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TT Kenisee Lake in Jefferson, OH (April 29-May 16)
We were able to book the spot I fell in love with last year again at the campground. I was thrilled to snag it!
May 1- We visited the Cleveland Zoo and also went to the West Side Market. I loved the market, it was a bit overwhelming as I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I would love to have access to a market like this everywhere we stay!
May 2- We visited Walnut Beach and walked around.
Our first week here, we just chilled at the campground alot and I painted some rocks to leave at campgrounds along our travels. I really enjoy these relaxing times when the weather is so beautiful and we can just enjoy ‘being’, yk?
May 7- We went to Erie, PA and visited the Erie Zoo and Presque Island. While at a gas station, I found this huge area in the pavement that looked like a huge shoe print! I thought it was funny.
The zoo was pretty pitiful, but I did find this chipmunk entertaining…a little girl had dropped her boboa tea and the chipmunk was quite thrilled to enjoy her loss!
At Presque Isle, I thought this guy was quite regal.
In looking for things in the area, I had read about this cemetery called Lakeview Cemetery that has a weeping angel statue and many other really cool statues/monuments/crypts. We spent 2 days here exploring! I had to laugh and say to Ed “Did you ever think that someday you would spend two days exploring a cemetery with your wife?” His answer was a resounding “NO”. We have found a few really neat cemeteries along our travels!
The large monument is James Garfield’s burial monument. It is stunning both inside and out. It was recently renovated and actually just reopened a day or two before we were there. I have to say, it was a bit creepy to go down into the crypt and to see the caskets that hold him and his wife!
These are not all the photos I took, believe it or not! LOL! It is a really interesting place!
May 10- We rode the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. It was a nice train ride and not at all crowded, which was wonderful!
We also went to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and hiked the Ledges Trail and visited Brandywine Falls. I loved the trail…it was so mossy, ferny and kinda spooky! There were so many trees that looked like they might just pull away from the ground and walk away! LOL!
We were able to see the Northern Lights from our campsite! It was really cool!
May 12- Mother’s Day. Ed took me to a great little diner called Andover Diner. I wish we had found this place sooner! It was so good and the prices are wonderful! I splurged and got a chicken fried steak breakfast. The photo shows what I had left after stuffing myself! Those ladies in the kitchen certainly earn their wages…they never stopped moving and were so kind!
We went to the Flea Market that Ed enjoys in the area and then spent the rest of the day just chilling. I painted some more rocks and a few canvas. I love having time to create.
May 13- We went to see the World’s Largest Rubber Stamp! As a letterboxer, I just HAD to go see this. There is a letterbox in the area, however, I was unable to snag it, because someone was sleeping right next to the area it is stashed…boo.
We also went to the Buckland Museum of Witchcraft and Magick. I absolutely loved this museum and the curator. He was so inviting and enthusiastic about the museum and it’s history. I really enjoyed everything here and wished we had gotten there a bit earlier so I could have spent more time to see everything. Oh well, we will come again.
May 14- We did the Ashtabula County Covered Bridge Tour. It made for a wonderful day! We had lunch at Mary’s Diner in Geneva and the reuben was delicious!!!
We also went to this interesting place where they have a 50ft statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe! It was an experience…
We have really enjoyed our stay here at Kenisee Lakes. This is one of my favorite campgrounds with a surrounding area that has so much to do. We will be back for sure! Next up…New York!
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Buckey Lake KOA in Buckeye Lake, OH (April 28)
We did a one night stopover at the KOA in Buckeye Lake, OH on the way to Kenisee Lake. This is a nice campground and we got a really nice site. We didn’t do alot in the area except walk the mall and stopped into Goodwill for a bit.
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TT Indian Lakes in Batesville, IN (April 14-28)A
We moved to Batesville, Indiana and got a great site. This is a huge campground with lots of annuals, but also plenty of transient sites.
April 18- We went to Dayton, Ohio to go to Aullwood Audubon. This is a huge nature center, educational farm and farm discovery center, and a 200 acre nature sanctuary with 8 miles of walking trails. It was awesome! If I lived in this area, I would be a member and would visit very often.
April 19- We took the truck to Cincinnati to have some brake work done and took the bus to the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens. This is a beautiful zoo!!
One day when we were just hanging out at the campground, we decided to try Skyline Chili, as we had seen so many advertisements and lots of chatter online about how good it is. I got just a small bowl of it and Ed got it on the spaghetti…
Ummm……YUCK! Maybe if we had done a bit more research and knew that it was more a mediterranean style meat sauce with warm spices, I could have approached it differently. Unfortunately, we were not at all prepared for what it was. It is not something I will ever get again. We both tossed most of it. The fries were decent LOL.
April 23- We drove to Jungle Jim’s in Fairfield. It is this HUGE funky international marketplace. I could have spent the entire day here! They have food and products from all over the world. This place is a foodies dream.
