July 6, 2019. We arrived at Green River RV Park in Vassalboro, Maine on June 30, set up and then went to Bill & Julie’s China house for dinner. We spent most days with them; having lunch out and dinner with them. We visited one museum, went for a couple of pontoon boat rides and one sail boat ride. Bill has a small skiff that seats four but just Bill, Jim & I went out the one day. July 4 Bill had a few of the neighbors over for dinner. We left early each night to be back at the trailer before sunset. The roads here are not lit and do not have good lines, so it’s hard to see.
Saturday we drove up to Bangor and had lunch with Maddy Hartford Stewart, who we have not seen for about 45 years. We knew Maddy from our Kent State days back in the early 1970s. We had an enjoyable lunch, talked a lot and then took a walk on the greenway that runs along the river. It was supposed to rain but luckily the rain held off until we were done with lunch and started on our way home.
On July 2 we went to the Maine State Museum in Augusta with Bill & Julie. They had some pretty neat exhibits, one talking about Maine’s shipbuilding and the other on Women’s Long Road to the vote.
The RV Park we are at is small with only a few loops around. I was able to find a road going to an old mobile home from the previous owner and let the dogs loose. There was a road going from there to the main road, but we just walked part way up and then back.
July 10, 2019. We stayed at Green Valley until 1pm on Sunday so Jim could watch the girl’s World Cup game, which they won against the Netherlands 2-0. So we got a very late start for our drive to Sandy Beach Resort in Contoocook, New Hampshire. This is an Encore Resort and we got a real nice site; very spacious and level. I paid for cable for our three days there. Our one visit out was to the NH Telephone Museum, which was very interesting. I found a trail to walk the dogs from B-5 site across a bridge to the next street over, then down a trail to an ATV trail. It was a nice, uneventful walk.
I kept studying the route through Vermont to our stop here in New York, and decided on heading north on I-89 and taking Route 4 through Vermont. What a nice drive that was. I was surprised at how many little towns we went through all the way. The towns were small and quaint. It was a beautiful state. I’m surprised that there are no Thousand Trails or Coast to Coast in the state at all.
Today we are at Saratoga Escape in Greenfield Center, New York until Sunday when we head west again, and still in New York.
July 14, 2019. We went to one museum while at Saratoga – The Bottle Museum. That was pretty interesting; the history of how bottles are formed and such. Tried going to another museum on Saturday, but there was a concert in town, the Saratoga Raceway, and it looked like a festival where we wanted to park for the museum. So, we just turned around and went back to the park. They had a nice trail that went around their lake as well as another trail that I found going out. It was nice to let the dogs loose on the trails.
Our next stop is Bass Lake Resort in Parish, New York. They stuck us in a back-in site with the electric box and water on the wrong side, so we had to get closer to it for the electric cord to reach. They claimed no FHU sites so we are in a W/E again. We changed the water filters in both outside and under the sink, and makes the water very good. Their water seems OK as well. They have a trail through the woods and out behind the storage is a large field with mowed areas.
Shopping is Monday and I have two museums to visit and then we leave on Thursday, as we make our way toward Cleveland.
July 19, 2019. Well, the two museums did not pan out as Hurricane Barry came up the Midwest and hit us for two days. On the day I wanted to see the Erie Canal museum in Syracuse it was blazing hot and I did not want to leave the dogs in the truck, especially after reading about the parking issue down there. And the other one was in Oswego and it rained all day so we did not go to either one.
Our stop at Faun Lake was in the middle of nowhere so we did not do any sightseeing there either. The laundry facilities were within walking distance and very reasonable, so I decided to wash the dogs’ blankets and bedding, as well as the couch cover, blankets and covers. There were also some very nice hiking trails through the woods around the park, which I enjoyed walking on.
July 22, 2019. We are now staying at Kenisee Lake Thousand Trails until the end of July when we will head to Chesterland, Ohio to visit with friends and family. My cousin Linda told me that my Aunt Marty is in hospice and has pancreatic cancer, so I especially want to visit with her. Linda, Loraine, and Aunt Marty made it to Columbus, Ohio last September for Cindy’s viewing, and she has been a favorite aunt of mine over the years.
A lot of rain is coming through today but we will still head to Ashtabula for our weekly Monday shopping. At least it will be gone today and we will have nice sunny weather for the rest of the week. We toured the Maritime Museum in Ashtabula. They had a display of a piece of beach glass that was over 200 lbs. It was amazing.
This park has a lot of annual residents taking up the sites with very few open for normal visitors. There are no hiking trails through the woods; there is no dog park even though they have a lot of open, grassy areas. So we just walk around the park and around Kenisee Lake itself. There are tons of Canada geese, which are a nuisance as they poop all over the place and walk all over the campground.
July 25, 2019. Today was a long day as we drove around Ashtabula County visiting the covered bridges. There are a lot of covered bridges in this county; in fact, that is what it is known for. We stopped in Conneaut for lunch and then headed back to the campground. In all, we hit roughly 13 covered bridges.
July 27, 2019. Jim’s birthday – he caught up with me again! 67 years old. He is doing OK; hip hurts occasionally so he has not been riding his trike as much as he should. We are going to lunch at a winery/restaurant which also has a brewery. Then I think hit a distillery in the area.
A couple of days ago we did the covered bridge tour. Ashtabula County has about 19 covered bridges in two different sections, and we did one tour.
August 1, 2019. July 30 we left Kenisee Lakes and drove one hour west to Maywood Community, a 55 and older mobile home park. It does not feel like one though, I would consider these houses more manufactured houses instead. It’s very well kept; houses are very nice and the yards are kept mowed with nice flower gardens. There is a pond where I can take the dogs to run a little bit. There are 8 RV sites, which are very nice themselves. FHU with gravel drive and a small concrete patio with small grassy area. Very private, and reasonable cost.
