One more day and it's "so long, Ohio!" It's been great...

The last four days have been a whirlwind of tours and I am pooped! Tomorrow is a free day and in the evening we will have our farewell banquet at the Bent Tree Country Club in Sunbury, OH. After that, Kris and I will be heading south towards sunny and warm Nacogdoches, TX with several stops planned along the way.

Getting back to the initiation I mentioned earlier, there were actually six couples that had the honor of being first timers. We played a version of the Newlywed Game and I'm sad to say, Kris and I didn't do very well. It was all in fun and the important thing is we are no longer considered first timers! Yahoo! Oh and first timers got to dig into the pie first!

Last Monday we had a fabulous bus tour of the Amish heartland. There aren't enough words to express how beautiful that country is! Our first stop was to see a hyperbaric chamber used to aid in the rehabilitation of horses used by the Amish. It's also used for humans on occasion! We all got a chance to go inside and see what it's like. Next, we visited Keim Lumber, a very large lumber and hardware store that employs a lot of the Amish. It was an incredible place and I found lots of fun goodies while Kris took a tour of the facility with some of the group. Next, lunch at Der Dutchman. We had a complete Amish meal consisting of salad, Swiss steak, ham, stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes and pie. The food just kept coming and coming and it would've been rude NOT to eat it! Listen, you all know me: if someone else cooks, I'm there... it was fantastic! I'm totally amazed I haven't gained any weight on this trip!

Next, a visit to Warther's Museum where the Warther family continues to make and sell kitchen cutlery. The museum houses a one-of-a-kind collection of ebony, ivory and walnut train carvings created by Ernest “Mooney” Warther. His grandson was our tour guide and I have to say it was pretty interesting seeing the carvings and the arrowhead and button collections of his grandmother and hearing the stories behind them.

The next morning, Tuesday, we departed for our next and final stop in Delaware, Ohio. We were on tornado watch that day which made us a little nervous. We made a stop in Millersburg to pick up some pet food for Gabbi and soon after we were pulling into the Longaberger Homestead in Frazeysburg to meet up with the rest of our group. Some of the ladies had gotten there early and made their own baskets with the help of experienced staff. Kris and I took a self-guided tour of the basket making factory and then visited their factory store where I bought my first Longaberger basket, but only because it was marked down and had an additional 30% discount on top of that! They are wayyyyy to expensive!

We hadn't eaten yet, so next we visited the Homestead Restaurant but we couldn't decide what to have and ended up eating only dessert, a waffle bowl filled with warm apple slices, cinnamon ice cream, hot caramel sauce, fresh whipped cream with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar! And no, we didn't split one, we each had our own and they were delicious!

It was starting to get late so we headed back to the RV where Gabbi was patiently, as always, waiting for us. I took her for a quick walk before we fired up the engine to leave. We were driving out of the driveway just as the wind went crazy and the sky opened up and it started to dump rain so hard we couldn't see 20 feet in front of us. It was too late, we were already on the road headed to our campground in Delaware. Fortunately, the hard rain didn't last too long and even though it was windier than all get out, we made it to our destination without incident, unlike a couple of other members in our group. I heard one was hit by debris and cracked their windshield and another's vent cover blew off the roof causing a ton of water to leak into their bedroom! Boy do we feel lucky!

Wednesday morning we were off on another bus tour. This time we visited Pilot Dog, a non-profit in Columbus where they train golden retrievers, doberman pinschers,  german shepherds, labrador retrievers, poodles, boxers and vizslas as seeing-eye dogs. We got to see a couple of labs being trained which was really neat. Next stop was the Nestle Test Labs where they test the safety of each and every Nestle product and there are a ton of products in the Nestle family. I will be shopping for Nestle products from now on knowing how thoroughly they are scrutinized.

After a scrumptuous lunch at the Confluence Park Restaurant which sits on the confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers in Columbus, we finished our tour at Sutphen Engines where they manufacture all types of firetrucks from the ground up. We saw several in the process of being built and they are built to last, in the same fashion as our Foretravel RVs. You can tell the company takes a lot of pride in them.

