Girls Week in the Mountains!!!

One whole, complete week in the mountains with nothing to do except what we want to do.  Wish you could hear the wonderful night sounds.  We are high on the mountain overlooking a lake  in Georgia.  Such a beautiful place.

We got here yesterday afternoon - one of our bff's couldn't make it - we sure miss her.  So it's the two of us - been way too long since our last trip together - the three of us were in Charleston, 

Christmas 2011.

We have friends - good friends - but some of us are lucky enough to have "forever friends" who know us better than we know ourselves.  If we're really lucky - they are also great travel friends.  What fun.

We have all these places to see and things to do on our list - the nice thing is we don't have to do any of them unless we want to.  Today we didn't want to do any of them.  Stayed here all day - sat on the deck - talked - ate, read - cooked a simple, delicious dinner.  Talked, ate, read, watched some Netflix. 

A really good day.

This cabin has three levels with three beautiful decks with a swing, rockers, table and chairs and bird feeders.  Lots of birds - although the flying squirrels eat most of the bird seed.

I have friends who own a beautiful house in the North Carolina mountains that I've visited many times.  I thought it had the steepest possible driveway - Not!  I stopped and took a long look before I started up this driveway - will be interesting to go down tomorrow!

Day One of National Street Rod Show

Thursday, August 1 - Riding down the street in Louisville is a like car show!  I never imagined this many old cars - beautiful cars.  There are over 10,000 cars registered for the show and thousands more just cruising (I think).  

Beautiful weather - not too hot and not humid - how nice.  There are hundreds of vendors here selling all kinds of things.  One huge building is "Woman's World".  Can't wait to check that out.

First thing - they come get us - we go to Papa John Stadium - hook the truck to the trailer (I wondered why - since Frank and Leslie were going to drive it to the show).  Duh!  so the trailer wouldn't tilt when the car was backed off on the ramp.  I wouldn't have thought of that until it happened.  They drive the car - we drive the truck, then go in to find them - cell phones are good when there are over 10,000 show cars.

We had a perfect location for the car - in the lot next to the street so we could watch cars cruising by all day.  The street is on the Expo property since it covers 300 acres and it is all full of cars.  Lawn chairs, umbrellas, cold drinks - meeting great people and hearing about their cars.  

Nancy - drove her beautiful street rod truck from Wisconsin by herself.  Said her husband showed their cars for years while she stayed home with four kids.  Kids are grown - hubby is tired of going - so she goes all over the country showing their cars - they have several.  In fact, they have several Woodies.  She was such a fun person - enjoying life to the fullest.  And guess what - she sold her street rod!  She went into the vendor area to shop for parts for the next one.  Wish I had a picture of her bright yellow street rod. 

Car back and locked in trailer - time for dinner on the Louisville Riverfront.  Joe's Crab Shack - delicious seafood - great service and a beautiful setting.  A walk in the riverfront park - perfect end to a great - if tiring - day.  Glad to get back to Elsewhere and relax.

Sunday, August 4 - Time to Go Home

Sort of sad to see it end.  It's been a wonderful few days with two of our favorite people.  Sure hope we can do it all again.  Maybe we'll have a street rod next time.  Ken has one in the works.  Found one he thought he might buy - someone bought it before he had a chance.  Maybe next time.

On the road - all is well until we get to Charleston, West Virginia.  Remember this is where the truck trouble started on the way to Louisville.  Truck started losing power again - slow, slower then speed up.  I know it had to be so frustrating for Frank.  Took us longer but the important thing is we got home safely and the beautiful '57 Chevy is back home and all tucked in until next time.

A semi truck caught on fire and completely burned on I 64.  We sat in traffic for a while so we made sandwiches and delivered them to Frank and Leslie (in the truck in front of us).  A lady asked if we made milkshakes.  Think we could've made a little money if we had been there a little longer.

Good to be home - until next time.

Hope you have good travels and better homecomings!

Flowers at the Expo Center in Louisville

Saturday, April 3 - More Cars

More Cars - more car watching and people watching.

The NSRA gave away a car this afternoon.  We didn't win.  Only the registered car owners were eligible - Leslie and Frank didn't win either!  Shucks.

Don't even ask about this picture - yes it is our motorhome - Yes that is Ken climbing in the window.  Thank goodness I left that window unlocked.  And yes that's our nice neighbor holding the ladder.  I think Leslie and I were sitting in the shade trying not to let Ken hear us laughing.  Gotta love it.

