started out sunny, but turned cloudy. We started our touring at New Hampshire's only National Park. Saint-Gaudens National/ Historic Site. He was a world famous sculptor. He was the first sculptor to fully design a US coin, the 1907-1933 twenty dollar gold coin. After his death, his wife and son started the Saint-Gaudens Memorial to preserve his home and the rest of the property as a historic site. In 1965 the Memorial donated the property to the National Park Service. There is some of his work there. It was great. Then we went to Quechee Gorge. You look down 163 feet to the cascading waters of the Ottauquechee River. It is beautiful, especially with the fall colors. The traffic is terrible there. Tourists from everywhere. We looked at some more of the area, also 5 more covered bridges, and then returned to the RV.
Have a good week.
Saturday, October 14, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Church Of The Good Shepard UMC at Newport, NH. The minister is very talented. He is the church minister, organist, pianist, and choir director. They are looking for someone to take over the music program. Friendly people and a nice service. Seems to be an active church. The church was founded in 1850 and the building built in 1851. They still worship in the original sanctuary. After lunch, we went Concord, looking at the scenery both ways. Very nice. We did see 2 more covered bridges.
Monday, we traveled to Catskill, NY, via highways, 10, 9, 9 across Vermont, 22, 295, and 66. On 9 in Vermont, we climbed the steepest grade we have ever with an RV; I guessed it to be at least 14 %. The level I use to level the RV is graduated in inches, but 8 % is the middle of the up grade, and the bubble went to the end. Luckily it was only about 1/4 mile. It wasn't a problem, as we have plenty of power. At the top is the 100 mile view, elevation about 2.400 feet. The view was breath taking. That whole highway was jammed with traffic. It took us 45 minutes to go thru the town of Bennington. It wasn't a real big town. The color in places was all done, other places, just getting started. It was cloudy all day.
Tuesday, we started the day doing a little RV maintenance. After lunch, we drove around in the Catskill Mountains. There is snow at the higher elevations. The picture I took is Windham Mt. 3,524 feet. In Maine today, parts got 6 inches of snow.
Wednesday, we moved to Corning, NY, on highways, 23, 1-88, and 1-17. Part of 23 we traveled yesterday and today the snow was gone. Lovely day, as it got into the 60's.
Thursday, I played 9 holes at Kent's Golf Course, Corning, NY, with frost on the ground, a challenging condition to play in. Then we went to the Corning Museum of Glass. Wonderful museum. They show and tell how glass has been made through the ages and is made now. Lots of displays and a live glass blowing demonstration. The gallery has thousands of glass objects made through the ages. Well displayed. There are over a million recipes for making glass. As always, the gift shop where you can spend a few dollars to thousands. They recommend planning 2 hours, we spent a little over 4 hours. Then we came home and rested.
Friday, we toured Historic Downtown Corning in the morning. It is now listed as a National Historic Site. It is 5 blocks long and both sides of the street. Really looks nice. Corning is the National Headquarters of Corning Glass. In the afternoon, I played 9 holes of golf at Kent’s again.
Saturday, we moved to Elizabethtown, PA on highways, 15, I-76, and 743. Nice day. It was 80 degrees when we got here.
I guess that is it for this week. SMILE
Saturday, October 21, 2000
Sunday, we attended Saint Paul's UMC, Elizabethtown, PA. The 18 member adult choir, 7 member bell choir, and 2 trumpets performed. Also 12 member children's choir, (oldest about 10), 2 flutes, performed, both accompanied by piano. The whole service was very good. Big church, guessing it seats about 400. For 3 services, 425 attended last Sunday. Over $737,000 contributed this year thru last 10/8. 5 ministers. Nice day.
Monday, we toured the Harley-Davidson Motor Company in York, PA. We walked about 1 1/2 miles on the narrated tour of the assembly lines. Very interesting. In 1997, 108,000 people toured the plant. They build 90 motorcycles in an 8 hour shift. In 1999 they built over 177,000, and in 2000 they expect to build over 205,000 in their 2 plants. Then we went to Historic Downtown York to look at some of their murals. They are of local history. I took a picture of the one about the Harley-Davidson Company. It was cloudy and rainy all day. We are parked about 5 miles from 3 Mile Island.
Tuesday, we took the Pennsylvania Turnpike, both ways, to Philadelphia. We wanted to get there fast, and avoid the traffic on the way back. The freeway was bumper to bumper and slow at 3:15 PM out of Philadelphia. We went to the Presbyterian Historical Society to do research on my grandfather. We did well. Then we toured the U.S. Mint. Very interesting and very good displays.
Salada tea quote; OLD AGE IS ALWAYS FIFTEEN YEARS FROM NOW.
Wednesday, we got a late start. Stayed up too late for the Mariners game. We went to Lancaster for brunch and then to the Historical Society to look up Marilynn's relatives. Found some information, but not sure of its worth. The people there were very helpful; we spent 4 1/2 hours there, and then returned to the RV.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry, while I vacuumed the RV. Then we went to Creative Carving. It was an older gentleman carving tourist stuff. Quality was so so. Then we hit 2 Factory Outlet Malls. We visited a Bose Factory Store and got a demonstration. Impressive. Didn't buy.
Friday, we went to Harrisburg and toured the Capital Building. The first one burnt down in 1897. The current one opened 0ctober 4, 1906. Covers 5.5 acres. 600 rooms. Very nice. We got our snail mail today. Marilynn took care of the bills. I prepared to move in the morning.
Saturday, we moved to New Market, VA. on I-81, when we finally got on it. We weren't lost, just didn't know how to get where we wanted to go, and we were low on fuel at the same time. We made it though. Paid $1.63 per gallon and it is coming down as we move south. $1.50 the last price we saw.
I guess that is it for this week. Till next week, so long.
Sunday, October 29, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Manor Memorial UMC at New Market, VA. I think the church could hold about 150 people. I think about 130 were there. It turned out the minister just returned from Brazil. The service was geared to the children. The children’s bell choir and choir performed, they were both very good. The homily was also for the children. We think the children of all ages (1-100) enjoyed it. Very nice service.
Monday, we followed 11 and 33 to move to Elkins, W.V. We traveled across the Shenandoah and the Allegheny Mountains. We were at the highest, 3,450 feet. A lot of the road is 9% grade. One section we went down was 9%, 41/2 miles, with curves at 25 M.P.H. I'm glad we have an exhaust brake, so I did not use the regular brakes much. In the afternoon we went to Spruce Knob, highest point in W.V. There is an observation deck there, and on a clear day, you are supposed to be able to see for 50 miles. It was hazy, but we could still see a long ways. It was nice up there.
Tuesday, we toured on highways, 33, 47, 16, 50, and I-77 to Marietta, Ohio. I say toured because the roads are so crooked, I drove slowly. The speed limit in most places was 55 MPH, but the curves are advised at 20 to 40 MPH, and there were lots of them, so I didn't get up to 55. The drive was interesting. We couldn't tell what the people in the hills did for a living, as the land is very steep, and little land for farming.
There were some sheep and goats. In the afternoon, we went to Fenton Art Glass. There was a tour, museum, and gift shop. The tour was very interesting and different from Corning glass. Fenton uses ten person teams to make their Art Glass. It looked cumbersome to us. The plant looked very old. We got to see them hand decorating the glass ware. The ones that look painted have the artists name on the bottom. The paint is made of enamel paint and finely crushed glass, then after application, the piece is heated to high temperatures to ensure it fusing to the glass.
Wednesday, we moved to Grayson, KY. following highways 7, and I-64. It was foggy till midafternoon, but not thick. Hot later in the day. The trip along the Ohio River was nice.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry, while I cleaned the RV. Then we went to the Pilgrim Glass Factory. A much smaller operation than Fenton. We did some sightseeing in the area and in the late afternoon, went to Huntington to pick up Jeannine. She is visiting us until we take her to the airport Sunday afternoon.
Friday, we went to Lexington, KY. via I-64 and I-75 to the Horse Park Campground. The Horse Park is famous for its horse Museum. We didn't go to it. In the afternoon we went to Jeannine's company’s office in Lexington, and then we toured the local area and especially the Paris Pike area. Beautiful horse farms in the area. Then Jeannine took us to dinner to celebrate Marilynn's birthday.
Saturday, we went to Natural Bridge State Resort Park. There we took the Sky Lift up 600 feet to view and walk on the Natural Bridge. We had a great time. Then we toured the Red River Gorge. Very pretty. In the evening we went to dinner at my Niece's home.
Both she and her husband are great cooks. We enjoyed visiting them and their 3 boys.
That's it for this week. Have fun.
Saturday November 4, 2000
Sunday, we went to Frankfort to see Daniel and Rebecca Boone's grave. Impressive. Looking across the Kentucky River is a great view of the Capital Building. We went to the Capital Building from there and also toured the old part of town. The old homes have been kept up very nicely. At the Capital Building, there is a floral clock. It is 34 feet across with cast aluminum hands. Minute hand is 21 1/2 feet long and the hour hand is 15 1/2 feet long. They are finished in Kentucky blue. Very nice. I have included a picture of the clock. Then we toured some more of the area on the way to the Cincinnati Airport, which by the way is in Kentucky. There we left Jeannine to return home to her husband and 2 girls. We had a great time with Jeannine, and would like to thank Brad, Christine, and Jennifer for doing without her for 3 days, while she visited us.
Monday, we toured the Toyota Manufacturing and Assembly Plant. Good tour. The tour is by tram inside the plant, and the tram is wired so each person has a headset. Great way to go. They only repair 50 to 75 vehicles out of 2,000 each day. Mostly minor repairs. We thought that was really good. Then we toured Rebecca-Ruth Candy, lnc. They are famous for their bourbon chocolates. There is bourbon mixed in the filling. We didn't care for the sample and we didn't buy any. Then we went to the State Capital Building for the tour. Turned out, we had the guide to ourselves. The young man was very good. Great way to do a tour. According to some poll, the building is the third most beautiful capital building in the US. It is beautiful.Tuesday, we moved to Boonesborough State Park, KY via I-75 and 627. Short trip. We have a friend whose mother lives near here and we are going to visit her. We've both known her since childhood. We got our snail mail today and we voted. We hope everyone else does also. In the afternoon we went sightseeing and the road we were on ended up at a 3 car ferry across the Kentucky River. It is the oldest continuous business in Kentucky. Started in 1785. Paddlewheel ferry and its free. Supported by the state.
Wednesday, I played 9 holes of golf at South Wind G.C. at Winchester, Ky. Beautiful course. In the afternoon we went to the Churchill Weavers. They were founded in 1922. The bar that pushes the woof threads into place and putting the thread on the bobbins, are the only things done by electricity. The rest of the process is still the same as 1922. They were making some beautiful things. Then we went to the Log House Sales Room. Berea College, founded in 1855, liberal arts college, accepts students who need financial assistance. They make handcrafted items to sell in the Log House to pay the tuition. They make some great things. Berea is the Arts and Craft capital of Kentucky.
Thursday, I played 9 holes of golf at South Wind G.C. Then we went to Wilmore to visit Marilynn's bridesmaid's mother. We had lunch, was very good, in the dining room of the Wesley Methodist Retirement Home. Then we went to the High Bridge and also toured the town. The High Bridge was built in 1877, first cantilever bridge, and is the highest railroad bridge over a navigable stream in the US. Wilmore is the home to Asbury College, est.1890, and Asbury Theological Seminary, est. 1923. Later in the afternoon, the Asbury College Women's 55 member Choir presented an Autumn Concert for the members of the home, in the dining room. It was excellent. We had a great visit.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf at South Wind G.C., while Marilynn did the laundry. In the afternoon, we did a little shopping and goofed off. The area here has been smoky and in Wilmore it was very bad. The fires are from arson and careless campers. From the news, it sounds like this is an annual event. The whole state is very dry.
Saturday, we moved to Heiskell, Tn. on I-75. It was smoky all the way, with the visibility dropping to a half mile at times. There were a lot of fires within sight of the freeway. The fires are mostly ground fires, as they are burning the leaves on the ground, making a lot of smoke. There are fire fighters in KY from WA, OR, ID, and the local National Guard with helicopters.
That’s it for this week. Everyone SMILE, let’s start an epidemic.
Monday, November 13, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Powell UMC. Good sermon with both audio and visual effects. The church building is beautiful and they seem to have the latest in electronic equipment. The church has built a house and furnished it between June 1999 and now for a family. After lunch we toured the area west of here. The smoke has left, because of cool weather and a little rain. We did see some fires still burning north of here.
Monday, we moved to Kodak, TN following I-75 and I-40. We had the motor home serviced and added 80 gallons of diesel on the way. We are in the area of Dollywood, it's closed for the season. There are lots of entertainment spots, but on the news tonight, they said some of the big name theaters are closing for lack of business. People are supposed to come back every 3 years to keep them open.
Tuesday, Election Day is a school holiday. Parents are encouraged to take their children to the polling place where they have their own voting booths. The children’s votes are counted, but only for the children’s vote. Great training, we think. We went to Gatlinburg, which is on the side of the mountain. When you go there, take money. You need it to do most anything. Eat, sleep, shop, and park. There are thousands of rooms for rent and there are more being built. Then we went on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. It is a 5 mile, one way road, near Gatlinburg. There was the Noah "Bud" Ogle Farm. The original house and barn are still there. He farmed it from 1883 till 1925. It is an extremely rocky area, a lot of them huge. A picture of the home is included.
Wednesday, we went on the Cades Cove Tour. A "cove" in Smoky Mountain vernacular is a relatively flat valley between mountains or ridges. This was a much easier place to farm than yesterday, flatter and very few rocks. They have some farms with their original buildings from the 1830's. The area became The Smoky Mountain National Park. There are also 3 original church buildings. The tour was very nice and there were a lot of people there. Then we went to the Smoky Mountain Knife Works. "It is reportedly the world's largest knife showplace." (Quote from Tour Book) It is large and I've never seen so many different knives from primitive to current. They advertise the largest indoor waterfall, I’m guessing 15 feet. There are a lot of mounted animals, large store and tourist attraction.
What an EXTRA ORDINARY DAY in American politics. The polls have been closed for 24 hours and we still don't know who the president-elect is and there will not be a war over it as in other countries. The system is not perfect, but is the best in the world.
Thursday, we moved to Asheville, N.C. via I-40. It rained most of the night, rained all day and is still raining. It is supposed to be nice tomorrow. After we got parked we just put our feet up and relaxed, too wet to go out.
Friday, rain has stopped, but it is cold, laundry in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to Appalachian Craft Center and the Crystal Carvings Glaswerks and Gallery. The Craft Center is mostly work by local artists, including all kinds of mediums. The Gallery was etching on a lot of different shapes and sizes of glass. The most interesting, l thought, was a large plate for a kindergarten teacher with each of the children's hand print on it and their names around the outside edge. Both places were very interesting. Then we went to my Brother's home for a wonderful meal and visiting, great time.
Saturday, the 4 of us went to the Folk Art Center. There were many beautiful hand made items. There were also demonstrations. Then we went to the Grove Park Inn Resort, where we looked at the Christmas decorations that are up so far. We watched some of the construction of the Spa area, and then had lunch there. Then we went to the Flat Rock Playhouse to see "A Tuna Christmas". It was 2 men who played about 10 different characters each, both male and female. It was very good and funny. We had a great time all day.
That's it for this week, see you next week.
Saturday, November 18, 2000
Hi y'all,
I keep forgetting we are in the SOUTH.
Sunday, we went to the Arden Presbyterian Church. My brother and his wife are members there and also choir members. The whole service was very nice and we especially like being able to understand the words from the choir. Then we went to Black Mountain to the Red Rocker Inn for Sunday dinner. Family style meal complete with beverages and a LARGE DESSERT, my kind of place. It is a bed and breakfast, but you can make reservations to go there for a meal. They have Red Rocking Chairs out in the front to enjoy the weather in. If you are EVER in Ashville, don't miss it. We had a good time all day.
Monday, my computer didn't work starting Saturday evening very worrisome. We took it to a repair shop this morning, found it was stuck in hibernation mode, and had it working in less than 1/2 hour, very relieved. Shopping in the afternoon, and had dinner with my brother, his wife and daughter. We enjoyed our visit very much.
Tuesday, we had breakfast with my brother and his wife and then we moved to Kings Mountain State Park following I-26, scenic route 11, and I-85, beautiful day. Then we goofed off the rest of the day.
Wednesday, we checked out the golf course, then went to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. They had some fountains, one of which was a series of nozzles playing leap frog. Another was a water arch, picture included. Some flowers were still in bloom, but some didn't look too good, because of frost during the night. It should be a very pretty garden in the spring and summer. Then we spent the afternoon and evening with some friends, formerly from Sumner, their daughter, and 2 granddaughters. We had a great time.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Gastonia Municipal Course, a poor day for working, but a good day for golf. While I was playing, it hailed a little, and sprinkled now and then, and the temperature got up to the high 40's. Nice course. Later in the afternoon we went into Gastonia, got some film developed and did a little shopping.
Friday, we moved to Hickory Knob State Park, S.C. via highways, 161,321, 72, 28, and 81. Overcast day, and cool. We rested the rest of the day.
Saturday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Hickory Knob State Resort Park Golf Course. I had a good time, tough course. In the afternoon we looked over the area around here and in the town of McCormick, while we looked for a Methodist Church and a laundry. We found both. Then we looked at the Park area. Besides the golf course they have a restaurant, convention center, the camp ground, and cabins for rent. This resort is one of two in the state, a very nice facility.
Thursday, I played 9 holes of golf at South Wind G.C. Then we went to Wilmore to visit Marilynn's bridesmaid's mother. We had lunch, was very good, in the dining room of the Wesley Methodist Retirement Home. Then we went to the High Bridge and also toured the town. The High Bridge was built in 1877, first cantilever bridge, and is the highest railroad bridge over a navigable stream in the US. Wilmore is the home to Asbury College, est.1890, and Asbury Theological Seminary, est. 1923. Later in the afternoon, the Asbury College Women's 55 member Choir presented an Autumn Concert for the members of the home, in the dining room. It was excellent. We had a great visit.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf at South Wind G.C., while Marilynn did the laundry. In the afternoon, we did a little shopping and goofed off. The area here has been smoky and in Wilmore it was very bad. The fires are from arson and careless campers. From the news, it sounds like this is an annual event. The whole state is very dry.
Saturday, we moved to Heiskell, Tn. on I-75. It was smoky all the way, with the visibility dropping to a half mile at times. There were a lot of fires within sight of the freeway. The fires are mostly ground fires, as they are burning the leaves on the ground, making a lot of smoke. There are fire fighters in KY from WA, OR, ID, and the local National Guard with helicopters.
That’s it for this week. Everyone SMILE, let’s start an epidemic.
Monday, November 13, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Powell UMC. Good sermon with both audio and visual effects. The church building is beautiful and they seem to have the latest in electronic equipment. The church has built a house and furnished it between June 1999 and now for a family. After lunch we toured the area west of here. The smoke has left, because of cool weather and a little rain. We did see some fires still burning north of here.
Monday, we moved to Kodak, TN following I-75 and I-40. We had the motor home serviced and added 80 gallons of diesel on the way. We are in the area of Dollywood, it's closed for the season. There are lots of entertainment spots, but on the news tonight, they said some of the big name theaters are closing for lack of business. People are supposed to come back every 3 years to keep them open.
Tuesday, Election Day is a school holiday. Parents are encouraged to take their children to the polling place where they have their own voting booths. The children’s votes are counted, but only for the children’s vote. Great training, we think. We went to Gatlinburg, which is on the side of the mountain. When you go there, take money. You need it to do most anything. Eat, sleep, shop, and park. There are thousands of rooms for rent and there are more being built. Then we went on the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. It is a 5 mile, one way road, near Gatlinburg. There was the Noah "Bud" Ogle Farm. The original house and barn are still there. He farmed it from 1883 till 1925. It is an extremely rocky area, a lot of them huge. A picture of the home is included.
Wednesday, we went on the Cades Cove Tour. A "cove" in Smoky Mountain vernacular is a relatively flat valley between mountains or ridges. This was a much easier place to farm than yesterday, flatter and very few rocks. They have some farms with their original buildings from the 1830's. The area became The Smoky Mountain National Park. There are also 3 original church buildings. The tour was very nice and there were a lot of people there. Then we went to the Smoky Mountain Knife Works. "It is reportedly the world's largest knife showplace." (Quote from Tour Book) It is large and I've never seen so many different knives from primitive to current. They advertise the largest indoor waterfall, I’m guessing 15 feet. There are a lot of mounted animals, large store and tourist attraction.What an EXTRA ORDINARY DAY in American politics. The polls have been closed for 24 hours and we still don't know who the president-elect is and there will not be a war over it as in other countries. The system is not perfect, but is the best in the world.
Thursday, we moved to Asheville, N.C. via I-40. It rained most of the night, rained all day and is still raining. It is supposed to be nice tomorrow. After we got parked we just put our feet up and relaxed, too wet to go out.
Friday, rain has stopped, but it is cold, laundry in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to Appalachian Craft Center and the Crystal Carvings Glaswerks and Gallery. The Craft Center is mostly work by local artists, including all kinds of mediums. The Gallery was etching on a lot of different shapes and sizes of glass. The most interesting, l thought, was a large plate for a kindergarten teacher with each of the children's hand print on it and their names around the outside edge. Both places were very interesting. Then we went to my Brother's home for a wonderful meal and visiting, great time.
Saturday, the 4 of us went to the Folk Art Center. There were many beautiful hand made items. There were also demonstrations. Then we went to the Grove Park Inn Resort, where we looked at the Christmas decorations that are up so far. We watched some of the construction of the Spa area, and then had lunch there. Then we went to the Flat Rock Playhouse to see "A Tuna Christmas". It was 2 men who played about 10 different characters each, both male and female. It was very good and funny. We had a great time all day.
That's it for this week, see you next week.
Saturday, November 18, 2000
Hi y'all,
I keep forgetting we are in the SOUTH.
Sunday, we went to the Arden Presbyterian Church. My brother and his wife are members there and also choir members. The whole service was very nice and we especially like being able to understand the words from the choir. Then we went to Black Mountain to the Red Rocker Inn for Sunday dinner. Family style meal complete with beverages and a LARGE DESSERT, my kind of place. It is a bed and breakfast, but you can make reservations to go there for a meal. They have Red Rocking Chairs out in the front to enjoy the weather in. If you are EVER in Ashville, don't miss it. We had a good time all day.
Monday, my computer didn't work starting Saturday evening very worrisome. We took it to a repair shop this morning, found it was stuck in hibernation mode, and had it working in less than 1/2 hour, very relieved. Shopping in the afternoon, and had dinner with my brother, his wife and daughter. We enjoyed our visit very much.
Tuesday, we had breakfast with my brother and his wife and then we moved to Kings Mountain State Park following I-26, scenic route 11, and I-85, beautiful day. Then we goofed off the rest of the day.
Wednesday, we checked out the golf course, then went to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. They had some fountains, one of which was a series of nozzles playing leap frog. Another was a water arch, picture included. Some flowers were still in bloom, but some didn't look too good, because of frost during the night. It should be a very pretty garden in the spring and summer. Then we spent the afternoon and evening with some friends, formerly from Sumner, their daughter, and 2 granddaughters. We had a great time.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Gastonia Municipal Course, a poor day for working, but a good day for golf. While I was playing, it hailed a little, and sprinkled now and then, and the temperature got up to the high 40's. Nice course. Later in the afternoon we went into Gastonia, got some film developed and did a little shopping.Friday, we moved to Hickory Knob State Park, S.C. via highways, 161,321, 72, 28, and 81. Overcast day, and cool. We rested the rest of the day.
Saturday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Hickory Knob State Resort Park Golf Course. I had a good time, tough course. In the afternoon we looked over the area around here and in the town of McCormick, while we looked for a Methodist Church and a laundry. We found both. Then we looked at the Park area. Besides the golf course they have a restaurant, convention center, the camp ground, and cabins for rent. This resort is one of two in the state, a very nice facility.
Saturday, November 25, 2000
Sunday, We attended the Republican UMC. A small country church. The people were very friendly and the service was very nice. In the afternoon we went to Augusta, GA. We sent the email and did some shopping. Seems like when you eat, you have to go to the store sooner or later, usually sooner. The sleet didn’t come, but the rain did. It rained all night and most of the day.
Monday, We did the laundry in the morning and in the afternoon, we went to Abbeville and toured the Abbeville Opera House and the Trinity Episcopal Church. The Opera House was built in 1908 and entertains about 20,000 people per year with live shows. The Christmas show is sold out. The Church was founded in 1842 and the current building was built in 1859. They are both very nice.
Tuesday, Beautiful day, cool, highs in the upper 40's. Colder than normal for this area. We went to Greenville, Spartanburg, and Greenwood sightseeing all the way. The area is very nice. There are some really nice, tall, straight, southern yellow pine trees. They seem to be the prime forest tree in this area. They are used for lumber and logs for paper making. There are some large farms in the area north of here.
Wednesday, we moved to Lexington, S.C. via highway 378. Then we goofed off the rest of the day. We have a duck pond next to us here in the park. There are 17 domestic geese and 12 ducks, 8 Mallards, and 2 chickens. The geese are noisy, but they sleep a lot, and do get quiet when it gets dark. They are fun to watch as the pond is quite large. The kids here in the park feed them.
Thanksgiving, we thought of all of you and hoped you had a very good day. Marilynn cooked a turkey and we had all the fixings. It was excellent as usual. We will have leftovers for awhile, but we like that.
Friday, we went to the Columbia Airport for a UAL schedule. It is a nice airport where you can still park next to the terminal for 15 minutes for free. Then we went into Columbia to look at 2 old mansions and their gardens. The signs said they were open, but the padlocks said they were closed. Such is life. Then we went to the S.C. Capital, it was closed, but we looked around the outside. Nice building, (picture included). We did a little more sightseeing on the way back to the RV. Beautiful, warm day, clear up to 60. Was nice.
Saturday, Rained all night, heavy in the morning and light in the afternoon. I had the car serviced in the morning, then we goofed off.
It doesn't look like this election mess is going to end very soon. I hope your news isn't as full of it as it is here. Oh, well.
I guess that is it for this week. We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Write when you have time.
Friday, December 1, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Red Bank UMC. It has the youngest average age of any church we have been in this year. Very little grey hair. Friendly people and a very nice service. We drove around the Lexington area. Nice country. Sunny, cool day.
Monday, Traveling along highways, I-26, 21, and 63 we moved to Walterboro, N.C. After lunch we went to the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. The headquarters is at what used to be the Rice Plantation. They use the main house for the office, (picture included). The house is surrounded by Live Oak trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them, (picture included). Very nice setting. We need more than a half day to do the Refuge, so will go later. According to the news, there has been 3 years of drought in this area, and they are not sure whether it will continue or not.
Tuesday, I, again played 9 holes of golf while Marilynn did the laundry. I played at the Dog Wood Hills Country Club. The public can play this private course on Tuesday and Thursday. Nice course Then I took Marilynn out to lunch. After lunch we went to the South Carolina Artisans Center. It is a juried art center and is the State’s Official Folk Art and Craft Center as proclaimed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in May. The items were very nice and there was something for everyone. $5 to $500.
Wednesday, we went to the Francis Beidler Forest in Four Holes Swamp, a Wildlife Sanctuary of the National Audubon Society. It is the world's largest virgin cypress-tupelo forest of 1,800 acres with 300 species of wildlife. There is about 6,000 feet of board walk, which you are on all the time. By the time you do some back tracking, the hike is over 1-1/2 miles. There were only a few birds and animals, but with a printed guide and some very good signs it is well worth the time. The swamp is very interesting.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf while Marilynn took the time off. After that we went to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. The whole refuge. 26,295 acres, used to be rice plantations. So they are able to control the water levels to attract the birds that are there throughout the year. We saw all kinds of birds and a deer. It has a 4.5 mile driving loop through it. Very nice refuge.
Friday, we spent the day in the ACE Basin Wildlife Refuge. Unlike the Refuge yesterday at 4.5 miles, today the Refuge is scattered. In total, we put on about 130 miles to, in and back from the Refuge. We have a tour brochure that details the route. The whole day was interesting, with the brochure telling what to see and where. There were quite a few birds. We had a great day.
Saturday, we traveled to Charleston, looking at the area and the decorations. A lot of homes are already decorated, complete with the tree. The towns and cities have been decorated for several days, some before Thanksgiving.
We hope it is better where you are, here between the election and Christmas advertising, there isn't much news. We do have one interesting issue here. They have a "CLICK IT OR TICKET' campaign going on. The "click if' is the seat belt. They are stopping cars to check on the seat belts and passing out $100.00 tickets to those not buckled up. It seems like most everyone except the State Patrol says that is illegal. We'll see what happens if we are still in the State when it is decided. Always something.
I guess that is it for this week. SMILE; there is still time to shop.
Saturday, December 9, 2000
Sunday, we attended Bethel UMC, which had a very nice service with friendly people. It has been and is supposed to continue to be very cold for this area. It is averaging 20 degrees colder than normal. The temperature drops to the mid 20’s at night and high 40’s during the day. We stayed warm in the RV for the rest of the day.
Monday, we moved to Townsend, Ga. via I-95, hoping for warmer weather. No luck. I was told the cold goes clear down to southern Florida. It is supposed to start getting warmer tomorrow, and to be raining and normal temperature by the weekend. The tree farming that we see in the East is interesting. They clear cut, bulldoze the stumps and brush into windrows, and plant the pine trees. The windrows evidently decay and there is nothing left when the trees are mature.
Tuesday, Well so much for the warm south. Savannah set a record for cold during the night 21 degrees. It is cold. The laundry here at the park doesn't have heat, so we went and ordered some parts for the RV. Nothing serious. Then while Marilynn did the laundry, I cleaned and worked on the RV.
Wednesday, we took a guided tour of Savannah, looked around some more, did some shopping, and picked up the RV parts. In the historic area of Savannah, the legislature passed a law that 1 mph over the limit is speeding, no tolerance policy, and the ticketing has started. The first 2 weeks are warnings, then the real tickets begin. The streets are narrow, but I’m not sure how many car speedometers are that accurate. They started restoring the historic area in 1995 by a group of 7 women doing a house here and there. In the 70’s and 80’s, the city got involved with the Historical Society to provide direction, and help raise money. They have done well, but have a ways to go. We also saw the statue of the “Waving Lady”. The legend is, the lady fell in love with a sailor, who had a year to serve. She agreed to wave to all the ships that went by, until he returned and they got married. She waved night and day for 40 years, with a lantern and a series of dogs trained to wake her when a ship came. (See picture). The fellow never returned.
Thursday, we drove along highway 17 to Brunswick, GA. It was a nice day, getting up to 64 degrees. We spent the afternoon getting brochures of what to see in the area. Tomorrow we are going to Jekyll Island and take a tour. The weather is supposed to get up to near 80, by Tuesday. Not sure our bodies will like going from 20 to 80 in a week.
Friday, we spent on Jekyll Island. We took a guided tour, had lunch, and explored the island some more. The island is managed by a commission appointed by the governor. It receives no tax money and is self supporting. The original cottages and other buildings are being restored. At the beginning of WW2 the Island was evacuated because they were afraid of being kidnapped by German submarines, they left everything. So they still have a lot of the original furnishings from the cottages. After WW2, the younger generation did not come back because it was too tame. At its best period, 1/6th of the world’s wealth spent January thru March there. Their cottages were very nice. See picture of Du Bignon Cottage. We toured 3 of them. One that we did not see had 17 each bedrooms and bathrooms. Some of the families there were, Morgan, Rockefeller, and Pulitzer, to name a few. The state owns the Island, 35% has been developed into a park, the rest is leased to individuals for their homes and businesses. Those also were nice looking. The leases come up for review in 2046. Nice warm day.
Saturday, Trying to rain, so we went shopping, had lunch, and then to Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation. The plantation raised rice until 1915, the Civil War, lack of slaves, and hurricanes brought the end to rice raising. It was converted to dairy until 1942 and the advent of pasteurization, which ended the dairy, due to high cost. The last descendant, Orphelia Troup Dent, willed the plantation to the state, which received it in 1973 after her death. She died in the house. Now it is a State Historic Site. We toured the out buildings and the house. The house still has the furnishings left by Orphelia.
We hope all of you are well. Smile Christmas is coming.
Saturday, December 16, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Blythe Island UMC. They have a 3 year old building that is paid for. Seats about 100, small church, but very friendly. The minister is a retired navy chaplain. Nice service. We went out for lunch and took the rest of the day off.
Monday, from listening to the news I'll try to keep from complaining about our weather. It is hard to believe what is happening in the mid-west. The cold is bad. Anyway we had a most interesting day. We started by going to Brunswick to see the sights. We started at the Lovers' Oak. It is a 900 year old Live Oak that legend says the American Indian Braves met their Maidens under its majestic spreading limbs. Then we went to the docks where the shrimp boats are tied up. We talked to a fellow that was unloading shrimp, about 3,000 pounds, and hopes to get $3.30 per pound. He said that was a pretty good price. From there we went to St. Simons Island, had lunch, and took a trolley tour. It was pretty good. The only stop on the tour was at Christ Church. This is the site where John and Charles Wesley held services under the oak trees, before the church was built about 80 years later. There is a park with Celtic Cross as a memorial to the Wesley Brothers. A path leads from Christ Church thru the park to the Methodist Church. After the tour we drove around and took some pictures, and further exploring. We also watched the shrimp boats working off the Island less than 50 yards away.
Tuesday, we went back to St. Simons Island to see Epworth By The Sea,
St. Simons Lighthouse Museum, and Fort Frederica National Monument. Epworth is a Methodist Conference Center and Museum, with history starting with the Wesleys up thru the current time, and a research library. The Lighthouse Museum was very interesting, with the history of the lighthouse, and being able to go up in the lighthouse. The Fort was built and occupied by General Oglethorpe and his men from 1736 t01749. Charles Wesley was his secretary of Indian Affairs and the Chaplin, but they did not get along and Charles went back to England. There have been archeological digs over the years, helping them establish where buildings were and what they were. They have thousands of artifacts, and lots of records. Interesting. St. Simons Island has 1,800 residents and there are about 1.5 million visitors each year.
Wednesday, after doing the laundry and cleaning, we moved to Thomasville, Ga. on highways, 82 and 84. Nice day.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Country Oaks G.C. while Marilynn did some sewing. It rained in the afternoon. We went into town for a little while.
Friday, we visited the Pebble Hill Plantation. The guided tour of the house was one hour, it is huge. The original home burned in 1934. The owner Elizabeth (Pansy) Ireland Poe, had a new home built. It was very modern for the time. It was designed to be easier for the hired help. There was a man, Gene Pullen, who was gassed in WW 1, and couldn't work. She asked him what he could do, and he replied that, he could carve wood a little. He showed her some of his work, she hired him to be her carver, and his work is beautiful. Gene and his family lived on the plantation until he died. His work included Backgammon pieces with animals carved on the flat surface, in the round animals and pieces on the end of the saddle holders, to name a few. Pansy, in her will, wanted the house open to the public, so the Foundation was set up. It has all the art and other furnishings that she had at the time of her death. She was a prolific art collector of birds and animals. We had a great time.
Saturday, we toured the Historic area of Thomasville. Most of the buildings in downtown are over 100 years old. One drugstore has been the same family name, 2 different families, for over 150 years in the same location. The old homes were nice from the outside. Most are in good shape and the rest of them are being restored. We returned to the RV Park for the annual Christmas Party. It started with the reading of the Christmas story, then the blessing of the meal, and then the food. The food and the company were excellent. All kinds of food and desserts. We had a .great time.
Sorry, no pictures this week, maybe next week. We FINALLY have a president elect.
Be HAPPY and HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
Saturday, December 23, 2000
Sunday, we visited the Morningside UMC, Thomasville, Ga. It is a small church, but very friendly, with a 12 member choir. We were invited to the Choir Cantata in the evening, so we went. It was very nice with refreshments afterwards. We talked to some nice people and had a good time. The choir does very well.
