Warren, Ohio to Lakeland, Florida

After leaving Rochester, New York, it was time to head south. We had about 1300 miles to travel back to Lakeland and had planned 8 days to do it, making a few stops along the way.

Our first stop was in Warren, Ohio to spend 2 days with our friends, the Giammarcos. We hadn't seen them since we left on our journey in 2009. It was great to see Jim, Cathy, DJ, and their dog Ricky! DJ is living at home while attending Youngstown State University and is doing quite well while going to school and working! Daughter Lee Ann is now living in Cleveland, and working as a registered nurse and is also a Lieutenant in the Army reserves! She recently became engaged, and we were able to see her and meet her fiance, Buddy. Buddy, also in the army, was being deployed a few days after our meeting, so it was a little sad, especially for Lee Ann and Buddy!

While in Ohio, the weather started to get colder, and one morning we had some trouble with freezing temperatures, which caused one of our water pipes to freeze. Luckily, there was no permanent damage, but we agreed maybe we should head straight home, since freezing temps were in the forecast the entire way to Florida. Because we are building a house, and will need some new furniture, we were going to visit Highpoint, North Carolina, which is famous for it's furniture stores. If I didn't know better, I would have thought Art had arranged the cold weather to avoid this visit!!!!!!!

Luckily, we were able to spend an evening in Knoxville, and had dinner with Jill, Wayne, Kristi, Cayla, and Jason, Cayla's boyfriend. It was a fun evening and great to catch up with everyone! Cayla graduated from college this year and is looking for a job in marketing. She is a very smart and personable girl, and we know a good job will turn up for her! Wayne announced he had just received a promotion that day, so we did some extra celebrating!

The rest of our journey down south was uneventful, and we arrived in Lakeland at our campground 2 days later. After getting settled in our campsite, Carol and Ricky picked us up and took us to their new house. It is beautiful, and they truly got a great deal! We enjoyed the home tour and seeing Carol and Rick, who we hadn't seen since February! Their house is in a community called, Bridgewater, which is about 10 miles from where our house is being built. Of course, we had to take a drive to our house, also, since we hadn't seen it since construction was started. Seeing it in person made it seem much more real and exciting! Hopefully, it will be done, as predicted, by the end of February!

The last two years of travel have been wonderful! In the 6 1/2 months we were gone this year, we covered 18,500 miles and traveled through 24 states! We got to see and do so much, and also visit friends and family along the way, some of which we hadn't seen in many years! Art and I are so grateful to have had this opportunity. Even though we are building a house, we plan to keep the RV and travel, although less extensively, in the summers. We still enjoy this lifestyle, and do not wish to give it up completely.

Presently, we will be retiring our travel blog, and do not have plans to resume it at this time. If the situation presents itself to write about our travels again, we will notify you. We wish to thank all of our faithful blog followers who have traveled with us over the past 2 seasons! It was fun to have you "ride" along, and hopefully enjoy what we were experiencing!

Rochester, New York-Part II

While visiting Rochester and going to our old neighborhood, we were able to see the house we had lived in, both inside and out. New owners, Bob and Valerie, and their children Ryan and Cayla, really seem to love the house as much as we did, and have taken great care of it. It made us feel good knowing they are happy there, and the home we had for 18 years was in very good hands!

Steve and Jody arranged a Harkola reunion at their home while we were in town! We got to see Steve and Jody's daughter, Stephanie, son, Nick, and his fiance, Britney, Steve's parents, Chet and Helen, Jody's sister Gail and sister Leigh and her husband, Eric. We miss seeing everyone, whom we were fortunate enough to spend many special Christmases with! It was truly a wonderful day, and we were grateful we were able to get together!

We couldn't have left Rochester, without seeing friends, Kathy and Jack! Art and I were able to spend some time with Kathy and son, Kevin, one afternoon, and Kathy, Jack, Art, and I went out for dinner one evening. It was so good to see everyone, and as usual, we had lots of laughs and fun when we were together! There were many wonderful Thanksgivings that Art, Matt, and I had spent at the Shiltz household!

Marilyn, whom I had worked with at HCR, and her husband, Matt, invited us over to see their new home which is in Fairport. They and their families have spent the last months remodeling and updating the house, and it is gorgeous!! Of course, they have had to get things done a little sooner, since they are expecting a baby early next year! We are very happy for them!

