A NEW PUPPY….

No not for Maggie & me…

The new puppy Rusty is a new addition to George & Christine ….he is 11 weeks old here and a big ball of bouncing puppy….he is sooo cute…I think she told me he is an English Spaniel…they got him from a breeder in NY state not far from Erie PA…you all from the GTG at Hardee Lakes will remember them as the camp host and mobile RV tech….

At 11 weeks he is as tall as Maggie but much heavier…and he was totally in love with Maggie and she was not much interested in him …he was bouncing around like a big fluffy ball and she was not having any of it…she did come close to check him out when Christine held him at bay so he could not pounce on her…all he wanted to do was play….I reminded Maggie that she was just like him at that age…remembering how she was with her pal Joey and he didn’t want anything to do with her..lol…

In the pic below is their site at Sparrow Pond campground …it is a seasonal site they full time in a 5th wheel and the  deck they got last year when another seasonal person left and gave it to them… they spend about 6 mo. here and then in Florida the rest of the year…I will post about the seasonal part of this park at a later time…

Me being a life long gardener …I took notice of this unique way of planting tomatoes and peppers…keep out the critters with some kind of fencing…not sure what they are using….I guess it would also help keep the straw in place is it broke down…

And the rest of the story….

Not much to tell except the very cool weather I say that because it is not quite cold but close…and of course the rain…speaking of that I don’t think we got the leak…totally bummed out …going to call this morning to see when we can meet again …I keep looking at the roof from my upstairs in the house..trying to figure it out …wish I could get up there and look it over good….anyway the only other thing I can think of is the cap covering the sky light in the shower…I will be glad when the sun shines and it gets warmer I should have more fun things to b log about…that it for now thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings to all G&M

WE MADE IT TO…..

 

Sparrow Pond campground….

near Erie PA..very nice cg..but a bit pricey I am going to have a talk at the office before I leave…prices on web site was not the same price I was charged…I was ok with the lower price… thought about it and if they changed prices they need to update web site…office in pic below…nice big store in side including souvenirs …with food and other things you might need will having fun camping ….

This pic below is our site on the pond….nice gravel pad with grass and trees on each side…they are close but still nice…it is very relaxing to site behind rig by the pond…there was shade all day…the people on the left have not been here the whole time I was so it was very private ….

and the pond came with our own Loch Ness Monster…but at closer look it is a giant blow up rattle snake…I though it was out of place in the water…but friend Carol told me that while swimming in Florida one time they ran across one in the water…gezzz now one more thing I have to look out for in the water…lol

While walking one of the loops I ran across this beautiful view..it is much better than my camera pick up…where I was standing …not to bad for me…was not at all close to an edge I could plummet over..I am sure this is spectacular in the fall…I know what PA looks like that time of year and you can not beat the scenery any where…especially coming thru the Allegany Mountains…

There are no marked trails to hike here..but the cg is surrounded by mountains…we are in the foot hills of the Allegany’s…I did run across this block off road …looked like a great hiking road…but after hearing there has been 2 bear sightings very close to the cg…one was right at the edge end of one of the loops…I figured it would be better to have a hiking partner..other than Maggie…

And the rest of the story…..

This is a very nice cg and I do have more to show & tell…RV tech George & Christine stopped on they way back to their rig…and George fixed the leak…and put the handle to raise and lower my antenna back on …it fell of yesterday…it is suppose to rain all day today …but looks like most of it will go south and miss us…but it is taking my sunshine with it…but I sure enjoyed it yesterday….I will just hang around here and walk more ..there is still one more loop to walk…check out a resident chair saw artist…well all for now thanks for looking and come back soon….blessings to all G&M..PS…my mood is much improved!!!