Monday. In the morning we finally got our flu shots, Tile vaccine is in pretty short supply here in the east. In the afternoon I played 18 holes of golf at Country Oaks G.C., while Marilynn did her thing at the RV.
Tuesday, while checking for our snail mail yesterday I discovered another problem with full timing. When I looked up Thomasville, GA in the zip code book, I accidentally got a Thomasville street in Atlanta, GA so we are working on that problem and hope to get it resolved tomorrow. Probably have to stay here a couple more days. We drove around a little today, but mostly stayed warm. It is colder here than it has been in a few years. The coldest night is supposed to be tonight. Down in the teens.
Wednesday, we moved to White Springs, FL on highways, 19 and I-10. The weather is about 25 degrees below normal. Sunny during the day, but cool. We went to the Florida Visitor Center to look at brochures. We have the mail situation in hand.
Thursday, after the laundry and cleaning was completed we went to Lake City for lunch and then to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. It was very interesting and we were surprised at how many names we recognized. The daytime temperatures in the daytime are the same as in Seattle, but at night the temperature drops into the 20's. Things don't look good for the oranges.
Friday, we went to the Steven Foster State Folk Culture Center located on the Suwannee River, which Steven Foster shortened to Swanee to fit his song. Steven had never been down here but he made the area popular and so that is the reason for the Center being here. They have artifacts from his life here. Very nice museum. There is also, the Steven Foster Memorial Carillon. It is one of the largest musical instruments ever produced in the Western Hemisphere. The bells range from 3 ½ feet to 12 ½ feet long and from 69 pounds to 426 pounds, to a total of 27 tons. Cost $120,000 in 1958. The tower which holds it is 120 feet high and cost $250,000 in 1957 (not a real good picture included)
They give concerts on it either from a key board or paper rolls. There are concerts every day, Christmas Carols at this time of Year, from the paper rolls. The Carillon sounds the best at a distance. There were Christmas decorations on the grounds. (Picture included) In the evening we went to the ice cream social at the RV park club house. We had a good time.
Saturday we went to Gainsville, FL to look around. In the evening we went to the steak and chicken dinner in the clubhouse. Very good.
We would again like to wish everyone A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Saturday, December 30, 2000
Saturday. Between the time of going to Gainsville and the steak dinner I told you about, we went to the Devil's Mil/hopper State Geological Site. Florida sits on a layer of limestone that is slowly dissolved by ground water that is slightly acidic, forming caverns. When the roof gets thin it no longer can support the earth above it. It collapses forming a funnel shape hole, hence the name Millhopper. This one is 120 feet deep and 500 feet across. There 232 wood steps to the bottom. There are 12 springs running from the sides that cool the hole in the summer and warm it in the winter, so there are a lot of different plants that grow there.
Sunday, we visited the Suwannee Valley Chapel here on the RV Park. It was built by volunteers. Small, but friendly group of people. Nice service. We went to the Christmas Eve Service there also.
Merry Christmas, We spent a quiet day. We had some phone calls. At 5:30 PM we went to the clubhouse for the Park planned pot luck dinner and Chinese gift exchange. There were about 40 people there. We had not seen a Chinese gift exchange before. The owners of the park have only had it for 6 months so they didn't know either, so the rules were a little ragged. Everyone seemed to have a good time, we did.
Tuesday, we went to Jacksonville, the airport and 3 RV parks, checking on what to do next week. We decided to leave the RV here at the park in White Spring, while we are home. I accidentally left a credit card in a restaurant in Gainsville on Friday so we picked that up also.
Wednesday. We moved over I-75 to Tlfton, Ga. for 3 nights. After lunch we drove around the area. It is raining tonight and they need the rain. It was interesting driving to Tifton, in that the fuel prices are 27 cents per gallon cheaper in Georgia.
Thursday, it rained 2.19 inches today. We went into town in the afternoon to the city museum. It was closed.
Friday, we went to the Georgia Agrirama closed due to inclement weather, then to the Jefferson Davis Historical Site. It was interesting. In the afternoon I went to the Forest Lakes Golf Club and played 18 holes of golf. The wettest golf course I ever played on. I had a good time.
Saturday, we moved back to White Springs, FI. on I-75. 9 degrees when we got up, and supposed to be in the mid teens tonight. They haven't missed their predictions of cold since we've been in the area. The locals are very cold.
I'm not sure what you will get as far as newsletters go for the rest of January. The current schedule is; we fly to Seattle on Tuesday, 3rd, fly to Spokane on the 17th to visit Brenda in Waitsburg, WA. and Jeannine in Big Fork, Montana and their families. On the 24th fly back to Seattle and on the 25th fly back to the RV. The cell phone will be available for use during the whole period.
Sunday, We attended the Republican UMC. A small country church. The people were very friendly and the service was very nice. In the afternoon we went to Augusta, GA. We sent the email and did some shopping. Seems like when you eat, you have to go to the store sooner or later, usually sooner. The sleet didn’t come, but the rain did. It rained all night and most of the day.
Monday, We did the laundry in the morning and in the afternoon, we went to Abbeville and toured the Abbeville Opera House and the Trinity Episcopal Church. The Opera House was built in 1908 and entertains about 20,000 people per year with live shows. The Christmas show is sold out. The Church was founded in 1842 and the current building was built in 1859. They are both very nice.
Tuesday, Beautiful day, cool, highs in the upper 40's. Colder than normal for this area. We went to Greenville, Spartanburg, and Greenwood sightseeing all the way. The area is very nice. There are some really nice, tall, straight, southern yellow pine trees. They seem to be the prime forest tree in this area. They are used for lumber and logs for paper making. There are some large farms in the area north of here.
Wednesday, we moved to Lexington, S.C. via highway 378. Then we goofed off the rest of the day. We have a duck pond next to us here in the park. There are 17 domestic geese and 12 ducks, 8 Mallards, and 2 chickens. The geese are noisy, but they sleep a lot, and do get quiet when it gets dark. They are fun to watch as the pond is quite large. The kids here in the park feed them.
Thanksgiving, we thought of all of you and hoped you had a very good day. Marilynn cooked a turkey and we had all the fixings. It was excellent as usual. We will have leftovers for awhile, but we like that.
Friday, we went to the Columbia Airport for a UAL schedule. It is a nice airport where you can still park next to the terminal for 15 minutes for free. Then we went into Columbia to look at 2 old mansions and their gardens. The signs said they were open, but the padlocks said they were closed. Such is life. Then we went to the S.C. Capital, it was closed, but we looked around the outside. Nice building, (picture included). We did a little more sightseeing on the way back to the RV. Beautiful, warm day, clear up to 60. Was nice.
Saturday, Rained all night, heavy in the morning and light in the afternoon. I had the car serviced in the morning, then we goofed off.It doesn't look like this election mess is going to end very soon. I hope your news isn't as full of it as it is here. Oh, well.
I guess that is it for this week. We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. Write when you have time.
Friday, December 1, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Red Bank UMC. It has the youngest average age of any church we have been in this year. Very little grey hair. Friendly people and a very nice service. We drove around the Lexington area. Nice country. Sunny, cool day.
Monday, Traveling along highways, I-26, 21, and 63 we moved to Walterboro, N.C. After lunch we went to the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters. The headquarters is at what used to be the Rice Plantation. They use the main house for the office, (picture included). The house is surrounded by Live Oak trees with Spanish Moss hanging from them, (picture included). Very nice setting. We need more than a half day to do the Refuge, so will go later. According to the news, there has been 3 years of drought in this area, and they are not sure whether it will continue or not.
Tuesday, I, again played 9 holes of golf while Marilynn did the laundry. I played at the Dog Wood Hills Country Club. The public can play this private course on Tuesday and Thursday. Nice course Then I took Marilynn out to lunch. After lunch we went to the South Carolina Artisans Center. It is a juried art center and is the State’s Official Folk Art and Craft Center as proclaimed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor in May. The items were very nice and there was something for everyone. $5 to $500.
Wednesday, we went to the Francis Beidler Forest in Four Holes Swamp, a Wildlife Sanctuary of the National Audubon Society. It is the world's largest virgin cypress-tupelo forest of 1,800 acres with 300 species of wildlife. There is about 6,000 feet of board walk, which you are on all the time. By the time you do some back tracking, the hike is over 1-1/2 miles. There were only a few birds and animals, but with a printed guide and some very good signs it is well worth the time. The swamp is very interesting.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf while Marilynn took the time off. After that we went to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. The whole refuge. 26,295 acres, used to be rice plantations. So they are able to control the water levels to attract the birds that are there throughout the year. We saw all kinds of birds and a deer. It has a 4.5 mile driving loop through it. Very nice refuge.Friday, we spent the day in the ACE Basin Wildlife Refuge. Unlike the Refuge yesterday at 4.5 miles, today the Refuge is scattered. In total, we put on about 130 miles to, in and back from the Refuge. We have a tour brochure that details the route. The whole day was interesting, with the brochure telling what to see and where. There were quite a few birds. We had a great day.
Saturday, we traveled to Charleston, looking at the area and the decorations. A lot of homes are already decorated, complete with the tree. The towns and cities have been decorated for several days, some before Thanksgiving.
We hope it is better where you are, here between the election and Christmas advertising, there isn't much news. We do have one interesting issue here. They have a "CLICK IT OR TICKET' campaign going on. The "click if' is the seat belt. They are stopping cars to check on the seat belts and passing out $100.00 tickets to those not buckled up. It seems like most everyone except the State Patrol says that is illegal. We'll see what happens if we are still in the State when it is decided. Always something.
I guess that is it for this week. SMILE; there is still time to shop.
Saturday, December 9, 2000
Sunday, we attended Bethel UMC, which had a very nice service with friendly people. It has been and is supposed to continue to be very cold for this area. It is averaging 20 degrees colder than normal. The temperature drops to the mid 20’s at night and high 40’s during the day. We stayed warm in the RV for the rest of the day.
Monday, we moved to Townsend, Ga. via I-95, hoping for warmer weather. No luck. I was told the cold goes clear down to southern Florida. It is supposed to start getting warmer tomorrow, and to be raining and normal temperature by the weekend. The tree farming that we see in the East is interesting. They clear cut, bulldoze the stumps and brush into windrows, and plant the pine trees. The windrows evidently decay and there is nothing left when the trees are mature.
Tuesday, Well so much for the warm south. Savannah set a record for cold during the night 21 degrees. It is cold. The laundry here at the park doesn't have heat, so we went and ordered some parts for the RV. Nothing serious. Then while Marilynn did the laundry, I cleaned and worked on the RV.
Wednesday, we took a guided tour of Savannah, looked around some more, did some shopping, and picked up the RV parts. In the historic area of Savannah, the legislature passed a law that 1 mph over the limit is speeding, no tolerance policy, and the ticketing has started. The first 2 weeks are warnings, then the real tickets begin. The streets are narrow, but I’m not sure how many car speedometers are that accurate. They started restoring the historic area in 1995 by a group of 7 women doing a house here and there. In the 70’s and 80’s, the city got involved with the Historical Society to provide direction, and help raise money. They have done well, but have a ways to go. We also saw the statue of the “Waving Lady”. The legend is, the lady fell in love with a sailor, who had a year to serve. She agreed to wave to all the ships that went by, until he returned and they got married. She waved night and day for 40 years, with a lantern and a series of dogs trained to wake her when a ship came. (See picture). The fellow never returned.
Thursday, we drove along highway 17 to Brunswick, GA. It was a nice day, getting up to 64 degrees. We spent the afternoon getting brochures of what to see in the area. Tomorrow we are going to Jekyll Island and take a tour. The weather is supposed to get up to near 80, by Tuesday. Not sure our bodies will like going from 20 to 80 in a week.
Friday, we spent on Jekyll Island. We took a guided tour, had lunch, and explored the island some more. The island is managed by a commission appointed by the governor. It receives no tax money and is self supporting. The original cottages and other buildings are being restored. At the beginning of WW2 the Island was evacuated because they were afraid of being kidnapped by German submarines, they left everything. So they still have a lot of the original furnishings from the cottages. After WW2, the younger generation did not come back because it was too tame. At its best period, 1/6th of the world’s wealth spent January thru March there. Their cottages were very nice. See picture of Du Bignon Cottage. We toured 3 of them. One that we did not see had 17 each bedrooms and bathrooms. Some of the families there were, Morgan, Rockefeller, and Pulitzer, to name a few. The state owns the Island, 35% has been developed into a park, the rest is leased to individuals for their homes and businesses. Those also were nice looking. The leases come up for review in 2046. Nice warm day.
Saturday, Trying to rain, so we went shopping, had lunch, and then to Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation. The plantation raised rice until 1915, the Civil War, lack of slaves, and hurricanes brought the end to rice raising. It was converted to dairy until 1942 and the advent of pasteurization, which ended the dairy, due to high cost. The last descendant, Orphelia Troup Dent, willed the plantation to the state, which received it in 1973 after her death. She died in the house. Now it is a State Historic Site. We toured the out buildings and the house. The house still has the furnishings left by Orphelia.
We hope all of you are well. Smile Christmas is coming.
Saturday, December 16, 2000
Sunday, we went to the Blythe Island UMC. They have a 3 year old building that is paid for. Seats about 100, small church, but very friendly. The minister is a retired navy chaplain. Nice service. We went out for lunch and took the rest of the day off.
Monday, from listening to the news I'll try to keep from complaining about our weather. It is hard to believe what is happening in the mid-west. The cold is bad. Anyway we had a most interesting day. We started by going to Brunswick to see the sights. We started at the Lovers' Oak. It is a 900 year old Live Oak that legend says the American Indian Braves met their Maidens under its majestic spreading limbs. Then we went to the docks where the shrimp boats are tied up. We talked to a fellow that was unloading shrimp, about 3,000 pounds, and hopes to get $3.30 per pound. He said that was a pretty good price. From there we went to St. Simons Island, had lunch, and took a trolley tour. It was pretty good. The only stop on the tour was at Christ Church. This is the site where John and Charles Wesley held services under the oak trees, before the church was built about 80 years later. There is a park with Celtic Cross as a memorial to the Wesley Brothers. A path leads from Christ Church thru the park to the Methodist Church. After the tour we drove around and took some pictures, and further exploring. We also watched the shrimp boats working off the Island less than 50 yards away.
Tuesday, we went back to St. Simons Island to see Epworth By The Sea,
St. Simons Lighthouse Museum, and Fort Frederica National Monument. Epworth is a Methodist Conference Center and Museum, with history starting with the Wesleys up thru the current time, and a research library. The Lighthouse Museum was very interesting, with the history of the lighthouse, and being able to go up in the lighthouse. The Fort was built and occupied by General Oglethorpe and his men from 1736 t01749. Charles Wesley was his secretary of Indian Affairs and the Chaplin, but they did not get along and Charles went back to England. There have been archeological digs over the years, helping them establish where buildings were and what they were. They have thousands of artifacts, and lots of records. Interesting. St. Simons Island has 1,800 residents and there are about 1.5 million visitors each year.
Wednesday, after doing the laundry and cleaning, we moved to Thomasville, Ga. on highways, 82 and 84. Nice day.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Country Oaks G.C. while Marilynn did some sewing. It rained in the afternoon. We went into town for a little while.
Friday, we visited the Pebble Hill Plantation. The guided tour of the house was one hour, it is huge. The original home burned in 1934. The owner Elizabeth (Pansy) Ireland Poe, had a new home built. It was very modern for the time. It was designed to be easier for the hired help. There was a man, Gene Pullen, who was gassed in WW 1, and couldn't work. She asked him what he could do, and he replied that, he could carve wood a little. He showed her some of his work, she hired him to be her carver, and his work is beautiful. Gene and his family lived on the plantation until he died. His work included Backgammon pieces with animals carved on the flat surface, in the round animals and pieces on the end of the saddle holders, to name a few. Pansy, in her will, wanted the house open to the public, so the Foundation was set up. It has all the art and other furnishings that she had at the time of her death. She was a prolific art collector of birds and animals. We had a great time.
Saturday, we toured the Historic area of Thomasville. Most of the buildings in downtown are over 100 years old. One drugstore has been the same family name, 2 different families, for over 150 years in the same location. The old homes were nice from the outside. Most are in good shape and the rest of them are being restored. We returned to the RV Park for the annual Christmas Party. It started with the reading of the Christmas story, then the blessing of the meal, and then the food. The food and the company were excellent. All kinds of food and desserts. We had a .great time.
Sorry, no pictures this week, maybe next week. We FINALLY have a president elect.
Be HAPPY and HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
Saturday, December 23, 2000
Sunday, we visited the Morningside UMC, Thomasville, Ga. It is a small church, but very friendly, with a 12 member choir. We were invited to the Choir Cantata in the evening, so we went. It was very nice with refreshments afterwards. We talked to some nice people and had a good time. The choir does very well.
Monday. In the morning we finally got our flu shots, Tile vaccine is in pretty short supply here in the east. In the afternoon I played 18 holes of golf at Country Oaks G.C., while Marilynn did her thing at the RV.
Tuesday, while checking for our snail mail yesterday I discovered another problem with full timing. When I looked up Thomasville, GA in the zip code book, I accidentally got a Thomasville street in Atlanta, GA so we are working on that problem and hope to get it resolved tomorrow. Probably have to stay here a couple more days. We drove around a little today, but mostly stayed warm. It is colder here than it has been in a few years. The coldest night is supposed to be tonight. Down in the teens.
Wednesday, we moved to White Springs, FL on highways, 19 and I-10. The weather is about 25 degrees below normal. Sunny during the day, but cool. We went to the Florida Visitor Center to look at brochures. We have the mail situation in hand.
Thursday, after the laundry and cleaning was completed we went to Lake City for lunch and then to the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. It was very interesting and we were surprised at how many names we recognized. The daytime temperatures in the daytime are the same as in Seattle, but at night the temperature drops into the 20's. Things don't look good for the oranges.
Friday, we went to the Steven Foster State Folk Culture Center located on the Suwannee River, which Steven Foster shortened to Swanee to fit his song. Steven had never been down here but he made the area popular and so that is the reason for the Center being here. They have artifacts from his life here. Very nice museum. There is also, the Steven Foster Memorial Carillon. It is one of the largest musical instruments ever produced in the Western Hemisphere. The bells range from 3 ½ feet to 12 ½ feet long and from 69 pounds to 426 pounds, to a total of 27 tons. Cost $120,000 in 1958. The tower which holds it is 120 feet high and cost $250,000 in 1957 (not a real good picture included)
They give concerts on it either from a key board or paper rolls. There are concerts every day, Christmas Carols at this time of Year, from the paper rolls. The Carillon sounds the best at a distance. There were Christmas decorations on the grounds. (Picture included) In the evening we went to the ice cream social at the RV park club house. We had a good time.
Saturday we went to Gainsville, FL to look around. In the evening we went to the steak and chicken dinner in the clubhouse. Very good.
We would again like to wish everyone A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Saturday, December 30, 2000
Saturday. Between the time of going to Gainsville and the steak dinner I told you about, we went to the Devil's Mil/hopper State Geological Site. Florida sits on a layer of limestone that is slowly dissolved by ground water that is slightly acidic, forming caverns. When the roof gets thin it no longer can support the earth above it. It collapses forming a funnel shape hole, hence the name Millhopper. This one is 120 feet deep and 500 feet across. There 232 wood steps to the bottom. There are 12 springs running from the sides that cool the hole in the summer and warm it in the winter, so there are a lot of different plants that grow there.
Sunday, we visited the Suwannee Valley Chapel here on the RV Park. It was built by volunteers. Small, but friendly group of people. Nice service. We went to the Christmas Eve Service there also.
Merry Christmas, We spent a quiet day. We had some phone calls. At 5:30 PM we went to the clubhouse for the Park planned pot luck dinner and Chinese gift exchange. There were about 40 people there. We had not seen a Chinese gift exchange before. The owners of the park have only had it for 6 months so they didn't know either, so the rules were a little ragged. Everyone seemed to have a good time, we did.
Tuesday, we went to Jacksonville, the airport and 3 RV parks, checking on what to do next week. We decided to leave the RV here at the park in White Spring, while we are home. I accidentally left a credit card in a restaurant in Gainsville on Friday so we picked that up also.
Wednesday. We moved over I-75 to Tlfton, Ga. for 3 nights. After lunch we drove around the area. It is raining tonight and they need the rain. It was interesting driving to Tifton, in that the fuel prices are 27 cents per gallon cheaper in Georgia.
Thursday, it rained 2.19 inches today. We went into town in the afternoon to the city museum. It was closed.
Friday, we went to the Georgia Agrirama closed due to inclement weather, then to the Jefferson Davis Historical Site. It was interesting. In the afternoon I went to the Forest Lakes Golf Club and played 18 holes of golf. The wettest golf course I ever played on. I had a good time.
Saturday, we moved back to White Springs, FI. on I-75. 9 degrees when we got up, and supposed to be in the mid teens tonight. They haven't missed their predictions of cold since we've been in the area. The locals are very cold.
I'm not sure what you will get as far as newsletters go for the rest of January. The current schedule is; we fly to Seattle on Tuesday, 3rd, fly to Spokane on the 17th to visit Brenda in Waitsburg, WA. and Jeannine in Big Fork, Montana and their families. On the 24th fly back to Seattle and on the 25th fly back to the RV. The cell phone will be available for use during the whole period.
Saturday, February 03, 2001
Hi everyone from currently sunny Florida
We got back Friday afternoon, the 26th, after a great trip. We had a good time visiting our children, grandchildren, and friends. We had a lot of good meals. The weather overall was pretty good, for that time of the year. I did get to play 54 holes of golf at my regular golf course.
Saturday, Marilynn did the laundry, while I attempted to get the printer to work, and catch up on the mail and start the income taxes. We rested the rest of the time.
Super Bowl Sunday, we went to the Suwannee Valley Chapel. There was a guest soloist and a guest pianist. They were both very good and the Chapel was full. The minister was good too. It was sunny and warm, so we relaxed.
Monday. we took a walking tour of White Springs Historical District They have quite a few homes from the late 1800's and the early 1900's. Most have been well kept up. In the afternoon I played 18 holes of golf. Nice warm day.
Tuesday, we went to Jacksonville to stock up on groceries and send the email. Email didn't work. We have not had the heat on for 2 days now. Great. Rained all day, they need the rain.
Wednesday, rained all day. We went to Gainesville in the afternoon and I spent a couple of hours on and off the phone trying to get juno to work. There seems to be a flaw in the program, so they are sending me an updated program.
Thursday, we haven't moved yet, because we are waiting for my medication to get here from the drug co. I should have set it up before we went to Washington. It should be here tomorrow, then we will move.
Friday, Medication finally arrived. We moved to Ocala, FI. on I-75. The weather was cool and rainy.
Saturday, we went to Wal-Mart to finish stocking up on supplies. We had gotten low before we left in case some of them froze and also emptied the refrigerator. Then we did a driving tour of the local area. We are in Thoroughbred Horse country. We saw a lot of horses, beef cattle and an added bonus a lot of Sandhill Cranes. I watched the XFL games in Los Vegas. Orlando FI game blacked out in area.
Till next week. SMILE
Saturday, February 10, 2001
Sunday, we started out the week by attending the 1st UMC of Ocala, Fl. It is a big, beautiful church with a budget of $I,012,957.00 They have a 35 member choir. The minister and choir were very good. After lunch, since the campground office was closed, we went to Gainesville, Fl. to send the email. It worked. I suspect each of you received 2 copies. I sent myself a copy to see how it worked and I got 2 copies. I'm trying to learn this new program.
Monday, we went to the E One Company which makes emergency vehicles, fire trucks etc. They were established in 1974 and pioneered the use of aluminum in emergency response vehicles. They have over 17,000 vehicles in use thru out the world. All the vehicles built are custom made. They turnout 2 vehicles a day, 5 days a week, very interesting tour. After lunch I played 18 holes of golf, then we went to a Wildlife Refuge, where we saw about 100 Sandhill cranes land, in preparation for the night. They land almost vertically, and are interesting to watch.
Tuesday, we moved to Cocoa, Fl. via highways 441, 436, 50, and I-95. Overnight it was cold, almost freezing, and during the day it went up to 70 degrees. Nice day.
Wednesday, we went to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, but it was closed until after tonight’s shuttle launch. The areas around here, by the beaches, are lined with RVs of all kinds and lots of cars and people, waiting for the launch. We then took highway A1A to the Cocoa Beach area, including the Patrick Air Force Base. The dry ground area is full of buildings and black top. Very little area left for development. At sunset, we watched the shuttle launch from the RV Park. It was beautiful and the colors of the vapor left by the shuttle as the sun went down are beyond description. See the picture, although it was more beautiful than this.
Thursday, we spent the day at the National Seashore National Park and the National Wildlife Refuge. It was a beautiful day, partly cloudy and warm, great for looking out over the water. We saw a lot of ducks, wading birds, and shore birds. We also saw 2 alligators, several armadillos, and a raccoon hunting for food, not realizing he is nocturnal. All of the animals and birds seem to realize that they are protected, as they were close to the road. We took a driving tour, with a brochure that explained what we were seeing. We had a great time.
Friday, we moved to Homestead, Fl. on I-95. A very nice day.
Saturday, we started touring the Everglades National Park. We saw lots of alligators, because in the dry season, winter, they congregate in the pools of water. The interesting thing is, that if a large pool is not available, the alligator will move plants and earth to create one. Then fish, birds, and animals will also come to the water, providing the alligator with food. Where we saw the alligators were in channels in a slough. We saw lots of birds that live on or at water. Had a great day. We walked some of the trails. We have trouble thinking winter with 80 degrees and 80 percent humidity.
That is it for this week. Good health to all.
February 17, 2001
Hello everyone from warm and muggy south Florida,
Sunday, we attended the 1st UMC of Honestead, FI. The service was very good with both the senior and children's choir singing. It is very nice church seating about 500 people. We spent the rest of the day with our feet up.
Monday, after the laundry, cleaning, and lunch are done, we went to Biscayne National Park. It consists of 181,500 acres, most of which are under water from the Atlantic Ocean. The glass bottom boat is in the shop for a new engine, so we won't see any of the water part. There are islands included, with a tour of one. We decided not to do that tour. The visitor's center has very nice displays. The area east of the park is known as the center of south Florida's fruit and nursery industry and the winter vegetable basket. There are 100's of acres of vegetables.
Tuesday, we spent the day at Everglades National Park again. We took a boat tour and learned a lot about the vegetation, birds, and what has been done, and what is being done to the environment. Very interesting. The tour lady guide was very good. Then we did more hiking and looked at more of the park, plus got a lot of good pictures of birds and habitat. The park is more than 1.5 million acres, half of it water. We had a great day.
Valentines Day, We went to Shark Valley and took a tram tour. A 2 hour, 15 mile tour thru the river of grass. There is grass as far as you can see with little islands of trees. We saw lots of alligators and birds. The lady guide was very good. The Valley is in the north central part of the Everglades. The Army Corps of Engineers has a 20 to 25 year project to restore part of the water flow thru this area. The water was diverted for development and farming. On the way there, we hit some thing, so when we got back we had a tire replaced.
Thursday, we got our mail today, so we get to finish preparing our income tax for our accountant, oh joy. Going to do it by mail this year. In the afternoon we drove up and toured Key Biscayne. Marilynn said it was too opulent for her. The grass in the Everglades is brown, but all the grass on the Key was green. The homes and the other buildings were beautiful. It is hard for us to visualize spending that kind of money on a home and property. We're cheap I guess.
Friday, we moved to Big Cypress National Preserve's Monument lake Campg
round via highways, 997, and 41. After lunch, we went to the visitor’s center for a 15 minute film. It was an overview of the Preserve. Being a Preserve, they are able to do more than a park, such as cattle grazing. It is 2,400 square miles in size. Then we took a loop road tour. We saw lots of alligators and it is a bad road. In the evening we went to a fireside program on birds. The lady ranger was very good. We have been impressed at the knowledge of all the rangers. The picture was taken on the bad road. Saturday, we moved a few miles down highway 41 to a different RV park with power and water for the weekend. Then we went on another loop road tour. The road was better, but not as much wildlife. After that, we went to Everglades City to check out the boat trip, then to Chokoloskee to look around. Then back to the RV, to relax with the A/C on. Worked on the income tax.
I hate to complain about the heat, but it is winter. We people that rust instead of tan can't stand temps in the mid 80s. Out in the sun it is very hot. We understand some of you are getting snow and cold, you definitely have our sympathy.
Till next week, Be Happy
February 24, 2001
Sunday, we did things differently today. We are in the booneys and it is a long way to a church, so we took a 9 AM boat tour of the 10 Thousand Islands of the Everglades. The guide could have been better, but it was very nice anyway. We saw dolphins and birds. The islands were Mangrove Islands. The trees were all blown down by a hurricane in 1960 and have recovered very well. The roots take the salt from the water and furnish the tree with fresh water. Then we drove into Naples, sent the email and did some shopping.
Monday, we were on highways, 29, 27 and 98 to Lakeland, LF to visit our friends, Bob and Shirley from Arkansas. We had a great time visiting and playing Mexican Train. There is a 10,000 acre fire NE of Lakeland, so it was smoky.
Tuesday, the park is full for tonight, so drove in the smoke, on highways, I-4, I-75, 98, and 19 to Crystal River, FL. The fire had grown overnight to 11,000 acres and the wind changed to provide us with smoke for the day. Fortunately, it is not smoky in the campground. Tonight the fire is 50% contained, but will probably burn until they get a good portion of rain, which is not due to arrive until June, if it comes at all.
Wednesday, we toured some of the area around here and then did the laundry. There were sirens high up on poles on the roads around here and lots of evacuation highway signs. Marilynn cleaned, while I got the email and did some maintenance on the car caddy and sewer hose. Pretty calm day.
Thursday, we followed highway 98 to' Carrabelle, FL. After lunch and setup, we went to St. George Island State Park. The park is on one end of the island. It is an area of 1,960 acres. It has lots of white sand beaches with shore birds. Its Campground is booked till April 16. The island is one of the barrier islands.
The rest of the island has hotels, condos, and homes on it. A lot of the homes are for rent. Nice day with a little rain. Seen on a sign; FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, HE DIDN'T SEND A COMMITTEE.
Friday, we drove to Tallahassee and went to the Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens. Alfred designed and built the gardens, until his death, then his wife finished them according to his instructions, and then donated the property to the state. The camellias, magnolias, red bud trees and some azaleas were blooming. The daffodils were all done. It was beautiful. We also toured the home. Very nice. Picture of a camellia included.
Saturday, we moved to Seagrove Beach, FI. along highways 98 and 30A. Panama City is a big tourist town and they were welcoming the spring break people. It was hard to tell just by driving thru how full it was. There were a lot of people though. Not our kind of town. Nice weather. Till next week.
I hate to complain about the heat, but it is winter. We people that rust instead of tan can't stand temps in the mid 80s. Out in the sun it is very hot. We understand some of you are getting snow and cold, you definitely have our sympathy.
Till next week, Be Happy
February 24, 2001
Sunday, we did things differently today. We are in the booneys and it is a long way to a church, so we took a 9 AM boat tour of the 10 Thousand Islands of the Everglades. The guide could have been better, but it was very nice anyway. We saw dolphins and birds. The islands were Mangrove Islands. The trees were all blown down by a hurricane in 1960 and have recovered very well. The roots take the salt from the water and furnish the tree with fresh water. Then we drove into Naples, sent the email and did some shopping.
Monday, we were on highways, 29, 27 and 98 to Lakeland, LF to visit our friends, Bob and Shirley from Arkansas. We had a great time visiting and playing Mexican Train. There is a 10,000 acre fire NE of Lakeland, so it was smoky.
Tuesday, the park is full for tonight, so drove in the smoke, on highways, I-4, I-75, 98, and 19 to Crystal River, FL. The fire had grown overnight to 11,000 acres and the wind changed to provide us with smoke for the day. Fortunately, it is not smoky in the campground. Tonight the fire is 50% contained, but will probably burn until they get a good portion of rain, which is not due to arrive until June, if it comes at all.
Wednesday, we toured some of the area around here and then did the laundry. There were sirens high up on poles on the roads around here and lots of evacuation highway signs. Marilynn cleaned, while I got the email and did some maintenance on the car caddy and sewer hose. Pretty calm day.
Thursday, we followed highway 98 to' Carrabelle, FL. After lunch and setup, we went to St. George Island State Park. The park is on one end of the island. It is an area of 1,960 acres. It has lots of white sand beaches with shore birds. Its Campground is booked till April 16. The island is one of the barrier islands.
The rest of the island has hotels, condos, and homes on it. A lot of the homes are for rent. Nice day with a little rain. Seen on a sign; FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, HE DIDN'T SEND A COMMITTEE.
Friday, we drove to Tallahassee and went to the Alfred B. Maclay State Gardens. Alfred designed and built the gardens, until his death, then his wife finished them according to his instructions, and then donated the property to the state. The camellias, magnolias, red bud trees and some azaleas were blooming. The daffodils were all done. It was beautiful. We also toured the home. Very nice. Picture of a camellia included.
Saturday, we moved to Seagrove Beach, FI. along highways 98 and 30A. Panama City is a big tourist town and they were welcoming the spring break people. It was hard to tell just by driving thru how full it was. There were a lot of people though. Not our kind of town. Nice weather. Till next week.
Saturday, March 3, 2001
Sunday, we went to the First UMC of Point Washington, FI. It is a small church seating, I'm guessing 200, and it was full. They have 2 services on Sunday from Advent to Easter. By Easter all the snowbirds have gone home and they can resume their regular schedule. The whole service was very nice. We then had lunch and toured around some of the local area.
Monday, moving along highways 98, 110, I-10, and 65 we moved to Mobile, AI. We stopped at a visitor’s center and got some brochures. We spent the afternoon looking at brochures.
Tuesday, we spent most of the day getting to and from and being at the Bellingrath Gardens and home. The flowers were very nice, the grounds are well kept, and there are a lot of paved paths. I think we walked all of them at least once. We had to go back to the main gate to the cafe for lunch. We also took a 45 minute cruise on the river that the house overlooks. It was interesting how polluted the river got, then man tried to fix it, then they had to call on Mother Nature to do the repair work. The Brown Pelican was almost made extinct by the pollution. They got down to 29 pair and are now over 5,000 birds and are no longer endangered.
Sunday, we went to the First UMC of Point Washington, FI. It is a small church seating, I'm guessing 200, and it was full. They have 2 services on Sunday from Advent to Easter. By Easter all the snowbirds have gone home and they can resume their regular schedule. The whole service was very nice. We then had lunch and toured around some of the local area.
Monday, moving along highways 98, 110, I-10, and 65 we moved to Mobile, AI. We stopped at a visitor’s center and got some brochures. We spent the afternoon looking at brochures.
Tuesday, we spent most of the day getting to and from and being at the Bellingrath Gardens and home. The flowers were very nice, the grounds are well kept, and there are a lot of paved paths. I think we walked all of them at least once. We had to go back to the main gate to the cafe for lunch. We also took a 45 minute cruise on the river that the house overlooks. It was interesting how polluted the river got, then man tried to fix it, then they had to call on Mother Nature to do the repair work. The Brown Pelican was almost made extinct by the pollution. They got down to 29 pair and are now over 5,000 birds and are no longer endangered.
Wednesday, we moved 13 miles to a different park. It is a county park with full hookup and is quieter and more room. The playground has hundreds of robins on it. In the afternoon, we went into Mobile and took a guided tour. They are slowly rebuilding and revitalizing the downtown area. They are trying to make it like it was years ago, after having torn down 65 percent of the old buildings. Lots of restrictions on remodeling and building.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry in the morning, while I got a haircut and finished the income tax preparation for our accountant. We mailed it in the afternoon. Now all we have to do is get it back and pay it.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Citronelle Municipal Golf Course. Then we went to the Gulf Shores area to look around. It is south of Mobile. It is all built up, and it is almost all town. One long city, with different names.