Our McKenzie camping buddies, Kathy and Bill, invited us to their home one day for lunch, along with Judy and Dick, who helped found our McKenzie camping group. It was great to get together, and we had a very nice afternoon! We are hoping to see Kathy and Bill in Florida after the holidays, and Dick and Judy think they will visit Florida in 2012. Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

Rochester, New York-Part I

Returning to familiar faces and places in Rochester was great! We had missed our friends and it was so good to catch up with everyone. Also, we were able to shop at Wegmans again. We never found another grocery store to compare in all of our travels around the country!

Good friends, Les and Joanne, extended lots of hospitality to us while we were in New York! We had several great dinners at their home, and one evening they invited some former neighbors of ours to visit. It was good to see Jim and Cathy, Jim and Kyle, and Bob and Lori. We also got to spend time with Joanne's Mom and Dad, Jocy and Irv, and her cousin, Melanie. It was a fun evening! Les took both Art and I for a ride on his beautiful Gold Wing motorcycle. He has put a lot of work into it, and it was thrilling to go for a spin. I can see why he and Joanne like it! One evening, Joanne and Les joined us for a campfire at our campground, although the weather was starting to turn pretty cold!

We had looked forward to seeing friends, Rand and Arlene, since we hadn't seen them since we left New York in July of last year! Arlene and I had worked together for many years at HCR before both of us retired in 2009. Since retiring, Arlene has battled major illness, and is now doing very well! We had a wonderful day at the Sundquist home reminiscing, laughing, and playing games! On another day, Art, Arlene, Rand, and I got together at Gail and Rick's home. Gail was also an HCR coworker, and she and her husband have both retired within the past year. We were invited for lunch, and were having so much fun, none of us left until dinner time!

While Matt was playing ice hockey as a boy in Rochester, we met John and Dorrie Bok and became friends. John was Matt's ice hockey coach for a time, and for a few years, Art and John played racquetball on a regular basis. During our trip we were able to get together with John and Dorrie for a delicious dinner at the Waterfront Grill in Canandaiqua. It was so nice to spend time with them again!

Michigan-Part III

Here are the rest of the "Surprise" party pictures.

Michigan-Part II

Art and I had been planning a "surprise" 80th birthday party for his brother, Kenny, while we were in Michigan, including making arrangements for Matt to fly in to attend with his girlfriend, Ashley. What I didn't know was while Art was planning a surprise for Kenny, he was also planning a surprise for my 60th! When we walked into DeLuca's Restaurant and I saw my friends and family standing there, I was totally caught off guard! Everyone said I looked confused! Art said he knew I was surprised because I wore the same top my Aunt Barbara had seen me in the night before!!!!! Had I known she would be there, he figured I would have worn something different!

The party was wonderful, and it was so good seeing everyone, some of which I hadn't seen for at least 15 years! Art did a fantastic job arranging the party and had enlisted some help to pull it off. Cousin Jane assisted in gathering my family together, which included Aunt Barbara and cousins Shannon, Greg, Shelley, Scott, Greg IV, Ted, and his girlfriend, Jen. Dee Ann recruited our college group, which consisted of Rich, Lynn and Bob, Nancy and Gordon, Donna and David, Chris, Bernie and John, and Nancy and Gordon. Niece Carolyn and her husband Mick were essential in arranging for the Kluegel family and friends to be present, who were nieces Kathy and Debby, Carolyn's children Julie and Kevin, and friends, Siggy and Gerry. Last, but not least, Margo, got together Diane and Lori, who I had worked with at Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital. Art made sure friends, Dot, Frank, and Brett, and Sue and Rod attended. I am very lucky to have so many wonderful family members and friends! Thank-you to everyone, especially Art, for making my and Kenny's milestone birthdays so special!!!!!!!

Michigan-Part I

East Lansing, Michigan, where we had tickets to the Michigan State vs University of Wisconsin football game, was our first stop after departing Wisconsin. Saturday morning, Matt and Ashley got to the MSU tennis court area early to set up for their traditional tailgate. Ashley had made some tasty appetizers and Matt was the "grillmaster", cooking brats and hot dogs. It was sure enjoyable to relax and watch them do the work!!!! Art's brother, Kenny, came with us to the game, and Ashley's Mom and Stepfather, Dine and Dan were also there, which made it even more fun! Some of Matt's friends and former roommates, Greg, Pat, Ben, Diondre, and cousin John were at the tailgate. It was nice to catch up with everyone! Of course, MSU won, which made the day, especially Matt's!!!!!!!!!!

