May 22, 2016 Kentucky Graduation party! May 23, 2016~Hello Illinois!

Sunday May 22, 2016- Because Ira & Lee had treated us to such a wonderful dinner with dessert, we wanted to take them out to breakfast. They resisted saying there wasn't much to offer in the way of restaurants in the small town of Brandenburg, Ky. (Hey....we could always go to the donut shop!) We said we weren't fussy, they gave in & went to breakfast at the Huddle House!

Ira said he couldn't eat all that but funny thing, he didn't need a doggie bag when we left!?!

Today Lee & Ira's daughter & son-in-law are having an Open House for their graduated  daughter, Taylor. Ira & Lee told us we could attend the party no problem.The Hosts only had a one day notice that we were staying at the same campgrounds as Ira & Lee! We decided we would attend, not because Lee told us their son-in-law was a restaurant chef......but that information did help!!! We said we would drive our own car, in case we felt like intruders & knowing Lee & Ira would stay longer visiting family & we had a "crippled" dog to return to!!!

                                          Proud grandparents with their graduate, Taylor!

                                                      I'm already happy with this party!

                                                       Mother & Daughter, Lee & Lisa
 Time to get in the chow line! Son-in-law Anthony, had whipped up RIBS, corn on the cob, potato salad, pasta salad, BBQ meat balls, appetizers &.......a chocolate fountain! Why didn't I get a picture of the chocolate fountain with strawberries, pretzels & pound cake to dip in the chocolate???? Later, as we didn't slip off early!!!! Lennie introduced people to chocolate dipped potato chips! He had everyone dipping their chips in the chocolate fountain!

I'm not sure what Lennie & Ira were up to, probably No Good.....!?! Ira took Lennie on a quad ride to show him the lake. Lennie & I leave now to tend to Otis, Lee & Ira did of course stay longer.

Of course since Otis has been waiting patiently back at the RV & in his crippled condition, Lennie feels the need to reward him! Brandenburg may be a small town, but they still have a McDonald's!

                                                   One PLAIN McDouble Please!

                                                            Thank-You have a nice day!

 Imagine our surprise & OTIS' surprise when his plain McDouble, turned into a SINGLE pattie with NO CHEESE & extra pickles!!!!

He "managed" to eat it anyhow, but he knew something was missing!!!

When Ira & Lee returned from the graduation party, we sat outside with them for awhile before retiring for the night. We are both leaving in the morning, we are heading to Illinois, the Minor's were heading back home to Ft Myers, Fl just to regroup for another planned trip. Before calling it a night Lee gave us a donut to have with our coffee in the morning! Oh Yummy!!! Lennie wants to leave by 7:00am! I hate early departures, but....we've got a long drive!

                                                                          Good Night!

May 19-20, 2016 Two down days! May 21, 2016 Meeting Ira & Lee!

Thursday & Friday May 19-20, 2016- These 2 days, mainly due to Otis' bum leg & the Dr's orders for bed rest, no jumping & NO HIKING......we didn't do anything! On Thursday morning, the Vet Office that cared for Otis after his accident called me to see how Otis was doing/feeling! Later that day the Vet herself called us with the same inquiry. At this point Otis wasn't eating yet so I hadn't  gotten any drugs into him yet???? He was just gimping around looking so pitiful. He does have sad eyes! Lennie was being the perfect caregiver carrying Otis to potty, up & down the RV steps, back to the bed at night. I almost wanted to fall down myself to see if Lennie would give me the same loving attention!

The weather too played a factor into our doing nothing. Otis picked a good day to be hurt, dreary, dreary day & on Friday rain, rain, rain all day from a drizzle to downpours. A good day to do laundry. You're probably wondering why I had to do laundry already since Lennie packed himself 30 T-shirts, etc,etc....!I didn't over pack on towels & such so it was time to do laundry!!!After doing the laundry, we packed Otis into the back of the car to go to the post office in Maggie Valley.

We are mailing a deposit on a campground that charges $1.00 a day for pets??? Lennie explained to the gal that right now we only had a partial dog as he fell & he's walking around on only 3 legs. She didn't realize Lennie was being facetious & told him, "Just a minute, let me talk to the manager & see if he will waive or discount the pet fee for you...." Lennie quickly told her he was just kidding, got the mailing information we needed & headed into town to the Post Office. That was the highlight of our day!

Otis is showing an interest in eating, therefore his breakfast & dinner has been spiked with his dog drugs!!!

Tomorrow we leave Creekwood Farms Campground, this time here, we didn't need a creek site as we were only able to sit out & enjoy the surrounding 2 times. That's a chance every traveler takes.....we can't control the weather!

May 17-18, 2016......Leisure day.....Hiking accident!

Tuesday May 17, 2016- A Leisure Day!
Please let today be less strenuous than yesterday!?! 😓 It is!!! After breakfast we're going to take a ride into Asheville, NC & have lunch at one of our favorite places to eat, 12 Bones a wonderful BBQ place in the Art/Deco neighborhood of Asheville. NC!

                     Otis can't wait to get hooked to his leash, he just loves going with us!

Looking across the campgrounds, there's a lot of empty sites. The real camping rush will start Memorial Weekend & stay busy right through Labor Day Weekend

Okay.....on our way to Asheville!

              This restaurant, 12 Bones is a great BBQ place! We've eaten here a few times!

 There's always a line, we knew ahead of time what we were going to order, so I sat down while Lennie waited the line out!

 There's tables available inside or plenty of tables outside. The weather was good so we chose outside seating. You order inside & they bring the food to your table.