on turning 70…milestone birthday…

Well I guess it is official I am now a senior citizen …the date says I am… my body says yes most of the time …but as they say my mind says no way…I am only in my 30’s…I am retired but my retirement is not what I wanted it to be…what I thought and hoped for…I wanted to travel and see this great big USA….Some would and have said..what is wrong with you why do you leave Florida even for the summer…it is paradise (and I agree it is but not in the summer) …anyway one thing that is bumming me out is the way I am starting to feel about my self and what is happening…and why is it happening…for instance I wanted to travel that is what I have been striving for…now in this last year things started to change…did these changes come about because of the fact that I was ill all winter I thought I was going to have to sell my rig and give up everything…(has been a long 10 mo)…or is it because at this certain age of 70 you start to change..like this…I have been reading blogs for a long time…some of the solo rv women (and couples also) blogs lately are looking toward not so much travel but finding a home base and taking shorter trips…stuff like that..or staying in one place longer…I am feeling that same thing…but I never got to travel and see the USA…is my time cut short cause of age…but then I know of RV friends that are in their 70’s and still traveling some are full time in their RV’s…traveling all over …it never bothered me to drive my rig…but now this past year…I hate all the fast moving traffic..hated going thru the mountains this year..stuff like that…what is happening???..would I feel different and better if I were out and about with my friends and fellow travelers…??? I know when I was at Hardee Lakes with all my RV gal pals I was totally happy and content (except back was still giving me fits) even when going to my local campground to spend one night just to empty my tanks…I am happy and at ease ..like I have left the turmoil and hassle behind …I have come to PA…thinking that it has to be a better summer …is it when we age we cant and don’t handle problems well..it gets harder …??? I am not handling gray gloomy rainy PA well at all so far…

And now I feel bad about my complaints …there are so much other tragedy happening just turn on the news..…people out there that I know so  much worse off …facing some really bad stuff…makes me feel like I have no problems at all and I should not be complaining and keep my mouth shut… but aren't we all still caught up in our own world and what that is all about…our spot on the plant…

It seems like that I still have a leak on my roof…I think I have pin pointed and still waiting for answer from my RV Tech guys….said he would get back to me yesterday …then it was suppose to be this afternoon…same story and my real estate man…took him a week to get back and talk to me…boy I am just full of complaints today…I need to get past this… and keep on keeping on…for the better…as I near the end of this …I keep think that I should not post it….will it help me?? help anyone else coming of age ..? I don’t know but I think I will post it anyway…if any of you reading this have any answers or been thru this please leave a comment…thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings to all G&M

Update…today is my Birthday and I am taking my sister out to lunch to celebrate….I am heading to the Erie Pa area to Sparrow Pond cg to see the RV Tech and a couple days of R&R ….sun shine for me to day…makes it a happy birthday….

IN THE YARD…

Well the yard is not suppose to look like this but some in this town do….there is literally no sun shine here in north west PA…just gloomy and rainy…every time I see a peep of sun I am out the door even if it is just to stand there…this pic was taken by a river that over flowed its banks…

Some art yard work below…I love all the off the wall yard art..I use to have some my self..but the pic of most of it is on my dead computer…so I can’t show you…I love and collect old bottles..some time maybe something like this will be in my yard…or maybe on a patio with some of the mini old bottle that I have….geez I already have an idea on how to do it…

Hollyhocks …these are from my side door…they were here when I bought the house about 37 years ago…I am betting they are antique heirloom flowers…my house is 125 years old…pretty sure they have been here at least 75 years…most of the years I worked they laid dormant ..I worked 2 jobs most of the time and did not have the time to take care of such things…but when I retired 5 years ago I let them grow and wow I loved them ….they are beautiful…

Now this is a great recycle idea…I wonder how many tires each of us would to put in our yards to take care of all the used tires in the US…more than we could accommodate ..but a few would help…you could paint them to match your house…

And the white peaches are coming in season..to me they are the best…found this one at a WM …I use to have 3 different dwarf peach trees…and my fav was the white…compared to  this one it is a mini…mine were giant…and so juicy you had to eat them leaning over the sink…I use to share them with fellow merchants they loved them also…where sad when eventually tree died of old age….new green pairing knife that came with a chef’s set my DD got me for Christmas/birthday ….I  have wanted a good chefs knife for years….

Not much new …I have a leak that still needs fixed…if I could climb a ladder I would put a patch on it until I could get it to the RV tech…working on some craft stuff to sell …and that is about it….it is very depressing here in NW PA with all the gloomy gray rain…every day every few days you might get a moment of sun and that is it…so with that I am done with this post…thanks for looking and come back soon ….blessings to all G&M

bad weather

I now remember why….

