Green2GoRV - Our Travel Journal

Another Grand-kid Fix

Friday, November 6, 2009

From Lufkin, Tx

Donna picked up Austin from school at noon yesterday.  The school dis-missed early on Thursday, and he has no school today.  His dad is out of town and this gives us a chance to spend a little time with him.  He will go to the office with Donna today, then probably come home early with me.

Yesterday was my mother's 89th birthday, so Austin, Donna, and I went to visit her at the assisted living center about mid-afternoon.  She was very glad to see Austin (and us too).  Austin figured out that when he is 50 she will be 130.  LOL

Wednesday was my regular check-up with my doctor, after having my blood work done the previous Wednesday.  I have really been working hard to lose a few pounds and get my 'sugar' down to a normal level.  At my last appointment, the Dr. really insisted that it was time for me to start an insulin regimen.  I really resisted, making big promises to get it under better control, and finally he relented.

Well,  IT WORKED!  My blood sugar was the lowest (lowerl that the goal) its ever been since he has been treating me for diabetes, probably about 12 or 13 years.  I had also lost 16 pounds in the 3 months since my last visit.  And, my blood pressure was 110 / 60, the best in years.

All other test were within normal levels.

As you can imagine, I was very proud of myself, left his office high-fiving his nurse and patting myself on the back. -:)

This week-end (Saturday) is opening day of deer season in Texas.  The judge will be cooking steaks at the hunting club tonight.  The ladies are not allowed on opening week-end, so I may go out for a great steak that the judge is so famous for. 

We are still in the leased home, enjoying the convenience of its location, although we have made an offer on a property.  From the counter offer it really looks like that making a deal will not happen.  We are just too far apart.

'till next time...

Friends, Food, and Fellowship

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

From Lufkin, Texas

We read on their Blog that Kathy and Chuck were at the Escapees park in Livingston for a few days.  So, after a few emails back and forth, and very little coercion, we convinced them to drive on over to Lufkin for some the famous Cafe Del Rio Mexican Food.

We agreed to meet at the restaurant at 6, and they were right on time, although their GPS threw them a curve ball.

It was really great to see Chuck and Kathy.  We last saw them at the Gypsy Journal Rally in Celina, Oh.  We first met them in March of '08 at a rally in Kerrville, Tx, but they feel like 'life long' friends.

 

 
A salute to great times.

 

Chuck demonstrates the proper way to slather a little melted butter and honey on a flour tortilla.  (Remember, Bob?)

We saved the one last tortilla just to give Bob & Molly a reason to remember just how much they like Cafe Del Rio.  I believe Bob is correctly quoted as saying 'that's the best Mexican Food I have ever had."

All too soon it was time to vacate the premises and return to our normal routines.  It was difficult to part as we hung around the parking lot for another 15 to 20 minutes.

We'll see ya down the road, Chuck and Kathy.

Time For Some Good Luck

Sunday, November 1, 2009

From Lufkin, Tx

After all the rains, Friday turned out to be a great sunny and warm day.  I went home about mid-afternoon to catch up on a few little things.  Donna showed up a few minute after 5, and asked if I was interested in heading over to Shreveport to visit the casino.

Okay, sure, why not.  We left by about 5:30 and were in the Casino shortly after 7:30.  Since our player cards were burned in the fire, we went upstairs to the Player Center.  The lines were long so I opted to go on back downstairs and hit the Let It Ride table, leaving Donna to get our cards, if they would let her get mine, too.

After only a few minutes she showed up with our cards, left mine with me, and headed off to find her 'dream machine'.  I played for about an hour managing to stay even or up a little.  The dealer was having problems with the machine that shuffles and records any significant pay-out.

Then I hit a flush, with a really good pay-off and the machine completely froze.  With several people trying to make it work, we waited for about 20 minutes.  They finally paid me my winnings about the time Donna walked up and showed me a ticket of her winnings - $900.  Guess she found her dream machine... -:)

They shut the game down, so we went into the restaurant for some dinner.  Very nice young lady was our server.  She had just finished her tour of duty with the Army and was in college (thanks, Uncle Sam) majoring in Accounting.

