Busy, busy, busy

We are back at Elkhart Campground after about a month away. We are on site 203 and we really like this site. They rarely put anyone in the two sites to the east of us which means we have a really large front yard! It makes it nice to sit out. We don't have anyone right next to us and can see a large part of the campground. They've had a lot of rain this spring and summer and the grass is really green. Our friend, Roger, is helping Bobby with the mowing at the camp this year and he is doing a really great job. The camp looks better than it has in years, we think. He also makes sure the dog park is mowed frequently.

Last Friday, the 24th of June, Jocelyn, Tom, Aenea and Ronan along with their dog, Pepper, arrived very late. We were still at the Passport America Rally, so we didn't see them till the next morning. They came to help surprise Mom and Dad. My sister, Nita, had planned a surprise for their 70th wedding anniversary. We were able to visit with the kids quite a lot on Saturday after we left the rally.

On Sunday we drove Phaeton Place down to the Warsaw fairgrounds so we would have a place to leave our dogs while we went to dinner. It's hard to leave Butterscotch for very long with her bladder cancer. We got there early and got set up and then got ready to go to dinner at Mad Anthony's. All the nieces and nephews and their families were able to make it except for Brandon and his family. I know he felt badly about that, but he changed jobs in December and this week has been the end of his quarter and he couldn't take any time except the weekend off. That would mean he would have to fly up on Saturday and back on Sunday. Just no way to do that. I'm sure they will try and come see Mom and Dad when they can. They do make a good effort to do that even though it's so far away and it costs a considerable amount to make the trip.

The plan was to wait in the room we had reserved. Jim and Nita were taking Mom and Dad to dinner and sat them at a table out in the restaurant. The great grandkids all walked out to their table and said they they had a better table in the back and wouldn't they want to come join them? So when Mom and Dad got into the room, everyone else was there. They were very surprised and quite touched by the fact that so many of us were there. All together there were 29. That includes one "girlfriend" of one of the boys. LOL We had a lovely time at dinner. Terry and Jim split the tab down the middle so none of the grands or greatgrands had to pay anything. A fun time was had by all.


 The first picture is all the great grandkids in attendance. They have one more, Brynlee.

 The second picture is the great grands and the grands with their spouses. Missing are Brandon, wife Megan and daughter Brynlee.

Last picture is the kids (Nita and I) and spouses, grands and spouses and great grands.

Afterwards, we went over to the motorhome to let the dogs out and then we followed everyone to Nita's house south of Warsaw. There we had cake and ice cream and the card games commenced. I played one round, then Terry and I decided to head for the motorhome. A storm was approaching and we wanted to make sure we were with the girls when it hit. They were doing fine, but glad we arrived. It actually blew through rather quickly and all was well.

We left the fairgrounds the next day and drove over to the Elkhart Campground on Monday morning and plan to stay a month.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Reunion, 2016

We are here in Mississippi for the Pace-Stevens family reunion. We have fewer people who come every year, but we still enjoy visiting with those who do make the effort. We have lost many members since we started coming. We have only missed one time in the last 20 years, I think, since Terry's Dad died. The year we missed was the year we went to Alaska.

The night before the reunion, we visited with Shirley and Paul and Gary and Jo at Shirley's house. Vikki and Johnathon and Preston were there as well. Shirley and Gary are siblings and are first cousins of Terry's. Gary and Jo fixed dinner of pork chops and baked sweet potatoes, so we ate very well. We usually see Gary and Jo a couple times a year because they live close to the path we take when we cross the southern U.S. They live near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, so it's a short drive to their place.

We met Saturday for the reunion at Ramey's Restaurant in Marietta, just down the road from where we used to hold a picnic. Later after we realized it was really too hot to have it outside, we moved over to the Marietta Community Building which was air conditioned and a welcome relief for those of us not accustomed to the humid heat of the south. Now we meet at a restaurant so no one has to cook!

