USC 52 - Virginia 7

Need I say more... it was awesome but details coming tomorrow.

Appalachian Mountains - The Virginias

Cindi has asked me to write about the exciting events in Charlottesville, Virginia (USC Football).  But to do that I get to also write about the preceding days.  After 3 days in Charleston, West Virginia we finally got out of there on Thursday night.  Actually I have to write about 2 funny (not so funny then) things that happened while in Charleston.  First, as Cindi mentioned she flew off to the west coast for a few days to do a Get Motivated Show. While returning I spoke with her during her layover in Chicago.  While we were talking she discovered, about an hour before her next flight, that her work had actually booked her on a flight to Charleston, South Carolina (the bigger Charleston) NOT Charleston, West Virginia!!!  She was able to switch it but it was a bit nerve racking for a time there.  Fortunately Cindi was able to find an email where she requested the correct Charleston in WV so it wasn't her error.  Even though this Charleston is the capitol city of West Virgina it is relatively small (less than 60,000 population).

The second "not so funny at the time story" was with our motorhome.  After a full day in the shop I got a call that said, "Sorry we weren't able to get to you today."  Suck!  At the end of the second day I got a call that said, "We know what's wrong but we have to order the part... it can be here tomorrow."  Double Suck!  At then end of the third day they said, "It's done."  When we got there they explained to us that there was a "little problem."  In order to fix the air conditioning they had to go through the bedroom floor in our back sliding door closet.  Well 2 of Cindi's blouses were sucked into the engine compartment and, for a lack of better word, got  shredded.  No one was very happy at this point!  Well, after much discussion they reduced the bill by $250 but still no one was very happy at this point as well.  We got a bit lucky or maybe we should simply thank God, that the Regional Customer Service Manager happened to be visiting this Freightliner shop and overheard our situation.  He helped us get an additional check for $120.  Actually the check went to "Cindi Hulsebus" and she has informed

 me it is earmarked for 2 new blouses!  What could have been a $500 bill turned out costing us about $50 and our air conditioner and leveling jacks are now working correctly again.  So finally we were off.  Not so fast though.  I've been driving this monster motor home for 4 months now and I know exactly what it should sound like.  Something was definitely wrong so I U-turned it.  No one was very happy again!  (Do you know how many times I've had to hook-up and un-hook our Saturn Vue pull car?  Let's just say I'm getting a lot of practice!)  Apparently Cindi's blouses and the mangled metal coat hangers had damaged the fan blades.  These were quickly fixed and we were off again after another round of "were sorry."

OK... off over the Appalachian Mountains.  Since we're behind schedule we decided to take a short cut... actually we knew what we were getting ourselves into.  Up and down, s-curve roads but this is beautiful country.  We had hoped to make it to the New River Gorge Bridge before it got dark and just about made it.  Our pictures weren't that great so you get the picture of a picture of the bridge.  We then settled down at the Babcock State Park for the night.

In the morning after some running and rip-sticking with Sterling, our earliest riser, I finally pulled out the BB gun.  We all took turns shooting empty water bottles although my hunter/fisherman Peyton was looking for squirrels.  Tanner, the one bugging me the most to go shooting, is quite the marksman.

Off again down the eastern Allegheny Mountains.  Not the best roads for a 40' diesel pusher with a tow car.  We drove through Lexington, Virginia on our way to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This road that stretches from the Great Smokey Mountains in North Carolina 469 miles to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia is termed, America's Favorite Drive.  The Parkway was the nation's first and ultimately longest, rural parkway in the USA.  The speed limit is only 45 mph and is very relaxing with little traffic and has beautiful views.  Best of all it lead us almost all the way to Charlottesville for USC's first game of the season.

Detroit, Michigan - Charleston, West Virginia (via Ohio)

If you haven't read the Grayling to Detroit post be sure to read that first! 