We went back to the casino, Donna back to her dream machine, me back to the Let It Ride table.. which was still closed.  Okay, so I am already ahead, no big deal.  I wandered around the area, watching some games, and putting a few quarters in the 'one-armed bandits'.  After a couple of hours, Donna called to see if I was ready to head home.  So we met in the Lobby, and now she announced that she is $1,900 winner.  Wow..  with my $100 remaining winnings, that made $2,000.  A great night at the casino.

After getting home about 2am, we got up late Saturday, and went to Pete's Place for some breakfast.  We did a few things at the motorhome, packed up some stuff, and then Donna headed to Bed Bath and Beyond for a few items.

It sure looks like the economy in Lufkin is not suffering at all... not like other parts of the country.  She said the store was packed with people, and they were buying.  And BBB does not sell the staples that everyone has to have, but mostly luxury items that are non-essential and can be foregone.

No specific plans for the rest of the week-end.  Guess we will just hang around and see what might materialize.  Hope everyone remembers to set the clocks back last night and also to change the smoke alarm batteries today.

'till next time.

 

 

Rain, Floods, and Sunshine

Friday, October 30, 2009

From Lufkin, Texas

Bad storms and rain were predicted for after mid-night on Wednesday night.  But, even by 5am the storms did not materialize Thursday morning.  However, by noon Thursday the rains came, and came, and came.  It seems at times to be raining at the rate of an inch in 15 minutes.  Then it would stop, just a drizzle, then it would come back.

Donna and I were looking at a piece of property Thursday afternoon about 7  miles northwest of town, mostly in the rain, but at least we had umbrellas.  As we drove back into town, the 'bottom fell out'.  We were in the Hummer, and it was raining so hard that I drove 30 to 35 mph all the way back.  Unbelievable.

Parts of Lufkin are notorious for being low lying and subject to flooding.  And flood it did.  Some street were closed, folks were evacuated from some apartments, and one group at a real estate office were evacuated by boat.

The front with all the rain continued to pass through Lufkin over night, but with mostly light rain, very little wind, and mostly just off and on drizzle and light rain.  By mid morning the clouds were disappearing, and by noon the sun was shining bright.  Wonderful, warm, sun!!

The week-end is forcast to be totally clear, sun shining, and low 70's..  just the type of fall we live for here in East Texas.

'till next time

Shopping, Dining, and Games

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

From Lufkin, Tx

Our plans were to leave early Friday morning and go to Houston for some shopping and visit with the grand-kids.  As we had lunch Thursday, we determined neither of us had anything pressing for the remainder of the day, so we decided to leave Thursday afternoon.

As we arrived in the Woodland's, we spotted a Pappadeux's restaurant and stopped for dinner.  Great food, as usual.  Donna had a Salmon dish and I had a stuffed snapper.

We decided to check in to a hotel, and just relax, read some blogs, and watch a little TV, and head out fairly early Friday morning.

On Friday, our main destination was a fairly new Factory Outlet Mall in northwest Houston near Cypress.  Donna had found out on the internet there was a Liz Clairborne outlet there so that was our destination.  Arriving a few minutes before 10, we had to wait for the store to open at 10.

 
The Liz Claiborne store.

Donna checking out a nice top.

We then started down the mall in the first of four sections, where most of the high end stores that Donna feels have quality stuff are located.  Other stores include The Loft, Ann Taylor, Jones of New York and Samsonite.

The Starbucks was located at the end of the first section, so I waited there as she hit those stores over the next hour or so.  Next we found another luggage store where I bought a rolling computer bag.  Donna had bought one the afternoon before at a Samsonite store near The Woodlands.

As I sat on a bench while she visited some more ladies store, our daughter-in-law came strolling up, shocked to see me.  They knew we were coming tomorrow, but not today.

After several more stores including Coldwater Creek and the Coach store, finally about 3:30 we headed back to the hotel, with a detour to Hooters for a bite of lunch / dinner.  Then back to the hotel, relaxing and off to bed for an early trip to the grandkids games.

Conner is glad to see his Nonna.

And his Kpoppa, even if the bright sun in hurting his eyes.

