GO CARDS!!

We were in St. Louis for a total of just over 7 weeks, but time sure does fly. We got to see all the family including some cousins on Ron’s side, friends and past work associates.

We left St. Louis for two weeks in September to work a job in Goodfield, IL. You gotta love “rural America” I don’t want to see another cornfield for awhile.


This is a real road our GPS took us on just outside of town.




The weight limit is 500 pounds when wet. Ron and I could hardly walk together on this road let alone drive on it.


We were also able to play tourist some. We spent a couple of hours in downtown St. Louis at the Citygarden. They had just opened it when we left town a couple of years ago. It is 3 acres in the heart of downtown that has been transformed into an urban oasis featuring contemporary sculptures, lush landscape, reflecting pools a café and spray plaza for those hot, hot summer St. Louis days. There are no walls, fences or “do not touch signs” nor are there any admission fees. Just a fun place to take a stroll and see over 23 sculptures enhanced by rain gardens, water displays and 235 trees comprised of 20 different species. The lush landscaping is made up of 1,170 shrubs, 4,194 perennials, native grasses and wildflowers, 8,000 bulbs, 12,726 ground covers and 32,000 square feet of lawn. Twelve hundred blocks of Missouri quarried limestone were used to build a 550 foot arcing wall. A natural paradise in the middle of a bustling downtown area. When you’re enjoying the garden you forget there is any traffic whipping around you. A highly recommended “tourist” destination for St. Louis residents as well as those visiting the city.



View of the Arch and Old Courthouse from inside the gardens along the walkway.


Lush landscaping.



Fountain & spray plaza featuring 102 vertical jets that
project water up to 10 feet in height.



Dismembered head of the Greek god of love and desire - Eros.
Bandages wrapping Eros's face suggest that the eyes and mouth
have been covered indicating that desires & ideas have been
imprisoned.



Untitled (Ringed Figure) made of painted steel by sculptor Keith Haring.
He is known for gracing children's hospitals, orphanages & day care
centers around the world with his works.


Jim Dine's painted bronze Pinocchio - 150" tall.


Painted bronze creating the impression of marshmallowy lightness of
these two rabbits.


Also while in St. Louis we saw another form of art and what we think is the absolute best use of all of those orange barrels and cones we see on nearly every highway while traveling.


Tax dollars at work!


We left St. Louis last Sunday for Forsyth, Missouri a small town just outside of the Branson area. We have a job here for 2 weeks and tickets to the Don Williams concert. I’ve known of Don Williams for years but really got turned on to his mellow, country sound when my sister-in-law, Terri, cut a CD for us a few months back. St. Louis is so close to Branson, how could I pass up an opportunity to spend an evening with Don?

After Branson, we are heading to Fort Lauderdale for a 4 day convention with the company we work for then off to San Antonio to spend the holidays with my nephew and his family. We are looking forward to our visit.

If you can’t be in New England at this time of the year (so they say, we’ve never been there, yet) then the Midwest is the next best place and the Ozarks "mountains" are beautiful.


View of the Ozark hills. Colors haven't quite peaked yet.


GO CARDS!!


Hope all is well!

Ok..Ok…we are back. Took a little time off from the blog while we were in St. Louis. Arrived in early August and visited with family and prior co-workers, saw our doctors and had dinner with several friends.


We also got to see our other new great neice, Layla, for the first time. What a beauty!


Layla with me.


Layla much happier with Mom.

Our 4+ weeks flew by and before we knew it we were on our way to Goodfield IL for a job. We have been here for 2 weeks and are about ready to wrap it up and head back to St. Louis again for another 2 weeks this time at Babler State Park.

It’s a great time of year to be at this park which is heavily wooded with autumn changing colors.

While staying at the Yogi Bear Jellystone campground in Goodfield a cute RV pulled in decked out with Coca-Cola and Polar Bear signature logos.

The couple are from Canada and were on their way to an auction of Coca Cola memorabilia at the Schmidt Museum in Kentucky. He worked for Coca Cola for 30+ years. It was refreshing to meet someone who has retired from corporate America still feeling good about their experiences.


Cute..cute...cute. Even their propane tank has the logo on it.
Unit a little too small for me to spend much time in it but I
guess it works for them.


They are wearing Coca-Cola clothing and apparently their entire home is decorated in mid - late Coca-Cola decor.

