Shop 'til you drop....really!!!!!!!

I promised to tell you why I had to take a 2 hour nap yesterday..well , it was shopping. When we told some folks at the Monaco rally that we would be in North Carolina, they said go to High Point...it's where all the furniture manufacturers are, and you can get huge bargains. Since we need almost everything for the new house, we decided to take a look. Unfortunately, we only had one day to be there, and I knew it would only scratch the surface. The visitor's center told us to go to "Furnitureland South" because it is the largest furniture store in the U.S. They weren't kidding...We covered every square foot of the 4 story, 1 million square foot (honest) building. By the end of the day everything started to look alike, and all we wanted to do was get out of there.

You need to be in High Point at least 1 week to appreciate it, ...just minutes from that store there are many many more with very familiar brand names, and some unusual ones, too. The prices are all very competitive, and you never pay retail price. Some are discounted 40 to 50 percent. The shipping charges might put a big dent in your savings, though. The neat thing about it besides the savings is that you get to see so much all in one place, and you can take your camera to keep a reminder of what you liked. Sad to say, most of the manufacturing is now done somewhere else, and not in the U. S. so that's why we never saw any factories.

When we were in Yellowstone, we met some folks from North Carolina, and we were told not to miss the Bob Timberlake gallery of furniture, so we checked that out today. What a nice surprise that was...it was beautiful furniture on a little bit smaller scale than we had been seeing...just right for our new house. Another great thing about it is that it is one of the very few lines still made in the USA. The picture (without Vern) of the entertainment center is that brand (Lexington home/Bob Timberlake).

Another interesting thing we discovered is that Seagrove, NC is a huge pottery center, and since I'm a potter, we had to go there. They have the largest concentration of potters in the U.S...over 100 of them in this little town. They are scattered over the countryside, and each one is very unique...some very classy, and some in tiny little makeshift buildings, but all producing gorgeous work. Ben Owen, a 3rd generation potter and a very well known one has his studio, kilns and store here. His kilns are pictured here...the huge one (it is at least 5 times larger than it appears) is wood fired, and it takes 4 days to fire it, and 4 days to cool it..we saw the stacks and stacks of wood used for firing.. The tiny kiln on the right is one they make pizza in while laboring over the 4 days!!! Ben Owen (the grandfather ) formulated the beautiful "Chinese Red" glaze that the pottery is known for, and he was instrumental in gathering so many potters in one place and establishing Seagrove as one of the most important centers in the country.

We have seen lots of wonderful things on this trip, and it has only shown us that there are so many more things to see and places to come back to and spend more time enjoying. Thursday we are flying home to California. It's time to get back to reality. Steve has found us a wonderful indoor storage place for the rv, and Nancy is graciously letting us park the car in her driveway. Tomorrow Vern will "winterize" the rig, and we'll try to stuff lots of things in our carry on bags...won't see the rest of our belongings till Feb. or March when we come back. Hopefully Nan and I can visit some more and even play a few card games tomorrow, then go out for a nice dinner...she even wants to do my laundry!!!

This will be my last posting until we resume our trip in the Spring.......hope you had fun reading it. It's good way to make a diary for yourself when traveling. I will print out all the pages and save it...probably in the cardboard box where the last 10 years of photos are stashed!!!

'Til next time, Mary and Vern

Woods, Woods, and more Woods

Pennsylvania is filled with some of the most beautiful wooded areas you'll ever see, and of course it is especially gorgeous in the fall. We only saw the very beginnings of the colors..originally the plan was to go to New England after visiting in Erie, but time just got away from us, and it seems like it's time to head home. Away we went from Erie last Tuesday after lots of hugging and kissing all those Browns!!!!

Driving to the south through West Virginia and Virginia, and North Carolina I was surprised at how much of the country is completely covered by woods...so many different varieties of trees, wildflowers, butterflies, birds, and animals. I don't think we have ever truly appreciated the vast beauty of our country. We drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway ( in Virginia and North Carolina). You can see in the picture taken hi atop the ridge why they call it "blue".

One thing that we discovered about Virginia is that it is kind of difficult to find rv parks that will take a 40 footer. We had an awfully long (9 hours of driving) trek one day, and ended up staying in the WalMart parking lot. Of course Walmart is very smart to let us do that because we proceeded to eat there and do our grocery shopping!!!

