2018 03 20 Day before Spring. 03 21 Spring is here.

French Creek State Park, near Hopewell Furnace, Elverson, PA - Sunday, March 18, 2018

After our hike, we returned to a pretty deserted camping area. The basic two-man tent across the street (to the right of the signage) and the Airstream next door.  

A tight squeeze since the coach takes up most of the site pad so the truck has to be angled in between the slide out, the boulders and the trees. 

Dogs are happy that we can let them out off leash for a bit. 

4th Nor'easter Arrives - Tuesday, March 20, 2018

And so it begins...starting with some freezing rain then changing over to large, heavy snowflakes. Continued all night with an accumulation of about 8 inches.

Tori may look dejected but she really loves snow. 

Looks like we are snowed in until Spring.  WAIT! It is Spring.  

The lines at the grocery store were several carts deep and stacked over the top. We can hunker down for a couple days and wait for things to improve. 

Stop action of Dakota enjoying the freedom of a good run. We had taken them in to Petsmart for feet trimming yesterday and so glad we did. This stuff gets packed in her fur. 

Tori loves a good run through the snow too. Her coat is better designed for easily removing the snow. 

Thank you, Ranger, for plowing our street. We didn't get service this great at our house. He has been past about 4 times today and always plows away from our site. Our Christmas gift from Kristen smiling through all this wild weather. The awnings are not being deployed any time soon. Watch that first step, it could be a little tricky. 

By 3:30pm we had a foot of snow. For anyone who was worried about the weather worthiness of our coach, I think the days of rain in Kentucky and Ohio plus the 13 degree weather in South Carolina and now the snow in Pennsylvania has proven it can handle extremes. No, that does not mean we are going to venture up the east coast or to Minnesota or Wisconsin. Sitting inside is one thing. Driving in this is a totally different story. 

The guy across the street from us left his folding table and two-man tent under a walled tarp. The tarp has blown over on the right so all his stuff is buried. And we are expecting the snow to continue until 8pm. That means snow coming down for over 29 hours. 

There is a lot of snow up on the roof that must be removed before we can leave. Pennsylvania laws require removal of snow from trailers. If you don't and it slides off in transit causing an accident there will be fines and possibly jail time for the driver.

Working on shoveling the snow off the roof. The slides are especially tricky since leaning over while standing is not an option. Sitting on the roof is safer. I am too short to navigate the ladder so I take the shovel to the mounds around the coach. Have to make sure our path is clear so we can get out. 

The roof is all cleaned off and we are leaving in the morning. Good job, Bob.
Next Stop Prince William Forest Park, run by the National Park Service, about 30 miles south of Washington DC, near Manassas Battlefield. Sounds like a day trip in our future.   

2018 03 12 Friendship Village, Bedford, PA. 03 18 French Creek St. Park, Elverson, PA

Bedford, PA - March 11-17, 2018

Friendship Village - Nice place except for the lack of water, even after we called to recheck that water was available at the site. Just cannot understand how they can make that kind of mistake. 

So water was an issue the whole week we were there and required us to haul jugs from the bath house every morning. Lucky for us the bath house was not far from our site and the water didn't need to be filtered. 

Jean Bonnet Tavern, formerly the Fork Inn. This property was transferred within 690 acres from an agent of the William Penn family to a land speculator and then in 1762 to Robert Callender, an Indian trader who was also a commissary for troop supplies, and later, a scout for General George Washington. This building, with its native stone walls, massive fireplaces and chestnut beams, was built during Callender's ownership. In mid-1794, Pennsylvania farmers, angered by the federal excise tax on whisky, met here. In October of that year, troops led by President George Washington camped here on their westward journey to quell the Whiskey Rebellion insurrection. 

The namesake, Jean (John) Bonnet, and his wife purchased the property in 1779. He was issued a license "for keeping Public House..."

The three story building today has B&B rooms on the top floor, a casual dining area on the second floor and the more "formal" dining on the first floor. 

The walls are over two feet thick, constructed of cut field stones. We celebrated our 38th Anniversary and had a delicious dinner of lobster ravioli for Bob and crab cakes, the house specialty, for me. 

Our travel day on Saturday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, began with this sunrise. Bob's idea of a good time. Thanks, but I prefer sunsets. Less interference with my sleep cycle. 

We rarely had any company in our section so it was a very quiet stay. 

Frosty grass every morning and several days with snow showers. 

The ice was beginning to reform on the big lake from all the freezing temperatures. 

Our well trained dogs heed the "No Pets Allowed on Porch" sign.  

The Koontz Coffee Pot, originally along the Lincoln Highway, was built in 1927, an 18 foot high lunch place. After the highways bypassed the Lincoln Highway and ownership changed hands several times, it closed for a decade or so while time took its toll. Preservationists saved it in 2003. The Bedford County Fair Association paid $1 to purchase the Pot which was moved and restored for $80,000. We have contradicting information on its current use and freezing weather kept us indoors so this is the only photo, taken on our way out of town.  

