Ohio

It has been a few days, hasn't it?

We drove out of Middletown around 1:00, starting our 6 hour journey to Ohio. Surprisingly, we didn't run into ANY toll roads in the states that we traveled through. We DID run into crazy rain storms. The rains here, when it decides to really rain, are so heavy that seeing the road through the buckets is very difficult.

(Joe contends that it doesn't actually rain in Oregon most of the time- it just sprinkles/mists/spritzes from September to April or May. Since he grew up over here, I do get his point. We get rain like the stuff here only on occasion!)

There are a multitude of eighteen wheelers that take the road we traveled, and they all want to be ahead of the truck in front of them. Being stuck behind a truck in either lane is no fun!Sometimes, the truck that is passing is efficient- gets out in the left lane, passes and goes back- but often, they attempt to pass on a hill.

Since they are moving only a bit faster than the truck they want to get around, we would lose all of our upward momentum waiting for them to pass. The view was sometimes amazing- with the fog rising through the hills. Surprisingly, we still got better gas mileage on the first leg than Joe expected.

We finally reached Cory's house at around 9:00 PM. Backing into the driveway was an interesting experience. It is long and only about two feet wider than the trailer. Joe managed to get it into the space, so we settled in for the next several days. We drove up to see Joe's mom in the care facility. She is hanging in there, some days are better than others. Friday, she was pretty low key. She noticed that we were there, but didn't really show any recognition. Friday evening, Joe's sister Judy stopped over. She was up from Florida to visit her mom. We hung out for a couple of hours, and then on Saturday morning, we went to lunch at Farmer Boy Restaurant. Yum!

We went over to Justin's house (Justin was raised by Joe from the age of 3, so he thinks of Joe as his dad) and swam on Saturday.

There was a herd of people- Joe's nieces and their families, Cory's mom, Joe's sister Beth (mom of the nieces) and Justin's kids.

Kira and Koen had a great time; Cory's son, Travis, and Josh loved swimming. We wore them out. :o) Akron is the home of the Goodyear Blimp- we had a great view as it flew over the pool on Saturday.

Today, we went to Mass at St. Joseph's (Greek-Catholic). It was a nice service, and enough similar to the services that I attend that I knew what to do. Joe had attended services there before, so he knew many of the parishoners. Then we headed out to the care center to see Joe's mom again. She was pretty perky today- happy to see the kids and Joe. She wanted to go outside (and it was HOT today) and travel the halls a bit, so it was a good day. We ate at Village Inn, which wasn't great. (Kira and Koen liked the chicken, though.) Joe and I didn't, much.

Joe had spoken with a wine purchaser for a grocery store about Ohio wines. He was given the name of one, The Winery at Wolf Creek, which happened to be out in the vicinity of the care center. Have to say that, compared to our wineries in the Willamette Valley and Yamhill Valley, the wines were pretty one-toned. We didn't buy any. (There was one "sweet" peach wine that was soooo not sweet! I thought it tasted like the bitter flavor at the center of the pit, to me at least. Joe said it didn't to him. Needless to say, we chose to let them keep their wine for someone else to drink.)

Justin and his family invited us over to swim again today. It was warmer today than it has been for the last two or three, so it was a good thing. Aside from the mosquitoes- which are plentiful out by the pool- everyone had a great time. (Justin's youngest just turned 1 last week. He is CUTE!)

We restrained ourselves and didn't buy any Strickland's frozen custard today (though the kids did want to!). We stopped yesterday, for maple and banana, and it was so yummy! Maybe tomorrow. ;o)

Follow-up

Forgot one anecdote from our trip to High Point St. Park.

Before Kira started her migraine, we noticed a mallard and her young ducklings in the lake. There was a girl- maybe 14 or so, along with an older woman- taking pictures and feeding the ducklings. Of course, the ducklings, being so young and foolish, were coming closer and closer to the 14 year old. She would reach her hand under a duckling and lift it out of the water. Of course, the mama duck didn't like that much. She would quack and lunge a bit in the water as a warning. By this time, Kira and I were there, taking our own pictures. I told the girl that the mama duck was warning her to leave the babies alone.

This went on for about 5 minutes, with the mama's warnings making the ducklings back away for a bit, then the bread enticed them back closer to the girl. She tried again to pick up one of the ducklings, and again, the mama lunged and quacked, a bit more emphatically, as the duckling scooted out of the girl's hand.

Can you predict what will happen? Of course, the girl didn't listen to me when I said that she was being warned to leave the babies alone. One last time, one of the ducklings came close enough to be picked up, and the girl lifted it out of the water. The mama duck came unglued. She went up on her feet on the water, flapping her wings to get loft, and attacked the girl! Her beak was pinching and wings beating for about 30 seconds, before the young woman with the girl helped brush the duck off. I said, "She gave you two warnings to leave the ducklings alone."

She and the woman were shocked and laughing. No idea if they actually learned anything. And they say that animals are clueless!!! The mama duck and ducklings headed for deeper water and safety.

Oh, and I looked up silhouettes of bird of prey. That was definitely an eagle- most likely a golden since there was no "bald" head- but soooo cool that we actually got a photo of one. I was tickled to capture the scream, too. We could hear it clearly- even from a hundred feet or so up.

Still no word from the service department. Sigh.

Hawk's Nest

Again today, we made lemonade- as per the advice of Leon. He suggested that we take a drive out the most scenic road in New York- so appealing it is often used for car commercials. So we headed for Port Jervis, and points beyond. Port Jervis has some beautiful old architecture.

The section of the highway that we drove along is called Hawk's Nest. Not sure why- though if I were a hawk, and there wasn't a road, it would be a good place to nest. Maybe that is the reasoning behind the name?!?

I only took a couple of photos before giving the camera to Joe. Heights- especially looking over into an abyss- really not my thing! The kids didn't have that problem, though.


It has a lovely view of the Delaware River, and the road itself is lined with a rock wall. It is twisty and turny- made me carsick- but you can see why car commercials would appreciate it. Sadly, as you can see, they are working on the road, so it isn't quite so scenic!

