Up the next morning and hiked 3 mi. to the lake and restored cabin of a tanner in the 1800's. Nice 1 mile interpretive hike in the woods surrounding the cabin. Planned to stay at Ozark National Scenic River in Van Buren, MO but campground closed. Walked around the beautiful grounds with Bailey, drove a few miles down the road and stayed at a truck stop for the night. Next day was an easy drive to Branson. Stopped at the Wyndham welcome center for discounted tickets to a couple shows. Learned that Wyndham at the Meadows is the nicest Wyndham in the Branson area ... just redone, sales office, and tickets all on site. Drove to Table Rock State Park and loved the campground and decided to stay there for three days. Bike ride along a lakeside trail just behind our campsite that ended at the visitor center. Got our itinerary for the entire stay figured out and enjoyed the rest of the day at campsite.
Remember the red pushpin on the map is our current (or last known) location.
Pete is doing great job organizing this trip--all I have to do wear my tight biking outfit, look adorable and heat my pre-done frozen dinners in the microwave! I have already managed to throw out all the info he had copied ahead for Branson and cut up his chamois into wash rag for me--didn't realize he planned to use as towel! He is still smiling and found another chamois cloth---all is wonderful in our world.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Monday, September 23, 2013
Louisville, the candy factory, and Celina
. Carrie, Anna, and Willow sent us off Monday morning when we drove to Louisville and rode the Louisville Riverwalk after parking in Lannan Park near downtown. Then drove across the Ohio River to Jeffersonville, IN and Schimpff's candy factory where we enjoyed a great tour and demonstration of how they make their world famous red hots ... of course with warm samples at the end. We had a sandwich and chocolate soda from their old fashion soda fountain. $29 worth of candy later we hit the road for our campsite in Celina National Recreation Area.... wonderful campground with nice sites and few campers on a Monday night. Nice hike in the woods, dinner, campfire .... and the end of a successful first full day on the road.
Pete forgot to mention my hot pink and black biking getup---I got a lot of smiles from on-lookers!
View Louisville Riverwalk 201309 in a larger map
Pete forgot to mention my hot pink and black biking getup---I got a lot of smiles from on-lookers!
View Louisville Riverwalk 201309 in a larger map
Sunday, September 22, 2013
And Away we Go
The time has arrived. The RT is loaded, farm chores are finished, bikes are secured, Bailey is psyched, and we are leaving to see Carrie and Nate for the night where they will send us on our way Monday morning.
The trip to Cincy was uneventful. Picked up Chipotle on the way with apple pie for dessert.... a fitting send off. Stay tuned.
If you are following our route on the map, Points ahead of our current location represent the projected trip. Points at or behind us are the actual dates, locations, and events.
The trip to Cincy was uneventful. Picked up Chipotle on the way with apple pie for dessert.... a fitting send off. Stay tuned.
If you are following our route on the map, Points ahead of our current location represent the projected trip. Points at or behind us are the actual dates, locations, and events.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
The beginning
We are busily preparing for the upcoming trip, readying the farm and Buckeye Lake for our absence and tidying up the Roadtrek. Changed the sump pump at home to reduce the chances of failure while we are away and in the process discovered a sewer leak just outside the house and now am digging that out and fixing it.
Learned of a couple full timers who are very computer savvy as it applies to campers ... called Geeks On Tour ... and their tutorials on using computers, blogs, Google Maps, smartphones, etc while on the road are really helpful. They are making things a lot easier for us to plan, enjoy, and record our travels .... and they are inspiring me to put a lot more info into these blogs as well as making them more fun for us and maybe more interesting to you.
One of my newly found treasures is how to insert a map or our itinerary or where we have been into the blog. since Google owns the blog and the maps, the two interface in unbelievable ways. The map below shows the trip as planned but will undoubtedly change as we modify it on the fly. Our route is colored and placemarks show places of interest and where we stay. Now it is our projected itinerary but I will modify it as we go so when we get to each destination it will show the places and route we actually took. You can click on the map and zoom in or out, maybe even to street level, to see as much detail as you wish. If you click on a placemark there may be more information that I have included... maybe a pic or a link with more info. Or you could go to Google Earth and actually see the views we are enjoying. Not that you will do any of this but the capabilities of Google are almost scary.
