We left Chicago on September 8th to spend the weekend with a group of fulltime RVers in Celina Ohio before going up to Van Wert for an Escapees rally the week of the 10th. It was a chance to make new friends among the group and to update ourselves with seminars and RV supplies shopping.
While we were in Van Wert Jim and Tarry Johnson, friends from the RV Forum that we spent time with at Quartzsite and Yuma last winter called. They were 20 miles south of us and saw our HughesNet locator and called to get together for dinner. Getting together with RVers happens quite often as we travel and is a chance to catch up on their news.
After a hard week of socializing, eating, and seminaring we headed to Burlington Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati, to visit Sue's nephew Scott, wife Kim, and their kids. We stayed at the Oak Creek campground and nervously watched 4.5 inches fall over the weekend. Fortunately the creek did not rise and we had a great time.
This is a trip of visiting and our next stop was Lexington KY to see old friends from Illinois Ralph & Mary Davison who live south of Lexington at Nicholasville. When we visited last year we parked on a small patch of their 5 acres out in the country but with all the rain the option of parking our 28,000 pounds on grass was out so we checked into a beautiful campground at the Kentucky Horse Park in the north edge of Lexington.
The Davisons' daughter Kerry and her husband are veterinarians in Louisville so Mary and Sue spent a day up there including a visit to Churchill Downs. Here Sue is trying out being a jockey for the 2 1/2 minutes it takes to complete the Run For The Roses.
Kentucky Horse Park is a fascinating look into the history of horses, all horses not just the famous Kentucky racing variety that were also well represented. The Park started life as a horse breeding farm and is now owned by the State of Kentucky. It should be a must-see stop for anyone traveling through Kentucky.
We also ran down to London Ky to have lunch with Sue's cousin Nona and her husband. As I said this is a visiting trip!
We are now in Pigeon Forge Tennessee for a few days heading for South Carolina. This time of year is gorgeous in the Smokies and will become more so as the fall colors continue to deepen.
So far we have enjoyed an evening of country music and spent today traveling over to Asheville, North Carolina to visit the Biltmore Estate.
Biltmore was built by George Vanderbilt, grandson of Cornelius the shipping and railroad magnate of the early 1800's. The estate is still owned by the family and is vast. The house has over 250 rooms with 65 fireplaces and beautiful gardens. While it is a look at the extravagance of the 19th century industrialists it also is a glimpse to the late 19th century in North Carolina.
We plan to spend a couple of more days around the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area before heading down into the mountains of South Carolina.