Courtney serving the ball, and doing a great job.

Conner going for the ball.

After the game we went back to their house, visited for a while, then lunch at Willie's, a great hamburger place not for from their home.  Since David and Kim were having friends over that night, we left for home after lunch to give them time to get ready for the party.

More updates coming soon.

Getting Settled In

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

From Home, Lufkin, Tx

We have been here in the house for over a week, and its feeling like home, a little bit.  The home is very nice, very well furnished, and has everything we need. 

The insurance company has committed to six months of temporary housing, and even have furnished a big 52" HD TV, similar to what we had.

We are continuing to work on the scope of the loss and have received most of our representative's values.

We are planning to go to Houston this coming Friday for some shopping to replace more of Donna's clothes, and maybe even a few things for me.

We will also get to attend Conner's soccer game and Courtney's volley ball game on Saturday.

More updates with pictures soon.

We Are No Longer Homeless

Friday, October 16, 2009

From Lufkin, Texas

After getting home, getting settled in the motorhome back in Camp Recovery, we spent most of the week-end getting caught up with friends and family.  Back in the office on Monday and catching up on a few things.

Even though we have been living quite comfortably in the motorhome for almost three months now, it's not quite the same as having a 'home' of sticks and bricks.  Donna would like to have a 'real' bath tub and I have kinda missed the Big HD TV with DVR.

So we contacted the insurance representative about finding a house to live in, and got there approval under our Additional Living Expense coverage.  As luck would have it we HAVE found a place.  Its even closer to Charlie's.  And, its also real close to our old home.  That makes it real easy to check on the property. 

Our yard man did a great job with the yard while we were gone, and will continue to do so.  Donna now has a lady that does housekeeping and maintenance chores for her company going through parts of the house and throwing away unusable stuff and storing in totes things that 'might' be salvaged.  It's doubtful that much will be salvagable, but Donna wants to try.

We are still no where close to an agreement with the insurance company, but we do have excellent representation, and I expect we will eventually reach a settlement that we are satisfied with.

Until we reach an agreement, we just don't know what our future holds.  We are doubtful of repairing the damage since we think the cost will far exceed the policy limits.

We may buy an existing home or we might buy some land and build something.  We have never built a new home in our 30 years of marriage, and so many folks say it is really stressful.  But, with the trials and tribulations during our marriage, I think we can handle just about anything.  We will see.

The place we have leased is a Longhorn ranch (we only have the house) owned by some folks we have known for many years.  They have another home nearby where they live and this home is fully furnished.  There is an RV spot with full hook-ups right behind the house, and we are hopeful that some of our friends will avail themselves and be our guest for a few days.  We are real easy to find and good access to a major highway.

Last Rally Day and Heading Home

Thursday, October 15, 2009

From Lufkin, Texas

The last time I posted was near the end of the Rally in Celina.  On Wednesday night the host and hostess, Nick and Ms. Terry hosted a Pizza Party for all the participants.  With over 200 folks to feed, I kinda expected it might take a while.  BUT, not the case.  Very well organized, several choices of pizza, and everybody had gotten their first two pieces within about 10 minutes.

 
After everyone had their first trip, then it was time to head back for more.  They even had a second delivery.

Our table, with Donna taking the picture.  I think Molly is really enjoying the pizza.

As I mentioned in my last post Wednesday was my birthday.  I had spent the entire day without any of my Rally 'friends' wishing me a Happy Birthday.  I was actually getting a little bit put-out.  Then they presented me with a card signed my everybody, with a dollar bill enclosed, and a 'rally' pin.

 
They didn't forget after all... :-)

Oh, I mentioned a pin, too.  Here it is.

Click on the picture to read the pin.

What a great bunch of folks.  We just don't get to see them often enough.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Thursday was the last full day of the Rally, with a going away breakfast on Friday morning.  We skipped the seminars this morning, and made arrangement to go to lunch with a few couples at Highmark's, a place we had not been.  Right before lunch Donna asked if I would like to go ahead and leave after we got back from lunch.  Ok with me.