Today, Thursday, was our last day of touring. It was a long day but I enjoyed absolutely everything we saw today. We started at the American Whistle Company, the only manufacturer of metal whistles in the U.S. and the only company worldwide that die strikes logos into the top of the whistle. We saw how a whistle is made from start to finish and each of us were given our very own whistle to take home! They've even been featured on the Discovery Channel TV show, How It's Made. Next we saw a mattress being made from start to finish at the Original Mattress Company. It was fascinating and I was drooling over their sewing and quilting equipment.

Lunch was at a Mongolian Grill which both Kris and I love! Can you imagine 50 people lining up at a Mongolian Grill? We were in and out in about an hour and it was the first experience for many in our group. We were told not to eat dessert as our next stop was a tour of Graeter's Ice Cream where we each got to choose two scoops of any flavor we wanted! Their specialty is black raspberry. Needless to say, this is the second day in a row I have skipped dinner. Our last stop was a visit to Fortin's Ironworks. They fabricate ornamental iron gates, fences, rail , outdoor furniture and home furnishings. They presented each of us with a large metal, laser cut, Texas State symbol probably since our RVs are manufactured in Texas. They didn't know we were from all over the U.S. until after we got there.

Would you believe tonight the group got together for rootbeer floats? Kris went but I stayed behind to do some laundry and kept Gabbi company since she's been cooped up for a couple of days with the exception of being let out once during the day by the campground staff. I am absolutely exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in until at least 8 a.m. tomorrow which isn't saying much since it's almost midnight now!

I took a lot of pictures but I will have to add them later as I'm heading to bed . . . night all.

Two more nights in Dundee before we move on to our last stop in Ohio

Last Friday's all day tour was a lot of fun. Our bus departed at 8:30 a.m. and our first stop was a tour of the 200,000 sq. ft. state of the art Harry London & Fanny May Fine Chocolates and Candies facility in Akron, Ohio. Finally! A tour I could sink my teeth into! The first thing they did was offer us a buckeye, one of their best sellers, made of chocolate and creamy peanut butter. Mine is still in my purse. I'm saving it in case of emergency. The tour itself was actually pretty boring but as all tours seem to end, this one, too, ended in their retail gift shop where Kris & I both picked up a few goodies. I now have enough chocolate to last me for at least a couple of years if I don't share... Since Kris likes milk chocolate and I like dark chocolate, there's not much chance of sharing! Dark chocolate also keeps longer which is a good thing.

Next, we went to Studio Arts & Glass in North Canton, a family owned studio where we were greeted by their two beautiful dogs, a St. Bernard and an Old English Sheepdog! The studio specializes in custom stained glass windows, skylights, and lamps. They also do a lot of restoration of historic windows including the Ohio State House, Frank Lloyd Wright home in Springfield, Ohio and many historic churches throughout the US and Canada. We got to see how they cut the glass, apply the lead and some glazing. It was all pretty interesting but my favorite part was the colorful gift shop packed full of handmade jewelry, ornaments, and all kinds of art from Ohio artists and others. We ran out of time for shopping so we made plans to return after lunch and our last tour of the day.

Next, we had a wonderful buffet lunch of meatloaf and chicken marsala with all the trimmings at the 356th Squadron Restaurant. Meatloaf was General Dwight D. Eisenhower's favorite dish! As we ate,  Eilsenhower's thoughts and actions are brought to life as he approaches the eve of "operation Overload", D-Day and June 6, 1944 which was the Longest Day.  Kenneth Neff Hammontree, historian, lecturer and author from Living History Productions in Ashland, Ohio and formerly a history teacher at Akron area schools, is a one man show who is fighting to keep history alive in our schools. He was dressed in the same uniform Eisenhower would've worn and spoke very eloquently and from memory. We, the audience, were assigned to play the "press" and were allowed to pose questions after stating which "newspaper" we were from. He fired off answers as though he were Eisenhower, without any hesitation at all. This has been my favorite part of the entire trip so far! Ken is amazing... He also portrays Daniel Boone, Tecumseh, Johnny Appleseed, Meriwether Lewis, George Washingtonn, Paul Revere, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and many others. I understand he even does Father Christmas, but Eisenhower is his most requested character. You can check him out here:

http://www.jennywadebb.com/livinghistory/portrayals.html.

