Two Miles and Four Feet from Home

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Last two days!

Day 1

We both slept great in the tent with the camper mattress. Jasper loves sleeping in the tent because he sleeps at the end of our mattress and can put his head or foot on our bed! We all got up around 6:30 AM. The plan was to pack up camp and get showers then hit the road. As stated before this place was fancy. Everything was a step above.They even gave us one trash bag for trash and another for recycling. They also said just leave it at the site and they would pick it up. Wow! The next two days would be just driving days and we were hoping to be back home by Wednesday. Anyway we hit the road about 7:30. This drive I was not looking forward to it because it would be filled with lots of traffic and congestion as we work our way around Chicago and other busy areas. We spent hours weaving in and out of traffic and finally ended up at a KOA in Ohio. It was about 6 miles off the highway but we decided to stop anyway. As we drove up it looked OK but there was virtually no one there. Anyway we did not like the vibe and had only driven about 7 hours so we decided to push on and get a few more hours knocked out which would make the next day getting home even easier. We drove a few more hours and ended up in a very desolate area. Finally we came around a corner and at the top of the hill was a Red Roof Inn. We pulled up and the people at the desk where super nice and after talking with them gave me a teacher discount that ended up making the price $98.57. While this sounded great the way my credit card points work is that I have to use at least $100 or more at the time to have them cancel out the bill. So I explained this to her and she said no one had ever asked to increase there rate. She was able to add $2 to the bill making it totally free for us. Nice another free hotel room. I am such a good negotiator ha ha! The room was nice and we decided just to eat in since we are trying to finish up food in the cooler. We went to bed around 10 PM with only about 5 hours between us and Greensboro! We are excited!!!

Day 2

We actually slept til 7. Curtains really do make a difference in sleeping in! We had breakfast at the hotel and by the time we left it was 8 AM. The plan was to make a quick stop in Mount Airy and get a Pork chop sandwich at Snappy's take a quick look around. Three day before we had gone through a lot of tolls and had used up most of our cash. Not really a problem except I had forgotten about the West Virginia Turnpike. When we hit the first toll. We found out we would have to pay three tolls total after digging through all of change we finally paid our last toll using almost all of our remaining change and Lyn's last remaining $2 bill. How appropriate! We really enjoyed the drive through West Virginia and we noticed right away how different it looked than the west. The mountains were covered with trees so completely that you could not see anything but leaves. Anyway we went through several tunnels and after about 4 hours we were entering NC and heading to Mount Airy. I had only been once and Lyn had never been. We found a place to park the camper and walked through main street heading to Snappy's. As most of you know this town has a cool touristy vibe and we decided we would need to come back and check it out more thoroughly. We walked down main street and saw the police car from the Andy Griffith show as well as many other things related to the show. Finally we came to the restaurant and saw a picnic area right across the street complete with bathrooms. I went in to get our lunch and noticed a sign that said they could not take debit or credit cards today due to their system being down. Dang it we had only about a $1 in cash. I found an ATM about a block away. We enjoyed the sandwich which was delicious and headed back to our car. At this point we were only one hour from home. Finally after 9112.6 miles we were in Greensboro! We went by my Dad's house to drop off the camper and then 10 minutes later we were home. Wow what a great trip! So thankful to be home safe and sound! After unloading the car I went to see our awesome next door neighbor Sally! She had kept an eye on our place and getting our mail everyday for almost 5 weeks. It was an entire trash bag full. Remember we have two High School seniors living with us and they are getting college flyers left and right. She also had two cases of Le Sueur Peas that my Dad had dropped off! Kind of an inside joke but lets just say I love these peas and to show my love for them I took them with me on the trip and photographed them in places along the way. You can see the pictures below! We met so many cool people along the way. Remember the Grandfather granddaughter team that were driving motorcycles with side cars to Alaska. Well they made it all the way to the Arctic circle! Every day we were amazed at how many nice, helpful people we met. We also really appreciated our friends and family at home who encouraged us, helped us and even gave us great ideas while on this trip. I am so thankful for Lyn and Jasper my travel companions. On this trip we were with each other 24/7 for almost 5 weeks and we always woke up looking forward to spending the day together! We are already looking forward to a trip next year and are thinking about slowing it down a bit and doing a North Carolina tour. Hoping Spencer can join us for that one! :) See you in the bye and bye!