From there, our directive was to drive 15 miles further, to the Roebling Bridge. This was really cool! Roebling is the architect of the Brooklyn Bridge, as well as two other famous bridges. He designed this and 3 others, as aquaducts, in order to get rafts and barges across the Delaware, and around a dam. The dam was to help the log rafts get down the river. The bridge has a cool suspension system that anchors in the ground, and then holds tension across the span of the bridge. Cars now drive through the bottom portion that once held 6 feet of water. There are walkways on both sides of the river, so you can walk above the cars and look over into the river. It was really amazing to see the structure- and read about the history of it. The other 3 aquaducts that he designed along the Delaware were not saved- this one was because someone saw that it could be transitioned into a bridge.

We stopped to eat in Lackawaxen at Two Rivers Junction. It was...interesting. We all had breakfast- and it tasted pretty good going in, but now I am paying for it. Blech! It is also apparently an observatory for local bald eagles, but we didn't see any. We did see a hawk or golden eagle flying over us on the bridge. If any of you are good at silhouettes of birds of prey, we would appreciate knowing exactly what it was. I did catch a photo of it screaming, which was pretty cool, but will show you one that is probably more easily identified.

Aside from the stomach discomfort (partly from the road), I really enjoyed the excursion. The dealership service department thinks they may be done with the truck early enough tomorrow that we can head out- which would be good, since our host and hostess leave for Canada and a family reunion- on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly, and next time I write, it will be from Akron!

Middletown, New York

When we left Maine, we headed for Middletown, NY. With the toll roads under control- we were prepared this time for them this time! we thought it would be a smooth 5 hour drive. The roads weren't terribly crowded- being a Saturday helped. We didn't go through New York City, but we did go through Hartford. This time, there wasn't much in the way of traffic until we ran into a traffic accident. We managed to get through that with only a bit of sitting still. Then we saw signs that there was ANOTHER accident. Sadly, even though we got off to get gas ($4.29 a gallon!!!!), when we got back on, it was right at the slowing. (There are some gorgeous buildings in this part of the country! Here is one from the road.)

Eventually, we got through that, as well. We were making decent time, within 35 or so miles and about 40 minutes to our destination (an Air Force reunion with the guys that Joe hung out with when he served starting in the late 70s). As we climbed a hill, the truck started to sound odd. At first, Joe thought it might be the header again, but it was misfiring and throwing codes that were flashing.(Even I knew THAT couldn't be good!)

So, Joe pulled off to the side of the highway, between an on-ramp and the highway itself. Within 5 minutes, as Joe took out his SuperChips computer to determine what the codes meant, there was a pickup pulled over that asked if we were okay. Right behind him, a K-9 police car pulled up. A very intense young officer got out and asked if Joe had dealt with this before and if we could get on the road. Joe said that he was checking the codes and couldn't tell what they meant yet. The officer asked the guy in the pickup if he knew us. We said that he just pulled over to help. The guy said that if we had everything under control, he would take off, and he did. Kind of him to stop, though. The police officer waited for a bit, until Joe fired up the truck and I got in. Before he left, Joe told him that we would pull off at the next exit.

Of course, Joe didn't intend to pull off at the next exit, he intended to make it to the reunion and see if we could get help there. The worst part about all of this was the stop signs. When we were idling, the engine wanted to die. If the person in front of us didn't move when the light turned green, Joe had to rev the engine to keep it alive until we could move. It was a VERY LONG half an hour. We arrived at our host's house, and had to back the trailer into the sloping driveway, but I didn't have to direct Joe, because the Air Force bunch was there to do it. Whew- we made it off the high way to a safe stopping point.

The guys all hugged, wives were introduced, and restrooms were indicated. Koen immediately joined two other boys on the Wii. Kira hung around with them, too. The oldest of that family was 16, so he had earbuds in and was doing his own thing. These are a really nice group of people; it was obvious that the men had a connection that was enduring. If you didn't know otherwise, you would have figured they met and spoke on a regular basis. They don't, though. They have spoken frequently on Facebook, through which they set up the reunion, but most haven't seen each other for over 20 years. Joe had spoken with our host, Leon W. on the phone on the way up and went to John P. to hike the Grand Canyon. There were laughs and stories in abundance.

At one point, the guys all went out to look at the truck.

Some of them just looked, but a couple actually knew something about engines. Leon is good friends with the sales manager of a Chevy dealer in the village of Goshen (who lives up the street.) Paul(the sales manager), who stopped to partake of some of the plethora of food on his way back from Myrtle Beach, recommended a mechanic just down the street, but of course, being a Saturday evening, we couldn't do anything about checking the repairs. The guys stayed up late talking- in fact, Joe said they went to bed around 3:45 in the morning.

The next day, everyone else headed back home after breakfast. Of course, we couldn't leave yet. Donna W., our hostess, taught Kira the game Bananagrams. It is similar to Scrabble, but with no board. Each person creates their own collection of words and the goal is to finish using all the tiles, completing words, first. In fact, the whole family ended up playing it. I will have to find it when we get more mobile.

Monday morning, Joe and Leon took the truck to the mechanic’s place. Then Leon headed off to New Jersey for work. Donna had a golf scramble tournament that she ended up playing in the rain. Joe, the kids and I ended up sitting by ourselves, in their house, waiting for news from the mechanic. At 11:00, he called, said that he was the only mechanic on site, and of course, everyone and their brother needed his work this week, so he wouldn’t be able to work on the truck. (He was pretty sure that it was an injector leaking onto the plenum. And no, I don’t know what that means!) He suggested that we call the dealership and see if they could get it in sooner.

So we did. The dealership service department said that if we could get it in there, they would look at it. Off we went to the mechanic to get the truck, drive it to Goshen in the pouring rain, and hope they could find a solution. They did get it in right away. We had ice cream at Carvel, which Donna's sister owns. They have GREAT ice cream! Lauren, Donna's daughter works there when she is home from UMASS. Anyway, the service guy told Joe that they didn't think it was the injector. They said that when they pressure tested one cylinder, the air came out of another one, which indicated to them that the engine block was cracked. They could fix the head, but they said there was no guarantee that the new head would hold in the old engine block. So, their recommendation was a complete engine replacement. It would be $4850 for the engine replacement- but they didn't have one in, so it would be an additional $400 to have one overnighted, so we could get it in time to have it installed by Thursday or Friday. Well, swell, huh?!?