We spent much of our time here working on our college courses, chilling around the campground and enjoying the beautiful weather. I really enjoyed walking around the campground. We found a great little bakery called Schmidt’s in Batesville that is apparently famous for Cherry Thing-a-lings which are “A warm, ooey-gooey, delicious fritter donut family recipe with cherries coated in a special glaze.” They only make them for 5 days in February. Unfortunately, they were not making them while we were there, so we got other goodies.
We will definately be returning to Indian Lakes when we are in this area again. We both really liked the campground…but now, we are headed off to Ohio.
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TT Diamond Caverns in Park City, KY (Mar 28-Apr 14)
March 28–We arrived at Diamond Caverns Thousand Trails and got settled in. This is an older campground that has buddy sites and we were fortunate enough to get a site that isn’t a buddy site and it is full hookup and 50 amp.
March 29–We went to breakfast at Farmwald Dutch Bakery and Deli. It was meh…I was pretty disappointed honestly and Ed wasn’t really impressed either. We drove around Cave City and went to Glasgow. Cave City has some touristy areas that were all closed, but we are hoping maybe will be open on the weekend. Well, Dinosaur World was open, but no way I am braving that during spring break! LOL!
April 1- We went to Bernheim Forest and spent the day walking the trails and visiting the Giant Trolls! It was such a great day and the trolls are really interesting. I have seen online where these trolls are all around the country and was excited to finally see some. The nature center and trails here are really nice.
April 4- We went to Bowling Green and had lunch at Mission BBQ. We then went onto Nashville for a Falconry class!!! It was so awesome and we had such a wonderful time!
April 8- We drove to Munfordville to see this place called “Kentucky Stonehenge” and then went to a cool roadside market called Dennison’s. Today was the Solar Eclipse and while it was a bit cloudy, we were able to see it. I was on the phone with James while it was occuring…apparently it was much more impressive in Dallas! I caught some photos and also noticed that my window suncatchers were casting prisms that reflected the eclipse.
April 9- We went to a place called Lost River Cave and took a boat tour into this cave…I almost had a panic attack when we had to all duck down in the boat while passing under an extremely low portion that lead into the cave!!
This video shows us going under the low portion on the way out.
April 10- We went back to Nashville and took a showboat cruise called General Jackson. When we were waiting to board, a performer came out to talk to the people waiting. He was asking where everyone was from and when he got to us, he said he was from McKinney! The boat cruise and show was really fun and the food was pretty good.
We really enjoyed the campground and the area around it. It is a bit remote and there is very limited options for food or groceries closeby. We did enjoy the seclusion though. Next we will be heading to Indiana.
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KOA in Crossville, TN (March 27)
We left Acworth and stopped overnight at the Crossville KOA in Tennessee. It is a very nice campground with nice wide and long sites. They had this teeny tiny cabin I had to get a photo of. The sunset was beautiful. Life is good.
Heading to the next spot tomorrow morning …
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Payne Campground in Acworth, GA (Mar 20-26)
March 20–We arrived at Payne Campground in Acworth, GA, which is at Allatoona Lake. We decided to make a bit of a detour so that we could stay close to my cousin, Vickie, to get a visit in this year again. We got an amazing site that was off on its own, very large and so nice!!
Remember that monk bread I got at the Abbey? Well, that naughty dog of ours decided that he wante to eat it while we were out running errands! He climbed up on the counter and tore the plastic off and consumed about 70% of the bread! I HAD NOT EVEN OPENED IT YET!!! Grrrrr!
March 23–Had lunch with Vickie and she got her first tattoo at Acworth Tattoo Company!!! She got paw prints to honor her pets, past and present. She was nervous about it, then afterwards was like “that was so nothing!” lol After getting her tattoo, we came back to the camper and spent the afternoon into late evening visiting. It was so nice to see her!
March 25– On Vickie’s recommendation, we went to Amicalola Falls State Park and did a hike and then walked down to the base of the falls and back up. Ed was not thrilled with the 425 steps up…down wasn’t so bad. LOL! The falls were really pretty and it was worth the work!
After the falls, we went on a hunt for a letterbox that took us up the mountain on a very narrow road to a church. It was kinda wild, as there is nothing else up there except the church, a graveyard and a shelter for Appalacian trail hikers. Oh, and the letterbox was nowhere to be found…bummer.
Ed tolerated me hunting a few more letterboxes, one that required another short hike. By the end of the day….we were exhausted!
March 26–Rained all day and we just packed up in preparation for tomorrows move…
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TT Hidden Cove in Arley, AL (Feb 28-Mar 19)
We arrived in Arley at the Thousand Trails Hidden Cove Campground on Feb 28. We got settled into the campground and got a good site. We got a site in the newer area C loop.
The campground is in a very rural area. The nearest town with a Walmart and any chain food places is Jasper, AL. There is a small town, Arley, that is close by. Arley has a small grocery that is very expensive and is ok for immediate needs. We went to Jasper on the 29th so that we could get the camper stocked for Ed while I am away in Dallas.
