Back on the Road

It doesn't take much to talk the dogs and I to get back on the road.  We stuck around Ohio to help move so furniture to facilitate putting in some new baseboards in preparation to new flooring.  But the flooring had to be ordered and Dennis agreed to put in a new back door if I bought it and I am not really that useful for that sort of thing.  I left my checkbook on the desk so he had access to funds to pay for it!

First I will include a few pictures left over from the Washington DC and Virginia trip earlier this summer.  And there was a river trip Remi and I made back in Ohio. I have just been too lazy.....

This is a shot from my trip down part of Skyline drive coming from the east.  It looks a lot like the Blue Ridge Parkway down above Ashville.....  The question is always how many miles of 35 miles per hour winding roads can I tolerate in one day.  The views are spectacular but often do begin to all look alike after an hour or two.  The issue on this particular drive was the radiator trying to over heat on the uphill climbs.  Once I noticed (and checked to be sure there actually was plenty of coolant) I was able to manage by turning the AC off and turning the heater on if needed.   The Short Bus went in for a check up right after we made it home.....

The woods along the Skyline Drive.

There is a lot of this view.
 

Once I came down off the mountain to try to help the radiator I realized that the view from the valley up towards the mountain has it's own appeal.  And I learned that the floor of the valley if full of rolling hills and winding roads and a few very small towns that have almost been forgotten.

Remi taking the kayak down the Little Miami River after we got back to Ohio.   The river run does work so much better when the skeg is inserted in the rear of the kayak.

There has been some high water this summer.

Again there are creatures to be seen along the banks....

Well there were creatures at the Ohio State Fair, too.  I include this only for those folks who have never seen the butter cows at their state fair.  I mean one needs to have a reference point to the reference to "butter cows" that might crop up in some past or future conversation.

And beyond the dog show I only wandered over to watch some of the horse show.

I was reminded of the weighted shoes of the five gaited horses I saw in my youth.  I am sure these work horses couldn't actually work in the field anymore.  They do look nice pulling the carriages around the show ring.

After helping some around the house Remi and Stuart and I loaded up the rig and the new puppy and headed off on her first road trip.  She is doing very well and at night is sleeping quiet well.   Audrey had two nursery x-pens, one at the main gathering site and another one outside our rig.  It didn't take her long for "walkies," and the rest of the time she sat around listening to the conversations.

Once again, there were more dogs as humans.  My bring three always help trip the number balance.

Liz and I both got our kayaks wet once again.

 

We discussed the benefits of strengthening our core muscle groups but none of us were running out this week to purchase our own boards.

Remi found Sarah's lap.

Audrey took extra naps.

Sarah learned how to make a s'more.  She had never made one before.....the world is always full of small wonders and new adventures.

She learned what to do when you lose one in the fire.....you start another.  And if they start flaming on you you can blow the flames out.

And Carol doesn't stop to add the Graham cracker....

Liz takes photos of it all for her blog and the WomenRV.com forum.

And the nice neighbor folks took the group picture for us.   Stuart contributed a great butt shot.

Thistle supervised us all.

"The William" stood around and looked dignified.  Can you believe this handsome gentleman is 15 years old?

We are heading up farther north tomorrow.  Might be more pictures to share in the future.  So far we haven't done much touristy stuff, just hanging around the campground and sharing food.