We finally arrived in Apex, NC where my sister, Nancy, her son Steve, his wife Tracy, and their 2 boys Ryan and Josh live. Steve and Tracy really did some sleuthing for us, and directed us to the most beautiful state campground at Jordan Lake. The sites are wonderful....wide, no high trees overhead to scrape your roof, and yet completely surrounded by woods, and relatively private from our neighbor. The only glitch is that they close the gate at 8 pm every night, so we turn into pumpkins if we're not back home by then. Guess North Carolina doesn't want us vagabonds to get into trouble after dark!!!. So far , so good!!!! We even have a little deer to welcome us home at night. (see photo)

It's been so much fun to see Nancy , and see her new home in Apex. She has her beautiful flowers, park bench, great back deck, lots of woods behind and next to her, and a really nice home with tons of storage space. Yesterday she and Steve's family took us to a neat festival in the little town of Apex. It was interesting to see all the wonderful little shops (great pottery) lining the main street. I wish Camarillo had something like that.. Then Tracy had us over for dinner and cooked the best stuffed peppers I've ever had....what a treat. The day before, they all came out to the rv, and we had a little picnic. I had forgotten how much and how fast young teens can eat....wow, I think they liked my Texas sheet cake with fudge frosting!!!!!! They are really great boys and busy with lots of activities, including scouts (Steve was the scoutmaster for several years) Hap Kido...Ryan is a 2nd degree black belt, and Josh is working on it.

Tomorrow I'll tell you what Vern and I did today that nearly did me in. I had to sleep for two hours when we got home I was so tired...no, it wasn't hiking....well, maybe it was!!!

Till then, Mary

P.S. Happy birthday to my other sister, Soozie in Hollidaysburg, PA !!!!!

Food, Family, and Fun in Erie, PA

Ox Roast, Homemade Italian (authentic!!!) food, and milkshakes and scrapple...What more could you ask for!!! The last 2 weeks we have been given the royal treatment by Vern's Mom, Brothers and Sisters- in- law. Keith and Bobbie had us for a lovely dinner as did Mary and Dave (homemade Italian wedding soup and cannonelli.) Kathy and Ron made us delicious spaghetti and meatballs, cherry pie and blueberry pie. To top that all off, we were there at harvest time and found some beautiful produce at a country stand...it was almost a work of art (see Picture). Ellen was in the kitchen every chance she got, whipping up her delicasies for us. In return, we took her to Sara's diner at the peninsula for her yearly ration of fat, cholesterol and sugar in the form of foot long hot dogs, onion rings and real old fashioned milkshakes. ( See the picture..we told her to show it to her Dr. and tell him the only thing missing was her gin and tonic!!!)

We made several trips to the "peninsula", a beautiful piece of beach and woods that juts out from the city of Erie into Lake Erie. It's where both of us used to swim and picnic when we were kids, and also when we were dating, so it brought back lots of memories, not to mention the fact that the weather was glorious. It's really one of the most beautiful spots in PA. It is where Oliver Hazard Perry fought the battle of Lake Erie, and won a very decisive victory over the British in the war of 1812. His ship, the Niagara is based at the dock in Erie, and it has become quite a valuable asset for the city.

Twice we took Ellen to Erie's newest playplace..the casino. It's only about 10 minutes from her house and she loves to go there. Unfortunately, we didn't have much luck there so we made up for it by going to the mall and "saving" lots of money since they were having a big sale...ha ha.
Ellen and I played Gin every night, and we were tied right up to the night before we left when she promptly skunked me...well It was her 92nd birthday, so I didn't feel too bad.

The day before we left Ron and Kathy hosted a lovely family birthday party for Ellen. There were 17 of us including our niece, Connie, her 2 children Mikey and Rachel, and her husband Mike. Our other niece, Melanie was there with her husband Mike Carmosino( of ox roast fame), and their new baby girl Julianna Rose...(happiest baby you'll ever see!!!! ) and our nephew, Jeff and his wife Kiera.

