This was our second adventure to Maine the first try ended when we saw the forecast...rain ,rain and more rain. Our second attempt went better we actually got a nice campsite with a view of the ocean. I'm not sure what ocean it was but it was the one that had hurricane Lee in it. We stayed two days but the rain and fog dampened what was a nice site. We high tailed it out of there just before the storm hit. Our journey up here was fun. Our first stop was in Rochester NY. It happens to be the only place that the fine American beer Genesee is brewed.

We kept rolling along with stops in Saratoga springs NY and then ended up at a brewery in New Hampshire. We belong to a club that allows us to dry camp at places like brew houses and golf courses for free. So we went into the North wood Brewing company and proceeded to drop a hundy on pizza and drinks. So much for free camping!!

We headed to Rockland Maine to meet up with our friends from Florida and Concord. They don't camp so we visited them at the bed and breakfast they stayed at. They tried to take us fishing and to lobster places...Karen had a great time. Just kidding

We stayed at an Elks club in Rockland. They don't have ubers in this rural town so we took a cab to visit the peeps. We are all departing for Bar Harbor on Monday.

The drive to Bar Harbor was great. We were a little anxious because the campgrounds were first come first serve so we were just hoping to land a site. On the way to Bar Harbor I found a campground to dump my tanks as the elks had no facility. This was not one of my best moments. There was obviously a malfunction and I was doing this in the rain.

We lucked out and as my previous blog said "we always get the best spot". Someone pulled out of an ocean spot and we pulled right in. The only problem was that same ocean had a hurricane in it called Lee. We stayed here two days and visited Acadia National park. Unfortunately with the rain and fog it was hard to enjoy...oh well we'll have to come back.

Our friends had a very nice two bedroom suite in Bar Harbor. The neighborhood went to hell though when I showed up. 

Well off to the next adventure too much rain in Maine heading to New Hampshire and Vermont. I was detained at the pool but my friends came through and security let me in. The story is on  
              B-Google

First I have to apologize we have been having so much fun I forgot to write. We have covered a lot of land and sea in the last few months.17 different sites to be exact. Maybe I'll just try to break it down into states. When I left you last I was dragging my sorry ass out of the river having lost my glasses and all pride. We stayed at a very nice winery in Petoskey MI then headed to Wide waters camp in the Hiawatha NF. I feel like I should break something on the camper or make up a story about a environmental disaster that has just happened to us on the road. Oh I know I'll give myself a flat tire. No... I'll just keep writing about Mr. Rogers neighborhood in the forest. We kayaked again at Wide Waters and once again the jury is still out on our enthusiasm for the sport. We went into town and robbed a bank and liquor store. Just thought I'd check if you were still reading. Okay so we really didn't rob them but we did go to the liquor store!
​This covid-19 has really affected our normal travelling most of the sites are reservation only and before covid it was usually first come and you get the site. We have been pretty lucky and have found spots most of the time. Funny thing did happen at Wide Waters we had a spot for what we thought was going to be 7 days. On day 4 the camp host informed us that we had to leave and I jumped up and said I just opened this beer. This must of worked because the host walked away with Princess and when they came back we were allowed to move to the "overflow" section. Later I found out this is where they put all the white trash beer drinkers. We managed and had the whole football field to ourselves. This is still all in Michigan we have to get out of here. We headed to a ski lodge... why not it's August. Great place huge parking area why? No skiing!. this is great the whole lodge is open and has flush toilets. We stayed here 3 days. The sunsets were incredible. This would be our last stop in MI we are off to Minnesota. You might wonder why I titled this blog We always get the best spot. Every night after we are all set up on our spot princess always says to me we have the best spot in this camp and I realized she was so right! But I also realized it was because we made it the best spot. We have love and each other and a safe place sleep! We also have all of you cheering us on as we travel through this wonderful covid country of ours. Next up Minnesota. I'll drop some pics below but they just don't do the landscape justice. Stay safe my friends and we will see you in November.

