What a Summer!!! Look at Mom Smilin'!!!!


Sept 6,Sunday......100 Days on the Road!!! Yes..Can you believe it is 100 days already?It seems like yesterday that we left town!! We have traveled over 9,000 miles (total will be announced later). We have met alot of friendly nice people all over America. We have seen less than 8 hours of TV since June 7th..Did you know Michael Jackson Died??? America has alot to see and we haven't begun to see it. We tried to travel the backroads whenever possible. The unknown roads have more to see and we can do it without being run over by high speed traffic.

We enjoyed the leisure pace that we covered. We recieved alot of e-mails that we were seeing many of your old travels and Thanked Us for reliving those sights. Somedays were alot of driving to get over the long boring highways but for the most part we had some short mileage days. I was amazed by how many abandoned buildings were along the way. Just thinking about what those people did in the past and why they left their homestead and businesses vacant. I guess $$$$ was the main problem.

I did see alot of hard working Americans trying to provide for their familys and have nice places to live. There was no special place better than the rest. But knowning each area was proud of their neighborhood and glad to live there. I talked to lot of full-timers that live and work all over the place and would not go back to a stick&brick house. They loved the simple life and the less worry of upkeep of their old houses. All seemed very Happy and Healthy and glad to be on the road..north in summer then head south in winter.

What a Life!!! Believe it or not..it was the wife that loved full-timing...No Big House Keeping!! was their answer to Happiness and keep on moving at their pace. As this trip comes to a close in a few days and we will be back home, we are Thankful for the Great Summer we had ..3 days of rain!! Can you believe that..15,000 pictures ..ok maybe a few more..grin... We will see how long we will be at home before we want to go again!! We did manage to survive living in 29 foot Airstream all this time. So Thanks for following along and I hope I (we) brought you some laughs and pictures of our travels along the way. Here is the last Photo album ..enjoy.. http://picasaweb.google.com/AirstreamHobo/MichiganToPennaBackroads#
Any Comments would be appreciated... E-mail us .. obclown@ptd.net
God Bless and Thank-You AirstreamHobo & Carol

Helena Fire Co Tractor Show in Ohio

P&S Refinishing Shop in Helena,Ohio

Airstream Reflection in the pond.............read on Sept 4,Friday, At 7 am I peeked out the back window and saw a foggy covered pond, Up and out of the camper with the camera..What a view..The soft fog over the pond,docks,boats, and just all over the campground. Click..click..300 times.. Check out the photo blog! We packed up and left at 11am for Penna.

We followed Rt 6 thru the back roads of Ohio, I spot a farm with Airstreams all lined up in the back field. Look I said, there is a Rally...WRONG... It was P & S Refinishing Shop. I pulled in to see this place. Airstreams all over the place in several barns in different stages of repair. I met Kevin one of the owners, he showed me around and we talked about Fire Co's. He is the Ass't Chief of Helena Fire Co. He told me about their annual fund raiser "Tractor Show" down the road this weekend. After seeing all the airstreams, we left and went down to the Tractor Show...another awesome display of all kinds of farm tractors. The field had hundreds of them. The outside row along the field was also full of campers near the shade trees. I did see 2 airstreams camped there too.

After spending an hour there, we left down Rt 6 east again, no speeding in Ohio when they say 55 do it! Not 56 I saw lots of police pull over cars all along Rt 6. We stop at CrackerBarrel for supper and to stretch our legs. Then conntinue on into Pa. it was getting dark fast but I still had an hour to go. We arrived at Penn'sWoods an Airstream park at 9pm and set up quickly..water/elec/sewer/and cable too..

Sept 5,saturday, We finish setting up this am. I walk around the park, it is very nice park,log cabin office,pond with fountain, a meeting house with kitchen facilities. I come to find out there is a Rally this weekend, it is their 50th Anniversary and Installation Banquet too! So I signup with a fee for the weekend Rally. Caterered Dinner tonite,full breakfast(sun) Cook-out (sun) and 50th Birthday Cake Party Too!!! Everyone is so friendly(aren't all Airstreamers?)They even have happy hour today at 4pm. We just had supper, Chicken,Ribs,Green bean casserole,potatoes,Spagetti noodles/meatballs, salad,dessert...Yum Yum I didn't have to cook tonight!!!! Installation Meeting at 7 pm.

God Bless...AirstreamHobo & Carol

Sept 3,Wednesday, Happy Birthday Mason!!! Our Grandson!!! We will see you in about a week!!!

After a restful 2 days at Shipshawanna we hook-up and leave for Auburn,Ind. I heard about the Cord/Duesenberg Museum being there. We find the place easy with all the street signs to get there. It seems this is the Big Weekend for Car Collectors in town. There is a 5,000 car sale at Kruse Auctions and they are expecting 100,000 plus people in town for all the planned activities. We find a spot to park along the street one block from the museum. The street in front of the museum is blocked off with Cords & other Classic Cars(too many to mention). I took a few pictures now and then went inside the Museum to see the Cars.

WOW!!! What a showroom!! The place is Amazing!! The cars are displayed just like in a car dealer showroom. This is World First Class Place. 3 floors of all makes of Classic Cars and the stories behind them and what made Auburn Famous. There are numerous Cords on display. I was just overwelmed by the Class of Cars , I didn't dare touch any of them. But click,click, I did!! Every year on Labor day weekend they have a Car Show and Festival in Auburn, home of the Auburn and Cord Car Manufactures. There are numerous activities planned. I wish I was staying this weekend but time to move on. I walked around the museum for about 3 hours just trying to digest the Era of these Cars, It must have been an awesome time in America. I am glad someone Preserved these Cars for all future generations to enjoy!! I sure did today, even the gift shop was a sight to see. Outside most of the cars have left but a few are in the parking lot now..click..click. What a sight to see!!

