Pete & Sues American Tour.

South Dakota.

2008-11-11T11:10:00.000-08:00

MINNESOTA.

The 'Ole Miss'
The Famous 'Old Man'

The morning of 18th August 2008, saw us heading directly East, out of Wisconsin, over the 'Ole Miss' (Mississippi River!) and into the State of Minnesota, our destination, South Dakota, and a small Black Hills town called Custer. The journey ahead of us would be around 800 miles or so, and we decided on two stopovers 'en-route' and used the ever reliable State Park System for our nightly rests. The first brief stop would be Myre Big Island State Park, midway through Minnesota, which proved to be excellent value for money and a pleasant 1 night stay. (Even though our electric point was not working!)

Minnesota State Line.

The second day of our journey took us out of Minnesota and into South Dakota Via Sioux Falls on Interstate 90, East, we then left the Interstate system and continued on local highways, heading for Snake Creek State Park! This State park, though on route, was in a very remote location and was literally deserted! we were the only RV on site, and had the choice of any pitch we wanted. Perched above, and on, the East side of the Missouri River, it provided us with excellent views of the bridge and river, and also a chance for Amber to take a well deserved 'dip'. This particular part of Snake Creek which we were on was almost brand new, and all the facilities worked fine. It was a very nice site, probably one of the best State Park campgrounds we have been on. (to date)

Heading West towards Sioux Falls and South Dakota.

On site Snake Creek State Park.

Snake Creek State Park.

Bridge over the Missouri River, Snake Creek State Park.

The Missouri River.

Amber liked this State Park.

And of course, the Missouri River.

SOUTH DAKOTA

After yet another 1 night stay, it was 'up and at em'!! and press on 'Westwards' for the final part of the journey. This final leg took us through quite a few Indian reservations, long desolate prairies, and some of the most remote roads we have ever seen, sometimes not seeing another vehicle or person for 2 hours or more! This did make us feel a little uneasy, especially since we had not had a mobile phone signal for 2 days or so now, modern technology eh?

Remote prairie road.

We eventually seen this truck after around 2 hours on the road!!

Sunflower field.

Entering Cowboy Country........

And Indian Country too!!

Entering Custer National Park.

Custer National Park.

This Buffalo was alongside the road, Custer National Park.

Our Host for the next 2 weeks or so, was to be Custers Gulch Campground, located on the exact same site where General Custer and his men had stayed during their expedition. Ray and Elaine, the site owners, greeted us with a smile and checked us in, and onto our site, and made sure we were ok. Custers Gulch is located in a small valley, surrounded with rocky hills and outcrops, lined with evergreen pine and fir trees, it really was an amazing setting, with spectacular scenery!

Custer's Gulch RV Park.

General Custer did actually camp right here!!

Spectacular Views! Custer's Gulch RV Park.

The location was just breathtaking, Custer's Gulch RV Park.

Whichever direction you looked in!!!

On site, Custer's Gulch RV Park.

On site, Custers Gulch RV Park.

John, Connie and 'Missie' good friends we made at Custer's Gulch.......

and their fifth wheel RV and pick up. Nice!!

A DAY IN CUSTER AND THE MUSEUM!

The Black Hills Gold shop, Custer.
One of the many Trading Posts.......

Another Trading Post, Custer.

Sheriff's Office, Custer.

After a day or so, setting up and settling in we decided to head into Custer, just 2 miles away, and visit the '1880 Courthouse and Museum' and also see what the town had to offer. As the title suggests, the museum was the former Custer Town Courthouse and was now a museum.

The 1880's Courthouse, now a Museum.

The Badlands!

The building was the hub of Custer County from 1881 to 1974, since then it has been preserving and displaying Custer County History. It served the local people for 92 years.

The history of the Deadwood Stage!

The first room we entered was the 'Antique Taxidermy' room, mostly done by a local man between 1900 and 1929, and is in sharp contrast to the modern mount of a mountain lion.

Mountain Lion.

We then entered the Custer Expedition room, which features photographs taken by Illingworth, on the 1874 expedition into the Black Hills, led by famed Civil War General George A Custer. exhibits on display included a rifle used by General Custer, and the remains of a tree, bearing carvings by members of his expedition. On 25th June 1876, Sitting Bull and his 4000 warriors were encamped when Custer and his troops mounted their infamous attack at Little Bighorn river. Custer and his 200 soldiers were all killed by the Indian warriors and congress reacted quickly by punishing even the peaceful Sioux Indians, by cutting food and clothing rations dramatically, and taking their tribal land in the Black Hills from them.

General Custer and the Sioux Indians.

This was supposedly, the first Grizzly caught by Custers Men.

Minerals of Custer County are displayed throughout the museum, including Gold Ore, which brought miners to Custer in 1875. And also Rose Quartz, which is the official State gemstone! Mining, Lumbering and Ranching were major sources of income in the early years.

The upstairs courtroom features the original Cherrywood furniture with the judges chamber just beyond. A one-room school with teacher and students shows how the '3 R's' were taught in the 1880's.

Judges Chambers.

The 'Ranch Room' features early day branding irons, tools, barbed wire collection and antique saddles and Tack.

The Ranch room.

Sue, in the Ranch Room.

Downstairs, in the basement, is the 'General Store' where anything from tea kettles to neck-ties were sold. This incorporated 'The Old Fairburn Post Office' including the original antique mailboxes. In the same room as the Post office, was also the location of the Local Jail, and it is said that customers visiting the General Store, were asked by the prisoners for neccessities!

The first Post Office.

The Local Prison.

Sue, in the Post Office.

Outside were various outbuildings, including The Carriage House. Also, a hand-hewn log building housing printing equipment from Custer's 1879 first continuously operated newspaper.

The Carriage House.

A brick building housing early Blacksmiths Forge and tools, And is the site of Custer County's ONLY LEGAL hanging!!

The only Legal Hanging spot.

We spent a good few hours inside the museum, learning all about our surrounding area, and the importance of General Custers Expedition and his encounters with the Sioux Indians. Good value at $5 each entrance fee!

MOUNT RUSHMORE AND CRAZY HORSE!

The road leading to Mount Rushmore is called Iron Mountain Road, It is extremely narrow and contains 180 degree hairpins and dangerous 'blind' tunnels, some of which 'frame' the faces of Mount Rushmore and provide excellent photo opportunities, even if they proved a little tricky to stop the car to try and get the best shot!

One of the many tunnels on the Iron Mountain Road.

This was took from the Iron Mountain Road.

A shot of the Four Faces.

Tee-pee's on the Iron Mountain Road.

In 1923 Doane Robinson had a vision!! A massive mountain memorial carved from stone, so large that it would put South Dakota on the map. He told all who would listen of his dream, of giant statues of Western figures such as, Chief Redcloud, Buffalo Bill Cody and legendary Sioux warriors marching along South Dakota's skyline! Robinson enlisted the aid of 1 man he knew could 'carry the torch', the well respected Senator, Peter Norbeck. Norbeck was a frequent visitor at The White House and Robinson's proposal was put forward by Norbeck and was agreed by senior Senators who encouraged the historian to seek a sculptor capable of such a project. One of America's most prolific artists, Gutzon Borglum, received a letter from Robinson proposing the project in August 1924.

Borglum, the Sculptor.

Borglum accepted Robinson's proposal, but forcibly informed Robinson and Norbeck that his lifes work would not be spent immortalising regional heroes!! The trio eventually agreed and selected four great Presidents for the carving. Borglums party climbed 7242 ft of the South facing, pine clad, craggy cliff, known as Mount Rushmore, and with each test, Borglum confirmed that he had found his mountain, and Mount Rushmore was chosen for the massive sculpture on 19th August 1925.

Borglum climbed to the craggy summit in 1927, drilled 6 holes to mark commencement of carving. The Mount Rushmore dream would embrace the remaining 14 years of his life and leave a monument unlike any other. Thus Mount Rushmore was born!!

After Borglums death, his son, Lincoln, (actually named after the President!) spent 7 months refining the monument and on 31st October 1941 he stopped construction, leaving Mount Rushmore as we know it today, a truly American Icon!

We arrived at Mount Rushmore, paid our entrance fee of $10, which covers a car full of people so could work out very inexpensive. and proceeded to park the car. After climbing the 2 flights of stairs and passing the visitor centre, we were faced with the 'Avenue of Flags'. Every American State's flag is on display here, and also the date that they were aquired, and entered into State. We were surprised to see the British flag in the corner of the State of Hawaii flag, we were told that we had formed a strong 'friendship' with Hawaii many years ago.

Avenue of Flags!

Hawaii Flag.

Our first Glimpse!

The Faces.

At the end of the 'Avenue' we could then see the four faces in all their glory, it was truly an awe inspiring sight, we were both speechless for just a few moments. It was hard to believe that 1 man could achieve a sculpture, in the side of a granite mountain, of such proportion!! and believe me, these photo's really do not do it any justice at all!!!

Sue and the Faces.

I regretted wearing jeans, it reached around 95 deg!!

Left to right: George Washington, remembered for helping the nation achieve its independence from England. Thomas Jefferson, drafted the declaration of independence at the age of 33, Theodore Roosevelt, remembered for completing the Panama Canal and connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and finally, on the far right is Abraham Lincoln, remembered for overseeing one of the most pivotal periods of American history, The Civil War!

The Faces

We spent an hour or so, taking pictures and enjoying the sight and the sunshine, in what was now turning out to be a very hot and sunny day and we were glad to get into the air conditioned gift shop where we met a nice couple from Devon!. After getting a few souvenirs, we went back to the car to get our packed lunch that we had prepared earlier that morning.

The road back from Mount Rushmore continues on the Iron Mountain Road and takes you past the side profile of President Washington, and then winds you back to highway 16, and it was then South, back towards Custer.

Side profile.

Fantastic views from The Iron Mountain Road.

Located just north of Custer, on highway 16, is the Crazy Horse Memorial. The Mount Rushmore Memorial encouraged another accomplished artist to carve a second colossal sculpture in the Black Hills. In 1948, 7 years after work stopped on Mount Rushmore, carving began on Crazy Horse Memorial by sculptor Korczaz Ziolkowski, whom had previously worked as an assistant to Borglum on Mount Rushmore in 1939 before leaving. Chief Standing Bear of the Ogalala Sioux Indians wrote to Ziolkowski, asking him to consider carving a sculpture dedicated to the native American indian. Chief Standing Bear said "We would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes too" Ziolkowski accepted the challenge to create the largest sculptural undertaking in the world and chose the legendary Sioux Warrior, Crazy Horse for his subject.

Crazy Horse was born in the Black Hills and is partially credited with General Custers sensational defeat at the battle of Little Bighorn. Thunderhead Mountain's granite face is 563 ft tall and will dwarf even the Four Presidents faces when completed.

It was a very fascinating day out filled with spectacular scenery, great American History, and awe inspiring sights.

DEADWOOD AND WILD BILL HICKOCK!

The famous Main Street, Deadwood.

Main Street.

Hotel on the Main Street.

Another fantastic looking Hotel.

Deadwood is located 45 miles, directly North of Custer and was famed for its gambling, brothels and, of course, Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane!

Gold was discovered here in 1874 by Custer's expedition, this set off a 'rush' of fortune seekers looking to strike it rich. The first gold was found near the present day city of Custer, in the Southern hills. But the creeks and mines yielded little treasure. In 1876 miners moved to the Northern Black Hills where they discovered a 'gulch' (valley) full of dead trees and a creek full of gold!

Main Street.

And Deadwood was born!!

Outlaws and Gunslingers, Main Street.

It attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold prospectors and Wild Bill was one of those men who came looking for fortune!

Check out these 'Deadwood' door handles!

A few weeks after arriving in Deadwood, Wild Bill was gunned down by Jack Mc Call, holding a poker hand of Ace's and Eight's and so began the legend of the 'deadmans hand'.

The 'Lucky Nugget' where Wild Bill was shot!

The sign says it all!

But they did catch him!

Tribute to Wild Bill, Main Street.

We parked the car just north, and within a short walk, of Deadwood and we were immediatley faced with a very imposing building that is the main Post office, Next door to this is the Adams Museum, this was free to enter, but no photos were allowed. Basically, it describes how Deadwood was a booming 'Transportation Hub' serving as a main trading post and secure stopover for the Wells Fargo wagons as they would transport gold from out of the hills. It also became a main freight and cargo distribution town with wagons lining the streets on their way to, and from, what is now, South Dakota. Two blocks North is Deadwood's Main Street with its present day gambling houses, shops, banks and restaurants.

Post Office Building.

Present day gambling house, Main Street.

The Adams Museum was founded and built by pioneer businessman and civic leader W.E Adams in 1930 at a cost of $75,000. He deeded the building to the city of Deadwood, but placed the operation of the non-profit museum in the hands of a board of trustees who were responsible for collecting some of the Black Hills treasure.

Adams Museum.

Adams House.

Entrance to the Cemetery.

The Mount Moriah cemetery is home to both the graves of Wild Bill and well known prostitute, Calamity Jane. It was her dying wish that she be buried next to Wild Bill, and there were rumours of a relationship together, however, this turned out to be pure speculation, and nothing of the kind existed ever! Wild Bills gravestone is very large indeed and consists of a large life sized bust on a plinth, Visitors to the grave had left certain offerings, such as cigarettes and small bottles of Liquor. Calamity Jane's Gravestone was completely opposite, it being a very small, simple affair, and not very ornate or grand at all, in comparison.

