Left on 8/24 Friday to go visit Patti and meet up with Ken and Kathy. We stayed at a nice quite county park at the Neuseway Nature center. Here at the nature center they have every thing from an Eagle to Rattlesnakes and in the basement which they call the cave there are displays of fish and even some skunks, along with skinks and iguana's. There is also a planetarium that we will go see on Sunday.
The trip thru West Virgina was pretty and the valleys were pretty cool. Lots of 5% grade but the Dodge did a superb job. The exhaust brake with the tow mode enabled on the transmission controlled our down hill speed so well I would have to give it throttle to keep going fast enough. I used the spare fuel tank this trip to extend our range without having to stop for fuel. With both tanks we can get about 800 miles before empty at 9mpg. Total fuel capacity is about 86 gallons. Sure is nice to not have to worry about where we are going to find a gas station.
So Friday on the trip here it went pretty well until we got to Raleigh, at the point apparently they have done enough road construction that the gps maps I had were outdated. We took the turn headed for I40 and from there don't know what happened but somehow we were off route and it only got worse from there! We spent probably 1/2 hour to 45 minutes trying to get out of Raleigh. Frustration turned into anger and every turn I made was wrong! Finally someone we were booted out of there and back on track. Good thing I had just bought a new version of Streets and Trips 2007 as it had updated maps and got us going straight and narrow again. Note to self, quit being cheap and buy updated maps!
Well 45 minutes later we arrived here at the campground with Ken Kathy and Patti waiting. It was great to see Patti again and she looks good. Always great to see Ken and Kathy but seeing Patti was a bittersweet moment with the loss of her husband Mickey last November and this being the first time we have gotten to see her. She was quite excited to see us all also.
Anyway our trip ended up being 700 miles and 13 hours! Should have only been 630 miles so I don't know where the additional miles came in as we were not THAT lost! I will have to try to retrace the trip and see if the old gps maps took was long way around. That is quite possible as I set the options for mapping to Bus which tries to keep on us decent roads, the cost of that is extended tours.
Saturday, Patti came over about 10am and we all loaded into the Dodge and headed for the east coast for an Ocean fix. I so miss the Ocean since we were in Morro Bay California. Something about the waves and smell of the air. Patti took us to eat at a place called the Sanitary which is a seafood restaurant on an inlet waterway. Food was great and even though I managed to knock over Patti's tea and my Pepsi at the same time it was a lot of fun. Fortunately no one got soaked. Patti was quite nimble on her feet when the glass went crashing. Deanna had the popcorn shrimp fried and I had the Talapia fish sandwich. They bring you all you can eat hushpuppies which look unlike the hushpuppies I am use to that are round balls but shaped like a fat curly worm. Food was great and the view was pretty cool out the windows as this was on a boardwalk or wharf or whatever you call it. Basically a restaurant on stilts in the water!
Next after eating we headed for the waterfront. Where we went to was a point where there was a Fort by the name of Macon Fort. It was seized in the 1800's by the Union Army, not all that exciting as when they captured it the fort was being watched by 1 Confederate soldier who didn't even have a weapon with him! He soon after joined the Union army. Interesting thing about this fort was it was there to keep the enemy from coming in from the ocean side. There were cannons placed all along the border of the fort facing the ocean. These were smooth bore cannons firing a cannon ball weighing 32 pounds and could fire 1 mile with 6-7 pounds of powder. Now that is a long way in the 1840's. They would set each cannon to fire a different distance like 1500 yards 1600 yards etc, when the enemy attacked they would fire each cannon until they found the range and then reset all the other cannons to that range. Another thing was they would heat the cannon balls to 1000 degrees in a furnace and fire them and set the ship on fire. Supposedly it worked quite well.
The ocean was fantastic, the waves were not huge but sure were refreshing, main difference here from Morro bay and the Pacific ocean was this water you could stand in, on the Pacific the water was so cold your feet would go numb after less than a minute! This was nice cool to warm water and felt wonderful! I didn't want to leave. The area we were in was mainly for fishing and no swimming or wading was allowed but then the water came to me not the other way around and DAMN the sand was hot away from the water! We spent an hour of so admiring the ocean and then left to see the fort and then headed back towards home.
On the way home we stopped at a fishing pier and beach and walked out on the pier. Lots of people on the beach as far as you could see, some were just sun bathing while others were out on surf boards or just enjoying the waves. Might have been some pretty girls in skimpy bikini's but I didn't notice :) . Some small fish were being caught off the Pier but nothing large that we saw although they apparently do catch some large ones and there was a board there you listed your big catch on. Some were pretty large getting upwards of 40 pounds. Now if you an imagine trying to hoist a 40 pound fish up 50 feet into the air with a fishing pole I think you begin to see the picture.