This year Uncle Bob was with us. He is the last remaining child of Ma and Pa Pace, so it's mostly the younger generations that come now. He did not make it last year. He, unfortunately, has Alzheimer's. But he was having a reasonably good day and we got to visit with him. It was good to see him. He is in his mid 80's and appears to be in good health. He was very touched that we all came to celebrate with him.

We came back to the motorhome after the reunion. We were camped at Piney Grove on Bay Springs Lake, which is part of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. That is the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, a series of lakes, canals, and rivers that link the Tennessee River with the Gulf of Mexico. It's a nice park and we always reserve the same campsite every year. We know we fit well on it and it's easy on and off the site.

After we rested and fed the girls, we went back into Baldwyn and had dinner with Cathy and Bill and their son Matthew and girlfriend Sarah. Cathy and Terry are first cousins as well and she is Uncle Bob's daughter. She made us doughburgers. These are similar to hamburgers, but have a couple extra ingredients and have a little more flavor than a regular hamburger. She knew that I liked them and I really didn't do a good job duplicating them the one time I made them, so it was a special treat to eat hers! We visited with everyone and stayed till after dark before we made our way back to the lake. It's about 22 miles from her house.

We had some lightning on the way back. It almost always storms at least one night when we are there for the reunion, but this year it was all for show. The storms were mostly north of us and we didn't really even get any rain at the camp. We did have one bad/loud/scary thunderclap that sent me and the dogs scurrying for cover while we were out walking. Fortunately we were right near the motorhome, so I got them in easily.

This morning we broke camp and headed into Red Bay, Alabama. We have an appointment at Bay Diesel  at 7 a.m. tomorrow. Ugh. But we want to make it as easy on them as we can and it is super hot here. So the earlier the better. We are staying at a new campground here. It's west of Red Bay, just outside of town by about a block. Full hookup for $20 as are all the sites in Red Bay. Nice gravel and spacious enough sites. We went into town and got our mail and the laundry is running in the bedroom. Life is good. Depending on when Chris gets done with our coach, we may be staying here another night or rolling on north later tomorrow.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Family time!

We left Elkhart Campgound Friday morning, June 3rd, and went to the storage condo for a night. We were able to wash Phaeton Place who has needed a bath for a loooooong time. So now she is clean. . . or at least she was for a day.

We drove down to Warsaw and found a spot at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds in Warsaw. That is the closest place to Mom and Dad that we can camp, so we settled in and then took off with the girls to visit the folks. They enjoyed seeing Butterscotch and Duchess and the girls enjoyed all the treats Mom gives them when they visit. We got to see their new bathroom. They took out the tub and put in a large shower with the same footprint and put sliding doors on it. Now Daddy can get in and out of it much easier. For Father's Day, Nita and I bought him a shower chair with a back and arms to make it easier for him. He is getting less and less mobile as his back caves in on him, but we are trying to keep him able to do things for himself. They also put in a higher toilet which made a big difference in his ability use it more easily. Hopefully these things will make life a little easier for him and Mom.

We left Sunday morning and headed south. The family reunion is the 11th and we like to get in a few days early to visit with family. Our first night out was spent at a Jellystone campground  in Scottsburg, Indiana. They take Passport America during the week, so we got a great discount and it was a decent park. We rolled on the next morning and spent the next two nights in Amish country in Ethridge, Tennessee.

The campground was a big disappointment. The story is that there is a new owner and they are investing money and things will be better the "next time" we stop. Not sure there will be a next time. It wasn't a bad place, but the sites were narrow and they are in the process of digging for drain lines and water, etc., and it doesn't look like they are working very hard at it. The amenities weren't too bad, but we had full hookups, so it was okay with us. But they certainly charged a high price for those sites, so we won't be back.