Berks County, PA - Saturday, March 17, 2018

After setting up camp at French Creek State Park near Hopewell Furnace, we visited Kristen and her new German Shepherd puppy, Kilo. So adorable. 

We played and wrestled with him until he finally had to call it quits and nap on the floor, too tired to go the 5 feet to his crate.  

He wouldn't even raise his head when we were getting ready to leave. 

Hopewell Furnace, PA - Sunday, March 18, 2018

Kristen and Abby brought Kilo for his first visit with our girls. As we thought, Dakota was fine until he kept smacking her on the head. Tori eventually would walk next to him but both had to be kept on short leashes so they didn't cross paths. All in all, it was a good walk for us and a challenge for Kilo. He was so tired by the end that he was sitting or laying down every time we stopped to look at something. 

Found our way to Hopewell Lake so Kristen could introduce Kilo to water. He was not enthused even after Tori led the way by wading in. All he wanted was to drink the water. Not a good idea with all the ducks and geese plus horse trails, all washing down into the lake. Abby enjoyed the 50 degree weather and wonderful sunshine. 

Kilo has no interest in wading into the lake...

...even after Tori made her second foray. The water was cold but not icy. To be fair though, Dakota would not wade in either.  

Hopewell Lake is a man-made body. Dakota near the dam overflow. 

The Hopewell Furnace

Dakota shows off her jumping skills. 

Since we had the dogs with us, we could not go in the Ironmaster's house.

2018 02 27 - 03 05 Columbus, OH, Chicago IL, Columbus, OH

Prairie Oaks Metro Park, Galloway, OH - February 27, 2018

Our first attempt at taking the dogs on a hike ended in a soggy, muddy pair of boots and pups. Our trail became a second river of water. With no way around it we backtracked to our truck, encouraging the dogs to walk through puddles, and took the more traveled and graveled  road. The Darby Creek was still within its banks and the feeder creeks in the park were gurgling and chattering in their dance downstream to merge with the Darby. 

After three days of continuous rain (Ohio had over 5 inches of rain in February) it was great to finally get out of the RV. It was cool in the mid-40s with a little breeze, clear skies and massive amounts of beautiful sunshine. Apparently, a 7.5 mile walk is just the thing to satisfy the dogs. 

Giordanos Pizza, downtown Chicago, Illinois - March 2, 2018

Our friends, Tony and Ann, across the street from our former house, told us about a really good pizza place. We had almost given up on finding a crispy thin crust pizza. We knew Chicago was famous for its deep dish pies but that is not to our taste. For over 20 years in Columbus, we had enjoyed the pizza of the local mom-and-pop (with grandmas, grandpas and cousins) shop around the corner from us. Giordano's thin crust was delicious and as close as we are likely to get.  

Kristen had driven in from Pennsylvania to stay with us before we all flew to Chicago. She may have missed Enrico's in Columbus but she was just as happy as we were with this one. 

And the best part was that this location was within walking distance of our hotel on W. Adams Street. 

Friday Night Welcome, Chicago, Illinois - March 2, 2018

The bride, Michaela (second from right) with her grandmother, Jene and cousins. 

Chicago River, Chicago, Illinois - March 3, 2018

We were very happy to take a walk around downtown in the sunshine even with the breezy conditions. We walked over the Chicago River. The round building on the left is interesting with the lower levels for parking and every apartment (or condo) has a large balcony. 

Millennium Park "Bean". If you look very closely barely over my right shoulder you can see Bob in his black hat taking our picture. 

The outdoor ice skating rink with the "Bean" in the background. On our way back to the hotel we stopped at a local sushi shop for something to tide us over until dinner after the wedding. 

Michaela and Byron were married at the Rookery. A historic landmark in the Loop it was completed in 1888 by John Wellborn Root and Daniel Burnham and considered one of their masterpiece buildings. It is twelve stories high and considered the oldest standing high-rise in Chicago. The lobby was remodeled in 1905 by Frank Lloyd Wright. The name of the building not only referenced the crows and pigeons that inhabited its exterior walls but also the shady politicians it housed.

The white curtains are used to cover the windows of the businesses in the glass-covered court and makes for a lovely backdrop with the glittering interior steel framing decoratively detailed with white marble and Persian-style ornamentation.  

The Rookery Light Court being set up for the reception. 

The bride and groom with the bride's parents, Mike and Julie Douglas.

The Douglas siblings - Mike, Betty, Tom, Bob and Jim.

Riverwalk, Chicago River, Chicago, Illinois - March 4, 2018

Kristen, Bob and I took another long walk around the Loop area. 

We had a nice lunch at the Elephant & Castle before flying back to Columbus. Bob remembered where he had eaten during his many business trips while working at the bank. 

The Rail, Dublin, Ohio - March 5, 2018

We met our neighbor, Edie, at a new restaurant. We aren't quite sure why the logo has an upside-down cow on it but the food was good and the company was too. Very busy place for a Monday night. We were told all the beer and food came from Ohio.