Ohio

Along the way!

The Dynamic Duo that never let us down!

West Virginia

Along the way!

Erika and Opa made it!

Virginia

Awesome!

Mount Airy

Snappy's

Welcome home package!

Le Sueur Sweet Peas National Tour

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Driving Days & Big News!

Day 1

Of course we slept great and got up just in time to watch the sun coming up over the hills. Today we would be heading east towards Greensboro. We are about 26 hours away from home and believe it or not that feels very close to us. Anyway we packed up and headed out around 7:30 and took a few shots of the scenery as we left. About 10 minutes before the entrance we saw a huge Bison on the side of the road. We slowed down and let him walk right next to us. Then he looked right at us and we decided we should move on so we left the park. We did take a quick picture at the park sign before we finally hit the road. We absolutely love this park. It is not the most breathtaking and it is not the biggest but it does have that small town feel that we like and we plan to return for sure! Anyway there is not much to write about today mostly just driving. We made good time and when we hit the Minnesota state line we stopped at the visitor center. We told them we wanted to drive about another two hours and then find a campsite. The people there were super helpful and told us to go to a city named Alexandria. So we did. It turned out that most of the campgrounds where a bit far away so we decided to hit up a Best Western again. This one was right next to a Wal-mart so it was a double win. We bought some food for Jasper and we ate leftovers while watching Shark Tank on TV. Oh yeah and all of this was going on with some delightful air conditioning circulating in the background. Finally we went to bed about 10 PM. Tomorrow we are still heading towards Greensboro but are making a pit stop along the way. About three years ago we had the camper canvas completely redone by a company in Wisconsin. They did a great job but a few of my measurements must have been off and the zippered door and screen in the front where tight and after about a week into our trip the screen had started to separate from the zipper. I knew I could take pictures at home and get them to fix it but I really wanted them to see it in person. When I googled their address it would only be a 30 minute detour to stop by and see them in person. So the plan is to call them in the morning and see if my plan works for them. After that we will continue to head towards Greensboro.

Day 2

We actually slept late 7 AM. I think it has a lot to do with these things called curtains. Wow 9 hours of sleep. Now all we had to do was pack up and eat a huge hotel breakfast and hit the road. We were on our way by 8:30 AM. We stopped and filled up with gas. Just in case you are wondering the Prius pulling the camper usually gets around 34 MPG fully loaded. Awesome! We headed out and I called the camper place to see if they liked my plan. The receptionist said that it would be fine to stop by but be warned they where off highway "P" out in the middle of nowhere. OK that does sound out in the boonies. She said after turning on highway "P" go about 10 miles and take a left after crossing the "Yellow River". So let me get this straight I am traveling down highway "P" and I turn after the "yellow" river. OK got ya ha ha! So the GPS said we should be there about 1:30. We drove on major highways and finally turned on "P". It was beautiful. We were right in the middle of Amish country. It was great scenery all the way around. After we crossed the "yellow" river we took a left on highway 98 and we were there in about 5 minutes. We went inside and told them that we were there and set up the camper right in their parking lot. A very nice lady waited on us and did the measurements and decided what to do to fix the problem. She said she could fix it for $60. Totally awesome! We decided to leave the canvas with her so we could save the shipping. This would mean that we would have to use the tent for the remainder of the trip. While she was working out the details the owner came outside just to see the camper. He said he loved vintage campers and really loved it when they drove up to his front door. As it turns out his Dad started manufacturing campers in the 50's. The first pop up campers he manufactured were called an EZ Camper. In fact he said his Dad hated the makers of our camper (Tradewinds) because he felt they had copied his camper. Anyway Tradewinds campers went out of business and he ended up buying all of their supplies so I guess he won in the end. Anyway we had a great conversation and I learned a lot. We left the canvas with them and they said they would ship it back to us in about 4 weeks. We headed out and drove about three more hours towards Greensboro and ended up in a true resort KOA campground in Milton, Wisconsin. It was super nice and we wondered if they would let us camp. Some of these fancy campgrounds are RV only and we did not see any tents from the entrance. I went in and they said no problem in fact they had a site for $38 and of course it would have water and electricity. I pulled out my credit card and took it before she changed her mind ha ha. This place was super nice with lots of grass and fanciness everywhere. The store even said just call for snacks or whatever we wanted and they would deliver it. Wow! After we set up Lyn fixed dinner trying to use up as much as she could from the cooler. It was great as usual. After dinner we took Jasper for a walk and then settled in for a fire built by you know who. That woman has some mad fire skills! Anyway we hit the bed around 10 and plan to drive about half way home tomorrow so we should be rolling into Greensboro on Wednesday. Still having fun and still loving the people we are meeting!