We left this morning...went to Dave and Mary's house in Edinboro where they had graciously let us park the rv while we were in Erie. The leaves are just beginning to light up the sky for the fall spectacular, and we were lucky enough to get a little preview of it this morning in Edinboro. We are heading toward North Carolina to see my sister, Nancy and her son Steve and family. We're hoping the wonderful weather continues, and that "Carmen" (our Garmin) keeps taking us in the right direction.

Mary

SCRAPPLE....enough said!!!!!!

Well, here we are in Erie, Pa where Vern and I both grew up. Vern's Mom, Ellen and all of his brothers and their wives and families still live here, and it's always so nice to come "home" and see everyone.

No visit to Erie would be complete without tasting Ellen's wonderful cooking...she is always ready for us with wonderful, tasty good old down home cooking. Part of that good old food includes "Pennsylvania Dutch" recipes and this morning we are being treated to SCRAPPLE.. Lots of folks don't know what that is..you are really missing it if you've never had it. It's made with pork sausage, corn meal, spices...then boiled in water, then refrigerated to solidify. When you are ready to cook it you slice it, dredge it in flour and fry it. Yum yum yum. we love it.

Ellen's "grandson-in-law", Mike Carmosino makes fabulous "OX ROAST" and of course Ellen stocked up on that for us, too. We have already had a sandwich of that, and are eagerly awaiting some more!.

Kathy, Ron's wife made us a CHERRY PIE...oh boy is that good...home made, and we have already had a piece of that. You won't recognize us when we return, after all this food, and we have only been here 2 days!!!!

For those of you (many of our friends) who know and love Ellen, she is doing really well. We have already had our afternoon gin and tonic, and she is ready to beat me at Gin Rummy. When we arrrived the first day she wasn't home...still out playing cards with her ladies group.
Oct. 1st she will celebrate her 92nd birthday and we will be here with bells on!

More about Erie soon. Mary ( P.S. Happy birthday Margaret Hobbs! )

History and Family in Pennsylvania

We grew up in Pennsylvania, but seem to know so little about it, I guess because we left right after we became full fledged adults. History was not usually the most important thing on our minds in those days! Hollidaysburg, PA is a very small town near Altoona, PA...which is near Pittsburg. My sister Soozie and her husband, Howard Etzel have a lovely home there, and we paid them a visit yesterday. While visiting, they asked us if we had ever been to "Horseshoe Curve" in Altoona. We had never heard of it, so off we went to get a fascinating history lesson.
(Soozie and Howard are both very happily retired teachers)

The Curve is a railway that was hand carved with picks and shovels and explosives into the Allegheny mountains...it's shaped exactly like a sharply curved horseshoe, and it was a major thoroughfare for the Pennsylvania railroad for shipping goods across the country in the early 1900's. It is still used extensively today by many lines, and you can wave to the engineer as he swings around the curve...(no more caboose, though).

During WWII the nazis plotted to destroy the Curve, and if they had succeeded, it could have crippled the American war effort, and changed the course of history. The PA railroad was the largest transportation artery in the nation, and every day hundreds of trains carrying thousands of troops and tons of military material went through the Curve. In 1942 German submarines landed in the dark of night and fog on the shores of Long Island, NY and Florida and deposited saboteurs to destroy the Horseshoe Curve, and many other targets including the NY water system , Niagara power plant and some major manufacturing plants. Fortunately, because of the saboteurs' greed and stupidity, they were caught , tried and executed before they could carry out their plans. Soozie gave me a book depicting all of this, and much more history of the area during WWII. If you're into history, the book is "The Horseshoe Curve...Sabotage and Subversion in the Railroad City" by Dennis p. McIlnay. Thanks Soozie and Howard for that tidbit!

Then we were treated to a wonderful dinner at the Etzels...not only was the spaghetti sauce home made, but it was made from Etzel's homegrown tomatoes. You can't get much better than that. Finally, we went to Barnes Noble bookstore where Soozie works part time. She knew where every book was and led me right to some that I hadn't been able to find. Gotta keep that rv stocked!

Tomorrow we'll be in Erie with Vern's mom and family..It will be great to see them all!!!

Mary

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!!!!

