Still May 5th-bizarre occurrence at a rest stop

We stopped at a rest stop and Ron got out to walk Sammy. Shortly afterward, there was a knock at the door. I rolled the window down and a trucker said, "Did ya get your money from the guy and his old lady". He said, "Is your old man here? When he gets back I'll talk to him.". Well I was nervous! When Ron came back, he said that a trucker and his lady had won $250,000 at a Casino and he was giving $100 bills to every trucker and veteran in the truck stop.  We did not qualify!!

Everyone left!

 May 4, 2026

As soon as A-RV Fest ended, the parking lot cleared out, with the exception of 5 vans waiting for some minor work.  We needed an adjustment on our levelers and our side door, which was not latching properly.  By one pm, we were on our way to buy a few groceries and head to Cincinnati. We are members of Family RV Association and so are able to stay at their RV park for a free night or two.  We were definitely the smallest RV. Most were buses or huge 5th wheel trailers. Since we were in no hurry, we slept in and had a leisurely breakfast.  Sammy was able to enjoy the dog park there, too.

May 5, 2026  SAMMY's BIRTHDAY- One year old

From Cincinnati, we headed for Bowling Green, KY where we will tour the Corvette Museum.   Ron had always wanted to cross the Ohio River on the Roebling Suspension Bridge.  It was an experiment prior to Roebling building the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was much better than crossing the I-75 Bridge.  For the night, we are at Cabella's in Bowling Green.  Tomorrow, after the museum, we head for Nashville to see Leah's music concert at school.  

A-RV Fest

 

May 1-May 3

50+ RV Owners were welcomed back to the Mother Ship, Advanced RV, in Willoughby, OH where our custom RVs were designed and made. 

Most attendees were owners, but there were a few people who were looking for a new or used RV.   On Friday, May 1st, we had an organized entry with parking designations. There was a dinner catered by Julia's a local high end restaurant followed by a bonfire for those of us who were hardy enough to tolerate the cold and windy weather (40 degrees).

May 2nd, we started early with breakfast and a group photo.  Four seminars with various content of interest to owners were started with a story each time by an owner. 1) maintenance memories 2)technologies for travel freedom  3) why we travel, how we build  4) Sprinter systems, service and support. Ron and I led off seminar 4 with the story of our breakdown in Alaska. 

Lunch was a choice of a rice bowl with prime rib or a wrap.  Very good!  After lunch there were van tours as each owner described his/her specific design choices.

Dinner was a food truck (Franks food truck) that drove right into the building and offered many German food choices.  Schnitzel, hot dogs, brats, etc.  Followed by Flamenco/ contemporary guitar music provided by Ben, one of the ARV employees.  Temps were going down to 35, so we did not join in the bonfire. 

May 3rd  Pancake breakfast followed by an ARV owners panel, which is always a favorite event, since the panel answers questions about their travel.

The 2026 Summer Adventure

 

April 28-May 1, 2026 April 28- Night one on the road was spent in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Waycross, GA. We expected to see fires due to the extreme drought, but they were east of us.  Rain is expected in the next few days, which may help eradicate the worst of the fires. 

April 29th- Night #2, Walmart in Forest City NC. 

April 30th-Night #3, St. Albans, WV in a free city campsite along the Kanawha River.  We were the only campers.  It is adjacent to a busy highway, but the noise did not keep us from sleeping well. 

May 1-Advanced RV where the ARV Fest will take place today through Sunday.

Sunset on the Kanawha

Sammy after a long drive

August 1, 2025

 August 1, 2025

A half day's drive and we made it home.  The temps here were slightly cooler than those in Georgia.  We were able to see our new pavers for the first time since they were installed while we were gone.

Until next trip!!

July 31, 2025

 

July 31, 2025

Day 2, we drove all the way to Brunswick, GA. (9 hours, 15 minutes)  We decided to keep driving, since the outside temp was 102 an there was no sense baking in the sun while stopped.  While we were driving, we again contacted the kennel that had the 5 year old Springer Spaniel (Maple) that we wanted.  After placing a deposit on the dog, we realized that this was a scammer and not a real AKC Kennel.  We were mad at ourselves for falling for the scam, and very disappointed that there was no real dog. (Devine Kennel was posing as Divine Kennel and had cloned their account and all of their photos. 

This is the dog we thought we were getting. 

 We found out after some research, that the scammer was located in the Philippines.  We're working to get our money back. 

July 26,30, 2025

  July 26-30, 2025

We arrived at Advanced RV on a Saturday, with an appointment on Monday for repairs.  The AC had a wire wedged in it from our time in Mabou, Nova Scotia when a low-hanging wire grabbed onto the roof unit.  It was determined that there was a 50-50 chance that, if repaired, it would leak, so we opted for a complete new unit.  There were a few other issues:  backup camera wasn't functioning and the side-door handle wasn't working properly.  Also, the hooks for our sunshades were installed.  All of that was fixed by Wednesday mid-day, so we headed south.  The first driving day was fairly short (to Beckley, WV).

July 26th 2025

  July 26, 2025

 A couple of photos:  

1.  going through a small city where modern met traditional

2.  a museum where we stopped to see work of Norman Rockwell (scouting pictures)

Medici Museum of Art, Warren, Ohio, but these works had been moved to Texas