Movin' On

After two wonderful weeks at Forest Lake Thousand Trails in Advance, NC, it is time to move on. Tomorrow we head out for Lake Gaston, VA. We have enjoyed our time at Forest Lake. There are plenty of grassy areas for Lenny and me to play and roll on. One day Mom and Dad went to Charlotte, NC to have lunch with daughter-in-law Pat, who is temporarily working in Charlotte. After lunch, Mom and Dad toured the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which is a must for all NASCAR fans. Mom wasn't real excited about it but she knew Dad wanted to go there. Mom did sign Dad up to drive a car in a simulated race. Dad drove Jimmy Johnson's 48 car and only wrecked it two times.

During our stay here, we were pleasantly surprised when our friends Bob and Kathy arrived at the park for a stay. We haven't seen them since last fall. They are such nice people and are dog friendly. Lenny and I enjoy visiting them. One day, Bob and Kathy and Mom and Dad went to an RV show in Greensboro, NC. I guess they didn't see anything that excited them as neither couple bought a new RV. On another day they all went to a flea market and fortunately they didn't bring any fleas home.

In keeping with their hobby of finding historic graves, Mom and Dad did find the graves of Daniel Boone's parents and brother in Mocksville, NC. Daniel lived in Mocksville for several years.

While here, we learned that the Forest Lake Thousand Trails Park is on land once part of the Cooleemee Plantation, which was first purchased by the Hairston family in 1817. The plantation is still owned by the Hairston family. While the plantation is not open to the public, Mom and Dad met a caretaker who was eager to show them the house and outbuildings. The main house, which Mom and Dad call a mansion, is only called a villa by the Hairstons. It was built in 1851 in an Anglo-Grecian style of a Greek cross. The Hairstons also owned plantations in Virginia and were believed to be the largest slave owners and slave traders in the South. There are now two branches of the Hairston family, the white branch which pronounces the name as Harston and the black branch which pronounces the name as it is spelled. Three members of the black branch of the family have gone on to play major league baseball. On Thousand Trails Park land is a pioneer cemetery which predates the Hairston purchase of the land.

When we get to Virginia, Mom and Dad have a couple of day trips, with Happy Meals, planned for us. I will let you know later what the trips were.

We Hit The Road Again

Today we hit the road again. We are now at the Forest Lake Thousand Trails in the big metropolis of Advance, North Carolina. We have a big grassy site so there is plenty of room for Lenny and me to play. The park is fairly quiet now that school is back in session. We will be here for two weeks but nothing major is planned.

Saturday night, Mom and Dad did go to the PBR Greenville Invitational. They had a very enjoyable evening seing the bull riders they have followed on TV. Even though Lenny and I couldn't go, Mom and Dad did buy us a stuffed toy bull named Little Yellow Jacket. Sunday, Mom and Dad went to lunch at Trevor and Sharon's. Dave and Pat were also there so it was a nice family day. Of course, granddaughter Peanut was the center of attention.

Oh, by the way, I celebrated my 4th birthday last Thursday!

Sad News

Our dear friend Geri, (Pat's Mom) lost her battle with cancer this past Wednesday. This next weekend we will not only be celebrating Labor Day but also Mom's birthday. On September 11th, Mom and Dad will be attending a PBR (Professional Bull Riding) Event in Greenville. They are real excited about this as they are avid PBR fans. On September 14th, we will be hitting the road again with stops in North Carolina and Lake Gaston in Virginia. I will be getting more active on the blog as we start traveling again.

HOT CAROLINA

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything recently but we did make it back to South Carolina, where it is HOT and HUMID. During the week, we come to Dave and Pat's to stay with Pat's mom while they are working. Lenny and I like that because we get to play with Dave & Pat's dogs, our cousins, all day. When the day is over, Lenny and I nap all the way back to the trailer as we are tired out from playing so much. Mom an Dad like being back in South Carolina because they get to see more of their grand daughter Peanut, who is growing like a weed and is becoming much more animated. Mom and Dad, not being biased, think Peanut is one gorgeous little girl.

