2022 – Sept-Oct Family & Friends Visits, Mississippi River Trail…
9/14/22:
We crossed the border back into the USA on I-87 New York State. We actually have crossed this border in the past, as we both went to Undergrad at SUNY Plattsburgh near here, though that was many years ago…
The border crossing went easy and we continued South to Warrensburg, NY, near Lake George, for our next campsite. The campground is River View Campground.
River View Campground Warrensburg, NY…
Our campsite for the week…
Every 2 years Joanne’s college friends gather here for a weekend of catching-up, girl talk and some festivities. Even though I know all the girls, it’s a “no boys allowed” weekend.
9/16/22:
With Joanne visiting college friends I took the opportunity to reach out to a work friend from the early 1980’s. Jeff Brisbin and I became close friends while working for Tandy/Radio Shack in those days. We became fast friends as we both strived to build our careers supporting each other through the good and tough days. We both are competitive by nature, and when in the sales world, it’s always good to have that person that pushes you to the next level. Jeff and I did that for each other in the 80’s.
I surprised Jeff in a club he plays at regularly in Saratoga Springs, NY called Henry’s. Jeff has become a well known troubadour in the Saragtoga/Albany Region and promotes his talent via “The Never Ending Tour” at www.jeffbrisbin.com. To say that Jeff was surprised, after so many years, would be an understatement. Besides being an exceptional entertainer he’s also a great person and we picked up as if decades hadn’t even passed. We had so much fun catching up during his breaks and we made plans to go out to dinner the next day, as it was obvious we had plenty more to talk about. One of the songs he wrote years ago that is quite popular and has developed a significant following, coupled with a special message is “Foreverly”…. Please take a listen…
Jeff Brisbin & I in downtown Saratoga Springs…
9/18/22:
With Joanne done with her Girls weekend we decided to take a drive through the Adirondack Park which is only a few minutes from our campground. We have driven here many times and a crisp, sunny, fall day in a convertible is always a magical drive. We decide to stop for a few hours at the Adirondack Experience Museum; which we have driven past many times though never seemed to work into our schedule. So glad we finally made this stop. It is an exceptional place dedicated to the understanding of this unique area of upstate New York both culturally, economically, and environmentally…
The Adirondack Experience…
Loving the Fall Foliage in the Adirondacks…
Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondack Park…
Finishing a few relaxing days in the Adirondacks had us next heading South to Beacon, NY, to visit with Mike’s sister Pat for a few days. Pat had graciously offered us her driveway to park our RV while we head on a weekend adventure to Block Island, Rhode Island to visit with our Daughter Caitlin, her husband Bruce, and our granddaughter Mac…
9/23/22: Taking the ferry to Block Island…
Caitlin and Bruce had rented a house for the long weekend and invited us to join them. We have been there in the past, when we lived in Connecticut, but it’s been several years. Block Island is accessible by Ferry, so with reservations in hand, we drove the MINI on board for the hour crossing to the Island… The House was in a remote part of the Island, but since the Island isn’t large, everything was close: Beaches, Fishing, Restaurants, and Places toWalk/Hike.
The Block Island Ferry…
Gram playing games with Mac …
Enjoying a Block Island Lighthouse with Mac…
Caitlin and Dakota enjoying the beach …
Bruce enjoying some fishing, sandy beach, and some, watercraft…
Block Island in the Fall is beautiful… Cool mornings, less crowds, good restaurants still open, and making memories with family!
Nunan’s & Dew’s sharing time at the BEACH….
9/25-9/28/23:
We spent some relaxing time visiting with Pat before our long drive North. Having only been in the states for a few weeks we still had to venture over the Canadian border 1 more time this year with a wedding planned in Ottawa, Ontario for Joanne’s brother’s son Jordan and his fiancé Jovanna. Jordan and Jovanna met several years back in Europe, while backpacking around, and have pretty much been inseparable since. They both work in the UK now and the family is was so looking forward to their Wedding Day on October 2, 2022.
We decided to take the border crossing near Thousand Island State Park since we have never driven through that area. Our campsite today is at New York’s “Wellesley Island State Park” . The park is part of the Thousand Islands and only minutes from the Canadian border crossing.