Saturday, it has been an interesting day. We woke up to pouring rain. After breakfast, we drove in showers to Dauphin Island. It turned nice and we toured the island, which is not as populated as Gulf Shores and a lot less businesses. We went to their Arts and Crafts show, which was interesting. Then we drove to Bayou La Batre. Bayou La Batre's boat-building, seafood, and petroleum industries are among the largest on the Gulf Coast. There are lots of boats ready for fishing, some under construction, and more waiting for out fitting. There were lots of nets both on the boats and hanging on shore. We had a good time. This evening Mother Nature is out in force. Parts of Alabama under one or more of the following warnings: Tornado, Flash flood, and Severe Thunderstorm. We have had lots of thunder, lightning, and rain tonight. We are not near a river, and the tornado warnings are in the north part of the state. So we feel safe. This area has been short of rain for three years and don't think they want to catch up, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
As far as we know, everybody we know in the earthquake area is alright. Our home only had minor damage. We don't know of the total damage in the Sumner area. Hopefully someone will tell us.
Till next week, keep your chin up.
Saturday, March 10, 2001
Sunday, we attended Saraland UMC. Friendly people and a nice service. Last Sunday, the church we attended was uncomfortably full and today the church had uncomfortably few. It would seat 300 easily and there were about 80 there. The weather was nice today.
Monday, we moved along highways 65 and I-10 to Biloxi, MS. After lunch we went to The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum. It showed the history of the area for over 300 years. Most of the culture in the area was based on fishing from then till now. This area, for a while was the world's largest producer of fish. It showed the evolution of the fishing boats, plus other things. It was very interesting.
Tuesday, we started an interesting day, by digging out our winter coats. It was in the mid 30's overnight. We went to the Biloxi Shrimping Trip. He showed us how the net works and how to lower it to the bottom. Then the net was towed for 20 minutes and he brought it up and named all the fish and crabs that were in the net. We learned the difference between; shrimp, tiger shrimp and prawns. Shrimp live in brackish water when very young, then move to salt water to grow. Tiger shrimp are farm raised in fresh water. Prawns are large shrimp. Then we drove west on highway 90 along the longest man-made beach, 26 miles. Nice day. If anyone wants to know about shrimp, let us know.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at Dogwood Hills GC. Nice day and nice course. Later we went to a Wildlife Refuge, only to see that the road is flooded. Then we went to Gulf Islands National Seashore. It was nice, but with the cool weather, there weren't any birds around.
Thursday, we rode on highways I-10 and I-12 to Robert, La. which is just north of New Orleans. We spent the rest of the day looking at brochures.
Friday, we moved to Plaquemine, LA. on Highways, I-12, I-10, and 1. We went to Baton Rouge for lunch and look around. The seafood lunch was very good. We wish you were here to enjoy it with us. We are camped next to Bayou Maringouin, which is running just below flood stage. The Bayou is very busy with barge traffic. We saw 4 barges hooked together pushed by a tug. It would be interesting to know how they steer it. The channel is crooked.
Saturday, we moved to Boussard, LA on highways, 1, I-10 and 90. Nice and lots of traffic. We are camped next to the highway, which is noisy, but it is a nice campground. While Marilynn did the laundry I cleaned the living room carpet. We took the rest of the day off.
Sorry, no picture this week. The weather continues cool and with rain at times.
Saturday, March 17, 2001
Hello everyone from Louisiana,
Sunday, we attended Northwood UMC worship service at Lafayette, LA. Before the service, while in the parking lot, this gentleman, who grew up in Tacoma, WA invited us to the service and told us a good place to go to lunch. After a very nice service, his wife said we decided that you can go to that restaurant anytime, instead we are taking you to our Country Club. The price will be better, it's our treat. We had a very nice time and the food was excellent. We took the rest of the day off.
Say this fast, DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY STUFF AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY STUFF.
Monday, we went to the Konriko Company. It is America's oldest rice mill. We took the tour. They sell 2 million pounds of ready to cook rice, 2 kinds of white rice and a brown rice with some of the rice flavored. The farmers plant the rice in April with airplanes. The growing season is 120-130 days then it is harvested and stored until delivered to the mill. They get 20 to 35 barrels of rice per acre at about $9 per barrel. A barrel is 168 pounds. Then the field is flooded and they raise crawfish on the field. It poured rain for awhile. Then we went to Tony Chacheres, a company that mixes and sells spices and other quick fix meal products. Tony had written a cook book with his seasoning recipe in it. The demand was so great for a ready made seasoning that Tony started the company in 1972 at the age of 67. The company is still family owned and his oldest grandson is the current CEO. There are 60 employees who use 6.5 million pounds of ingredients per year and sell all over the world, including Wal-Mart. The smell on the tour was powerful.
Tuesday, we went to Abbeville to see the downtown architecture. Very nice. Then we went to the Crystal Rice Plantation, where they raise and harvest rice and crawfish on the same land, at the same time. They have a car collection and an 1848 Acadian-style Cottage furnished with antiques. The whole tour was very interesting. We know a lot more about raising rice and crawfish together now. For more information, let us know. Then we went to the Stansel Rice Company. They raise, harvest and package gourmet rice, 4 full time employees. It is the oldest and largest gourmet popcorn rice mill. In the evening, we went to dinner with the couple we met at church on Sunday. Excellent food and company. A very enjoyable day.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Lafayette City Park G.C. It was wet and crowded. The crowd was probably due to the bad weather predicted for the rest of the week. From the rain we have had this afternoon and evening the course will likely be closed.
Thursday, we drove highway 90 to Morgan City, La. After parking the RV, we went to Cocodrie, LA using a different road each way. The number of commercial fishing and shrimp boats in the channels was interesting. There were boats everywhere. We saw some Rosete Spoonbills in Cocodrie. On the way to Cocodrie, we were stopped by an open bridge. It was hinged and moved 90 degrees to the side along a cable. It pulls itself back and forth with the cable. Then we went to the Brownell Memorial Park and Carillon Tower. The tower is 106 feet tall and has 61 cast bronze bells that were cast in Holland.
We have found that the roads in Louisiana are not very good, but the bridges are very nice. One we drove on east of New Orleans, was 18 miles long. There are lots of shorter ones over the swamps.
Friday, we visited the Laurel Valley Village, a rural life sugar plantation. They have antique machinery that needs restoration. Sugar canes are placed on raised rows with a small ditch between them, because the water level is just below the surface. Each bud on the cane produces a plant. Sugar cane grows from the same roots for 3 to 5 years. In late March, the winter growth is cut off. In October, a sugar cane harvester cuts the cane, strips off the leaves, and prepares it for the mill. There are 282,000 acres of sugar cane grown in this area. 95% of it is used for candy as raw sugar. After 3 to 5 years, the land is left to grow whatever comes up, for 1 to 2 years, then plowed and planted again. We returned to Morgan City to the Great Wall, which is a 21 foot high wall to keep the Atchafalaya River from flooding the area. The wall is several miles long, part-made of concrete and the rest steel. There is a walkway on top in town, so you can look down at the boats getting ready for the fishing and shrimp season. An interesting day.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry in the morning, while I got a haircut and finished the income tax preparation for our accountant. We mailed it in the afternoon. Now all we have to do is get it back and pay it.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Citronelle Municipal Golf Course. Then we went to the Gulf Shores area to look around. It is south of Mobile. It is all built up, and it is almost all town. One long city, with different names.
Saturday, it has been an interesting day. We woke up to pouring rain. After breakfast, we drove in showers to Dauphin Island. It turned nice and we toured the island, which is not as populated as Gulf Shores and a lot less businesses. We went to their Arts and Crafts show, which was interesting. Then we drove to Bayou La Batre. Bayou La Batre's boat-building, seafood, and petroleum industries are among the largest on the Gulf Coast. There are lots of boats ready for fishing, some under construction, and more waiting for out fitting. There were lots of nets both on the boats and hanging on shore. We had a good time. This evening Mother Nature is out in force. Parts of Alabama under one or more of the following warnings: Tornado, Flash flood, and Severe Thunderstorm. We have had lots of thunder, lightning, and rain tonight. We are not near a river, and the tornado warnings are in the north part of the state. So we feel safe. This area has been short of rain for three years and don't think they want to catch up, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
As far as we know, everybody we know in the earthquake area is alright. Our home only had minor damage. We don't know of the total damage in the Sumner area. Hopefully someone will tell us.
Till next week, keep your chin up.
Saturday, March 10, 2001
Sunday, we attended Saraland UMC. Friendly people and a nice service. Last Sunday, the church we attended was uncomfortably full and today the church had uncomfortably few. It would seat 300 easily and there were about 80 there. The weather was nice today.
Monday, we moved along highways 65 and I-10 to Biloxi, MS. After lunch we went to The Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum. It showed the history of the area for over 300 years. Most of the culture in the area was based on fishing from then till now. This area, for a while was the world's largest producer of fish. It showed the evolution of the fishing boats, plus other things. It was very interesting.
Tuesday, we started an interesting day, by digging out our winter coats. It was in the mid 30's overnight. We went to the Biloxi Shrimping Trip. He showed us how the net works and how to lower it to the bottom. Then the net was towed for 20 minutes and he brought it up and named all the fish and crabs that were in the net. We learned the difference between; shrimp, tiger shrimp and prawns. Shrimp live in brackish water when very young, then move to salt water to grow. Tiger shrimp are farm raised in fresh water. Prawns are large shrimp. Then we drove west on highway 90 along the longest man-made beach, 26 miles. Nice day. If anyone wants to know about shrimp, let us know.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at Dogwood Hills GC. Nice day and nice course. Later we went to a Wildlife Refuge, only to see that the road is flooded. Then we went to Gulf Islands National Seashore. It was nice, but with the cool weather, there weren't any birds around.
Thursday, we rode on highways I-10 and I-12 to Robert, La. which is just north of New Orleans. We spent the rest of the day looking at brochures.
Friday, we moved to Plaquemine, LA. on Highways, I-12, I-10, and 1. We went to Baton Rouge for lunch and look around. The seafood lunch was very good. We wish you were here to enjoy it with us. We are camped next to Bayou Maringouin, which is running just below flood stage. The Bayou is very busy with barge traffic. We saw 4 barges hooked together pushed by a tug. It would be interesting to know how they steer it. The channel is crooked.
Saturday, we moved to Boussard, LA on highways, 1, I-10 and 90. Nice and lots of traffic. We are camped next to the highway, which is noisy, but it is a nice campground. While Marilynn did the laundry I cleaned the living room carpet. We took the rest of the day off.
Sorry, no picture this week. The weather continues cool and with rain at times.
Saturday, March 17, 2001
Hello everyone from Louisiana,
Sunday, we attended Northwood UMC worship service at Lafayette, LA. Before the service, while in the parking lot, this gentleman, who grew up in Tacoma, WA invited us to the service and told us a good place to go to lunch. After a very nice service, his wife said we decided that you can go to that restaurant anytime, instead we are taking you to our Country Club. The price will be better, it's our treat. We had a very nice time and the food was excellent. We took the rest of the day off.
Say this fast, DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY STUFF AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY STUFF.
Monday, we went to the Konriko Company. It is America's oldest rice mill. We took the tour. They sell 2 million pounds of ready to cook rice, 2 kinds of white rice and a brown rice with some of the rice flavored. The farmers plant the rice in April with airplanes. The growing season is 120-130 days then it is harvested and stored until delivered to the mill. They get 20 to 35 barrels of rice per acre at about $9 per barrel. A barrel is 168 pounds. Then the field is flooded and they raise crawfish on the field. It poured rain for awhile. Then we went to Tony Chacheres, a company that mixes and sells spices and other quick fix meal products. Tony had written a cook book with his seasoning recipe in it. The demand was so great for a ready made seasoning that Tony started the company in 1972 at the age of 67. The company is still family owned and his oldest grandson is the current CEO. There are 60 employees who use 6.5 million pounds of ingredients per year and sell all over the world, including Wal-Mart. The smell on the tour was powerful.
Tuesday, we went to Abbeville to see the downtown architecture. Very nice. Then we went to the Crystal Rice Plantation, where they raise and harvest rice and crawfish on the same land, at the same time. They have a car collection and an 1848 Acadian-style Cottage furnished with antiques. The whole tour was very interesting. We know a lot more about raising rice and crawfish together now. For more information, let us know. Then we went to the Stansel Rice Company. They raise, harvest and package gourmet rice, 4 full time employees. It is the oldest and largest gourmet popcorn rice mill. In the evening, we went to dinner with the couple we met at church on Sunday. Excellent food and company. A very enjoyable day.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Lafayette City Park G.C. It was wet and crowded. The crowd was probably due to the bad weather predicted for the rest of the week. From the rain we have had this afternoon and evening the course will likely be closed.
Thursday, we drove highway 90 to Morgan City, La. After parking the RV, we went to Cocodrie, LA using a different road each way. The number of commercial fishing and shrimp boats in the channels was interesting. There were boats everywhere. We saw some Rosete Spoonbills in Cocodrie. On the way to Cocodrie, we were stopped by an open bridge. It was hinged and moved 90 degrees to the side along a cable. It pulls itself back and forth with the cable. Then we went to the Brownell Memorial Park and Carillon Tower. The tower is 106 feet tall and has 61 cast bronze bells that were cast in Holland.
We have found that the roads in Louisiana are not very good, but the bridges are very nice. One we drove on east of New Orleans, was 18 miles long. There are lots of shorter ones over the swamps.
Friday, we visited the Laurel Valley Village, a rural life sugar plantation. They have antique machinery that needs restoration. Sugar canes are placed on raised rows with a small ditch between them, because the water level is just below the surface. Each bud on the cane produces a plant. Sugar cane grows from the same roots for 3 to 5 years. In late March, the winter growth is cut off. In October, a sugar cane harvester cuts the cane, strips off the leaves, and prepares it for the mill. There are 282,000 acres of sugar cane grown in this area. 95% of it is used for candy as raw sugar. After 3 to 5 years, the land is left to grow whatever comes up, for 1 to 2 years, then plowed and planted again. We returned to Morgan City to the Great Wall, which is a 21 foot high wall to keep the Atchafalaya River from flooding the area. The wall is several miles long, part-made of concrete and the rest steel. There is a walkway on top in town, so you can look down at the boats getting ready for the fishing and shrimp season. An interesting day.
Saturday, we went to the International Petroleum Museum and Exposition, It is the first submersible drilling rig used in offshore production named Mr. Charlie. Charlie was the first person to contribute to the fund for the building of the rig. Started the construction in 1972 and finished in 1974 at a cost of $2.5 million. 220 feet long, this vessel is a self-contained, transportable, industrial island with living accommodations for up to 58 workers. The rig is mounted on a barge, part of which contains the power plant for electricity and the rest is tanks to raise and lower the rig. It is towed into position and sunk to provide a stable platform to drill for oil and gas. It is limited to 40 feet of water, so is now used for training and a museum. Refurbished in1982 for $21 million. It was an interesting tour where we had the guide to ourselves.
The end of an interesting week. Till next week, keep well.
Saturday, March 24, 2001
We are still in Louisiana waiting for it to warm up so we can move north.
Sunday, we attended Pharr Chapel UMC in Morgan City, LA. People were somewhat friendly, a friendly minister, (one of the youngest we have seen on our trip) and a nice service. The church was built in 1878 and has a copper steeple. I watched a college baseball game in the afternoon.
Monday, we moved east on highway 90 to Westwego, LA, parked the RV and drove highway 23 to the end to see the Mississippi River near its end. We have stepped across the river at its beginning.
Tuesday, we moved to Kinder, La. on highways, 90, I-10, and I-90. Cool, but nice day. We have decided that Louisiana has the most concrete elevated highways in the U.S. We drove on a 19 mile stretch west of New Orleans.
Wednesday, we went to Lake Charles, did the laundry, had the car serviced, shopped a little, returned to the RV and took the rest of the day off. There are a lot of rice fields around here and they are getting ready to plant.
Thursday, we followed highways 190 and 171 to Many, LA then took the rest of the day off. Nice day.
Friday, another interesting day. We moved to this area to visit the Hodges Park to see the Formal Gardens. We went into the park, after paying of course, viewed the beginning and were at a waterfall area, when we decided that it looked familiar. I have included a picture of the 23 foot waterfall, with a Dogwood in the background. We are sure now, that we saw this park when we drove the Natchez Trace several years ago. It was earlier in the year then, and a lot more plants are in bloom now. The Dogwoods are at their peak, the Azaleas are at mid point and the Camellias are just finishing, to mention some of the flowering plants. It was very nice. We went to the Club House of a golf course across the street for lunch, and heard a fellow tell his buddies that on the 8th fairway there is a menu and a telephone, so you can call in your lunch order for after you complete the 9th hole. CLASS Nice lunch and reasonable prices. Bought some groceries and then relaxed.
Saturday, Cool and rainy all day. We went to a flea market and bought 18 pounds of grapefruit for $6. Then we drove around the area for a while. Our mail came, so we spent the rest of the day, reading mail and paying bills.
That's it for this week, kind of a slow week.
The end of an interesting week. Till next week, keep well.
Saturday, March 24, 2001
We are still in Louisiana waiting for it to warm up so we can move north.
Sunday, we attended Pharr Chapel UMC in Morgan City, LA. People were somewhat friendly, a friendly minister, (one of the youngest we have seen on our trip) and a nice service. The church was built in 1878 and has a copper steeple. I watched a college baseball game in the afternoon.
Monday, we moved east on highway 90 to Westwego, LA, parked the RV and drove highway 23 to the end to see the Mississippi River near its end. We have stepped across the river at its beginning.
Tuesday, we moved to Kinder, La. on highways, 90, I-10, and I-90. Cool, but nice day. We have decided that Louisiana has the most concrete elevated highways in the U.S. We drove on a 19 mile stretch west of New Orleans.
Wednesday, we went to Lake Charles, did the laundry, had the car serviced, shopped a little, returned to the RV and took the rest of the day off. There are a lot of rice fields around here and they are getting ready to plant.
Thursday, we followed highways 190 and 171 to Many, LA then took the rest of the day off. Nice day.
Friday, another interesting day. We moved to this area to visit the Hodges Park to see the Formal Gardens. We went into the park, after paying of course, viewed the beginning and were at a waterfall area, when we decided that it looked familiar. I have included a picture of the 23 foot waterfall, with a Dogwood in the background. We are sure now, that we saw this park when we drove the Natchez Trace several years ago. It was earlier in the year then, and a lot more plants are in bloom now. The Dogwoods are at their peak, the Azaleas are at mid point and the Camellias are just finishing, to mention some of the flowering plants. It was very nice. We went to the Club House of a golf course across the street for lunch, and heard a fellow tell his buddies that on the 8th fairway there is a menu and a telephone, so you can call in your lunch order for after you complete the 9th hole. CLASS Nice lunch and reasonable prices. Bought some groceries and then relaxed.
Saturday, Cool and rainy all day. We went to a flea market and bought 18 pounds of grapefruit for $6. Then we drove around the area for a while. Our mail came, so we spent the rest of the day, reading mail and paying bills.
That's it for this week, kind of a slow week.
March 31, 2001
Sunday, we went to the Club House in the RV Park for church services. There were only three of us there to hear him. It was ok. In the afternoon, we went into Many to the theater for the Sabine Players Production of "The Corn Is Green". It was a drama about saving children from the coal mines and putting them in school in Wales. They were very good.
Monday, we moved to Sugarland, TX on highways, 6, 21, 96, 59, 610, and 59. Makes sense if you look at the map. We went to Kinkos and sent the email, in preparation for having the computer fixed in the morning. We went to an Italian Restaurant for dinner, which was very good.
Tuesday, we took the computer to have it repaired. In the afternoon we went to the Imperial Sugar Company to see how sugar cane is refined and packaged. The company is the oldest business in Texas, having been started in 1843 as a sugar mill. In the 1890's, the refinery was built at a cost of $1.5 million. The video about the refining process was very interesting then the tour of the packaging was interesting, plus we had the guide to ourselves. In 1925, they processed 1.24 million pounds of sugar per day, now it is 6 million pounds per day. You can buy the sugar in sizes from one teaspoon to 2,000 pound bags, tanker truck and railroad tanker. The last machine we saw, at the rate of 200, 5 pound bags per minute, makes the bags, fills, weighs, adds if necessary, and seals the bag. Then the bags are sent to a machine that puts 20 bags to a bag, seals them up and sends them to shipping. The guide told us that the prisons in Texas have farms, so that the prisoners can raise the food for the prisons. In the evening, we went to visit my nephew, Mark and family. We had not seen them since their wedding day. We had a great time.
Wednesday, we did some shopping and got the computer back late in the day.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry, while I prepared the computer for service again. We went to Kinkos and got the computer reregistered with AT&T and got the email.
Friday, we moved back to Many following highways, 6, 1960, 90, 287, 190, 63,191 and 6. That was the long way back, but the traffic around Houston is terrible, especially with all the construction. This RV Park was willing to receive our mail and now we have our medication for the next three months.
Saturday, we moved to Marksville, La. along highways 6, I-49 and 1. They were some of the best roads we have found in LA.
The weather on Monday and today, Saturday was nice, otherwise it has rained and been cold. The farmers are complaining that there has been so much rain, that now they can't get on the fields and the crops are going to be late, which will mean a lower yield.
Sunday, we went to the Club House in the RV Park for church services. There were only three of us there to hear him. It was ok. In the afternoon, we went into Many to the theater for the Sabine Players Production of "The Corn Is Green". It was a drama about saving children from the coal mines and putting them in school in Wales. They were very good.
Monday, we moved to Sugarland, TX on highways, 6, 21, 96, 59, 610, and 59. Makes sense if you look at the map. We went to Kinkos and sent the email, in preparation for having the computer fixed in the morning. We went to an Italian Restaurant for dinner, which was very good.
Tuesday, we took the computer to have it repaired. In the afternoon we went to the Imperial Sugar Company to see how sugar cane is refined and packaged. The company is the oldest business in Texas, having been started in 1843 as a sugar mill. In the 1890's, the refinery was built at a cost of $1.5 million. The video about the refining process was very interesting then the tour of the packaging was interesting, plus we had the guide to ourselves. In 1925, they processed 1.24 million pounds of sugar per day, now it is 6 million pounds per day. You can buy the sugar in sizes from one teaspoon to 2,000 pound bags, tanker truck and railroad tanker. The last machine we saw, at the rate of 200, 5 pound bags per minute, makes the bags, fills, weighs, adds if necessary, and seals the bag. Then the bags are sent to a machine that puts 20 bags to a bag, seals them up and sends them to shipping. The guide told us that the prisons in Texas have farms, so that the prisoners can raise the food for the prisons. In the evening, we went to visit my nephew, Mark and family. We had not seen them since their wedding day. We had a great time.
Wednesday, we did some shopping and got the computer back late in the day.
Thursday, Marilynn did the laundry, while I prepared the computer for service again. We went to Kinkos and got the computer reregistered with AT&T and got the email.
Friday, we moved back to Many following highways, 6, 1960, 90, 287, 190, 63,191 and 6. That was the long way back, but the traffic around Houston is terrible, especially with all the construction. This RV Park was willing to receive our mail and now we have our medication for the next three months.
Saturday, we moved to Marksville, La. along highways 6, I-49 and 1. They were some of the best roads we have found in LA.
The weather on Monday and today, Saturday was nice, otherwise it has rained and been cold. The farmers are complaining that there has been so much rain, that now they can't get on the fields and the crops are going to be late, which will mean a lower yield.
April 7, 2001
Sunday, we attended Marksville UMC, friendly people and a nice minister. We went to a local restaurant for lunch and the minister and her husband showed up while we were there. We had a nice visit with them about what we are doing and about the local area. She is an ex-school teacher that has always wanted to be a minister. She is in her second year of her ministry. She has three small churches that we think are a long ways apart. Loafed the rest of the day.
Monday, we went to the Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge, only to discover that it is mostly flooded. We drove to a nature hike and did the part that was not flooded. Saw a few birds. We drove back along the Mississippi River where there are huge plantations yet. They raise sweet potatoes, rice, cotton, and sugar cane.
Tuesday, we moved to Natchez, MS on highways 1, 15 and 61. We are at the Natchez State Park. We were here several years ago and since then they have added a new RV parking area. Very nice. We are here waiting for our income tax papers to arrive.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Natchez Duncan Park Golf. Nice course, one of my better games. Nice to get lots of roll. Marilynn stayed cool.
Thursday, I played golf at the same course again. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. One of the best we have had on this trip. Then to the Natchez Post Office and received our income tax papers. We got them done and mailed them - done till next year.
Friday, we moved to Jackson, MS along the Natchez Trace, and I-20. For those of you who never heard of the Natchez Trace, it was built on an animal and Indian trail from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. It's primary purpose was for people who floated their goods to New Orleans, sold their goods and sold the boat for lumber, and either rode or walked back home on the Trace, 440 miles. There were inns developed about a days walk apart. The highway follows the area of the Trace, even crosses it at times. You can see parts of it. It is a good road, with NO commercial traffic. Not much traffic, 50 MPH limit, which some don't pay attention to. The dogwood trees, Amber clover, White clover and other flowers are in bloom. A very nice drive. We drove the whole route in early March of 1998, so probably won’t go on much more of it. We’ll see.
Saturday, laundry and cleaning day. Then we went to Red Robin for lunch, which was paid for with the Christmas Gift from some VERY dear friends. Thanks. We toured some of the area.
I guess that is it for now. We are well and hope each and every one of you is too.
April 14, 2001
I made a couple of errors last week. It was Crimson clover not Amber and we went to Red Lobster, not Red Robin. I'll try to do better.
Palm Sunday, We attended Saint Marks UMC in Brandon, MS. It is a large church with good attendance. They have a large parking lot (which was full), with 2 services, 35 member choir, and a week filled with activities, day and night. A nice service with the children bringing in the palms. Lots of children. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday, we went to the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry/National Agricultural Aviation Museum. It is an interesting museum telling about raising cotton, lumbering and other crops. There were too many things to mention, but one we found very interesting. When Eli Whitney invented and patented the cotton gin, other plantation owners saw the way it worked and had their help make them one. Eli’s machine used wires to take the cotton from the seed. The plantation owner used a saw blade. They designed their own plows and other equipment to work the ground. The museum also had early equipment for crop dusting with aircraft. The rest of the day we spent in the RV with the A/C running.
Tuesday, we moved to Hollandale, MS over highways I-55, 463, 49, 49w, 14 and 61. In the afternoon we went to Greenville to tour. We started at the levee that keeps the town from being flooded by the Mississippi River. The U.S. Corps of Engineers constructed the levee which is now longer and taller than the Great Wall of China. We also saw the Corps equipment that is used to maintain the levee in this district. There and back, we looked at the huge farms. The fields that are dry enough they are busy planting. The news tonight said they set a record for heat today, 89 degrees. We ran all of the A/Cs today.
Wednesday, we went to the Florewood River Plantation in Greenwood, MS. It is re-created 1850’s plantation of what would have been a 1,000 acre plantation. It is more middle class plantation. The Planter's home had only 4 rooms, dining room, parlor and two bedrooms upstairs, master and girls. As the family grew, more bedrooms would have been added, but the girls always slept upstairs. There were an 1860 box-bed steam engine, gristmill, shingle mill and an 1870 saw mill with portable steam engine, all fully restored to operating condition. It has representative buildings of all of the buildings that would have been on a plantation with 80 slaves. 600 acres would have been under cultivation and the rest pasture and wood land. There were costumed people to tell about the house, the kitchen (separate from house because of fire danger), and the commissary. Very nice. Then we went to the Jamie Whitten Delta States Research Center that does research on cotton, com, soybeans and catfish. This is a U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Center. This area produces more than 75% of the world's farm-raised catfish. We talked to a man who does research on cotton. It was most interesting. Cotton produces about 700 pounds of cotton per acre in an average year.
Thursday, we moved to Meridian, MS on highways; 12,7,82,51,35, and 19. We drove by a lot of catfish farms.
Friday, we moved to Coker, AL which is by Tuscaloosa, using I-20. Nice drive. We bought groceries and took the rest of the day off. It is cooler here.
Saturday, we went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It is the oldest municipally owned garden in Alabama. It is 67 acres. There were lots of flowers, bushes, and trees in bloom. It has a lot of display gardens. There was a nice crowd including a couple of weddings. We had lunch in the French Restaurant that is in the garden. Very good.
I guess that is it for this week.
April 21, 2001
EASTER, we attended the Northport UMC. It was an interesting experience. We entered the door from the street, expecting to be in the back of the church or in the Narthex, instead we were in the front of the Sanctuary looking at the congregations faces. We couldn't duck out, so we walked up the side isle and sat down. The rest of the service was very nice. The 20 member choir was the best that we have heard on this trip. The acoustics were very good. Most churches have an echo. Marilynn made dinner. Excellent as usual. Because we didn't know how many restaurants were open and if open, if we could get in.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Hidden Meadows G.C. In the afternoon, Marilynn did the laundry. Nice day.
Tuesday, we went to the Mercedes-Benz museum and assembly plant tour. They employ 1,900 team members and are building a building to employ 2,000 more. What they will do in the building is a secret. They have 1,000 acres and are using about 300 now. The plant is 1.2 million square feet. The tour was 1 mile and 1-1/2 hours. The body takes 4 hours to assemble and spends 10 hours in the paint area. They assemble about 20 cars per hour and each team member has 3 minutes to complete their task. A lot of the parts are locally built and the engine-transmission comes from Germany. If anyone is interested, they have a 1933 Mercedes-Benz Model 380K for sale at the museum for $500,000. Don't all come at once to get it. Picture included.
Wednesday, the weather is still having fun. In Tuscaloosa this morning, a new record low of 33 degrees was recorded. We moved to Childersburg, La. following highways, 1-20, 11, 5, 25, 76, and 280. Western Louisiana is flat and now we are in the hills. We saw a lot of large saw mills on the way here. Around here the farms have horses or beef. In the afternoon, we went to see a grist mill and two covered bridges.
Thursday, we went to the Robinson Iron. They make all kinds of decorative metal pieces. Robinson Foundry was founded in 1946 by Mr. Robinson. He made some cast decorative pieces for himself and the rest is history. He founded Robinson Iron in 1964. Our guide was the grandson of the founder, who is in marketing and may be an executive, he didn't say. The have a computer controlled cutter that uses 5,000 PSI water pressure to cut the metal and wood. We didn't see it work, but saw the end product. The edges on the metal are almost sharp enough to cut your finger. We have a catalog, but the quality and prices are high.
Nice guy and a good tour. We toured some of the area after that and saw another covered bridge.
Friday, we moved to Pine Mountain, Ga. along highways 280, 50, and 18. Later, we drove the Franklin D. Roosevelt Scenic Drive along Pine Mountain Ridge. We stopped at FDR's favorite place to go, Dowdell's Knob. He visited the Knob 41 times between 1924 and 1945. He had a grill built there to be used on his picnics. The table was draped with linen and hot food was served on silver. The Knob overlooks the Pine Mountain Valley, which is a beautiful sight. It was a beautiful drive.
Saturday, we went to the Callaway Gardens, which is 14,000 acres. It was developed from land that was useless because of over farming. They have a Butterfly Center, (with butterflies flying around you) Horticultural Center, beaches, vegetable garden, Azalea garden, lakes, etc and 20+ miles of roads for sightseeing. It was very busy place with hundreds of people around. Lots of tour buses full of people. It was a very beautiful place and we had a great time.
The weather has changed. It was 77 degrees today and supposed to be near 90 degrees tomorrow.
Till next week, BE HAPPY, it's better than anything else.
April 28, 2001
Sunday, we attended the 1st UMC of Pine Mountain. It had the same basic floor plan as last week, with the same result. We'll have to go a little later and go in with the last minute people. The organist-pianist was very good. The 9 member choir also was very good. The minister's 2 sermons were good, children’s and main. We went out to dinner and the relaxed the rest of the day.
Monday, we moved to Dahlonega, GA along highways, 27,I-20, 92,I-575, 53, and 9. Nice day and beautiful countryside. It was a nice day and the countryside was beautiful. Some of the smaller roads are very crooked, with a 45 MPH limit. We did see 2 accidents. The first one appeared to be a young man who lost control and went into a deep ditch. Police were there. The second one appeared to be a young woman, who lost control and rolled her car. There was a crowd around. It didn't look like anyone was hurt in either accident. We went to the post office and got our mail. We read the mail the rest of the day.
Tuesday, we drove into the Georgia mountains for the day. The dogwood trees are very beautiful and they are everywhere. We are camped at about 1,200 feet elevation and drove up to 5,000 feet to a federal park to see the visitor's center and the view, only to discover that it is only open on weekends. We did see a lot of nice country and had a good time.
Wednesday, we moved to Chattanooga, TN over highways, 52, and I-75. Nice day. We went to Wal-Mart to buy some bottled water in the evening. We buy bottled water, for drinking, because we have discovered that our stomachs like bottled water better than local water. On the way back to the RV, the freeway was parked, so we toured part of Chattanooga.
Thursday, we moved to Manchester, TN along highways, 41, and I-24. Beautiful country and nice day. We went to town for lunch and checked out 2 golf courses. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow. We also went to Foothills Crafts. It is a cooperative with 190 members selling their products. Very nice.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Old Stone Fort G.C. in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to the Jack Daniel's Distillery. While we don't use their products, it was an interesting tour. I will give you a few facts. The basic process has not changed since 1860. They make about 8,000 barrels per week, with 63 gallons in each barrel that the U.S. Government taxes at $13.50 per gallon. They have 70 warehouses that each hold 20,160 barrels. If you want more information let me know. It was 45 degrees in the morning and 80 degrees in the afternoon.
Saturday, we went to the Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park. On the way there and back, we saw lots of tree and bush nurseries. Marilynn quit counting at a couple dozen. In the park, spring seems to be a little later than here. The Dogwoods are just reaching just reaching their peak. They were all over the place. We saw Fall Creek Falls, at 256 feet, is the highest East of the Rockies. It was very nice. On the way home, we stopped in town at the Sonic Drive Inn for a banana split. It is built like the drive inns of old. It has stalls for 36 cars and 6 tables to sit in the shade. You order from your car and a car hop delivers your order. We haven't seen one of those in many years. That was fun and the banana splits were good.
It is still very dry here and the daytime highs are supposed to be in the mid 80's for the next 5 days and no rain.
Till next week. Be safe.
May 6, 2001
Sunday, we attended the 1st UMC, Manchester, TN. The minister's short sermon was good. The 30 member choir and 16 children put on a cantata that was over 1 hour long during the service. It was very well done. Then we went to Murfreesboro for lunch and send/receive email. We took a different route back and went thru Tennessee Walking Horse country. Some very nice farms.
Monday, we moved to Henderson, TN on highways, 55, 50, 64, and 45. In the afternoon, we went to town and had the muffler on the car replaced. Nice day.
Tuesday, we went to Jackson, TN to the Cypress Grove Nature Park. We walked the 5,000 feet of board walk. It was interesting. I took a picture of a snake swimming across the pond and a bull frog calling for a mate. We haven't seen either or those before. I hope the pictures turn out. We heard lots of birds and saw some. Then on to Casey Jones (of railroad fame) Village. It is basically a tourist trap, but we did talk to a woodcarver, in the visitor's center, who is carving full time. He really does nice work.
Wednesday, remember, we are seeing the country. We moved to Millersville, TN by following 100 West to 138 and 70 to Brownsville, 19 and I-51 to Dyersburg, 104 and I-79 to Clarksville, 41A, 76, and 41 to Millersville. It was interesting the different landscapes that we crossed. Flat land with cotton and grain on it, hilly land with trees, big swamps, and everything in between. The roads were good, pretty crooked at times, and a nice drive. Late in the day, we went to Nashville to Camping World for RV supplies. Lots of highway construction around Nashville.