The rest of our time in Michigan was devoted to visiting friends and family, some of which we hadn't seen in over a year. We were able to spend a great day with our cousins, Greg, Jane and Nick, and my Aunt Barbara, in Battle Creek. It was the perfect day for some Bocci Ball, although I think the boys beat the girls! Besides seeing Aunt Barbara in Battle Creek, we also had lunch with her and my cousin, Shannon, in Rochester, Michigan at the "Red Olive" restaurant.

My friend, Dot Baccari, arranged a reunion of gals from grade school. Attending were Dot, myself, Sue Saxton, and Lynn Frasier. Although Dot, Sue, and I have kept up friendships over the years, I figured Lynn and I hadn't seen each other in approximately 46 years! What a great time!!!!!!!!

Sue and I spent her "60th" birthday together, treating ourselves to pedicures and lunch, and discussing where all the years had gone! I'm glad we had that time together, since it has been a while since we were together on a birthday. Later that evening, Rod, Art, Sue, and I went out for further celebration at the McCormick and Schmick restaurant.

We were also able to spend time with Dot, Frank, and Brett. On one day, Frank made a delicious Italian dinner of lasagna and meatballs, and Matt and Ashley were also there to enjoy it! Later we enjoyed drinks and laughs in the hot tub! It brought back many pleasant memories of hot tub evenings in the past.

Madison, Wisconsin

Our trip continued to Madison, Wisconsin to spend some time with our son, Matt. Both Art and I were excited to see him, since Art hadn't been with him since Christmas and I since February. Matt had joined an adult hockey league, and did well during the year, scoring many goals and assists. We were able to watch him play 2 games during our visit and really had fun. It sure brought back memories of the years of hockey that Matt had played from a small child through high school, especially the smell of the ice rink!!!!!!! During one of the games, Matt got a penalty, and I managed to sneak up behind him and take a picture while he was sitting in the penalty box. I later found out his team mates saw me and told him his "Mommy" was taking pictures of him!

While in Madison, Art, Matt, and I took a drive to the nearby town of New Glarus to attend their Octoberfest. It was a quaint, small, town settled by the Swiss in the mid 1800's. The New Glarus Brewery, in the town, has become famous for some of it's beers, one of which is called, "Spotted Cow". A featured event at the festival, besides beer tasting, was an antique tractor pull. There were tractors from the 30's and 40's that took turns pulling a large weighted vehicle on wheels, and then the speed and length of the pull were measured and compared. It was interesting to watch.

Besides visiting Matt, we were also able to spend some time with our good friends, Dennis and Sandy Couture! As usual, it was great seeing them and we enjoyed lots of laughs together! We invited The Coutures to the RV for dinner, planning to eat outside. However, the weather didn't cooperate, so we stayed inside the RV, and managed to squeeze 5 adults around our RV kitchen table. Talk about close friends and family!! It turned out well and we all had a good time! One afternoon, Sandy took me for a new adventure, pottery painting. It is harder than it looks! We both painted cows, appropriate for Wisconsin. Sandy did Green Bay colors and mine was more eclectic. I don't think any new artists were discovered that day, but we sure had fun, and the cows turned out really cute!

St Paul, Minnesota to Door Peninsula, Wisconsin

After leaving South Dakota, we headed for St Paul, Minnesota, to visit Art's cousins, Don and Joanne, and their spouses. Don was the perfect host and tour guide and made sure we had a great day in the city. We started in downtown St Paul where we were able to see St Paul Cathedral and tour the Minnesota State Capital Building. The Capital Building, built in 1906, was beautiful and had just undergone a $1,000,000 renovation on the inside. The paintings on the walls and ceilings had been discolored, cracking, and peeling, after 104 years and were brought back to their original state and hues. All through the building were magnificent marble columns and steps. After lunch we proceeded to Como Park, where there is a "free" (donations only) zoo and plant conservatory. It was hard to believe they didn't charge an admission fee since both were very nice. The zoo even had bison, polar bears, and large cats. In the afternoon, we spent some time at Joanne and Ted's home on White Bear Lake and then visited Don's wife, Bits, at their home. It was wonderful to see everyone. What an enjoyable day!

