Baseball Bats, Gold and General Patton

Left camp around 9:00 headed north to the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum.  We missed our exit for GPS guided us to where we needed to be.  The tour of the factory lasted about 40 minutes and was filled with so much information that I couldn't keep track of it all.

The biggest bat we have ever seen outside the factory.

The boys.

Below is the bat Babe Ruth used in 1927 when he hit all the home runs.  He would put a notch in his bat after each home run.

Hunter is holding a Cardinal bat and Keegan is too.  I tried to get them to hold a bat from the Cubs but the would have none of it!

Keegan learned about Jackie Robinson so he wanted his picture with the statue of him.

The stadium above is made of Legos as are the baseball hats below.

Saw this unusual limo on the street and had to have a picture.

On the streets of Louisville.

The Gold Vault!!

We visited the Patton Museum on Fort Knox.  It was very nice with displays of several things owned and used by Patton.l  These are his walking sticks.

This is the car he was riding in when the accident occurred that paralyzed Patton from the neck down.  He lived 12 more days after the accident and is buried in Germany.

A life-sized statue of his famous dog William the Conqueror or Willie as he was called.

The pistols and holster that Patton was famous for wearing.

This was the first Nazi flag that was captured by General Patton and his armored division.

This prints were in the concrete entrance to the Patton Museum representing Willie and General Patton.

The boys resting after a long day.

The drive back to camp was through a rural area of Kentucky as the pictures show.

Back to camp around 4:00 and the boys and I headed for the pool.  We spent the rest of the evening watching the boys play at the play area...Keegan on the jumping pillow and Hunter playing gaga ball.

We are going to have a fire tonight because the weather is so beautiful.  No rain today so we can enjoy sietting outside.

An Easy Day

Because we only had an hour and a half to drive to the next campground, we leisurely packed up.  We finally hit the road at 11:15.   It was a nice drive.  We drove I-75 south to I-64 west to Louisville.  We are camped at a KOA in Shepherdsville, KY just south of Louisville.  It is very nice off the interstate far enough that we only hear nature.  It is really set up for families with kids.  The pool is wonderful.  The best we have been in this trip.  It is large with a deep end of 9 feet for those who want to swim and not wade. 

Our view most of  the way on the interstate.

Our campsite.  We have a nice patio with a glider and table and chairs.  There is also a fire pit so we may have a fire one of the three days we will be here.

After we got set up, the boys and I went to the pool to cool off.  Temperatures are in the low 80's but it is humid.  The water felt good.  Back to camp to eat and then we hit the play area.  It is so nice.  There is a jumping pillow, bocci ball, gaga ball, horseshoes, chess, checkers, cornhole game, etc.  There were lots of other kids for the boys to play with.  Keegan loves the jumping pillow and Hunter played gaga ball.  We stayed until about 7:00 when it began to rain.  There are flash-flood warnings for this area so I guess we can expect a lot more rain this evening.  We will be in the camper the rest of the evening playing cards.    Tomorrow we head into Louisville for the Louisville Slugger factory and museum.  We are looking forward to that.

Noah's Ark

About 10:00 last evening, the sky opened up and it rained and rained and rained.  I wondered if we would need an Ark in the morning when we got up.  It was good sleeping listening to the rain beat against the top of the motorhome.  They have had a lot of rain in this part of Kentucky.

After you arrive at the parking lot, huge buses transport you to the Ark

Our first look at the Ark.

The area around the Ark is beautifully landscaped.

The ground floor of the Ark contained the food storage level and the different types of storage containers for the varied food needed by both Noah and family and the animals.

Above and below pictures were taken inside the Ark to show to show the way it was constructed.

These are the huge doors on the Ark.  Everything loaded on the Ark passed through them.  Although it can't be seen in this picture, there was a cross shown on the door indicating that Jesus is like the Ark in that all people must pass through Him to get into heaven and eternal life.

Another picture of the inside of the Ark.

We had an extra camera that we let Keegan use.  He took this picture and all of the ones below.  He has had so much fun snapping pictures and it kept him occupied.  This is the swimming pool at the campground.  Both afternoons, the boys enjoyed the pool.

There was also a huge chess set that Hunter and Pawpaw enjoyed.

Heading to the Ark.

Some of the birds displayed outside the Ark.

Storage containers above and below.

This chart shows that the Ark was half the size of the Titanic.

Every evening before we go to bed, we play Crazy Eights. 

