On the road again…

Tonight’s blog is coming to you from Slippery Rock, PA.  Yes, out in the middle of nowhere really… about 45 minute drive north of Pittsburgh.  I wanted to get north of Pittsburgh, as I did not want to get tied up tomorrow morning in rush hour traffic, and that would have happened in I stayed south of Pittsburgh tonight.

Below is the Evening Star Motel where I am staying tonight.  They have free Wi-Fi and the rooms are only $50.00 a night!  No where to eat though, so I had to drive down to Slippery Rock for Dinner tonight.  It is a neat little Town that reminds me of Cooks town, Ontario.  Lots of unique little shops and stores.

Today was a great day for driving.  Lots of sun, some overcast skies and no rain!  Just the way I like it.  Temperature was perfect.  Bike ran great!  Hopefully the weather holds up for tomorrow as I will make it back to Graven Hurst and RVlifeonwheels home base!

Thanks again to Shawn, Jennifer, Emmie and Paige for putting up with me for the week.  I had a terrific time and enjoyed every minute of Tennessee life.  Jenn is a great cook and kept me well fed! 

Anyhow, gotta get some sleep, long day on the road tomorrow!   Back to Canada!

Till tomorrow…

Take a hike!

Another nice warm day today in Johnson City, so this morning we decided to take a hike!  Dr. Shawn wanted to go and check out Buffalo Mountain, the one in Tennessee, not New York!

It was only a 20 minute drive from the house, and we found ourselves on the trailhead.  Shawn has this real neat GPS watch that is used by runners and hikers, and he plugged in a geocache site that we had to find.  It was hidden in a hole, under a log, and covered by a piece of wood.  Here is the crew going through the contents, and Emmie was able to keep the die in her hand. 

Here is where it was hidden…

Jenn got to carry Paige, Shawn carried Emmie on his back pac, and I carried supplies in a back pac.

Only a 1/4 mile in, we hit a lookout, at Huckleberry Point.  It offers a great view of Johnson City.  The big group of buildings in the centre of this picture is the Hospital where Shawn is now a 3rd. year resident Paediatrician.  Apparently last night I made him sound like a bit of a bum, as I mentioned he slept in till noon.  Forgot to tell you all he had just finished a 24 hour shift on call. 

Here is my favourite pic of the day of the Hollinger gang with Johnson City looming in the background.

We walked out about a mile up the trail before we turned around to head back.  Notice to the right of Jenn, all the forest here has burned, about a couple of years ago apparently…

After we turned around and started heading back to the car, this guy below was blocking our path… We were up about 2,800 feet, and there was no water around anywhere.  He was a pretty big turtle.

Here is Emmie and the medal she found on the hike today.  It was hanging in a tree, and she was the only one to see and find it out of all of us… so smart

 

Just before Jenn presented us with a great Mexican Dinner, Emmie and I got caught up on our colours…

Paige was keeping her eye on Emmie to make sure she used the right crayon….

Sure has been a great week down here in Tennessee. Enjoyed every minute of it!  However all good things seem to come to an end, and I will start my journey back to Gravenhurst.  It will be a two day trip back, hopefully the weather hangs in for a couple more days.

Till tomorrow…

Yes, it was a Play Doh Party!

This morning Emmie and I had a big party going out on the back deck after breakfast… yes, a play doh party!  It is great have time to play with the grandkids!  Enjoy every minute of it!

We spent about 2 1/2 hours together making everything you can imagine out of play doh…

Everytime she made something, she wanted me to take a picture of it!  Here is a dog she made.

At lunch time Daddy woke up, and we had lunch and decided it was too hot to do anything, other than go to the WATER PARK!  It is in Jonesborough, about a 20 minute drive from the house.

It was a pretty cool park with lots of slides.

Emmie and Jenn ripping up the water park!

Dr. Shawn has Paige, and I am holding Emmie!

Paige and Jenn sat in the shallow water, notice the water falling right behind Jenn off a big Coke Cola Sign.

Looks like both Paige and her Doctor Daddy were a little tired this afternoon after the swims…

Paige has to wear this shirt to remind us all of who she really is!

Now you have to check this out… On the way home from dinner, we stopped at a Tennessee version of a liquor store, to buy some wine for Jenn.  I found this Mason Jar full of Tennessee Moonshine, that sold for only $27.00 American.   It is pure grain alcohol and is about 190 proof.  Love the packaging…  no, I left it sitting on the shelf…

We had a very busy day as you can see, and I have to inform you, that today Jenn spoke to the owners of Foodland, and they admit they made a mistake with the Tennessee liquor laws on ID requirements, and decided it was safe to sell us Canadians some beer after all!

Till tomorrow…