Well, I'll start out with the bad.....Of course you can't always have perfect days, rving or not, so it caught up with us yesterday. Vern got a real workout driving to Dayton, Ohio where he wanted to see the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum. We had a horrific drive with construction, detours, accidents on the road, and one detour that nearly put us into a big ditch. By the time we got here (actually, the only place close to the museum that we could find) we were beat, and unbeknownst to us (here comes the ugly) we ended up in an r v park that sounded pretty good in the book, but we realized very quickly that we are the only non-residents in the park. Rvers know what that means!!!! To make matters worse, for two days our lights in the coach had been flickering, and they finally gave out on us around 9 PM. Vern called Monaco, and they said "Check the fuse". He did and it was fine, so then he told Vern to bypass the solenoid. We decided to wait till the AM, so we went to bed only to be rudely awakened by a train that I thought was coming right into the rv around 3 AM.!!!! In the morning Vern knew just what to do, and like magic, he electrified us again..ho ho. (Thank goodness for old Clem Webster, Vern's old electrician employer when he was a teenager, and our dear friend Jack Hobbs, our rv mentor).

Now for the good part. Wright Patterson Air Force base in Dayton Ohio is huge, and they have an unbelievable air museum. I think almost every airplane that was ever built for the Air Force is there, including some from Germany, France, England, ect. Vern was so anxious to go, because it's about the only place he knows of that has the Airplanes he used to fly...F-106, F-102, T34, T-33, T-37. He found them and really enjoyed them all, including ones that friends had flown...Terry Wall's C-133...(Terry, notice how your airplane is hovering over Vern's like a stern father,) John Bollinger's B-47 and B-52, and so many others. Vern even found his Alaska squadron's (317th Fighter Squadron )mascot, "Iron Mike". Mike used to get stolen on a regular basis, and taken to strange places, like Viet Nam, Greenland, England , or wherever. Then it was up to the 317th pilots to find him again and bring him home. I see he has found a permanent home at last!!. (See Iron Mike's photo at top) We were there from 10 AM to 4 PM and it was great. After I figured how long we had been in there I told VB he owes me an Art Museum visit!!!!! In the entry there is a beautiful sculpture of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun.

The next good thing of the day was a visit to The Cracker Barrel Restaurant..what a treat!! It's always something to look forward to since California doesn't have any. Fortunately, we'll remember the museum and forget the rv park(I hope!)

Mary

So much more in Indiana!

We took our drive to Kokomo today to see the house we lived in when Lori was born, and to reminisce a little. It's funny how you remember things...or don't. I remembered our exact address from 1962 when Lori was born. We both remembered that Terry, who was two at the time, used to play with the little boy around the corner, J. D. Pryor. ... such a big name for such a little boy. We (the two Moms) used to lift the boys over the back fence to play with each other, and when I would be holding the new baby and looking across the fence to check on Terry, he always decided he had to come home...only for a minute, then it was back to J D's. I'm not sure if the house was magenta then, but since that was always Lori's favorite color, maybe that's why???!!!

The reason we lived in Kokomo was that Vern was stationed at Bunker Hill Air Force Base where he flew F-106's, so of course that was on our list of to do's. It isn't called Bunker Hill now, It's Grissom (Gus Grissom was born here). Sadly for Vern, any trace of the airplane he flew here is gone, and the only thing that was familiar to us was the runway and his ops building. Most of the other buildings were gone, and there is even a prison on the grounds now. So much for progress. He did manage to find his squadron patch, and even a photo of one of the pilots that he flew with...Roscoe Turner. There were lots of other airplanes there though, and we were wishing that Luke and Trevor could see them all. Maybe they will someday..Eric, there's a trip for you!!!!

Next on our list was a visit to the University of Notre Dame. It is such a beautiful old campus, and we enjoyed seeing all the students walking around either on their phones (sound familiar, Taylor?) or reading in front of one of the reflecting pools. It made me want to be a student there, but then I remembered I'd have to study....hmmm? We found out that the starting quarterback for the football team (the fighting Irish) is a freshman named Jimmy Clausen , really big deal...He is from about 5 miles from our home in California, and went to Oaks Christian School in Thousand Oaks. Small world. We saw a magnificent mural of Jesus on the front of the 15 story (!!!!) library building which faces the football field. They say if you are up high in the stands during a game you can see it just beyond the home goalpost.....check out the picture and see what you think!!!

Tomorrow we will pull up the jacks and be on our way. Indiana has so much more to offer than I knew. I would love to come back again.

Mary