Mystery Spot

We started the day by driving from Empire, MI to the Tiki RV Campground in St. Ignace, Michigan.  After we plugged Big Hat into power and put out the slides, we first headed to the Mystery Spot ($12 per person), an interesting tourist trap in this area.   

According to our tour guide, in the early 1950s a few surveyors were exploring Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and one day  they realized that none of their equipment was working properly. The problems, they discovered after some testing, were only apparent in a circle about 150 feet in diameter. The birth of the Mystery Spot!

Supposedly, millions of visitors have stopped at the Mystery Spot over the years to experience a place where “gravity does strange things” (or more accurately, your brain does strange things as it tries to make sense of contradictory input).  Tom and I took our boys to a place like this in South Dakota where they were young.  Makes for a fun stop!  In addition, the place had two zip lines (that we couldn’t do because of the COVID restriction), but we were able to also play a round of miniature golf.

Castle Rock

Our next stop was another touristy stop called Castle Rock ($1.00 per person).  Castle Rock is a natural limestone tower rising almost 200’ above lake level  of Lake Huron.  We walked up 170 steps to see a panoramic view of Lake Huron.

Here’s our next short hike up to the top

View of Castle Rock from the highway

One set of the 170 steps

Tom almost reaching the top

I don’t know the significance of Paul Bunyan at this spot, but as you can see, we are both wearing our masks!

Ice Cream!

After dinner we walked one mile from the campground to get some ice cream.  Tom had a flavor called Michigan Pot Hole which was delicious!  Moose Tracks wasn’t bad either.

Trip Statistics

• We’ve driven a total of 3,716 miles - 2,571 in Big Hat and and 1,145 in the car.
• Our tourist expense for today was $39 for a trip total of $812.2
• Tiki campground cost was $26 per night.  Total $1,168.36 or an average of $37.64

 

 

We spent two days relaxing at the Gaylord KOA in Gaylord, Michigan.  It was the first place in Michigan where the pool water was actually warm enough for me to go in the water.  I spent almost two hours in the pool which is the first swim since leaving Louisiana at the end of May.  Tom and I walked around the park several times and just spent the rest of the time relaxing (and, of course, playing canasta and phase 10 in the evening)

This park was a very nice park for families because there was so much for kids to do!  This device is built on a rectangular trampoline and has two basketball goals inside.  So, on this device a person can jump AND practice basketball skills—plus, they can dunk the ball where they usually aren’t able to do that on a solid surface.

Ben reported only “little kids” would get much bounce on this device.

Ben really enjoyed riding on this crazy bicycle!

There was also a Putt Putt course, basketball court, swing set, spider web to climb and two hiking paths and some nice cabins to rent.  Great place!

Trip Statistics

• We’ve driven 3,604 miles since leaving home - 2,544d in Big Hat and 1,108 in the car.
• Last gas fill up was $1.95 a gallon totaling $111.89 in Big Hat.  This time we got a whooping 7.0mpg!  Gas total is $758.37 or an average of $26.15 per day.
• Gaylord Campground was $50 per night.  Our campground total is $1,152.36 or an average of $39.74.

Empire Bluff Trail

This morning we drove to the Empire Bluffs trailhead and hiked 1.5 miles roundtrip to see another beautiful view of Lake Michigan from a high bluff.

Most of the trail was a wide path through a poplar forest, but towards the bluff a boardwalk was added to the trail.

l

A beautiful view of Lake Michigan from the top

Indigo Bluffs RV Park

When we got back from our first hike of the day and ate lunch, I did the laundry while Ben and Tom went to the pool.  The water was much too cold for Tom and me, but Ben swam a little.  We walked through the resort several different times in the afternoon and evening because the resort was nicely shaded and the weather was a perfect 70 degrees with blue skies.  This park is very unique in that it is divided into two sides:  Our side of the park was very shaded and had concrete patios. The other side has stamped concrete spots with beautiful landscaping and a pond with slight waterfall. We talked to a person who rents one of the resort sites for 6 months a year and then stays in St. Augustine for the other 6 months.  He pays $6100 (or only $35 a night) to spend 6 months here.  If we ever decide to stay in one place for very long, this would be the place!

Trip Statistics

• We have driven a total of 3,486 miles: 2391 in Big Hat and 1,095 in the car.
• We hiked 5.03 miles today for a total of 128.28 miles
• Our campsite was $70.50 per night at Indigo Bluffs.  Total is 1,049 or an average of $37.46 per night
• We did not buy any gas today, but have spent a total of $647 on gas so far.

