James & Monique's RV Travels

Tuesday July 13th we headed on a day trip toward Petoskey, Michigan. On the way we took a short detour after we saw a sign for the McGulpins Point Lighthouse.

This lighthouse went into service in 1869, but was only used for 37 years. It became redundant when a lighthouse was built in Mackinaw City that provided a better light for both the west and east entrances to the Straits of Mackinac. The local county bought the property a few years back and began restoration. The iron top was rebuilt and installed just a year again in April 2009. I read that many lighthouses still owned by the Federal Government are being decommissioned and will be sold over the next few years. Wouldn’t it be neat to buy and live in one? (But perhaps not that far north)

Before we had left, we had chosen a route that was marked scenic. Since this road is along Lake Michigan, we thought we would have great views of the lake.

The route is known as “The Tunnel of Trees”, It is a beautiful drive through a heavy canopy of trees.

The road is winding, narrow and a bit of a challenge to drive. We only had some occasional views of the lake.

Along the way, we spotted this group of people practicing polo. Wish it had been a real match. We would have stopped to watch having never seen one before.

We also drove past a golf course that is quite a distance from anywhere. It was appropriately named The Wilderness Golf Course.

The lovely town of Harbor Springs was our next stop. We enjoyed lunch, a stroll through the town, and going into some of the shops.

The town was very clean and all the buildings were so well maintained. We asked one shop keeper if there was a town ordinance about how frequently they needed to paint. She said no it was just the pride of the town and shop owners.

Almost all shops had beautiful window boxes of flowers.

There were lovely homes

and this one is the town museum.

In Petoskey, we stopped at a park and enjoyed the beautiful view.

After a short drive through Petoskey, we headed back to the RV. This time by a more direct route

2010-07 Mackinaw City, Michigan

2010-07-06T19:00:00.123-04:00

From 2010-07 Mackinaw Bridge

We reluctantly left Creekwood Farm RV Park on July 6th. We really enjoyed our stay there, but we had firm reservations in Michigan. So it was time to go.

We traveled 4 days with three overnight stops along the way. We drove about 250 miles each day for a total of almost 900 miles. We much prefer making shorter trips where we only stop overnight one or two nights before we stay a week to a month in the same area.

This trip was made more stressful because we are having problems with the slide mechanisms that open the room expansions in our bedroom and kitchen. Each stop we had difficulty getting the bedroom slide to open or close. We did not even attempt to open the kitchen slide. It appears we have a voltage problem due to either a battery problem or some other electrical component. Based on advice from my friend and Master RV Tech, Dale Sumner, I'm going to clean and check all the battery connections. If that does not fix the problem, we are hopeful someone from Newmar can diagnose the problem while at the upcoming Newmar Rally in Indiana. Anyway we were really tired when we reached Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground in Mackinaw City, Michigan.

This is a huge campground with over 600 sites, although probably only about 1/2 are actively being used. We are fortunate to have a large site and one of the few full hook-up sites with 50 amp service. Most sites have only partial or no hook-ups and many are much smaller. Lots of RV's are crammed in with barely enough room to open their slides and patio awnings. There are a lot of tent campers here with many of these also on very small sites.

This a popular spot for family campers. In spite of some of the cramped spacing, all seem to be having a good time. There are a lot of little ones on bikes with training wheels. They are learning to ride and having great fun, but neither they nor most of the other children are being cautious about where they are going. It sure makes us pay close attention as we slowly drive in and out of the campground.

The main attraction for the campground is its location beside Lake Huron with a great view of the Mackinaw Bridge. The "Mighty Mac" connects the lower peninsula of Michigan with the Upper Peninsula. It was built in 1957 and, at almost 5 miles, is the longest suspension bridge between anchorages in the western hemisphere.

Our site is just around the corner from a nice park area with a wonderful view of the bridge.

From 2010-07 Mackinaw Bridge

We have enjoyed some beautiful sunsets.

From 2010-07 Sunset at Mackinaw Bridge

So far we have had very pleasant weather with only one day of rain. We are looking forward to touring some of the surrounding area over the next month.

2010-06 New Friends and the Grove Park Inn

2010-06-26T11:45:00.015-04:00

From 2010-07 Grove Park Inn

Our stay at Creekwood Farm RV Park was one of our most enjoyable. Besides the beautiful scenery in the surrounding mountains, we really enjoyed the people we met.

Among the first we met were Jim and Sharon who were parked just behind us. Jim is one of about 13 work campers who work about 20 hours a week in exchange for their campsite. Jim works with the grounds crew, and they kept the campground looking immaculate. Jim remembered meeting me somewhere. We quickly established that he and Sharon belonged to the Palmetto Pals Chapter of the Newmar Kounry Klub, and that we had attended the same rally in SC last year. However Jim said that was not where we had met. The next day he came back and told me that he remembered that we had met two years earlier in the Barnyard RV Park back In Lexington, SC. Boy I wish I had a memory like Jim's. Regretfully I failed to take a photo of Jim and Sharon.

