Monday, December 8, 2008

Rainbow's End


We have had a great visit here at the Escapees Park. Now it's time to get back on the road. We will be leaving on Wednesday, and we'll take our time getting to the desert. It's been fun being here, though. There is always something going on, a luncheon, seminar groups, cards and games.

We met up with some Boomer friends whom we had met in Arizona a few years ago. Bob and Carolann Iles. You can see their photo next to our Christmas tree. We had a wonderful visit and played several games of dominoes, so we should all be pretty good at it by the time we get to Lake Mittry and Quartzsite.

More from the road later.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Back on the Road

We finally headed out on Tuesday, Nov. 25. We took the rig into Camping World at Oakwood, Ga. where we bought it in May. Needed to have some warranty work done on it. Stopped the first night somewhere in Alabama (?). Can't remember where. It was getting late and dark so we found a small campground and pulled in. The managers were very nice and helped us park in a good long pull-thru site so it was easy to get out the next morning. On Wednesday we drove about 5 hours and got as far as Monroe, LA where we stopped for two nights. We stayed thru Thanksgiving Day and enjoyed a wonderful, quiet and uneventful day. Very relaxing. We had grilled pork chops (no turkey this year) baked sweet potatoes, salad and broccoli .

On Friday we got to Rainbow's End in Livingston, Texas. That's the National Headquarters of the Escapees RV Club of which we are Lifetime members. They have a beautiful campground here with over 200 sites. There are lots of activities going on every day. The day we arrived here, there was a "left-over" potluck dinner. Everyone brought their left overs from Thanksgiving Day dinner, also a potluck. It was delicious and there was sooo much food. We will probably leave here next Tuesday and start out once again on our trip to Arizona, with several stops along the way.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

SCARECROWS EVERYWHERE!











The tiny town of Hoschton, Georgia has been overrun with scarecrows. That's right, thousands of them. Someone got the idea a while back that the townsfolk should try and break a record for the most scarecrows, and get into the Guiness Book of World Records. I think the previous record was something like 4500. Well, it happened. Hoschton is the new record holder with 5441 scarecrows. Where did they put them all? The lines of scarecrows stretched for miles. We took our granddaughters Kaylee and Victoria on a tour of "Scarecrow City" last Sunday. Thanks to our friend Ethel for telling us about this unusual event.

Monday, October 13, 2008

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

It's been a couple of months since our last update and a lot has happened. Mostly, for the good, but of course life has its gliches too.

First, we have finally sold the photo business! Yes, it's true. Our buyer, Gary, picked it up at the end of the Centreville Fair in Michigan. So we are finally, really retired. It feels great being on our own schedule. But here's where the glich came in. Right after the Centreville Fair we went to Farmington Hills to see our family and to visit and stay with our wonderful friends, Sally and Tim. We needed to put the truck in the shop for some quick repairs (or so we thought). Long story short, two weeks and one engine later we are on the road again. The upside to all this is that we had more time for family visits and a very enjoyable time with Tim and Sally. We took trips to Ikea, Harbor Freight, Camping World and a number of great eating places around the Detroit area. Last Tuesday, Oct. 7 (our anniversary) was the day we picked the truck up from the shop. The mechanic told us to put a few hundred miles on it before towing the fifth wheel. What better place to drive to than Frankenmuth, Michigan for a fabulous chicken dinner at the Bavarian Inn. We are very grateful to Tim and Sally for putting up with us those two weeks. We luv ya.

Next morning we hit the road to head for Georgia. A planned stopover in Chattanooga for warranty work and then back on the road today (Monday, 10/13). As I write this, we are on our way to Ft. Yargo to stay for a few weeks before we head west for the winter. We will volunteer as maintenance hosts at Ft. Yargo. It will be great to see all of our friends there. Can't wait to see our family - Eric, LeAnn, Kaylee and Victoria- we've missed everyone.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008




















Each winter for the past three years we have camphosted at Fort Yargo State Park in Barrow County, Georgia. Ft. Yargo is a beautiful park as you can see from some of our earlier blog pics. Every year a photo contest is held. The winners' photos are published in a calendar which depicts the various moods of the park throughout the year. The proceeds from the sale of calendars goes to the Friends of Fort Yargo for projects such as landscaping.


