6 Aug 2010 - Mammoth Spring, Arkansas

I wasn't planning to leave early this morning as I didn't have a really long drive and wanted to time my arrival in Mammoth Spring to when my brother would get off work.  He surprised me with a call mid morning to ask where I was as he was going to take the afternoon off.  I got the newsletter mailed off and headed out.  It wasn't long before we were in Missouri.  I have to give them credit, their rolling, curvy roads are in excellent shape--not a pothole in sight.  Did I mention rolling and curvy, oh yes, and hilly, very hilly and two lane.  I went up and down so many times that I was wondered if anything would be in place after I arrived.  It was a beautiful drive though and traffic was minimal.  I crossed into Arkansas at Thayer, Missouri.

And then I got to the hill.  I had completely forgotten about The Hill although I have been there several times. Once committed, I had no choice but to do the climb.  I felt like I was in that children's book "The Little Engine That Could".  We chugged on up.  It wasn't a fast ascent but the F250 SuperDuty handled it with ease.  Now I know it can do anything!  Next challenge was going up the driveway, pulling into the turn off, and backing up by the house.  Whoo!  It was really great to see my youngest brother and his wife and mother-in-law.

My parents lived in Thayer, Missouri just across the border after I left home.  Tim actually spent most of his growing up years there and I visited many times.  We did some touring around the area over the next couple of days.  This is a beautiful area that some of you may want to visit.  Just take it easy on the hills!

A view from near the Mammoth Spring park.  

This water is really cold since it comes from deep below the ground; however, the air is really hot in August and very humid as well.

It was a great visit!

5 Aug 2010 - Illinois Overnight

After leaving Indianapolis we headed southwest towards Illinois and planned an early stop so we could head on into Arkansas the next day to visit my youngest brother.  

Here we are stopped in a rest area among the big boys--having a late lunch 

and taking advantage of a nice walk around the rest area.

We started looking for an RV park late in the afternoon and found one just south of Mt Vernon. 

This time we took full advantage of the swimming pool--well, I did anyway.  It was a great park with lots of shade trees and areas to walk in.  There was a small Jayco owners group GTG going on at the back so we got to see lots of different Jayco trailers and 5th wheels.  Apparently they met at an area park once a month so they all knew each other pretty well.  

Willy, Gretchen, and Harley had a big surprise as we walked around one side of the park over near the manager double-wide home.  There were chickens walking around that had apparently gotten loose from a nearby pen.  The fur-kids had never seen a chicken before and I don't think the chickens had ever seen dachshunds either so it was a stand-off on both sides.  These were all red hens and if there was a rooster, he was considerate enough not to wake me up the next morning.

This park had great Wifi which I used to full advantage.  Even though I was out traveling, I was still responsible for putting together a monthly newsletter for the chapter of a professional organization I have belonged to for years.  Ever had a thumb drive go belly up on you?  Happened to me here so I had to recreate the whole newsletter format from scratch.  I also worked on my distribution list so this all kept me busy pretty late.  The next morning, I got the newsletter sent out to everyone before I hit the road bound for Mammoth Spring, Arkansas.

3-4 Aug 2010 - Indiana Stops - Elkhart and Fishers

My next stop after bidding family goodbye in Port Huron, was Elkhart.  Elkhart is supposed to be the epicenture of the RV world but I think the population there may have lost sight of that.  I know that the RV industry was hard hit over the last few years but I had to ask about 6 people before I could find anyone that had any idea where there was an RV park.  I know--I should have found McDonald's and hauled out the Internet and done a google search but this was Elkhart.  I finally found the Elkhart Campground, a pretty large and decent place to stay.  Asking for a pull-through, I was sent off to what looked like a field that was only pull-through if no one parked in front of you.  Since the campground was less than half-full and there were plenty of much better sites that were easier to get in and out of and more convenient all the way around, I went back to the office and asked for a different site.  The roads in the new area were gravel and the site had a picnic table and was much better.

Willy, Gretchen, and Harley took me on a tour around the park.  They had the usual amenities but we really didn't get to try them out.  We did have several nice walks before bedtime.  There was storm that night but  we had A/C and none of the branches fell on the truck or RV so we were just fine.  The next morning, the staff was out cleaning them up.

Finding the RV Hall of Fame the next day was equally challenging.  They moved into a new building a couple of years ago and the first 5 people I asked either didn't know anything about it or thought it closed a few years ago.  This could partly explain why they are not getting the visitors they anticipated and need to survive.  If you are in the area with an RV rally or other group, you are fine.  Traveling alone--not so much in terms unless you have all the information before you arrive.  The RV Hall of Fame has parking areas specifically for RVs which was really nice.  I waited out another rainstorm and then headed in for the tour.  The most interesting part of the museum, at least for me, were the RV exhibits.  They have examples from very early RVs to more modern ones and they are laid out along a rambling roadway.  I really enjoyed it and recommend you allow plenty of time to browse.

Once we were on the road again, we let "Hillary" plot a course for Indianapolis, more specifically Fishers Indiana, home of my long-time friend Mary Beth Lech.  Mary Beth met me in a Walmart parking lot and we went off to dinner together.  It was not the greatest Walmart and didn't look like a good place to stay.  After dinner I followed Mary Beth across town to a Super Walmart close to her house.  Unfortunately there were no overnight camping signs posted.  I explained that it is the town rather than Walmart that won't allow parking so Mary Beth had another idea.  She led me just across the highway to a Super Meijers.  Turns out they were across a county line so when I went in and asked the manager about parking, he said sure--just park on the side of the lot and he would notify security to keep an eye out for us.

Mary Beth asked if I would stay long enough to go out for breakfast with her in the morning.  I also got to meet her cousin so we had another great visit.  It is always great to meet up with friends.