We did decided to stay here and take a look around at the Amish in the area. These are Swartzendruber Amish, among the most conservative. They are very different from the Amish in northern Indiana and in the Berlin, Ohio, area we often visit. In those places, the Amish own businesses and don't mind talking with you and sharing a bit about themselves. And they appear to be mostly prosperous. I remember as a child that the Amish farms in northern Indiana appeared many times to be run down and in need of makeovers or just upkeep. Now they look quite different and have beautiful flower gardens and well kept lawns. The Amish in Ethridge appeared more like the Amish I observed long ago. They do not have any stores. . . they do sell goods directly from their homes or stands in their yards. The fruits and vegetables looked very good and I bought some of those. I bought one basket at the local Farmer's Market that was handmade by a deaf Amish man. It is very neat and is signed by the craftsman. The women do not wear the white mesh caps here, but a heavier cloth cap and many times a black bonnet. At one household where we bought goods, all the five children on the porch wore black clothing and caps. They would only talk to transact business, they would not talk otherwise. Very different from others we have met. All of their schools were one room and built the same. A rectangular building with four windows down the side and two outhouses out back. The leaflet I read said they do not have running or hot water in their houses either. Very conservative and different from other Amish we've met. But that is their life and their choice. I might add that my own family is a few generations from low-order Amish. Perhaps that why I find it so interesting to visit their communities and learn what I can about their lifestyle.

Once we left Ethridge, we had an easy 90 mile drive to Bay Springs Lake and Piney Grove Campground. Of course, we took the Natchez Trace which is my favorite drive. We made our usual lunch stop at the rest area on the north side of the Tenneessee River. We figured we have been coming every year for about 20 years, since Terry's Dad died. We had come off and on before that, but try not to miss it now. Most of the older ones no longer come. Many are gone, leaving just the younger generations to carry on the tradition. They aren't always interested, but we still want to come and visit with the cousins and other family in the area.

We drove into Pulaski, Tennessee and found this beauty sitting in a parking lot. We don't know what it is, but it appears she is used. I could live in this, that's for sure.

Last night we drove into cousin Shirley's and had dinner with her and husband Paul, cousin Gary and Jo, Vikki and Jonathon and Preston. It was a great supper and we enjoyed visiting with everyone again.

We went into Booneville and Baldwyn today and visited Paul and Rusty at the flea market. We just missed Gary and Jo who had taken off to go yard sale-ing! We went into town to get some supplies I needed for a craft project and then headed back to the camp. We drove back on the Trace again and stopped at the Indian Mounds. We got back about 3:30. The girls were glad to see us!

Tomorrow is the reunion! We will be leaving a little early so we can visit with the family. We are having it at a restaurant so we don't need to cook anything. Whoo hoo! That's even better!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Elkhart Campground for a bit!

We arrived at Elkhart Campground on May 9. It seems like we never left. We found that our friends were back and everything seems to be in order. They have added some pads to about half the campsites which is a big improvement because now we don't have tall grass growing up around our feet when we get out. It's easier for them to mow because they don't have RV's sitting on the grass. It's a big improvement.

We made arrangements with Gerald at Charger Enterprises on getting our one broken jack replaced. We ordered it from Tiffin and it came a couple days later. So last week we closed Phaeton Place up and took her in. They told us to have her there by 7 a.m. and they would "work her in." They called at 9:15 and she was all done! Wow. Can you spell service? What a great team they are at Charger. So now we are finally sitting on all four jacks and no one can tell now if our rig's "rockin." LOL

I had an appointment last week with a neurosurgeon in Indianapolis. It's time to find out if anything can be done about my back. I have struggled with it for my entire adult life and it isn't getting better. Course I knew when the doctor explained it at age 20 that it wasn't going to get better. He said to put off doing anything as long as you can. Back then back surgeries and treatments were not as successful as they are now, so I thought 46 years was long enough to wait. I would like to know if I have any options for helping me deal with it. I don't want to wait until I'm too old to have anything fixed. I'm in good health now, so the time is right. This was my initial consultation and I have to go back in July for MRI's, x-rays and a talk with the surgeon.