Not a bad location at the park…
The area is beautiful and the Fall leaves are spectacular. After several walks around the park we both agreed we need to make plans for a future trip here when we can spend more time. Our son-in-law Bruce spent many summers in this area while growing up and now we understand his enthusiasm for this area….
9/29/22:
We again cross the border into Canada. Not a hard crossing, with most of the same traditional questions we have had in the past. It’s a sunny, great day for travel, and our goal is to meet Joanne’s sister around 2:00PM at an RV Park just outside of Ottawa, Ontario.
Welcome to Canada…
Welcome to Ontario Province…
After arriving and meeting Deb & Tony at the entrance to Wesley Clover Campground. we found the sites are heavily wooded and very shady. Not ideal for solar, so we decide to take a drive through the park to see if there are any better alternatives for the week. After Tony and I scour the available sites in all the loops we decide on 2 sites adjacent to each other that should work . We both backed in and quickly set-up our campsites before piling into our MINI for the drive into Ottawa where Jovanna’s parents have invited us for dinner. Besides us, Joanne’s brother is there and some other friends of the bride’s family. The evening was filled with introductions, drinks, and a spectacular Serbian dinner served by Jovanna’s parents “The Milivojevic’s”. As the night progressed we continued to meet more arriving family and friends of the bride and groom. Everyone there is bursting with excitement for Jordan and Jovanna.
Lots of new friends … with many delicious Serbian foods!
9/30/22:
Is a free day so we head out to explore the City of Ottawa, the center of government for Canada. None of us have ever been to Ottawa before so there is plenty to see. Unbeknownst to us, much of the city is shut down for a Canadian Holiday – “The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation” It also seems to have a relationship to Canadians Indigenous Peoples Orange Shirt Day. We really don’t know much about these Celebrations in the states, though they do seem important to those in attendance.
Lots of Orange shirts and plenty of speeches…
The Nunan’s & Esteves in Ottawa…
Our tourist day has us visiting many government areas, parks, and places of history. Ottawa is a bustling city that is exceptionally clean. One of the most memorable stops was the Rideau Canal. The Rideau Canal is a 202 kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River, in Ottawa, with the Saint Lawrence River in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
The Rideau Canal…
The “Maman” Spider at the National Gallery…
Chance meeting with family in downtown Ottawa…
And of course all the Olson siblings…
Jovanna’s & Jordan’s wedding day is on October 2, 2022 at the National Art Archives building. The building is at the Center of Ottawa with a magnificent view from the enormous glass windows in the building. The setting was spectacular for their special day with all the supporting family and friends in attendance. The traditional Serbian music was so much fun and all of us celebrated and danced the night away with the Happy Couple!
First Dance as Mr & Mrs Olson….
It was an incredible night!
Mom and Son special moment…
Jovanna firing up the crowd….
10/5/22: With the wedding now behind us we departed for the long drive across Canada towards Michigan. We had several options and chose going across Canada towards Grand Rapids, Michigan. We had never visited Grand Rapids before and thought it would be a great place to meet our college friends “The Jablonski’s” from Michigan and collectively visit the “Gerard Ford Museum & Library”.
Welcome to Pure Michigan again…
Mike & John catching up at dinner…
John & Barb encourage us to all visit the the Meijer Botanical Gardens. The gardens are incredible and were all decked out for the Fall colors. Each section its very unique with some incredible creative presentations and sculptures…
These 1979 P-Burgh grads have been friends for 45 years …
10/8/22: As I stated, we chose this location to connect in Grand Rapids which also is the hone of the Gerald Ford Museum and Library. We have been to many Presidential Libraries, over the years, and often seek them out along our travels. The strange thing about Gerald Ford’s library is that he is the only American President that was actually never elected. Having only served the remainder of Richard Nixon’s second term after he stepped down, history has shown he was the right person for the demanding job he had been entrusted with. The country was reeling from Watergate and although his pardon of Nixon left him severely, politicly damaged, this special man made some very difficult decisions to get the USA back on track. A rags to riches story he was without question a “man of character” that significantly influenced our generation as it recovered from the disgrace of Watergate. In addition, his wife Betty Ford was a powerful cultural icon that contributed in many ways to helping people combat addiction and mental illness challenges. Only in the whitehouse for just over 3 years they are immortalized at the museum/library and regardless of your political feelings make all feel proud to be Americans …
The Gerald Ford Museum and Library…
Gerald and Betty Ford together for eternity…
10/9/22:
We said our goodbye’s to our college friends and Grand Rapids, and next started for Chicago, Illinois for a quick visit with our Connecticut friends “The Mansfield’s” and hopefully an opportunity reach out to our daughter’s college friend “Little Jill”…
Downtown Chicago…
Plans for our couple of days in Chicago included a visit to downtown, the architectural boat tour, a visit to Oak Park, and just some face-to-face time with some friends.