We then headed home and waked the dogs. Patti wanted us to come by to see her place so we said we would after we got our ice cream fix! We actually decided to get something to eat so we hit an Arby's and had some fun with the girl at the register and we are suppose to swing by on Tuesday and pick her up and take her back to Ohio with us. :)
We then got our ice cream from DQ and headed to Patti's. Nice little place Patti has and we got to see Frosty again and Joeys dog Jaz. He is pretty shy but would let me pet him with my arm hanging over the couch. Tomorrow we are going to Patti's for a cookout after we all hit the nature center and Planetarium.
Weather this morning is humid and very over cast as if going to rain, they could use some as the river is almost non existent. This area at the campground is prone to flooding at times and is evident when you notice the power receptacle's you hook up to are 5 feet off the ground! That is a lot when you consider the river is probably 20 feet below us!
8/25/07 Sunday 95* and HOT!
This afternoon we went to the Nature enter and Planetarium to check it all out. But before we went we were sitting outside Ken and Kathy's rig when something attracted the attention of Katie their dog, she began swinging her head side to side to get something out of her mouth but we still don't know what it was but just a few minutes later I see this monster creature scurrying around. It is like a HUGE ant and is covered with a red velvet fur with a black stripe. So Ken and I jumped into action knowing what better place to find out what it is but at a Nature Center. So we quickly trapped it in a water bottle and trotted off to the Nature Center. The guy running the center says "Oh yeah, that's a Cow Killer"! WHAT! Insert :EEK: here :0 . It is related to the bee family and will put a wallop on you if you decided it is cute and you need to hold it. Not only once but repeatedly if need be! It is a lone critter that hunts by itself and forages for food. Can you imagine if you ran across a mound of them if they weren't? This guy was about 5/8" long and when you turned the bottle upside down you could here him hit the other side! They get up to an inch long so this was a younger one apparently.
So we toured the Nature center and I admired how HUGE the rattlesnakes they had were. One is 11 years old and if you came across it in the wild you would trip over it thinking it was a log! It makes the Sidewinder rattlesnake I found in the desert look like a worm! This guy was probably 4-5" in diameter and it would have been hard to wrap both your hands around it's body. This was an Eastern Diamondback which can be identified by the diamonds on it's back. The other nearly as big was a Timber Rattlesnake which the curator said was quite a testy specimen when he first came there, striking at the glass all day long trying to enjoy a little human meal! Plenty of other snakes like copperhead, Moccasin's, Rat snakes, Albino King snake, Boa, Python and on and on.
Also there was a Parrot named Oliver and he told you that quite often along with what sounded like ordering food from a fast food drive thru. :) He was about 20 and will live to normally be in his 80's. Of course lots of other critters, gecko's, skinks, birds, scorpions, spiders, sea crustaceans, star fish, lots of different fish. Pretty much all you could imagine but in a quite small building. It was a neat little visit and we really enjoyed it, plus it was just across the parking lot.
We then headed to Patti's for a cookout. Patti did the cooking and everything was fantastic! Hamburgers hot dogs, Funi salad, some other salad and some other salad (obviously things I don't eat). Lot's of sweet tea to drink and chips! We were stuffed and then she brought out a strawberry cream pie! I couldn't stuff any more down so I passed but did taste it and it was delicious. She later took us on a tour and showed us the Garden Center her and Mickey had built and ran. She is back to working there now though someone else owns it. Then she took us past a house they had built when they got married complete with a pond in the side yard. What a beautiful house. Mickey was talented in many ways and one of them was woodworking, he not only built benches and furniture but art with different shaped pieces of wood. We really miss that guy!
So we finished the tour and it was getting to be early evening and we decided to head back to walk the fur kids. A storm was impending but never materialized for us although it did rain in some other places. One thing it did do for us was cool it down. It was a wonderful night to sit outside and enjoy the company of our friends. We sat out till about 10pm and then called it a night as Ken as about to pass out in his chair (lightweight) :) I mean he sleeps till 10 in the morning! Sheshhhhh.
Tomorrow, thinking we will hit a local aquarium.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Diggin for change!
Saturday March 24th, 2007 Temp 62*
Been quite a while since I have posted but not a lot has been going on. Have been waiting for the weather to change and finally this week it is warming up. 70 degrees today but we have had a lot of rain. Next week is suppose to be near 80 but some possible severe weather with rain mostly all week.
Just recently I have updated our RV with a tankless/water heater. It was an interesting project to get completed with having to alter some plumbing and gas piping to make things more user friendly for connecting. Nice thing about it is there is no more tank cleaning to take care of and it ends the often sour smell water odor. Should be a lot more efficient on propane as the burner only runs when you turn the hot water on. Another nice item is once you get your water temp set you don't need to mess with it any more as the water temp is constant.
