Today is our first day of our vacation and our trip. We left McKinney Campground in Acworth, Georgia about 8:00. We drove north on I-75 to Chattanooga, Tennessee, then east to Knoxville, and northeast to Kingsport, Tennessee. We arrived at the KOA campground near Bristol around 2:00 and registered. When we tried to set up the camper, the site was not level. We asked to move to another site which was level. After setting up, we relaxed. Susan read a book and Bob surfed the web. For dinner, we had pasta, brussel sprouts, and sliced tomatoes. Susan got to watch the finale of American Idol. She was so bummed on Monday and Tuesday. We couldn’t get ABC or Fox on the television so she couldn’t watch Dancing with the Stars or American Idol. Boo!!!

When Susan got up about 7:00, we showered and went to breakfast at McDonald’s. We then drove to Kingsley Elementary for Alyssa’s field day. It was interesting to watch Alyssa with her classmates. She shyly waved at us when she first saw us. She enjoyed her field day activities and seemed to be rather competitive. When they were at one contest, the children had to pick up marbles with their toes in a small swimming pool filled with sand and marbles. While Alyssa waited, she practiced by picking up small pebbles. She was very proud that she tied another girl who picked up three marbles. The last event was throwing a football into a net into a round circle. When the other children went to play on the playground, some of the boys stayed to practice. Alyssa came back to practice with the boys. When it was lunch time, we followed Alyssa’s class into her classroom and to the lunchroom. We sat with Alyssa while she ate her lunch. When the other students heard Alyssa call me Gigi, they asked, ”What is a Gigi?” I explained that it was short for Grandma Gregg. When Alyssa’s class went back to class, we said goodbye to Alyssa. We drove to Rob and Julie’s house and picked up Rob. We had promised Rob that we would take him to lunch for his birthday, which was last Monday, May 24. Julie met us at the Texas Road House. We all ordered salad and it was really delicious. After lunch, Rob took us to the green belt along Reedy Creek. We walked on it for about a mile and turned back. We then drove back to Alyssa’s school and picked her up before school was out. We dropped off Rob at his house and took Alyssa back to the camper. We had wanted to take her in the pool at the campground, but they had just added chemicals and the pool was not safe. Instead Susan took her to the playground where Alyssa shot baskets and threw a ball. About 5:00 we drove Alyssa back home. Alyssa got ready for her baseball game. We arrived late to the game because there was an accident on the way to the ball park. Alyssa had a great swing and her team did well. When the game was over, we drove back to the camper. It had been a busy day!

Rob had invited Bob to play golf with him. Bob met Rob at Rob’s house about 8:00. They drove to Bailyton Golf Course. The rates were very reasonable and included an electric golf cart. Bob had not played golf since Rob was about five years old and Rob had only played several times. Something like the blind leading the blind. They had a good time and enjoyed a day on the golf course. By the sixteenth hole, the sky darkened and looked like it would rain. By the seventeenth hole, lightening and thunder started some distance away. During the eighteenth hole, the storm came closer and looked threatening. They picked up their golf balls and drove to the clubhouse. The cart was losing power just as they were driving up the path to the parking lot. They put the clubs in the truck, returned the cart and started home. During the ride home, the rain started and was so heavy many cars pulled over to the shoulder. Susan spent the day reading and relaxing at the camper. When they returned to Rob’s house, Bob took Alyssa back to the camper so she could spend the night with us. We went out to eat at Applebee’s. After dinner, we drove to a bookstore called Books a Million. Susan wanted to buy Alyssa The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner. Sue thought Alyssa would like the story. When we returned to the camper, Susan read four chapters to Alyssa to get her interested in the book. Bob and Alyssa went to sleep and Susan read her book.

When Susan woke up, she heard Bob reading The Boxcar Children to Alyssa. Alyssa was enjoying the book and wanted to hear more of the story. They read several more chapters together. Susan started getting the camper ready for travel. Rob arrived at 7:00 to pick up Alyssa. Alyssa and Rob watched us get the camper ready for travel. We hitched up and drove to McDonald’s where we ate breakfast with Rob and Alyssa. After breakfast, we said good-by and continued on our trip. We drove to General Burnside Island State Park near Burnside, Kentucky just west of Corbin. We relaxed the rest of the day. For dinner, we had grilled salmon, grilled corn, and a baked potato.

We were finally able to sleep late today. Bob slept until 7:00 and Susan slept until 8:00. We planned to drive to Cumberland Falls Resort State Park. When Susan was about 12 or 13, her family took a trip to Cumberland Falls. They stayed in a cabin and went horseback riding. Since Susan had good memories of the trip, she wanted to see it again. We drove about twenty miles to the park from our campground. We thought we would have brunch at the lodge. We ended up having soup and salad at the salad bar. While eating, we had a nice view of the river out the window. The lodge also had about five or six bird feeders outside the window. While we ate, beautiful yellow finches were enjoying their lunch as well. During lunch, the sky had gotten cloudy. We decided to drive to Corbin to shop at Walmart. We bought some asiago cheese bread and bagels for breakfast. We drove back to the camper and relaxed. For dinner, we ate pasta and brussel sprouts.

When we got up, the sky was cloudy. It looked as if we were going to have a rainy day. After eating yummy asiago cheese bagels for breakfast, we packed Bob’s backpack and drove back to Cumberland Falls Resort State Park. We parked near the visitor center and gift shop. We walked to the falls. Cumberland Falls are the largest falls east of the Mississippi River and south of Niagara Falls. We always think about how the pioneers must have felt when they first saw one of the natural wonders of our earth. Cumberland River was named after the Duke of Cumberland because the river reminded the founder of the Duke because they were both so crooked. We wondered if the Duke were dishonest or bent physically. If he were like today’s politicians, we know. We then drove back to the town of Somerset and shopped at Kroger. Bob was impressed that we saved $14.20 using a Kroger card. We plan on getting a Kroger card when we get home. We drove back to the camper and worked on the website. Susan wrote the journal notes and Bob inserted pictures into the web pages. As of now, we are up to date on the journal.

When we got up, we prepared the camper to leave. Today we drove north on I75 to the KOA near Lima, Ohio. We were very impressed with this KOA because it was so well maintained. The owners were also very friendly. Since the campsite was level, Bob decided not to unhitch the camper. We ate grilled salmon and a salad on the wooden deck outside. What a beautiful night! Tomorrow we will be in Toledo and see Mom.

