Mt. Airy, NC - also known as Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show

 After a VERY rough, bumpy ride down Rt 77 through West Virginia (instead of paying at the toll booths, they should pay US for riding on those roads!!!), we arrived at Mt. Airy, NC on Friday afternoon.  We checked into Mayberry Campground which is still a work in progress but definitely a nice place to stay with cable and great wi-fi.  Upon arrival, the lady in the office mentioned that there was going to be a picnic and we were welcome to attend.  It turns out that it was the start of the Bunker family reunion which is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Siamese twins Eng and Chang Bunker.  We learned a lot of family history about the conjoined twins from their descendants...they married sisters and had 21 children between the two of them (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_and_Eng_Bunker) and the family reunion is every year and it's a BIG one.

Hence, Mt. Airy is not only known as being the location of the world's largest open-faced granite quarry, home to Eng and Chang, birthplace of Donna Fargo (country singer) and Andy Griffith, but it was also the town that Andy Griffith based his TV show on known as Mayberry (Floyd's Barbershop, Blue Bird Diner, Snappy Lunch).  Today we rode around in one of the old Ford squad cars that are replicas that they used in the Andy Griffith Show and walked up and down Main Street and checked out some stores. 

We are heading home tomorrow (Sunday, 7/31) and have already been warned by Carol and Gary how hot it's been, is, and will be in New Bern.   We look forward to spending some time before they pack up and head out west to relocate to Arizona.

Heading back....

We spent a week in Traverse City hanging out with Jan (Ed's oldest sis) and her hubby, Jerry and having a good time.  The weather was great, the campground was really nice and the lakes were crystal clear.  We did some fun stuff around the area and the girls (Mandy and Molly) really liked the fenced in back yard at Jan's and Jerry's house.

Last night we stayed at the RV Permit Parking on the Ohio Turnpike and for $20 we had a 50-amp hookup that ran the a/c which was important to keep cool.  When we left there this morning we stopped in Cleveland and parked the RV at the Port Authority and walked over to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and spent a few hours there.  Ed then toured the freighter while I went back to the RV and got the dogs and walked them.  To avoid traffic, we were advised to plan on getting out of town by 3pm or wait until after 5pm. 

NOTE:  When we got back home we found out that Jimmy was at the R&R Hall of Fame the SAME time we were with Bill and Greg!!!

We decided to leave before 3pm and we checked into the Spring Valley Campground in Cambridge, OH.

I guess the closer to NC we get, the hotter the temperatures are going to be.  We've had a good time on this trip doing "touristy" stuff but it will still be good to get home and see Gary and Carol before they head to AZ to relocate and our other friends.

I'm Back....

 

Well, it's been a while since I last blogged but we really didn't do anything "touristy" but we did see a lot of family.  We had arrived in Ionia on 7/13 at the Alice Springs RV Park and Resort.  The park is 4 years old and it's really nice...especially during the week...the weekend crowd arrives on Friday and leaves on Sunday and Monday and it's somewhat "zoo-ish" at that time.  During the week a few times Ed and I had the beautiful pool and spa all to ourselves. 


Eddy & Joanne and US

 

On Sunday, we went to the Ionia State Rec Area where Pat had reserved a pavillion for a Wiers Family Gathering.  Ed's Mom and three sisters were there with their families in addition to some cousins he had not seen in many years. 

Tuesday, we met Joanne (my partner in crime growing up on Maple Street) and her husband, Eddy who talked about the old days with Ed...they were both stationed with the 57th MP Company at West Point.





Molly & Mandy "on the wagon"

 

The Cascades in Jackson, MI

We pulled into The Hideaway RV Park in Grass Lakes outside Jackson, MI on Wednesday and drove to Holt to have dinner with Ed's Mom.  Today we drove to Jackson to meet up with Pat and Michael and we went to Sparks County Park, a 465-acre park where the illuminated Cascades, a giant waterfall and six fountains over which water tumbles in continually changing patterns while music plays is located.

Ed with sister, Pat.

link to some more pictures:  https://picasaweb.google.com/Pawpurrs/TheCascadesInJacksonMI?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIWr1tL_qIKPew&feat=directlink