We left Holland, MI this morning at 11:00 and drove174 miles to Empire, MI, home of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. We are staying in the Indigo Bluffs RV Resort which is a beautiful park with lots of trees for shade.  The red dot on the map below is where we are today.

As soon as we got Big Hat set up in our spot, we jumped into the car and headed for Sleeping Bear.  We were here once before in 2015 and walked two or three of the dunes, but this time I was determined to hike all the way to Lake Michigan.  The sand dunes are quite steep going up and then coming back down the other side and the sand is deep and loose the whole way.

Here’s Tom walking up the first dune, but after our strenuous hike in Indiana Dunes National Park two days ago, his knee is hurting.

The round-trip hike was 3.8 miles.

Ben was walking much faster that I was and got to Lake Michigan way before me.   He had walked back two sand dunes on the way to the car when I got up to him.  He waited there for me while I continued on to the lake and got back to this spot.

Almost there!

I made it - Beautiful Lake Michigan

Now comes the hard part.  I’ve walked 1.9 miles to get here and now I have to start the climb all over in the opposite direction.

 

Met back up with Ben and we are on our way back.

Final stretch before the parking lot.  The small lake in that direction Is Glen Lake.

Trip Statistics:

• Indigo Bluffs RV Resort is $70.50 per night for a total of $1,049 in campgrounds or and average of $40.35 per night
• Today we drove 173 miles in Big Hat for a total of 2,486. We’ve drove 16 miles in the car for  a total of 1,081 miles
• We didn’t buy gas today but the total so far is $646.48 or any average of $24.86 per day
• I hiked and walked a total of 6 miles today for a trip total of 123.3 miles

We drove to Holland, Michigan from Lansing, Michigan and stayed in the Holland State Park.  We were on the Lake Macatawa side with a small beach across the street, but the nicer beach was on Lake Michigan, about one mile away.  The town had bicycle paths on both sides of the road, so it was very easy to walk or ride our bicycles to the beach.  The beach was huge, but the water temperature was only 65 degrees.  Ben thought the water felt fine, but Tom and I just walked along the water.

Iconic Big Red lighthouse to guide the ships entering the waterway between Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa.

Mt. Piscah

There was a huge sand dune called Mt. Piscah right beside our campground that.  The entrance was a boardwalk that had 239 steps that allowed us to climb to the top where we had broad views of Lake Macatawa, marinas, Lake Michigan and Big Red. Instead of coming back down the steps, we hiked the back of the sand dune on a wooded trail.

Trip Statistics

• We’ve driven 3,226 miles so far — 2,104 in Big Hat and 1,033 in the car.
• We haven’t purchased gas while we were here, but have spent $624 or an average of $24 a day.
• Holland State Park is $36 per night. We have spent a total of $908, or an average of $34.92 per night on campgrounds.
• We walked 6 miles today and have now walked a total of 117 miles on this trip.

Today we drove from Holland, Michigan to our 33rd National Park - Indiana Dunes National Park and Indiana Dunes State Park which is located inside the national park.  The park runs almost 25 miles along Lake Michigan and is filled with beautiful vistas and amazing trails over sand dunes.  We hiked almost 5 miles on trail #9 which was over huge sand dunes to see amazing views of Lake Michigan.  At one point in our hike we could look across Lake Michigan and see downtown Chicago! (Probably at least 100 miles away)

Downtown Chicago across Lake Michigan

It’s hard hiking across the sand!

Even in the woods we were hiking in loose sand!

This is called Devil’s Slide.  The picture doesn’t do it justice because it is very steep!

Anyone for Baskin Robbins Ice Cream???

We drove into Illinois basically to add a state to Ben’s travels (and we were only 30 miles from the state line) and also to get some ice cream.  Fortunately for Tom and Ben the BR had flavors they like.  Unfortunately, they didn’t have my favorite - peanut butter and chocolate, so I didn’t get any.  On the way back to Holland I found a Baskin Robbins and was able to get my ice cream.

…and back to Michigan!

We arrived back at our campground in Holland State Park around 6:00.  While I cooked dinner, Ben bicycled down to the beach (one mile away) for a quick evening swim in 65 degree Lake Michigan!