The next friends we made were Bob and Barbara who are also full time RVers. We enjoyed visiting with them and took a day trip together to Dillsboro, NC to eat lunch at the Jarret House, a historic hotel and restaurant we highly recommend to those visiting in western NC. Then we came back to Waynesville and toured the Shelton House Museum of NC Handicrafts (See prior post about this wonderful museum.)

Bob is an outstanding wood carver. He carved this "patriotic" gecko that he put up on his motorhome mirror for a July 4th decoration.

Here is a duck decoy that is in progress. He is working to complete the detailed painting of the feathers.

Here is a completed decoy:

Another couple we enjoyed meeting were Jim and Cora who were parked across the road from our site.

Jim and Cora are from Louisiana and were staying for several months. They have camped at Creekwood Farm in prior years and enjoyed returning to the area. They joined us for a day trip to Asheville.

After I stopped at an allergist to get my weekly allergy shot, we had a great lunch at Cheddars. Then we spent several hours wandering through the two gift shops associated with the Southern Highlands Craft Guild. One shop is in Asheville and the other is a short distance away on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We all enjoyed seeing the wonderful artwork created by local artisans.

We next drove over to the Grove Arcade (see our earlier post) and then to the Grove Park Inn. The Grove Park was built in 1913 and is a famous regional resort.

From 2010-07 Grove Park Inn

It is a wonderful hotel with outstanding restaurants. One is on a balcony facing this lovely view to the west.

From 2010-07 Grove Park Inn

The Balcony Restaurant is a great place for a special occasion. My sister Nora Ann and brother-in-law Jack celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary there on July 3rd.

Jack and Nora Ann's visit also added to the enjoyment of our time in Waynesville. They brought their travel trailer up from Lexington and stayed at Creekwood Farm. They came back to Waynesville for their 50th anniversary because their honeymoon trip had been to Lake Junaluska and Fontana Lake, which is a bit further west in NC. It was great spending time with them before we headed north to our next scheduled stop in Michigan.

2010-06 Friends and Roses

2010-06-25T11:16:00.002-04:00

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

One of the delights we enjoyed while in Waynesville was the opportunity to spend a day with our friends and former neighbors from Lexington, SC - Hal and Beverly Zorn. The Zorn's have a second home in the mountains near Waynesville - a great way to escape some of the summer heat in Lexington. They invited us over for a visit. They have a lovely home with a great view.

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

We also went for a ride around Waynesville to get their recommendations for good restaurants and places to visit. A top recommendation was already a favorite of ours - Lake Junaluska.

From 2010-06 Roses at Lake Junaluska

We stopped for a stroll along the lake at the section of the walkway lined with beautiful roses. Here are just a few of the rose varieties we admired:

From 06-10 Roses at Lake Junaluska, NC

2010-06 Evening Primrose

2010-06-21T19:19:00.001-04:00

Evening Primrose

We are easy to entertain!

We sometimes take a walk late in the evening shortly before sunset. One evening Bob, the manager of Creekwood RV Park, called to us to hurry over. He pointed to a plant in his yard and told us it was just about to “pop open”. Several others were already standing there watching.

Bob explained that the flowers on this plant, which he thought was called a “Nicademus Plant”, would pop open in a matter of seconds. The flowers open at night and only last for one day. He and his wife had watched it for the first time the night before, and thought it opened about 8:30pm. We all stood there staring at the plant for about 15 minutes. We began to think he had set us up for a joke - “How long can I get these people to stand here staring at this silly bush?”.

However about 8:45pm the plant began to vibrate, and several leaves along the stem could be seen to move as if blown by a breeze. Then sure enough, a yellow blossom petal popped out.

Shortly afterward the four pedals of the green pod that enclosed the bloom, snapped down and the four yellow pedals of the bloom untwisted and opened. The whole process only took a few seconds. It was marvelous to see.

Here are four of the blooms after they have opened. All opened within a 5 to 10 minute period.

I came back to the RV and did some internet research. It turns out this is an Evening Primrose. You might find it an interesting addition to your garden.

2010-06 Grove Arcade, Asheville, NC

2010-06-07T17:16:00.000-04:00

We spent an enjoyable day shopping at the Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville, NC. We have been wanting to see the scenery along the Blue Ridge Parkway, but almost every day has been at least partially overcast and threatening rain. So we have looked for some “inside” activities. Thus our visit to the Grove Arcade.

Here is the brief description from the Grove Arcade website:
“Built by E.W. Grove, the visionary and creator of the Grove Park Inn, the Grove Arcade opened in 1929 and thrived until World War II as one of the country's leading public markets. The historically renovated Grove Arcade reopened to the public in 2002 as a destination featuring boutique shopping and exciting dining in a beloved downtown architectural wonder.”

There are shops on the first floor and offices and residential condo’s on the top two floors. The arcade is open to the glass covered ceiling allowing in bright natural light.