So now that the weather is getting better I have been playing with my metal detector and having some pretty good luck. In the last week I have found almost $8 in change at the local ball park. Below are a couple of pictures. It is fun spending a couple of hours looking for treasures as you never know what you will find. A lot of people look at me and laugh thinking I am crazy but once I find that first valuable coin or jewelry the laughing will subside! :) Have also been practicing gold panning as that is something I have always wanted to do when we are traveling . I am getting pretty good at it and have practicing in a little creek across the tracks. Actually there is the possibility of Gold in most of the streams in Ohio that the glaciers came thru. Actually I believe there were 3 glaciers that came thru this area. Anyway the glaciers carried gold down from Canada and deposited it all over Ohio. There are 3 claims in Ohio for gold prospecting that have produced. Now that I belong to the Gold Prospectors Association I can go to these claims at no charge.
Next month we will be going to Elkhart Indiana for an annual RV rally we have attended for the last 4 years. Some friends of ours put it on and it will be good to see them again. Terry and Dale are also fulltimers and are due back in the area in April. Our other friends Smokey and Pam will be there and will be spending the summer in Elkhart area vending some products.
Work is busy and life is short so I got things to go do! See ya next time!
Been quite a while since I have posted but not a lot has been going on. Have been waiting for the weather to change and finally this week it is warming up. 70 degrees today but we have had a lot of rain. Next week is suppose to be near 80 but some possible severe weather with rain mostly all week.
Just recently I have updated our RV with a tankless/water heater. It was an interesting project to get completed with having to alter some plumbing and gas piping to make things more user friendly for connecting. Nice thing about it is there is no more tank cleaning to take care of and it ends the often sour smell water odor. Should be a lot more efficient on propane as the burner only runs when you turn the hot water on. Another nice item is once you get your water temp set you don't need to mess with it any more as the water temp is constant.
So now that the weather is getting better I have been playing with my metal detector and having some pretty good luck. In the last week I have found almost $8 in change at the local ball park. Below are a couple of pictures. It is fun spending a couple of hours looking for treasures as you never know what you will find. A lot of people look at me and laugh thinking I am crazy but once I find that first valuable coin or jewelry the laughing will subside! :) Have also been practicing gold panning as that is something I have always wanted to do when we are traveling . I am getting pretty good at it and have practicing in a little creek across the tracks. Actually there is the possibility of Gold in most of the streams in Ohio that the glaciers came thru. Actually I believe there were 3 glaciers that came thru this area. Anyway the glaciers carried gold down from Canada and deposited it all over Ohio. There are 3 claims in Ohio for gold prospecting that have produced. Now that I belong to the Gold Prospectors Association I can go to these claims at no charge.
Next month we will be going to Elkhart Indiana for an annual RV rally we have attended for the last 4 years. Some friends of ours put it on and it will be good to see them again. Terry and Dale are also fulltimers and are due back in the area in April. Our other friends Smokey and Pam will be there and will be spending the summer in Elkhart area vending some products.
Work is busy and life is short so I got things to go do! See ya next time!
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Time flies
January 10th, 2007 Wednesday Temp 29.
Well time sure slips by. Since the last update not a lot has happened but I will bring you up to date. Xmas we spent in Atlanta Georgia with Mike. We drove down on Friday before Xmas and came home the day after. While there we did a little sight seeing and visited a kind of Theme Park called Stone Mountain. It is a huge rock mountain that has a carving of some Civil War soldiers on horses on the face, which they also used the side of the mountain for a light show.
It was extremely crowded as one might expect and navigating around was an interesting experience. While there we rode a train around the mountain which seemed to be the most popular thing going on there. It was a modern locomotive pulling open passenger cars which held a LOT of people. The trip around is interesting and had displays of lights and a little show of a guy singing and telling a Christmas story. Trip was probably about 30-40 minutes which paled in comparison of an hour plus wait to get on it. Of course the whole place is designed around shops and eating Kiosks and luring the visitors in to support them. We dropped a few dollars while there so they won't close soon.
While visiting we also made the rounds for eating, taking in Frickers, Maggie Moo's and Starbucks. All over priced but still nice places to eat at.
Traffic on the way down was not to bad till we would hit major cities. Atlanta was certainly the worst. Fortunately we were on the good side of traffic as the opposite side in Atlanta had a 10 mile stand still jam! It still took us about 30-40 minutes to go 2-1/2 miles for our exit.
We left early on the 26th before traffic had a chance to get snarled so it was pretty much a breeze escaping. The rest of the trip was uneventful and just a long drive. 550 miles one way. Got home at 4pm and beat the dark with enough time to relax and catch up on a little rest.
New Years day was spent at home relaxing. The weather has been so warm and we had some days that were in the 60's. Cold right now but going back up into the 50's for the weekend but lot's of rain. Pretty unusual weather for Ohio. Should be in the 20's right now so no reason to complain. Time goes so fast anymore and I finally turned 50 in December. Guess I am officially an old fart now. Whatever!
