Special Memory

The following pictures were taken about forty-eight years apart. The first photograph is of my father at Coopers Rock State Forest in West Virginia. He passed away just over twenty years ago. The second is of me taken in approximately the same spot. At the time I thought . . . I wish I had the original with me so I could have better staged my photo. Of course now I realize I had a copy of this picture on my iPhone at the time.

Yes, I still have more pictures to share. The next series will be of West Virginia and the great time Tim and I enjoyed there.

Oooops ...

Forgot a picture from Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains.

I love the campfires Tim always builds.

EVEN MORE PHOTOS - OHIO

Full Moon Over Terra Port

Airstream Factory

Jackson Center, Ohio

Terra Port Round II

Airstream Factory

Jackson Center, Ohio

Arrival @ Alumapalooza

Row #1

Airstream Factory Field

Jackson Center, Ohio

Late Night @ Alumapalooza

Airstream Factory Field

Jackson Center, Ohio

Full Swing Alumapalooza #4249

Airstream Factory Field

Jackson Center, Ohio

Morning Storm

Alumapalooza

Airstream Factory Field

Jackson Center, Ohio

The Bowlus - 1935

Airstream Factory Field

Jackson Center, Ohio

Close Shot of Bowlus

Airstream Factory Field

Jackson Center, Ohio

Extreme Close Up - Bowlus

Airstream Factory Field

Jackson Center, Ohio

The exciting laudromat!!!

Jackson Center, Ohio

My Dream Out Front

Airstream Factory

Jackson Center, Ohio

ADD'L PHOTO'S - Florida to Ohio

SUMMER 2010 ROAD TRIP

Cades Cove, TN

Great Smoky Mnt. National Park

Creek SloMo

Cades Cove, TN

Great Smoky Mnt. National Park

Cut Forrest Tree

Cades Cove, TN

Great Smoky Mnt. National Park

The Meadow

Cades Cove, TN

Great Smoky Mnt. National Park

The Church

Cades Cove, TN

Great Smoky Mnt. National Park

Beautiful Leaves

Cincinnati, Ohio

The Interstate 75 Bridge

Enjoy!

More photos to come.

Stay tuned for the Ohio pictures.

Expedition Complete . . . Expedition Successful

Just the facts ...

Returned home safely

Miles driven in 3 1/2 weeks - 3,329

Ten painted toe nails . . . chipped

One tired husband . . . back at work today (SORRY HONEY)

One recovering sick dog - Roxy is better now!

States driven in - 11

Parkways Driven: Skyline, Blue Ridge & Cherokee Foothills

1,300 pictures taken + iPhone pics

Hiking Adventures Galore

Many lessons learned for future trips

Crossed the Eastern Cont. Divide

Rally attended - ONE . . . Alumapalooza!!! (best ever)

Nights gone - 24

Days gone - 25

Number of places stayed - 13

National parks visited - Great Smoky, Skyline & Blue Ridge

State Parks visited - 6

Been bit by a wasp, spider, ant, yellow jacket, deer fly and almost taken out by

a humming bird.

No TV in TWENTY-Five DAYS!!!

And a gazillion memories that will last a lifetime . . .

Over the next few weeks I will post more pictures from my Nikon camera. Here's one from our hike in West Virginia at Coopers Rock State Forest overlooking the Cheat River.

Life Is Good

Yesterday on my birthday, just incase you didn't know that, the day
started out with fresh hot waffles for breakfast. Yum!!! I even topped
mine off with some peanut butter and syrup. Double yum! Then Tim & I
took a morning hike (at 95*) out in the woods to Columbus Cemetery,
one of the oldest in Florida. Later in the afternoon (at 98*) we hiked
to the Spring Overlook and the Balanced Rock on the Suwannee River. On
the last hike I know I saw some of the most beautiful Florida back
country that exhists. WOW! WOW! WOW!

I did spend most of my day, when we weren't hiking, responding to all
my fan mail on FB. Luv you all!!! Thanks for all the birthday wishes.
Then for dinner last night. . . Yes you guessed it - a tradition of
hot dogs & champagne!!! Wouldn't have it any other way in the Trailer
Park Lounge. But hey . . . What's for dinner TONIGHT? BEEFS? Sally are
you out there? Show me a sign babe! Anyone? Beefs tonight in Winter
Garden, Florida??? So I guess that means today we will finish the last
leg of this great journey . . .

