The Rolling Home

We left Buchanan on August 31st and arrived in Bremen, Indiana at the only campground we could secure reservations at for the Labor Day weekend. This place has about 700 sites and they were booked. There must have been 2,100 or 2,200 people there (lots of children) that just love to camp and enjoy camp fires. We were located across the street from a railroad track where a train passed every 15 minutes and blew its horn multiple times because of the nearby crossings. It was our fault that we ended up here because we did not reserve space at a resort in advance. We learned our lesson, believe me. It was a very nice park, but it was just too crowded and noisy.  We stayed there with Jim and Patti and a couple we know, Miquel and Brenda Perez, were working at the campground. We enjoyed Nappanee, which was just a few miles down the road. We also enjoyed Elkhart, which was to be our next location and only about 25 miles away.

Jim, Patti, John and I moved to the Elkart RV Park on Tuesday, August 8th, to meet our friends, Rich and Diane Emond and Norm and Linda Payne.   We also met a wonderful gentleman, Hawk Milner and his dog Huck.           Hawk was a B-17 pilot in W.W.II and was shot down on his 23rd mission. He has published a book about W.W.II and he is a full time RVer. We found Hawk to be an absolute delight and very interesting to talk with. He soon became a member of our little traveling group.   The second picture is the mural on Hawk's rig.  Note the eagle with the broken wing.  We had a great five days together at the park and the nine of us left on Sunday, September 10th for the Goshen, Indiana, Escapade (Escapees Club). Approximately 1,300 RV's gathered at the fairgrounds for a five day party and classes. We had a fantastic time. We were very excited that our friends Willie and Sanda Horeis were at the Escapade and we also enjoyed spending time with Ken and Judy Roberts, Stan and Betty Bober, and Miquel and Brenda Perez. Good times had by all!

I must tell you about a lady by the name of Doris that John and I had lunch with one day at the Escapade. Doris does not look a day over 60 years old and she is vibrant and very excited about life and her travels. Divorced 42 years ago she was thrown into single parenthood and the responsibility of raising three children.  Since she had not traveled but always wanted to,  she decided the time was right when her last child left home. That was 22 years ago and she has been traveling in her Class C and working on the road ever since.. She told us that she went sky diving for her 70th birthday. I told her that she just couldn't be 70  years old and she said "I'm not 70, I'm 71". We have met so many "young" so called elderly people RV'ing. I think people are generally younger and healthier when they are doing something that they truly enjoy. I think Doris is a good example of someone who is determined to stay young, active and healthy.

 We traveled with Patti and Jim for five fun filled weeks. We said good bye to everyone and headed for Lebanon, Indiana  to visit with his Aunt Norma and Uncle Buster.     We loved our visits with them and their daughters, Pat and Sheila. While we were there we went to a 50's festival where there were about 150 vintage and antique cars from 1921 to the late 60's.  The music was a flashback from the past. There was a DJ doing his thing and there were live groups performing one after another. It was a fun festival.

We left Thorntown (Old Mill Run Campground) on Sunday September 17th and arrived in Columbus, Indiana, to meet the Discovery Owners Association RV group for a social gathering and a tour of the Cummins plant. We stayed at the Cummins Employees Campground, which covers 300 landscaped acres with the presentation and quality of a golf course. It is a gorgeous place. Ken and Judy were there and we met quite a few people that John had corresponded with, which was a lot of fun. It was a delightful group of people. We joined the Texas chapter and plan to join them in Pueblo, Colorado in May of 2001 for a rally. The first night we were there they invited us to an Alaskan Halibut cookout. It was scrumptious. Believe it or not, we ate with a couple we had met in Palmer, Alaska during our summer adventure. It is a small world.

As we entered Kentucky we immediately noticed Fall's early attempts to paint the leaves. Some individual trees were entirely golden or a deep red. This is a welcome sight.

We stayed at the Kentucky Horse Park only one night because severe storms were to roll in the next day.  Of course, we had paid for two days in advance so John went to the office to ask for a refund.  This was several hours before checkout time.  The young man at the counter told John that they did not give refunds.  He wasn't very nice about it, so John asked to see the manager.  After discussing good business practices with him John asked him to refund our $18.  (this was for water and electric only).  His response was the same, "we don't give refunds".  John told the manger, "ok, but when I get back to my rig, I'll call the Better Business Bureau and I am going to put this story on my website.  If you think $18 is worth the bad publicity, we can live with it".  The manager saw the light and gave us back our money.

This is a real sore spot with us and campgrounds.  If the campground has such a policy, it should be posted clearly when you register.  We can understand if the park is crowded and our leaving would deprive the campground of the ability to rent the space, but in this case, not only did we leave in mid morning, but the campground had a lot of empty space.  We can also understand if we had a special rate for a week or a month, but again, this was just two days at the daily rate.  If you go to a hotel, telling them you are staying for two days and only stay one, you only pay for one.  Campgrounds should be no different.  I guess the solution is to register one day at a time when you are registering for a daily rate.  In any case, we left Lexington and rolled on down I 75 to Knoxville, TN.

Moving into Tennessee we continued to be treated to signs of Fall. The mountains are already breaking into a pallet of golds, yellows, reds and oranges. What a sight. We arrived in Raccoon Valley, Tennessee on Wednesday, September 20th, which is one of our Escapee club parks. At least two other couples from the Lancaster Escapade are here.  Thursday evening we went to the El Chico Mexican Restaurant with about 34 other people from the campground and had a lot of fun.

On Saturday the 23rd, Tom and Shaneen Wahl, fellow Boomers, knocked on our door and introduced themselves.  We spent about an hour chatting with them.  They fulltimed for 5 years and recently bought a house in Port Charlotte, FL for a winter retreat.

We left Tennessee on Sunday, September 24th for Blairsville. We talked with Pappy and Cecile on the radio last night. It sure was good to hear their voices and Pappy's wonderful laugh. We are looking forward to spending about six weeks in Blairsville with our friends who are more like family. They are so very dear to us.

As we approached Blairsville on Sunday, we were excited to see red clay and even pleased to see kudzu of all things. The thought of spending five weeks with our dear friends and partaking of all the southern foods we enjoy is a dream come true. Blairsville is a beautiful sight to behold.

After we got settled at the Nottely RV Park we took a ride to see what if anything had changed. There are many new commercial structures and they are preparing the old courthouse to mount the clock tower. There are quite a few people here and more will be drawn to the beauty of the north Georgia mountains throughout October to view the magnificent colors and to go to the festivals, which are plentiful. The mornings and evenings will be cool to down right chilly and the days will be bright and very nearly perfect. You might find it surprising that this area is just as beautiful for some of us in the winter. The mountains soften with snow and on occasion at Neals Gap you can view a wonderland of ice crystals that shimmer like diamonds in the sunlight. Spring is nice, except for some nasty weather occasionally, and summer is hot. Even the heat can be tempered through the enjoyment of the lakes, creeks and streams in the area. I know I must sound like I work for the Chamber of Commerce, but this area touched my heart and soul long ago through the love of our friends and the beauty and peace that abounds.

We spent the rest of September in our old spot at the Nottley RV park.  Cyber heaven, we have a phone line for the next six weeks.!

We will see you in November....
 
 

Fuel for The Rolling Home in September  $82
Camping Fees for September                  $396