2024 August 05, Monday - Alaskan Cruise - And away we go!!!

5:02 AM, ugg, way toooo early! BUT, we're bright eyed & bushy tailed (so to speak) and ready to go! - (The blob off my right shoulder was a young lady I decided needed to be blanked out)

We choose to do a five day land cruise before boarding the ship in Seward, AL on Friday, Aug 9th. We flew into Fairbanks, but to do that we had a connecting flight in Seattle, WA with a 2-1/2 hour layover, then onto Fairbanks. I think the plane left MSP around 7 AM, but by the time we got to Fairbanks and 3 time zones, I think it was around 3ish. It was a long day!

One of the many glaciers we flew over between Seattle & Fairbanks.

Whatttt? yet another glacier!!!

One last one before I move on!

I think, not sure, this could be Mt Denali, formally Mt McKinley!
This was about 15min before landing in Fairbanks!
More on that in another posting!

We landed.... finally! Pikes Landing was the placed we stayed for two nights, it was an very nice place!

They even had a reindeer and grizzel bears outside our back door, albeit they were statues, that counts, right?

In our room, a tired and grateful Starr.
I think we went to bed pretty early (Alaska time) that night

 

!!BANG!! And a couple of scratches on our rig!!

 On January 6th, 2023 around 2:30 in the afternoon we were returning to the mainland of Florida after spending 4 glorious nights down in the Florida Keys, sightseeing all the islands down to Key West. We were just entering the southern outskirts of Homestead Florida, a southern suburb of Miami, heading to our next SOWER project in Steward, FL. We were coming up to an intersection as the light turned yellow, thinking I had plenty of time to breeze thru it before it turned red I continued on. I was mistakened. According to two witnesses, the light was red when I entered the intersection (in my mind, I still disagree). I broadsided (T-boned) a car going thru the intersection which in turn, sideswiped a car across the intersection. The speed limit was 45mph, the momentum was enough that when I hit the car, it spun the truck around 180 degrees forcing the passenger side to hit the side of the trailer effectively tipping trailer over. The fifth wheel hitch was ripped out the box of the truck, which is quite a feat when you consider it's bolted to the frame of the truck. I do not remember seeing the car, I remember hearing a "BANG", I remember seeing a white flash (I think it was the airbag), I remember thinking "What the...". Then it was over. The truck was saying over and over "You were in an accident, 911 has been called...". The back of the truck was against the signals pole. Starr was shouting "it's on fire, get out" (turns out it was the smoke from the airbags) and "I lost my phone, I can't find my phone" (We did find it). Starr did lose on of her hearing aids, never did find it. There was a fire truck, ambulance type vehicle across the street at a convenience store that saw the whole thing (one of the witnesses) they rushed over and had us sit down inside and made sure we we alright. I had no cuts or bruises, Starr had the seatbelt bruise thing going on (across the waist and up between the boobs to her shoulder). Fortunately, there was no one on the sidewalk. The man in the car broke a tooth and possibly a bloody nose, the car he hit the gals had no injury's. God was watching over us, none died, no one was carted off in an ambulance. Big Red & Boo (our trailer) both were totaled. Still working thru some of that. We recovered close to 90% of our stuff. We had more or less just bought groceries, so the refrigerator was full, we no place to to put it.

The final resting spot

Driver' side

Tool box in the back of the truck

Boo sitting in the impound lot. Whenever we came to clear our stuff out they had put a forklift under the front end to keep it stable, that's how damaged it was. They would not let me on the roof to get the solar panels because of the unstableness.
If you look real close, you can still see the hitch is still on the trailer.

Freezer, Note my box of ice cream bars, upper right corner!!

And the fridge! That thing must have stunk to high heaven by the time it got picked up!

Location Check-in: Niagara Falls, NY

 

We are at Niagara Falls, NY! And, of course, The falls themselves!

I was pretty impressed with the falls!

Staying at KOA Lewiston, NY, a little north of the Falls!

Rode the trolley around Goat Island, that actually splits the two falls.

American Falls in the forefront, Horseshoe Falls in the background

View from the Canadian side, we walked across the Rainbow bridge!
We were suppose to have our passports with us besides ours Drivers License, they let us in, but not without a "lecture"!

Heading back to the USA

American side, to walk to Canada

Entrance to the park!

Location Check-in: Near Erie Pennsylvania !

 

The Grove Golf Course

10760 Donation Rd, Waterford, PA 16441

Another find on our Harvest Host App!

Really good food here, reasonably priced! 

Splurged and tried their Margaritas, those were mighty tasty also!

Tomorrow we touch down in New York & Niagara Falls!

Location check-in: Near Toledo, Ohio

 

Overnighted at the Whiteford Valley Golf Club 7980 Beck Rd, Ottawa Lake, MI! 

Just outside of Toledo, Ohio

Location Check in - South Bend, Indiana

As of today we are currently in South Bend, ID! Camped out at the company parking lot where we got our Lithium batteries and solar installed last year, stopped by as long as we passing thru to get a check up also to get a Bluetooth mechanism installed on them so we can check the charge left on the batteries from our phone. We will be leaving here Wednesday heading for Cousin Carol's in upstate NY!

 

Summer 2022 in Minnesota don't ya know!!!

What a summer! How quickly its flying by! After SD we landed at Piepenburg campground, a McLeod county park near Hutchinson MN. We were there from 6/12 thru 6/27. Fifteen nights to slow down, catch up on rest. While there I "gutted" the fresh water plumbing system and replumbed it using all PEX type tubing and the corresponding tube crimps.

Fun things we did, Drove a tractor in the Glencoe days parade, Started poring the last half of the parade! My son Rob took part in the festivities, he volunteered to be the cow for Coburn grocery store. Gotta admit the boy had nice udders!!

Spent a few days at Wild River State Park near North Branch. My sister Joanne came to visit every day, it was a wonderful memory!

From there we headed to Starr's sister's in Park Rapids to camp out in their driveway for two nights as we waited for our reservation to open up (it was 4 o July weekend) at La Salle S.P. 

From there we went Hayes Lake S.P., NW MN. 

From there we headed up to Beatrice Lake Campground (McCarthy Beach S.P.), north of Hibbing, beautiful park, wonderful sandy bottom beach, however, we decided that it's not conducive to a 35' 5th wheel, did some minor damage, but hey, live and learn! While we were there Starr's sister Colleen and her daughter Jenny and her two kids came to spend the day with us. Her friend Alice also came to visit and spend a couple nights. It was during Alice's stay that we convinced Starr that she should have surgery ...... ran to Grand Rapids for an MRI

Beginning of the parade, Glencoe days

And.... here comes the rain!!

That's my Boy!!!

Add with head attached!!

 

Our camp site at Beatrice Lake, took 30 min to get it in place!

What kind of a bird is this Starr??? @ Wild River!

One of the visitors at Wild River

My sister Joanne, Starr & me!
We had lunch at the Drive Inn, Taylor Falls!
Great Root Beer!!!