The Airstream factory, quiet beaches and more.

Our first trip heading East.

 Whenever we look at this great country and try to decide which way to travel we have always headed West, it always looks less crowded and more relaxing. Since my job change this is the latest we have been able to travel and weather played a big part in our decision. Everything North of Chicago was wet and cold and if we went to far south it was still in the 90's, so we tried to stay in the middle ground!

First stop Mirror Lake State park,  just about got washed away the night before but

it cleared by morning so we could get a nice walk in!

 Mirror Lake, Baraboo,Wi.

 A quick stop to stretch our legs in Northern IL.

 Indiana Dunes State Park, incredible place on the south shore of Lake Michigan.

We could not believe that we had these beaches to ourselves being so close to Chicago and Detroit?

I know it was the off season but we walked for hours letting the dogs run free, it was great!

 Michigan city light house, quite the waves! The next day all was calm!

 Chicago on the other side of the lake.

 I wondered what it does to home sales/value to have a nuclear power plant in the back yard? 

Do you market it as to having unlimited power for your TV?

 We were gone 11 days on this trip and we had rain 7 of them, it always cleared enough to get a walk in somewhere though! We have spent 44 days in the Airstream this year and this is the only rain we have had, it's been a good year.

 First time camping in a fairgrounds, there were a couple of other rv'ers but very quiet. Again we were the only ones walking around and it was fun to check things out. Like walking around a ghost town!

 Jan found half a friend:-)

 So quiet the dogs were able to run free again, they are starting to expect it now!

Next stop was the RV hall of fame!

 Jan found a new set of wheels, she looks pretty happy about it, maybe dreaming of being on the road by herself and a pack of little schnauzer pups!!

 Tjis popup is like the one my parents pulled all over the country!

It was funny that our 1954 airstream was older than the airstreams in the museum!

We found the Airstream factory in Ohio, first time staying in Ohio. It has been on our list to make it to the factory! It was good to do it once, maybe have to go back and see the new factory they are building? Otherwise it was hot and noisy but lots of shiny trailers around!

Jan needed some alone time:-)

This happens once in a while 6" short but this time I was smart enough to not unhook before checking!

A little quieter here then at the factory!

Managed to get a little spoon carving in and had a good place to display them:-)

I thought Henri was being a little to quiet, she decided she needed to do some excavating!! Guess I should start bringing grass seed with!

Another great place for lunch at Belvidere Park, IL.

Levels Lake State park totally changed color in the week we were gone, just beautiful when we returned!

We were reading all the memory plaques on the benches, I liked John's- being known as uncommon would be good!

Back at home in time for winter, Nellie is all set for hibernation! 

Thinking it will be a shorter rest this year:-)

Dreaming of another year of adventures, see you down the road!

Life changes and New adventures!

A blessing in disguise!
 The last year and a half has been a little too interesting at my second home -work! After an ownership change and now having my position eliminated I find myself looking at new options. I wasn't completely surprised but I still never imagined it would really happen! It is a hard way to leave a 31 year career! So after a few weeks of getting over being mad about the situation I am looking forward to options and most likely my own business and a more open schedule:-)
I think this is my dad and mom's doing(they are watching over us from above, Dad retired/left his 35yr career  at the same age) even though I am not retiring. Just moving on to a better option!
Time for the important things in life!

Family, travels and new adventures!

Four days after I was let go we had a scheduled trip to Minnesota's north shore of lake superior. 

we had a fantastic trip as far as the weather goes. We had just finished polishing and tuning up the Airstream, Nellie looked great. 

We spent two nights in Duluth, MN.

I purchased Nellie 10 years ago for $700, the Prevost diesel pusher in 2003 was $2,500,000

1954 26' Airstream 4500 pounds, 45' Prevost 45,000 pounds

What will the Prevost look like after 64 years????

 I think we will keep the Airstream!

We love camping here and watching the ships come off the lake!

Then we moved up the shore to Grand Marais, Mn. we love this town. The campground gets a little busy sometimes but with it being on the edge of town it's in a perfect location for great walks into town!

Sweethearts bluff above the campground.

 First stop in town is always the donut shop!

 Had a little carving time!

The campground has about 20 sites in the first row by the lake that are non-reservable 

so we always check for openings when we get there and we ended up in one of the best sites we could have asked for!

Also as another surprise and a first for us, there was a plein air artist painting event going on in town with over 100 artist painting scenes around town. Nellie our 1954 vintage airstream was painted four times. It was a lot of fun to visit with the artists and watch them create!

Mary, artist #1

We were not going to purchase any paintings but a close friend surprised us with Mary's painting, now she will travel with us!

Stephen Artist #2

Night-time painting by Stephen

Artist #3

As well as everything was going on this trip we were a bit on edge with our new life change and not sleeping well so after 7 nights we decided the best place to be was home.

It was a very interesting trip regarding the people that we met. People kept asking us how long we had been living in our airstream and how comfortable it was. We talked to more people and gave more tours then we ever have. There was definitely some new energy around us!

Now with grandchild number five coming any day and a new business with a more flexible schedule we are looking at brighter days ahead! 

After regrouping and settling into this new life a bit, Guess where we went next??

Stay tuned, the new adventures will be great!