Movin’ On!

 

Well our time in Titusville has come to an end for now.

We are movin’ to Cousin Bonnie’s so I’ll be closer to work.

Work? What work? I normally think of work as a four letter word. Well cousin Dennis is remodelin’ one of their Convenience Stores and ask if I would lend a hand. So I started on Monday. Denny said they would be startin’ at 6AM to try and beat the heat, he asked me to be there at 7. Seein’ as I had to drive from Titusville down to Oil City then down to Cranberry, a 45-50 minute run, that was alright with me. That first day we were prepin’ the roof; soffits, drip edge, flashings and even got some shingles down, before the temps got to hot for the materials. The sun made the shingles to soft to walk on or work with. I drove back to the 5’ver and thought that this was going to get expensive & time time consumin’ if I was to continue to ‘commute’ this far.

The next mornin’ I was up at 4:15 to eat somethin’ and drive to Cranberry. This is like the middle of the night fer’ a ole’ retired fella who usually sleeps in till 9. We had some rain at night so the roof was to wet to work and we started the siding prep work. I had decided to move us to Bonnie’s house a mere 5 minutes from the job, so I only worked till noon time so as to have time to break camp and setup at Bonnie’s.

Bein’ up at the ‘Barn’ was gettin' right relaxin’. I started takin’ pictures around the old farm fer’ somethin’ to do. I guess Denny’s call came just in time to give me somethin’ to do & put a little jingle in our coffers.

Well I got to go so’s I can get to bed & get some rest. Hope to see ya’ down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Graduation Day!

Man do I have road rash!!!

Yesterday we went down to Pittsburg, or a suburb thereof, to attend a graduation party for Linda’s cousin Cindy’ son Stephen. He had graduated from high school this year and will be attending Temple University for 2 years of pre-pharmacy.

We rode down with Cousins Diane & Denny, a two hour trip to the big city. Boy do I enjoy goin’ to the ‘Big City’!

Just like Arthur-It is.

A really Big Pain.

Well we follered’ the dir-ek-tions to the ‘T’ and would up cruisin’ ‘The Hood’ lookin’ fer’ a landmark on the directions that never materialized. We were on the wrong road! After backtrackin’ we went down to the next intersection and lo & behold, there was the street we’s supposed to turn on. It was 4 lights not 3 as indicated on the directions supplied by the hostess and ‘Party Chief’.

The party was a great success, food was fabulous & we got to mingle with folk’s we haven’t seen in a year. The man of honor, Stephen, had all his accolades & awards on display for all to view. This fella must be ‘One smart cookie’ cause he had an award for ‘Academic Excellence’ for achievin’ a grade point average of 4.0+. Now that’s an achievement approachin’ perfect. He must be buckin’ fer’ my spot!!

After the celebration we left to find ourselves in a ‘Big City Gridlock’. Maybe moved 4 miles in 40 minutes, so’s off we go, Denny knows how to get around it. About 10 blocks later we’re right back in that same gridlock, but 10 blocks further. After another stint in ‘Gridlock’, we pulled off at an exit and down into ‘Downtown’. Zippin’ among all the skyscrapers, no traffic at all, we found ourselves on the other side of the city getting’ on another interstate spur goin’ north, no traffic here either. Way to go Denny!!

We stopped at a Dairy Queen fer’ some much needed ‘Blizzard's. Don’t want to see us shrivel away to half a ton, do ya?

We arrived at their house and after a quick restroom break we were headed to Titusville and our rollin’ home. We arrived as two weary travelers as we had left this mornin’ around 10:15 AM and it was now 12:15 AM. We did nothin’ but go to bed after arriving.

Oh yeah! Yesterdays Balloon entry was supposed to include the ‘Star Balloon’ and I forgot to post the picture, here it is.

The Purple People Eater!

Well that’s all for today. Hope to see ya’ down the road as were;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Full of Hot Air!

Linda spied somethin’ on the local news last night that sparked our interest. It seems that in Meadville, PA they are holdin’ the 23rd Annual Thurston Classic Hot Air Balloon Festival. Last night they lit up the night sky with eight ground tethered balloons and this evening they were having a balloon launch.

We have always wanted to see the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, but it is in early October & we always seem to be in another part of the country then, we’ll make ‘er someday. After lookin’ at the prices for camping at that Fiesta grounds, I need to find us some boondockin’ spot nearby. What they call ‘Standard RV Parking’ with NO HOOKUPS is $30 per day, CHOKE, CHOKE. Boondockin’ for Thirty Dollars a day? That doesn’t include admission to the grounds either.

Well the balloon festival today was free and you know I say free is always easier on the budget. But first a stop for some Mexican food to fill our tummy's so we don’t starve watchin’ the balloons.

