As I write tonight we are progressing right along. We now have dry wall and unfinished hardwood floors completed. We did the cleanup of the dry wall clutter and dust. At last after mudding and sanding dry walls became complete to form rooms.
Our tile is in progress now. It will take a long time to adjust to putting floor tile on the walls but this is now the “in” way to finish a bathroom. I likely will always pine for the sweet, pink 4 inch ceramic tiles that met their demise at the hands of our tear out crew’s sledge hammers. I can still hear them falling!
Our general contractor used his heavy equipment and dug out the tree stump of the tree that feel on the house during the flood. We get a new roof this coming week.
Painters are arriving next week and finally those plaint colors have been selected. We have only our braided rugs from which to pull colors. In fact, we have no soft furniture in the house and no mattresses! The trim carpenters have put up our very first crown molding and are adding their magic to the window and door trims. Doors arrived and some are hung. Kitchen cabinets are scheduled to arrive on August 17. We have miles to go before we have our home complete.
We had the honor of providing the birthing room for Mother House Wren. She insisted on being in the “garage-shop.” After running her out for her persistence in coming in it was time to close the doors and turn on the window AC unit. One afternoon Roxie needed to shop. She heard birds “in the wall” that Chas was sealing up with insulation and finished wood. When she returned she was ready to have Charles tear apart his work because he surely had sealed a bird in them. With disgust Charles offered her the crow bar. To this she replied that this was way beyond her strength. Then Charles made the discovery that on a shelf in one of his tennis shoes were 4 widely stretched mouths waiting for groceries to arrive.
We moved the babies out on top of the AC and for a week mother was diligent to feed them. Of course, we protected them from rain. Finally after a week plus it was time to join the world and one by one they left under the watchful eye of mommy. She sat on a line above the motor home and chirped to them. And…we felt that empty nest syndrome.
Friday, July 09, 2010
July 8, 2010 finds us returning to TN after command performance with Frustrated Maestros of FMCA in Essex Junction, VT. June 28-July 5, 2010. Before our May 1 flood in TN Charles accepted the honor of directing the Maestros for this area rally. We were determined to keep that commitment.
It is true..."Maestros have more fun than anyone" and likely work harder and longer than the average rally or international volunteer. In 8 days they had 6 performances preceded by 6 rehearsals. For Charles this meant much planning, music arranging and copying, prep for himself. The schedule was propelling and worth while for the end results.
And...Roxie engaged her camera and built a new Maestro blog:
http://www.frustratedmaestros.blogspot.com/
We visited brother Robin and family on his Saint Paul School Campus.
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| From Collages |
Thursday, June 24, 2010
It has been three weeks since our last flood posting to this blog. In many ways those weeks are a blur with much activity and little visible results. Yet, we do make forward progress. Flooding and surviving brings on hoops to jump through unknown previously. We call these interruptions shoes that drop.
We are currently riding to Burlington, VT for an FMCA rally where Charles has been ask to direct the Frustrated Maestros in rehearsals and performances at the Essex Junction, VT Expo Center. He accepted this opportunity “BF”…before flood and we are so happy to be out on the road…briefly. We left June 23 and will return to our driveway about mid July. Then we are home until October. What a weird experience for us.
To date we have had our plumber in to do invisible things like remove old lead pipes and reroute some plumbing. Poor friendly guy got to be under the house. He got to do this in the intense heat wave of 95+ degrees that has besieged middle TN.
We have done a walk through with our electrician and clarified where his work will be. With him we learned of many codes compliances. We must have 5 smoke alarms hard wired in, outlets each 12 feet, updated dryer plug, front and back porch lights, and any wiring that was flooded replaced. Likely this work will be completed next week. And….codes will come to inspect! Another “Mother May I…” step. Our builder says we will likely loose 2 weeks due to all of the codes inspections.
As we drove away on June 23 the duct work for the new furnace was going under the house on a 95 degree day.
Meanwhile we have shopped for tubs that are in boxes in our den, lavatories, all faucets, toilets, tile, cabinets and hardwood flooring. We have also selected interior and exterior doors. The only selection process at this on point is the paint color and that color book is with us on this trip.
But the shoes are still dropping. FEMA did a good and not so good job with our estimate. Our adjuster failed to include enough for the dry out company that used some heaters, and removed floor. So that company has sent their fees of $19.000 with instructions to send that on to our adjuster. The dry out company signed an agreement with us to work for what FEMA will pay. That was well below the $19,000. So…I guess that FEMA and the dry out company will duke it out.
But the shoes continued to drop. Our Mortgage is with Bank of America because they bought Countrywide Mortgage group. Not a choice of ours. The FEMA check was written to us and the bank. Said check had to be overnighted to them in California at our expense of $32, Fed Ex. Add more frustration to the fact that they are holding about $20,000 beyond what we owe them getting to collect that interest!! Now we are learning that we get out money in increments or draws only after each rebuild phase has passed their inspector on site.
But…we were not done with shoes! The motor home inverter failed on June 21 about dinner time leaving us with no way to have electricity in 96+ weather. We quickly packed, clarified arrangements for watching our house with the neighbors who took us in, and strung an electric cord for a lamp to the MH. We got up at 3:00 AM on June 22 and left at 4:30 AM for a three hour trip to Red Bay, AL and our motor home factory. By 8:30 AM a satellite operation had us purring with a new inverter. By noon we were through filing insurance claims and turtled back to our driveway in Franklin via the Natchez Trace Parkway. We then left for this trip to northern VT the very next day.
Our emotional closet is getting full of dropped shoes and we just expect more. We suppose that it will be nice to have a “new house” inside our home of 43 years but we were perfectly happy with it before the May 1 flood.
As always we love to hear from you to our regular E mail addy in your letter of invite to this blog. Finally there is a
little more time to reply to you!
We are currently riding to Burlington, VT for an FMCA rally where Charles has been ask to direct the Frustrated Maestros in rehearsals and performances at the Essex Junction, VT Expo Center. He accepted this opportunity “BF”…before flood and we are so happy to be out on the road…briefly. We left June 23 and will return to our driveway about mid July. Then we are home until October. What a weird experience for us.
To date we have had our plumber in to do invisible things like remove old lead pipes and reroute some plumbing. Poor friendly guy got to be under the house. He got to do this in the intense heat wave of 95+ degrees that has besieged middle TN.
We have done a walk through with our electrician and clarified where his work will be. With him we learned of many codes compliances. We must have 5 smoke alarms hard wired in, outlets each 12 feet, updated dryer plug, front and back porch lights, and any wiring that was flooded replaced. Likely this work will be completed next week. And….codes will come to inspect! Another “Mother May I…” step. Our builder says we will likely loose 2 weeks due to all of the codes inspections.
As we drove away on June 23 the duct work for the new furnace was going under the house on a 95 degree day.
Meanwhile we have shopped for tubs that are in boxes in our den, lavatories, all faucets, toilets, tile, cabinets and hardwood flooring. We have also selected interior and exterior doors. The only selection process at this on point is the paint color and that color book is with us on this trip.
But the shoes are still dropping. FEMA did a good and not so good job with our estimate. Our adjuster failed to include enough for the dry out company that used some heaters, and removed floor. So that company has sent their fees of $19.000 with instructions to send that on to our adjuster. The dry out company signed an agreement with us to work for what FEMA will pay. That was well below the $19,000. So…I guess that FEMA and the dry out company will duke it out.