We had snow on the ground when we returned home from Atlanta but it did not last. We are pretty far behind in snow at the present and with El Nino I don't think we will have to worry about much snow but rain may be the issue and a dry spell this summer.
Well gonna call it updated for now. Not much to report beyond this. So everyone stay warm and to all our friends who are now out West without us, have cool one for us and we will join you in the future.
Well time sure slips by. Since the last update not a lot has happened but I will bring you up to date. Xmas we spent in Atlanta Georgia with Mike. We drove down on Friday before Xmas and came home the day after. While there we did a little sight seeing and visited a kind of Theme Park called Stone Mountain. It is a huge rock mountain that has a carving of some Civil War soldiers on horses on the face, which they also used the side of the mountain for a light show.
It was extremely crowded as one might expect and navigating around was an interesting experience. While there we rode a train around the mountain which seemed to be the most popular thing going on there. It was a modern locomotive pulling open passenger cars which held a LOT of people. The trip around is interesting and had displays of lights and a little show of a guy singing and telling a Christmas story. Trip was probably about 30-40 minutes which paled in comparison of an hour plus wait to get on it. Of course the whole place is designed around shops and eating Kiosks and luring the visitors in to support them. We dropped a few dollars while there so they won't close soon.
While visiting we also made the rounds for eating, taking in Frickers, Maggie Moo's and Starbucks. All over priced but still nice places to eat at.
Traffic on the way down was not to bad till we would hit major cities. Atlanta was certainly the worst. Fortunately we were on the good side of traffic as the opposite side in Atlanta had a 10 mile stand still jam! It still took us about 30-40 minutes to go 2-1/2 miles for our exit.
We left early on the 26th before traffic had a chance to get snarled so it was pretty much a breeze escaping. The rest of the trip was uneventful and just a long drive. 550 miles one way. Got home at 4pm and beat the dark with enough time to relax and catch up on a little rest.
New Years day was spent at home relaxing. The weather has been so warm and we had some days that were in the 60's. Cold right now but going back up into the 50's for the weekend but lot's of rain. Pretty unusual weather for Ohio. Should be in the 20's right now so no reason to complain. Time goes so fast anymore and I finally turned 50 in December. Guess I am officially an old fart now. Whatever!
We had snow on the ground when we returned home from Atlanta but it did not last. We are pretty far behind in snow at the present and with El Nino I don't think we will have to worry about much snow but rain may be the issue and a dry spell this summer.
Well gonna call it updated for now. Not much to report beyond this. So everyone stay warm and to all our friends who are now out West without us, have cool one for us and we will join you in the future.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Turkey Day
November 22, 2006 Temp 52* and sunny
Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We were invited to have dinner at Bill and Molly's on Thanksgiving. We are going to Deanna's mothers in the morning and will probably end up eating some there first. That would be our normal eating time, and then we eat again at Bill's later that night about 6pm. For years we have always eaten our main meal at Noon. So we will be really stuffed by the end of the day. I love turkey so guess I will get my fill. This is a long weekend for us as I have Thursday and Friday off. Can't believe xmas is zooming up so fast!
For Christmas we will be going to Atlanta to visit Mike. It will be a long drive as we are not used to driving 600 miles in one day. A normal day of traveling for us became 250 miles and off the road by 3pm. We will need to leave nice and early to get there while some daylight exists. Then leave day after Christmas to get back in time to make work....................that's a scary word! Hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. What a change the past year made. We have been in the desert, to the coast of California to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida back to Ohio and going back to work! Funny where life takes you. We have seen beautiful sunsets on the beach and in the mountain surrounded desert, Roadrunner birds, Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and lots of changing terrains. We have made lot's of friends and lost some, neither will ever be forgotten. Then coming back to Ohio the first night in March it snowed on us, but when we woke and looked out the window we saw a herd of Whitetail deer foraging in the campground.
So to sum this entry up I think it is appropriate to say that we give thanks to all our family and friends and the wonderful things we experienced and saw. Hopefully many more Thanksgivings will be spent remembering the past ones and those to come. So to all our friends and family, thanks for all the memories and know we love all of you. :)
Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We were invited to have dinner at Bill and Molly's on Thanksgiving. We are going to Deanna's mothers in the morning and will probably end up eating some there first. That would be our normal eating time, and then we eat again at Bill's later that night about 6pm. For years we have always eaten our main meal at Noon. So we will be really stuffed by the end of the day. I love turkey so guess I will get my fill. This is a long weekend for us as I have Thursday and Friday off. Can't believe xmas is zooming up so fast!