After stuffing ourselves once again [I much would've rather taken a nap on the bus] we loaded up on our bus and headed to the Maps [Military Aviation Preservation Society] Air Museum, an all volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about the history of military aviation. They had a Russian Mig-17 fighter jet and anyone who wanted, could sit in the cockpit. It was very difficult to get in and even more difficult to get out of! They had a ton of memorabilia but we didn't have enough time to see it all because we had more important things to do, such as return to the Studio Arts & Glass to do some shopping! I think everyone was pretty pooped out afterwards, it was a pretty quiet bus ride back to the campground.

Interior of MAPS Hangar, April 2007 • photo © Gary Haught

Saturday was a free day so we decided to drive to Berlin and Millersburg so I could visit some Amish quilt shops. We ended up at Miller's Dry Goods [ http://www.millersdrygoods.com/ ] which was so big, it was in two separate buildings! Luckily, they had a nice, comfortable sitting area for Kris to hang out. I quickly made my way through the store and eventually to the sale area where I found a couple of books as well as patterns. They also had very reasonably priced, ready-made quilts and anything else you could think of related to sewing. I headed over to the next building where the fabrics were located. They advertise over 8,000 bolts of fabric! I went straight for the clearance fabrics in the basement. I bought several remnants and am quite happy! I didn't realize how much time had passed but it turns out Kris watched a movie on his iPod AND had a nice nap.

We were hungry when we stopped in at Miller's Dry Goods and by now we were starving! It's funny how when you're doing something you enjoy, you forget all about food. And Kris is so good to me, he doesn't push me to hurry. That's so when it's his turn to visit the hardware or surplus store, he doesn't get pushed! We drove around looking for a fun place to eat and discovered a Mexican restaurant advertised to be authentic. We were the only customers at the time. The food was outstanding and yes, authentic! They gave us a lot of food so we had plenty of leftovers to take home.

Kris decided to forego the hardware store since it was a long drive to another town and instead we went looking for a Verizon store to pick up an air card. We were warned that sometimes GPS doesn't work so well in Amish country. We chose the closest store listed, loaded the address into the GPS and it took us out in the middle of nowhere. The Amish we came across were looking at us like, "what are THEY doing HERE?" It was too funny. The next store took us to Coshocton and even though it was 5:30 p.m., they were still open! We bought an air card and headed to Wal-Mart for some things we needed. By the time we got out of there, it was starting to get dark and we had a long drive to get back. The Amish drive their buggies after dark so we didn't dare drive the speed limit! Fortunately, they do have reflective safety equipment mounted to the front and back of their buggies as the roads are curvy and there's not much shoulder so they are right in the road. We saw a lot of these signs:

Gabbi was very happy that we finally made it home safe and sound!

Sunday morning we got up way too early for an 8:15 a.m. buffet breakfast at the Olde Mountain Top Restaurant, a short walk across the street from the campground. The weather this weekend has been great for walking. The rest of today is basically free until this afternoon when we're gathering for Hors d'oeuvres, pie and initiation for first timers. There are six of us including Kris & myself. We have no idea what to expect but we were told to bring an appetizer, our rain gear and galoshes . . . will report back on that later!

I think I might've been Amish in a past life!

My mother's mother's family were Mennonite farmers who emigrated from Germany into Ontario, Canada  where my great great grandfather Jacob Sauder was born into a family of 12 children. Most of the children trickled down into Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. My great grandmother and my grandmother were born near the Straits of Michigan where I still have a lot of cousins who I have visited twice, a very long time ago, but still keep in touch with some thanks to Facebook. Hi Rod, Barb & Linda!

As we turned into the Weaver family's long, dirt driveway yesterday, we passed a small one-room schoolhouse where there were about 30 Amish children playing outside, all with no shoes and as cold as it was outside! While we were enjoying dinner at the Weaver home last night, I felt right at home. I could see myself in one of the long, plain dresses and bonnets the three girls and their mother wore; the girls with bare feet. They do not use electricity in their homes so when it started getting dark inside, they lit kerosene lamps which is exactly what I remember at my grandparents' house on my father's side when I was young.

The Weavers have a 10 burner stove and gigantic oven in the basement where they do all their cooking. After all, they raised 11 children, the oldest is 28 and the youngest is 9. We were treated to roast beef, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, Amish noodles, green beans, homemade bread, salad and homemade pie. The salad had edible flowers in it and the tomatoes tasted fresh picked from the garden. They cooked enough for a small army and still had plenty of leftovers. Mrs. Weaver told us all about her family and  a lot of us asked questions. Then the family sang to us as they would in church, in German. Then our group sang to them our farewell song, as we do after every tour visit. It was a very enjoyable experience, and over much too soon. Next Monday we'll have a bus tour of the Amish Heartland which I'm really looking forward to.

