Stretching Our Legs- On the Road With HaRVy

Prior to a couple of weeks ago, our RV trips were limited to a quick camping trip in Florida (1 hr from where we live) and a couple of trips to Georgia. But, our most recent trip saw us stretching our legs a bit. Our final destination was to visit my sister and family in Ft. Wayne, IN. This trip involved several firsts for us.

• First time not towing our car... the morning we were to leave, there was a severe thunderstorm and the rain was heavily pouring down. I didn't think it would be safe to try to connect the tow dolly and load the car in such terrible weather so... we left Dolly and Taurus behind.
• First time the dogs accompanied us. Our two 70 lb dogs rode with us from Florida to Georgia where my son was going to dog-sit them while we traveled. The 9-hr trip to Georgia confirmed that our MH is just not big enough to share with 150# of furry love.
• First time driving the motorhome through the mountains (more on this below)
• First time at a full hook-up campground... we could shower for as long as we wanted!
• First time we have driven HaRVy in SC, NC, TN, KY, OH, or IN. So, we can now fill in 8 of the lower 48 states if we had one of those fill-in, sticker thing maps.
• First time finding out why it is important to have 75 ft or more of fresh water hose with you. The distant water connection we shared with about 10 other campers looked like Clark Griswold's electrical connection in "Christmas Vacation." There were Y fittings on Y fittings. Surprisingly good water pressure nonetheless.
• First time buying Hemp Oil (more on that below)

The morning we left I was actually relieved when I made the decision to leave the car at home. I freely admit, I had some concern with HaRVy's ability to negotiate the steep grades of the Blue Ridge Mountains. By "negotiate," I mean get up the hill and not kill us going back down the hill. Anyone that has traveled on I-26 between Columbus, NC and Hendersonville, NC has experienced Howard Gap and the Green River Gorge. There is actually a maximum grade allowed in the construction of the Interstate Highway System of 6% (with some exceptions made in certain terrains for 7%.) This section of I-26 is one of those exceptions.

My concerns of whether our 12-year old 496 cubic inch engine/ Allison transmission powertrain was going to get us over the "hill" as we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide were unfounded. HaRVy downshifted as needed and we topped the steepest grade in the center lane doing 55 mph. Good boy! I'm sure if we had been pulling the car we would have been doing more like 45 but... it would have been just fine. All the while, my engine temperature never moved even with the AC running.

We spent the night at a state park just off I-75 in TN and left the next morning to push towards the Kentucky bluegrass and the cornfields and wind turbines of Ohio and Indiana. Crossing the Ohio River from Kentucky into downtown Cincinnati was pretty cool despite traffic coming to a complete halt/ slowdown for a few miles due to an accident. I guess it was an accident... it was all gone by the time we got there. The fun of interstate traveling.

Morning stillness at Johnny Appleseed Park.

Ft. Wayne's Johnny Appleseed Park campground was teeming with campers due to the week long Three Rivers Festival scheduled to start that weekend. But we were there for only 2 reasons... to spend some time with my sister, her family, and her darling grandchildren.... and to see our favorite Russian band in concert. More on them here.

Our "almost" Plan B overnight stop at Cracker Barrel

After 3 days in Ft. Wayne, it was hugs, goodbyes, and time for the return trip. By now, we had logged 1100 miles. I would say we had definitely stretched out legs a bit. Our next
overnight stay in Kodak, TN at Dumplin' Valley Farm RV park almost didn't happen because I could not reach them late on a Saturday afternoon and had to leave a message. In the meantime, we stopped at Cracker Barrel to eat and to see if we could overnight there as Plan B. All the other nearby campgrounds were full and it was getting late. Our view would have been the rear of Cracker Barrel. While we were eating, Dumplin' Valley called me back and said come on.

The picture at the top of this page (and these here) show why I wanted to spend the night at Dumplin' Valley. It was beautiful. I set up in a soft rain as the sun went down and when we woke up the next morning, we soaked in the beauty of this working farm.

We arrived in Augusta, GA later that day after "negotiating" the I-26 grades again and were reunited with our son and dogs. We made a stop along the way at the Farmer's Market in Asheville where we purchased some hemp (aka CBD) oil. Why? Because one of our two dogs experienced some anxiety on the original drive up. While in Augusta, we also purchased a crate which she seems to like during times of stress. The morning we left for the return leg to Florida, I gave her some oil and got her comfortable in her new crate. Not sure which helped the most but, she did much better on her 2nd time in the motorhome.

2200 miles covering 8 states. It was a great trip and hopefully, is just the start of some leg stretching in the future. It felt pretty good! Next trip? August 5th to visit the grandkids in their new home in NE North Carolina. Can't wait!

Make Me Smile

A couple of years ago I came across a YouTube video of a band from Russia (yes that Russia) performing a song by the band Chicago. I thought with great sarcasm, "Oh, this is going to be interesting," thinking that it would be some poorly done knock-off. Oh boy... was I wrong.

It was sometime in the summer of 1970 when I first heard the song, "25 or 6 to 4" playing on the radio. I remember exactly where I was standing (in my uncle's house in Keene, NH) when I heard that song for the first time. There were not very many rock and roll bands back in the late 60's and early 70's that featured horn sections like Chicago and vocals as good as Peter Cetera's. Chicago's arrangements were some of the most dynamic and elaborate of any being done in popular music at the time. 25 or 6 to 4 remains one of my favorite songs and, in my younger years, I could belt out the song with ease although, these days, hitting the highest notes in the song is no longer in my wheelhouse.

So, I listened to the video two years ago with great anticipation but much skepticism. Leonid & Friends just blew me away! Every note, every drum fill, Sergey Kashirin's lead guitar rides, Serge Tiagniryadno's lead vocals (he's the lone Ukranian in the band,) the backup vocals (the Russian accents partially coming through, adding to the flavor,) and the horns.... the horns! I sat there listening to this "cover" with my mouth agape.

Leonid Vorobyev (who handles the arrangements, plays bass/piano and, and, and) has put together an incredible group of talented musicians that collectively may be the best cover/tribute band I have ever heard. They have now released 2 albums (Chicagovich and Chicagovich II available on iTunes.) I downloaded them both. The albums include the songs 25 or 6 to 4, Wishing You Were Here, You Are On My Mind, Make Me Smile, Saturday in the Park, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is, If You Leave Me Now, Feelin' Stronger Every Day, Questions 67 & 68, and 13 other great Chicago tunes. (The highlighted song links go to their YouTube videos)

For those of us that have discovered and have quickly grown to love this band, you can imagine the excitement when we learned that they were finally coming to the USA to tour! In addition to concerts this month in NYC, LA, Chicago, and Dallas, their last concert is 40 minutes away from my house when they play at the Capitol Theater in Clearwater, Florida. Our tickets on row 6 have been secured and I cannot wait until January 22 to see and hear them in person.

That will definitely make me smile.

(And here they are singing in their native tongue- "This is Rus." I have no idea what they are saying but it sure is beautiful!)