After breakfast at the camper, we left the campground and looked for the Neil Armstrong Museum. The museum was on the same interstate exit as the KOA campground, and across from a McDonald’s. Sue loves her unsweetened iced tea! In the south, sweet tea is sacred! The museum was very interesting. Near the end of the displays, they showed a movie about Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. There were several classes on field trips at the museum. I reminded Bob about what happened to him when the astronauts first walked on the moon. Since it was my mother’s birthday, I persuaded Bob to go to Danville to visit my parents. When the astronauts landed on the moon, Bob wanted to make an audio tape of the event. Unfortunately, Mom and my cousin, Carol Ann kept talking during the taping. Needless to say, Bob was not happy. He used his subtle charms to restore a quiet room for the taping. When we left the museum, we continued on our trip to Maumee Bay State Park on Lake Erie to the east of Toledo, Ohio. After we set up camp, I called Sunset House, where Mom lives and asked if Bob and I could eat dinner with Mom. They said we could so we left right away. Mom was surprised to see us. When we arrived, she was already sitting in the dining room. Mom and I had turkey noodle casserole and Bob had calamari with hush puppies. Some of the other residents did not like the food and asked for peanut butter sandwiches. When we returned Mom to her room, Bob noticed that Mom had an atomic clock. We had bought one for Mom but Bill, Sue’s brother, had told Sue that it had disappeared. Susan decided to ask Bill latter how Mom had gotten the atomic clock in her room. Susan was thinking about getting a digital frame for her mother’s birthday but was afraid it would disappear like the atomic clock. We returned to the camper for the evening.

Since Bill and Barbara arrived from California late last night, we waited until they called us. We went shopping at Costco, Walmart, and the mall. After eating lunch at the mall, we went to Bill and Barbara’s house. We asked Bill about the atomic clock in Mom’s room. He said that he kept asking about the atomic clock until they found it in another room. They returned it to Mom’s room and installed it on the wall. We sat outside on the patio and talked until it was time to go pick up Mom at Sunset House. Sue and Bill brought her back to Bill and Barbara’s house for dinner. Bob stayed at home with Barbara and worked on their computer. We decided to eat dinner on the patio. Mom really enjoyed being outside and looking at the trees. She certainly seemed to enjoy listening to our conversation. About 8:00, Bill and Sue returned Mom to Sunset House. When we returned, we drove back to the camper for the night.

We decided to go shopping to find a digital frame for Mom. We looked at Walmart, Best Buy, and Target for the digital frame. Walmart had the best buy so we returned to Walmart and bought the digital frame. We were not far from Bill and Barbara’s house so we drove there. Barbara wanted to print from her laptop in the kitchen from the printer upstairs. Bob networked their computers so that Barbara could print from the kitchen computer. Bill had been weeding the garden earlier and was tired, so he took a short nap. Bill and Barbara had not seen our camper and were anxious to see it. We all drove to Maumee Bay State Park so they could see our camper. We sat at the camper and talked for a while and then went looking for a restaurant. We ate at a fish house on Lake Erie and sat outside on the deck. Bill and Barbara returned home after dinner.

Since we did not have milk for breakfast, we decided to eat at Panera’s. After breakfast, we went to Bill and Barbara’s house. Then Bill, Bob, and Susan drove to Sunset House to visit Mom. She was surprised to see us. We visited for a while. Before we left Sunset House, Bill showed us where Mom would be moving in a short time. We also paid for dinner and let Sunset House know that we would be back to eat dinner with Betty at 5:00. We returned to Bill and Barbara’s house. Bob showed Barbara how to load picture files on a digital frame. Barbara had received a digital frame as a present from her sister but did not know how to install the pictures. After eating lunch with Bill and Barbara, we returned to the camper. Bill and Barbara were scheduled to go to a party later that afternoon. When we returned to the camper, Bob put pictures on the digital frame that we had bought for Mom. When he finished, it was time to leave to return to Sunset House for dinner. Susan had decided to give Mom her birthday present early so that Mom could enjoy the digital frame. We had a nice dinner with Mom. Then we showed her the digital frame with pictures of the family. Mom enjoyed seeing pictures of Dad and the family. We had included pictures of Mom and Dad’s fortieth wedding anniversary which included pictures of Mom’s sisters and their husbands.

Last night about 11:00, Sue heard a weather siren going off. When Sue looked outside across the pond, she saw a vehicle with red and yellow lights on top driving through the campground. She decided to wake up Bob. Soon the vehicle with the red and yellow lights on top drove by our camper shouting over a loud speaker that there was a tornado warning in the area and that we must move to the nearest shelter, the bath house. We drove to a shelter down the road. Many people were standing outside under umbrellas. Some people were inside the restrooms. We waited in the truck. We were able to get a signal on our Iphones and monitored the Doppler radar. After a while, most of the people left the area when the watch was lifted, so we drove back to the camper. We saw the people on our road were walking back from the bathhouse that was closer to our camper. We also noticed the people who were next to us had their tent on the ground. We sat for a few minutes while Susan finished the wine that she had been drinking when the siren went off and we went to bed. About 3:00, we heard the loud speaker outside telling us that there was another tornado warning and again we must go to the nearest shelter. This time we walked to the bath house that was closer to our camper. We also noticed that the people in the tents next to us were gone. They must have packed up and went home. We waited at the bath house for about 20 minutes to half an hour before we returned to the camper. Bob quickly went to sleep but Susan lay awake for a long time before she fell asleep. Susan woke up later that morning about 8:00 AM. Before she got out of bed, her cell phone rang. Her brother Bill called to check to see if we were alright. He said that he had worried about us. After breakfast, we hitched up the camper and left the campground. When we stopped at McDonald’s for Susan’s iced tea, she heard a man talking on his cell phone about the damage from the tornado in the area. We drove in the rain to Erie, Pennsylvania where we stopped at KOA for the night.

Postscript: We later heard that the tornados destroyed a high school, several home and other buildings. We were lucky we were not in the path of the tornado!

We left our campground in Erie, Pennsylvania. It had rained most of the night but it cleared up in the morning. As we neared Niagara Falls, we could see the mist in the air from the waterfalls. We drove through Niagara Falls on the Robert Moses Memorial Parkway to Four Mile Creek State Park. Our camper looked out on Lake Ontario. About thirty miles across the lake is the city of Toronto, which we could see from our camper. We sat in our easy chairs at the back of the camper and looked out through the large window at Lake Ontario. We saw several ships on the horizon. The campground was very grassy. Our campsite was fairly large between two rows of trees. The campground provided electric but no water or sewer at each campsite. After setting up the camper, we relaxed. For dinner, Bob grilled salmon and corn on the cob. After dinner, we walked through the park.