Not much time for siteseeing when we are working but we did take an evening off to see The Lester Family perform at the Evangelical United Methodist Church in Washington IL. We really like southern Gospel and are always watching for Gospel Music events wherever we are. Many groups tend to visit various churches in the more rural area. We saw The Needham Family in Okeechobee FL, which turned out to be one of the highlights of our stay there.

Often called “St. Louis’ First Family of Gospel Music,” The Lesters, from St. Louis, MO, have been sharing the Word through song for four generations. With more than an 80 year history and numerous albums behind them, the group now consists of 3rd and
4th generation Lesters.


Brian Lester, (in the blue sweater) is the manager & lead
singer. His sister, Ginger, (at the piano) sings Alto and
arranges their music. To the left of Brian is Jonathon Lester
his son and in the back is Brians nephew and Gingers son, Evan
on drums. Ginger's husband works behind the scenes as their
sound technician.

I'm still trying to coordinate a stay near a Gaither concert but to date have not been successful.

Haven’t been touring much lately. One of our last tours I never blog was our visit to the Coon Dog Cemetery near Red Bay Alabama.

We looked for it when we were there in April but drove and drove down Coon Dog Cemetery Road but never found it. It seems we gave up too early and didn't drive down the road far enough. So this time I was determined, even with Ron moaning and groaning again, about driving further and further into "Deliverance" territory. But we are both glad we were persistent.

It is a very unique site. In a small, grassy meadow, deep in the woods was a popular hunting camp where coon hunters from miles around gathered to plot their hunting strategies, tell tales, and compare their beloved companions. It all began when Key Underwood lost his 15 year companion -"Troop" and went searching for a suitable, meaningful spot for his burial. He knew there was no place in the world Troop loved more then that camp...thus the creation of Coon Dog Cemetery. He wrapped Troop in a cotton sack, buried him 3 feet down and marked the grave with a rock from a nearby old chimney. On the rock with a hammer and screwdriver he chiseled Troop's name and date. It is the only cemetery of its kind in the world and is eternal home to over 185 coon dogs from across the USA. It is mentioned in the movie "Sweet Home Alabama with Reese Witherspoon. And who said there was nothing to do in Red Bay Alabama?


Coon Dog Cemetary


Some stones are as nice as people headstones...


Some hunters have buried several beloved companions....



Apparently you can design the grave site anyway you want....



Some are very creative....


And others are very simple....straight from the heart!

We are hoping we find the time when back in St. Louis to play tourist….yes….even though it is our home town there are a few places we want to visit.

Hope all is well!

Rockford...Lafayette...Nashville!!

Since our last post we finished the job in Rockford IL. Not the most productive job but the campground owners are happy we can print a site map for them this year. Last year the rep couldn't sell enough ads to print. We also get our campsite at no cost so once you add that to the commission it's not a bad deal. The only site-seeing we did was to the Blackhawk Statue located in Lowden State Park.

The Black Hawk Statue, or The Eternal Indian, is a sculpture by Lorado Taft that rests 125 feet above the Rock River. It is 48 feet high and is 536,770 pounds of concrete (composite of cement and pink granite chips) and is said to be the second largest concrete monlithic statue in the world. The statue wears a long blanket and stares across the river with folded arms. It is not a depiction of any one Indian tribe but a tribute to all American Indians. The sculptor wanted to depict the image of an American Indian looking out over his lost land. The statue creation started in 1908 and was dedicated in 1911, celebrating its 100th year.


Blackhawk Statue


View of Blackhawk Statue from the other side of the Rock River.

We had some beautiful sunsets in Rockford.




After leaving Rockford we spent a few days in Lafayatte Indiana. We have a new (6 month old) great niece we saw for the first time. Dahlia is as cute as can be. She is a very good baby, hardly ever crys, is a great eater and occassionally smiled for us. My kind of kid!!


Dahlia likes her carrots (yuk) almost as much
as Grandma likes feeding her.


Dahlia was content because she couldn't see who
was holding her.


She's a cutie with beautiful auburn hair...
and a lot of it!


