Mountain Top Riviera

We are now at Tanglewood CG near Mansfield, PA. Getting to the campground was quite an experience. The last 1.5 miles was UPHILL on a dirt road. They had signs which read, "We know that it's steep but oh how you'll sleep, without a care, in the pure mountain air." The climb was worth it even though the car and motor home are covered with dust. We have a wonderful site overlooking a lake. The weather has been great so we have eaten every meal outside. Believe it or not we have not been in a restaurant for a week. Mark, the owner of the campground, has a pet duck named Angel. She was very friendly. We spent a good part of the day cleaning and working on a couple of projects. This full time rving is not all just sight-seeing and lounging around.

Still Moving In

We moved to Clearview CG near DuBois, PA. After setting up we went shopping for groceries. We are still getting things placed where we want them. It is kind of neat having everything almost within arms reach when you want it. We went to look for the elk herd today. It is quite an attraction if you are there at the right time. You can see from the pictures how successful we were. We have decided to continue east on I-80 and go to the finger lakes.

The best times of your life have not yet been lived.

WOW!! We are finally on the road. In the 12 days from the time we returned from Nappanee until Monday we loaded all our stuff into the motor home that was parked at my aunt & uncle's house in Burgettstown. This was in addition to all the other activities we have posted. We left about 11:30 Tuesday morning after taking the motor home to have the tire pressure checked. Nanc had gotten up at 4:30 and I at 6 AM to do one last cleaning of house which is still on the market. We were so burned out we stop at Gaslight CG in Emlenton, PA after only 100 miles. The owners of the campground had been full timers for 5 years. We have been here three days getting things organized and just enjoying our new home (rhome). We have eaten at rhome every day.

We walked 2 of the days and on Wednesday we rode 23 miles on the Allegheny River Bike Trail. It is a wonderful trail that is blacktopped and easy to ride on. We went through one of the two tunnels. It had a curve in it and was very dark inside. We only had one flashlight and it was pretty wild riding in the dark with only the reflectors in the pavement showing the way.

Final Stop

As you can tell from previous posts we eat out quite often. On Monday we had dinner at Sam's Place, the final stop on the last round tour of our favorite haunts. We had been there the previous Wednesday with the card club, including old members Jack & Mary Lou. We will truly miss getting together with the gang. Mondays have been a ritual at Sam's where we've been having dinner with Georgie & Tom and talking with Renee (pic) for several years. Sam & Cheryl run a great place, have a great staff and we will miss them and the regular crowd. We highly recommend all of the restaurants we have written about. They are all locally owned and are excellent places to eat and make friends.

End of an Era

On Saturday and Sunday we continued to load the motor home and also emptied my parents' home. An auctioneer had taken all that was of value and we needed to dispose of everything else that had accumulated for 51 years. With help from Michael & John Antonetti, Marty & Marty Santek (Sr. & Jr.), Rick, Denise, Nanc & I got every item out of the house. Although we had a dumpster ordered we still needed a way to get rid of things and the picture shows how we did this. It was a sad day but a relief to have this task completed.

The Last Round

On Friday we went to another of our favorite restaurants, the Union Grill. We had been there last week with our friends Jackie & Dave. I had the strip steak, which I rarely eat, but is the absolute best around. We said good bye to three of the staff, Mandy, Billy & Jimmy. Our good friends, Georgie and Tom, also had dinner with us. The Grill advertises "Where Friends Meet" and that is really true. There is a Cheers-like atmosphere and a crowd of regulars who have become friends over the years. If you stop here make sure you see the picture of the owner, Mickey with the former governor of Arkansas.

Teachers' Summer

On Wednesday we went to lunch with the teachers. This group gets together every week over the summer. We try a different restaurant each time. This week we went Auggie's and had a great meal. Everyone enjoyed it so much they (not us) are going back next Wednesday. I will miss the friends I worked with for so many years. These luncheons are just one example of how well we got along. Several of them just returned from a retirement cruise to Alaska. It was great listening to their stories and seeing the pictures. We hope to drive to Alaska someday.

Last Euchre Club Tournament

This was the beginning of a really big week. We did a lot to get ready to depart by July 24. On Sunday (all members are retired) we played with our euchre club for the last time. Mike & Sherri have been part of this group since it started over 35 years ago. Nanc & I have played for more than 20 years while Tom & Georgie and Tim & Diane have been members for at least 9 years. As you can see by the pictures there were, as usual, winners and losers. (I came in first for a change.)

One Step Closer

Well, we received the call on Friday, 7/6, that our motor home was done and ready for pick-up so we headed to Indiana. We are now at the Newmar manufacturer and the motor home looks great. We have gotten things squared away and should be home on Friday.

Celebrating Independence Day

We went to the Pirates game for the 4th of July. Burgh's Pizza and Wing Pub sponsored the trip as a customer appreciation day. We took a bus to PNC Park, tailgated and went to the game. Thanks to Tom, Dan & Frank for a great day. If you are ever in Bridgeville, PA make sure you stop at Burgh's, it is a great place to eat and has a large number of brews on tap. Jen and Toni will take good care of you in the tap room.

Lake Norman State of Mind

We had a GREAT week at Lake Norman in North Carolina. We stayed with my brother Rick, his wife Denise and Lucy Crew. We went swimming and spent time on their boat. We also toured Lowe's Motor Speedway and the Hendricks Racing facility. It was very relaxing and we enjoyed spending time with Rick and Denise since we won't be seeing them as much after we take off in our motor home.