Dinner at Ellen & Braxton’s

John is still having some problems with his back. He is having to baby it and take it slow. We stayed at the camper until after lunch.

Ellen and Braxton (Joe and Betty’s daughter and son-in-law) invited us over for BBQ ribs tonight. We had BBQ ribs, hash brown casserole, baked beans, broccoli and cheese and some chocolate cookies. Everything was delicious. Thanks Ellen and Braxton for inviting us we really enjoyed it.

After dinner you know we had to play some 10 Penny. Ellen and Braxton had never played so they had fun learning this crazy game. John beat Ellen by five points. Ellen wants a rematch. LOL

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

John to chiropractor again.

John is down with his back today.  He could hardly get up and down and was in significant pain.  He went back to the chiropractor again for another adjustment.  After returning to the camper he took the anti-inflammatory medicine and a pain pill and slept the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon. 

Betty and Joe came over around 1:30 and John was still resting his back. John stayed in today to make sure his back was on the mend.  Betty, Joe and I drove over to Cave City and walked around the Wigwam Village Inn which is a teepee village.  Talk about unique.  I have never seen anything like this before so I just had to take a few pictures to share.

After leaving Cave City we drove over to Glendale, KY to the Whistle Stop Restaurant.  This little restaurant is family owned and has been in business for over 30 years.  Betty and Joe chose the country fried steak entrees and I had the chicken tender entree.  Each entree comes with two sides of your choice.  I ordered John a country fried steak entree to go. The Whistle Stop Restaurant is among a unique shopping area containing antique stores and other quaint gift shops. 

Betty, Joe and I arrived back at the camper and found John up and moving around.  Yeah!!  He appeared to be a little better.  He enjoyed his country fried steak dinner very much.  After he finished eating we all settled in for some 10 Penny.  Betty and Joe beat us on both rounds. 

Remember to laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Chiropractor for John….Spa Day for Fred

John got up this morning with a catch in his back. It started bothering him yesterday after we toured the cave. He had to bend and stoop a lot during the tour so that may have aggravated it. A hurting back is no fun.

Later in the morning we drove to Glascow and dropped Fred off at the groomers then it was time to find some lunch. As we drove through Glascow John spotted a restaurant called Big Moose’s BBQ. Anyone who knows John knows he loves him some BBQ….so I guess you know where we ate. LOL John had baby back ribs, slaw and beans and I had the grilled chicken sandwich. The food was very good. After lunch we still had some time to kill before picking up Fred so it was off to Wal-Mart for some soap making supplies. Yes, that’s right soap making supplies. John has started making his own laundry detergent. From Wal-mart we drove around taking in the scenery until John passed a chiropractor’s office. Since his back was bothering him and he hasn’t had an adjustment since we left MS, he stopped in to see if they would work him in. He was in and out in 20 minutes which gave us just enough time to pick up Fred.

Fred with his red, white and blue bandana he got from his spa day at the groomers.

John lying on the floor with a cold pack under his back after his chiropractor visit.

Tonight we drove over to Betty and Joes for some more 10 Penny. When we got there John had a hard time getting out of the truck and up the stairs as his back was really hurting. He took some Advil as soon as he could. Betty had steaks, potatoes, steamed vegetables and crescent rolls for dinner. Thanks Betty for a wonderful meal. Now it was 10 Penny time. We played two rounds and I was on a winning streak. Quite rare but believe it or not it happened. LOL

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Get well soon Joe.

Slept in until 8:30 this morning.  We received a text from Betty saying that Joe had gotten sick during the night with a stomach virus.  Hope you get to feeling better real soon Joe.  I know you want to smoke us on 10 Penny. LOL

After lunch John and I toured the Mammoth Cave in the Mammoth Cave National park.  The tour was ranger guided and lasted for two hours.  It was a nice 55 degrees.  Below are some pictures from our tour. 

This is the ceiling right at the beginning of the tour.

Old mining cart and other mining tools. 

John standing next to a rock that was taller than him.

Layers of rock ledges along the wall.

Large boulder looking rocks.

Wall with cracks.

Overhanging rocks on the wall.

More overhanging rocks on the wall.

This was almost at the end of the tour. Water had dripped down on me from the ceiling.  It was cold.

Spent the rest of the evening at the camper chilling out.   We spoke with Speedy and Sherri via Skype.  It was good to see them while talking online.  Wow….what you can do with modern technology.

Remember to laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Happy Birthday Braxton

Today is Betty and Joe’s son-in-law, Braxton’s birthday. He is 28 years young today. Happy Birthday Braxton.

