Spring 2012 Trip

For some reason I never reported on our trip last spring with our two eldest granddaughters, Hannah and Hope. I was sure I had made several entries here but for some reason they aren't here. We began our trip by heading north through Florida and Georgia, stopping at RV parks more than we would normally because we now had four people on board. Our first 'stop' was in Franklin, NC, to take them mining for gems...they found some, not many, and none of any real value, but they did have fun. The next day, we took the girls to Cherokee, NC, for the Native American sites and the village where they were able to participate in several of the activities at a Pow Wow. The next day we spent a day at Santa's Land just outside Cherokee before heading over the mountain into Tennessee then Virginia. We spent hours slowly creeping through the Virginia Safari Park where they were able to hand-feed numerous wild animals. While in Virginia we visited the Green Valley Book Fair where all those great bargains are! We then headed to my nephew's house to spend the night in his driveway (they had no idea we were in the area and had gone to visit her family in New Jersey for the weekend). No matter, we found the electric outlet and none of their neighbors called the cops. My family had a reunion at the local Isaac Walton League Park south of Browntown, VA. and all the kids had a great time fishing in the pond. Cousin Maggie won the prize for the biggest catch of the day. We toured the Skyline Caverns, ate frozen custard, spent days at the local public swimming pool, ate frozen custard, and enjoyed our stay. We camped at Big Meadows on the Skyline Drive, went into Luray to spend the afternoons at Lake Arrowhead, then returned to Big Meadows to sit on the side of the road to spot the deer grazing. The girls were able to get really close to them by crawling through the grass. We also spotted bears; in fact, one cub ran into the side of the rental car as we were headed into town on Browntown Road one afternoon. The car wasn't damaged and he loped off apparently unhurt. The girls entertained their 94-year-old great-grandmother with several songs they learned from the radio. The weather was getting rainy, so we took the girls to Kings Dominion outside Richmond for a couple days....the weather then cleared up and they rode one roller coaster 20 times. On the return home, we stopped at Stone Mountain, GA for a few days. There's more to do there than I expected...

Just a Trip to Visit Family Spring 2011

This was a short trip to visit family members in Northern Virginia area. Going north many cars passed us on I-95 with Canadian tags, then a car hauler passed with all the cars having Canadian tags! Were all the snowbirds going north for the year?
We met my cousins and their spouses at the Meltin' Pot Pizza to have lunch and catch up on family news. Two of my friends from the early days of my life met us there and joined in the noisy reunion. It's a wonder the restaurant doesn't throw us out when we meet every six months!
After two short weeks, we were returning home going south on I-77 and we stopped at the first rest area near the North Carolina border with Virginia. When the traffic stopped then crawled from about 30 miles north of Charlotte (took over three plus hours to traverse the state!!!). The only "problems" we saw were a couple of vehicles in the breakdown lane and one small brush fire on the northbound lanes down in a gully with one fire truck & three firemen working to put it out! Traffic was heavy all 835 miles home, mostly trucks and cars, few RVs.

The Rest of the Trip

This is why we love to travel by RV:
You won't see this from a motel or hotel room unless you're in Denali.


Traveling through the rest of Kentucky and then West Virginia, we stopped for the night in Kanawha State Forest campground. Using the GPS, we managed to find it on the first try. The last time we tried to find it, we missed a sign or two (they are small!) and had to back track. Some of the sites are up on top rises and just a little too steep for our 30-foot RV. The host said the federal government had given them a grant to widen the road all the way from the main highway and had even purchased 37 houses so far to tear down in order to straighten out the road some. The campsites are unique as some are pull-throughs, one to a hill; most are like back-in parking spaces beside the creek which is just about dried up due to the drought.
Leaving the next morning, using the GPS again just to see how it would take us to Mt. Crawford, VA, we were told to exit the interstate, go down the road a while, connect to US 33 east, even though the map showed the fastest way to be by I-64 to Lexington, VA, then north on I-81. After we got past Charleston onto I-64, I turned it back on then she said to get off I-64, go down some other route, then re-enter the same interstate! Needless to say, I turned her off!
The trees are changing colors looking beautiful. Because this area has had a very dry summer, the leaves will probably not last long. Quite a few trees have lost all their leaves already so I guess we're lucky to see some color at all.
I had planned to call some friends who live in Alderson, WV, to check on when they would be returning to FL but my cell phone was dead!! No screen at all; wouldn't take a charge, either. After we got to Luray, I remembered the other phone "reset" itself when I removed the battery, cleaned the contacts, and replaced it then punched a couple keys. Bingo! It now works - but too late to call our friends.

