Friday was just another day, bright and sunny. We invited friends over for the evening to teach them to play Mexican Train. A domino game that is quite popular in the southwest. We find that card games, especially are a local thing. No one in the west plays Euchre. Very few in the midwest play Mexican Train or Chicken Foot. In the southwest they play a lot of games with cards, similar to Canasta, that we used to play. Bridge is generally played everywhere, if you can find a foursome to make a table.
We played until almost midnight after having some ice cream and home made cookies. A very nice evening with good friends.
Saturday, It was rainy and Evelyn went to the Farmers Market to get some really fresh vegetables and sweet corn. We had some showers off and on most of the day. It cleared up in the evening and was nice all evening and the next day.
Sunday we were up early and to church. A very good sermon, by one of the associate pastors, and a very nice SS class. Back home, a light lunch and then over to Alan's to watch the Brickyard 400 on satellite tv. A lot less hassle than going to the track early in the morning and then waiting around until the race starts at 2pm. Mark Martin is one of my favorite drivers, and has been for several years. I had hoped he could win it, but just could not get around the 48 car, for a second place finish, Or as some call it, "the first looser".
Monday I spent most of the day at the Ford dealer having he ac worked on in the van. It is working, but still has a problem that is just too expensive to fix, at least, at this time. If works fine and then it will default to the heat side. With some manipulation you can get it back on the cool side and it all works fine. Will just have to live with it this summer. We will be getting into cooler weather before long so it will not be needed.
Tuesday, I worked on the computer getting things caught up. Evelyn worked outside and staked up a tomato plant that came up volunteer. It has blooms and some small tomatoes have set on. Maybe get some tomatoes off of it yet this year. She cut some rhubarb from the garden and stewed it up with sugar and it is quite tasty. A light shower this afternoon and supposed to be more rain and storms tonight. Just hang on and get as much sleep between the storms as possible.
Our photo is from Texas down in Big Bend state park. Just another beatiful rock with the sun shining and the blue sky in one of the RV parks.

Not a lot going on Tuesday. We ran some errands and rested up from the weekend trip to Peotone, IL.
Wednesday we went shopping for some groceries, got the van washed and did some engraving that had come in. It has been cool here, had to put a cover on the bed the last few nights, quite cool for this time of the year.
Thursday I did some more engraving after the material I had ordered came in. It was mostly cloudy today with a shower this evening, just enough to wet things good, but that is about all.
We are making plans for the next month or two, trying to work out what Hamfests we can attend, so far we have one in Peotone, IL (again) and then to LaPorte, IN. This one is advertised as a "campout and swapmeet", so we are not sure what will happen. I talked with the guy in charge and he said we could set up Friday afternoon and stay open until Sunday if we wanted, or we could close up and get some sleep anytime we wanted. Sounded like something we would like to do at least one time. On to Findlay, OH and then later on we will go to Peoria, IL and then head south to Arkansas to visit and then do the hamfest in Ardmore, OK before heading south to Rockport, TX for a few days. That should get us into November and then we will head toward Hondo, TX for Thanksgiving and then on to the south west where it is warm all winter. There are several hamfests in Arizona that we will work during the winter months. So, that is what is planned at this time, however our plans are set in jello, so they are subject to change at any minute. We had this all planned out before we found two other hamfests to go to so that changed everything.
Our photo is of one of the old Court Houses we find as we travel the back roads. This one is in Frankfort, IN.