We had dinner with my high school classmate Luanne and husband Jim on Sunday. It was good to see them. We always enjoy our time together. We went to Red Lobster. It's been a long time since we've been to one of those, but we had great food with great friends.
 
Later in the afternoon, we got the Miata out and put the top down and went for a drive. We ended up on the shore of Lake Michigan up at St. Joe, Michigan. It was a little cool, but it was sunny and we were comfortable. We stopped to look at the lake. It happens that where we stopped is the place where in the 1950's, erosion along the lake led to the destruction of several homes. Some homes were actually moved and still stand elsewhere in the town. Some were destroyed and a few remain today, precariously close to the edge of the cliff. Foundations can be seen where the homes once stood. We also could see the St. Joseph Light from our perch atop that cliff.

I also had to have a tooth pulled. It had a crown on it and this winter it snapped off. There was no saving it, so I made the appointment and was sedated and had it pulled. I don't remember much after that. The next few days are a blur. Hah. But that is a good way to have that done. I had one pulled years ago without being sedated and that was okay. I was in so much pain at the time I didn't care that I was awake. At any rate, it is healing nicely.

We are here another week, then we are headed south to Terry's family reunion. Hard to believe it's that time of year again. But we are headed down to Mississippi and from there will visit Red Bay, Alabama, where Phaeton Place was born. We're having the chassis checked out this time. Everything is going well with her now. We've had our trials over the past year, but she is running great now and everything is working like it should. Talking with other people and problems they've had, I feel fortunate that we have run trouble free for 10 years and then just a few corrections after that. Here's to the next 100,000 miles!

The other night Mars was visible. I don't know if you got to see it, but I did. While I was outside, I was able to snap this picture of the moon. While I did see Mars, it was much too small for me to capture on my camera, so I chose the next best thing!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Family time!

Once we left Prophetstown, we drove to another state park, Tippecanoe, which was again, not far down the road. It is on the Tippecanoe River and is a much older park. There were sites available for us and we didn't have any trouble getting in. In fact there were only two of us plus the camp host in the entire park! Needless to say, it was very quiet and a pleasurable night.

The next day we drove up to Toto. Years ago there were several "bargain barns," kind of like indoor flea markets, and we wanted to see if they were still around. There are two that we found. . . in different places and a little more upscale. We had fun browsing around and checking out the bargains. We did find a few and enjoyed the day.

The next day we drove on to Warsaw to the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds and scored a 50 amp site. Last year they had some nice graveled sites with back to back hookups and they had similar travel trailers on them. They are all gone. The management told us that the "campers couldn't get along." Hmmmm. Sounds strange to me, but I don't like it when fairgrounds have permanent campers anyway. Usually makes for a trashy situation.

The weather has turned cool and we are right on a canal off Winona Lake at the campground. During the day when the sun is out, you can see dozens of turtles sunning themselves on the seawalls across the channel. What a hoot! There were all sizes of turtles and all kinds, including leatherbacks. I couldn't get close to them. When I would get halfway through the meadow, they would start splashing back in the water, so I had to use my zoom lens. LOL

Our main reason for coming here, though, is not to see the turtles! LOL We were here to spend a few days before going to Elkhart Campground for a month. This is the closest camp to Mom and Dad's house, so we stayed for a few days and got to see them. In fact, it was Mother's Day weekend, so we went with them and Nita and most of her family to the Honeywell Center in Wabash for dinner to celebrate. It was great fun and we enjoyed seeing everyone.

The next day we headed further north and scored a site near the dog park at Elkhart Campground where we will stay for almost a month.

Till next time. . .

Dale

The news is bad. . .

We drove into Purdue the next afternoon afternoon and spoke with the veterinary oncologist. Yes, they have those. He explained that while the biopsy results would not be back for a week or so, it does appear that Butterscotch's problems are multiple tumors associated with TCC. Her urethra has what he called "advanced disease" and there really is no hope that our sweet baby will escape this terrible sentence.