A sign in the cemetery for Wild Bill.......

And Calamity Jane!

Wild Bill's Grave.......

And laid beside him, Calamity Jane!

We stood on historic Main Street and felt transported to a wilder time..... when whiskey ruled and gamblers took a chance just walking down the street, when Deadwood was known as a lawless town. It was just Fab!!

BEAR COUNTRY USA!

Entrance to Bear Country.

Bear Country USA is a 'drive thru wildlife park' located North of Custer on highway 16, just before Rapid City, but instead of having exotic and unfamiliar animals, this park was home to many species found, not just in the black hills, but also parts of North America. The animals roam free in over 200 acres of natural Black Hills Habitat. The park features the largest privately owned collection of American Black Bear.

Sue, in the Gift shop.

We observed Elk, Wolves, Reindeer, Mountain Lions, Coyote's and Bighorn Sheep to name but a few.

There was also an additional section called 'Babyland' which featured young and small animals, which also included a large playground for the bear cubs, complete with waterfalls and trees. It was an educational few hours for us and was a change from the 'steeped history' that the surrounding area had offered, it truly was, a breath of fresh air for us, and provided us with a nice relaxing end to our stay in South Dakota.

Grizzly Bear.

Fox and Coyote.

Beaver.

Bobcat.

Mountain Lion

Wolf.

Racoon.

Bear Cubs.

Coyote Cubs.

Grizzly Bear

Mountain Lion

Sue, with a sleeping Grizzly!

This bear was fast asleep.

A pack of Coyote's.

Bighorn sheep, in the distance.

This wolf came right up to the car, amazing!

Arctic Wolf

Reindeer.

Reindeer.

We're not sure what these were! Answers on a postcard please!

Next stop is Colorado to collect Petes Dad and Wife, Caroline. And to then start the 'Grand Tour' which would see us take in Utah, Arizona, California and Nevada, all in just 3 weeks!!

Details to follow...........

Wisconsin.

2008-09-01T18:24:00.001-07:00

WISCONSIN.

SPRING GREEN AND WISCONSIN RV RESORT.

Spring Green was to be our 'host' for the next few days, it was a typical small rural American town, complete with a small supermarket, a couple of restaurants and a bank. So we had all that we needed for a brief stop. Located just inside the Town limits, was our next campground.

Main Street, Spring Green. WI.

Shops, Main Street, Spring Green. WI.

This old bank is now a restaurant, Main Street, Spring Green. WI.

The 'new' bank, Main Street, Spring Green. WI.

This site has just had new owners and a new name, it was called Bobs RV Resort, but its new title is now Wisconsin RV Resort. It provided us with a great location for the visit to "The House on the Rock" which we were told is a must to see ,hence the short stay of 3 nights, as we pass through Wisconsin.

Entrance to Wisconsin RV Resort, Spring Green. WI.

Onsite, Wisconsin RV Resort, Spring Green. WI.

Very nice campground.

This Chipmunk visited our RV everyday.

THE HOUSE ON THE ROCK.

I have to say we were not to sure what to expect, the name conjures up a house on a rock and nothing more, so after breakfast on Friday morning we set off to investigate this mystery house, and all the 'hype' that surrounds it! It was only a 20min drive and we were there at the entrance, and apart from large wrought iron gates and a very nice statue and water fall for the visitors, there was not alot to see really, we began thinking if it was as good as people had told us it was!

One of the many 'Urns' at the main entrance.

A Photo of The House On The Rock.

Alex Jordans Poem.

We proceeded to park the car and went to the main reception desk to find out how much the addmision fee was, what we might see, and how long it would take us to see the house and we were told around 3 hours, which at this point none of the house is visable, so the mystery continued! We were told that the total cost was $26-50 per person,but of course if you only want to see tour 1 the cost is less the same if you see tour 2 you have the choice,we decided to take all 3 tours and make a day of it.

Large statue at the main reception.

We were given a booklet telling us all about Alex Jordan the man behind this architectural marvel ,he had the vision and believed that sights and sounds were the most effective means of stimulating the senses,I am going to try and tell you about this amazing house and it is a hard task, believe me with the help of photos I hope you can see what treasures this house holds.

Tiffany Lamps held by Mermaid.

Mermaid.

Another Tiffany Lamp.

Alex Jordan was a Taxi driver and was a great collector of anything and everything no matter what ,he also liked to be in the countryside where it was peaceful, and used to visit a rock called Deer Shelter Rock. After many visits he enquired about buying the rock and this being achieved in the 1940's he proceded to build his house! This "chimney" of rock is 60 feet high and his only access was a rope ladder, but he did manage to build his retreat, unfortunately the people from the surrounding areas became intrigued to know what he was doing up on the top of this rock and would turn up and shout for him to drop down the ladder so they could visit. Alex then knew he would not get any peace so he opened it to the public in 1960 the first year, having charged 50cents per person, he totalled $5000!!

A collection of Masks!

Alex Jordan designed, and made, this lamp.

This is what the People climbed the ladder to see! oriental art,stained glass,bronze statues,a three story bookcase filled with rare books but of course as the house grew so did the collection and with the proceeds he just kept adding rooms.

The Infifnity Room, Stretching out over the valley.

Another view of the Infinity Room.

View from the Infinity Room.

As we continued through the first rooms we came upon the Infinity Room which projects out over the Wyoming Valley 218 feet, and it contains 3,264 windows and a glass floor, looking down the valley below. We then came to the Millhouse which opened in 1968 and houses some of the first collections of Alex Jordan, which consist of an enormous fire place, complete with a tree in it,suits of armour,guns, dolls and mechanical banks.

This was a musical instrument, set in the wall.

One of the large Fireplaces.

And large Bellows, filled with Paperweights.

Streets of yesterday which opened in 1971, is a 19th century main street laid with bricks and has old time gas street lamps, it also is complete with a variety of shops that have goods to sell what they advertise, and also a sheriff's office, the local dentist and a house complete with 'well to do' furniture laid out as they would have had it years ago, as we got to the top of this street we came upon a large Music Machine (some of these items had the rooms built around them, after they were 'sited' they are that big!)

Streets of Yesteryear, Doll Shop.

The Old Fire-Station. Check out the Dalmation, under the table!!

And Faberge Shop.

Looking up the Street.

Another View of The Street.

One of the houses on the Street....

And another house.....

And a carriage outside.

This was also in The Street!

This 'carriage' was towards the end of the street.

One of the many ornate sleighs.

The Heritage of the Sea was the next room and as you enter it your eyes are drawn to the 200ft sea creature that is struggling with an enormous octopus, (who do you know who has a room that can accomodate this!!) Also in this room there is a display of 200 large model ships and the biggest collection of Titanic memrobilia .

One of the biggest collections of original Titanic memorobilia in the World!

Every room we turn into is a complete surprise and the next one is no exception the Music of Yesterday, which opened in 1974 and has the greatest collection of animated and automated music machines, you can get tokens to put in these machines and they play, dont get the idea that these are just small child size musical toys either, you could not be more wrong I just hope the photos do these rooms justice.

Music of Yesterday.

This is a huge musical instrument! Look carefully, all the figures 'played' as did the giant harp in the middle!!

There was five rooms which I am going to list like Tribute to Nostalgia which opened in 1995 dedicated to all things nostalgic, the Blue room, the Peacook, the Mikado and the Red room, further down the hall is the Spirit of Aviation, which opened in June 2002 which has vintage model airplanes along with the history.

Spirit of Aviation.

If I could have one wish at this moment it would be for all of you reading this blog to see this next room because Pete had used up all the battery on the video camera and I was not far off using the battery up on the camera, the "Carousel"it was unveiled on Easter weekend in 1981,

Here we go.....
The Giant Carousel

Not one Horse!!

Winged Figures above The Carousel.....

And a huge Chandelier.

Complete with 20,000 lights, 269 hand crafted animals and I might add, not one horse, it measures 35ft tall 80ft wide and weighs 35 tons, and took 10 years to build. The fact that it was working with the music of the old Carousel from the fair ground took me back and I was spellbound ,the ceiling was covered with full size figures, flying, and the walls covered with the merry -go -round -horses. The rooms would hold you in and with the amount of things in of them you can forget 3 hrs, i can tell you!!.And, if you need the restrooms, well, you will be in for another surprise because Alex had used these as like all the other rooms, and there was a collection in each of them too!

We continue on to the Organ room which as is the norm with this house "look up folks" because these are not your teach yourself to play Organs, they are two story's high,
Now its through to the Dolls House collection which consist of 250 exquisite dolls houses, and its not only the sheer number but its the fact that they are detailed right down to the cookies on the plates, and all have electicity, carry on through to the Circus Room, displayed with one million pieces and every single tent in the display has all the animals you used to see at the circus , at this time we thought we could not be surprised anymore but we got that so wrong because around the next corner there was an 80 piece orchestra which took 14 people three years to create with 37 miles of wiring, 31 blowers, 2300 pneumatic motors and added to this room is a complete collection of Baranger motions which featured in fine jewellery stores in the 20s ,30s,40s, and 50s.

Every little girl's dream.....

These Doll's houses were amazing!!

And perfect in every detail!!

Full, lifesize, all playing, 80 piece orchestra! Just amazing to see and hear!!

The Organ Room.

Well by this time we cannot believe how much more this man could have collected, its just amazing, you may have guessed, but by now he had employed teams of people on his behalf to search the world for items, just to put in his house.
The next room is called the Galleries, and has, among other things, a fine collection of Weapons, the second section is Oriental Collection, the third is an Armour Collection with King Arthurs Knights of the round table. Samurai armor is of the Shogun section and Alex Jordans creation of Hannibal crossing the Alps. The Crown Jewel Collection was great as it featured replicas of the Tower of London Crown Jewels, well we hope they were replicas, also there were items of Royalty and crowns of fancy.

Actual 'lifesize' Elephants and Figures.

I was so glad I had put on my comfy shoes ,but we were at the last room and it was the Doll Carousel Room, here was two carousels that display over 500 dolls, and so that you get to see the whole of these carousels and the dolls on it, they make the floor go around like a cork screw so you climb higher watching the dolls travel around, all in there fine costums and lovely hair styles,on the other side of the room and leading us towards the exit was the "Four Horsemen of the Apocalyspe" and as these were high up in the room we walked up the path and on closer inspection they were very evil looking which was a shock as we had not seen anything that represented horrow or evil, but they were full size and fasinating! You may have guessed by know we had nothing to take any photos with but i did treat us to a beautiful book from the 'House on the Rock' gift shop, a momento to look back at, because no matter how we try to tell people about this place you have to see this mans dream, to believe it. I have not covered all of what we saw but we did photograph as much as possible and with the same dreams and vison that Alex Jordan had ,try and see the photos through his eyes because thats what he wanted to share with you and,of course so do we.

Dolls Carousel

So, to cap it all then, one of the most amazing and fascinating houses we have ever visited. The rooms keep you spellbound with every turn. If you are ever in the Southwestern tip of Wisconsin, a visit to The House on the Rock' is surely a must. We found it good value for money at around $50, for both of us, and we were in the house for around 5 hours.

Please bear in mind that some parts of the house were a little dark, so excuse some of the photos. We took over 3 hours of Video and over 400 photographs, and only a few of which can be seen above.

Next instalment takes us into 'Cowboy Country' South Dakota, and Historical Custer!!

Illinois and Chicago.

2008-08-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Written by Pete!!!.

Shabbona Lake State Park & DeKalb!

On Monday 11th August, at around 8am, saw us on the move again, this time round to the east side of Lake Michigan, and Shabbona Lake State Park. This paticular campground was chosen especially for its close proximity to 'The Windy City' as we wanted to visit Chicago, on the Wednesday, for the day and take an open-top bus tour around the city and enjoy all that Chicago had to offer.

On Site at Shabbona Lake State Park.

Complete with picnic table and fire ring.

Shabbona Lake was typical of the State Parks we had now become acustomed to, we selected a nice, private site and spent most of Monday Afternoon 'setting up' and relaxing. Tuesday consisted of a trip to nearby DeKalb, the closest town to us. A pretty little town, with the now familiar main street. A stroll up one side and down the other proved not very interesting, most of the shops and businesses were closed or empty, but we did happen upon a building that used to be the main bank. There was a sign in the window that said "Chamber of Commerce and tourist info" After going inside we were amazed to see that the interior of the 'bank' had hardly been touched and retained all of its features and character, including its main bank vaults! I had been trying, rather unsucessfully, over the past few days to try and locate the best place to park the car in Chicago, and where to catch the 'open-top tour bus' and to say that I was becoming a ' little frustrated ' due to the lack of knowledge that had been coming from the other end of the phone over the past few days, was an understatement to say the least, One tour company call centre was located in Georgia!! and when I was asking "exactly where do we catch the tour bus?" and several other 'Chicago' related questions, all I got was "erm, not sure" or "I dunno" I proceeded to ask him how can he operate a 'Chicago tourist switchboard' but know nothing of the City concerned? His answer was "Because I live in Georgia and I've never been to Chicago!" at that point I put the phone down!! But after 30 mins inside the 'bank' we were a little clearer on what area to head for and where a few car parks were located. Also obtained, were several 'tour company' telephone numbers located in Chicago itself, and not in some other State!