We helped the Too Crazy Ladies get packed up, loaded up, and hooked up, since they were leaving for another Rally today.  We had a great lunch with Bob & Molly and Chuck & Kathy.

Back at the fairgrounds we got loaded and hooked up and after a few more hugs and handshakes we hit the road toward home.  We saw there was a huge line of thunderstorms moving east out of the Dallas area and probably would be in Ohio by Friday morning which would put us on the road in the rain if we waited until Friday to leave.

We left about 2pm, drove about 350 miles and stopped in a rest area near Salem, IL about 8pm, with lightning to our west and the front moving our way.  We got very little rain over night and next morning it was clear and sunny for our drive to Lufkin.

We left the rest area at 5:45 and arrived home at 5:55, with 12 hours and 10 minutes on the road and 730 or so miles behind us.  As most folks know, we share the driving, take naps, relax, and stay refreshed for our turn to drive.  We were not tired at all, and by 7 we were settled in the yard, and gone to Charlies to meet some friends.

I will do another post tonight to update our situation since we are back home.

Getting Educated At The Rally

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

From Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Oh.

Registration for the Rally started Monday with a big Welcome Meeting at 3pm and Door prizes at 7pm.  The seminars started Tuesday and will run through Thursday. 

The Rally is put on by Nick and Terry Russell, publishers of the Gypsy Journal and authors of numerous books and publications regarding the RV lifestyle.  It appears that the rally is quite well attended with about 125 rigs and about 250 people registered. 

The vendors area is well represented with lots of products to view and buy from cleaning cloths, to magnetic bracelets to cookware, to electrical stuff.

There is also a great list of presenters conducting seminars on a lot of subjects.  The Geeks on Tour are teaching classes on Picassa, Google Earth, Photo Story 3, and a Computer Boot Camp.

Other seminars include:

- Highway History and Back Road Mystery

- RV Weight Safety

-  Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

- Meandering Down the Highway

and at least 20 additional seminars.

After a few days of drizzling rain, the weather has been cloudy and cold.  Most days a high in the mid-60's and lows overnight in the high 40's and low 60's.  Tonight the low is predicted to be 34.  Hopefully our heaters won't fail us.

Our group has been going out to eat quite a bit.  We went back to Sunny Side last night, and a bunch of us went to The Willows, a little burger joint, family owned and operated since 1951 a couple of days ago.  The owner, Scott, is a great and fun guy.

More later..

Oh yeah.. today is also my birthday...

 

 

Pot Luck Breakfast, Then Wine and Cheese

Sunday, September 27, 2009

From Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Oh

What a great way to start the day (about 10ish).  Everybody contributed to a group breakfast feast for this warm and sunny morning.  I think we had about 20 or so folks in attendance.

Donna filling her plate.

Part of the group.

Donna and Molly posing for the camera.

Then in the afternoon (about 4ish), everybody contributed some wine and goodies for another get together prior to the rally.  Again we had a great participation and even a few new folks.

We sure had lots of wine, cheese, and other snacks.

A part of the group.

Since the rally starts tomorrow we may not have many more opportunities for everyone to get together.  The Pre-Rally Rally has really been great.  Donna and I have been here since Monday, with rest coming in mostly on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Almost a solid week of fun!!!

 

More Folks and Prime Rib

Saturday, September 26, 2009

From Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Oh.

Today we spent just hanging around the camp and watching a few more attendees arrive.  Donna and I did go to Wal-Mart to pick up a few more things, some for camping and some for the pot-luck breakfast Sunday morning,

Saturday night about 25 of us went to the Sunnyside Inn for dinner.  Their Saturday Night Special was a NY Strip or Prime Rib with a potato, salad, and shrimp cocktail.. all for $15.95.

Our waitress did a fantastic job of taking care of us, all by herself.  I didn't ask her name, but I did get a picture of her.

We also had a few new couples with our group tonight.

Red and Beth are vendors here at the Rally and friends of a lot of us.

Jerry and Glenna

Paul and Denise have been here for several days, but I am just now getting a picture of them.

Rich and Mary just arrived today.  We first met them at the rally in Sedalia.

Russ and Debbie are also vendors and just arrived today.

