Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Kentucky

When we left Arkansas, we had a little over a month to putter around in the hills before our seaside reservation at the Ho Hum RV resort in Carabelle.  I was getting a haircut at the BX on Little Rock AFB and talking to my barber about RVing.  She said we should go check out Kentucky.  Well, except for staying a couple days near Ft. Knox back in 2013, we'd never been there.  So we went there.  We stopped and saw Land between the Lakes, then Mammoth Cave and just generally hung out.  We also went to the national corvette museum, the one that had the sink hole eat half a dozen collector cars.  It's a lovely state, so we'll probably go back.  I'm getting really lazy about picture taking, but here's a couple:

Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River 

We toured a bourbon distillery.  This is the mash fermenting in giant vats, creating the alcohol that is later separated from the water by distillation.  You could see the stuff bubbling from the yeast eating the starches.

Chihuly glass exhibition, next couple pictures



Thursday, October 19, 2017

Arkansas

Hurricane Irma came ripping through Florida, so Brad and Eric scooped up Mom and headed for high ground.  The ended up having quite the adventure along with thousands of other refugees.  They spent a night in Alabama, and as the storm pushed northwest, they moved to Mississippi.  Being right next door to Arkansas, and that being our next stop, we rendezvoused in Little Rock to await news of the storm.  It hit our house in Sebring pretty hard, losing a privacy fence and roof shingles, both covered by insurance.  Silver lining, the boys got to spend some time with both grandmothers, and I got a picture of them together for the first time since our wedding in 1984.  We stayed 2 weeks at the Air Force Base, getting new tires and the annual tune up for the motorhome.  Those tires were worn to the nub, made it to Alaska and Newfoundland and back.  Dee celebrated her 80th birthday while we were there.  Once the power came back on 5 days after the hurricane, the Floridians headed on home.  No damage save for a potted bougainvillea at Mom's house.

Mom, Eric, Missy, Brad and Dee

The boys with Auntie Susan

Our backyard.  Brad's citrus garden and the nice, new privacy fence got hit pretty hard.  I read online that the winds were over 80mph sustained in Sebring.

Most of the shingles facing the wind were ripped off.  I'm scheduled for a total replacement in January.
I also got to visit with Tom Z a couple times.  That's his dog Zinger on the right.  She and Missy burned a lot of calories running around the house and yard.

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Virginia and the Outer Banks

After Lake Placid, we headed south for a visit with Stephanie and Kevin at their new place in Kill Devil Hills, NC, on the Outer Banks.  On the way, we stopped for a few days at a campground in Mount Pocono, PA which was very pretty.  We went on a nice hike along the river and hung out at our huge spot in the trees.  Overall, a very nice stop.  After that, we had a couple days to kill before the kids would be off work, so we stopped at Natural Chimneys State Park in Virginia, not far from Staunton.  It was a very nice campground we had practically to ourselves.  Missy had acres and acres of field and miles of trail to run on free from the leash.  That girl loves a run in the woods.  The park is named after some interesting limestone formations they've managed to preserve.  We stayed a couple nights then moved on to Kill Devil Hills.  We parked in their driveway and slept in the house for a change of scenery.  It was a wonderful visit.  Their neighborhood is just behind the Wright Brothers National Monument, where they executed their first flight.  Kevin took us on a cool beach drive in the 4X4 where we were able to see some wild ponies, the Corolla herd.  They have wild horses on a lot of these barrier islands along the east coast.  On the way north our first summer, 2012, we stopped in Assateague, VA and saw that completely separate herd.  John and Phyllis came over from Raleigh for a couple days, so we stayed a night in "the cabin" over in Jarvisburg.  All the while, we were watching hurricanes, which more or less timed our departure.  With Brad, Eric and Mom bugging out to get away from Irma, we decided to all rendezvous in Arkansas.  Here are some pictures from this leg of the journey:

A panoramic view of the empty campground at Natural Chimneys State Park.  Full hookups, pretty much all to ourselves.  Cool!

