Monday June 20, 2016 Java Center, NY

American Falls

First day of summer, day after Father's Day.  We started for Niagara Falls at about 11AM drinking our coffee on the way.  It was a little over an hours drive

It has been about 12 years since we were here last.  We had heavy rains that year and the water was muddy.  I was first here in the late '40s.  The pictures from then are in black and white.  My cousin Ed and I came with our uncle Curtis, from Texas.  We drove from West Virginia in his Cadillac, the first air conditioned car I ever saw.

We need selfie practice

I may be more critical than I should but the area seemed junkier than ever, more tourist trap type places than I remember.  We took a lot of pictures along the walk and from the observation tower.  I would have posted them, but I left the camera on a bench while Gerri got the Jeep from the parking garage.  Gerri called the park and the park police when we got back to the coach.  No one had turned it in.  Unless there is a setting I don't recall, I don't think there is anyway to find us using the camera.










We decided on Italian for a late lunch, early dinner.  Siri found us an open one on the way.  We got really lucky with Marotto's in Buffalo.  http://www.marottos.com/ 
This was so good that I submitted a Trip Advisory review:  https://goo.gl/wt6yTJ

We got back to the RV park at about 5:30.  I went out to find a geocache about 1.7 miles away.  I didn't find it.

Tomorrow we plan to travel about 290 miles to an RV park near Albany. One more stop on our quest to visit state capitol buildings.

We were in bed by 10, planning to get up about 6 for an early start.

Sunday June 19, 2016 Java Center, NY

Early to bed, early to rise. Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.  Well, that may explain some of my problems.  We only got it half right.  We were in bed early but slept late this morning.  Even with all the activity in the loop, people packing to leave, we didn't get up until 9.  By 10 all but a few of groups in the park were gone.

While we were having coffee and catching up on computer chores, I called the office and asked if we could move to a site across the loop next to the small lake. There are sites on that side of the lake that have a clear view of the sky to the south.  I thought we would have better TV reception there.  The person I talked to had to check with the owner. He called back and they wanted an extra $20 because the space was beside the lake.  We passed on moving.  We get 11 OTA channels if we really want to watch TV.

At one we tuned in to the webcast of worship services from Oakey Boulevard.  Randy's sermon was on biblical fatherhood.  I believe today was Randy's last day preaching at Oakey.  He is retiring after many years there as minister.  He is being replaced by one of the young men the congregation sent to the Memphis School of Preaching, Tyler Kirkpatrick.

Mt. Morris Dam

After worship services we drove to Letchworth State Park.  It is billed as the Grand Canyon of the East.  It was voted, I never found out by whom, the best state park in the USA.  The park comprises 14,500 acres on both sides of the gorge made by the Gennesse River.  We drove the length of the park, 17 miles, and stopped at most of the overlooks.  The park is heavily wooded and is also heavily used.  All the picnic areas were nearly full, we didn't check out the camping areas.  Most of the look out areas also had trail heads and we saw a few backpackers.  Unlike the real Grand Canyon but like many other places, trees obscured much of the view..  There is a dam at one end of the park and waterfalls near the other end. The dam is unimposing.  It is a dry dam, meaning it only impounds water when there is a flood.  It mainly protects downstream farms and communities. The falls are spectacular with a large amount of water going over, especially considering that the river isn't that large.

Wolf Creek

Me at Wolf Creek

Upper Falls

Middle Falls

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Our first bear sighting

I looked for a geocache at one of the overlooks, no luck.  I did find one in a small cemetery along a road back to the RV park.  We also saw a black bear along the road.  It was very thin and had a ragged coat.  By the time we got stopped and a camera ready the bear had gone into the brush and we only got a picture of its ears as it kept an eye on us.



Farms dot the country side.  We saw a lot of corn, grain and potatoes growing.  We passed the plant for Wise potato chips.  We also saw several dairies.  Wyoming County, NY claims to be populated by more cows than people.  We tried to get pictures of old barns.  Many were obscured by trees or had fallen down completely.