We arrived at the field at Allegheny College where the event was to take place, early enough to get a good parkin’ spot and seat. The launch was set to go up at 6PM so we found a nice spot on a hill overlookin’ all the balloon crews.

This was the crowd early on.

Sorry that picture’s a little washed out but I was shooting into the sun. We waited till the appointed hour of 6PM. Nobody was moving, no balloons were comin’ out, no fans for inflation, no nuthin’! So we waited some more, 6:15, 6:30, 6:45 we were ready to go. Everyone was wonderin’ what the holdup was. I thought they were waitin’ cause folks kept streamin’ into the field & by now things were getting’ crowded. We decided we had waited long enough and got up to head back to the truck where we could be more comfortable (Somebody forgot to bring lawn chairs) and watch the balloons after they launched. We didn’t get to far when the crowd started raisin’ a ruckus. the balloons were comin’ out and shortly they started to launch one after the other.

They just kept comin’ one after another till there was a sting of balloons crossin’ the sky.

There are eleven in this photo. If ya’ click on the photo it will open in a new, larger window so it can be viewed easier.

This here’s a little video I shot with my Kodak Z650.

Thurston Classic Balloon Festival

They even had a balloon partially inflated on the ground that you could walk inside to get a feel for how big these things really are.

Well I think they launched 33 balloons in the flight, quite impressive. Still would like to see the ‘BIG’ show in New Mexico.

We left the balloons to float across the sky. Hey they were “Dancin; on the Wind, just like us. We headed west towards Linesville and Ray’s Market. Linda had seen an ad for Ray’s and we had to go and check out some of the ‘bargains’. We did buy some ground round at a good price, but they were getting’ ready to close and we didn’t have much time to shop, Those durn’ late balloonists. Oh well better luck next time.

Stopped at a Subway sandwich shop on the way back for a Chipotle Chicken & Cheese sub, the $5 featured sub this month. It was pretty good with the pepper jack cheese we put on it. Then it was back down the road the twenty eight miles back to Titusville to our rollin’ condo.

Well that’s all for this chapter in our travels, so I will say “Vaya con dios”. Hope to see ya’ down the road as were;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Yahoo! She’s on the mend!

Yeah my girl is feelin’ much better! After a week of medicine, constant pain & feeling constantly nauseated from it, she is finally done with her prescription. Taking the anti viral medicine, she was nauseous 24/7. But all seems to be on the mend.

Tuesday, I was astounded when Linda was dressed with her hair combed ready to go out somewhere, anywhere. I was a little skeptical about taking her too far from home, but I guess she felt well enough and her ‘Cabin Fever’ had reached unmanageable levels. So off we went down to Cranberry to Dollar Tree and Wal Mart. I had planned to take her to dinner at Taco Bell, one of her favorite fast foods, didn’t want anything to heavy. Well seems there is no Taco Bell in a thirty mile radius. So….. we ended up at Wendy’s then headed home after a full afternoon.

Wednesday she was up with coffee made when I awoke. “How do you feel today”? Just fine she said. We had a lite breakfast of mini bagels & coffee and relaxed. In the afternoon we ventured to town with a visit to a couple of grocery stores. We returned home, took a short nap and I got the grill out to cook dinner. I been doin’ a lot of grillin’ lately.

We invited Don & Jessie down for some dinner, Linda said she was up to it. We dined on hamburgers I burned outside and some potato salad.

Nothin’ too exciting but I thought I’d let all know that, She’s gonna live!!  At least that’s what Linda keeps tellin’ me.

Well we’ll see what the next few days bring, hoping Linda continues to improve. Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

We’re Down fer’ a Spell.

Well first things first, yesterday we made it to Titusville, PA. I was going to get Linda to a hospital if I could not get her in to see a doctor, no matter what she wanted. I chose this location cause there is a local hospital here and the UPNC hospital in Cranberry where Bonnie lives seems to have a poor reputation. That and Uncle Don’s doctor is near here. Well he was able to get us in to see his doctor yesterday and at first he suggested some possible causes of her ailment. His first guess was right on, Shingles! I considered this last week but Linda has never had Chicken Pox, so I discounted that. She is in some pain, but the pain meds are making her extremely nauseous with all that goes with that nausea, I don’t want to elaborate! I’m waitin’ fer’ the Doc to call me back to see if there’s any other pain medication we can try. So I’m tryin’ to keep her on schedule with her other meds, but she hasn’t been doin’ good keepin’ ‘em down. We’ve stopped the pain meds for now, while I wait for a return call, so I hope we can get rid of the nausea so she can keep some food down.
Got the call from the Doc, got to run to the store for Tylenol. Figures we got every other medication except that.
Well back with the goods, Linda’s sleeping so I’ll try an’ fill ya’ in on our weekend.
We went to Tub Run Campground on the Youghiogheny River Lake and Cousins Diane & Denny joined us. We stayed 3 days and had a great time siteseein’ & visitin’ & just relaxifyin’.
Saturday we went to see the Flight 93 Memorial. Those brave souls that were determined not to let those hijackers kill more folks, as they already knew they were doomed. The Memorial is temporarily housed in a small metal building but construction is underway to build a permanent memorial. The new Memorial is scheduled to be dedicated September 10-11, 2011. We could only stay in the building for a little while cause it’s just too emotional. Years back we visited the Memorial in Oklahoma City where the Murrah building once stood. We were emotional but when we reached the children’s section we couldn’t compose ourselves anymore. So we walked out to view the field where this flight went down and the construction that is occurring.

