The Quest for the Perfect Pickle

Just made it to Indiana.    At present, I am expected at Nexus RV next Wednesday.   I went to Ohio to visit my sister in Grove City.   I had planned to stay in the Kroger parking lot for two days and Walmart for one night but decided that one night in each would be enough and then  I would head out.

My sister and niece came to visit me and Miss Kitty which turned out to be lots of fun.  My niece is a vegan so she took me grocery shopping.   I have been reading this book on how to reverse diabetics and it said that basically you will have to become a vegan.   I plan on giving this a try and see what my numbers look like when I visit the doctor in October.

  My sister and niece

I checked into Jellystone Campground and Resort in Knightsville, IN,

on Tuesday evening but they only had water and electric sites available.   So I got up this morning and heading to Walmart to get my hair washed and then back to the RV to lock and dry my hair. What that meant was my touring for the day was cut short.

I was able to get to Carmel, IN, which is right outside of Indianapolis. They have a Arts & Design District.  This is really a cute area with galleries, specialty shops, boutiques, all kinds of restaurants and a great ice cream shop called Huddle Up.   Besides Troupe L'Oeil, I really like outdoor life like statues.   The streets are full in Carmel.

I did do some shopping at a cute boutique that I could not resist then on the Museum of Miniature Houses & Other Collections, Inc.   It is located on Main Street in a new building.  You have to ring the door bell for admittance.  The cost is normally $5 for adults but because I got there so late, the volunteer let me in for free.   My mom loved miniature anything.  This place would have been heaven for her.

This is a picture of the real house.  The two pictures above are the miniature version.

Tomorrow is another day with sightseeing and whatever else I can get into.   The Ruckus is August 4th so I have to conserve my energy for that.

I know you are wondering what the Pickle in the title has to do with anything.   Well, I love good dill pickles.   It is not easy to find them on the road.   My friend had introduced me to Claussen Dill Pickles that will hold me during my search.   What happened while I was in Ohio was that I searched high and low for these Claussen Pickles.   My niece kept asking me if I checked the cold section of the stores but I kept saying that I did not think they would be in the cold section.  Anyway, after going to numerous stores in the area and not finding the pickles, my niece insisted that I check the cold section when we were in Meijer.   To make a long story short....there was all kinds of Claussen pickles in the cold section.   Now that I

have a good source for dill pickles while I search in my travels for the perfect dill pickle,  I will be okay.

Louise

Heading to Gettysburg

I am sitting in Lancaster, OH at the Lakeview Campground writing this.   Beautiful campground...the park goes around the lake, so almost all sites have view of the lake.  What makes this campground unique is that you can learn to scuba dive.  The lake has a 50 ft deep spring fed quarry with underwater attactions strategically placed at various points in the lake.   I was sorry that I was only spending one night because I would have loved to have taken a lesson.   I was able to attend a performance at the bandstand by local country musicians.   There are no fire pits and the sites are small but with enough room for your slides and awnings.  The host and hostess are very nice and friendly.   Most of the people here are seasonal or monthly but I was told that there is usually a few spots open.   I got the last one for the evening.

The next part of my tale is about my time in MO.   After we picked up my friends truck at his cousins, I followed him to the capital, Jefferson City, where he lived.   It was an easy drive only 129 miles from St. Louis.  His friends started calling immediately and the invitations to barbeques began.

But first, I was told that we had to get the best ice cream in the country at the Central Dairy.  They also still deliver milk to your door.   I agree that the ice cream was fantastic.  The cost would break the bank....two scoops for $2.00.    He splurged and brought me a ice cream in a waffle cone, the bill was $5.25 for the both of us.

We drove by the capital but there was too much to do and see to stop.

I was also taken to the Canterbury  Hill Winery which is a restaurant as well as winery.

I loved how the patio was tiered down to the vineyard. A rainbow appeared just as we sat down.  

Very pretty and good wine.

I really ate good in Jefferson City.   I wish I had taken pictures of all the great food I ate and the people I met.  

One day, I was taken the Runge Nature Center  in Jefferson City.  The center highlights Missouri habitats of the wildlife, the fish and the forest.   The bobcat was hit by a car.  It seems they are migrating to MO.

Another day we took the back roads of Jefferson City to see the countryside. 

Every day of my week visit was an adventure. Everyone that I was introduced to was wonderful and made me feel welcome.   I think Jefferson City is a well kept secret and I hope it never gets spoiled.