Hello friends. We've been on the road 3 weeks now. I am having trouble with my blog site not to mention we haven't had electricity or internet coverage. We are in Minnesota now and I have coverage so let's get to writing!
When we left for our trip we had the local RV place look at our black tank valve because it was not closing properly and this my friends is not good. So our story starts out with the division of responsibilities. The princess decided to assign me to maintenance,sanitation,driving,cooking and Hazmat while she will cover beverage,  entertainment and arts and crafts.
Needless to say our friends at the RV center failed to fix my tank valve and that fell literally into my lap as a hazmat sanitation situation!
On a brighter note we started our trip off with meeting up with our friends on the road in Michigan. We ended the last blog in 2017 with Fred and Evelynn and met up with them on day two in Holland MI for lunch and a trip to the beach. They left the next day for California and we headed to the U.P.
​We found a spot in the National forest in Hysperia MI called Pines Point. Nice huge spot in the woods just the kinda of spot we like. We stayed here 5 days and had a blast. Speaking of blasts we also filled up those tanks and this campground had no dump station. Okay enough of the tank news but I think I would rather have flat tires to talk about.
​So the entertainment committee chairwomen decides that I am part Indian and books us on a kayak trip at a place called the Happy Mohicans. We actually did great and loved the way the current just happily took us down stream thinking the whole time boy this river kayaking is great! Now to the real story.
​The site we were on had a nice loop around the same river we had just kayaked on the day before so we being the professional kayakers decided lets go out again. We jumped in the truck dropped off the kayak up river then took the truck back to our site and went back to the entry point. A very nice gentleman explained that when we came around the bend we should stay right by the dead tree and come to shore or else we would get caught up in the current and go 7 miles down stream. We think we would have fared better had we gone down stream the 7 miles. What the nice man forgot to tell us was to stay left of the low bush and then come in on the right. Well the river we found out is much stronger than the two of us and now is also the proud owner of Jomama's 400.00 eye glasses!  

We stayed at another National forest in Christmas MI kayaked without incident. 
We are having fun and we took the RV into Escanaba MI and got the hazmat team there to fix our tank issue. Now off to Minnesota. Santa had some issues in the trailer while we were driving down the road. He is now held together with 6 zip ties and duct tape and is slowly recovering. We did notice on our first stop that the refrigerator door was open and Santa was down?
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 Hi kids hope your weather is getting nicer. As promised my next segment will be in honor of the most interesting camper in the world. Obviously ME! But first I will update you on a few of our journeys. We left Bill and Kathleen and I'm sure the neighbors were happy one of them asked me if I was cousin Eddy. Our next stop was to visit our friends Fred and Evelyn. Now here is a real story these two mid lifers sold their home bought a truck and a camper and drove off into the sunset.Now that is what we call picking up and leaving. They are in their 3rd year and have found a nice spot in Florida that they now call home for at least 5 months or so. We had a great time with them and they took us to a roof top bar to watch the sunset on the gulf. The place was called Jimmy's Crows nest located in Clearwater beach. If you are ever in the area stop and order a pina colada and ask for the schnaz. It's a bunch of coconut smeared on the rim and if your not careful you'll get the schnaz all over your schnoz this of course would ruin your schnazy look! The sunset was great and we called it a night and left our friends only to be visited again.
We left and traveled to Ocean Pond in Lake City and started our trek back north.Soon we were in Georgia Florida is too hot. Storms drove us out of Georgia into Alabama and right into the path of a tornado but this is where my skills as a driver and camper all came into play as I will now show you some highlights from the most interesting camper in the world.
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  Hi kids if you mailed money I hope it was in check form not cash because we haven't received it yet.
​We left the fine $2.50 campsite and headed for what will be our new home for the next 10 or 11 days.It is in the Ocala National Forest a campground called Fore Lake. We rented a car for this time period so Karen could take me to bike week in Daytona and test out my manhood. We should have rented a Harley and she could have tested our life insurance policies as well.
We took the car and found a Golf course in Marion County. I will quote a paragraph on their website describing their beautiful course. "Welcome to Marion Oaks Country Club
Marion Oaks is the best kept secret in North Central Florida. Nestled in the woods you’ll find rolling terrain, plush tree lined fairways, and smooth, true greens. Our clubhouse features a well stocked pro shop and a cozy bar to enjoy after your round, yet is versatile enough to accommodate large groups or tournaments. Tune up your game at the practice range. All of our facilities are open to the public."
Now I will show you some pictures!!!  

I guess they say a bad day on the course is still a good day but this really pushed that theory. Our only consolation was that it beat snow storms and shoveling.
On a sad note Karen turned her ankle while hiking in the campground. She tried to golf but the ankle was still tender and she ended up as my Caddy. 
Since our golfing mastery was going to be put on hold we decided to look for the so called fountain of youth.
Last year we drove all over in the Winnie and couldn't find it so this year we have a car and I'm sure it's here in Florida somewhere.

