Living Our Dream

Pittsburgh to Knoxville, TN

Heiskell (Knoxville), TN - Events of Wednesday, September 24 to Thursday, September 25, 2014

As we said in our last post, we pulled out from Lora and J. Michael's driveway on Wednesday and headed south. Our destination was Knoxville, TN with an overnight stop at Ft. Chiswell RV Park near Wytheville, VA. At 5½ hours, Ft. Chiswell RV is a bit farther than we usually like to drive in a day, but it is an excellent place for an overnight stop because it's a nice campground and essentially all their sites are pull-throughs. We looked for a campground a little closer to Pittsburgh, but we couldn't find anything as nice as Ft. Chiswell RV.

The 5½-hour drive was lengthened to over 6 hours by a traffic slowdown due to an earlier accident on I-79 just south of Pittsburgh and by a fuel stop at a very crowded Flying J. With diesel at $3.50 a gallon, the place had trucks lined up wall-to-wall waiting to get to the truck pumps. The line was long enough to block the entrance to the RV lanes. But we can't complain too much because gas was cheap, too - $2.99 a gallon plus a 3-cent a gallon discount for the Flying J RV loyalty card. With the additional delays, we didn't arrive at Ft. Chiswell until around 3 p.m.

Ft. Chiswell RV Park has about 90 sites with full hookups and 30/50-amp electric. There is free cable and free Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi had a strong signal, and it was pretty fast, at least it was when we first got there. It did bog down a little in the late afternoon and evening when the campground filled up. There was a strong Verizon 4G signal, but it also slowed somewhat later in the afternoon.

The roads at Ft. Chiswell RV are paved, and most of the pads are gravel; but there are about 20 sites that are all grass and about 10 that have paved pads. We lucked out and got a site with a paved pad. The sites have decent spacing for a private campground, although the ones with paved pads are a little closer together than some of the others. The rate at Ft. Chiswell RV Park was around $33 a night with a Good Sam discount.

Our site with paved pad

The section behind us had gravel pads, trees and a little wider spacing.

Sites in the row behind us

In spite of the fact the traffic is very heavy on this section of road where I-77 and I-81 run concurrently for several exits, and in spite of the fact Ft. Chiswell RV Park is only a short distance from the exit, there is surprisingly little traffic noise. That's because there is a pretty big rise between the RV park and the highway that blocks a lot of the sound.

We got on the road around 9:30 the next morning for the second leg of our journey to Knoxville. The drive was about 3 hours to the Escapees Raccoon Valley RV Park in Heiskell, TN, which is located a short distance to the north of Knoxville.

The sites at Raccoon Valley are much closer together than those at our favorite Escapees RV park - Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL. However, it's hard to beat the Escapees parks for price. With a weekly rate, our cost for a full-hookup site with 50-amp electric was less than $17 a night.

The roads and pads at Raccoon Valley are gravel. All sites have full hookups. Some have 30-amp electric, and some have 30/50-amp electric for an additional $1 a night.

Our site at Raccoon Valley

View down the road past our site

Our original plan when we left Pittsburgh was to head east to Pennsylvania Dutch country around Lancaster. However, we weren't sure of our departure date from Pittsburgh until right before we arrived, and we weren't sure how long we wanted top stay in the Lancaster area once we got there. Therefore, we held off making reservations until the last minute, and by then it was too late to get a site. Like Berlin, OH, the campgrounds in the Lancaster area book up pretty far in advance for fall weekends.

Since we couldn't get a site in Lancaster, we went to Plan B, which was to head south. That actually turned out to be a good plan because, not only are the campgrounds in the Lancaster area very expensive ($40 to $60 a night), the weather was turning cooler faster than we expected. We went from a high temperature one day near the end of our stay in Pittsburgh that didn't get out of the 50s to highs in the 80s in Knoxville. Now, that's more like it!

We haven't been to the Knoxville area for quite some time, and we're looking forward to exploring. Look for our next post to see what we found.

A Stop in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA - Events of Thursday, September 11 to Wednesday, September 24, 2014

We pulled out of Scenic Hills RV Park in Berlin, OH on Thursday, September 11, and made the two-hour drive to Lora and J. Michael's house in the Pittsburgh area. Shortly after we arrived and got set up on the RV pad beside their garage, Lora and Lydia returned from running errands. We spent a little time with them then went back to the rig to relax. We went to their house for dinner then visited with them for a while before heading back to the motor home again later in the evening.