So far we have not done anything here. Arrived Tuesday; Wednesday morning I went and did the laundry, and then we just hung around the rest of the day. Today we are going to Jim’s cousin’s house to visit and for dinner. This cousin is Aunt Martha (his mother’s sister) & Uncle John’s son. Friday I made us reservations on the Goodtime III, then Pat’s house for dinner. Gary Jun said he would come over Saturday and play tour guide, which is kind of nice since I don’t have to do the driving.
My cousin Linda is trying to get a get together for Sunday, but I don’t know if that will occur as her mother (my Aunt Marty) just passed away last week and it’s been pretty hectic for them.
August 2, 2019. Friday we went on the Goodtime III, a two-hour cruise that runs up Lake Erie a little ways and then up the Cuyahoga River. The Captain narrates on the surrounding area and gives a history of the Flats. Rushing home, I walked the dogs and fed them, then we headed to Pat’s house for dinner. Yeh, Friday night in rush hour traffic. But we had a nice time visiting. Of course, Dennis was there and Kathy and Dave also came over to visit.
August 3, 2019. Saturday Jim’s classmate Gary Jun from Chanel came over and played tour guide on a trip into Cleveland. Our first stop was Lakeview Cemetery where we toured Wade Chapel, and then went over to Garfield’s Memorial. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public at that time due to renovation, but I was able to take some pictures at an information booth next to it. After that we drove down Mayfield Road into downtown Cleveland and parked to walk around. We went into The Arcade, and then 5th Street Arcade. We also walked around downtown to the Square where the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was. It was open to the public so we went inside to look around.
After that we drove across the Hope Memorial Bridge, which Gary said is named after Bob Hope’s father, who carved the statutes that sit on each side of the bridge. The bridge separates East Cleveland from West Cleveland. Gary took us to Tremont, a very ethnic part of West Cleveland and a stop at the house featured in A Christmas Story, about Ralphie and his family. Not one of my favorite movies, but it was interesting looking around the gift shop. We did not take the tour though.
August 4, 2019. Linda was able to get a Cousin reunion together and we all met at the Winking Lizard in Independence, Ohio Sunday afternoon. Practically all of my cousins showed up, along with their spouses. It was a wonderful time and I am really happy that they made an effort to join us. Even my brother Bill rode his motorcycle up from Columbus to join us. The only ones that did not come were Larry & Cathy and his sister MaryAnn. They are Uncle Ben’s kids, and the oldest. Also Ed did not come; Debbie, and my brother Mike. Aunt Charlotte is the only aunt/mom left; Aunt Marty just passed a week before. Aunt Charlotte also came to the get together; she looks really good for her age.
August 6, 2019. Monday is shopping day, but we took a side trip to Shoot Point Blank in Mentor. They rent out guns and Jim wanted to try a Sig Sauer P365, so we were able to shoot that one and an XL, which is their newer model. It’s an automatic, and one that is easier to rack than other automatics I have tried. One day we’ll get one; they are $500 and that a bit too much money right now.
The stock market has been taking a dive, in part due to Trump’s war on tariffs with China.
Also, we put the Colorado property on the market through Zillow’s for sale by owner. There have been a lot of “looks” and some “saves” but we have not gotten any calls yet.
August 9, 2019. From Chesterland, we drove down to Wapakoneta, Ohio, which is home to Neil Armstrong, the first man to step onto the moon. When we arrived in the city, Jack mentioned that an old friend from Kent days lives in the city, Tim Lea. Jack had an old phone number which turned out to be still good, so Jim called Tim and they had a nice chat.
On August 7 Tim called to say he was in the area and came over to visit. I don’t believe I ever met him at Kent, but it was real nice talking with him and we all got along real well. We were talking about things to see in the area so I got out my sheet to ask him about a particular site, which turned out to be the one thing he said to definitely see. He said he knew the guy who put together the Temple of Tolerance. It is all in his back yard and to see it, you just walk up his driveway or go through a gate in one of the alleys around the yard. It is a jumble of rocks, boulders and iconic statutes strewn around and through paths to the main area in the back yard.
Since Tim said he knew the guy, I suggested we take a trip over to it, as it was only about a mile from the campground. So we drove there and spent a couple of hours walking around and talking with a number of other people walking around. Jim Bowsher was there in the morning, but when we arrived he had already left for the afternoon.
Thursday we went to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum to take a tour. That was nice as well, but is not as big as the NASA Space Center in Houston or Kennedy Space Center in Florida, both of which we have seen. (Links are here if you want to jump to those blog sites.)
August 10, 2019. Saturday we went to New Bremen to visit the Bicycle Museum of America. That was a really great museum. The young lady at the desk was very knowledgeable about the bicycles and the museum itself. She is a history major and will get a masters in museum antiquities. We also saw a short film with period actors riding the crazy looking bicycles with the huge front wheel and small rear wheel. I took a bunch of pictures and of course did a blog on the museum. Upstairs they had the authentic bikes of Robin Williams and Pee Wee Herman as well. Also they had a foot pedal bike which Jim and I rode in and got pictures in. There was another couple there who also took a video of us in the pedal car. That was a lot of fun.
August 13, 2019. Sunday the 11th we drove to Delphos to see the Canal Museum but it was closed. It was supposed to be open from 1-3, but it was locked tight with no notice or anything. That was very disappointing. But we went around the corner and had some ice cream.