Mammoth Cave National Park Caves

Arriving in Mammoth Cave National Park on a Wednesday, we had no trouble getting a camp site. The next morning we went south to Bowling Green to take the Lost River tour on a flat-bottomed boat. Because of the drought, they had to dam the river to made it deep enough for the boats. We had to kiss our knees so we could go under the ceiling while on the boat to get to the actual cavern.





Just outside the boat loading area was a very large 'shelf' that was used as a night club even though the local politicians outlawed the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages below street level (they had business interests in the other local night spots). The party goers simply climbed up the stairs to the bar then came back down to dance and socialize.
This cavern site also had a business as a cabin motel during the 20's and 30's and was billed as a honeymoon place. Only one of these cabins is still on the site but cannot be entered for safety issues.
Before returning to Mammoth Park, we stopped at Diamond Cave to take that tour. So many of the formations are white and glittery that's how it got its name.

After looking over the Park information sheets that night, I decided that I would take only two of the ten tours available in the fall; the Gothic Avenue Tour is only available once every Saturday from November 1 – March 18 every year.
The Park was busy with school groups because the area schools were on Fall Break. I did get my two tours, Frozen Niagara and Great Onyx Lantern, when I wanted only because I was first in line when the Visitor Center opened at 8 a.m. Both tours were labeled “easy”.
The Great Onyx Lantern Tour was owned by a Miss Lucy until she sold it to the Park in 1960. She ran a hotel and made some of her guides spend the night so that any visitors arriving during the night could have a tour when they wanted. The original generator-powered lighting system was pulled out by the Park so all tours are now given the way Miss Lucy's guides took her guests through. We rode a bus to the entrance. Again, there are steep stairs twisting around formations and slippery slopes throughout the cavern. One woman had to return to the surface after we got down the first series of steps because she was dizzy. The brochures said not to be pressured by friends and family members to attempt a tour if the idea made you uncomfortable!


This tour required eight lanterns be carried scattered throughout the group in order to see the cave formations. One man insisted on holding his lantern at head height several times even when told by the guide and a visitor not to do so as it blinds others. Others were taking flash photos even though the brochure and the guide said this was not allowed! I had spots in front of my eyes for some time.
The Frozen Niagara Tour information said that it had 12 stairs, including an optional 98 to see the Drapery Room under the Frozen Niagara formation. These stairs were made of steel and went straight down so were easy to navigate. Even though some of the other tours said they were “moderate”, they had an average of 300 to 500 stairs so I don't think I could have gone on them. The Park offers other tours for spelunkers that are “strenuous” and “very strenuous” that I know for sure I wouldn't be able to take!
Because of the White-Nose Syndrome threatening the bats, be prepared to give a list of all caverns entered in the past five years and decontaminating your shoes to help prevent the spread of this disease.
From Thursday through Sunday, we listened as Austin, who was probably 10 or 12 years old, was being berated by his mother for every little infraction. She probably wonders why he's sullen! Unfortunately, they were in a tent, so they were all outside until time to go to bed. Of the five children, he was the only one in trouble for something except for his little sister who didn't hurry enough bringing her mother a damp washcloth.
Before leaving the area, we went to Guntown Mountain Theme Park in Cave City. This was billed as a 'wild west adventure'. We rode the chair lift up the mountain to arrive at the 'town' at the top of the mountain. Several different 'gun fights' were staged during the day. The medicine show as very entertaining as was the dance hall girls presentation. During this show the sound system blew the circuit breaker but they carried on anyway. It also knocked out the snack bar electricity. The country music show was more rock 'n roll than country. The sound system should have been adjusted so that the singers could be heard better; the instrumentals were way too loud and overrode the vocals. This was the last day that Guntown would be open until next spring.