But the shoes continued to drop. Our Mortgage is with Bank of America because they bought Countrywide Mortgage group. Not a choice of ours. The FEMA check was written to us and the bank. Said check had to be overnighted to them in California at our expense of $32, Fed Ex. Add more frustration to the fact that they are holding about $20,000 beyond what we owe them getting to collect that interest!! Now we are learning that we get out money in increments or draws only after each rebuild phase has passed their inspector on site.
But…we were not done with shoes! The motor home inverter failed on June 21 about dinner time leaving us with no way to have electricity in 96+ weather. We quickly packed, clarified arrangements for watching our house with the neighbors who took us in, and strung an electric cord for a lamp to the MH. We got up at 3:00 AM on June 22 and left at 4:30 AM for a three hour trip to Red Bay, AL and our motor home factory. By 8:30 AM a satellite operation had us purring with a new inverter. By noon we were through filing insurance claims and turtled back to our driveway in Franklin via the Natchez Trace Parkway. We then left for this trip to northern VT the very next day.
Our emotional closet is getting full of dropped shoes and we just expect more. We suppose that it will be nice to have a “new house” inside our home of 43 years but we were perfectly happy with it before the May 1 flood.
As always we love to hear from you to our regular E mail addy in your letter of invite to this blog. Finally there is a
little more time to reply to you!
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Since our last blog update we have done a lot of hurry up and wait! We accidentally found out about a city mayor and alderman meeting two weeks ago and within 3 hours many from our street were in attendance to ask questions. Percentages of damage were told by the Codes Director after the meeting. At that time we learned that our house was placed at 62%. That is above the 50% stipulated by FEMA. In the same breath the Codes Director quipped, “that’s not right!” Exactly what we were thinking.
This caused another delay to have Codes return and assess. Dryness did pass and one of the codes men said he had done the original inspection and that he would not have put it more than 50%. To add to our unsettled feeling several houses on our 32 home street are slated for demolition. This sent us into survival mode of storing our furniture and moving to FL! But…the next day we went to Codes and the damage was placed at 42%. Rebuild was then our expectation.
In the meantime we interviewed several contractors of a variety of backgrounds. One couple wanted to tear out our solid 12” plank sub floor and put in a French drain. All other contractors felt the sub floor was good and drying and shrinking back to normal. We have had a parade of plumbers, electricians, painters, and carpenters march through. But we did choose our builder and have very good feelings about this non pressured person who builds beautiful houses. He will be rebuilding our home and the two beyond us.
We have spent the last month parked at our neighbor’s home. This generous couple has allowed us electricity and water and use of their bath and laundry. While the house has had no more tear out and dry out crews we have sifted and sorted in our yard. Charles built his man cave in our barn and even put in a discarded house door and his AC in plywood, removable section. I don’t have a picture of this invention, yet.
We are in Red Bay, AL at our motor home factory for our yearly appointment. When we return home we will turtle into our driveway and plug into a new 50 amp electrical service. The old service was under water…about 4+ feet!
We have gone to choose our cabinets, and look at flooring, tubs, and toilets. We will look at counter tops and more flooring. Sounds like we are building a new house. Way down the line is getting our antique furniture cleaned up and some of it restored. Of course, we have to shop for a washer, dryer, refrigerator and decide about replacing the deep freeze. And…there is nothing soft to sit on in the house. Fears of mold forced us to throw out chairs and couches.
So…the house stands on June 2, 2010 as it has for the past 3 wks….no counters, no cabinets, not bathroom fixtures..and bare studs showing.
We think we are making progress!! Many thanks for your E mails. We really do appreciate the support that we feel.
This caused another delay to have Codes return and assess. Dryness did pass and one of the codes men said he had done the original inspection and that he would not have put it more than 50%. To add to our unsettled feeling several houses on our 32 home street are slated for demolition. This sent us into survival mode of storing our furniture and moving to FL! But…the next day we went to Codes and the damage was placed at 42%. Rebuild was then our expectation.
In the meantime we interviewed several contractors of a variety of backgrounds. One couple wanted to tear out our solid 12” plank sub floor and put in a French drain. All other contractors felt the sub floor was good and drying and shrinking back to normal. We have had a parade of plumbers, electricians, painters, and carpenters march through. But we did choose our builder and have very good feelings about this non pressured person who builds beautiful houses. He will be rebuilding our home and the two beyond us.
We have spent the last month parked at our neighbor’s home. This generous couple has allowed us electricity and water and use of their bath and laundry. While the house has had no more tear out and dry out crews we have sifted and sorted in our yard. Charles built his man cave in our barn and even put in a discarded house door and his AC in plywood, removable section. I don’t have a picture of this invention, yet.
We are in Red Bay, AL at our motor home factory for our yearly appointment. When we return home we will turtle into our driveway and plug into a new 50 amp electrical service. The old service was under water…about 4+ feet!
We have gone to choose our cabinets, and look at flooring, tubs, and toilets. We will look at counter tops and more flooring. Sounds like we are building a new house. Way down the line is getting our antique furniture cleaned up and some of it restored. Of course, we have to shop for a washer, dryer, refrigerator and decide about replacing the deep freeze. And…there is nothing soft to sit on in the house. Fears of mold forced us to throw out chairs and couches.
So…the house stands on June 2, 2010 as it has for the past 3 wks….no counters, no cabinets, not bathroom fixtures..and bare studs showing.
We think we are making progress!! Many thanks for your E mails. We really do appreciate the support that we feel.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Reality of the moment arrived on May 6 when it was time to empty our home into the world. What would have been an overwhelming job was made possible because our home and our street just filled with volunteers. Men moved heavy furniture to the front yard and ladies packed dishes, clothing, linens and glassware. Each person was caring and comforting as we watched 43 years of memories moving out of their home. We will be forever grateful to these angels of mercy who fluttered in so unselfishly for 3 days. And, this was the scene in over 25 homes on our street.
Monday, May 03, 2010
May 3, 2010….Tuesday….we got into our devastated home! We already knew that we likely had at least 3 feet in the house and we found that true. We also found items that floated from room to room, a mud slick floors, water in the brand new refrigerator (delivered the day before), water in the dishwasher, a tipped washer and dryer, an upright freezer reclining on its back and muddy tubs and toilets. On the outside we still had standing water and could not get to our barn. The fence across the back was down. The wooden fence of our next door neighbor was over and our yards joined.
As bad as all of this is we have a contact with FEMA and will be assigned an adjuster tomorrow (5/4). We were told to go ahead and initiate the clean up process. We have calls into two companies that specialize on drying out, a call to our plumber and electrician and our heating and air company. We also have a tree trimmer lined up. A tree is across the garage end…Charles’s sanctuary, his shop! We do have the National Flood Insurance on structure and most of the contents.
We did not evacuate our kayak. That has been the neighborhood transportation and we had to get in line to use it. It seems to recline in a front yard where the water ends. It has been used over and over. The circle street is not open as of 5/3…three days after the floor. Flooding came very fast. We got our just barely two hours ahead of it.