We are tired tonight  but I am sure we will play a few games of cards.  There was a lot of walking today and before the day was over, all of us was looking for benches to rest on.  We late lunch at the Encounter.  It was a buffet so everyone could find something to eat.  The second floor of the Ark contained the animals and the third floor was the living quarters of Noah and his family.  There was so much information that we all have information overload.  The comment of each of us was, "It is so big!"  It is a place that we could visit again and spend more time reading the displays but today we really only got an overview.  Ken Hamm, the man who dreamed of the Ark and then spearheaded its being built was speaking at the Ark today but we were too tired to stay and hear him speak.

After all the rain last night, we were glad that the day was cooler but no rain.  Tomorrow we pack up and head for a KOA south of Louisville.  We will be in no hurry as the trip will be less than two hours.  I think the boys really enjoyed the Ark.  I know Carol and I did.

On the Road Again - Kentucky

We are very excited to be on the road.  It has been quite an adventure in life since January.   Carol had knee replacement surgery January 28 and for the next two months, life revolved around therapy and trying to get that knee working.  Mission accomplished.    Hopefully, no more painful hikes like occurred on the fall trip.  Then the last day of April, I fell over Sandy while walking her and broke and dislocated the right little finger.  Seems like a simple thing but oh no...surgery with two stainless steel pins holding the finger in place followed.  The therapy which followed and continued to plague me is ongoing and I still don't have full use of my hand.  Apparently when one finger doesn't work, none of them will.  In the middle of all this, we were plagued with motorhome problems.  However, finally after five new tires, three new batteries, a new alternator, a new solenoid on the starter, and many replaced fuses, the motorhome is on the road. 

Left Decatur at 7:30 heading east to Kentucky.  On board are Carol and I, Sandy, Hunter and Keegan.
It was overcast and cool so it was a great day to drive east.

Motorhome loaded and a picture of the guys before we drive out of the driveway at 7:30 a.m.

This is a typical picture of three of the travelers  The boys are on their devises and Sandy is sleeping.

The bridge on I74 east crossing the Ohio River.

Jason made this clothes hanger for me so I could dry towels, bathing suits, etc.  It works great and doesn't take up a lot of room. Thanks Jason.

We have a great site #228 at Whispering Pines RV Resort.  We took some narrow two-lane roads to get here but it is actually near I-75.

Hunter and Keegan are excited because we are going swimming.  Carol looks tired.  He drove 8 hours and his knee if feeling it.  I will go with the boys to swim while he rests with Sandy.

Tomorrow we will visit The Ark and hopefully, have time later for more swimming and relaxing.

Wrap Up of 2018 Trip

Here it is December 3 and I am just getting down my thoughts of the trip.  We got back to Lakeland Road at 3:00 p.m. and immediately got busy unpacking.  We met Jason, Kara and the boys at Monical's Pizza in South Shores for supper at 5:00 p.m.  When we got back home, we decided to finish up tomorrow.  There were just a few things left to unpack. 

Up early to finish unpacking clean.  I don't like to close up the camper until I have cleaned it good.  We had an appointment in Moroa to get it winterized on Tuesday.  I got everything done except cleaning the carpet.  I will do that on a warmer day after it comes back.

We were gone 61 days and drove the motorhome 6,000 miles and the towed car 5,500.  It was a wonderful trip.  We saw so much that I can't even put it down into words.  When we left on September 12, I really didn't know if we could be gone that long but we had reservations for every night so I knew we would be gone that long.  The days went so fast,  We were so busy and many days were worn out but it was a good feeling when we thought back over the day and all the things we saw and experienced.  

Here are some random thoughts about the trip.

This trip began in our minds because we wanted to attend the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.  The Balloon Fiesta was not a disappointment.  It was fantastic.  We had no idea what we would experience, but it was above and beyond anything we might have imagined.  In reality the trip was a four-week road trip, the Balloon Fiesta, followed by another four-week road trip.  We saw the most beautiful places this country has to offer.  When we can no longer travel, we will have the memories of this trip.

  

We met sooooo many nice people who were positive, kind, and friendly.  In Santa Fe we camped by a couple of newby campers who were on their first camping trip.  They had a Class C motorhome and were just learning the ins and outs of camping.  Every evening we would gather on our patio and talk about our day and try to answer their questions about camping.  I hope we gave them good advise.  They were down home like us despite the fact that they had paid cash for their brand new motorhome.

We met people who were newly retired and trying to make the decision of whether to go full-time RV'er.  We couldn't answer that question because that is something we are not going to do.  