We were able to see the whole family at a dinner coordinated by our sister-in-law, Terri. We ate at the Buttery Shelf Eatery. The owner of the restaurant supports a homeless shelter in town. The proceeds from the restaurant fund the shelter and she employs individuals with special needs. After a 5 course meal consisting of a vegetable/dip tray, french onion soup, 2 choices of green salad, pot roast with potatoes and carrots or roasted chicken breast with dressing and of course dessert, we posed for a "family picture" on the front steps.


L-R Ron's brother Bob holding Dahlia, our sister-in-law - Terri (Grandma), Steve (Dahlia's Dad and our nephew), Andrew (our nephew & author) and his wife Victoria (also a writer), Ron (not pictured is Dahlia's Mom - Karen)

We are really proud of our nephew, Andrew, who just had his first book published. A series of short stories - "Naked Summer"! Shortly after publishing his book it peaked at No. 2 on the "Hot New Releases in Short Stories" on Amazon.com, two spaces ahead of Stephen King.




We really enjoyed watching the Lafayette All-Stars play against the world renowned " King & His Court" a 4 man softball team that started in 1946. They are touring across North America in their final season after 65 years and 13,000 games. Ron's brother, Bob played 1st base for the All-Stars along with other community leaders & local businessmen & women.


Leaving Prophetstown State Park were we stay when in the Lafayatte area, we had a one night stay in Shepherdsville, KY then arrived at Seven Point Campground in Hermitage, TN just a few miles east of Nashville.


Our cozy little spot.

This is our 3rd trip here and we finally have tickets to a concert at the Grand Ole Opry. We have a list of 14 other things to do while we are here for 5 days. Needless to say we will have to make another trip in the future to exhaust our list. Plus I'm ready for some down time. The park we are staying in is a Core of Engineer park located on the J. Percy Priest Lake. It is quiet with an asphalted road which is great for walking. It is nicely wooded....the bad news is no satellite reception....the good news is the shade keeps the temperature in the coach at least 10 degrees cooler. And since this part of the country, like so much of the rest, is having an unbearable heat wave...shade is good.

Still trying to make our way to Red Bay, Alabama. Our coach repair list now numbers15 items, with the last one added our water pump that failed to work the other day when I turned it on. Ugh!!!! Always something, but I guess the timing is right since we are in route to the manufacturer.

Will post more as we tour Nashville.

Hope all is well!

WE DID SURVIVE D.C.

After figuring out the Metro Rail system and buying tickets for one of the hop-on-hop-off tour buses, we were able to see quite a few attractions. We toured Arlington National Cemetery and saw John, Ted and Bobby Kennedy's' graves. Witnessed the changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown, awesome! As well as touring the Arlington House. We saw 5 of the Smithsonian Museums, but there are a total of 19 so we really didn't make much of a dent. Visited the Air & Space Museum...Spirit of St. Louis, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gardens, American Indian Museum (newest), National Portrait Gallery and Natural History Museum....I had to to see the Hope Diamond. Although most of the museums are fairly close to each other, there is still a lot of walking and they are huge! It would take a month to really do each one justice. Toured Fords Theatre (where Lincoln was shot), the Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Capital Building. Took a city bus tour and saw the Cardinals lose to the Washington Nationals. We had a list of many other places we wanted to see but even with the Metro and tourmobiles, it takes a long time to get to where you want to go. You have to drive around and around and around the Metro parking garage to find a spot. And even the tour buses get caught up in all of the traffic. Depending on time of day, the Metro is so crowded you sometimes have to stand. Although Ron was able to always get a seat...his knee brace and cane get him a lot of sympathy and the other riders are quite courteous. It never failed, if we needed to go up at the Metro rail the up escalator was out of order if we needed to go down the down was out. Poor, poor, pitiful Ron was really hurting by the end of the day.

Took over 250 pictures, but as our recent visits to Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, Yorktowne Victory Center, Yorketowne Battlefield and the Glass House.....you just have to see them yourself.

It's been an enjoyable trip through history.

After our travels through OH, PA and IN. all on the turnpike and $65.00 later in toll fees, we are currently in Elkhart Indiana referenced to be the "RV capital of the World" but we are only here for the weekend. We will have to come back to this area at another time to see the RV Museum, Amish communities etc. We are headed to Rockford IL for a job that should take us about 2 weeks.

Hope all is well!

OH SAY CAN YOU SEE.....a visitors center?

Mr. Obama's office.


This may be the extent of our sightseeing.