The First National Bank Tourist Information Centre..........

Complete with the original vaults........

(Inside the vault......)

And the paying/receiving counter, still in tact, untouched, DeKalb.

Main Street, DeKalb.

The Square, DeKalb.

The Egyptian Cinema, DeKalb.

Expressing our gratitude, and saying our goodbyes, we continued on, along the Main Street pausing to look in the few shop windows that were open or occupied, it was then that I saw it!!!!!!!

There it was, like an Oasis in the desert!!! I couldnt believe my eyes!!!! AN IRISH BAR!!!

" Well, we cant really not go in, can we?" I said, hopefully!... There was no answer from Sue, so a little pleading and, eventually, begging, on my behalf, saw us inside 'O'flannerys' just a few minutes later, perched at the bar, Guinness in hand, HEAVEN!!!! (Unfortunately, due to sheer excitement on my behalf, i was unable to take any photos, hic.......hic.....!)

This proved to be a wise move, in more ways than one (luckily for me!) After chatting to one of the barmaids, she informed us of a local train (20 mins away)at Elburn, that goes straight into Downtown Chicago, a 90 minute journey, and around $20 return, for both of us!! She also told us of the extortionate car parking charges Downtown, at around $30 for the day, so that was it. The train it was!!!
Just before we returned to Shabbona Lake, we decided to just check out the train station at Elburn, and also the train schedule. we opted for the 7.30am train, arriving at Union Street Station, Chicago, just before 9am.

A day in Chicago! Written by Sue!

Taken on our day out in Chicago.

Because the station was around 40 mins away, we needed to be leaving the site at 6-45 giving us plenty of time to get there and park the car, Pete set the alarm for 5-45 and when it went off he pressed the snooze button and when he next looked it was 7-00!! He jumped out of bed and realised we could not possibly make the 7-30 train, it was then that I asked him if he had changed the clock as we had moved from Eastern to Central time zone, an hour difference,he hadn't and it was only 6-00 so I forgave him his error! We arrived in good time for the train and was amazed to see the carriage was a double-decker and as it was empty, Pete got out the video camera and filmed the whole interior of the carriage, this is a new experience for us, something so different so we had to have it on film!

The Double -deck Metra Train Station, Elburn, Illinois.

As we travelled through the suburbs the train stoped at most stations and it started to get very busy with lots of people boarding, I suppose this train is the one of the most popular as it will get people to Chicago in time for work. Arriving at Union Station, Chicago, was like any other busy station with workers rushing to get to work on time and start their day. Our day was going to be so different as we would discover.

Union Street Station, Chicago.

Our first Glimpse of the Chicago Skyscrapers......

More fantastic Skyscrapers, Chicago.

Chicago Opera House.

When we came out of the station doors we stood, and just raised our eyes upwards, and our mouths dropped to our chest, it was the most amazing sight we had ever seen ,sky-scrapers everywhere, but with lots of sun light getting through which made it so easy to see the famous sky-line and to see each individual building itself! after our inital shock we made our way to the corner of Jackson and Whacker, and the location of The Sears Tower, we continued to the South-East corner, where we were told that all the tour busses would be. We saw an open top bus parked and started to walk towards it, It was at that point that a man, who obviously worked for the tour company, appeared from behind the bus and proceeded to wave the tickets at us, and 'beckon' us over, at this point we were probably 50-60 metres from the coach, as we got nearer, he encouraged us to listen to what he had to say about the tour and how much it was, $20 each, which was fine but he said we were a little early and the bus didn't leave until 10am, so we decided to go for a coffee, and on our return I asked the ticket seller, out of curiosity, why he had waved US across? his answer was "we looked happy and were smiling, so he knew we were not going to work, so we had to be tourists!!"

Elevated Train, West Chicago.

Historical Building, Chicago.

Taken from the tour bus, looking towards Downtown Chicago.

Historical Building, Chicago.

Chicago Skyscrapers.

Elevated Train, Note the workers on the track! Nice job!

Travelling on the open top bus,which has to be the best way to see this or any other City, and having a guide tell us the history is always an interesting feature, Pete and I were kept extremely busy with both cameras, camcorder and digital, to try and capture as much as possible of this fantastic city. The good thing about these tour buses is you can get on or off at different places of interest if you wish, but our time was limited due to leaving Amber, so we always opt to stay on the bus and see the tour through to the end and then, time permitting, we choose the sights we want to see.

One of the amazing Hotel's of Chicago.

Art Institute, Chicago.

Roosevelt University Building, Chicago.

Hilton Hotel, Chicago.

Hilton Hotel, Chicago.

The saying is "You havent seen Chicago until you''ve seen it from the top of Sears Tower"and this was the first building we saw, across the road from where we caught the tour bus, but decided to come back at the end of the tour as it was on our wish list to travel to the top, 'The Skydeck' and see across Chicago and into Wisconsin.

Sears Tower.

Sears Tower.

Chicago Skyline.

Chicago skyscrapers, note the diamond shaped roof.........

They had to install heaters in the glass roof to prevent ice from falling on to the sidewalk below.

The central core of Chicago is called The Loop because of the elevated train tracks that encircle this district which consist of financial and government buildings along with a thriving shopping and cultural scene,you can get off the bus here and go to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago where they will take your photo next to the 'million dollar briefcase' and they will give you $300 to put through their large shredding machine, what a waste! I presume they are old notes as they are in sealed packets.

Cartier, Chicago.

In the booming 1920s, film, jazz and big band music flourished here and acts such as Charlie Chaplin, Duke Ellington and Glen Miller were all here to entertain at the clubs and theaters which came to be the stomping grounds for notorious gangsters. The West Loop is known as "foodies paradise"you can eat Greek, Asian, Italian and Mexican just about any type of cuisine can be found here . Passing over the river where you can have a tour by water taxi if you wish, seeing the city from a different aspect with 53 buildings ,bridges and landmarks to photograph. We were having enough trouble trying to keep up with it all on the coach, with so much to see and film.

We were now approching Wrigley Field, the oldest ball park in the national league and where the Chicago Cubs play, you can watch a Cubs game from the Wrigleyville Rooftops, which is the most unique experience, or you can see the Whitesox at U.S. Cellular Field, play, but I know that my son would just about give anything to be here today being as baseball is his favourite sport, and he did play for England ,wouldnt any baseball fan or player want to be at this historic ball park (did you know baseball was the game of the English first?)

The Wrigley Building.

Buildings around Wrigley Field.

Our next stop was Navy Pier which is the citys most visited destination and has 50 acres of parks,shops,resturants and attractions this was a busy stop and many people got off the bus to check this out. On Wednesday and Saturday evenings there are firework displays which are synchronized to music and, as we were told, they are spectacular.

Navy Pier.

Oprah Winfrey, Alice Cooper and John Belushi all live here!!

Continuing on the tour we passed the Science & Industry Museum, Adler Planetarium, The Shedd Aquarium and The Hancock Observatory. The next stop on the tour was at the side of Lake Michigan which was a 'photo stop' and the driver and guide offer to take your photo with The Chicago Skyline as your back-drop (see the pic he did a good job)

The Hancock Observatory.

Sue and Pete, with the Chicago Skyline behind us.

The Field Museum.

The next stop was "Trump Tower" (Donald has come to Chicago!), opened in Dec 2007 with 286 hotel condos and 339 rooms, $2,000 a night for a Grand Deluxe lake suite, 92 story's high and a luxury service with a personal concierge and even personalised stationary! There are views through the 30 foot 'floor to ceiling' windows.

Trump Tower, Still under construction.

Church, near Trump Tower.

Excalibur Building.

The next stop was "Marina City", this has two huge towers on the Chicago River, there is parking for your boat ,which I can assure you are luxury beyound belief,the next floor is for your car, and above that, is your Luxury Condo.

Marina City, Boat Park then Car Park, then luxury condo above, perfect!

Although Chicago is known as the windy city the tour guide said this is a mith and its actually not any breezier than any other American city, but when we were on top of the bus passing Lake Michigan it sure felt a windy city to me!

The 'largest' building in Chicago, it occupies a whole city block and comes with its own zip code.

We were now coming to the end of the tour and as we left the bus for the last time, we headed across the road and straight into The Sears Tower, and the Sky Deck entrance. This is the tallest tower in Chicago, and indeed America, standing 1,450 feet and 1,730 feet at the top of its twin antenna, and on a clear day you can see four States, Illinos, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin! It took three years to build and was completed in 1973. It has a 6 inch sway on windy days, it has 16,100 windows and has 110 stories, and is the tallest building in North America and the 5th tallest in the world! and we were heading for the elevators which travel at 1,600 feet a minute but you never felt a thing, it was so smooth, it was everything we had been told with 360 degree views and unbeliveable sights that stretched off into the horizon. It was a little hazy and we did not see the four states (we did see into Wisconsin and Indiana) but we sure did see some amazing sights and I hate to say it, but you really have to be there, to see it !!

Below are some photo's took from 'The Skydeck' at the top of Sears Tower:

We were now on the train home, after an unforgettable day and feeling very weary, we were so glad we made this trip and the photos and video we took, will always remind us of our visit to "The Windy City" It was, again, a fantastic day out!!!

Our next stop is Wisconsin and a 'house' that contains the largest carousel in the world!!!!

Details to follow!

Indiana

2008-08-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

Indiana.

Written by Pete and Sue!

On the 2nd August it was time to leave Ripplin' Waters, Sevierville, Tennesee and at 8-00, Saturday morning we were on our way! Todays journey would take us through Kentucky, South to North, and into Ohio, on the state border with Southern Indiana, total mileage, around 350 miles, arriving at our next campground at 2-30pm which was Brookville Lake Recreation Area (a State Park!) Being as it was a Saturday afternoon and a beautiful day, it was packed and most sites were taken, but we had ours reserved! Majority of the 'Campers' had brought their boats with them, and there were all shapes and sizes. After setting up, and exploring the surrounding area we discovered why, it had a great lake and a beach with a swimming area!

For once, the climate was great here, we could sit outside in comfort, what a treat, we have not been able to do this in weeks! This however, was a stop off point en-route to our next main destination, Spaulding Lake RV Park at a place called Niles, Michigan, on the borders of Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan.

On site, Spaulding Lake RV Park, Niles, MN.

Spaulding Lake RV Park, Niles, MN.

When we arrived at this next site, Spaulding Lake, and after the very busy Brookville Lake, it was refreshing to discover that it was a very relaxed and quiet Campground, It was surrounded by a very pleasant wooded area for walking Amber, complete with a stream and trails to hike along. The main reason for the week here at Niles is because it is very near to the area where the Amish community live and work. they mostly work in all the RV factories as they are excellent carpenters and joiners,and the main Gulfstream factory is located here also, and we wanted to visit and see for ourselves where our first RV was built and purchased .

Our First RV, built at Gulfstream in Nappannee, IN and sent to us in the UK!

Even the local BP Petrol Station provides somewhere to tie up your horse! Nappannee, IN.

Horses and Carts are...........

A typical sight in Amish Land!, Nappannee, IN.

Amish Acres in Nappannee was our first day out, which is a historic farm that we found very interesting, but a bit commercialised, so after a brief stop, mainly for a few photo's, we moved on, traveling through Elkhart County, which we discovered is the third largest Amish enclave and seeing horse drawn buggies, their everyday mode of transport, clattering down the road was very humbling experience.

Entance to Amish Acres Historic Farm, Nappannee, IN.

Outside the Meat and Cheese Barn, Amish Acres, Nappannee, IN.

Inside the Meat and Cheese Barn, Amish Acres, Nappannee, IN.

Amish Acres Historic Farm, Nappannee, IN.

The Amish movement started in 1525 in Switzerland and although they dont believe in modern conveniences as it detracts from family life, they do have a few exceptions, like a few children have mountain bikes and they have been seen to drive their horse draw buggies to the 'drive thru' banks and ATM machines! They arn't allowed to have home phones, but cell phones are allowed and they do not have electricity from a utility company but they can have a generator.

Amish Women & children, turning into a carpark...........

tying up the 'steed'..........(Note the rear lights/turn signals.)

and entering the store. (Note the Amish man in braces) Shipshewana, IN.

There is 20,000 plus Amish who are accomplished farmers and produce some of the best food in the region and they make the fabulous individual heirloom quilts and of course the most amazing furniture which is why they are employed by the large RV manifacturers, like Gulfstream and Monaco.

These people have a simple life, their houses are painted all white and have very neat gardens. They are very friendly, but there religious beliefs prohibit them being photographed with still or video cameras, we did not know this until i went through the leaflet when we got back, fortunately as you can see, most of the pictures i took are while we are in the car, and hopefully they didnt notice or we may have offended them. An interesting 'Amish' fact, most Amish weddings are held on Thursday mornings, followed by a lunch for several hundred with afternoon visitations then another evening meal, this time for the youngsters.