We were allowed to take pictures outside the Weaver's home but we were asked not to take any of them which we respected. Here are a few shots of their beautiful yard and home. They have 52 acres.


The Weaver family home



Their yard was beautifully landscaped



Looking out at the pasture



Ornamental Hedgehog cucumber, about 2" long

 This morning, I sent Kris off on the tour bus to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, lunch at The Tap with a visit to the Schwebel Bakery in the afternoon where they make bread in huge vats, mixing 2000 pounds of dough at one time. They will get to see the process from start to finish and I'm sure they will taste samples. I think that's why Kris wanted to go on this tour, lol; he's not a huge fan of football.

Unfortunately, when we signed up for the optional tours, I was feeling very tired and did not sign up for many. There was only one neither of us signed up for, a Speak Easy which took place a few nights ago. Some of the tours I do regret not going on but I know my limit and if I don't have some down time, I won't be a happy camper no matter what the tour is about. I WILL be going on tour tomorrow to see the Harry London Chocolate Factory, a stained glass company, lunch at the 356th Squadron Restaurant and the Maps Air Museum. Can you guess which activity I'm interested in most?

Here are a few miscellaneous photos:



Another Amish home we passed on the road



Beautifully decorated campground in Dundee and the view from our RV



We actually wore Gabbi out one day ~ she likes to be up high so she can see if anyone walks by the RV



Gabbi decided to pull her toy box into the center of the kitchen and check out all of the contents last night



Taken at the Dixie Stampede in Branson

Here's Phil directing RVs to their sites in the "Amish" golf cart at our Dundee campground



We always receive a warm welcome wherever we go ~ this was in Shelby



Where does the time go?

It's been three days since I last posted. There is so much going on! Monday's bus tour, which I opted out of, consisted of a visit to Bucyrus [beeuu-cyrus] for a tour of D. Picking and Company where they have been making copper kettles since 1873 and is the last of the old copper shops in America still making its original product by hand. Advanced Fiber where they change recycled paper into insulation and black top filler, had to cancel at the last moment due to equipment problems. Kris was really disappointed about that. After lunch, they got a history of the town's murals and visited an antique farm and household museum [yawn]...

The next day, Tuesday, they visited the C.E. White company, manufacturer of bus seats [such as the ones we have been sitting on in each bus tour we've taken]. Kris was impressed with the seats that had built-in booster seats that come down for children and have seat belts. Next, they toured Herald Printing and saw the process of printing from the electronical prepress stage to the digital imaging, press department and bindery finishing department. I used to work for a printing company and didn't go on either of these tours. They just didn't quite call my name!

Today, we broke camp and drove an hour down the road to Dundee where we'll spend the next six nights! It was a sunny, beautiful day. I know you must get tired of hearing that but what else can I say? This evening we drove a short distance to Berlin where we all crowded into an Amish family's home for dinner. There were over 50 of us lined up inside their lovely home at tables set up just for this purpose. The family consisted of a husband and wife and their four children still living at home. They were both widowed in their 30's so this was their second marriage which is unusual for the Amish. He had five children, she had four, then they had two together. When the children started getting married and moving out, they had to stop farming [not enough help] so now he does wood working and she gardens and hosts dinners for motor coach groups, family reunions and church banquets. Three or four daughters assist with this. They were extremely friendly and the food was out of this world! Home cooking at its best! Afterwards, we had the opportunity to buy some of their homemade bread, peanut butter and other items at a very reasonable cost. I bought a small fabric bag most likely sewn on a treadle machine as they don't have electricity. I also brought home a hedgehog cucumber which they gave as a memento. We ate so much, I think we'll be skipping our meals tomorrow! Oh my... What a wonderful experience!

Internet is slow so I will post pictures tomorrow... night all.

A beautiful Sunday!

Wow, I had no idea Ohio was so beautiful! Gabbi and I watched the sun coming up while walking to the dog park this morning! I'm sure glad I remembered to bring my camera along on this walk.

