June 24, 25, 26, 2016

We are having a ball!  E T included!  We had a track side campsite (dry camping $300 for the event) reserved at Summit Motorsports in Norwalk, Ohio.  BUT … E T  likes  the Gotta Getaway RV Park  in nearby Bellevue, Ohio so we booked one night ($38 water and electric) there, before going to the track.

Above …Site # 18 at Gotta Getaway.   E T loves it here  because there are acres of mowed grass fields for her to run.

At Summit Motorsports Park we have been on a waiting list for one of their 120 track side camp sites (1 – 56 have electric hookups, the rest are dry camping).   We were offered site 118 this year.  For drag racing fans, you’ll understand,  our site is two sites away from the “kitty litter”.  This is where, when the parachutes or brakes on  the cars don’t work,  ALL the way at the END of the track, there is this huge area of gravel and sand (aka kitty litter).  We did a LOT of walking.   The nice thing is there are only two other sites that we are sandwiched between.  This is crazy, but the camper in site 119  also reserves site 120. Whats CRAZY is he reserves both sites for $300 each and only stayed for Friday and Saturday racing.  He left Sunday morning.  You don’t have to leave until Monday by noon.

t

Our site #118

Friday racing didn’t end until after 11:00 p.m. with a spectacular fireworks extravaganza.  Ricky said it was the best he’s ever seen.   He also got to see Brittany Force (Monster Energy) and Richie Crampton (Lucas Oil) run the quickest side by side, 1,000 ft in 3.735 seconds,  in NHRA history.  Brittany ran 324.28 MPH topping Richie’s 323.22.  A treat for me was seeing the new “fuel injection” systems instituted by NHRA for the Pro
Stockers.   Check out the photo, with Greg Anderson in the slideshow.  I’ve heard the “blowers” described as elepant noses or giant vacuum cleaners.  What do you think?    Also, check out the Nostalgia Gassers.  Willys vs Anglia … David thinks he should build one and have Ricky drive it!  Also in the slideshow are photos of the NHRA Safety Safari.  These people do NOT get enough recognition for the work the do.  Our campsite, being at the end of the track, gave us a birds eye view of the Safety  Safari in action.  When a crash occurs they are the responders.   At all times, during the racing,  there are three members sitting in full fire suits waiting in preparation. This weekend this was in mid to upper 80’s temperatures.   Ricky, ET and I were sitting outside of the camper when one of the Pro Mod drivers crashed.  It was amazing to watch how organized and quickly the Safety Safari responded.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One of our and now Ricky’s favorite Sunday morning events is the NHRA, Sealmaster sponsored Track Walk.  All fans are invited to walk the 1/4 mile and get to see and feel what the racers and cars experience.

Our other favorite, only here at Summit Motorsports Park,  is the pint of Ohio made,  Velvet  Ice Cream, for $1.  I hope Ricky doesn’t tell his parents that this is what we had for lunch, three days in a row.

Next Stop … Home!

June 20, 21, 22,  2016.
This is mine and David’s third trip to Mammoth Cave National Park.  When we were planning the trip with Ricky, I asked him if in between, the Tennessee and Ohio drag races would he like to go to Great Smoky Mountain National Park and bike the 11 mile Cade’s Cove Loop at sunrise or Mammoth Caves NP and explore the caves.  Without hesitation he chose the caves.  That was easy!

If you’re planning a trip to Mammoth Cave, here’s a few tips. The website is very deceiving.  The majority of camp sites at the Mammoth Cave Campground are on a first come basis.  The web site lists them all as “reserved” not “reservable”.  If you call Reserve America the operators will tell you there are none available.  When we arrived on Monday, there were dozens of sites available.  We got site #90, in my opinion, one of their best RV sites.  It is a large pull through, very shaded, very private and a short walk to the Visitors Center and amphitheater.  With A Senior or Access pass $10 a night, otherwise $20 a night (no hookups).  There are pay showers, laundry, water and dump station available.

This tip is for reserving cave tours.  Again the website may say a tour is full and may not be.  Call the Visitors Center to reserve.  Don’t wait until you arrive.  Popular tours do fill up.
Most important is read the tour descriptions carefully before booking.  There are degrees of difficulty listed for the tours … easy, moderate and strenuous … based on things like number of stairs, hills, tight passages, number of miles, on the lantern tours, kerosene smell.   David likes the lantern tours, so I booked him and Ricky two,  The Violet City  and the Star Chamber.   I had been on the Violet City and the Star Chamber was new so I passed on the Violet City.   Phew!  Lucky for me!  The Violet City had been upgraded to Strenuous.  The Star Chamber took it’s place in the Moderate category.  When David and Ricky came back from the Violet City Tour they thought I had set them up!  I had NOT.  I just booked without reading.  Sorry Guys!  They both have stories to tell about the “strenuous” parts and their tour guide that thought he was “Kentucky Jones”!  There was a lot of laughing and teasing about the experience.  But, I don’t think Davids calve muscles will ever forgive me.
Besides the two lantern tours we took the Historic and the Domes and Dripstone Tours.  All four tours are very diverse. 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Other than the caves there are many hiking, biking and “tourist attractions’ in the area.  We have put kayaking on the Green River on our list of “next times”.   We were only here for two days and it was HOT (mid 90’s) and Humid.   The 54 degree temps in the caves were VERY welcoming 🙂

