Lake Erie and the Great Lakes

I’ve been fascinated by the Great Lakes since the first time

I read about them in a geography class. . .

so knowing we were only a few miles from Lake Erie was exciting. . .

we got the rig set up. . .and rushed right over to Ashtabula to lay eyes on it. . .

it was even more massive than I had imagined. . .it looked and sounded like the Gulf of Mexico. . .

only without the fishy smell.  I guess the wind had the sand stirred up,

because it was very, very muddy looking, although we could see clear blue water out near the horizon line.

not sure what temp the water is at. . .but the closer we got to the lake. . .

the more the thermometer dropped. . .to this glorious 65*. . .air conditioned sunshine!

Kenisee Lake RV Resort is part of our Thousand Trails Membership Program. . .

so when we realized how packed everything was going to be for the Fourh of July weekend. . .

and how ridiculous the prices were ($294 per week)

we decided to just schedule three weeks here at $3 per night

and stay put until all the craziness is over. . .

 

We really just thought we’d get a lot of chores done,

washing and waxing the coach, and miscellaneous projects. . .

so we have been pleasantly surprised to find out how much there is to do in the area. . .

seems we’ll be a lot busier playing tourist than we had anticipated. . .

we’ll keep you posted. . .

 

Til next time,

Janice and Dave

State Capital Trail Continues. . .

another beautiful and successful day in my quest to photograph all 50 State Capitals. . .

we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Alum Creek State Park just out of Columbus,

and the most amazing thing is. . .this park participates in Passport America,

so we have a 50 amp full service (including sewer) site for only $22 per night. . .

almost unheard of in a State Park. . .by the time you pay the extra fees they all

seem to tack on. . .it’s usually closer to $40 per night . . .

really, really recommend checking it out if you have PA and you are headed this direction. . .

this beautiful little bird brightened my morning. . .

not sure yet what it is. . .I’ll hafta research my birding book. . .

but it is lovely. . .travel day tomorrow. . .

 

We will stay at our Thousand Trails Membership Park just north of Cleveland

for the next few weeks. . .get past the Fourth of July holiday. . .

and then.  .Niagara Falls. . .looking forward to it!

 

Til next time,

Janice

 

Indianapolis was a Bust. . .too bad!

Several miles out on I 70 as we approached Indianapolis. . .

we began to see a huge plume of smoke. . .

which continued to get worse the closer we got to the downtown area. . .

Dave later googled it to find out that it was a downtown warehouse. . .

and required 150 firefighters to get it under control. . .

being an industrial fire fighter I’m sure Dave would have loved

to go over and give some instruction. . .

instead of needing to keep his eyes on the road. . .

and get us through the maze of downtown traffic!

Needless to say. . .exiting to go by the Indiana State House

was out of the question. . .so we discussed plan B. . .

get the motor home parked, and come back in the Jeep. . .

until we got a good look at westbound traffic. . .

ummmm. . .no thank you!

So we will return to Indianapolis at some future date

when we have even more time to explore. . .

now. . .on to Ohio. . .

Until next time,

Janice

St Louis–Gateway to the West

First off. . .in all my imaginations of “The Arch”

I pictured it straddling the Mississippi River. . .

you know. . .one foot in Missouri. . .

one foot in Illinois. . .

well. . . guess I found out different. . .ha ha!

In retrospect, and now that I’ve seen it. . .I realize. . .

that would’a had to be a mighty, mighty big structure!

630 feet was plenty big for me. . .

the ride to the top was in a little barrel contraption with seats. . .

five seats containing five full size bodies. . .aii yaiii yaii. . .

a wee bit of panic set in when it stopped at the top, and the door did not open immediately. . .

the observation deck was a wee bit like being in a submarine. . .

about 15 small windows on each side. . .

and about a hundred people milling around. . .rotating windows.

not really my favorite tourist experience ever. . .

but I’m glad I did it. . .and the views were worth it!

The Old Court House and Downtown St Louis

Busch Stadium

and our lovely home. . . parked across the river

The Journey to the West Museum located at the base of the monument was extremely interesting. . .

those pioneers chose a very, very difficult life for themselves and their families. . .

I think I like my covered wagon much more than theirs. . .

One of my favorite things to do is check out the postcards in the gift shop. . .

I figure those photographers know all the best angles. . .

based on their findings, I got a couple of good shots. ..

this one from the train station at the Eads Bridge. . .

and this one from the front of the Old Court House

our sightseeing cruise we had scheduled on the paddlewheeler was cancelled. . .

just ‘cause the river was out of it’s banks and there were

logs and trees everywhere in the water. . .go figure. . .LOL!

and last stop. . .Lacledes Landing. . .lots of little touristy shops and pubs. . .

the Old Spaghetti Factory came highly recommended. . .delicious!

the Casino Queen RV Park worked out beautifully as a home base. . .

a little pricey at $49 per night for big rigs. . .but with a Good Sam discount. . .only $45. ..

fabulous 24 hour security, and a shuttle to take you to the casino and the train station. . .

we never took the Jeep out of the lot. . .and would not have unhooked it at all. . .

except that the pedestals were located at the very rear of the parking space,

and I didn’t want to drag out every inch of sewer hose we owned. . .

the buffet at the Casino was way above your standard buffet fare. . .really great. . .

and best of all. . .no smoking in the Casino. ..so a very pleasant atmosphere.  .