We are most grateful to each person who has called or E mailed their concerns. We’d like nothing better than to sit down and talk with each of you. Time just does not permit.
We continue to “camp” at Camp Walmart for the third night but tomorrow we are moving to a neighbor’s driveway. This will put us closer to our stranded home.
Click any pic to enlarge and read.
Thanks to Verizon we have our air card for internet access and our phone…wherever we are!
And…thanks to each of you for your concerns.
As bad as all of this is we have a contact with FEMA and will be assigned an adjuster tomorrow (5/4). We were told to go ahead and initiate the clean up process. We have calls into two companies that specialize on drying out, a call to our plumber and electrician and our heating and air company. We also have a tree trimmer lined up. A tree is across the garage end…Charles’s sanctuary, his shop! We do have the National Flood Insurance on structure and most of the contents.
We did not evacuate our kayak. That has been the neighborhood transportation and we had to get in line to use it. It seems to recline in a front yard where the water ends. It has been used over and over. The circle street is not open as of 5/3…three days after the floor. Flooding came very fast. We got our just barely two hours ahead of it.
We are most grateful to each person who has called or E mailed their concerns. We’d like nothing better than to sit down and talk with each of you. Time just does not permit.
We continue to “camp” at Camp Walmart for the third night but tomorrow we are moving to a neighbor’s driveway. This will put us closer to our stranded home.
Click any pic to enlarge and read.
Thanks to Verizon we have our air card for internet access and our phone…wherever we are!
And…thanks to each of you for your concerns.
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Floods in TN, May 1, 2010, have claimed us as one of the many victims. As this blog is written today, May 2, 2010 we have been at Camp Walmart, Franklin for 24 hours.
About two hours after we abandoned yesterday our neighbor reported that the water was then in our yard, in our barn and under our house.
Twenty four hours later he estimates we could have 3 feet inside. We will be most happy to be home and assess for ourselves but water covered roads will not let us near. The big picture in the Nashville area is of a mammoth impact.
About two hours after we abandoned yesterday our neighbor reported that the water was then in our yard, in our barn and under our house.
Twenty four hours later he estimates we could have 3 feet inside. We will be most happy to be home and assess for ourselves but water covered roads will not let us near. The big picture in the Nashville area is of a mammoth impact.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
We spent the winter of 09-10 at Holiday Travel Resort, Leesburg, FL on the same site for the past seven years. www.holidaytravelresort.com We just have grown attached to our neighbors and our turf. Winter 2010 showed no mercy on central Florida. We had prolonged weeks of spans from 32 to briefly 60 degrees always with a stiff wind. Imagine dressing in sweats in FL and layering on clothing for weeks. We carried on our normal activities of volley ball and computer, walking coat clad dogs and wondering why we did not see many folks for weeks. No one wanted to be out!
Monday, September 14, 2009
September 12 finds us on I-40 traveling from Knoxville to Nashville. Our summer-fall travels are ending and we will be at home before evening.
From Schenectady, NY and a wonderful 4days with our Florida winter park friend, Elsa and her doggies Katie and Barney, we began to fall south for real. Our second two day stop was in Winchester, VA at Candy Hill Campground. We first stopped here in 1981 on our way home from CT and a month for Roxie to learn Slingerland Multisensory training to teach dyslexic children.
The remainder of our trip was spent visiting family. We spend Labor Day at Americamps Campground, Richmond,VA….almost in the middle of frantic I-95. We visited with Jim and Carolyn Marston one morning.
We had a lot of time with our sis/law Sharon in her one year old townhome. It gave us a good feeling to see her in such a comfortable home. Her son Chris and family visited us on Sunday. Our great nieces have just graduated from home school. Susie and Chris have very mature daughters. See slideshow of Richmond Marstons.
From Richmond we dropped into East TN to visit with Charles’s cousins Katherine McNeil, husband Paul, and Ruth Morgan. Paul Mc Neil and Ruth’s son Bill completed the family get together. One afternoon and evening will provide us with many memories. Old Brick is the1804 home where Ruth now lives. Gun powder for the War of 1812 was made there and floated to New Orleans.
Katherine and Paul McNeil built “new brick” on the property ten years ago.Both homes have total back sides of windows that let us feast our eyes on the beautiful Douglas Lake that swallowed up the French Broad River when TVA built the dam years ago.The ancestral home was our home for one month in 1964 while we waited possession of our home in Dandridge¸TN. Charles had taken his first teaching job. Our son was born in October. See slideshow: Old Brick, Noe's, Dandridge, TN
While in Dandridge we also visited with Jane and Danny Noe. Jane’s folks were instrumental in getting a band director to Dandridge. Jane was in that first band. Her parent’s are now gone and we want the connection to remain. Janie and Danny live in the family home with a much loved view of Douglas Lake. See slideshow: Old Brick, Noe's, Dandridge.
A friend in Nashvile peeked our interest in Charles’s ancestry in Dandridge. Here he found Blackburns, Rankins and her relatives, Inmans.
As we roll we have one last fuel fill up before landing at home. We will reclaim the yard; retrieve the house plants from a special neighbor, and dust the cobwebs away after a two month vacation from them. In just a month we will be off to Chattanooga, TN and a week of Maestros at a fun week of Music Camp.
When we return in late October we will encourage fall in our trees. Eventually those leaves will give in and float down.. Charles will mulch them in time for us to arrive in Florida for the winter.
It is always fun to have you along. We love to hear from you.
From Schenectady, NY and a wonderful 4days with our Florida winter park friend, Elsa and her doggies Katie and Barney, we began to fall south for real. Our second two day stop was in Winchester, VA at Candy Hill Campground. We first stopped here in 1981 on our way home from CT and a month for Roxie to learn Slingerland Multisensory training to teach dyslexic children.
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| From Untitled |
We had a lot of time with our sis/law Sharon in her one year old townhome. It gave us a good feeling to see her in such a comfortable home. Her son Chris and family visited us on Sunday. Our great nieces have just graduated from home school. Susie and Chris have very mature daughters. See slideshow of Richmond Marstons.
From Richmond we dropped into East TN to visit with Charles’s cousins Katherine McNeil, husband Paul, and Ruth Morgan. Paul Mc Neil and Ruth’s son Bill completed the family get together. One afternoon and evening will provide us with many memories. Old Brick is the1804 home where Ruth now lives. Gun powder for the War of 1812 was made there and floated to New Orleans.
Katherine and Paul McNeil built “new brick” on the property ten years ago.Both homes have total back sides of windows that let us feast our eyes on the beautiful Douglas Lake that swallowed up the French Broad River when TVA built the dam years ago.The ancestral home was our home for one month in 1964 while we waited possession of our home in Dandridge¸TN. Charles had taken his first teaching job. Our son was born in October. See slideshow: Old Brick, Noe's, Dandridge, TN
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| From 2009 13 OH TN |
A friend in Nashvile peeked our interest in Charles’s ancestry in Dandridge. Here he found Blackburns, Rankins and her relatives, Inmans.
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| From 2009 13 OH TN |
When we return in late October we will encourage fall in our trees. Eventually those leaves will give in and float down.. Charles will mulch them in time for us to arrive in Florida for the winter.