.We survived Daytona and took several hikes in the Ocala National Forest.We found a great deal on fire wood and have burned a fire every night. We leave Thursday to travel off to the land of leprechauns known as the Giblins (Bill and Kathleen). We have practiced our drinking every night at the campfire so we're ready.
I will leave you with some pictures but let me tell you a funny!
​Every morning I walk to the recycle bin and deposit a neat little bag of empty cans. A fine gentleman approached me one morning and said he thought we might have a drinking problem. To this I responded "sir we have no problem drinking...it's when we run out we have the problem" Stay thirsty my friends next chapter will be dedicated to "they most interesting camper in the world".   

. Hi kids
​Believe it or not this is our tenth trip in the TRUSTED Winnie. We have compiled over 40,000 miles and approximately 6,000 gallons of gasoline. Unfortunately we have also purchased 14 tires but we all know those stories! When I write I want my readers to understand that I take all liberties granted to authors. This means a lot of my stories can be interpreted by the reader and if you enjoy the story then it must be the truth. You read it on the internet so it has to be factual..right?
So back to my tires the day before we leave I was doing my normal maintenance check and I realized that I could not get a reading on the tire pressure for the front passenger tire. I also could not put air into the tire. Here come to find out one of the two decorator lug nuts had fallen off and the pretty chrome(fake) rim had vibrated and cut right through the valve stem. Here we go again back to Concord Auto and a quick repair. 
Okay now were ready. First stop Camp creek in West Virginia. This place is where our brakes went out in 2013 and where our slide out motor fried last year. So we figure our chances are good that nothing will go wrong this time. We were correct in our odds bet and we enjoyed a quiet evening and the best part was winter rates were still in effect. We pulled out in the morning with a full tank of fresh water and empty waste tanks and headed for the National forest of South Carolina.
We found a great place in Whitmere.  The camp ground is called Brickhouse I think it is named after the Commadors song Brickhouse...I think but I'm not sure. Now for the best part. With our annual National Park pass we are staying here for $2.50 per night. The place is practically deserted. We have 33 gallons of fresh water and plenty of gas for the generator so we will probably stay 3-4 days then off to Florida.
So we stopped at the store and Karen went in to shop. I watched the Winnie so no one would steal my tires. When she came out she had purchased 4 cases of beer, 3 bottles of Jim Beam, 2 loafs of bread and 2 bottles of wine. I asked her..are we expecting company? She said no! I said so why did you buy so much bread. Hope to write soon..send money. I will leave you with some pics. 

 
We are home now and I finally have my laptop back and running. Oh and it just happen to cost $242.89 to repair. Sounds awfully suspicious.. tires seem to cost right around that much. Come to think about it so do new roof vents. Well anyway the world is still turning and orbiting around some planet or moon or is it the sun? I'm sure for $200.00 someone could answer that.
We had a great trip. We actually visited 5 National Parks on this trip. WE went to the Badlands, Glacier, Bryce Canyon, Capital Reef and Rocky Mountain National Parks. Every park is unique in its own way and preserving them is one of the greatest things our country has done.
We were without power for most of this trip. The camper is self sufficient but you definitely have to conserve the water consumption but also the energy consumed by the marine batteries. It's fun to live this way of life and it makes you realize how fortunate we really are. We all to often take for granted the long hot showers or the brightness of a well lit room.
Our mishaps are becoming less frequent. No tire issues this trip. The roof vent and laptop were unfortunate but simply part of life and travel. Our generator brings in AC power to the camper and we did have some issues in the cold mornings. I will be taking it in for service soon and I am going out on a limb here but I bet the cost will be...$200.00 or so!! Speaking of going out on a limb Santa is getting tired of the long drives and shower less days. One morning I found him outside and desperate. 
Santa is well now but had some episodes in the desert. He's in rehab now and let's hope it's not $200.00 a day!!          
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​Rocky Mountain National Park

So many pictures so little time. You just have to be there.Until we write again stay happy!

Hello readers. My laptop is broken I am trying to write this on my iPad.
​This is tough when you have klibasa size fingers. I would like to wish my daughter Aimee a happy birthday. I tell her the same story every year....I got off work two hours early just to take her mother to the hospital.  The train in front of the building was coming and the crossing bars had come down. Normal days I would have gone around the warning bars. Not this day I realized I had actual responsibilities. I had a daughter to raise and what a fine daughter she turned out to be. So happy birthday Aimee!!
​I will try to write we are on our way to Bryce Canyon today. Coverage in these parts of the land is weak at best.