How can we possibly top the wonderful food we've had the last three evenings?  We did!  A friend told Leslie about a place about 30 minutes from Louisville that we should try.  Okay.  We put the address in the GPS and drove - and drove - and drove.  Little curvy roads - lots of turns.  I think we turned on Stiller Road three times.  We laughed so much - wondering what in the world could possibly be this far out in the country.  Found it!!  Parking lot full of cars - beautiful grounds and big white farmhouse - playgrounds - lakes.  Joe Huber's Farm and Restaurant.  Joe Huber knows how to do things - Huber's winery - Huber's Lakehouse for rent - rides for the kids - gift shop and fresh produce store.  And the restaurant - huge and beautiful - and busy.   Check it out:  joehubers.com.


More great food - we had chicken and dumplings, ham, catfish, corn, summer salad (my favorite), slaw, lima beans,  yeast rolls.  So, so good.  Coconut Cream Pie for dessert.  Four evenings - four great meals - not one complaint.

Friday, August 2 - Another Beautiful Day!

We're getting pretty good at this loading and unloading - guess I should say Ken and Frank are getting good at it.  Leslie and I mostly stay in the cool and watch.

The Chevy was in a different area today - something about a pro class - beats me - I just know they're great cars!  This place is so big - we're getting plenty of exercise walking.

Leslie and I spent a few hours in "Woman's World" today.  Hundreds of vendors selling so many great things.  We did a little shopping - mostly looking.

Ken and I were walking across one of the showrooms admiring the cars when someone called Ken's name - hard to believe some friends from Davie County were there.  It was fun to see them and catch up on things.  They have a car but it isn't finished yet.

We drove out to see Churchill Downs - beautiful.  Took some pictures and found our way across the river.

Since we are right on the great Ohio River, Leslie and I decided we should drive across the bridge to Indiana and eat on their waterfront.  Same river - different state.  We ate at Kingfish Restaurant on the Riverfront.  Beautiful.  The food was delicious - we all ate steak and lobster - so good.  The service was great - really nice waitress.  Kentucky Silk Pie for dessert - we did all share one dessert.  I forgot to tell you that we had Key Lime Pie for dessert at Joe's last night - really, really good.

After dinner we spent some time riding around Jeffersonville - a beautiful old town right on the river.

Back to Elsewhere.  We are parked in the midst of some beautiful motorhomes and friendly people.  The people next to us are in the most beautiful motorhome we have ever seen - a Prevost Private Coach.  Don't get me wrong - we love Elsewhere - we got him new in March and I think he'll be around for a long time.  They're beautiful but we really don't want one that large - there are so many places you can't go in the huge ones.  We never thought we would get one as large as Elsewhere but so far we're really loving it (he's 30 feet).  He has so much personality and electric jacks!  an overhead bunk that comes down with the push of a button - fun.

Our neighbor in the Prevost has a street rod - handed me the keys and told us to take it for a ride!  Can you believe that?  Ken decided we shouldn't - guess he was right - but it sure was tempting.

Another perfect day.  

Street Rod Nationals Plus. August 1 - 4, 2013

Wednesday, July 31 - We had Elsewhere loaded and ready to ride at 6:15 AM!  Headed to the 44th Annual Street Rod Nationals Plus. August 1 - 4, 2013, at Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky with Leslie and Frank - who are so much more than just good friends!  They are taking their amazing '57 Chevy to the show.  I haven't seen it yet - it was in the trailer and ready to go when we met them to go to Kentucky.  They pulled the trailer with a pick up truck.

All went well until we got about half way - uh oh!  truck problems - thought it might be the transmission.  The two guys scratched their heads - discussed their options - pull it with Elsewhere?  leave the truck?  Whatever it takes we are going to this car show!  Guess the truck decided it was best to go ahead and pull the trailer.  For some reason it made it the rest of the way just fine.

Got there in time for Leslie and Frank to get the car registered and parked in the secure area at Papa John Stadium.  We had reserved a space in one of the parking lots at the Expo Center.   It was set up for motorhomes.  Really nice to park there so we didn't have to drive to the car show. Leslie and Frank had already made reservation at a hotel about 3 miles away - they headed out with the dear gps - hope they found it.  