When we got up, the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day. We drove to Niagara Falls, found McDonald’s, and had breakfast. We then drove across Rainbow Bridge to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We both brought our passport cards to use when crossing the border into Canada. We showed the Canadian border guard our passport cards when we arrived on the Canadian side. He asked us six to eight questions before he let us go. We drove along the waterfalls, looking for a good, reasonably priced parking lot. The prices ranged from five to twenty dollars. Of course, we chose the parking lot for five dollars. Surprisingly, the five dollar parking lot was not far from the viewing area of the falls on the American side of the Niagara River. We walked along a sidewalk high above the Niagara River. We started north of Niagara Falls and walked south about a mile to Horseshoe Falls. Horseshoe Falls is the larger and more picturesque falls and most people think of this falls as Niagara Falls. It is mainly on the Canadian side. Along the way, there was a handrail on the side of the walk because of the steep drop to the river. Many people wanted their picture taken there with the falls in the background. The mist rose from each falls and identified where each falls was located. The weather was perfect after mostly rainy days, cool at times when we were in the “mist” and warm when the sun was shining on us. We stopped at Victoria Place and another building where we ate lunch. From the sidewalk, we looked down at the Maid of the Mist boats that took visitors into the mist of the falls. Everyone on the boat wore a blue plastic rain poncho so they would not get wet. We also saw Cave of the Winds where people can walk down the stairs to walk very close to the mist. Everyone walking down to the Cave of the Winds wore a yellow rain poncho. We both enjoyed the walk on a beautiful sunny day. When we were ready to return to the American side, we again drove across Rainbow Bridge and stopped to be questioned by the American border guard. We were prepared and cheerfully handed our passport cards to the border guard. He obviously had been trained to be as obnoxious and irritating as possible. The border guard asked us some questions after looking at our passport cards. Then he asked Bob to lower the window in the back seat. Since it is not possible to lower the window from the front seat, Bob got out to lower the window. The guard immediately ordered Bob to get back in the truck. When Bob tried to explain what he was doing, the guard again ordered Bob to get back in the truck. His attitude was that we were obviously terrorists until proven innocent. This was quite a shock for two elementary school teachers used to reassuring first grade students. He proceeded to question us while scanning our passport cards. He must have accessed our records about our address, truck ownership and when we entered Canada. Our answers could be verified by the data he was viewing. When we finally passed the good citizen test, he told us we could leave. He didn’t even say, “Have a nice day!” We wondered how he treated the Canadians that entered the US. Needless to say, Bob’s blood pressure must have been very high at this point. He said that he was not accustomed to being spoken to in that manner. When driving back, we decided to go shopping at Walmart. We looked up the address on Bob’s Iphone and put the address in the GPS. When we arrived at the address given to us by the Iphone, the Walmart had been closed. We saw an Aldi store down the street and did our shopping there. How did we do all this without technology? Isn’t it great?

During the night, it started raining. When we woke up, it was still raining and appeared that it would rain all day. We decided to do our laundry and get the oil changed on the truck. After eating bagels for breakfast, we drove into Niagara Falls looking for another Walmart. This time we found a new Walmart on Military Road. Bob asked at the service department if they had synthetic oil for diesel trucks. They did. When Susan asked the man at the service department if he knew if there was a laundromat nearby, he told us where he goes. We got quarters at Walmart and drove to the laundromat, which was very clean. Bob left Sue at the laundromat to do the laundry and returned to Walmart to get the oil changed in the truck. When he returned to the laundromat, the clothes were ready to be folded. Together we folded the clothes. On the way back to the camper, we stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch (Blizzards with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups). When we returned to the camper, we put away the clothes. Then Susan finished reading the book, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Barbara loaned her the book when we were in Toledo. Bob worked on the web site. There is little or no internet access at this campground. We will post the updates to the web site when we get a stronger signal.

After a rainy day yesterday, we were looking forward to a beautiful, sunny day today. We were not disappointed. We decided to view Niagara Falls from the American side. No more border guards! We drove to Niagara Falls State Park in Niagara Falls. We paid a ten dollar parking fee and walked to Terrapin Point and stood next to Horseshoe Falls. After looking in the gift shop, we walked along the walkway to Luna Island where we stood beside Bridal Veil Falls. Luna Island was given the name because of the lunar rainbow that can be seen on the waterfalls when there is a full moon. We continued on the walkway across a pedestrian bridge, where we could see the rapids before the waterfalls. At the visitor center, we looked at the exhibits, shopped in the gift shop, and ate lunch outside. From the walkway we saw Maid of the Mist boats and people walking down to Cave of the Winds. That is where people walk close to the waterfalls near the bottom of the falls. We returned to the truck and decided to go shopping at Walmart for groceries. We found the Walmart on Military Road. After shopping, we returned to the camper and worked on the journal and web site.

We packed up the camper and hitched it up to the truck. We drove on Route 18 to Interstate 190 to Interstate 290 to the toll road, Interstate 90. When we got off the toll road, we drove about 20 miles to Cayuga Lake State Park. We registered and set up camp. We did not have any campers around us at all. This region is known as the Finger Lakes where there are many wineries. We decided to go for a ride down the west side of Cayuga Lake and crossed over to the east side of Seneca Lake and drove to Watkins Glen. We drove through Watkins Glen State Park campground and then drove north along the west side of Seneca Lake to Geneva. We saw many small wineries. We stopped at Wagner Winery. We enjoyed a wine tasting and bought two bottles of wine that we sampled. One bottle was Pinot Noir, which the server said was very healthy for the heart. The other bottle was Niagara, which is made from Niagara grapes, a local variety. Since it was dinner time, we looked for a restaurant and stopped at Emilio’s. The restaurant had many cars outside and was crowded, which we took as a good sign. Bob had barbecued short ribs and Susan had fried shrimp and New England chowder. When we returned to the campground, we were surprised to see that the campground had become crowded. There were several campers around us that seemed to be camping together. They were young families with many children playing all around.

This morning we planned our trip through the end of June. Our plan was to camp in the Adirondack State Park system. Most of the state park campgrounds are booked during the weekend in advance. We were able to find state parks and private campgrounds for the weekends through the rest of June and made reservations. We will spend the week before July 4th in Lake Placid. The following weekend is July 4th and we have reservations at Grand Isle State Park in Vermont. We will take a ferry across Lake Champlain to reach the campground.

When we got up today, it was foggy and drizzly. Since we had planned to go on another tour of the wine country around the Finger Lakes, we left the campground, hoping that it would clear up during the day but it didn’t. We drove toward Geneva, New York and looked for a restaurant for breakfast. We found Connie’s Diner with a lot of cars in the parking lot. Connie’s Diner is an old fashioned diner which was very busy on a Sunday morning with many local diners. When we came in the diner, we saw a picture of Linda Lavin, who played Alice at Mel’s Diner, a television program in the 1970’s. The picture showed Linda Lavin eating at Connie’s Diner. This diner did not take credit or debit cards, which is unusual in today’s society. After eating breakfast, we left for our tour of the wine country. Our first stop was at Redtail Ridge Winery, where we picked out the five wines we wanted to taste. The woman was informative about the wines and the vineyard. She told us that they had a fence all around the vineyard to keep out the deer, who like to eat the vines. She also told us that the owners were husband and wife. The husband took care of the vineyard while the wife made the wine. She said that the vineyard was a lot of work. We purchased one bottle of wine of Pinot Noir and drove to another winery called Anthony Road. At the Anthony Road Winery, young girls, who poured the wine, were not informative at all. Again, we bought a bottle of Pinot Noir. Then we drove to Watkins Glen State Park, where we hiked the gorge trail. We walked up many steps and saw several waterfalls. The trail was wet and steep, with many stairs and ramps. The gorge was narrow, with the water both quiet and rapid in different areas. It was very scenic and we enjoyed the hike. When we drove back to the camper, it was still foggy and drizzly. The campground was practically empty, since many of the weekend campers had gone home.