Shipshewana Town Centre was a typical Amish town with everyone going about there daily buisness, feed stores outnumber banks three to one and buggies line up in car parks ,they do have the most fantastic looking horses they almost look like race horses, very well looked after. After looking at the photos you can see why their slogan is 'Life in the Past Lane'.

Amish Woman, Shipshewana, IN.

We went to the Gulfstream factory on the way back and of course we had to have a look through the new RVs that were parked outside which reminded us of when we first went to check out our RV in the UK, and was so excited and even more so when it arrived at the dealers in the UK.

The Gulfstream 'Showcase', Napannee, IN.

Pete, outside the Gulfstream Factory, Napannee, IN.

On Saturday we discovered a RV-MH Hall of Fame museum which is in Elkhart "RV Capital of the World" 100 manufacturers are based within a 25 mile radius here,and can you believe that the Tinkers started this industry around 1910, constructing travel trailers. The current location of the Museum, is a large new building and it was very interesting, a much better museum than we thought and I (Sue!) have a confession to make!!! I forgot to charge our camera up and so when it came to taking photos, yes you guessed it, flat battery!! so i am very sorry, but the great photos that we could have had to put on the blog, we havent got!! We did buy a 'throw away' camera and when we took it to be developed and they were, to say the least, awful. But if you can imagine 50 motorhomes, RV's and restored travel trailers dating from 1934 in a area of 80,000 sq ft, it was a great afternoon.

The Motorhome and RV Hall of Fame and Museum, Elkhart, IN.

Pete was so disappointed that he cant post any photos from the museum, he is going to contact the museum to see if we can get them to send us some photos for the blog. We will keep you posted.

We passed through Ligonier a small town that has a single main street, which seems to have a surprising number of Mexican eateries, we were a bit peckish, but decided on a 'Chinese Buffet Lunch' which is always good value at $5 each, all you can eat! This provides excellent value and great food. Check out the amazing murals we saw on the walls, here in Ligonier.

Main Street, Ligonier Town, IN.

Wall Mural, Ligonier Town, IN.

We then carried on through the Amish Community and approached Topeka, a small Amish town nestled amongst rolling acres of cornfields and typical white houses. This looked like an 'Oasis in the desert' for the Amish, complete with banks, feed stores, and even a Post Office, the car-park was full of Horse drawn buggies, all tied up!!

Amish Family, Topeka, IN.

Post Office 'Car-Park', Topeka, IN.

Amish D.I.Y Store, Topeka, IN

Amish Buggy, Topeka, IN.

We stayed briefly, to take some photo's, discreetly of course, and then started heading back to Niles. We had ventured further than we thought and it turned out we had a good 2 hour drive back to our RV at Spaulding Lake!!

Typical Amish House.

On reflection, the Amish way of life is very simple, no mod cons, no electricity or gas, and probably no bills either!! they arn't even allowed buttons or zippers, only hooks and eyes!! and when you see them going about their daily life, with their horses and carts, its easy to become slightly envious of them, they are most definitely, not in the 'rat-race' and their slogan 'Life in the PAST lane' fits them perfectly!

The windy city, CHICAGO! awaits us!!!!!

DETAILS TO FOLLOW!!!

Tennessee

2008-08-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

North Carolina to Tennessee.

Written by Sue & Pete.

After the ordeal that we went through 'en route' from South Carolina to North Carolina,we were glad to be leaving Rosman, even if the site we had stayed on was so nice,

So, on Saturday 19th July we set off heading onto US Highway 64, East, Out of the mountains and towards Brevard. After only about 30 minutes of traveling something that resembled a coyote, ran straight out in front of the rv!!! Pete did his best to miss it by slamming on the brakes and blasting his air horns but to no avail, it disappeared under the front of the coach and then came out the drivers side, behind us, and with our RV having quite a high ground clearance we believe it ran off , back into the woods where it had appeared from, to lick its wounds!!

It was then that the we heard an awful 'scraping' sound, coming from the front underneath of the RV, and Pete was forced to pull over to the side of the road to inspect the extent of the now inevitible damage(the only narrow, single lane road we have come across since being in America!!) we looked underneath to find the cause of the horrible scraping noise, as the Coyote had passed under the RV, it had caught the Exhaust pipe of the Generator, ripping it off its mounting brackets, and it was being dragged along the floor!! It was still attached to the manifold of the generator, so after 'borrowing' a bungie cord, that was already securing our reclining chairs to the back of the rv, we managed to strap it up, out of harms way, until we could find somewhere a little more safer to fully secure the pipe. The whole incident was very up setting to say the least .
We moved on, through Hendersonville, and onto Interstate 26 North, direction Tennessee. it was here we found a proper rest area and pulled in to inspect the strapped up pipe, we discovered that the end of the pipe seemed to be chafing alongside the inner front tyre, so we spent the next 2 hours or more, with our trusty toolkit in hand, under the front of the RV stripping the whole assembly down, with a view to removing the pipe altogether and have it re-assembled when we arrived at our next stop. Of course, all the nuts and bolts where seized up completely and since our 150 piece toolkit cost only $18, we were a little under equipped to say the least!! We also seemed to be attracting alot of attention, due to the fact that Sue was also lying under the RV, spanner in hand, (Dont think Americans had seen a woman with tools in her hand before!) and we lost count of how many truckers had come across to ask if we needed any help, and obviously, comment on 'Mechanic Sue' One old trucker, he looked like an Owner-Driver, came over and said to me "Jeez I wish I could get my wife under my truck when it needs fixing, wait till i tell her!!" So, we dont know what can of worms we opened there!! after removing every seized nut and bolt, EXCEPT ONE!!!! it just wouldnt come loose, we decided to 'bend' the pipe a bit more to enable us to secure it up, out of the way of the front tyre, with the help of yet another bungie cord off our reclining chairs. These chairs now were getting a little thin on 'bungies' so, due to our current bad luck, decided to remove the chairs from the rear ladder of the RV and put them in the back of the car, just to be on the safe side!!

We continued on with our journey, which turned out to be uneventful after that, and arrived at Ripplin' Waters Campground, Sevierville, Tennessee, late afternoon.

The campground itself, which is set in the foothills of The Great Smoky Mountains, near Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, did conjour up a nice, quite, relaxing site next to a trickling stream, just what we needed after all that had happened over the past week or so! Well, we were slightly wrong!! The site was ok, but extremely large and busy! Kids, dogs, bikes, tents, RV'S, trailers, cars and Harley's everywhere! it was like a Camping and Motorhome exhibition! there was, literally hundreds of vehicles! and there was a river, ok, a bit short of water,(nearly dry) but thats because they have had so little rain. Oh, and the equivalent of the M25 running at the other side of the site! Maybe it was because we had a bad journey, everything will look better in the morning.

On Site, Ripplin Waters, Sevierville, TN.

Ripplin Waters RV Park, Sevierville, TN.

Gattlinburg.

As we had booked to stay at Ripplin Waters for a week, there was a lot to get in, and, as we discovered, it resembled a mini 'Orlando' lots and lots of tourist attractions and plenty of cut price outlet shops too! and, believe it or not, we still had the dreaded humidity. So, Monday Morning, we were on our way to Gattlinburg, which is a little further on, through Pigeon Forge, towards the mountains. A small town with plenty to see and do, first stop was the Wax Works.

Ripleys Believe it or not building, Gatlinburg, TN.

Wax Works.

At the entrance was a giant figure of King Kong! complete with Jane, he must have been at least 2 stories high! this place was pretty cool as you could have your photos taken with the figures, that had been strategically positioned, check out the pics!!

Entrance to the Wax Works & King Kong, Gatlinbutg, TN.

"I Dream Of Jeannie"

"Hey, Adrian!...... Adrian!!!"

"life is like a box of chocolates"

Willie Nelson

"A pirate's life for me"

"Beam me up, Scotty!"

"I feel like i'm flying"

"Shaken, not stirred"

Men In Black.

"Follow the yellow brick road!"

Star Cars Museum.

Entrance to the Star Cars Museum, Gatlinburg, TN. (Note the 'Batmobile')

Our next place to visit was the Star Cars Museum, this is a collection of original cars donated by the film and television companies, and by famous stars themselves, and all are on display, and by now Pete was in his element , The James Bond BMW complete with an area displaying lots of his gadgets and of course the famous Omega Seamaster watch, Back to the Future's Dolorian, Smokey and the Bandit Trans-Am, KITT from Knight Rider, Mike Tyson's Lamborghini and many, many more.

"The General Lee"

The Beverley Hillbillies 'Jalopy'

Bob Hope's Buick.

James Bond 'Goldeneye' BMW.

James Bond's and Pete's Omega Seamaster

Mike Tyson's Lamborghini

Smokey and the Bandit's black Trans-Am.

Elvis Presley's Lincoln Continental.

"Ghostbusters"

Italian Job Mini Cooper

We spent the day in Gattlinburg, having lunch in a very nice Italian, located on the main street, and taking in plenty of shops with souvenirs and we also found a 'Christmas Shop', complete with model snowy villages, decorated xmas trees, fairy lights, and all stuff related to Chistmas, again, anybody that knows Pete will guess.... he was like a kid in a sweet shop, and if his wallet wasn't in my handbag, he'd have spent at least 2 grand, just 'trimming up' the RV! and he was even enquiring about working there!! It was time to leave!!!

The Christmas Shop, Gatlinburg, TN.

Muscle Car Museum.

Muscle Car Museum, Pigeon Forge, TN.

Inside the Museum.....

Is a 50's style garage........

And a Diner! Muscle Car Museum, Pigeon Forge, TN.

Tuesday is another day out, and this time it's off to Pigeon Forge to see the Muscle Car Museum, which really takes you back in time. There was 90 cars worth over $5 million and even a great 1950s coffee bar! there was a lot of dollars worth in this museum and plenty of photo's were took! Even the shop was amazing! with lots of Elvis Presley photos ,I love Lucy, The wizard of oz clocks, number plates, and many many more reminders from the 5os. We took over 200 photos and we've attached a few below:

Sue's Birthday and the Aquarium.

Guess what folks ! its that time of the year we hate ,yep, another birthday has crept up on me, and i would like to thank those of you that sent me good wishes and even birthday cards ,I got to choose what to do today (Thursday) and it had to be breakfast at Denny's, one of the best breakfasts we have found whilst touring America, yum,yum!!then on to Ripley's Aquarium in the Smokies! It houses a 1.4 million gallon tank with a walk through tunnel, you can view 12ft sharks, stingrays and over 10,000 other exotic creatures , We spent a good few hours taking pictures and even filming as much as we could, even though it was a little dark! Again, we took over 100 photos, a small selection are below:

Seahorses

Stingrays and Sharks.

Shark

Sawfish Shark.

Barracuda.

Jellyfish.

Entrance of the Aquarium.

Red Bellied Piranah's.

Spider Crabs.

Tropical Reef Tank.

Sea Turtle.

Sawfish Shark.

As we left the Aquarium and headed back to the car, we drifted into a small shopping Plaza with only a handful of small shops and happened upon an Irish gift shop, and as Pete's Family are mostly Irish, we had to go in!! It was a lovely shop, stocked with lots of Celtic items! A few gifts were purchased for the 'Paddy's' back home (even i got one!!) and we even found Pete's Surname 'Coat of Arms' from Ireland. As you can imagine, a very nice day out for my 40th birthday!!!........ ok, i know i'm not too good on dates!! but this is one i won't forget in a hurry! Pete even did a special 'Barby' that evening! A thoroughly great day.

The Great Smoky Mountains.

After a day of rest the next trip has to be" The Great Smokie Mountains"these have to be seen to be believed! ,9 million tourists visited last year, making it the most visited State Park in the USA, beating Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. The blueish mist that you see hovering over the mountains is due to the rain and evaporation from the tree's and its this that gives them their name.

Over 1,500 black bears live here in this park, thats 2 bears per sq mile and guess what?? we didn't see one. Last year 14,896 couples tied the knot here and it's the 2nd most popular wedding destination in the U.S.A, after Las Vegas.
This place really is a huge tourist area, attracting tens of thousands each year and is extremely busy, there is everything here, whatever you want to do, be it talking in a show, which there is many many of them, or taking a trip to 'Dollywood', did i not mention that this is Ms Parton's home town?? they even have a bronze statue of her here! Of course you can end up spending a small fortune and probably a few months here, and it made a nice change to see and do all these 'tourist bits' but even we are on a budget and must be sensible.

Cherokee Indian Museum.

This was in the Car park to the Museum, Cherokee, NC.

The plate describing the Totem-pole

We had heard that there was a Cherokee Indian museum located on the other side of the Smokies, over the state line in North Carolina, and could not miss this chance to go and see it, Again, we were on our way early and enjoyed an early morning drive through the mountains, arriving at Cherokee around 9.30am. We were greeted by a giant totem pole in the Museum carpark and also giant Buffalos were located throughout the town. As always with factual Museums, we found it extremely interesting, watching short films about these people and learning of their lives and history. It also moved us to learn that, as with all Native Indian people in America, they received such a raw deal and, of course we, the 'English' always seem to be there. As we are experiencing American History, first hand, we have learned of certain British military involvment, years and years ago, within the USA. I'll leave it at that, needless to say that it probably wasn't our finest hour.

The entrance to the Museum, Cherokee, NC.

Indian Wagon in the entrance foyer, Cherokee, NC.