About 40 rigs have arrived so far and about 50 or so will come in on Sunday with a total of about 130 expected by Monday.

Tomorrow we are planning a 'pot luck' breakfast for all that wants to attend.

A Dutch Oven Feast

Friday, September 25, 2009

From Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Oh.

Today we spent most of the day just hanging around the camp.  Donna spent a lot of her time browning 10 lbs of hamburger meat for the two big pots of chili we are fixing for the group dinner tonight.

The guys in camp gathered up water hoses to run the 150 feet or so to the faucet and added water to the tanks of those that needed it.  About 2pm or so Bob and I went to Wal-Mart (of course) to buy a couple of pop-up canopies for the camp and got those set up.  They were really easy and quite large at 9 x 12.

Some of the folks are under one of them in the picture below.

Paul, Bob, and Chuck discussing the finer points of something.

  

The cooking pots (Dutch Oven) were set up inside another tent to keep them out of the drizzling rain we have been experiencing the last couple of days.

The bottom pots on the two stacks contain Donna's Chili and there are potatoes and two cakes in the other two.  The pan is the middle is where the coals were prepared to place on and under the Dutch Ovens.

 

Donna is checking her chili after it has been on the coals for a little over an hour.  Since we have never done this before, she was concerned that the chili would stick to the bottom of the Oven.  But the way the heat is applied keeps it from burning.  There were only 8 briquettes on the bottom and 17 on the top.  The top one heated the chili from the top and caused the sides to heat up also, cooking from all sides.  Donna was completely surprised there was no sticking.

Bob and Barb provided the expert knowledge and leadership in preparing this fantastic dinner.

While the cooking was going on and folks were gathering up The Geeks on Tour, Jim and Chris, dropped by.  They are attending the Rally and presenting several seminars on computer usage.

Another couple that I missed a picture of last night was Rick and Terry, shown below.

There still may be a couple of others that I will get eventually.

More tomorrow..

 

Hobo Stew

Thursday, September 24, 2009

From Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Oh.

We spent most of the day on Thursday just hanging around the camp and meeting some new folks as they arrived.  For lunch, Donna and I, along with Bob and Molly and Howie and Norah drove out around Lake Grand to a nice little restaurant called Sunny Side Inn.  We all opted for sandwiches, which were very good and quite large.

Back to the camp we starting prepping for the Hobo Stew planned for this evening.  Someone bought the meat, and the rest of us just contributed whatever was in the pantry or fridge that we needed to get rid of.

Bob volunteered the us of his big portable stove, his big stew pot, and all his gear but someone else would have to do the stirring.  Nobody stepped up, so Bob wound up doing the stirring anyway, with a few stirs from me.

The stew turned out really great and every one gathered around our 'patio' to enjoy the stew and the sides brought by various folks.

I promised to post some picture of our friends in attendance.  The following is not everyone, but I will get others later.

John furnished the meat.  His wife was ill and unable to attend.'

Dan and Dee

Bob and Barb 

Howie and Norah

Chuck and Kathy

Bob and Molly

There are more that I will get later.

Tomorrow night we are planning a Dutch Oven meal including Donna's Chili, some potatoes, chocolate cake, and other sides.

More later.

 

 

Rally Friends Are Arriving

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

From Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Oh

Tuesday morning Donna drove about 10 miles to another town where she had found a nail place to get her nails and toes done.  There seems be just something about a nail job that really puts her in a good mood.  Oh well, she definitely deserves it.

I just hung around the coach all morning till she returned, then we went back to Wal-Mart to get a few things.

Back to the coach we just hung out waiting on our friends to start arriving.  Bob and Molly were traveling from Elkhart along with Howie and Nora and they arrived sometime around 4.  A couple others came in earlier, and  several after Bob and Molly arrived.

We are all parked together (circled the wagons) and we started getting acquainted with the folks we hadn't yet met.  Below is a shot of our coach  on the left and Bob and Molly's on the right.

The area between our coaches has kinda become a gathering place for our group, having a little pot luck meal on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

I have been real lax on taking pictures and will make a real effort starting tomorrow.  I will also try to introduce all our new friends to my readers tomorrow also.