For Christmas we will be going to Atlanta to visit Mike. It will be a long drive as we are not used to driving 600 miles in one day. A normal day of traveling for us became 250 miles and off the road by 3pm. We will need to leave nice and early to get there while some daylight exists. Then leave day after Christmas to get back in time to make work....................that's a scary word! Hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. What a change the past year made. We have been in the desert, to the coast of California to the Gulf of Mexico in Florida back to Ohio and going back to work! Funny where life takes you. We have seen beautiful sunsets on the beach and in the mountain surrounded desert, Roadrunner birds, Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and lots of changing terrains. We have made lot's of friends and lost some, neither will ever be forgotten. Then coming back to Ohio the first night in March it snowed on us, but when we woke and looked out the window we saw a herd of Whitetail deer foraging in the campground.
So to sum this entry up I think it is appropriate to say that we give thanks to all our family and friends and the wonderful things we experienced and saw. Hopefully many more Thanksgivings will be spent remembering the past ones and those to come. So to all our friends and family, thanks for all the memories and know we love all of you. :)
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Loss of our friend Mickey
November 6th, 2006
Today our dear friend Mickey Ivey passed away from a heart attack. Following is an article I wrote and used as our home page after his death.
We traveled with Mickey and Patti from late November 2005 till the end of January 2006 when they decided to travel to Yuma and we went to California. They quickly became our best friends and we greatly enjoyed our time we spent with them. Mickey was such a card and always good for a smile and I don't think he had a serious bone in his body. From the times he entertained us with coin and card tricks to him and Patti singing 'On the road again' over the CB radio. We spent our last Thanksgiving with them at Deanna's sisters house in Oklahoma and the last Xmas in Huachuca City Arizona along with New Years Day. While in Huachuca City we visited nearby Tombstone and then went Ghost town hunting while listening to Mickey complain about how the last 30 miles of back road was wearing out his Jeep. Of course he was just giving me hell but it was still funny. While in Huachuca City they decided to trade their Motor home for a 5th wheel trailer, which was quite a change and totally unexpected. After New Years Day we made our way towards Quartzsite which was our original destination for our rally. Once arriving in Quartzsite we made camp 3 miles back in the desert. We were like meat and potatoes with Mickey and Patti and went everywhere together.
When they left the desert they headed for cleaner ground in Yuma while we stayed behind to finalize the deal on our house. We shortly thereafter left for California and did not connect with Mickey and Patti till they came to Ohio to visit us in July. They were on their way to South Dakota to make that their resident state. We enjoyed a great visit with them while showing them some sites around here and take Patti to the Johnny Appleseed Museum which she was tickled with when she saw the sign. They spent a weekend with us before heading northwest. We then again saw them in September prior to them attending the Escapade Rally, that would be the last time we saw our friend smiling.
During a visit to Las Vegas to surprise a friend of Patti's Mickey told Patti he did not feel well and was going to stay at the RV while she went with her friend to sightsee. Patti was reluctant to go but under persuasion from Mickey gave in and went. Patti called mid afternoon and he said he was feeling better and for her to enjoy her visit and take her time. She called a couple hours later and received no answer. Upon returning to the RV she found him to late to administer any help. Apparently he had suffered a massive heart attack. Unfortunately Mickey had several signs of heart issues and chose to ignore them calling them indigestion and such.
Mickey leaves behind a large family of a son and daughters and recently had become a Grandpa. It is a sad day for all of his friends. Mickey never made an enemy and was instantly friends with anyone he came into contact with. He authored a great computer program called RVnotebook . His passing leaves voids in many many peoples hearts but especially his dear wife Patti. She is doing as well as can be expected but is lost without her rock. Fortunately our friend was able to enjoy the last year of his life doing what he had longed to do and with whom he loved the most.
They were such a great couple together and smiled all the time. They enjoyed seeing so much together and Patti got to visit many states she otherwise may have never have been able to see. The memories and things they experienced will last her forever and the times we spent with them will last just as long. I spoke with Mickey nearly every weekend since we went our different ways. Unfortunately I did not speak with him the weekend prior to his death as I did not want to bother them while they were entertaining friends. I so regret that now but hindsight is useless in this case. So in respect to our dear friend we dedicate this page in his honor for the friendship and times we shared with him and Patti. Farewell my friend we will miss you very much as will all your friends. Keep an eye on all of us and don't let us do the stupid things we are bound to do otherwise. The next world is lucky to have you while we are cheated your presence. For our dearest friend Patti, know we love you and will always stay in touch... Your best friends and travel companions Tab n Deanna..........................
For those still with us please take this as a lesson, do not ignore any signs of health issues. They may be an inconvenience now, but could be a life saver. As always my friend is still teaching others
Here is a copy of a blog entry to say what kind of guy he was.
A special note from Mickey:
This blog is for family, friends and anyone else that may stop by. Most of the content is about our travels and what wonderful things we have seen and the many great friends we have met. When we get a chance to visit with family we obviously love to share our time with them with all readers. They’re special.