PS. I literally just got permission to write this. Luke and Caroline are expecting Baby Miles number 2! That's right Bobaloo and Lola are going to be the proud grandparents of 2 grand kids come next January! We have known for awhile and have been excited about the news but it just makes me doubly excited to say it out loud here! Luke and Caroline have done such a great job with Spencer that Miles 2 should have no problem fitting right in!

Jasper sees a dog to our left.

Thanks Wisconsin!

Middle of nowhere!

Amish country!

Middle of nowhere!

Getting the camper fixed!

Meeting the owner of Canvas Replacements!

Town of Spencer! Should read plus 1! :)

Would love to know the story of this place!

Go slow so you do not miss the good times!

Home sweet home for the night!

Wow!!! Spencer gets a sibling!!!

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Day 1 & 2

As usual we slept great and it was awesome having a bathroom close by for a midnight run. :) If you ever wondered what time cows get up I can tell you that at our campsite it is 5:20 am! Anyway we ended up sleeping on and off until about 7 which is super late for us. Today we are going to try to drive to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota. It would be about 7.5 hours to get there and we hoped to get a campsite but knew we would not get there til around 5. Anyway most of the drive was 80 MPH and not too busy so we were making good time. We wanted to stop at a Wal-mart on the way but every time we saw one we had already passed it. Because we are in the middle of nowhere we have no Data so we cannot lookup anything. Lyn text my daughter Chelsea and she found out that Miles City was our next stop that we could find a Wal-mart at. How appropriate. We stopped at walmart and did a quick grocery and ice run. Tomorrow was Lyn's Birthday and we would not be by a store where we were camping so I got a few birthday items as well. Lyn requested that I make her french toast for breakfast and fried chicken for dinner so i bought the appropriate supplies. After driving another two hours we arrived at the gate at about 5:15. The ranger said the campground was full and that we could camp in the town of Medora and try in the morning for a site. I asked if we could just look at the campground and of course he said sure. The campground was about 5 miles into the park which would mean a 10 mile round trip if we were unsuccessful. We did have great scenery all the way there and even passed a large prairie dog town. Finally we arrived at the campground at about 5:40 and the sign said full. Dang it! Anyway I decided to talk to the camp host just for fun. He said if we could wait until 6:30 he may have a site available. He had one handicap site left and he had to leave it open until 6:30 before he could rent it out just in case a disabled person showed up. We were excited to take a chance and went to a beautiful picnic area to wait. We were in a super shady spot sitting at a picnic table when a three foot snake crawled slowly across the path. It did not have a rattle so we were thankful for that but it was unnerving to say the least. Anyway at 6:30 we went back and as luck would have it we got the site. He said we could only have it one night but we could easily get another site in the morning when people started leaving. No problem Mr. camp host guy….we will take it! We drove to the site and it was huge with its own water and trash can. It happened to be right next to the site that we stayed at 3 years ago. We set up camp and Lyn fixed dinner. Cheeseburgers baked beans and salad. Yum yum! Even Jasper had a small hamburger. While we were cleaning up our next door neighbor came over and introduced himself. He looked like a skinny Santa Claus with a big white beard and flowing white hair. He had noticed our NC sign. (Thanks Rheagan!) As it turns out he and his wife were from Raleigh NC and had started living in an RV full time about 3 years ago with Raleigh as their home base. He called his wife over to meet us and we found out that he was 86 and was retired but did mission work in Haiti. His wife was a retired school teacher and also did mission work in Haiti. They met online and on this day were celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary! How cool! While we were talking to them a big suburban drove buy and yelled out “Hey NC you made it! You remember us from San Francisco?!?! They were our next door neighbors at the campground way back when we camped back at the KOA north of San Francisco. It was two moms and 4 kids doing the same thing we were doing just a different route. I love it out here can you tell! Anyway after that we went to the Ranger show at the amphitheatre and learned all about how the National Parks got started and their history to date. Very interesting. We are very lucky that people had the foresight to save these lands for future generations. After the show we hit the bed about 10. It was a little warm but by 11 it had cooled off just right. Tomorrow we plan to snag a new site and then tour the park and the town of Medora!