We packed up and left Cayuga Lake State Park. We drove to the toll way and stopped for breakfast at McDonald’s on the toll way. When we got off the toll road, we made our way to the KOA campground in Cooperstown, New York. When we checked in, the owner, who showed us to our campsite, was very friendly and helpful. The campground is well kept. The view out the side windows show the surrounding wooded and farmed hillsides. There is an Amish community in the area. One of the men drove through the campground in a horse and buggy. In the afternoon, we drove to Walmart in Herkimer, New York. We wanted to stock up for the Adironacks state parks, since we are not sure if there will be stores there. When we returned to the camper, we fixed beanies and weenies for supper. Since it is cool here, it was a good day to turn on the oven.

Bob has been looking forward to today because we are going to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. When we showered today, not much water came out. Bob discovered that we need to replace the water filter in the camper. The drive to Cooperstown was quite scenic past lakefront homes beside Lake Otsego. We found a parking lot in the middle of town and walked down the street looking for a place to eat breakfast. We found a coffee shop where they had bagel sandwiches for breakfast. We ate breakfast in the back on a patio. It was a beautiful sunny day to eat outside. After breakfast, we walked down the street to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. As we entered the building, we could see through a glass window to the wall where they have hung the Hall of Fame plaques. After we paid, we walked to the second floor to a room with a display of baseball memorabilia. After five or ten minutes, the door to a theater opened. We followed other people inside where we watched a video. We then continued looking at the other displays on the second floor and then continued to the third floor for more displays. When we finished with the third floor exhibits, we walked down to the first floor to see the Hall of Fame plaques. We looked in the museum store where Bob purchased a T-shirt and other souvenirs. We saw a sign for sale for Dick and Peggy that said “Parking only for Cub fans. No Cardinal fans allowed!” We decided that family harmony was more important that favorite fans. (Dick = Cubs, Peggy = Cardinals) We were pleased to see so many kids there, both boys and girls. Different groups were escorted by a docent, which explained the exhibits to them. There was even a team of young men, perhaps semi pro or a college team.

This morning we drove to Herkimer to get a water filter for our camper at Walmart. We ate breakfast at McDonald’s before shopping at Walmart. We found a filter to use. When we returned to the camper, Bob installed the water filter and then worked on the entertainment system and speakers. Susan worked on the journal. When Bob finished the entertainment system, he started working on the website.

This morning we packed up and drove to North Hampton Beach State Park near Northville on Lake Sacandaga. Susan likes the word Sacandaga and keeps repeating it in a Japanese samurai voice to Bob. When we arrived at our campsite, we saw a narrow opening between two trees. Susan was thinking to herself that it was going to be difficult to get the camper between the two trees. Fortunately, a man got out of his truck and helped us. Together we did it. The campground is wooded with tall trees. Some campsites look out on Lake Sacandaga. After setting up camp, we drove to McDonald’s for iced tea. McDonald’s is about 15 miles away. After driving that far, we realized that we were not far from Camping World in Amsterdam. We drove to Camping World and replaced the water filter in our camper. We also replaced the flag holder that we forgot to take off when we packed up about a week ago. Unfortunately, the flag holder and flags blew off when we were driving on the toll road.

After showers, we drove to Northville and found a restaurant called The Ordinary. The Ordinary is a restaurant in three rooms in an old house that was only open for breakfast and lunch. The one young waitress kept busy serving about ten tables. Susan had pancakes and bacon and Bob had eggs and fried potatoes. After breakfast, we started driving north into the Adirondacks Park. We drove along Lake Sacandaga and then the Sacandaga River. The Adirondacks is mostly wooded country with well paved roads. We drove for most of the morning. The GPS helped with our location while we were driving as well as finding our campground when we returned. We had lunch at the campsite. Susan read while Bob looked for the internet on the computer and played Freecell. Many weekend campers arrived today and filled up the campground.

We read books most of the day today. Bob is reading a biography about Einstein, E=Einstein. It is a series of articles by various authors about the life of Albert Einstein. Susan finished reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller. After lunch, we drove to Lake Sacandaga where we sat and read on the beach, where many children and families enjoyed the water. There were also many boats-sail boats, motor boats, pontoon boats, and jet skis on the water.

Bob found a toy dinosaur in the ground left by another child camper at our site. He named it Sacandaga Dragon and is the official mascot of our trip. He has a special place on the truck dashboard when we travel. We went to the lake to read but it started drizzling so we went back to the camper to read.

When we got ready to leave this morning, we discovered that our battery for the camper was low. We have been using the battery for the fans, the entertainment center, charging our Iphones, and charging our laptops. When we tried to slide in the slides of the camper so we could travel, there wasn’t enough power. We had to hook up the generator to get power to put in the slides. Since we had a difficult time getting into the tight campsite with two trees at the entrance of the campsite, Bob thought that we might have a difficult time getting out. Fortunately, we didn’t. We drove on 9N past Lake George. When we drove into the town of Lake George to find a place to eat breakfast, there were a lot of people standing on the side of the road and many police ready to stop traffic on the main street of town. Even students at the high school were standing outside waiting. We learned that they were waiting for a soldier’s remains to be returned home. It was to be a homecoming parade for him and the streets were lined with people. The parade must have started just behind us. Because we were pulling our camper, we could not find a place to park so we continued on our way. We found Roger’s Rock State Park. When we registered, Bob asked if there was a better camp site available than the one we had registered for online. They suggested a few sites. We chose a campsite that has a beautiful view of the lake with the mountains in the background. When we tried to set up camp, we found that we were still low on electrical power. Again we had to hook up to the generator to get the slides out. After setting up, we went into town and ate lunch at McDonald’s. We did some shopping at Walmart. Bob checked out the batteries. We will need a special deep charge marine battery if we have to replace our camper battery.

We decided to go tour Fort Ticonderoga today. The fort is located on a hill on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Champlain. It is financed by a private foundation, the Pell Foundation, rather than by state or national agencies. After the Revolutionary War, the fort had been destroyed except for the officer’s barracks. The Pell family bought the fort and decided to have it rebuilt. The fort was important in the French and Indian War (Seven Year War) and the American Revolutionary War. When we arrived at the fort, there was a guided tour of the fort. The tour guide was very knowledgeable about the fort and its history. After the guided tour, we walked through the Education Center Building where we watched a video about the history of the fort. Then we walked back to Log House, where we ate lunch. Susan saw a pair of shoes that she liked and decided to buy them. Next we walked back to the fort where we walked through the officers’ barracks and the enlisted men’s barracks. The exhibits were very interesting. When we left Fort Ticonderoga, we drove to the ferry landing on Lake Champlain between New York and Vermont. Later, we drove to look for a battery for the camper at Walmart and Advanced Automotive Parts. Susan called the pharmacy in Marietta to see if Dr. Ali had called in her prescription. When they told her that Dr. Ali had called in the prescription, we went to Rite-Aid Pharmacy to pick it up. When we returned to the camper, we both read books. Bob has started The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. After dinner, we drove to Wind Chill Factory and got a small hot fudge sundae. The small sundae was huge. While we were eating the sundae, Susan called Sallie Mills to find out if she had to prepare the notebook for the Georgia Reading Association. Sallie told her that she was not responsible for it until next year. Susan also talked to her mother before we went back to the camper.