Thursday, we moved to Livingston, TN on highways, 31W and 52. In the afternoon Marilynn did the laundry at the local Laundromat. Beautiful drive thru the country today.
Friday, we moved to Kingston, TN on highway I-40 to a friend's horse farm. We spent the rest of the day visiting.
Saturday, after a very nice breakfast, we went to Oak Ridge to the Secret City Scenic Excursion Train. Oak Ridge is where the first atom bomb was built. The people who lived in the area were moved out, the railroad was built, the plant was built, and three levels of homes were built for 2,000 employees. The whole operation was very secret in 1943. The tour guide was very good on the train ride. Then we toured Oak Ridge and the area around it. We had a great time.
That is it for this week. Talk to you again next week.
May 12, 2001
Hi, everyone from Tennessee,
Sunday, we spent the day Sightseeing, visiting, and eating. Not necessarily in that order.
Monday, Gordy and I played 18 holes of golf at the Southwest Point G. C. Eileen and Marilynn did some shopping in Kingston. In the afternoon I did some routine maintenance on the RV. In the evening we visited.
Tuesday, in the morning we visited. In the afternoon I played 9 holes of golf with the Boeing League with Gordy at the Dead Horse Lake G.C. A very nice bunch of guys. Eileen and Marilynn went to the grocery store.
Wednesday, we bid farewell to our friends and moved to Athens, TN on highways, 58, 65, and 305. We had a great time with our friends and I learned a Iot about thoroughbred horse raising. In the afternoon, we took highways; 39, 68, 64, and 11 to do some sightseeing. In Ducktown, we went to the Ducktown Basin Museum. It is about copper mining that started in 1850 and closed the last time in the mid 1900's. The museum was founded on March 15, 1978. A very nice display about copper mining in tunnels. It showed what the fumes from the smelting process did to the landscape and how they are restoring it.
Thursday, we went to the Cherohala SkyWay in the Appalachian Mountains on highways, 39, 165, 143, 129, 72, 411, 68, and 307. We went as high as 5,390 feet. At the 4,000 foot level spring is going strong with the flowers and trees in bloom. Above the 4,500 foot level spring is just starting with the trees blooming and the leaves just starting. The trip was very nice and area is beautiful. We have never seen so many motorcyclists. We saw well over 100. At least 80% were young men.
Friday, in the morning, Marilynn did the laundry, while I cleaned the carpet. In the afternoon, we went to the Englewood, TN Textile Museum. It has displays of the various textile manufacturing products. There used to be many mills in the area and now there is only one. They have a few of the early machines. It was very interesting. There were 2 women working there that had worked in the mills. Then we went to the Mayfield Farms Visitors Center, which has a ten minute video and a tour of the pasteurizing and bottling plant. It was OK. Their ice cream is very good. We HAD to buy some.
Saturday, we set out to see a couple of the local colorful spots. We started at Sunshine Hollow, which 1,000 varieties of daylilies. Unfortunately it is too early in the year. They did have some Rhododendrons in bloom. Next we went to Mousecreek Nursery. It had over 600 varieties of perennials, unusual annuals, and garden products. Lots of blooming flowers with a couple of pansy colors that we had not seen before. Then to Striker's Premium Winery - turned out that they buy all their grapes from local farmers, so there wasn't much to see. Then to Russell Stover Candies Factory Outlet Superstore - lots of different chocolates. The Easter chocolates were 75% off, so we bought a little. We had a good time.
That's it for another week. Till next week.
May 19, 2001
MOTHER’S DAY, we attended the Allen Memorial UMC at Athens, TN. The prelude and the offertory were an organ-piano duet which was excellent. The choir was very good. The sermon was good but looong. This was the first church we have visited that we were recognized as visitors as we came through the door. Then we went to the Athen’s Diner for lunch. Good food. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday, we moved to Franklin, NC on highways I-75 and 64. We went into town and looked it over.
Tuesday, we moved to Asheville, NC on highways 23 and I-40. A lot of the median and road sides have wild flowers planted on them. They are very nice.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Buncombe County, G.C., while Marilynn enjoyed the peace and quiet. Later, we went to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There was a fellow there making baskets, weaving them out of white oak strips that he had made. He had made some thimble size baskets, $130.00. He was explaining and demonstrating how to make them. Another thing we saw was an 8x10 picture that had been cut vertically into about 3/16 inch strips and another picture the same size cut horizontally then woven together. One picture was a mother holding a child. That section of the picture was left by itself and the area around it was woven. The Center has all kinds of handmade items. Then we went to the Guild Crafts. Both places have similar items at about the same price and very high quality.
Thursday, we went to the North Carolina Arboretum. The grounds and the flowers were beautiful. They have state-of-the-art greenhouses. The cooling system for them was really different. On one end, more than half of the wall is cardboard. At a preset temperature, water is pumped to the cardboard and big fans run on the other end. As a result of the water evaporation, 8,100 BTU's are removed per gallon of water. It ran while we were there and it really works. We talked to a lady volunteer, who was working with the large collection of Bonsai trees. Some of the trees were in bloom. We found it interesting, that they can control the size of the tree and the leaves, but not the flower or the fruit. If the trees are alone in the setting, that is Japanese style, if it is in a scene type setting, it is Chinese style. In the visitor's center, the quilt hanging on the wall, (picture included) was designed and created by one woman who labored 375 hours to do the quilting alone. It is beautiful. I have an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of information, so if anyone wants more information, let me know. The Arboretum is owned by the state and free admission. The rest of the day, we looked around the area and did a little shopping.
Friday, I went to the driving range and hit a medium bucket of balls. We spent the afternoon and evening with my brother and his wife. My niece joined us in the evening.
Saturday, we loafed and kept cool in the morning. In the afternoon, my brother, his daughter, Marilynn, and I went to Mt. Mitchell, highest point east of the Mississippi, which turned out to be the end of a 102 mile bike race. It started to rain while we were up there. They need the rain. We visited the rest of the day into the evening. We had a great time.
That is it for this week. Keep healthy. We are.
May 26, 2001
Sunday, we attended the New Hope Presbyterian Church with my brother and his wife for the Worship Service and the Ordination of their daughter. The entire service was beautiful. The choir sang, "Hush! Somebody's Callin My name", a cappella. It was very good. The entire congregation was very friendly. We visited the rest of the day.
Monday, I played 9 holes of golf, while Marilynn did the laundry. In the afternoon and evening, we visited my brother and his wife. We had a good time.
Tuesday, we moved to Salisbury, N.C. on highways I-40 and 70. In the afternoon, we went to Kannapolis, N.C. to the Fieldcrest Cannon Museum. They make cotton household goods. A couple of interesting facts; at the towel plant, a 500 pound bale of cotton makes 690 terry bath towels, at the sheet plant, it takes 10 minutes to make a sheet. The museum was very interesting.
Wednesday, we moved to Greensboro, N.C. on highways I-85 and 421. Nice day. In the afternoon, we went to town to explore and do some shopping.
Thursday, we went to High Point, N.C., the Furniture Capital of the World, to the Furniture Discovery Center. It has the equipment for making furniture until the computer age, from the drawing board to the finished product. They also have the Serta Miniature Bedroom Collection, which includes King Tut's and the Kublia Khan's. It was all very interesting. The town has a population of 70,000, which has 71,500 furniture buyers from all over the world come twice a year to see the latest in furniture. Then we went to "The Atrium" (Furniture Mall) where we had lunch at the cafe there. We spent a couple of hours looking at furniture. There are 700 manufacturers represented.
Friday, we went to Replacements, Ltd. in Greensboro, N.C., the World's Largest Retailer of Old and New China, Crystal, Silver, and Collectibles. The current inventory is 7 million pieces and growing. 2% of that is on display. The warehouse and work area is 225,000 square feet. The shelves are about 15 feet high. The display area is another 12,000 square feet. The museum has 7,500 rare pieces displayed in Turn of the Century display cases. The display cases were made before 1907; have "Indian Territory" painted on the back. They were produced before Oklahoma became a state. They are beautiful, as are the pieces in them. The company is owned by the founder, Bob Page. The tour of the facility was very nice. We have more information for anyone interested. Rained in the afternoon.
Saturday, we went to Burlington, N.C. to see a 1910 Dentzel Menagerie Carousel. The hand carved animals are 26 horses, 4 cats, a lion, a tiger, a giraffe, a reindeer, 4 pigs, a rabbit, and an ostrich. The Carousel is in very nice condition. A ride is 50 cents. It is in a 76 acre city park. After lunch we went to an outlet mall. Rained in the morning, the rest of the day was nice.
That's it for another fun filled week. Till next week, take care of yourself.
June 2, 2001
Sunday, .We attended the Rehabeth UMC at Greensboro, N.C. For those that know her, this is the church where Rev. Karen Kaser Odor is Associate Pastor. We did not see her as she is on vacation. The service was very nice. The Pastor and the people were very friendly and the choir was very good. The organist and the pianist were excellent. This is the first time we have seen men in both positions. The park we are in looked full last night. Lots of children around and lots of tents. Yesterday, after the overnight rain, there were sleeping bags on the fence.
Memorial Day, we moved to Raleigh, NC on highways I-85 and 440. After setting up and lunch, we went to Durham to look around. It rained off and on all day.
Tuesday, we went shopping. After lunch at Lone Star, we went to the State Capital Building in Raleigh. It was built in 1840 and has been restored to the way it was then, including furnishings. All of the state government has moved to new buildings except the governor, his staff and the lieutenant governor. The building is very nice. There are 14 statues and monuments on the grounds.
Wednesday, we moved to a Corps of Engineers Park by Finchley, VA by going northeast on highway 1 to highway 58 to Finchley. A very nice park. Marilynn did the laundry, then we loafed.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at Kinderton G.C., Clarksville, VA while Marilynn sewed. After lunch we looked around Boydton and Clarksville. Then we loafed. Very pleasant day in the upper 60's.
Friday, we moved to Natural Bridge Station on highways 58, and 501. Rained all day and cool. Took the rest of the day off.
Saturday, we went to Natural Bridge Station for breakfast, then on 501 and 11 to Lexington to do a little shopping. Then we toured the mountains by going to Warm Springs, Covington, Buchanan, and back to the RV. The scenery and weather were beautiful. There are lots of horse farms and beef farms in the area. In the mountains we got as high as 2,950 feet. At Covington we went to the Humpback Bridge State Wayside Park. It is the nations only surviving arched single-span covered bridge. The arch is about 4 feet. It is in nice condition.
Another week gone and the fun continues.
Sunday, we attended Marksville UMC, friendly people and a nice minister. We went to a local restaurant for lunch and the minister and her husband showed up while we were there. We had a nice visit with them about what we are doing and about the local area. She is an ex-school teacher that has always wanted to be a minister. She is in her second year of her ministry. She has three small churches that we think are a long ways apart. Loafed the rest of the day.
Monday, we went to the Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge, only to discover that it is mostly flooded. We drove to a nature hike and did the part that was not flooded. Saw a few birds. We drove back along the Mississippi River where there are huge plantations yet. They raise sweet potatoes, rice, cotton, and sugar cane.
Tuesday, we moved to Natchez, MS on highways 1, 15 and 61. We are at the Natchez State Park. We were here several years ago and since then they have added a new RV parking area. Very nice. We are here waiting for our income tax papers to arrive.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Natchez Duncan Park Golf. Nice course, one of my better games. Nice to get lots of roll. Marilynn stayed cool.
Thursday, I played golf at the same course again. Then we went to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. One of the best we have had on this trip. Then to the Natchez Post Office and received our income tax papers. We got them done and mailed them - done till next year.
Friday, we moved to Jackson, MS along the Natchez Trace, and I-20. For those of you who never heard of the Natchez Trace, it was built on an animal and Indian trail from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN. It's primary purpose was for people who floated their goods to New Orleans, sold their goods and sold the boat for lumber, and either rode or walked back home on the Trace, 440 miles. There were inns developed about a days walk apart. The highway follows the area of the Trace, even crosses it at times. You can see parts of it. It is a good road, with NO commercial traffic. Not much traffic, 50 MPH limit, which some don't pay attention to. The dogwood trees, Amber clover, White clover and other flowers are in bloom. A very nice drive. We drove the whole route in early March of 1998, so probably won’t go on much more of it. We’ll see.
Saturday, laundry and cleaning day. Then we went to Red Robin for lunch, which was paid for with the Christmas Gift from some VERY dear friends. Thanks. We toured some of the area.
I guess that is it for now. We are well and hope each and every one of you is too.
April 14, 2001
I made a couple of errors last week. It was Crimson clover not Amber and we went to Red Lobster, not Red Robin. I'll try to do better.
Palm Sunday, We attended Saint Marks UMC in Brandon, MS. It is a large church with good attendance. They have a large parking lot (which was full), with 2 services, 35 member choir, and a week filled with activities, day and night. A nice service with the children bringing in the palms. Lots of children. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday, we went to the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry/National Agricultural Aviation Museum. It is an interesting museum telling about raising cotton, lumbering and other crops. There were too many things to mention, but one we found very interesting. When Eli Whitney invented and patented the cotton gin, other plantation owners saw the way it worked and had their help make them one. Eli’s machine used wires to take the cotton from the seed. The plantation owner used a saw blade. They designed their own plows and other equipment to work the ground. The museum also had early equipment for crop dusting with aircraft. The rest of the day we spent in the RV with the A/C running.
Tuesday, we moved to Hollandale, MS over highways I-55, 463, 49, 49w, 14 and 61. In the afternoon we went to Greenville to tour. We started at the levee that keeps the town from being flooded by the Mississippi River. The U.S. Corps of Engineers constructed the levee which is now longer and taller than the Great Wall of China. We also saw the Corps equipment that is used to maintain the levee in this district. There and back, we looked at the huge farms. The fields that are dry enough they are busy planting. The news tonight said they set a record for heat today, 89 degrees. We ran all of the A/Cs today.
Wednesday, we went to the Florewood River Plantation in Greenwood, MS. It is re-created 1850’s plantation of what would have been a 1,000 acre plantation. It is more middle class plantation. The Planter's home had only 4 rooms, dining room, parlor and two bedrooms upstairs, master and girls. As the family grew, more bedrooms would have been added, but the girls always slept upstairs. There were an 1860 box-bed steam engine, gristmill, shingle mill and an 1870 saw mill with portable steam engine, all fully restored to operating condition. It has representative buildings of all of the buildings that would have been on a plantation with 80 slaves. 600 acres would have been under cultivation and the rest pasture and wood land. There were costumed people to tell about the house, the kitchen (separate from house because of fire danger), and the commissary. Very nice. Then we went to the Jamie Whitten Delta States Research Center that does research on cotton, com, soybeans and catfish. This is a U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Center. This area produces more than 75% of the world's farm-raised catfish. We talked to a man who does research on cotton. It was most interesting. Cotton produces about 700 pounds of cotton per acre in an average year.
Thursday, we moved to Meridian, MS on highways; 12,7,82,51,35, and 19. We drove by a lot of catfish farms.
Friday, we moved to Coker, AL which is by Tuscaloosa, using I-20. Nice drive. We bought groceries and took the rest of the day off. It is cooler here.
Saturday, we went to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It is the oldest municipally owned garden in Alabama. It is 67 acres. There were lots of flowers, bushes, and trees in bloom. It has a lot of display gardens. There was a nice crowd including a couple of weddings. We had lunch in the French Restaurant that is in the garden. Very good.
I guess that is it for this week.
April 21, 2001
EASTER, we attended the Northport UMC. It was an interesting experience. We entered the door from the street, expecting to be in the back of the church or in the Narthex, instead we were in the front of the Sanctuary looking at the congregations faces. We couldn't duck out, so we walked up the side isle and sat down. The rest of the service was very nice. The 20 member choir was the best that we have heard on this trip. The acoustics were very good. Most churches have an echo. Marilynn made dinner. Excellent as usual. Because we didn't know how many restaurants were open and if open, if we could get in.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Hidden Meadows G.C. In the afternoon, Marilynn did the laundry. Nice day.
Tuesday, we went to the Mercedes-Benz museum and assembly plant tour. They employ 1,900 team members and are building a building to employ 2,000 more. What they will do in the building is a secret. They have 1,000 acres and are using about 300 now. The plant is 1.2 million square feet. The tour was 1 mile and 1-1/2 hours. The body takes 4 hours to assemble and spends 10 hours in the paint area. They assemble about 20 cars per hour and each team member has 3 minutes to complete their task. A lot of the parts are locally built and the engine-transmission comes from Germany. If anyone is interested, they have a 1933 Mercedes-Benz Model 380K for sale at the museum for $500,000. Don't all come at once to get it. Picture included.
Wednesday, the weather is still having fun. In Tuscaloosa this morning, a new record low of 33 degrees was recorded. We moved to Childersburg, La. following highways, 1-20, 11, 5, 25, 76, and 280. Western Louisiana is flat and now we are in the hills. We saw a lot of large saw mills on the way here. Around here the farms have horses or beef. In the afternoon, we went to see a grist mill and two covered bridges.Thursday, we went to the Robinson Iron. They make all kinds of decorative metal pieces. Robinson Foundry was founded in 1946 by Mr. Robinson. He made some cast decorative pieces for himself and the rest is history. He founded Robinson Iron in 1964. Our guide was the grandson of the founder, who is in marketing and may be an executive, he didn't say. The have a computer controlled cutter that uses 5,000 PSI water pressure to cut the metal and wood. We didn't see it work, but saw the end product. The edges on the metal are almost sharp enough to cut your finger. We have a catalog, but the quality and prices are high.
Nice guy and a good tour. We toured some of the area after that and saw another covered bridge.
Friday, we moved to Pine Mountain, Ga. along highways 280, 50, and 18. Later, we drove the Franklin D. Roosevelt Scenic Drive along Pine Mountain Ridge. We stopped at FDR's favorite place to go, Dowdell's Knob. He visited the Knob 41 times between 1924 and 1945. He had a grill built there to be used on his picnics. The table was draped with linen and hot food was served on silver. The Knob overlooks the Pine Mountain Valley, which is a beautiful sight. It was a beautiful drive.
Saturday, we went to the Callaway Gardens, which is 14,000 acres. It was developed from land that was useless because of over farming. They have a Butterfly Center, (with butterflies flying around you) Horticultural Center, beaches, vegetable garden, Azalea garden, lakes, etc and 20+ miles of roads for sightseeing. It was very busy place with hundreds of people around. Lots of tour buses full of people. It was a very beautiful place and we had a great time.
The weather has changed. It was 77 degrees today and supposed to be near 90 degrees tomorrow.
Till next week, BE HAPPY, it's better than anything else.
April 28, 2001
Sunday, we attended the 1st UMC of Pine Mountain. It had the same basic floor plan as last week, with the same result. We'll have to go a little later and go in with the last minute people. The organist-pianist was very good. The 9 member choir also was very good. The minister's 2 sermons were good, children’s and main. We went out to dinner and the relaxed the rest of the day.
Monday, we moved to Dahlonega, GA along highways, 27,I-20, 92,I-575, 53, and 9. Nice day and beautiful countryside. It was a nice day and the countryside was beautiful. Some of the smaller roads are very crooked, with a 45 MPH limit. We did see 2 accidents. The first one appeared to be a young man who lost control and went into a deep ditch. Police were there. The second one appeared to be a young woman, who lost control and rolled her car. There was a crowd around. It didn't look like anyone was hurt in either accident. We went to the post office and got our mail. We read the mail the rest of the day.
Tuesday, we drove into the Georgia mountains for the day. The dogwood trees are very beautiful and they are everywhere. We are camped at about 1,200 feet elevation and drove up to 5,000 feet to a federal park to see the visitor's center and the view, only to discover that it is only open on weekends. We did see a lot of nice country and had a good time.
Wednesday, we moved to Chattanooga, TN over highways, 52, and I-75. Nice day. We went to Wal-Mart to buy some bottled water in the evening. We buy bottled water, for drinking, because we have discovered that our stomachs like bottled water better than local water. On the way back to the RV, the freeway was parked, so we toured part of Chattanooga.
Thursday, we moved to Manchester, TN along highways, 41, and I-24. Beautiful country and nice day. We went to town for lunch and checked out 2 golf courses. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow. We also went to Foothills Crafts. It is a cooperative with 190 members selling their products. Very nice.
Friday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Old Stone Fort G.C. in the morning. In the afternoon, we went to the Jack Daniel's Distillery. While we don't use their products, it was an interesting tour. I will give you a few facts. The basic process has not changed since 1860. They make about 8,000 barrels per week, with 63 gallons in each barrel that the U.S. Government taxes at $13.50 per gallon. They have 70 warehouses that each hold 20,160 barrels. If you want more information let me know. It was 45 degrees in the morning and 80 degrees in the afternoon.
Saturday, we went to the Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park. On the way there and back, we saw lots of tree and bush nurseries. Marilynn quit counting at a couple dozen. In the park, spring seems to be a little later than here. The Dogwoods are just reaching just reaching their peak. They were all over the place. We saw Fall Creek Falls, at 256 feet, is the highest East of the Rockies. It was very nice. On the way home, we stopped in town at the Sonic Drive Inn for a banana split. It is built like the drive inns of old. It has stalls for 36 cars and 6 tables to sit in the shade. You order from your car and a car hop delivers your order. We haven't seen one of those in many years. That was fun and the banana splits were good.
It is still very dry here and the daytime highs are supposed to be in the mid 80's for the next 5 days and no rain.
Till next week. Be safe.
May 6, 2001
Sunday, we attended the 1st UMC, Manchester, TN. The minister's short sermon was good. The 30 member choir and 16 children put on a cantata that was over 1 hour long during the service. It was very well done. Then we went to Murfreesboro for lunch and send/receive email. We took a different route back and went thru Tennessee Walking Horse country. Some very nice farms.
Monday, we moved to Henderson, TN on highways, 55, 50, 64, and 45. In the afternoon, we went to town and had the muffler on the car replaced. Nice day.
Tuesday, we went to Jackson, TN to the Cypress Grove Nature Park. We walked the 5,000 feet of board walk. It was interesting. I took a picture of a snake swimming across the pond and a bull frog calling for a mate. We haven't seen either or those before. I hope the pictures turn out. We heard lots of birds and saw some. Then on to Casey Jones (of railroad fame) Village. It is basically a tourist trap, but we did talk to a woodcarver, in the visitor's center, who is carving full time. He really does nice work.
Wednesday, remember, we are seeing the country. We moved to Millersville, TN by following 100 West to 138 and 70 to Brownsville, 19 and I-51 to Dyersburg, 104 and I-79 to Clarksville, 41A, 76, and 41 to Millersville. It was interesting the different landscapes that we crossed. Flat land with cotton and grain on it, hilly land with trees, big swamps, and everything in between. The roads were good, pretty crooked at times, and a nice drive. Late in the day, we went to Nashville to Camping World for RV supplies. Lots of highway construction around Nashville.
Thursday, we moved to Livingston, TN on highways, 31W and 52. In the afternoon Marilynn did the laundry at the local Laundromat. Beautiful drive thru the country today.
Friday, we moved to Kingston, TN on highway I-40 to a friend's horse farm. We spent the rest of the day visiting.
Saturday, after a very nice breakfast, we went to Oak Ridge to the Secret City Scenic Excursion Train. Oak Ridge is where the first atom bomb was built. The people who lived in the area were moved out, the railroad was built, the plant was built, and three levels of homes were built for 2,000 employees. The whole operation was very secret in 1943. The tour guide was very good on the train ride. Then we toured Oak Ridge and the area around it. We had a great time.
That is it for this week. Talk to you again next week.
May 12, 2001
Hi, everyone from Tennessee,
Sunday, we spent the day Sightseeing, visiting, and eating. Not necessarily in that order.
Monday, Gordy and I played 18 holes of golf at the Southwest Point G. C. Eileen and Marilynn did some shopping in Kingston. In the afternoon I did some routine maintenance on the RV. In the evening we visited.
Tuesday, in the morning we visited. In the afternoon I played 9 holes of golf with the Boeing League with Gordy at the Dead Horse Lake G.C. A very nice bunch of guys. Eileen and Marilynn went to the grocery store.
Wednesday, we bid farewell to our friends and moved to Athens, TN on highways, 58, 65, and 305. We had a great time with our friends and I learned a Iot about thoroughbred horse raising. In the afternoon, we took highways; 39, 68, 64, and 11 to do some sightseeing. In Ducktown, we went to the Ducktown Basin Museum. It is about copper mining that started in 1850 and closed the last time in the mid 1900's. The museum was founded on March 15, 1978. A very nice display about copper mining in tunnels. It showed what the fumes from the smelting process did to the landscape and how they are restoring it.
Thursday, we went to the Cherohala SkyWay in the Appalachian Mountains on highways, 39, 165, 143, 129, 72, 411, 68, and 307. We went as high as 5,390 feet. At the 4,000 foot level spring is going strong with the flowers and trees in bloom. Above the 4,500 foot level spring is just starting with the trees blooming and the leaves just starting. The trip was very nice and area is beautiful. We have never seen so many motorcyclists. We saw well over 100. At least 80% were young men.
Friday, in the morning, Marilynn did the laundry, while I cleaned the carpet. In the afternoon, we went to the Englewood, TN Textile Museum. It has displays of the various textile manufacturing products. There used to be many mills in the area and now there is only one. They have a few of the early machines. It was very interesting. There were 2 women working there that had worked in the mills. Then we went to the Mayfield Farms Visitors Center, which has a ten minute video and a tour of the pasteurizing and bottling plant. It was OK. Their ice cream is very good. We HAD to buy some.
Saturday, we set out to see a couple of the local colorful spots. We started at Sunshine Hollow, which 1,000 varieties of daylilies. Unfortunately it is too early in the year. They did have some Rhododendrons in bloom. Next we went to Mousecreek Nursery. It had over 600 varieties of perennials, unusual annuals, and garden products. Lots of blooming flowers with a couple of pansy colors that we had not seen before. Then to Striker's Premium Winery - turned out that they buy all their grapes from local farmers, so there wasn't much to see. Then to Russell Stover Candies Factory Outlet Superstore - lots of different chocolates. The Easter chocolates were 75% off, so we bought a little. We had a good time.
That's it for another week. Till next week.
May 19, 2001
MOTHER’S DAY, we attended the Allen Memorial UMC at Athens, TN. The prelude and the offertory were an organ-piano duet which was excellent. The choir was very good. The sermon was good but looong. This was the first church we have visited that we were recognized as visitors as we came through the door. Then we went to the Athen’s Diner for lunch. Good food. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday, we moved to Franklin, NC on highways I-75 and 64. We went into town and looked it over.
Tuesday, we moved to Asheville, NC on highways 23 and I-40. A lot of the median and road sides have wild flowers planted on them. They are very nice.
Wednesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Buncombe County, G.C., while Marilynn enjoyed the peace and quiet. Later, we went to the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway. There was a fellow there making baskets, weaving them out of white oak strips that he had made. He had made some thimble size baskets, $130.00. He was explaining and demonstrating how to make them. Another thing we saw was an 8x10 picture that had been cut vertically into about 3/16 inch strips and another picture the same size cut horizontally then woven together. One picture was a mother holding a child. That section of the picture was left by itself and the area around it was woven. The Center has all kinds of handmade items. Then we went to the Guild Crafts. Both places have similar items at about the same price and very high quality.
Thursday, we went to the North Carolina Arboretum. The grounds and the flowers were beautiful. They have state-of-the-art greenhouses. The cooling system for them was really different. On one end, more than half of the wall is cardboard. At a preset temperature, water is pumped to the cardboard and big fans run on the other end. As a result of the water evaporation, 8,100 BTU's are removed per gallon of water. It ran while we were there and it really works. We talked to a lady volunteer, who was working with the large collection of Bonsai trees. Some of the trees were in bloom. We found it interesting, that they can control the size of the tree and the leaves, but not the flower or the fruit. If the trees are alone in the setting, that is Japanese style, if it is in a scene type setting, it is Chinese style. In the visitor's center, the quilt hanging on the wall, (picture included) was designed and created by one woman who labored 375 hours to do the quilting alone. It is beautiful. I have an 8 1/2 X 11 sheet of information, so if anyone wants more information, let me know. The Arboretum is owned by the state and free admission. The rest of the day, we looked around the area and did a little shopping.
Friday, I went to the driving range and hit a medium bucket of balls. We spent the afternoon and evening with my brother and his wife. My niece joined us in the evening.
Saturday, we loafed and kept cool in the morning. In the afternoon, my brother, his daughter, Marilynn, and I went to Mt. Mitchell, highest point east of the Mississippi, which turned out to be the end of a 102 mile bike race. It started to rain while we were up there. They need the rain. We visited the rest of the day into the evening. We had a great time.
That is it for this week. Keep healthy. We are.
May 26, 2001
Sunday, we attended the New Hope Presbyterian Church with my brother and his wife for the Worship Service and the Ordination of their daughter. The entire service was beautiful. The choir sang, "Hush! Somebody's Callin My name", a cappella. It was very good. The entire congregation was very friendly. We visited the rest of the day.
Monday, I played 9 holes of golf, while Marilynn did the laundry. In the afternoon and evening, we visited my brother and his wife. We had a good time.
Tuesday, we moved to Salisbury, N.C. on highways I-40 and 70. In the afternoon, we went to Kannapolis, N.C. to the Fieldcrest Cannon Museum. They make cotton household goods. A couple of interesting facts; at the towel plant, a 500 pound bale of cotton makes 690 terry bath towels, at the sheet plant, it takes 10 minutes to make a sheet. The museum was very interesting.
Wednesday, we moved to Greensboro, N.C. on highways I-85 and 421. Nice day. In the afternoon, we went to town to explore and do some shopping.
Thursday, we went to High Point, N.C., the Furniture Capital of the World, to the Furniture Discovery Center. It has the equipment for making furniture until the computer age, from the drawing board to the finished product. They also have the Serta Miniature Bedroom Collection, which includes King Tut's and the Kublia Khan's. It was all very interesting. The town has a population of 70,000, which has 71,500 furniture buyers from all over the world come twice a year to see the latest in furniture. Then we went to "The Atrium" (Furniture Mall) where we had lunch at the cafe there. We spent a couple of hours looking at furniture. There are 700 manufacturers represented.
Friday, we went to Replacements, Ltd. in Greensboro, N.C., the World's Largest Retailer of Old and New China, Crystal, Silver, and Collectibles. The current inventory is 7 million pieces and growing. 2% of that is on display. The warehouse and work area is 225,000 square feet. The shelves are about 15 feet high. The display area is another 12,000 square feet. The museum has 7,500 rare pieces displayed in Turn of the Century display cases. The display cases were made before 1907; have "Indian Territory" painted on the back. They were produced before Oklahoma became a state. They are beautiful, as are the pieces in them. The company is owned by the founder, Bob Page. The tour of the facility was very nice. We have more information for anyone interested. Rained in the afternoon.
Saturday, we went to Burlington, N.C. to see a 1910 Dentzel Menagerie Carousel. The hand carved animals are 26 horses, 4 cats, a lion, a tiger, a giraffe, a reindeer, 4 pigs, a rabbit, and an ostrich. The Carousel is in very nice condition. A ride is 50 cents. It is in a 76 acre city park. After lunch we went to an outlet mall. Rained in the morning, the rest of the day was nice.
That's it for another fun filled week. Till next week, take care of yourself.
June 2, 2001
Sunday, .We attended the Rehabeth UMC at Greensboro, N.C. For those that know her, this is the church where Rev. Karen Kaser Odor is Associate Pastor. We did not see her as she is on vacation. The service was very nice. The Pastor and the people were very friendly and the choir was very good. The organist and the pianist were excellent. This is the first time we have seen men in both positions. The park we are in looked full last night. Lots of children around and lots of tents. Yesterday, after the overnight rain, there were sleeping bags on the fence.
Memorial Day, we moved to Raleigh, NC on highways I-85 and 440. After setting up and lunch, we went to Durham to look around. It rained off and on all day.
Tuesday, we went shopping. After lunch at Lone Star, we went to the State Capital Building in Raleigh. It was built in 1840 and has been restored to the way it was then, including furnishings. All of the state government has moved to new buildings except the governor, his staff and the lieutenant governor. The building is very nice. There are 14 statues and monuments on the grounds.
Wednesday, we moved to a Corps of Engineers Park by Finchley, VA by going northeast on highway 1 to highway 58 to Finchley. A very nice park. Marilynn did the laundry, then we loafed.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at Kinderton G.C., Clarksville, VA while Marilynn sewed. After lunch we looked around Boydton and Clarksville. Then we loafed. Very pleasant day in the upper 60's.
Friday, we moved to Natural Bridge Station on highways 58, and 501. Rained all day and cool. Took the rest of the day off.
Saturday, we went to Natural Bridge Station for breakfast, then on 501 and 11 to Lexington to do a little shopping. Then we toured the mountains by going to Warm Springs, Covington, Buchanan, and back to the RV. The scenery and weather were beautiful. There are lots of horse farms and beef farms in the area. In the mountains we got as high as 2,950 feet. At Covington we went to the Humpback Bridge State Wayside Park. It is the nations only surviving arched single-span covered bridge. The arch is about 4 feet. It is in nice condition.
Another week gone and the fun continues.
June 9, 2001
We attended the Beth-Horon UMC at Natural Bridge Station, VA. The minister and the congregation were very friendly. It is a small congregation. In the afternoon we went to Washington and Lee University to the Lee Chapel. In the front of the Chapel is a recumbent Robert E. Lee statue that was completed in 1875. In the crypt below are buried R. E. Lee, his wife, his parents, his seven children and other immediate descendants. Outside the crypt, Traveller, Lee's beloved horse is interred. By the crypt is a very nice museum. It was interesting that the Chapel was never dedicated to a specific religion. It was restored in 1962-1963. It is a nice building. The University Campus was very nice.
Monday, we moved to Roanoke, VA on highways 130, 11, and I-81. My printer is not working, so we took my computer to get it fixed. They found a problem and fixed it. Used their printer and it printed. My printer still does not work, so will try again in the morning.
Tuesday, I called yesterday’s computer repair and he told me what to do., so I got it fixed without leaving the park. We moved to Breaks Interstate Park on highways, 460, and 609. The weather and the scenery were both beautiful. This is a very nice park.
Wednesday, we spent a couple of hours in the morning touring the scenic areas of the park. We went to two overlooks and the Nature Drive. The Breaks is known as the Grand Canyon of the South, because the river is a thousand feet below the overlooks. The walls are covered with trees though. Then we moved to Renfro Valley, KY on highways, 80, 83, 23, 421, Daniel Boone Parkway, and I-75. The Parkway is a toll highway, $1.60 for about 30 miles, but was a welcome relief from the crooked and hilly roads we had been on. A lot of time was spent at 35 MPH or less. Renfro Valley is a Western Music tourist area. The campground is booked full for Saturday.
Thursday, it rained off and on all day. We spent the day, shopping, going to craft shops and looking around the area between here and Lexington, KY. We had a good time.
Friday, we moved to Frankfort, KY on highways, 1-75 and 406. Overcast in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. Roamed around the area. Lots of nice horse farms.
Saturday, Marilynn did the laundry while I cleaned. Then we did some shopping, grocery buying and looking around. We are looking forward to Monday, when Jeannine, Christine, and Jennifer will be here. We'll keep the girls while Jeannine works Monday-Wednesday. By then we will be in the Washington D.C. area, where we will be together until they return home on Saturday.
Till next week, SMILE, it looks better than a frown.
June 16, 2001
Sunday, we attended the First UMC in Frankfort, Ky. A large congregation. The 21 member choir sang ''The Lily of the Valley" arr. Wendell Whalum, a cappella. It was very good. An excellent lady soloist sang "My Life is in Your Hands". The organist and the whole service was very good. The church holds about 400. Three services on Sunday morning, 2 traditional and 1 contemporary. In the afternoon, we visited a childhood friend. She will be 90 in September. She is in very good condition. We had a good time.