We head on down Rt 6 toward Bowling Green, Ohio and arrive at Fire Lake Campground for the night, another PassPort America camp..50% off..$16.00/nite. with a beautiful Sunset across the lake at our backside of the campsite. We drove about 130 miles today and saw a slice of America!!! Why can't we build these classics today?? (answer $$$$$$)
God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

Need a Canoe?? These were stacked at a Water Float Store....Read on...

Sept. 1, Tuesday, we leave at 9 am for Howe,Ind. Driving down Rt. 31 along the shoreline. We see a sign for a lighthouse and follow the road to it. Point Betsie light house is back this road, however, due to cutbacks it is only open on weekends for tours.

We pass a tubing/canoe/kayaking store , I stop to take pictures and talk to locals. He tells me to go down the side road to see Salmon fish starting to spawn, he says there are about 100 there at the dam now..in a few weeks there will be 10,000 there to cross the dam. We drive back to see these extra large fish..2-3 feet big...no fish story...really..There are kayakers in the water causing the fish to move about so we can see all these big fish..wow..wow. Then back down the highway.

We follow Rt 31 all the way to Holland then catch Rt 40 all along a very scenic drive with no rush of traffic and sometimes I do pull over to let locals go faster!! We pass Grape farms with acres of grape vines on both sides of the road. Into Indiana we turn east on Rt 120 to Howe. We arrive at about 5pm and stop at a Pass Port America Park, believe it or not we were here 13 weeks ago today. The cost was $8.50 in June now it is $14.95 now (rates went up!!) But it is a nice park near Shipshawanna Flea Market..tues & wed's..We will go tomorrow.

Sept 2, Wednesday, Today we go to the flea market and look for bargains and afterwards we stop to do the weekly laundry. Back at the camp, we make spare ribs on the grill. They are a treat!!! Lots of meat and very good!!! Rest and relax..zzz As you can see...no pictures here also...wi-fi won't le me download pictures ...someday soon ???
God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol

August 31,Monday, We rise and go over to the Boat Museum at Glen Haven, a little village of long ago. The waterfront is wonderful to walk along the shore, there is more stones/rocks than sand along here. We did see the old Coast Guard Station with old boats on display and talked to the volunteer guide host, she was from Florida doing a work camper job here 16 hours a week for free camp site, her husband demo'd at the Blacksmith shop too. They Love IT!!! We did talked to alot of people all summer that have traveled north to volunteer a few days a week and then see the area the other days with free camping all summer. What a retirement life! These people loved to mingle with tourists and share their knowledge. Check-out at noon, we head down the road, to Ludington State Park. These is a lake shore state park, over 300 sites. This is the Most Popular destination for the Michigan Tourists, the place is packed with families enjoying their vacations, not many vacant sites left. You can park along the road way to the park at the Lake Michigan with sand dunes on both sides and go swimming in the lake.

August 30,Sunday, Today we leave St.Ingrace, a beautiful waterfront town. Crossing the bridge with the airstream...Hurray the rain and Wind has stopped!! Easy drive over the bridge and down the west coast on Rt 22 of Michigan looking for LightHouses. We head for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. We arrive about 3-4 pm and check in at DH Day Campground, we get the last site that has electric, there is plenty of other sites though. We stay here for $6.00(Golden Access Card) & $5.00/electric fee, we have a nice shaded sight. After setting up we went for a drive on Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive thru the dunes with 10 stopping places along the way. At stop #9 there is a breath taking view of the sand dunes 450 feet above the lake. At the top there is a sign telling you to be careful of the steep incline down to the lake. Many kids are sitting on the side of hill watching the lake water. Wow..what a View and place to take pictures. We are told come back at sunset..8:30 pm to see it. So we go back to camp for supper and relax. At 7:30 we drive back...WOW...The sunset is about 1/2 hour to drop and the sky is red already, many have tripods and cameras ready for that great shot. This was the BEST SUNSET we saw all summer..click..click.. By 8:45 it is dark...zzzzzz

August 29,Saturday, We wake up to a wet,raining day that will be with us all day. We drive over to Mackinaw City. The ride over the bridge was scary with the wind blowin' warnings were flashing for motorists to drive 20 mph. The bridge has a open steel grate in the passing lane all the way over the bridge, the outside lane was blacktop. On windy days the wind comes up thru the steel grate and I did feel the push!! We get to the otherside to Mackinaw City and drive downtown. There is a Corvette Car Show this weekend..expecting 700 or more. However I only saw about 50 arrive in town. The rain has kept many away, the rain was all weekend and did reduce the attendance. There was to be parade too but was cancelled. We drove over to the Light House and walked around the grounds and waterfront..yes we got wet. We then drove around to keep warm and dry. We then stopped at a local resturant "Darrows" there was a waiting line. After eating here I can see why!!! I had White Fish Basket, it came with 8 BIG Strips of fish and Real Mashed Potatoes & Salad, Carol had Roast Beef Dinner and needed a take-out box to eat the rest later. Yum..Yum!!
God Bless..AirstreamHobo & Carol

August 28,Friday, We drive around St.Ingrace today and see the shoreline, the water in the lake has white caps as it hits the shore. I did stop at the library to download the blog, and they have fast wi-fi so I download the pictures I have waiting. We then drive up to "Castle Rock" They have Paul Bunyun and the Blue Ox on display at teh base of the steps. You can walk-up 142 steps to the top of the castle rock to see all over the lake and waterfront. We then leave and see a sign for "Pastries", we pull into Bessie's Red Resturant to try them. It is a Dough bread filled with Beef,potatoes,onions,carrots then wrapped over and baked. When you get it it comes with a pot of gravy too. It was a good local pastrie to eat here, with the place filling up with patrons.

God Bless AirstreamHobo & Carol