The Mansfield’s & Nunan’s downtown Chicago…
A stop at the Chicago “Bean”…
Visiting Little Jill at her new house in Oak Park, IL…
10/15/22: After enjoying several days with friends in Chicago we headed South for Dubuque, Iowa. Why Dubuque you might be asking. For several years we have talked about driving down the Great Mississippi River Trail and until now just hadn’t been in the right spot to do it. Also, we had decided to dovetail this drive with a stop in Dubuque, where the former headquarters for Flexsteel RV Furniture had been. Flexsteel was a huge manufacturer for furniture used in RV’s, though several years ago many RV manufacturers decided to place a lower quality product on the Flexsteel product which became an industry wide problem for those that bought these new RV’s. It has effected every major brand in the industry including Newmar, Tiffin, Fleetwood, Forest River, Jayco, and many others. Our RV Furniture fabric did mot escape this problem and we had discovered when Flexsteel closed, several long time employees in the area saw and opportunity to open their own business to address this industry problem. Lisa Bauer from “Bauer Upholstery” was why we were in Dubuque… She has a stellar reputation, was with Flexsteel for almost 30 years, and promised she could solve our furniture dilemma. From the moment we arrived at her facility we were treated graciously and they promptly got to work re-uphulstering our furniture with the Ultra-Leather High end product…
Plugged in at Bauer Uphulstery…
Loving our newly covered couch…
10/15/22: We departed Dubuque, Iowa with our newly upholstered furniture and began our drive South from Iowa to Missouri along the Great River Trail….
The drive winds it way South, adjacent to the Mighty Mississippi River. Unfortunately as famous and as large as the Mississippi River is, the severe weather changes and drought in this part of the country have greatly impacted the water flow of this important river the last few years.
Staying along the Mississippi…
We visited several locks along the Mississippi River for the next few days as we drove down the trail from Iowa to Missouri and then eventually into Tennessee.
10/16/22: We arrived today in St. Louis. Missouri for a few days. We have never been here before and had several important stops scheduled in the city including The St. Louis Arch, and The Annehauser Busch Factory Tour…
Gateway Arch National Park…
The arch is an engineering marvel and the video showing the last section being dropped into place was quite incredible. We would definitely recommend the ride to the top of the arch (except to people that don’t like tight spaces!). We actually could walk from our campsite over the bridge right to Gateway Park. We camped at the Casino Camping lot which is ok and appeared safe in a rather unsafe area. The walk was good exercise and we would recommend to others to do the same if visiting this area.
The view at the top of the Arch.
10/16/22
We had booked tickets online today for the Annheiser Busch Factory Tour. The drive from our campsite wasn’t far and we arrived early for our morning tour. Talking to several people while we were waiting for our tour to start, a passionate desk person convinced us to upgrade to a slightly more expensive tour that was longer and significantly more extensive. We scored the last 2 tickets for the longer tour and were so glad we made this decision. The tour was exceptional of the factory, brewery, horse stables, and tasting centers. We even got to see the classic Dalmatians roaming around the Clydesdales. Joanne and I both commented, “for a factory as large as it is, and old as it is, the facilities here were spotless in every way….” A very Impressive tour and history lesson today with BEER at the center piece.
Budweiser Time on the Tour…
The Clydesdales…
Love the Dalmatians…
The Mighty Mississippi travels a long way in our country from North to South…Given how much there is to see along this route this might be a good stopping point with this blog post on this continuing “Revolutionary Journey” … Next post we continue heading South for “Memphis, TN”…