I do not want to live in Northwest PA…way to many gray rainy gloomy nasty days…sun shine only a couple days late in the day since I have been here…and before that in Winchester VA..that week was the same..with no sun that I can remember….

Another way I know I am back in PA …it is horse & buggy country..this is a buggy barn that our local Wal-Mart built for the Amish that  live in the area….this was Sat. morning that I took the pic…

Here is another view…I am posting these pix because I want to see how the up load to blogger …some of my friends have had problems the last couple days…I do all my blogging by using the Microsoft program called Live Writer…it is sooooo very easy just type and insert pix and push publish..I have not bells and whistles on my b log template so I think that also makes me have less problems… so there are few pix to day…My sister and I went to some yard sales on Friday morning between rain drops..the sales were great no duds…I got a bag of material, a new bag of batting and about 15 vintage metal cookie cutters…will share them with my DD she paints on them…at one of the sales was a hair dresser that was retired and she had a ton of wigs she was giving away I got one but when I put it on ugh…is all I can say ..I will take it with me and put it on my vintage mannequin Norma E. oh I also got two vintage folding wood chairs and a small round pedestal table to paint to sell… $1 each…got the water turned on but have a problem with the toilet ….it does not want to fill up because it has a minute drip that rubber thing that fits over the drain in to the bowl does not fit right any more..at least I think that is the problem …I have to fill jugs to flush and keep the water turned of in the basement only turn it on when I need it…reason being the boro now installs new meters that are digital … it records each and every drop…I can see it adding up a number every second because of this leak…I have text my son …hope he can come and help me fix it soon….no more for today ..thanks for looking and come back soon …. blessings to all G&M

Welcome home….

My welcome home just gets…

HOUSE STILL FOR SALE…

worse as the days go by and I have only been here 4 days…First up the house is still not sold as I pull up on Monday afternoon…when I went in the papers left for relators to sign ….looked like only 3 showings and those were last fall right after listing…as I looked around the house beside me and across the street have for sale signs on them with the same realtor…later I took Maggie for a short walk…around two blocks to the left of my house and to the front,..now this is small town America and the blocks are less than 200 feet…so all total I went 2 blocks …did not go to the right or behind my house…and I counted 12 houses for sale…I was very discouraged to say the least…yesterday I looked up the 4 major realtors and there are over 300 houses for sale in this town of only 5,000 people and keep in mind we are in a very depressed area of the state…when the steel mills went out they took other major business  along and the are Western Pa never recovered…and on top of the Mercer Co. is the poorest Co. in PA…

LOOKING OVER THE MOUNTAIN TOPS AT SLIDING HILL REST STOP

I have bee racking my brain trying to figure out why so many houses for sale in this little town…not since we had recession has there been so many for sale…I think some might be good housing sales in other places…but later I was chatting with a neighbor and he told me about all the excusive taxes they are trying to put thru some already made it…to name a few…school board raise real estate tax for next five years…want new taxes for sewer improvement…one more biggie but I don’t remember what.…never heard such things happening all at once…so me thinks and this is what he said …people cant take anymore and want out..3/4 of the population is over 65..

A TOUR BUS FULL OF GERMAN TORUIST WE SEEN IT AS IT WAS LEAVING ONE OF THE CAMPGROUNDS ON THE WAY NORTH

Then another neighbor told me about all the break ins in the neighborhood…seems like most are day time….just walking in unlocked door and taking things mostly electronics …one lady was mowing yard…hubby was in house sleeping…things like that…walked the dog around the block came back and was robbed…that kind of thing…cant even work in the yard with out locking the door…this is just not right…

 

I WISH THE BOROUGH WOULD TAKE TAXES AND  FIX THE STREETS IN TOWN.. THIS IS IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE..NOT BEEN PAVED IN OVER 40 YEARS

Well that all the rant I have for today…water man is coming to turn on water this morning son was suppose to come help me with making sure no leaks…but cant make it…he did show up last evening an put together a pipe he took a part last fall so it would drain pipes…as it type this it is getting dark with storm clouds…that will take care of any outdoor work…son could not stay and mow yard so I ask him to pull the started for me and I did manage to mow with out a problem with back …I took it slow and easy…not a big yard at all…sometime in the soon I want to do some altered painting on found objects …and take a load to the town I had my store in and whole sale a load to one of the merchants …so I have a busy time ahead…all for now thanks for looking and come back soon ..blessings to all G&M

THE LAST LEG….