We enjoyed wondering through the gift shops, such as this one with crafts by local North Carolina artists.

We love baskets and were really taken with the baskets in one shop made by African Zulu women. We bought a medium sized one for the RV.

Various local artists have booths in stalls outside along the sidewalk.

One young man was selling terrariums. Years ago I made a few terrariums for my Mother, Grandmother, etc. So I was happy to see them again. In fact that same day, there was an article in the NY Times about the resurgence of interest in terrariums. We bought this tall one being held by Tristan. He and his wife also sell paintings at the booth and are among the many fine artists living in the Asheville area.

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and Waynesville, NC

There are many other interesting shops and restaurants in the blocks nearby the Arcade. The area is well worth a day’s visit.

2010-06 Lake Junaluska, NC

2010-06-07T00:17:00.003-04:00

From 2010-06 Lake Junaluska

The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend we drove the short 8 miles over to Lake Junaluska. This is a huge Methodist Assembly and Conference Center surrounding the lake from which it draws its name. Growing up in Mississippi, I used to hear about various retreats and conferences, especially for the youth, at Lake Junaluska. It always sounded like some magical place of wonder far away from home way up in the mountains.

It truly is a beautiful place, and it has been a real treat to visit Lake Junaluska several times over the years as an adult.

This afternoon was very lovely as we walked around the lake. It seemed like we were accompanied by half the citizens of the nearby town of Waynesville! I assume it was just more crowded due to the holiday weekend and the fact a large conference was underway for another denomination using the facilities.

The late evening views around the lake were really pretty.

From 2010-06 Lake Junaluska

There were a large number of geese in several spots around the lake including this family group.

From 2010-06 Lake Junaluska

We saw several pretty flowers along the way.

From 2010-06 Lake Junalusk

One reason we came over that Saturday evening was the fact our campground has live entertainment on Saturday's from 7 to 9:00pm outside the recreation hall. We are parked close to this building and did not care for the loud music. The Bluegrass players sounded good, just way too loud. So we went looking for an escape and ended up at Lake Junaluska.

This past Saturday we left before the program started and drove about 30 minutes over to Asheville and did some shopping. We came out of one store to see a beautiful sunset.

From 2010-06 Sunset in Asheville

Not sure where we will go next Saturday evening. The following weekend we will be in Mississippi. We will make a quick trip down to Columbia, SC by car for another Doctor visit. Then we will head across to Mississippi for a few days to visit family and attend a wedding. Then back to Waynesville late Sunday June 20th. This will be a long round trip of about 1900 miles.

2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park in Waynesville, NC

2010-05-30T23:42:00.003-04:00

Overlooking Waynesville, NC

We are currently at Creekwood RV Park in Waynesville, NC which is a lovely town in the Blue Ridge Mountains about 30 minutes west of Asheville. We will be here until July 5th when we head north to Mackinaw City, Michigan.

This is a lovely campground. There are several couples who stay here as “work campers”. Each husband and wife work 25 hours a week in exchange for their campsites. Four of the men are dedicated to grounds keeping, and they really keep the place looking nice.

The only downside to the campground is the fact a wood chipping plant is just across the highway. Their operation is pretty loud, and they start work around 6:30am. We have gotten somewhat accustomed to the noise, and happily they have been shut down most of this week before Memorial Day.

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and Waynesville, NC

A prominent feature of the campground is the old barn and silo left from the days this was farmland.

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and Waynesville, NC

There is a pretty creek that runs down one side.

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and Waynesville, NC

I saw a mother duck and her little ducklings in the creek.

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and Waynesville, NC

A nice deck overlooks the creek at one end of the campground.

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and Waynesville, NC

On the other end is a picnic area open to all campers.

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and Waynesville, NC

In between the deck and picnic area are a number of pretty sites that back up to the creek.

The campground is close to both Maggie Valley and Waynesville so it is a good base for exploring this area. We are just a mile or so from I-40 which gives easy access to drive over to Asheville. This is a Passport America Park, so it would be a good overnight stop if you are traveling through this area between Asheville and Knoxville in your RV.

2010-05 NC Arboretum

2010-05-29T23:40:00.002-04:00

We love the NC Arboretum and that was the first place we visited after our arrival in Waynesville.

We wanted to see the latest patchwork quilt garden. They change the design 3 times during the spring/summer/fall growing seasons. The current one has very muted colors.

But there were other more colorful plants.

The bonsai exhibit is always a delight.

While taking a picture, I heard Monique gasp. I turned around to find here staring at this young snake (non-poisonous).

He soon slithered away.

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

This is our 4th or 5th visit. If you like gardens and forests, do stop by if you are in the Asheville, NC area.

2010-05 Sheltoh House Museum of NC Handicrafts

2010-05-28T23:30:00.000-04:00

We visited a delightful museum in Waynesville - The Shelton House Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts. It resides in the Shelton House built in 1875 by Stephen Jehu Shelton. The house contains art works, handicrafts, and furniture made predominantly by North Carolinians. Pieces date from the late 1800’s to the present.