Today we sat and read all day. Bob finished reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He sat down by the lake and read. After dinner, we went to Wind Chill Factory to get ice cream cones. While there, Susan talked to Jenny, Mom, and Rob on the phone. Bob checked e-mail on his iphone.

When we got up, it was cloudy and rainy. We decided that it was a good day to do the laundry. We drove into Ticonderoga, ate breakfast at McDonald’s, and found a laundromat on the main street of town. The laundromat was clean and well maintained. They had many bags of laundry on the side for two camps for children. When we finished the laundry, we relaxed and prepared for our trip to Lake Placid tomorrow. For dinner, we decided to go to a local restaurant that looked nice. The restaurant, Eddie’s, was on the highway to town and advertised home made pasta. We sat on the patio to eat. We ordered pasta but we were disappointed in the food. It could not have been home made and was reheated in a microwave oven. Pre-made would have been a better term.

When we hitched up today, we were wondering if the battery would have enough power to move the slides in. It worked fine, and we have a strong battery again. We drove to Ticonderoga and ate breakfast at McDonald’s. We drove on Route 74 to Interstate 87. We arrived at KOA about 10:00 and checked in. The lady at the registration desk gave us two tickets for a pot roast dinner for Saturday night in the room above the registration area. We drove to our assigned campsite. Most of the campers in our row are pop-up campers. There was a young family in a pop-up camper next to us. Bob said that the little girl’s eyes got really big when she saw us pulling in next to them. Most of the families around us have Quebec license plates and speak French. After setting up camp, we drove in to Lake Placid. We parked on the street and walked up and down the main street of town. We ate at a bakery for lunch. We shared a sausage, cheese, onion, and green peppers croissant and a white chocolate raspberry scone. We ate at a table outside the bakery. We then looked for a mosaic tile for our kitchen. We are collecting them to put on our wall in the kitchen on the soffit above the cooking area. We drove back to the camper. Bob is so happy because we finally have internet access again.

Today we worked on the entertainment center. When we got our new entertainment center, Bob hooked up the wires, but he didn’t think he got all of the speakers hooked up right. Today we worked together and we think we got it right. Later that day, we drove to Lake Placid and drove around Mirror Lake. There were some very expensive and nice homes on the lake. Then we went shopping for groceries.

We drove into Lake Placid to see if the city had an Olympic museum. We stopped at the Olympic Center. We walked around the building looking for a sign but didn’t find one. We finally walked in a door and asked someone if there was a museum. She kindly directed us where to go. When we found the museum, the lady asked if we were interested in buying a passport to get us into the museum at the Olympic Center, the ski jump, the gondola ride at Whiteface Mountain, and the Olympic Sports Complex. After we purchased the passport, we viewed a video about the Olympics in Lake Placid. Then we looked at the exhibits in the museum. We left the museum and ate lunch at Subway. Later we drove to the ski jump. When we arrived, we walked to the chairlift that took us up the hill. We had never ridden a chairlift before so we were a little anxious. When we got off the chairlift, we walked to the tower where we rode the elevator to the top of the 190 meter ski jump tower. We walked to the area where the ski jumpers go to do their ski jumps. Bob said the ski jumpers are insane to do that. When we were walking back to the chairlift, Susan mentioned to Bob that it might be harder to go downhill on the chairlift than it was to go up the hill. Bob did not appreciate the comment. Bob is a little afraid of heights. When we got back to the camper, we checked e-mail and learned from our principal that she had changed grade levels with about a dozen teachers. Susan is now assigned to teach kindergarten. She was, needless to say, surprised. We decided to go to Lake Placid and get a pizza. Susan talked to Jenny and Mom on the cell phone.

We wanted to ride the gondola and drive to the top of Whiteface Mountain today, but it was cloudy. We prefer to do those activities on a sunny day. We worked on the website instead. Susan wrote in the journal while Bob inserted pictures and journal notes on the web pages. After lunch, we drove to Lake Placid. We walked around Mirror Lake. In order to have energy to walk all the way around the lake, we had to fortify ourselves with Ben and Jerry ice cream. YUM!!

After breakfast, we drove to ride the gondola up to the top of Whiteface Mountain where skiers ski down the slopes. When we rode the gondola up the side of the mountain, it looked as if we were going up into the clouds. When we got to the point where we thought the ride would end, we discovered that we were only half way up the mountain. We continued going up, up, up, up! At the bottom of the mountain, it was quite warm. When we got to the top, it was windy and cold. The view from the top was quite spectacular. Susan timed the gondola ride on the way down and it took twenty minutes from the top to the bottom.

Since it was still sunny, we decided to drive the Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway to the peak of Whiteface Mountain. We drove to the toll booth where they scanned our passport tickets. It was a beautiful sunny day with some clouds in the sky. We stopped at the scenic vistas along the route. As we neared the top of the mountain, it got very cloudy and it started raining. When we reached the castle at the top, it was extremely foggy and raining. We stopped at the stop sign where a man who looked like Santa Claus with a gray beard told us to follow the arrows and drive through the tunnel. We turned around and returned to the parking area. The tunnel was quite exciting since there were inches between the truck and the wall. We were glad that we did not have the camper because we never would have made it through the tunnel. After we parked, we walked to the entrance, where we walked through a long, dark, and damp hallway to an elevator. We rode the elevator up to the observation deck to look at the scenic view. We walked around the outside of the building, but it was so foggy that we could not see more than 30 feet away. We were in the clouds. How disappointing! (shades of Mt. LeConte) We looked for the cafeteria and gift shop that they advertised, but we couldn’t find either one. We asked someone and they told us that it was above the tunnel we had driven through earlier. We walked there and climbed up to the second floor where we found the cafeteria and gift shop. The cafeteria was very unattractive and more like a snack shop. We ordered sausage with onions and peppers which was really quite tasty. After eating lunch, we looked quickly at the gift shop and walked back to the truck. We drove down the hill slowly because it was foggy and the road was in very bad condition. When we got to the toll booth, it was sunny again.

We drove to Lake Placid to find a Lake Placid pin for Bob and a music CD for Susan. In our travels, we like to collect these souvenirs. We walked into every shop on the main street where we thought that we might find them. Bob found a pin but no music CD for Susan. Susan did find a night shirt that she liked but it was not her size. Then we drove to the grocery store to shop. When we returned to the camper, we took up the carpet, put down the awning, filled the tank with fresh water, and put away the grill-all in preparation for our trip tomorrow,

After hitching up, we started on our way to Grand Isle. We drove to Interstate 87 to Plattsburgh NY to the ferry which took us to Grand Isle VM. Because we were pulling a fifth wheel camper, we were the first one on the ferry and were in the front of the ferry, where we had an excellent view of the crossing. Grand Isle is the name of the island that is surrounded by Lake Champlain. It is also the name of the state park we are staying at over the 4th of July weekend. The island is very rural and has no fast food, superstores or tourist attractions. All it has is the beautiful scenery, rustic views, and Lake Champlain. That was exactly what we were looking for. We drove to the state park. When we arrived, we registered and set up camp at site #25. Bob was curious about when we could run the generator since we had no electric or water at this state park. We drove to the registration desk to ask. The lady told Bob that we were in an area that did not allow generators. She apologized that we were not told this when we reserved the site. She suggested that we go look at site # 98 where we could use a generator. We checked out the site, and registered for site # 98. Then we went back, re-hitched our camper, and set up at our new camp site. The sites are large and have wooded areas with lots of privacy. The campsites do not have a view of the lake, but there are lean-tos that overlook the lake. The water level is much lower than the camping area with steep slopes to the lake. The only view of the lake for the campers was a beach and picnic area at the other end of the campground. That area was grassy and very scenic. The beach consists of a stony shore, rather than sand. After lunch, we drove to Colchester VM to shop at Costco.