Monday, Jeannine, Christine, Jennifer, and went with us to the Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, KY. They had 5,000 acres and 500 people, in the early 1800's, with about 500 acres under cultivation. They used modern equipment, but were unable to financially keep up, so lost out. There are no longer any members here, due to a number of reasons, including being celibate. It was interesting. On the way back, we stopped in Frankfort to see the capital, floral clock, and Daniel Boone's grave. We had a good time.
Tuesday, we moved to Beckley, KY on highways 60 and I-64. Nice day.
Wednesday, we moved to Fredricksburg, VA on highways, I-64, 29, and 3. Nice day. The girls went paddleboating.
Thursday, Jeannine got in early this morning. After breakfast, Jeannine went to work, we went grocery shopping. The girls went bike riding on what I call, a semi-recumbent bike, the front wheel turns when you lean. After Jeannine got back from work, we went to dinner with a couple who are Jeannine's friends. We had a great time.
Friday, we took the Washington D.C. Metro transit to D.C. First stop, the Arlington Cemetery; the Kennedy Memorial and the Changing of the Guard at the Unknown Soldier. It was very impressive. Then back to Metro, lunch and on to the Washington, Lincoln, Korean, and Vietnam Memorials. Then it poured rain and we got very wet. Then to the Ford Theater and the house where Lincoln had died, both closed at 5 PM. We were too late. Back to Metro. We figured we had walked 5 miles so Jeannine and the girls got off at the Pentagon, while we went back to the car. When we were back together again we went to dinner, then to the RV arriving 10:30. We all had a good time, but were very tired.
Saturday, after a late breakfast, we toured Historic Fredricksburg. Jeannine and the girls left for the airport at 3:30. Marilynn did the laundry, while I did the newsletter.
It was great to have Jeannine, Christine, and Jennifer with us for a little while. We had a great time.
Till next week.
June 23, 2001
Father's Day, we moved to Hayes, VA on highway 17. Nice day. After dinner out, we rested. Last Friday, I forgot to mention that we saw the front, back and east sides of the White House.
Monday, we went to my niece Julies apartment to visit and sightsee. She took us to the church where she is associate pastor. Very nice. After lunch, we went to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. It is a great museum. It has a tremendous amount of information about boats from very early to now. Among the boats are: several Wooden CrisCraft, a full size Italian Gondola and a lot of miniatures. There are also some old outboard motors and lots of computers with information on people, boat building, racing, etc. They have the Monitor's propeller and skag, of "Civil War" fame. It is interesting in that the Monitor was in yesterday's paper. NOAA, the Navy, and the Mariners' Museum are trying to raise the 30 ton steam engine, to go to the museum. The Monitor at 240 feet in the Atlantic Ocean and the attempt is costing $5.8 million. It sank on Dec. 31, 1862, turning over on the way down. The propeller was recovered in 1998.
Tuesday, we went to Newport News, had 2 rolls of film developed, and did a little looking around. We were invited to our niece’s for dinner. It was very good and we had a good time.
Wednesday, we moved to Culpeper, VA on highways 17, I-75, and 3. We went into Culpeper, checked out the library, and are going to do some genealogy research tomorrow, 90 degrees.
Thursday, we went into Culpeper, to the Library and the Courthouse. We found that one of Marilynn’s great, great, grandmother's name is wrong or changed to be easier. On her marriage registration it is Arminta instead of Amelia, and we found it on another document also. Interesting what you can find. Cooler and more humid.
Friday, we moved to Greencastle, PA on highways, 29, 17 and I-81. This is the third night in a row we have been subjected to thunder, lightning, and rain, with flash flood warnings in the low areas. We have been on high ground all the time.
Saturday, we went to the Greencastle and figured out where my great grandfather fought in the Civil War. After lunch in a very nice restaurant, we went to the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes near Emmitsburg, MD. The Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton has a great bronze statue of Our Lady rising as a beacon atop the Pangborn Memorial Campanile. The Campanile has 14 bells in it. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first native born Saint. The Shrine was very nice. We drove on some very scenic highway on the way back to the RV. High of about 70 today and it felt great.
Until next week, I hope the weather is to your liking.
June 30, 2001
Sunday, we attended the 1st UMC, Greencastle. PA. The service was very good, the minister and the people are very friendly. Their Bible School Children decided to raise money, during the week of Bible School, to help a 9 year old boy who is blind, has MS, unable to speak, no parents, and lives with his grandparents. They set a goal of $2,500 and raised $1,500+. Heart warming. Then we shopped a couple of Malls. Then we went to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Visitors Center. The Canal was 184.5 miles long, had 74 locks, operated 1850 to 1925, and 804 foot drop from one end to the other. There is still some boating allowed on the Canal. We visited the oldest stone bridge in Washington County. MD. There were 30 built between 1819 and 1863. The 5 arch bridge spans the Conococheague Creek. It is in very good condition. Then on to Sideling Hill Visitors Center. Here a "V" shaped wedge, 340 feet deep and 810 feet long, was removed to build a freeway. The exposed layers of rock were formed one hundred million years before the dinosaurs. The hill is now a geological gold mine. The visitors’ center has lots of geological information.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Greencastle Greens G.C. It was the biggest course I have played. I’m guessing it covers 640 acres. Some of the fairways were at least 1/4 mile apart. It is a beautiful course. The signature fairway is number 3, par 3, with 2 waterfalls, one on the front side of the green and the other in the back. I had a good time. In the afternoon Marilynn did the laundry. In the evening, we went to a Minor Leagues Baseball Game between the Lakewood Blueclaws and the Hagerstown Suns. The home team, the Suns, lost 12 to 3. We had a good time. The corn field next to the campground was interesting, because the field was planted without tilling in among the old com stalks and cobs.
Tuesday we moved to Greensboro, MD on highways. I-81, I-70, 695, I-95, 272, 40, 213, 301, 19, and 313. Nice day. We saw a harvested grain field being planted with more grain without being tilled.
Wednesday we went to Annapolis. MD where we to a guided riding tour of the Historic City. It was interesting. Then we went to the Naval Academy Chapel. The "Cathedral of the Navy" was built in 1904, seats 2,500, and has the tomb of John Paul Jones in the basement. The Chapel is very beautiful. We went to an overlook, where you look across the water to the Naval Academy. It looks very nice. We did some other looking around. The streets are narrow, speed is fast, and the signs are poor.
Thursday, we went to the Denton, MD library and did some genealogy research in the morning. In the afternoon we moved to Laurel, DE on highways; 314, 12 and 13. It got up to 95 degrees and high humidity. We spent the rest of the day in the air conditioned RV.
Friday, we went out to breakfast, then we toured the Nanicoke Homes Factory. The factory builds a house in 6 days. They turn out between 12 and 15 houses per week and they can be 1 or 2 stories. The house is 85% complete when it leaves for its final location. Very interesting. We toured 3 of their models then went to Prime Hook National Wild Life Refuge. Nice area, but not much wild life at this time of the year. We did see some nesting ospreys where the young are about to start to fly. We did some sightseeing down the coast, then west to Salisbury, MD and north to the RV. While in Salisbury, we went to a shop where they spin pewter, but they were on vacation.
Saturday, we went to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, MD. We bought an audio tape and took the auto tour. We saw a lot of birds including more nesting ospreys and an endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel. The Fox Squirrel is larger and feeds more on the ground than other squirrels. The weather was too hot and too many biting bugs to do the trails. The tape and the auto tour were good. Then we took highway 335 to the south end of Hoopers Island. Nice drive. There were a lot of fishing and crabbing boats on the Island. Temperature up to 93 degrees today and low of 75 degrees.
That’s it for another week. Smile, everyone will wonder what you have been up to.
July 7, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Centenary UMC, Laurel, DE. The Church was built in 1911 of rock. Nice looking building. Nice service. After lunch we went to the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. It has displays that trace the history of a decoy as a hunter's tool, a lot of beautiful displays of wood carved birds that are World Class, most from the U.S. There are also a few paintings, bronze and rock pieces. There even was a piece by a woodcarver that we know. We had a good time.
Monday, we moved to Hammonton, N.J., the Blue Berry Capital of the World, on highways 24, 113, 9, 13, 295, 40, and 54. In our travels in Delaware, we noticed very few domesticated animals. We saw only a few horses. We did see some long buildings that we think raised chickens. The farms grow grain, corn, soy beans, and potatoes. Here in the Hammonton area are orchards and blue berries. We are in the area of a cold front. 60 degrees overnight and about 70 degrees during the day. We both slept well last night.
Tuesday, we went to the Wheaton Village in Millville, N.J. It is based on the traditional method of making glass objects, one at a time. At the demonstration, 2 people worked together to make a water pitcher with a narrator. Then we went to the Flameworker, making glass beads, the Woodcarver, making a Goldfinch, and the Potter, making a vase. There are 3 stores to buy stuff and a Museum with 6,500 objects that range from Early American bottles and flasks, Mason jars and paperweights to Tiffany masterpieces and the world’s largest bottle, which holds 188 gallons of water. There is a display about Glass Target Balls. They were used before skeet was invented. It was all very interesting.
The 4th, in the morning we loafed. After lunch, we went to Atlantic City to see the sights. We walked part of the Boardwalk. It is about 35 feet wide and strong enough for police to patrol in their cars. Bicycles are only allowed between 6 and 10 AM. It is very nice. Then we drove around in the city. Downtown looks pretty good, but the part by the Boardwalk and away from the casinos is pretty run down. We went to the Taj Mahal the biggest casino we have been in, paid our dues, and went back to the RV. The Taj Mahal is beautiful and it was crowded. Rained in the morning, was overcast but nice in the afternoon. Mid 70's. We watched the celebration in Philadelphia on TV, over 1 million in attendance. We originally intended to stay in Atlantic City for the fireworks, but when we saw the crowd at 4PM, who were already in place for the 9PM fireworks, we decided to watch on TV. The fireworks at Atlantic City only lasted a few minutes. One didn't go high enough and set fire to the rest, which set fire to the 300 foot barge that they were on. No serious injuries.
Thursday, we moved to Jackson, N.J. on highways 206, 68, 537 and 528. We were going further north, but when Marilynn called, while I was fueling the RV, they were full. Marilynn did the laundry while I got a haircut.
Friday, we and THOUSANDS of others visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum was very interesting. Over 12 million immigrants passed thru between 1892 and 1954. Lots of good displays. The Hospital and the Ferry Building are being restored. The Statue of Liberty is awe inspiring. We did not get to the Museum or the Crown. There was a line of over 1 hour for the museum and 2 to 3 hours for the crown. Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are separate islands reached by ferry. There are ferries from New Jersey and New York. I think they can bring 4 to 5,000 people per hour and they were running fairly full. Nice day, light breeze and mid 70's.
Saturday, we went to New Brunswick, N.J. to see the area and send/receive the email.
Till next week, have fun.
July 14, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Jackson UMC. We have been attending churches built in the 1800's and early 1900's. Today, the church was a 2000 church. Very modern. Nice service, minister, and congregation. After lunch, we went to the coast at Seaside, N.J. Nice beach. You need to buy a permit to go on the beach. Quite a few people on the beach.
Monday, we moved to Thomaston, CT on highways 528, 33, 571, 206, 565, 23, 1-84, and 8. Hot day, but beautiful scenery.
Tuesday, we moved to Sterling, CT on highways 6, 72, 9,1-95, 1-395,and 14. Hot day with a small storm and cooler in the evening.
Wednesday, we drove scenic drives in eastern Connecticut and western Rhode Island. Beautiful scenery. By one of the roads was the Comstock Covered Bridge, built in 1791, and is protected by surveillance cameras monitored by the local police department. It is in very nice condition. It rained off and on all day with the high in the mid 70s.
Thursday, We went to Hartford, CT to the Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens. They have 15,000 plants of 750 varieties of roses. It is a little past the best season for roses here, but it was still very nice. Then to Mark Twain's home. It is a beautiful brick, home with 17 rooms. The tour was very nice. The lady tour guide was easy to understand and very knowledgeable. The electric lighting is turned down with small bulbs to simulate gas lighting, as it was in Mark's day. There is a lot of carved furniture and other items that are hard to see in the low light. The home is surrounded by large trees. It was very interesting.
Friday, Marilynn did the laundry while I serviced the fluids on both vehicles and did some cleaning in the RV. Then we did some shopping and toured around the 'area.
Saturday, we took the day off and stayed at the RV. It has been interesting, when we got here on Tuesday, we found out their wiring here will not allow the use of air conditioning and it was hot on Tuesday. But the rest of the week has been in the mid '70's, so we didn't need A/C. We attended a potluck dinner here at the RV park. We had a good time and the food was good.
It is the end of another week. Where does time go?
We attended the Beth-Horon UMC at Natural Bridge Station, VA. The minister and the congregation were very friendly. It is a small congregation. In the afternoon we went to Washington and Lee University to the Lee Chapel. In the front of the Chapel is a recumbent Robert E. Lee statue that was completed in 1875. In the crypt below are buried R. E. Lee, his wife, his parents, his seven children and other immediate descendants. Outside the crypt, Traveller, Lee's beloved horse is interred. By the crypt is a very nice museum. It was interesting that the Chapel was never dedicated to a specific religion. It was restored in 1962-1963. It is a nice building. The University Campus was very nice.
Monday, we moved to Roanoke, VA on highways 130, 11, and I-81. My printer is not working, so we took my computer to get it fixed. They found a problem and fixed it. Used their printer and it printed. My printer still does not work, so will try again in the morning.
Tuesday, I called yesterday’s computer repair and he told me what to do., so I got it fixed without leaving the park. We moved to Breaks Interstate Park on highways, 460, and 609. The weather and the scenery were both beautiful. This is a very nice park.
Wednesday, we spent a couple of hours in the morning touring the scenic areas of the park. We went to two overlooks and the Nature Drive. The Breaks is known as the Grand Canyon of the South, because the river is a thousand feet below the overlooks. The walls are covered with trees though. Then we moved to Renfro Valley, KY on highways, 80, 83, 23, 421, Daniel Boone Parkway, and I-75. The Parkway is a toll highway, $1.60 for about 30 miles, but was a welcome relief from the crooked and hilly roads we had been on. A lot of time was spent at 35 MPH or less. Renfro Valley is a Western Music tourist area. The campground is booked full for Saturday.
Thursday, it rained off and on all day. We spent the day, shopping, going to craft shops and looking around the area between here and Lexington, KY. We had a good time.
Friday, we moved to Frankfort, KY on highways, 1-75 and 406. Overcast in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. Roamed around the area. Lots of nice horse farms.
Saturday, Marilynn did the laundry while I cleaned. Then we did some shopping, grocery buying and looking around. We are looking forward to Monday, when Jeannine, Christine, and Jennifer will be here. We'll keep the girls while Jeannine works Monday-Wednesday. By then we will be in the Washington D.C. area, where we will be together until they return home on Saturday.
Till next week, SMILE, it looks better than a frown.
June 16, 2001
Sunday, we attended the First UMC in Frankfort, Ky. A large congregation. The 21 member choir sang ''The Lily of the Valley" arr. Wendell Whalum, a cappella. It was very good. An excellent lady soloist sang "My Life is in Your Hands". The organist and the whole service was very good. The church holds about 400. Three services on Sunday morning, 2 traditional and 1 contemporary. In the afternoon, we visited a childhood friend. She will be 90 in September. She is in very good condition. We had a good time.
Monday, Jeannine, Christine, Jennifer, and went with us to the Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, KY. They had 5,000 acres and 500 people, in the early 1800's, with about 500 acres under cultivation. They used modern equipment, but were unable to financially keep up, so lost out. There are no longer any members here, due to a number of reasons, including being celibate. It was interesting. On the way back, we stopped in Frankfort to see the capital, floral clock, and Daniel Boone's grave. We had a good time.
Tuesday, we moved to Beckley, KY on highways 60 and I-64. Nice day.
Wednesday, we moved to Fredricksburg, VA on highways, I-64, 29, and 3. Nice day. The girls went paddleboating.
Thursday, Jeannine got in early this morning. After breakfast, Jeannine went to work, we went grocery shopping. The girls went bike riding on what I call, a semi-recumbent bike, the front wheel turns when you lean. After Jeannine got back from work, we went to dinner with a couple who are Jeannine's friends. We had a great time.
Friday, we took the Washington D.C. Metro transit to D.C. First stop, the Arlington Cemetery; the Kennedy Memorial and the Changing of the Guard at the Unknown Soldier. It was very impressive. Then back to Metro, lunch and on to the Washington, Lincoln, Korean, and Vietnam Memorials. Then it poured rain and we got very wet. Then to the Ford Theater and the house where Lincoln had died, both closed at 5 PM. We were too late. Back to Metro. We figured we had walked 5 miles so Jeannine and the girls got off at the Pentagon, while we went back to the car. When we were back together again we went to dinner, then to the RV arriving 10:30. We all had a good time, but were very tired.
Saturday, after a late breakfast, we toured Historic Fredricksburg. Jeannine and the girls left for the airport at 3:30. Marilynn did the laundry, while I did the newsletter.
It was great to have Jeannine, Christine, and Jennifer with us for a little while. We had a great time.
Till next week.
June 23, 2001
Father's Day, we moved to Hayes, VA on highway 17. Nice day. After dinner out, we rested. Last Friday, I forgot to mention that we saw the front, back and east sides of the White House.
Monday, we went to my niece Julies apartment to visit and sightsee. She took us to the church where she is associate pastor. Very nice. After lunch, we went to the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. It is a great museum. It has a tremendous amount of information about boats from very early to now. Among the boats are: several Wooden CrisCraft, a full size Italian Gondola and a lot of miniatures. There are also some old outboard motors and lots of computers with information on people, boat building, racing, etc. They have the Monitor's propeller and skag, of "Civil War" fame. It is interesting in that the Monitor was in yesterday's paper. NOAA, the Navy, and the Mariners' Museum are trying to raise the 30 ton steam engine, to go to the museum. The Monitor at 240 feet in the Atlantic Ocean and the attempt is costing $5.8 million. It sank on Dec. 31, 1862, turning over on the way down. The propeller was recovered in 1998.
Tuesday, we went to Newport News, had 2 rolls of film developed, and did a little looking around. We were invited to our niece’s for dinner. It was very good and we had a good time.
Wednesday, we moved to Culpeper, VA on highways 17, I-75, and 3. We went into Culpeper, checked out the library, and are going to do some genealogy research tomorrow, 90 degrees.
Thursday, we went into Culpeper, to the Library and the Courthouse. We found that one of Marilynn’s great, great, grandmother's name is wrong or changed to be easier. On her marriage registration it is Arminta instead of Amelia, and we found it on another document also. Interesting what you can find. Cooler and more humid.
Friday, we moved to Greencastle, PA on highways, 29, 17 and I-81. This is the third night in a row we have been subjected to thunder, lightning, and rain, with flash flood warnings in the low areas. We have been on high ground all the time.
Saturday, we went to the Greencastle and figured out where my great grandfather fought in the Civil War. After lunch in a very nice restaurant, we went to the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes near Emmitsburg, MD. The Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton has a great bronze statue of Our Lady rising as a beacon atop the Pangborn Memorial Campanile. The Campanile has 14 bells in it. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first native born Saint. The Shrine was very nice. We drove on some very scenic highway on the way back to the RV. High of about 70 today and it felt great.
Until next week, I hope the weather is to your liking.
June 30, 2001
Sunday, we attended the 1st UMC, Greencastle. PA. The service was very good, the minister and the people are very friendly. Their Bible School Children decided to raise money, during the week of Bible School, to help a 9 year old boy who is blind, has MS, unable to speak, no parents, and lives with his grandparents. They set a goal of $2,500 and raised $1,500+. Heart warming. Then we shopped a couple of Malls. Then we went to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Visitors Center. The Canal was 184.5 miles long, had 74 locks, operated 1850 to 1925, and 804 foot drop from one end to the other. There is still some boating allowed on the Canal. We visited the oldest stone bridge in Washington County. MD. There were 30 built between 1819 and 1863. The 5 arch bridge spans the Conococheague Creek. It is in very good condition. Then on to Sideling Hill Visitors Center. Here a "V" shaped wedge, 340 feet deep and 810 feet long, was removed to build a freeway. The exposed layers of rock were formed one hundred million years before the dinosaurs. The hill is now a geological gold mine. The visitors’ center has lots of geological information.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Greencastle Greens G.C. It was the biggest course I have played. I’m guessing it covers 640 acres. Some of the fairways were at least 1/4 mile apart. It is a beautiful course. The signature fairway is number 3, par 3, with 2 waterfalls, one on the front side of the green and the other in the back. I had a good time. In the afternoon Marilynn did the laundry. In the evening, we went to a Minor Leagues Baseball Game between the Lakewood Blueclaws and the Hagerstown Suns. The home team, the Suns, lost 12 to 3. We had a good time. The corn field next to the campground was interesting, because the field was planted without tilling in among the old com stalks and cobs.
Tuesday we moved to Greensboro, MD on highways. I-81, I-70, 695, I-95, 272, 40, 213, 301, 19, and 313. Nice day. We saw a harvested grain field being planted with more grain without being tilled.
Wednesday we went to Annapolis. MD where we to a guided riding tour of the Historic City. It was interesting. Then we went to the Naval Academy Chapel. The "Cathedral of the Navy" was built in 1904, seats 2,500, and has the tomb of John Paul Jones in the basement. The Chapel is very beautiful. We went to an overlook, where you look across the water to the Naval Academy. It looks very nice. We did some other looking around. The streets are narrow, speed is fast, and the signs are poor.
Thursday, we went to the Denton, MD library and did some genealogy research in the morning. In the afternoon we moved to Laurel, DE on highways; 314, 12 and 13. It got up to 95 degrees and high humidity. We spent the rest of the day in the air conditioned RV.
Friday, we went out to breakfast, then we toured the Nanicoke Homes Factory. The factory builds a house in 6 days. They turn out between 12 and 15 houses per week and they can be 1 or 2 stories. The house is 85% complete when it leaves for its final location. Very interesting. We toured 3 of their models then went to Prime Hook National Wild Life Refuge. Nice area, but not much wild life at this time of the year. We did see some nesting ospreys where the young are about to start to fly. We did some sightseeing down the coast, then west to Salisbury, MD and north to the RV. While in Salisbury, we went to a shop where they spin pewter, but they were on vacation.
Saturday, we went to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge, MD. We bought an audio tape and took the auto tour. We saw a lot of birds including more nesting ospreys and an endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel. The Fox Squirrel is larger and feeds more on the ground than other squirrels. The weather was too hot and too many biting bugs to do the trails. The tape and the auto tour were good. Then we took highway 335 to the south end of Hoopers Island. Nice drive. There were a lot of fishing and crabbing boats on the Island. Temperature up to 93 degrees today and low of 75 degrees.
That’s it for another week. Smile, everyone will wonder what you have been up to.
July 7, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Centenary UMC, Laurel, DE. The Church was built in 1911 of rock. Nice looking building. Nice service. After lunch we went to the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. It has displays that trace the history of a decoy as a hunter's tool, a lot of beautiful displays of wood carved birds that are World Class, most from the U.S. There are also a few paintings, bronze and rock pieces. There even was a piece by a woodcarver that we know. We had a good time.
Monday, we moved to Hammonton, N.J., the Blue Berry Capital of the World, on highways 24, 113, 9, 13, 295, 40, and 54. In our travels in Delaware, we noticed very few domesticated animals. We saw only a few horses. We did see some long buildings that we think raised chickens. The farms grow grain, corn, soy beans, and potatoes. Here in the Hammonton area are orchards and blue berries. We are in the area of a cold front. 60 degrees overnight and about 70 degrees during the day. We both slept well last night.
Tuesday, we went to the Wheaton Village in Millville, N.J. It is based on the traditional method of making glass objects, one at a time. At the demonstration, 2 people worked together to make a water pitcher with a narrator. Then we went to the Flameworker, making glass beads, the Woodcarver, making a Goldfinch, and the Potter, making a vase. There are 3 stores to buy stuff and a Museum with 6,500 objects that range from Early American bottles and flasks, Mason jars and paperweights to Tiffany masterpieces and the world’s largest bottle, which holds 188 gallons of water. There is a display about Glass Target Balls. They were used before skeet was invented. It was all very interesting.
The 4th, in the morning we loafed. After lunch, we went to Atlantic City to see the sights. We walked part of the Boardwalk. It is about 35 feet wide and strong enough for police to patrol in their cars. Bicycles are only allowed between 6 and 10 AM. It is very nice. Then we drove around in the city. Downtown looks pretty good, but the part by the Boardwalk and away from the casinos is pretty run down. We went to the Taj Mahal the biggest casino we have been in, paid our dues, and went back to the RV. The Taj Mahal is beautiful and it was crowded. Rained in the morning, was overcast but nice in the afternoon. Mid 70's. We watched the celebration in Philadelphia on TV, over 1 million in attendance. We originally intended to stay in Atlantic City for the fireworks, but when we saw the crowd at 4PM, who were already in place for the 9PM fireworks, we decided to watch on TV. The fireworks at Atlantic City only lasted a few minutes. One didn't go high enough and set fire to the rest, which set fire to the 300 foot barge that they were on. No serious injuries.
Thursday, we moved to Jackson, N.J. on highways 206, 68, 537 and 528. We were going further north, but when Marilynn called, while I was fueling the RV, they were full. Marilynn did the laundry while I got a haircut.
Friday, we and THOUSANDS of others visited Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. The Ellis Island Immigration Museum was very interesting. Over 12 million immigrants passed thru between 1892 and 1954. Lots of good displays. The Hospital and the Ferry Building are being restored. The Statue of Liberty is awe inspiring. We did not get to the Museum or the Crown. There was a line of over 1 hour for the museum and 2 to 3 hours for the crown. Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are separate islands reached by ferry. There are ferries from New Jersey and New York. I think they can bring 4 to 5,000 people per hour and they were running fairly full. Nice day, light breeze and mid 70's.
Saturday, we went to New Brunswick, N.J. to see the area and send/receive the email.
Till next week, have fun.
July 14, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Jackson UMC. We have been attending churches built in the 1800's and early 1900's. Today, the church was a 2000 church. Very modern. Nice service, minister, and congregation. After lunch, we went to the coast at Seaside, N.J. Nice beach. You need to buy a permit to go on the beach. Quite a few people on the beach.
Monday, we moved to Thomaston, CT on highways 528, 33, 571, 206, 565, 23, 1-84, and 8. Hot day, but beautiful scenery.
Tuesday, we moved to Sterling, CT on highways 6, 72, 9,1-95, 1-395,and 14. Hot day with a small storm and cooler in the evening.
Wednesday, we drove scenic drives in eastern Connecticut and western Rhode Island. Beautiful scenery. By one of the roads was the Comstock Covered Bridge, built in 1791, and is protected by surveillance cameras monitored by the local police department. It is in very nice condition. It rained off and on all day with the high in the mid 70s.
Thursday, We went to Hartford, CT to the Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens. They have 15,000 plants of 750 varieties of roses. It is a little past the best season for roses here, but it was still very nice. Then to Mark Twain's home. It is a beautiful brick, home with 17 rooms. The tour was very nice. The lady tour guide was easy to understand and very knowledgeable. The electric lighting is turned down with small bulbs to simulate gas lighting, as it was in Mark's day. There is a lot of carved furniture and other items that are hard to see in the low light. The home is surrounded by large trees. It was very interesting.
Friday, Marilynn did the laundry while I serviced the fluids on both vehicles and did some cleaning in the RV. Then we did some shopping and toured around the 'area.
Saturday, we took the day off and stayed at the RV. It has been interesting, when we got here on Tuesday, we found out their wiring here will not allow the use of air conditioning and it was hot on Tuesday. But the rest of the week has been in the mid '70's, so we didn't need A/C. We attended a potluck dinner here at the RV park. We had a good time and the food was good.
It is the end of another week. Where does time go?
July 14, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Jackson UMC. We have been attending churches built in the 1800's and early 1900's. Today, the church was a 2000 church. Very modern. Nice service, minister, and congregation. After lunch, we went to the coast at Seaside, N.J. Nice beach. You need to buy a permit to go on the beach. Quite a few people on the beach.
Monday, we moved to Thomaston, CT on highways 528, 33, 571, 206, 565, 23, 1-84, and 8. Hot day, but beautiful scenery.
Tuesday, we moved to Sterling, CT on highways 6, 72, 9,1-95, 1-395,and 14. Hot day with a small storm and cooler in the evening.
Wednesday, we drove scenic drives in eastern Connecticut and western Rhode Island. Beautiful scenery. By one of the roads was the Comstock Covered Bridge, built in 1791, and is protected by surveillance cameras monitored by the local police department. It is in very nice condition. It rained off and on all day with the high in the mid 70s.
Thursday, We went to Hartford, CT to the Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens. They have 15,000 plants of 750 varieties of roses. It is a little past the best season for roses here, but it was still very nice. Then to Mark Twain's home. It is a beautiful brick, home with 17 rooms. The tour was very nice. The lady tour guide was easy to understand and very knowledgeable. The electric lighting is turned down with small bulbs to simulate gas lighting, as it was in Mark's day. There is a lot of carved furniture and other items that are hard to see in the low light. The home is surrounded by large trees. It was very interesting.
Friday, Marilynn did the laundry while I serviced the fluids on both vehicles and did some cleaning in the RV. Then we did some shopping and toured around the 'area.
Saturday, we took the day off and stayed at the RV. It has been interesting, when we got here on Tuesday, we found out their wiring here will not allow the use of air conditioning and it was hot on Tuesday. But the rest of the week has been in the mid '70's, so we didn't need A/C. We attended a potluck dinner here at the RV park. We had a good time and the food was good.
It is the end of another week. Where does time go?
July 21, 2001
Sunday, our adventures continue. We got all dressed up for the 10:30 AM service at the Moosup, CT UMC. We got there and we were all alone at the church. I went to the store across the street and they informed me that during the summer, protestant churches in the area combine their services, and they had no idea where they were or what time. So we looked around the area a little more and stayed at the RV for the rest of the day. The neighbor across the road has a class "C" motor home and about a 15 foot camper. The camper is for their 5 dogs.
Monday, we went to Mystic. CT to tour a film developing plant. They don't do tours any more. We went back to the RV and moved to West Greenwich. R.I. on highways 14,102, 3 and 165. Not very far but we are closer to less expensive golf courses and we want to see some of Rhode Island. So far it is quite hilly. We checked out a couple of golf courses and looked around the area.
Tuesday, I played 18 holes of par 3 golf at the Lindhbrook G.C. Scored my first birdie. Nice club. After lunch we went to Watch Hill. R.I to see the Flying Horse Carousel built in 1870. The horses are carved from a single block of wood. They are hung from above by a rod in front of the saddle and with a chain from above to the tail to keep it from moving fore and aft. They go around in a circle and swing out as the speed increases. Not up and down like a regular carousel. They call it a Merry Go Round. It is in really nice condition. It costs $6 each to get on the beach there. Further north at the State beach it costs $8 per car and includes the parking lot. We toured more of the area on the way back to the RV. It rained off and on all day.
Wednesday, using a tank of gas and 10+ hours, we went to the far end of Cape Cod. The scenery was great. We crossed the Cape Cod Canal which is 17.4 miles long, 480 feet wide, and 34 feet deep. There are 2 car bridges and 1 train bridge with all of them having 135 feet vertical clearance. The train bridge is 544 feet long and is lifted vertically. The longest one of its type in the world. We drove to several beaches. Despite the cost most of the parking lots were almost full. One parking lot was full with a waiting line. One beach is a National Park which we went to, along with a lot of other people. Also we went to the place where Marconi sent the first wireless message to Great Britain, and received an answer. There is a model of the building and the wire antenna. Some of the tower anchors are still there. Cape Cod has some very nice homes. It was an interesting day.
Thursday I played 11 holes of golf at the Wood River Golf. The course is only 11 holes and was opened last year. They are going to add more as time goes by. Nice course. After lunch, we went to Providence and Riverside. In Riverside at the Crescent Park is a Charles I. D. Looff Carousel. It was built in 1895, with 62 animals and 4 chariots in 4 rows. It is very ornate and was built as a showcase for prospective buyers. Thursdays are kiddies days offering 50 cent rides. They were busy. The Carousel is still in its original position in the original building. They are raising some money to do some restoring, currently to put a foundation under it, as it is sitting on the sand all these years. The Carousel is in beautiful condition. There are a lot of parks and golf courses in this area. Providence has some interesting areas and some not. Another big city with freeway and other construction and the mess that goes with it. We had a fun day.
Friday, we moved to Brookfield, MA on highways, 165, 3, 102, 94, 44, 169, 20, 49, and 9. Nice day. After lunch we toured some of the area. It is interesting. We are at Brookfield, there is also East, West, an
d North Brookfield. You have to carefully watch the signs to know where you are.Saturday we went to Old Sturbridge Village. It is a living history museum of 200 acres, over 40 restored buildings brought in from all over New England. Costumed staff demonstrated life as it was in 1830. We went to the 19th Century Shadow Puppet Show and the operating carding mill, which cards wool for spinning.
There are a lot of other programs too. There are people in the buildings telling about the occupants, all the way from the bank, the farm, to the common home. There were women baking bread, weeding gardens, and herding sheep, to mention a few. It was very interesting. We were there 5 hours. Temperature in the upper
80's.
So ends another week. We hope this finds all of you hale and hearty.
July 28, 2001
Sunday, we attended the George Whitefield UMC in West Brookfield, MA. The minister is on a one week vacation. The lay leader spoke to a congregation of about 50 persons and was good. This congregation really can sing. We were both impressed. We went to Sturbridge for lunch. Then we went to Old Sturbridge Village to see the museum, which has the medical, dental, and J. Cheney Wells Clock Gallery displays. The medical and dental section was very good. The Clock Gallery has 100 clocks and timepieces made in New England between 1750 and 1840. There are quite a few clocks running. The majority of the clocks are grandfather clocks. It was very good. The second consecutive day is free.
Monday, we moved to Milford, PA on highways 9,I-91,178,185,10, 44, 202, 4, 343, Taconic State Parkway, and I-84. This is only 227 miles, but took all day. Most of the small roads are 40 MPH. Nice scenery. 94 degrees.
Tuesday, we moved to Wapwallopen, PA on highways I-84 and I-81. Marilynn did the laundry, while I cleaned the carpet.
Wednesday, we moved to Woodland, PA on I-80. We had our mail sent here, so we spent most of the time looking at the mail. Also, it was either quit eating or go to the grocery store. The grocery store won.
Thursday, it rained most of the morning. When it stopped we did our own auto tour southeast of the campground. Nice scenery. At 5 PM, we headed north to see the herd of Pennsylvania elk. They had been hunted to extinction. In 1920, they were reintroduced using Rocky Mountain elk. The herd now numbers 300. We saw several elk, white tail deer and wild turkeys. We saw 2 bull elk with the largest horns we have ever seen on elk. It was amazing the number of people that there seeing the elk. Cool day for a change, mid 70's.
Friday, we moved to Lucinda, PA on highways I-80 and 68. After lunch, we hiked and toured Cook Forest State Park. It is noted for some of the largest primeval white pine and hemlock trees in Pennsylvania. The trees that were left after a very severe storm in 1956 and a tornado in 1976 are 200 to 350 years old, nearly 200 feet tall, and 42 inches in diameter. We hiked a trail in the trees and took an auto trip to an overlook of the river valley. It was all beautiful. It was 47 degrees this morning when we got up.
Saturday, we moved to Jefferson, OH on highways 68, I-80, I-11, and 46. In the afternoon we drove up, looked at Lake Erie and a couple of city parks on the shore. Very nice parks. There was a light breeze on the lake, so there were quite a few sailboats. The shore was nice and clean.
So ends another week of fun. We hope your week was fun.
