Trip to Upper Wisconsin

 Early morning rain didn't stop us. Although we find it, much harder to load the Escape onto the dolly when the ramps are wet. Took Nancy three tries to get it to go up the ramp and stop on the platform. But finally we got the Escape loaded and secured to the dolly.

 We headed out on Wednesday morning right after the rain. And with in a few hours we met up with Nancy's brother Jim and his wife Mary in the town of Antigo. From there we planned to travel farther north. Our destination is Hayward for a few days  to see the attractions in the area.  The second part of our trip we will traveling on to Chippewa Falls for some of the same.

Shortly after getting on hwy 8,  our two rig caravan stop at the wayside. Which made our three little chihuahua's very happy.

We had a bite to eat before heading back on the road.
Northward bound again, it was right around the town of Prentise that Nancy noticed that the trees are starting to turn. There are swatches of bright reds and oranges peaking out from their foliage. 

Nancy just loves the colors of fall.  But is sad to think what these early colors mean, soon  summer will be over and we will head south to our winter home.  Don't get us wrong, we love our winter home, our friends there and all that Florida has to offer, but we will be leaving our families behind once again.

Sorry back to the subject at hand. We have just pulled into our first campground for this trip. A place called River Road Campground.  Well if you are coming to Hayward Wisconsin for the northwoods camping, fishing and water fun, this is not the place for you. But now if you are like us. Looking for  a place with 50/30 amp service, nice and flat pull through camp sites, great tasting water, friendly owners and close to attractions this is the place to stay. And as Nancy's brother Jim likes his directv it was easy for him to set up their portable dish.

Wednesday afternoon in down town Hayward.

Nancy's brother Jim and his wife Mary

Wedneday afternoon plan is to first stop at the Hook Stone Winery for a little wine tasting.     While in downtown Hayward  we found ourselves clowning around once we spotted this crazy moose chair out front of one of the shops. What a great place for a few snap shots . Then off we went to find Coop's Italian Restaurant for pizza.

Thursday morning we awoke to sunshine, looks like it is going to be a beautiful day for sightseeing. Mary prepares BBQ in the crock pot for tonights meal. 

Musky statue is over 3 storys high

                                       First stop of the day is the Fishing Hall of Fame. Through out the Museum grounds, there are huge cement statues of different species of fish, and off in the distance we see the main statue which is more than 3 storys tall. It is really a building shaped like a huge Musky.

                                                                                                   

Jerry holds his arm up to show the size of the fish statues

Inside the museum itself there are many old lures, roda, reels mounted fish, motors and many great photos of prize winning fish and their fishman. At the base of the large musky statue there is a fishing pool.  Where the guys tried their hand at fishing.

Nancy at entrance to musky statue

And Mary snapped a picture when I stopped on the stairs before entering the Musky Statue.

Funny as I was taking the picture of the guys fish in the pool.

Inside the Musky statue there are three flights of stairs to the mouth.  Wow what a climb.  

But the view makes it well worth all the huffing and puffing that Mary, Jim and Nancy made during the climb. 

 Oh yeah we are all out of shape.

After leaving the fishing museum we stopped at roadside stand to get some sweet corn and tomatoes  for tonights meal. Time to relax a little have some lunch before heading back into Hayward for the lumberjack show this afternoon.

two man saw contest

log rolling contest

log bridge race

2PM and we are heading to the Lumberjack show. We arrive a bit early but the stands sure filled up fast. I took so many pictures it was hard to pick which to load to the blog. The four lumberjacks were very entertaining. They were not what we expected. Everyone always seem to think lumberjack are much older and big burly men. Not so here, young men who have won in the national lumberjack contest. Each has their own specialty of course. It was nice to see them compete against each other.

After the show.

We head back to camp for our even meal of the BBQ and sweet corn.

Good Wine, Good Food, Good Friends

What a nice end to the day!

A Day Trip to Door County - 2011

Nancy's brother Jim and his wife Mary are down at Rainbows End Camping for a week.
The four of us are going to Door County for the day. It is such a nice day for a ride and picnic.