It is always fun to have you along. We love to hear from you.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Our travels continue after getting our kayak wet in Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Our next long term stay was in Colchester, VT about 10 miles out of Burlington, VT. To get here we stopped one night at Chateaguay, NY which is about 2 miles out of Canada. We got to experience prehistoric living where there was no cell connection for our phones or the aircard that permits Internet access! The satellite would not work and about half of the few TV stations were speaking French. Exactly none of us was comprehending.
We spent a week in Colchester, VT at Lone Pines Campsites. Here we put down roots, shopped for food and got hair care. Charles got a cut and Roxie got a long overdue perm. We floated on Lake Champlain and biked the wonderful bike paths. From your seat or your feet you see so much. (See slideshow, side bar Burlington, VT.)
| From 2009 5 OH VT |
The she of the family got to attend two seminars presented by www.geeksontour . It was grand to have more information on Picasa 3 and Google Earth Maps from these knowledgeable teachers. We loved afternoon walks and visiting with 3 greyhounds. Greyhound owners have a tight bond. (See side show, side bar, Maestros perform..Essex Junction, VT)
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| From 2009 6 OH VT NEAR |
While in Concord, NH we had time to visit family and enjoy Mile Away Campground returning for our 6th visit since 1995.
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| From 2009 7 OH NH |
The friendship with Deans has connections through RVing and we have visited each other many times. Deans have many interests. Evy is known for her baking and we left with a tasty treat. She also knits. Alan sews, quilts, and is almost finished restoring a’64 Mustang. It should be mentioned that he built their house in1981! Oh yes, we left with their garden tomatoes. (See slideshow, Deans in Durham, CT)
Following the CT visit we arrived in Schenectady, NY and had a grand visit with FL friend Elsa Sakacs and doggies Katie and Barney. Our stay was on the Mohawk River at Aarowhead Marina and RV Campground. Our drives to visit were through downtown Schenectady. We had time to cook, work on computer issues, visit Lock 7 on the Erie Canal on theMohawk and walk to the golf course. At the course we saw the beautiful garden area in memory of Elsa’s husband who left us there years ago. Oh yes….Elsa took Roxie to the only two story Walmart located in Albany. Level one was in the basement and escalators and elevators took us to a huge grocery store. Elsa and Charles enjoyed an afternoon of organ trombone duets while Roxie called Fauberts in Ontario.
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| From 2009 OH 10 NY |
We will be back to let you know of this leg of the trip which will land us at home in mid September.
Monday, August 03, 2009
We rolled out of the driveway at home on July 8, 2009. We plan to glide back in mid September. In between we are scheduled into OH, NY, VT, NH, RI, CT, VA and TN.
Our travels always have goals of FMCA conventions and rallies. FMCA is Family Motor Coach Association of which we have been members since 1988. www.fmca.com We have rolled from Brunswick, Maine to Los Angeles, Redmond, Oregon and Brooksville,FL to attend these motor coach extravaganzas. That should be enough justification for our travels the 12 years we have been retired and upholding the economy.
July 8, 2009 we spent one night at the KY Horse Park Campground. What an amazing industry we learned about on our bike and foot trips around.
July 9 and 10 we parked at the home of Bruce and Pat Everhart, just outside of Springfield, OH. Their log cabin, tucke
d in the woods, was a wonderful decompression time. Everharts drove us around their lifelong home town. What a treat to hear of Pat’s much respected doctor father and see where Bruce and Pat had lived and worked.
A year ago Charles became a Frustrated Mae
stro (you understand!) with 
FMCA.
These vocalists and instrumentalist roll the country, meet for pre-rallies to rehearse and caravan into the FMCA conventions as Volunteers to perform. Dressed in red and white these Maestros regularly perform 3 mornings for Morning Coffee and Donuts.
So…this year’s start of our trip was to Bowling Green, OH at the University. Approximately 2725 coaches also arrived. Of this number only 50 are Maestros. Charles had much performing with the band and a Dixieland jazz group. Prior to this July 17-23 week we met in a campground at Van Buren, OH for the start of rehearsals.
While at the convention Roxie attended many computer seminars present by www.geeksontour.com Go check this out. At this FMCA convention she got to assist with their Computer Boot Camp for three, two hour evenings.
We always conduct much business in the Vendor exhibits clarifying RV needs and wants and making purchases.
It must be said that the Bowling Green State U campus is large and impressive offering many courses of study. Lambuth College, Jackson, TN was Roxie’s home growing up. Thus college campuses are happily greeted. Bowling Green State U is flat with an abundance of sidewalks for our bicycling to seminars, rehearsals and exhibits. These made excellent exercise and stroll walks.
August 24 we rolled toward Erie, PA and a campground facing frantic Lake Erie. It provided a fantastic view and was void of air card for going online!!! Cell service was not much better. A treat of this stop was to visit with George and Pat Younkin. Younkins winter with us at Holiday Travel Resort in Leesburg, FL. George became president of our active Computer Club last year. We enjoyed a Sunday afternoon in their beautiful Lake City, PA home. Pat is recovering from a hip replacement. We did float in a slightly calm bay of Lake Erie at Presque Isle State park. Following this we biked four miles on the bike path at Presque Isle. This weekend day put many folks on that path to attend a large celebration with kayak floats, craft fair, reenactment, sand sculptures and archery.
At our campground in Lake Erie we were treated to a sunset over the lake.
July 27 we rolled into Cuba, NY in the foothills of the beautiful Allegany Mountains. Our stop was to visit with Keith and Stella Wood. These folks winter with us in FL. While we have known this couple a while we have become better acquainted in the late spring of 09 when Woody bought a computer! These spring chickens at ages 82 are delightful. Woody and I even video Skype. And, what fun to do this as we roll. Stella treated us to a wonderful healthy meal. We enjoyed a walk around the property and Charles was treated to a four wheeler ride into some of Woody’s 300 timber acres. Our stop to visit was wonderful.
July 29 and 30 we were in Watkins Glen, NY. Attracting us there is the Watkins Glen Gorge and Seneca Lake, one of the NY Finger Lakes. The race track is there but this is not an interest of ours. We could only reserve 2 nights because of a festival on the banks of Seneca across from Clute Campground. So, this year we gave up climbing the gorge which we did three years ago. We did float the lake and enjoyed the water’s eye view of the marina with the many docked sailing boats. We biked and walked to downtown. The rainy weather and our greyhounds in their bright red rain coats and our beagle in her canary yellow rain coat were much enjoyed by folks on the street.
Our reserved time in Watkins Glen expired and we pulled in the rooms, attached our tow Honda
and headed for Fair Haven, NY and Lake Ontario. Our site, with a Lake Ontario view was much enjoyed. We floated in the bay and added another body of water to our kayak float list. This is the first campground that we have ever paid for our three dogs…..at a whopping $3 per dog per day! Stop calculating. That added $18 to our bill.
On August 2 we are headed to Burlington, VT for four days prior to our last Maestro event nine miles away at Essex Junction, VT. This is a FMCA area rally that will only attract 600 coaches. Maestros will rehearse and perform for a week.
At the conclusion of this rally the trombone will be packed in the closet and we will travel on. We will be certain to come back and get you!