View Fall Trip 2013 Overview in a larger map
Learned of a couple full timers who are very computer savvy as it applies to campers ... called Geeks On Tour ... and their tutorials on using computers, blogs, Google Maps, smartphones, etc while on the road are really helpful. They are making things a lot easier for us to plan, enjoy, and record our travels .... and they are inspiring me to put a lot more info into these blogs as well as making them more fun for us and maybe more interesting to you.
One of my newly found treasures is how to insert a map or our itinerary or where we have been into the blog. since Google owns the blog and the maps, the two interface in unbelievable ways. The map below shows the trip as planned but will undoubtedly change as we modify it on the fly. Our route is colored and placemarks show places of interest and where we stay. Now it is our projected itinerary but I will modify it as we go so when we get to each destination it will show the places and route we actually took. You can click on the map and zoom in or out, maybe even to street level, to see as much detail as you wish. If you click on a placemark there may be more information that I have included... maybe a pic or a link with more info. Or you could go to Google Earth and actually see the views we are enjoying. Not that you will do any of this but the capabilities of Google are almost scary.
View Fall Trip 2013 Overview in a larger map
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Michigan Dunes 8/4/13
Sunday, this is our 35th wedding anniversary RV trip. Tonight we celebrated our rehearsal dinner of 35 years ago at McDonald's and then to Dairy Queen!
Monday is our 35th wedding anniversary. This year's wedding breakfast was at Bob Evans--shared the "farmer's breakfast special"--we went all out! Off to hike the sand dunes and see Lake Michigan with Bailey. Met a couple who were doing "geo-caching"--they had done 1600 of them and were going to "convention" party in Wisconsin and doing 60 in 2 days! Really fun talking to them. Lots of sand in our shoes! You have to pay a fee to get your car into State Parks in Indiana and Michigan. We are east of Chicago now and traveling up the west coast of Michigan. Lots of National forests here--very scenic!
Tuesday we drove to St Joseph, Michigan and stopped at park there. Went on bike trail, picnic on the beach--great place. Drove on to Silver Lake State Park but stopped on the way to pick blackberries and red raspberries and bought peaches, cherries, and blueberries--$25 worth so we are eating a lot of berries! Silver Lake Park is on Silver Lake and Lake Michigan with huge dunes. Camping was $27 plus $8 car pass. Went to talk tonight about the dunes and the history of the MacWood dune ride--great talk! Going on a "dunes ride" tomorrow. Temperature has been in 70's (60's at night), very nice, some rain today but overall a great day.
Wednesday---Went to Mac Woods Dune buggy ride--it was terrific. The dunes were fantastic and right along Lake Michigan. Well worth the $17 trip--see pictures. Picnic in the woods, to wine tasting store, then to buy some great cherry strudel--cherries right off the tree. Then drove to Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground. It was THE BEST--only a few sites left by 6 pm--$9 for seniors--gorgeous sites, large and far apart. Walked to the dunes which were beautiful and watched the sunset and then campfire.
Thursday--Bike ride in the morning, to beach with Bailey--perfect day with kites flying. Not crowded--only beach around that allows dogs. This beach was like great Florida sand. Onto Ludington Pier which had 1/2 mile pier that we walked and lovely large deep beach. Skate board park right there was great fun to watch--all free. On to another National Forest--Benton Lake--not much to do here. We are stopping overnight on way home. Nice campfire, great dinner, sweet dog and two retirees--how lucky we are to be able to do this. Home tomorrow and planning the next trip.
Would go straight to Sliver Lake and Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground next time--can make reservations.
Monday is our 35th wedding anniversary. This year's wedding breakfast was at Bob Evans--shared the "farmer's breakfast special"--we went all out! Off to hike the sand dunes and see Lake Michigan with Bailey. Met a couple who were doing "geo-caching"--they had done 1600 of them and were going to "convention" party in Wisconsin and doing 60 in 2 days! Really fun talking to them. Lots of sand in our shoes! You have to pay a fee to get your car into State Parks in Indiana and Michigan. We are east of Chicago now and traveling up the west coast of Michigan. Lots of National forests here--very scenic!