Dinner time - Texas Roadhouse!  Only problem was when I put it in the GPS I didn't notice that it was the Texas Roadhouse at the airport!  Oh well - ya just gotta start over and try again.  Found it - the ribs were excellent.

Long day!  We're excited about the show tomorrow.  There are street rods and old cars of all kinds all over this city.  Which one do I want?

A Real Mud Sale! Too Many Quilts

We finally made it to an Amish Mud Sale!  We started a couple of times, got sidetracked and went elsewhere in Elsewhere (our motorhome)!   We left Thursday morning - stopped at Cracker Barrel for a late breakfast - always good.

A beautiful drive until we got to somewhere on Interstate 81 in West Virginia - sat in traffic for two hours - hardly moving at all. Finally decided to stop in Martinsburg for the night and leave early Friday for Pennsylvania.  We spent the night at Cracker Barrel - nice quiet area.  Watched a movie - nice evening.  We did run the generator all night since it was hot and humid.  Very comfortable evening.

We were on the road at 5:15 AM - determined to make it to the sale this time.  We got to Bird in Hand (yes that is the name of the town) just as the sale was starting.  I have never seen so much mud in my life - it must have rained all day Thursday.  They were putting sawdust down by the truck loads.  A real Mud Sale!  There were several tents with auctions going on - selling horses, carts, buggies, tools, furniture, antiques, flowers, saddles and Quilts!  Lots of quilts - all kinds of quilts.  Big ones, Little ones, new ones, old ones. So much fun looking at all the quilts and talking to all the nice people.  

I think we may have to have some kind of intervention or something - we absolutely can NOT continue to go to these sales!  We don't seem to be able to resist the beautiful quilts.  I know - it is weird since I make quilts - why should we want more?  I think it's because I know how much time and hard work goes into a beautiful quilt.  And Ken bids more often than I do - he really should be helping me resist!  I really hate to put into writing how many quilts we bought - but maybe that will be the first step to our recovery!  We bought 5 quilts - large quilts - beautiful hand quilted quilts.  I don't have pictures yet - check back later.  

One of the quilts is a beautiful whole cloth quilt.  It really should have sold for three times what we paid for it.  After we bought it, an Amish lady sitting right in front of us turned to me and said, "That was my quilt".  She was so nice and so pleased that we loved her quilt so much.  She gave me her name and permission to put her name on the quilt label.  I told her that I realized how much work was in her quilt and how beautiful it is.  A very special quilt.  But where oh where will I put all the quilts?

We made a (probably very wise) decision not to go to the Mud Sale on Saturday.  It was in a town a few miles away - Refton.  We drove by on Friday afternoon and decided to keep driving so we wouldn't be tempted to bring home more quilts.  

We decided to drive through Lancaster - usually a nice town to visit.  Not this time.  They were having a street festival so the downtown streets were closed.  Took quite a while to get through town.  There are lots of "Rotaries" (we call them traffic circles). Thing is up there they use the Rotary very differently than we do.  It seems to be a free for all - jump in and hope for the best while they all keep going.  Not sure they understand what yield means.  I guess it helped that Elsewhere is a lot bigger than most of them!

We were exhausted by the time we survived the closed streets and Rotaries so we found the closest Walmart for the night.  We always ask permission - and they're always so nice.  Sometimes they cannot allow overnight stays because of city ordinance or not owning the lot.  When that happens they go out of their way to tell us where we can stay nearby.  

Saturday morning we drove to Gettysburg - took the two hour bus tour.  Very interesting.   The North Carolina Memorial on the battlefield is one of the most beautiful. It was created by Gutzon Borglum - who also created Mount Rushmore.  The views are spectacular.  This photo is the Eisenhower Farm - President and Mrs. Eisenhower donated their farm to the National Park Service.  This year is the 150th anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg - lots of special events.  

We stopped by The Round Barn - only 8 miles west of Gettysburg.  Unusual and rare - huge round barn built around a silo.  They sell fruits and vegetables and all kinds of crafts and unusual foods.  We walked up to the second floor and took this photo.  Bet it was fun to watch this barn being built. Check it out at roundbarngettysburg.com.

Good to go - good to get home!  Elsewhere took good care of us.  Oh - I almost forgot!  I drove Elsewhere.  Decided it was about time.  I kept it between the lines!  Fun.