Through photography we met people who took our picture and we in turn took theirs.  One couple from Alabama took our picture in Bryce Canyon and then we met then again in Zion and they took our picture again.  We met another couple in Canyon in the Ancients and again in Hovenweep.  They took our picture and we took theirs in both parks.  They said we were the first people to offer to take their picture after they had taken their picture.   In Canyonlands we met a young woman who was camping alone, driving from a job in Colorado to a new job in Washington.  She was newly divorced and looking for a new start in Washington.  I took a picture of her rig.  I think she is brave to take this big step in her life.

I hope this new start in her life is successful.  She said she has discovered the love of camping and seeing the beauty of this country.  We told her not to settle for a husband because she doesn't want to be alone but to find one that shares her interests like camping and dogs (one was waiting for her in the vehicle.

Not everyone was a pleasure to talk to.  We camped by a lady who had a notebook filled with places you should avoid because of high crime.  One of those places was the campground in Albuquerque in which we were going to camp.  We believe in being aware of your surroundings and being cautious but we also believe that we can't let fear control our decisions.  When we got to the Albuquerque campground, we found it was very safe and we did not at any time feel fearful.  

Meeting these people enhanced the memories of our trip.  We don't listen to the radio (other than XM) or listen to the news when we travel  We are traveling in a cocoon.  Ninety-nine percent of the people we met were so nice, that it made us feel that the evil, rudeness, and negativity of this country didn't exist.  For nine weeks, we felt a peace about our world.  

We visited nearly 25 national parks/monuments.  Some of those we had visited before but there were some new ones like Capulin Volcano, Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks, Chirrachua, Gila Bend, Aztec, Cabrillo, Florissant Fossil, Canyons of the Ancients,  Hovenweep,  Navajo, and Bisti National Monuments/Parks were new to us.  They are smaller monuments/parks but definitely were worth the visit.  Some we enjoyed so much that we would visit again.  One thing our government does well is the national park system.  They preserve some of the most beautiful places and historic sites in this country.  

We camped mostly in KOA's because we get a 10% discount on camping and earn points which we cashed in for $100 in savings.  The KOA card is a freeby which comes with our motor club so we look at it as a win win.  We also camped in three state and one national park.  We enjoyed them more than the private campgrounds because these parks focus on making the campground a part of the countryside as to opposed to be slotted in spaces set up for a maximum number of campers.  A first for us was camping in a casino campground.  It was a good experience and we would definitely camp in one again.

Getting gas for the motorhome is a biggy for us  You don't just pull a 34-foot vehicle with additional 10 feet attached into a gas station.  Because of the route that was taken, we visited two stations twice, once going west and once going east.  We also traveled over some highways twice, once going east and once going west.

Keeping my travel  journal on line as a blog is a very modern way to do it.  Also new to us was the use of the GPS to get us to and from places.  If we hadn't had GPS, I am not sure we would have made it into San Diego and Las Vegas.  We would probably still be trying to navigate the traffic.  Carol is the driver and I am the navigator.  That has always been the way we take trips.  Carol did a magnificent job of driving and thanks to the GPS, I was able to navigate successfully.

There were some disappointments I want to mention.  I had spent several months planning this trip.  We had planned to go to Sedona in Arizona but the weather didn't allow us to visit.  We had wanted to visit Four Corners but time did not allow that.  As we had been to Four Corners twice before, when time was limited, we chose to visit other places.  We wanted to visit  Torrey Pines State Park in San Diego but heavy traffic and lack of parking did not allow that.  We did drive on the singing highway but only the first two measures of America the Beautiful was played.  It was so brief that we almost missed it.  I would not recommend taking the time to drive that section of road.  We were disappointed in Mesa Verde National Park.  We had visited there several times before but this trip we were not able to physically visit the large pueblo ruins.  Some of the ruins were closed because of the time of year.  They were doing routine maintenance of the ruins.  We chose the wrong time of the year to visit.  Final disappointment was Las Vegas.  Again, we had been there before, but this time we didn't enjoy it at all.  There was so many people who mostly were drinking and using vulgar language.  Not a pleasant atmosphere for an old Christian couple from the Midwest.  

As I look back over the trip, despite the disappointments, it was a wonderful trip.  I would call it a trip of a lifetime.  We have always loved heading west.  This trip we spent nearly nine weeks exploring and experiencing the very best scenery and places of the southwest and Southern California.  If we never go that direction again, we can feel content with the memories we made and the images that remain in our minds.