J. Michael had the day off work on Friday, and Paul helped him install a new back door on the garage. The old one was starting to rust and the frame was rotting out at the bottom. After picking up a new door at Home Depot, the guys got to work ripping out the old door.

J. Michael pulling nails out of the old door frame

They got the old door out and the new door in by late afternoon. Unfortunately, they ran out of caulk before the job was done; but at least the door was in and useable. Besides, it was getting late anyway, and we were planning to go out for dinner.

After the guys got cleaned up, we headed out to Don Jose Mexican Restaurant located in a small strip mall adjacent to Robinson Towne Center. We went there the last time we were in Pittsburgh, and the food was just as delicious this time.

Lora, J. Michael and Margery with Lydia barely visible in her car seat in the foreground at Don Jose

After dinner, we swung by Home Depot to pick up another tube of caulk and some paint samples. When we got back to the house, Lora and J. Michael checked out the colors. One was close to what they wanted, but more samples are needed before the final decision is made.

Checking out paint samples

We finished with the paint samples just in time because Lydia was getting hungry. Margery got to do the feeding.

Margery feeding Lydia

On Monday, Paul's step mom took us to lunch at Empire Palace, which is an upscale Chinese restaurant in the North Hills area of Pittsburgh. Lydia joined us, but decided to pass on the Chinese food and have formula instead - good choice. Paul and Margery had the usual - General Tso's chicken. It was delish.

Empire Palace

Margery, Paul's step mom, Lydia and Lora at Empire Palace

During the day when we were in Pittsburgh we were busy doing our own thing that included all our doctor and dentist appointments. Paul found time to meet his former co-workers for lunch and Margery also enjoyed face time with a couple of friends.

Margery and Lora took turns making dinner most evenings which gave Lora a much appreciated break. Margery also got a break for the days our appointments were later in the afternoon because Lora cooked those days. Getting together with Lora and J. Michael for dinner gave us time to visit with them.

Having the motor home parked next to the house gave us plenty of opportunities to pop in to visit with Lydia over the almost two weeks we were there. It was amazing to see how much she was growing. Lora reports that at today's doctor appointment she weighed in at 11 lbs. 7 oz. and measured 23¼ in. long. That's a weight gain of over 4½ lbs. and 4 in. in length in 9 weeks. We can only imagine the changes we'll see when we return in three months for Christmas.

Lydia in her swing

Lydia with one of her stuffed animals

Lydia in her "Little Black Tutu" outfit

We relaxed a bit last weekend. We even got to babysit Lydia while Lora and J. Michael went to a Mary Kay fund-raiser on Sunday afternoon. Lydia is getting to be so much fun because she is starting to respond to voices, sounds and movement. In the next photo, Lydia is responding to the faces Margery is making at her.

Lydia responding to Margery making faces at her

Lydia watching Grandpap while Margery feeds her

We had our last doctor appointments on Monday, and we got to babysit again late on Monday afternoon.

Freeway watching while Margery holds Lydia

Tuesday we did some of our pre-departure chores during the day and ran a few errands. We went to dinner at Bahama Breeze for Paul's birthday in the evening.

Bahama Breeze

During the week, Bahama Breeze has happy hour until 6 p.m. with half price appetizers. While J. Michael chose a delicious-looking grilled chicken salad with tropical fruit for his dinner, the rest of us just had appetizers. Lora had a crab stack (lump crab meat stacked up with shrimp, avocado and mango) and firecracker shrimp, and Paul and Margery shared a chicken quesadilla, an order of onion rings and firecracker shrimp. Everything was yummy!

Margery, Paul, Lydia, Lora and J. Michael

We shared a chocolate island for dessert - chocolate mousse and whipped cream atop a brownie base swimming in a sea of chocolate sauce and vanilla anglaise all sprinkled with toasted almonds.

Chocolate island

On Wednesday, we pulled out for our next destination. We had several nights while we were in Pittsburgh with lows in the 40s and even a few down into the 30s. Although it warmed up a little on Tuesday, Monday's high didn't get out the 50s. We'll tell where we headed in our next post, but you can be sure it was south.

Farewell to Amish Country

Berlin, OH

Our time in Amish Country was very relaxing. During the last few days of our stay, we reflected on on our time there and on how much we love the rural atmosphere. One of our favorite things to do when we're out running errands is to take the long way and drive the back roads so we can see the well-kept farms. Since the Amish aren't allowed much in the way of man-made decoration, most of them plant flower gardens near the house to help brighten their lives.

