We left home around noon on Saturday, June 30, several hours behind schedule.  Although we had packed a lot the day before, there was still much to load and we also had some generator issues that delayed us.  Jerry had changed Bubba's oil and fuel filters and had some difficulty finding the right parts at Napa.  He decided to retrofit our generator to accept generic Napa filters but, upon readying to leave, the generator wouldn't run.  At 95 degrees, having the overhead air conditioners running was imperative to keeping us cool.  Our initial destination was the St. Louis area where we would park Bubba in the Route 66 KOA Campground while we visited family in the area.  We have stayed there before and it is very convenient to the retirement center where Jerry's Aunt Tootsie lives.  Jerry kept fritzing with the generator along the way and finally got it to run.  Yea!

When we arrived in St. Louis, it was 102 degrees - ugh.  We had originally planned to store Bubba, without hookups, for a couple of days while we stayed with Jim's cousin.  However, because it was so hot, we decided that we'd better rent a campsite, instead, so we could plug in and have power to keep Bubba cool.    

After settling Bubba into our campsite, we headed for Jim's cousin's house in House Springs, a suburb of St. Louis.  We had a wonderful visit with Jim and Gaye and enjoyed lunch the next day in "The Hill", a wonderful old Italian area in downtown St. Louis.  We then visited the St. Louis Museum of Science and Discovery and enjoyed an OmniMax film entitled "Rocky Mountain Express" about the building of the railroad across the Rocky Mountains.  Jim (aka Jabbo) is a railroad buff so he REALLY enjoyed the film.  

Monday morning, we said our goodbyes to Jabbo and Gaye and headed back to Bubba.  Ann had promised to cook a good old Arkansas country meal for Tootsie so she spent the afternoon cooking hog jowl, purple hull peas, turnip greens and cornbread.  We loaded up the food, leaving Harley behind, and headed to Tootsie's place.  Tootsie loved the meal so it was definitely worth it.  

On Tuesday, we picked up Tootsie and met her daughter and son-in-law, Dani and Dilip, at a restaurant called Global Quesadilla for lunch.  We had a nice visit with them and said our goodbyes around 2:00.  We took Tootsie back to her place then stopped off at Schnuck's, one of our favorite grocery stores, and loaded up on Lite Vienna Sausages, one of our favorite treats that we haven't been able to find in Fayetteville.  

We arose early on July 4 headed for Decatur, Indiana where we would visit the Fleetwood motorhome factory.  We camped at the Fleetwood service center.  The following morning, we spent over 3 hours touring the Fleetwood plant with Tom as our guide.  After the tour, we broke camp and had a leisurely drive to Lansing, Michigan where the temperature was still 100 degrees!  Where is the cool weather???????? 

Ann was awakened by Jerry on July 6, her 62nd birthday, to the sounds of "We're in the money, we're in the money", since this month, she would draw her first Social Security check.  Woo hoo!  Our destination for the day was Port Huron, MI, where we crossed into Canada.  Driving east, we checked off the province of Quebec in Bubba.  Just east of Montreal, we turned south heading down Lake Champlain, New York then over into Vermont then New Hampshire.

Observations about Vermont and New Hampshire:  Vermont had some decidedly upscale areas that had lots of "second homes", many of which were for sale.  It was also very rural with lots of family farms and lots of little towns.  In New Hampshire, we didn't see as many farms although there are many rural areas with people.  However, it appears that this area is supported more by tourism with lots of inns, restaurants, etc.    

Once we left New Hampshire, we entered Maine and drove all the way to the east coast.  We then detoured north to New Brunswick where we visited Campobello and camped for several days in a wonderful provincial park.  Our next stop was in Bar Harbor then southeast through Pemaquid and Portsmouth to Freeport for a visit to the home of L.L. Bean.  Next stop was Boston to spend several days reliving some of America’s past.  Then to Rhode Island and Connecticut to celebrate the 49^th state in which Bubba has traveled. 

Leaving Connecticut, we drove back into New York heading for the US Military Academy at West Point for a tour.  Wow!  Was it beautiful and impressive!  We then headed to Pennsylvania where we visited the National Civil War Museum.  Crossing Maryland, we spent some time in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia making a day trip to the Antietam Battlefield in Maryland. 

We then headed for the Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive which runs through it.  It was an incredibly beautiful and peaceful drive and we found a wonderful national park campground where we spent several days and enjoyed deer, rabbits and squirrels.  We hope to return someday.  Of course, when Skyline Drive ends, the Blue Ridge Parkway begins so we continued our journey through even more beautiful country.  The further south we drove, the hotter it got and by the time we reached Oxford, Mississippi where we would rendezvous with friends for the University of Central Arkansas vs. Ole Miss game, it was sweltering.  However, we managed to have a great time, in spite of the heat, and made our way back to Fayetteville to experience the hottest days of the year.  Wouldn’t you know it? 

Happy trails to you . . . til we meet again.