Continuation of Maiden Trip

I am sitting in Effingham, IN, heading back to the Gettysburg, PA, area to have the hitch put on my tow car then head out not to return to about October.  I thought I would give you the next installment of my trip to MO.   As usual, my daughter found the perfect place to stop for the night so this makes a good time to tell you more about the trip.  The campground is Camp Lakewood.  The sites are large, with fire rings, 30 and 50 amp hookups, cable and WI-FI, all Pull thru sites (YEAH).  There is a lake facing me and when I went for a walk, people were fishing on the dock.  After the owner took me to my site, he came back with a cup for me to remember my stay.  The freezer had thawed  and I found out later that it was because I was very unlevel at my friends house, all food ruined, so I had pizza delivered and I am waiting on it while I am writing.


Day 4 continued-After we left the winery, we headed toward Makers Mark in Loreto, KY.  I had been there before with my son-in-law and daughter and do not drink bourbon, however the grounds are so beautiful that I was looking forward to going again.   We called and they told us that the parking was RV friendly, I do not agree unless you are very small.   My friend was able to get us into a tiny spot but if it had been me, I would have just turned around.  The road to the distillery is curvy and one lane so be prepared.

We signed up for the tour and was told that we had 20 minutes so we went to take pictures.

When I went with my daughter, it was a Sunday so we did not get the complete tour, this time we did since it was during the week.  Don't expect a large  operation, it  is very small.  We got to watch from making the labels to dipping the bottles in the red wax.

Shutters

Vats full

Labels being made

tour guide

kegs fermenting the brew

bottles being filled

corks and more corks

After the tasting, we contacted my daughter again and told her she was doing so well, could she find another site for us.   She texted back that she had found a place in IN that would be on our route called Horsehoe Bend RV Park.   We called, and was told that the camp host would not be there and pick any spot that was open.   Not long afterwards, the NOAA broadcast came on telling us that there was  a tornado in the area.  Checking the map, we found we  were heading right for  the area the tornado, wind, hail was expected. We found  a  Kroger grocery store and decided that if it got bad, we would at least be able to go into the store and wait it out.   We fired up the generator, got food from Kroger to heat up, turned on the AC and TV, had lunch.   Nothing happened.  Off again heading to the campground.   

It had started to rain really hard when we arrived and I had to parallel park, I picked the longest area I could find.   We used the generator during the heaviest of the rains but I went out and hooked up the electric when the rain lighten up.    Later, my friend called me to come outside, nature was putting on a light show across the river.  It was beautiful.

Day 5-The next morning, I woke to this scene. 

We were parked beside the Ohio river.  

The campground hostess came by and we talked for quite sometime about my plans and the care and feeding of a RV.  Horseshoe Bend is a very small campground, full hookup, friendly staff and well maintained.

Off to St. Louis, and my first time seeing the arch.  Since my daughter was doing such a great job finding campsites, we asked her to find something near St. Louis so he could show me the arch and other sites.  She texted that she had found a campground near a Metro at the Casino Queen on the Illinois side of the river.  

Well, it sounded good to us, so we put the address in the GPS and was off.   We both agreed that we would just go straight to the campground and sight see in St. Louis rather than stop and get in late.  He had no idea you could overnight at a casino and that some had campgrounds.  Since neither one of us gambles, the allure of seeing the casino was not there.   We checked into the campground that has full hookup, good security, level, and with a view of the arch from Miss Kitty.

Miss Kitty was tucked in and then we called security to take us to the Metro which turned out to be so close that we decided we would walk when we came back.   First stop was the arch.  It was very impressive, we did not go up in it because he had so much to show me of the area but I was so happy to have finally seen it.

He said that we were close enough to walk to  his favorite restaurant which is a cajun restaurant.  I received a lesson about the area as we walked.

Food was out of this world.  When we walked up, I was sure that it was a dive and he had made a mistake. It is called the Broadway Oyster Bar .

I would highly, highly advise you to go here if you like good cajun creole food.

Bathroom wall

Met some wonderful people, they took pictures of us and we took pictures of them.  But we had to leave, St. Louis awaited.

We walked to one of the numerous city parks and watched the children playing in the water.

We decided if the children could do it, so could we.   Frankly, the water felt quite good.  

This song came to mind when I was standing in the water

We then took  the metro to the Loop, looking in the shops and watching the people.  He wanted to go to the MoonRise Hotel  for a drink on the roof terrace.

We left the area and took the Metro to LaClede's Landing and because the area was quite dead, we ended up at the Morgan Street Brewery where the barmaid made me a drink she had made up that she called Hawaiian Punch.   It really taste like Hawaiian Punch.  She wrote down the recipe and signed it.  Back to Miss Kitty and some needed sleep. 

Day 6- we went to pick up his truck and then I followed him to his home where his friends had planned barbeques and good fun.   

I will try to get up a little more about my week in MO on my way back to MD to pick up my tow car..

Have a good evening