We chilled out at the campground today. This afternoon while John was taking a nap, Fred and I went walking around the park to take few pictures.

This is the scenery right behind our camper. Love these trees.

This appears to be a volleyball area.

The Clubhouse.

The putt-putt golf course.

The road heading toward our campsite.

Tonight we drove over to Betty and Joe’s to join them for dinner and birthday cake for Braxton. Betty cooked a fine dinner again tonight. She had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots and hot rolls. Everything was delicious. Thank you Betty and Joe for another fine meal. After dinner everyone enjoyed the ice cream birthday cake.

The ice cream birthday cake. Yummy.

Betty and Joe’s grandson, Caleb. He was ready for cake.

Braxton and daughter Olivia.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Inquiring Minds Want To Know How To Play

10 Penny

We've had some emails about 10 penny. Hopefully this will make sense, if not shoot me an email.

It is played with 3 decks of cards including the jokers and 10 pennies (or whatever you would like to use) for each player to buy cards. Shuffle all the cards and deal out 10 cards face down to each player. Turn the top card on the deck face up.

The first player is after the dealer (clockwise). The first player has the option of buying the face up card using a penny and gets the face up card and 3 face down cards. Be warned that once your pennies are gone you can no longer buy cards, each round gets harder. If the first person does not want the card it goes to the next person (continuing clockwise) until it gets back to the dealer. If nobody purchases the card then the first person will draw 2 cards. If someone buys the card other then the first person, this is called buying out of turn and they get the face up card along with the next 2 down cards (cannot lay anything down until their turn) then the first person starts by drawing 2 cards. From this point, only the card that was discarded can be purchased.

Each round is played out until someone gets rid of all the cards in their hand. After satisfying the round hand, cards are then removed from your hand by laying down sets of 3 or by playing on other players cards that are down on the table. Cards that are laid down on the table from your hand are turned face up so each player will be able to play on them once they have satisfied the round hand.

Card Points

3-9=5 points

10, Jacks, Queens and Kings=10 points

2 and Aces=20 points

Jokers=50 points

Round Hands
R1 Two sets of 3 cards with jokers being wild
R2 One set of 4 cards with jokers being wild
R3 Two sets of 4 cards with jokers and 2’s being wild
R4 One set of 5 cards with jokers and 2’s being wild
R5 Two sets of 5 cards with jokers, 2’s, and aces being wild
R6 One set of 6 cards with jokers, 2’s, and aces being wild
R7 One set of 7 cards with jokers, 2’s, and aces being wild

Once you have drawn and have your round hand you can lay them down along with sets of 3 or hold them, just remember if someone goes out before it gets back to you it will cost you points. You can only lay down cards when it is your turn. Highest score looses after R7. Redistribute 10 pennies to play again.

NOTE: FYI, Pennies are not won in this game.

Dinner & 10 Penny with Friends

Today was a travel day. We were packed up and headed out of the park by 10:00. Our destination today will be Park City, KY.

Here is John with is driving face on.

Fred settled down for a long nap in his bed on the back seat.

We arrived in Park City and were setup by 3:15. It was not a bad ride. After settling in I called our friend Betty to let her and Joe know we had made it to Kentucky earlier than expected. We drove over to visit with them and Betty served the most delicious chicken enchiladas and rice. Thanks Betty for a tasty dinner. Of course we brought along the 10 Penny game. John won tonight. We will definitely have to have a rematch. LOL

Below John is petting Red, Betty and Joe’s dog. We call him Square Head Red. He is a sweet dog.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Happy Father’s Day

Today is the day we honor all the dads out there.  Happy Father’s day to all the dads that are with us and to those who have passed on. 

We met John’s niece Renee’ at her church for morning services today.  After the service Renee’ invited us to join her and some friends for lunch at Johnny’s New York Style Pizza.  Everyone ordered a pizza entree except John, he ordered something called the Bronx Buster which consisted of the pizza toppings baked together with no crust.  He said it was good.

In the afternoon we went to Camping World to get a step add-on or something that I can use as an extra step.  There are campsites where the bottom step comes up to my thigh so I have to climb.  Not a good thing.  We found something like a step platform.  We will see how it works.

We also made another trip to REI to pick up a couple of tubular bars to add to the bike rack to make it more secure.  Below is a picture of the new bike rack John installed. 

Tonight we went back over to Renee’s to watch a movie and play 10 Penny.  I think John won all rounds.  I was doing great then my luck changed.  So sad. LOL

We would like to thank Renee’ for being our tour guide while we visited here.  She took us to interesting places and filled us in on the local history.

