Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Grand Rapids, MI July 21-24

We had breakfast on Sunday in Goshen, IN and found a reasonable price for diesel fuel so stopped to fill the tank on our way back to Elkhart to pack  up and drive to our next campground, Woodchip Campground in Byron Center, MI.   The camp is family owned and is small but very comfortable.   It's evidently been in existence for a long time, as it has wonderful mature trees at most campsites.   What struck us was the number of extended families camping together here.  

Monday we drove into Grand Rapids to visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.  It is located in a park-like setting along the Grand River.   It opened in 1981 and is dedicated to the 38th President of the US.    Ford represented Michigan in Congress for 25 years prior to his Presidency.   The displays and films were biographical and showed his childhood, high school and college years as well as his time in Law School.   His ambition was to become House Majority Leader, but the Democrats were in firm control of the House, and he was elected House Minority Leader.   President Nixon chose Ford as Vice President after the departure of Spiro Agnew.   When Nixon resigned Ford became President and served the remainder of the term.   Disappointedly he lost the next Presidential election to Jimmy Carter and retired in California.  He and Betty are both interred on the grounds of the Presidential Museum.   His library is located at his beloved U of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Tuesday was threatening rain when we left camp and headed north of downtown Grand Rapids to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.  The park consists of indoor conservatories and 132 acres of gardens designed by renowned landscape artists, natural meadows, woodlands and wetlands.  The park is divided into several areas of interest:  The Sculpture Park has over 200 masterworks by artists from Rodin to Roxy Paine.   There's a Children's Garden with child level Great Lakes with plenty of plastic boats to float, a sensual garden where children use their senses to smell, see, hear and taste a variety of plants.   We enjoyed the 1930's era farm in the Michigan Farm Garden complete with barn, farmhouse, windmill, heirloom vegetable gardens, and animal sculptures.   By lunch the clouds were gone and the sun was out and we enjoyed a picnic under a tree near the parking area before continuing our walk through the Gardens.  

Today was chore day:   haircuts, washing clothes, grocery shopping as we will leave tomorrow and travel for several days before our next touring location - Duluth, MN and Grand Portage, MN.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Elkhart, Indiana July 18-20, 2013

The drive from Streetsboro to Elkhart was long and warm.   We did not wish to take the turnpike, so instead dropped south and picked up US 30, the Lincoln Highway.   Very nice road- lightly traveled and in very good shape!  

We arrived at our campground in Elkhart, IN about 5:30 and the air conditioned decided to be finicky, roaring, and then cutting off.   Not nice on a 92 degree day!   It finally settled down and has given us no more problems.   Good thing!   It's been HOT and HUMID.   At 8:30 p.m. it was still 90 degrees.  

Friday we drove 17 miles to Rise n' Roll bakery in the heart of Amish country (do you sense a pattern  here?).   We had yummy bakery and then drove into Shipshewana, seven miles away.    We spent the day browsing through the stores and admiring the beautiful craftsmanship on the furniture that was displayed.  We had been to Shipshewana previously, so went back to our favorite haunts to shop.   We stopped at a roadside market on our way back to the trailer and purchased blueberries, canteloup, cukes, a tomato and a quart of cherries.  In the evening we drove back to Das Dutchman Essenhaus restaurant for supper.   Waddled home stuffed!  

Saturday we drove back to Rise n' Roll bakery for breakfast.   The bakery was very busy!   It was great to see carriages at the hitching post right next to a Harley Davidson cycle and a tour bus!   Definitely a cross section of people enjoying their baked goods!   Came back into town and stopped at the RV Museum, Hall of Fame and Library where we spent an enjoyable 3 hours climbing in and out of historic trailers!  

Sunday we will head into Michigan and Grand Rapids.

Cleveland OH area July 15-17, 2013

Our campground is in Streetsboro, OH and is nestled between the towns of Hudson and Streetsboro, about 20 miles SE of Cleveland.    It's a short jaunt to Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  

On Monday we made our first trip into the Cuyahoga Valley NP.   Actually the park is 22 miles along and surrounds the village of Peninsula.   It also follows the Ohio & Erie Canalway with the towpath a busy bicycle/hiking corridor through the park.   There are several Visitor's Centers in the park, as well.  On Monday we visited the Boston Store Visitor's Center and got directions to Brandywine Falls and information on a moderate hiking area called Ledges.  At Brandywine we followed a boardwalk towards the falls, and then had to go down 66 steps (yes, I counted them!) to see the falls.   When you go down, you have to go up :-(    Not nearly as much fun!   We ate lunch in the shade at the picnic area and then drove to the Ledges area for our hike.   Thankfully the trail was heavily shaded and relatively cool compared to the temp of 90 degrees.   The hike was about an hour in length.