Saturday morning found us leaving White Oaks on the lake camp ground. The weather was overcast with heavy clouds looking like it could rain anytime, however it did not, or at least not on our trip to across country to Peotone, IL, just off of I57. We arrived at the Will County Fair Grounds mid afternoon to find other already there and getting ready for the hamfest on Sunday. We found a spot that looked level and in
an area where we would get a lot of foot traffic. We set up as far as we can and then visit with other vendors that are there. Several we have met before at different shows. As they are an hour ahead of us, or is it behind, we had to get up at 4am to be ready for the public at 6am, their time. Early by any ones time. It was cool during the night and a jacket was needed in the early morning hours. The sun came up through heavy clouds but it never did rain. We had a fair day, business wise but learned a lot. We will go back the first of August for the Hamfesters hamfest at the same location.
We left the fair grounds and headed east across country to eliminate getting back on I57 with all the traffic and big trucks. The roads were quite smooth and wide. When we came to a T we would turn either south or east as that was the way we were heading and we knew we would come to US421 sooner or later. We
finally worked our way to Indiana 14 and we could see wind turbines in the distance and the farther we went the more we found. Maybe over 200 were working and some areas they were under construction. We have seen them in the west but they are certainly gaining in numbers in the midwest. I understand they only take about 1/3 of an acre plus the access road for service. As you can see in the photos, there are homes and farms all around with agriculture surrounding the wind farms, so very little crop production is lost. They are expensive, but they expect them to pay off and make money contributing to the production of electricity without the use of fossil fuels. Different from Solar power, they do not depend on the sun shining however the wind blows almost all the time. I assume they transmit the power underground to the substations as there is no wires above ground.
We spent the might in Frankfort, IN before heading on to Lebanon for lp gas and on to Fishers. We arrived in Fishers about 11am, got hooked up and settled in for a few days.

Wednesday we took a drive into Monticello and toured some very old homes, most had been restored and were quite attractive. We drove on up to lake Shafer and looked at some of the homes that had been built on the lake. From little shacks that had been there for many years to some really fine homes just recently built.
We drove by Indiana Beach, an amusement park, now, back when I was much younger it was THE place to go and do your thing, what ever that was. It has certainly changed a lot. It is mostly a family oriented amusement park on the lake, and across part of the lake. The photos are of one of the roller coasters. It appeared to hold 4 people and went very slowly and then it would go nearly straight down and then upside down. Not something I would want to ride, not at this age, or maybe any age. There are lots of homes around the lake and one in particular, across the lake, was pointed
on the lake side with windows both up and down the lakefront. I am sure a very nice view of the water. Both lakes are quite long and cover a lot of territory.
On Thursday, we went back into Monticello to the Post Office to mail a package. They have changed things considerably as far as packages are concerned and I think we have finally gotten things sorted out, maybe. We will just have to wait and see how it comes out. We drove around town a bit more on the other side of town and there are a lot of homes and buildings that are on the National Historical Register. Lots of different architecture in a city that dates back into the 1700.
Today, we took a drive to the south of the campgound headed for the Oakdale Dam Inn off of US421 on CR 725N. This is a fish house/restaurant at the site of the dam that forms Lake Freeman. The dam was built in 1924 and completed in 1925. There were 250 workers that worked 7 days a week and there were two shifts. All of the men lived on site and they had access to a commissary and all ate at the restaurant. The Oakdale Dam Inn is the result of the restaurant as it is known today. There have been some improvements and additions built, but is still basically the same structure it was originally. They claim "The Best Catfish By A Dam Site". I must say, it was pretty good. This is a remote setting along the Tippecanoe River just below the dam with lots of trees all around. The lake was named for the chief engineer on the dam, bu the name of freemanThere is a boat launch site nearby so you can navigate the river and fish, or just do your thing. We toured some of the back roads on our way back to the campground. We found some really nice homes that front on the lake but far above the water line. We could not see their boat docks, if they had any as it was a very steep bank. Possibly they had a dock they used at some other location, however they certainly had a nice setting for a home.
We are getting things ready to move tomorrow. We are about 115 miles from our destination for the weekend so only 3 hours or thereabouts to drive tomorrow. Not sure about internet in that area, will just have to wait and see.

