Moving on to Woodbury, KY.

FRIDAY:

After the motorhome was washed and all shiny we said goodbye to the folks at Day Brothers RV Sales and were on our way to Woodbury, KY.

The trip was uneventful and we made it to Woodbury just after 1:00 p.m.   We are parked at our friends, Ellen and Braxton's place for a few days.  John and Braxton jokingly refer to it as Braxton's Campground.  Anyway, a big thank you to Braxton and Ellen for letting hang out on their property for a few days.   Ellen and Betty are out town for the weekend so Braxton and Joe are all alone. Awe. Braxton has done a great job of keeping the house clean.  Ellen will be so proud. 

Look....no dirty dishes. 

Braxton hard at work making sure the floors are spotless.   Good job Braxton!

Tonight Ellen and Braxton's son Caleb had a kart race.  These are so cool to watch.

Caleb's kart.

Joe, John and Braxton.   Braxton getting the kart ready to race. 

Joe and John.

Group picture before his race.

Look at that beautiful trophy.  Way to go Caleb.

SATURDAY:

Braxton took us to a place called Jackson's Orchard in Bowling Green.  This place has something for everybody.  Rides and games for kids and good food to the adults. 

Olivia finishing her pony ride.

Caleb going down the slide.

Yesterday we just chilled out and watched the Nascar race.  John cooked pulled pork and baked beans and I made some potato salad and we were all set.  

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Happy Birthday Savannah.

Today our niece, Savannah, is celebrating her 18th birthday.  We hope she had a wonderful day. 

 Happy  Birthday Savannah,  Love you. 

Everything has been checked off John's list and all the repairs have been made to the motorhome.  This dealership ranks #1 for us for sales and customer service.  If you're looking for an RV we highly recommend them.  Day Brothers RV in London, KY.  After the motorhome is washed in the morning we plan on traveling to Woodbury, KY to visit with friends there before going on to Missouri.  

We didn't have anything to do tonight so we drove into town to check out the Chicken Festival.  We didn't see any chickens, just lots of rides, food and people.  The only thing I saw related to a chicken was a ceramic rooster. LOL

It looked more like a county fair than a festival to me.  The weather was nice so we walked through the whole thing.  

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Cumberland Falls

We arrived in London, KY Friday night around 9:30.  After getting plugged in we went straight to bed.  Saturday morning John met with the tech about a tentative repair schedule.

Since we had some free time on our hands the tech suggested some sightseeing.  By the time we left it was close to noon so you know we were in search of food.   We stopped in Corbin, the next town over, and looked around.  

This place looked interesting so we gave it a try.  A front door parking spot.  Wow they must have known we were coming. 

John waiting for his country fried steak. 

John enjoying his coconut cream pie.  He savored every bite.  The server told us the desserts are made from stretch.  The lady even makes her own evaporated milk.  John said this was one of the best he has had.   An interesting little dinner.   It was one of those places where the regulars come in and converse with everyone in there. 

Today we ventured over to Cumberland Falls State Resort Park which is located Southwest of Corbin, KY in the Daniel Boone National Forest.  The resort offers cabin rentals, cottages and campsites.  We drove through the campground to see what the sites were like and found them to be very small.  Maybe a 20 footer could fit in one.  

Our first stop was the falls. Very beautiful peaceful place.  We walked along the trail and took a few pictures.  As we were walking back it started to rain. Bummer.  

 The resort also has a lodge with a restaurant so our next stop was lunch. 

The entrance to the lodge and Riverview Restaurant.

The restaurant offers a buffet with salad bar and dessert as well as menu items. We chose the buffet and weren't disappointed.  Four meats and lots of vegetables and salads to choose from.  

After leaving the resort we drove thru the surrounding areas on the forest roads admiring the scenery.  Unfortunately, there was also a lot of trash dumped along the not-so-often traveled roads, so sad.  The leaves are just starting to change so I wasn't able to get any pretty leaf pictures yet. 