Next Stop … Norwalk,  Ohio

June 17, 18, 19 2016.
I’m calling this The Best of Both Worlds mini tour.  American Airlines flight 1950 to Charlotte then a quick connect to Tri Cities Airport in Tennessee, 18 miles from THUNDER VALLEY!  Best part … I’m with my 15 year old Grandson, Ricky.  This is not Ricky’s first drag racing experience.  He spent a day with us at the Mile High Nationals in Colorado last summer.  He’s in for a real treat.  On a scale of one to 10, 1 being the best, Thunder Valley is #1 and Mile High is #10.   Next weekend we’ll be at Summitt Motor Speedway in Norwalk, Ohio, which is my #2 favorite track.  Watch out Mom and Dad,  Ricky may be asking for a Top Fueler for Christmas!

David and ET drove down in the RV.  They arrived at Earhardt East Campground, at Bristol Motor Speedway ($150, full hook up, for the event) on Wednesday.  They left CT at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and arrived at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.  David was a driving machine. 

      They spent the night at a Walmart that I’m going to forget that David even told me about.  In my opinion, Walmart overnights are at the bottom of the barrel.  They are one step up from a truck stop.  I am saying this from experience.  When we first started RVing I gave them both a try.  After staying at cream of the crop, State and National Parks and RV Resorts,  I’m NOT camping at a Walmart or Truck Stop unless it’s a last “resort”.

Ricky and I flew because, we could not miss his sister, Megan’s (Grand Graduate #1)  High School graduation.  You’d think Megan would be the one coming, but she chose going to the Florida Keys with us this past winter.  Sunshine and tropical fun vs Nitro and Noise, hmmmmm Both work for me!   I was a little worried that 15 year old Ricky would get bored during three days and over 20 hours of watching drags.  I was wrong to worry.  His favorite part was the eliminations.  He sat in the stands with my clipboard and bracket sheets keeping score.  Note to his Mom and Dad: There’s lots of Math involved in scoring and he’s having fun doing it 🙂

I have previous posts and photos,  to Bristol,  in the archives.  I will mention again, Steele Creek Park.  This is a beautiful park, eight miles from the track.  E T enjoyed her daily walks here and frolics in the creek.

My new Bristol find is the Red Rooster Market.  On the way home from the park one day with Ricky and E T we needed to stop for milk.  I spotted a sign for the Red Rooster Market.  Awesome!  I did not want to travel a couple of miles out of way to the only other place I knew to get milk, Food City.  Ricky waited in the car with E T while I ran in for MIlK.  Twenty minutes later I get back in the car with NO milk, but a huge bag of “goodies”.  The Red Rooster is not a Market, it is a Mom, Pop and Son run restaurant.   I won’t go into the details, but POP told me the entire history of the name and why it’s called a market and not a restaurant.  I also know the Son’s favorite race car drivers, where the family lives and their weekend plans.  Mom was no where to be seen. She is the cook.  My bag of “goodies” was a mix of homemade pot pies and sides.  A little pricy, but Mom is a very good cook!

This slideshow is especially for my friend Sylvia, that used to race at Lebanon Valley.  The cars are driven by my favorite drivers in all four classes.  It’s hard for me to have just one favorite in any one class.  There are just to many fabulous teams and drivers in the NHRA drag racing series to just pick one.