 Sorry for the delay on writing. We have been without electricity and wi-fi for about 10 days. David Cundy must not know we are on the road because he would have sure been looking for the blog and let me know I was slacking.
Well the last blog talked about our previous issues with keeping rubber on the road and I can boastfully tell you that we are still riding on the same tires for this trip. Now the average tire cost is about 200.00 american dollars on the Winnie. So wouldn't you know it roof vents installed at Camping World also cost 207.42 to be exact. Yes! our roof vent blew off in a parking lot and we had no choice but to have it replaced. Cross your fingers because we have 3 total roof vents and an air conditioner hood.
We are having a great little adventure the mountains and waterfalls are amazing. They seam to be running out of glaciers though. By the year 2020 they will all be gone according to the computer statistics. So how are my Brownies doing with their stats. Where is Phil Dawson when you need him. 
There is a huge market for bear spray. They rent it at several stores. Even the car rental places have it for the customers. Of course it's cheap to rent but if you happen to discharge your canister on let's say the neighbors dog or your sister or that tree stump you thought was a grizzly it's going to cost you. A sign next to the terminal at the tour bus read "all bear spray canisters must be secured and safely locked". I wonder what kid decided it would be a good idea to test out his can of destruction on the bus and the park decided to implemented the new rule. Now this bear spray scam is a real money maker. They probably manufacture millions of cans of this chemical. I would like to know how many of those cans are actually unloaded on Yogi or Boo-Boo. In fact I would like to know how many visitors at the park actually saw a bear other than the stuffed one at the visitor center. I was so petrified of the bears I left my spray in the car twice on our hikes. We had our I-pod and when we thought we were in imminent danger we played Barry Manilow and turned it up a little. The directions don't tell you what to do after the grizzly rips off your arm and you no longer can spray.
We took several long and strenuous hikes most days about 4 to 5 miles. The scenery on each hike was breathtaking. Of course I had to find humor out on the rugged terrain. We spotted one guy almost on all fours studying the ground on the walking path. I thought for sure he had discovered big foot or something wild in those defined tracks. I waited patiently for him to move on so I could see the wonderment that must lie on the path. Well if my keen Indian tracking skills are correct what I see are Nike, Converse, Red wing and a couple of Wal- Mart work boot tracks. His wife was impressed she patiently waited for him to move on then followed right behind him trying not to trip him as he looked for more boot prints.
We stayed in Glacier for the whole week the only downside is tearing down the cooking equipment every time you leave the site. The bear rules are in all these campground in Montana so it is what it is. Better safe than eaten alive even if you have "the spray".
The color of fall is everywhere. They obviously go into fall color mode several weeks before we do in Ohio. The leaves are starting to fall but for the most part are just changing colors. The landscape is mostly a yellow leaf with some slight orange and a backdrop of pine green. So now that I bored you with that I will try to find something funny to write about. 

Good-bye for now and hello to tomorrow. Hi Mom and Dad send money...just kidding
​Jomama and Karen

Hi kid's it's time to travel again. Back in October of 2013 the princess, Minnie and Jomama drove into a closed Glacier National Park. If you can remember back that far the government decided to shut down and closed all the National parks and forest facilities. So we vowed that someday we would return to view this spectacular National Park. Well that time has come and this is our mission on this our 9th trip in the Minnie.
We have traveled about 37,000 miles during our 9 trips some trips longer and some only 3 weeks. We have as much fun and chaos on a 3 week'r as we have on a 4 month excursion. For example if you divided 13 into 37,000 miles you could get a ratio of miles per tire which is how often we have a blowout and need tire maintenance. So for our travels we have changed a tire every 2,846.15 miles. Now that statistic might sound alarming but statistics don't lie they are just a way of calculating the inevitable. Look how well statistics are working for the Browns. Every 2,846 yards we need a new quarterback. Every 2,846 hours we need a new coach. So I feel very lucky that I only need a new tire every 2,846 miles.
We left the comforts of home on Monday September 12 and headed to our new adventure. 
Of course it took us forever to get out of the house and for the first 100 miles we second guested if we had packed everything? I simply told the princess that God created Wal-Mart just for this very reason.
We drove 220 miles the first day that's a good warm up for us we don't drive to far ever.
We are now in Iowa and are exploring a campsite discovered by Lewis and Clark. I actually thought Lewis and Clark were a comedy team but I guess at one point Clark was fired and a guy named Dean Martin took over.
We are heading to the Badlands in South Dakota. We saw a lot of windmills today driving through Iowa. These people grow a lot of corn in this state it must be a... can of corn for them.
Hi Mom and Dad hope you were able to get on line and read see you soon.
​Jomama and Karen

     This was Kevin our first tire roadside changer!! 

   He is ready for Montana!!!