I have been truly blessed with 4 great kids, 3 stunning grandchildren and a daughter-in-law and son-in-law that are beyond wonderful. I am so proud of each and every one of them. By the way, my new granddaughter WILL be President of the United States one day. Andrew, my oldest grandson, will be a very successful businessman (or sportscaster for NBC) and Shawn, the youngest grandson, is destined to be a great athlete making lots of money. I love them all very much.
If you would like to read some notes and comments about this great guy, go here.
Here is a piece that Tony Cornett (Firedude) posted on his blog:
I recieved some bad news yesterday. Mickey Ivey passed away unexpectidly day before yesterday. Many may connect him as the Author of RVnotebook the software program for Rv'ers. Mickey's passing is such a tremendous loss to the RV community. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to Patti his wife, the families and all of the RV community. I had the pleasure to meet Mickey and Patti last January in Quartzsite at the '05 Graduating Class of Full-timers and enjoyed my time with them both as well as all the other wonderful people from RV.net and the Escapees I met. Mickey made such a positive impact on RV'ing and the entire RV community along with everyone he met. Mickey was truly the best. God speed my friend.
Here is a piece that Tony Cornett (Firedude) posted on his blog:
I recieved some bad news yesterday. Mickey Ivey passed away unexpectidly day before yesterday. Many may connect him as the Author of RVnotebook the software program for Rv'ers. Mickey's passing is such a tremendous loss to the RV community. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to Patti his wife, the families and all of the RV community. I had the pleasure to meet Mickey and Patti last January in Quartzsite at the '05 Graduating Class of Full-timers and enjoyed my time with them both as well as all the other wonderful people from RV.net and the Escapees I met. Mickey made such a positive impact on RV'ing and the entire RV community along with everyone he met. Mickey was truly the best. God speed my friend.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Party's and History
Sunday October 8th, 2006 Temperature 46 * Burrrr!
Yesterday was our youngest grand daughters first birthday. Tabby turns 1! Unbelievable how many presents she got! For someone who has no clue she should still be pretty tickled! Several generations of family attended her big bash which we celebrated with CHOCOLATE CAKE and ice cream. Can't go wrong with that combination. It must have taken 30 mintues to open all the packages. Can't imagine what Xmas will be like or what anyone could buy that she has not already gotten! She is so cute and was in such a great mood playing with ribbons and chewing on cards. Then it came time to give her the cake. She just kind of picked at it first but eventually ended up with her foot in the cake. First birthdays are always fun for everyone. Some pictures below.
As you can see she now has her ears pierced. She sure looks cute with the little diamonds!
Happy Birthday Tabby!
As a side note to Tabby's birthday, when we went to pick up Deanna's mother in nearby New Carlisle, they have this crazy deal they do every year called parade of planes. The local airport provides the planes which include probably 30 planes and they make a pass thru the town. Now that sounds interesting and normally it would be but we were trying to get to Deanna's mothers and there was no way to get there. Almost a square 1/4 mile of the town was shut off due to the parade. No one in or out in a vehicle. Took us an hour and half to get to her and back out. Seems like a crazy plan to us. Can't believe they were routing commercial trucks thru side streets of town. I know I would not have wanted to pull our 5th wheel that route let alone a 55' trailer 14' high. I stopped and talked to one of the deputys directing traffic and he noted he had never seen such a crazy deal himself. SO avoid that are the first weekend in Octber if you are towing or trailering!
I thought I would post some history about the town we lived in for the last 28 years. I bought a house here in 1978 and with the exception of last year while we were traveling have always lived in the same house. Of course now the oldest boy and his wife own it and we still live fulltime in our RV but currently back in St. Paris. Anyway it is a little community that was founded in 1831 and is the 11th county in the state. This town was a big producer of alcohol back in the early days. The sour mash leftovers were given to the local pig farmers. At one time 800 gallons of liquor was produced a day. Later the town became a dry town although now it does allow the sale of beer and wine but when I first moved up here they did not. Eventually a city block of the town burned down from a fire that stated in the back of a feed store. The biggest thing this town lays fame to is the factorys that built Pony Wagon Carts. Apparently there were several of them and they celebrate the history of this every year with a festival. the festival leaves a lot to be desired but the community seems to enjoy it. During the last festival in Septemeber (annually) they dedicated a plaque on Springfield street which was an item of interest of something I never knew about. Back in 1865 when President Lincoln was assinated his funeral train passed thru here and stopped for a brief moment to allow morners to lay a wreath on the coffin. Personally I find this a more notable item of interest than the pony wagon thing but that's me. In the nearby town of Fletcher there is a man who wrote a book called the Lincoln Funeral Train by Scott D. Trostel. He writes about the journey the train took from Washington Dc to Springfield Il,. The tracks that carried this famous President thru Saint Paris have now been removed and are just about 150 yards south of the commercial building we own here in town. So from now on when someone asks me what the town is famous for I have an answer of my own. This is a question I always like to ask whenever we are travelling and stop in small towns because every town has its link to history. So there is a new task for you to take on. Ask next time you are in a little bazzar town how they came to be. Here is a link to the path of the train. http://www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/WHMC/WHMC-LFTR-01.html
Below is a picture of the plaque.