Kris and I drove into town today to visit Glen's Surplus but before venturing in, decided to eat lunch somewhere. It seemed like everything was closed, probably since it was Sunday. We ended up inside the local IGA store where they had a cafeteria in the back so we went through the buffet line and it was actually quite delicious. It was kind of fun... Good thing we ate before going in the surplus store, this place was HUGE! We went our separate ways once inside and didn't meet up again until we had both gone through the entire place. It was unbelievable! We both found a few things we couldn't live without. After that we went for a drive to the nearby town of Mansfield to check out a few quilt shops. Found a JoAnn Superstore and spent a little time in there while Kris was next door at Harbor Freight. We met in Staples after that to get some ink for our printer and were both so pooped we drove back to the RV and didn't do much after that.

Kris will be leaving in the a.m. for a bus tour. I opted out but will tell you all about it tomorrow... I hope you enjoy the photos.  




Even Gabbi was in awe!

 

We're in Shelby, Ohio.

After a very short drive of a little over an hour, we arrived at KOA in Shelby where we'll "camp" for the next four nights. I won't bore you with more pictures I took of beautiful scenes of leaves turning bright orange, yellow and red. Ohio really is gorgeous this time of year. Of course, this is my first time here so for all I know it's pretty year round...

This KOA usually closes by this time of the year, but they stayed open a little longer for our group, thankfully. Tonight we had dinner waiting for us in their facility. They provided some delicious appetizers and cooked and served a wonderful meal for our group. I don't know of a single person who didn't eat too much! They will also be hosting a wine and cheese party a little later in the week just for us. What a great place!

This is probably by far the nicest KOA campground Kris and I have ever visited! Gabbi was especially happy with the dog park! It is HUGE and she actually wore herself out today! Tomorrow is pretty much a free day so even if it's cold outside, if the sun is shining as it was today, she'll be getting some extra exercise. She has taken over the sofa in the RV and is enjoying the freedom of going anywhere in the RV she wants especially when we're out. She loves to nap in the front window so she can see us when we come back from our activities. There are several dogs on this trip so she isn't lacking for company.

Well, that's it for tonight. We're all bushed and tucking in for the night. It's cold outside so I'm gonna go fire up the electric blanket! Night all.

Ohio has a lot going on...

After a short drive on Wednesday to our next stop, and after getting settled in the KOA campground in Van Buren, we drove over to the Ball Canning plant in Findlay [nicknamed Flag City] for a tour of how cans are made. In 1880 five founding Ball Brothers initially made wood-jacketed tin containers to hold paint, varnishes and kerosene and soon expanded to tin-jacketed, glass-lined containers. In 1884, they began making the Ball home canning jar, which became a household name. They are now the largest supplier of metal beverage cans in North America and one of the largest in the world. This place produces 725 million steel food cans and 1.725 billion aluminum soft drink cans every year, not to mention 16 billion aluminum ends. Do you think maybe Americans drink too much soda pop? They work 24/7 for 360 days every year and have 320 hourly non union employees plus 40 salaried employees! It was so noisy and hot in the plant while the machinery was running, I could hardly stand it. We had to wear long pants and closed toe/heel shoes which made it even hotter. I'm glad we weren't here in July/August when it gets up to 120F in the plant! They don't have air conditioning but at least they have heat during the winter months. All of the people who toured our group through the plant were a great. You could tell they were proud to work there. 

The next morning was an early one and I decided I needed to catch up on my sleep while Kris went to see how Wilson makes official NFL game balls. It's a small factory and each of the balls are handmade as they have been since 1941. Next, they visited Associated Plastics where they manufacture products for the automatove, electronic, electrical, food processing, sports, toy and horticulture industries. Following lunch, they visited Ithica Gun, makers of high end rifles and shotguns. I think Kris was hoping to buy a shotgun but there was no opportunity to shop. Oh well...  They finished the day visiting Guardian Windshield, makers of our Foretravel RV windshield! Kris was pooped out from all the walking all day but said it was all very interesting.

Shortly after he got back, we had a pizza party and group meeting to get ready for our next move on Saturday. Throughout this entire three-week Ohio motorcade, everyone volunteers for different "jobs" that need to be done, such as setting up/cleaning up for meals, lost and found, postmaster, etc. There's even a person who looks out for people who might be doing something wrong! If you fall asleep on the tour bus without first buying a $1 sleep pass, you get fined! At the pizza party we were given the opportunity to fess up for something we might have done wrong that would require a "fine" to be paid. All the money collected throughout would be used for an ice cream social during the trip. I paid 25¢ for forgetting to wear my name badge to the pizza party. People were making up things just to put money into the pot. Looks like we'll have a nice ice cream party!