Tuesday we were supposed to leave and head to Indiana but it had rained the night before and was still drizzling throughout the day. Also, I talked to the ranger at the park in Indiana and he said it was rainy there and the ground soft, so we decided to stay in Ohio an extra day and head out on Wednesday.
August 18, 2019. We drove to Hidden Diamonds City Park in Albion, Indiana on August 14. What a great little park. There was only one other trailer there and they kept to themselves. There are only about 5 sites there, and we took one with a nice big yard, grassy with picnic table, grill and fire pit. There was a hiking trail around the park with another walking trail they mowed around the soybean field, making it around 2 miles total. It was really great because I was able to let the dogs loose while walking around the soybean field.
We found some museums to visit in the area. We drove out to the middle of nowhere and found the Windmill Museum of Mid-America. The guy has a ton of different types of windmills and inside a description of the different windmills and what they were used for.
We met up with Jeff Brookbank while there. One day we drove up to the RV Hall of Fame Museum and the next day toured the local Jail Museum and then drove to Jeff’s house and took a boat ride on his lake.
We left Albion on Monday the 19th to head to Plymouth, Indiana where we stayed at a Yogi Bear Jellystone Park, only because it was a PA and it cost $20. We came to visit Marilyn and we got to visit a few days while there. It was wonderful seeing her again as we have not seen each other since 2012 when we were passing through from Minnesota to Ohio, then Kentucky for our job at Amazon.
August 21, 2019. A couple of years ago when we were out west, I think Utah, I dropped my phone and it hit just right and cracked the glass. I was able to patch it up with Captain Tulley’s crack cure and some glue. I just paid off the phone this past payment to Verizon and now the screen cracked again in one spot where the glass broke away, causing the phone to go haywire. It was supposed to storm Wednesday so we drove to the local Verizon store to get me a new phone. We decided to take our old phones to recycle, but one of them we were able to activate and me use it instead of spending $600 on a new phone. This was one of Jim’s old phones, one which he really liked. Oh well.
It took me all day to download the apps I use, but first I got my old phone up and was able to write down all the apps I use.
August 22, 2019. We drove up to the Studebaker Museum in South Bend. That was a great museum and we enjoyed looking at all their old cars. We then stopped at Marilyn’s on the way home; Deven and Michelle were there visiting and we were also able to meet her great-granddaughter Ellie, who is Deven’s daughter. I was glad we were able to meet them again. We got some pictures of us and stayed for a little bit.
August 23, 2019. Friday we headed off again, this time south to Horseshoe Lakes Thousand Trails in Clinton, Indiana. Long drive; over three hours and we were tired by the time we got here. It’s a pretty big park with lots of hiking trails through the woods.
I had ordered a glass screen protector and a phone cover, which I put on the phone Friday night. Hopefully the glass screen protector will protect the cracked screen from any more damage.
August 28, 2019. We chilled at Horseshoe Lakes for a few days and on Wednesday headed south to Evansville, Indiana to Burdette City Park. It’s another nice park run by the city, but more expensive than the last one we were at. This park has quite a few more sites plus some are FHU. They also have a couple who helps run the campground. We are only spending the night here and tomorrow we are off to a campground near Mammoth Cave National Park.
August 31, 2019. We are now at Diamond Caverns Thousand Trails through Labor Day Weekend. We were going to go to the Corvette Museum but they are celebrating its 25th anniversary and there were about 10,000 people and corvettes there, so we did not go, and instead went to the Historic Railpark and Train Museum.
I wanted to go to more museums but Friday night I was setting my clock and Jim was on the phone with Josh. I heard a noise and thought it was my clock but then I went outside to check and there was water spewing out all over the trailer; I shut off the water and went back in to tell Jim we had a problem. Jim immediately took my bench apart and discovered that the clip holding the water pump together broke again and that was where the water was coming from. Luckily we had another clip that Jim put on and that stopped the water flow. But everything was wet – the floor in the bathroom was sopping and in the morning I realized that the dog’s bed and floor under the kitchen table was wet. Fan is running under the table to dry the carpeting. Saturday we dried everything out.
Looking under the trailer I saw that the corregated panel (called coroplast) that covers the tanks had half fallen down so Saturday I unscrewed the rest of it, as well as all the screws so we could dry out the panel to replace it.
I then also discovered the paneling under the front of the trailer where I did not put any of the fiberglass paneling was coming apart, so I will have to screw that back up and put some eternabond on the seal. Eventually I will have to put a fiberglass panel up there.
September 3, 2019. Sunday after the panel dried out we put Gorilla Tape all around the perimeter of the panel, then brought it out and predrilled the screws onto it with the cross bar. Unfortunately, that was more work than we needed to do as we put it too small and I had to unscrew most of it to get it to fit. Had to put braces up to hold the panel up while I tried to screw it back in place. The rear part went up good but trying to get it to fit good between the wheels and up toward the middle of the trailer there is still quite a bow in the panel. One side the holes seemed to be stripped and do not hold good so I put tape over them. I would like to get a long cross bar and screw it across where the big bow it. Just don’t want it coming loose as we bounce along the road.
Monday we did our weekly shopping and after lunch took a drive into Mammoth Cave National Park. We did not take a tour but walked through the Visitor’s Center where I took a bunch of pictures. I think I will just use those pictures and stories for my blog.
Also saw a hummer coming to check out our American Flag so we put out some food ~ now we have about 5-6 fighting for the food. It’s great watching them.
Sept. 4, 2019. Went to Lowes and bought another aluminum bar to put up under the trailer. Used one of the screws already there and then Jim drilled another hole for the second screw. This took out most of the bubble. However, while under the trailer I pushed on the front panel and a bunch of water came rushing out of it and we think went into the rear panel.
