Jun 2008

Saturday: Left Watkins Glen and headed East. Stopping at Austerlitz and the Woodland Hills RV Park. The park was nice and hidden in the hills of the Berkshires, near the NY & MA border. However the town of Austerlitz was none existent. Out site was right on the lake. We did not have cell service, thus the dual entry today.

Sunday: Arrived at Foxboro around nood and was told we could not check in until 3pm. This is a huge, family oriented park, several pool, play areas and rec centers. Three of our party also checked in, the Deshons, the Soverigns and the Scholes. Only awaiting the Olivas. Talked with the office about attending the bash on the 4th.
It was really muggy. We wll be here for 7 days.

Left Niagara Falls and headed East. Took the turnpike for most of the way and then dropped down to a local road to see the real countryside. We passed thru towns dating back to 1788, interesting. At the North end of Seneca Lake we drove thru Geneva. This was a real interesting town on the shores of the lake. Large mansions, beautiful lawn and flowers. We drove the length of the lake to Watkins Glen, known for auto racing. There we stayed at the KOA. We drove into Corning, home of Corningware. Again, an old, interesting town.

What a day! We started by taking the tour of the U.S. side of Niagara Falls. This included going to Cave of the Winds, which gets you up close and personal to the falls. Doning rain slickers and rubbers shoes, you descend to the river level. Then you walk on the wooden walkways to the edge of the falls. The mist from the falls gets you soaked. Then you can climb up the to the hurricane platform. There you really feel the force of the water and the wind associated with it as it plummets down. Next comes the Maid of the Mist boat ride. This takes you up the river into the U of the Canadian falls. Again you feel the power of the water as it cascades over the edge some 200 feet above you. A short rest and then we took the tour of the Canadian side. This side has much better views of the river and the falls as the Canadians have built roads and paths much closer to the edge. The highlight of the Canadian side was the trip to the Caves. Again, descending down about half way to the river, you go to an observation platform to witnes the falls. But the excitement comes when you go into the hand made tunnells behind the falls. The tunnels go some 200 yards into the rock, behind the falls. Then there are tunnels right to the end. The water coming down is only inches from the opening of the tunnel. When we exited the night lights were coming on, illuminating the falls from the Canadian side. Spectacular.

Spent the night 18 miles into New York state at the Hill Family RV Park. Very nice, quiet, even though it was near the interstate. Arrived about noon into the Niagara Falls Rv Park. Set up and spent the afternoon looking for tours and watching the falls. The picture below is of American Falls, in the back ground is Horseshoe Fall, in Canada.
Cooked in that night and will do tours tomorrow.

[img=http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/153999/P1000075

Decided to leave Elkhart a day early and visit some friends on the way to Niagara Falls. Stopped by the Bouchers in mid Ohio, West Milgrove. Traffic was much lighter than expected passing thru Cleveland. Stoped in Fairview for the night and will make the Falls by noon. The entry below was supposed to have a picture, however it did not occur, hopefully we will get that solved by tomorrow.

There were a lot of horse and buggies in this area.

Went to Nappanee and a tour of the Newmar plant. Unfortunately they were not in production this week for their summer break. However the tour was still interesting, if not more so. During normal production you have to stay behind the yellow line, wear eye protection and ear protection. The noise is almost unbearable. This time we could walk all around the coaches as they were sitting on the line. Newmar has several new floorplans coming out that are quite unique. After the tour we stopped by the coach for lunch and to walk the dog. Then off to the RV Hall of Fame. It opened a year ago in it new building. There were several RV's that dated back to the early 1900's. It was put together in a very interesting venue. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. Then off to Shipshewanna and a little shopping and touring.

In Elkhart, IN. Spent the day touring the area which is full of Amish/Mennonite familys. Unfortunately all of the little stores and speciality shops were closed because it was Sunday. Even most of the local resturants. We drove the Hertitage trail, as marked on the local maps. The countryside was rolling hills with farmsteads in immaculate condition. At several of the farms there would be many buggys, unhitched, with the horses in the corral. This is where church was being held at the time, and then a dinner. We did find one place to eat, Amish Acres. It was served family style and was very good. In the afternoon the clouds started to build and the thuncerstorms rolled in. Several alerts were given for severe storms and our weather radio siren was going off often. Thunder and lightning were prevalent, so the dog spent the time in the closet in the bedroom. The picture of the coach was our test to see if we were able to install photos in this blog. It was taken of our coach in the Elkhart campground. Now that we know how to do it, look for more.

Left the KOA in Terre Haute about 830, slept in, partly because we are now on Eastern Daylight Time. We will be on this time zone until we get into Canada. Watched several thunderstorms grow and move. Luckily we were just ahead of them, only got a little rain. The Elkhart Campground was full, two caravans and several people with their new coaches. We had been having problems with our broadband card so spent the afternoon with Verizon getting tings resolved. It needed a new upgrade download, and it now working better than ever. We will be in Elkhart for a few days.

Had a pleasant ride from Carthage, MO to Terre Haute, IN. Weather was forcast to be rainy and windy, but was neither. Stopped at Sullivan, MO for the last cheap fuel ($4.47) then headed towards St. Louis. As we took the beltway around the city, crossing the Mississippi, there was little traffic. The river was bank full but not flooding at this time. Guess the breaching and breaking of the levees upstream lessened the pressure here. Stopped at the KOA in Terre Haute, very nice rv park.

Left Oklahoma City and headed for Joplin area. Barbara's lives in Webb City, and she is expecting a huge addition, like triplets. So we stayed at a very nice campground in Carthage called THE RED BARN RV PARK. Excellent locations and facilities, very quiet. Visited Brianna and Brant and their new home. Stopped by the RED HOT AND BLUE BBQ and picked up dinner to go. Weather good all day, but looked threatening.