The field of green is where the plane hit the ground.
After leaving the Memorial we veered off for Ohiopyle State Park to view some waterfalls we had been told of. The falls were nice not too tall but extended across the Youghiogheny River, pronounced [yaw-ki-gay-nee] more like a cascade.
Here’s the ‘Crew’ I had to put up with all weekend.

Linda, Diane & Denny

I can’t say enough about the camp. Small, clean graveled sites, nice bathhouses, and fer’ $11 it couldn’t be beat. Oh yeah we almost pulled out without a picture of our site.

Linda & I stopped at Fort Necessity National Monument along US 40, the ‘National Road’. The fort was constructed by George Washington’s forces when he served under the British before the French & Indian War. It was here he suffered his only defeat and surrender. It stood only a short time cause the French razed the fort after Washington’s surrender.

Here is a shot of the reconstructed fort.

The area later opened the new frontier up due to the construction of the ‘National Road’ stretching into Illinois.

After all that walkin’ a tankard was in order at the local tavern.

Well gotta’ go my girl is awake. Thank you one and all that have sent get well wishes for her.

Hope to see ya down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

On To Pennsylvania

I haven’t posted because we were at a camp with no cell service and no internet either.We spent 4 days at Youghiogheny River Lake. Denny and Diane came down and joined us for the long weekend.

I tell ya’ of that stay at a later date. We left this afternoon and Linda was not feelin’ well by evening so we pulled in to a campground in Mercer Pa for the night. Tomorrow we’ll finish the 60 or so miles to the Oil City area.

Not too much else to report right now as I have to go take care of my girl. I leave ya’ with a picture I took last week as we left Summersville Lake. They were discharging water.

Here’s the shot after I zoomed in on it.

Got to go for now. Hope to see ya’ down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Summersville Lake & Dam

Well we were up early this mornin’ to get movin’. Linda is havin’ a problem with pain in her leg, we think it’s centered around her knee but it was painin’ her so bad yesterday that I wanted to see what the mornin’ would bring. I tried to convince her to go see a doctor but she wants to wait. Well this mornin’ she says she’s 98% better and won’t go to the Doc and No she doesn’t want to stay here today cause here we can go to the local hospital if the pain comes back.

So we were off for West ‘By God’ Virgini’ today. Headed fer’ Battle Run Campground at Summersville Lake. No Sandy, we didn’t stop at the ‘Gorge’ to see if you & Craig were hangin’ around the Visitors Center. Stopped along the way to fuel up in Virginia cause the fuel is always cheaper in VA. Funny but this trip Diesel seems to run about the same from home to here in WV. Oh there’s some 1 or 2 cents variation but fer’ the most part it’s the same price all the way down to FL.

Speakin’ of fuel, we’re carryin’ 66 gallons with the auxiliary tank & we’ve made two fuel stops so far. What’s amazed me is the fact that pullin’ this 36’ trailer grossin’ 12500 lbs, that is probably loaded well beyond that, we’ve gotten over 13 MPG both times we’ve checked it. I attribute that to the Bully Dog ‘Triple Dog Programmer’ that I bought last year. I didn’t know if I was wastin’ my money but it seems it has improved our mileage and provides a little bit more power in the "’Tow /Economy Mode’ I have it set at. Last year with the truck camper loaded for a six month trip we achieved over 16 MPG on some legs of our trip. We travel down the road at 55 MPH to try & reduce our fuel bite in the budget and our ‘Dirty Max/Allison’ combo shifts into fifth gear around 53 MPH. Before the addition of the extra 40 HP from the programmer we had a problem downshifting all the time. With the programmer we go up most grades and maintain 55 MPG in 5th gear with no more downshifting. I guess I can’t say enough about the Bully Dog.