Tomorrow we will be traveling to Kentucky.

Remember to laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

The Vineyard Cafe

Today is Renee’s grandson Jeremiah’s 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday Jeremiah.

Slept in until around 8:30. I started cooking French toast but got frustrated because I was tearing up the bread so John took over. His turned out great.

After breakfast we headed off to find a new bicycle rack to replace the one damaged the other day. We looked in Dick’s Sporting Goods and The Sports Authority but they did not carry what we needed however, the salesclerk did suggest REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) We had never heard of this place before. The salespeople were very helpful and willingly went the extra mile to make sure you found what you were looking for. John decided on the Yakima Double Down Hitch Mount Bicycle Carrier. This one has a lifetime warranty on it and is of much better quality than the one previously purchased at Wal-Mart.

Now it was time to go and have some fun. We picked up John’s niece Renee’ and headed for Marietta, GA to walk the square and have lunch. When we arrived in Marietta there was some sort of local festival being held on the square with food, craft vendors and live bands. By this time we were hungry so we began looking at the variety of restaurants on the square and found one called The Vineyard Cafe. This unique cafe is located on the top floor of the Vineyard gift shop. We all ordered sandwiches. John had the Smokin’ Hot Reuben (Smoked Beef Brisket and Swiss served “Reuben” style, topped with Cole Slaw and served on toasted Marble Rye). Renee’ had the Italian sandwich combo with sweet potato salad. I have never had potato salad made with sweet potatoes but it was very good. I had the Classic Harvest Sandwich (Smoked Turkey Breast, Bacon, Cheddar, Mixed Greens with Honey Dijon Spread on Bakery Raisin Walnut Bread). This is the most delicious sandwich I have ever tasted. The Raisin Walnut bread was to die for. The cafe also serves peach and cranberry apple ice tea. It was quite a nice change from ordinary tea. Renee’ took a picture of John and I at the table.

Needless to say, we went on a much needed walk through the square and surrounding areas. Another interesting place that caught our eye was Johnnie McCracken’s Celtic Pub. The pub is actually the oldest standing fire station in Cobb County. Check out the website it is really cool.

We ended the day with a game of 10 Penny. Renee’ beat John and I last night and tonight. Is it beginner’s luck? LOL We had a great time.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

West Cobb Diner

John up early this morning and off to Ackworth Integrity Automotive to get a rear brake job done on the truck. This company offers 25% off to new customers so that came in handy.

Later in the morning we drove over to Renee’s (John’s niece) house to visit with her and to make lunch plans. We like to try out the small diners or the Mom and Pop places that the locals go to so she suggested a place called West Cobb Diner. This place has everything from salads to dinner entrees. Renee’ and I had salads while John opted for the country fried steak, collard greens and bleu cheese cole slaw. Everything was delicious. After lunch we returned to Renee’s and were chatting and somehow the conversation drifted to small house hold repairs and such. John asked her how often she changed the air filters and she told him they had not been changed in two years. John said, “That’s not good.” He went upstairs to check it out and found that the filter had been sucked up into the unit. She now has a clean air filter with a spare. John also checked on other things for her.

For dinner John grilled burgers at Renee’s. They were so good. Afterwards we sat down and played two rounds of 10 Penny. This was Renee’s first time to play and she liked the game.

Below is the recipe for Key Lime Poke Cake requested by one of our friends Connie.

Key Lime Pie Poke Cake

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 hour 55 min
Makes: 15 servings

Cake

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® white cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 eggs

Key Lime Filling

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

3/4 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup Key lime juice or regular lime juice

1 teaspoon grated lime peel

4 drops yellow food color

1 drop green food color

Frosting

1 container (12 oz) Betty Crocker® Whipped vanilla frosting

2 teaspoons grated lime peel

Garnish, If Desired

Fresh strawberries

Key lime slices

Lemon leaves

1. Heat oven to 350°F for shiny metal or glass pan (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan with baking spray with flour.

2. In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.

3. Bake 26 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. With handle of wooden spoon (1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter), poke holes almost to bottom of cake every 1/2 inch, wiping spoon handle occasionally to reduce sticking.

4. In medium bowl, stir together filling ingredients (mixture will thicken). Pour over cake; spread evenly over surface, working back and forth to fill holes. (Some filling should remain on top of cake.) Refrigerate 1 hour.

5. Spread frosting over cake; sprinkle with lime peel. Garnish with strawberries, lime slices and lemon leaves. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

Remember to laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.