Day 2

We woke up at 5 AM and it was already light outside. We laid around and decided to get up at 6. Today was Lyn’s Birthday. As you probably know by now this woman means the world to me and I wanted this day to be special. While she slept in a little longer I went out and got a few presents for her from the car and wrapped them up with supplies I got from Walmart. I had managed to hide them from her the entire trip which was not exactly easy to do in a Prius that you have lived in for 4 weeks. Anyway I set up the presents in a festive manner complete with a birthday balloon and started to fix breakfast. Today's menu would be coffee, french toast and sausage. I had our part of the campground smelling great in a matter of minutes! Lyn got up just in time to eat breakfast and see her presents. I told her she could wait til dinner to open the presents but she would have none of that. She opened them right after breakfast. Ha Ha! Just about that time we heard a loud sound from the campsite across from us. A family of Bison was wandering right through their camp site. It was awesome to see these creatures close up. After breakfast we walked the entire campsite to see if any sites had opened up. We ran across a site that had shade but also had great views looking over the park. It was also site number 72 which is Lyn’s birth year! We quickly filed out the paperwork and put our $14 dollars in the box. We went back to our campsite and broke camp and moved to the new site in about 30 minutes. After that we headed to the Visitor center so Lyn could get her Park Passport stamped. Then we headed to Medora which is literally right outside the gate. The ranger said they had WiFi in the town and we wanted to walk around the town as well. We were there in about 3 minutes. We found a bench in the shade and caught up on the Internet. I walked around town while Lyn replied to birthday messages. This town is very small and unique and I enjoyed just walking around. Jasper enjoyed all of the attention. By now it was noon and we found a place to have lunch that Jasper could join us. After lunch the clouds rolled in and it looked like rain so we headed back to camp to close the windows on the camper. As we drove back the storm got worse and the temperature dropped from 90 to 70 degrees. It was raining lightly when we arrived so we zipped the windows up about half way and took advantage of the 70 degree temperature and took a nap. I think all three of us needed the downtime and we slept a full two hours before any one of us moved. After our nap we did the 38 mile park loop which takes several hours because of the speed and the fact that you stop every now and then just to take it all in. We saw wild horses, bison and Lyn’s favorite prairie dogs! By the time we got home it was time to start dinner. I cooked baked beans and fried chicken and Lyn made slaw. It was delicious and we even had blueberry pie for dessert. After that we just sat in our chairs and looked out over the park. We could see a lone bison on a hilltop in the distance. While we were relaxing a ranger came by and reminded us about the program at 9 in the amphitheater. It was going to be about bison. Alright count us in. We were camped just two sites from the amphitheater and we went about 9 to see the show. It was very informative and we really enjoyed it. Finally we went to bed around 10:30. Tomorrow we have no destination in mind. we just plan to drive about 7 hours and see what happens. We have officially been on the road for 4 weeks and a day. Greensboro is starting to have a pull on us. We are about 29 hrs away and heading in that direction every day. Still enjoying the trip but looking forward to being home as well.