Take care everyone.

Cereal City

We left St Clair and headed to Battle Creek, MI, the home of Kellogg's and its founders. Battle Creek was also the home of Charles Post, founder of Post cereals. While Mom and Dad were taking grave site pictures of Kellogg and Post, they came up on Sojourner Truth's grave. Truth, a former slave who championed women's rights and anti slavery. Battle Creek was a stop on the underground railroad for fleeing slaves during the civil war. From Battle Creek we went to Batesville, IN but had to change our plans so that we could return to South Carolina to help with the care of a family member. More later.

Winding Down St Clair Visit

We are winding down our visit to the St Clair, MI area. Monday morning we head out for a two day stay in the Battle Creek area before heading to Batesville, IN. Lenny and I haven't been real busy while we were here but Mom and Dad have been on the go. One day they went to lunch in the Bay City area with Dad's cousin Carolyn and her husband Charlie. After lunch they stopped in Frankenmuth at the world famous Bronner's Christmas Wonderland store to pick up some Christmas items. Dad says the store is so big and spread out, they give you a map when you go in so you won't get lost. Mom and Dad really enjoyed spending time and visiting with Carolyn and Charlie.

On another day, Mom and Dad went to Henry Ford's Greenfield Village with Dad's cousin Sandra. Dad hadn't seen Sandra in over 28 years. Dad had been to Greenfield Village when he was a young boy and he always wanted to go back. Now that he has done it, he can scratch that off his "bucket list". Greenfield Village is a wonderful historical park set up by Henry Ford. He brought historical buildings to Greenfield Village so they could be preserved and enjoyed by future generations. Some of the sights included one of Thomas Edison's labs, the Wright Brothers' boyhood home and one of their bicycle shops, Noah Webster's home, poet Robert Frost's home and the Heinz House where HJ Heinz made his first product, which wasn't pickles or ketchup but horseradish. There were also old trains and Model T's throughout the park. Henry Ford also built a chapel in the park to honor his mother and mother-in-law. The bell in the chapel's belfry was cast by Paul Revere. After visiting the park, they went into Detroit to Henry Ford's grave to get a picture for their album.

One evening, Mom and Dad went to Sandra's for a wonderful dinner. Another one of Dad's cousins, Mary, was also there. Sandra's son Mike and two of her grandchildren were also there. Dad enjoyed reliving old times with Sandra and Mary.

Lenny and I did see the vet while we were here. Both of us got good reports and Lenny's diet has paid off as he has lost 14 pounds since last December. Since we had a good vet report, Mom and Dad took us into Canada one day. It was Lenny's first trip out of the US. We did some sightseeing and then we had a nice hamburger lunch at A&W.

Lastly, Dad wants to thank the dumpster truck traveling South on I-75 in Pontiac, Friday, for kicking up the rock and providing us with the opportunity to buy a new windshield for our truck.

Take care everyone.

Hello From Michigan

Today we left Ohio and made our way to the Thousand Trails Park in St Clair, Michigan. The first 3 hours of our trip today was in a heavy rainstorm which wasn't any fun. Michigan is the 31st state Lenny has visited since he began traveling with us 16 months ago. Since we are so close, we may even take him into Canada while we are here. We are glad to be out of Ohio where it was so hot with very high humidity. We didn't want to be outside playing in that heat. We did have a shocking experience while in Ohio. Lenny and I each wear a remote trainer collar. If we misbehave, Mom and Dad can hit a tone button to let us know we need to behave. If we don't behave then they can hit the shock button to give us a small shock and then we behave. We were having problems with my collar not working so Mom and Dad called the company. They walked them through some tests and come to find out the remotes had gotten crossed. When Mom or Dad hit my shock button, Lenny was getting shocked. He wasn't the least bit happy about that. Mom and Dad were able to get them reprogrammed so now they work properly. Lenny is happy now that he is not getting my shocks. While in Michigan, we plan to do some sightseeing and also visit the vet to get our annual shots. Later folks!