2011-06 Watkins Glen, NY

We traveled up from Ft Chiswell, Virginia to Watkins Glen, NY stopping overnight in Winchester, VA.  The drive up, especially the last 100 miles or so was through some really beautiful countryside in Pennsylvania.  That last section in PA was through rolling hills/mountains.  The terrain in northern PA and southern NY is more "rounded" than the mountains in the southern smoky mountains, but the elevation seems about as high.  We had a few long climbs up some fairly steep grades, but most of the route followed along rivers and through the mountain valleys.

The one word to describe everything was "green".  Our views were primarily of green forests and fields of grass.  With so much rain in the area, everything was very lush.  The farmers grow lots of grass for hay as well as corn.  I imagine the reason is that there is a lot of dairy farming.  We have seen many farms with multiple silos for storing grain with dairy cows in the surrounding fields.  In fact we have seen more dairy farming here than the areas we have visited in Wisconsin and Vermont, two states know for their cheese and dairy production.  The picture above is of a typical barn in the area.  This one is on the hill that sits above Watkins Glen and the campground we used.

 This a view of the farm on the hillside from near the campground, which adjoins a marina.

Below is the view looking from the farm down at Seneca Lake, one of the beautiful NY Finger Lakes.

These photos are of the area south of Watkins Glen.  This valley leads to Corning, NY which is about 20 miles south.

Here is a view from the south shore of Seneca Lake.

Were are a couple of sunset photos taken from the city park that is just across the road from the campground.  We often took a late evening stroll along the lake.

The city put on a very nice fire works display from this park.

We have enjoyed our stay in NY.  However this campground has been a far cry from the peace and quiet we enjoyed back at Solitude Pointe in SC.  This campground sits next to a very busy highway, especially on the weekends.  Plus for the July 4th weekend, there was a festival in the park across the road with a loud band.  We had to leave.  We rode over to Ithaca, NY to spend the afternoon away from the noise getting back shortly before the fireworks.  Fortunately the band did not continue to play afterward.

2011-05 Solitude Pointe

We left Florida and returned to Columbia in April for 3 weeks to complete all our routine annual doctor visits and for another set of tests and visits with the Oncologist for Monique.  All the exams generally went ok.  However we learned that Monique’s lymph nodes have continued to grow larger.  So that was a disappointment although the Oncologist continued to recommend no treatment at present.

We left Columbia and traveled to “Upstate SC” to Solitude Pointe, a lovely campground about a 30 minutes drive north of Greenville, SC.  It is just off Scenic Highway 11 between Table Rock and Caesar’s Head State Parks.  There are only 14 campsites and 6 cabins.    We had a very peaceful and pretty site on a green hillside of trees and Mountain Laurel.

The Mountain Laurel was in full bloom when we arrived.

We love this area of SC and are thinking about buying a home somewhere in the Upstate.  In fact we spent considerable time looking for homes on the Internet and driving around north Greenville, Traveler’s Rest, Greer, Taylors, and Easley looking at some of the homes and neighborhoods we found online.  So far we have not found the “right one”, but the process has helped us get a better idea of the type home we would prefer ( a 1 story brick house without a large yard, perhaps a patio home).  We are also looking at homes back in the Lexington area.  So we are  not yet sure where we will settle down, but we do think we will probably try to find a house and “hang up the RV keys” by next spring.

There are a number of lovely places to visit within 1/2 to an hour’s drive from Solitude Pointe.  The next few posts will cover some of those we visited.

2010-12 Winter in Florida at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park

 (Rainbow Springs)

On December 16, we arrived at Rock Crusher Canyon RV Park in Crystal River, Fl.  We checked in and were informed that we were on site 147.  A kind gentleman led us to or site and helped us get parked.  It was a challenge to get into.  After backing up and pulling forward several times - and getting out the ladder to cut tree limbs, James finally squeezed into the site.

We were both disappointed in our site.  We did not realize that we would be so close to a busy road.  Then as we plugged in our electric cord, we discovered that we were on site 141 (the number was on the electric post).  Even though it was a hassle, we were both glad to move to the correct site 147!  It was further away from the busy road.

Both sites were next to retention ponds and looked very similar.  So it was an easy mistake for our guide to make. When someone came to park on site 141 a few hours later, we were glad we discovered the error before we had set up.