Sept. 5, 2019. On our way out of Diamond Caverns we noticed a bunch of water coming out of the rear panel, which hopefully drained it so there is no more water in the panel. Still wonder if we should take some screws out or drill holes so water can escape.
Sept. 6, 2019. Left Diamond Caverns on Sept. 5 headed to Natchez Trace Thousand Trails. That is one huge park. We drove to the last section around the lake; they directed us there for the FHU sites. Drove around looking at them but did not like what they looked like. They were narrow, on an angle and some just had drop offs. We ended up in a W/E site down a little hill. There was virtually no internet service, and no OTA TV stations to speak of. We had the TV and AC going and the breaker popped; then I turned on the hot water heater and the breaker blew again. So as soon as the hot water heated up, I turned it off so we both could shower and wash hair. We decided by the next day to leave and head to Cherokee Landing instead of staying at Natchez Trace.
The site we got at Cherokee Landing is a nice flat gravel site with a grassy area; FHU and pretty good water quality and good electric. Got a bunch of TV stations from Memphis; Verizon coverage 2-3 bars at 4G, which we are happy with.
Met a young lady named Ryley, who came and introduced herself while I was setting up. She is camped nearby with her parents. She has been coming here for about 10 years as they live close by. She mentioned that the campground is haunted as it is built on a Civil War cemetery. I don’t know if they moved any of the stone, but there is one gravestone right next to our site from the 1800s. She also said that one person haunts by the lake.
September 9, 2019. Staying here until September 17, which I am glad about as my legs got eaten up by chiggers when we were at Diamond Caverns and they still itch. Then Jim came down with a sore throat, which turned into a cold and of course, he gave it to me. So we both feel miserable and it’s hard to sleep at night.
Bill sent a message about a 2003 Ford Excursion diesel, white with 111,000 miles on it, asking $19,000 firm they said. Only thing is, it’s in Merritt Island, on the east coast of Florida. We are over 800 miles from there. Yes, it sounds like a good buy, but then what would we do with our Excursion?
September 10, 2019. Got in touch with the Excursion owners and were even going to get a friend of Bill’s to go look at it for us. Jim was all ready to buy it and was planning on how to go about it. But then he called the owner and actually talked to them his time and found out that the truck is only 2WD. The ad had said it was 4WD, so he was quite disappointed to find out it was 2WD. It was exactly what we will look for if and when we need to replace our Excursion. Oh well.
Still feeling crummy and are just hanging in the trailer and outside a little bit, but just before lunch as the evening sun goes down shining straight under the awning making it miserable to sit outside. My morning walks are long as it is nice and cool but the afternoon is only about a half hour, just long enough for the dogs to do their business and get us back to the trailer. Actually, I don’t think they want to keep walking either and they are panting pretty hard after the half hour.
September 18, 2019. I finally went to visit the National Bird Dog Museum by myself as Jim was not feeling good enough to go, and he wanted to stay home with the dogs. It is just too hot to take them and leave them in the truck. The museum was pretty interesting; it houses pictures and paintings of hundreds of field dogs, national champions dating back to the late 1800s.
Besides the ants that we had to deal with at Cherokee Landing, it was nice place to stay while we recouped from our colds. The afternoon sun, however, was unbearable to be outside, so we spent the afternoon in the trailer trying to stay cool.
We ended up leaving on the 17th after I had to search again for a place to stay. The first place I wanted to stay never called me back, so I had to find somewhere else to spend the night. Finally picked Lower White River in Hazen, AR along I-40 toward Little Rock.
Sept. 27, 2019. After leaving Lower White River we drove to Hope, Arkansas and stayed at the county park for two nights. We ended up in the permanent section with FHU because where we wanted to stay did not have any water. One of their permanent residents had just left so they had a site open, which we were able to stay at for the two nights.
On the day we were supposed to leave the storm that hit Houston came up into Arkansas. Luckily we did not get a total washout and by mid-morning it had cleared up enough for us to leave.
On Sept. 20 we drove to Lake Tawakoni Thousand Trails in Point, Texas. We have never been to this TT before and I wanted to check it out. It’s big like many of the TT, and the roads are awful as well. There are W/E sites and FHU sites as well. Driving around there are a lot of sites in the trees and shade, with gravel and no grass, but I wanted some grass for the dogs. We found a FHU site in the A section with no one on either side of us. We have a paved pad for the trailer, picnic table and a grassy area for the dogs. We are not completely in the shade, but for the most part we have more shade than sun. It’s a nice site; I would stay in it again if we ever come back this way.
Another reason we stopped here is because Daniel & Malinda who we worked with at Yogi Bear Jellystone are working at a campground close by. They came over to visit last Saturday and we hope to get together with them again before we have to leave next Saturday. Malinda manages the park and Daniel went back into consulting, so he is gone about 3-4 days every week.
While here we went to visit the Audie Murphy/Cotton Museum in Greenville. We learned about the people living in the area, cotton production and then the museum had displays and information on the various wars, highlighting Audie Murphy who was born and raised not far from Greenville.
Our next visit was to the No. 1 British Flying Training School in Terrell. Never knew that during WWII the British airman came over to the U.S. to learn to fly. There were about 5 different schools in the U.S. that taught the Brits to fly, which was set up by the Lend Lease Act. It was very interesting and we had a good talk with the people that run the museum.
Sept. 28, 2019. We decided to head out and do some more sightseeing today before the heat of the day settled on us, so we were able to take the dogs with us. Going out in the afternoon is so hot that we have to leave them home in the A/C. So this morning we headed to The Salt Palace Museum in Grand Saline. Did not know what to expect there, and upon arriving were a little taken back to find it a small one room visitor center. But they had lots of pictures and displays about salt and the Morton Salt Girl. They also had a short film about the salt dome under the city and how much salt they mine to supply the United States.