Pro Mod – Ricky Smith and Troy Coughlin

Pro Stock – Jason Line and Greg Anderson

Funny Car – Courtney Force and Tim Wilkerson

Top Fuel – Clay Millican and Richie Crampton

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

David has been a bit disappointed with Florida gas prices, especially since we left Tallahassee. We left on a (3/9) Wednesday, back tracking to Top Sail Preserve State Park and headed back through on Sunday(3/13).
Both leaving and coming back we made a gas stop at the same station, I 10 Exit 192 Pilot/Flying J, Quincy, Fl.  Leaving we paid $1.73 per gallon for 40 gal.  Coming back (3/13) $1.86 per gallon for 5O gal ($93.58). It went up 13 cents a gallon in just a few days 🙁
For any diesel users out there, March 18, in Bradenton, Florida, both regular and diesel  were $1.99 a gallon.
Since arriving in Florida we are staying put a lot more and not needing to gas up as much.  We’re curious as snowbird season dwindles down if gas prices will drop a little.
March 21, Punta Gorda, Florida  50 gallons @ $2.03 per gal. $100.  Going up!
The gas prices have gone up instead of down. Prices are ranging from $2.09 – $2.29 in the Homestead/Miami/Keys area.
We were in the keys for almost a month. Staying put, no gas stops 🙂
April 19, Headed North we stop off I 95  Exit 131 (Port St Lucie) 50 gal @ $1.99 $100.  We don’t always fill up.  Most gas stations shut the pumps off at $100.
April 22,  HWY 17 in  Round O, S.C. $1.89 a gallon we take 65 gallons.  It’s nice having an 80 gallon tank.
April 23, Princeton / Kenly N.C.  We’re putting on miles and using gas like crazy.  We top off 30 gallons @ $1.96  $60.  Often when we top off like this it’s not because we need gas, it’s because we see a sign for a Flying J.  They have RV islands that are easy in and out.
April 24,  Winchester, Virginia I 81 Exit 323 Flying J, 52 gallons $1.93 gal.  $100.
Up, up, up and over the Shenandoah’s we go.  This is one of our favorite drives for the views, not the gas mileage 🙂
April 25, Bloomberg N.J.  I 78 Exit 7 Exxon $1.89 gal. 46 gal.  $88.00. There are three gas stations here, Pilot $1.86 gal Exxon $1.89 Citgo $1.93.  The Exxon (far right lane, closest to Burger King) is easiest in and out with an RV.
This should be it for gas for this trip.  We have less than 250 miles home 🙂

Day 77

April  23, 2016.
Last leg of the trip and we are looking for an RV Park close to I 78 with a full hook up, pull through site available.  We don’t want to unhook the car and we want to be able to flush out all of our holding tanks.  Pine Hill RV Park exit 40, less than 2 miles off the highway,  Site D-13 $48.00 a night, pull through, full hook up and level.  Hurray!!  It’s like striking it rich!!   

    This is a park that caters to “Big Rigs”  (125 sites/82 pull through).  The sites are five star.  The park amenities are very few.  The grounds are beautifully landscaped with plenty of grass to let E T run.  Perfect!

Neighbor’s are dogs and horses, belonging to the farm next door.  This is a well fenced, gorgeous property.  A negative is the close proximity to I 78, hence the nice sturdy fence.

Note to any Tappan Zee users … The construction of the new bridge is moving along nicely.   A BIG change is the bridge toll is now TOLL BY PLATE or EZ Pass.  No more Cash.

   Next Stop … HOME 🙂
Next Trip … June … NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals,  Bristol, Tennessee 🙂
. 

Day 76

April 23, 2016

We left Murrells Inlet S.C. at 8:45 a.m.. Drove just about 365 miles and arrived at Misty Mountain at 5:00 p.m.   Long Day of Driving!

Misty Mountain is .9 miles off of I 64.  Great Location!  We got  the last available pull through site for a 35′ RV ($37.72 a night water and electric).  David had to put the RV in Mountain Goat Gear to get her up the mountain side.   We are only here for the night and it would have been a pain in the neck to unhook and rehook the car.  Site 51 is on the Upper Level, they have this pretty neat staircase to the lower level or you can walk the road.  We chose walking down the staircase and up the road.  We actually had to do it twice, E T was having so much fun.  She had quite a bit of energy after lounging on my lap all day.

This is a fun, family campground.  It’s a good thing we’re on our way home, because all I can think about is how much the Grands would like it here.  Tonight is Saturday night. There is a Band playing in the Activity Field and FREE hor d’ourves in the Community Room.  There is a small off leash dog park,  splash park,  pool,  fishing pond, mining area, Jump Pad and lots more to do.

We’re feeling closer to home this morning …  45 degrees outside … We’ve got our sweatshirts on 🙂

Next Stop … Pennsylvania

Day 75

April 22, 2016

We are on our way home.  One more fun stop before just putting on the miles.  Huntington Beach State Park is very, very nice.  We went out of our way about 100 miles for a quick stop.  We were lucky to get a last minute reservation on one of our favorite sites. ($43 a night water and electric)

There are miles of  beautiful beach and trails to walk and bicycle.  Most of the beach is dog friendly. This trip the section off limits to dogs is a bird nesting area.  Next time it might be turtles.  The birding here is excellent.

In the past couple of days we have seen manatee and dolphin.  Here at Huntington Beach my fascination was with the jelly fish.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It would have been nice to have had more time at Huntington Beach.  We tried for another night, but the campgrounds 133 sites were booked solid.

Next Time!

Day 73, 74

April 21, 2016

Jekyll Island is my favorite Island.   This is not a hub bub island.  There is No Traffic.  No Nightlife.  Once you park your car you can ride a bicycle, walk, kayak or boat almost anywhere you want to go.  There is a fabulous bike trail that circles the entire island.    I am not a golfer, but I understand there are three ***** courses on the island.