Missing mugging for the camera

We very often just sit outside listening to music on a beautiful day, taking in the fresh air.  Missy and Laurie say "I wonder what the poor folks are doin' today?"

A corn maze out in the Virginia countryside.  Nope, didn't try it.

Kevin and Stephanie.  The poles and cables mark the North Carolina/Virginia border, and keep the Corolla ponies from straying into VA.

Corolla Ponies eating some of the only green grass in their area.  Somebody's yard, of course.

Sunset over Pamlico Sound from the marina at Kevin and Steph's neighborhood, just a few minute's drive from the house.

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Vermont 2.0 and Lake Placid, NY

After Cape Breton Island, we more or less made a bee line for the states.  The crossing into Maine on I-95 was uneventful, didn't even have any fresh vegetables to confiscate this time.  Last year we lost a little carton of cherry tomatoes coming into Washington state.  We overnighted just inside the border, then headed straight back to the first Vermont campground we stayed at, Lake Champagne.  We stayed a whole week this time, got to see Mark and Amy and the kids again.  It was just a very relaxing time.  We didn't do so much touring this time, but we did check out Queche Gorge and the Cabot creamery where they make Seriously Sharp cheddar, our favorite for cheese and crackers.  After our time in Vermont, we headed next door to upstate New York for 4 nights in Lake Placid, where they held the 1980 Winter Olympics.  It was very scenic.  We took a gondola ride up the mountain where they do the serious skiing events, and took a few other scenic drives.  Definitely someplace we could spend more time, all the way around.  Some pictures...

Queche Gorge National Park in, you guessed it, Queche VT!

Crossing Lake Champlain between VT and NY on the ferry saved a lot of time, probably money too with the added miles.  Top looks pretty clean for an old girl, eh?

Our motorhome, snuggled into the middle of the short ferry ride.

Taking off from the ski area on the Gondola

Half way up the mountain

Yeah, Whiteface!

Laurie posed outside the door of the rink where we beat the Russkies to go to the Gold Medal match where we beat Finland to win it all

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Cape Breton Island

We didn't get to see much of the northern tip of Nova Scotia on our way to Newfoundland, so we stayed a few days longer when we got off the ferry from Newfoundland.  We toured the Cabot Trail, a scenic highway that goes around Cape Breton Island, and saw some more sights.  Very pretty.

It really is a beautiful drive.  Lots of motorcycles out there two, enjoying all the curves.

One of many scenic overlooks

With a heavy Scottish and Irish immigrant population, this area retains a lot of those tradtions from the old country.  Here, we got to sit in on a "kitchen party", which is really a jam session they hold at restaurants, inns, pubs, pretty much anywhere people gather.


Monday, August 14, 2017

Last Stop, Saint John's Newfoundland

Well, we're back in the USA after a very nice 3 weeks on the rugged and beautiful island of Newfoundland.  We're currently in Maine, headed for Vermont, to stay in the cool for a few days while we figure out our next move.

After Twillingate, we stayed with Loretta's first cousin Philamina (Phil) and her husband Jerome.  They live on a pond outside the provincial capital city of Saint John's with plenty of room for a couple motorhomes to invade.  Some people are so courteous like that, having homes where we can park for free.  We stayed a few nights and had a good visit, including a trip into the city to see the sites.  Fred got a call from the medical folks and his turn came for an appointment all the way back in Corner Brook, so they left on Monday, while we hit the ferry on Thursday.  We stayed a few nights at a cliffside campground called the Celtic Rendezvous on the east coast.  It was very scenic and relaxing, with humpbacks playing in the cove right below the campsite.

Jerome took me cod fishing near the house.  We caught a few, and saw some bald eagles to boot.

Lakefront parking for two, please.

Our rig and the flag of Newfoundland and Labrador alongside the Canadian flag.  I think we see more Canadian flags at people's homes than US flags back in the States.

The group, Fred and Loretta at left and Phil and Jerome at right.

Laurie coming back in from the deck "oooh Phil, what a lovely table!"

We actually got a window in our cabin for the overnight journey from Saint John's (Argentia, technically) back to Port aux Basque, where we crossed over into Newfoundland.  It's a lot further from the east coast.

