Niagara Falls. Slowly I Turned, Step By Step…. Part 1 (June 13 - 16)

 I struggled with the title of this post, the alternative being “I’m going up the country/Baby, don’t you wanna go?” from the 1968 song by Canned Heat.  But I finally decided on the bit from Vaudeville, made famous by The Three Stooges, and even parodied by Lucile Ball and Sid Caesar.

July 14: We drove to the falls and bought combo tickets for a few different excursions and shows.  We did the Journey Behind the Falls excursion.  This involves walking through tunnels that open up behind the water.  It was interesting enough, although you can't really see much.

Niagara in Flight was a sensory experience where you sit in seats, which move slightly but really make you feel like you're soaring.  That was pretty cool.  We also toured the old hydroelectric power plant and walked the tunnel underneath to a platform out by the river and falls.

July 15: This was Aerocar day.  It's a big cable car that runs almost horizontally over part of the river where the water rotates counterclockwise.  You also get good views upstream and downstream. 

After the aerocar, we drove to and around Niagara-on-the-Lake, a very nice town with lots of vineyards and some really nice properties on the Niagara River Parkway which overlooks the river.

July 16: We did the Niagara City Cruise, which is Canada's version of Maid of the Mist.  You don another poncho, and get on the boat, which takes you right up to Horseshoe Falls.  We got a place to stand on the boat just starboard of the bow on the upper deck. The wind and the mist were very strong as we approached the falls.  The water at the base of the falls was quite the maelstrom, churning chaotically.  This excursion was perhaps the best way to appreciate the power of the falls. 

In the evening, back at the campground, we turned on the outside TV for the second time ever, and watched the second half of Norway vs. Iraq in the World Cup.

Cuyahoga and Cleveland Part 2 (June 11 - 13)

 Well, we enjoyed the drive-in movie experience, but the movie itself was only ok. There were no real big splashy special effects that should be seen on a big screen and, honestly, at 2’20”, it was a bit too long.  Wait until it comes out on a streaming platform or — what’s that thing called again?  Oh yeah — network TV.

Friday was another good day.  Beautiful weather.  We biked on the Erie & Ohio Canal tow path.  This picture is the bridge just after lock 29.  At the mid-point of the ride we ate our picnic lunch and chatted with a couple guys who were doing some long distance trail riding.  

Friday night we went to Kent State University’s Porthouse Theater, a 500-seat covered outdoor venue.  We saw Grease!  We got our tickets late and had to sit way off to the side of the stage, but we still had a very good view of the stage and didn’t miss a thing.  It took me back to my community theater days, except these actors were talented.

Today, Saturday June 13th, is moving day.  Off to Niagara Falls, Ontario!

Cuyahoga and Cleveland Part 1 (June 8 - 11)

 It was an easy drive on Monday to our KOA campground in Streetsboro, OH, which is between Cleveland and Akron.  On Tuesday we checked out nearby Cuyahoga National Park.  It has lots of trails, but it was so hot that we mostly did a driving tour, except a couple short hikes to some waterfalls.  We enjoyed our late lunch at Dave’s Cosmic Subs.

Wednesday was a busy day.  We left “home” around 8:30am and headed to Cleveland.  We parked at City Square, midway between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Progressive Field, the Cleveland Guardians baseball stadium.  We got to the Hall of Fame about 10 minutes before it opened at 10a, and there were already a good 200 people in line to get in.  The museum was very interesting, although crowded right from the start, and cacophonous with music playing at many exhibits and people talking.  Our favorites were the exhibits with play lists that exemplified music genres or lists from or particular cities or regions.  I liked the Paul McCartney and Wings exhibit on the 6th floor, although I wasn’t a huge fan when they were popular.

An interesting observation was the demographics of the visitors in the Hall of Fame.  A lot of canes and rollators used by people who grew up in the 50s and early 60s when Rock and Roll was born.

When finished, we took an Uber to see the Guardians play the NY Yankees.  We haven’t been to a baseball game in ages, and the last couple were minor league games.  But it was fun, and the stadium food actually wasn’t bad!  Alas, the Guardians were outclassed by the Yankees.  By the end of the 7th inning, the Yankees were ahead 8-3, and we left before the major crowds.

On our way back to the RV we stopped at Staples for an Amazon pickup, Walmart for a sewer hose connector, and Lowe’s for some mouse traps (one or more helped themselves to some bread in a drawer) and male and female garden hose caps.  It was a long day, but a good one.

Today, Thursday, we did some house cleaning and a little food shopping.  Tonight we’re going to a drive-in theater to see Disclosure Day.  I’m not sure the last time I saw any movie in a theater, let alone at a drive-in. 

East Harbor State Park and South Bass Island (June 6 - 8)

 It was about a three-hour drive from the Renegade rally to East Harbor State Park, which is close to the shore of Lake Erie in Ohio.  The park was nice enough, although densely populated with RVs and trailers, as well as a few people in tents.  We treated ourselves to dinner out at Crabby Joe’s.  The food was good, But more memorable was the truly torrential downpour and very leaky roof.  We lingered long enough for the flood to drain off of the parking lot.