Joe talked to a bunch of his friends about it- and the original mechanic who had said that it was an injector. They all said that the whole thing sounded a bit fishy. One of them suggested that Joe actually looked at the engine, when they had it out, to see this crack. He called the service department back, and they said that they would do that, but now, since an hour had passed, they wouldn't be able to get it in until Monday. (Holy moley- really? We were talking about renting a car and getting a hotel room, so we wouldn't abuse the welcome of our host and hostess. (They both said that we would do no such thing. We were welcome to stay as long as we needed to, until the truck thing was figured out. They are some of the nicest people we have met on this trip! I felt that before the whole truck thing happened- and that just reinforced it.))

Then, half an hour later, the service guy called back and said that they would send a driver to Michigan to get the engine, so we wouldn't have to pay the shipping costs, and they would also take off some money for something else, so we were back under $5000 to get the engine replaced. They can also get it done by Thursday, they think. It made me sick to my stomach to think about it all. Joe's stomach was freaking, too. The ice cream helped a bit, but the whole thing is just nauseating. We haven't been able to speak with the service department today, so no idea how far the work has progressed.

Instead, we made lemonade. We went to High Point State Park, in New Jersey, to see the monument there, look at New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, all at the same time.

We then swam in the lake that is in the middle of the park. As we were swimming, Kira started having an aura on one side of her face and complaining that her head ached. We started packing up, changing clothes and getting ready to head out. She started getting worse- so we headed to a store as soon as possible to get her some ibuprofen. We also stayed in the air conditioning, used peas as an ice pack and attempted to get her head to calm down. She was not making sense when she spoke, much like Joe does when he gets migraines. When we got back to the house, she used the bathroom and then vomited all the meds back up. sigh. So, we tried Tylenol and she laid down in the dark. She is currently suffering the after-effects of the migraine, but seems to be doing much better in terms of pain.

Leon is on the phone with Joe right now, giving him an idea of what we can do tomorrow, so we don't just sit and stress about the truck.

Yesterday, when Donna got back from her miserable golfing tournament, she played Farkel with us. Like I said, really great people.

Old Orchard Beach, Maine

We headed off toward Maine, passing through Virginia, New Jersey,New York Connecticut, and Massachusetts. We left around 8:00 in the morning, which was early enough to not have too much traffic getting out of Virginia.

Then, we started hitting the toll roads. The first one was around $12. After that, was one for 4.50. By then, we had less than $15.00 in cash, and more tolls coming up. In New Jersey, we had a toll of $24.85!!! Now we were in trouble, because NO tollways take credit cards. We pull up to the booth to find out how much we owe, and tell the toll taker that we have no cash. He writes out a receipt for lack of funds, and tells us we have 5 business days to send in a check or money order. Lovely.

Then we go through New York, and the toll is $13.75, which, of course, we don't have the money to pay. So, another receipt, this time without the no postage due envelope, and 5 business days to pay it. So, we continue traveling, into Conn.

We go around New York City, because one of the buddies that Joe is going to see tells us we DO NOT want to be on the George Washington bridge, trying to get through NYC at that time of day. We end up in Hartford, Conn, at around 4:00. NOT GOOD; I'm just telling you now, NEVER attempt to go through Hartford on 84 in the afternoon. (Northbound wasn't much better when we were heading south at 11:00 in the morning.) The traffic doesn't move between exits 83 and the one for 91, which is what we needed to take. We sat there for close to an hour, moving a car length at a time, watching the time tick away, wishing we were on the next highway, MOVING!

Finally, we got moving, and got into Massachusetts. The first toll booth we hit in Maine, we were charged $2.50. YAY! That was much more reasonable.

We pulled into Massachusetts around 6:30 in the evening. Joe had found a KOA in Easthampton. Apparently, it is the newest one in America. There were lots of mosquitoes there- Koen collected a bunch of bites. The pool was open for a bit after we got there- and we did hamburgers for dinner. Our neighbors were also heading for Maine- but they started in New York. Joe and the guy chatted about computers, Superchips for Chevys. We got on the road about 9:30, but then had to stop for groceries (two places, because Walmart there didn't have the grocery section) and then gas.We did make sure to get some cash for the tolls that we knew we would encounter, too. We didn't actually get on the road until after 11:00. (Of course, Joe wasn't too happy about our departure time- he wanted to get into Maine in time to do some tourist stuff. We did get in at around 1:30.)

There was a slight issue pulling into the space (we nearly took out both the awning and a tree branch!) and the neighbors who had opened their pop-up trailer into our space. However, we had enough time to go down to the boardwalk at Old Orchard Beach. Apparently, the 7 miles of sandy beach are a HUGE draw, because it was CRAZY with people! It was windy, too, with the heavy sand pelting us as we went into the ocean. The crowd was nuts- there were enterprising people charging to use the restroom- which Joe, Kira and Koen used to change into their swimsuits. I couldn't bring myself to pay for restroom use!

The water was nice and cool- much better temp than at Myrtle Beach! We stayed there just for a bit, because it was hot and crowded. Joe did body surf a few times- and he really enjoyed it! Kira and Koen liked it a little less because of the temperature, but they did both got wet and cooled off. I got in up to my knees- it did feel good.

We decided to go to dinner (at the Clambake- can't really recommend it) and get into the pool for a couple of hours. The flies were biting, as were the mosquitos. They were all plentiful, too. In fact, Joe had so many mosquitoes bites during the night, he couldn't sleep. We got going in the morning, after a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, headed up the coast of Maine.

We wanted to see the actual coast, maybe some lighthouses, and get decent, fresh, lobster. Joe asked the office staff to recommend places to eat. We ended up at Bayley's Pound at 10:30 in the morning for lobster rolls. They were GOOD! Loads of lobster on a fresh soft 7 inch roll. Yum! Both of the kids had hot clam chowder- which the girl thought was nuts- as the temp was already in the 90s. The chowdah was good, too.

