RV campgrounds

A goose on the lake

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If you have been following Roadtirement, you know we have been getting out of the house and going to some RV parks to get away from our COVID-19 “isolation”. We went back to the Thousand Trails Indian Lakes campground in Batesville.

Calm lake view

This park has great paved roads for bicycle riding, and there are no large hills that are hard to climb. The pretty scenery also is nice for walks. It is nice to get away in our motorhome and to know that we are in a safe environment. Having our own self contained “house on wheels” means we do not have to use public facilities at all.

It has been reported that RV sales are booming as many have discovered the having your own facilities is safest during the coronavirus pandemic. We talked (at a safe distance of course) to a fellow who had just bought an new motorhome so he and his wife could travel safely. They were on their first time out with their new rig.

Stay safe as you start to get back out, friends, stay safe!

Wild looking critter

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I had just got back from my morning walk and was sitting outside at the table enjoying a cup of coffee when I noticed something on Sher’s bike.


I have never seen a caterpillar quite like this one before. Not sure why it liked the soft plastic handlebar grips on the bike.

We are back on the road again enjoying a few days at this very nice park that is part of the Thousand Trails system. The weather is just delightful today. It was cool this morning and the temps now at mid day are in the low 70s. It is so nice that the heat has finally broken and there is a hint of fall in the air.

Relaxing and enjoying

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We’re at another RV park for a few days. This one is in Ohio between Columbus and Cincinnati. This one is gated, with the code provided so the checkin was contactless.

There are lots of rigs, but few people. Probably real busy on the weekend.


The weather is very nice, great for windows open sleeping and comfortable during the day for walking or riding bikes. We’re still being very cautious and doing the “social distancing” things.

This year has been a wreck. Coronavirus, the economy, protests, fires, hurricanes and of course “Political Stuff “. Sher and I are grateful to be able to get back out on the road. Our spirits are raised and we’re feeling more optimistic about things…

Stay safe friends!

Back to longer stays at RV Parks

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Sher and I have been pretty much staying at home, wanting to avoid that COVID-19 virus. We took a trip a few days ago and walked around in Vincennes, Indiana. We were anxious to get out and on the road again, however, and decided that we’d try out staying in an RV park see if we felt safe being in that environment.

We found what looked like a very nice park not that far from our home base. It was part of the Thousand Trails, a membership program where you pay a yearly fee and are then able to access RV Parks without any further fees.  We felt that by having only 10 nights of stays at these parks, we’d pay for the membership, anything beyond that would be no charge.

The Thousand Trails Indian Lakes Resort in Batesville, Indiana turned out to be a good choice for our first time out for a park. We had reservations, and did have to go into the gate house to get the dash board slip and the gate “key”. I would have preferred a no contact check in, but the lady did not let anyone else in while I was taking care of check in. Yes, she and I both had masks on.

We easily found an open site (sites are first come, first served). Back in on a level gravel drive with a nice shade tree. There was a concrete pad and permanent State Park style grill. The power pole and the water bib were  clear at the back of the site. It took almost all of our electric cable  to plug in, and both our water hoses.  Our T Mobile service was not very strong, but at least we could open email and access a few web pages.

A colorful sunset is a good way to end the day

We found that we felt safe at this park. We could hike around the park, and there were never so many folks that you could not keep the proper social distance. We chatted with some fellow campers, at a distance of 20 feet at least! By bringing all of the supplies we need, there was of course no need to go to any stores. We think we have found a safe way to travel, at least until there is a treatment or cure for the coronavirus. Oh yeah, we’re heading out again next week.

Cautiously getting back to traveling

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I guess we had had enough of the isolation, staying at home, watching the RV sitting in the driveway and general boredom. We decided that we would venture out for a short duration trip to see what the world was like in person. Sher and I knew we could not just take off without preparation. I’m in the age and underlying health issues related group. Neither of us want to get the virus. We wanted little or no physical contact with either things and/or of course people.

Preparing the RV

We had plenty of fresh water, the gray and black water tanks were empty.  We planned our daily menus, and had more than enough food and drink on board, so there was no need to go to a store. And of course we started with a full gas tank. The RV had not been used other than a couple of day trips since we got back from Texas in February (Before COVID seems like years ago…) so we dusted the inside, put up a new shower curtain, and added a new bedspread and loaded supplies.

Roadtirement back on the road

The RV Park

We found an RV Park about 10 miles north of Vincennes, Indiana, our first destination. They accepted Passport America for half price camping. That was good. But how to interact with the office? I did not want to have to go into it. I called and the park owner completely understood my wanting a “no contact” payment. No problem, they had a mail slot at the office, great for depositing our check. The park layout also was great, as there was plenty of room between sites.

Yep, that’s us being COVID tourists

Sightseeing

We were out and about mid week, thus avoiding what might have been large crowds on the weekends. As it turned out, there were very few people around where we walked about. We saw very few people wearing masks, which is now mandatory in Indiana. Social distancing was not really a problem, as there were only a couple of times where we moved away from nearby pedestrians.

In conclusion

We so enjoyed getting back on the road and staying in an RV Park. Sher and I both had a great time seeing the historic sites and monuments in Vincennes and then in French Lick on the second day. We do not yet feel safe going into for example any restaurants , wineries or antique shops. The frustrating part was seeing some places open and not feeling safe going in.  But, we had our own bathroom, food, and our house on wheels made for a very safe  “No Contact” outing. We’ll add some posts about the neat stuff we saw, complete with pictures soon.