Cherokee Indian Woman.

Cherokee Indian Cloak, made from turkey feathers!

Feasting Indian.

The British 'Involvment'

The Three Cherokees that travelled to England with Timberlake!

A portrait of the voyage to England.

Timberlakes memoirs.

General Info.

The Cherokees arrive in Plymouth.

The story of The Cherokees visit to the UK is far to long to try and explain on here, but basically they travel to the UK to meet King George III, and also to try and fully understand the British ways and cultures, whilst staying loyal to the Cherokee beliefs and way of life. It is an interesting story and if anyone would like to know more, just 'google' ' Henry Timberlake and the Cherokees'

The week we had planned to spend at Sevierville, eventually became two, due to the fact there was more to see and do here than we had at first thought! Also, one of the Slide-out toppers had started to split so we took the opportunity of the extra time we now had on our hands to employ the services of 'Ricky's Mobile RV Repairs' to replace the topper. It also gave Pete the chance to replace the Generator exhaust pipe that was ripped off by the unlucky coyote!

Our torn slide-out topper!

In the meantime, the car started to develop an intermittent 'non starting' fault, as we turned the key we just heard a 'clicking' sound, Pete knew it probably would be the starter motor or the solinoid, and a visit to a local repair garage was called for. After putting the Jeep on their diagnostic machine, it was confirmed that a new starter was needed (or so we thought, read on!!) and a price of $450 was quoted!! Pete had already priced up a new starter from the Jeep dealer, 3 miles away,at around $80 so he thought he would just give them a call and see how much it would cost to also fit the starter. "All in, including the starter motor, $175.00, fitted" said the Sevice manager, well, there was no argument, off to the Jeep dealer he went and had the starter replaced. All was fine for a couple of days, but low and behold, the fault and 'clicking' sound returned, so back to the Jeep dealer we went and THEY identified a loose connection on one of the battery terminals, so there was probably no fault on the original starter, so much for the diagnostic machine at the previous garage!!! a quick clean and tighten up of the connection solved the problem, and at the time of writing this, all is fine!!

The car also developed an electrical fault on the rear lights, when we put the side-lights on, the drivers turn signal also came on, I won't go on with this other than to say everything got sorted by the very helpful Jeep dealer, we will be glad to be moving on for a break!!

We could go on for ever on the places to see and things to do here at The Great Smoky Mountains area, and we are really glad that we took in this fantastic State Park. We enjoyed the State of Tennessee, even though we didn't really scratch the surface. We have tried to give you a brief look at some of the attractions that we attended, but I can tell you now, you will need at least a month here, to see and do it all, but we are on a schedule.

However, our next town and community are totally opposite!!!

"Life in the PAST lane" is their motto!!

DETAILS TO FOLLOW............

South and North Carolina.

2008-07-21T15:38:00.001-07:00

South Carolina.

April Valley RV Park, Pickens, SC.

On site at April Valley RV Park

Well, its Thursday morning, July 10th and as always Pete is up and rearing to get going. I am not a morning person so i have to go at my own pace (as he has learned, painfully!) we set off for a small town called Pickens which was only going to serve as a day or so stop over, as we were heading towards Tennesee, but when we arrived at April Valley RV Park we thought it was a such a lovely peaceful site that we would stay for a week and with only one fifth wheel and 2 caravans there we thought we would take advantage of all the space and the peace and quiet.

One of the lakes at April Valley, Pickens, SC.

On site at April Valley.

Arriving at 2-45 at April Valley, a gentleman came to us in a pick-up truck and introduced himself as Phil, the owner, he told us we could park anywhere we liked, and how we liked as the site was virtually empty, so we decided to face one of the beautiful lakes, and again it was like a dream for Amber the choice of two lakes to swim in, just heaven!! We took many photos to prove it.

Amber just loves the water! April Valley, SC.

The second lake at April Valley RV Park, Pickens, SC.

Amber, taking a break from swimming! Pickens, SC.

Phil and his wife also have a chocolate lab called "Lucky" I didnt think too much of that to begin with, until they told us of all the wild animals that live in and around the campgound. There were Black bears, Coyotes, Bobcats, Mountain Lions and the usual poisonous snakes. With a few smaller things like Black Widow spiders and a brown one called a Recluse spider, which if it bites you, it rots your skin!! Oh, and we have to keep a close eye on Amber ,as a dog and a cat have both gone missing in the past,(some wild animals lunch maybe!!) there are also 'snapping turtles' in the lake, but Phil said Amber is too big for them to bite. I can tell you right now, i hardly slept a wink, listening to the Coyotes howling and all the trees and bushes rustling behind us, any noise at all, i just thought "It's a bear or a big cat!!" and checking under the toilet seat was also a priority. Pete, as usual, didnt have a problem sleeping and never heard a thing!

After catching up on some sleep Saturday, Sunday meant it was our usual 'lets go and check this place out' we found a few shops, including a Supermarket and a great Chinese that served a fantastic buffet lunch and what a bargain at $12 for us both, and we could eat as much as we liked, it was great, we always came out stuffed after 2 or 3 visits to the buffet counter, we never once thought of Mac D's or Burger King.

On the journey back to the site, from the 'reccy' mission, we found a really interesting looking building, we thought at first it was the old Town Jail, but then discovered it was an Antiques shop, but it was the building itsself that was of interest, see if you think its looks like a Mexican prison out of an old Clint Eastward 'spaghetti western', perhaps.

Old Antiques Store, Pickens, SC.

EASLEY

Main Street, Easley, SC.

Phil told us about another town in the area called Easley, which he said was a nice town and he was true to his word. You have to check these photos out, we felt like we had stepped back in time or we were in an old movie, i didnt think they still had towns like this anymore. it was amazing! The railway ran right down the middle of the Town with roads on either side with old fashioned looking traffic lights.

View straight down the railway tracks, Main Street, Easley, SC.

Railroad crossing, Easley.

This came first......

Then this massive train followed shortly after.......

Look at the containers, stacked 'two high' . It took 3 or 4 minutes for this train to pass through Easley!!

Doodle Station, which stood at the side of the road, was the original name of the railway station in the 1700's. It is now a large Pizza Restaurant but a metal plate is embedded into the floor, just to remind locals and visitors alike, what the building originally served as. The whole town has been revamped but has been carefully done to retain all of the old world charm and character. It was great to see.

Doodle Station memory plate, Easley, SC.

City Hall, Easley, SC.

Mountain View Antiques, Easley, SC.

We were hoping that the humidity would have subsided with us traveling further North, but no such luck. It is still well into the 90's and the only person who is not bothered at all, is the water wonderdog, Amber. She thinks its great i'm sure, she would stay in the lake the whole time if we could have stayed out in the heat to keep throwing her pink frisby for her, but it was just not on we were sweltering and wet through with sweat just watching her.

Amber, with her pink frisbee, April Valley, Pickens, SC.

The day before we moved on, we tried out our new carpet steam cleaner (see, a womens work is never done!! ) and we successfully managed to shampoo all of the interior fixed carpets and all the 'loose' rugs and hang them all out to dry in the sun. We also started, which was now a very familiar process, to get everything packed up and stowed away, ready for the off the next morning.

After all the panicking (on my part, not Pete's) and of all the wild animals and spiders we were told about on arrival and, believe it or not, although we were at the foothils of the Great Smoky Mountains, we had not seen anything, no spiders or wild animals! I am not sure whether to be dissapointed (Pete was!) or not?? We will see what North Carolina and Tennesee brings!!!

North Carolina.

The trip from South Carolina to North Carolina would turn out to a disasterous and very expensive journey for us. Details to follow.....................................

ON THE MOVE AGAIN.

As is the normal for Pete we are up at 5-30 preparing for the off and after saying goodbye to the site owners and his daughter who had been away while we were on site and had been waiting to meet us just because we are English (can't imagine why!) we headed for the petrol station to fill up the thirsty RV the good thing about the pumps here is you can leave them running, while you go inside and get a coffee, and as you can guess it takes sometime to fill these tanks which hold around 125 gallons and the total bill was about $400 (about 220 Pounds!) but still alot less than the UK where it would have cost over 650 pounds for the same quantity, so leaving the station at 9-50 we were off to the Great Smoky mountains.

We spent roughly about 1 hour travelling and yes the roads were a bit on the narrow side and the view over the edge my side was at times a little scarey but we made it up one side and down the other side and all seemed fine,we arrived in a small town called Rosman ,North Carolina and as we came upto a set of lights a truck came up on my side and said we had a flat tyre on the car and if we pulled over the lights there was a repair shop on the left ,what luck we thought as they are few and far between ,I thanked him and we pulled into a large petrol station car park. as the repair shop was very small and had nowhere for a 40ft RV to pull on to,I got out first to see what had happened and nearly died ,both front wheels were smoking so bad its a wonder they didn't catch fire and they were both flat, Pete couldnt even get near to the wheels to investigate further, the heat was too intense! So while waiting for everything to cool down a little, Pete wasted no time heading off to locate the garage. It was only a small family run place with two brothers, Kirby and Frankie, and as it happened turned out to be very helpful.

The time was 11-00 we had not been on the road very long, thank goodness someone told us about the tyre as Pete cannot see that much detail through his rear view camera and since the RV has a 400 Cummins engine in it, Pete would not have noticed any dragging caused by the flat tyres on the car, also considering how much fuel we had just put in the RV i dread to think if we had continued to travel and not noticed the car on fire, we could have lost the RV, everything!!! we were extremely lucky to be stopped just in the nick of time. Pete came back with Frankie and started to assess the damage, Pete opened the drivers door on the car and immediatley spotted the cause of the problem. Our 'Brake-Buddy' box had fell forward somwhere on the steep mountain descent and somehow rested itself gently on the brake pedal, hence causing the brakes to stay on all the way down the mountain. Frankie asked us to get the car off the tow hitch and drive it carefully round to his garage as it was only about 25 meters, we disconnected the car from the RV and Pete gingerley drove it towards the garage and round to the rear with 2 flat tyres, a car full of smoke and no brakes at all!!!! (Pete stunk of 'burning brakes' and swears he had the smell up his nose for days after!!!!

Written by Pete!!!

After a very embarrassing 25 metre drive (which just happened to include 20 metres down the main street of Rosman!!) on flat tyres and smoke still coming from the front end of the car, i inched the car forward into one of two repair bays at Kimseys Garage and Frankie immediatley started taking the wheel nuts off the front wheels of the car, I can tell you now the heat was still intense, you could feel it even when standing 10ft from the car!!!

"You might be lucky and just need a set of brakes and a couple of tyres" Frankie explained with optimism, but deep down i feared the worse and suspected that i wouldnt be that lucky!! Yep, i was right! After the removal of the front wheels the true extent of the damage became apparant, basically, anything that had rubber or plastic components or anything that was filled with grease was 'cooked' literally!!! It needed new brake pads (Front and Rear!), brake discs, callipers, track rod ends, top and bottom ball joints, new front axle (halfshaft), wheelbearings and assemblies, 2 new tyres and 2 new wheels, Grand total $3400 which included $390 labour from Kimseys garage. Ouch, Ouch and Ouch again!!!!!

After Frankie had explained all the damage and the cost to put our Jeep back on the road, he splashed some cold water on my face to try and bring me round a bit, and helped me up off the floor and dusted me off!!!!! The next problem was locating all of the parts and getting them delivered to Kimseys the same day, alas, it was not to be, and the best we could arrange was to collect the parts from the local Jeep dealer at 8am the next morning (some 35 miles away!) and Frankie said he would deliver the Jeep back to me at the RV park at around 4pm the next day (yeah righto!!) A backstreet garage, in the middle of nowhere, up in the mountains, 'that'll be a few days, at least' i thought.

The only stroke of luck for us was that there was a RV park just up the road, about 1.5 miles away. Frankie gave me the number and i proceeded to give them a call and book us on for 2 nights just to be on the safe side. "Headlands Outfitters Adventure Village" was indeed a very peaceful and relaxed campground and we selected a really nice pitch, on grass,(the RV, not me!!)right next to the stream. Just before we settled in for the afternoon and evening we ordered a taxi to take us into the nearest place (Brevard) with supermarkets and civilisation.I worked this out to be about 12 miles away, but we needed supplies, our unexpected stopover meant we didnt have much in the case of food. (and alcohol!) so off to Brevard and wal-mart we went!!

This is where Amber always ends up! Headlands Stream, NC.