Then we headed to Portland. Joe did a search for lighthouses on his phone, and we headed to Portland Head Light. It was another hot day, 102 at one point, but the coast line was gorgeous. The lighthouse at Portland Head Light was so picturesque- I will post a photo for you.

It was cool to see schooners on the ocean, go down on to the rocky beach- again into cold water to cool off. (Not as cold as the Pacific, though!)I picked up a few of the rocks and shells, too. After the Head, we drove down the coast to Two Lights.

The lighthouse there was cool too- with layered rocks below it. There was a foghorn, too! It was ear vibrating, but sounded cool. I did a short video clip of one toot. At one point, there was a seagull sitting on it. We decided that it must be deaf!

At one place, we stopped at a park, walked down to the rocky beach and waded out into the ocean. It was pretty calm in the inlet, and Koen found hermet crabs by the dozens. Both of the kids picked them up and held them.

As we headed back toward Old Orchard Beach, we went out one dead end street, which ended in a yacht club! No loitering, no staying, only members allowed! Then, since we had lunch at 10:30, we decided to go ahead and eat dinner at 4:30. We went to the restaurant that was recommended by the locals- Huot's. It was AWESOME! We had clam cakes- which are NOTHING like crab cakes. They were more like razor clams and sooo good. Koen had a 1/2 pound hamburger, Kira had penne alfredo with grilled chicken; I had baked scallops and Joe had Lazy Man's lobster- meaning they cracked it for them. It was a delicious dinner. They had a "sampler" for dessert- which was Mississippi Mud Pie- and also YUMMERS! We will definitely go back to both the Bayley's Pound and Huot's, if we get back to the Maine area again. We walked up the street to some rocks, climbed down, and had a bit of sandy beach all to ourselves. We had a great day- and put the money orders in the mail, so that got taken care of, too.

Leesburg, VA

We drove 8 hours and around 45 minutes from St. Matthews, SC up to Leesburg, VA on Sunday. Have to say that the traffic wasn't too bad, and for most of the day, we had cool temperatures. We followed the GPS, which didn't take us on any of the routes that Joe and his dad discussed. We didn't head up 77 to 81, or take 95. Instead, we took 77 to 85, and then followed 29 for a long way.

(29, by the way, reminded me of 84- 4 lanes of traffic with on and off ramps. The biggest difference, though, is that some of the traffic dove across from the opposite side to (supposedly) join the traffic flow. They didn't really accomplish that, though. They usually ended up nearly stopping, once they merged with traffic. It was usually in front of our rig, too, like the Suburban pulling a travel trailer would be able to stop rapidly, while they figured out where the gas pedal is. sheesh!)

I have been attempting to take photos of all the "Welcome to our state" signs as we pass them. I missed several on the way to Alabama, which really irritated me, but caught the two we passed on the way north. Yay!

The drive, aside from the thoughtless lunatic drivers, was beautiful. It got hotter as we headed north, which seems backward to me, but the scenery was gorgeous. If we hadn't had to stop and get out, it would have been much like Oregon- lots of greenery and beauty in the countryside. Of course, one look at the thermometer would have clarified that illusion- it was 96+ for most of our trek through Virginia.

Joe had figured that with our stops, we would arrive near 6:00. We got on the road around 7:40, much earlier than we often do, for a change. We had to stop for gas and grub, and then were on our way. Even with two more stops for restroom breaks and to fill up with gas, we made it to Jennifer and Steve's by 4:50 something. I tell you, not having to deal with regular week traffic made the trip much more doable.

We chatted for a bit, and then Steve got the charcoal grill going, Jennifer whipped up an Asian inspired cole slaw, and I made hamburgers, following Jennifer's specs. Dinner was delicious! It was great to see Jennifer and her crew again, too. We stayed with them the summer before last, for about a week. All the cousins got along pretty well then, and they still do. I think Kira and Koen were glad to hang with some kids close to their own age, after spending 10 days with a 4 year old!

On Monday morning, Jennifer headed off to work- she is a surgical nurse- as did Steve- who works on purchase analysis for clients connected to the military. Steve's daughter, Becca, took Ian to gymnastics (at which he is excellent) and Joe and I decided to take a bike ride.

There is a cool bike/walk path that goes from Arlington to Purcellville-some 45 miles or so, but we didn't do the whole thing. By the time we got ourselves going, it was already in the upper 80s. We still managed to do just under 10 miles of riding, though, since lots of the middle was in the shade. Joe did stop at a bike shop here in town to get a new computer for his bike- it is much simpler to keep track of mileage when you have one of those!

We were in town earlier than the shop opened, though, so we stopped at Ben Franklin (which does still exist outside of Oregon, apparently!) and bought fabric to make a bag for our portable shower. We tried to follow the same path back, so we could calculate our mileage- except for the cul-de-sac drives that I did on the way out, to get my legs more exercise- it was TOO hot to do them on the way back!

For the afternoon, we just relaxed. When Jennifer got home, she made poblano chicken and I made flatbread from scratch. Dinner was again yummy!

We did decide to do the local water park on Tuesday. Ian had gymnastics again, from 9:00 to 1:00, so the rest of us walked (the girls told us it was a short walk over there- which it may be when the weather isn't so blinking hot!) We spend almost 3 hours in the water, which was much colder than in Myrtle Beach, as well as being much more fun, in terms of the style of Lazy River, the pool area, and the slides. The kids all had a blast. We also bought food there- a decent sized pizza for $12.99! 8 slices, which meant that Joe and I each got one, while the kids each got 1 1/2 pieces. It wasn't too bad, either.

The walk home was a bit shorter, since we took the shorter way! Instead of following the sidewalk/walkway, we went through a park. It was cooler, since it wasn't on asphalt, and shorter, since it was closer to a straight line. All day, the sky had looked threatening- we were glad it didn't lightning while we were at the water park! During dinner, there was a thunder storm, with rain, which cooled the temp down to a mere 89 degrees!