You couldn’t pay me enough to work in D.C. The drivers are crazy; the pedestrians all harbor secret death wishes, neither of which knows that red normally means STOP! We mistakenly drove into D.C. yesterday to try to get the feel of the land and information to plan the rest of our trip.

We like to stop at visitor centers to pick up brochures and ask questions. Did you know visitor centers, even in a city that claims tourism is a major revenue producing industry, close down, move a lot and forget to tell any of their city employees where they are located? Five hours and 5 stops later we finally found the D.C. visitor center. By this time I was so frustrated that the young man behind the counter left to get reinforcement from his manager - Mo. I actually took a deep breath before going in and thought I was very nice….considering how my morning was going. We walked out of there with 3 renditions of the metro system, an armful of brochures and Mo's phone number who told us "if you have any questions while your here, just call me." I'm sure he thought we just got off the farm!

They tell me people in D.C. actually own cars. Why? There is no place and I mean no place to park it. So they have this nice metro system. I dreamt of blue lines crossing yellow lines crossing orange lines! My first thought when I woke up this morning was do I really want to go into the city to sightsee some of our countries most beloved sights? And my second thought was thank the Lord we live on wheels.
We were able with the help of a nice Metrorail employee to figure out how to get our fare cards/smartcard for the system. She asked if we were Obama fans....ummm….tough question considering where we are….well it turns out if you use a certain machine you can get a fare card with his picture on it. Well I’ve got to say…that made my day!

The Cardinals are in town!! One of our hopes while we travel was to see the Cardinals in every major stadium. After being so proud of myself for finding box seats for $35.00 instead of the normal $55.00, a screen pops up and asks you if you want to reserve a parking spot. YES….that would be great. Then the price pops up…$50.00….huh are you kidding me? I could not bring myself to pay over 40% more than the ticket to park for 3.5 hours. My first clue should have been when the lady at the first visitor centers’ comment when we asked how to get to the Nationals stadium was…”oh my that’s not easy”. So much from a goodwill ambassador of the city. She obviously is not a baseball fan; she had to call her husband to get the route. You first have to park at a commuter lot that fills up by 6:00 am and doesn’t begin to clear out until 6:00 pm. If you actually do find someplace to park your car, you then get on the blue route, transfer to the yellow route, transfer to the green route then walk over .5 mile to the stadium. Then we’ll have to find our way back ….wish us luck. Now I know why the Nationals are in last place in their division…fans can’t find or have the energy to attend any games to lend support. I will forever be more appreciative of Busch Stadium, where there is parking, more reasonable costs, and a system that can get 50,000+ fans in and out safely in a reasonable time frame.

Friends, Tom & Sue, use to live in Maryland and Tom worked with the Secret Service. When we got in I texted them for some tips on unusual places to see, where to eat etc. Toms first tip was “don’t go!” Now I know why. However, they did give us some good ideas of what to visit and information to get us started on traversing the town.

When we got back to the coach I had to decompress and what better way then with a nice, cold Bud…..I would have to join AA if I lived here too long.

The only way to visit D.C. is to fly in, shuttle to a downtown hotel close to all of the attractions and become best buddies with the concierge as soon as you arrive.

I should have known a little black cloud was following us here. The campground we are in is expensive (remember I’m from the Midwest) at $52.00 a night and that’s after I had to call them on their Good Sams discount they advertise but didn’t want to offer. The layout is hilly and they have logs lining the already narrow roads and tight turns. Well…in order to not hit a parked coach we had to hug the right side and got a log caught up under our coach. We should have unhooked the car when we first got in but they insisted it would be easy to pull in with the tow. This campground actually has an escort to your site because the roads and sites are not marked, but she is on foot and not helpful with the maneuvering like other campgrounds are. The log ripped a hole underneath and now we have insulation etc. hanging down. I thought duct tape solved all the problems of the world…but it will not stick.

Any of our RV buddies out there, or anyone, if you have any ideas on how to make a temporary fix, let us know.

Well it’s time to start our trip into D.C. :(

Hope all is well

WHERE DID THE MONTH OF MAY GO?