Yesterday was our youngest grand daughters first birthday. Tabby turns 1! Unbelievable how many presents she got! For someone who has no clue she should still be pretty tickled! Several generations of family attended her big bash which we celebrated with CHOCOLATE CAKE and ice cream. Can't go wrong with that combination. It must have taken 30 mintues to open all the packages. Can't imagine what Xmas will be like or what anyone could buy that she has not already gotten! She is so cute and was in such a great mood playing with ribbons and chewing on cards. Then it came time to give her the cake. She just kind of picked at it first but eventually ended up with her foot in the cake. First birthdays are always fun for everyone. Some pictures below.
As you can see she now has her ears pierced. She sure looks cute with the little diamonds!
Happy Birthday Tabby!
As a side note to Tabby's birthday, when we went to pick up Deanna's mother in nearby New Carlisle, they have this crazy deal they do every year called parade of planes. The local airport provides the planes which include probably 30 planes and they make a pass thru the town. Now that sounds interesting and normally it would be but we were trying to get to Deanna's mothers and there was no way to get there. Almost a square 1/4 mile of the town was shut off due to the parade. No one in or out in a vehicle. Took us an hour and half to get to her and back out. Seems like a crazy plan to us. Can't believe they were routing commercial trucks thru side streets of town. I know I would not have wanted to pull our 5th wheel that route let alone a 55' trailer 14' high. I stopped and talked to one of the deputys directing traffic and he noted he had never seen such a crazy deal himself. SO avoid that are the first weekend in Octber if you are towing or trailering!
I thought I would post some history about the town we lived in for the last 28 years. I bought a house here in 1978 and with the exception of last year while we were traveling have always lived in the same house. Of course now the oldest boy and his wife own it and we still live fulltime in our RV but currently back in St. Paris. Anyway it is a little community that was founded in 1831 and is the 11th county in the state. This town was a big producer of alcohol back in the early days. The sour mash leftovers were given to the local pig farmers. At one time 800 gallons of liquor was produced a day. Later the town became a dry town although now it does allow the sale of beer and wine but when I first moved up here they did not. Eventually a city block of the town burned down from a fire that stated in the back of a feed store. The biggest thing this town lays fame to is the factorys that built Pony Wagon Carts. Apparently there were several of them and they celebrate the history of this every year with a festival. the festival leaves a lot to be desired but the community seems to enjoy it. During the last festival in Septemeber (annually) they dedicated a plaque on Springfield street which was an item of interest of something I never knew about. Back in 1865 when President Lincoln was assinated his funeral train passed thru here and stopped for a brief moment to allow morners to lay a wreath on the coffin. Personally I find this a more notable item of interest than the pony wagon thing but that's me. In the nearby town of Fletcher there is a man who wrote a book called the Lincoln Funeral Train by Scott D. Trostel. He writes about the journey the train took from Washington Dc to Springfield Il,. The tracks that carried this famous President thru Saint Paris have now been removed and are just about 150 yards south of the commercial building we own here in town. So from now on when someone asks me what the town is famous for I have an answer of my own. This is a question I always like to ask whenever we are travelling and stop in small towns because every town has its link to history. So there is a new task for you to take on. Ask next time you are in a little bazzar town how they came to be. Here is a link to the path of the train. http://www.lincoln-highway-museum.org/WHMC/WHMC-LFTR-01.html
Below is a picture of the plaque.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Sharks!
Friday October 6th 2006, Temperature 40* YIKES!
Well time to catch up on the blog. Been almost 3 weeks. Amazing where the time goes cause it sure doesn't seem like it.
A couple of weeks ago we took Jordan and Jessica to the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. We haven't been there for about 3 years. The kids loved the adventure. It is interesting to see all the different types of fish in the world and also that the most colorfull seem to be salt water fish. The are brilliant in blues and reds. Several of the walk ways go over top of ponds and the bridges have see thru floors, Jordan had a good time telling Jessie that she would fall thru and especially the one that had alligators swimming underneath! They had different displays of all parts of the world with the fish and animals in their natural habitat.
There are tunnels that you can walk thru on the way that are covered by see thru arches. This would be the big aquarium that the sharks and rays swim in. There were a couple of divers in the aquarium trying to feed the sharks. That was pretty cool. Never did see any of them take the food though. Could be because most of the larger ones had wetsuit stuck in their teeth! :) Just kidding. There were some large ones swimming with them though. Some probably 10 feet or so long. The glass is a little deceptive as it curves it also seems to magnify, though not a lot.
