Vista CA - Home

By now you have probably guessed were home. We arrived Wednesday the 29th, and are glad to be here. We will let you know of our next venture Thanks for going along with us.

Wil & Judy

FMCA Convention - Bowling Green OH

We spent the last 6 days attending the "Bowling Green Bash" which was a terrific (Family Motor Coach Assn)convention. With over twenty seven hundred motorhomes there, you can imagine how much room and co-ordination it took to handle them all!! We were blessed with nice weather and they provided entertainment every night but Wednesday (anticipating a severe storm....that never happened). Oh well! We are now "Westward Ho" for home. We'll keep in touch.

Ohio's covered bridge

While making one of our scenic drives we came upon Ohio's longest covered bridge. It being 370' long and used by bicyclists, pedestrians, plus horse amd buggy driven by the Amish. Tomorrow we will leave for Bowling Green, OH for the FMCA convention.

Amish country - Ohio

A unique Amish clothes dryer!





The west end of an east bound horse and buggy.








We've seen many of these "on the roads".

Pedestrian covered bridge.









The owners are in the store shopping.








Monday and Tuesday were spent touring and learning about the Amish people in the several communities currently surrounding us. To read and hear about them is one thing, but to witness first hand how they live and meet them personally is quite special! As you can tell from our selection of many pictures we took, we had a good time. We asked and searched for the opportunity of finding a covered bridge. Well... the little pedestrian bridge is the closest thing so far that we've been expecting. Oh well!!! Also, we were treated to a horse and buggy ride - Judy sat up front with the driver and got a 'good' shoot of our horse power. Great time and more to come before we head towards the FMCA Convention in Bowling Green Ohio Sat. morning. See you again!!

Mohican Pow-Wow, Loudonville OH

We both feel so fortunate being able to attend this authentic pow wow!! We were there on the 10th and 11th. Both days were filled with dancing, musicians, singing, vendors, delicious food, and the storyteller standing with Judy. As you can tell by the pictures, their costumes were extremely elaborate!!! Words are hard to come by in describing them! To sum it up, we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of both days. And, if that's not enough, our campsite (within easy walking distance) was one of the best during our trip! What a great time!!!!!! Next week we're visiting the surrounding Amish communities. See you later.

Canton Ohio

We arrived in Mogadore on 7/7, a small town north of Canton, for a 2-night stay. During this time we toured the NFL Hall of Fame (of course), as well as the Goodyear Rubber Museum. Don't know what I'm going to do with all this knowledge, but it was interesting. We were surprised to learn about the Goodyear Blimp Factory building - not too far from where we camped. (The third picture) Finally, we went to Harry London's Chocolate Factory for still another tour. After that we hit the road for the Mohican Reservation RV Park. This is truly beautiful, and we will be staying 9 days. We'll have lots to share with you!! Until then..........

Pittsburg PA

Mountain Top RV Park is just that.....on top of a mountain and what a view! While here we met a very nice couple (Bob and Joanne, pictured with their dog, Mickey), and they invited us to go to the "Strip" (market) one day. A great experience, rain and all, which consisted of approx. 3 blocks of sidewalk vendors and stores to browse through. As you can tell, the skies were 'black' with rain clouds and it did that.....RAIN almost every day. The 4th of July was spent cleaning the RV without fireworks until Sunday the 5th. Oh well. Nice but we don't know why. Anyway, it was a very enjoyable stay!!! We're now on our way to Ohio. See you later.

Hickory Hollow - Somerset PA

We arrived at Hickory Hollow on the 24th and wanted to share some pictures on our last day here. This was a typical "country" RV park. Surrounded by hills, we lacked internet and cell phone access, but our 5 day stay was very nice!! Although there was apparently fish in the small pond, Wil wasn't interested at this time. (We would definitely return again.)

Johnstown & Somerset PA

All in all, our stay in Somerset has been a delight! (A far cry from busy, loud, and crowded DC to the lush, rolling hills of country-tranquility!) We thoroughly enjoyed DC, but this is a welcome diversity. Somerset is a quaint little town, but it does have a Walmart, which we've frequented more than once; although, no Costco. Oh well. By the way, Max continues to be a real sweetheart in evey way!




















It's Sunday, and we drove 30 miles out of Somerset headed for Johnstown. In 1889 this town was destroyed by a massive flood, killing over 2,200 people. We sat through a documentary video and got a devastating look at the cause and outcome of this disaster. The building pictured here is The Johnstown Flood Museum.

Somerset PA

During our 5 day stay in Somerset our sightseeing included 2 recent historical occasions. First, the Que Creek rescue in 2002 where 9 miners were successfully rescued after 3 1/2 days trapped in a coal mine approx. 240 ft below the surface. The rescue was made on the property of the man in the second picture. He is standing beside the 'capsule' used in the rescue.

From Que Creek we drove to see the crash site of Flight 93, the hijacked plane of the 911 disaster. A very interesting presentation was given, and the flag in the field is the actual site location where a memorable is to be erected in the very near future.

Ford Theater - Holocaust Museum

On our last day of sightseeing in DC we visited the place where Lincoln died, which is located across the street from the Ford Theater. The Theater was closed for the entire week....very disappointing!
Also, we walked through the Holocaust Museum, and this was truly heart wrenching!! The world cannot allow such a horrific nightmare to happen again.
Wednesday we will be leaving for Pennsylvania, and we'll keep in touch.

Arlington Cemetery

A place of honor, this cemetery consists of 624 acres and over 320,000 graves. It is a very sobering tribute to some of America's most beloved. The pictures we've chosen are of Wil at Kennedy's eternal flame tomb, the changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier and, of course, Audie Murphy (WWII's most decorated soldier, including Medal of Honor recipient), and a "small" view of the MANY gravesites. By the way, Happy Father's Day to all you dads!!!

Memorials

All the Memorials touch your heart. The Korean, WWII and Lincoln are but a few of the many we have seen. Very impressive even in the rain........

Mt Vernon

This day was quite a trip back into George Washington's life. Before the tour, we enjoyed a 'movie' documentary that set the pace and meaning for the day. Judy is standing in the "back view" of the mansion prior to our visit. Then the part of the house overlooking the Potomac River has Wil standing on the front veranda. We were told that the tree in the last picture was there when George Washington lived in the house.

The Capitol

Wil is standing in front of the Capitol and definitely dwarfed by its immense size. The next picture is from the inside looking up at the ceiling of the dome, which is approximately 150 feet high. We were fortunate to have acquired tour tickets for both the Capitol and the Gallery of the House of Representatives. Also, we thoroughly enjoyed touring the White House, but photography was not allowed there.

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

The Smithsonian Air & Space is truly a remarkable history of all things that fly, from the Wright Brothers' first motorized plane to the first manned capsule launched into outer orbit, and all things that have flown in between. Truly amazing!!!!

Washington DC

We're playing "catch-up" because the internet access has been anything but favorable! Guess who spent the evening with us the day after we arrived in DC.....our very dear friends from home, Gene and Kathy Bell.
We toured the city aboard a double decker bus in order to get our bearings of various locations to visit. The sword was worn by George Washington. The other is of Judy in front of the Washington Monument.