The last leg of the trip…

found me & Maggie driving thru the Allegany Mountains…ugh…I have never in all the years I have been traveling the Allegany's have I dreaded it like I do now..For over 25 years I have taken this trip some times twice a month and at least once a month…down the PA turnpike…to Winchester VA…don’t take  the rig on the turnpike most if it is a nasty road….never ever bothered me right down the middle of mountains…but now I hate it….wish I could find another rt with out mountains…maybe I am just use to flat Florida…and need to get out and about more….On Sunday morning I started out in Winchester…Stopped WM for a few things…got some gas..was $2.59 a gal….got home to PA was $2.99…anyway we got on our way took 522 in VA north to I-68 in MD …West to Morgantown WVA….to I-79 north to PA…it is a little longer but worth not taking the rig on the PA turnpike…below is a rest stop in WVA we stopped at….that walking bridge across the interstate goes across to the rest stop going east..never seen this type of rest stop before…and no I did not walk across it!!!

The name of the rest stop is Sliding Hill…and believe me when I say it is literally on the side of the mountain…not sure why they built it there..they do have a couple signs telling about the challenge of building it….I did not take the time to read it….below is a pic click you might be able to….

Also at this stop is a War Memorial…I would like to have visited it but it was under construction…looked like parts of it were disintegrating….I wonder if the sliding hill had anything to do with the damage…..hmmmm???

We finally made it to I-79 when I get on 79 I feel like I am almost home even tho I have a couple more hrs of driving…below is the site I had at MT. Morris camp ground..this is an over night CG only…it is very old and dingy…I really don’t care for it but it was on the way I knew where it was (spent one night there last fall during the “tire escapade “…I was tired so that’s were we went…. $30 just to sleep…left there about 9am they were calling for rain and storms the whole way home..could not decide did I want to fight the rain and storms or Pittsburgh at rush hour…I ended up missing all of the above…got to PA home about 1pm..made a few stops along the way…house looked just like I left it last fall…with the for sale sign in the front yard…not happy …there are two other house right beside me for sale with the same relator…this is not going to be easy…my contract is until Sept…not sure what I should do after that..if it doesn't sell…

Now that I got here rain the whole time so far…I just spent the all last week in constant rain at my daughters…so I guess I will just work in the rig today..it is a mess from traveling…I do have some yard work to do…I hope my spine and back let me…but I will take it easy I DO NOT  want to go back to the shape I was in 6 months ago I know I have limits …I cant get my water turned on until Thursday son has that day off and he has to put a pipe together he took apart last fall…so I have jugs I brought with me and if need I can go to my sisters she lives  2 blocks away to fill jugs…

Below is a dish strainer I found at Family Dollar store on one of my stretch my legs stops…it is very small just right for a rig sink board and looks nice in red with my new drain pad I made..I was putting the draining dishes right on the pad before and it got really wet …but this works great…

So this is it for now thanks for looking and come back soon ….blessings to all G&M

WINCHESTER & UPDATE

So on Sunday…

We made it to Winchester VA before noon…this is where we parted me staying in Winchester to visit with daughter and family and Soos on her way home to the Adirondacks where she will spend her summer….My first stop was at WM to get some supplies. While I was on the road this last day my oil light came on to let me know it was time to change my oil..was going to do it before I left but it slipped my mind..WM auto could not do the oil change bay not big enough.. but sent me to the place in the photo below…they are open 7 days and I got there at a good time and they did it right away…

Cute name… Auto Spa…..this place was at the end of the WM parking lot…did not have to go far…

Well guess what their bay was not big enough either but they did it anyway…they aim to please…

 

They had a jack big enough to lift the front end and proceed to do the job…took only about 30 min. and I was good to go…and it was only $47.00 this is the best price so far…I did find a place in Melbourne for $50…

So now I am parked at camp drive way at my daughters…the best camp driveway I have at least the best landscaped…