Sunday, the day of rest, found us not doing much, just resting up from the busy day on Saturday at the hamfest. We opened up the boots and let them dry out as several items were damp or wet when we put them in. The tables had to come out and dry off, ect. Monday was a cool morning and we ran some errands, to the bank, our favorite grocery, Meijer's, to find some bargains and stock up on nice produce. We went to the Chiropractor to get put back together as we had been on the road for about 6 weeks. We finished getting things ready to hit the road on Tuesday.
Tuesday was another cool morning. We went to the post office and picked up what mail was there. Got on the road about 11am and headed for Monticello, IN for the White Oaks on the lake campground. A very nice campground. The office is on lake level and the campground is up on top of the hill in a cleared area with big trees all around. We can see some of the lake through the trees. We will explore more tomorrow and let you know what we find.
Our photo is from Pigeon Forge, just one of the many attractions to visit. Not sure what they call it but is is a building that was built upside down, as you can see.

Wednesday morning we left Nashville and headed north on I65. We stopped at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY to see what they had to offer. What a beautiful facility. As I understand it, all of the cars are on loan from owners as well as GM. The first cars, the 1953 model year consisted of only 300 cars. The first photo is of #262 of the 300 built. I think they had every year and model represented in the museum. They have the one and only 1983 model built. All of the Indy 500 pace cars there were owned by the same person in Louisville, KY. One year, I did not make note of it, there were no replicas of the pace car built. The following year they came out with a stripe package for the prior year pace car, but it was not exactly like the one that paced the race. This gentleman owned one of the pace cars and had it painted to match the original. Even with the two cars side by side, no one could determine which was the original pace car. He must have a fortune in these pace cars. They had several of the Rolex racing cars there as well as other classes that they have raced Corvetts in. Interesting stories of how the car came to be as well as the different chief engineers that had an influence on the design and performance of the car. As you can see in the third photo they had displays of real time settings for the years of the car. The cost of the gasoline on the pumps was below $0.50/gal. for premium, that is. One set is a complete service station with a car on the lift being serviced, etc.
Out in the lobby of the museum is the Nursery. New Corvetts waiting on their owners to pick them up. There were 7 or 8 all lined up, various colors and engine packages. Also on the grounds, is the assembly plant where every Corvette is assembled and shipped to dealers around the country for sale around the world. A very reasonable price of $8.00 per person, less a $2.00 coupon available in several stores as well as welcome centers.
We headed on north on I65 and picked up US31w and spent the night in Manchester, KY. Thursday we got to Fishers early afternoon and picked up some material and got a haircut and did some banking and got our mail and sorted out the junk mail and put it in the trash. Friday morning we did some errands and headed to the Sertoma Park in the afternoon and set up for the Indianapolis Hamfest.
It was up at 5am to get ready as the public started in about 6am and the commercial vendors building opened up at 8am. The weather forecast was for rain during the night and then again in the late afternoon. As usual, it did not rain during the night and about 9:30am it starter raining and rained off and on all morning and until about 1:30. We had a fi\airly good day, business wise but probably would have done better had it not rained. There was a nice crowd of hams there and they seemed to be having a good time. By 2pm. most all had packed up and we did as well and left the area about 3pm. We had rain most of the afternoon until about 7 or so when it finally quit and the sun came out. So it goes for the friendly weather forecaster, wrong again.

Today, we drove almost a hundred miles to the Nashville Country RV Park. we stayed here about a month ago on our way south. We did not know it at the time but Evelyn's granddaughter's husband was there at the same time. He had moved to Nashville with his work. Mandy, the granddaughter moved a few days after we left. So, we stopped to see them on our way back as we had visited with the rest of the family in South Carolina. They are living in their 5th wheel here in the park and will be here for some time, as long as his work keeps him here. Then, they do not know where it will take them. An ideal way of life for his type of work.
Our photos are from yesterdays trip up Mount Eagle showing some of the cuts that they made to keep the grade as low as it was. Down the other side was a 3 mile grade of 5%, which the motor home held pretty good in 4th gear, out of OD. I had to use the brakes a few times, mainly due to traffic slowing ahead of us. But a very interesting drive.