Happy Birthday David  ( I have said that 42 times now. lol )

 

Drizzling Rain

Monday, September 22, 2009

From Mercer County Fairgrounds, Celina, Oh

We woke up this morning to a slow drizzle of rain to contend with as we got disconnected and ready for travel.  Fortunately we did most of the 'stuff stowing' last night.

We left Scenic Acres RV Park a bit before 8 am, and made our way to the northwest to US 30 for most of the drive to the west.  This highway was almost up to Interstate standards.  Continued misting for almost the entire drive.

Arriving in Celina, we pulled into the new Wal-Mart Super Center right off the main highway shortly after 12.  And a real bonus was we now have Cell Service.. Yay!

As I have mentioned for the past week, we have not had access to our Datastorm and the satellite internet.  After several emails to the support people, I was just unable to get it to lock on.  Fortunately the park had good WiFi so we could keep up to date on things.

Our intention was to spend the night at Wal-Mart, call the Datastorm support line and see if I could get the satellite working again.  So, one of the first things I did was to run the dish up and see what happened.

HUH?  The sucker locked on the first time and we were back in business.

With that problem solved, we drove on out to the Fairgrounds to see about coming on in today.  Turns out that was not a problem, so we went back to Wal-Mart, got the coach, and headed to the Rally site.

We knocked on Nick and Terry's door to say hello, and find out where the group we are meeting will be parking.  Nick and Terry are the ones putting on the rally, and are great folks that we met first in Sedalia, Mo at the Escapees Rally last May.

We got set up with 30 amp power right next to us, but no sewer and the water faucet is about 150 feet away.  Fortunately, we have a full tank of fresh water, and just may can boondock for most of the time we are here.  There is a dump station near by just in case we need it.

This particular section will handle about 20+ rigs, and has only 1 water faucet for the entire section.  But I bet this bunch of RV'ers will figure it out.

After settling in, we did a little driving around.  Celina is a nice little small town of about 10,000 right on Lake Grand, a really nice lake.  Celina has several times been selected in the top 100 smalls towns in the USA in which to live.

We also made a trip to Wal-Mart for a few much needed supplies.  We were surprised at how un-crowded the store was.  Maybe it just because its Monday.

Since the rain had stopped, we decided to cook outside.  Donna put together a couple of hamburger steaks which I grilled, while she fixed some good side dishes.

We have really been trying to watch our diets while on this trip.  Because of my diabetes, and since my last lab work showed I was approaching the need for insulin, I have really tried to be very careful about sweets and carbs.  We have eaten a lot of salads, and I have stayed away from (mostly) potatoes of any kind.

Consequently, I have lost about 15 pounds since we left home.  Now if I can just keep it off for about 2 more weeks, my friends back home are gonna see a different Kpoppa.

We are expecting Bob and Molly to be here tomorrow afternoon, and really looking forward to seeing them again.

 

 

A Sit-Around Day

Sunday, September 20, 2009

From Scenic Hills RV Park, Berlin, Oh

We mostly just hung around the coach today, even spending a little time washing the front of the coach to get rid of a few bugs picked up on the way here. 

On Friday and Saturday, we did spend a little time driving in the country.  At one point we spotted a really great property with a brick house on a hill, and a super fine lake at the bottom of the hill.

Another interesting sight was this Amish man and his little boy harvesting corn.

It was interesting to compare the foregoing method of harvest with the following where they were using 100+ hp tractors and corn harvester.

As we left the park on Saturday morning, a local civic club was having a 'cow patty bingo'.  The squares are sold, the animals are walked around until a 'deposit' is made on a square.. then..  BINGO, a winner.

At a local nursery we spotted these fluffy blooms.  The look a little like a sun flower plant, but we weren't sure.  The owner said the were a sun flower, told us the name, but now we have both forgotten the name.

Tomorrow we will leave for Celina, Oh to attend the Gypsy Journal Rally starting on the 27th at the Fairgrounds.  We will go in early, meeting up with Bob and Molly and several other folks.