This year Tom's photo (as seen above) was chosen the 2nd place winner! The scene shows the University of Georgia Rowing Team preparing for an early morning practice session on Lake Marbury. These young people are very brave as the actual temperature was in the 40's and the water temp. even colder.


I'm very proud of Tom. Hope you enjoy the photo.


Nancy

Monday, August 11, 2008

Tom & Nancy & Friends













Tucked away in the hills of Berrien County Mi. is one of the finest restaurants connected to one of the finest winerys you will ever find.(Napa Valley included). The Doyles can be found there any time they are in the area. Pictured here are Nancy, Tom, & friends Jodi & Dan. Jodi is our Mac guru, she owns Lakeshoremac.com.


If any Escapees are going to be in Elkhart, this winery is less than an hour away. Just go to www.taborhill.com

A Night Out At Tabor Hill





Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Budweiser Clydesdales




















A couple of weeks ago, while we were at the Monroe County Fair, I had the pleasure of watching the Budweiser Clydesdales. The team of eight magnificent horses went through their paces as if they were one, keeping in sync in their steps and movements -- even their side-stepping was perfect. The driver controlled each horse with a separate rein, guiding them in their turns, and even backwards! The horses travel in style, in air-conditioned semi-trailers. Each harness costs around
$80,000.

If you ever have the opportunity to see this spectacular show, don't miss it.

Nancy

Monday, July 21, 2008

Michigan

The rest of the trip to Michigan went smoothly. Nan towed the exhibit trailer with the GMC and Tom towed the fifth wheel. We arrived in Michigan on June 29 in the midst of a rainstorm. Our first stop for gas in Michigan cost over $4.00 per gallon, the first time we paid over $4 this year. (We have paid that much and more several more times, though.) It's going to be a tough summer.

Our first three shows, one festival and two fairs have gone surprisingly well. I think there is a lot of truth in what the newspeople are saying about people staying closer to home this year and spending locally. Hope the rest of the year goes well.

A week ago Sunday we had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Tabor Hill Winery. We both had the baked Talapia, it was excellent. We always look forward to our dining experience at Tabor Hill. We will go there again in a few weeks with friends, Dan and Jodi.

We left Hartford, Michigan yesterday and went to Elkhart, Indiana. We needed to get some minor warranty repairs done on the fifth wheel so we stayed on the lot of the repair facility along with a few other RVers. On Monday we went to the RV Hall of Fame here in Elkhart. Before you nod off, it really was much more interesting than it sounds. We saw some of the first RV's ever built, some dating from the early part of the 1900's. We spent a few hours there, but, oops, we forgot to take the camera with us. The next day, Tuesday, we went on a factory tour at the Keystone Company, who makes the fifth wheel that we have, the Everest. We walked thru the factory after closing time, accompanied by a factory rep. who explained every detail of the construction of the RV. We, along with several other curious RVers, started at the beginning of the line where they bring in the frame. I won't bore you with all the details but it was very informative and our rep, Mark, was extremely knowedgable, answering all the questions and explaining each step of construction.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Tennessee Aquarium









While in Chattanooga waiting for the RV work to be finished, we went downtown to visit the Tennessee Aquarium. It was a day well spent.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Time for an update

Wow. We have really been busy during the month of June. Tom spent a couple of weeks recovering from his injuries from the ladder incident. We got our stuff ready to go, this time we meant business. We left Ft. Yargo last Sunday, June 22. We really enjoyed our time there and look forward to going back.

Before heading out, though, we had to take our grand girls, Kaylee and Victoria to lunch. Kaylee's birthday was yesterday, June 26. She's Sweet Sixteen and very grown up. We had a great time.

After leaving on Sunday, we drove 150 miles to Chattanooga. We stopped at Camping World to have some work done on the rig. While we waited for that, we explored some of Chattanooga. The Aquarium was awesome and well worth the price of a ticket. We went to the IMAX theater and learned tons of stuff about sharks, dolphins and other sea creatures. The part that made the most impact was learning that many species are endangered, mainly because their food sources are disappearing. Hopefully it's not too late to turn things around.