       Mary looks up from checking the directions.  

 First stop on this day trip will be the Parellel 44 Winery. Even though the four us have toured wineries all over the state of Wisconsin,  we've never stopped here.  The building and grounds are really beautiful, so we stopped to take a few pictures. 

                                        
   Nancy stopped by the rose arbor, before following the pathway to the winery's show room and stone patio which is framed with rose bushes.

There wasn't a tour but we could sample their wine, which is very good.

After exiting the winery we stood on it porch. Looking out passed the rose framed patio. We can see acres and acres of grapes.

Then, off to Algoma to buy some smoked fish.

But before getting to Algoma. We stopped to stretch our legs, at a wayside along lake Michigan. From there you could hear the sound of the waves lapping against the shore.  A few sea gulls crying out as they swoop down over the water. Off in the distance you can see a sail boat.  And just below us there is guy playing with his dog in the water. We sat a while and ate a snack before continuing on to Algoma. 

We finally found the Fish Monger Store. Bought some fish and cheese curds. Now that the fish is in the cooler we are heading up the coast.

Where we stop at Reinharts and Winkys. They both carry a great selection of items made right in door county.  We bought bread and cheeses. Jerry bought some really stinky farmers cheese. But it smells more like limburger to rest of us.

After that we drove on to the Oilery in Fish Creek, where Mary bought some spices for making dips. They also carry favored oils, spices for mixing in oils and a great olive salad but we didn't purchase any of these this time.

Nexted stop is Orchard Country Winery and Vinegards.  Where we got to taste 6 different wines each. We found some favorites to purchase. Mary always buys a corn salsa here. So she purchased that also.

We stopped at the Door Peninsula Winery nexted. Jim and Mary tasted some wine. The four of us got to taste the balsamic vineager favors.
After leaving the winery we realized just how late it has become. So, we all agreed no picnic today instead we would  just head back to camp.

Back at camp, we sat around talking and enjoying our great fines from the wineries and stores.
A nice end to a relaxing day

Our Almost Vintage RV's First Trip North - Day Four

After a light breakfast we are on the road again. This is the fourth and last day of this trip north. We are left Indiana and now on the Illinois Toll road.  First toll booth coming up. Our I- Pass is new so we must go through this first booth.

I-Pass work okay. so no more toll booth stops for us. There isn't any road work to slow us down. so we breeze right through Illinois.

Once we got into Wisconsin, we ran into some constructions so it has been slow going from the state line right through Milwaukee.  We continue to head north now on I-43.  We stop at Culver's in Mantiwoc for bite to eat, then head to Walmart to restock the refrigerator before driving the last 14 miles to Reedsville.

Back on the road again, Jerry hears a clunking noise coming from the front tire. He thinks a belt broke in the tire.  Now the rain starts. The wipers can barely remove all that water. Suddenly the passenger side wiper turns side ways, then breaks and stops all together. Making it impossible to see out that side. At least the driver side wiper still works.  Just 10 more miles now. There it is Rainbows End Campground on the left. We will be here for the next few months.

Our Almost Vintage RV 's First Trip North - Day Three

Back on the road again, heading north on I-65. Jerry says it won't belong before we get to Nashville.There is no plans for sight seeing today though, as we are hoping to get to the northern part of Indiana before night fall. We usually don't like to travel for more than 305 - 350 miles per day. 




We stopped at a wayside to have a little lunch.
Fancy watches Jerry hoping he drops something.
She doesn't know he is only making something to drink.









                                             Mandy and Daisy waiting for their turn.

 The pups are so ready for their walk. They like to run and play but are scared of the noise from the 18 wheelers. They have gotten better at least they will come out of the coach.

                                          Jerry puts the last pup in and we are off again.

We are going through Louisville Kentucky the traffic is not so bad.  I sure would like to sight see here but maybe next trip. So on to Indianapolis we go. Indiana seems to go on forever. It is a very flat state and a little boring too. But at least the coach is getting better gas mileage. Luckly cause the price of gas is higher.

