September 21 and 22, 2017 - Latrobe, PA

Hi everyone.
We left Morgantown early Thursday to get up to Latrobe, PA where Tom made a commitment for a friend that involved caddying for 2 rounds of golf.  It was an all day commitment, and ended up being a little tiring. 

By the time this picture was taken, Tom had already walked 18 holes, had lunch and was preparing for another 18 holes.

Thursday evening we had an evening meal up at the clubhouse.  Every wall had pictures of Arnold Palmer taken with many famous personalities, displayed on the walls.

...and display cases of trophies he had won throughout his career.

Thursday evening, we stayed at one of the houses nearby so that Tom could get up early.  There was enough room for a small gathering on the property...as well as enough room for a larger gathering.

Out on the back deck, there is a view of one of the Tee boxes.  Too bad it wasn't the first hole as Tom had to walk to get there.

On Friday, Tom got up early, and happily, to play golf at the same course that he caddied at the day before.  The first hole at Latrobe looking down over the hill.

The 18th hole looking up at the clubhouse. 

Up on the left side of the 18th hole, there is a carving of a tree stump in the likeness of Arnold's father, "Deke".

Tom had a good day at golf and shot a 79...that is if you subtracted the 10 strokes that Arnie's greens cost him on the slick and curvy greens.

After the morning's adventure, we headed off to Carlisle for the evening stop.  On Saturday, we will be doing our last long day on the road.  We will be visiting some college friends in Connecticut.

Thanks for checking out where Grammie has been.

September 17, 2017

Hi everyone.  We are finally in the Eastern Time Zone, about 850 miles from home, and just a couple of more quilt shops to visit and golf courses to play.
On the 15th, we left Hannibal MO, but not until another visit to the downtown area.
We wanted to see the Molly Brown Museum, the birthplace of the Unsinkable Molly Brown of Titanic fame, but is only open during the summer tourist season.

We went downtown and separated ways, Alice to fabric shops and Tom just browsing.  On the way back towards the van, we were walking back to the van on opposite sides of the street, Alice not knowing that Tom was on the other side.  Just before Alice got back to the car, Tom pushed the Panic button on his car key FOB.  As Alice was digging for her key, Tom happened to notice a guy sitting on a bench, having a good chuckle about Alice, all the time waiting for his wife at another fabric store that Alice was heading towards. Tom sat down besides Jerry...and Jerry, the other guy and Tom spent about a half hour just chatting.  Alice came back out first and we told Jerry about the Missouri Star Quilt Company we had been to.  In a few minutes, his wife came out and Alice started to tell Jerry's wife about the quilt stores in Hamilton.  They started chatting, walking down the street towards another shop, and Jerry and Tom continued chatting.  When they got back we all chatted for a few more minutes and just as we were about to get up, Alice mentioned something about the Ice Cream Store right behind us.  Tom said that he felt like Forrest Gump, sitting on the bench all the time and the Ice Cream store was right behind him.

This picture is not of Jerry, but probably someone that does Mark Twain talks during the tourist season.

We wanted to see more of the Mississippi River and took off towards Louisville on a winding road.

Headed towards St Louis, we drove by the Arch where we had been before in 2012. We spent the night at Scott Air Force Base and had our evening meal at Food Truck night.  Vendors come to the base with trucks selling all sorts of food.  We sat and chatted with another couple (retired military) who try to do a 10K run in each state.

Driving through the city, there were several signs updating the reason we like to live in the country.

Last night, 16th, we spent the evening in Cincinnati visiting with a former student, Cincinnati Jane, and husband Dave.  After catching up a bit, questions were asked about former classmates/students, and out came the yearbooks.  It was a good evening.  Thanks Jane

Today, we arrived in Morgantown, WV for the next 4 nights.  After checking into our room, we looked out the back deck, and there was a golf course.  Who knew. 😉

Supper, shopping, and now watching the Ken Burns special on Vietnam.  Thanks for keeping a lookout for Grammie.

September 14, 2017 - Missouri Star Quilt - Hannibal

Part of the day we spent in Hamilton, Missouri at the Missouri Star Quilt Company.  If you are looking for fabric, they have fabric. Driving down Main Street, there are stores on the left, stores on the right, and plenty of fabric to choose from.
 The shops are organized to making shopping convenient.  If you are looking for a particular kind of fabric, they might be located in one particular shop.

There is plenty to catch your eye...and your credit card.