He talked about chemo and radiation. . . and aside from the fact that it costs a LOT of money for treatments which are about every two weeks, we do not think that is what Butterscotch would want. They cannot prolong her life and that, to us, is just dragging out her death. There is a drug, piroxicam, which has been shown to relieve a lot of the inflammation in the urethra and the bladder and make urination easier. I knew about this drug, which is an NSAID, like aspirin, and is not expensive. In fact, it has shown more promise than the chemo drugs in some cases. We opted to try this and she has been responding well to it. This is not a cure, but typically allows them to pee better which keeps them alive a bit longer.

The vet did call again when the biopsy results were in and everything was confirmed. He again talked about chemo and we again declined. The piroxicam is doing it's job. She does have good days and bad days when she seems to exhibit some pain. I give her pain pills when I think she is hurting. We will no doubt have to make a decision in the near future and help her over the Rainbow Bridge. I don't want her to suffer and if she stops peeing, we will have to move quickly. The vet said she would have about 160 days, but I think since we know she has been fighting this for a year and a half, it won't be that long. But she is dearly loved and will continue to be until then.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Butterscotch is attending Purdue!

Last Sunday we packed up from our spot at White River Campground in Cicero and drove about 68 miles to Prophetstown State Park north of Lafayette. We needed to be close to Purdue University for our sweet, sweet white Scottie who is seeing a vet researcher there.

We got settled in and watched the Nascar race and relaxed the rest of the day. Around dusk the weather reports started getting ugly and we could hear tornado sirens sounding. Tornado sirens became kind of a mainstay in Indiana after the Palm Sunday tornadoes in 1965, and I'm glad they have then. Turns out our little weather radio was on the wrong station, so we got it up and running. The forecast was nasty, but fortunately for us. . . the storm was tracking south of us. Whoo hoo. We did have some rain, but no wind, hail or tornadoes. Always glad when a plan comes together!

Yesterday we drove into Purdue for Butterscotch's 9:30 appointment. There is a veterinary researcher who is studying TCC, transitional cell carcinoma, aka bladder cancer in the Scottish Terrier. When I had inquired of a vet friend earlier in the year, she told me I needed to take Butterscotch there because there was no better authority on the condition and it appears Butterscotch may have TCC.

We were taken in very quickly and a vet tech examined Butterscotch and did a history. Then she took Butterscotch back to have the vet researcher examine her. She did an ultrasound and some time later came in to talk with us about our sweet dog.

First, she talked about how sweet she is. Butterscotch is the calmest dog I have ever met. She never gets excited or scared about anything and is just so mellow. She lets anyone manipulate her and never objects. The ultrasound revealed tissue in the urethra and lumps in the bladder. Dr. Knapp is unsure if what's in the urethra is cancer or a stone, but whatever it is, it is large enough to be causing problems with her urination. She wanted to keep her overnight and do some x-rays and bloodwork and then perform a cystoscopy today. We hate leaving our girlie, but Neisa, the vet tech, was personally responsible for her and she said she would take very good care of her.

Neisa even called later to tell us they had already done the x-rays and that everything looked good. . . there appears to be no metastasis which is great news. Dr. Knapp did say that if Butterscotch has TCC, she didn't read the book. In other words, it is not acting like cancer and with her having had this for a year and a half, she should have already succumbed to the disease. Plus the fact that it hasn't appeared to spread. . . so she's not saying for sure that it is cancer.

So what is it? Well, there is the possibility that she has more bladder stones and more infection. We do know that keeping her on antibiotics keeps her peeing pretty well, so one could hope that we are dealing with something other than TCC.

Today the procedure is at 9:30 and she will be scoping and taking biopsies of anything suspicious. She also hopes to remove the stone or tissue in the urethra that she sees if it is possible. Many times the cancers have blood supplies, so removing large amounts of tissue is just not possible. It would cause bleeding.

So we wait today. Duchess is doing well. We are taking her on more and longer walks than she has been getting. Since Butterscotch is so slow these days, Duchess doesn't get the exercise she should so we are getting her out more.