Back to Daily Journal 2019
Saturday we drove up to Bangor and had lunch with Maddy Hartford Stewart, who we have not seen for about 45 years. We knew Maddy from our Kent State days back in the early 1970s. We had an enjoyable lunch, talked a lot and then took a walk on the greenway that runs along the river. It was supposed to rain but luckily the rain held off until we were done with lunch and started on our way home.
On July 2 we went to the Maine State Museum in Augusta with Bill & Julie. They had some pretty neat exhibits, one talking about Maine’s shipbuilding and the other on Women’s Long Road to the vote.
The RV Park we are at is small with only a few loops around. I was able to find a road going to an old mobile home from the previous owner and let the dogs loose. There was a road going from there to the main road, but we just walked part way up and then back.
July 10, 2019. We stayed at Green Valley until 1pm on Sunday so Jim could watch the girl’s World Cup game, which they won against the Netherlands 2-0. So we got a very late start for our drive to Sandy Beach Resort in Contoocook, New Hampshire. This is an Encore Resort and we got a real nice site; very spacious and level. I paid for cable for our three days there. Our one visit out was to the NH Telephone Museum, which was very interesting. I found a trail to walk the dogs from B-5 site across a bridge to the next street over, then down a trail to an ATV trail. It was a nice, uneventful walk.
I kept studying the route through Vermont to our stop here in New York, and decided on heading north on I-89 and taking Route 4 through Vermont. What a nice drive that was. I was surprised at how many little towns we went through all the way. The towns were small and quaint. It was a beautiful state. I’m surprised that there are no Thousand Trails or Coast to Coast in the state at all.
Today we are at Saratoga Escape in Greenfield Center, New York until Sunday when we head west again, and still in New York.
July 14, 2019. We went to one museum while at Saratoga – The Bottle Museum. That was pretty interesting; the history of how bottles are formed and such. Tried going to another museum on Saturday, but there was a concert in town, the Saratoga Raceway, and it looked like a festival where we wanted to park for the museum. So, we just turned around and went back to the park. They had a nice trail that went around their lake as well as another trail that I found going out. It was nice to let the dogs loose on the trails.
Our next stop is Bass Lake Resort in Parish, New York. They stuck us in a back-in site with the electric box and water on the wrong side, so we had to get closer to it for the electric cord to reach. They claimed no FHU sites so we are in a W/E again. We changed the water filters in both outside and under the sink, and makes the water very good. Their water seems OK as well. They have a trail through the woods and out behind the storage is a large field with mowed areas.
Shopping is Monday and I have two museums to visit and then we leave on Thursday, as we make our way toward Cleveland.
July 19, 2019. Well, the two museums did not pan out as Hurricane Barry came up the Midwest and hit us for two days. On the day I wanted to see the Erie Canal museum in Syracuse it was blazing hot and I did not want to leave the dogs in the truck, especially after reading about the parking issue down there. And the other one was in Oswego and it rained all day so we did not go to either one.
Our stop at Faun Lake was in the middle of nowhere so we did not do any sightseeing there either. The laundry facilities were within walking distance and very reasonable, so I decided to wash the dogs’ blankets and bedding, as well as the couch cover, blankets and covers. There were also some very nice hiking trails through the woods around the park, which I enjoyed walking on.
July 22, 2019. We are now staying at Kenisee Lake Thousand Trails until the end of July when we will head to Chesterland, Ohio to visit with friends and family. My cousin Linda told me that my Aunt Marty is in hospice and has pancreatic cancer, so I especially want to visit with her. Linda, Loraine, and Aunt Marty made it to Columbus, Ohio last September for Cindy’s viewing, and she has been a favorite aunt of mine over the years.
A lot of rain is coming through today but we will still head to Ashtabula for our weekly Monday shopping. At least it will be gone today and we will have nice sunny weather for the rest of the week. We toured the Maritime Museum in Ashtabula. They had a display of a piece of beach glass that was over 200 lbs. It was amazing.
This park has a lot of annual residents taking up the sites with very few open for normal visitors. There are no hiking trails through the woods; there is no dog park even though they have a lot of open, grassy areas. So we just walk around the park and around Kenisee Lake itself. There are tons of Canada geese, which are a nuisance as they poop all over the place and walk all over the campground.
July 25, 2019. Today was a long day as we drove around Ashtabula County visiting the covered bridges. There are a lot of covered bridges in this county; in fact, that is what it is known for. We stopped in Conneaut for lunch and then headed back to the campground. In all, we hit roughly 13 covered bridges.
July 27, 2019. Jim’s birthday – he caught up with me again! 67 years old. He is doing OK; hip hurts occasionally so he has not been riding his trike as much as he should. We are going to lunch at a winery/restaurant which also has a brewery. Then I think hit a distillery in the area.
A couple of days ago we did the covered bridge tour. Ashtabula County has about 19 covered bridges in two different sections, and we did one tour.
August 1, 2019. July 30 we left Kenisee Lakes and drove one hour west to Maywood Community, a 55 and older mobile home park. It does not feel like one though, I would consider these houses more manufactured houses instead. It’s very well kept; houses are very nice and the yards are kept mowed with nice flower gardens. There is a pond where I can take the dogs to run a little bit. There are 8 RV sites, which are very nice themselves. FHU with gravel drive and a small concrete patio with small grassy area. Very private, and reasonable cost.