We had an excellent tour conducted by Jackie, this lovely lady who became the curator several years ago after she retired.

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Jackie explained that when she arrived everything was just placed on shelves with little organization. She and a friend took everything down, washed much of it, and then placed it in groupings on the floor. Then they carefully arranged everything into organized and attractive displays. It was a real labor of love, and they have created an excellent museum - perhaps as well done as any we have visited.

We were surprised by the first room we visited. It had many native Indian exhibits. Local Cherokee baskets and other crafts were beautiful and would be expected in a museum honoring NC Craftsmen and women.

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

The surprise was the number of Navajo and other western Indian artifacts.

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

The reason is that Mr. Shelton’s son, William T. Shelton, was the very well regarded first Superintendent on the Navajo Reservation. After retirement he came back home to live in Waynesville. Thus the museum has a number of beautiful Navajo and other western Indian baskets, rugs, jewelry, clothing and other artifacts.

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Rooms are open throughout the house with other wonderful art and crafts on display including:

Quilts:

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Pottery:

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Dolls:

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Beautiful stained glass:

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Wood-burning:

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Dollhouses with furniture

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Gorgeous hand carved wooden bowl

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Clay storage jugs

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

and milking churns:

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Furniture like this unique bed made by the craftsman who built the house:

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

Or this dining table and chairs. Also note the centerpiece of flowers made from tiny glass beads delicately strung together.

From 2010-05 NC Museum of Handcrafts at the Shelton House

This tour was a real treat, and we plan to go back with friends. It is a shame that more people do not visit. It is well worth your time if you are visiting Waynesville.

2010 - On the Road Again

2010-05-21T23:10:00.003-04:00

Springtime in Columbia, SC

From 2010-03 Bradford Pears

We are finally back on the road. We spent seven months in the Columbia/Lexington, SC area at the Barnyard RV Park. We had intended to spend the winter in Crystal River, Florida but did not make it. Instead we stayed in SC.

Although we had what at least to us seemed a colder winter than normal, we made it fine. Even enjoyed an 8” snowfall, which of course was melted and gone within a day or so.

From 2010-02 Snow in Columbia

We came back to Columbia in October so I could have surgery to establish a new tear duct in my left eye. My tear duct had closed completely causing my eye to frequently be filled with a film of tears. I now have a “Jones tube” installed which is a small glass tube that goes from the corner of my eye into my nasal cavity. It works great and solved my tearing problem.

Meanwhile Monique was not feeling well. She went through various tests with the outcome being the removal of her gallbladder. This soon solved some of her symptoms, but others lingered for months. By the time she felt like traveling again, we were into our scheduled round of annual doctor and dentist visits. These all went well although I had to have a precautionary colonoscopy and endoscopy. Thankfully the results from these were all normal.

So in May we were finally ready to “hit the road”. We left May 11th and drove to Gaffney, SC to the Freightliner Service Center for annual maintenance on the motorhome chassis. All Freightliner motorhome chassis are manufactured in Gaffney, and we highly recommend going there for service.

From Gaffney, we traveled to Crooked Creek RV Park in West Union, SC to attend a Rally with the SC Palmetto Pals chapter of the Newmar Kountry Klub.

Crooked Creek RV Park

2010-05-21T23:09:00.001-04:00

From 2010-05 SC Newmar Rally

Crooked Creek RV Park is located in the northwest corner of SC near Seneca not far from Clemson University. It is a lovely campground overlooking a portion of Lake Keowee. Evenings are very pleasant with a cool breeze coming from the lake.

From 2010-05 SC Newmar Rally

We went to Crooked Creek to join the Palmetto Pals Chapter of the Newmar Kountry Klub. Newmar is the manufacturer of our motorhome and the Kountry Klub is the organization for people who own Newmar RV’s. There were 19 people at the Rally. We all went to eat breakfast and supper with each other. On Friday morning the ladies took a shopping spree in downtown Seneca which has some nice art/gift/antique stores. A few of the men went to play golf.

Thursday, the first evening we were there, we sat outside and chatted with other members of the group.

From 2010-05 SC Newmar Rally

Friday evening we went to look at the redecorating of Dallas and Sadie Lee Stewart’s RV, and they came over to see what we had done to our RV interior. We picked up several ideas from seeing the Stewart’s coach. Saturday evening, ten of us went down to the pavilion and played “Jokers and Pegs” - a fun game of strategy that takes a while to learn. (In our group, the ladies beat the men.)

Sunday morning the group had breakfast at the pavilion. Most couples left, but a few stayed a little longer. We stayed an extra week to tour this area.

This is another lovely part of SC. There are rolling hills with occasional glimpses of the Blue Ridge Mountains a bit further north. There are three large beautiful lakes in the region - Hartwell, Keowee, and Jocassee. We will definitely be keeping this region in mind when we decide to find another house and settle down from our travels.