After instructing our taxi-driver (We'll call him Dick Turpin shall we, you'll see in a moment!)to wait for us outside wal-mart, we raced inside and grabbed a trolley. Honest, it was like bloody 'Supermarket-Sweep' we both entered Wal-mart and i went left towards the beer and wine aisle (Ahem....i had the trolley!) and Sue shot right towards fresh meat and poultry (we had decided on a bbq that evening and Sue likes her food!) we must have looked a right sight going up and down the aisles just grabbing what we needed and chucking it in the trolley, not even checking our choices to see if they were on offer, in date, had already been opened, contained Anthrax etc etc...... The meter was running and we didnt have time!!! After one of our less strategic grocery shop's (we still have'nt eaten the chicken 'Innards and Gizzards!) we shot through the 'self scanning till point' which proved to be extremely frustrating as most of the stuff took about 4 attempts to scan the barcode, we could have manufactured the food quicker, i swear! Even the woman who monitors these self scanning tills was getting fed up with visiting our till to check on items that wouldnt scan and to 'identify' some of the fresh produce Sue had chosen. 30 very long minutes later we had all the shopping in the boot of the taxi and were on our way back to the RV at Rosman. Some idle chat filled the car and 15 mins later we pulled onto the RV park and alongside our RV. "Jeez, that's a mighty fine recreational vehicle, that must have cost a packet" commented Dick Turpin, and to be honest alarm bells were ringing in my head, but i couldnt figure out why, until his answer to my question "How much do i owe you buddy? Well, for the second time that day, cold water on my face and a bit of fresh air was needed to bring me round again!! $86!!! I couldnt believe it! I told Dick Turpin i was in the wrong job, and what colour would he order his new Ferrari in?? but he didnt appreciate my English sense of humour. Needless to say, no tip was given!! It puts a whole new meaning to the phrase 'daylight robbery' i'll tell you!!

On site, Headlands Outfitters Adventure Village, Rosman, NC

I must admit, after what was a disasterous (and very expensive)day, the alcohol flowed freely till late in the night. Well, we had no car so we had nowhere to go!!! That was my excuse anyway, not that i need one i might add.

The next day saw us just chilling out around the site, walking the dog and Sue wiping the tears from my eyes each time i thought of how many cases of beer $3400 would get me. Just after Lunch i decided to put a call in to the Insurance company to see if we were covered for such an eventuality. After explaining exactly what had happened (3 times) to numerous people at Progressive Insurance, i finally got connected to the guy who would be handling our claim. " Hmmmmm so you were'nt actually driving the car when this happened?" I explained that as good a driver i was, and all the years of driving trucks, even i couldnt drive 2 vehicles at the same time! "Since the vehicle in question was being towed at the time, i'll have to investigate further, i'll get back to you" came his reply. I must admit my heart sank a bit, this unforseen cost would eat into our budget, and i believe just such an incident is why you have 'fully comprehensive insurance' I would have to be patient! (which, as Sue will tell you, i'm not!)

Pitch with a stream, Headlands, NC

Anyway, it got to about 4.15 pm, we were sat outside with the dog, enjoying the sunshine and the cool, fresh mountain air and just chillin' when low and behold, out of the dust appeared Frankie in our Jeep! Frankie told me he had put everything else on hold and he and his brother had worked on our car all day, i was impressed to say the least, we broke down at around 12 noon the previous day and it must have been 3pm before we established what parts were needed, and when we would get our hands on them. And yet, here we were 24 hours later, with the car back, all fixed and ready to go! Frankie indeed, was true to his word! And Kimseys Garage did an exeptional job, doing what i believe even a Main Dealer would struggle to do, go above and beyond to keep the customer happy, deliver the car back, on time, and on budget! Well done Guys!!

'Gazebo on the lake' Headlands, NC

As nice as Rosman and the surrounding area was, we were behind schedule, and we had a campground booking to honour at Pigeon Forge which we were already late for. Plus my Father and his wife were flying out to us at Colorado in late September, we decided to move on again, on the Saturday Morning for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee!!

This Journey also included an incident that saw us lying underneath the RV, toolkit in hand, for 2 hours or more.

Details to follow............

Georgia and Savannah

2008-07-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

Written by Sue!

Georgia.

Well it's now the 2nd July and we are getting ready to move on from Lazydays and this time it was a lot easier than the previous journey, after saying our goodbyes to the great many friend's that we have made here we set off for Georgia around 11-00, we had a good 6 hour drive in front of us .

The weather of course is still very hot and humid and without the air conditioning, in the coach, it can be a little on the warm side and the fact that having gone over a few railway crossing's which are a bit harsh, Pete's electric sun shade decides to fall off , " Sh#t!!, I cant see a bloody thing, get it out of the way" was all i heard from the 'Captains' chair. The problem was, it was still connected electrically so i really could only move it to one side, but it gave Pete a bit of forward vision, if not limited. I can assure you it's funny now but not at the time.

We arrived at the site which is called McIntosh Lake RV Park around 5-30 it was small but very nice and quiet,we were facing the lake which is always's fun with Amber who is alway's ready for a swim and Pete trying to stop her running off into the sunset, heading for the waters edge. The lady that owned the site is called Leah, she very calmly told us to be aware of 2 kind's of snake's the copperhead and the moccasin as they will attack you because they are not afraid ,other snake's will keep away, "OK!!!! thats fine" (not!) i thought!! she also mentioned the only good snake is a dead one, she has a gun but we will not hear it ,that was good to know!!! A phsyco woman campground owner with a silenced gun! You couldnt make it up could you?? I didnt argue on the rate and paid cash, in full, on the day of arrival! Didnt want to chance the credit card not going through!!!!

We encountered one of the most violent electrical storm we have ever witnessed whilst on this site ,it's amazing how the lightning seem's to light up the whole sky and the thunder is so loud, it was great, if not sometimes scary, to watch. The forked lightening was striking into the woods at the side of the campground, you could actually see the smoke coming out of the trees after each strike! It was extremely bright, almost blinding if you just happened to be looking in the right direction. We also experienced some really heavy rain that afternoon, the campground did flood momenterily, but it was all gone by morning. But it still never cool's it down, it remains hot and humid both during and after the storms.

JULY 4TH

And most of us have a good idea what that mean's, even if we are not American, there was some firework's over the lake but that was about it , a very low key affair, a bit dissapointing really, but in a way, we were glad as Amber's not really struck on fireworks.

City of Savannah

On the 7th July we moved further up towards Savannah as we wanted to visit it before moving on to North and South Carolina. Our next site was called 'Savannah Oaks' a little more expensive, but it was in a better location for us, and it was only for 3 days.

Our Savannah Trolley Bus!

Having got up nice and early to avoid the heat, humidity and crowds, we set off to enjoy our day in historical Savannah, we decided that the Old Town Trolley bus was just the ticket,just like the one in Key West,it offers a wealth of knowledge and benefits from taking you around the City and telling you all the history with a 'real' guide tour. You may get on and off wherever you please, at each designated trolley stop, which normally incorporates a main place of interest. There is also another tour called Ghosts and Gravestones, they dare you to board the " Trolley of the Doomed" it is a night time (dark!)tour of course, and they wear the old costumes,but we didn't have the time to do both tours.

A collection of typical houses in Savannah.

Savannah is proclaimed to be the most romantic and the most haunted City in America, surprisingly, its very lush here with lot's of trees and beautiful flowered squares. The architecture here is a mix of Victorian and Georgian and the houses are outstanding ,the cost of most are in excess of something like 1.5 million , not bad considering they could not give them away at one time.

One of the many flowered squares, Downtown Savannah.

The oldest tree in Savannah, 'The Candle Oak' Savannah Historical Sector.

Customs and Excise Building. Downtown Savannah. Note the Columns are solid, single piece structures and had to be shipped in to Savannah, whole, via ship!

The Court House, Downtown Savannah.

Real Gold Dome!!

Also, whilst on the tour we went past a square called "Chippewa" ring any bells? for those of you that have seen the film,this is where Forrest Gump sat and said " Life is like a box of Chocolate's "it was filmed here, where the flowers currentley are, but the seat is not there anymore, its been placed in the museum, and the white Church spire is where the white feather floats down to his feet. There is a lot of films made here according to the guide but I had not heard of any of them so maybe they were only for the American market.

Chippewa Square, Forrest Gumps bench was where the flowers are now. Downtown Savannah.

The Church Spire. Chippewa Square, Downtown Savannah.

In the 1700,s" The Pirates House"was visited by, and inspired, Robert Louis Stevenson to write the famous book "Treasure Island".

The Pirates House, Downtown Savannah.

The Original Firestation Bell, Downtown Savannah.

The tour lasted 90 mins and, just as the Keywest Trolley, it provided excellent value for money at around $20 each.

I thought this was a very heavily English influenced city, and this was due to the revolutionary war around 1792,where 7000 soldiers from seven nations clashed for control of the city of Savannah, the British defenders won the day fending off a long awaited attack from American and French allied forces. We thought this was a very beautiful place which holds a lot of history, too much to mention on this blog.

Painting on the wall, depicting the Great Central Railroad and buildings, Note the English flag on the left side of the wall!

After the very informative trolley bus tour, and at the second to last stop before returning to the Visitor Centre, where we had originally caught the trolley, we decided to dis-embark from the bus and take a stroll along the river front. We wandered down old cobbled streets to where there were lots of old restored cotton warehouses and along the harbor where there are plenty of shops,cafes and restaurants and there was a small market there too. There was a statue of "The waving girl"who is said to have greeted 50,000 vessels since 1868-1943 waiting for her beloved sailor to return ,( I bet her arms ached!! )the lamp was for the night-time, and the dog woke her up if she fell asleep.

The Waving Lady, Historic Riverfront, Savannah.

Historic Riverfront, Savannah.

Old Cotton Warehouse, Historic Riverfront, Savannah.

As we walked past the market which was at the side of the Savannah river what should come past, but a riverboat with the old fashioned paddle at the back, check out the photo.

The Georgia Queen Paddle Boat.

We were glad we took time out from our road-trip to visit Savannah and we really enjoyed the day out. It really is a sight to behold this small English influenced, City of Savannah, Georgia.

North and South Carolina, next stop!

The Florida Keys

2008-06-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

WRITTEN BY PETE AND SUE!

Florida Keys.

The journey began on 5th June 2008, Our R.V was ready to go, we had 30 days warranty on her, and needed to 'stretch her legs' a little so we decided to head down to Key West and the Florida Keys, for some sun and sand,with a view to fully test the RV and return to Lazydays in around a months time to get any 'teething problems' ironed out before we headed North. This was also the first time i had towed our Jeep Liberty behind us on the Towbar, so this would be a good opportunity to get familiar with hitching up and ensuring we had disconnected the 4WD/Auto drivetrain correctly.

I estimated the drive to Key West would take around 8 hours so we were up bright and early (5am) and were parked at the exit of The Rally Park (where we were staying) ready to hitch the car up. This is where the first problem arose, we managed to get the car into position,disconnect the auto box and the 4wd according to the instructions, get it all locked into position with hooks, pins, cables,split pins and all the other bits and bobs that came with the towing equipment. However, when we attempted to plug in the electric cable so that the rear lights of the car worked in conjunction with the RV, we found we had the wrong connection to plug into the RV'S electrical socket!
"Not a problem" says I to Sue (these words would return to haunt me!) "lets just nip back round to Lazydays and see if one of our mechanics who had prepped the RV will change the end of the electrical cable" It was, by now, around 90 degrees and very humid and at 07.30 was very sticky and uncomfortable. The guys in the service/repair bays started their shift at around 8am, so we gingerly pulled out of Rally Park, i watched the car behind us in the reversing camera monitor on the dashboard, and i'll tell you, its the strangest thing to watch!!!! You can actually see the cars wheels turning and following the path of the RV, very strange to see when there's no-one actually in the car!!
Fortunately, the service bays are only about 600 yards from the Rally Park, so we pulled outside 'our' teams sevice bays and i wandered off in search of one of the guys who had prepped our RV and whom we had got to know very well during our 6 week stay at Lazydays. It didnt take long for me to locate Dale, next to the coffee machine "what the hell are you doing back?" he asked. I explained our problem and gave him the electrical cable and he soon swapped it for another cable with the correct configuration. I gave the thumbs up to Sue who was waiting in the RV, and gave her the 'high five' sign, signalling to her that we would be on our way in 5 minutes.

RV & car outside the sevice bays, awaiting electrical repairs.

This is where problem 2 arose! We plugged in the cable, connecting the RV to the car, but no side-lights on the rear of the car and no nearside turn signal, "you have a serious electrical problem somewhere" Dale pointed out, and at that, i kissed good-bye to a nice early start.
Within 20 minutes or so, we had Dale and John, another member of 'our' team, looking at all the electrical sockets and connections on both the RV and the car, and at one point both rear lenses were off the Jeep and laying on the floor with electrical testers hanging out of the bulb holders on both sides! It didnt look good.

However, by 09.45, the problem was narrowed down to 'dodgy' wiring on the RV and promptly fixed. We were finally on our way and headed out of Lazydays onto Interstate 4 West, and then onto Interstate 75 South.

I was just getting comfortable with the car being towed so closely behind us on, what is similar to an 'A' frame in the UK, when Sue just happened to say " did you see that terrible crash in the newspaper yesterday? a petrol tanker swerved to miss a car in the rain and smashed through the guard rail on a bridge and crashed onto the road below the interstate and exploded" I mentioned that i had briefly seen the photo of the crash on the front page of the Tampa Tribune, but had failed to read the story (my mistake!) I dont know why i asked because, deep down, i already knew the answer "where was the crash and do you know what interstate it was on?" Sue retrieved the newspaper and scanned the story for any details of the location. "I75 South at Bradenton, where-ever that is" she said. It was at that point that the next exit sign said 'Bradenton, next exit 5 miles' This is where problem three arose!