And the rest of the story…

There is not much of a story…it is cool and rainy here.. I was tired the first couple days so just rested …Wed. I went to the Camping World here looking for those S ladder hooks to put over the ladder on the back of my RV I have a nice ladder in PA I want to hang there…they did not have one…so left empty handed…then stopped at Gander Mountain to look at fishing stuff..and again left empty handed…proceed on to Aldi’s got a few things there and at WM where I went next…now back and typing this…now about Charley baby..as my daughter said she is really, really shy and does not take to strangers well at all…

I have been here 3 days with her and she will not let me near her….at least she does not cry at the sight of me…I can now be in the same room…really not much going on at all…not worth blogging about anyway…I guess I will leave here on Sunday as long as my back hold up and I am not tired…not sure what this tired business is about…I know I will break my trip back to PA up…take 2 days at least…I use to do it in one…those days are long go …thanks for looking and come back soon blessings to all G&M

6-6 2015 Up date…..beautiful morning here in Winchester VA...sun rise at 5:46 am ..and sun shine it was...first time I have seen the sun in 6 days!!! I will be getting ready to roll out tomorrow morning heading for PA...pretty sure I will split the 300+ miles and make it a 2 day trip...I am excited to get rolling ...did most laundry yesterday and will do bedding today...not sure what my dd and sil will be up to ...they go to the gym on weekends so after that might have some time to do something with them...with baby sitting and working all week wasn't much time to do anything...glad to see pics and post of all my RV friends on the trail…

Four days out…Zither time…

We left Florence SC ….

and headed for Enfield NC…This would be our last stop before Winchester VA…this also is a KOA campground …and this one had a pool…it is off to the right of the pic below…

Again as we have had all week a couple pull-thru sites…not set up on my site…we use Soos picnic table…

A pic of our site with my little Maggie girl checking things out…I brought a Jade plant with me just to make things look a little homey ..I will need it at the house also since there is nothing there….I got a new hot plate to use when I get there and do still have a fridge there and a couple lawn chairs…set up and again dealing with heat we headed to the pool…one thing about the pool’s ..we have met the nicest people to chat with…

We had a little entertainment this last night…Soos got her antique guitar/zither out and played the one song she knows how to play…didn’t matter it made beautiful music and you could listen for a long time before you would tire of it…she thinks she might try and learn a few more songs…

And the rest of the story…

More of not much going on…DD baby sits each day and we try not to disrupt their routine …this little baby does not like change and or strangers…but on the bright side she did let me hold her for about 2 min. yesterday  and she did later walk around the sofa where I was sitting and looked at one of her books that was lying close to me…that was a first she came to me…but it was short lived when I started to talk to her…no snuggles yet…and I doubt there will be this visit…Jell-o bowl  plan is still to leave here on Sunday…it is over 300 miles to my home in PA and I am not up to doing it all in one day…so I got 2 camp grounds picked out just north of Morgantown  over the PA line…will stop there then move on up on Monday…that’s it so far. I am going to light a fire under my Real Estate man and ask him just what his marketing plan is this summer to get my house sold…I am not happy with what he has done so far..nothing that I can see…but will see soon… I think that I lost a post on one day but it was the same as all the others…thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings to all G&M

DAY 3 FLORENCE SC…

Day three found us still in SC ..Florence to be exact for me this was a tiring day not sure why was only about 150 mi. we did make a miss turn coming out of the camp ground this morning and went a few miles out of our way…when we stopped to ask where I-95 was I seen the sign to the entrance of a free plantations tour..if I would have been alone I would have checked it out…I took a pic of the post in the BR at the CG…hope to have some pics ..enjoyed a dip in the pool each day…

 

In the pic above is a family or two of ducks that seemed to have adopted Soos …click on the pic there are babies also…below is a family the odd colored duck …seems out of place…maybe he was adopted by this mom or maybe a different daddy…anyway they all were tooooo cute and each evening they would go the pond and swim a parade up and down…

These babies and mom were chasing me around on the morning we were leaving ..I was trying to get them away from our rigs …at one point the took up residence under Soos trailer..finally got them across the road and we made a break for it…

The day we left there was free breakfast of pancakes/waffles …so we went HUGE waffles and they were so light and delish ..just hit the spot for traveling…nice they do these things because to me these campgrounds are a little on the pricy side…I would not stay if it weren’t for Soos…I blew my budget for sure….lesson learned about KOA…I will plan better next time…I am sure we could have found other camp grounds not far of the road…that would have been cheaper…

And the rest of the story…

Still not much going on here in VA…rain and cool very cool…G. Grand Daughter still wont let me hold her….my DD says she might not before I leave on Sunday…thanks for looking and come back soon ..blessings G&M

Day 2….