Today we stayed at the park all day. In the morning, Bob walked through the park and found the beach and picnic area beside the lake where we could sit and enjoy the view. When he returned, we packed a picnic lunch, chairs, and books. We sat for several hours on the grassy area overlooking the lake while we both read.

After breakfast, we called to make reservations for a lunch cruise on the Spirit of Ethan Allen III. We then drove into Burlington, Vermont. We wanted to see Vermont University before taking the lunch cruise. We were pleasantly surprised by downtown Burlington. It is a very attractive city and has a lot of attractions to offer. While driving through downtown, we noticed that a farmer’s market was set up in the square. We also saw a street that had been closed off for a few blocks to make a pedestrian mall. Many people were sitting in outdoor cafes in the pedestrian mall and on other streets. We drove to the harbor and found a parking place. After locating the dock where the cruise departs, we walked up the hill to the farmer’s market. In the square, about forty booths had been set up to display vegetables, food, wine, art, and homemade crafts. The square was very crowded and many people were buying products. Many of the food booths smelled delicious but we did not want to spoil our appetite for lunch on the cruise ship. We did buy a mosaic tile as a souvenir. Then we walked back down the hill because it was getting close to departure time for the cruise. We waited in line to board. First they let a wedding party board. They had reserved the first floor of the ship for the wedding. Finally, they let us board. We were first in line and asked if we could sit by a window. We got a window seat. Another couple from Massachusetts joined us at our table. We had an interesting conversation with them. For lunch, they served clam chowder, salad, pork roast, and cake and cheesecake for dessert. During the cruise, a tape played with a narration of the history and information about the area. After lunch, we walked to the upper deck to enjoy the view of Lake Champlain. When we were on the upper deck, we observed that they were setting up tables for a wedding reception. When we walked by the pilot’s room, the pilot of the ship was sitting there with his foot on the wheel steering the ship while he talked on a cell phone. After a while, they announced that everyone must return to their seat so the ship could dock. When we left the ship, we noticed that the wedding party stayed on the ship for the next cruise. We think the marriage took place on the first deck during our cruise. The wedding party would go up to the third deck for the reception during the next cruise. When we walked back to the truck, we remembered that we wanted to check on the railroad near the dock. They advertised that they had train rides but we could not find any information. We drove to Walmart to get fresh vegetables but it did not have fresh produce or meat. Susan did find another book to read though. Then we drove back to the campground. We sat outside and read until 6:00 when we turned off the generator. Since we were not hungry enough for dinner, we drove to a nearby ice cream snack bar and ate ice cream for supper. We decided to look at the souvenir shop next door. Susan found the night shirt that she had liked at Lake Placid. It said, “I moose have a kiss goodnight!” The moose had very large, ruby red lips. This time the night shirt was her size so she bought it. We returned to the campground. When it became dark, somewhere a nearby community was having a fireworks display.

Happy Independence Day! Today we decided to drive to Montreal. We drove on Route 2 to Route 11 to Interstate 87. After our experience at the border at Niagara Falls, we were both dreading crossing the border. The border guard on the Canadian side was quite friendly. Interstate 87 became Interstate 15 when we crossed into Canada. We drove to Montreal. When we got near Montreal, we saw the geodesic dome that Buckminster Fuller designed for Expo 67. We attended Expo 67 and remembered the building. We turned around and started back to the border. As we neared the border, we joked about the border guard at Niagara Falls. This time, the border guard was really friendly! We enjoyed the ride back along Lake Champlain. One small community was waiting for the Fourth of July parade. Many people were sitting along the road waiting for the parade to start. After eating lunch, we relaxed. Susan worked on the journal and Bob relaxed.

Today we drove from Grand Isle State Park, Vermont on Route # 2 through New Hampshire to Route #3 that it took us to Bar Harbor, Maine. The KOA camp is the first right turn after you arrive on the island. After registering, we set up camp. They assigned us to a site that was six rows away from the ocean. We could see just a little bit of the ocean. After setting up camp, we decided to drive in to Bar Harbor to look for a place to eat. When we drove through Bar Harbor, we could not find a parking place. We started driving back to the camper and stopped to eat at a barbecue restaurant. We both ordered a hamburger and it really tasted delicious.

This morning we drove to the Visitor Center of Acadia National Park. We bought some books and a music CD. We went into the auditorium to watch an introduction video about National Park. We also purchased a CD with an audio tour of Acadia National Park.

We followed the audio driving tour around Acadia National Park. The scenery from the road was breath-taking in its beauty. There were a lot of swimmers at Sand Beach. At Thunder Hole, we walked out to see where the water comes into an area between two rocks. Sometimes when the water comes in, it splashes against the back wall and makes a loud noise like thunder.

When we arrived at Jordan Pond, the parking lot was full so we had to drive to the next parking lot. We put our name on the waiting list for lunch and went to the bathroom. When we came out of the bathroom, our beeper was making a noise. We asked to be seated outside on the lawn. On the back lawn which overlooked Jordan Pond, there were about thirty picnic tables with umbrellas over the table. We ordered seafood chowder with popovers. Popovers are their specialty. They are like rolls with a big hole in the center. The popovers were served with butter and strawberry preserves. They were really delicious. Some of the people brought their dogs with them. Most of them sat quietly. One couple had two dogs who barked quite a bit.

When we left Jordan Pond, we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain. This is the highest point in Acadia NP. We walked around the top to look at the beautiful views of the ocean that could be seen from the top. Although we had not finished the audio driving tour, we were tired and drove back to the camper.

This morning we moved our camper from six rows back from the ocean to the second row from the ocean. Last night we decided to renew our registration at KOA. They told us that we needed to move since we could not get the same site for the next two nights. Our new site happens to have a better view of the ocean. We are happy that we moved. We have electric and water at the new site, not a full hookup. After lunch, we walked to the campground office where the bus stops. L. L. Bean, the National Department of Transportation, and others subsidize the bus system on the island. Anyone can ride many places on the island for free. They have eight bus routes. We rode the campground bus to the village green of Bar Harbor. When we arrived at the village green, we walked up and down the street looking for a good place to eat lobster. We ate at the restaurant across from the village green. We asked to eat outside on the patio. We told our waiter that we had never eaten lobster before so he needed to educate us. We ordered a stuffed lobster. We enjoyed the lobster but it was messy to eat. One of the other diners really gave the waiter a hard time about her food. She ordered pork roast but it was not warm enough. When they heated it up, the pork was too tough. She then ordered chicken with two sauces. I guess she didn’t like that either. Some people can be hard to please. Actually, our food was well prepared. Throughout the meal, her husband kept eating and didn’t say a word. He may have heard it all before.