This campground north of Lafayette is called Prophetstown State Park and is Indiana's newest state park. It is quite nice. There are several loops and the one we are in is full hookup and 50 amp. We are in a pull through site which is very spacious. Most of the sites have a lot of trees and shrubbery on the sides which block the next campsites from view. Very private feeling. There are only four of us here right now including the camp host, so we are having very quiet times. It is very dark at night with no lighting, but very peaceful.

There is a pioneer farm here at Prophetstown proper and an Indian village which we will check out today. "The Prophet" was Tecumseh's brother. More information can be found on these Indian warriors and the role they played in the wars against the settlers by googling their names. Tecumseh was the leader of the Shawnee and united tribes against the expansion of the white settlers in the area. He also aligned his people with the British in the War of 1812.

We took a brief drive the other night to find where we had to go this morning. We also drove north to the Tippecanoe Battleground and snapped a picture of this monument. We also drove out to see where Wolf Park is located. It's not open now except on Saturday (howl) night.

We will stay here another night and see how Butterscotch does after her procedure today. We will probably have to return next week when the test results are all in. We will then have some decisions to make about the course of her treatment from that point on.

Wish us and Butterscotch well today!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Here we are. . .

We arrived in Cicero, Indiana, at the White River Campground on Thursday afternoon. Our plan is to stay here till Sunday, then leave for Lafayette. We are going to be staying at Prophetstown State Park, which sounds really nice. It is Indiana's newest state park, so we are anxious to see what it's like.

We haven't been staying at too many Indiana State Parks in recent years because they have raised their prices to actually make the cost prohibitive. A FHU site on the weekend is $40 a night plus an entrance fee. For us out of staters, that's an additional $9-10 depending on the park. Whew. What are they thinking? The price does drop for Sunday through Thursday, so we are waiting to go in on Sunday afternoon.

We called ahead to inquire about sites here at this camp since we had never been here before and were told to get here early. They said they didn't have any FHU sites for our rig, but plenty of spaces where we could grab 30A and water. That was fine with us because they were supposed to have nice showers, etc. And they are very nice, BUT. . . what makes these people who design these things think campers don't want privacy when they shower and dress? No thank you. That's why they stay so nice, no one uses them.

Well, we got here and the one attendant, obviously not the one who told us they had plenty of sites for us, said they had nothing we could fit on. Nada, nope, not one site big enough for us. Grrrrrr. We were contemplating our next move when she said. . . "Well, I could put you on the manager's site. He's not here yet and if you are leaving Sunday, that would work." Thank you very much. It's actually a FHU 50Amp site, so we are all set. The sites are all paved and it is nice here. Except for the rain. . . did I mention the rain? It's been raining since last evening and hasn't let up. It's been difficult to get the dogs out to do their business because it's been raining all day. We take them out during the lulls, but they don't want to get wet. I don't blame them. It's in the 50's so it's a bit chilly. But it's not windy, so we keep our awning out and we can stay dry under that. We are right on the banks of the White River here. It's not very wide at this point, but I'm keeping an eye on some markers on the far bank because I don't want to get caught up in a flood. It is supposed to let up later and not start again till tomorrow, but it's still coming down pretty good.

So it's been movie day and laying around napping day. A little bit of laundry, etc. Anything to pass the time.

Thursday night when we got here, we went to Bonge's Tavern for dinner. It's kind of a legend and we have heard about it for years, even when we lived down here. We decided it was time to finally try it. It was a big disappointment for me. I will eat most anything, but Terry is very fussy. His chicken was the best he has ever eaten, but he didn't care for the pineapple salsa. There is no menu, only a chalkboard that lists the entrees. No mention made of sides. Turns out all entrees are served with the same sides, no choice. You do get soup or salad, which is a lettuce wedge. Now I got the Perkinsville Pork which was very good. A pork tenderloin pounded thin and breaded with planko and Parmesan cheese. It was very tasty, but it was fried in butter and was extremely rich. There were two portions and I ate part of one. There were also beets and garlic mashed potatoes as a side. I love beets, but they were extremely strong, flavorwise and with everything else having strong flavors, it was just too much. We both brought half our meal home. And it was very expensive. It was nice to go this once to see what all the hype was about, but I don't think we will go back.