Back at the park the loop of 20 sites was almost empty.  By 6 PM there were no more people at the remaining units, six trailers and 3 fifth wheels.  I walked over to the small lake and took pictures.  It looks like the park owner isn't going to rent the sites out for the higher price, or any price this weekend.  Never having owned a business, maybe I don't fully appreciate or understand the business  model and pricing.  I do on the other hand understand customer satisfaction and good will.  It seems to me they could have waived the extra fee knowing that they weren't going to rent the sites to anyone else.  Oh well we now are the closest unit to the lake, without paying extra.

Saturday June 18, 2016 Java Center (Buffalo), NY

This was the quietest Walmart Super-center we have ever stayed at overnight.  We were up at 6 and got started traveling right away,  We wanted to be in Buffalo to visit Jeff and his family as much as possible.  Jeff travels to Austin early Sunday morning on business.

With only 200 miles to drive, we thought we would be at the RV park in Java Center by noon.  The only delay we encountered was at the border crossing and that wasn't bad.  After the wait in line there were only a few routine questions and we were on our way.  While waiting in line we noticed that we were a dollar short in our change from the toll bridge from Michigan into Ontario.

We arrived at the park and got set up.  There is no sewer at the site and after we parked the trees blocked the DirecTV signal.  Of course then we found out the advertised wifi was only at the office and laundry room.  The only problem with no sewer connection was that we are here 3 nights with out dumping and Gerri had planned to do laundry.  There was the option of going to their dump station but that meant unhooking power and water and taking in the rooms or paying $12 to have the tanks pumped on Monday, hardly worth it.  We just changed laundry plans.  Even though the trees blocked the satellite TV we found 11 OTA stations.

After setting up we drove to Jeff's home about 25 miles away.  We visited during the afternoon.  They have a pool and Bryce and Reagan really enjoy it.  Bryce and Reagan like being in and around water so much they washed our Jeep.

For dinner we had tacos.  Their back yard borders a 5 acre parcel that is some type of conservation area and will not be developed, they have a gate that leads into the wooded area.






Since Jeff had to travel and the kid's bedtime was 8, we went pack to the RV park at about 7:30.

Taco time

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This RV park is a large area with some wooded areas, some clear areas and small ponds.  The have a pool and an activities building and a laundry room.  There are 180 sites with power and water and another 31 tent sites.  It is a really pretty area and the closest RV park to Jeff's home.

With several days of getting up early we weren't up very long after getting pack to the coach.  Not much was on TV, we read for a short time before calling it a day.

Friday June 17, 2016 London,Ontario, Canada

We were up having our coffee at 6 and ready for the tech to come pick up the coach.

We spent time in the customer lounge until 9:30 and then went to a Bob's Big Boy restaurant for breakfast.  We spent the rest of the day in the lounge.  I cancelled our reservation in Jefferson, OH.  I also sent a text to Jeff telling him we wouldn't be in Buffalo Saturday afternoon.

Our coach was finished and we had settled the bill by 4.  Chris McCord's wife was in a serious accident so he left by 3:30 and another person in the office settled up our bill.  He said she wasn't hurt, but I'll check back with him on Monday.

Upcoming bridge into Canada

We decided to hookup and start east toward New York via Port Huron and Canada.  Some other customers told us that there was a Walmart just across the bridge in Canada.  We crossed the border with no problem, only a few routine questions. We missed the turn to the Walmart.  We drove on to the next Walmart in London, Ontario.  We got there just as the sunset, about 9 PM.

We will have some internet, I signed up for a travel plan with Verizon, for $2 a day we can use our Jet Pack without incurring roaming charges.

We have about 200 miles to drive to Java Center, NY tomorrow.  We went to bed at about 10 PM.

Thursday June 16, 2016 Charlotte, MI

There was a thunder storm and a lot of rain during the early morning hours.  We were up at 6 AM.  I had to be at the office to check in with the service writer at 7.  I made the coffee and at 7 went to the office and Chris McCord wrote up my service order.  While I was doing that Gerri got the coach ready to move.  Even though we had an appointment the techs usually finish jobs from the day before first and then take in the new customers.