Today, we drove a lot of US 41 as the traffic on I24 was heavy and the road was quite rough. The trucks had really torn it up. As usual, the US highways were much nicer with very little traffic and they were repaving a good portion of it. We went through the town of Murfeesboro and saw lots of huge homes on large pieces of land. One of the additions was quite large and the name related to horses. They even had a riding area around the complete addition. We did not get back on I24 until we almost got to Nashville so we could make connections with I65 to head north. At the north edge of town, at exit 98, we got off to go to the campground. It was a nice evening with supper with Mandy & Chris and lots of visiting and catching up on the last year or so since we had visited in person. This evening, it cooled off quite nicely and very comfortable, at least a lot cooler than SC. It is on north to KY and we will see what we find up that direction.

It was getting late when we got parked at the stone Mountain RV Park. What a beautiful setting for a campground. Along a lake and in the hills with beautiful tall trees everywhere. Surprisingly enough, we had good phone as well as Internet service. We were way down over a hill and generally nothing works under those conditions, but all went quite well.
Stone Mountain Georgia is a vacation spot for the whole family. There is a train to ride, a large lake to boat and fish on, a very nice golf course and many other things for the family to do. There was a large fireworks display on Sunday night as well as Friday and Saturday nights. We did not see it but we cold hear it and it went on for a long time and sounded like something we would have liked to have seen.
This morning, we slept in a bit and finally got away about 11am. We took some photos of the campground and then toured the grounds for a while. The park is very well kept and neat without any litter to be seen anywhere. There are walking trails as well as bike paths and biking lanes on the road.
When we left the park we picked up US78 west to I285 around Atlanta and picked up I75 toward Chattanooga, TN. The traffic on I285 as well as I75 was quite heavy with lots of crazy drivers darting in and out of traffic. Lots of heavy trucks going both ways. We left I75 shortly after we got on and picked up US41 which is a nice wide 2 lane road with truck lanes on the grades, no big trucks to speak of and very few cars. A real pleasure to drive and a chance to see a lot of the country. We stayed on
US 41 until we stopped for lunch and a nap in Dalton, GA. On north on US41 until we got almost to Chattanooga and back on I75, around town and picked up I24 west toward Nashville. Shortly after we got on I24 we stopped at a Pilot station, which was back in Georgia for fuel as it was only $2.34/gal. Back on I24 and back into Tennessee and on our way toward Nashville. Going over Mounteagle reminded me of our trip to the Daytona 500 when we came back in February. going up Mounteagle it had been misting rain and just a nasty night to drive and just as we were getting to the top of the mountain, the road went silent beneath the tires of the van. We were pulling a 27' travel trailer and I knew we were on black ice. When just then there appeared an exit with a service station and a McDonalds. I slowly made my way off the exit and into the McDonald lot and parked the rig. We could see several vehicles in the ditches and sliding around on the road. I do not think there were any crashes, but a lot of vehicles in the ditches on both sides of the road. Later a Highway Patrolman came in the station to get gas and we checked with him and he said the road had cleared up and to just take our time and we would make it down the other side alright. It was much more visually interesting in the summer time and in the day light.
We are stopped for the evening and will continue on to Nashville tomorrow and spend a day or two there before heading for Indiana.