 Len had barely come outside with our water & BBQ sauces when our food was delivered!

 Yummy !!! Pork BBQ, sweet potatoes & corn pudding, except Lennie isn't a fan of corn so he had coleslaw! They give you too much food, which works out just fine for Otis!

                                                       Better than a McDoubles!!!

Thanks Dad, Thanks Mom!!!

After yesterday's drive down the gravel road to view Mary's Falls, our car was once again filthy, our next stop is the car wash!

                  Otis thinks there are better forms of entertainment, other than a car wash!

               He needs a little reassuring that the water wands are NOT going to harm him!

                                                          Okay......we're out of here!?!😓

         Our next stop is the local Farmer's Market, another stop Otis isn't interested in because.......

          We're here on a week day & goodness, what a difference from the weekend crowd!

 We didn't need anything, we were just "looking" so we may as well head back to the serenity of the campgrounds!

 We take Otis to the leash free dog park but he doesn't get the gist of a dog park! He doesn't know this is his time to run wild & play. He just takes his time sniffing everything he can......

                                  and when he's taken care of business, he's ready to leave!!!

                                                                   Today was nice!!!!

May 15-16, 2016......Enjoying scenic NC

Sunday May 15, 2016-  A day of relaxation!
Not everyday of the trip will be filled with activities, today was one of those, "Let's do NOTHING Days!" The last thing I heard the weatherman say before going to bed was....add an extra blanket on the bed tonight! Look what I woke up to this morning!!! Yep....it was that chilly!

Lennie, who has a sleeping disorder....(I can't imagine having that problem?) was up way too early, but good thing as he plugged in the electric heater to take the chill off! So I rewarded him with pancakes!!!! It took awhile to convince myself to take a shower! Lennie went first, I wasn't convinced it was warm enough in the coach to take a shower. He came out dressed in blue jeans & a long sleeve T-shirt. I can't believe I'm putting blue jeans on already!?! I was saving them for October!!! 

We decided with this chilly day, it'd be the perfect day to make bean soup, I still had my Easter ham bone with ham pieces! after breakfast clean-up & Otis took care of his morning duties....I started working on the soup!Then it was warm enough in the coach to take a shower!!!!

The soup was in the crock pot, let's just relax!

I caught Lennie & Otis napping, he claims to be watching the NASCAR race! I usually knit on off days, but today I decided to do a page in one of my Adult Coloring books!?! Those books are all the rage right now!!!

Something on the race must have caught Len's attention, he woke up long enough to ask for & enjoy popcorn!!!

We took a ride into Maggie Valley, it was a quick run to the grocery store for just a few items, actually being a Sunday, it was a"safe" day to go into town, as not a whole lot was open!!!

Definitely a scenic ride into town

I'll be back later when there's more open!!!! Like the fabric store I always go to when we're here!

Back at the RV the bean soup was really smelling good! I made a salad, popped some biscuits in the toaster oven....15 minutes later we were enjoying!!!!

By the time dinner, dishes & Otis' potty walk was over, it was time to plug the electric heater back in! Just to take the chill off before going to bed. Lennie was busy going over the plans for tomorrow! It's going to be an adventure!!!  See you tomorrow!!!

                                      "I don't want to be a big boy & sleep in my own bed.........."

May 14, 2016...... Leaving Gaffney~Heading to Maggie Valley, NC

Saturday May 14, 2016-Heading to Maggie Valley, NC

Our drive today isn't too far, that means we don't have to take off too awful early, definitely NOT before we have our Peach Fritters!!! I LOVE Sunny's Donuts! Look at the size of that fritter! We probably could have shared one!

                                                Don't ask me to share a "GOODIE"!?!

We are still in the Freightliner courtesy lot, it's just about empty now. Being a weekend, there's no appointments till Monday morning at 8:00am!

This guy arrived before we did for repairs, & he pulled out while we were preparing to leave.

These are the "new kids on the block"! Who knows.....others may join them before Monday morning line-up.

Just a minute & we'll be ready to go.....

Otis is always ready to go!

We pulled out to the top of the parking lot for a more level spot making hook-up easier!

 Our destination today is Creekwood Farms RV Park in Waynesville, NC

                                               And we're off!    Looks like smooth sailing!

                            Hmmmmm, what's with this traffic??? Hope it's not an accident.

I see construction barricades but so far no constructions workers???

           Oh my goodness! We were in congested one lane traffic for MILES for this!

                                                   Ahhhhh, smooth sailing again!

                                     And now.....the scenery is starting to get interesting!!!!

                                                         North Carolina State Line!

                                                   Looking GOOD North Carolina!!!!

                                                          Oh boy! We're there!!!!

 If these pictures look familiar, yes we've been here before, more than once. This is our favorite RV park in Maggie Valley!

                    We always request a site on the creek when we make our reservations.

                                                              Here's a happy camper!

                                                                The view behind us!

 I didn't test the creek water, but my guess would be it was cold??? Kids never seem to care!

 We will be here now for a week. Already there's a difference in the weather! We left Gaffney in shorts but now.....a cold front has moved in through the mountains! The weather man just said YOU MIGHT WANT TO PUT AN EXTRA BLANKET ON THE BED TONIGHT! When I cleaned the RV in preparation of leaving for the season, I took the electric blanket off the bed & put it away thinking we won't need it till October! Maybe we should let Otis sleep with us tonight for extra warmth!?!

Hey!!!! I like the sound of that idea!

I haven't looked at Lennie's itinerary so I don't really no what's in store for this week. Guess we'll find out together!?!