Souvenir from a Jellystone Park

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A while back Sher and I met a lot of our family members at an RV campground near Cleveland, Ohio. We stayed at a franchised campground with a Jellystone Park theme. Yes, right from the cartoon series with Yogi Bear, BooBoo, Cindy and the hapless Ranger.  We had a wonderful time as this was a perfect place for family activities.

Souvenir ornament

Souvenir photograph

 

 

 

 

 

 

The “Airstream” style ornament , while Christmas themed, is now permanently hanging from the window over our table in the RV. This souvenir is cute, lights up and reminds us of that fun time we all had at the Jellystone Park RV resort.

Do any of you collect souvenirs from your travel adventures?

Please Remember to  Stay Safe and Stay Healthy 

Austin’s La Hacienda RV Resort activity

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We were pleasantly surprised to see an announcement that the RV resort where we were staying was offering a “Paint and sip” type activity. For $20 each, the park offered to provide all the materials needed to create your own masterpiece.  Sher and I had enjoyed a similar type event last year in Seattle, so we decided to sign up.

Sher getting her design layout on the canvas

Paint that RV’s door!

 

 

 

 

 

The technique for this event was different from what we had done before. Instead of an instructor doing a step by step, we were given a line drawing and carbon paper. That resulted in a rough sketch transfer onto the canvas.

The finished products!

The final results came out pretty well, I’d say. Sher and I enjoyed  the chance to drink some wine, interact with fellow RV park patrons, and create a couple of “masterpieces”.

Roadtirement’s 2019 revisited

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My gosh has this year gone fast, or what?  We started the year traveling from Indiana to Harlingen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley. Park Place RV Resort was our home for two months.  Some pure tourist type stuff was of course a requirement in the new to us area. The border with Mexico, those daunting US Border Patrol SUV’s and the fence/wall were eye openers for us. We enjoyed the sights of Port Isabel and the beaches of South Padre Island. That 55+ RV resort living helped us realize that we liked being “Winter Texans”!

Nice concrete patio at our site in Harlingen.

One day we went to the border wall in Brownsville.

The Port Isabel lighthouse

We spent some time in March with family in Austin, then back to Indiana. It took a bit to get back into being in the Midwest again, but there was lots we did over the summer. We try to go to as many musicals as we can at Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre in Indianapolis. An excellent buffet and even better show make for a great evening out. In May we also set up at the US Highway 40 Yard sale in Dunreith, a small town  between Greenfield and Richmond, Indiana. For four days folks travel the highway looking for treasures and bargains.

Musical “Hairspray” at Beef and Boards

Our set up for the Highway 40 Yard Sale

 

 

 

 

 

Camping with kids and grand kids became a fun past time this summer. We took our RV and our kids brought their tent(s) for themselves and any of the grand kids that could come along. An Ohio State Park, US Forest Service Recreation Area, and a Jellystone Park RV resort served us well. Never a dull moment when camping, especially in West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest after a toad strangler of a rain which flooded a tent. Yes, we were able to sleep 6 fairly comfortably in our 24′ Class C Four Winds. We had to use an alternate route to leave the area as the main road was washed out.

Spacious campsite in the Monongahela National Forest

West Virginia’s Horseshoe Rec Area

Our campsite, tent is out of site on the left

Entrance to the Ohio State park, lake in the background

Gorgeous end to the day at Ohio’s Kaiser Lake State Park

Another summer highlight was our trip to Niagara Falls. The guided tour was definitely worth the cost. The small Gray Line tour bus picked us up at our RV campground. The tour was all inclusive, including of course the famous Maid of the Mist boat ride taking you into the soaking up close view of the falls. If you have not been to Niagara Falls, go!

Here we are after our Maid of the Mist adventure. That is the American Falls barely visible between us.

Restaurant view of the Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls. The food was good, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sher and I were pretty busy during the summer, including some additional selling at several town festivals. By the time the end of October came around we were ready to head back out on the road and head south once again. We had talked before about visiting the Diamond Mine State Park in Arkansas. The weather had been rather wet, but we decided that it would be a great time to check this place out on our way back to Texas. We went and had a ball. No diamonds found, and the muddy ground was hard to traverse. But, we have a bucket of neat rocks for our rock garden.

Getting ready to head to the muddy field and begin our search for diamonds

Here I am shovel ready to find one of those huge diamonds shown in the picture next to me

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to Texas with a quick stop in Texarkana. There the courthouse is positioned literally on the Arkansas/Texas State line. Interesting to say the least. We stopped at our family’s place in Austin for a couple of days before we went to our spot at the La Hacienda RV Resort in Austin. The La Hacienda is a Sun Resort property, complete with all the expected facilities. We have been here since the first of November. The past two months have given us a chance to explore the Austin area. The Hill Country is filled with wineries, breweries and distilleries. Yep, we have enjoyed more than one of these establishments.

A beautiful Saturday at the Bull Creek Park in Austin

Los Pinos restaurant is only 1/4 mile from our RV Park!

 

 

 

 

 

 

2019 has been quite the adventure for Roadtirement! We can’t list everything, but know that we have had a great year. In figuring up where were have been, we discovered that in 2019 we actually lived 5 out of 12 months as Winter Texans. This could get to be habit forming! We are going to start 2020 by going to Seattle to visit our daughter and her family in January. Stay tuned, we’ll fill you in!

Wishing you and yours and all our friends a safe and prosperous New Years!

Maj and Sher