I flew out of Birmingham to Dallas on March 2. I visited with family/friends and took care of my usual medical appointments. I returned to Birmingham on March 9. I took a photo of the “window” at my window seat on the flight TO Dallas … so worth the extra money I paid for a window seat … I can’t actually complain to much, as I did get the row to myself which was nice!
I did get a window on the way back to Birmingham! YAY!
When I got back to the camper … Ed had filled the living area with balloons to welcome me home!!
Hidden Cove is a nice campground. There is lots of area to walk and it was quiet and clean. We really enjoyed hanging out here.
March 13–We went to Huntsville to the Army base and to the US Space & Rocket Center. We watched the kids that are attending Space Camp launch their rockets. This is a cool place!
We also went to the Lowe Mill Arts Center to visit their Art-O-Mat. We tried to go here last May 5, but when we arrived there were police cars and officers with police dogs all over the property and surrounding areas. We were told that we had to evacuate due to a bomb threat! Yikes! Fortunately, this time everything was great and we were able to walk all around the center. I got two more pieces of art for my collection.
March 14–We went to Birmingham to the VA ER, because Ed is having issues with his arm after falling off the ladder. We were worried that he may have broken it, but the xray came back showing no break, thank goodness. We decided to go to the Southern Museum of Flight while we were in town.
March 18-We went to the Ava Maria Grotto. This is an amazing place. It is in Cullman, Alabama at an abbey. I took a ton of photos, but I’m trying to reduce how photo heavy my posts are. LOL I’m sure that there are photos online. I recommend actually going there, as it is really impressive in person. I bought a few things at the gift shop… one being a loaf of cinnamon raisin monk bread that is made by the monks at the abbey. I even met one of the monks! I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never seen a monk in person. It is always one of those “duh” moments when you realize that “mysterious’ people are regular humans just like us. LOL!
I made friends with the abbey cat.
We also went to the Clarkson covered bridge down the road from the campground.
March 19–We went to Natural Bridge and did the small hike to see the area. There was only one other couple there! It was nice…like a private park just for us!
We also stopped at the historic Houston Jail.
We started packing up when we got home … as we move along tomorrow to the next location!
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South Abutment Recreation Area in Coldwater, MS (Feb 23-27)
We drove to Coldwater, Mississippi and got settled at the South Abutment Recreation Area near the Akabutla Dam. We enjoyed the campground and the area. We didn’t do too much in the area other than a day in Memphis to see the Bass Pro Shop in the pyramid. Otherwise, we just hung out at the campground.
Now onto the next stop …
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Lake Catherine State Park in Hot Springs, AR (Feb 9-22)
We arrived at the Lake Catherine State Park Campground in Hot Spring, AR on Feb 9th. The lake is very low, the lowest I have seen in all the years I have been coming here.
The park has beautiful walking trails and I loved exploring the park.
While in the area, we went to a Maxwell Blade Illusion Show. We have seen him perform before and enjoyed it. It was fun. We also went to Garvan Woodland Gardens. They have a sculpture garden in the children’s area. It is very cool.
The flowers are just starting to bloom.
The gardens are beautiful, even where there are not any flowers. I left my little gift at the Serenity Circle for Mama.
The chapel at the gardens is breathtaking and
As we were leaving, the peacock decided to do a show for his lady!
We went to the Crater of Diamonds State Park and the Ka-Do-Ha Indian Village.
We also went to see the grave of Glen Campbell. It is quite interesting, as when you enter the graveyard, a sensor triggers that you are there and you hear Glen Campbell singing “Amazing Grace”! I tried to put the video here, but it is too long! UGH!
We had a great time here.
Onto our next adventure …
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TT Lake Tawakoni in Emory, TX (Jan 22-Feb 8)
Jan 22-We arrived at Lake Tawakoni Thousand Trails. It has been so cold and rainy…all the sites have standing water and are muddy. We found a good site and got settled in. One of my dear friends and her family lives in Emory, so I am excited to get some time with her! We actually came into town a bit earlier than planned, because they are throwing her mama a surprise party … *shhhh*
The view is great … LOL!
We are in town to get some personal stuff taken care of and we also have some medical testing/appointments that ended up being scheduled during this stay. There won’t be a ton to post, but you know how I roll. I like to log all my stays.
The weather stayed cold, but we did get some clear day. This sunset was stunning. I think Ed might allllmost be smiling!
We were happy to be here at a time that allowed us to make it to Canton’s First Monday Trades Days. It was nice to go early on Thursday before the weekend crowds arrived. I loved this fairy house tower and I want this scooter truck someday! Ed bought this wooden state map for us to fill in the states we have camped in!
We really enjoyed our time here and will use the campground again when we are in the DFW area. It is a bit of a drive to get in to Dallas proper, but we love the area.
Now off to the next stop …