On Sunday the 7th we got an early start (for us) and headed to Miller’s Ferry for a trip to South Bass Island.  We brought our bikes on board.  First, we biked from the ferry port to Put-In-Bay on the other side of the island for breakfast. We strolled around the “downtown” area, peeked inside a couple shops, and then headed off on an AI-generated bike tour of the island’s main historic and cultural spots.  And it was a beautiful day for a bike ride on this lush island.  The wood statue is Joseph DeRivera St. Jurgo, an entrepreneur who donated a lot of land but died broke in 1889.

The phrase “Don’t give up the ship!” came from the War of 1812, and was stitched on a flag, which was on a ship that fought in the War of Lake Erie (also known as the War of Put In Bay) in 1813. 

After returning to the mainland we drove around a bit to check out the sites, including another lighthouse. 

The Rally! (June 1 - 6)

This was a get-together in Elkhart, IN for people with RVs similar to ours, which is to say Renegade Viennas and Valencias.  There were about 50 RVs, with people from Nova Scotia, Florida, Arizona, British Columbia, and everywhere in between.

 We started with a nice dinner the first night, and then every day there were presentations about various systems in the RVs.  Levelers, waste tanks, tires, health coverage, and more.  There were also social events, and tours of the Renegade factory and the Amish woodworking shop where the cabinetry is made.  The picture is the beginnings of a 2027 Vienna on a Mercedes Sprinter chassis (we have a 2023 Vienna).

The event was well-organized and successful.  We met many nice people, and I hope we’ll see some again in our or their travels.

Indiana Dunes (May 29-June 1)

 I was a little nervous, at first, because our camp site did not have a water hook-up — only electric. But it turned out fine.  We filled our fresh water tank before leaving the last site and only used half of it during the three nights at Indiana Dunes State Park.  The park is surrounded on three sides by Indiana Dunes National Park and the fourth by Lake Michigan.  Jenny and I did the Dune Succession Trail and the “Diana of the Dune Dare” at the national park, which was a little over a mile with 270 stair steps up a dune with a lot of the hike on soft sand.  

Later that day I did a five-mile hike back in the state park.  The day before I did the three-dune challenge.  While the total elevation gain of the challenge was only 500-600 feet, there was a lot of that deep soft sand to hike on.  Combined with slopes of 30 to 45 degrees, that made for a challenging climb. 

Also at this stop in the trip, we saw some then-futuristic houses from the 1930s. They were moved here, for some reason, after the World’s Fair.  See Jenny’s FaceBook post for some house pictures.  I’ll leave you with some pictures of and from the sand dunes.

St. Charles, MO (May 26-29)

 We left Paducah Tuesday morning and had an easy drive, except for some narrow lanes due to construction, to St. Charles, Missouri, about 25 miles west of St. Louis.  Wednesday morning we went to the Gateway Arch, which is actually the smallest national park.  We trammed to the top, got some views and pictures, and saw a movie downstairs about the arch’s construction, which was very interesting. 

Thursday, 5/28:  🎶She caught the Katy, and left me a mule to ride.🎶  Props to Taj Mahal and The Blues Brothers!  The Katy is KT, the former ticker symbol for the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (M-K-T) Railroad, portions of which are now the country’s longest rails-to-trails system, and it runs right near here.  We biked about 25 miles on the Katy Trail today.  It was mostly shaded, flat, and hard-packed dirt and gravel.  A beautiful day.

Up, Up, and Away! (May 26)

 Sorry, 5th Dimension fans.  This is a super blog post.  Before leaving Paducah we drove across the Ohio River to Metropolis, IL, home of the world’s largest Superman statue, a Lois Lane statue, the Superman Museum, and the annual Superman Celebration (held the second weekend of June, and we’ll miss it).  The sidewalks on the main drag are painted Superman red, the crosswalks are Superman blue and outlined in Superman yellow.  A fun and quirky piece of Americana. 

To quote Superman, “There is a superhero in all of us, we just need the courage to put on the cape.”

National Quilt Museum (May 25)

 We originally planned to stay in Cave City a couple more days, but it’s been pretty rainy and we’ve done all the indoor and under cover stuff we needed to do.  One of the great things about this type of travel is the ability to be flexible, so we left for Paducah, KY to see the National Quilt Museum.  The pictures I’ve chosen below are of some of the more uncommon designs, but to be sure most of the quilts exhibited are patterns that you might expect.  They are all, however, exquisitely and meticulously and very artfully put together.  In the second picture, Jenny is studying a quilt she says “breaks all the rules.”  The third photo is a quilt that won third place in a food-themed quilt competition.  The quilt in the first photo I just think is pretty cool.

Caveties and Corvettes (May 21-24)

No, this is not about oral hygiene, we’re in Cave City, KY, home to Mammoth Caves National Park.  Our campground is about 5 miles from the park.  The Mammoth Cave system has (I think) 417 miles of connected caves — by far the longest in the world. 

Friday we did the “Domes and Drippings” tour, almost two hours under ground as low as about 200 feet below the surface.  The park ranger spoke about the history of the caves: how they were formed and explored, pointing out interesting geological aspects as we went.  