After leaving Red Bay, AL we stopped for a few days in Athens, AL to visit with friends Chuck and Carol. Ron and Chuck got a couple of rounds of golf in, while Carol and I shopped. We arrived in Savannah, GA after a one night stay at a Walmart. We loved Savannah...so much that if we wanted to settle down in the east, we would choose Savannah. We took a city tour, a ghost tour, visited the City Market (a lively arts and entertainment district), ate lunch at Paula Dean's restaurant (Lady & Sons), spent a day at River Street (3 blocks of shops, restaurants & bars) played one round of golf and saw a great variety show at the Savannah Theatre.

For Ron's birthday we dined at "The Olde Pink House" built in 1771. It is a National Landmark and was built for James Habersham Jr., a wealthy planter who held many secret meetings there which helped to secure the independence of the 13 colonies from England. The name comes from the soft native brick which bled through the plastered walls and mysteriously changed the color from white to Jamaican Pink. The building at one time was the first bank of Georgia and housed the monies of all the colonists. Still in operation today the massive cast-iron vaults with dungeon like doors are used as wine cellars. It once housed military generals and was established as the headquarters during the war. After many other establishments, in 1992 the house became a restaurant with 11 dining rooms graced with beautiful antique furnishings. The atmosphere is very quaint & quiet, the food is exceptional as was the service.

When Savannah was founded in 1773, it was laid out in a town grid dotted with small squares designed to deter invaders. Today, even after the turmoil of the Revolution and Civil war, the design remains intact, with the squares now serving as scenic parks filled with statues and fountains.


One of the many squares.


Hugh oak trees graced with Spanish moss. Which really isn't moss but is an epiphyte which absorbs nutrients (especially calcium) and water from the air and rainfall.


You can smell the sweet aroma of gardenia's has you stroll the square.


Chippewa Square where Forest Gump sitting on the park bench was filmed.

Savannah is home to SCAD - the Savannah College of Arts and Design - with over 9,000 students. What a perfect spot with all of the city's' history and architectural uniqueness.



Such details



Downspouts


Turn of the century houses. Still beautifully restored.


Ornate fencing around homes facing many of the squares in the historic district.



This fence has portraits of poets such as Keats, Byron etc. In it's hay day
owners seemed to compete with the ornate designs of the iron-clad fences.


We attended Mass at St. John the Baptist Cathedral. The congregation of St. John the Baptist formed in the late eighteenth century when French immigrants fleeing revolutions in France & Haiti found refuge in Savannah.


Beautiful altar


Front of the Church.


Ornate steeple. The streets are so narrow I couldn't get a full
picture. Of course, maybe it would help if I would remember to
bring my wide angle lens with me.

During our visit we took a 9 pm Ghost Tour of a haunted house (supposedly) as well as the Pirate House, now a restaurant. The Pirate House was originally a bar, where pirates as infamous as Blackbeard socialized while in the area. Their secondary reason for using this location was to shanghai locals by using a 1/2 mile long tunnel carved under the bar leading to the river and their boats. Ron found this site and scenario fascinating.

We spent several hours touring the national landmark Fort Pulaski. In 1829 construction began on the fort, taking 18 years to complete, $1 million and 25,000,000 bricks. The walls were 15 feet thick with a 7 foot deep, 48 foot wide moat with the only entrance over a drawbridge. The fort was defended by 385 officers and men under the command of Charles H. Olmstead. There were a total of 48 guns of various size and type mounted around the full circumference of the fort. While Union soldiers prepared their placements under cover of dark, the Confederates rested easy, believing their position to be unbeatable.

What the Southern Soldiers didn't know was that Capt. Quincy A. Gillmore was about to unveil a new weapon which would change the face of warfare - the rifled cannon. Unlike conventional smooth-bored cannons, these guns contained spiraled (rifled) grooves which gave the projectile greater range, accuracy and penetration. Their effective range was 8453 yards, far exceeding the existing artillery. The 10 new experimental cannons, erected in secret by the North, were able to breach the walls of the fort within the first 30 hours of the bombardment. Rather than risk the death of his entire garrison, Olmstead chose to surrender. With the overtaking of this state of the art structure, forts of this style were never built again


Cannon fires 32# round ball.


Inside of the fort


Markings from cannon shots.


Greenwood planks positioned to deflect incoming shells from the enemy.
Also, channels were dug in the parade yard so that if any shells got
through they would roll away from the troops.


Original Confederate Flag flies at Fort Pulaski.

Did I mention we really enjoyed Savannah?

We left a few things we still would like to do for another visit.

Hope all is well.