Just Being Tourists

Thursday, September 17, 2009

From Scenic Acres RV Park, Berlin, Oh

No real big hurry to get out and about this morning, but soon we were headed north of Berlin to a little town of Kidron.  Kidron may be know for a lot of things, but the major attraction for 'us tourist' is Lehman's Store.

Since 1955 this store has been the source of 'off the grid' living, first for the Amish, and now for anyone interested in the lifestyle.  Jay Lehman started the store while still a teenager and in the last 50 plus years it has become an extremely successful operation.  As I sat in their snack bar, I noticed Jay talking to a lady.

I would have loved to have met him, but I didn't want to interrupt and he left before I had the chance to introduce myself.

They still sell new wood burning stove that are still manufactured.

This lady was doing a demonstration of a hand turned 'butter churn'.  She had just started working on the cream when I took this picture, but about 30 minutes later she had about 2 pounds of real butter in the jar.

We bought a few items, one of which was a Dutch Oven with which I am going to learn 'camp cooking', hopefully making a Dutch Oven Cobbler.  We shall see just how successful i will be. -:)

Across the street from Lehman's there was a cattle auction going on, and this young Amish man was bringing a couple of head to sell at the auction.

 

His young son is waiting for his dad in the wagon.

While driving around we came up this family baling alfalfa hay.  The team, driven by the lady, is pulling a gasoline powered baler, which is in turn pulling the hay trailer where the man is stacking the hay. Notice the little boy riding with his mother, a very  typical scene.

We later came across these children walking home from their Amish school.

We then came upon a wedding celebration where the ladies were having their wedding lunch. The men eat first and were off together discussing whatever they discuss.

In Mt. Hope we also came across an Exotic Auction, the first day of a three day event, featuring all sorts of exotic animals. Today was the 'bird' auction, both exotic and domestic.  There were trailers filled with cages waiting to go through the ring for selling.

Later in the afternoon we did a little exploring near the park, and came upon another wedding party.  Although it was late in the afternoon, the guests were still celebrating and about to have a celebration supper.  Amish weddings, by tradition, always occur on Thursday, and in this area, most are in the spring or fall because of the mild weather.

No gifts are presented to the bride and groom at the wedding, but for the next several weeks or even months, the bride and groom visit in the home of each family to receive gifts and begin their relationship with the families as husband and wife.

I guess we will do more of the tourist thing tomorrow.  Maybe back to the exotic auction.

Bread, Butterflies, and Big Onions

Wednesday, September 16, 2009    

From Scenic Hills RV Park, Berlin, OH

We headed out to breakfast this morning at the Boyd and Wurtham restaurant in downtown Berlin, the same place we had dinner the other night.  The waitresses are mostly all Amish or Mennonite and are very attentive providing great service.

We then headed over to Sugarcreek to look around, stopping at a couple of places on the way.  One was a huge combination gift store, grocery store, and bulk food store, with an Amish Bakery in the store.  The selection of breads, cakes and other pastries was unbelievable.  Fortunately we were able to pass on all these high-carb selection.

Part of the breads

Part of the bulk food products.

As we were leaving we saw a couple of Amish ladies with 3 little kids in their buggy preparing to leave.  The weather was real cool this morning and they all bundled up pretty good.

The lady standing on the ground is arranging their purchase prior to un-hitching the horse and leaving.

On in to Sugarcreek we visited a really high end gift place that was literally packed with fancy gifts.

This butterfly display is typical of their offerings.

We then drove around the country side, visited another bulk food and gift store in Baltic, then continued touring the countryside.

A view of 3 amish farms.

In the countryside we realized we were driving on a old historic road, the very first 'state' highway in Ohio.

On our way back to Berlin we stopped at Hershburger's place to look at all the produce and baked goods they had.

Just look at the size of this onion.

And this cabbage.

Various peppers and the cabbages.

Back in Berlin, we visited a cheese factory and bought a selection of cheeses.  Sorry but didn't get any pictures there.

Then  we visited Sol's Palace, another gift store with some antiques.

At the grocery store next door there were probably 8 or 10 buggies of various style tied up to the hitching posts.

Some of the various types of buggies in the parking lot:

We also visited a furniture builder near Berlin and visited with the proprietor, who was Amish.  A really nice guy and he had some really high quality furniture.  And, considering the quality, the prices were fairly reasonable.