Antique and Classic Baot Show

2010-05-21T21:54:00.005-04:00

While we were staying at Crooked Creek Campground, an Antique and Classic Boat Show was held at the marina that is part of the campground. They are all wooden boats and most were made by Chris Craft. They dated from 1940 to the mid-60’s. All seemed to be powered by big V-8 auto engines producing 300 - 350 hp. Here are a few of the boats docked at the marina:

I loved the beautiful wood deck on the front of this boat:

This boat was named "OORAH" a Marine Corp chant or shout. So naturally it is owned by a retired Marine.

He and his wife travel in a restored 1959 GM Bus also named "OORAH". You can tell from the name, from the destination of "Parris Island" shown on the front and from the paint scheme that it is owned by a Marine. It is really a beauty.

From 2010-05 1959 Bus

SC Botanical Garden at Clemson University

2010-05-21T20:18:00.005-04:00

We had an especially nice peaceful day touring the Botanical Garden at Clemson University and then enjoying a great lunch at Clemson’s Madren Conference Center. It really reminded me of why we enjoy being able to tour the country in our RV.

We have visited the SC Botanical Garden several times. Our house in Lexington had a very shady yard. One of our successful shade plants was hosta’s. Clemson has the best collection of hosta’s we have ever seen.

The gardens have some other unique features like the Caboose Garden donated by the Class of 1939.

Another is the Guard House Bell. It hung in the No.1 barracks and was sounded during the day to announce class changes, etc. A side note - Thomas Green Clemson who donated the land and money to start Clemson directed in his will in 1888 that the University be modeled after Mississippi A&M which is now Mississippi State University. MSU is where Monique and I met and were married. The Clemson founders came to Mississippi State to visit, and I believe some of their first buildings were copied from those at MSU. Both schools were early Land Grant Colleges and started with an emphasis on agriculture and engineering. For many years they were all male military colleges where the students wore military uniforms and were regulated by a military regimen. The Guard House Bell hearkens back to those days.

There are many lovely aspects to the gardens. A little waterfall:

A bridge over a small pond:

Pretty lace cap hydrangeas and ferns;

Beautiful rhododendron in bloom:

After our tour, we went over the Clemson Madren Conference Center. It is a very nice complex with a hotel, restaurant and conference facilities.

It sits on Lake Hartwell and is adjacent to the Clemson golf course.

I attended several conferences there while working at BellSouth. A nice garden walkway has been added since my last visit.

They serve an outstanding lunchtime buffet. We highly recommend both the Botanical Gardens and the lunch at the Madren Center.

Hagood Mill

2010-05-21T18:58:00.004-04:00

We met a nice lady who had been camping here for a month. She told us about Hagood Mill in Pickens, SC, which is about 40 miles from the campground. We wanted to look around the Pickens area, so we drove over to tour the mill and the Pickens County Museum. Both are well worth a visit.

Hagood Mill is a grist mill built around 1845. It operated commercially until 1966 and is now a branch of the Pickens County Museum.

Several other buildings have been relocated to the site including two log cabins. The first one below dates from 1791.

There is also a steam operated 1890 Cotton Gin.

Plus a visitor’s center and gift shop, blacksmith shop, simulated moonshine still, and an outdoor stage.

Of course I had to photograph some of the pretty flowers.

I still had some wildflower seeds left from our trip to the Vermont Wildflower Farm. I gave these to the gentleman at the visitor's center. He was happy to get them and promised to plant them. They should look nice in this setting.

Another interesting artifact was a soapstone rock where early American Indians had started carving rock bowls. You can seem the beginnings of the bowl shapes in the rock.

Every 3rd Saturday of the month, the mill operates to grind corn or wheat. In addition 20-30 artisans come to demonstrate old time skills like blacksmithing, weaving, yarn spinning, basket weaving, making moonshine, etc. The cotton gin is also operated. Various local bluegrass and country musicians give performances on the outdoor stage. We were sorry we did not know about this event since we were here the 3rd Saturday in May. We plan to come back sometime to attend this monthly festival.

Carter & Holmes Orchids

2010-05-21T12:18:00.001-04:00

We took an enjoyable day trip from the Barnyard RV Park to Carter & Holmes Orchids. This orchid nursery is about 3 miles outside Newberry, SC, which is about 40 miles north of Columbia.

Carter & Holmes is a small privately owned business. They have been growing orchids for 65 years starting right after WWII. They ship worldwide and have hundreds of varieties.

We were allowed to just wander through the greenhouses. We encountered delightful employees who stopped their work to explain how orchids are grown and what they were doing at the moment. This lady was in the process of selecting plants to be shipped to a man in Chile who is trying to establish the largest private collection of orchids in the world.

I was surprised to learn how hardy some varieties of orchids are, especially Phalaenopsis.