So far we have not done anything here. Arrived Tuesday; Wednesday morning I went and did the laundry, and then we just hung around the rest of the day. Today we are going to Jim’s cousin’s house to visit and for dinner. This cousin is Aunt Martha (his mother’s sister) & Uncle John’s son. Friday I made us reservations on the Goodtime III, then Pat’s house for dinner. Gary Jun said he would come over Saturday and play tour guide, which is kind of nice since I don’t have to do the driving.
My cousin Linda is trying to get a get together for Sunday, but I don’t know if that will occur as her mother (my Aunt Marty) just passed away last week and it’s been pretty hectic for them.
August 2, 2019. Friday we went on the Goodtime III, a two-hour cruise that runs up Lake Erie a little ways and then up the Cuyahoga River. The Captain narrates on the surrounding area and gives a history of the Flats. Rushing home, I walked the dogs and fed them, then we headed to Pat’s house for dinner. Yeh, Friday night in rush hour traffic. But we had a nice time visiting. Of course, Dennis was there and Kathy and Dave also came over to visit.
August 3, 2019. Saturday Jim’s classmate Gary Jun from Chanel came over and played tour guide on a trip into Cleveland. Our first stop was Lakeview Cemetery where we toured Wade Chapel, and then went over to Garfield’s Memorial. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public at that time due to renovation, but I was able to take some pictures at an information booth next to it. After that we drove down Mayfield Road into downtown Cleveland and parked to walk around. We went into The Arcade, and then 5th Street Arcade. We also walked around downtown to the Square where the Soldiers and Sailors Monument was. It was open to the public so we went inside to look around.
After that we drove across the Hope Memorial Bridge, which Gary said is named after Bob Hope’s father, who carved the statutes that sit on each side of the bridge. The bridge separates East Cleveland from West Cleveland. Gary took us to Tremont, a very ethnic part of West Cleveland and a stop at the house featured in A Christmas Story, about Ralphie and his family. Not one of my favorite movies, but it was interesting looking around the gift shop. We did not take the tour though.
August 4, 2019. Linda was able to get a Cousin reunion together and we all met at the Winking Lizard in Independence, Ohio Sunday afternoon. Practically all of my cousins showed up, along with their spouses. It was a wonderful time and I am really happy that they made an effort to join us. Even my brother Bill rode his motorcycle up from Columbus to join us. The only ones that did not come were Larry & Cathy and his sister MaryAnn. They are Uncle Ben’s kids, and the oldest. Also Ed did not come; Debbie, and my brother Mike. Aunt Charlotte is the only aunt/mom left; Aunt Marty just passed a week before. Aunt Charlotte also came to the get together; she looks really good for her age.
August 6, 2019. Monday is shopping day, but we took a side trip to Shoot Point Blank in Mentor. They rent out guns and Jim wanted to try a Sig Sauer P365, so we were able to shoot that one and an XL, which is their newer model. It’s an automatic, and one that is easier to rack than other automatics I have tried. One day we’ll get one; they are $500 and that a bit too much money right now.
The stock market has been taking a dive, in part due to Trump’s war on tariffs with China.
Also, we put the Colorado property on the market through Zillow’s for sale by owner. There have been a lot of “looks” and some “saves” but we have not gotten any calls yet.
August 9, 2019. From Chesterland, we drove down to Wapakoneta, Ohio, which is home to Neil Armstrong, the first man to step onto the moon. When we arrived in the city, Jack mentioned that an old friend from Kent days lives in the city, Tim Lea. Jack had an old phone number which turned out to be still good, so Jim called Tim and they had a nice chat.
On August 7 Tim called to say he was in the area and came over to visit. I don’t believe I ever met him at Kent, but it was real nice talking with him and we all got along real well. We were talking about things to see in the area so I got out my sheet to ask him about a particular site, which turned out to be the one thing he said to definitely see. He said he knew the guy who put together the Temple of Tolerance. It is all in his back yard and to see it, you just walk up his driveway or go through a gate in one of the alleys around the yard. It is a jumble of rocks, boulders and iconic statutes strewn around and through paths to the main area in the back yard.
Since Tim said he knew the guy, I suggested we take a trip over to it, as it was only about a mile from the campground. So we drove there and spent a couple of hours walking around and talking with a number of other people walking around. Jim Bowsher was there in the morning, but when we arrived he had already left for the afternoon.
Thursday we went to the Armstrong Air & Space Museum to take a tour. That was nice as well, but is not as big as the NASA Space Center in Houston or Kennedy Space Center in Florida, both of which we have seen. (Links are here if you want to jump to those blog sites.)
August 10, 2019. Saturday we went to New Bremen to visit the Bicycle Museum of America. That was a really great museum. The young lady at the desk was very knowledgeable about the bicycles and the museum itself. She is a history major and will get a masters in museum antiquities. We also saw a short film with period actors riding the crazy looking bicycles with the huge front wheel and small rear wheel. I took a bunch of pictures and of course did a blog on the museum. Upstairs they had the authentic bikes of Robin Williams and Pee Wee Herman as well. Also they had a foot pedal bike which Jim and I rode in and got pictures in. There was another couple there who also took a video of us in the pedal car. That was a lot of fun.
August 13, 2019. Sunday the 11th we drove to Delphos to see the Canal Museum but it was closed. It was supposed to be open from 1-3, but it was locked tight with no notice or anything. That was very disappointing. But we went around the corner and had some ice cream.
Tuesday we were supposed to leave and head to Indiana but it had rained the night before and was still drizzling throughout the day. Also, I talked to the ranger at the park in Indiana and he said it was rainy there and the ground soft, so we decided to stay in Ohio an extra day and head out on Wednesday.