Colorful garden at an Amish farmhouse

Another garden by an Amish barn

The Amish are very hard-working. We see them in their fields as we drive the back roads. They are especially busy during spring planting and also during fall harvest, which was beginning as we prepared to leave Berlin.

Amish farmer harvesting wheat

All that hard work means plenty of laundry. Most Amish homes have a pulley system rigged from the house to the barn or to a tall tree so they can maximize the amount of drying space.

Amish farm with a clothes line running up to the top of the barn

Although the Amish are hard-working, they also know how to have fun. When school is in session, we frequently see boys and girls outside their one-room school playing baseball during recess. We have also seen evening picnics with Amish from all over gathered to play games, socialize and share a meal.

One day when we were driving the back roads, we passed a wagon train. The wagon drivers appeared to be non-Amish, but the wagons all contained Amish families. We don't know where they were going, but they seemed to be having a having a good time. We can't imagine they were just out for a ride since they drive buggies every day. It looked like they were coming from or going to some sort of retreat that may have included camping.

Wagon train containing Amish families

Speaking of Amish buggies, another common conveyance, especially for kids, is the pony cart. Amish children are given big responsibilities at a fairly young age, including driving pony carts on the roads right along with automobile traffic. Designed to carry one or two adults, the carts frequently haul more kids than that - like the 5 young girls crammed into the one shown below. We snapped a picture as they pulled off the road to allow us to pass.

Five girls in a pony cart

Auctions are very popular in rural areas. Signs advertising upcoming auctions are all along the roads around Berlin. One day as we were out running errands, we passed an auction that was underway, so we stopped for a photo.

Auction

The Amish turn out for auctions in large numbers because not only are auctions a chance to get a bargain, they are also a good opportunities to socialize. Special parking is usually set aside for buggies.

Buggy parking at the auction

Buggies, carts and covered wagons weren't the only vehicles that attracted our attention. One weekend we saw several antique cars traveling around the area. We're not sure if it was part of an antique car club or if it was some sort of special tour.

Antique car in Berlin

One of the nice things about our relaxing summer was that we were able to take our time to really enjoy the good food and the scenery around Amish Country. We were also able to enjoy numerous beautiful sunsets and sunrises right from our site at the top of the hill at Scenic Hills RV Park. The sunrise below was on one of our last couple of days in Berlin.

Sunrise at Scenic Hills RV Park

From Berlin, we headed to the Pittsburgh area for our annual doctor visits. We'll be pretty busy, but we'll obviously make plenty of time for Lydia. Since we'll be so busy, our blog posts may be a little scarce; but we'll have an update eventually, so stay tuned.

Hartville Flea Market

Berlin, OH - Events of Thursday, September 5, 2014

A couple of weeks ago when we met Margery's college friend for lunch at Hartville Kitchen, we left early so Paul could look around Hartville Hardware beforehand. Hartville Flea Market is located right behind Hartville Hardware, but we didn't get going early enough in the morning to have time to go to the both the flea market and the hardware, so we decided to go back to Hartville last Thursday to check out the flea market.

There are indoor vendors with mostly new merchandise in a large, brick building.

Main entrance to Hartville Flea Market

Inside the two-story section of the building at the main entrance is a food court. The vendor shops extend out from both sides of the food court, and there are also shops on the second floor mezzanine above.

Inside the main entrance with the food court to the left

There are also a couple of rows of vendors out in the parking lot in nice weather. The weather was beautiful the day we went, so there was a fairly good turn out.

One of two rows of outdoor vendors

There are also two covered, outdoor vendor areas. One of them is mostly produce where we picked up a tomato for our lunches.

Produce aisle

There was also one vendor in the produce section who had some nice mums. Some of them are shown in the photo below, and some are shown in a closeup in the photo at the very top of the post. We're seeing mums for sale all around the area lately, and it's a reminder that fall is on the way and it will soon be time for us to head south.

Plenty of mums for fall

Margery found some good online reviews for the Angry Barbecue (the name reminds us of the Mean Pig near Little Rock), so we decided to stop there for lunch after the flea market. The Angry Barbecue is located in a strip mall adjacent to Belden Village Mall near North Canton.