This is the variety you most often see for sale at places like Lowe’s or Publix in their flower sections. The blooms can last up to 4 months and do well in a typical household environment. They are an excellent plant if you have allergies since they produce no airborne pollen. Orchids depend upon bees, insects or hummingbirds for pollination. We bought a small one that had 3 blooms and 3 buds. You only water the plants every 4-5 days. After a few waterings over a couple of weeks all 3 buds had opened. All the blooms were still beautiful when we got ready to leave. We gave the plant to a lady in the front office of the RV park who has several other orchids at home. We were afraid we would damage the plant when packing or traveling down the road.

Carter & Holmes grows new plants from seeds or from tissue cuttings (clones). Each seed pod will produce 1,000 or so seeds. In the wild only a few will land in the right environment and survive. In the greenhouse, Carter & Holmes can germinate all 1,000. They also cross breed or hybridize new varieties. The man who does this stopped to show us 2 grains of pollen he had collected into a tiny glass vial. He was on the way to use it to pollenate with a different variety.

The seeds germinate and grow in these large vials for a year or more before being transplanted.

The plant we purchased was in a small 3” pot and was about 3 years old. Carter & Holmes has orchids with a wide variety of ages. The oldest was collected in the jungles of Columbia, South America in 1888.

If you are in the area, Carter & Holmes is well worth a visit. You might become “hooked” and want to bring a few orchids home to enjoy.

10-09 NC Arboretum

2009-10-14T19:04:00.003-04:00

We left Salt Lick and had a long day's drive to Hendersonville, NC. The trip was about 290 miles, about 40 miles more than we like to travel in a day. Plus it rained much of the way. Midway, the driver's side windshield wiper started tearing apart. So we made several stops looking for a replacement. We finally found what we needed at a Camping World in Knoxville. I need to remember to replace those things about once a year. These were about 18 months old.

It continued raining while in Hendersonville, but Tuesday cleared off. So we went to the NC Arboretum which is on the south side of Asheville, about 20 miles north of the Lakewood RV Resort where we were staying. We have visited the Arboretum before, and it is now a favorite stop when in the Asheville area. What better place to go see fall leaves than an arboretum. (Although we were about a week early for peak leaf color)

The NC Arboretum has some pretty flowers as well.

They have an area they call the "quilt" garden which they arrange like a patchwork quilt. They change the plants several times during the year to reflect the current season.

I always stop to photograph bees of flowers when I spot them.

One of the highlights is the outstanding Bonsai collection.

You can see fall leaves and color in miniature.

There is a large Bonsai display near the entrance parking lot. But additional Bonsai are in the greenhouses, which are down a pretty woodland walk from the main buildings. Be sure to visit them. (You can also drive to them.)

The greenhouses have some other plants and flowers like this Bird of Paradise.

Here is a view of the mountains along the woodland path to the greenhouses:

As we were walking back from the greenhouse, we met a nice woman who was walking a beautiful red golden retriever. We struck up a conversation with her and found out that she had just adopted Bruester from golden retriever rescue about four months ago. Bruester leaned on us and was very happy to let us pet him.
Bruester is about eight years old. We gave his new owner the bed that Clay had used, a Furminator (grooming tool that gets rid if excess fur), and a small cloth bowl we had used to give Clay water when we walked or went for a car ride. We were glad to find a sweet dog who could use these items.

Be sure to visit the Arboretum when in Asheville. Allow several hours to tour the grounds, greenhouses and buildings. There is also a very nice sandwich shop in the main building. We have enjoyed lunch there on tow occasions.

10-09 Salt Lick Campground

2009-10-07T00:06:00.005-04:00

From 10-09 Salt Lick

After leaving Scenic Hills RV Park and Berlin, Ohio, we headed west about 180 miles to Celina, Ohio to attend the Gypsy Gathering Rally. It is put on by Nick and Terry Russell who produce a RV monthly newspaper called the Gypsy Journal. We enjoy the newspaper and Nick's daily Blog.

We had a nice time at the Rally. It was smaller than others we have attended but still had over 120 RV's or about 250 people attending. We met some nice folks and enjoyed various seminars. I especially enjoyed learing more about Picasa and Blogger from the Geeks on Tour.

We arrived on Monday and left Friday when we traveled south to a campground just south of Louisville for two nights. Then we moved to one of our favorite campgrounds, Salt Lick.

From 10-09 Salt Lick

It is a COE campground on Cordell Hull Lake about 15 miles east of Carthage, TN which in turn is about 50-60 miles east of Nashville. We have written about this campground before. We have a full hook up site with a very large lot.

From 10-09 Salt Lick

Only a few people are here during the week, but it is expected to be almost full this weekend, the last before it closes for the season.

On Monday October 12th we head further south to Flat Rock, NC for three nights to tour a bit around the Ashville area. Then we move on to Columbia, SC for a month.

