MADE IT BACK TO CANTON, OHIO SAFE AND SOUND

Saturday, March 14 - We arrived in Canton, Ohio, on Friday, before noon. We had an uneventful drive across the state from our last stop in Cincinnati. Interesting that we drove diagonally across Ohio in less than 4 hours. It takes four long driving days to cross Texas....YIKES!

More of Paul’s carvings while we were in Houston.

We spent some time getting the 5^th wheel backed into it's spot. It's not exactly how Paul wants it, but it will do for awhile. He has work he wants to accomplish on the RV this summer so he'll be moving it in the near future anyway.

Rodeo Houston

We spent the afternoon unloading some necessities, like clothes, from the trailer. Our daughter, Kelly, came over after work to help.

Paul also winterized the 5^th wheel, just to be safe. If we were living in it, he didn't feel it would have been necessary. Since we are not heating it and it isn't that big of a job, he blew-out the water lines and pumped some anti-freeze in to keep the lines from freezing.

Turned out to be good that Paul spent the time winterizing the RV. It was covered with SNOW Saturday night. We got about two inches of the white stuff. Nice way to welcome us to Ohio.....LOL

We'll survive! We realized we were arriving a little early. We just wanted to get here and parked before any bad weather hit. It's suppose to warm up into the 60's by the first of the week. April can be an “iffy” month in Ohio. Nice days followed by cold or rain. Hopefully this is the last snow we'll have to endure!

Now that we are here, Marsha will spend hours with Kelly working on the wedding. Paul will get started remodeling the kitchen. Wonder which one will be more fun?

Bella has found one of the hottest spots in the house.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAUL

Thursday, March 27 - Today is Paul's birthday! We won't go into his exact age. He did say, “Once he reached 60, he subtracts a year instead of adding one.” How long until the gray hair starts to disappear?

Happy Birthday!!!

We continued our travels northward today reaching Cincinnati, Ohio, before lunchtime.

We are here to meet good friends and fellow RVers, Cathy and Don. We met them years ago at the Tiffin Repair Facility in Red Bay, Alabama and have remained good friends. We were able to reconnect two years ago in Fredericksburg, TX. They have a home in Cincinnati and travel whenever the urge strikes them.

We are staying at Cedarbrook Campground just outside of Cincinnati in Lebanon, Ohio. This is a nice park. The FHU sites are gravel, and the streets are gravel. There is a paved pad, picnic table, and fire ring at each site. The sites are well spaced. It has the feeling of a “summer” campground that the locals use to “get away” for awhile.

Site 504

Looking left.

The good news is it isn't SNOWING. The weather is a little cool but remember, this is Ohio....JEESH!!! Today high temperature is suppose to be 60 degrees, but we doubt it will get that high. Current temperature at 2 p.m. is 45 degrees, which is the forecast for tonight's low. Don't know how to figure that one???

After getting the RV set up, we took showers and waited for Cathy and Don. They invited us to their home for dinner and drinks. Can't beat that! They have a very beautiful home. Their house is in an area around a beautiful lake.

Thanks for a wonder time Cathy and Don! Dinner and drinks were awesome.

Cathy and Don.

After an enjoyable evening, we were chauffeured back to our campsite to relax and rest up for the last leg of our trip. Tomorrow we'll cover the last 200 miles diagonally across Ohio, to Canton. We have a very busy spring and summer. We will let you know how everything is going. Enjoy your spring.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

A BEAUTIFUL DAY TO TRAVEL

Wednesday, March 26 – We pulled out of the Tuscaloosa Elks Lodge bright and early. We drove into the rising sun until we reached Birmingham, Alabama. Here we turned north on I-65. What a nice SMOOTH highway.

Another bridge is being built. Marsha didn’t like this one bit.

The interstate from Birmingham to Huntsville is a beautiful drive in the rolling hills/mountains of Alabama. This is a drive we want to do again later in the year to enjoy the beauty of this region. Spring is just beginning to blossom here and it would be interesting to see it in full-bloom.