Our next destination, was Marianette, in the northeast corner of Wisconsin near the Michigan border. It was here that I reunited with an old family friend, Pat Kosuth, whom I hadn't seen in at least 36 years! Pat's mother and mine met in WWII working in a factory and became best friends. As children, Pat and I spent a lot of time together and have kept in touch over the years by letters, so it was wonderful seeing Pat in person! She showed us around the area and took us to the Prestigo Fire Museum. A disastrous fire took place in 1871 in Prestigo, Wisconsin, the same time as the great Chicago fire. The fire destroyed the whole town, spread to the Door Peninsula, and as far away as Traverse City, Michigan, killing 2400 people in it's wake! The museum had some items found after the fire, although not many were left, and also had a cemetery next door where victims of the fire were buried. Besides sightseeing, Pat also had us over to her home, and cooked us two delicious meals. By the way, Pat is a wonderful cook! We had the pleasure of meeting Molly, Pat's dog and faithful companion. I'm so glad we were able to see Pat and hope it won't be another 36 years until we meet again!

Door Peninsula is an area of land jutting out between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. It is so picturesque, with small, quaint towns, interspersed with rural areas. During the summer and fall, Door is quite busy with lots of tourists, many who come up from Chicago. Art and I stayed about a week and really explored and enjoyed the area. There are many lighthouses around the peninsula, and Art and I toured one at Cana Island which was built in 1869 and started it's light in 1870. This lighthouse still has it's original Fresnel lens, one of the few still operating since being installed. A fun event, we participated in while at Door, was attend one of the famous "fish boils", a tradition in the peninsula. The fish boil started with fisherman and loggers a long time ago and eventually became a commercial success in the 50's. The boil is cooked outside in a huge pot fueled by a wood fire. Potatoes cook first, followed by small onions, and then the white fish. Just before the end, a cup of kerosene is added to the fire to cause a "boil over", which gets rid of impurities in the mixture. We got there early and were able to sit outside and observe the process. The meal was delicious and not bland, as I had assumed!

Rapid City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD

After leaving Montana, and driving through Wyoming, our next stop was Rapid City, SD. Having seen Mt Rushmore and Wall Drug in the past, we decided to tour Crazy Horse Mountain, where a monument to the American Indian is being carved into a granite mountainside. The carving was started 60 years ago, upon the request of the Lakota Chiefs, to honor all Native Americans. The sculptor they chose was Korczak Ziolkowski, who was the assistant to the creator of Mt Rushmore and an accomplished sculptor in his own right. Korczak started the project alone, even having to build a shelter, and blast and move rock by himself. Eventually he married and had 10 children, and the monument became a family mission. Unfortunately, Korczak died in 1982, but he left detailed instructions and plans for completing the sculpture. His wife, who is still alive and active, and 7 of the 10 children, continue to work on the monument, and raise money to pay for it through private donations and admission fees to the site. Besides the monument at the mountain, there is a beautiful welcome center with a Native American Museum, and Korczak's studio and home, where his wife still lives and allows public tours. Eventually, there is suppose to be a university and a teaching hospital on the property, and the site will become a national center for the Native American. We took a bus ride to get closer to the monument. It is magnificent already, but has a long way to go. The estimation is it will take another 40 years to complete!! Korczak is buried in the bottom of the mountain, so he can keep an eye on the project! It is said this will be the largest sculpture in the world, when completed.

Custer State Park in the Black Hills of SD was beautiful! One evening we took a ride and drove the "wildlife" loop of the park. We sighted mule deer, white tailed deer, prong-horn antelope, burros, wild turkeys, and bison! The park has a herd of 1500 bison. In the fall, they have a round-up to count and examine the bison. They try to keep the number at 1500 so the animals have plenty of food and area to roam. In the past, the park use to offer tours on burros, but discontinued this many years ago. The burros were let loose in the park where they have flourished. It was fun to see them as we drove, and, of course, many of them approach the cars looking for food!

Deadwood was a colorful Old West Town, where the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane lived and eventually died. We heard that Deadwood had started to deteriorate, but was refurbished, and now is a tourist attraction, partly due to legalized gambling in the town. We took the "Original Deadwood Tour", which is partly owned by Kevin Costner. It included a tour of the town, and also a visit to Mt Moriah Cemetary, (Deadwood's Boot Hill). Wild Bill and Calamity are buried next to each other, per Calamity's request.