We drove up to Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia and visited with Tom and Ethel Smith, who hosted with us at Ft. Yargo a few months ago. We spent a couple of hours catching up. It was good to see them. Cloudland Canyon is beautiful -- it sits near the top of Lookout Mountain.

We are spending tonight in the Oh! Kentucky Campground at Berea, KY. We had just pulled in and got set up when it started to storm, complete with lightning and thunder. Tomorrow we will go to Wapakoneta, Ohio near Lima.

That about covers it for now.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

What is this?



Can you guess what this is? Here's a hint: It was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, May 31. That's right, it's the Space Shuttle Discovery. Our son, Eric took this photo from about five miles from the launch site. He took it using his cell phone! They were in Cape Canaveral on Saturday preparing to board their cruise ship on Sunday for a cruise to the Bahamas. How cool is that?

The Latest View From Our Site




This is the view from picnic area 2. About a month ago the park manager asked us to change from camp host to maintenance host and had us move from the campground to this site in the picnic grounds. This is a quiet beautiful spot, just perfect for recuperating from a nasty fall. I (tom) fell off of an 8 ft ladder and sustained a broken elbow and other assorted injuries.

The park management have been great about letting us stay until we can travel. We should be on the road pulling our new rig down the road in about 3 weeks.

Monday, June 2, 2008

CHANGE OF PLANS

We had this trip planned down to the last detail, leaving the park on Friday and going to Elkhart, In and then to Michigan. Campground reservations were confirmed and we planned to meet our friends, Tim and Sally in Indiana.

But on Thursday as Tom was sweeping off the awnings, the ladder that he had climbed tipped and he fell and landed on the graveled campsite. Nancy ran outside to find Tom lying flat on his back. I called the park office and three rangers were here inside of a minute. They determined that he could be moved and helped him inside. We then went to the hospital where they treated him for a broken left elbow. They xrayed the lower and middle back also and did not see any apparent injury there. Today (Monday) we went to the orthopedic doctor who told Tom that the elbow should heal nicely in about 8 weeks. But they did send him for a ct scan because he is having pain on the right side in his arm and up into the neck and back. The doctor said that was probably from an area that was swollen from the fall and pressing on the nerve. And that it should heal as the swelling goes down.

We are hoping to be back on the road in about 4 weeks and resume our travel plans. We go back to the doctor this Thursday for the results.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

A Nice Relaxing Weekend

This has been the most relaxing weekend we have had in a long time. We visited Deb & Myron at their very comfortable townhouse in Seneca S.C. where we took a ride on the boat, enjoyed a deliscious steak dinner and just lounged around the house. Just what we needed after a week of moving into our new rig.


Saturday, May 10, 2008

A Dream Come True, A Goal Accomplished.





This week the Doyles took possesion of a new home a 2007 fifth wheel. This 37ft Keystone Everest Was one of the last 2007s on the lot at Camping Time RV Sales near Gainesville Ga. As luck would have it the rig was almost exactly what we were looking for and with the help of the great staff at Camping Time, Doc and Amanda in particular, we made it happen. Here are some pics of the rig including one of the Beast, our newly acquired Ford F350 pickup.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

UGA Crew

In the previous entry I gave the wrong email adress. The correct adress is
fastfotos99@gmail.com.

To the UGA Crew

Two comments were left about the chilly morning post asking for copies of the picture. I will email the pic to you if send your request to fotoguys99@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest. And to all other interested viewers, please leave your email address with your comments.
Tom & Nan

Thursday, April 17, 2008

It's Dogwood Time Again





One sure sign of spring in Georgia is the blooming of the Dogwood trees. These beautiful flowers seem to explode overnight to make the forest come alive. As I have said before this is my favorite time of year in this state.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Easter '08


Easter '08 was a very pleasant layed back experience. Eric, Leann, & the girls were here. We had burgers on the grill and marshmallows over the fire. Eric grilled the burgers to perfection & then we hid eggs for Kaylee & Vickie. I hope they found all of them, if they didn't then Pete the Possum will.

A Chilly Morning in March


Pictured here is a study in dedication. The members of the UGA Rowing Team brave the waters of Marbury Lake in Ft. Yargo State Park most mornings in the spring. This particular morning in mid-march the temp was at 35` at 7am. I sat in the heated cab of my Kubota in awe as these kids lifted their boat and walked into that water.