Just imagine it, 40ft of RV plus a good 18ft of car behind it, a driver who has only been driving the outfit for around 20 minutes and still isnt familiar with all the buttons and switches, a co pilot who cannot map read and a diversion straight through the city centre of Bradenton!! I think Panic was probably the wrong word to describe the pandamonium inside the RV as we scrambled to get all the Florida maps we had accumalated over the past 6 weeks and trying to explain to Sue where we were, where we were heading for, and where NOT to head for!! Then i stared at the dashboard and spotted the handset to the RV's pre-installed CB radio!! I switched it on and as i adjusted the volume, all you could hear was the good 'ol trusty truckers telling each other all about the diversion, which way to go, which signs to look out for and of course the location of each car containing a scantilly clad female. Of course i wasn't interested in the latter Ahem.... Anyway, needless to say the diversion proved to be an 'eye opener' in more ways than one and also got me used to driving the RV in very heavy traffic and down narrow streets, and over 2 hours later we left the city limits of Bradenton and rejoined the I75 and continued Southbound heading for The Florida Everglades, Alligator Alley and then on down to the Florida Keys!

Bluewater Key.

It was a good trip down and seeing the 7 mile bridge was fantastic, I hope the photo's do it justice, this bridge runs parallel to the old one which was built from 1909 to 1912 but was badly damaged by a hurricane in 1935. Then hurricane Donna in 1960 caused more damage so the new one was built from 1979-1982 the length is 35,862ft. Just a bit of information for you folks!

Seven Mile Bridge

Short video of the Seven Mile Bridge.

After nearly 10 hrs on the road we arrived at the Bluewater Key RV Resort but the office was closed, however they had left us instuctions on how to use the key coded gate and where our pitch was and what a beautiful place this was , please click on the link: http://www.bluewaterkey.com/ and see for yourself. Each pitch is privatley owned and all are of a very high standard but they come at a price, which at $120 a night,will probably be one of the most expensive sites we will stay on. We have enclosed some photos of our immaculate pitch!. We had a tiki hut over-looking sea with big comfy seating, very big palm trees for shade and a floating dock on each site so you can swim. Did i mention that the sea is 75deg? how warm is that? it was like getting in bathwater, Amber (our choc lab) thought it was great, her own heated swimming pool.

View from our windscreen, on site at Bluewater Key.

Rear view, on site, Bluewater Key.

Amber, with her ring, Bluewater Key.

Amber and me swimming. Bluewater Key

Amber, with her beloved ring. Bluewater Key.

Key West.

On the morning of Fri-6th June we were up and ready to drive into Key West which was about 5 mile's away and what a place! ladies, you can shop till you drop!!! It is very laid back in the Key's, and it would be a great place to live, as many of the house's are Colonial. Victorian or Carribean styles are very typical and great colours too! Most of the properties in 'Old Key West' are so full of character but the prices are so expensive so for us,that's just a dream.

Old Town Trolley & sun hats made from palms.

Old Colonial House's. Key West.

Big Conch shell, Key West.

You could spend 3 month's in KW and not see all that there is to see, any water sports you can think of is available here, along with Aquarium's, Gator pk, Ghost tours and Museum's every where. One museum, which is called Pirate Soul, has the story that in the 1600's & 1700's ship's with silver, gold and emerald's from Mexico, destined for Spain, were attacked by the captain's of ships authorised by the goverment of England,France,Holland and Portugal they were called privateer's when England and Spain made peace in 1713, the privateer's were out of work but decided to continue attacking the ship's! Although now not authorised hence they became pirate's , good history story eh! There has been a lot of treasure found around the Key's and many Museum's display the emerald's, gold chain's, treasure chests... etc.

Church at Key West.

Cemetery with dramatic angry sky. Key West.

Parking is a big problem in K W so we booked to go on the original trolley bus that take's you to the place's of interest it is, by far, the best way to see as much as possible without the hassle and expense of parking the car. You can hire an electric scooter or an electric car! They look a bit like a smart car with 4 seat's but no door's. They can be a bit pricey, but a fun way to discover and explore Old Key West, Downside is that you have to find the places of interest, which if you know where they are, no problem! We also wanted to learn of the history of Key West AND see the tourist sights, so it was the Trolley for us. The tour guide was very informative telling us how Key West was called 'Cayo Hueso'( Island of Bone's) because 16th century explorer's found remain's of indian's there. Florida belonged to the Spainish right up until the late 18oo's and then sold Florida to the Americans this is why 'Espanol' is predominantly spoken in many parts of Florida.

Oldest House in Key West & an electric 'Smart Car'

Southernmost point, Key West.

Sloppy Joe's Bar. Duvall St, Key West.

Hard Rock Cafe, Duvall St. Key West.

'Harley' shop, Duvall St, Key West.

As we had only booked a week on Bluewater Key, we wanted to see as much as possible of Key West and we did try, and on the last Friday evening we decided to go to the Historic Seaport, which is located in Old Key West, for a meal.

The Western Union, Key West's Flagship, Old Historic Seaport, Key West.

Sue, before the meal, but after a large Malibu & coke.

There is so much choice of resturant's and food we found it hard to choose, then we saw a place on the sea front called the Conch (pronounced conk) Republic Seafood Co, We proceeded to have a couple of drinks and then asked if there were any tables available, 5 minutes later we were seated at the outer edge of the restaurant, over-looking the Marina and we sat watching the boats come in and staring at the famous 'Kew West Sunset'. After reading, what was, a vast menu, we decided to have conch fritter's and Mushrooms stuffed with crab, followed by lobster, and a fish called Dolphin (no,not the flipper kind)and of course, for dessert, Key Lime Pie! I was already hooked on this sweet but sharp, creamy meringue style pie, and now Pete is too! We have some in our fridge of the RV, as we speak, hence I have a weight problem.

The Key West Shell Warehouse, Mallory Square.

Mallory Square, Key West. (Note the figure heads)

'Wreckers Memorial' Mallory Square, Key West.

Rear View of Wreckers Memorial.(note the small child on the mans back!)

The Wreckers Sloop 'Mary'

History plate on 'Mary'

Pigeon Key and Knights Key RV Park.

After spending what was a very pleasurable, if not expensive, week at Blue Water Key, exploring Key West, we moved up to a new site called Knight's Key Park, ( www.keysdirectory.com/knightskeycampground ) its location is further up the Keys, at Pigeon Key, which is just over the 7 Mile Bridge and is on the 'Ocean-side' . This site is said to help you relax after the hustle and bustle of Key West, It's not so hectic here but there is still lot's of thing's to do and see if you choose to. The weather here can be very humid which sometime's make's thing's you want to do a real effort,even the little rain we do have will not cool it down but the storm's are amazing to watch with lot's of lightning .We started to look at other campgrounds around this area for our next move ,we have to be back at Lazy Day's by the end of June for any warranty work that may need doing, so to stay at sites on the way up the Key's breaks up the journey instead of just driving 8 hours, plus we get to see more of these fantastic 'Islands'.

Our site at Knights Key.

Tent site's at Knights Key. What a spot!!

One of the Residents, Knights Key.

Bar, restaurant and patio area, Knights Key.

Sue and Amber. Knights Key.

We decided on a visit to the Turtle Hospital and we were shocked as to the condition that some of these turtles are found in. Fishermans line and hooks causes severe external injuries while rubber balloons, plastic bags etc etc.. damages the internal areas of the turtle, some of the photo's were quite disturbing! There was a huge hurricane in the 90's that all but destroyed the Turtle Hospital, but it was soon rebuilt and , you'll be pleased to know, all the turtles survived. As the hurricane approached they all swam down to the bottom of their sea enclosures and weathered the storm. Clever eh? They do 3 'programmes' a day, which is like a guided tour, however they were fully booked for the next 2 weeks, so we had to settle for a look around the research room. We left a donation for the turtles and made our way back into the 100 degree heat and 87% humidity... nice!

Marathon Key.

23rd June (Monday) saw us at Marathon Key, our final stop in the Florida Keys leg of our 'rv tour of America'. Our campground for the week would be the Curry Hammock State Park. The campground itself is only 2 years old and all the facilities and pitches were still in a 'as new' condition. We were fortunate to be able to experience this state park as it was their first year that they were open all season, and would normally be closed during this time of year due to the extreme temperatures. The Park itself is State owned and managed, and provided us with reasonably priced camping,($25 per night!) excellent security, controlled by a keycoded barrier and overall, a lovely, modern campground, right on the beach. We really couldn't fault it.

On site, Curry Hammock.

Big sites with picnic tables and charcoal bbq's. we're in the background! Curry Hammock.

View from the sea towards the RV park. Curry Hammock.

Nice white sandy beach, Curry Hammock.

Evening sunset. Curry Hammock.

On the Wednesday, we took a trip to Islamorada and the 'History of Diving Museum' which was only around 40 miles away and proved good value for money at around $11 each admission. We started with a 10 minute video all about the early divers and their diving equipment and how diving has evolved into what it is today. Then it was through the large double doors and into the museum itself. Exhibits included early diving bells, helmets, hand operated air-pumps from the 1800's, recovered sunken treasure chests complete with treasure and more! On show also was an original 'Halley's diving bell' (yes, the same guy who's name is associated with the comet!!) and which all early diving bells were based on. Also on display was Captain Nemo's submarine and helmet, from Jules Vernes 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

History of Diving Museum, Islamorada.

Homemade diving helmets! not sure about that! might send Sue in first!!!

See! told you she'd be ok!!!..............Phew!

I think i've seen this in a James Bond film.

Watch those hands Sue! He'll be feeling your sunglasses!

It really is a huge collection of just about every piece of diving equipment used, some dateing back over 200 years. As we were walking through one of the exhibition areas, Sue happened to say to me, jokingly, " I think some of my diving stuff should be on display here" As we rounded one of the display cases, low-and-behold, just like magic, there it was!!!....... "Thats my bloody life jacket there" said Sue! Well, i tried not to laugh (hysterically, i might add!) but it was too much and i reckon half the people in the museum must have heard me laughing!

Here it is.... Sues famous orange lifejacket.

The treasure and treasure chests were very interesting and on display were real gold bars and coins, pieces of eight, swords and much more! Alot of the treasure was recovered from sunken Spanish ships, wrecked off the Florida Keys and Key West. Men, women and children would risk their lives to rush to a wrecked vessel to see what they could rescue, it was a dangerous and perilous voyage.

All in all an excellent and very interesting diving museum and a great few hours spent! We also got chance to feed some Tarpon fish on our way back with a Pelican keeping a good eye on us! We then returned back to our RV, took Amber for a walk and a swim, and settled down with some cold beers, ready to light the BBQ! A good day out!

Tarpon fish, near Curry Hammock.

These Tarpon would actually take food out of your hand! Near Curry Hammock.

You can just see them, grouped together. Near Curry Hammock.

Sue taking a minute from feeding the Tarpon. Near Curry Hammock.

This Pelican watched our every move!

The last few days.

All that was left was for us to do was to take in some restaurants and bars, catch a bit of sun and just chill out for the remaining days left on Marathon Key which saw us swimming, little bit of shopping and lounging around our RV on the beach.

We finally left Curry Hammock State Park on the 29th June (Sunday) and headed North, out of the Keys, towards Miami, Back through Alligator Alley, and finally arriving at Lazydays Rally Park early evening.

We were booked in at the service bays at Lazydays, for about 10am to have some warranty 'niggles' that had developed over the past month that we had owned our Monaco Dynasty, and to be honest, she behaved exceptionally well with only a few minor faults that were soon rectified the next day (Monday) and by 17.00 that evening we were back on Rally Park planning our next move, which was onwards and Northwards to Georgia and South Carolina!!!

Goodbye, for now........ but not farewell!

Just before we bring this Florida Keys leg to a close, we just want to mention, and thank, a few friends that we have made at Lazydays and to mention the fact that without all their help, co-operation, patience and understanding, we probably would still be months behind schedule.

'Our' team that looked after our RV whilst we were at Lazydays were absolutely faultless and they are a credit to Lazydays, nothing was ever too much trouble for them and they treated us, almost, as one of their own. Well done Guys!

Top left to right: Me, Dale, Harold.

Bottom left to right: Andre', John.

Also a big thankyou to Raquel, who works on the Concierge desk at lazydays and also to her husband, Mark, with whom we have become great friends and attended 2 fantastic dinner invitations. May i just point out that Raquel is originally from the Bahamas and is an excellent cook, while Mark will make any American proud with his laid back 'bbq-ing' skills. Thanks for everything you guys have done for us, we really do appreciate it!

Mark and Raquel at one of their fab BBQ's

And if it wasn't for you Mark, I would not have discovered Morgans Spiced! (Please note the rather large blue rum 'container'!) Cheers Buddy!

THE END....'till we move again!

Lazydays.

2008-06-11T05:58:00.000-07:00

Details to follow

A day out in Tampa

2008-04-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

Written by Pete.

While we are waiting for our RV to be fully serviced and inspected, and after some pointers and tips on the best area to visit from the extremely friendly concierge lady, Raquel Black, we decided to head off into 'downtown' Tampa for a few hours.

Can i just point out that Raquel Black works for Lazydays, on their concierge desk, and is a very helpful young lady indeed! Raquel is a mind of information on all local amenities and facilities, also car hire, discount theme park tickets, hotels, Just about anything really...... She is also a keen 'fisherwoman' and goes fishing quite regularly, well, for a woman anyway!