Today is Friday and I decided to take another day off... Mind you, I'm not the only one who isn't going on some of the tours. Some of the other ladies go shopping if they aren't interested in a particular tour. After all, we are in Hobby Lobby territory! Kris left this morning to visit Romark, where they take engravable plastic sheeting and mold it together to get the multi-colored effects you see in signage. He came back with magnetic name badges, luggage, tags and other goodies with our names engraved on them. Pretty neat. After a quick lunch in the coach, he departed for Home Depot's brand new state of the art distribution center to learn how they accumulate and distribute all of the materials and products used by all Home Depot Stores. Home Depot is one of Kris's favorite places to visit, so he'll enjoy this one.

Tonight, we're planning a trip to Wal-Mart to get a few things we need and perhaps Hobby Lobby, both in Findlay. Tomorrow, we head to Shelby, Ohio for four nights.

Touring Ohio!

Our first day of this motorcade [yesterday] was a very long and busy one. Our group of 50 was picked up at 8:30 and taken by bus to the Kitchen Aid factory in Greenville, OH, for a tour about 30 minutes from our campground. It's a huge place and yet all they make there are stand mixers, attachments and accessories. I was expecting washers, dryers, dishwashers, ovens and that type of appliance but apparently they are made elsewhere. It was a very detailed tour, maybe a little too detailed for my taste. In other words, too much information [kind of like this blog, you say?]. We saw some of the original products they made and also their millionth stand mixer to come off the line which was gold plated! After you work there 25 years you get to select whatever model of stand mixer you want. Our tour guide has one year to go and informed us she wants the copper model. I told her I'd take the gold plated one...LOL.

After the tour, we drove into town to the Kitchen Aid Experience where we all made our own apple dumplings from scratch. While all 50 of those were baking, we walked down the block to a cafe for a huge Italian lunch, then returned to eat our hot out of the oven apple dumplings with ice cream! Most of us were too full from lunch but several of us managed to stuff them down. I ate everything but my crust even though that's my favorite part! It was delicious! We all spent time shopping in the store and they really made a killing that day. Did you know they offer a 20% discount if you have an AAA card? I bought a mini food chopper, tea kettle, ice cream scooper and cook book. I don't have a stand mixer but now I wish I did...

Next we hung out at a beautiful park while waiting for the Garst Museum to open. They aren't open on Mondays but made an exception for our group which was nice. The Garst Museum collections feature photos and artifacts about Annie Oakley. It was really one of the nicer museums I've seen in awhile. It also featured  Lowell Thomas, best remembered as a radio news commentator on the CBS Radio Network plus a lot of pioneer artifacts. I'm sure glad we were born as late as we were after seeing the beauty shop appliances [the perm machine looked like torture] and dental tools. We have come a long way since those days. There was also a beautiful collection of hand stitched quilts which all of us ladies drooled over...

Friends of Annie Oakley [our group]



Entrance to the park

After the museum, we returned to our RVs for an evening of relaxation since we'd be getting up early again today to visit the Dayton-Wright Brothers Airport in Miamisburg, OH, for a ride on a replica of the 1911 Wright Brothers airplane! We also rode in a 1916 Model T around the airport. It was well worth getting up for, what a thrill!!! You are completely in the open air, although we did have goggles and headsets so we could hear our very friendly pilot, Don. Even though it was a short flight [taking off at one end of the runway and landing at the end of the same runway], it was so exciting! We each received a numbered certificate, complete with a toothpick [to check for bugs in our teeth, lol] stating we were a Wright "B" Flyer and honorary aviator. It also means we are now members of the Wright B Flyer Inc. non profit organization which includes voting rights. It just so happens their annual meeting and spaghetti feed was tonight! How is that for timing? I was of the few [out of 26] ladies in our group that went up in the plane but most all of the guys did it. It was an absolute blast!



Kris, after his flight.



Shannon's certificate, received after her flight.
She hasn't cleaned the bugs out of her teeth yet!