Tomorrow we leave for Lafayette so we can take Butterscotch to the Purdue University small animal hospital where the chief researcher for TCC (bladder cancer) in Scotties can evaluate her. Praying for a good result and some answers.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Checkups!

After we left Amish country, we traveled on to St. Paris, Ohio, where friends Tab and Deanna live. At one time, they fulltimed with us and traveled the country. But fate intervened and they are now happily living in a lovely house and still camp in their motorhome whenever they want. We try to stop when we can. We don't always go this way, but this time we did and we enjoyed spending a couple days with them. They are doing well and it was a great visit. Even the dogs get along. They have seen each other enough that they seem to be accustomed to one another, so we can sit out and visit with the dogs.

We left there on Sunday and along the way west we passed some wind chargers in east central Indiana. We arrived in New Castle in time to set up for the Nascar race. Always a favorite. We like this camp, Cornerstone, but are a bit confused about the prices. Last July, just nine months ago when we were here, we paid $22. Then in September when we returned we paid $28. This time they charged us $44 a night. What? We asked if that included the discount which they proudly advertise and were told it did. The owner is the same person who has checked us in all three times. Why the discrepancy? We noted on RV Park Reviews that a previous disgruntled camper is not coming back over "discrepancies in posted prices." Hmmm. So I guess it's not just us.

We also discovered that the state park where we used to stay has now upgraded their sites and added 50Amp electric to all the sites in the one loop. In addition they moved the water so it is more easily accessible to the sites. So we think we will probably go back there when we return. The other camp we have enjoyed using is having problems with electric. We were always blowing something even when we aren't running anything, so that's not good. 

We had numerous doctor appointments and we got all those accomplished. No hiccups. . . no surprises, everything went as well as it could. The dogs saw their vet and he gave us reason to be optimistic about Butterscotch. At any rate, he is glad we are taking her to Purdue. . . he said they will be able to diagnose and tell us exactly what we are dealing with. So hopefully that is the case.

We  leave here Thursday and head to White River Campground over in Cicero. Never been there before, but interested in checking it out.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Amish Country, Berlin, Ohio

Amish Country is always special for me. It's so laid back and quiet and peaceful. I could probably live in an area like this for retirement except that I don't want to be anywhere that's cold! LOL

We stayed at the Berlin RV Park this time. Normally we go to Scenic Hills, and we do like that campground very much, but we wanted to try something on the other end of town. This park is built into the hill and the sites aren't quite level. That was a bit problematic for us since we have a broken jack, but we carry some blocks with us and we were able to get leveled enough to work. The sites were kind of terraced and long enough to pull through. This park had amenities including a playground, volleyball sand pit and a shelter for picnicking. The showers were exceptional. Very large and private rooms and very clean. We may stop here again.

We spent some time driving around and saw this magnificent horse at one of the markets. There was also a duck with some ducklings. Very sweet. On one of our drives we encountered this strange sign. We weren't sure quite what to expect!


We visited all the normal places for us, the cheese shops, the markets, the flea markets, etc. It was great fun and we did enjoy our time.


Till next time. . .

Dale

Marietta, Ohio for two nights!

This spring we are traveling routes we have not used before. Terry likes to mix it up every now and then and it does make for a pleasurable drive when we get to see different things.

Yesterday we drove from Camp Creek, West Virginia, to Marietta, Ohio. We are in a nice little camp called Ashland RV Park. We are the only overnighter, although we had another rig in here last night. Perhaps we will get another neighbor tonight.