Right now, the kids are all watching "The Green Hornet". We will head out tomorrow, for Springfield, MA. to stay the night. It promises to be another 7 to 8 hour drive. We have a place in Maine, too, near a 7 mile stretch of sandy beach. (Possibly the only one in Maine, the way they talk it up!) Looking forward to that. My USA book has suggestions for places to eat while we are in Maine, so I am excited about fresh seafood!

I am not excited to be leaving Jennifer and crew, though. If she had been able to take any time off, we would have stayed a bit longer. Ah, well, maybe next year they can come out and stay with us. We always enjoy our visits- and this one has been way too short!

I did get a bit of my sweater done, though. It is looking pretty good- and I have the pattern established, so might be able to knit on the road. Will take a photo when I get a minute and add to the next blog.

Leaks

Yesterday we took a break from repairs. Joe, Koen and Cory practiced disc golf with the portable hole. Koen and Cory rode on the back of the golf cart that Kira, Kristen and Josh rode on, while Joe rode his bike from place to place. I rode my bike, too- just down the driveway and back a couple of times- probably about 3 miles total.

Then, while I got a load of laundry done, I cast on to start a sweater that I want to knit. I was going to finish a wrap that I started, but forgot the bag that has it at home. sigh. I am excited to work on this one, though, because I have never used bamboo yarn before and it feels sooooo soft! I will post a photo as soon as there is enough to recognize the pattern.

This morning, while the temps were in the 70s, Joe and I did a bike ride together. We did a loop, maybe 4 miles all together. I really enjoy my traveling bicycle!

While we were riding, I asked about the leaking kitchen sink. Joe had gone to Lowe's on Thursday evening to pick up parts on the recommendation of one of the employees. When we got back, we went out and started working on the whole problem. Sadly, the brass fittings didn't work very well with the plastic faucet fittings. Once they cross threaded, there was little hope of getting them on and not having it leak. Joe perservered, got it all hooked up and when we connected the water and tried it, it spewed and dripped from all the new connections. Piffle!

So, off to Lowe's we went again. Once Joe had returned the fittings that didn't work, we found a different employee who knew his pipes. Joe told him that he wanted to connect a piece of flexible pipe to the current PEX pipe. He found connectors, and flexible pipe and I picked out a new faucet. We also picked up some CO-Q10 for Sandi to try. I started taking it, hoping it would help my elbow pain, and it has made all the difference! I no longer have to wear a brace all day to get relief from the ache. I hope it helps her knees!

We took a break for lunch- fried all the leftovers from Bubba's- just as good reheated! Then we went out to try fixing the sink again.

This time, the fittings/connectors went on easily. The flexible pipe connected to the other end of the connector, the faucet lined up and connected to the pipe smoothly and when Joe turned on the water, I couldn't even tell. The first time, there were immediate leaks, so I was hopeful. When he turned on the faucet, still no leaks! YAY! I am excited to have the new faucet, too. It looks great, and our filter connects directly to the faucet, so less leakage there, too. Another repair, identified and taken care of, thanks to Joe.

Off to get cleaned up- and decide what to do with the rest of the day.

St. Matthews, South Carolina

Friday morning in St. Matthews- thunder storm that wasn’t- but it brought in cool temperatures. Did you notice how fascinated I am by the weather and temperature??? I think it is because what we do for the rest of the day is determined by the temp.

While we were at Myrtle Beach, if it was very hot and humid, we hit the pool and then the beach in the evening. If the temps were more moderate, like under 95, we walked the beach, or swam in the ocean in the morning, and hit the pool in the afternoon. It was a good system, I have to say. There were some days when it felt great in the shade, as long as you weren’t moving! ;o)

Apparently, just the day before yesterday, temps in St. Matthews hit 113! BLECH! Good thing we have air conditioning, both in the truck and the camper. We have been enjoying the air in our camper- it works better than it ever has before- and when we need it, we can make it a freezer! I like it. :o)

Joe’s cousin Earl is coming down from Columbia to take Cory and Kristen up for a flight this morning. He is such a great guy- a true southern gentleman. He has been fighting cancer for close to two years and doing pretty well. He had been grounded, but he is able to fly again. (He was having what felt like heartburn and acid reflux that came on gradually. He was medicating with over the counter antacids, but forgot them one weekend. His symptoms wouldn’t go away, so he and his wife went in to have it checked out and found out it was cancer. They were pretty aggressive with the treatment- because it was pretty advanced, and it has been working. We have positive thoughts that he will go into remission.)

Well, guess what? I haven’t gone up in the small plane yet. Earl has offered, but I have this thing about heights, so I haven’t gone. Koen loves it. Kristen has never been in an airplane of any kind, so she was nervous. Kira said that she was going up, but then she decided she was too nervous. So, I asked Kira if we could go together… and we did! Kira didn’t look out the window until the end, when we were about to touch down.

Earl actually let me have the controls for a couple of minutes- EEEEK! It was cool and freaky at the same time. I can totally see why a person would want to fly all the time. I enjoyed it immensely.

Joe’s dad and his connections managed to find a motor for the slide!!! YAY! When we got back to St. Matthews, Joe and his dad put it in and the slide is automated again. Hurray for handy men! ;o)

Our NEW issue is the kitchen sink. It started stinking on Tuesday- which we could smell, but thought it was the garbage bag. Turns out, the leak that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago was progressing while we stayed in Myrtle Beach. I was using the sink every day, silly me, and of course, a leak gets worse when the force of the water is more consistently present. So, since I hadn’t taken out the skillet to use for the whole 10 days, I wasn’t keeping up with the leakage that had been collecting. The pea trap started stinking, BADLY! So, that is the next project.

What we have been figuring out, though, with every repair that we do the travel camper, is that some of the things going wrong are meant to be repaired by the “expert” with all the tools. The sink pipes, by the way, have to have a $100 dollar tool to uncrimp the end and a $40 dollar tool to recrimp it. They don’t make replacement 0 rings- you have to buy a new elbow with the O ring built in. What a racket! Joe plans on cutting off the old end, attaching a new end with the O ring in it. He is pretty sure that there is enough extra pipe that it will work- keeping my fingers crossed. (I am wondering if the manufacturers of travel trailers make them have a specific lifespan- figuring that if the owner isn’t able to manage the issues, they will just trade up for a newer one, which, of course, means more money. That’s how they get you!)


