Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Ohio Canal

We’ve had a lot of rain in the Northwest corner of Ohio this week. . .

and this poor guy somehow pulled into the

pull throughs the wrong way. . .so. . .

instead of being on the gravel pad. . .

he is off in the very soft, rain soaked, saturated grass. . .

buried up to his axles, I’m afraid. . .been there, done that!

Well. . .not exactly THAT. . .but the being stuck part. . .

Feel your pain buddy. . .

but this beautiful little American Goldfinch wasn’t deterred a bit by the rain. . .

he was taking full advantage of the puddles. . .

watching him definitely brightened my day!

another bright spot in our week was driving over to

Historic Ashtabula to meet fellow RV’ers Connie and Bob. . .

they are really great folk, who call Ashtabula home. . .

Bob was a school teacher in the area. . .and they now

have a Travel Agency that they run from their RV. . .

as they travel around the country. . .

We met up at the Harbor Perk. . .isn’t this a glorious looking little

downtown area. . .I wish I could show you more. . .

but with all the cars. . .electric lines. . .and telephone poles,

it just doesn’t translate as to how lovely it really is.

Finally. . .sunshine on Friday. . .so we headed out on a day trip. . .

unless you live in Ohio. . .bet’cha never heard of this one? ? ?

The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is glorious. . .

especially when ya been cooped up all week. . .and cabin fever is setting in!

It encompasses the Ohio and Erie Canal 

and has a fabulous hiking/biking trail. . .

originally the tow path used by the mules

which towed the canal boats along the canal. . .

smooth. . .level. . .shaded. . .all the things needed

for out-a-shape. . .older folk. . .

the very first thing we saw as soon as we got started. . .

Mom wasted no time giving instructions to head out. . .

a portion of the Jaite Paper Mill is still standing along the edge of the towpath. . .

the sign says the buildings were torn down due to safety issues. . .

but the machinery is being developed as a future exhibit. . .

I think these are some type of lilies. . .I just loved seeing them,

and knowing that at some point in history someone took the time

to do some beautification of “the ditch” or the Canal. . .

and today, almost a hundred years later. . .

there is still proof of their efforts for me to enjoy.

as we rode northwards on the tow path from Boston, OH. . .

the remains of the Ohio Canal were on our right. . .

and the Cuyahoga River was on our left. . .

there’s the coolest thing along the tow path. . .there are train depots. . .

you can wait at the depot, and for $3 pp they will load your bikes, and take you back to your trailhead. . .

pretty sweet deal. . .that’s what we really wanted to do. . .

but the next Southbound train was not due for another hour and twenty minutes. . .

we decided we could just ride back in that amount of time. . .

yeah. . .remember me mentioning the out of shape part. . .

the last two miles back were grueling. . .

at one point I had to stop just because all the vertebrae in my spine

were stacked right on top of each other and my tail bone

was feelin’ it. . .no matter that I added one of those

extra wide, extra padded, super duper seats. . .nope. . .wasn’t helping a bit. . .

finally. . .after (according to my Map My Ride App) 9.56 miles. . .

I saw this beautiful site. . .originally the General Store and Gas Station at

Boston OH. . .a mill town located along the canal. . .

The building now serves as the Boston Visitor Center and is

staffed by National Park personnel. . .very friendly and helpful folk.

What a wonderful, fabulous day we had touring the

Cuyahoga Valley NP and the Ohio Erie Towpath and Canal Area. . .

My only regret is that I forgot we needed to go see

Brandywine Falls. . .so I’ve included the link so you can see how beautiful it would have been. . .

If you ever visit the park. . .I’m quite sure you should go and see it. . .

Here’s more really great pics of the canal. . . and more images for Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Hope you enjoy!

‘til next time,

Janice and Dave

Day Tripping to Erie PA for a Little Shopping Therapy. . .

and to meet up with RV’ing and blogging friends

JeanMarie and Ray of Me and Ray and a Dog Named Grey blogging fame. . .

we somehow connected a couple of years ago. . .

just as they were getting started on their Full Time RV’ing journey. . .

so it was fun to relive all the tales of packing up the house. . .

Ray cutting the tree limb down on the ladder and the

ensuing months of recovery that went with that. . .

plus all the fun places we’ve all been. . .

and now, they’ve gotten them a toad. . .so RV travel will be even more enjoyable!

Really great to see you guys. . .enjoyed the visit very much!

not a very good pic. . .but the other reason we

decided to go to Erie. . .a pair of Crocs. . .

After reading the RV Dreams Journal blog posts about Niagara Falls

(I’ve been saving those blog post links for like two years)

and discovering that they issue you reusable rain ponchos

and water sandals. . .we decided that we’d rather

just wear crocs over there and take along our

Frog Togs. . .and not be concerned about

borrowing their gear. . .thus a shopping trip was needed. . .

a not successful shopping trip I might add. . .

but since we were there in Erie a little sightseeing would also be great.

first stop. . .Port Erie Bicentennial Tower

for a mere $3 pp. . .you can ride an elevator to the top of the

three story structure. . .pretty interesting actually. . .

a nice view of Downtown Erie PA. . .

A Greek Orthodox Church. . .

a couple of lighthouses located over on Presque Isle. . .

and a beautiful view of the Harbor along with a pretty good

lunch of a Lake Erie Yellow Perch Sandwich and Clam Chowder. . .

at Smuggler's Wharf Restaurant conveniently located Harbor Side

right across from our tourist destination of the day. . .

 

I’m including a few links of other places I wanted to see. . .

but with all the visiting and the shopping time had gotten away

from us and we needed to head back. . .

so glad we did. . .about 5 minutes from our exit off of I 90

a huge thunderstorm hit. . .wind really whipping. . .

buckets of rain. . .and lightning strikes coming straight down.

 

We were happy to exit the freeway and drive the State Hwy the rest of the way. . .

all’s well that end’s well. . .and the storm dropped the temps by 20* which was great. . .

 

Anywhere. . .here’s the rest of the links. . .

check them out. . .and if you are ever near Erie PA. . .

go see them, and let me know how they were. . .

Old Presque’ Isle Light

Presque Isle Light

North Pier Light

Presque Isle State Park

 

‘til next time,

Janice and Dave

 

 

Playing Tourist at Geneva on the Lake

hmmm. . .Geneva on the Lake. . .what to say. . .what to say? ? ?

well. . .the brochure is great. . .much better in fact than the actual place. . .

but. . .

it is a Summer Seaside Village. . .and I could definitely see the appeal of

getting away from the city and spending the summer here in one of the cute little cottages. . .

we didn't really try to get any pics ourselves. . .

but if you want to see how the town looks

you can click here. . .

about four miles inland. . .the little town of Geneva was much more appealing to us. . .

however. . .not really being crafty, boutique, tourist shop type shoppers

we only spent a little time in the downtown area and moved on to other things. . .

like a much better photo op of Lake Erie. . .

and again. . .I love the water. . .

Nothing really scheduled for the next few days. . .so,

until next time,

Janice and Dave

Today Was the Day. . .

When your brown and gold coach. . .which does not show dirt easily,

is so filthy that it’s obvious. . .

it’s time to get on the work clothes and do something!

and when that is finished. . .a well deserved break!

 

Tomorrow, Geneva on the Lake

Til next time,

Janice and Dave

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