Big Meadows - Shenandoah National Park

We're back in some of our old stomping grounds.  We've got a nice spot at the campground.  I just don't remember the hills being so hard to walk up!

Pictures are from our walk down the Lewis Falls Trail and back up the Appalachian Trail back to the Big Meadows complex.  Gorgeous day here.  Long sleeve weather.

As some may be aware, it seemed like the trailer started falling apart since crossing the Mississippi River.  Small, annoying stuff.  Well that stopped.  But then Donna and I started falling apart.  I had a filing finally crack apart which made for an early morning visit to a dentist.  Then Donna got her traditional "bug in the ear"...or what she calls the "free Willy exercise" while walking back to the trailer from the wayside.  Since it was late in the day, that all resulted in a trip to an ER to

"free Willy".   And you'd think finding an ER would be easy.

We've got GPS.  We've got a smart phone with tons of apps to find things.  And they've got those blue "H" signs along the highway to find hospitals.  Well, it's not.  GPS useless in trying to find a hospital.  Smart phone can't even get you to a hospital.  And those little blue "H" signs - total joke, too.  They sent us to closed surgi-centers.  We had to do it the old fashion way.  When I finally gave up, Donna asked  

somebody.  When we got there, the roads weren't on the GPS or on the Google Maps app.  I'm guessing that if it was a real emergency, you'd call 911 and get an ambulance there - assuming the ambulance knows where the ER is.  All this money for all this electronics and it's a total joke.  In hindsight, maybe I should have called NSA.  They're suppose to know everything, anyway.

But we survived.  Donna's got drops to help heal the inflammation.  I can chew on both sides of my mouth now.  So lets go walking.  Later, David

Moving Day

Once, again, I forgot to update the blog and watched football instead.  Yesterday was moving day for us as we traveled from Shipshewana, IN to Streetsboro, OH.

Pictures here are some of the quilt gardens from the Heritage Trail.  Last pic is of our new furniture.  Chairs are smaller and allow for the

end-table/drawers.  Chair on the left is a platform rocker while the chair on the right is a wall-hugging recliner.  So far, so good, but we're having a little trouble keeping the drawers shut while traveling.  Probably turn the piece around, put a pillow between it and the wall and put it up against the wall next time we move.  Or duck tape.

So that's last week's news.  Currently, we're in Streetsboro, OH. Came here to see more of and bike ride the Cuyahoga Valley Nat'l Park.

That may or may not work out as a cold front is coming through, and it's predicted we'll have rain most of the weekend.  We've found out David & Sharon Phillips are nearby, so we'll try to touch base with them.  That's the plan, anyway.

We continue to travel and break stuff.  Trips have not been kind to us since crossing the Mississippi River.  It seems we either lost something off the trailer or something breaks each day we travel.  There's at least three RV forums with active, heated discussions on the poor quality of RV craftsmanship.  Thankfully, we seem to have the least amount of problems.  But it's annoying to have something break or stop working each day you travel.  I blame it all on Bill Gates.  We made the dude a billionaire while he sold us stuff that didn't work. Now everyone thinks that's a successful business plan.  And the RV industry is right there with them.  According to new friends we made at Mitchell, SD, it's the same way with farm equipment.  But let's be truthful.  I break a lot of stuff on my own.  I don't need help from a RV manufacturer.

So that's it from here.  Later, David

Checkin' In

It's not everyday we follow an Amish buggy through the automated teller lane.

We're fine.  Trailer service is done.  We're now awaiting our new furniture (due the 18th).  Our days are now spent riding the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, relearning math via Khan Academy, cleaning trailer, washing truck, walking into town to eat a large hot, fresh-out-of-the-oven pretzel, trying out new restaurants, tracking down some hard-to-fine spare parts for the trailer to help expedite future repairs on the road...and watching football.  Oh, and planning our upcoming visit to Virginia.

Weather here in Shipshewana is getting cooler.  The heat wave broke earlier this week.  A few thunderstorms came by Wednesday evening and settle some of the dust, but didn't do much for real watering of the land.  Lows overnight now reach into the high 30s. Gettin' comfortable temperature wise around here, now.  

Anyway, that's it for now.  We'll keep dodging the horse poop.  David

Shipshewana, IN

We've settled in at Shipshewana and gotten our trailer's pin box replaced. Next up is our appointment at Indiana Interstate Enterprise (Paul & Kay Cross) to have the trailer serviced (Monday).  Oh, and we're awaiting the Bahnmiller's arrival in a little while.  They'll be here a couple of days before continuing south.

This year we've managed to arrive during the Labor Day Auction & Flea Market. Apparently, everyone comes here and lives for this.  RV park was packed, but a lot of people left this morning.  Interesting traffic when you mix in city slickers, RVers, Amish carriages, and bicyclists.  Makes for interesting 4-way stops (though most

get it right.)  And the Amish aren't immune to pulling out in front of each other, either.

New for us on this year's visit: Pumpkinvine Nature Trail (bicycle path).  At left is one of the parking & rest areas along the trail.  We're

fortunate in that we can get to the path from the RV park.  All of the pictures here are taken at this stop (mile post 11).  It's about 6 miles from the trailer to this point.  I stop here, while Donna continues on a mile or two before turning around.  So, for those of you wondering what Shipshewana looks like, this is it.  You're in the heart of Amish country.  I can see why "outsiders" come here to live.   And the only difference from previous visits?  It's dry here this year.  Kinda ironic that South Dakota was the greenist we'd ever seen it, and this is the driest we've seen Indiana.  Usually, it's the other way around.

So that's it for this week.  Next week is trailer service week, and we get our new furniture the following week.  That's the plan, anyway.  More later, David