09-09 Berlin, Ohio and Scenic Hills RV Park

2009-09-28T15:11:00.004-04:00

On September 8th we left Apple Island RV Resort in Vermont and headed to Berlin, Ohio in the heart of Ohio Amish country. Although you hear more about the Amish around Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this area has the highest population of Amish in the US. This would be the 3rd place we have visited near Amish settlements (Strasburg, PA; Bath, NY; Berlin, Ohio).

Just before leaving Apple Island, we had a brief visit with our friends Kent and Carol Roberts. We met Kent and Carol at "Life on Wheels" several years ago and have kept in touch via email and our respective travel journals/blogs. It was great to cross paths and see the Roberts again. Just wish it could have been a longer visit.

We had a pleasant drive across NY stopping two night on the way. However we were really tired by the time we reached Berlin. We decided three days of driving is the maximum for us without stopping for at least two nights to take a rest break. Full time RVers all have different preferences. Some only stay a night or two in one place and cover a lot of territory and seldom make any reservations. We much prefer to plan ahead with reservations and stay several weeks to a month in the same spot. That has been our mode all this year. We would move about 250 miles and stay at least a week before moving again. This seems more restful to us, and we get to know each area. Almost every time we got ready to move, we would comment to each other that we could have stayed longer. We have enjoyed each stop.

Berlin, Ohio was just such a stop. We were there three weeks in Scenic Hills RV Park, a very nice campground. We had a good spot right across from a fenced pasture where deer were being raised.

All the campers enjoyed walking down to view the deer when they came out in the late afternoon to graze. However it is a bit sad to know these are being raised as prize bucks to sell to a hunting camp somewhere. They stay here until 3 or 4 years old and then are sold for a healthy profit to a hunting camp for some city hunter to come a claim a big prize. Does not seem like much sport to me. Here is a buck that I imagine will soon be sold.

Our visit coincided with harvest time as indicated in the picture at the beginning of this post where hay is being gathered. Seeing all the horse drawn farm equipment once again reminded me of time spent as a child with my Grandfather Thompson who always farmed with similar equipment only he generally used mules rather than horses.

Likewise seeing the dairy farms reminded me of Grandfather since he was also a dairy farmer.

It was interesting to go to the local market and see all the Amish buggies parked along with cars.

The best part of our stay in Berlin was the week long visit we had with our son Ward who drove over from Chicago. By his driving over, we did not have to drive the RV to the Chicago vicinity. That was a great help to us since we have not found a campground we like in that area. Nor do we like big city traffic.

A few of the following posts will cover some of the places we visited around the Berlin area.

09-09 Warther's Museum

2009-09-27T23:40:00.001-04:00

Perhaps the most interesting place we toured while in Berlin was Warther's Museum and Knife Factory. "Mooney" Warther was a master wood carver and knife maker. The museum contains his lifetime collection of carvings, primarily of steam locomotives. They are exquisite and perfectly detailed.

Here is a brief excerpt from one of the movies shown during the tour:

All his carvings are wonderful works of art. He carved many locomotives in different hardwoods.

Then he switched to ebony and ivory.

Then he carved in ivory alone. (He carved in ivory before it became illegal to export ivory.)

He was a great admirer of Abraham Lincoln. He carved the train that carried his body across country for burial in Illinois.

You can look inside and see Lincoln lying in repose.

Mooney and his wife loved walking through the Ohio countryside. Over the years they amassed a huge collection of Indian arrowheads. Many are on display on the walls and ceiling of his workshop.

His wife also collected buttons. These were turned into works of art and displayed much like the arrowheads.

Mooney worked in a steel factory in his early work years. He carved a working replica of the mill where he worked.

He first became interested in carving when he found a pocket knife in the road as a boy while tending sheep. A stranger he met at the train station carved a working pair of pliers out of a stick of wood without making any shavings, only use precise cuts. Mooney figured out how to replicate the carving and went on to carve hundreds of thousands of them for children over the years. During the tour his Grandson repeated the feat and gave it to a lady in the audience. She revealed that she had another one at home carved by Mooney when she was a little girl. Mooney once carved the pliers on the Johnny Carson Tonight show in under 10 seconds. He went on the figure out how to make more intricate sets with pliers within pliers. Here is a photo of a set showing the original un-carved block. All the carved pliers will fold back into this same shape.

He went on to make a masterpiece that looks like a small tree with all the limbs being a set of carved pliers. All these pliers can be closed and folded back into a single block of wood.

While working in the steel mill, Mooney began making knives for his own use and then kitchen knives for his Mother. He ultimately stared making knives full time. His family continues to make wonderful kitchen knives.

It is all quite fascinating to see. Dover, Ohio the home of the Warther Museum is just south of Canton, Ohio and is a definite place you will want to visit if in the area.

09-09 Lehman's Hardware

2009-09-27T16:01:00.000-04:00

Monique and I both love to wander around hardware stores. We found a top notch one near Berlin, Ohio called Lehman's. This store caters to the Amish and specializes in non-electric items. It was a real nostalgia time for me seeing so many things I had seen at both my Grandparent's homes and farms. For example they sell milk cans like my Grandfather used and like one we have in storage back in SC.