Here's a short video of Kris getting ready to take flight.

Some also visited the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB today. Kris and I headed to Skyline Chili for some Cincinnati Chili which Kris has been wanting for a long time. It was my first experience eating it and I have to say it was delicious. Picture a plate of spaghetti with a layer of chili on it, then beans, piled high [and I mean HIGH] with cheese and onions on top! If you aren't familiar, this recipe calls for cinnamon and unsweetened chocolate in it! For the original recipe go to http://cooks.com/ and search for "skyline chili".

It was a beautiful 80F sunny day today here today. Tomorrow we are leaving for our second stop in Ohio: Van Buren, where we'll be for three nights and have several factory tours lined up. More on that later...

Night all.

Made in the USA!

We had two days of easy driving eastbound on I-70 and drove through some interesting places: Cuba [Missouri] and Brazil  [Indiana] ~ we thought we were in the U.S.A! We also drove through Spokane [Missouri] and had always thought there was only one Spokane. The interesting thing is although it was named after Spokane, WA, they pronounce it Spo-cane. It's a tiny little place.

We spent Friday night in Mulberry Grove, IL and arrived in the Dayton, Ohio area on Saturday afternoon. We'll be in Ohio for three weeks touring several [and I mean several] factories around the state. We lost another hour in Indiana [I hate it when that happens!] and are now in the Eastern time zone. We're staying at a very large KOA in Brookville, Ohio for a few nights with 26 other Foretravel coaches. The leaves have just turned here within the past few days and we're surrounded by such color and beauty, it's breathtaking! I posted a few shots below, in no particular order.

Tonight we had a wonderful group dinner at a place called Barnsiders. Ate too much as usual, but it was so much fun. Today is Kris's dad's 91st birthday on 10/10/10! Kris called him during dinner and all  of our group sang happy birthday to him! That's over 50 people... I think it made his day!

Tomorrow, we're up early for an all day bus tour! More later...heading to bed, got to get up mighty early!


In the KOA campground at Brookville, Ohio.



Campground in Mulberry Grove, Illinois



Welcome to Ohio!

Fueling up at Pacific Pride in Richmond, Indiana.

Typical scenery driving on I-70 eastbound.

Unusual bus parked next to Pacific Pride.

So long, Branson!

Here it is Thursday already and this was our last day in Branson. I'm kind of sad for it all to be over ~ we have enjoyed our time here so much.

Tuesday we went to see the Six Combo Show and were treated to a gourmet lunch while watching the show from our tables in the balcony. What a neat group of six brothers [there are actually 10 boys in this family, four of which have "normal" jobs]. These brothers are literally an orchestra of human voices and are just amazing! You think you are listening to a full band in addition to their singing but the band is coming out of their mouths as well. Just incredible! That afternoon we had a hot dog roast at the campground. It gave us a chance to catch up with everyone in our group which is impossible any other time. This has been a really nice group.

Wednesday was an open day which I spent doing laundry and sewing. It's so nice having a washer/dryer in the RV! It was a nice relaxing day and I think Gabbi appreciated us being around. In the afternoon we all met up for an ice cream social followed by a wine & cheese party put on by the campground. Then we ate our yummy leftover catfish for dinner...sure seems like we are always eating!

Thursday morning we had 10am show tickets to see the 12 Irish Tenors. It's kind of weird seeing shows in the morning or for lunch but we're getting used to it. These young guys perform everything from opera to pop, Irish folk songs to jazz. They are all Irish or Irish-American, young, good looking and very talented. What a great show! Haven't seen one yet that disappointed. We had a group photo taken when we first arrived and afterwards, each of the 12 Irish Tenors came up to the lobby and I got to shake each of their hands while in line to have our photo autographed by each of them!!! That's one of the neat things about the shows here. They all pretty much do this. Pretty cool...

We skipped lunch and did a little shopping after the show since we'll be hitting the road tomorrow and needed a few things. In the early afternoon, we headed over to the Branson Belle Showboat Farewell Dinner on a turn-of-the-century-style paddle wheeler. We were served a wonderful 3-course meal as we watched the final performances of Todd Oliver and his talking dogs Lucy and Irving. It was hilarious! Just google Tod Oliver or search for him on youtube and you'll see what I mean! We also saw a group of four called Showstoppers present 29 musical numbers in a song & dance revue in a relatively short period of time. It was a gorgeous day [over 80F], perfect for this show, our last one in Branson.