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay, and will return in the future to tour more of the

outlying areas around the city. . .today, we are headed to Indianapolis. . .

and the Eastern Time Zone. . .oh boy!  Temps have been staying in the

lower 80’s the last couple of days. . .which is lovely. . .

another ten degrees lower will be fantastic!

Until next time,

Janice

A Wise Decision

Our decision to leave Little Rock a day early,

and drive halfway to St Louis turned out to be the right call. . .

unbeknownst to us. . .Hwy 67 (the freeway portion) is not completed

which entailed being routed over to the original State Highway,

which ran through several small towns. . .not a problem at all,

just glad to have gotten that portion done yesterday,

leaving only 3 hours of smooth sailing in to St Louis today. . .

It’s always great to have a pull though for an overnite. . .

parking under the electromagnetic high wires was just an added bonus. . .LOL. . .

one I didn’t even realize until saw this picture of the coach just now. . .

hmmm. . .my observation skills definitely need some polishing. . .

anyway. . .putting that aside. . .

Camelot RV Campground was a perfect midway stopping point. . .

right on Hwy 67. . .but no noticeable highway noise with the a/c running.

$29 per night. . .cash or check only. . .not too bad for the convenience. . .

 

We are off to St Louis this morning.  I am ashamed to tell you. . .

we are only there to see the Arch. . .no other reason. . .

although we may take a River Boat Cruise on the Mississippi. . .we’ll see!

and since fellow park hosts from Stephen F Austin SP only live an hour away,

we will get to have supper with them. . .that will be nice!

 

Til next time,

Janice

 

 

 

Little Rock. . .and the Arkansas State House

Here we are. . .one more State Capital checked off the list. . .

I was totally intrigued that Tiffany’s of New York

designed the doors and the chandeliers for the building. . .

they were just as beautiful as I anticipated them being.

In all of my research on Little Rock the fact kept arising about

the six bridges spanning the Arkansas River. . .

the bridges hold such significance that the

Clinton Presidential Library is designed to look like a bridge. . .

although I was interested in seeing the raccoon prints inside,

where evidently raccoons had a party during construction. . .

I didn’t really want to pay $7 each to do so. . .

I know lots of folks love museums and such. . .

but it’s just really not my thing. . .

so we did not tour the Presidential Library. . .

nor the Old State House Museum. . .

I’m sure both are fascinating. . .

and if you enjoy that sort of thing,

you should check them out.

We did pay a visit to the Farmer’s Market at

the Little Rock River Market. . .forgot to get a pic

but came away with Arkansas tomatoes, fresh squash,

homemade peanut and pecan brittle. . .they were delicious. . .

and a cantaloupe.  I really wanted a watermelon. . .

but the logistics of carrying it back to the Jeep

did away with that notion.

 

We rode the trolley all around town. . .one of our favorite things to do. . .

Central High School

After reading RV’ing friends Margery and Paul’s account of Central High School
on their blog. . .and doing some further research  I knew I wanted to see the

place where such a historic event in our history took place. . .

but unlike Paul and Margery. . .I simply could not bring myself

to go through the visitor’s center

. . .

just reading the account online of what the Little Rock Nine endured

and to read each of their testamonials at the State House

almost brings me to tears. . .and makes me feel sick to my stomach. . .

I knew going through the visitor center would make me very, very upset. . .

I honor those brave young men and women for their strength in the face of adversity!

The Old Mill

Our last stop for the day was The Old Mill. . .

featured in a famous movie you may have heard of. . .

Gone With The Wind

Faux Bois (fake wood) sculpture created by Senor Dionicio Rodriguez

the artist in me was completely intrigued by the

fake wood sculptures surrounding the mill. . .

I will be looking for more of this artist’s work as we travel. . .

Our plan for today was to visit Pinnacle Mountain where I had read

that the views from the top were fabulous. . .

but given the 95* heat

we decided to forego any further outside activities. . .

leave a day early, and drive halfway to St Louis.. .

my only regret in leaving early is that Margery and Paul had

described the Whole Hog Café’s offerings so vividly. . .

I really wanted to try it. . .I guess that will hafta wait. . .

We have safely arrived at our midway point for the day.

I am really, really loving travel in the motor home. . .

Dave is so glad. . .I was such a bad traveler with the truck. . .

needing to stop all the time for this or that. . .now I can just go

back and get whatever it is I am wanting at the moment. . .

Dave calls me the wanderer. . .I love it!

Til next time,

Janice

It’s No Cooler Here. . .

well. . .we headed north today. . .

first stop. . .Little Rock AR. . .where it is hot, hot, hot. . .

95* at 7 pm. . .seriously now. . .not sure how far north I will need to go?

but somewhere about 75 or so would be great!

Although two of our RV Blogging buddies who were in Little Rock recently

chose to stay out at the Corp of Engineers Park. . .

we decided to stay rather close to downtown. . .overlooking the Arkansas River. . .

and directly across from the Clinton Presidential Library. . .

trust me. . .our Passport America rate of $10.50 per night did not get us up close and personal

to the river views. . .you can just see our nose to the right of the flags. . .but hey. . .

for that kinda price. . .and FHU 50 amp service. . .I am one happy camper. . .

 

There is a bridge we can walk to cross the river. . .

so we may do that in the morning and ride the River Rail Electric Street Car Trolley

and see the sights. . .the Arkansas State House is high on the list of places to check out. . .

 

Until next time,

Janice