Happy Birthday

To me! And Happy Flag Day to you all! For now we are at The Suwannee
River State Park in north Florida. This is where the scenic
Withlacooche River joins the historic Suwannee River. It's an
interesting view seeing two rivers come together. There are nature
trails to explore and history to discover here. Today we are prepping
for my now traditional dinner in the Silver Palace aka Trailer Park
Lounge . . . hot dogs and champagne. Dang it . . . I forgot my
Tierra!! It's still going to be a good, good day.

Lazy Summer Day

Yesterday was a great day to sit at camp and do nothing. No agenda or
schedules to keep up with. We took a few short walks here within
Devils Fork State Park and have decided this would be a great place to
come back to for a week of just kayaking. Roxy was exhausted as well.
We could tell that four straight days of driving on mountain roads had
taken it's toll on her. The roads were so steep and curvy she had
fallen off her platform box inside the cab of the truck two times in
one day. We are thinking about moving farther south today. We'll see
how far we get.

Had To Jump Off

The Blue Ridge National Parkway yesterday at Blowing Rock, NC. We are
begining to run short on time and we also didn't want to be on it
during weekend traffic. The BRNP is one of the most scenic drives in
America. Of the 469 mile long parkway we drove about 292 miles of it.
Guess we'll be coming back at some point to drive the lower half.

So for now we have landed at Devils Fork State Park in South Carolina.
This is a lovely park on a very large man made lake. Here on Lake
Jocassee there are tons of boats and mostly families camping. The
water in the lake is clear and the mountains make for a picture
perfect back drop. We hear there are many waterfalls to boat to. And
of course we have no kayaks with us. If we stay long enough we may
rent some or borrow ones that have been offered to us. Gotta love the
fellow Airstreamers. Now it's time to relax here and make our
transition back to reality and into the heat and humidity of Florida.

There's Nothing More Aggrevating

Than a fly. But I will get to that in a little bit. On Thursday we
continued our drive south until we got to the turn off to go to a
North Carolina State Park. That road took us down the mountain to
Stone Mountain SP. On the way there Lee Garminita wanted to take us on
an unmarked road. LOL Not falling for that again. So we took the long
route to the park and decided we didn't want to stay there . . . 84*.
On our return up the mountain we took that unmarked road. Yowzzza! So
glad it was an uphill climb and sooo glad we didn't take this one down
the mountain. But we made it back on the Blue Ridge safely (saved 15
minutes) and landed at Doughton Park ... MM240 in North Carolina . . .
74*. Much better. We dry camped there and had no cell service either.
I'm catching weak signals while traveling on the road to get the blog
out each day. It was just 64* inside the Airstream this morning.

We decided to have an early dinner last night at the Bluff Restaurant
a mile away by the Lodge. There we were served by a lovely lady who
started working there back in 1948 when the resturant first opened.
Our guess she is 80 years old. While she was taking our order a co-
worker of hers about the same age was scrambling around us trying to
swat and kill flys with her fly swatter. We were laughing about the
odd situation. That's when she said 'There's nothing more aggrevating
than a fly.' We survived and our dinner was great. We will stop there
again when we get back to this area. Once back at camp we got Roxy out
and of course a fly wouldn't leave her alone and it really had her
aggrevated. LOL We are not sure where we will land tonight or for how
long we will continue on the Blue Ridge National Parkway. Stay
tuned . . .

Great Way To Start The Day . . .

At Starbucks. Yum! After our morning runs yesterday we hitched back up
and drove the entire 105 miles of the Skyline National Parkway in
Virgina. The speed limit is only 35 mph and for good reason. There are
very steep grades and sharp curves all the way. Our highest elevation
was almost 4051'. Wow! Wow! And double wow again. Amazing!!! The
Appalachian Trail constantly crossing back and forth the whole way. I
would love to through hike this portion of the trail. My guess is we
drove an average distance of thirty miles every hour.

The SLNP turns right into the Blue Ridge National Parkway. The speed
limit is now 45 mph. More of the same. BEAUTIFUL!!! We are so lucky to
have these parkways to explore and must come back for a few weeks to
base camp from one spot. Last night we dry camped off grid at Otter
Creek Campground (60 miles down BRNP) near the James River in
Virginia. It's a small little park with just a couple of other campers
here but only a few of the spots left would accomodate our rig. Once
we settled Tim saw a humming bird try to land on my yellow metal
flower on the screen door. LOL The tons of lightning bugs and rippling
water sounds of Otter Creek made for a relaxing evening. Today our
travels will take us farther south on this amazing parkway.