Raquel Black, (aka Halfpint!) the Concierge lady!

Raquel and Mark (Her Husband) Fishing.

'Captain Mark' is available for private charters and fishing trips for the best 'catch'

Apparantly, he kisses all the fish! Hmmmmm......Nice!

Raquel told us where to park the car, and also where to catch the 'trolley bus' (bit like a tram!) so after breakfast and walking the dog, off we set, out onto Interstate 4 or 'I4' as they call them and into a bit of rush hour traffic, following the signs for 'Downtown Tampa' and Ybor (Pronounced ee-boar!) City District. It took us around 25 minutes to get to our junction on I4, and we promptly parked our car in an unusually empty car park outside the 'trolley bus station'. It was around 09.30 and i somehow expected it to be busy and after a careful study of the timetable figured out why, the tram didnt start untill 11am! Well, it was a nice morning, and i needed to see if my new sandals were ok to walk in!

I studied our Tampa Tourist map, supplied by the ever helpful Raquel, and decided we were only 4 blocks from 'Centro Ybor' and as we approached the main centre/square it felt a little Cuban/Spanish but still retaining the 'all American Feel'

The spectacular buildings on 7th Avenue

The other side of 7th Avenue.

This has to be one of the prettiest streets we've seen, but saying that we haven't really started touring yet. Most of the shops and buildings were closed including a very fascinating Tattoo and Piercing shop, we peered through the windowand we were amazed at all the colurful images displayed around the walls, for a split second, i thought of having a tattoo done and looked at Sue, and by the look on her face, i think she had read my mind, i quickly dismissed the idea! Please note the 'laid back' opening hours. cool!

Me, outside the Tattoo shop, Tattoo or piercing? Hmmmmm.........

When is a good time then?........

After a stroll up and down 7th Avenue, we found ourselves in the main square, and lots of shops and bars, it was also approaching 11am and most places were now beginning to open. We also paid a visit to the Tourist Info Centre for Ybor City, this was quite a large place and also busy, but a very helpful lady behind the counter gave me a map of the trolley bus stops and also, a must, is to take in 'Channelside' another district of 'Downtown Tampa' and also which stop to get off at for the best shops and buildings. We signed her guest book, bid her farewell, and headed towards the trolley stop across the road, direction Channelside!

The Square, in 'Centro Ybor'!

Sue, standing outside the Tampa Bay Brewing Co'.

Looks like the 'Moosekiller' could live up to its name!!!

The trolley service that runs every 25 mins or so, turned up and we hopped aboard for the 10 min trip further towards Downtown Tampa and Channelside, the trolley was open on the sides and we were glad of the cool breeze passing through, it was a little cool when we left Lazydays this morning, but it was warming up by about 11.45 to around the mid 80's, which felt really nice.

Channelside is a district of Tampa where the cruise ships dock and let the passengers off for a bit of sightseeing, and you could tell that most of the shops and bars catered for this. The Channelside shopping plaza, again was mostly shut due to the fact that we were there a tad early,(everything opened around 3pm!) and no cruise ships were docked. We managed to have a pleasant walk round the 2 tier outside mall, with bars, theatres, shops etc and finally found an 'eaterie' called Jofferies' and, by this time, 12.15, some brunch was in order, and 2 'breakfast cubans'( sausage,egg,bacon and cheese in a cuban baguette) did the trick. Sue even managed to get a cup of English tea!

View from the top tier of the mall, with Tampa skyscrapers behind.

Me, outside the Channelside Bowling and American Pool Lounge.

Just waiting my turn...................

Two bar entrances on the top tier of the Mall.

The 'Trolley Bus' with Downtown Tampa skyscrapers in the distance.

Interior of the trolley bus. Note the lights and ornate woodwork on the ceiling.

This trolley bus was an enclosed design

Our trolley conductor 'Stevie Wonder' The way he drove he just could have been!

Next to the Channelside Mall was the Florida Aquarium, complete with thousands of school kids and hoardes of teachers , and masses of organised day trips. It was quite busy so we decided to give this one a miss, but we did get a shot of the giant Stingray!

Sue and Myself outside The Florida Aquarium.

It was now approaching 1.30pm and decided it was time to head back to Lazydays and return to Amber, who was sleeping in our airconditioned Motorhome, and take her for her afternoon walk.

We hopped back on one of the returning trolleys' for the 25 min or so trip back to the Trolley Station where our car was parked. We grabbed a few photos as, and when, we stopped.

Pic from trolley window, A patriotic gas station?

View towards Downtown Tampa!

All in all, an excellent day out, and a change from trawling 100's of RV'S on the Lazydays complex. we will be making a return trip to Ybor City again, but this time in the Evening for a drink and a meal, I will be taking photos!!!

A weekend in Grand Cayman!

2008-04-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

Written by Sue.

On the 15th April I spoke to my daughter Katie,who is at the moment working in the Grand Cayman underwater filming with her husband Alex,she was telling me about the accident she had whilst on a night dive in which the sea decided to turn rough. Just as she was trying to get out of the sea she was banged against the rocks a few times resulting in a badly dislocated shoulder.She now has a sling on and some damaged tedons which is extremely painful, this also means that she cannot dive until she is better.

After a long conversation (like we girls do) she came up with the idea of me perhaps flying out for a visit as she was off work and it maybe the only chance I get to see her for sometime, as she is flying to Honduras on 2-5-08, to do yet more diving! Obviously, I jumped at the chance, the only down-side was Pete would not be able to come with me because of Amber ,our chocolate lab,so after a few minutes pondering, on my part,shall I? or should'nt I? it was yes, I will! Katie booked the flight on line for Friday 18th April returning on Sunday the 20th, that was it, i was going to the Cayman Isles!

Pete drove me to Tampa airport for the one and ahalf hr flight to Grand Cayman, which is 600 miles away from Tampa, and just south of Cuba (bit of info there). On arriving at a very small pretty airport,I spotted a very tanned young lady (I'm not jealous!) with her arm in a sling, its was lovely to see Katie after such a long time,we walked to the car where Alex was waiting,looking just as tanned,they both looked liked island locals

Grand Cayman Airport

As I had only took a backpack with me, we did not bother going to their small bungalow to unpack my things, we just went straight to a bar that was on the sea front, lovely!

We enjoyed catching up in this lovely beach front bar!

We caught up with all that they had been up to, which was quite alot, Katie had learnt how to film underwater alongside Alex (who is already trained at underwater filming & photography.) They both work for a company that take customers out on a dive boat to a place called stingray city,this place is on a sandbar a few miles out to sea.

Many years ago the story is that the Grand Cayman had a major problem with mosquitos, it was so bad that horses and cattle were being suffocated through their nostrils by them, so of course when the fishermen came to shore with there catch, they were covered with mosquitos.So they came up with the idea of cleaning the catch on the sand-bar, out to sea, where they did not get bit, but it did not take long for the stingrays to know were food was served,and low and behold, a buisness or two was formed. Take food and paying customers , feed ,pet the rays and film them,then let the paying customers buy the DVD to take home. Nice job, if you can get it!

After breakfast on Saturday Katie surgested going for a snorkle, which was lovely,such a good variety of fish ,even saw a young stingray,all these over a wreck, just off the beach,but I must be getting nesh ,I didnt think the water was very warm, but the air temperature was well into the 90,s and really humid, so it was nice to cool down in the water.

Alex came to meet us after he had finished work,and dropped us off at the surprise of the weekend which was a helicopter flight over the island,and WOW!was that something I didnt expect! The sea was the most amazing colours of blues and aqua I have ever seen ,and I was taking photos like crazy(with the new camera we had bought)we even saw stingray -city were Kate works,and the rays with the customers ,what a treat that was! Absolutley amazing, something I will never forget!

My daughter and I, Just after the helicopter tour

This is 'Stingray City' The black dots in the water are 6ft stingrays! look closely!

Such stunning colurs of the sea!!

A view towards Grand Cayman.

Grand Cayman Marina and Royal Yacht Club!

Like all good things,they have to come to an end,after a lovely walk along the beach Sunday morning ,taking batdog (Kate was puppy sitting, check out those ears!) for a walk too,she did not like the sea much!

Saw this boat as i was walking along the beach on Sunday Morning.

This was 8am on Sunday morning, a walk along the beach before heading off to the airport.

Batdog! The puppy kate was 'dogsitting'. Anyone seen Robin or The Joker?

We made our way to the airport,it was a sad farewell for us both,because we both know it will be a long time befor we see each other again, in such a wonderful setting.Thank goodness for the internet.

I can understand Katie having itchy feet,we should all go and do something like this.Why wait?

I just wish Pete could have been with me on this great weekend,but we are just beginning our adventures,and we will have lots of tales to tell!

Watch this space!!!

Visas

2008-04-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

Written by Pete!

Well, where do we start on Visas? There are probably numerous ways to do this, however ill tell you how we did it, then its up to you!
We employed the services of an excellent company, and may i say, very reasonably priced, called North 1 Visas, http://www.north1visas.co.uk/ in London to arrange ALL our application documents with the American Embassy. You may enter The U.S on the visa waiver programme, however, this visa only lasts for 90 days and, Basically, you just turn up at the airport and the airline will give you the relevant forms to complete, and then you present yourself to immigration at your airport of destination, and go through the normal questioning, this type of visa entry is the normal 'holiday' procedure.
May i stress here that a visa, of any kind, DOES NOT allow you entry into the U.S. All it allows you is the 'opportunity' to apply at immigration when you land. Entry is NOT gauranteed!!

The amount of time we wanted to stay forced us to opt for the full U.S visa (180 days) and this one is a little more hassle to obtain and obviously, more expensive.
North 1 visas arrange an interview date at the American Embassy and send you all the pre filled documents and pay all neccessary fees to the Embassy on your behalf, we found this invaluable as there was countless people at the Embassy, who had errors on their application forms and they were there most of the day trying to sort it out, we were there for around 4 hours!!
You will need several letters from either employers,bank managers or accountants, depending on your circumstances, and a letter from you personally, declaring your intention to return to the UK. You will also need to prove that you are able to support yourselves during your stay and a healthy bank balance will suffice. If you are travelling to America to buy an RV then you will probably have funds in your account to purchase it, and this should be fine.
You will need to attend the American Embassy in Central London and have an interview with an official, this probably all sounds a little complicated but the staff at North 1 Visas will explain it fully, it's actually quite straight forward, if a little nerve racking.
You will be told there and then whether you have been successful with your application and if so, the Embassy will retain your Passport(s) while they process and insert your visa. Your Passport(s) will be returned to your home address in around 3-5 working days by a secure courier company that works direct with the Embassy.
Once you are here in America, and you decide you want to stay longer than the initial 180 days, it is possible to apply to have your stay extended, by completeing an ' i-539' form and submitting this to the Department of Homeland Security, i've yet to do this as we have only been here for 3 weeks or so. I'll keep you posted!

We've arrived! April 2008

2008-04-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Written by Pete.

Sue,Amber (our Chocolate Labrador) and Myself, finally arrived here in Tampa, Florida on 29th March 2008 and we are spending the next 4 weeks or so searching for an RV that fits our requirements closely. Basically, an RV capable of 'fulltiming' in for around 13,000 miles, coast to coast across America and Canada and something that would be comfortable for all 3 of us.
We came to Tampa to initially check out a large RV dealer Called 'Lazydays' as we were told it was the biggest RV dealer in all of America, well, they were right!!
This place is huge, so huge that the only mode of transport are hundreds of golf buggies that ferry you around the sales lots! and in this heat you are glad of them, i can tell you!
They have a constant holding stock of around 1500 RV'S, new and used, and all for sale. The staff are all friendly and courteous, and the whole place has a very friendly feel to it. Absolutely no sales pressure or dodgy salesman just wanting to earn their commission, just a relaxed atmosphere. I could go on about 'Lazydays' all day but i wont, so check out their website and see for yourself. http://www.lazydays.com/ If you are looking for an RV here in the States, then these are the people to contact. If you dont find it here, you probably never will!
Obviously, our 'wish-list' was a very lengthy one with all sorts of 'must haves' rather than 'would likes' and we learned one of our first valuable lessons here "You will probably never find an RV of any kind that is 100 per cent perfect" Believe me, i have viewed hundreds and hundreds of RV'S, both 'in the flesh' and via the internet and its always "very very nice coach, but......"
You need to be aware of the main factors, which are budget,layout,size and do you feel comfortable in it,(though not necessarily in that order) it needs to have a 'homey' feel when you walk in, a bit like buying a house really, that's the only way i can relate to it.
And, take your time in choosing, any RV dealership worth their salt will listen to what your needs are and then try and point you in the right direction, and Lazydays were no different. Listen to your sales guy too, even if at first you think you may not agree with him, chances are he's sold more RV.S than you've had hot dinners, mull over what he's said and choose your RV with practicality in mind rather than the actual cosmetic looks of any one coach.

Obviously, we did a lot of homework before we left concerning visas, dog air travel, banks, a car, travel insurance, RV + Car insurance, breakdown cover, tyre policy, etc etc. Most of these are easily sorted out either by Lazydays or yourself while you are waiting for your RV to be prepared, EXCEPT THE VISAS!!!!