August 18, 2019. We drove to Hidden Diamonds City Park in Albion, Indiana on August 14. What a great little park. There was only one other trailer there and they kept to themselves. There are only about 5 sites there, and we took one with a nice big yard, grassy with picnic table, grill and fire pit. There was a hiking trail around the park with another walking trail they mowed around the soybean field, making it around 2 miles total. It was really great because I was able to let the dogs loose while walking around the soybean field.
We found some museums to visit in the area. We drove out to the middle of nowhere and found the Windmill Museum of Mid-America. The guy has a ton of different types of windmills and inside a description of the different windmills and what they were used for.
We met up with Jeff Brookbank while there. One day we drove up to the RV Hall of Fame Museum and the next day toured the local Jail Museum and then drove to Jeff’s house and took a boat ride on his lake.
We left Albion on Monday the 19th to head to Plymouth, Indiana where we stayed at a Yogi Bear Jellystone Park, only because it was a PA and it cost $20. We came to visit Marilyn and we got to visit a few days while there. It was wonderful seeing her again as we have not seen each other since 2012 when we were passing through from Minnesota to Ohio, then Kentucky for our job at Amazon.
August 21, 2019. A couple of years ago when we were out west, I think Utah, I dropped my phone and it hit just right and cracked the glass. I was able to patch it up with Captain Tulley’s crack cure and some glue. I just paid off the phone this past payment to Verizon and now the screen cracked again in one spot where the glass broke away, causing the phone to go haywire. It was supposed to storm Wednesday so we drove to the local Verizon store to get me a new phone. We decided to take our old phones to recycle, but one of them we were able to activate and me use it instead of spending $600 on a new phone. This was one of Jim’s old phones, one which he really liked. Oh well.
It took me all day to download the apps I use, but first I got my old phone up and was able to write down all the apps I use.
August 22, 2019. We drove up to the Studebaker Museum in South Bend. That was a great museum and we enjoyed looking at all their old cars. We then stopped at Marilyn’s on the way home; Deven and Michelle were there visiting and we were also able to meet her great-granddaughter Ellie, who is Deven’s daughter. I was glad we were able to meet them again. We got some pictures of us and stayed for a little bit.
August 23, 2019. Friday we headed off again, this time south to Horseshoe Lakes Thousand Trails in Clinton, Indiana. Long drive; over three hours and we were tired by the time we got here. It’s a pretty big park with lots of hiking trails through the woods.
I had ordered a glass screen protector and a phone cover, which I put on the phone Friday night. Hopefully the glass screen protector will protect the cracked screen from any more damage.
August 28, 2019. We chilled at Horseshoe Lakes for a few days and on Wednesday headed south to Evansville, Indiana to Burdette City Park. It’s another nice park run by the city, but more expensive than the last one we were at. This park has quite a few more sites plus some are FHU. They also have a couple who helps run the campground. We are only spending the night here and tomorrow we are off to a campground near Mammoth Cave National Park.
August 31, 2019. We are now at Diamond Caverns Thousand Trails through Labor Day Weekend. We were going to go to the Corvette Museum but they are celebrating its 25th anniversary and there were about 10,000 people and corvettes there, so we did not go, and instead went to the Historic Railpark and Train Museum.
I wanted to go to more museums but Friday night I was setting my clock and Jim was on the phone with Josh. I heard a noise and thought it was my clock but then I went outside to check and there was water spewing out all over the trailer; I shut off the water and went back in to tell Jim we had a problem. Jim immediately took my bench apart and discovered that the clip holding the water pump together broke again and that was where the water was coming from. Luckily we had another clip that Jim put on and that stopped the water flow. But everything was wet – the floor in the bathroom was sopping and in the morning I realized that the dog’s bed and floor under the kitchen table was wet. Fan is running under the table to dry the carpeting. Saturday we dried everything out.
Looking under the trailer I saw that the corregated panel (called coroplast) that covers the tanks had half fallen down so Saturday I unscrewed the rest of it, as well as all the screws so we could dry out the panel to replace it.
I then also discovered the paneling under the front of the trailer where I did not put any of the fiberglass paneling was coming apart, so I will have to screw that back up and put some eternabond on the seal. Eventually I will have to put a fiberglass panel up there.
September 3, 2019. Sunday after the panel dried out we put Gorilla Tape all around the perimeter of the panel, then brought it out and predrilled the screws onto it with the cross bar. Unfortunately, that was more work than we needed to do as we put it too small and I had to unscrew most of it to get it to fit. Had to put braces up to hold the panel up while I tried to screw it back in place. The rear part went up good but trying to get it to fit good between the wheels and up toward the middle of the trailer there is still quite a bow in the panel. One side the holes seemed to be stripped and do not hold good so I put tape over them. I would like to get a long cross bar and screw it across where the big bow it. Just don’t want it coming loose as we bounce along the road.
Monday we did our weekly shopping and after lunch took a drive into Mammoth Cave National Park. We did not take a tour but walked through the Visitor’s Center where I took a bunch of pictures. I think I will just use those pictures and stories for my blog.
Also saw a hummer coming to check out our American Flag so we put out some food ~ now we have about 5-6 fighting for the food. It’s great watching them.
Sept. 4, 2019. Went to Lowes and bought another aluminum bar to put up under the trailer. Used one of the screws already there and then Jim drilled another hole for the second screw. This took out most of the bubble. However, while under the trailer I pushed on the front panel and a bunch of water came rushing out of it and we think went into the rear panel.
Sept. 5, 2019. On our way out of Diamond Caverns we noticed a bunch of water coming out of the rear panel, which hopefully drained it so there is no more water in the panel. Still wonder if we should take some screws out or drill holes so water can escape.