Angry Barbecue

They didn't have any platters on the menu, so we both had a pulled pork sandwich without the bun (around $8 for a combo that includes one side). Paul had fries for his side, and Margery had onion rings. We also shared an à la carte side of cole slaw. The fries were hand cut and were outstanding, and the onion rings were very good, too. They were nice and crisp. The barbecue was good, but not real smoky. The presentation, however, is a step or two above most barbecue joints. The meal was served on a paper-lined, heavy metal tray garnished with pickled onions and angle-cut scallions.

Pulled pork and fries

They have three kinds of barbecue sauce - Sweet, Angry and Mad. They are all very thick and sweet with an increasing amount of heat. Angry wasn't all that hot, and Mad was a little too hot, so we mixed a little Mad with the Angry. As we said, the sauces were all pretty sweet, so we were wishing we also had a little vinegar-based sauce to mix in, too.

Margery about to dig into her pulled pork

After lunch we made a quick stop at Walmart in Massilon to pick up a few things we needed, then headed back to the motor home to relax for the rest of the day.

Lydia Goes Camping

Berlin, OH - Events of Friday, August 29 to Monday, September, 1, 2014

On Friday, Lydia arrived at Scenic Hills RV Park for her first ever camping experience. She brought Lora and J. Michael along because she can't reach the pedals on the Suburban and she can't see over the steering wheel. She also has a tendency to fall asleep in the car. Plus, she doesn't know how to set up their travel trailer. Fortunately, Lora and J. Michael were happy to help.

After Lora and J. Michael got their trailer set up, we all got together to hang out. Later, we shared dinner. Lydia, who was tired from the two-hour drive, slept through her first picnic.

Lydia at the far end of the table sleeping through her first picnic

It began to cool off in the early evening, so we gathered for a campfire. Fortunately, Lydia was awake for her first campfire.

Lydia and Lora at the campfire

Freeway also liked the fire.

Margery and Freeway at the campfire

A little later, it was J. Michael's turn to hold Lydia while Lora made 'smores.

Lydia and J. Michael at the campfire

After it got dark, it cooled off a little more. Lydia was toasty warm wrapped up in her blanket.

Lydia wrapped up in her blanket

The next day was Saturday, and we all headed to Der Dutchman for the breakfast buffet. Lydia, who got fed before we left, napped through our breakfast.

After breakfast we stopped into the Der Dutchman Bakery to get cream sticks for breakfast on Sunday. Then we all piled into the car and headed to Keim Lumber a few miles south of Der Dutchman in Charm. Lora and J. Michael wanted to get a hand-held shower head for their bathroom. They found a nice one at Keim, so it looks like Paul has a project when we head to Pittsburgh a little while from now.

After Keim, Lydia decided she was hungry, so we sat in the car in the parking lot while she ate. Then it was on to Walnut Creek Cheese for some groceries and some snacks for later. After a stop at a Miller's Orchard for sweet corn and a tomato for dinner, we all headed to the Holmes County Flea Market located a short distance from Scenic Hills RV Park.

Lydia ended up sleeping through her first trip to a flea market. Mommy has some work to do to teach that girl how to shop!

Lydia sleeping through the flea market

Because everyone's schedule now revolves around Lydia's, we got an earlier start to our day than usual. Therefore, we were back at the campground shortly after noon even with all the stops we made. We all enjoyed naps in the afternoon then got together for another picnic dinner of sweet corn and burgers followed by another campfire.

J. Michael got up early on Sunday and did daddy duty with Lydia to allow Lora to sleep in. Speaking of sleeping, Lydia, who is now 6 weeks old, is already sleeping through the night. Lora did the same thing when she was a baby.

Lora and J. Michael wanted to go play mini-golf on Sunday; but Sunday morning was rainy, so they ended up driving up to Menard's in Massilon to have a look around. We hung around the campground.

Later on Sunday afternoon, Lora, J. Michael and Lydia came over to our rig for dinner and to play a game of Rummikub. We especially enjoy spending time with Lydia because she is starting to react to her surroundings. She follows you with her eyes and will make faces and smile if you brush her cheek or tickle her foot.

Lydia smiling at Grammy

On Monday, we got together again for breakfast. Then we (Margery) watched Lydia while Lora and J. Michael packed up. After they left, we realized how blessed we are that we don't have to pack up and go home...and go back to work the next day.

As the campground emptied out, we settled in to relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We'll have another update soon, so look for our next post.