After Rapid City, we made our second stop in SD, which was Sioux Falls. Our friends from Rochester, Nedda and Dave Nissen, moved there recently. Dave and Nedda have family in this area, and the Nissens decided this would be a great place to retire and be near family. They have a lovely new home, which we had the honor of having a delicious meal at. Dave and Nedda were wonderful hosts and showed us around Sioux Falls. We went on a trolley tour of the downtown area and learned some history of the city. Falls Park, where we caught the trolley, was beautiful. There were a series of small waterfalls going around huge granite rock formations. On one of our days visiting, the four of us went to DeSmet, SD, to visit the "Little Town on the Prairie" site, where Laura Ingalls had lived and got her inspiration for writing the 8 books in her series. I was thrilled, since the books and the "Little House on the Prairie" TV series were favorites of mine. We were able to tour the original house that "Pa" built for "Ma", and see the 5 cottonwood trees that "Pa" planted, one for "Ma" and each of the 4 girls. We had a fun time in Sioux Falls and hope to see Dave and Nedda in the near future!

Glacier National Park, Mt to Great Falls, Mt

Back in the USA! Our first destination was Glacier National Park, which is in the northwest corner of Montana, in the Rocky Mountains. We had heard last year how beautiful the park was, and we were not disappointed! Unfortunately, Glacier Park, known for it's glaciers, has only 25 glaciers remaining, and it has been predicted that most of the glaciers will be gone by 2020 due to melting! There are only about 12 glaciers that can be seen from the road and the rest can only be seen by hiking quite a distance into the backwoods. One of the largest visible from the road was Jackson Glacier.

On one of our days in Glacier, we took the famous "Red Bus" tour. There have been 3 generations of the Red Bus, first starting in 1936. When the last generation of buses started to break down, the park wanted to get rid of them. After protests, the buses were refurbished by Ford Motor Company at the cost of $250,000 each! Each coach holds about 12 passengers. They are convertible, so unless it is raining, the top is down and it is great to be able to see the mountains and scenery above you as you are driving. At certain times, when the vehicles are stopped, the passengers are allowed to stand up in the bus and take pictures. The vintage coach drivers were called "Jammers", because they could be heard jamming the gears on the original stick-shift vehicles when driving up and down the mountains.

Our tour went along the "Going to the Sun Road", which traverses the park from east to west. It is considered one of the most beautiful drives in the country. The road is narrow and winding, and is built on the side of the mountains. At Logan's Pass, in the middle of the park, the elevation of the road is 6600 ft! It is an amazing road with spectacular sights. All I can say is that I'm glad we didn't try to drive our big truck in there, and relied on Evelyn, our Red Bus tour guide! Had we driven, probably both Art and I would have had heart attacks! In some areas, there seemed to be only inches to pass by the other vehicles going the opposite direction!

After deciding we needed to get some exercise one day, Art and I planned to take a "short" hike within the park to see the St Mary's Waterfalls. While riding a shuttle to the trail head, we met a nice couple, Judy and Bob, (she a patent attorney) who were also planning to hike in the same area, so we joined them. The trail was marked "easy", but it seemed steeper, longer, and more dense than we had anticipated. There were bear warning signs along the way, and before long, we ran across some fresh droppings with berries in them. Since bears are real berry lovers, we became a little nervous. A lot of hikers bring bear spray, which, of course, we didn't have. However, I got out my "Off " insect spray, hoping the bear wouldn't know the difference, in case of an encounter! All of us also talked loudly the entire way, since bears like to know you are coming and not be surprised! Although we didn't run into a bear, we were face to face with a weasel, which Art managed to catch a picture of. We ended up walking over 4 miles, and finally did make it to the waterfalls!

While driving on the "Many Glacier" road in the evening, we were able to spot Grizzly Bears coming down from the mountains, looking for food. Before dusk, the bears get more active, so your chances of seeing them are greater. They are very large, but move quite fast. No matter how many you see, it is still thrilling to see them in the wild! On the way home we saw the most beautiful harvest moon rising over the treeline. A perfect ending!

During our brief stay in Great Falls, we made a trip to the Charles Marion Russell Museum. Russell became known as the "Cowboy Artist", and was a gifted painter, writer, and sculptor. He moved from St Louis to Montana as a young man, having always been fascinated by the Old West, and drew and painted while working as a cowboy. His love of the West and respect and sympathy for the Native Americans was evident in his artwork. The museum was very well done and also housed large exhibits of other Western and Native American artists and artifacts, as well as a great exhibit on the American Bison.