Our travels always have goals of FMCA conventions and rallies. FMCA is Family Motor Coach Association of which we have been members since 1988. www.fmca.com We have rolled from Brunswick, Maine to Los Angeles, Redmond, Oregon and Brooksville,FL to attend these motor coach extravaganzas. That should be enough justification for our travels the 12 years we have been retired and upholding the economy.
July 8, 2009 we spent one night at the KY Horse Park Campground. What an amazing industry we learned about on our bike and foot trips around.
July 9 and 10 we parked at the home of Bruce and Pat Everhart, just outside of Springfield, OH. Their log cabin, tucke
d in the woods, was a wonderful decompression time. Everharts drove us around their lifelong home town. What a treat to hear of Pat’s much respected doctor father and see where Bruce and Pat had lived and worked.A year ago Charles became a Frustrated Mae
stro (you understand!) with 
FMCA.These vocalists and instrumentalist roll the country, meet for pre-rallies to rehearse and caravan into the FMCA conventions as Volunteers to perform. Dressed in red and white these Maestros regularly perform 3 mornings for Morning Coffee and Donuts.
So…this year’s start of our trip was to Bowling Green, OH at the University. Approximately 2725 coaches also arrived. Of this number only 50 are Maestros. Charles had much performing with the band and a Dixieland jazz group. Prior to this July 17-23 week we met in a campground at Van Buren, OH for the start of rehearsals.
While at the convention Roxie attended many computer seminars present by www.geeksontour.com Go check this out. At this FMCA convention she got to assist with their Computer Boot Camp for three, two hour evenings.
We always conduct much business in the Vendor exhibits clarifying RV needs and wants and making purchases.
It must be said that the Bowling Green State U campus is large and impressive offering many courses of study. Lambuth College, Jackson, TN was Roxie’s home growing up. Thus college campuses are happily greeted. Bowling Green State U is flat with an abundance of sidewalks for our bicycling to seminars, rehearsals and exhibits. These made excellent exercise and stroll walks.
August 24 we rolled toward Erie, PA and a campground facing frantic Lake Erie. It provided a fantastic view and was void of air card for going online!!! Cell service was not much better. A treat of this stop was to visit with George and Pat Younkin. Younkins winter with us at Holiday Travel Resort in Leesburg, FL. George became president of our active Computer Club last year. We enjoyed a Sunday afternoon in their beautiful Lake City, PA home. Pat is recovering from a hip replacement. We did float in a slightly calm bay of Lake Erie at Presque Isle State park. Following this we biked four miles on the bike path at Presque Isle. This weekend day put many folks on that path to attend a large celebration with kayak floats, craft fair, reenactment, sand sculptures and archery.
At our campground in Lake Erie we were treated to a sunset over the lake.
July 27 we rolled into Cuba, NY in the foothills of the beautiful Allegany Mountains. Our stop was to visit with Keith and Stella Wood. These folks winter with us in FL. While we have known this couple a while we have become better acquainted in the late spring of 09 when Woody bought a computer! These spring chickens at ages 82 are delightful. Woody and I even video Skype. And, what fun to do this as we roll. Stella treated us to a wonderful healthy meal. We enjoyed a walk around the property and Charles was treated to a four wheeler ride into some of Woody’s 300 timber acres. Our stop to visit was wonderful.
July 29 and 30 we were in Watkins Glen, NY. Attracting us there is the Watkins Glen Gorge and Seneca Lake, one of the NY Finger Lakes. The race track is there but this is not an interest of ours. We could only reserve 2 nights because of a festival on the banks of Seneca across from Clute Campground. So, this year we gave up climbing the gorge which we did three years ago. We did float the lake and enjoyed the water’s eye view of the marina with the many docked sailing boats. We biked and walked to downtown. The rainy weather and our greyhounds in their bright red rain coats and our beagle in her canary yellow rain coat were much enjoyed by folks on the street.
Our reserved time in Watkins Glen expired and we pulled in the rooms, attached our tow Honda
and headed for Fair Haven, NY and Lake Ontario. Our site, with a Lake Ontario view was much enjoyed. We floated in the bay and added another body of water to our kayak float list. This is the first campground that we have ever paid for our three dogs…..at a whopping $3 per dog per day! Stop calculating. That added $18 to our bill.On August 2 we are headed to Burlington, VT for four days prior to our last Maestro event nine miles away at Essex Junction, VT. This is a FMCA area rally that will only attract 600 coaches. Maestros will rehearse and perform for a week.
At the conclusion of this rally the trombone will be packed in the closet and we will travel on. We will be certain to come back and get you!
Friday, March 06, 2009
As I blog this evening in March I reflect on what we have done since the last blog update! We spent the rest of October and November at home. In October we waited for leaves to fall as we gazed at their greenness and we spent November collecting them with our shredder for mulch in the gardens. Of course, when we land at home we do the “many mile check-ups” with our array of doctors. For old folks we find we are ticking quite well!By December 4, 2008, we had arrived on our site at Holiday Travel Resort in Leesburg, FL. We barely have time to settle onto the site before we are swamped with the responsibilities we have collected over the past 5 years. This year completes 6 years of returning to Leesburg, FL and Holiday Travel Resort.
Charles manages the active volley ball program. Let us direct you to www.htrvolleyball.blogspot.com for more information. In the middle of the season they play 4 teams each morning. V ball is played seven days a week. The one day 2009 tournament has just passed with great enthusiasm. It took a lot or organization for Charles and he thrived doing it. V ball will had a yearly party March 9.
Roxie continues to be a part of the Computer Club. Look at www.htrcomputerclub.blogspot.com . She is secretary and helps maintain the bank of computers for pubic use open twenty-four hours a day. Weekly help sessions are attended well as many folks come to assist folks.
By the way----Roxie created the two blogs mentioned previously. We continue to oversee the dog park that we were a part of planning in 2005. Check it out at http://www.htrdogpark.blogspot.com/.
Last summer Charles officially became a Frustrated Maestro with FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association.) These folks are retirees who have much musical experience and play for the conventions and rallies. In this blog see July 27, 2009 for our trip to St. Paul, MN to spend a week with the Maestros.
Charles has several more times to play with the Maestros before returning to FL next December. We will be in Bowling Green, Ohio for FMCA convention in mid July. This will be followed by several rallies. Each time the Maestros assemble ahead of time at an RV park for intense rehearsals. It is just great to find a trombone to the lips once again!
Oh yes, he did play again in Merry Tuba Christmas in The Villages, FL in December.
We spend four months here at www.holidaytravelresort.com in Leesburg, FL.
Mid April we have an appointment in Gaffney, SC at Freightliner. Following this we will land at our brick and mortar home in Franklin, TN. However…itchy wheels will have us on the road just after July begins.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Early in September 2008 we set off for a three week jaunt. Our first stop was an unexpected stay at our motor home factory in Alabama to install new house batteries.
In route to our first camping we stopped at the Space Center in Huntsville, AL to be amazed again at space explorations. We headed northeast to TN’s plateau to Ragland Bottom Corp Campground near Smithville. Corp camps have upgraded many sites to 50 amps and sewer on site. Our intentions were to float on the beautiful Center Hill Lake. Instead nature decided to release full sun forcing us inside away from the 95 mid September heat.