We only went about 125 mil today…at least that is what I am remembering a few days later ..I was all prepped this time to keep up b log post when the mess with live writer and Google started…that made me upset so did not keep good with b log update writings so now I am trying to remember what and where…we wanted to stay at Santee Lakes CG but could not get them to answer the phone..so I had to stop at WM for some supplies and while I was in the store…Soos made rev. at a KOA in Yemassee SC …she said it was getting late and too far to Santee…so that’s is where we ended up on the second day…there were no incidents on that travel day…not sure when this will get posted or if any pics will end up on it…I guess have to go back to the blogger format to post and that to me is a big PIA….I am days late writing these post so I and cant remember what pic goes with what campground…our second stop was just across the line SC line Yemassee KOA…third day Florence NC not a KOA but use to be.. …fourth day Enfield NC…day 5 all were KOA campgrounds…

It is now so many days out I can not remember everything..I thought the cabins were Florence but what ever…they are nice

They also had this vintage trolley car fixed up into a place to stay ..like the cabins…and there was a red caboose fixed for staying ….very nice set up…

A lot of metal statues around the grounds…I like this mermaid…

Like I said this will be a hodge podge of what we did and where we were..one thing I remember is the wonderful weather we had…not a drop of rain and the further north we went not so hot and after we got out of GA the humidity was much less…at least by Florida standards…When we got to this park mid after noon we hooked up and went right to the pool…it was great lazing around in a pool all afternoon…thanks for looking and come back soon..blessings to all G&M

DAY ONE….never underestimate Women who RV…

Our first day out…

we got off to a good start …met just above Cocoa FL…then jumped on I-95 heading north…sometime later we stopped at a rest stop …walked the dogs etc…then back to driving…about 45 min later I needed a pit stop so we got off I-95 and pulled to a mall type area…just before we got off  I  had noticed  that the vent cover on the back of Soos trailer was flapping in the breeze…so we took a look and it was hanging on only on one side ….you could see it  sticking up in pic below…

We definitely needed a ladder…but we did not have one…but then I remembered something that happened to me at Wickham Park last week (I didn’t tell you all cause it was stupid) but any way a guy at the park backed his SUV next to my rig like in pic above  so I could open window and get extra keys…so that made me think we could do the same thing with my rig backing it up to her TT so we could use my ladder…climb up and fix the vent…

And it worked…pic above the cover is now snugly back in place…she thinks might have hit a branch when leaving this morning…we were back on I-95 in no time….

We stopped for the end of first day at a KOA in St. Marys Ga. below is my site not a big set up just for over night Soos was beside me…we got of the road around 2pm..plugged in so the pups could have A/C and headed to the pool…no pool pix…we are shy old ladies… lol….first time I have been in a pool in a very  long time…decades…now at age 70 I don’t care how fat and unshapely I am…I just needed to cool of after these last couple months in Florida…how nice it was

They have a nice little dog park here so after the pool and eating took the “kids” for fun in the park looks like Dinah was leaving her P-mail  just as I snapped the pic.. and walked the loops for a bit…then back to the rigs to sit around and see where we want to end up on Wed. Thought I might take a look at the weather radar on my phone glad I did because big storms headed our way so we quickly picked up and headed inside…

I thought this was a very good idea…picnic table on skies…for easy moving…Well the storm never came to use tracked north not east…today not sure where we will end up but will try to post about our second day…. 

I have had this post done for some time but due to the blogger and live writer problem have not been able to post it..so just learned that it was working again so will try to post it..my other post on the trip will follow…sometime  or other..

Thanks for looking and come back soon…Blessings to all G&M