Oh,  it feels so great when we find a station that is selling regular unleaded for $3.82 per gallon. But  having to put the credit card in at least twice to fill the tank really hurts.  We always fill at a quarter of a tank now.  Gone are the days when $100 would fill the tank with enough left over for a snack or two.

Just went through Indianapolis. Sometime I wish we could by pass the big cities there is so much traffic. And today is one of thoses day. The back up camera doesn't work, so we  use the shadows from the Escape and tow dolly when changing lane. It is really scary when there is no shadows. And then there is the traffic merging from the on ramp. When some car trys to merge behind the coach and then realizes there is another 30 ft or more of vehicle.
But, All the traffic and changing lanes stuff doesn't phase Jerry at all. Well at least that is what he says.

Pulling into Caboose Lake Campground in Remington Indiana.  Really nice campground wish we weren't just spending the night. Our site is a pull through across from the 20 acre Pond.

The pups are excited as there are ducks on the pond. They have never seen a duck before. They didn't bark but I thought they might jump in the water if they weren't on a leash. Fancy and Daisy kind of danced on the rocks taking great care not to get their feet wet. While Mandy lays on the grass at my feet, waiting for them to come back to play catch me if you can.

After dinner, Jerry chats with a couple from the area who camps here alot. While I take the pups for their last walk before turning in for the night. One more day and we will be in Wisconsin.

Our Almost Vinetage RV and Her first Trip North - Day Two

Jerry and Nancy had a leisurely breakfast before heading out from Ozark Alabama. Now that they are back on the road and heading north they hope this day will go by with out a hitch.  But, About mid morning the radio decides to go all static. Now the radio is dead. Nancy gets out her pen and little fix it notebook, she adds dash radio. Already, On the list is a new back up camera.
 
Travel north on hwy 65 seems like all we do is go up and down hill, not sure why we are getting better gas mileage than yesterday. Now the trees look more like those in Wisconsin. Wow Alabama is a long state. Looking out the window. There is damage all around. Buildings in rubble, roofs torn from a theater or may be that was a hotel. You could just see the tornado's path of a few weeks ago.

 Stopped for the night at Texas "T" campground. Located at Hwy I-65 and Exit 27 in Cornersville Tennesse. Seems like a nice campground. Each pull through site has grass and a shade tree and newer picnic table. Makes it easy to relax outside.

Our Almost Vintage Coach and Her First Trip North

                                                                                      Bought our 1994 Winnebago Vectra in November 2010. We looked at many a coach before we choose ours. Looking for a coach with out slides became a challenge. She is a gasser on a Ford chassis. We haven't named her yet but we know our coach is a girl. After, replacing the refrig and furnace and top of the stove.and adding two new HD tv's. She was set and ready to roll. As this is our maiden trip with her, we took her to church and had her Blessed.

Jerry hooked up the dolly, loaded on the Escape. Jerry, Nancy and their three little dogs climbed on board and traveled north from Florida to Wisconsin.

Day one:

Our Garim ran out of power, oops the 12v plug socket on the dash doesn't work. Then, Nancy reads the map wrong so we took the two hour scenic route. Florida to Alabama to Georgia to Alabama, finally back on route.

We pulled into a Rv travel park about 5:30pm. I little place called Mr. D's RV Park. It was just pass Ozark Alabama. Nice clean park, has 50amp service, cable tv and all pull through sites.

Gayle the owner ran out to greet us and direct us to our site. She told us of places we could shop, visit in the area and recommend our nexted campground. After hooking up the coach to power, cable and sewer, Jerry talked with her for quite a while. They talked about nascar and how he used to drive stock cars but that is another story.

Jerry and Nancy plan to make a lot of memorys traveling with their Vectra

Our Park Model

It has been a while since my last post. During our travels as fulltim Rv'ers, we landed at the Starke KOA a few winters back. We made some great friends and decided it would be the place to spend our winters. We spend sometime looking around for places to buy in the area. Low and behold a park model came available right in the KOA. It was love at first site. Sure it wasn't a new one but had a great kitchen and an attached sun room. That was just our kind of place. So we bought it in 2008 and have spent every winter there since.