Next was a ‘Wally World’ stop fer’ some groceries. Then it was on down to Summersville Lake. Got a site fer’ the night and there gonna’ be full tomorrow night here so I ‘m glad we’re movin’ on. We discovered this jewel last fall on the way to NC. We stopped to see the Dam and found a small ‘Free’ campground, free is always good. We’re stayin’ at Battle Run Campground, not free but $12 with Linda’s ‘Old Age Pass’. Still not too bad for a Lakeside site with 30 amp electric. The lake here is beautiful, the water crystal clear and the campground has lots of ‘Fingers’ that reach out into it. I will say the sites are a little close together, but it’s still a nice stopover.

Here we are backed right up to the lake.

Here’s a shot lookin’ across the lake in the early evenin’ light.

This Mama & her cute lil’ ducklings were feedin’ right behind the rig.

Tomorrow we’re headin’ fer’ Youghiogheny River Lake in extreme southern PA. If we can get a site we’re gonna’ set there fer’ a spell before rollin’ on to Seneca & Oil City.

Well that’s all I got fer’ now. As always we hope to see ya’ down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

W. Kerr Scott Reservoir

Hey we made it to Wilkesboro, NC, “Where the Mountains Begin”, so says the local motto. We’re at a US Army Corps of Engineers facility called W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir. They have three campgrounds here as well as a marina & many Day Use areas. We stopped at the Visitors Center for directions to a camp and got a recommendation from Pat, her preference would be Warrior Creek Campground. So here we are settin’ in that camp on a great recommendation. Warrior Creek looks almost 100% refurbished with new water & electric services, new camping pads as well as completely new added sites. Took a ride today and checked out another camp and the sites here are much nicer, newer & spaced further apart. They also have more natural space between loops and therefore more wildlife amblin’ through. The sites are also long & wide. Enough to park a vehicle next to your rig on the gravel pad. Here’s a couple o’ shots of our site.

We decided to stay here for a couple o’ days to ‘decompress’ a little. After all we have no place to be in a hurry right now. With Linda’s ‘Senior Federal Pass’ we paid $22 for water & 30/50 amp electric for the two days, Yahoo..!

Our next stop may be a ‘Corps’ park as well as we’ve abandoned plans to visit Shenandoah right now, it’s just too blamed HOT. Even here we try to go out but keep runnin’ back to the A/C.

One more thing I got to say is livin’ in this 5’ver is like a Penthouse apartment compared to the last three years in the Lance camper. I like this ‘Rollin’ Condo’! Hey I like that, Linda was just askin’ the other day what we could name the 5’ver. I Like ‘Rollie’ the ‘Rollin’ Condo’. I’ll have to run that by her.

Well gotta’ sign off for now. I’ll post as soon as I get a signal, cause that’s the one thing lackin’ here. Hope to see ya’ down the road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the Wind.

Just Travelin’ Along

Well we’re sl..o..w..ly makin’ our way north. Traveled I-95 north into South Carolina, not my preferred route, but it’ll get me there. Stayed the night in St. George, SC at the Comfort Inn RV Park. Nice little park separated from the motel, nice pool, bathhouses, lots of green space. Matter of fact it was typical of most RV parks, nestled between the Interstate and the Norfolk & Southern Railroad, a quaint, quiet little place. We were only overnightin’ and we run a fan at night anyway so we never heard any noise from either. The lucky thing was the trains only ran through a couple o’ times during the daylight hours. I read some nice comments on the park and some scathing reviews from some that were upset because of the traffic from both. Let’s face it how many of you have stayed in RV parks that don’t have either Interstate noise or a TRAIN? I think some people expect too much.

Glad there weren’t a lot of folks here. A little crowded.

Last night we spent at Andrew Jackson State Park near Rock Hill, SC. The park is located at the site of ‘Old Hickory’s’ childhood home. Jackson was orphaned as a young man and raised by a neighbor on this site. He grew up to be a great military leader and was later elected the 7th President of the United States.

The park has a small 25 site campground on a lake. It still being Memorial Day weekend we were having trouble finding a spot to spend the night. We never make reservations, so we always have to take the ‘Luck of the Draw’. The campground was empty except for us , another couple from Florida and a couple who were motorcycle campers. They had a great little pop-up camper that they pulled with their motorcycle. Their camper was quite unique in that it had a king size bed, a room to stand up and dress, cook, or relax and also had a screen room porch.

Oh yeah they also had air conditioning.

Our Site

Andy Jackson did have a nice small lake to fish, boat or just sit and enjoy.

We left Andy Jackson late in the morning as we were only goin’ about 150 miles to our next stop. When we went through Charlotte just after noon the temperature was 99 degrees, whew! Glad we left home to get out of the heat.

Well Gonna go fer’ now, hope to see ya downthe road as we’re;

Dancin’ on the wind.