Heading West,
    Last Monday morning we packed up and started heading west. It takes us about an hour to prepare the coach to leave. Cathy puts all the items on the counter tops into a storage chest and drawers. I disconnect the utilities outside and then we bring the slides in and lower the jacks. Last we connect the tow dolly and fasten down the car. Then its one last look around and off we go. Sooner or later though you don't take a long enough look around! Later on what I mean by that.

  We headed west across route 2 in Michigan with many beautiful views of lake Michigan to our left. We stopped in the town of Norway MI and visited an old iron ore mine where they take you 450 feet underground to see how the mine was run when it was in operation. Now about that last look around. Leaving the mine we headed several miles west to Iron Mountain MI. A wonderful gentleman in a pick up truck waved us to the side. The ramps on the car dolly had dropped and were dragging the pavement, if I would have looked around better I would have seen that I hadn't but the pin in that holds them in place. Amazingly we had driven several hundred miles and they stayed in place before this happened.  Fortunately no damage was done, we put the pin in thanked him and were back on our way.

  We spent the night at a WalMart in Iron Mountain. Most Wal-Mart's allow you to stay overnight and we use them when we are driving from one destination to another. If we are in an area for several days we will check into a local campground. Tuesday was a driving day across Wisconsin.  We made it to the Minnesota border and spent another night at the local WalMart.

  Wednesday morning we headed towards Forest City, Iowa where we are having some service work done to the coach at the Winnebago plant. Along the way we stopped at the Mall of America outside of St Paul. What a place! Something like a million plus square feet of retail space with an amusement park in the center to boot.

  Then it was off to Forest City IA, Cathy had not driven the coach up until this time. So the last sixty miles to Forest City she took the wheel and did a great job. She wanted to wait and get west of Chicago where traffic wasn't as bad before learning. When you travel like this its best if both spouse's know how to drive in case of an emergency.

  While at Winnebago we have made friends with several couples waiting to have their motorhomes serviced. We all been here several days waiting on service and or parts and have made the best of it playing games, biking, cook outs, sharing tips and telling stories. Today we went to a local Baptist church and then to a morning brunch with our new friends Judy and Frank.

 

  

 

Me testing the waters of lake Superior

 

 

 

Me and Cathy riding the mine train to the bottom of the mine

 

 

Not a lot of room to walk around 450 ft below ground!

 

 

Even Capon likes traveling

 

 

The amusment park in the center of

The Mall of America

 

 

 

Fresh Alaskan salmon on the grill at the Winnebago plant

 

 

Cookout and games with fellow rv'ers at the Winnebogo plant

 

in Forest City Iowa.

 

 

  Until the next time,

 

                                Barry & Cathy,  Ciao

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family, friends and off again

  August 11th and we are off again. But to catch up on what we have been doing. We spent the month of July back with family and friends in West Virginia. During the month we had a great time with family including celebrating Brielle's first birthday and watching Lydia turn five months. (our first grandchildren) We also made two side trips with family to Natural Bridge Virginia and Williamsport Md. Many great meals were consumed with friends catching up on what we have been doing and with that I'm afraid to look at the scale until we get back on our daily routine of biking and walking!

 Sunday the 11th we started our trip out west. Our first couple of days we spent in Ohio with the intention of going to Indiana next. All that change when we remembered the Worlds largest Christmas store mentioned on the travel channel in Michigan. So off to Bronners in Frankenmuth Mi. we headed. From there we turned north to the upper peninsula of Michigan or the upper as the local refer to it. Michigan turned out to be a great state with many things to see and experience.  Now its off to Wisconsin, Idaho, South Dakota, Arizona and California. Below are some of the places and things we have done in the last month.

 We took my mom and dad and two of my nephews Camden and Ethan to Natural Bridge, below are some of the things we did.

                                     
                                                Natural Bridge with my nephew Ethan

                                            Me feeding an elk at the Natural Bridge Safari.

 

Sitting by the river that runs under the bridge.

 The park takes about an hour and a half to drive through and the animals come right up to the car to eat. There must be several hundred animals you can feed including zebras, camels, elk, rain deer, ostrich, kangaroo's and lamas to name a few.

  Our next outing was to Williamsport Md. with Cathy's niece and nephew Ben and Greta,

                                         Here we are preparing to canoe for the first time!

      
                                          Cathy and Greta leaving shore, we had a great time
                                           and no one fell in!

 

Me ready to blast off!

 

                                         Cathy checking out a space capsule at the Neil
                                          Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Ohio.

 

                
                                         Bronners Christmas store in Frankenmunth MI.
                                         Over five football fields of Christmas items!!!!!

 

We watched this awesome lumberjack show in

Mackinac city, these guys participate on the ESPN

show.

 

 

Crossing the Mackinac bridge to

the upper peninsula.

 

 

We visited Mackinac Island where the are three

modes of transportation, foot, bikes or horse and

wagon. No personal autos are permitted on the island.

Everything comes over by ferry and is delivered by

horse and wagon, we even seen the UPS guy riding one!

 

 

   These are just some of the adventures we have experienced so far on our second trip out. There are many more and I will continuing to post photos in future blogs. Cathy and I have been very blessed to live this lifestyle and we thank God everyday for it. I will say it is bittersweet sometime because of leaving family and friends. But todays technology makes it easier with Facebook, Facetime and Skype. Plus we plan on being home late November for the holidays to spend  with the ones we love.

  

                           Until then remember life is the journey not the destination.