Trip Statistics:

• Today we drove the car 280 miles while Big Hat stayed put in the campground.
• We are staying three nights in Holland State Park Campground @ $36 per night.  We have a very nice campsite with 30 amp power, but no water or sewage. Luckily we have 80 tanks so that’s not a problem.
• We hiked 5.3 miles today for a trip total of 111.

 

 

 

 

We spent last night in the Cracker Barrel parking lot in Twinsburg, OH.   At 9:00  we left the parking lot and drove about eleven miles to our 32nd National Park – Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  

The Ohio and Erie Canal starts at Lake Erie and runs south into Ohio for 84 miles.  From 1827 to 1913 mules pulled boats loaded with goods and passengers along the towpath.The boats could not be longer or wider than the smallest lock, so the boats were no longer than 75’ and no wider than 14’.

A postcard of the canal that I saw in the Great Lakes Museum

This marker is showing a boat in one of the locks.

Tom and Ben in the deepest lock

After riding the towpath we drove to the  Brandywine Falls path.

A nice little walk in the park to Brandywine Falls, down 60 steps and back up to see the view from the top.

After bicycle riding and hiking in the park, we drove to Sandusky, OH and spent the night at Camp Sandusky.

Trip Statistics

• We’ve spent $489 in gas between the car and motorhome
• We’ve driven 1905 miles in Big Hat and 689 miles in the CRV for a total of  2,594 miles.
• Camp Sandusky cost $34 a night and our total campground cost is $657

I saw a picture of the Longaberger Basket Company office building a few years ago on Facebook and thought it would be really cool to get a picture beside it, so I added Newark, OH as a stop on my bucket list for this trip.  We stopped for the night in Cambridge, OH and drove over to Newark specifically for the photo opportunity.  The company closed in 2015 and the building is no longer in use.

Canton, OH - Home of the Football Hall of Fame and McKinley’s Presidential Museum

After leaving Newark we drove back to Cambridge to pick up Big Hat at the RV Park.  Our next stop was Canton, OH while Tom toured the Football Hall of Fame and Ben and I went to the President McKinley Museum and Memorial.

Football Hall of Fame

McKinley Memorial Park

 

When we left Pikeville, KY we decided to take a little detour and drive through Virginia on our way to West Virginia.  

We stayed at the Ace Adventure Resort near Oak Hill, WV.  It is a huge recreational facility, but built on the side of a mountain.  To get to the resort we drove 3.5 miles on a narrow winding road (Minden Road) that we thought that was pretty bad.  In fact, one of the worst roads we’ve driven in the country with the motorhome, but the final road from the registration building to our campsite was HORRIBLE!  It was only 1 ½ lanes, very steep with a blind sharp curve.   

In good weather and without COVID-19 restrictions, this camp would be a really fun place for the outdoor enthusiasts!  It has a wonderful water park area, many levels of cabins and tents to rent, whitewater rafting on either the Gauley River or the New River, a mud obstacle course, frisbee golf, miles of hiking trails, etc.  However, we chose to stay there to whitewater raft on the New River.  Because of the COVID restrictions we were not able to raft.  The restriction was that you had to ARRIVE with a minimum of four people to be able whitewater and we were only a party of three.  So….no whitewater rafting for us.

On Sunday morning Ben played at the waterpark ($21 per person) while I went into Oak Hill to do our laundry.

New River Bridge Catwalk

I booked an adventure for Ben and me to walk the catwalk (usually $125 per person, but for some reason I got it ½ price) under the New River Gorge Bridge for Sunday afternoon.  Driving there we got caught in the worst hailstorm I’ve ever seen.  I stopped on the side of the road and waited for a while before turning around and heading back to the campground.  When we got to the Minden Road to get back to the campground, the water was too deep to go through.  A whitewater bus was right behind me and once I stopped, the driver walked up to the car and told me he was going to try and turn the bus around and I could follow him to the back entrance of the resort.  Meanwhile, ten miles later I finally got back to our campsite.

The Minden Road was impassable the rest of the time we were there.  In fact, the resort staff used rafts to rescue people from their homes along the Minden Road.  We were told that a bridge washed out to some homes that were off the Minden Road.

Monday morning at ten we were able to take the catwalk tour under the New River Gorge Bridge. Once again because of the COVID restrictions, Ben and I were the only ones with the tour guide.  That part was great. At time of construction, the New River Gorge Bridge’s arch made it the longest steel arch bridge in the world, a title it held until 2003 with the construction of China’s Shanghai’s Lupu Bridge. It is currently the longest single-span steel arch bridge in the United States and the third highest bridge in the country. 