Hopefully tomorrow we will find out approximately how long we will be here.  Fred is coping pretty well with all the changes.  He still doesn't like all the new sounds the motorhome makes. 

Laugh everyday.   Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

See Ya later Tamarac.

Sadly the time has come for us to leave Tamarac Wildlife Refuge.  John and I have both enjoyed volunteering here and would love to return again some day.   We will miss Tamarac and the people there.  A big thank you to them for allowing us to experience the refuge as a volunteer.  It is such a beautiful peaceful place.  Please stop by and visit the refuge if you are in the area.

John, Gina and I.

John, Janice and I.

The view from behind the Visitor Center yesterday.   The leaves were starting to change.  I am so bummed that we won't be there to see that and get some pictures.  

We pulled out of Tamarac around 10:00 a.m. on our journey to London, KY.  The trip was uneventful and we arrived at Rockford, IL, our planned stop, around 9:30 p.m.  We stayed at camp Wal-mart for the night and picked up a few groceries. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Leaving Tamarac 12 days early.

Yesterday we said "see ya later" to Judy.  We wish her safe travels and fun adventures with her brother.  As I made the rounds to check the kiosks today I thought about Judy.  It was rather dull riding alone in the truck.  Every time I saw an eagle, red tail hawk, a swan or changing leaves I missed sharing it with her.  John helped Gina this morning with mowing the area for the Fall Festival.  He also cut down a few trees around one of the cabins.  After that he did his usual mowing.  He wants to get it all done before we head out.

I drove around to the usual spots to check out the swans.   The weather was sunny and warm, just perfect to be outside.  

The leaves are beginning to change.   

This is one of my favorite spots. 

John and I were scheduled to leave Tamarac on the 29th but we will be leaving this Thursday.  We are having issues with one of the slides.  John called the dealer and talked with them about the slide and a few other minor issues.  They suggested bringing it back at our convenience and they would take care of it.  We talked with the Tamarac staff (our boss Janice) and she said we could leave early if we would like so we set up an appointment with the dealership for this coming Saturday .  We have enjoyed our time here and would love to return again.  

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Happy Birthday Robert.

I can't believe our son turned 32 today.  It seems like yesterday he was just a little boy and now he is grown with a wife and two little girls of his own.

Happy Birthday Robert. We love you.  Hope you had a wonderful day. 

Update on our move into the motorhome:  We are just about finished unpacking and putting things away.  It has been a chore.  We are looking forward to relaxing and enjoying it when everything is finished.  I know Fred can't wait for things to get back to normal. 

Last night Judy invited John and I, and new volunteer arrivals Pat and Ward over to her place for dinner.  Judy's brother flew in from Arizona and will be leaving with Judy on Monday. This was our last get together before she leaves.  Judy wanted us to try one of her favorite foods she used to eat while living in New York.  They are called Spiedies.  Speidies are very popular in Binghamton, NY and consists of marinading meat, usually lamb or chicken, in a special marinade for two to three days, placing it on a skewer and grilling it.  The meat is then serviced on a large piece of Italian bread and no condiments are needed.  Spiedies are usually servied with salt potatoes so I prepared the salt potatoes and Pat brought slaw and brownies for dessert.  

Chef Judy grilling. 

Judy and her brother Kurt. 

Judy announcing dinner is ready. 

It was so tasty.  We will definitely have to eat those again.  Thanks Judy for a wonderful meal.  We have really enjoyed working with Judy at the refuge.  I will miss our weekly trail rides and her unending knowledge.  She is such a joy to work with.   We wish her safe travels and hope to see her down the road again real soon. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Lunch with Jim and Dee.

We are still making our way back to Tamarac Refuge. This was our second day to stay in Chippewa Falls. We were finally able to tour the Leinenkugel Brewery.  I say finally because back in May when we were traveling through this area we had planned to tour the brewery but the F550 broke down on us and that, of course, changed our plans. 