We rode the bus to the village green of Bar Harbor. We walked through the shops and enjoyed the local scenery. At noon, we walked to the pier and picked up the tickets for the historical lighthouse cruise. Then we walked downstairs and ate lunch at Fish House Grill. We both ordered crab cake sandwiches. We haven’t been able to find fried oysters for Sue. When we finished lunch, we waited on the pier for our cruise. While we waited, they announced that because of the mist, they could not guarantee that we could see all of the sights promised in the brochure. This turned out to be true. There were patches of dense fog and patches of sunny skies. When it was time, we got in line to board the tour ship. We sat on the container that held the life jackets at the back of the ship. We could not hear the tour guide who described the sights because the motor of the ship was so loud. Also it was foggy and we could not see some of the lighthouses very well. Our route took us along the Acadia coast and into Frenchman Bay. Frenchman Bay was named from the time the French and English were at war in the French and Indian War. The French warships would wait in the bays of the islands and attack English ships. It was very windy and cold on the ship. When we had a clear view, we saw homes on the shore and bays and harbors with moored ships. There were many lobster traps with floating buoys that identified which fisherman they belonged to. We wish it had been a perfectly clear day, but we enjoyed the experience and learned a lot about how the Maine coast looked.

We stopped for breakfast at a restaurant on the way to the carriage ride. We ate breakfast sandwiches. We drove to Jordan Pond and asked where we should go to get the carriage ride. The man at the information desk directed us to the correct road to get to Wildwood Stables. When we arrived, we went into the office and picked up our tickets. The woman in the office told us to wait outside where they would call us. After a short time, we heard the clop-clop-clop of the horses’ feet as they brought them out of the barn. They were walked over to the carriage and hooked up to the carriage. We were on the first carriage that they brought out of the barn. We sat near the front so we could hear the tour guide. The carriage roads were built by John D. Rockefeller, the owner of Standard Oil. Originally, there were roads on the island for carriages. When cars appeared, Rockefeller did not like the noise or the fumes of the cars so he built carriage roads for his carriages. Automobiles could not use these roads. He personally supervised the building of the roads and the bridges. He learned how to build carriage roads from his father, the founder of Standard Oil. The guide said that he not only knew the names of the men who built the roads but also knew the names of their family members. As stated in Rockefeller’s will, his home was torn down. He did not think that his children would want to live there. He also did not want other people invading the privacy of his and his wife’s home.

We drove to The Log Cabin Restaurant for breakfast. Then we drove to the Visitor Center and waited for the bus. When we arrived at the Village Green, we walked and shopped. We bought ice cream for lunch. We walked to the pier and picked up our tickets for the schooner but had to wait for the tour so we walked up the hill and sat on the grass until it was time for boarding. The 151 foot schooner had 4 huge masts and six to eight sails. The ship had a captain and four crew members. One of the crew members told us that the captain built the ship and named it after his grandmother, Margaret Todd. The captain had two huge black Newfoundland dogs, which stayed with the captain during the cruise. We sailed among the islands of Frenchmen Bay. This cruise was different from the lighthouse tour because it was quiet since we were powered mostly by sails. The captain had to use a motor to get in and out of the harbor. It was interesting to watch the crew prepare the ship for sailing. They asked for volunteers to help put up the sails. Of course, Bob volunteered. He now considers himself an experienced seaman and is thinking about joining the America Cup crew.

When we woke up today, it was raining. We decided that this was a good day to do the laundry. We drove north toward Ellsworth. We stopped at a restaurant called Kathy’s for breakfast. Bob had a Monte Cristo breakfast sandwich while Susan had bacon, eggs, and grits. After breakfast, we drove to Walmart to get rolls of quarters to do the laundry. When we got back to the camper, we gathered our laundry and drove to the laundromat at KOA. In the afternoon, Bob worked on the website, inserting pictures. Susan, who was tired, took a nap for about three hours. For dinner, we drove to The Log Cabin Restaurant for another hamburger.

After breakfast, Bob packed a picnic lunch and we drove south on Route 102 to Pretty Marsh Road to Tremont and Bass Harbor. At Bass Harbor, we stopped to see the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. At Seawall, we drove through the campground in Acadia National Park. We drove along the Seawall Road to Southwest Harbor. Then we drove north to Route 198 and then drove south to Seal Harbor. We have been looking for seals at Seal Harbor but we have not seen one seal. We then drove to Acadia National Park past Jordan Pond to the one-way loop road past Sand Beach and Thunder Hole. Bob wanted to take pictures at Thunder Hole because something happened to the pictures that he took of Thunder Hole the other day. Unfortunately, the area was closed off because the water was coming up so high on the walkway. We stopped to eat our picnic lunch just past Thunder Hole. We took our chairs and sat on the rocks overlooking the ocean. The view was spectacular. We continued on the one-way loop road past Jordan Pond to the Visitor Center and drove back to the campground. At the camper, we finished working on the journal and website.

We left our campground about 7:30 and drove to 1A. There was a lot of road construction on 1A and the road was extremely rough. The road conditions improved on I95. We drove to Saco and found our campground. As we were driving to the campground, we were discussing how many nights we wanted to stay. We had reservations for two nights and decided to stay for three nights. When we asked about extending our stay when we registered, the office workers were very kind and were able to work it out so that we did not have to move sites. After setting up camp, we went for a ride to see the area. Old Orchard Beach reminded us of the commercialism of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Tomorrow we will drive to Kennebunkport.

Since it was rainy, we decided to drive to Freeport to see the flagship store of LL Bean. They had three different stores- a clothing store, a home furnishings store, and a bicycle and boat store. Bob found and purchased a must have item. It was a L. L. Bean baseball hat. But get this! It had LED lights build into the visor! He now has another hat for his small collection. This hat surpasses his previous best hat, the one from Red Top Mountain with a zipper on the side of the cap. After shopping at LL Bean, we walked into some other shops nearby. Some of the stores were outlet stores. After shopping, we had lunch at Friendly’s. Friendly’s was not friendly. We waited for a table for half an hour. The service was terrible. We ordered BLT sandwiches. The sandwiches were served on burnt toast. UGH! When we returned to the camper, Bob decided to download the new version of the Iphone. After he completed the download of his Iphone, he decided to download the new version on Susan’s Iphone. When he tried, the download was unsuccessful and Susan’s Iphone was dead as a door nail.