Tuesday we drove to St Joseph, Michigan and stopped at park there. Went on bike trail, picnic on the beach--great place. Drove on to Silver Lake State Park but stopped on the way to pick blackberries and red raspberries and bought peaches, cherries, and blueberries--$25 worth so we are eating a lot of berries! Silver Lake Park is on Silver Lake and Lake Michigan with huge dunes. Camping was $27 plus $8 car pass. Went to talk tonight about the dunes and the history of the MacWood dune ride--great talk! Going on a "dunes ride" tomorrow. Temperature has been in 70's (60's at night), very nice, some rain today but overall a great day.
Wednesday---Went to Mac Woods Dune buggy ride--it was terrific. The dunes were fantastic and right along Lake Michigan. Well worth the $17 trip--see pictures. Picnic in the woods, to wine tasting store, then to buy some great cherry strudel--cherries right off the tree. Then drove to Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground. It was THE BEST--only a few sites left by 6 pm--$9 for seniors--gorgeous sites, large and far apart. Walked to the dunes which were beautiful and watched the sunset and then campfire.
Thursday--Bike ride in the morning, to beach with Bailey--perfect day with kites flying. Not crowded--only beach around that allows dogs. This beach was like great Florida sand. Onto Ludington Pier which had 1/2 mile pier that we walked and lovely large deep beach. Skate board park right there was great fun to watch--all free. On to another National Forest--Benton Lake--not much to do here. We are stopping overnight on way home. Nice campfire, great dinner, sweet dog and two retirees--how lucky we are to be able to do this. Home tomorrow and planning the next trip.
Would go straight to Sliver Lake and Nordhouse Dunes National Forest campground next time--can make reservations.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Wyndham at Fairfield Glade 7-2013
Left on Monday July 15 on a 6-7 hour drive to the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee arriving about 6 pm. After checking in to our lockoff unit we went to the Mirror Lake Blast, live music on the lake with kettle corn and grilled hot dogs available. Beautiful day and perfect temperature. Next day we went to Dartmoor Marina closeby for a canoe trip around the lake looking at beautiful homes on the lake and watched a hole of golf at a green on the lake shore. Afterward we swam at the beach and laid on the grass for a nap and reading. Evening at home in the room.
Next day drove an hour to Fall Creek Falls State Park and hiked 3 1/2 miles to the falls after lounging at the Cane Creek Cascades for an hour or so. Evening meal fried chicken buffet and pasta buffet at the Legends Golf Club.
Next day hiked at Cumberland Mountain State Park, then lounged at St. George Marina before Prime rib buffet at Legends again. Home Friday.
This is not good for wheelchair access or kids---all activities need car to get there.
Next day drove an hour to Fall Creek Falls State Park and hiked 3 1/2 miles to the falls after lounging at the Cane Creek Cascades for an hour or so. Evening meal fried chicken buffet and pasta buffet at the Legends Golf Club.
Next day hiked at Cumberland Mountain State Park, then lounged at St. George Marina before Prime rib buffet at Legends again. Home Friday.
This is not good for wheelchair access or kids---all activities need car to get there.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
First trip in the RV 2013
7-1-2013
C's first day of retirement was July first. We started our camping season later than usual this year and took our first trip in the Roadtrek Thursday and Friday July 11 and 12 to the Hocking Hills where we camped at the Top O the Caves campground and hiked Old Mans Cave and Cedar Falls. Will see if I can figure out how to get a pic we took at Cedar Falls on here so we can include some pics in our blogs.
C's first day of retirement was July first. We started our camping season later than usual this year and took our first trip in the Roadtrek Thursday and Friday July 11 and 12 to the Hocking Hills where we camped at the Top O the Caves campground and hiked Old Mans Cave and Cedar Falls. Will see if I can figure out how to get a pic we took at Cedar Falls on here so we can include some pics in our blogs.
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