Hiking the Long Point Trail 

After walking the catwalk, I drove back to the campground to get Tom and we hiked the 2.9 mile Long Point trail above the gorge to see a magnificent view of the bridge and gorge from a different perspective.

When we got back to Ace Adventure Resort, Ben spent 5 hours swimming at the water park while the outside temperature dropped from 64 to 57 degrees!  Although I thought it was very cold, he had a great time because he was able to do all the stuff over and over without having to wait in long lines!

Montgomery

After leaving Oak Hill we drove down to see some friends in Montgomery and to walk though the town.  The town is very hard for me to go back to since it is nothing like the town I grew up in.  I have several good friends who still live there and it was great to see them.  Driving down Rt.61 in the motorhome is no picnic.  We decided not to town the car so I drove it separately.

Here we are with Lou Ann & Gary Bowen

We also had a short visit with Beach Vickers

Trip Statistics

• We’ve driven a total of 1,997 miles - 1,516 in Big Hat and 481 in the CRV.
• Total campground costs: $493.36. Ace Adventure Resort $51.94 per night
• While in WV we hiked 10.7 miles.  Our total since we left 66.16 miles

We were pleasantly surprised by how clean and nice the town of Pikeville, KY is.  We stayed at the Bob Amos RV Park which is part of the city recreational area.  There was a huge playground, YMCA, Soccer/Baseball fields.  The park looked fairly new and was very well maintained. A very nice place to stay for only $25 a night.

The first afternoon we arrived we walked the town and took pictures of the painted bears that were on display.

We had hoped to see the Hatfield-McCoy memorabilia at the Big Sandy Heritage Center, but it was closed due to Covid-19.

On Thursday we started out following the Hatfield historical markers from Pikeville to West Virginia.  We started following historical markers in that area of Kentucky and ended in Matewan, WV before turning around and returning to Pikeville.  Other than historical markers, there wasn’t much to see, and quite honestly, we didn’t think driving on those roads was worth the journey.

The Randall McCoy well is what is left of the site where the Hatfields burned the home and three people were killed. 

This is the site of the infamous Hatfield/McCoy Hog Trial.  In the fall of 1878, Randolph McCoy brought charges against Floyd Hatfield for stealing one of his hogs.  The resulting trail was held here and was presided over by the local justice of the peace, Preacher Anderson Hatfield.  Preacher Anderson was Devil Anse Hatfield’s cousin and did not want to appear biased, so he gathered a jury of six Hatfields and six McCoys to hear the case.  When the jury reached its verdict Selkirk McCoy sided with the Hatfields in favor of Floyd.  The McCoys felt betrayed and open hostilities erupted between the families.  And the rest is history….

We crossed into my home state of WV at the town of Matewan.  There is a beautiful flood wall built along the Tug River that depicts the Hatfield-McCoy feud.Matewan today has a population of 499.  People mostly come to that area for mountain culture and  dirt riding.  

Matewan is primarily remembered for the 1920 Battle of Matewan (Matewan Massacre). Albert Felts, who was connected to the Baldwin-Feldes detectives and was also sheriff of Mingo Co. and eleven of his men were murdered while trying to  leave town by train after they attempted to evict families who were unlawfully holding possession of  property owned by the Stone Mountain Coal Corporation.  The murders were led by Sid Hatfield and members of the United Mine Workers.

Downtown Matewan today — notice the sign for Hatfield McCoy RESORT Inn!

Trip Statistics

Miles Driven:  1,288 in Big Hat and 176 in the CRV

Campground:  Bob Amos RV Park in Pikeville for $25 each night. Total  campground cost so far- $395.54

 

 

 

Today we drove from Frankfort to Slade, KY.  After parking Big Hat in the 4 Guys Campground in Slade, KY, we drove to Natural Bridge State Park. We hiked up to the top of the mountain to the natural bridge and then a little higher so we could walk on top of the bridge. The top elevation was only 1,290’, much lower than what we are used to in the western part of the US, but a magnificent view just the same.

Trip Statistics

• We drove 80 miles in Big Hat  today for a trip total of 1200 miles.
• We drove 10 miles in the CRV for a trip  total of 249 miles.
• We are staying at the 4 Guys Campground for $39.