I will be cleaning out the refrigerator while we are here- things have been leaking and starting to be a bit smelly in there, too. It is amazing how much we can fit in that little bitty thing. I stored food for all 7 of us for dinners for three days- it amazes me that it held that much- plus two gallons of milk, yogurts for breakfast, and various other bits and pieces. Of course, that is when we have access to a store on a regular basis!

Whew- today was a fun day, mostly. Josh threw a hissy fit when Kristen went up the first time- but we got through it. He got to go up with her after Earl changed the oil in the Stinson. Koen got to go again, too, and fly on his own. He was pumped! I think, between the hats that Earl brought for Koen and the flying, this was an awesome day for him! It will definitely be one of our vacation days that he remembers!

Myrtle Beach

So, here I am, waiting for my one necessary load of laundry to get finished, looking at recipes in Southern Living magazine.
Here is a recipe for berry cobbler that sounded good.

Preheat oven to 375. Place 4 cups of fresh blackberries in a lightly greased 8 inch square baking dish; sprinkle with 1 tbsp. lemon juice. Stir together 1 egg, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup all-purpose flour in a medium bowl until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit. Drizzle 6 tbsp. melted butter over topping. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired. (Ice cream would be awesome, too!) Makes 6 servings. For a neat presentation, bake for the same amount of time in 6 8 oz. ramekins on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet.

The weather has been interesting- many days of temps in the upper 80s, with humidity not too bad. Thunderstorms have moved in on two days, dropping quite a load of rain. The wind was whipping quite a bit, as well. We debated taking the awning down, but chose to stabilize it instead. It has been providing us much needed shade, so we didn't really want to bring it in. The newly repaired air conditioner has been functioning admirably! On the coldest temp, on low fan, it is cold enough to need a blanket at night. Turn it to medium fan on cold and it is COLD! Totally awesome! ;o)

Kira and Koen went with their Grandpa Jim back to St. Matthews to hang out, drive the golf cart, and basically get some grandparent loving. It has been so strange in the past day- it feels like we have all this free time- not sure why we would have more free time without the twins here- it was kind of fun to go shopping with Joe, not having to deal with the "can I have, can I get..." every time we turned around. :o)

We are going to go to Bubba's Fish House for dinner- one of our traditional restaurants when we visit Myrtle Beach. Joe got a refund for the last three days, since we no longer have the additional 2 people that we paid for- so it will pay for part of dinner tonight!

Listening to a man from Trinidad (originally- came to the US when he was 16, but still has the Trinidadian (is that a word???) accent, talking to a 16 year old kid about Trinidad, joining the Air Force as a mechanic and what you need to do to get into the Air Force as a pilot. Pretty interesting stuff- he was explaining how he came through Ellis Island, like all immigrants used to do. The kid said,"I just go a history lesson." Hmmmm, thinking that if he paid attention to his classes, he would already KNOW this stuff. That personal experience, primary source of information, maybe he will remember it when he goes back to school.

Did I tell you that there is a WalMart just down the street and a Tanger Outlet across the street from that? Joe has been giving me a hard time, since we have been at WalMart pretty much every day. With such a small fridge, we can't keep much on hand- so going to the store is pretty essential. There is one of the ice machines- like we found in Shiprock, NM. $1.75 for 16 or 20 pounds of good ice- across the parking lot from Walmart. We really like that ice machine! ;o)

Cory, Kristen and Josh have been enjoying the stay, too. Josh has turned into a water baby- loving to jump off the side of the pool into Kristen's or Cory's arms. He loves being in the little kid pool on his own, too. He has been having a super fun time in the ocean. It was great while Kira and Koen were here- they took turns entertaining him, which he loves. Kristen has been a great help with clean up- she is one cleaning girl! Cory financed the laundry that I am doing- he brought quarters for the arcade, but decided they were better spent on clean clothing. Yay! ;o)

I have been walking on the beach every day; yesterday, Joe and I rode up and down EVERY street in the Myrtle Beach Travel Park- and around the lake. It wasn't real work out, but I was sweating anyway. The humidity is nuts here! Today it was overcast, but the temp and humidity are high. It is hard not to be sticky! Dipping in the pool is good, too, and the lazy river float is somewhat relaxing- though the water is HOT in there. We went for an evening float yesterday- it was hotter than bath water! I went around with my arms in the air, so the movement would chill me, since the water was so warm. Have to say it is rather peaceful to go listen to the ocean, walk the beach, not have much to worry about, except what to do for food. We pack up to leave on Thursday- heading back to St. Matthews for a few days, before heading up the East Coast.

Looking forward to visiting with Joe's dad and mom, seeing my little sis and her family in Virginia and then up to the northeast- New York, Vermont, Maine, before heading back to Ohio for a stay. Will check in from St. Matthews- as we work on staying cool!

South Carolina

We left Alabama to head for South Carolina. Our goal was to get into St. Matthews by 4:00- but events conspired against us.

It took a while to get going- not like that was unusual- and we had lots of good-byes- and there were thunder storms with torrential rain, slow traffic through Decatur where we stopped for gas. One of the stations where we attempted to get gas was infuriating.

First of all, we were pretty pale compared to visible population around there. Secondly, the gas pump wouldn't work- so Joe had me go in to ask about the pump. The owner said that sometimes the premium pump didn't work. So, Joe tried to use the plus pump, which didn't work. So, I got to go in and ask about that one.
The owner said, "We don't have any gas except for regular."
I said, "You couldn't put a sign or something?!?!" He just shrugged. Pretty irritating- with the camper to manuever- just to try to get gas- and then to have this baloney. phoey.

So we drove across the over-pass, the GPS telling us to turn and recalculating, to another gas station. This station at least had gas. We also filled up our water cups with ice water, and picked up a bag of ice for the cooler. We got back on the road and at the state line, had to switch to Eastern time. So, we were due in St. Matthews around well after 5:00. We didn't stop for lunch, just munched on pretzels (thanks to Cyndi) with a bit of peanut butter on the ends. I was pretty hungry by the time we rolled into Joe's dad's place.