We have seen several of these huge crosses on our travels.

Making our way north.

We arrived at Singing Hills RV Park in Cave City, Kentucky, soon after lunchtime. We stopped here several times in the past. It is a Passport America park with gravel sites and roads. We have a 50 amp, full-hookup site for $18/night. It is only a couple miles off the interstate in a quiet rural setting.

Site 43.

Looking left.

Looking right.

Nice fishing lake.

Look what we found in the shade of a big tree.

For y’all in AZ, the above is a photo of s-n-o-w. Yuck!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

THREE STATE DAY

Tuesday, March 25 – With it getting light by 7:00 a.m., we were able to get an early start this morning. We pulled out of Hammond, LA, at 7:15 a.m. and were on our way east on I-12. At Slidell, LA,  we picked up I-59 and began our trek northward.

 

We put in another long day, driving six hours to reach Tuscaloosa, AL.

Spring is beginning to show it colors.

We pulled into the Tuscaloosa Elks Lodge and pulled around back to find seven campsites with 50 amp electric and water. The girl we talked to about the campground forgot to tell us that the Lodge is not open on Tuesdays, so we picked a site and began setting up. We found the electric was off in our original spot. Luckily, we hadn't set much up yet.

Paul got out his tester and luckily found ONE SITE (Site #4) had the electric activated. We moved over and with a little fussing was able to get pretty level without unhooking the truck. They must still be in “winter mode” here at the Tuscaloosa Elks. The water is turned OFF. Fortunately, we have some water in our holding tanks.

 

The campground is up on top of the hill from the Lodge.

We planned on doing a little sightseeing in Tuscaloosa (home of the University of Alabama) but called it off. We're tired, it's windy, and getting cold. Instead, we chose to take Bella for a short walk and relax at home. We'll check Tuscaloosa out the next time we pass this way.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

ON THE WAY!

Monday, March 24 – We pulled out of the Houston Elks Lodge campground this morning soon after rush hour. We intended to leave on Sunday to miss the Houston traffic, but rain was in the forecast so we chose to wait another day. You guessed it, the rain didn't materialize until late in the day. We would have been fine, but we're not in a hurry so no big deal.

We slid through Houston without a problem. The traffic by 9 a.m. wasn't too bad. Of course we're pretty familiar with Houston traffic patterns after five months and knew what lane to be in and when to get ready to exit.

Goodbye all you bridges.

It is all about football in Texas.

Once again the road going into Louisiana was AWFUL!!!

Especially the part of I-10 just west of the elevated Atchafalaya Swamp Freeway in Iberville Parish. I don't think this road has been resurfaced since it was built. We haven't found a way to cross Louisiana without experiencing terrible roads. Paul had to reduce speed to about 45 MPH and turn on his emergency flashers to prevent shaking the truck and 5^th wheel apart. OK....rant over!

It is crawfish season. Mile after mile of crawfish traps.

Lots of swamp land on this drive.

And Marsha’s least favorite part of the travel…bridges.

We arrived had the Hidden Oaks Family Campground in Hammond, LA, in one piece. This is a pretty nice stop for a day or two. Located about two miles north of I-12 on LA-190, it is a Passport America Park with full-hookup sites for $20. There is a section populated by long term or full-time residents and another section for short term guests. We were one of the few over-nighters here tonight.

The sites are on grass, so could be a problem if wet! The roads are gravel and there are 30 and 50 amp sites. The manager instructed us to “just pick any site you want.” We chose Site #19, a pull-through with easy in and out. We did not even have to unhook the truck.

Looking right.

Looking left.

Marsha took Bella for a nice walk in the wooded area. She loves to check out all the smells. Bella would enjoy a few days in this campground.

  

Paul sure wished he had a chainsaw with him. There were hundreds of Cypress knees which he loves for carving. He even went up and asked the maintenance man if anyone sold Cypress for carving. No luck!

For you fisherman, there is a nice fishing stream flowing next to the property. Paul talked to one of the guys fishing, but he had just arrived so couldn't vouch for how good the fishing was in the stream.