After 5 days we headed to East TN to Dandridge 30 miles east of Knoxville. We camped at TVA’s Douglas Dam Headwater campground to be close to hubby’s cousins and our friends in Dandridge. Dandridge is where we really started life launching into that first band job, first home purchase and first child!
It holds very special memories for the three years we were there.
Cousins live in and on the property of an 1804 home, Old Brick, which has never
left the family name. It faces the beautiful Douglas Lake created by TVA to coral the French Broad River. We spent one month here in the mid sixties. So, stopping is a cozy touch with our past.
After 5 days we headed to East TN to Dandridge 30 miles east of Knoxville. We camped at TVA’s Douglas Dam Headwater campground to be close to hubby’s cousins and our friends in Dandridge. Dandridge is where we really started life launching into that first band job, first home purchase and first child!
It holds very special memories for the three years we were there.
Cousins live in and on the property of an 1804 home, Old Brick, which has never
left the family name. It faces the beautiful Douglas Lake created by TVA to coral the French Broad River. We spent one month here in the mid sixties. So, stopping is a cozy touch with our past.
The beautiful porch with glassed walls looks out to the beautiful Douglass Lake.T
his trip east was begun to end in Myrtle Beach, SC for a Frustrated Maestro Rally at Briarcliffe RV Resort. Approximately 25 Maestros arrived from many states including NY, TX, CT and TN. The end culminated in a performance to the part time and permanent residents of Briarcliffe
While in Myrtle Beach the Greyhounds found romping on the beach time.
Because motor homes need repairs we are in Wilmington, NC to have a fan motor installed in our engine. We are at a KOA waiting for parts. And what luck…this KOA is in the business of KampK9 with a large dog park. Our Beagle, Lucky, is perfectly Queen of agility as she stands head and shoulders above the greyhounds.
his trip east was begun to end in Myrtle Beach, SC for a Frustrated Maestro Rally at Briarcliffe RV Resort. Approximately 25 Maestros arrived from many states including NY, TX, CT and TN. The end culminated in a performance to the part time and permanent residents of Briarcliffe
While in Myrtle Beach the Greyhounds found romping on the beach time.Because motor homes need repairs we are in Wilmington, NC to have a fan motor installed in our engine. We are at a KOA waiting for parts. And what luck…this KOA is in the business of KampK9 with a large dog park. Our Beagle, Lucky, is perfectly Queen of agility as she stands head and shoulders above the greyhounds.
With repairs completed we will head west and find our non-rollinghome. You guessed it…for two months before we fall south to FL.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Welcome back! Our summer-fall adventures are in progress. Because of the current petrol crisis we looked at a schedule that would take us not as far and keep us in one spot longer!
So far our adventure has been fun. We have located Army Corp RV parks using http://www.recreation.gov/ and paid for them online. Old age finally has its perks as we both have Golden Access passport cards.
So far our adventure has been fun. We have located Army Corp RV parks using http://www.recreation.gov/ and paid for them online. Old age finally has its perks as we both have Golden Access passport cards.
June 30 we left our home for our destination in St. Paul, MN and our fourteenth FMCA convention. We traveled to Kentucky’s Lake Barkley, a Corp of Engineer (COE) park with full hookups. After one night we were off to a nice stop over at Tin Cup RV Park in Mahomet, IL for a night. July 4th weekend was spent in Hixton, WI at a KOA that has had the same owner 22 years. These folks have gardened every spot available with wild flowers, plants and garden ornaments.
After traveling into Wisconsin we were about to launch into our purpose for returning to FMCA held this year at the MN State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. Charles finally joined FMCA’s Frustrated Maestros and we were soon at a pre rally in Osseo, WI (south of Eau Clair) at http://www.stoneybrookrvresort.com/ for a 3 day rehearsal schedule. Frustrated Maestros are members of Family Motor Coach Association who play and sing and perform for events at rallies and conventions. This was a first for Charles who has played or directed most of his life.
We arrived a few days ahead to enjoy this resort. Among the memories are meeting Nibbles, a pigmy goat out camping with his owners. This doll was just 3 weeks old and too young to be left at home. Having been born a twin he was abandoned by his mom so his people mom took up the challenge and had correct bottles of milk for him. He bounced around with his red collar and followed his folks around.
After a 3 day rally we caravanned to St. Paul to the MN State Fairground and parked with the Maestros in front of the grandstand for 7 nights. Almost 2500 coaches arrived from across the states. We had purchased generated power and conserved our water. Luckily we found showers on the fairgrounds.
Again rehearsals were intense for 3 days and performances were for early morning coffee-donuts, noon ice cream and opening ceremonies. The director, Rich Kale, was tops and brought much music out of this group of folks. A former college choral director led the chorus that performed with the band. Dressed in the traditional white and red this group is a favorite at these events. Charles was asked to direct one number during the opening ceremonies evening in the grandstand. He also did a solo with the band.
I signed up to monitor 6 hours of seminars and found there were many things to take care at such presentations. For a week our schedules reminded us of the working days of our lives as we passed in the door.
With the convention’s end on July 18 we headed to our favorite spot at the Seven Amana Colonies, IA. Here we regained our energy, did tons of laundry and biked around the beautiful Lily Lake. You will find another Amana visit in this blog on October 7, 2007. We retraced all of those same steps for 6 days.
Iowa has truly been deluged with rain and flooding. The Amana RV Park was standing in water most of the time. The workkamper who parked us found a spot with the workkampers on ground that was a little higher. We were most grateful for this tiny spot! We drove to Coraville and Iowa City, IA one day and witnessed the destruction of the flooding Iowa River in Iowa City. While national news does not mention flooding now these folks are dealing with mold and mildew, FEMA trailers that are producing mold, relocating to hotels to await more trailers, and business that were flooded up to their one story rooftops. People are still hurting from this natural disaster.
Iowa hosts a traditional bike ride from east to west where the route ends as riders dip their tires in the Mississippi River. This ride was coming through one of the Amana Colonies as we departed. The ride attracts 20,000 cyclists!
We left The Seven Amana Colonies, IA, on July 24 and stopped at a Corp Campground at Muscatine, IA. Clark’s Ferry COE is right on the mighty Mississippi River and twice recently has been a part of that river. The campground was closed for about 3 weeks. Just three days before we arrived a nasty wind storm ravaged much of this part of IA and left unreal piles of trees all over this campground. Many trees were splintered and those sites were closed. We spent 3 nights at Clark’s Ferry.
On July 27 we headed south into Illinois to Rend Lake and another Corp rv park, Gun Creek for one night. Rend Lake is large and a favorite spot of ours. But it was for one night only this time. Because,
…….. we are headed into Lock A Corp campground at Ashland City, TN. This puts us just twenty miles from our son and family. We will be there for a while and hope to have some grandson time.
Our plans are to return to our home the middle of August for a possible three weeks. These plans need to be developed. But, they will end with a stop in East TN to visit relatives and friends before going for another Frustrated Maestro weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC the last weekend of September.
With this jaunt accomplished we will have driveway company from our park in FL and accomplish home chores that will end with leaf mulching at the end of November. In December we will be off to our Florida winter park for four months.
We love to hear from you! Please write us at our E mail address.
