A couple of days ago we went about 20 miles east to the town of Collingwood, which is one of the prettier, more vibrant towns along the Georgian Bay. There are miles of beach and scores of ski runs so that you can play no matter what time of year it is. This is main street Collingwood.

Here is their waterfront which is under development. It used to be a major port and shipbuilding terminal, but that is all gone. The area all along the waterfront around this old grain terminal will be a blend of condos, townhouses, parks, and retail space. We had looked into the project last year, but are happy we didn’t move on it as the project is moving very slowly.

Chipmunks are everywhere there is a peanut to be had.

Yes, I have a job now and the fire looks pretty good, eh? One match, not bad. Good marshmallows in about an hour.

Friday morning we moved over to the Harbour as our place in the Memorial Park was booked for this Canada Day (1 July) long weekend. The photo below was taken on the Memorial Park beach … yes that water is about 55 degrees … brrr. Just above the swimmers around the beach, is our new place. You can just barely make out the lighthouse to the left of the big rock in the bay, as the lighthouse defines the entrance to the marina.

And the layout of the big parking lot … aka the marina RV park with the Flying Scotsman at the far end of the row if RVs.

Standing next to the RV looking toward the lighthouse to show how close we are to the water now.

Here’s a better picture of the lighthouse at the Harbour. I’m standing about 100 feet in front of our new parking place for the weekend and the bay and boats are really beautiful.


The upside of being in the marina is that it is all gravel and there’s no trees to block the sat TV. The downside is that there is no computer coverage and we only get electric service to the Flying Scotsman … gotta go to the dump station to get rid of old and take on new liquids … I know, I see the tears of sadness welling up in your eyes …

Not to rub it in ... but ahhh, yes, it is about 63 degrees and partly cloudy this afternoon and the Georgian Bay waters are calm.

We are still in the Meaford Memorial Park whis on the water and about two blocks from Jo-Anne's parents' house. We've been spending a bunch of time with them as we work through Jo-Anne's mom's Alzheimers issues and me with getting her dad's new computer set up. Brother in law Rick still lives with them and really provides a constant in-house care presence.

Here's another one of our favorite dining places, The Mill restaurant ... which, obviously sits atop a dam and was a mill up until recently.

And if you look below the bridge toward the dam you can see how man and nature have to exist. Here is the salmon stairway so the the fish can move upstream around the dam and reproduce. Probably why salmon is so cheap on the menu at the restaurant, eh? Just have a little gate as they come by ... and pop ... another fresh one diverted directly into the kitchen.

And here is party animal Buster after having a few too many puppy brews during happy hour ... this is his Blues Pups impersonation!

We were out and about today, seeing what Meaford, Ontario has to offer and of course the marina is a favorite spot for views. I've shown it before but because of my rescue background this one is particularly good. This is one of the Coast Guard's older boats that worked these waters for the last 50 years ... a rough and violent job particularly in the winter. This one is designed not to sink if it completely rolls over ... don't think I'd want to test it!

And my anchor ... total pun intended.

OK and now for local culinary delight. This is Ted's Range Road Diner. Yes, it is on the road to the local Army range. And yes, it is an old Army quonset hut that looks pretty crappy. But can you just walk in off the street and order a burger and fries .... noooo, you need a reservation! This place is so popular and has been for 40 years that seriously you need a reservation to get to sample some really great burgers, mushrooms, and other interesting meals. The best food within 30 miles.

Here we are parked under a huge Maple tree in the city municipal park. Probably not a good idea if there were a lightning storm, but really cool and nice on a hot summer day. Let's see ... last night was 51 and today was about 64 degrees ... it is what we came for and you have to come 1700 miles north to do it.

And the view from the dining room is super. Just through those trees is the water of the Georgian Bay and it goes as far as you can see ... beautiful blue and calm today! Buster and I just came back from a walk to the beach.

After Little Rock we were off to Franklin KY on a run of about 290 miles. Enroute we hit a truck stop and we were the only RV of about 150 trucks .... they must have been pumping a million dollars an hour of diesel into these guys. Anyway, lunch is about noon for us and we turn on the generator and slide in with the big guys and cook some soup and hot dogs in the microwave. Never use the gas station toilet again!!

Then on Thursday we went to Dayton and stayed like last year (boring) at the FAMCAMP at Wright Patterson AFB. Really nice park on the back side of the runway but quiet and peaceful. Hey 20 bucks for the night is cool. Here's the Flying Scotsman again at WPAFB.

Then off for a 290 mile run to Port Huron Michigan.

That's a really nice KOA park in Port Huron, but no new pics. We had a nice quiet nite and then were off Saturday morning across the Blue Water Bridge to Meaford Ontario. Smooth sailing through customs and the border ... I think this was was the least traffic we have seen in years.

And now we are back in the city park in Meaford Ontario right on the Georgian Bay. We used about $800 worth of gas in the five days so that isn't so bad. But the bugs splattered .... jeez! We are on a gravel site right in the middle of the woods ... no satellite TV because of the trees and 30 amp service which means very conservative power useage ... camping style in 2008.

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Tuesday night we made it to Little Rock from Dallas about 300 miles ... a good distance for us. Here's the KOA in North Little Rock. We were thinking about going over to Little Rock AFB as they have a camp, but it seemed out of the way and we opted for the KOA right on IH 40. Nice treed lot and very quiet ... however trees mean no sat TV ... jeez the trade-offs ... but they had an excellent cable hookup.

Wednesday morning we blasted off for Kentucky, our most ambitious leg yet of 390 miles. I think this is the most we have gone in a day but I'll have to check earlier blogs.

The Flying Scotsman is performing super and obviously Bruce has become used to the machine. The HHR car being towed is a super anchor and is really not noticeable ... love it. Don't know how we dealt with the tow dolly for the last year, but this is much, much better. We have had a steady 30 MPH wind from the rear which makes everything stable and really increases our gas mileage ... now about 10 MPG.

For all of the above reasons, we did the 390 miles today and landed in Franklin Kentucky. This park which bills itself as the Bluegrass Music RV resort really is an old KOA with a new owner and coat of paint. Normal facilities for that sort of place, but nothing spectacular ... kinda like last night at the KOA in Little Rock. Large field with gravel roads and sort-of level gravel parking spots. I can see the intended transition from the normal farmy KOA camping atmosphere to the now required paved RV resort, but they have a long way to go.

Tomorrow we are off to Dayton and the O'Briens and we hope to stay at the camp on Wright Patterson AFB as we did last year. It is about 90 and 60% humidity ... keep going north!

Right now we are in Sunnyvale Texas which is about 12 miles east of Dallas proper. This picture is on the RV park property which is the Plantation Place RV park. Actually a bit of a disapointmnet as the house in the picture is off limits to the low lifes ... us ... in the park behind it. I guess the owners needed a couple of bucks to make the payments and allow the riff raff to park in the field behind the house ... not great, but a quiet, level place to park. The lake is stocked and is a catch and release place ... haven't seen anyone fishing though.



The drive up from New Braunfels was about 255 miles and we actually got about 9 miles to the gallon! We filled up halfway and the price was $3.84 a gallon and we got $200 worth. The new HHR and the way it tracks the RV is absolutely super ... don't even know it's there ... don't miss the tow dolly and all that stuff at all.

Tomorrow we are off to Little Rock Air Force Base and their campground ... we'll see what they have to offer.

Today it was about 95 and 70% humidity and HOT!