This is the road to the Fishing Pier and Driftwood Beach.  There are three beaches on the island, Driftwood, Glory and Great Dunes. Dogs are not welcome on Glory.   It is more of a natural habitat.  The only way to it is over a long boardwalk.   Driftwood is my favorite and because we are only here for one day, that’s where we go.  Great Dunes is your typical sand, surf, dunes beach.  The amazing thing about Jekyll Island is that a large percentage of it is undeveloped.  It’s Mother Nature at her best.

The sand is so firm that you can bike on the beach during low tide.

They have extended the Fishing Pier since the last time we were here.

Yesterday we were kayaking with manatee,  today  E T is trying to swim with dolphin.   She is ready to swim, but still a little hesitant.  We all enjoyed watching them.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photo of the Day!  This is a Shrimp Boat.  You can actually book a charter on one.  I thought that would be fun …. depending on how much work was involved.   Next Time!

Next Stop  … Huntington Beach State Park Murrells Inlet, S.C

Days 71, 72

April 20, 2016

No luck getting into Sebastian Inlet State Park,  but we got lucky that the Gal at registration called the Brevard County Park,  Long Point,  1 1/2 miles down the road and they had plenty of sites available.

The little opening in the trees between the picnic table and kayaks is our water access to a cove loaded with manatee. Sites are water and 50 amp electric.

First thing we get into our kayaks and head out on the water with the manatee.   There were at least six,  two were a mom and her calf.   We had great fun kayaking with them all around us.  It was like they were playing hide and seek or peek a boo. I’d be watching where I saw one and two would pop up on the other side of my kayak.   I’d watch there and another would come up somewhere else.  Sorry, out of at least two dozen (phone) shots, above is my best photo, ” a manatee snout”.    We could have stayed with them for hours,  but we are only here for one day and there was a lot more kayaking and hiking to do.  Long Point Park is on it’s own peninsula.  There are clusters of  mangroves to kayak around.

There is a bridge from Long Point to Scout Island.  This is a nice quiet hike with lots of shade and great scenery.

E T met a friend, Jack (Russell).  They tried playing together, but Jack does not walk or run, he hops.  E T was very confused.  Jack smelled like a dog, but hopped like a rabbit.  They spent a great deal of time starring at each other across the couple of empty campsites between ours and theirs.   At one point this Great Blue Heron walked between them and right on past to the water.   The two dogs watched it cross and then went right back to watching each other.

Birds Eye View

We were sitting out after dinner and the clouds started forming this strange pattern.  David explained to me that this was a Mackerel Sky.  The pattern looks like the fish scales on a mackerel.  These clouds are suppose to be a sign of approaching precipitation.  In the morning we had rain showers.

Long Point Park  was a great find.  We are already planning on coming back next year.

Next Stop … Georgia

Days 68, 69, 70

April 18, 19, 2016

Jonathan Dickinson State Park is in Hobe Sound, Florida.  It is nestled in between the two busy towns of Jupiter and Stuart.  Once we hit the mainland,  you know the traffic started all over again.  We are on our way North, but plan on taking our time.  The view below is in Jupiter.

Jonathan Dickinson is one of our favorite Florida State Parks/campgrounds.

Hobe Tower is one reason.

E T our lookout dog is a very good spotter.

Another reason this is a great park is it’s access the Loxahatchee River.  It can be a tricky paddle, because of the tides and currents, but if you time it right it can be perfection.  Our first stop on arrival at the park is the Kimball Education Center to talk to a Ranger.  We tell her our plan for an early morning paddle out to Trapper Nelson’s Camp.  She looks up the tide info for us and tells us we are right on for a 7:00 a.m. start.  It is a 4 hour paddle.  Unfortunately,  we are here off season and the Camp is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  We will not be able to get off at the dock and tour the Camp.  That’s o.k. with us.  We have been there before and know next time we are in the area will try again.  We were the first two paddlers out on the river on a beautiful cool, calm morning.  We saw an alligator, lots of turtles, osprey and even a bald eagle with two fledglings.   On the river I’m limited to taking photos from my camera.  None of my bird or alligator photos came out decent 🙁

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

One of the afternoons we headed over to dog friendly, Stuart Beach.  E T loved playing in the waves with this huge coconut that she found.

While walking the beach David asked me if I could live here.  With this view I said “Yes”!

We can all dream right???

Next Stop … Sebastian’s Inlet State Park.  We have a reservation here  for NEXT YEAR for two weeks and want to check it out.  It has been on our list of “recommended” must stays for awhile.  David is on line 11 months to the day, everyday, booking for next year.

We don’t have a reservation for tonight.  We’re hoping to get in on a cancellation.  Otherwise we’ll just check out the park and campground and look for a commercial campground.

Up early again!!! Megan would be proud 🙂