July 13 - July 29

Have not updated the blog because we were out of touch with wi-fi for a while and some of our photos are too large to upload through the iPad. Here we are relaxing (again?) over the weekend in Verona NY. How fortuitous that this town has an RV Resort AND a Casino! What luck…well actually haven’t been very lucky here…but that’s another story for another day.

We spent a long weekend at Joliet, IL with our friends Carl and Jane from Kentucky. They drove up in their BIG rig to spend the weekend. Coincidentally their son and his wife live in this area so we also had a chance to meet them and spend a fun weekend eating, playing games, and eating yet again. The park was also located adjacent to the Hollywood Casino (sensing a theme here?) so Jane and I couldn’t resist. Although I wasn’t too skilled Jane did manage to eek out some winnings…oh who am I kidding, she won big!



Carl, Jane, Pat, Les



Our Florida friends, Marsha and Goldie flew into Chicago for their planned vacation. Since we knew this before we left we planned to be in Chicago to hang out with them! First off you cannot believe how the other half lives LOL…they stayed at Trump and it was glorious. I‘m pretty sure that their respective spouses Vito and Bob would have been proud of them for splurging, but happy they didn‘t stay too long! I think the “room” may have been larger than our house! Full kitchen (island, large refrigerator cook top dishwasher), living room, eating area, 2 bathrooms, huge bedroom, closets galore, large flat screens and topped off by fantastic views all around of Chicago. Anyway we had a terrific time, took the boat tour featuring the architectural sights of the town, lunched at Gino’s East, toured the Willis Tower, fka Sears Tower. Goldie had not been in a skyscraper before so I am posting a photo of her standing on the Plexiglas box that juts out from the building and that you look down through. Notice I am NOT in the photo nor did I venture any closer than zoom lens length to catch this photo. She was the bravest of the 4 of us!



Marsha, Les, Goldie at Navy Pier Chicago

  

Goldie atop Willis Tower (note the platform is clear!





The "girls" on the Boat Tour







Thursday we headed to Chicagoland Speedway where we camped infield for the ARCA, NASCAR Truck and Nationwide Races held Saturday night and Sunday. We had a great time and now that we have our scanner and headphones the experience is enhanced and quite a bit quieter! The cats did terrific as we were worried because at Rockingham in April they were quite frightened, but apparently they like racing too since they lounged in the front area of the RV instead of under the bed!

After the race we headed back to Elkhart, Indiana to have some work done on the RV before the warranty expires! We needed two new replacement jacks for the rear (no comments here people!) and 2 new skylights, toilet repair, something welded under the hood and a part for the city water valve. Anyway we had over $3000 of work done that was covered with a $100 deductible so we were happy about that. While we were waiting for repairs we took a couple of day trips, one to Hudson Museum and one through the Middlebury IN Amish community. Very interesting and more progressive than I had thought. Apparently different sects have different rules, e.g., when we toured the Entegra factory there were many Amish working there with power tools…they ride their bike or take the buggy to and from work but while there they use electricity.



1952 Marshall Teague Race Car (Hudson Hornet)



1957 Railton BWW600 with Hudson Chassis





So here we are up to date now in New York. Haven’t decided the next stop but we are headed back to New Hampshire for another visit with our grand-niece Lyla…then …who knows but stay tuned!



July 5 - 13 Indiana

First stop was the RV Hall of Fame. A fun little stop on the road and interesting historical view of Rving. We stopped at our first KOA in some time so that we could spent a few days in the pool (versus the Lakes) while it was hot. We have been lucky with the heat wave because we have been “above” the wave and have remained fairly comfortable until these last few days. Good to have access to the pool and just hang out a little in “civilization”.

We have made arrangements to have a couple of items repaired while we are in Indiana, the home of the RV Manufacturers. Our warranty expired at 50,000 miles and we are at 48,000 so it made sense to us to hang out for a few days to get some items fixed.

While we are here have visited the Studebaker Museum as well as the Studebaker Family home, that is now a restaurant, with the ability to tour the house. We had lunch at Tippecanoe Restaurant. The name may be familiar to some of you older readers if you have heard the expression Tippecanoe and Tyler too!

After a relaxing weekend, laundry, sunning, swimming we are headed to Amish Country as well as some RV Factory Tours.

Went to the Entegra Coach Factory to schedule a tour. Much to our surprise they gave us a personal tour the following morning for about 1 ½ hours. It was very interesting and Les was surprised to see the quality of the workmanship as well as the materials used. I was too busy worrying about tripping over some cord to pay too much attention! This tour sealed our decision to buy the Anthem by Entegra. The folks at the factory were super and were willing to spend as much time as we wanted to answer questions, etc. This is in the heart of the Amish Country so we also had a chance to see many of the Amish both in the workplace and on the road. With all the big rigs on the road it’s a wonder there are not more accidents involving the buggies and bicycles.

Friday morning we leave to meet our friends in Joliet, IL at the Hollywood Casino…tough duty but someone has to be irresponsible! Oh I mean…no I meant irresponsible!

June 21 - July 5th! Still in Michigan!

We have meandered through Michigan from one side to another and one end to the other! We went from Lake Michigan to Lake Erie where we again stayed at another Michigan State Park. They are fantastic deals with sites from $19 to $23 per day plus a one time out-of-state fee that is good for one year. We stayed at Sterling State Park located right on Lake Erie while we made day trips to Ford Museum, Ford Rouge Tour and Greenfield. They encompassed 3 days and we thoroughly enjoyed all of the visits. I am posting some of the photos from the Ford Visit but here is just so much to see here we probably could have stayed another few days!

From there headed to mid-State to Fort Custer State Park for a few days and then onto Van Buren State Park located on Lake Michigan. We have been riding our bikes and doing some walking but mostly relaxing…and maybe some laundry and trips to Walmart.

We are starting to ramp up our retirement as we are staying up late! It doesn’t get dark here until a little after 10:00 pm so we have been having late suppers and late bedtimes! Today we didn’t wake up until about 7:00!



Edison's Last Breath, a gift from his son to Henry Ford




Generator invented by Edison housed in Ford Museum




Anyone Recognize this "automobile"?




The ride in the Model T was a highlight of Greenfield Village


We hope everyone has/had a great 4^th of July, safely enjoyed!