I have a milk churner in storage identical to the middle one in this photo only mine is not red. My Grandmother Thompson would put water and a bit of soap in one similar to these and let me churn away making suds when I was very young. (It is still fun to do).

There are displays all around the top of the walls near the ceilings including a huge collection of different type antique washing machines.

They even have some refurbished wringer washers for sale. While no Amish are on the Electric Company power grid, I think some Amish use electric generators for limited purposes. So I guess some could use this wringer type washer.

Monique would like a different washing machine for the RV, but decided this manual one would not fit the bill. For one thing it would be too tall for our space once you ad he wringer.

You work the handle back and forth and it moves a plate up and down to agitate the clothes. We were surprised to see that it cost over $500. Plus you have to add the $200 wringer. It is not necessarily less expensive for the Amish to live their lifestyle.

As a child I used a kerosene lantern when camping. Mine was blue just like some seen on these shelves. (I think that lantern is also in storage in SC. Beginning to see a pattern here?)

My Grandmother Rone had several kerosene lamps like the ones in these pictures. I used to enjoy when a thunder storm knocked out the electricity, and we would pull the lamps down from the kitchen shelves to use until the power came back on. While in Lehman's an Amish farmer was picking up a new supply of wicks for his lamps. Lehman's has all manner of wicks and repair parts as well as a huge selection of different type lamps and lanterns.

You can even buy a big wheel bicycle at Lehman's.

Or a hand made wooden cask of different sizes. (One of the smaller ones cost about $150.)

Need a copper kettle?

How about a wood burning cook stove? There were many on display. You can see the fire glowing red in this one.

They say they have the largest display of wood burning stoves and fireplace inserts in the US. They also have some wonderful looking barbecue grills including the pink pig seen in the foreground. (If you are looking for a new grill check out the Traeger Grill.)

I tried to figure out how I could pull this gas powered ice cream maker behind the RV. It has a John Deere engine and optional rubber tires. However Monique wasn't too keen on the idea. Too bad...

We liked this place so much we went twice. So if you are ever in that area, be sure to visit Lehman's.

09-09 Keim Lumber Company

2009-09-26T17:28:00.001-04:00

From 09-09 Keim Hardware

Did I mention that we like Hardware stores? We went to another one, really a lumber company and hardware store near Berlin,Ohio - Keim Lumber Company

While this store is also used by the Amish, it is more of a traditional lumber and hardware company with lots of power tools, etc.

From 09-09 Keim Hardware

It is the nicest such store we have ever visited. There is fancy cherry paneling throughout the store. Even the bathrooms have beautiful woodwork with crown molding, etc. It looks like something I have seen in high class lawyer's offices with lots of rich woodwork throughout.

From 09-09 Keim Hardware

This another place well worth a visit when in the area. Plus there is a nice quilt store in the same town - Charm, Ohio.

09-09 Shelburne Farm

2009-09-06T23:07:00.000-04:00

The last place we visited in Vermont was Shelburne Farm which is just south of Burlington and near the Shelburne Museum covered in an earlier post.

Here is a description of Shelburne Farm from Wikipedia:

"Shelburne Farms is a nonprofit environmental education center and National Historic Landmark on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont...

Shelburne Farms was created in 1886 by Dr. William Seward Webb and Eliza Vanderbilt Webb as a model agricultural estate. They commissioned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted to guide the layout of 3,800 acres (15 km2) of farm, field and forest, and New York architect Robert Henderson Robertson, to design the buildings. Shelburne Farms was incorporated as a nonprofit educational facility in 1972...

The Shelburne Farms grass-based dairy supports a herd of 125 purebred, registered Brown Swiss cows. Their milk is made into an award-winning farmhouse cheddar cheese..."

It is a beautiful place to visit. One thing that was interesting to us was that Fredrick Law Olmsted was the landscape architect. He designed Central Park in New York City and the grounds of the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, NC which we have visited several times. Likewise Gifford Pinchot known as the Father of modern American Forestry worked on the forests at Shelburne Farms and at Biltmore Estate. We have visited the "Cradle of Forestry" near Ashville started by Pincot in connection with his work at the Biltmore Estate.

We only visited the main farm building/barn. It is enormous, with 3 wings connected in a U shape. We did not make it to any of the other buildings.

Part of the main building is used to produce their excellent cheddar cheese.

Here some of the cheese is being hand dipped in wax that provides a longer shelf life.

There are many animals for children to see and touch. In fact there is a special school for what I would guess to be 5th and 6th grades also located in the main barn building. At least some of these children work with the animals each day.

It looked like the chickens are RVers. At least they had a house on wheels.

And had their own road crossing.

We enjoyed our day walking around the main barn and some of the walking trails. In the far distance is the main house, now an Inn, on the shore of Lake Champlain with NY's Adirondack Mountains in the background.