Cory, Kristen and Josh had arrived about an hour earlier- so we were greated by a bunch. They had decided to hold dinner until we got there, and we had hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and cucumber salad for dinner. It was great. Jim and Sandi were super about getting our rig set up with power- and our air conditioner made our sleeping quarters nice and chilly!

Koen and Kira chose to sleep on the floor of the living room in their grandparent's house- so once again, Joe and I had our sleeping quarters to ourselves. (They had slept in the spare room at Cyndi and Randy's for our stay there- even though there was no air conditioner in the house!)

Joe had called Jim for advice about the slider- you remember how we lost the ability to push the button and have the slide just move while we were in Anaheim? We have been manually pushing it out and in, making sure to put the slide blocks in before traveling, since then. There were a few overnight stops where we didn't bother to push it out- but since we basically just slept there, it didn't matter much. Jim contacted some guys who helped him look for the part. Of course, since the company that originally made this particular camping trailer sold out to another one, chances of finding a motor for it were small. He had a line one one with a woman in Lexington, so he and Joe headed there first thing Tuesday morning.

When we were hooking up for the night, Joe noticed that one of the truck tires was low. They used the gauge on it and found out that it was about 30 pounds low on pressure. They filled it and checked the remaining tires, as well. In the morning, when they got back from Lexington (with no luck on the motor for the slide) they noticed that it was low, again. Obviously, if it lost pressure that fast, chances were pretty good that there was something in it. Jim knew of one in St. Matthews, so they headed out to have the tire fixed. It did have a nail in it- so it is good that we had time to check it. (Did I tell you that during our visit to the chapel at Loretto, there were small coins to keep in pockets- with the footprint poem on some and other inspirational quotes? I found one that has St. Christoper on it with a short prayer about traveling in safety that I got for Joe to carry. He has it in his wallet. It seems to be working, since all of our auto emergencies have happened in places that have access to repairs. Knock on wood! :o))

We got ourselves organized, collected a few of the beach chairs that we have left in Jim's hangar during past visits, handed a walkie-talkie radio to Cory to communicate during our drive and headed for Myrtle Beach. On the way, we stopped at a fruit stand for peaches, watermelon and a cantaloupe. The three hour drive seemed short compared to many of our trips.

The GPS took us right to our RV resort- which is HUGE! (Truly- there are 734 full hook- ups!) There are permanent homes, yearly leases, and the "transient" spaces, where we are. We are right next to the restroom, for easy shower access, as well as washing dishes. We are only a short walk from the beach or the pool. Joe did well when he found this place back in November! The first two days here were overcast, which made the temps more pleasant. We hung out at the beach and took a dip in the pool in the afternoon both days. I checked out the General Store- which has reasonable prices, surprisingly enough!

Day three was hot, clear and intense! We chose to spend the morning at the pool and then, after a lunch of leftovers, we headed to the beach for the afternoon. There are jellyfish all over- but they don't have stingers. Koen picked one up out of the ocean- they look like the little jellyfish on some show that I can't remember- just little stubby "feet" under the umbrella top. Very peculiar! There are lots of little crabs, too, and some guy caught a baby yellowfin tuna in a net out of the surf.I also found a live sea urchin- too cool! It was moving its spines on the beach. We watched as the surf took it back out- hoping that it made it far enough to be safe.

We walked to the beach in the dark to watch the lightning in the clouds- it was awesome!

The kids are all having a blast, though Josh has thrown a few "I'm tired and hot" fits. He finds the ocean fascinating, on this, his first visit. He is hot and cold about the pool, though. I would guess due to the fact that he can't put his feet down to the bottom.

This morning, we awoke to torrential rain. Apparently, the storm that was out to sea last night, moved in to shore. We got a brief break and then another moved in. When it rains here, it is NOT just a sprinkle! You only go out into it if you want to be soaked! We debated pulling the awning in, but decided to leave it- it weathered the storms pretty well. We opted to get some food at Costco while the weather was off, and while we were in there, another storm moved in. Luckily, Joe went to get the truck in his wicking shirt, so the rest of us only got a little wet. He wrung it out and it seemed to dry pretty quickly.

The storms seem to have moved off, for now. The forecast is from more tonight, and through the next two days. Luckily, we have things that we can do in the camper, so we are good! I have enough food for the next three dinners- so even if we can't go to the store (there is a Walmart less than a mile away!) we are set for dinners. There is also a mall, near the Walmart- but we haven't visited that, yet. ;o)

The rest of our stay in Alabama

Our second day, Sunday, we had originally planned on leaving. We decided, though, that everyone was having such a good time, we would stay through, and leave on Monday, instead. You should have seen Koen's face when I told him that. In fact, both Cyndi and Randy asked if we would leave the kids while we went to Myrtle Beach and then picked them up on the way out. Joe said that if they didn't get to go to the beach, they would be pretty unhappy, but when we asked if they would have stayed, Koen said maybe. That is a pretty good indicator of how much fun they were having there!

We had a great breakfast, bacon, eggs, and toast, and then hit the Tool Shed. It is a COOL place- pretty much anything you would need, they have it. Joe picked up a 10 AMP extension cord, so if we need to hook up to a house, the amperage would be enough not to cause the cord to heat up. We also picked up a few do-dads- carpenters pencils and a sharpener just for them, a couple of momentos (not counting the mini- pillow pets that were given to them as a gift from C. and R.)

We decided to go to a bar-be-que place for lunch afterward. It was almost empty when we got there- the lunch rush was over- so we had a nice relaxing meal. Of course, we were so full, we didn't really need to eat dinner!

Then we stopped at Sportsman Lake. We took a train ride and then Cyndi, Randy and the kids went out on the paddle boats. It was, again, HOT. I was melting in the shade. (I think I am more of a temperate weather person, in case you were wondering!) Both the adults over heated a bit- so we stopped on the way home to pick up a sprinkler to run through, and then water the garden in the back of the house. We hung out in the yard, listening to the thunder and lightning and fireworks. One of Cyndi's dogs got so freaked out by both that he went over the fence and came for help. He spent the night in the garage and seemed to feel better.