Intrepid travelers at Signal Hill, overlooking the Saint John's narrows leading into the harbor.

This was a pretty lucky shot.  At first glance, this just looks like a normal sailboat with 2 masts, just a normal ketch coming back in from a day sail, right?  It's actually a 186 foot long mega yacht called the Mondango III.  If you zoom in, you can see tiny people on the deck.  For a mere $200,000 a week, you can charter her for a cruise.  Room for 5 couples, so split 5 ways that's only $40K a week.  What a bargain!

Our view from Celtic Rendezvous

Whales playing all over the place

Really hard to get a clear tail fluke shot

That's a good dog.  Missy would jump in and try to catch a whale.

Saturday, August 12, 2017

Twillingate

After the west coast, we headed east on the Trans Canada Highway (TCH) toward Saint John's.  We stopped for a couple nights just past Gander to see the small town of Twillingate and its associated islands and lighthouses.  It's a really pretty area and we had wonderful weather for sight seeing.  One of Twillingate's big attractions is iceberg tours earlier in the year.  They break off from the Greenland ice sheet and wash up on Newfoundland's northern shore every spring.  By August, they were virtually all melted.  We saw one grounded across the bay using binoculars, but too far away to appreciate.  No commentary on the pictures, just really pretty coastal scenery from northern Newfoundland on a warm, sunny day in August!







Sunday, August 6, 2017

Western Peninsula, Newfoundland

The west coast of Newfoundland is really rugged and remote, but very beautiful.  We only made it as far north as Port aux Chois, for those following on the Don and Laurie's Travels interactive map and guide.  While on the coast, Fred took us around his home town of Corner Brook, a pretty large port city for Newfoundland, with all the comforts of home.  Especially hills.  Lots of hills.  We stayed two nights in the city park before moving up north.  The tall ships were making their way into Corner Brook for the weekend, so I got a couple nice pictures.  After Corner Brook, we went up north a bit, staying north of Cow Head, then back down for a lovely evening cliff side in Parson's Pond before arriving in Rocky Harbour to tour Gros Morne National Park.  Here are some pictures:

Loretta, Fred and me.  Laurie wasn't feeling well, so she passed on a beautiful, but chilly boat tour in Corner Brook.  There were two gents playing traditional Irish and Newfoundland folk music in the cabin below, but it was such a lovely evening everybody was up on the top deck.

Yeah Canada!

We don't get nice clear skies for sunset pictures every day.

The lumber mill in Corner Brook, lots of raw material in the yard.

One of 4 we saw making their way up river to Corner Brook.

Nice right?  Like something out of a pirate movie.  If you zoom in, you can see people working the square sail in the foremast.

Corner Brook from Captain Cook's point.  I didn't realize he mapped Newfoundland before heading out to the Pacific.  The Cook Islands are named for him, and he was killed in Hawaii.

Town from the boat, headed out to see the sea
Arches Provincial Park, these were carved by the sea

Missy is getting really adventurous.  She didn't mind scampering over all these big smooth rocks.  I would have thought it would hurt her feet.  She doesn't like sea water though, so she learned it doesn't taste so good...

The rain socked us in at Port aux Chois, but still got a lighthouse photo

Our cliff side camp spot in Parson's Pond

What a view, sunset was awesome

Nice, eh?

We took a boat tour in Gros Morne National Park, in Western Brook Pond.  Pretty big lake actually, use to be a river leading to the sea but the stream got cut off and it filled in with fresh water over the eons.

Interesting how this tree must have gotten started, all alone and exposed on top of this rock, but it showed the rock who's boss!

One of many waterfalls in Western Brook Pond

Wet, intrepid travelers.  The weather for our Gros Morne boat tour was a little...gross.

Western Brook Pond is about 400 feet deep.  I was watching the depth sounder, and right off one of these cliffs it was still over 100 feet deep.

The gray weather had a beauty all its own

End of the line, where Western Brook feeds into the pond.  They'll drop you off at the dock for hiking if you have a back country pass.  Way back...