St Louis RV Park - St Louis, MO (Day 2)

Gateway to the West

A full day of being a Tourist with a capital "T."  The day started with the obligatory trip to the top of the arch.  Deb wanted to climb the 1,076 steps but unfortunately they were closed (since 1968) so we took the tram, which appeared to be large leftover clothes dryer drums which were hoisted to the top so you could look out over St Louis.  With the high heat and humidity, Drex went to "Dogs in the City" for some party time.  We went to the "City Museum" which is not a museum at all but rather an eclectic collection of repurposed stuff in an old shoe factory for kids to climb on, including an old school bus hanging over the edge of the eleven story building.  We climbed the 191 stairs to the 11th floor...oh yeah, remember those 1,076 stairs in the arch you wanted to climb...not happening.  After an hour of watching high intensity adolescent activity, we opted for something more adult  - a tour of the Budweiser Brewery, with free samples!  The tour covered everything from Clydesdales to Chandeliers. From there it was straight to Pappy's Smokehouse for BBQ.  A quiet dip in the pool...no question about it, definitely an A/C night...

City Museum

Anheuser Busch Brewery

St Louis RV Park - St Louis, MO

So here is the dilemma...35,000 mi of RVing but we have never been to Missouri, one of Deb's bucket list things is to climb the "Gateway to the West" (aka the St Louis Arch), and we have to get from Kentucky to Iowa, somehow.  The solution... a city RV park.  We know what to expect, we done them before...it's a parking lot with no shade in 95 degree heat.  We make the standard RV cocoon...shades down, window covers over the cab...A/C running and tough out the late afternoon with a viewing of Despicable 2.  As the heat breaks, we take a dip in the pool and discuss the inevitable question: to run the A/C  and not sleep because of the noise, or turn the A/C off, open the window and not sleep because of the heat.  We settled for the worst of both worlds, a few hours of no A/C, then a few hours of A/C.  The good news...by tonight, we will be so tired we can sleep either way...

It was Father's Day, and we heard from both boys, and Deb called her dad.  We were on the RV park network, so we could even Skype a little.  Sometimes we take the technology for granted, but having internet, and cell phones really makes RVing so much more carefree.

Kentucky Horse Park - Lexington, KY

Kentucky is a gorgeous state...it was neutral in the Civil War....kinda like a little Switzerland (actually a big Switzerland...it almost three times bigger than Switzerland).  After a quick stop at a Lowe's to get the stuff I need to fix the cabinet door, I came back to the RV...Deb was sautèing some sweet peppers in olive oil to go in our Arugala salad...that's the way to shop at Lowe's

A short time later, we arrived at Kentucky Horse Park.  A perfectly manicured park with 300 sites, all in concise concentric circles, with a pool in the middle.  It was full of enormous Class A motorhomes with balconies and outdoor movie theaters.  Everyone has a golf cart or an ATV with Mag wheels and

Metallic paint jobs.

We stayed outside till 9:30 pretending to read, while we people watched...tomorrow off to St Louis.

Greenbrier State Park - Caldwell, WV

We are finally off on our summer trip.  The first day is always a little rough, getting used to living in a more confined space with less than of all of our worldly goods.  Typically, the first day is an opportunity to realize which of those worldly goods we didn't mean to be without -  so far, only the Doctor Who DVD set that we were excited to watch.  Then there's the more confined space - the entrance to the State Park has a tunnel that is 9' high on the side and a huge concrete wall in the middle, avoiding the low side, I bumped the concrete wall, and bent the hinge on the entry door.  It's not serious but will have to be repaired when we return.

Then, one of the cabinet doors split apart.  That one is repairable, but will require glue and clamps (both of which are in our list of Worldly goods we thought we could do without.) Recently, we have been dining occasionally on Hello Fresh meals.  What marks a good Hello Fresh meal is lots of dishes and lots of scurrying around the kitchen.  Neither of those is a recipe for an easy RV meal, but after an hour or so, we had a delicious meal of Steak on Arugala with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Balsamic Vinegrette.

This is a lovely little state park, but it's probably won't make our jubilee list  

Smallwood State Park - Indian Head, MD

On our way to Alexandria, we found out that our little lunch spot on the Chesapeake has a NO PET policy in the summer.  We are thinking about adding Maryland to our "No" state list. As one of those states that has more rules about things that you can't  do than things you can do.  So went to a little city park that we got inadvertantly directed to the last time we were in Annapolis.  We had a nice lunch and then went for a walk.  I said, "Deb, you should walk on this side" After a few moments she saw the black snake she almost stepped on. I was hoping she would jump up in my arms or throw lavish kisses all over me... Nope, she just walked around the snake...she is turning into such a southern belle.

Dropped off the artwork in Historic Alexandria... Not really a place for an RV of any size and then off to the Campground (not even 45 minutes from Washington).  It's small and tired...probably not going to get an encore from us.

James Island State Park - Crisfield, MD

We are returning artwork from an incredibly successful Art Speaks on the Bay Show.  To encourage artists from around the state, we offer a courier service to pick-up and drop-off artwork at various locations. This year, we are providing courier service to the Eastern Shore, and Alexandria.  I know....we are just wonderful people, building up our heaven resume...or are we?  Maybe we are doing it to spend two gorgeous evenings on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay, or possibly to have lunch on the shore looking at the New Point Comfort lighthouse from the "other" shore.  No one will know our true intentions.

Jordon Lake State Park - Apex, NC

Left Smokemont, in the sunshine, through the Cherokee Nation (kind of run down, except for a thirty story Gambling Casino). As soon as we got to the interstates, the rain started to fall.  Drove half way home to Jordon Lake State Park, with over 1,000 sites.  We stayed in G10 (our first Electricity and Water in four days) which is tucked back in the woods, but with all the rain, it was mosquito rich!  Last week, Deb said she missed going to Chili's.  Well it was Friday night...there was a Chili's ten miles away...with a big Lowe's parking lot across the street.  At the state park we had mosquitoes and "no achoholic beverages allowed" signs.  So off to Chili's...

Saturday, breakfast - sausages and eggs...and a late start for home...at least we have reservations there! Total trip - 1,224 miles (5 nights)