Michigan State Capitol in Lansing

We waited in the waiting room until 9 and then continued our days plans. First we drove to Lansing and continued our quest for pictures of state capitol buildings.  This is our third this trip.  It also is the third with rain and remodeling.





                                                              After the capitol building we drove on to Frankenmuth, MI to visit our friends David and Iva Starke.  We met them at a Spartan Chassis owners rally in Door County, WI several years ago and have met them on the road before in Salem, OR.  David grew up in Frankenmuth and they are here for about a month every year.  Frankenmuth is a German settlement and the businesses and homes reflect that heritage.  We had an early lunch at the very large Bavarian Inn Restaurant. https://www.facebook.com/Bavarian-Inn-Restaurant-53798181606/?pnref=story and then visited the Bronner's Christmas Wonderland.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronner%27s_Christmas_Wonderland  Bronner's is quite possibly the largest Christmas store in the world as the sales floor is 4 acres.

Although short our visit was great, a good meal with good friends.  We headed back toward Charlotte at 2:30  wanting to get back before the office closed.  We got back at 4:15.  Chris updated me on what had been done and what else was recommended as a result of the inspection.  We may be here most of tomorrow while they finish up the work.

After parking the coach and hooking up the power, I went to a nearby park and found two of the four caches in the park.  I didn't try to look for another two.  The grass was too tall and wet.  I don't know if they have chiggers this far north but I have met enough chiggers for now.

The delay here may cause us to change our plans on visiting the Barnharts in Buffalo, NY.  We had planned to be there Saturday afternoon and visit Jeff and his family that night.  Jeff is flying to Austin on business Sunday morning.  We will still go that route, since we have reservations ahead all the way to Saint John, New Brunswick.  I called Jeff and let him know of our possible changes in plans.  We made tentative plans to visit them on our return trip the last week of August.

Watching TV and reading along with a snack of sliced turnips and celery with peanut butter brought us to an early bedtime.  The peanut butter was with the celery, not the turnips.  BTW, the sun came out at 7:15 and then set at 9:20.  We have to be out of the coach at 7, so we will be up by 6 to get ready.

Wednseday June 15, 2016 Charlotte, MI

Awake this morning to thunder and rain at 5 AM.  I got back to sleep and the next rain cell came through at 8.  We had our coffee while waiting to see if Kevin could find some new windshield wipers, no luck.  Another rain storm came through at about 11.

The clock tower in Berne, IN, a Swiss village

After checking with a NAPA store and truck stop, I gave up on the wiper blade. We settled up the bill with Kevin and we pulled out of Kamp Kevin at about 11.  We decided to go to Charlotte via Decatur, IN for three reasons,  bad roads and detours in Van Wert, We needed to dump the tanks and I decided to pick up some items at the Fleetwood parts store.









The Fleetwood service center in Decatur is being remodeled with a new visitor center and RV parking.

By 2:30 we were on the way from Decatur to Charlotte with an ETA of 4:35.  We didn't have anymore rain along the way.  We arrived in Charlotte and were set up at the overnight area of Spartan Motors by 5 PM.

Gerri prepared a supper of cube steak, butter beans and tater tots.  I have to be at the office at 7 and have the coach ready for the service techs.  We went to bed after some TV and reading.  An alarm set for 6.

Tuesday June 14, 2016 Celina, OH

Kevin had other jobs scheduled this morning, so we didn't have to get up very early.  But we did anyway.  We had plenty of time for our coffee and catching up on computer stuff.

While some of the work was being done we had Kevin's grandson, Jordan, wash the coach  Even though the foretasted rain interrupted him the grime was taken off and the coach looks much better.

John made some adjustments inside the coach. The biggest problem was fixed, the batteries were replaced.  Kevin will have to check on the Techma toilet, how to fix it and what parts are needed.  The dash air problem will have to wait until Charlotte or when we come back through for the toilet repairs.

Gerri went out on the highway and got a few pictures near Grand Lake.

We had our Mexican restaurant leftovers for dinner.  With the time change and up early this morning we were tired and in bed by 10.