Double WOW!

We've been to three more shows since I last posted! Yesterday we were on our own for most of the day. I just couldn't find the energy to do much of anything and decided I needed to take a nap for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. I felt a lot better after that! After a dinner of leftovers, we went to the Clay Cooper Show. It was pretty good, but not nearly as good as the Haygoods the night before, although some of the elderly folks in our group disagreed because they thought the Haygood Show was way too loud. The oldest person in our group is 91 years old [!] and there is only one couple younger than Kris and me. The show WAS very loud, but in our opinion, much better. Clay Cooper was mostly country which I grew up listening to and don't mind, but Kris doesn't care for it at all. Still, Clay is very talented and we managed to get through the whole show without sneaking out...


The next morning, we all left the campground pretty early and headed to the largest Golden Corral in the world for a breakfast buffet. Following breakfast we were privileged to have a private show by Allen Edwards who sings there regularly when he's not touring the U.S. I know what you're thinking, if he's so great, why does he sing at a Golden Corral? What a smooth voice this guy has! He sang a lot of wonderful oldies but goodies and everyone in our group just loved his show. His mom runs the gift shop there and makes sure everyone is happy with their meals. The food was great! We ate so much, we skipped lunch and went shopping at the nearby outlet mall. I managed to find some great bargains on some jeans, tops and shoes! Kris found something at Black & Decker. We had a little time to kill before the next activity, so we went back to the RV to check on Gabbi. She has the run of the coach when we're out and is such a good girl. Sometimes she naps in the front window on the dash, so she can see us coming when we return. She never complains, just waits for us faithfully!


Soon, we were packing into our vehicles again and heading to the Imax Theater to see the Ozark Legacy Show. It was interesting to say the least. Not long after, we lined up for dinner at McFarlain's next to the theater. Kris and I had catfish again and it was even better than the other night! After eating, we had a short drive to the Pierce Arrow Show. Oh my gosh, what a fantastic show! This is a quartet of young men, one of which in 2000, set a Guinness World Record for the lowest note produced by a human; (8 Hz, two octaves below a piano!). You would not believe how low he can go. This show was also partly a comedy act and let me tell you, it was HILARIOUS!


There was a bit of gospel and a lot of honoring veterans at every one of the shows we've seen so far. Here in Branson they are very patriotic and veterans are always given a standing ovation. The other thing we've noticed is that at EVERY show, during intermission, there is a live infomercial promoting their own DVDs, CDs, gift shop items [they all have the same stuff], concessions, you name it! That has to be where they make the bulk of their profits because they all do it... We have never seen anything like it and truth be told, it is a bit of a turn-off. You are literally held captive ~ it's almost like a time-share presentation! Other than that, we are enjoying the shows immensely.

Wow!

There are about 50 of us remaining in Branson during this week. We had a couple of days off to do our own thing which for us was to relax. I did manage to get some laundry done and visit a nearby quilt store. I could've spent all day in there but where on earth would I put all the fabric I would've bought? I settled for 2 yards each of 2 fabrics I liked and a couple of magazines. I'm still working on the wallhanging project I bought along and have finished 34 out of 100! That's 1/3 of them, yippee! Only 66 to go!

Tonight, the entire group went out for dinner at Fall Creek Steak & Catfish House. Kris and I had catfish and it was deeelicious! They have a silly guy who walks around with a big basket of fresh dinner rolls and he tosses them to whoever needs one, sometimes from across the room. Well, one of 'em hit me upside the head, bounced off and hit my seat mate in the head as well. Good thing they're soft! I guess everyone's aim is off every now and then. It was fun and the food was yummy. Kris & I had our picture taken, but again, will have to scan it before I can post it.

Following dinner, we went to see the Haygoods. This is a family of seven brothers and one sister ranging in age from 17 to 33. Talk about a talented family! The Osmonds have nothing over the Haygoods. They were so good, I bought an autographed DVD of tonight's show. Since we were such a large group, they asked us to remain in our seats after the show. Several of the family members came out and chatted with us for awhile after the show. I'm amazed they had the energy left, it was quite a show. Oh, to be young again.

I'm heading off to bed. It was a long day and tomorrow's another busy day! Night all...