Another Caverns Tour

Although we arrived at Florida Caverns outside Marianna, FL, in plenty of time to take the last cave tour of the day, it was too late to get a camp site for the night. Because Florida is mostly flat land, my thinking was that this cavern would be mostly almost flat, too. I was mistaken! We first walked down a rather steep trail to the entrance, then down some steep steps that twisted around some formations. The rest of the tour was very nice until we had to climb back up those steps in order to get out! When we came out of the cavern, it was by a different path that was very steep! The really great part was that there were only three people on the tour with the ranger.
This park was built by CCC workers in the 1930's.





That night we ended up going about fifteen miles further west on I-10 to get a camp site at Falling Waters State Park. The next day we toured this park looking at sink holes created hundreds of years ago. The waterfall that ended up in one of these sink holes and exiting though a cave was dry because of the drought.



What you're not seeing in the above photo is the waterfall! And this is the sinkhole it would disappear into if it were flowing.

The Step With a Mind of Its Own

Every time we opened the cabin door the step is suppose to come out when the switch is pushed up and retract when the door is closed. It is suppose to stay down when the switch is pushed up even when the door is closed. Frank had done some work on the step changing out some parts. It had been damaged last year when our son borrowed it for a long weekend (it failed to retract when the ignition was turned on). After Frank got it straightened out, more or less, it seemed to work just fine but then it is 15 years old and sits out in the weather.
We would open the door, the step wouldn't come out. I'd jump up and down a few times, Frank would jump out and give it a couple kicks, then it would come out. Some times we would just wait several minutes and it would come out. We decided it was being this way if we didn't retract it before turning on the ignition. Then one time after my jumping and his kicking didn't solve the problem, I gave the sensor a light tap with my foot and out came the step! The next few times it failed to deploy when the door was opened, one of us would tap the sensor, and the step would come out....must be the sensor, afterall!

Oddities

Stuff is expensive in Canada!
Milk is $7.47 gal; butter $4.17 a lb; gas $1 litre (multiply that by 3.8!); canned milk$1.79 ($.75 at Aldi every day); a small head of lettuce is $2.47 (usually $.88 - $1.29 at Aldi); couldn't find radishes;

People are super nice, a little too chatty at times.

Love:
Dollarama stores!
Maple crème cookies!

If you buy stamps at the post office, you will pay 5% tax on them; if you buy them anywhere else, you pay face value with no tax

Frenchy's or Guy's Frenchy's Used Clothing stores – mostly clothes sorted by size and are in large bins, jackets & dresses on hangers

thrift stores are very rare

a package of three 1-litre bags of milk

Mail boxes hanging by a chain or chains from a pole mounted on a 4x4

no-entry-possible front doors - some 3 or 4 feet above ground, one house had 2 stacked doors, even if at ground level they are without a stoop, steps, porch, no overhang or awning.

houses painted middle-of-the-road solid-line yellow or violent violet or royal blue, several houses painted dark purple with bright green trim; one new house had a bright yellow metal roof

On PEI, very few houses older than 1960 – or they are Victorian

In Quebec province, all the fire hydrants have two poles beside them and a tall pole with a yellow sign & hydrant in black shadow (so the snow plows can avoid them?)

Slaw is green: Dixie style is chopped very fine; vinegar I don't want to think about; regular is lime green colored and has pineapple & red pepper in it (it tasted ok but lacked enough celery seeds)

People back out of their driveways right out onto the major highway (think U.S. 1) even though the parking area and/or driveway is large enough to turn around in before getting onto the road.

Quite a few houses and some garages/barns wrapped in Tyvec with lathe nailed over it, some has been on so long that it is in shreds, most has been on more than a couple of years.