August 4, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Jefferson UMC, OH. The minister and the congregation were very friendly. The organist/pianist was a young lady who is very good. The message was a report from the St. Johns Island, S.C. mission team. The team, 41 persons from this church ages about 15 to 77, repaired homes of the poor. Everything from leveling a home, replacing the sub floor and floor joists, to renovating and replacing the roofing and underlayment. They were there for 7 days and slept on a church floor. There were 3 generations of the 77 year old, father, son, and grandson. The report was inspiring. The leaders reported that the amount of work accomplished by the youth without pushing was unbelievable. In the afternoon we went to Niles, OH to send/receive email and toured the area on the way down and back.
Monday, we moved to Loudonville, OH on highways 46, 6, 528, 88, 44, 62, 30, and 3. Interesting scenery. In the afternoon, we located a golf course.
Tuesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Round Lake G.C. Later we went on a scenic auto tour west of Perrysville. It is farming country, with a side trip up Mount Jeez. On top is a parking lot, with a panoramic view of the river valley farms and forests. Beautiful.
Wednesday, we drove to Berlin to the Wendell August Forge. The, company was founded in 1923 in Grove City, PA. In 1994 they opened another facility in Berlin. They make hand-hammered items from sterling silver, bronze, and aluminum. We watched as they fashioned Christmas ornaments. Each piece is an individual due to the hand hammering on the edges. Very interesting. We moved on to Wilmot to see a cuckoo clock store and the world's largest cuckoo clock. It is 23 1/2 feet high, 24 feet long and 13 1/2 feet wide. On the hour and half hour a wooden 4 piece band and a man waving his hat comes out of the building and plays, while a wooden couple dance. Fun to see. Then we went to Kidron to Lehman's Hardware and Appliance. There is 1 acre of floor space in the store. It was founded in 1955 to serve the Amish community. So it is like walking into an 1890 hardware store. Very few items use electricity. There were items for sale that we had not seen since our youth, except in antique stores. They have a lot of antiques, not for sale, on the walls and high shelves. Big tourist attraction. We did some sightseeing on the way to the places and back. We had a good time. It rained in the afternoon.
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Thursday, we moved back to Jefferson on highways 60, I-71, 224, 183, 5, 534, 322, and 46. In the evening we went to Red Lobster with Paul and Clydene and then we played hand and foot (card game). We had a very nice time and visit.
Friday while Marilynn did the laundry, I gave the RV a bath in the rain. It looks a lot better. We went to Niles and Warren for lunch, email and to get a roll of film developed. It rained during the night and most of the morning. It is 10 degrees cooler. Paul and Clydene came over and we played hand and foot and visited. We had a good time.
Saturday we moved to Coshocton, OH on highways 46, 6, 11, 62, I-77 and 36. 91 degrees. We spent the rest of the day with the RV A/C.
So ends another fun filled week with a little cooler weather and rain.
August 12, 2001
Sunday we attended Grace Church U.M. in Coshocton, OH, friendly church. Church built in 1902. The sermon title was interesting, "$376.23". It was Communion Sunday, so the topic was about food and the meaning of meal time. Turns out that $376.23 is the amount of fast food consumed by each person in the U.S. per year. Good sermon. A couple sang a duet that was very good. We enjoyed the A/C in the RV after dinner out.
Monday we started the day by going to the U.S. Hydrologic Experimental Station to see your money in action. This is one of the 6 remaining stations that were set up in the late 1930's after the dust bowl years. They are studying water quality of the various methods of farming and water usage. One field has been planted to corn for 38 straight years, still doing fine. The station is run by the University of Ohio. Nothing much to see. We went to the court house and the library in Coshocton to check on dates etc. of Marilynn's relatives. What information we did get, was at the library. Their records go back to 1800. Only real estate records at the court house. We took an Ohio-Erie Canal boat tour on the Montecello III, with the boat towed by a team of Belgian horses 2 1/2 mile round trip. The guide told about the canal, life on the boat, and in the area. The canal was 309 miles long, it was supposed to be 40 feet wide at the top, 26 feet wide on the bottom, 4 feet deep, clay lined, and with 144 locks. It was hand dug by men, mostly Irish and German, paid 30 cents a day, sunrise to sunset. On the average, 6 men per mile died of malaria. The canal turned out to be wider and deeper in spots. There were basins every so often so you could pull your boat over to the side to rest or whatever. The passenger packet, .as it is called, is an exact replica, 74 feet long, 14 1/2 feet wide, weighs 25 ton, and holds 100 to 120 passengers. Speed limit was 4 MPH and took about 8 days to travel end to end. It was expensive luxury travel in it day. A lot of the canal was destroyed in 1913 in a flood. There were trains by then, which were faster. Very interesting.
Tuesday we went to the Zanesville area to the National Road/Zane Grey Museum, Y-Bridge Overlook, Sternwheeler "Lorena" Cruise, Johnson Mill/Salt Creek Covered Bridge, The World's Largest Basket, and the Longaberger Company. The Museum has a 136 foot miniature diorama of the National Road from logging the right of way to paving for the automobile. The Road, highway 40, was from Cumberland, MD to Vandalia, IL, 600 miles, which was George Washington's idea. Building it began in 1811 and completed in 1835. The Zane Grey section has some of his manuscripts and possessions on display. The museum also has some antique horse drawn carts and automobiles. The Y -Bridge is an interesting traffic pattern to look down on. We drove over it and there is a traffic light in the middle. It is the only true V-bridge in the U.S. It is over the confluence of two rivers. We took a one hour cruise on the Lorena. It is one of the few authentic sternwheelers. It was built in 1949 as a tug, converted to passenger in1976 and still uses the 1949 engine. The Covered Bridge was completed in 1846, is 87 feet long and well maintained. The Basket is an interesting sight at 48 feet long, 11 feet wide, 23 feet high and contained the wood from ten hardwood Maple trees. It took 2,000 manhours to build and is a Market Basket with two hinged handles. Last to the Longaberger Company which built the World's Largest Basket and is a major producer of baskets. We did go to two other tourist attractions, but one was closed and the other is not giving tours at the present time. Set a heat record in the area, 93 degrees. A very interesting day.
Wednesday we started the day touring the Longaberger Company's weaving and finishing buildings. In the weaving building there are 1,000 employees, in each of two shifts, weaving 39,000 baskets per day. They use hardwood sugar maple strips. The floor of the building is 6 1/2 acres and the mezzanine, where we looked down on the weavers, is 1/4 mile long. Then we took the shuttle to the next building that houses the finishing, final inspection, packing and storing of the baskets. It also has the Collectors Club, where baskets are made for the Club, and the Basket Weaving School, where the students average 20 weeks to bring the student up to production speed and quality. The students are paid an hourly wage. The building has 21-1/2 acres of floor space. They use 800 gallons of stain per day. The scraps of strips are collected and sold to the highest bidder. The baskets that fail inspection are chopped up and sold for fuel. It is amazing the amount of different baskets that they make. Very interesting. We moved to Alton, OH on highways 16, 79, I-70, I-270, and 40. Another 93 degree day.
Thursday we went to tour the only United States whistle maker, American Whistle Company. $3 each, with a free whistle as a souvenir. The whistles are made of brass, copper plated, and then nickel plated with a plastic ball with a memory that is pushed in after the plating. The plating is farmed out and they buy the packaging material. The company uses a space about the size of a 2 car garage. They make 5,000 a day, with a total of 1 million a year. The New York City Police Department orders 10,000 per year. They make a 24k gold plated whistle for each of the referees in the Super Bowl, worth $60. Then we went to the Battelle Riverfront Park to the full size replica of the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus' flagship. Impressive sight. Another hot
Day with a little rain in the afternoon. I'
Friday we moved to New Lisbon, IN on highways 40 and I-70. Only up to the mid 80's. WONDERFUL. We took the afternoon off.
Saturday, we went to New Castle in AM to get some maps and then looked around the area. We drove part of the National Road, highway 40, and part of the original road. The road has been straightened and improved. Some of the original homes are still there. Interesting. In the afternoon I watched a baseball game on TV and in the evening we went to Anderson to Hoosier Park for the Harness Races. We saw 1 training race and 4 regular races. A nice day.
The end of another week of sightseeing. The weather has been cooler and that helps. Till next week.
Saturday, August 18, 2001
Sunday we attended the Salem UMC in Straughn, IN. We arrived in time for the church service, only to discover we were in time for Sunday School, which was an hour earlier. The minister, we think graduated from Seminary in 2000 or 2001, nice young man and the congregation were very friendly. It is a small church, built in 1958, seats about 100 and today’s attendance was 24. We talked to a local farmer, he said that rain had come at the right time during the summer and they are going to have a bumper crop of corn and soy beans. The corn is about 9 feet tall. We had a good time. We drove more of the National Road, highway 40 to Richmond, IN, had lunch, saw some of the city and a statue in a park of a pioneer woman and 2 children commemorating the pioneer mothers of the covered wagon days. When we arrived at the RV, we read in the literature that most of Indiana is on Eastern Standard Time.
Monday I played 18 holes of golf at the American Legion GC in New Castle, IN. Marilynn did the laundry. We relaxed the rest of the day.
Tuesday we moved to Springfield, IL on highways 40, 465, and 36. Nice day.
Wednesday I did some genealogy work at the Archives Building in Springfield.
Thursday we went to Washington Park, to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon. It has 63 cast bronze bells and is considered one of the finest carillons in the world. We took the tour up into the carillon, where you see the bells and the view. The largest bell is 7.25 tons and we did stand inside of it. The tower is 12 stories tall and the view is spectacular.
Saturday we moved to Ramsey Lake State Park on highways I-55, 104, 29 and 51. By now you probably think that we have been sick. Not so. Monday evening we got the call that Marilynn’s sister, Marj, was near death. So we moved to Springfield to be near the hospital. We spent a lot of time at the hospital and Marilynn more than I. She passed away this morning. The time was well spent for both of us, allowing us to get to know better, Marilynn’s nieces and nephews and their children. Marj was 82 in April. Tuesday is the funeral and then on the road again.
That’s it for this week. Until next week.
Saturday, August 25, 2001
Sunday we went to breakfast with some of Marilynn’s nieces and nephews. I played 9 holes of golf at the Ramsey Lake GC. In the evening we went to the home of a niece and nephew for a meeting of the family.
Monday one of the nephews and I played 18 holes of golf at Ramsey Lake GC while Marilynn did the laundry. In the evening was the viewing at the McCracken-Dean Funeral Home.
Tuesday, Marj’s funeral was at the funeral home, burial at the Rosemond Grove Cemetery, Rosemond, IL. We had lunch at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Ramsey, IL In the evening we went to a nieces and nephews home to visit.
Wednesday we got 2 rolls of film developed in the morning, had lunch in town, and spent the afternoon with the A/C running in the RV, 90 degrees. In the evening we visited and went to dinner with a niece and nephew. We had a good time.
Thursday we visited a niece and then moved to Remington, IN on highways 51, I-70, 1, 36, 63, 41, and 24. Cooler 83 degrees.
Friday Marilynn not feeling well, a cold, so we stayed another day. I worked on a couple of things on the RV and the computer, while Marilynn rested.
Saturday Marilynn is feeling much better so we moved to Gashen, IN on highways 24 and 15. It rained most of the morning. The Wabash River is running full. Cooler at 80 degrees. There have been storms around us off and on all week, with thunder and lightning. There is a tornado warning north of us tonight.
That is it for another week. Hopefully next week will be more interesting for all of you.
Saturday, September 1, 2001
Sunday we called the 1st UMC of Goshen last night and were told by the recording, that the service was at 10:45. The address was easy to find, so we went and got there at 10:30, where there was a notice that the service today was 10:00 at the Life Center. I had a fairly sleepless night with train noise and the next door neighbors kept at it till 4am. Marilynn slept like a log. So when we got back to the RV, we moved to Elkhart, Indiana on highways 15 and 20 so that we could see more of the country side.
Monday we went to the Walter Piano Company. They build 1300 upright and about 80 grand pianos a year. It takes about 50 manhours, 4 to 5 weeks, to build an upright and about 300 manhours for a grand piano. They build all the wood parts and buy the rest. The tour was very good. Then to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum. It is over hyped. It has some old travel trailers, which were interesting, but does not tell or show the improvements over the years. MH stands for Manufactured Home, but there was nothing about them. Then we drove the Heritage Trail Audio Tour of Elkhart County. It tells about the history of the area, the Amish, and the products produced. The area is famous for the recreational vehicles and musical instruments made and the farming. There is a lot of popcorn grown here. I had volunteered to be the photographer for the Marj’s descendants last week, so we went to Wal Mart to have some copies made.
Tuesday Marilynn did the laundry, while I vacuumed the RV. Then we started the 2nd half of the Heritage Tour. We had our major meal at an Amish Restaurant. All we could eat and very good. Then we finished the tour. It was a very good tour. Walmart had made a mistake on the copies, but they corrected them in about 15 minutes.
Wednesday we moved to Durand, Michigan on highways 19, 12 and I-69. We got the pictures mailed. On September 12, we are flying to Washington to visit family and friends, see the optometrist and the dentist. Fly back to Minneapolis on the 28th to resume our sightseeing.
Thursday we spent most of the day at Marilynn’s cousin’s home visiting and eating. We had a good time.
Friday the campground is supposed to be full, we have reservations and moved about 10 miles to another cheaper campground and it is closer to Marilynn’s cousin’s home. Marilynn’s cousin’s husband drove the 4 of us to Lansing to the State Library to do some genealogy research. I found out that my father is not listed in the Michigan birth records and that my maternal great grandfather was in Wisconsin Volunteer Army for the Civil War. Marilynn and her cousin struck out. Nice day in the mid 70’s.
Saturday I played 9 holes of golf at Holiday Meadows GC. In the afternoon, the 4 of us went to the Renaissance Festival. There was a costume contest, so we saw some very nice costumes of the Renaissance period. There was jousting, acrobats, musicians, etc. It was very interesting and we had a good time. It was 46 degrees when we got up. There was frost predicted further north.
Another month is gone, and we will soon be home for a few days. Time sure flies. Till next week.
Saturday, September 8, 2001
Sunday we attended the Durand UMC. There was a woman there from Nashville, who was visiting her brother, sang a solo, and they played a piano duet for the Offertory. They were both excellent. Good sermon. Small congregation. We spent the afternoon with Marilynn’s cousin Mary and her husband. We have really enjoyed our time with them the last 4 days.
Monday we moved to Marilynn’s cousin Betty’s home in Barton City, Michigan on highways I-69, I-75, 55, 69 and 72. We visited with Betty and 2 of her daughters. We had a good time.
There was an error in last week news; we are going back to Minneapolis on the 29th, not the 28th.
Tuesday I played 18 holes of golf at the Back Nine G.C. at Barton City. We visited with Betty the rest of the day. Nice day, cool.
Wednesday Marilynn went to the doctor to get help clearing up the cough and possible ear infection. She should be in good shape by the time we get home. We did some shopping and looking around the local area. In the evening, we had dinner and visited with Mary and her husband, who had driven up to their camping trailer, Betty and 1 of her daughters. We had a good time.
Thursday we went to breakfast with Mary, her husband, and Betty. Then we moved to Thompson, Michigan on highways 72, 33, 68, I-75 and 2. We are parked on the shore of Lake Michigan. As we drove along about 40 miles of lake shore, the green and blue colors of the water was beautiful. There were a few trees along the way that the leaves were red. Don’t know if it is fall or too dry.
Friday we moved to Moose Lake, MN on highways 2 and I-35. It rained off and on all afternoon.
Saturday we visited Marilynn’s niece for a while, I watched the Yankees beat the Red Socks, 9-2, and we went to my sister, Joyce and Sonny’s home for dinner and conversation. Great food and fine company. Cool day, high 59 degrees.
That’s all for another week. Till next week from Montana. Enjoy yourself; you are not getting any younger.
September 16, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Emmanuel Baptist Church at Virginia, MN with Sonny, Joyce, and their daughter Shelby. The minister had just returned from 3 months in Israel. He showed some of the 700 pictures he had taken, and tied them to his sermon. Very good. Friendly congregation. The 5 of us went to lunch, then we visited with Sonny and Joyce for a while. Then we went to visit Marilynn's brother Don. We had a good day.
Monday, we moved to Rosemount, MN on highway I-35, to Marilynn's cousin Shirley's home, where she has kindly let us leave our RV while we are gone. We visited the rest of the day.
Tuesday, we started packing as soon as we got up and got ready to fly out tomorrow morning. Then we went in to see Shirley and found out the terrible news that the U.S. had been attacked. We watched the news for a while, then we went to Marilynn's sister-in-law, Donna's home. The 3 of us went to lunch, Minnehaha Falls, and the Swedish Institute. The Falls were pretty with quite a bit of water flowing. The Institute has, currently, on display, a collection of 300 handmade porcelain dolls, that are dressed from medieval to current times, they are 6 to 12 inches tall, and each displayed with their own theme. They are beautiful. There are permanent displays of early Swedish life in the area. The Institute is an old mansion, which is also beautiful. We had a good time.
Wednesday, due to current conditions, we decided not to fly, but to drive the car. We left the RV, and drove to Dickinson, N.D. on highways I-35, 494, and I-94. Nice day.
Thursday, we moved to Great Falls, MT on highways I-494, 59, and 200. Rained off and on in the morning, and nice in the afternoon. 72 degrees here.
Friday, we moved to East Glacier, MT on highway 89, where we met Jeannine and family, surprise, daughter Brenda, her husband Ron, and son Brian were also there, to celebrate my birthday. We had lunch at Glacier Park Lodge and then went to Many Glacier Lodge, which is west of Babb, MT. We will be here 2 nights. Beautiful and we are having a great time.
Saturday, we had breakfast together and then took the Grinnell Lake Boat Trip to Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes, which includes about a 400 yard hike between lakes. We took about a 2 mile round trip hike to see Grinnell Glacier. We had a good time and beautiful boat rides. We learned the difference between a Snow Field and a Glacier, as they look alike. The Glacier moves. After lunch, we drove part of Going To The Sun Highway. Spectacular scenery.
That is it for this week. The drive from Minnesota to Montana was nice. The trip back to Minnesota will probably add about a week to the schedule. Till next week.
September 23, 2001
Sunday after breakfast, Brenda and Ron headed home for work and school. The rest of us headed for the Jeannine’s home in Big Fork, MT on Going To The Sun Highway and Highway 2. While in Glacier National Park, we saw 3 black bear, 2 moose, and about a dozen mountain goats. We had lunch at the McDonald Lake Lodge. The whole area is beautiful. It was wonderful to spend 2 days with our 2 daughters, spouses, 1 grandson and 2 granddaughters. We had a wonderful time at the whole birthday celebration. The weather could not have been better.
Monday Jeannine went with us for a 2 mile round trip walk along the river in Bigfork. It was beautiful. Then we went to lunch at the Bowling Alley. We sat on their deck for lunch overlooking Flathead Lake. Good food and great company and scenery. Then we visited for the remainder of the time.
Tuesday we had breakfast with Jeannine’s family and then drove to Sumner, WA on highways 35, 93, 200, 135, I-90, and 18. Long drive and nice day.
Wednesday we did some sightseeing in the area of our home. There is a new road to relieve some of the traffic on the street by the house. They have added 4 new homes and starting a 5th on the street where our home is. We had our eyes checked and new glasses ordered. The evening was spent with friends, their daughter and family. We had a great time catching up on their lives.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at Tapps Island G.C. Beautiful day. Marilynn went visiting a friend. In the afternoon, we shopped a little and I had my hearing aids cleaned, and now they work much better. We went out to dinner with the friend.
Friday, I worked on the car, regular maintenance, and Marilynn did the laundry. In the evening, we went to dinner with the couple living in our home.
Saturday, I went to Men's Club at our church and learned about the plans of the church. I watched the Mariners game in the afternoon. In the evening we went to friends home for dinner and pinochle.
It has been a great week with family and friends. Till next week.
September 29, 2001
Sunday we attended the Sumner UMC. We have enjoyed the churches we have visited, but there is nothing like being among friends you have known for a long time. In the afternoon we went to Brian and Alison's home, for our first look and dinner. It is a very nice home and they have done a lot of work already. It is an older home that needed some TLC. They have a beautiful view of Seattle, Lake Washington, and Mount Rainier. Alison's parents and brother joined us for a wonderful dinner.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf at Enumclaw G.C. Marilynn did her thing in our friends home. We got our new glasses in the afternoon and went to dinner with friends in the evening.
Tuesday, I went up to our home and did some yard maintenance, while Marilynn had her teeth cleaned. We visited friends in the afternoon and played some Mexican Train. We went to another friend’s for dinner, visited and played Spinner, domino game.
Wednesday we took a friend and visited two couples in southwestern Washington. We had dinner with the second couple. We had a great day.
Thursday I went to the dentist twice, once get my teeth cleaned, and the second time for a filling. In the evening we visited, and had dinner at a friend’s home.
Friday, we went to lunch with our son, Steve. We had a very nice visit. In the evening we went to a friend’s home for get together with our camping group. We had great food and a good time.
Saturday we went to Steve's home to visit the whole family. We had a very nice visit. In the evening we went out with our friends for dinner. We had a good time.
We have had a good time visiting with family and friends, and intend to leave here on Monday, 1st. So ends another week of our great adventure. Till next, take care.
October 6, 2001
Sunday we spent most of the day with Brian and Jeannine at Brian’s home. We had a good time visiting and eating. We spent the evening with the friends in whose home we have been in and played Skip-Bo. We had a good day.
Monday, having said good bye to our relatives and friends, we moved to a motel in Pomeroy, WA on highways 410, 12, I-82, 182, 124, and 12 to visit our daughter and her family. Nice day.
Tuesday we visited our granddaughter, April in the morning, and the rest of the day with our daughter, Brenda. We had a good time.
Wednesday we drove to Belgrade, MT on highways 12, 93, and I-90. Beautiful day. Fall is just beginning in this area. We have seen a lot of deer, so far this week.
Thursday we drove to Bismark, ND on highways I-90 and I-94. The first hour we had some light snow and rain with a strong head wind. The rest of the day was overcast with rain at times.
Friday we drove to Rosemount, MN on highways I-94, 494, 35, and 42. Cold all day. The fall colors along the highway are just beautiful. We visited with Marilynn's cousin in the evening.
Saturday we stocked up on groceries in the morning, visited my cousin and his wife in the afternoon and visited with Marilynn's cousin in the evening. Last Saturday it was 86 degrees here, today it was 46 degrees and 31 degrees during the night.
This ends another week. We had a great time in Washington but it was also nice to sleep in our own bed again. Till next week, enjoy life.
October 13, 2001
Sunday we attended the 1st Baptist Church in Rosemount, MN with Marilynn’s cousin. It is a big church with last Sunday’s attendance of over 650. Nice church. We had a good time. In the evening we visited my niece, Pam and her family. We had a good time.
Monday we moved to Jay Cooke State Park near Carlton, MN on highways 3, 494 and I-35. Rained all day and cold.
Tuesday we shopped in the morning. In the afternoon we moved to my sister, Joyce and Sonny’s home. It is close by. We visited, had dinner and played Hand and Foot with them the rest of the day. We had a good time. It was beautiful during the day and rain in the evening, sometimes quite hard.
Wednesday we went to visit Marilynn’s brother, Don. We had a nice visit. We went to a soup and dessert supper put on at the Blackhoof Community Center with Joyce and Sonny. Very good. Then we played Hand and Foot. Rained most of the day. It has been dry here so they need the rain.
Thursday Joyce, Sonny and I played 18 holes of golf at Twenty Nine Pines G.C. Beautiful day. In the evening Marilynn and I visited the couple who were neighbors who looked out for my mother in her final days on the farm. We had a good time.
Friday I had the motor home serviced and Marilynn went to the grocery store. In the evening we had dinner and visited with Marilynn’s brother Don, his son Randy and his wife Lori. We had a good time. Cooler than yesterday but still nice.
Saturday we went to breakfast with Sonny and Joyce. We played Hand and Foot and visited the rest of the day while watching it rain. There was a doe and triplet fawns in their yard in the afternoon.
This ends another week. We have had a good week and hope that you had a good one too.
October 20, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Sandy Lake Baptist Church. Very nice. In the afternoon we visited Marilynn's brother, Don, and his son, Randy, and his wife, Lori. In the evening we visited and played cards with Sonny and Joyce.
Monday we had breakfast with Sonny and Joyce, then drove to Wisconsin Rapids, WI to visit friends on highways I-35, 48, 77, 35, 70, 53, 29, and 13. The golds, yellows, orange, maroon and variations of those leaves are just beautiful. They are falling fast however. Cloudy with some rain. We had dinner with our friends and visited.
Tuesday our friends and went with us to the Sand Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. We saw deer, swans, geese and ducks. The Sanctuary was pretty with the fall colors and the wildlife. We had dinner with our friends and we played Hand and Foot. We had a good time all day, in spite of the cold weather with wind.
Wednesday we had breakfast, said goodbye to our friends and moved to De Forest, WI on highways 73 and I-39. It was 27 degrees over night, sunny today, but cold. In the afternoon, Marilynn did the laundry, while I had a piece of the car caddy welded. I watched baseball the rest of the day. Mariners lost to the Yankees 4-2. Let’s go Mariners.
Thursday we went to the Wisconsin State Historical Society and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum to get information on my great grandfather's Civil War record. We got more information, but as always, raised more questions. Nice day. Mariners lost again, better luck Saturday, hopefully.
Friday we moved to Chain 0' Lakes State Park near Spring Grove, IL on highways I-39 and 12. The park is pretty full. The area we are in has 45 sites with 4 empty. Nice park. In the evening we visited and had dinner with Marilynn's niece Peggy and son Ryan. We had a good time.
Saturday in the morning, we went to Richmond, IL to look at some of the antique stores and had lunch. In the evening, Peggy and Ryan came to the RV for dinner and to visit. We had a good time. Nice day, mid 60's. Mariners WON 14-3. Keep it up.
That is the end of another week. Keep smiling.
October 27, 2001
Sunday we attended the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Lake Geneva, WI with Peggy and Ryan. The church, minister, and congregation were very nice. Peggy participates in the Bell Choir, which is very good. We had lunch and visited the rest of the day. We had a good time.
Monday we moved to Springfield, IL on highways 31, 72, I-39, and I-55. We are going to do some genealogy research on both families. 70 degrees in the afternoon and overcast.
Tuesday we went to the Illinois State Archives, which contains lots of material to do genealogy research. I didn't find anything about my maternal great grandfather. But, for my paternal grandfather, I have a copies of the Ellis Island Passenger Record, a picture of the ship they came from Russia in, in 1900, and the page they are on, in the Ships Manifest. Marilynn didn't find anything.
Wednesday we moved to Ramsey Lake State Park, near Ramsey, IL on highways 1-55, 127, 16, and 51. After lunch, I played 9 holes of golf at Ramsey Lake GC, before the storm set in. There were tornado warnings around us. No damage here.
Thursday we went to Taylorville, IL to do more genealogy of Marilynn’s relatives. No luck. In the evening, we went to Marilynn's niece Iris, and husband, Dennis for dinner. We had a good meal and visit.
Friday Marilynn did laundry, while I played 18 holes of golf, for exercise, at Ramsey Lake GC. It was in the low 40 degrees, with a hard steady wind. The ball went where the wind took it. In the evening, Marilynn's niece Marsha, and husband Ken, took us to dinner. We had a good time.
Saturday Marilynn visited with Iris, while I helped Dennis with the maintenance on their combine and then after some instruction, I drove it for a couple of hours, harvesting soy beans. Marilynn also got a ride in the combine. We both had a good time.
The weather continues to be cold, lows in the low 30's and highs in the 40's. It is supposed to start warming up tomorrow. So we have come to the end of another week.. .
We hope that this finds all of you healthy and happy.
November 3, 2001
Sunday we attended Mt Carmel Baptist Church, Ramsey, IL with Iris. It is a small but very friendly church. We had a good time. We spent the afternoon with Dennis, Iris, Marsha, and her daughter Kendra. We had lunch and spent the rest of the day visiting. Warmer today, mid 50’s.
Monday we moved to Cahokia, IL on highways 51, 1-70, and I-55. Beautiful day, mid 70's. After lunch, we went to the Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site. There were over 120 mounds, but only 109 have been recorded. The mounds were built between A.D. 900 and 1200. The largest, Monks Mound is 100 feet high, covers 14 acres, and is estimated to have 22 million cubic feet in it. All of them were built on flat land, one basket full of earth at a time, impressive. There is a very nice interpretive Center.
Tuesday we went to the Fox Theatre in the morning. It was finished in 1929 for $6 million. It is decorated in a Siamese-Byzantine design, with lions, elephants, etc. in sculptured plaster. One example is the pillars, with a steel frame, plastered, painted, polished, and made to look like marble with a turkey feather, then finished with polyurethane to make them shine. We were 2 of the 3 people the guide had. The guide was very good and we climbed and descended lots of stairs. We had lunch and then went to the Gateway Arch. It is an impressive structure. It 630 feet tall, takes 4 minutes to ride up in the car, and 3 minutes to ride down. There are 1,076 steps to use in case of emergency to the top. The view from the top is great, although the windows are small. It was completed in late 1965 and has had 94 million visitors since 1967. The Museum, which is underground, is very good. There are 2 walls of sculptured brick one is of the photographers of the early west and the other, designers and builders of the Arch. They are well done. The park is beautiful and a must see if you are in the area.
Wednesday in the morning we did some shopping, had lunch, and drove along highway 3 North along the Illinois River. The scenery was nice, but the things we were going to see, were either closed due to 9/11 or construction was not completed. Nice drive anyway. The gasoline here is as low as $1.11. Nice to see the prices coming down.
Thursday we moved to Mountain Grove, MO on highways 3, I-44, 63, and 60. We saw gasoline at 97 cents a gallon and paid $1.13 for diesel. It has been a long time since we have seen these kinds of prices. Makes a person want to stay here. Not going to though.
Friday we moved to Harrison, AR on highways 60 and 65. After lunch Marilynn did the laundry, while I went to the Post Office, Walmart, and vacuumed the RV. In the evening we had dinner, played Mexican Train, and visited with our friends. We had a good time.
Saturday we moved the RV to our friend’s home and then Marilynn and I went to Eureka Springs, AR where we joined lots of other tourists in the area. We had lunch and toured some of the shops. Tourist town. In the evening we went to dinner with our friends and then played cards. We had a good time all day.
Our friends had said they were not receiving the newsletter, so I checked the mailing list, and found that they were 1 of 3 who some how were dropped from the list. I have corrected that. MORAL If you don't receive your newsletter by mid week let me know so I can correct it.
This ends another week of sightseeing and visiting our beautiful country and the people in it. Till next week, have fun.
November 10, 2001
Sunday we attended St. John's Episcopal Church, Harrison, AR with Shirley and Bob. The church, service, minister, and the congregation were very nice. The service was at 8:30 AM, so we had breakfast out after the service, and then Shirley and Bob took us on a tour of the area, driving scenic highway 7. One place we went to was Arkansas's Grand Canyon. It is deep, but unlike the Grand Canyon, it is very wide. The colored leaves were beautiful. In the evening we played dominoes. It was a great day.
Monday we moved to Mountain View, AR on highways 7,14, and 9. After lunch we went into town to some shops. Nice day, mid 70's.
Tuesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Pine Hills G.C. We relaxed the rest of the day and caught up on overdue paper work.
Wednesday we did a 150 mile scenic drive of the area east of here. Where there were leaves, they were very nice. At a pull out overlooking a valley, we met a member of the Forestry Dept. He was on fire watch. In talking to him, we learned the following: Oak trees are the major trees in AR mixed with other hardwoods, Improved Loblolly Pine trees are grown on plantations by a large corporation, when thinned they are for paper making and at 35 years are used for saw logs, and the lumber industry in AR is alive and well. Nice day. We looked in some more shops in Mountain View on the way back to the RV.
Thursday we moved to Jonesboro, AR on highways 14 and 49. In the afternoon we stocked up on groceries.
Friday we set out on another scenic tour. We drove hwy. 18 to Blythville, AR passing miles of cotton farms, lots of rice farms, and some cat fish farms, to mention a few. Then south on 61 to Turrell, where we went to the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge. They have a 6 mile nature drive, where we saw lots of ducks, lots of birds, 2 white tail deer, and some turtles. On to 42 and 163 to return to the RV. Hwy. 163 is billed as the most scenic in the state. The scenery was very nice. For a while the flat area was on the right and the hills on the left. The whole region is the Delta area of AR is very flat east of here. While on 61, we drove east to the Mississippi River, but there was no traffic on the river. At lunch time, we saw something we have not expected to see again. For $21.44, we had lunch and filled the tank on the car, 12.4 gallons. We hope that keeps up.
Sunday, we attended the George Whitefield UMC in West Brookfield, MA. The minister is on a one week vacation. The lay leader spoke to a congregation of about 50 persons and was good. This congregation really can sing. We were both impressed. We went to Sturbridge for lunch. Then we went to Old Sturbridge Village to see the museum, which has the medical, dental, and J. Cheney Wells Clock Gallery displays. The medical and dental section was very good. The Clock Gallery has 100 clocks and timepieces made in New England between 1750 and 1840. There are quite a few clocks running. The majority of the clocks are grandfather clocks. It was very good. The second consecutive day is free.
Monday, we moved to Milford, PA on highways 9,I-91,178,185,10, 44, 202, 4, 343, Taconic State Parkway, and I-84. This is only 227 miles, but took all day. Most of the small roads are 40 MPH. Nice scenery. 94 degrees.
Tuesday, we moved to Wapwallopen, PA on highways I-84 and I-81. Marilynn did the laundry, while I cleaned the carpet.
Wednesday, we moved to Woodland, PA on I-80. We had our mail sent here, so we spent most of the time looking at the mail. Also, it was either quit eating or go to the grocery store. The grocery store won.
Thursday, it rained most of the morning. When it stopped we did our own auto tour southeast of the campground. Nice scenery. At 5 PM, we headed north to see the herd of Pennsylvania elk. They had been hunted to extinction. In 1920, they were reintroduced using Rocky Mountain elk. The herd now numbers 300. We saw several elk, white tail deer and wild turkeys. We saw 2 bull elk with the largest horns we have ever seen on elk. It was amazing the number of people that there seeing the elk. Cool day for a change, mid 70's.
Friday, we moved to Lucinda, PA on highways I-80 and 68. After lunch, we hiked and toured Cook Forest State Park. It is noted for some of the largest primeval white pine and hemlock trees in Pennsylvania. The trees that were left after a very severe storm in 1956 and a tornado in 1976 are 200 to 350 years old, nearly 200 feet tall, and 42 inches in diameter. We hiked a trail in the trees and took an auto trip to an overlook of the river valley. It was all beautiful. It was 47 degrees this morning when we got up.
Saturday, we moved to Jefferson, OH on highways 68, I-80, I-11, and 46. In the afternoon we drove up, looked at Lake Erie and a couple of city parks on the shore. Very nice parks. There was a light breeze on the lake, so there were quite a few sailboats. The shore was nice and clean.
So ends another week of fun. We hope your week was fun.
August 4, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Jefferson UMC, OH. The minister and the congregation were very friendly. The organist/pianist was a young lady who is very good. The message was a report from the St. Johns Island, S.C. mission team. The team, 41 persons from this church ages about 15 to 77, repaired homes of the poor. Everything from leveling a home, replacing the sub floor and floor joists, to renovating and replacing the roofing and underlayment. They were there for 7 days and slept on a church floor. There were 3 generations of the 77 year old, father, son, and grandson. The report was inspiring. The leaders reported that the amount of work accomplished by the youth without pushing was unbelievable. In the afternoon we went to Niles, OH to send/receive email and toured the area on the way down and back.
Monday, we moved to Loudonville, OH on highways 46, 6, 528, 88, 44, 62, 30, and 3. Interesting scenery. In the afternoon, we located a golf course.
Tuesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Round Lake G.C. Later we went on a scenic auto tour west of Perrysville. It is farming country, with a side trip up Mount Jeez. On top is a parking lot, with a panoramic view of the river valley farms and forests. Beautiful.
Wednesday, we drove to Berlin to the Wendell August Forge. The, company was founded in 1923 in Grove City, PA. In 1994 they opened another facility in Berlin. They make hand-hammered items from sterling silver, bronze, and aluminum. We watched as they fashioned Christmas ornaments. Each piece is an individual due to the hand hammering on the edges. Very interesting. We moved on to Wilmot to see a cuckoo clock store and the world's largest cuckoo clock. It is 23 1/2 feet high, 24 feet long and 13 1/2 feet wide. On the hour and half hour a wooden 4 piece band and a man waving his hat comes out of the building and plays, while a wooden couple dance. Fun to see. Then we went to Kidron to Lehman's Hardware and Appliance. There is 1 acre of floor space in the store. It was founded in 1955 to serve the Amish community. So it is like walking into an 1890 hardware store. Very few items use electricity. There were items for sale that we had not seen since our youth, except in antique stores. They have a lot of antiques, not for sale, on the walls and high shelves. Big tourist attraction. We did some sightseeing on the way to the places and back. We had a good time. It rained in the afternoon.
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Thursday, we moved back to Jefferson on highways 60, I-71, 224, 183, 5, 534, 322, and 46. In the evening we went to Red Lobster with Paul and Clydene and then we played hand and foot (card game). We had a very nice time and visit.
Friday while Marilynn did the laundry, I gave the RV a bath in the rain. It looks a lot better. We went to Niles and Warren for lunch, email and to get a roll of film developed. It rained during the night and most of the morning. It is 10 degrees cooler. Paul and Clydene came over and we played hand and foot and visited. We had a good time.
Saturday we moved to Coshocton, OH on highways 46, 6, 11, 62, I-77 and 36. 91 degrees. We spent the rest of the day with the RV A/C.
So ends another fun filled week with a little cooler weather and rain.
August 12, 2001
Sunday we attended Grace Church U.M. in Coshocton, OH, friendly church. Church built in 1902. The sermon title was interesting, "$376.23". It was Communion Sunday, so the topic was about food and the meaning of meal time. Turns out that $376.23 is the amount of fast food consumed by each person in the U.S. per year. Good sermon. A couple sang a duet that was very good. We enjoyed the A/C in the RV after dinner out.
Monday we started the day by going to the U.S. Hydrologic Experimental Station to see your money in action. This is one of the 6 remaining stations that were set up in the late 1930's after the dust bowl years. They are studying water quality of the various methods of farming and water usage. One field has been planted to corn for 38 straight years, still doing fine. The station is run by the University of Ohio. Nothing much to see. We went to the court house and the library in Coshocton to check on dates etc. of Marilynn's relatives. What information we did get, was at the library. Their records go back to 1800. Only real estate records at the court house. We took an Ohio-Erie Canal boat tour on the Montecello III, with the boat towed by a team of Belgian horses 2 1/2 mile round trip. The guide told about the canal, life on the boat, and in the area. The canal was 309 miles long, it was supposed to be 40 feet wide at the top, 26 feet wide on the bottom, 4 feet deep, clay lined, and with 144 locks. It was hand dug by men, mostly Irish and German, paid 30 cents a day, sunrise to sunset. On the average, 6 men per mile died of malaria. The canal turned out to be wider and deeper in spots. There were basins every so often so you could pull your boat over to the side to rest or whatever. The passenger packet, .as it is called, is an exact replica, 74 feet long, 14 1/2 feet wide, weighs 25 ton, and holds 100 to 120 passengers. Speed limit was 4 MPH and took about 8 days to travel end to end. It was expensive luxury travel in it day. A lot of the canal was destroyed in 1913 in a flood. There were trains by then, which were faster. Very interesting.
Tuesday we went to the Zanesville area to the National Road/Zane Grey Museum, Y-Bridge Overlook, Sternwheeler "Lorena" Cruise, Johnson Mill/Salt Creek Covered Bridge, The World's Largest Basket, and the Longaberger Company. The Museum has a 136 foot miniature diorama of the National Road from logging the right of way to paving for the automobile. The Road, highway 40, was from Cumberland, MD to Vandalia, IL, 600 miles, which was George Washington's idea. Building it began in 1811 and completed in 1835. The Zane Grey section has some of his manuscripts and possessions on display. The museum also has some antique horse drawn carts and automobiles. The Y -Bridge is an interesting traffic pattern to look down on. We drove over it and there is a traffic light in the middle. It is the only true V-bridge in the U.S. It is over the confluence of two rivers. We took a one hour cruise on the Lorena. It is one of the few authentic sternwheelers. It was built in 1949 as a tug, converted to passenger in1976 and still uses the 1949 engine. The Covered Bridge was completed in 1846, is 87 feet long and well maintained. The Basket is an interesting sight at 48 feet long, 11 feet wide, 23 feet high and contained the wood from ten hardwood Maple trees. It took 2,000 manhours to build and is a Market Basket with two hinged handles. Last to the Longaberger Company which built the World's Largest Basket and is a major producer of baskets. We did go to two other tourist attractions, but one was closed and the other is not giving tours at the present time. Set a heat record in the area, 93 degrees. A very interesting day.
Wednesday we started the day touring the Longaberger Company's weaving and finishing buildings. In the weaving building there are 1,000 employees, in each of two shifts, weaving 39,000 baskets per day. They use hardwood sugar maple strips. The floor of the building is 6 1/2 acres and the mezzanine, where we looked down on the weavers, is 1/4 mile long. Then we took the shuttle to the next building that houses the finishing, final inspection, packing and storing of the baskets. It also has the Collectors Club, where baskets are made for the Club, and the Basket Weaving School, where the students average 20 weeks to bring the student up to production speed and quality. The students are paid an hourly wage. The building has 21-1/2 acres of floor space. They use 800 gallons of stain per day. The scraps of strips are collected and sold to the highest bidder. The baskets that fail inspection are chopped up and sold for fuel. It is amazing the amount of different baskets that they make. Very interesting. We moved to Alton, OH on highways 16, 79, I-70, I-270, and 40. Another 93 degree day.
Thursday we went to tour the only United States whistle maker, American Whistle Company. $3 each, with a free whistle as a souvenir. The whistles are made of brass, copper plated, and then nickel plated with a plastic ball with a memory that is pushed in after the plating. The plating is farmed out and they buy the packaging material. The company uses a space about the size of a 2 car garage. They make 5,000 a day, with a total of 1 million a year. The New York City Police Department orders 10,000 per year. They make a 24k gold plated whistle for each of the referees in the Super Bowl, worth $60. Then we went to the Battelle Riverfront Park to the full size replica of the Santa Maria, Christopher Columbus' flagship. Impressive sight. Another hot
Day with a little rain in the afternoon. I'
Friday we moved to New Lisbon, IN on highways 40 and I-70. Only up to the mid 80's. WONDERFUL. We took the afternoon off.
Saturday, we went to New Castle in AM to get some maps and then looked around the area. We drove part of the National Road, highway 40, and part of the original road. The road has been straightened and improved. Some of the original homes are still there. Interesting. In the afternoon I watched a baseball game on TV and in the evening we went to Anderson to Hoosier Park for the Harness Races. We saw 1 training race and 4 regular races. A nice day.
The end of another week of sightseeing. The weather has been cooler and that helps. Till next week.
Saturday, August 18, 2001
Sunday we attended the Salem UMC in Straughn, IN. We arrived in time for the church service, only to discover we were in time for Sunday School, which was an hour earlier. The minister, we think graduated from Seminary in 2000 or 2001, nice young man and the congregation were very friendly. It is a small church, built in 1958, seats about 100 and today’s attendance was 24. We talked to a local farmer, he said that rain had come at the right time during the summer and they are going to have a bumper crop of corn and soy beans. The corn is about 9 feet tall. We had a good time. We drove more of the National Road, highway 40 to Richmond, IN, had lunch, saw some of the city and a statue in a park of a pioneer woman and 2 children commemorating the pioneer mothers of the covered wagon days. When we arrived at the RV, we read in the literature that most of Indiana is on Eastern Standard Time.
Monday I played 18 holes of golf at the American Legion GC in New Castle, IN. Marilynn did the laundry. We relaxed the rest of the day.
Tuesday we moved to Springfield, IL on highways 40, 465, and 36. Nice day.
Wednesday I did some genealogy work at the Archives Building in Springfield.
Thursday we went to Washington Park, to the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon. It has 63 cast bronze bells and is considered one of the finest carillons in the world. We took the tour up into the carillon, where you see the bells and the view. The largest bell is 7.25 tons and we did stand inside of it. The tower is 12 stories tall and the view is spectacular.
Saturday we moved to Ramsey Lake State Park on highways I-55, 104, 29 and 51. By now you probably think that we have been sick. Not so. Monday evening we got the call that Marilynn’s sister, Marj, was near death. So we moved to Springfield to be near the hospital. We spent a lot of time at the hospital and Marilynn more than I. She passed away this morning. The time was well spent for both of us, allowing us to get to know better, Marilynn’s nieces and nephews and their children. Marj was 82 in April. Tuesday is the funeral and then on the road again.
That’s it for this week. Until next week.
Saturday, August 25, 2001
Sunday we went to breakfast with some of Marilynn’s nieces and nephews. I played 9 holes of golf at the Ramsey Lake GC. In the evening we went to the home of a niece and nephew for a meeting of the family.
Monday one of the nephews and I played 18 holes of golf at Ramsey Lake GC while Marilynn did the laundry. In the evening was the viewing at the McCracken-Dean Funeral Home.
Tuesday, Marj’s funeral was at the funeral home, burial at the Rosemond Grove Cemetery, Rosemond, IL. We had lunch at the Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, Ramsey, IL In the evening we went to a nieces and nephews home to visit.
Wednesday we got 2 rolls of film developed in the morning, had lunch in town, and spent the afternoon with the A/C running in the RV, 90 degrees. In the evening we visited and went to dinner with a niece and nephew. We had a good time.
Thursday we visited a niece and then moved to Remington, IN on highways 51, I-70, 1, 36, 63, 41, and 24. Cooler 83 degrees.
Friday Marilynn not feeling well, a cold, so we stayed another day. I worked on a couple of things on the RV and the computer, while Marilynn rested.
Saturday Marilynn is feeling much better so we moved to Gashen, IN on highways 24 and 15. It rained most of the morning. The Wabash River is running full. Cooler at 80 degrees. There have been storms around us off and on all week, with thunder and lightning. There is a tornado warning north of us tonight.
That is it for another week. Hopefully next week will be more interesting for all of you.
Saturday, September 1, 2001
Sunday we called the 1st UMC of Goshen last night and were told by the recording, that the service was at 10:45. The address was easy to find, so we went and got there at 10:30, where there was a notice that the service today was 10:00 at the Life Center. I had a fairly sleepless night with train noise and the next door neighbors kept at it till 4am. Marilynn slept like a log. So when we got back to the RV, we moved to Elkhart, Indiana on highways 15 and 20 so that we could see more of the country side.
Monday we went to the Walter Piano Company. They build 1300 upright and about 80 grand pianos a year. It takes about 50 manhours, 4 to 5 weeks, to build an upright and about 300 manhours for a grand piano. They build all the wood parts and buy the rest. The tour was very good. Then to the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Museum. It is over hyped. It has some old travel trailers, which were interesting, but does not tell or show the improvements over the years. MH stands for Manufactured Home, but there was nothing about them. Then we drove the Heritage Trail Audio Tour of Elkhart County. It tells about the history of the area, the Amish, and the products produced. The area is famous for the recreational vehicles and musical instruments made and the farming. There is a lot of popcorn grown here. I had volunteered to be the photographer for the Marj’s descendants last week, so we went to Wal Mart to have some copies made.
Tuesday Marilynn did the laundry, while I vacuumed the RV. Then we started the 2nd half of the Heritage Tour. We had our major meal at an Amish Restaurant. All we could eat and very good. Then we finished the tour. It was a very good tour. Walmart had made a mistake on the copies, but they corrected them in about 15 minutes.
Wednesday we moved to Durand, Michigan on highways 19, 12 and I-69. We got the pictures mailed. On September 12, we are flying to Washington to visit family and friends, see the optometrist and the dentist. Fly back to Minneapolis on the 28th to resume our sightseeing.
Thursday we spent most of the day at Marilynn’s cousin’s home visiting and eating. We had a good time.
Friday the campground is supposed to be full, we have reservations and moved about 10 miles to another cheaper campground and it is closer to Marilynn’s cousin’s home. Marilynn’s cousin’s husband drove the 4 of us to Lansing to the State Library to do some genealogy research. I found out that my father is not listed in the Michigan birth records and that my maternal great grandfather was in Wisconsin Volunteer Army for the Civil War. Marilynn and her cousin struck out. Nice day in the mid 70’s.
Saturday I played 9 holes of golf at Holiday Meadows GC. In the afternoon, the 4 of us went to the Renaissance Festival. There was a costume contest, so we saw some very nice costumes of the Renaissance period. There was jousting, acrobats, musicians, etc. It was very interesting and we had a good time. It was 46 degrees when we got up. There was frost predicted further north.
Another month is gone, and we will soon be home for a few days. Time sure flies. Till next week.
Saturday, September 8, 2001
Sunday we attended the Durand UMC. There was a woman there from Nashville, who was visiting her brother, sang a solo, and they played a piano duet for the Offertory. They were both excellent. Good sermon. Small congregation. We spent the afternoon with Marilynn’s cousin Mary and her husband. We have really enjoyed our time with them the last 4 days.
Monday we moved to Marilynn’s cousin Betty’s home in Barton City, Michigan on highways I-69, I-75, 55, 69 and 72. We visited with Betty and 2 of her daughters. We had a good time.
There was an error in last week news; we are going back to Minneapolis on the 29th, not the 28th.
Tuesday I played 18 holes of golf at the Back Nine G.C. at Barton City. We visited with Betty the rest of the day. Nice day, cool.
Wednesday Marilynn went to the doctor to get help clearing up the cough and possible ear infection. She should be in good shape by the time we get home. We did some shopping and looking around the local area. In the evening, we had dinner and visited with Mary and her husband, who had driven up to their camping trailer, Betty and 1 of her daughters. We had a good time.
Thursday we went to breakfast with Mary, her husband, and Betty. Then we moved to Thompson, Michigan on highways 72, 33, 68, I-75 and 2. We are parked on the shore of Lake Michigan. As we drove along about 40 miles of lake shore, the green and blue colors of the water was beautiful. There were a few trees along the way that the leaves were red. Don’t know if it is fall or too dry.
Friday we moved to Moose Lake, MN on highways 2 and I-35. It rained off and on all afternoon.
Saturday we visited Marilynn’s niece for a while, I watched the Yankees beat the Red Socks, 9-2, and we went to my sister, Joyce and Sonny’s home for dinner and conversation. Great food and fine company. Cool day, high 59 degrees.
That’s all for another week. Till next week from Montana. Enjoy yourself; you are not getting any younger.
September 16, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Emmanuel Baptist Church at Virginia, MN with Sonny, Joyce, and their daughter Shelby. The minister had just returned from 3 months in Israel. He showed some of the 700 pictures he had taken, and tied them to his sermon. Very good. Friendly congregation. The 5 of us went to lunch, then we visited with Sonny and Joyce for a while. Then we went to visit Marilynn's brother Don. We had a good day.
Monday, we moved to Rosemount, MN on highway I-35, to Marilynn's cousin Shirley's home, where she has kindly let us leave our RV while we are gone. We visited the rest of the day.
Tuesday, we started packing as soon as we got up and got ready to fly out tomorrow morning. Then we went in to see Shirley and found out the terrible news that the U.S. had been attacked. We watched the news for a while, then we went to Marilynn's sister-in-law, Donna's home. The 3 of us went to lunch, Minnehaha Falls, and the Swedish Institute. The Falls were pretty with quite a bit of water flowing. The Institute has, currently, on display, a collection of 300 handmade porcelain dolls, that are dressed from medieval to current times, they are 6 to 12 inches tall, and each displayed with their own theme. They are beautiful. There are permanent displays of early Swedish life in the area. The Institute is an old mansion, which is also beautiful. We had a good time.
Wednesday, due to current conditions, we decided not to fly, but to drive the car. We left the RV, and drove to Dickinson, N.D. on highways I-35, 494, and I-94. Nice day.
Thursday, we moved to Great Falls, MT on highways I-494, 59, and 200. Rained off and on in the morning, and nice in the afternoon. 72 degrees here.
Friday, we moved to East Glacier, MT on highway 89, where we met Jeannine and family, surprise, daughter Brenda, her husband Ron, and son Brian were also there, to celebrate my birthday. We had lunch at Glacier Park Lodge and then went to Many Glacier Lodge, which is west of Babb, MT. We will be here 2 nights. Beautiful and we are having a great time.
Saturday, we had breakfast together and then took the Grinnell Lake Boat Trip to Swiftcurrent and Josephine Lakes, which includes about a 400 yard hike between lakes. We took about a 2 mile round trip hike to see Grinnell Glacier. We had a good time and beautiful boat rides. We learned the difference between a Snow Field and a Glacier, as they look alike. The Glacier moves. After lunch, we drove part of Going To The Sun Highway. Spectacular scenery.
That is it for this week. The drive from Minnesota to Montana was nice. The trip back to Minnesota will probably add about a week to the schedule. Till next week.
September 23, 2001
Sunday after breakfast, Brenda and Ron headed home for work and school. The rest of us headed for the Jeannine’s home in Big Fork, MT on Going To The Sun Highway and Highway 2. While in Glacier National Park, we saw 3 black bear, 2 moose, and about a dozen mountain goats. We had lunch at the McDonald Lake Lodge. The whole area is beautiful. It was wonderful to spend 2 days with our 2 daughters, spouses, 1 grandson and 2 granddaughters. We had a wonderful time at the whole birthday celebration. The weather could not have been better.
Monday Jeannine went with us for a 2 mile round trip walk along the river in Bigfork. It was beautiful. Then we went to lunch at the Bowling Alley. We sat on their deck for lunch overlooking Flathead Lake. Good food and great company and scenery. Then we visited for the remainder of the time.
Tuesday we had breakfast with Jeannine’s family and then drove to Sumner, WA on highways 35, 93, 200, 135, I-90, and 18. Long drive and nice day.
Wednesday we did some sightseeing in the area of our home. There is a new road to relieve some of the traffic on the street by the house. They have added 4 new homes and starting a 5th on the street where our home is. We had our eyes checked and new glasses ordered. The evening was spent with friends, their daughter and family. We had a great time catching up on their lives.
Thursday, I played 18 holes of golf at Tapps Island G.C. Beautiful day. Marilynn went visiting a friend. In the afternoon, we shopped a little and I had my hearing aids cleaned, and now they work much better. We went out to dinner with the friend.
Friday, I worked on the car, regular maintenance, and Marilynn did the laundry. In the evening, we went to dinner with the couple living in our home.
Saturday, I went to Men's Club at our church and learned about the plans of the church. I watched the Mariners game in the afternoon. In the evening we went to friends home for dinner and pinochle.
It has been a great week with family and friends. Till next week.
September 29, 2001
Sunday we attended the Sumner UMC. We have enjoyed the churches we have visited, but there is nothing like being among friends you have known for a long time. In the afternoon we went to Brian and Alison's home, for our first look and dinner. It is a very nice home and they have done a lot of work already. It is an older home that needed some TLC. They have a beautiful view of Seattle, Lake Washington, and Mount Rainier. Alison's parents and brother joined us for a wonderful dinner.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf at Enumclaw G.C. Marilynn did her thing in our friends home. We got our new glasses in the afternoon and went to dinner with friends in the evening.
Tuesday, I went up to our home and did some yard maintenance, while Marilynn had her teeth cleaned. We visited friends in the afternoon and played some Mexican Train. We went to another friend’s for dinner, visited and played Spinner, domino game.
Wednesday we took a friend and visited two couples in southwestern Washington. We had dinner with the second couple. We had a great day.
Thursday I went to the dentist twice, once get my teeth cleaned, and the second time for a filling. In the evening we visited, and had dinner at a friend’s home.
Friday, we went to lunch with our son, Steve. We had a very nice visit. In the evening we went to a friend’s home for get together with our camping group. We had great food and a good time.
Saturday we went to Steve's home to visit the whole family. We had a very nice visit. In the evening we went out with our friends for dinner. We had a good time.
We have had a good time visiting with family and friends, and intend to leave here on Monday, 1st. So ends another week of our great adventure. Till next, take care.
October 6, 2001
Sunday we spent most of the day with Brian and Jeannine at Brian’s home. We had a good time visiting and eating. We spent the evening with the friends in whose home we have been in and played Skip-Bo. We had a good day.
Monday, having said good bye to our relatives and friends, we moved to a motel in Pomeroy, WA on highways 410, 12, I-82, 182, 124, and 12 to visit our daughter and her family. Nice day.
Tuesday we visited our granddaughter, April in the morning, and the rest of the day with our daughter, Brenda. We had a good time.
Wednesday we drove to Belgrade, MT on highways 12, 93, and I-90. Beautiful day. Fall is just beginning in this area. We have seen a lot of deer, so far this week.
Thursday we drove to Bismark, ND on highways I-90 and I-94. The first hour we had some light snow and rain with a strong head wind. The rest of the day was overcast with rain at times.
Friday we drove to Rosemount, MN on highways I-94, 494, 35, and 42. Cold all day. The fall colors along the highway are just beautiful. We visited with Marilynn's cousin in the evening.
Saturday we stocked up on groceries in the morning, visited my cousin and his wife in the afternoon and visited with Marilynn's cousin in the evening. Last Saturday it was 86 degrees here, today it was 46 degrees and 31 degrees during the night.
This ends another week. We had a great time in Washington but it was also nice to sleep in our own bed again. Till next week, enjoy life.
October 13, 2001
Sunday we attended the 1st Baptist Church in Rosemount, MN with Marilynn’s cousin. It is a big church with last Sunday’s attendance of over 650. Nice church. We had a good time. In the evening we visited my niece, Pam and her family. We had a good time.
Monday we moved to Jay Cooke State Park near Carlton, MN on highways 3, 494 and I-35. Rained all day and cold.
Tuesday we shopped in the morning. In the afternoon we moved to my sister, Joyce and Sonny’s home. It is close by. We visited, had dinner and played Hand and Foot with them the rest of the day. We had a good time. It was beautiful during the day and rain in the evening, sometimes quite hard.
Wednesday we went to visit Marilynn’s brother, Don. We had a nice visit. We went to a soup and dessert supper put on at the Blackhoof Community Center with Joyce and Sonny. Very good. Then we played Hand and Foot. Rained most of the day. It has been dry here so they need the rain.
Thursday Joyce, Sonny and I played 18 holes of golf at Twenty Nine Pines G.C. Beautiful day. In the evening Marilynn and I visited the couple who were neighbors who looked out for my mother in her final days on the farm. We had a good time.
Friday I had the motor home serviced and Marilynn went to the grocery store. In the evening we had dinner and visited with Marilynn’s brother Don, his son Randy and his wife Lori. We had a good time. Cooler than yesterday but still nice.
Saturday we went to breakfast with Sonny and Joyce. We played Hand and Foot and visited the rest of the day while watching it rain. There was a doe and triplet fawns in their yard in the afternoon.
This ends another week. We have had a good week and hope that you had a good one too.
October 20, 2001
Sunday, we attended the Sandy Lake Baptist Church. Very nice. In the afternoon we visited Marilynn's brother, Don, and his son, Randy, and his wife, Lori. In the evening we visited and played cards with Sonny and Joyce.
Monday we had breakfast with Sonny and Joyce, then drove to Wisconsin Rapids, WI to visit friends on highways I-35, 48, 77, 35, 70, 53, 29, and 13. The golds, yellows, orange, maroon and variations of those leaves are just beautiful. They are falling fast however. Cloudy with some rain. We had dinner with our friends and visited.
Tuesday our friends and went with us to the Sand Hill Wildlife Sanctuary. We saw deer, swans, geese and ducks. The Sanctuary was pretty with the fall colors and the wildlife. We had dinner with our friends and we played Hand and Foot. We had a good time all day, in spite of the cold weather with wind.
Wednesday we had breakfast, said goodbye to our friends and moved to De Forest, WI on highways 73 and I-39. It was 27 degrees over night, sunny today, but cold. In the afternoon, Marilynn did the laundry, while I had a piece of the car caddy welded. I watched baseball the rest of the day. Mariners lost to the Yankees 4-2. Let’s go Mariners.
Thursday we went to the Wisconsin State Historical Society and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum to get information on my great grandfather's Civil War record. We got more information, but as always, raised more questions. Nice day. Mariners lost again, better luck Saturday, hopefully.
Friday we moved to Chain 0' Lakes State Park near Spring Grove, IL on highways I-39 and 12. The park is pretty full. The area we are in has 45 sites with 4 empty. Nice park. In the evening we visited and had dinner with Marilynn's niece Peggy and son Ryan. We had a good time.
Saturday in the morning, we went to Richmond, IL to look at some of the antique stores and had lunch. In the evening, Peggy and Ryan came to the RV for dinner and to visit. We had a good time. Nice day, mid 60's. Mariners WON 14-3. Keep it up.
That is the end of another week. Keep smiling.
October 27, 2001
Sunday we attended the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Lake Geneva, WI with Peggy and Ryan. The church, minister, and congregation were very nice. Peggy participates in the Bell Choir, which is very good. We had lunch and visited the rest of the day. We had a good time.
Monday we moved to Springfield, IL on highways 31, 72, I-39, and I-55. We are going to do some genealogy research on both families. 70 degrees in the afternoon and overcast.
Tuesday we went to the Illinois State Archives, which contains lots of material to do genealogy research. I didn't find anything about my maternal great grandfather. But, for my paternal grandfather, I have a copies of the Ellis Island Passenger Record, a picture of the ship they came from Russia in, in 1900, and the page they are on, in the Ships Manifest. Marilynn didn't find anything.
Wednesday we moved to Ramsey Lake State Park, near Ramsey, IL on highways 1-55, 127, 16, and 51. After lunch, I played 9 holes of golf at Ramsey Lake GC, before the storm set in. There were tornado warnings around us. No damage here.
Thursday we went to Taylorville, IL to do more genealogy of Marilynn’s relatives. No luck. In the evening, we went to Marilynn's niece Iris, and husband, Dennis for dinner. We had a good meal and visit.
Friday Marilynn did laundry, while I played 18 holes of golf, for exercise, at Ramsey Lake GC. It was in the low 40 degrees, with a hard steady wind. The ball went where the wind took it. In the evening, Marilynn's niece Marsha, and husband Ken, took us to dinner. We had a good time.
Saturday Marilynn visited with Iris, while I helped Dennis with the maintenance on their combine and then after some instruction, I drove it for a couple of hours, harvesting soy beans. Marilynn also got a ride in the combine. We both had a good time.
The weather continues to be cold, lows in the low 30's and highs in the 40's. It is supposed to start warming up tomorrow. So we have come to the end of another week.. .
We hope that this finds all of you healthy and happy.
November 3, 2001
Sunday we attended Mt Carmel Baptist Church, Ramsey, IL with Iris. It is a small but very friendly church. We had a good time. We spent the afternoon with Dennis, Iris, Marsha, and her daughter Kendra. We had lunch and spent the rest of the day visiting. Warmer today, mid 50’s.
Monday we moved to Cahokia, IL on highways 51, 1-70, and I-55. Beautiful day, mid 70's. After lunch, we went to the Cahokia Mounds State Historical Site. There were over 120 mounds, but only 109 have been recorded. The mounds were built between A.D. 900 and 1200. The largest, Monks Mound is 100 feet high, covers 14 acres, and is estimated to have 22 million cubic feet in it. All of them were built on flat land, one basket full of earth at a time, impressive. There is a very nice interpretive Center.
Tuesday we went to the Fox Theatre in the morning. It was finished in 1929 for $6 million. It is decorated in a Siamese-Byzantine design, with lions, elephants, etc. in sculptured plaster. One example is the pillars, with a steel frame, plastered, painted, polished, and made to look like marble with a turkey feather, then finished with polyurethane to make them shine. We were 2 of the 3 people the guide had. The guide was very good and we climbed and descended lots of stairs. We had lunch and then went to the Gateway Arch. It is an impressive structure. It 630 feet tall, takes 4 minutes to ride up in the car, and 3 minutes to ride down. There are 1,076 steps to use in case of emergency to the top. The view from the top is great, although the windows are small. It was completed in late 1965 and has had 94 million visitors since 1967. The Museum, which is underground, is very good. There are 2 walls of sculptured brick one is of the photographers of the early west and the other, designers and builders of the Arch. They are well done. The park is beautiful and a must see if you are in the area.
Wednesday in the morning we did some shopping, had lunch, and drove along highway 3 North along the Illinois River. The scenery was nice, but the things we were going to see, were either closed due to 9/11 or construction was not completed. Nice drive anyway. The gasoline here is as low as $1.11. Nice to see the prices coming down.
Thursday we moved to Mountain Grove, MO on highways 3, I-44, 63, and 60. We saw gasoline at 97 cents a gallon and paid $1.13 for diesel. It has been a long time since we have seen these kinds of prices. Makes a person want to stay here. Not going to though.
Friday we moved to Harrison, AR on highways 60 and 65. After lunch Marilynn did the laundry, while I went to the Post Office, Walmart, and vacuumed the RV. In the evening we had dinner, played Mexican Train, and visited with our friends. We had a good time.
Saturday we moved the RV to our friend’s home and then Marilynn and I went to Eureka Springs, AR where we joined lots of other tourists in the area. We had lunch and toured some of the shops. Tourist town. In the evening we went to dinner with our friends and then played cards. We had a good time all day.
Our friends had said they were not receiving the newsletter, so I checked the mailing list, and found that they were 1 of 3 who some how were dropped from the list. I have corrected that. MORAL If you don't receive your newsletter by mid week let me know so I can correct it.
This ends another week of sightseeing and visiting our beautiful country and the people in it. Till next week, have fun.
November 10, 2001
Sunday we attended St. John's Episcopal Church, Harrison, AR with Shirley and Bob. The church, service, minister, and the congregation were very nice. The service was at 8:30 AM, so we had breakfast out after the service, and then Shirley and Bob took us on a tour of the area, driving scenic highway 7. One place we went to was Arkansas's Grand Canyon. It is deep, but unlike the Grand Canyon, it is very wide. The colored leaves were beautiful. In the evening we played dominoes. It was a great day.
Monday we moved to Mountain View, AR on highways 7,14, and 9. After lunch we went into town to some shops. Nice day, mid 70's.
Tuesday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Pine Hills G.C. We relaxed the rest of the day and caught up on overdue paper work.
Wednesday we did a 150 mile scenic drive of the area east of here. Where there were leaves, they were very nice. At a pull out overlooking a valley, we met a member of the Forestry Dept. He was on fire watch. In talking to him, we learned the following: Oak trees are the major trees in AR mixed with other hardwoods, Improved Loblolly Pine trees are grown on plantations by a large corporation, when thinned they are for paper making and at 35 years are used for saw logs, and the lumber industry in AR is alive and well. Nice day. We looked in some more shops in Mountain View on the way back to the RV.
Thursday we moved to Jonesboro, AR on highways 14 and 49. In the afternoon we stocked up on groceries.
Friday we set out on another scenic tour. We drove hwy. 18 to Blythville, AR passing miles of cotton farms, lots of rice farms, and some cat fish farms, to mention a few. Then south on 61 to Turrell, where we went to the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge. They have a 6 mile nature drive, where we saw lots of ducks, lots of birds, 2 white tail deer, and some turtles. On to 42 and 163 to return to the RV. Hwy. 163 is billed as the most scenic in the state. The scenery was very nice. For a while the flat area was on the right and the hills on the left. The whole region is the Delta area of AR is very flat east of here. While on 61, we drove east to the Mississippi River, but there was no traffic on the river. At lunch time, we saw something we have not expected to see again. For $21.44, we had lunch and filled the tank on the car, 12.4 gallons. We hope that keeps up.
Saturday we took a scenic drive on highway 141 and 62 to Piggott, then back on highway 49. On the way to Piggott, we stopped at Crowley's Ridge State Park. The ridge is 200 miles long, 20 miles wide in the north, and 1 mile wide in the south. This park has cabins for rent as well as lots of places to picnic and for the children to play. The park we are camped in, Craighead Forest State Park, is also very nice. All Arkansas State Parks allow people with the Golden Age Passport to camp at half price. Great.
That's it for another week, DON'T GIVE UP, MOSES WAS A BASKET CASE ONCE.
November 17, 2001
November 17, 2001
Sunday we attended the First UMC of Jonesboro, AR. This is a large church. They have 3 services Sunday morning. I think it seats about 800. Nice service. After lunch out, we went to a couple of antique shops. We have bought something, these last 2 times, so we need to break that habit.
Monday we moved to Pine Bluff, AR on highways 1 and 79. Nice day and the land was pretty flat. After we got parked Marilynn did the laundry.
Tuesday we went to the Delta Rivers Nature Center. We walked the nature trail and saw some birds. The Exhibit Hall is very nice, telling about the area and the rivers. One exhibit that I thought was very well done, was a 3 minute ride in a crop duster over the area. It was very realistic with the seats looking like a crop duster. After lunch, I took the car to a garage to have the front brake pads replaced. After that we went to the Band Museum, which is the only museum in the country devoted to band instruments and the history of the band movement. It was very interesting. We also looked at some of the murals in town. This was all in Pine Bluff. Very nice day.
Wednesday in the morning I played 18 holes of golf at the Harbor Oaks G.C. Beautiful course, but not my day. After lunch we went to the Stuttgart Agricultural Museum, in Stuttgart, AR. The museum has over 10 thousand artifacts, and what we enjoyed was that all the farm machinery has been restored, so you can figure out how it worked. It depicts the history of agriculture and pioneers who farmed the Grand Prairie of Eastern Arkansas from the 1880's to 1921, according to the brochure. There is one part about the use of crop dusters up to now. There is a display of the mounted ducks that also plays the calls from each species of ducks. Very nice display. We saw a video about raising rice. It took about 65 million gallons of water for each one hundred acres of rice during the growing season. With modern technology, they have been able to reduce that by 213. This area is known as the rice and duck capital of the world. You need to have patience to drive around in Pine Bluff, there are between 40 and 45 trains a day that go thru town.
Thursday we moved to Lake Village, AR on highway 65. Beautiful day. The weather continues to be 10 + degrees above normal temperatures, mid 70's. In the afternoon, we went to Lake Chicot State Park and a Levee Tour. It is the longest continuous levee in the world on the south bank of the Arkansas River and the west bank of the Mississippi River, a length of 640 miles. It was built after the flood of 1927. We saw a lot of ducks in the ponds, created with the soil was removed for the levee. The State Park is mostly for camping.
Friday we traveled to the Vicksburg, MS National Military Park. We saw an 18 minute video about the Battle of Vicksburg and drove the 16 mile driving tour of the battle field. They were both interesting. The area is extremely hilly, so it is easy to see why so many men were killed in the battle, during the Civil War. The scenery was nice on the way down on the west side of the Mississippi River and back on the east side of the river.
Saturday we moved to Crossett, AR on highway 82. We are camping in Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge. Nice campground and fairly busy with hunters camped around us. Nice day mid 70's.
That is it for another week, except the thought for the week; PATIENCE IS THE ABILITY TO LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE AFTER YOUR FUSE HAS BLOWN.
November 24, 2001
Sunday we attended the First UMC of Crossett, AR. It is a beautiful church built in 1946. The minister and the congregation were very friendly. We were immediately recognized as visitors. The churches seats about 350. In the afternoon, we went to Monroe, LA to send the email at Kinkos and for lunch. Nice drive down and back.