Tuesday we drove into Cleveland to visit the Rock n Roll Hall of  Fame and Museum.   We were apprehensive of driving in the city, but thanks to our GPS, finding the location was painless and parking was convenient and in a parking ramp, so the truck did not get unbearably hot.   The building is shaped as a pyramid with six levels of exhibits.    We took the escalator down to the first level and saw a movie on the evolution of rock and roll, and then saw performance costumes, musical instruments and handwritten songs of the early pioneers of the genre.  There was a separate area with film clips of Elvis performing, several of his costumes, and a car he had purchased for one of his body guards.    The noise level throughout the building was rock concert level (I was wishing for earplugs!)   Level 2 introduced us to Les Paul, Alan Freed, and Sam Phillips and a video called Video Killed the Radio Star.   Level 3 hadvideo highlights of past induction ceremonies, and film, music, interviews and still photos to tell the stories of the inductees    There were also exhibits on Chuck Berry and RIck Nelson.      Level 4  was Hall of Fame Jukebox and Pink Floyd:  The Wall.
Levels 5 & 6 were Special Exhibits --both levels were Rolling Stones.   WE were there for over 4 hours and finally couldn't take the noise any longer so beat a hasty retreat to the quiet of the truck and the ride back to camp.

Wednesday was a much more serene day :-)   We drove to Peninsula (9 miles) and boarded the Cuyahoga Scenic Railroad for a 3-hour trip through the park.   We had comfortable seats in air conditioned comfort and enjoyed looking out the windows at the various items of interest :   a beaver pond, an eagle's nest, and various birds.   We also saw many bicyclists along the trails as we rode through the park.   Checked out souvenirs at Peninsula in the Trail Mix store, and had a long discussion with a park ranger about the budget cuts that have occurred as a result of the sequester.  
Tomorrow it's on the road to Elkhart, Indiana.  

Friday, July 19, 2013

Pictures!

At the Dayton National Historical Park



Wright Bros. Plane # 3 with motor

Carillon at Dayton Park

Union Station Museum Complex

By the fountain at Union Station Museum

Wright Plane - #2


McKinley's Presidential Office in McKinley Museum



Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Canton Ohio Area - July 10 - 13, 2013

We traveled every back road known to man to get from Jackson Center, OH to our KOA campground near Canton.   On our way we ran into heavy rain and small hail (no hail damage, thankfully).   Our campground is called Bear Creek KOA, and sports a pool, mini-golf, and horseback riding.   We didn't have time for any of it!    The biggest disappointment was their lack of electricity for the number of campers in the KOA.   It was very warm and humid, and we couldn't run our Air Conditioner because there wasn't enough power to start the condenser.    About 5:00 there was a tornado watch in our area, and while we didn't have a tornado, we did have heavy rain and wind.   It cooled off after that!   Didn't need the AC for the rest of our stay.

On Thursday we drove into Canton for breakfast and then headed to a laundromat and washed clothes and got fuel.   We bought groceries at a store called Marc's -- only accepts Discover card, cash, or checks.   Oops, didn't have enough cash, so had to go to their handy ATM to pay for the groceries.   Spent the remainder of the day enjoying being outside.

Friday we went to the First Ladies National Historic site which consisted of an Education and Research Center with exhibits of various first ladies inaugural gowns, china, correspondence, snapshots, etc.   Film clips were available of Jackie Kennedy's White House Tour. Betty Ford's interview on 60 Minutes, and Hilary Clinton.   After touring the museum/education center we were taken to the Ida Saxton McKinley House in the next block.  

In the afternoon we went to the Wm. McKinley Museum and the McKinley memorial.   Because the McKinley's had no surviving children, most of their estate was sold after their death.

Saturday was my favorite day.   We drove 25 miles SW to Amish Country.   On our way we enjoyed seeing men working in their fields with horses, women hanging wash on their clotheslines, and carriages on their way into town to shop.   We had breakfast at Kauffman's bakery and then went to Heini's Cheese factory and store across the street and bought cheese and summer sausage.  From Millersburg we drove 7 miles to Berlin, which was crowded with tourists like Jack and me.   We strolled through various shops and at lunch we ate at Cinci's at the antique barn.   After lunch and a bit more shopping (we saw a sign in a store window for Sleepy Eye Flour, Sleepy Eye, MN and we stopped to inquire about buying it).   Couldn't get it :-(

Time to head back to camp and get ready for Mass in Canton.   A great day!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Waynesville, OH July 6 - 8

News flash!   GPS systems (at least THIS) one have difficulty finding small towns and campgrounds!  We left North Bend and drove to Waynesville.  We drove in pounding rain with very limited visibility on the interstate and luckily it stopped when we left the interstate and were taking two lane roads toward Waynesville.   Again we had to call the campground to get final directions.

The Frontier campground was very nice -- and I was glad to see that we had a platform to step out onto which was helpful when it rained.   We went to Mass that afternoon and then found a Pizza Hut in Centerville, about 6 miles from Waynesville.

Sunday afternoon we drove into dayton and visited the National Park service Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center which had excellent films of the Wright Brothers' flight and Paul Dunbar's life.
The Center included some of the Wright Brothers' equipment and the opportunity to have hands on experiments with propellers and attempts at controlling a plane.   Also housed in the building was a parachute museum.   Next door was one of the Wrights' bicycle shops.  

Unfortunately Paul Dunbar's home was not open for tours.   Paul L. Dunbar was born in Dayton in 1872 and was one of the first nationally and internationally recognized African American writers in the US.   He wrote poetry, short stories, novels, plays and song lyrics.   He died in 1906 of tuberculosis.