Wednesday was another hot sunny day in South Carolina. We spent some of the afternoon back at the shop checking on the a/c in the van. There seems to be something that turns on the heat which overpowers the cooling and blows warm air. It could be a vacuum problem or an electrical problem. They could not determine which. I guess I will have to take it to the dealer and bite the bullet for the high labor costs.
Later In the evening we went down to Charleston to S&S Cafeteria for some very good food and very pleasant atmosphere.
Thursday we worked some with the van a/c and have lost all vacuum to the controls and they went to default , defrost, only and so we quit at that point and will have to let the pros handle it. We went to the grocery and then to McDonalds to get on their wi-fi and send and receive our e-mails. Service is quite spotty in this area of the low country, I call it a swamp, but they refer to it as “low country”. We have not seen any Alligators, but I understand they are around. Just as soon not see any while I am out and about, along the road would be acceptable. I know they are faster me, even in my power chair.
Friday we plan to clean and treat the roof on the motor home and then on Saturday, we will have a cook out and then go to the Navy Short Stay facility to watch the fireworks. Sunday, we will be back on the road headed north toward cooler weather, we hope. It sure is hot and muggy down here.
It is now Friday and we did get the roof cleaned and treated. We also did some other things in preparation for the cook out on Saturday. We learned Saturday morning that the fire works at Short Stay was on Friday night, so we missed them, but they had fireworks in the little town of Bonneau, SC where we were staying and I must say, they were quite nice, about 30 minutes long with lots going on. The crowd seemed to enjoy it, however there was no finale, they just stopped shooting them off. A bit disappointing, but that is the way it was. By the way, the cook out was quite nice with lots of good things to eat, chicken from the grille as well as some burgers and all the other good things that go with a cook out.
Sunday, we got things put away and left Bonneau about 10am. We traveled south on US 52 and picked up 17A and then US78 to US278 and picked up I20 toward Atlanta, GA. We are currently in Stone Mountain, GA in the campground which is quite interesting. We are parked in a pull thru very close to the lake. The campground is pretty well full, even after those that were here for the weekend left. It was quite late when we got here, but we do not have to check out until noon, so we will do some scouting around and take some photos of what we see.
Sorry to have been so tardy with the blog but we just have not had service in the “low country” so they call the swamps of SC.

Saturday we got up a bit early and got things put away and moved the motor home to a more level area where we could hook up the van. We decided to take US52 south to Bonneau, SC as it appeared to be a pretty good road and the most direct route. One of the towns we went through was Cheraw and that was the hometown of Dizzy Gillespie, the famous trumpet player. Evelyn even saw a statue of him with his signature puffed out cheeks on the square. We did not have an opportunity to go around and get a better look at it or a chance to stop and see what kind of tribute they had for him. The road was fairly good, two lane in North Carolina but shortly after we got into South Carolina, it turned into a 4 lane, most of it divided. Sure beats the interstate system for scenery.
We arrived mid afternoon and got the coach parked in the back yard under a big pecan tree with lots of shade. However, we found lots of tiny ants which we have been working on ever since we got here. We sprayed everywhere we could and still have not conquered them. Maybe after we leave, they will just die of old age. How long to ants live anyway????
Sunday the sun came up bright and it was supposed to be 96 and it felt like it and the humidity about the same. This is not a place I would want to live in the summer, may be ok in the winter, but certainly too hot for me in the summer. All you can do is stay in the air conditioning and outside as little as possible. The tall ships were in at Charleston Harbor and were to leave on Monday. We decided it would be too crowded over the weekend so we went on Monday. We could see many of them but they were on the other side of the bay from us and none were under full sail until they cleared the harbor. There were lots of power boats on the water and the marina where we were was just loaded with power launches to pretty good sized yachts as indicated in the pictures. The Russian ship was black and we could see that as they passed the crew was all lined up on the yard arms getting ready to drop the sails when given the signal. It was a pretty sight to see. We then went down the wharf to see the Destroyer and the Yorktown, air craft carrier and a small submarine. The air craft carrier looked big from where we were but small, I am sure, compared to the carriers of today’s Navy.
Tuesday, we took the van to the shop to have the a/c checked out. It worked fine all the way to the shop and when the checked if it was putting out 42 degree air. It was a little low on coolant, but that was all they could find. It worked fine on the way home but then went warm this afternoon when we were out. We checked and the compressor was working but neither the front or rear air was cooling. May take it back tomorrow after it warms up and have them check it again. Will call them and see what they think. The intermittent operation of things is the hardest to catch. Only when they are not working can you check them out.
On the way home from the shop we stopped at a gun shop and they had plenty of amo by the box of the case. So, maybe it is a locality thing, we have been checking in different areas and could not find any.
We do not have any air card service nor wi-fi in this area so we have to go to Goose Creek to get our e-mail, so things get a bit delayed at times.