The brewery was founded in 1867 by Jacob Leinenkugel and John Miller.  In 1884 John Miller sold his stake in the brewery and it has been owned by the Leinenkugels since then.   Below are a few pictures from our tour. 

This morning we woke up to heavy rain and much cooler temperatures. Uck!!   Not my favorite kind of weather at all...and it was travel day. 

We follow Jim and Dee's blog and noticed we would be crossing paths with them today.  We were able to meet them in Baldwin, WI at Culvers for lunch.  It was good to see them again and catch up.  Can't believe it has been three years since we have seen them.  We wish them safe travels and hope to see them again real soon. 

Jim and Dee. 

Laugh everyday  Happy trails.  Stay safe. 

Making a change.

We have been very busy for the last two weeks.  John and I decided to make the change from a fifth wheel to a motorhome.  We found what we were looking for in London, KY at Day Brothers RV Sales.  You know what that meant......a long road trip.  We left Tamarac Refuge on September 2nd and arrrived in Kentucky on the 3rd.  Now that was a really long road trip.

Day Brothers RV Sales are a great group of people.  They are very attentive to their customers and go the extra mile to see that everything is done right.  It is a family owned business and you will feel like you are family.  I am happy to say we had a wonderful experience with them.

We were able to park right next to the motorhome.  It took three and a half hours to unload and was after 9:00 p.m. when the last items were loaded.  By the time we left the dealership, grabbed a bite to eat and fueled up it was after 10:00 before we were on the road.  Since we were both wide awake we agreed we would travel until we got tired.  It was around 3:00 a.m. when we arrived in Whitestown, IN and were both exhausted so we pulled in the the Mejier's store parking lot, set the parking brake, climbed in bed and spent the rest of the night, or morning.  No one knocked on the door and asked us to leave so I guess it was ok. 

Our next stop was Sandwich, IL to visit our dear friends Dennis and Donna Cave.  

Here we are at Dennis and Donna's.  Yeah we made it.

Dennis and John looking at the new Rand McNally RV GPS.

We arrived early enough to enjoy taking a walk with Dennis and Donna to the Sandwich Fair which is a large annual event and has food, rides and steam operated engines just to name a few.  Donna treated us to homemade lasagna and Italian sausage for dinner.  It was so tasty.  

The next morning Donna served some breakfast pizza before we hit the road.  It was yummy.  This is the breakfast pizza we had when we visited before.  John and I both love it.  We finally got around to saying "see ya later" and was preparing to leave when I remembered I hadn't gotten a picture of Dennis and Donna. 

Dennis and Donna.  Thank y'all so much for your hospitality.  We enjoyed the visit and hope to see you down the road, maybe in MS this year.

Ok, so now we were ready to pull out but the Suzuki wouldn't start.  Bummer!  The battery was dead.  It seems the key was left in the car overnight in the on position.  Dennis quickly jumped us off and before long we were on our way.  Thank you Dennis. 

John pulling out to hook the car up.

Our destination for today was Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.  The trip was uneventful and we arrived around 5:00 p.m.  We are staying at the fair grounds campground.   This is the town that John wanted to stop and visit back in May when we were on our way to Tamarac and the F550 broke down before we got here.  We were able to stop and stay this time.   John has visited the other town/cities named "Ridgeland" as we travel.  There is a Ridgeland, WI 30 miles from here so we drove other tonight to get a picture and find something for dinner. 

This "Ridgeland" is a very small town.

As we drove around looking for a cafe or restaurant we noticed the town had plenty of bars (3) and that everything else looked closed for the night.  We stopped in at the Sportsmen's Bar and Grill.  There was only one other customer, a local guy, and the bartender/cook.  Very friendly and he sure cooked a great burger.  Of course John had on a Ridgeland Fire Department T-Shirt so the conversation was lively.   

We will be staying in Chippewa Falls again tomorrow and hope to rest up a little as well as organize some stuff in the RV.  Planning on meeting up with Jim and Dee (Tumbleweed) Wednesday for lunch.  It has been a little over 3 years since we have seen them.   

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.