He took the time to point out some of the feature not found in mass produced pieces.  Everything was solid wood, and the most beautiful table top was curly maple and was 1 1/2 inches thick.  Absolutely top quality.

Back at the coach we had a light dinner and just settled in for the night.

A New Problem, and a Problem Solved

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

From Scenic Hills RV Park, Berlin, OH

Today was a really busy day for Donna, starting out by going to the Laundromat here at the park first thing this morning.  Shortly before noon, the owner stopped by the coach and said they had another site with 50 amp power become available for the remainder of our stay, and would we like to move.

We agreed to move, and did so fairly quickly.  The site has a small tree that I thought might be causing a problem with our satellite internet, but after moving forward and clearing the tree, we still could not connect.

And, since we don't have cell service, I can't call support to assistance.  I have had this problem before, and sometimes it solves itself, sometimes I have to call support.

Several attempts have failed.  The park does have good WiFi, so we will be using that for now.

I did, however, get the problem with the Canon camera solved.  After going to the Canon web site, and searching their support questions, I was able to reset the Communication Method on the camera, and it connected immediately.

After getting the laundry done, Donna started organizing the motorhome, mostly getting her new clothes organized and put away in the closet.  Things are really looking nice around the old 'home place'. -:)

About noon we drove about 8 miles to another town where we could get AT & T service in order to return a call to our buddy, RG.  We got caught up on the happenings around Lufkin and the Deer Camp.

Finally, about 4 we got out and did a little driving, stopping at the Guggisberg Cheese Factory.  We made a couple of small purchases, some to use, some for gifts.  (Yup, for you Charlie)

While driving around we ran across a farmer (not Amish) harvesting his corn.  The tractor pulled a machine that cut the entire corn stalk, ground it up, and blew it into a trailer.  From there the trailer was taken to a machine that put the contents into a long (200 to 300 feet) plastic bag for storage.

Tomorrow I expect we will do a lot of exploring and probably visit a lot of the stores and shops in the area.

 

A Move to Ohio

Monday, September 14, 2009

From Scenic Hills RV Park, Berlin, OH

We spent a good part of Sunday around the coach, and then did a little driving around.  We hoped to find a location where the Amish were holding their bi-weekly church service.  I took the big camera with the telephoto lens with us this time.  We did find a group, and used the telephoto lens to get a series of pictures of the horses and buggies.  However, with the new computer and Vista, I have been unable, so far, to download the pictures.  Not sure what the problem is but I will figure it out.

I did get a few other scenes however with the Sony Cyber Shot.

Tobacco drying in a barn.

Tobacco in the field awaiting harvesting.

We left Roamers Retreat about 8am, fueled up at a local truck stop, and headed toward the northwest and then west toward Berlin, Oh.  When we called for reservations, they could only accommodate us for 3 nights, so we are hopeful of a cancellation to allow us to stay longer.

After skirting around Harrisburg we got on I-76 headed in the direction of Pittsburg.  South of Pittsburg we turned west on I-70 toward Wheeling, WV.  We were in West Virginia for about 15 miles.

Both I-76 and I-70 were old and much below the standards we are accustomed to on an interstate.  I-76 is actually the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and in considerable dis-repair.  The toll fee for the 70 miles or so was $36.25, not so bad considering some of the tolls we have paid over the years.

At Wheeling we got on a US highway that I thought would be the best way to get to Berlin.  Boy was I wrong!!  Very narrow, curvy, and hilly for about 20 miles.  Donna again threatened to find an airport.  I guess future routes will have to be selected by, or at least approved by, my lovely bride.  -:)

Then to add insult to injury, we missed a detour, found the access ramp to stay on the US highway closed, and had to create our own detour adding several miles and minutes to our trip.

Upon arrival at the park, Mary, the owner informed us we could move to a different site after a couple of days, and stay thru Sunday, which we agreed to do, and paid the weekly rate of $145.

 We got set up then later drove into the town to have dinner at a local cafe, a neat place that we have eaten at before.  Food was good, but not outstanding.