10 July 2010 - Arrival in Port Huron, Michigan

Today was a short drive on up to Port Huron.  The real challenge was yet to come.  The plan was to stay in my father-in-law's yard since I was there to visit family and help with clean up of his estate.  There it was--The Driveway.  My father-in-law has the narrowest driveway in the world, paved but only 8 feet wide, with a ditch on either side of the entrance.  Oh, did I mention the big mailbox at the end of the driveway?  Even Willy, Gretchen, and Harley knew they needed to keep a low profile while Mom negotiated that entrance.  I made it!  Once I made it into that driveway, I figure I can do just about anything. There was a small matter of a soft yard but my brother Mike handled that little issue and I was home free...at least for the next month.

There was another reason this was a great day...Steve and Helen got engaged!  I got to see the ring while I was there and knew it was going to happen any day but Steve wanted to wait until the right moment when they were in a special place they would both remember.

Several days later I drove back down to Detroit and picked my husband up at the airport.  He spent the next 2 1/2 weeks with us in the RV.  We were hooked up to water and electric.  The house electrical system is very interesting so using the A/C was not a chance I was willing to take.  It really didn't matter as the temperatures never reached the kind of heat we are used to in Texas so I didn't need anything more than a fan.  There were nights when I closed the windows and used a blanket.

While we never got as far as a garage sale to clean things out,  it was a great month spent with family on both sides since my brother is married to my husband's sister.

My husband's brothers and sister

My brother and his youngest grandson

My brother's wife (my husband's sister) and another grandson

My brother and my husband's youngest brother

My niece, her husband, and their youngest in our RV

Willy and Harley play with their newest friend

It was a great month.  Having your own "RV home" means you can visit with everyone without wearing out your welcome.  You can also relax, plan your own time, and have down time whenever you want it.

9 July 2010 - Overnight in Lima, Ohio

The next day was another great travel day.  We stopped at roadside parks and, I think I already mentioned it, but Willy Gretchen, and Harley are great travelers.  They like the songs on the radio if I like them and they don't mind at all if I sing along.  They can take naps anywhere and anytime.  They enjoy stops at roadside parks.  You do have to be a tad careful when you stop though as they are very enthusiastic about whatever they do so when you open that door, they are ready to get out so you better be ready with the leashes.

Just before supper time, I started thinking that it would be really nice to stop at a Cracker Barrel.  Sometimes they even have places you can spend the night.  So we kept our eyes open and a couple of hours later, we saw the sign.  Once we found the exit, we had to make a couple turns to get to the restaurant.  Up close it was easy to see that even a large car would be crowded in that particular parking lot.  The was a Sam's Club a block further on so I parked there on the far edge of their lot in a row behind about 5 other RVs, walked and fed the dogs, and headed over to Cracker Barrel.

Looked good to me.  What do you think?  It was much cooler since we were further north so it promised to be more comfortable than last night.  After a quick shower, I was ready for bed.  Hmmm! What is that noise?  It appears that I didn't have to worry about the store being closed and no security as there was a street sweeper cleaning the parking lot.  Oh, well--the ear plugs worked great.

8 July 2010 - Overnight in Dalton, GA

The plan was to be off this morning--no rush, not early, but on our way.  Just before I was ready to leave, I decided I should update the GPS since we had had it for two years and updates were in order.  Okay, I was having too much fun earlier in the week and forgot to do it.  I figured it might take 15 or 20 minutes.  lol.  Never, ever do this until you have plenty of spare time.  It took just over 3 hours to complete the update but since I was using "Hillary" to plot all my travel, it was probably a wise decision to wait it out.  Anyway, we were on our way by 12:30 and had no specific stopping points in mind when we left.

We traveled over some of the same ground we covered when we went up to the AFLAC Iron Girl Thiathlon so it was familiar.  The scenery was nice although we did hit rain and fog a couple of times in some of the higher elevations but lucked out when we stopped for a very late lunch.    It rained hard while we were eating lunch in the RV but we didn't get wet coming or going to the truck.

Later in the early evening we began looking for an RV park but didn't see anything along the way.  All of a sudden there was a Super Walmart sign off the road so we found the cut-off and headed in.  I went in, picked up a few items for supper, and asked the manager if it was okay to spend the night.  I was told "no problem, just make sure you are inside our parking lot and not out on the street or the local cops just might give you a ticket."  We had a walk around the parking lot after a late dinner and by then it was late enough to head on to bed.  It was a bit warm but not too bad with some windows open.  A bit later on a number of other RVs pulled in and one parked a bit too close when they were using a generator; however, I found a pair of ear plugs and with the three vigilant guard dogs on duty, we all had a good night.

2-7 July 2010 in Florida

This has been a great week.  The grandchildren were really excited to be here.  There is a park less than two blocks away from the house that has a playground and a beach.  The beach is on the bay rather than the ocean so it is only a little salty.  It nice and sandy and slopes gently out so it's a great place for the kids and we can just walk down there.  Harley had a swim there with the kids.  Gretchen and Willy opted to stay home and nap.

On the 4th of July, we walked down to one of the main roads about 4 blocks away and watched an old fashioned 4th of July parade complete with floats, fire engines, politicians, candy throwing, and bands.  It was hot but we all had fun anyway.  That night we walked down just past the park and out onto the bridge over the bay to see the fireworks.  We had a great view, didn't have to worry about parking, and had a short walk home.  Everyone was ready for bed by the time we got there.

We have also been down to St Andrews State Park, Panama City Beach and the mall so it has been a busy week.

It has been an absolutely great visit but I promised to head up to Michigan to help out with some family things   so I'll be off tomorrow.  The grandchildren are signed up for swimming lessons for the rest of the summer and I know they are going to be busy and have lots of fun.