We had a appointment in Detroit to get service for the RV and get a tow package installed on to the Saturn.  I won't go into the stress and difficulty of getting this accomplished, but I'm  excited to tell you about what we did while waiting for our work to be done.  (Thanks in part to a nice man at the Cummins Distributor who let us use his Suburban for the day.)  Outside of Detroit in Dearborn, Michigan is the Henry Ford Museum, Factory and Greenfield Village.  We decided to go to the Village but did not know what to expect once we arrived.  We were very pleasantly surprised.  Entering Greenfield Village is like stepping back into an 80-acre time machine. It takes you back to the sights, sounds and sensations of America past.  There are 83 authentic, historical structures, from Noah Webster's home, where he wrote the first American dictionary, to Thomas Edison's Menlo Park Laboratory, to the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law.  Walking into the perfectly preserved homes really brought you back in time.  It was like the voices from the past were whispering their stories through the walls of their dwellings.  All through out the village you could find people who dressed and behaved as if they were living in the past.  The best part is that they wanted you to join in on their discussions and activities.  The boys loved joining the men in a game of croquette or playing old fashioned kids games on the lawn.  Best of all, we all had a blast playing 1867 baseball.  It was played by the rules of the time which allowed the outfielder to the throw the ball at runner to get him out.  You can see why Sterling loved it so much and played most of the day.  

The Wright brothers were telling of their adventures of their first flight.  
These bikes seemed so peaceful and fun.  Wish I could just ride around town all day.

Sterling was so hot and sweaty playing Baseball all day.

The scarf and pole was from their hobo lunch which consisted of a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich, string cheese, raisins and a juice.

Tanner and Peyton had a great time making candles.

Sterling liked to play in the outfield where he could throw the ball at the runner.

Tanner got a good hit in.

After the Village we drove to Cleveland, Ohio so that I could catch a early morning flight.  Dave and the boys had a great time at the Yogi Bear RV Park in Aurora, Ohio.

The park had all sorts of water toys to play on.  It was really fun for the kids to get out some energy.

I flew back into Charleston, West Virginia.  We had to take the RV back in for servicing and, to make a long story short, we were stuck in Charleston for 3 days.  While there we did find a cool museum called the Clay Center.  They had a ton of hands on exhibits including a health educational Hollywood Squares Game Show.  It was really nicely done.  We also went to a great dinosaur IMAX type show and a planetarium show.  We had a good time despite all the trouble with the RV.

P.S.  The answer to the poll is.......Drum Roll...........Crab!  Peyton loves crab!  Actually he loves any seafood.  He asks to eat it constantly!  He is going to be in heaven when we get to Maine!

Grayling, Michigan to Detroit, Michigan

Since this is my third time writing this (read "Postless and Frustrated") I am going to make this short and sweet.  

We all had a great time at the Yogi Bear Park in Grayling, Michigan.  They had a ton of things for the kids to do, including a jumping pillow.  The kids met some really cool boys to play. Dave even rallied the kids to play a football game.  Sterling loved that!

We stayed at the Yogi Park for two nights and then headed down to Flint, Michigan.  On the way we stopped at Michigan's little Bavaria called Frankenmuth.  It was such a cute little city.  You really felt like you were over in Europe.  The kids had fun putting their heads in every cut out sign they found.

I even got in on the fun!This is so freaky!  I was looking at the sign that tells you what to see and where to go and I looked up and their was this huge spider!  So I screamed and then grabbed my camera and took pictures of it.

Frankenmuth is home to the largest year round Christmas store.  This store is gigantic!  We actually were too late to go in but the lights throughout the parking lot were also very impressive.

We arrived in Flint late in the evening.  We went to Flint because there was a huge auto auction the next morning.  Dave left early in the morn and when he returned he was not alone!  He returned with a hot chili pepper red Saturn Vue. We like our litte pull car!The first place we drove the new car too was "The Big House" (the University of Michigan football stadium in Ann Arbor).  Dave should be ashamed.  It was kind of on the way.?  Dave should be ashamed!

P.S.  Good Sam ...did we win? Did you give up?  With out you we may never return!

P.S.S.  Sorry this post is so brief, but I was so frustrated with it, I decided I just needed to get through it.  Stay tuned...better posts to come.