Saturday we did the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, across the highway from where Corvettes are built. We had a very interesting tour, including where a sink hole appeared in the museum and swallowed 8 ‘Vettes in February 2014. Below, Jenny is standing by a 1953, the first year of production. The other one is a 2026 ZR1X waiting to be picked up by its owner. 

Finally, on Sunday, we did the Great Onyx Cave Lantern Tour.  We carried lanterns for lighting, and the tour featured great rock formations and lots of stories about the underhandedness involved in developing the cave and tours.

 

My Old Kentucky Home (May 18-21)

 On the 18th we made a brief stop at Wilderness Road State Park, our 20th Virginia State Park, thus earning us another pin in Virginia’s Trail Quest program.  It’s a new-ish park and not much there other than about 8 miles of trails.  Then it was off to Kentucky.

Our first stop was in Bardstown, which claims to be central to Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail.  

The town itself isn’t that exciting, but there are a few distilleries around.  On Tuesday we went to Heaven Hills and did a tasting of cask strength bourbons - 126-132 proof.  They actually had a bit too much of a burn for my pallet.  But the explanation of the bourbon process and Heaven Hills’ history was interesting.  

On Wednesday we went to the Makers Mark distillery and did a “cocktail tour”.  This included a much more in depth tour of how bourbon is made and stored.  Perhaps the highlight was when we all played bartender and followed along with the tour guide on making a couple of cocktails.  

We also got a little physiology lesson on how one’s body tastes things and how certain ingredients enhance the tasting experience.  The grounds at Makers Mark are really nice, and their on-site restaurant was delicious.

Wednesday evening we met up with Jenny’s cousin Ann in Louisville for a nice dinner. Thursday we left for our second Kentucky stop: Cave City for Mammoth Caves National Park. 

Natural Tunnel State Park (May 15-18)

 We packed up this Friday morning, May 15, and left Fries.  Both Jenny and I really enjoyed this tiny town and hope we can return soon, perhaps for a longer stay.  It was a relatively easy drive to Natural Tunnel State Park for the next three nights.

Saturday morning I made a bit of a mess out of breakfast on the griddle on the Colman stove, but we lived to tell the tale. Then we drove to Big Stone Gap for the Southwestern Virginia Museum.  The museum is a stone mansion with exhibits about the development of this part of the state, and is actually part of the state park system.  A ranger at the museum told us about the Woodbooger (the area’s version of Big Foot), so we had to go to nearby Norton, VA to find out. 

Woodbooger’s habitat is in Flag Rock Park.  There are some great views from the park, especially at High Knob Tower.  

At one point, Woodbooger was sneaking up on Jenny but she managed to escape.

Sunday we finally checked out the natural tunnel at Natural Tunnel State Park.  It’s still used as a train tunnel and it’s quite an impressive natural phenomenon.

 

On To Fries (May 11-15)

 On Monday, May 11, we moved to our next location in Fries, VA.  It was a rainy, foggy drive on mostly mountain roads, so we decided to drive separately rather than tow the car.  Fries is an old mill town, with a population between 330-441 according to various estimates. Fries is pronounced “freeze”, and 🎶 baby it’s cold outside🎶!  39 degrees this Tuesday morning.  

The first “whoops” of the trip happened on the drive to Fries.  Somehow the glass, one-burner induction cooktop shattered.  Amazon won’t be able to deliver a new one until after we leave so we’ll have to figure something out.  We have options, though, including a small built-in convection microwave that we still haven’t fully figured out how to use.  And our 30+ year old Coleman stove takes a beatin’ but keeps on heatin’ (sorry, Timex).

Tuesday we took our bikes in to New River Trail State Park, which is a 57-mile linear park.  Essentially one big long bike path mostly along the New River. It was great to get out on this fairly flat, hard-packed dirt & gravel trail. 

Wednesday started with a trip to the dentist.  A filling of Jenny’s popped out while flossing while on the trip.  Looks like it’s back to the dentist Thursday morning for a proper fix.  Wednesday afternoon we took a road trip to two other state parks: Grayson Highlands and Hungry Mother.  Some really twisty steep mountain roads and some great views as well!

Thursday morning we finally got Jenny’s tooth fixed.  Later, we drove to another state park, Claytor Lake, and the Shot Tower along the New River Trail to check them out.  But the evening event was the best part of the day: a Bluegrass jam at the Fries Theater. 

Imagine 20+ string musicians (ok, one washboard), all acoustic, playing Bluegrass and some old-time Gospel together.  There was a dance floor between the musicians and the perhaps 200 seats, which were half filled, mostly by locals.  A few people flat-footed, a solo dance style I’d never heard of before, and a few couples two-stepped.  

After an hour there was a cake walk.  In this, cards with numbers face down were placed on the floor around the musicians.  One card per person wanting to participate.  When the music started, everyone walked around the players.  When the music stopped, you get to the nearest card.  Someone calls out a number, and if that’s your number, you win a cake.  We didn’t win.

This was a really fun event that happens every Thursday.  More importantly, I felt a real sense of community among the people in the theater.