June 8 - We drove from Cave City, KY to the Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort, KY.

Kentucky State Capitol

Jun 9 - We walked around the grounds of the Kentucky State Capitol Building, but were not allowed to go inside because of Kentucky’s Covid-19 restrictions.

.

Flower clock behind the capitol building

Governor’s Mansion which was built between 1912-1914 for a cost of $95,000.  It was patterned after Marie Antoinette’s mansion. The 25-room, limestone mansion and it’s gardens have been renovated several times.

Ark Encounter, Williamstown, KY

Our next stop for the day was Ark Encounter  which features a full-size Noah’s Ark, built according to the dimensions given in the Bible. The ark is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high, The ark contains 132 bays, each standing about 18 feet high, arranged into three decks. Visitors enter on the lowest deck which is 15’ above ground level and move between decks on long ramps constructed through the center of the ark. Bays on the first deck contain models of some animals that Answers in Genesis believes could have been on the ark.

The ark was constructed by Amish builders using traditional timber framing techniques. In total, over 1,000 craftsmen were employed in the ark’s construction. Just to gather enough mammoth beams to serve as the support structures for the interior of the building was a multi-year effort. Logs as long as 50 feet were harvested from as far away as British Columbia and Oregon. All together, 3.3 million board feet of wood, or 612 miles worth of planks, were used in the ark. Ham said the goal was to show the true scope of Noah’s Ark, and that it’s possible to build a structure that could hold the 16,000 animals that believers estimate survived the Biblical flood.

 

 

   

Replicas of animals that could have been on the ark.

Ben rode a camel

Trip Statistics

• We are spending two nights at the Elk campground for $42 per night.  Total per trip $306.54
• I walked 4.4 miles today; Ben walked 7.45
• We drove 116 miles in the CRV for a total of 239 since the start of the trip.
• We drove 133 in Big Hat for a trip total of 1,148 miles.
• Gas was $1.89 per gallon in Frankfort.  Total spent of fuel for car and motorhome:$299.86

Saturday we drove approximately 211 miles from Huntsville to Cave City, near Mammoth Cave, KY. 

 

Mammoth Cave National Park

Tom and I are trying to visit all the National Parks. We thought we’d been to most of them before we discovered there were 62. Before this trip, we had been to 30 and today we picked up #31 —Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. The  91 degrees temperature seemed very hot, but we chose to hike in the park for several hours and ended the day with over 5 miles. Sunday we will be touring the actual cave.

The river in the park is named Green River.  I’m not sure where the name came from because obviously it’s not green!

We ended the evening by playing Codenames.

Sunday, June 7

On Sunday we had a 10:00 time for our self-guided tour of Mammoth Cave.  We wore our matching National Parks shirts that have a box to color as we visit each park.

 There were park rangers along the way to share interesting information with us.  Mammoth Cave is the largest cave in the world (hence the word “mammoth,” I suppose). The cave and all its passageways total more than 400 miles.  It was inhabited between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC and then deserted until it was rediscovered in the late 1700s.

The cave was used to mine calcium nitrate, an ingredient of saltpeter, which was used to make gun powder on an industrial scale for the War of 1812. A labor force of 70 slaves  was used to build and operate the soil leaching apparatus, as well as to haul the raw soil from deep in the cave to the central processing site.

In 1839 John Crogham bought the cave and used it to run an ill-fated tuberculosis hospital (pictured below) in 1842-1843.  He believed the vapors in the cave would cure tuberculosis. He ultimately died of tuberculosis in 1849.

This large room (below) was used by a Methodist minister for his Sunday sermons.  Church members walked into the mine with their lanterns, the minister would collect them and place them near his pulpit, and then hand them back after his sermon was finished (to keep people from sneaking out before he was finished)!

Our campsite at the Cave County Campground

We ended the evening with two games of Skip-bo.  Ben won the first game and Tom won the second.  I guess I was the loser for today at games 

Trip Statistics:

• We drove Big Hat 211 miles yesterday for a total of 987 miles
• We have driven 45 miles in the CRV for a total of 118 miles
• We are staying at the Cave County Campground - $45 per night
• We walked 5.10 miles on Saturday while Ben walked 6.03
• Sunday I walked 7.72 miles and Ben only walked 7, but he did ride his bike for 45 minutes

 

Our campsite at the US Space and Rocket RV Park

U.S. Space & Rocket Center

This morning we had a 10:00 admission time (because of COVID-19)  into the Space Center.  There were very few people there so we had no trouble social distancing, but not everything was open.