After traveling into Wisconsin we were about to launch into our purpose for returning to FMCA held this year at the MN State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. Charles finally joined FMCA’s Frustrated Maestros and we were soon at a pre rally in Osseo, WI (south of Eau Clair) at http://www.stoneybrookrvresort.com/ for a 3 day rehearsal schedule. Frustrated Maestros are members of Family Motor Coach Association who play and sing and perform for events at rallies and conventions. This was a first for Charles who has played or directed most of his life.
We arrived a few days ahead to enjoy this resort. Among the memories are meeting Nibbles, a pigmy goat out camping with his owners. This doll was just 3 weeks old and too young to be left at home. Having been born a twin he was abandoned by his mom so his people mom took up the challenge and had correct bottles of milk for him. He bounced around with his red collar and followed his folks around.
After a 3 day rally we caravanned to St. Paul to the MN State Fairground and parked with the Maestros in front of the grandstand for 7 nights. Almost 2500 coaches arrived from across the states. We had purchased generated power and conserved our water. Luckily we found showers on the fairgrounds.
Again rehearsals were intense for 3 days and performances were for early morning coffee-donuts, noon ice cream and opening ceremonies. The director, Rich Kale, was tops and brought much music out of this group of folks. A former college choral director led the chorus that performed with the band. Dressed in the traditional white and red this group is a favorite at these events. Charles was asked to direct one number during the opening ceremonies evening in the grandstand. He also did a solo with the band.
I signed up to monitor 6 hours of seminars and found there were many things to take care at such presentations. For a week our schedules reminded us of the working days of our lives as we passed in the door.
With the convention’s end on July 18 we headed to our favorite spot at the Seven Amana Colonies, IA. Here we regained our energy, did tons of laundry and biked around the beautiful Lily Lake. You will find another Amana visit in this blog on October 7, 2007. We retraced all of those same steps for 6 days.
Iowa has truly been deluged with rain and flooding. The Amana RV Park was standing in water most of the time. The workkamper who parked us found a spot with the workkampers on ground that was a little higher. We were most grateful for this tiny spot! We drove to Coraville and Iowa City, IA one day and witnessed the destruction of the flooding Iowa River in Iowa City. While national news does not mention flooding now these folks are dealing with mold and mildew, FEMA trailers that are producing mold, relocating to hotels to await more trailers, and business that were flooded up to their one story rooftops. People are still hurting from this natural disaster.
Iowa hosts a traditional bike ride from east to west where the route ends as riders dip their tires in the Mississippi River. This ride was coming through one of the Amana Colonies as we departed. The ride attracts 20,000 cyclists!
We left The Seven Amana Colonies, IA, on July 24 and stopped at a Corp Campground at Muscatine, IA. Clark’s Ferry COE is right on the mighty Mississippi River and twice recently has been a part of that river. The campground was closed for about 3 weeks. Just three days before we arrived a nasty wind storm ravaged much of this part of IA and left unreal piles of trees all over this campground. Many trees were splintered and those sites were closed. We spent 3 nights at Clark’s Ferry.
On July 27 we headed south into Illinois to Rend Lake and another Corp rv park, Gun Creek for one night. Rend Lake is large and a favorite spot of ours. But it was for one night only this time. Because,
…….. we are headed into Lock A Corp campground at Ashland City, TN. This puts us just twenty miles from our son and family. We will be there for a while and hope to have some grandson time.
Our plans are to return to our home the middle of August for a possible three weeks. These plans need to be developed. But, they will end with a stop in East TN to visit relatives and friends before going for another Frustrated Maestro weekend in Myrtle Beach, SC the last weekend of September.
With this jaunt accomplished we will have driveway company from our park in FL and accomplish home chores that will end with leaf mulching at the end of November. In December we will be off to our Florida winter park for four months.
We love to hear from you! Please write us at our E mail address.
More pictures arrived in your invitation to this blog because I have not accomplished inserting more than one picture!!
Sunday, October 07, 2007
October 7, 2007
Our Westward Ho trip was winding down. After leaving the fun of Mitchell, South Dakota we headed into unknown lands in Spirit Lake, Iowa. The goal of stopping was to kayak in the state of Iowa. Constant winds and cool conditions kept us beached on the land. But the discovery of Spirit Lake was an amazing spread of lakes with many homes fronting on them.
We proved again that you can function on the road when it became necessary to see a veterinarian. Our greyhound Libby needed dental care for the fast approaching gingivitis. We were very impressed with the Spirit Lake All Pets Animal Clinic and the care we received. With antibiotics we were able to make it to TN to schedule a dental cleaning with our greyhound vet.
We spent September 26 through Sept. 30 in Amana, IA enjoying The Seven Amana Colonies while camped in the spacious Amana RV Campground. We have spent a great amount of time in Amana since 1999 when we accidentally discovered this German bred culture holding true to its roots while embracing technology.
A small group of Germans in the turbulent 18th century sought freedom from their religious persecution and eventually moved to the New York State Buffalo area. However, needing more room for their progressive and yet simple communal life they found land in Iowa near the now Cedar Rapids along the Iowa River. They established six villages a mile or two apart which was part of 25,000 acres. Amana, East Amana, West Amana, South Amana, High Amana and Middle Amana are small and vibrant towns today. In time they purchased the Homestead Village in 1861 and the Homestead railroad gave them a transport for their goods. Furniture and clocks, treasurers from the woolen mill, and the brewery became hallmarks of Amana.
This communal life style with communal kitchens continued until the brink of the Great Depressions in 1932. At this point in time Amana set aside its communal way of life. They wanted their since of belonging to continue so they gave each family its own home and released them to work outside the Amanas. Today many of these descents continue to live and work in the Amana companies. Two years after dissolving the communal ties Amana Refrigeration was born and continues now with its impressive factory.
We completely enjoy Amana each time we go. And our enjoyment was heightened by getting to spend time with Elaine and Frank VanderBroek from Monroe, IA and Mary Ann and Pat Mannell from Georgetown, ONT.
The VanderBroeks are graceful dancers and that is how we met watching them dance to the beautiful German music at an early Oktoberfest weekend. They came this year to spend some time with us before they were off to Festhalle to dance at the Oktoberfest activities. Their gracefulness has earned them a fan club.
Our love of greyhounds began in Amana in 2003 when we met Pat Mannell walking his greyhound, Argus on the campground. Fate played a part and we followed each other across South Dakota for three more rv parks. By this time we were attached to the beauty of the greyhound and were slowly becoming hooked. Our friendship with Mannells began and we have visited in Canada with them and they have hooked up with us in the US and even parked in our driveway.
To our delight they E mailed that they would end their September trip with a stop in Amana. We spent a grand 5 days with them and got to know their newly adopted greyhound, Susie. Sweet Susie is slightly larger than our Trixie and sports white “sox and bib” in contracts to her dark brindle markings to make her all too fetching.
So our excursion begun on July 12 came to an end on October 3, 2007 when we pulled into our driveway. We traveled through the center of the USA getting a sample of the intense heat as we rolled across Denver and into Salt Lake City, UT. We put our heads on the pillow at thirty six stops and from West TN to California and almost into Canada at Glacier National Park. In fact we were in MO, AR, KS, CO, UT, CA, OR, ID, WY, MT, SD, MN, IA, IL, KY, TN; that equals 16 states. We did not stop to sleep in KY and MN.