Sept. 6, 2019. Left Diamond Caverns on Sept. 5 headed to Natchez Trace Thousand Trails. That is one huge park. We drove to the last section around the lake; they directed us there for the FHU sites. Drove around looking at them but did not like what they looked like. They were narrow, on an angle and some just had drop offs. We ended up in a W/E site down a little hill. There was virtually no internet service, and no OTA TV stations to speak of. We had the TV and AC going and the breaker popped; then I turned on the hot water heater and the breaker blew again. So as soon as the hot water heated up, I turned it off so we both could shower and wash hair. We decided by the next day to leave and head to Cherokee Landing instead of staying at Natchez Trace.
The site we got at Cherokee Landing is a nice flat gravel site with a grassy area; FHU and pretty good water quality and good electric. Got a bunch of TV stations from Memphis; Verizon coverage 2-3 bars at 4G, which we are happy with.
Met a young lady named Ryley, who came and introduced herself while I was setting up. She is camped nearby with her parents. She has been coming here for about 10 years as they live close by. She mentioned that the campground is haunted as it is built on a Civil War cemetery. I don’t know if they moved any of the stone, but there is one gravestone right next to our site from the 1800s. She also said that one person haunts by the lake.
September 9, 2019. Staying here until September 17, which I am glad about as my legs got eaten up by chiggers when we were at Diamond Caverns and they still itch. Then Jim came down with a sore throat, which turned into a cold and of course, he gave it to me. So we both feel miserable and it’s hard to sleep at night.
Bill sent a message about a 2003 Ford Excursion diesel, white with 111,000 miles on it, asking $19,000 firm they said. Only thing is, it’s in Merritt Island, on the east coast of Florida. We are over 800 miles from there. Yes, it sounds like a good buy, but then what would we do with our Excursion?
September 10, 2019. Got in touch with the Excursion owners and were even going to get a friend of Bill’s to go look at it for us. Jim was all ready to buy it and was planning on how to go about it. But then he called the owner and actually talked to them his time and found out that the truck is only 2WD. The ad had said it was 4WD, so he was quite disappointed to find out it was 2WD. It was exactly what we will look for if and when we need to replace our Excursion. Oh well.
Still feeling crummy and are just hanging in the trailer and outside a little bit, but just before lunch as the evening sun goes down shining straight under the awning making it miserable to sit outside. My morning walks are long as it is nice and cool but the afternoon is only about a half hour, just long enough for the dogs to do their business and get us back to the trailer. Actually, I don’t think they want to keep walking either and they are panting pretty hard after the half hour.
September 18, 2019. I finally went to visit the National Bird Dog Museum by myself as Jim was not feeling good enough to go, and he wanted to stay home with the dogs. It is just too hot to take them and leave them in the truck. The museum was pretty interesting; it houses pictures and paintings of hundreds of field dogs, national champions dating back to the late 1800s.
Besides the ants that we had to deal with at Cherokee Landing, it was nice place to stay while we recouped from our colds. The afternoon sun, however, was unbearable to be outside, so we spent the afternoon in the trailer trying to stay cool.
We ended up leaving on the 17th after I had to search again for a place to stay. The first place I wanted to stay never called me back, so I had to find somewhere else to spend the night. Finally picked Lower White River in Hazen, AR along I-40 toward Little Rock.
Sept. 27, 2019. After leaving Lower White River we drove to Hope, Arkansas and stayed at the county park for two nights. We ended up in the permanent section with FHU because where we wanted to stay did not have any water. One of their permanent residents had just left so they had a site open, which we were able to stay at for the two nights.
On the day we were supposed to leave the storm that hit Houston came up into Arkansas. Luckily we did not get a total washout and by mid-morning it had cleared up enough for us to leave.
On Sept. 20 we drove to Lake Tawakoni Thousand Trails in Point, Texas. We have never been to this TT before and I wanted to check it out. It’s big like many of the TT, and the roads are awful as well. There are W/E sites and FHU sites as well. Driving around there are a lot of sites in the trees and shade, with gravel and no grass, but I wanted some grass for the dogs. We found a FHU site in the A section with no one on either side of us. We have a paved pad for the trailer, picnic table and a grassy area for the dogs. We are not completely in the shade, but for the most part we have more shade than sun. It’s a nice site; I would stay in it again if we ever come back this way.
Another reason we stopped here is because Daniel & Malinda who we worked with at Yogi Bear Jellystone are working at a campground close by. They came over to visit last Saturday and we hope to get together with them again before we have to leave next Saturday. Malinda manages the park and Daniel went back into consulting, so he is gone about 3-4 days every week.
While here we went to visit the Audie Murphy/Cotton Museum in Greenville. We learned about the people living in the area, cotton production and then the museum had displays and information on the various wars, highlighting Audie Murphy who was born and raised not far from Greenville.
Our next visit was to the No. 1 British Flying Training School in Terrell. Never knew that during WWII the British airman came over to the U.S. to learn to fly. There were about 5 different schools in the U.S. that taught the Brits to fly, which was set up by the Lend Lease Act. It was very interesting and we had a good talk with the people that run the museum.
Sept. 28, 2019. We decided to head out and do some more sightseeing today before the heat of the day settled on us, so we were able to take the dogs with us. Going out in the afternoon is so hot that we have to leave them home in the A/C. So this morning we headed to The Salt Palace Museum in Grand Saline. Did not know what to expect there, and upon arriving were a little taken back to find it a small one room visitor center. But they had lots of pictures and displays about salt and the Morton Salt Girl. They also had a short film about the salt dome under the city and how much salt they mine to supply the United States.
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