Lunar Rover Vehicle  unfolds once it exits its storage compartment.  Apollo Missions 15, 16, and 17 used this vehicle to extend the range of surface explorations.

This tiny two person submarine was the Army’s first submarine.  It was used to locate and retrieve debris from the Atlas, Titan and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles that were flight tested and targeted into and near the Kwajalein Atoll in the central Pacific Ocean.  By using the submarine, the Army was able to recover much more rocket debris from testing that individual SCUBA divers could recover. This made more than 470 operational dives.

Color prism

Ben painting with light.

After dinner Tom and I went for a walk while Ben bicycled with two boys in the campsite across from us.

We ended the evening with a game of Phase 10. Ben was exceedingly lucky and beat us.

 

Trip Statistics

• Miles driven today:  0 miles in Big Hat; 2 miles in the CRV
• Miles walked today: 4.3  for me;   7.4 for Ben (whose goal is to beat me everyday!)
• We are staying at the Space and Rocket RV Campground which is right beside the Space Center. - $25 per night

This morning after breakfast we walked from the campground to the Tiffin parts store and back which was about four miles before leaving Red Bay and driving to Huntsville, AL.

Once we arrived in Huntsville, I went online and signed up for an entrance time (because of Covid-19)  to tour the Huntsville Botanical Gardens.  It was very easy to social distance because there were only about ten other people in the whole gardens complex! Of the many beautiful gardens we’ve toured in the past, this was probably the least memorable, but some of the areas were very pretty. 

I enjoyed seeing this huge birdhouse with “See Rocket City” because it reminded me of all the barns we have seen when driving through TN that say, “See Rock City” (which is in Chattanooga).

There was a large variety of day Lillies that were very colorful and beautiful, but other that that there weren’t very many different kinds of flowers.  Many wooded areas to walk though and some pretty water areas though.

There was also a Butterly enclosure we walked through

After the botanical gardens we drove to Baskin Robbins for a late afternoon snack. In the same shopping area there was a Papa Murphy’s which we used to have in Lake Charles and really enjoyed, so Ben and I bought one and brought it home to cook for dinner. Delicious!

After dinner Tom and I walked a few miles while Ben rode his bike up and down the hills of the campground.

We ended the day with the final half of the canasta game we started the night before.  I ended up winning the whole game by my points in my last hand.

Trip Statistics:

• Miles driven today:  94
• Miles walked today 6.2 for me.  Tom and Ben somehow managed to get a few more..
• Total miles driven on trip: 776
• Gasoline was $1.699 a gallon in Huntsville.  We filled the tank with  69.05 gallons for a cost of $117.31
• We are staying at the Space and Rocket RV Campground which is right beside the Space Center. - $25 per night

Day 2 - Lafayette, LA to Carriere, MS

 We left Lafayette at 9:30am Sunday morning  so we could meet Jonathan, Claire, Stephen and Erin at The Chimes Restaurant in Baton Rouge for brunch. Luckily we were able to find a parking space for Big Hat (our motorhome) and tow car in an LSU lot right by the restaurant —always a potential problem when trying to stop in a town.

The rooftop was the perfect setting to try to stay safe from Covid-19, but it was very hot.  The food was good though and the meeting enabled us to say “Goodbye” to some of our family.

Next stop for the day was in Ponchatoula, LA when we visited with Tom’s 95 year old dad at Bob and Angie’s house. Dan, Vicki and Britney dropped by to visit Gramps also.  

After our visit there, we drove to Glen’s house in Carriere, MS.  Since we are unable to turn into their driveway with Big Hat, Glen arranged for us to park it down the road at a church parking lot.  Dan, Vicki and Britney drove over to Carriere also. Donna cooked a delicious dinner of fried frog legs, shrimp, catfish, French fries, homegrown tomatoes, and homemade shortbread and fresh strawberries!

And we’re off!  

We officially started our 2020 summer road trip on Saturday, May 30 with a 70 mile drive to the Scott, LA KOA park.  Our granddaughter Addalynn joined us for a night in the motorhome and some dominos, cards, bicycle riding to get ice cream and paddle boating on the lake.

She thinks she’s big enough to sleep on the top bunk, but we always make her sleep on the bottom.