Monday I washed the RV and the car while Marilynn cleaned the insides of both. During the remainder of the day we went to the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge Visitor's Center and took two auto tours. We didn't see any wildlife, but the refuge is nice. The displays at the visitor's center were very nice. It is very dry in this area. The news said it had not rained here in a month. Today it rained, sometimes hard, but not for long. Not sure how much we got here, but not a whole lot.
Tuesday we moved to Hot Springs, AR on highways 82, 7, 24, 53, I-30, and 70. In order to help maintain our good health, in the afternoon, we went to the Hot Spring County Health Center and got our flu shots. Have you got yours?
Wednesday we bought groceries in the morning. After lunch we went to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower, which is 216 feet tall. At the top of the tower, which is on top of the mountain, you are 636 feet above the city of Hot Springs. It is a breath taking view in all directions. At the foot of the mountain in town is a hot spring in a small park where the water comes out of the ground at 145 degrees. In the evening, the owners of the RV Park put on a pot luck, where they furnished the hamburgers and the fixings. There were a total of 16 people there. We had a good time with lots of good food. It was the owners 2nd wedding anniversary. She is a native of Cypress.
THANKSGIVING DAY, We went to Perkins for breakfast. There were very few restaurants open, even the Golden Arches were closed. After breakfast, we took about a 100 mile auto tour of the area southeast of here. Then Marilynn cooked us another great meal of a turkey breast with all the fixings. We had a great day.
Friday Marilynn did the laundry. After lunch, we went to the Arts and Crafts Show in the Convention Center. We were surprised, the parking and entrance was free. There was a lot of stuff there. There wasn't nearly the crowd that I expected. Then we took a short driving tour of West Mountain here in the National Park. The city surrounds part of the Hot Springs National Park. We are hoping for better weather in the next 2 days and go back and take some pictures. It was cloudy and hazy today, with tornado warnings north of us.
Saturday we went to the Hot Springs National Park Visitors Center which is the restored Fordyce Bathhouse. It is restored to the way it was in the 1920's. It is very interesting. We did not avail our selves of the opportunity to use the $38 to $150 baths and massage. The bathhouse row, which is in the park, has only 1 of the original 8 bathhouses still in operation. Some of the hotels in the area have an on-premises Bath House. We went into several stores in the area. We went to West Mountain again and got some pictures of the area. We had lunch out and did a little more shopping and returned to the RV. There was a lot of damage north of us from the tornados. We had rain and wind.
It's the end of another week. Another thought; REMEMBER THAT NOT GETTING WHAT YOU WANT IS SOMETIMES A WONDERFUL STROKE OF LUCK.
December 1, 2001
Sunday we attended the Faith UMC of Hot Springs, AR. A small church seating about 150, with only about 40 in attendance. A very friendly minister and congregation. We took the rest of the day off.
Monday we moved to the De Gray State Park Resort just south of Hot Springs. After lunch, I played 18 holes of golf at the De Gray State Park G.C. A nice course. A rainy day, but I didn't get wet. In the evening, the whole state was under a tornado watch for awhile. We didn't get anything except a little rain.
Tuesday we went to Arkadelphia, AR to look around and to the post office. Not much in town. After dark we went to the Marina area of the Park and looked at the Christmas light display. They decorated the cabins, marina, sailboats, etc. It is an impressive display. There are thousands of lights, with lots of figures, some were animated. There were 2 different Nativity sets in lights that we have not seen before. They were very nice. We continue to be very impressed with Arkansas State Parks.
Wednesday we moved to Texarkana, AR on highway I-30. It rained all day, a lot of the time hard.
Thursday it rained all day and is cold. We did a little shopping and then stayed warm in the RV. I have been doing some wood carving, so today I got quite a bit done. They have reported getting up to a foot of rain in places in Arkansas and Louisiana. Some flooding and tornadoes. Some people have been killed from each.
Friday we moved to Fort Worth, Texas on I-30. Beautiful day. 70 degrees and sunny. The traffic here is like most cities, with construction on the roads everywhere.
Saturday we had breakfast with our daughter Jeannine then we went to Dallas to the J.F. Kennedy Memorial, the sculpture THE TRAIL RIDE, and one of the largest equestrian sculptures in the world, THE MUSTANGS. The Memorial is real nice and there were a lot of people there. The Trail Ride is a sculpture with about a 50 cattle herd and 3 horses with mounted cowboys. All life size. We were told the sculpture is still a work in progress. They add about 10 cattle every 2 years. The Mustangs is 7 horses and 2 colts, all 1-1/2 life size. We returned Jeannine to her hotel late afternoon, so she could attend her company’s dinner, with 70 in attendance. We had a great day. The weather cooperated with a 70 degree temperature and sunny. It doesn't seem possible that it has been 23 months since we moved out of our home. Time sure flies. This ends another week and another month. Enjoy the season.
December 8, 2001
Sunday we took Jeannine to do some shopping. Then we went to the Fort Worth Stockyard. We walked thru some of the many shops, read historical signs, and looked at some of the original stockyard buildings and facilities. They have handled up to 5 million cattle, plus some sheep and mules in one year. It is an interesting place. We returned Jeannine to the hotel, so she could continue the meetings for today and tomorrow. Nice Day.
Monday, I played 18 holes of golf at the Rockwood G.C. in Fort Worth. Marilynn had an interesting morning. After lunch, while Marilynn did the laundry I did some repairs, and the vacuuming. In the evening, we went to dinner with Jeannine and after visiting for awhile we said goodbye. Jeannine returns home in the morning.
Tuesday we moved to Denton, TX on highway 377 to see if the founder tied into Marilynn's family tree, only to learn that they wished they knew. It turns out that the founder and his brother were orphans, and were moved to Arkansas. Nothing is known about their parents. When we left Fort Worth, within five miles of the campground, we ran over something that cut a big hole in the side wall of the right tire on the Car Caddy. Luckily there was a big parking lot within a couple of blocks and a tire place within a couple of miles. By the end of an hour we were back on the road, with a used tire and I had repaired the popped rivets on the fender. The last time we had a flat tire on the Caddy, we put over a hundred miles on the car looking for a tire, also in Texas. Also had to order a new fender. The joys of traveling.
Wednesday we moved to College Station, TX on highways 377, 287, 45, 14 and 6. The calendar says it's December. It was 81 degrees during the day and high 60's at night. The news says it is 15 degrees above normal during the day and 20 degrees above normal at night. We took the rest of the day off once we got here.
Thursday we moved to Bay City, TX on highways 6, 159, 36, and 60. We saw lots of beef cattle and crop land with rolling hills. We saw a lot of nice city decorations, all were very nice. We looked around in the city in the afternoon.
Friday we went to the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge. It is a 5,000 acre refuge with a 7 mile auto tour, which took us 2 hours. We saw16 different kinds of birds that we could identify. We saw more birds but due to distance and speed of the bird, there were some we could not identify. We had a great time and it was a nice day.
Saturday we drove to the Gulf of Mexico near Matagorda. We saw a bunch of birds. It started to rain so we had lunch and returned to the RV to spend the rest of the day. Winter has gotten to Texas: the temperature has gone down all day. It is going to be in the 40’s tonight.
Another week has ended. The birds have been beautiful, so we will probably spend a few more days in the area. We hope all of you have had a good week. Till next week.
December 15, 2001
Sunday we attended the St. Paul's UMC, Bay City TX. The congregation and the members are very friendly. We had a good time. After lunch we went to Palocies to see the city and the bay. They have 1.5 mile railed walkway along the water's edge, with a covered pavilion and lighted fishing jetties. Fishing is the major industry. Nice day, but cool.
Monday I played 18 holes of golf at the Rio Colorado G.C. while Marilynn sewed and cleaned. It was the first golf course where I have encountered the sign; "WARNING BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS". I didn't see any. After lunch we went to Lake Forest to do some shopping. Beautiful day and a nice golf course.
Tuesday we went to the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge. We saw more birds, some we had not seen in the other Refuge. It started to rain, so we retreated to the RV, arriving just before the rain started coming down in buckets. We've never seen it rain so hard for so long. The road in front of the RV looked like a river. It was 68 degrees at 11 PM. The storm brought in the heat.
Wednesday Marilynn did the laundry, while I had the car serviced. We did a little shopping then stayed at the RV. It was about 75 degrees during the day.
Thursday we moved to Rock Port, TX on highway 35. On the way we passed a field that looked like it had snowed. It was covered with thousands of Snow Geese. We saw a couple of other fields with some more Snow Geese. It rained off and on all day, sometimes quite heavy. One thing about rain here at this time of the year, they talk in inches, like 3 to 7 per day. It is amazing the different lighted decorations that the different towns have. A lot of them we have not seen before. All of them very nice.
Friday we went to Corpus Christi and Padre Island. We had breakfast and went to Kinkos to handle the email in Corpus Christi. We went to the Padre Island National Seashore. The beach is great and has to be patrolled regularly to remove hazardous waste and trash, most of which comes from the Gulf of Mexico. They are very worried about oil spills down here because of the large amount of wildlife refuges that are the winter homes and nesting areas for most of the endangered birds. We did not see a lot of different birds on the island. We took a free 3 to 5 minute ferry ride from the north end of the island to the mainland. Later in the day we went to the section of Aransas Bay that is here in Rockport. There were hundreds of Red Head ducks, and smaller numbers of a wide variety of other birds. Beautiful day.
Saturday we went to the Arkansas National Wildlife Refuge. We got there just in time for a van tour with guide. Usually you are told what you are seeing, but today was pretty much the history of the refuge. Besides a lot of birds, we saw 5 Feral Pigs, an armadillo, and 18 White Tail Deer. We did see a family of 3 Whooping Cranes, an endangered bird, which was a thrill. That is the first time we have seen them in the wild. We took the 16 mile auto tour after the van tour but did not see a whole lot.
That ends another week. The birding here in Southern Texas has been very nice and we hope it continues, as we are going to spend from Monday till the 26th in Harlingen, TX.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
December 22, 2001
Sunday we attended the 1st UMC of Rockport, TX. It is a beautiful church with a very friendly minister and congregation. The church seats about 250 people and was about 75% full. They have 2 services. In the afternoon, we went to the program put on by their adult choir and 2 bell choirs. It was very nice, but poorly attended.
Monday we moved to Harlingen, TX on highways 35, 188 and 77. A beautiful day. A lot of the land between Rockport and Harlingen is range land with brush and grass on it. Closer to Harlingen, the land looks very nice, black, and flat.
Tuesday I played 18 holes of golf at the Tony Butler G.C. It is the municipal G.C. here in Harlingen. Nice course and very busy. It took five hours to play. The fellow I played with had 2 artificial knees. He beat me by 4 strokes. I had a good time. We got groceries at Walmart in the afternoon. Nice day. We attended a potluck dinner here in the park in the evening. 30 people and lots of good food. The people here are very nice.
Wednesday we went to the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge is 45,187 acres, but very dry, so we didn't see many birds. The lake that is on the refuge was dry. We did see a bunch of Green Jay's. They are 2 shades of green with a black forehead and blue on the back of the head, about the size of a robin. We took the 3 mile auto tour, but there weren't any birds. The birds, we saw were on the trails around the visitor's center, where they have feeders. On the way back, we went to see the original working model of the Iwo Jima War Memorial that is in Arlington National Cemetery. It is at the Marine Military Academy here in Harlingen. It is very nice. The fellow on the ground end of the flag pole was a local boy who was killed six days later. Nice day.
Thursday I played 18 holes of golf at the Tony Butler G.C., while Marilynn did the laundry. In the afternoon we shopped for a while and worked on the mail we received today. Nice day.
Friday we went as far north as Riviera, over to Falfurrias and back. We had hoped to see a lot of birds. We only saw a few. Nice day. There are a lot of sugarcane fields around here and big herds of beef.
Saturday we went to Brownsville to the Sabal Palm Audubon Center and Sanctuary. The only birds we saw were some Green Jay, Tufted Titmouse and Doves at their feeders. The Sabal Palm tree is almost extinct due to the Rio Grande River not flooding anymore. The Brownsville Sanitary Landfill has an area to watch the birds. Lots of birds there including the Black and the Turkey Vultures. On to South Padre Island, very few birds. South Padre Island is more commercial than North Padre Island, with condos, hotels and motels with the attendant tourist facilities. The Island has a Convention Center which includes the Laguna Madre Nature Trail. There are lots of sea birds there; ducks, seagulls, the White and the Brown Pelican. The bridge to South Padre Island has inadvertently turned out to be a hazard to the Pelicans. With a strong North wind they are grounded on the bridge, can't take off and are being killed by traffic. There are warning lights on both ends of the bridge to slow traffic to 45 MPH when the North wind is strong. I'm having a little trouble with traffic. Especially here in south Texas, when someone wants to pass you, the traffic being passed go to the shoulder of the road. I have trouble getting me to move to the shoulder of the road at 60-70 MPH. I'm learning. We have had a good week and hope all of you have also.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
December 29, 2001
Sunday we attended the Harlingen 1st UMC, a large church that seats about 500. The church was fairly full. A nice minister and congregation. Two men sang a duet that was very good. The whole service was very nice.
Monday Marilynn prepared for the tomorrow's potluck dinner. I did a few things that needed doing. I went to Walmart to get a film developed and I had a tough time parking. The place was jammed. In the evening we went back to the 1st UMC for the Christmas Eve Service, which was very nice. A young lady played a hand bell solo, which was very good and the same two men sang again, which was excellent. It was a very nice service. The church has theatre type seating with individual theatre chairs. Tonight we asked to go to the balcony and got kind of a funny look. It was soon evident why. That is where the young parents sit with their children. They were well behaved. The balcony held about 200 seats, that were almost full, with about half of them children, and most of them were girls. We had a good time.
Tuesday we relaxed until 12:30 PM, when we had lunch. It was a potluck with the campground owners furnishing the turkey and ham. The food was very good. After lunch and cleanup, a Chinese Christmas Gift exchange was held. It took over an hour to get 40 presents unwrapped. It was great fun. We met again at 5:30 PM to help consume some of the leftovers. It was a fun day. The weather was cool, but nice.
Wednesday it was 35 degrees overnight. We went to the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge. We took the narrated tram tour. There were few birds, so it was history, the trees, and flowers that we were told about. There was a small graveyard on the property that we looked and were told about. The tour was interesting. It was a nice, cool day. In our travels around here, we have seen sugar cane from new planting to some that has been harvested in trucks. They have 300 days of growing season and the sugar cane doesn't seem to be bothered by the cold. When you see clouds of smoke, it usually is only burning the leaves off the sugar cane prior to harvest. We saw them harvesting cabbage with the tried and true method of hand labor. 10 people to a tractor and trailer, then taken to another area in the field where, other people box it.
Thursday I played 18 holes of golf at the Tony Butler G.C. I played with 3 other guys and had a great time. We took the rest of the day off.
Friday Jeannine mailed us a package on Monday via Express Mail. It is supposed to be there the next day. They told her they would not guarantee the delivery on Christmas Day, but would guarantee it on Wednesday. It arrived late today with the rest of the park's mail. If you want to start a conversation here, mention waiting for the mail. The response is pretty much the same from most people. If you are waiting for mail here, you are in trouble. They say First Class mail from Iowa or Ohio is 10 to 14 days. In the morning Marilynn did the laundry, while I cleaned the carpet. We took the rest of the day off. In the evening we went to the American Legion in a neighboring town for dinner. $6 for all the fish you wanted, including a complete meal with drink and dessert. It was good, with plenty on the first go round.
Saturday we toured around the east side of town and then came back to the RV. It was up to 80 degrees today, so the winter birds have not arrived yet. We spent the afternoon at home.
So that ends another week of touring. We will be leaving here on Monday.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE.
January 5, 2002
Sunday we attended the Harlingen 1st UMC. The crowd was smaller than last Sunday, but not by much.
Monday we moved to Zapata, TX on highway 83. We drove past many miles of sage brush and lots of beef animals. The weather was overcast and cold.
New Years Day we went to the Falcon Dam, Falcon State Park, Zapata City Park, and the City boat ramp. We saw quite a few water birds, White Pelicans, 2 types of Herons, lots of ducks, and other birds. We also did a loop drive of the area and looked at a lot more sage brush. Another cold day. High 47 degrees.
Wednesday we moved to Del Rio, TX on highways 83 and 277 thru the rolling hills of West Texas. The Eagle pass area is rich farming country including field crops and pecan trees. The rest of the drive was huge ranches and sage brush. Cold day.
Thursday, 28 degrees this morning. We moved to Marta, TX on highway 90. This highway reaches about 5,000 above sea level. We saw large flocks of sheep and herds of what we believe are Angora goats. After we parked I played 9 holes of golf at the Marta Municipal G.C. which is the highest G.C. in Texas at 4,882 feet above sea level. When I got back to the RV there were over 40 antelope in the field across the highway from the RV Park, too far away for a picture.
Friday we moved to Deming, N.M. on highways 90,20, and I-10. We drove past thousands of acres of pecan trees and cotton fields in the EI Paso, TX area. On the east side of New Mexico, along I-10, are lots of dairies and thousands of Holstein cows.
Saturday we went to the City of Rocks State Park. 30 million years ago, volcanic ash flowed over the land. It cooled, hardened, and cracked. Mother Nature has been working on it ever since, now it is rocks, on a fairly flat area, hence the name. The park is 680 acres. We then took the scenic route around to Silver City. On the way we overlooked the Chino Copper Mine, which is 1.7 miles across and one thousand feet deep. There are a lot of pretty colors on the sides of the mine. In Silver City we had lunch, got some groceries, and returned to the RV. Nice day.
Another week has ended in this beautiful land of ours. Till next week
January 12, 2002
Sunday we attended the Deming 1st UMC. Beautiful church built in the Western motif inside and out. Beautiful service centered around Communion. Church seats about 250 people and was about half full. This was one of the least friendly churches we have attended. In the afternoon, we went to the Rock Hound State Park. It is one of the few parks where you are encouraged to pick up rocks and take them home. Here you are allowed up to 20 pounds. We have plenty at home, so did not take any. Nice day.
Monday we moved to Benson, AZ on highway I-10. Beautiful day. It is warmer here. Then while Marilynn did the laundry, I vacuumed the RV and got the email. In the evening, we went to a free chili dinner and a presentation on Brake Guard Safety System. Good presentation and chili.
Tuesday we visited with a friend from Cathlamet, WA who are passing thru going East. After getting groceries and myself a haircut we took the rest of the day off.
Wednesday we went to Sierra Vista, AZ to do some shopping and looking around. After lunch, we went to the Coronado National Memorial. It is at the south end of the Huachuca Mountains. From the visitor's center, we drove up to Montezuma Pass Overlook, which takes you from 5,700 feet to 6,575 feet in 3 miles, the last two are dirt. From there you look Southwest into Mexico and Northeast into Arizona. Beautiful view. On the way down the mountain we saw 5 Montezuma Quail and a deer. The deer here are smaller with larger ears. In the evening we went to dinner with our friends and returned to the RV to visit. Nice day.
Thursday we moved to Chandler, AZ on highways I-10 and 87. Nice, cool day. Then we took my camera to Mesa to the fixit shop. Later, we visited our friends for awhile. Just before sundown a winter storm passed thru. The temperature dropped 20 degrees then we got dust and rain for a short while.
Friday we visited, went out for our main meal of the day, and toured the area with our friends. We had a good time. Nice day.
Saturday we went to the camera shop and got my camera back. They couldn't find anything wrong. We went to our friends for dinner and had a good time. Nice day.
Come to Phoenix everyone, the weather is really nice. Down to mid 40's at night (good for sleeping), mid 70's during the day (good for visiting and sightseeing). That's it for another week.
January 19, 2002
Sunday we attended the 1st UMC of Gilbert, AZ with our friends here and another couple of friends from Edgewood, WA. It is a nice church and friendly people. Later in the afternoon the six of us went out to dinner and then visited some more.
Monday we did some shopping and visiting. We had a great day.
Tuesday I joined the volunteer work party to clean the streets in the RV park. 1/2 hour of light duty work with the rest of the day off. We went to Mesa, AZ to go to lunch and visit with friends from Lacey, WA. Good time and food.
Wednesday Marilynn did the laundry while I vacuumed and did the email. Then we went to lunch and visited with our friends.
Thursday we moved to Surprise, AZ which is on the Northwest side of Phoenix. You don't want to know how we got here. All over the whole area around here, there are roads, homes, malls and apartments under construction. I don't have any idea where all the people are coming from. In the evening, we went over to our friends from Edgewood, WA motor home for dinner, visit, and cards. We had a good time. We will be in the Happy Trails Resort for the next 2 weeks, while we visit relatives and friends. Nice day.
Friday with our Edgewood friends we went to a swap meet and lunch. Then we went to visit Marilynn's cousins. We went with the cousins house shopping and had dinner with the cousins. Nice day, but cool.
Saturday we had our Edgewood friends over for breakfast. Then we went to lunch with the cousins. Then the 6 of us went to an Arts and Crafts Show. We were all disappointed, as it was mostly purchased clothing that was decorated, jewelry, and mostly knick knacks. A very small show. In the evening we went with our Edgewood friends to the Rex Allen Jr. show. It is very good, we especially enjoyed the clean language.
We have had another good week and hope that all of you have too.
January 26, 2002
Sunday we attended the Happy Trails Christian Fellowship with our friends, Bev and Gordy. There were about 450 there. There were 41 in the choir and a quartet of men who sang. They were all very good. The people here at Happy Trails are very friendly. They had combined their annual meeting in with the worship service. It was very interesting. Their annual budget is $103,000 and was over paid by 10%. We had a good time. In the afternoon, the 4 of us went to lunch, along with 4 of Gordy and Bev's friends. We all visited at Gordy and Bev's RV afterward. It was a good day.
Monday we went shopping and to lunch with Gordy and Bev, then took the rest of the day off.
Tuesday we took Marilynn's cousin Betty to Carefree, AZ. It has a Sundial that is 90 feet in diameter. It is engineered to be the correct time on June 21st. It is one of the largest sundials in the Western Hemisphere. It is very nice with 3 pools of water by it. We did some shopping and had lunch in Carefree. Then we drove out into the mountains. It is beautiful in a rugged sort of way. In the evening we played cards with Gordy and Bev. Marilynn's cousin Shirley baby sat her great grandson during the day.
Wednesday I played 18 holes of golf at the Great Eagle G.C. here at Happy Trails. I had a good time. In the evening we went to Gordy and Bev's for dinner.
Thursday Marilynn did the laundry while I vacuumed and did a little cleaning. We had Betty, Gordy, and Bev over for lunch. In the evening Gordy, Bev, and us went to the talent show here at Happy Trails. It was very good and we had a good time.
Friday we went shopping with Gordy and Bev in the morning. Then took the rest of the day off.
Saturday Gordy, Bev, and us went to a Flea Market. Then we went south of the Goodyear area for lunch and to see the area. There is a huge housing development there. Nice area, but a long way from everything. In the evening Marilynn and I went to Betty's home for dinner and play cards. Good food and company.
The Phoenix Open Golf Tournament is here this week end. Friday there were just short of 96,000 people there at $20 each. Of course this area is blacked out.
Till next week, SMILE everyone will be happier.
February 2, 2002
Sunday we attended the Happy Trails Christian Fellowship. It was a very nice service with about 450 people attending. In the afternoon we went to lunch with six of our friends from Washington. We had a very good time.
Monday Marilynn took Betty shopping and to lunch while I did a little maintenance and hit a bucket of golf balls.
Tuesday Gordy and I got a haircut while the ladies shopped. The barber that I had has been barbering since 1947, and is not tired of it yet. He works 2 days a week. In the evening we took Betty out to dinner. We had a good time.
Wednesday cold and raining in the morning. Gordy, Bev, and we went to Wickenburg, AZ for lunch and touring. Still has the Old Western look and flavor to the town. We had Gordy and Bev over for dinner and Mexican train. We had a good time.
Thursday after we had breakfast with Bev and Gordy, we moved to Indio, CA on highway I-10. We dry camped at the Indio Elks Club. Nice, but cool day.
Friday we moved to Lompoc, CA on highways I-10, 210, 101, and 246. After we parked, we went into Lompoc to look around. We were surprised at the number of new vineyards since we were here 2 years ago.
Saturday Marilynn did the laundry while I am attempting to shake off a cold that appeared yesterday. We went to Wal-Mart in the afternoon.
So here we are beginning another month. The last full month we will be on the road this trip. We have had a wonderful time. Till next week.
February 9, 2002
Sunday we attended Lompoc's 1st UMC. The congregation is very friendly. We were ushered in and introduced to a man sitting in the pew. We were able to discuss where we were from, the local weather (which is colder than normal), and the rising wine industry. The service and sermon was very nice, and the 2 piano-organ duets were especially nice. There has been a large amount of land planted to grapes, since we were here 2 years ago. It has been getting down to freezing every night we have been here, and that is not normal.
Monday the relief valve on the water heater leaks, so tried to find one. No luck. We went to our friends, Harv and Eunie, for lunch and stayed the rest of the day. We ate again and played some Pinochle. We had a great time remembering our years of friendship.
Tuesday after checking a couple of stores and a phone call, we wound up in Santa Maria for the relief valve. So that is all fixed. We had lunch out and toured the area on the way back to the RV. Then we goofed off.
Wednesday in the morning we did some cleaning and maintenance. We went to Pea Soup Andersen's for lunch then we went to the Jalama Beach County Park. It is a crooked and sometimes steep 14 mile drive. We thought about going out there for a few days. Not now. Then we went to the Ocean Beach County Park. It includes the Amtrak Station, concrete platforms and shelters. It looks pretty vandal resistant. The other part of the Park has picnic tables and a lagoon with ducks and other water birds. Very nice. Low 40's during the night.
Thursday I played 9 holes of golf at the Zaca Creek G.C. in Buellton, CA. Marilynn now has my cold. In the evening I went to Harv and Eunie’s for dinner and conversation with them and their friends. I had a good time. .
Friday I played 9 holes of golf at Zaca Creek again. Marilynn is feeling better. In the evening, I went to Harv and Eunies to get our mail. We watched the opening ceremonies. We really enjoyed them. Hope you did too.
Saturday in the morning, I went to Harv and Eunies to help Harv fill the wood shed, while Marilynn started work on the mail. The mail necessary for the IRS is starting to come in. So I'll start on that pretty soon. Marilynn is feeling much better, so we went out for lunch and visiting.
The end of another week. Where does the time go???
February 17, 2002
Sunday we attended the Lompoc 1st UMC again. The service was very good. Some of the people that we talked to last Sunday remembered us and where we were from. They have a Praise Band consisting of a Keyboard Bass, Drums, Saxophone, Trumpet, and Piano. They were very good. The 24 member choir and the organist were very good also. We went out to lunch and then returned to the RV to relax.
Monday I played 9 holes of golf at the Zaca Creek G.C. Marilynn did the laundry while I did a little cleaning. We went to Solvang, a Swedish Community, for lunch, to look around and shop. It is about 20 miles further inland than here, spring is showing there with the trees blooming. Here the weeds are just starting to come up. In the evening we went to Harv and Eunice's to send the email, have a light dinner and visit. We had a good time.
Tuesday we went to Pismo Beach. On the way, we got high enough to look down on Vandenberg Village and part of the Air Force Base. Quite a view. Pismo Beach is both a beach and a town. We went to the beach to see the Monarch Butterflies. There were about 20,000 of them there. Some students from Poly Tech make a count each weekend. There were originally 45,000 there for the winter. According to the latest research there are 5 generations per year, 4 of the generations live about 2 months and 1 generation lives 5 months. The 5 month group is the group that spends the winter in the south. The research has discovered that their internal organs are different from the others, allowing them to live the 5 months. We had lunch in town while watching a young lady get her first lesson in surf boarding, first part on the beach and the rest in the water. She did get a short ride. On the way up and back we saw a lot of acreage that is in vineyards, and vegetables. The vegetable land was in all stages of production, from plowing to harvesting. Very interesting. We had a great day.
Wednesday I played 18 holes of golf at Zaca Creek G.C., while Marilynn prepared dinner. We had Harv and Eunice over for dinner and conversation. We had a good time.
Thursday we went out for breakfast, did a little shopping, walked around in the park where we are parked, went to Harv and Eunice's home to play cards. We went out to dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day, back to their home to play cards and watch the Olympics. We had a very good day.
Friday we moved the RV to Harv and Eunice's home. We visited, ate, and watched the Olympics together. We enjoyed the day very much.
Saturday we finished filling the woodshed, visited, and then while Harv and Eunice went to a granddaughter's soccer game we toured some more of the area. There are lots of vineyards and walnut orchards around here. We had a good day.
Another week gone and that much closer to being at home. Take care everyone.
February 23, 2002
Here we go again.
Sunday we went out to breakfast with Harv and Eunice in Buelltin. In the afternoon Eunice treated us and her to the State Street Ballet's "BALLROOM" at the Lobero Theatre. The music was some of Gershwin, one song sung by Nat King Cole, one song sung by Frank Sinatra, and there were others. It was great. We had a great time. Marilynn fixed another wonderful meal for all of us. It was a very nice day.
Monday Harv and Eunice took us on a sightseeing tour of the wine country around here. We stopped at a Fess Parker Winery, where we looked around. The landscaping and the building are very nice. We had lunch and then went to the Foley Estate's Winery, which is owned by their son-in-law. They are in the process of building a new winery by Harv and Eunice's home. After Crab Louie for dinner, which Eunice fixed, very good, we watched the Olympics. It was a great day to be with friends.
Tuesday, another great day. I played 18 holes of golf at Zaca Creek G.C., while Marilynn did the laundry. My best game ever; a birdie and 4 pars. I played with 2 very nice gentlemen from this area. After lunch, the 4 of us went to the local Casino and both couples came home winners. Put a mark on the wall. After dinner with Harv and Eunice we watched the Olympics. It was a great day all around.
Wednesday we went out to breakfast with Harv and Eunice, then said our farewells, and moved to King City, CA on highway 101. It is amazing the number of huge vineyards that we saw. A lot of them have just been planted. It is a pretty drive with occasional views of the Pacific Ocean. We have also, seen lots of large fields of vegetables and strawberries.
Thursday we continued on 101, 680, 780, and 37 to Novato, CA. We drove about an hour in some fog, but the rest of the day was very nice. Very nice scenery and the traffic was not bad. How about Sarah Hughes, Gold Medal performance in Figure Skating. Excellent.
Friday we drove on highway 101 to Trinidad, CA. We saw lots more large vineyards. Nice day with rain in the evening. The area looks like they have had quite a bit of rain already. We are staying here until Monday.
Saturday it has been foggy and rainy all day so we were unable to do any sightseeing. I got a new Genealogy Program when we got our mail, so I have been putting in the names little by little. I got quite a bit done today. We got groceries and located a church for tomorrow. So we are ready.
Thought for the week. Worry and rocking chairs are alike. They give you something to do, BUT you don’t get anywhere.
Till next week.
March 2, 2002
Sunday we attended the Arcata U.M.C. It was a very nice service. Everyone was very friendly. The lady minister is a very good speaker. The choir was good too. When we left the RV, it was sunny and nice. When we reached the church about 13 miles away, it was cold and cloudy. After the service, we went to the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary. It was built on the land fill. The treated city waste water goes through it before being discharged into the bay. The system has international praise. It was cold and windy with very few birds. When we returned to the RV it was sunny and nice. After lunch we looked down at some of the local beaches including Patrick Point State Park. Most of the time we were about 100 feet above the beach. Beautiful scenery.
Monday we spent most of the day looking up and down. Up at the Redwood trees and down at the beaches. The coast is very rugged here, so on the coast highway and other roads, you are a long ways up. We toured the area between Trinidad and Crescent City. Not many roads to the beach. We remembered the good times we had with our children in this area. We saw over 100 Roosevelt Elk. The Redwoods were still as beautiful as the other times that we have seen them. It was another great day.
Tuesday we moved to Brookings, OR on highway 101. After lunch we looked at the beach and parks by town. Very nice. Another beautiful day.
Wednesday Marilynn did the laundry while I worked on the Genealogy Program. After lunch at the Smuggler's Cove, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean we drove north to the Cape Sebastian Scenic Overlook. Then we drove south stopping at each of the Scenic Overlooks. The scenery is fabulous. On Monday a dead 39-1/2 foot gray whale washed ashore on a remote section of beach, visible from highway 101. They have decided to let nature take its course as it is too hard to get equipment big enough to dig the hole to it. Another beautiful day.
Thursday we moved to Newport, OR on highway 101. Windy most of the way and colder as we moved north. It is supposed to get down in the low 30's tonight. We are in the area now where there are a lot of cranberry bogs, which are man made. They still have the beautiful red leaves on them.
Friday we moved to Grand Ronde, OR. Our friends Richard and Diane came over and went to the local casino for lunch and pay our dues. Then we did a little shopping and spent the rest of the time visiting. Another beautiful day.
Saturday, we moved to Salem, OR on highways 18 and 22. We went with Richard and Diane to see one of their daughter's new homes and go out to lunch. Then we visited.
Another week has passed. We should be in the Sumner area when you read the next and probably last newsletter. The newsletters have been fun, but I doubt that anyone wants to hear about common, everyday work. Till next week, have fun.
March 9, 2002
Sunday we went to a Flea Market with Richard and Diane. Then we went to Salem's Riverfront Carousel. It was started in 1995 used 80,000 hours of volunteer labor to completion in 4 1/2 years. The Carousel has a Western theme with chuck and covered wagons, bucking bronco and a donkey. The animals were all hand carved. It is beautiful. $1 per ride. After lunch we toured some antique shops and visited some more. Then the four of us went to Silver Falls State Park to see the South Falls. South Falls at 177 feet is the tallest falls in the park, there being 10 falls in the park. Very pretty area. We had a good time.
Monday we shopped at Costco with Richard and Diane. We visited with a friend of Richard's who has a jewelry and coin shop. After lunch we went to some more antique shops, and a couple of stores. Played Pinochle, and went out to dinner. Another great day.
Tuesday too wet to golf, so I went with Richard to an auction. He calls it a cattle and junk sale. It's amazing what people will pay. 2 vehicles that were sold, would not back up. They had boxes with just stuff in them, brings good money. We had Richard and Diane over for dinner. We had a good day.
Wednesday we moved to Centralia, WA on 1-5. We drove in the rain until we reached WA. Elevations above 400 feet had snow in WA, sunshine and cold in Centralia. We went to dinner and conversation at our friend's, Steve and Diane home.
Thursday we drove to our Edgewood, WA friend's home to park for a while. They are in AZ. We drove with snow in the air on 1-5 to almost Tacoma. In Tacoma and the rest of the trip, the sun was out. After lunch I went up to our house, started the van battery charging, and started working on the lawn mower. It snowed in the evening.
Friday I went up to our house and worked on the van and lawn equipment while Marilynn did the laundry. In the evening we went to Dorothy and Roger's home for dinner, visit, and Hand and Foot. We had a good time.
Saturday I went up to our house, did some pruning, checked the charging batteries, and in the afternoon we went to a neighbor's 90th birthday party. Nice day.
This is the end of the weekly newsletters. It has been fun. For those interested in statistics, here they are. We took approximately 2,000 pictures; I played 150 golf games, on 70 courses, in 27 states. The motor home has 32,866 more miles on it, using 2,945 gallons of diesel, with the highest price being $1.789 and lowest 99.9 cents. The car, which started the trip in the middle of May, 2000, has an additional 42,106 miles on it, using 1,640 gallons of gasoline with the highest price being $1.899 and to lowest 90 cents. We used 428 gallons of propane for heating, cooking, and a little bit to run the generator. We stayed in 209 different campgrounds. We are happy to say we had NO major problems. It was the trip of a lifetime and we highly recommend it. Do it while you are healthy.
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