One of the stops was the shark petting area! Yep you can pet a real shark. It is a big pool that several sharks are just constantly swimming in circles in and when they come by you can reach down and pet them. You are suppose to do it with your first two fingers pointing out and just touch them as they swim by. They do tell you not to splash in the water or try to pet them in front of their eyes. Interesting feel, kind of stiff swede leather texture. Some were probably as large as 3 feet. I believe they were Reef sharks or some such thing not the famous White Sharks that often make meals of arms and legs! Jordan couldn't wait to pet them and spent quite a bit of time doing so, Jessie on the other hand was quite a bit more hesitant but did finally do it and then we couldn't get her to stop.
There were also great displays of Penquins and otters. It is interesting to watch them and their actions. There were a couple of baby Penquins which is kind of funny because they are covered with what looks like fur and are all puffed up and as large as the adults! They just stand around and decide all of the sudden to dive into the water swim a while then back out. Funny to watch them waddle.
A week or so ago Janice and Dean came by to visit and I helped Dean install some stabilizers on their 5th wheel. We first met them last year at the Escapade and they are also part of the 05 Graduating class of Fulltimers. They just spent one night but we had a great time. After doing the work on the Rv we took them to Youngs Dairy for dinner although they bought. We ate and then ordered dessert of course. I had the Buckey which was chocolate with peanut butter mixed it topped with Hot fudge and a huge buckeye on top. WAY too much for one sitting! Well they took off the next morning in hopes of beating the incoming rain. They are now in Tennessee near Knoxville.
Tonight the moon was HUGE! Just coming over the horizon. Quite a sight and it is full on top of that!
Well that is a quick update on the latest, I will post some more soon. As this weekend is Tabitha's first birthday and we will be taking some pictures of hopefully a very messy little girl. :) Deanna's sister from Oklahoma is coming in this weekend also.
Well time to catch up on the blog. Been almost 3 weeks. Amazing where the time goes cause it sure doesn't seem like it.
A couple of weeks ago we took Jordan and Jessica to the Newport Aquarium in Kentucky. We haven't been there for about 3 years. The kids loved the adventure. It is interesting to see all the different types of fish in the world and also that the most colorfull seem to be salt water fish. The are brilliant in blues and reds. Several of the walk ways go over top of ponds and the bridges have see thru floors, Jordan had a good time telling Jessie that she would fall thru and especially the one that had alligators swimming underneath! They had different displays of all parts of the world with the fish and animals in their natural habitat.
There are tunnels that you can walk thru on the way that are covered by see thru arches. This would be the big aquarium that the sharks and rays swim in. There were a couple of divers in the aquarium trying to feed the sharks. That was pretty cool. Never did see any of them take the food though. Could be because most of the larger ones had wetsuit stuck in their teeth! :) Just kidding. There were some large ones swimming with them though. Some probably 10 feet or so long. The glass is a little deceptive as it curves it also seems to magnify, though not a lot.
One of the stops was the shark petting area! Yep you can pet a real shark. It is a big pool that several sharks are just constantly swimming in circles in and when they come by you can reach down and pet them. You are suppose to do it with your first two fingers pointing out and just touch them as they swim by. They do tell you not to splash in the water or try to pet them in front of their eyes. Interesting feel, kind of stiff swede leather texture. Some were probably as large as 3 feet. I believe they were Reef sharks or some such thing not the famous White Sharks that often make meals of arms and legs! Jordan couldn't wait to pet them and spent quite a bit of time doing so, Jessie on the other hand was quite a bit more hesitant but did finally do it and then we couldn't get her to stop.
There were also great displays of Penquins and otters. It is interesting to watch them and their actions. There were a couple of baby Penquins which is kind of funny because they are covered with what looks like fur and are all puffed up and as large as the adults! They just stand around and decide all of the sudden to dive into the water swim a while then back out. Funny to watch them waddle.
A week or so ago Janice and Dean came by to visit and I helped Dean install some stabilizers on their 5th wheel. We first met them last year at the Escapade and they are also part of the 05 Graduating class of Fulltimers. They just spent one night but we had a great time. After doing the work on the Rv we took them to Youngs Dairy for dinner although they bought. We ate and then ordered dessert of course. I had the Buckey which was chocolate with peanut butter mixed it topped with Hot fudge and a huge buckeye on top. WAY too much for one sitting! Well they took off the next morning in hopes of beating the incoming rain. They are now in Tennessee near Knoxville.
Tonight the moon was HUGE! Just coming over the horizon. Quite a sight and it is full on top of that!
Well that is a quick update on the latest, I will post some more soon. As this weekend is Tabitha's first birthday and we will be taking some pictures of hopefully a very messy little girl. :) Deanna's sister from Oklahoma is coming in this weekend also.
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