Monday we drove back into Dayton and went to Carillon Historial Park, which was founded by Colonel Edward Deeds, NCR Chairman and founder of the DELCO Corporation and his wife, Edith. Mrs. Deeds fell in love with carillion music while in Europe and wanted to build a Carillon in Dayton.   In 1942 on Easter Sunday Mrs. Deeds player the Deeds Carillon and eight years later her husband opened the historical park with displays that focused on Dayton's transportation, industry and inventions. The park is 65 acres and contains the Wright 's 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world's first practical airplane invented and flown in Dayton by Orville and Wilbur Wright.  There are 25 buildings to explore, and a cafe which serves lunch.

Tuesday we hitched the trailer and headed 65 miles up the road to Jackson Center to the Airstream factory to have our trailer realigned.   Airstream has a nice parking area with full hookups for those of us coming a distance and needing a place to stay.  

Wednesday a.m. we had to "button up" the trailer for travel, and the Airstream folks pulled it into the shop at 7 a.m.   We met some very nice "Airstreamers" and enjoyed talking about our various trailers and our experiences.  We were back on the road to the Canton are by 11:00.

Saturday, July 6, 2013

North Bend, OH July 3-6, 2013t

As I mentioned in the previous entry, we drove into OHIO and after a few phone calls finally found our campground!   Our GPS did not work, and the road atlas did not give us sufficient info to find it.   It sits on the state line between OH and IN.  

On July 4 we got directions to the Panera's about 11 miles from camp.   We don't know what suburb we were in -- but the food was good, and the road was quite busy and had shopping centers and fast food.  Since it was pouring down rain we opted to stay in the area and so bought a new GPS at Best Buy and walked through Target and Michael's before heading to Chic-fil-A for a late lunch.   Our new GPS guided us back into the vicinity of North Bend (but couldn't find the campground).   Spent the afternoon reading and working on counted cross stitch.   During the evening we watched the Capital Fourth, as our Garner country music star was performing.   Scotty did a good job!   We were treated to fireworks in spite of the rain, as several campers had quite extensive arsenals!

Friday was cloudy and extremely humid, but the rain held off, giving time for the downfall from the 4th to either run off or soak into the soil.   We drove 3 miles west to Lawrenceburg, IN and ate breakfast at McDonald's.   While there we availed ourselves of McDonald's wi-fi and decided that we would drive into downtown Cincinnati to the Cincinnati Museum Center which is located in the 1933 Union Terminal.   The building is art deco, and has a beautiful fountain in front and mosaics of the people who settled the country - from the Native Americans to steel workers in the modern city.   It must have been exciting to board trains there during the 1930's through 50's.   It sat vacant until it was renovated and reopened in 1990 as the Cincinnati Museum Center.  

The Center  is the home to the Cincinnati History Museum, Duke Children's Museum, Museum of Natural History & Science, and an OMNi-IMAX theater.   We were there all day and only managed to go through the History Museum!  

We awoke on Saturday morning to the sound of pouring rain thundering on our trailer roof at 4:50 a.m.!   It rained hard without letup, so after we returned from breakfast, Jack had to do the outside work  in his LL Bean rain suit -- and when he finished he was damp under the rain suit!   We pulled out about 10:00 and drove up to our new campsite in Waynesville, OH, about 23 miles from Dayton, OH where we'll camp until Tuesday a.m.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Back on the Road! June , 2013

We packed up on Friday , June 28 and headed for North Wilkesboro, NC where we camped at the VFW Campground.   Our purpose for being there was to attend the National Dance Competition being held in Wilkesboro.   Our granddaughter, Sarah, was competing for the Miss Dance title, and her studio was competing in the group dance competitions on Sunday.  

We brought Sarah's other grandma, Diane, with us.   The cell phones got a workout, as we were worried that we'd miss Sarah's solo number.    Whew!   got there in time and Sarah did a fantastic solo!   The name of her dance was "If I Had a Daughter".

Saturday we drove with Angie, Sarah, Diane, and Donnie to Mt. Airy (Mayberry) and spent several hours shopping.   Had a fantastic hamburger at  diner there, and before we left I had a chocolate soda and Jack had a strawberry malt.   YUM

Saturday night was the awards ceremony, and Sarah was a semi-finalist for the title.   Our hearts were in our throats, and untold prayers were being said that she would win.   It was down to between Sarah and her friend.    Sarah was First Runner-UP and her friend got the title.   Sarah received awards for her interview and her solo, a trophy for being a semi-finalist, and a trophy as First Runner UP.   MainStreet Dance did well on Sunday, too.

Monday we left for Renfro Valley KY where we stayed until July 3.   We ran into very heavy rain on I-75 as soon as we got into KY.   Luckily it stopped before we got to the campground.   We were exhausted from the trip and from the stress of the competition so enjoyed a beautiful day in the campground on Tuesday.   I think we were outside most of the day.  

Wednesday we traveled to North Bend, OH where we'll camp until Saturday.    Our GPS gave up, so we had to rely on Mapquest.   Got into the area but had to call the campground for final steps.