A Night On The River

Yesterday we landed at a great little park on the Shenandoah River
near Front Royal, Virginia. After getting settled we put some burgers,
hot dogs & beans on the grill. Yuuummm!!!

Front Royal is where the northern end of the Shenandoah National Park
and Skyline drive begins. It's going to be a great drive even with a
little rain this morning. This means we are starting to head south.
But first we must refuel and there's a Starbucks near by. It better be
next to a gas station with some diesel fuel.

A Day In The Forest

I started off my morning yesterday with an early walk to take pictures
around the campground. WOW!!! Love the smell of a morn'n campfire.
Then Tim and I hiked out to The Ravens Rock Lookout. It's just a
little over two miles one way up the mountain. There's just one little
difference with the trails here . . . NO SWITCH BACKS. Straight up the
mountain is how it's done here.

Once we returned we had three of my cousins and one of their daughters
come to camp. We had a great afternoon catching up. Then a VW bus
showed up with some hippies in it. Singing and having a great time.
Not sure what they brought with them but it must be good. ;-) In the
evening Tim & I rode our bikes up the mountain to Coopers Rock
Lookout. BEAUTIFUL!!! The speed limit was only 30 mph but I know I was
clipping along at 40 mph on our return.

RIP dad. Miss ya . . . Love ya!!!!

Today it was only 50* outside when I woke up and 55* inside. It's a
traveling day. We plan on heading farther east from here to eventually
drive the Skyline Parkway and the Blue Ridge Parkway. These drives are
going to be amazing.

Oh noooooooo . . . she didn't?

Yes, I did but it was not by choice. There were no other options for
what we needed to purchase. I am ashamed to say I found a few pleasant
surprises in there. Don't tell anyone I went.

So we have landed at Coopers Rock State Forest in West Virginia. And
it has happened once again. We have found the best camping spot ever.
The air is crisp and fresh. The leaves on the trees are very, very
green. And the Mountain Laurel & Rhododendron are all in bloom. Tim
and I plan for an outdoor adventure of hiking today and we should have
dinner guests coming to camp tonight. Oh and when we got here it was
68* that quickly dropped to 63*. It was only 55* when I got up this
morning to turn on the heater. Brrrrrrr . . .

Until next time Mothership ....

Alumapalooza has come to an end. We have met up with old friends and
made many new ones . . . all that will last a lifetime. Rich, Eleanor,
Brett and Lisa did an amazing job putting it all together. THANK
YOU!!! Gzzzz here we go again . . . already making plans Alumapalooza
2011. If you want more details on this event check out the following
blog:

http://Airstreamlife.com/maze/

I absolutly love, love, LUV my new necklace The Lucky Little Trailer
and can't decide what piece to buy next from the extrordinary and very
creative designer Christiana Spaulding of Silver Trailer. Here we are
together and have made a girly pinky wish and promise for the next
time we meet. You inspire me! If you get a chance please check out her
other beautiful pieces of jewelry and creative interiors at silvertrailer.com
.

We survived the storm last night and today we pull out of Jackson
Center, Ohio heading east. This adventure and expedition continues . . .

View of The Hill

At Alumapalooza. There are tons of Airstreams everywhere. Yesterdays
agenda did not disappoint. We have rain today but will still turn out
to be great time. Most of our activities are under the big tent. Our
day was started at 7:30am with a little Jimmy Hendrix blaring from the
top of the hill somewhere. LOVED IT!!! I was . . . Tim was able to
purchase my necklace for my birthday that is a week plus away. Here's
a link to our picture. (copy & paste the complete link below)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4411672&id=96309278511&l=425e927e58

We should wrap everything up here today. Tomorrow is our departure day
and the last day of Alumapalooza. So sad it's close to being over. But
we still have a lot of stops and things to see before we refurn home.

Special Delivery

Yesterday was just amazing. Yet a gazillion more seminars to attend.
The organizers have done just an amazing job setting everything up and
taking care of everyone. But the best part of the day was getting the
special delivery of our specialty tag. This was a great team effort
put together by my Mom & Aunt Martha. Mom shipped the tag out from
Florida to my Aunt Martha here in Ohio who delivered the tag right to
our camp site at Alumapalooza. THANKS!!!!