We liked our site.  The retention pond would get muddy during a heavy rain, but otherwise was dry.  We had a wooded area behind us.  There was a row of trees and some small shrubbery between our site and site 148, the one next to us.  During the four months we were there, we had neighbors for only 2 months - a very nice quiet Canadian couple parked in their Roadtrek.  There were trees between us and the RV’s in front of us, so we felt like we had a fairly private spot!

Since we were parked facing one of the perimeter roads, we had quite a bit of traffic from people who were taking walks or riding their golf carts.  This is how we met Zack - a very sweet black lab who was out walking with his owners.  We enjoyed playing with Zack, and going out to eat with his owners Larry and Anne from Maryland.

One of the first places we went after arriving in Crystal River was to the Christmas Eve service at Seven Rivers Presbyterian Church.  This became our church home while we were in Florida.  We enjoyed Ray Cortese’s sermons and the outstanding praise music.  Larry and Anne came to a service with us and continued going to church there during their stay.  They brought their friend’s Bill and Shirley who were parked next to them.

We had bought Trek Navigator Bikes when we were in Zion, Illinois several years ago.  After our first month in Florida, we started using them.  We biked 2 to 3 times a week along the Withlacoochee Trail a “rails to trails” path.

We entered the trail in Inverness, FL where it went beside beside a lovely city park.

We were on our way there one Saturday when we saw an Antique Car show in process. 

We ran into Larry and Bill while we were looking at cars.

We have a friend from our church in Columbia who married and moved to St Augustine, FL last year.  One Saturday we met them for lunch in Gainesville and then went to walk around the Kanapaha Gardens. 

We were glad to be able to spend some time with Rob and Farhat.

In March we went with Larry and Anne and their friends Bill and Shirley to Rainbow Springs State Park which also has a beautiful garden.

Anne and Larry:

Bill and Shirley:

In February we met up with Dennis and Carol Smith and two of their friends to attend the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL.  We enjoyed looking at the vendor’s booths, the craft displays, and eating a nice big bowl of strawberry shortcake.

Our friends Dale and Cindy Sumner who had fulltimed for ten years bought a lovely new home.  We met them for lunch at Ruby Tuesday in Wesly Chapel, Fl and then enjoyed a tour of their wonderful new home.  They had only been there a few months, but they had the yard beautifully landscaped and the house completely furnished.  They did a good job in making a comfortable, inviting home.

There were many activities planned for the people staying at Rock Crusher Canyon.  We went to a few of these - the Christmas Buffet dinner and our favorite - the chocolate buffet.

Monique took a Bob Ross painting class while we were there and painted this picture which she gave to Dale and Cindy as a house warming gift.

Since there are many trees at Rock Crusher, there are also many squirrels.  They enjoyed the free meals from our “squirrel proof” (ha, ha) bird feeder.  They also went for the acorns on our sire - including the ones under our patio mats.   A mat is no obstacle for an attack squirrel - they just ate a hole through it to get to the goods. 

This started the ineffective “Squirrel Wars” which promted a lot of raucous laughter - from the squirrels.  James researched various squirrel repelling ideas from the Internet.  The small fake snakes did not fool them, and the fake owl with the solar activated rotating head did not fool them.  The large inflatable rattle snake did grab the attention of several people who passed by our RV.  One person even stopped to photograph it.  The squirrels just ignored it.

We put pepper on the mat.  That didn't work.  We took up the mat and raked up as many acorns as we could see.  Then we sprinkled cinnamon (large containers bought at Sam’s Club) on the ground and put the mats back down (another "sure fire" repellant idea from the Internet).  This provided a pleasant fragrance for us and even tastier acorns for the squirrels.

The best thing that came out of this was the hilarious story our friend DeDe Fischer came up with - it included squirrels wearing helmets and watching James through binoculars while laughing at what he was trying next.  In the end we just learned how to patch the holes in the mat.

In spite of the “Squirrel Wars”, we plan to go back to Rock Crusher Canyon again next winter.

2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park in Waynesville, NC

Overlooking Waynesville, NC

From 2010-05 Creekwood Farm RV Park and 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.

10-09 Salt Lick Campground

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

From 09-09 Berlin, Ohio

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.

From 09-09 Berlin, Ohio

From 09-09 Berlin, Ohio

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.

From 09-09 Berlin, Ohio

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.

From 09-09 Berlin, Ohio

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

From 09-09 Berlin, Ohio

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.