Big Stone Gap, VA

Another 200 mile day from Ohio through eastern Kentucky into Virginia and Big Stone Gap. This is new territory for us.  We are in the Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia.  

Here's Judy with a 500 pound block of coal, the other 500 pounds is outside.

The house was built in the 1880's for Virginia Attorney General Rufus Ayers over a 7 year period at the cost of a whopping $25,000.  Rufus was also the private secretary of President Calvin Coolidge. The woodwork was very impressive and all three stories had 15 foot ceilings.

                                                    Judy has found her new convertible!

While I sat in the truck Judy went into a Appalachian Mountain craft store which turned into a personal tour of the old home museum.  Having never seen one before she was impressed by the birthing chair.......something she will never have need for.

 

     

Stout, Ohio

We made the 200 mile trip to a small campground on the Ohio River with Ron & Roberta and Mel & Dee.  We will hole up here 5 nights over the Labor Day holiday.  We are 20 miles from a city so it's pretty remote and quiet.  $10/night plus electricity, a good deal.

                    How about this building we passed towing down here, it was in the shape of a basket.

                            Dee & Judy enjoying the day and the view.  We all did a lot of this.

                                                               Barges headed upriver.

And down river.  The river is not as big or busy as the Mississippi but there were 4 or 5 barges a day passing by.

Mel and Dee brought some good Kansas beef with them,  In Berlin they made steaks for us the day we arrived from Onsted.  Here in Stout he cooked some good burgers made into sliders.  Judy and Roberta turned the days dinner into a potluck. 

Berlin, Ohio

Sunday 8/30 we pulled out of Onsted and headed to Berlin, Ohio in the Amish community.  After a 200 mile tow we hooked up with Ron & Roberta and Mel & Dee at Scenic Hills Campground.

 As the Amish families tend to grow they build another home in their complex so many of the homesteads are quite large with several homes for their kids as they marry and start a new family.

Here's Judy and Dee after using hammers to make an "eching" by pounding thin metal on a form.

                                                         Elaborate wood carvings.

                                        The carver takes about 3 months to make each one.

We spent 4 nights here exploring and RnRing.

Onsted and M&M rally

Here we are back in Elkhart at MOR/ryde.  Earlier this year where here for routine maintenenace Judy spotted a option for our bed she wanted.  An electric slide that moves the mattress making it much easier to make the bed.

                                      Here's Devyn making good use of her new drivers license.

Judy and I host an annual HitchHiker rally called the M&M (Michigan Mini) and this year was the sixth one.  We had to move it the day before it started because the campground we scheduled last year turned out to have very bad power.  We found another in St Louis and hastily called the 15 attendees that night before and gave them the new destination.

                                               The opening night dogs and brats pot luck.

Chow time.

BS session.

Games

And when it rains..........

And when your tanks get full and you don't have a sewer hookup......

Organizing the convoy to the Amish restaurant for lunch.

The M&M VI group picture

Back in Randy's pasture and he smoked beef and chicken for a neighbor's party and on his way there he dropped off supper for us!!!

Not bad huh?  I was very moist and good.

And off he goes...........

The night before we left Randy & Devyn we had pizza and poker with Don & Zola and Al & Joan.

July and into August in Onsted

Here's Devyn and Molly.  I'm not sure who likes Molly more, Devyn or Randy.  Might be Devyn. Molly is about 50 pounds now.

If I can post Judy in the hospital in 2013 for her hip replacements I can post me for some heart tests. This was at St Joes two weeks ago, yesterday it was Allegance in Jackson to be Tazered to successfully get the old ticker beating evenly.  Nothing serious, all the tests said the ticker is in good shape but was a little erratic.

We are in the pasture next to the pool.  Judy has been spending time in Adrian for water aerobics exercise.  Sometimes she'll use the pool here.

Randy will often hop in to cool down, the pool is pretty relaxing on hot afternoons.

Jody and Renato sent us a good picture of them with Dustin and Brianna.  They are still going through the adaption process as current foster parents.  The court system is very s l o w!  We expect it should be completed by the end of the year.  Renato has spent the last several years going through the process to become a US citizen and last month became a US citizen.  Congratulations Renato and welcome to the USA as a LEGAL immigrant citizen.  He can now vote!!  
Jody really likes working for the Northeast Georgia Physicians Group.  They moved into a new office building (below) late last year.  She and one other doctor work in the facility and there's room for more doctors.  We'll be spending the last 2 weeks of September near them.

We stopped in Saline for lunch with Randy and here he is inside Klingelnberg, he returned there after the better part of a year at Ford......80+ miles from Onsted, they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He has a nice short drive now and has started a refurbishment group so travel is limited and he's enjoying the new responsibilities.  Into service management like his old man.  The service manager quit so he also has the service business until a new manager is hired.  He's a busy lad.  He has been procrastinating getting a suit, he's too use to getting his hands dirty but I suspect he'll be in one for a few special work situations soon enough.  

Here's Devyn in her first set of glasses, better for school work and driving.