We were told that Marietta, Ohio, was the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory, founded in 1788. It was a riverboat town and there are still a couple here. One you can take rides on  and another is used as a floating museum. There are historical homes, many of which have been or are in the process of being restored or renovated. We visited one today called The Castle. It was built by a prominent attorney and changed owners several times over the decades. The last resident lived in the home until 1974. It is one of Ohio's finest Gothic Revival homes and is beautifully restored. We were the only ones there this morning so we got a personal tour by Kyle. He was very informative and knew his subject well. The house has been modernized but still retains its charm and beauty. The carriage house serves as the visitor center where you start the tour with a movie. I was not able to take pictures of the inside, so I only have a shot of the outside.

From there we walked a half block down to The Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption. This beautiful church has just recently been designated a minor basilica by Pope Francis. While the outside of the church shows some wear, the interior is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. The pictures just don't do it justice. We went downstairs to the gift shop and I bought Butterscotch a St. Francis medal to wear on her collar.

There also is a large cemetery near these two structures. In the middle of the cemetery is an ancient mound called Conus Mound. It was probably built by either the Hopewell or the Andean peoples between 100 BC to AD 400. It was used as a burial mound but they do not know how many were interred here. Also in this cemetery are buried the remains of more Revolutionary War officers than anywhere else in the country. I would have liked to take some time to walk around there, but we didn't have time.

Across the river in another area is another majestic home. This one is known as The Anchorage and is said to be haunted.


This is a very nice area. The town in located at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Riers. There are many things we think we would like to come back and see. We enjoyed our visit and look forward to returning some day.

Till next time. . .

Dale

The only flat spot in West Virginia. . .

We have avoided stopping in West Virginia as we travel to and from Charlottesville. This time, though, we were coming from Chesapeake and stayed the night in Appomattox, so we continued on through the state on highway 460. Let it be known that this stretch of 460 was much better than the stretch from south of Richmond to Chesapeake, but it is definitely not my favorite road. It was all 4-lane divided, but not limited access. So you had all kinds of idiots on there, lots of towns to pass through and the curves were quite tight, not rounded out. It was definitely a challenge, which I was up to, but not as enjoyable a drive as I like.

We were on our way to Princeton, West Virginia, and a state campground/forest by the name of Camp Creek. Let it be known that this is probably the flattest spot in all of West Virginia. The reason we never stop in this state is because there is generally not a long enough, flat enough spot to park Phaeton Place. But, we have finally found one. This is a very nice little campground, not too large with about 26 campsites, three of which are 50 amp, full hookup. And we scored one of those. What was really nice was that the sites were very nearly level, which is a requirement for us right now since we have a broken jack. When you have 1 broken jack, you may as well have 3 broken jacks because we don't want to take a chance on getting the bad jack stuck in the down position because then . . . you won't be able to move. Been there, done that. So we don't use them. We have some jack pads we use for leveling when we need a little bit.

We arrived on Terry's birthday. Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband of almost 45 years. He is 66 and while not everyone would want their age broadcast, Terry had some serious heart issues 18 years ago which nearly took his life. Then he developed prostate cancer and sailed through that treatment. So we feel very fortunate that he is still here and we will celebrate every birthday as the milestone it is. I got him a gift certificate plus a new computer. He has yet to pick it out, but he needs to shop first.
 
Yesterday we spent doing some sightseeing around the camp. There were two waterfalls within walking distance of camp, so we drove. LOL You really didn't expect me to walk to them, did you? One was about 1/4 mile away and the other 3 miles, both in the campground though. The first was the smaller falls and named Mash Fork Falls. It is the site of an old mill. The other was at the opposite end of the park and also the site of an old mill. We weren't able to see any ruins of the mills themselves. The second falls is named Campbell Falls and was much larger than the other. Both were very pretty and had water flowing over them.

We enjoyed our visit at this camp. The park itself did have some hills and was by no means flat. But they were able to carve out a campground and sites that were suitable for big rigs. We will probably stay here again.

Till next time. . .

Dale