Since Susan’s Iphone was dead, she found the address of an Apple store at the Maine Mall in South Portland, which was not far from our campground. We decided to go there to see if they could do anything for us. When we arrived at the store, the doors were open and a man was standing at the door taking appointments for repairs. He told us to come back in an hour at 10:40. We decided to go to Border’s for the hour. When we were there, Susan saw some Dr. Seuss floor puzzles on sale and bought three of them for her kindergarten class. When we were done, we went back to the Apple store. We were still early so we looked around the store until they came to find us. We couldn’t figure out how they knew we were the next appointment. Bob asked the attendant how he knew we were the Greggs, he told us they made a note when we first made our appointment on the IPad. The note said, “Fish Print”. Sue was wearing a sea blue and white outfit that had fish and ocean patterns. The man could not repair the Iphone so he gave Susan a new Iphone. Susan was now happy so Bob was happy. As Bob says, ”If Mama ain’t happy, then nobody’s happy.” When we left the mall at South Portland, we drove to Kennebunkport. We ate lunch at The Landing on the deck near the marina. We shared a plate of fried clams, fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried haddock, French fries, and onion rings. Between the two of us, we could not finish the French fries. It tasted delicious. When we finished lunch, we decided to walk to the Bush house. We started walking, but decided it was too far to walk so we turned around and walked back to get the truck. We stopped at The Landing and bought two slices of blueberry pie for supper. After we got our truck, we drove past the Bush house. The house is located on Walker’s Point. Although it was isolated from other homes, we could see the house from an overlook on Ocean Drive. At the point, the waves crashed on the rocks. A sunroom located at the point must give them a beautiful view of the ocean and the waves crashing on the rocks. Close to the road we could see what appeared to be where the Secret Service men were situated. There was also a guard house and gate at the driveway to the house. We drove back to the campground where Susan made a brochure for kindergarten parents on the computer. The brochure had hints and information about reading at home with their children. As we were eating dinner, we heard music over a loud speaker. A group of young girls, who were traveling around the country performing, were staying at the campground and had agreed to perform for the campground.

Bob was concerned about leaving the campsite because we were in a rather tight space for our camper. As he was trying to maneuver out of the space, we heard a loud pop. The front of the camper bumped the back window of the truck and broke the window. We finally made it out of the campsite and left the campground. As time went on, the window cracked more and pieces of glass started to fall out. We stopped at a collision body shop to see if they would be able to repair the window. They told us that they did not replace windows and suggested that we call Portland Glass to get an appointment. When we did, they gave us a 1:00 appointment. We called the insurance company to report the claim. They said that Portland Glass was one of their claim representatives and that they would fax the insurance information to them. The collision body shop people were so friendly. They allowed us to leave the camper in their parking lot because Portland Glass did not have a space to park the camper. We drove to Portland Glass to see if they could take us earlier. They had to wait for the glass to be delivered at noon. While waiting, we drove to Walmart to shop. When we returned, we waited in the Portland Glass waiting room. At lunch time, we decided to walk to get lunch. A man in the waiting area suggested that we walk down the street to Pizza by Alex so we did. The pizza was yummy. We walked back to the waiting room and waited and waited. We did not get to leave until 3:00. We debated whether we should find a campground in the area or drive for a while. We decided to drive for several hours and try to find a campground. We started driving about 3:30 and drove to Sturbridge, Massachusetts where we found a campground. This was the first and last time we will stop at a Jellystone Campground. These campgrounds must be very old (as campgrounds go) and most of the sites were designed for older, smaller campers. We were not able to park the camper in the site we were assigned, especially after the tight site we were in the day before. They found a pull through site that was very close to campers on either side, but we were able to park the camper. The campground was generally over crowded with small, crowded sites. No more Jellystone for us. It was, however, very family and child oriented with lots of activities for the kids.

We left the campground at 7:30 and drove through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania on Interstate 84, 81, and 80. Traffic was light in the morning. We ate breakfast at Panera’s and stopped at a rest area to eat cheese and summer sausage for lunch. In the afternoon, we were slowed down by an accident and construction. We arrived at the campground about 5:00. No problems with the campsite. We usually use KOA campgrounds when we are traveling. They are usually near the interstate and have full hookups. The KOAs campsites are somewhat crowded, but the convenience is worth the lack of privacy.

Today we left the campground at 7:00 and stopped for gas and breakfast at McDonald’s. We drove on Interstate 80 all day. We were anxious to make good time because we had been invited to Bill and Barbara’s for dinner. About 11:40, a passenger in another car signaled us that we had a problem so Bob pulled over to the side of the Ohio Turnpike. The right rear tire on the camper was shredded. We called AAA and waited and waited for a tow truck. When Josh came, he told us that our tire had dry rot and put on the spare tire. He suggested that we go to NTB to get a spare tire. We went to NTB and bought a spare tire. While we waited, Susan called Bill and Barbara to let them know that we were going to be late. At 3:30 we left NTB and got back on the Ohio Turnpike. As we were driving down the turnpike, another passenger signaled to us that we had a problem so again Bob pulled over to the side of the Ohio Turnpike. Fortunately, this time we came to a driveway to a DOT office and pulled in. This time the right front tire of the camper was shredded. Again we called AAA and waited and waited for a tow truck. While we waited, Susan called Bill and Barbara to let them know what had happened. We got excited when a tow truck pulled into the parking lot so he could pull on to the turnpike. He came by us accidentally on his way to help someone else. He told us that he would return when he finished with the other customer. Again we waited and waited. Finally he came back and put on the spare tire that we had just bought. As we drove down the Ohio Turnpike, we hoped that we could finally make it safely to the Maumee State Park campground on Lake Erie without any more problems. Since it was 7:00, we called Bill and Barbara to tell them that we would see them tomorrow. When we arrived at the campground, we set up camp.

When we got up, we showered and drove to Panera’s for breakfast. We arrived at Bill and Barbara’s house about 10:00. After talking for a short time with Bill and Barbara, Bob and Susan drove to Sunset House to see Mother. We looked at the digital frame that we bought Mother for her birthday. As the pictures came up, Susan told Mother who the people were in the pictures. At noon, we walked Mother to the dining room so she could eat lunch. We told her that we would see her later. When we returned to Bill and Barbara’s house, we ate lunch and talked with Bill and Barbara. About 3:00, Dick and Peggy arrived from Danville. Peggy is on oxygen 24 hours a day so they set up the oxygen tank for her. Bill, Dick, Bob, and I went to get Mother and bring her back to Bill and Barbara’s house for dinner. Margaret Kaya came over for dinner too. After dinner, Margaret left. At 8:00, Bill and Dick returned Mother to Sunset House and Bob and Susan left to return to the campground.

Today is Mother’s 90th birthday. The family has gathered to celebrate her birthday. After breakfast at McDonald’s, we drove to Bill and Barbara’s house. We sat and talked with Bill, Barbara, Dick, and Peggy. About 11:00, Bill suggested that we go get Mother and take her out to lunch. Since Peggy was not feeling well, she decided to stay at home and rest. Barbara had some errands to run so she did not go either. Bill, Dick, Bob, and Susan went to Sunset House and took Mother to Steak & Shake, her favorite place to eat. When we returned to Bill’s house, Mother opened her birthday gifts. Then Bill convinced Mother to take a nap on the sofa. While she slept for a couple hours in the den, we talked in the living room. We looked at some pictures of Mother’s 85th birthday. Pam, Bill’s daughter and Barbara’s sister, Ann, came for dinner. After dinner, we ate birthday cake and ice cream. At 8:00, Bill, Dick, and Susan returned Mother to Sunset House. Susan and Bob left for the campground.

Our last day in Toledo.

On our way home.

On our way home.

On our way home.

Home sweet home!