We are firm believers that you get to know a community from your feet and your seat. You sample their friendship in the grocery stores and on the streets. We spend as much time on our bikes and on our feet as we can gathering a feel for each community we visit.
On this jaunt we have seen an amazing amount of beautiful land. We did generator business in Denver, drove in The Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO; viewed the Morman Tabernacle and the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City, UT and made our way to the impressive Redwoods in northern California. The Oregon coast was traveled for several days giving us views of impressive rocks glistening in the water and sunlight.
Labor Day was spent in West Glacier, MT and gave us a chance to drive the narrow roads into Glacier National Park and float on McDonald Lake in Glacier National Park.
We stopped for a second time in Yellowstone National Park and captured Old Faithful as it habitually releases hot water for a spectacular show. Heading south we arrived in Grand Teton National Park and were amazed by those rock mountains. Here we floated Jackson Lake just below their protective presence.
Our trip turned eastward as that was the way to eventually get home. Again we stopped in Hill City, SD and drove to Mount Rushmore to view the 4 presidents carved in the mid 1900s from the mountain. We spent a day driving in Custer State Park and time at Crazy Horse Museum. On across South Dakota we spent time enjoying the famous Wall Drug Store at Wall, SD and making sure the Badlands were as we had remembered them.
And…as you have read we journeyed into The Seven Amana Colonies.in Eastern Iowa.
Scrolling through this year’s trip you can get more web pages and details of each of these stops.
A lasting impression of our westward venture was the constant smell and views of the ravages of fire. While we were in Montana there were 23 reported wild fires on the local news. There were websites with constant updates and TV news to help us stay informed. We were not delayed once by the fires but we did drive past a huge firefighter encampment just outside Missoula, MT. We have a new respect for those men and women dedicating time and effort to gain control of the fires.
Thanks for coming along with us. It makes it very enjoyable to hear from you and even get your pictures from visits where we have stopped.
Our Westward Ho trip was winding down. After leaving the fun of Mitchell, South Dakota we headed into unknown lands in Spirit Lake, Iowa. The goal of stopping was to kayak in the state of Iowa. Constant winds and cool conditions kept us beached on the land. But the discovery of Spirit Lake was an amazing spread of lakes with many homes fronting on them.
We proved again that you can function on the road when it became necessary to see a veterinarian. Our greyhound Libby needed dental care for the fast approaching gingivitis. We were very impressed with the Spirit Lake All Pets Animal Clinic and the care we received. With antibiotics we were able to make it to TN to schedule a dental cleaning with our greyhound vet.
We spent September 26 through Sept. 30 in Amana, IA enjoying The Seven Amana Colonies while camped in the spacious Amana RV Campground. We have spent a great amount of time in Amana since 1999 when we accidentally discovered this German bred culture holding true to its roots while embracing technology.
A small group of Germans in the turbulent 18th century sought freedom from their religious persecution and eventually moved to the New York State Buffalo area. However, needing more room for their progressive and yet simple communal life they found land in Iowa near the now Cedar Rapids along the Iowa River. They established six villages a mile or two apart which was part of 25,000 acres. Amana, East Amana, West Amana, South Amana, High Amana and Middle Amana are small and vibrant towns today. In time they purchased the Homestead Village in 1861 and the Homestead railroad gave them a transport for their goods. Furniture and clocks, treasurers from the woolen mill, and the brewery became hallmarks of Amana.
This communal life style with communal kitchens continued until the brink of the Great Depressions in 1932. At this point in time Amana set aside its communal way of life. They wanted their since of belonging to continue so they gave each family its own home and released them to work outside the Amanas. Today many of these descents continue to live and work in the Amana companies. Two years after dissolving the communal ties Amana Refrigeration was born and continues now with its impressive factory.
We completely enjoy Amana each time we go. And our enjoyment was heightened by getting to spend time with Elaine and Frank VanderBroek from Monroe, IA and Mary Ann and Pat Mannell from Georgetown, ONT.
The VanderBroeks are graceful dancers and that is how we met watching them dance to the beautiful German music at an early Oktoberfest weekend. They came this year to spend some time with us before they were off to Festhalle to dance at the Oktoberfest activities. Their gracefulness has earned them a fan club.
Our love of greyhounds began in Amana in 2003 when we met Pat Mannell walking his greyhound, Argus on the campground. Fate played a part and we followed each other across South Dakota for three more rv parks. By this time we were attached to the beauty of the greyhound and were slowly becoming hooked. Our friendship with Mannells began and we have visited in Canada with them and they have hooked up with us in the US and even parked in our driveway.
To our delight they E mailed that they would end their September trip with a stop in Amana. We spent a grand 5 days with them and got to know their newly adopted greyhound, Susie. Sweet Susie is slightly larger than our Trixie and sports white “sox and bib” in contracts to her dark brindle markings to make her all too fetching.
So our excursion begun on July 12 came to an end on October 3, 2007 when we pulled into our driveway. We traveled through the center of the USA getting a sample of the intense heat as we rolled across Denver and into Salt Lake City, UT. We put our heads on the pillow at thirty six stops and from West TN to California and almost into Canada at Glacier National Park. In fact we were in MO, AR, KS, CO, UT, CA, OR, ID, WY, MT, SD, MN, IA, IL, KY, TN; that equals 16 states. We did not stop to sleep in KY and MN.
We are firm believers that you get to know a community from your feet and your seat. You sample their friendship in the grocery stores and on the streets. We spend as much time on our bikes and on our feet as we can gathering a feel for each community we visit.
On this jaunt we have seen an amazing amount of beautiful land. We did generator business in Denver, drove in The Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, CO; viewed the Morman Tabernacle and the Great Salt Lake in Salt Lake City, UT and made our way to the impressive Redwoods in northern California. The Oregon coast was traveled for several days giving us views of impressive rocks glistening in the water and sunlight.
Labor Day was spent in West Glacier, MT and gave us a chance to drive the narrow roads into Glacier National Park and float on McDonald Lake in Glacier National Park.
We stopped for a second time in Yellowstone National Park and captured Old Faithful as it habitually releases hot water for a spectacular show. Heading south we arrived in Grand Teton National Park and were amazed by those rock mountains. Here we floated Jackson Lake just below their protective presence.
Our trip turned eastward as that was the way to eventually get home. Again we stopped in Hill City, SD and drove to Mount Rushmore to view the 4 presidents carved in the mid 1900s from the mountain. We spent a day driving in Custer State Park and time at Crazy Horse Museum. On across South Dakota we spent time enjoying the famous Wall Drug Store at Wall, SD and making sure the Badlands were as we had remembered them.
And…as you have read we journeyed into The Seven Amana Colonies.in Eastern Iowa.
Scrolling through this year’s trip you can get more web pages and details of each of these stops.
A lasting impression of our westward venture was the constant smell and views of the ravages of fire. While we were in Montana there were 23 reported wild fires on the local news. There were websites with constant updates and TV news to help us stay informed. We were not delayed once by the fires but we did drive past a huge firefighter encampment just outside Missoula, MT. We have a new respect for those men and women dedicating time and effort to gain control of the fires.
Thanks for coming along with us. It makes it very enjoyable to hear from you and even get your pictures from visits where we have stopped.
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