Now how did this get here?

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

WE GOT TO MEET UP WITH JANE AND JOE…YEA!

Wednesday, March 19 - Paul's begun packing up and getting ready to roll. We have a tentative departure date set for Sunday morning, March 23. We like to pull out early, and Sunday morning is definitely the best morning for driving through Houston.

Having sat here for five months makes preparation for leaving a little interesting. Repacking many of the storage areas is the first priority. Now where did I store these things before??? :-)

This little guy visits us often. We think it is a Texas Mockingbird.

Paul did get up on the roof and gave it a good scrubbing the other day and caulked a couple areas that looked a little suspicious. Of course, if he washes the roof he must wash the sides. All that yuck runs down over the sides and makes quite a mess. It's nice and clean now and should be good until some day this summer!

We think this guy was ready to take a dip in the pool.

We took time this morning to meet up with good friends, Jane and Joe. They are fellow RVers we've spent the past several winters with down in Mission, TX. We received a call on Monday saying that they would be passing through Houston Tuesday morning and wanted to meet up for breakfast. Yep, they're driving through Houston during rush hour...YEEK!  We decided to meet on the west side of town. They'll need a break after that drive! We're a little more familiar with town and can bypass much of the traffic and of course, we won't be driving an RV. The good thing is that Jane and Joe are from the Chicago area, so they are use to driving in heavy traffic.

We met at Denny's restaurant in Katy. Located on the I-10 “feeder road,” it was an easy on and off for our friends. Since they are heading west, this location means they've finished the drive through Houston traffic.

They arrived right on time, and reported the drive through Houston was interesting but uneventful. We enjoyed sharing stories of our winters…They were in Florida, and we were in Texas. Florida beat Texas for better weather but was much more expensive. We'll have to give Florida a try in the future.

After enjoying breakfast and visiting for over an hour, it was time for our friends to move on down the road. They have reservations in the Fredericksburg area tonight. It was great to see Jane and Joe again. It's been over a year since we last saw them, but it seems like only yesterday. See you down the road good friends. Be safe and have a good trip.

Spring training has begun, and Marsha is in all her glory.
 

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

A HOT POST FOR YOU WOMEN OUT THERE

Monday, March 17 – Happy St. Paddy’s Day to all our Irish and what-to-be Irish friends.

Today’s post will be totally written by Marsha. Paul wants nothing to do with any of this. WARNING: This is more of a gal post than guy.

On Thursday, Marsha and Carrie were off to the Houston Livestock and Rodeo festivities. The concert of their dreams would be the highlight of this visit. We arrived just before the Rodeo was to begin. Being a long tiring workday for both of us, we need to wet our palette. The Wine Garden was our first stop. The place was packed and way and overpriced wine was served…but we had to have at least one glass.

It was off to watch the Rodeo. We had a wonderful time watching the skilled cowboys ride horses/bulls, rope the caves, wagon races. etc. Now for the main event. MAROON 5 AND ADAM LEVINE!

 

Carrie bought club seats for the event. They were a Mother’s day and birthday gift for Marsha. YIPEEE!

The Reliant Stadium holds 67,925 seats. It was a sell out!

A couple of Maroon 5 songs have a bad word or two in them. The last time they were at the Rodeo, they sang the original versions. They must have caught the devil for that because this time, Adam apologized to the crowd. He said he would not sing those hideous words in his songs tonight. What a man!

Before the concert started, Marsha told Carrie that Adam would look her directly in the eye during one of the songs. Well, she wasn’t too far off.

 

Carrie and I just couldn’t sit still. We were up dancing, singing and just having the time of our life! Who can sit when they are singing songs like “Moves Like Jagger",” “Payphone,” “This Love,” “Love Someone,” and any other of their awesome songs?!?

WOWSIE!

Thank you so much, Carrie, for a fantastic night. This might be the best night of my life…oh wait, my wedding night was pretty good too ;)

If you gals or guys(?) haven’t had enough of the hottie, here is a whole album filled with the guy.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.