We got up the next day, got organized, and after many hugs and a great breakfast of French Toast and sausage, cooked by Cyndi, we headed out to South Carolina.

Visiting with Cyndi and Randy

We arrived in Alabama on Friday-having discovered as we left Marion, Arkansas, that our air conditioner was dead. We had called Cyndi on the way to Alabama-hoping she or Randy knew a repair service. She called around for us, bless her heart, and told us there was a place just up the road that would look at it on Sat. morning.
We got to their place at around 4:00 or so- and were introduced to Cyndi's domesticated zoo, as she calls it. She has two large birds of the parrot family- I can't remember the specific name- they are Macaw's or something similar- Samson and Lucy. Samson decided that he liked me- he is around 15 inches, from tail to crest- and can scream like a banshee! Apparently, while he was residing in the house, he broke the ear drum of one of the little dogs, and one of Randy's! So now he lives in the garage during the summer months- better for everyone. He is quite a character- he can whistle like a hawk (he holds his wings out like he is about to dive when he does that) and like an appreciative construction worker. He dances, says "Who's a pretty bird?" and also makes a variety of loud, long, screeches. Lucy makes a sound like an old fashioned phone- again very loud- but not as ear piercing.

There are several large dogs in back- nice runs with shade and grass. Then there are the little dogs. Cyndi is a long haul truck driver- she takes a couple of the little dogs along for company in her cab. They are quite a bunch- all wanting to be your best friend (except one little poodle that is freaked out by everyone except Cyndi. She doesn't do anything about it- just hides and stares at you with huge brown eyes.) Koen and Kira were infatuated by them. Every evening, they all come in, get dinner and hang out. Usually, they spend most days in, but with the air conditioning broken, they have a pen outside, shaded, and close enough to look into the eyes of anyone looking out the bathroom window.

Cyndi and Randy were great hosts. We went out to dinner, then did a bit of necessary shopping that first night. The next day, Joe and Randy got up early enough to be at the air conditioning place when they opened- hopeful of getting the first appointment of the day. Once inside, they were told that while the company did repair air conditioners, they didn't mess with the coils or do any of the compressor work. The woman did recommend another guy, though. Joe called him and set up an appointment for that afternoon at 1:30 or 2:00.

While the guys were trying to get our air conditioner in working order again, Cyndi took the kids and I up to ride horses at the barn where Randy works. The owner, Eddie, had the kids do all the necessary work to get two horses ready to ride. They held gates to get all the horses that weren't going to be ridden out to pasture. Then they helped walk the two that were going to be ridden out to the middle of the barn, helped attach them to the halter, brushed them to get them calm, and held them while Eddie saddled them up and bridled them. They then walked the horses out to the paddock,learned about mounting a horse, and rode them around for a bitKira didn't want to hurt the horse she was riding. He had apparently been ridden by a guy, before Eddie, that was pretty hard heeled on him, so he didn't feel the need to move much with her little taps. He would take one step and then just stand. Finally, Eddie told her she had to boot him in the ribs to get him to move, and they started moving. Koen's horse was much more willing to move. He just needed a gentle tap and he walked forward. He spent time as an endurance racer- but is now retired.)
They switched horses, then did the whole thing in reverse. They had a blast, and learned a bit, as well. I have to say, Eddie was awesome. He moved horses by wrapping his arm beneath their chins, holding a bit of mane, and then walked with them. All the horses that he moved from barn to pasture, or paddock to pasture didn't have bridles on and went willingly with him. He truly cares about those beasts.

When we got back to the house, we heard about the new effort to repair the air conditioner. It was HOT, so we wanted to go to the local public pool. At least, the kids did. Cyndi and I thought we would just dangle our feet to cool off. Randy and Joe waited for the repairman to show up; the rest of us went to the pool. Once there, we found out that they had a concession stand, so all the fruit that Cyndi had packed in coolers had to stay in the car. sigh. There was NO shade, and all that cement was soooooo hot, we immediately wished we had worn our swim clothes. So, we called the guys. There were understandably perplexed. Who, in their right mind, would go to a pool without swimwear??? They said they would bring it when the repair guy was done. 40 minutes of sweating and melting later, we called again. The guy had shown up, but it was all going to take a while, so could we be patient for a while longer? Finally, Cyndi called Randy and asked him, pretty please, if he would just run the stuff to us now, since we were soooo hot, and the repair was taking so long. He dropped off our swimsuits and sun screen, and headed back. For the last 40 minutes of pool time, Cyndi and I enjoyed ourselves. It was much more comfortable in the water!

The pool closed at 5:00- so we headed back to the house. When we got there, the repair man had almost finished his last tests, prior to filling with freon. He and Joe had moved the motor of the air conditioner back into the housing, from which it has apparently been half hanging out for the whole time we have had it, and then he did the repairs. He had been there for close to 3 hours- so Joe was thinking the price of the repair would be in the hundreds of dollars. It turned out to be $125 for labor and $30 for the nitrogen and freon. Holy moly- it was an awesome job for an amazing price! The best part? The air conditioner works better now than it ever has- so quiet and efficient- no more waking up with the sheets sticking to me because of the heat. YAAAAAY!

We ordered pizza for dinner and started watching the movie "Grown-Ups". Our host and hostess had a surprise for us, though. Instead of settling in wtih a movie for the evening, we headed out for a round of go kart racing. I had never done it- and neither had Kira and Koen. The go-kart place was open until 10:00. We got in at the end and, since they had only one 2 persond cart, and we had actually purchased tickets for only 4 karts, thinking that Kira and Koen would ride with one of us. Sincer there were parents with little ones that were too small to ride alone, we were given a kart for each person. Randy had to wait, while Joe, Cyndi, Kira, Koen and I raced. When we were done- and those little things WHIZ, by the way, Cyndi talked the attendant into letting us do another round, with all 6 of us racing. It was such a fun experience! Great first day and a half in Alabama.:o)