 If you visit the website, there are online tutorials to help.

This section of the street is all Missouri Star Quilt..

There is even a rest stop for the chauffeurs.  

We left Hamilton and continued on to Hannibal where we took a Dinner Cruise.

 The American Queen took passengers down river for overnight tours.

The Mark Twain does 1 hour tours, and also 2 hour dinner cruises.
On the way back up the river, we couldn't help looking at the islands in the river and the town of Hannibal, and think about Sam Clemens growing up in here.

The Mark Twain had a wonderful meal, some music, and a happy Grammie.

September 12, 2017 - Cheyenne

After several days in Cheyenne, visiting the Robin, Doug, and Henley, it was time to head towards home.  Although there will be several stops until we make it back, we are looking forward to being home.

 Henley swing in the Swingomatic that Uncle Dana used to swing in.

Grampie finally getting a turn with Henley. Today was a good day, got her up, found the surprise in the diaper, and fed her a bottle.

"Who is going to feed me...doesn't anyone like me anymore?"

Daddy's home.

Grammie spending time with Henley.

Tonight we are in Gothenburg, NE for a stopover and a round of golf.  In 2 days time, we will be in Hamilton, Missouri....Grammie said something about quilts or whatever.  Van ran great today and the air conditioner ran well with temps in the 90's.
Thanks for keeping an eye out for Grammie.

September 11, 2017 - Cheyenne

Hi everyone.
We have been busy tending to more important matters the last couple of days, but did get some time to take a pic or 2.

See Grammie, see Henley, see how happy Grammie is.

Henley in a restored Radio Flyer-18.  The same one her dad and her aunts used.

Henley sharing her Radio Flyer with Mom and Dad.

Thanks for keep up on Grammie's whereabouts.

September 7 and 8, 2017 Jackson, WY

Hi everyone.

We made it back to Jackson Wyoming where we have been before.  It is a great area as Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are nearby.

The town is busy in the summer months because of the National Parks...

 and busy during the Winter because of the great skiing.

This time we hiked into Phelps Pond.  The van got us up to 6600 feet to the parking area, but the van went further after passing the sign "Four Wheeled Vehicles Recommended".
We got up to 7200 feet over the 1 mile trail, met several people including a young couple from Singapore.

Phelps Pond

Back into town, the crowd increases as it caters to tourists.  In this particular shop, the avid hunter can purchase a trophy for hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

...and in this case  $8,000

Jackson also has many art shops that cater to the affluent.  This one was not for sale but was on display just outside a store that sold on the high end.

Grampy got in for a picture today.

We got this pic just before we went into the Haagen Daas Ice Cream Store in the background.

Thanks for keeping an eye out for Grammie.

September 6, 2017 Driggs, ID

Hi everyone.  Since we left Portland Oregon, we have covered 800 miles on the road.  With more seat time than anything else, we didn't stop to see much along the way...not that there isn't anything out there, there is plenty.  However, when traveling through Washington and Idaho, there are onions to grow, alfalfa to grow, Maine potato rivals to grow and harvest, as well as seed potatoes, and hay to bale.  Farm country.  Out here, the large bales are more popular, and as you go by farms, it looks like they are having a hay bale contest.  I'm not sure how many smaller bales make up a larger one, but for those really interested...  Hay Bales

The day was still hazy and the mountains were hard to see.  Yes the mountains were there.

There were markers like this one along the way to identify areas of historical significance.

Really needing an opportunity to get out and walk around, we chose to visit the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.  Craters of the Moon
The ground in this 84 square mile area is the result of volcanic activity where molten lava rose to the earth's surface and  leaked out rather than violently erupted.

 

Some of the formations rose somewhat higher.

There are flowers and plants that grown around the area, but much of is is still bare rock.

Dwarf Buckwheat grows and its root system is so large that it is not clumped together.  It likes to spread out.

When the lava broke the surface, it contained air as it cooled.

Grammie decided that she didn't want to venture to far down.

We did go into Indian Cave.  This particular tunnel was about 800 feet but there were several places where the roof had collapsed.

We didn't go in far enough to see any bats but there were 2 pigeons in there.

We did pass through the town of Arco, ID.  The town of Arco became the first city in the world to be lit by atomic power on July 17, 1955 from a reactor built nearby.  The town also the site of a Nuclear accident fatality.  Click on link  Arco fatality

Thanks for keeping track of Grammie.