Kentucky Horse Park

  Randy has completed his first two week assignment in Gallipolis, Ohio. We made an appointment in Jackson Center, Ohio to take care of some warranty issues with the Airstream and to repair some miscellaneous damage we have incurred on our journey so far.  The good news....
1. There were some very minor warranty repairs that took less than a day.
2. We got to stay for no charge at the Terraport since we were having repairs done.
3. The Airstream factory tour alone was worth the trip.
  The bad news....
1. Damage to the body that occurred when Ranman customized the TZD with Andy's barn will cost $6000 to repair (Yikes!)
2. Replacing the damaged awning arm that I caused when attempting to lower it (as Randy was coaching me over the telephone) and the damaged stabilizer jack (caused by Randy scraping the bottom of the trailer in a ditch) was a mere $875.
  Randy has decided that he is not going to get the body repaired since it is hardly noticeable to anyone that looks at the trailer and the impact did not affect the integrity of the body.  LOL, if anyone out there wants to contribute to our repair fund, we will gladly accept donations!
  Our midway stop on the way to Tennessee Cumberland Plateau Campground was just outside of Lexington, KY.  It is a short 3 hour drive from Gallipolis and I was just anticipating a short overnight stay since neither of us are big on horses.  The Kentucky Horse Park was a very pleasant surprise!  It is owned and run by the state and is an amazing concept. There is an indoor arena for various events...the Bluegrass Classic dog show was going on and the park was full of hundreds of dogs, a Rolex sponsored outdoor arena, polo fields, horse stables, a race track, a horse museum, a saddlery museum, restaurants, a dressage complex, and last but not least....a  beautiful campground.
  The campground has primitive and modern sites, but no sewer hook ups. There are tennis, volleyball  and basketball courts, playgrounds, a swimming pool, also modern bathhouses and laundry facilities. My favorite amenity was the 9 mile bike trail that starts at the park and takes you close to downtown Lexington.  Randy and I haven't been riding much and the hilly terrain and the nearly 20 miles round trip really kicked my butt!  I really need to start riding more...
  We really fell in love with this park and ended up staying here 3 nights. Because of the dog show, the campground was full of participants.  We had to move every day in order to remain there but it was well worth it.  With almost 4 months under our belt, backing the TZD into the campsite is not so stressful anymore.  I am really proud of how far we have come!

Factory in Jackson Center, Ohio

Vintage Airstreams in front of factory

Terraport where we stayed for "free"

Cool Lounge where we hung out while they worked on the TZD

Gallipolis, Ohio Region

A large meadow in our RV park

 Well, the TZD tour has been idling here in Racine, Ohio for a week now. This is the longest time we have stayed at one location since embarking on our awesome journey. It has been really nice not having to pick up and go as frequently as we have during the last month or so.

  Our campground is at a privately owned park that occupies 90 acres.  It is a very bucolic setting with nicely manicured expanses of meadows, a swimming area, and three stocked fishing ponds. The infrastructure is a little worn and tired looking but has some real potential.
  One thing I have observed and find amusing is the nightly parade of golf carts that occurs in a private campground.  People will pile up with their dogs and/or children to drive around, waving at everyone they encounter.  Randy and I have always enjoyed a long stroll in the evening when the weather permits and we wonder what our neighbors think about us walking.
  Ranman is about an hour away from his account in Gallipolis, which is the maximum amount of time he is allowed to respond to an emergency here.  That may seem too far, but the Perfusionist in charge of the department also lives an hour away.  Most of the cases here are scheduled, so I assume that the liberal response time is a reflection of that.  This would certainly never fly in Pensacola!
  The hospital is an institution of about 150 beds that serves the surrounding areas. The population of Gallipolis itself is around 3500 people, so you can imagine that it is not a very busy heart program.   A contract perfusionist is required here because no one can be bribed with enough money to stay here permanently.
  This rural area doesn't have much going for it in terms of quality of life for a city dweller, but it is very beautiful. Rolling hills, farmland, and green pastures are everywhere you turn. The Ohio river flows through the landscape and everything looks very lush. The saving grace of being here is the college town of Athens, home of Ohio University. I just learned today that there are a number of famous names that have graduated from OU, Matt Lauer being the one most people recognize.

The list of offerings at a great local pub, Jackie O's

My first sourdough loaf baked in the TZD

Penn Wood Airstream Park

  After a complicated stay in Eastern Pennsylvania, we quickly moved on to Penn Wood Airstream Park. It is my favorite Airstream village so far and I think Ranman would agree.  Penn Wood's location is in a beautiful wooded glen in Limestone, PA. A small creek runs nearby and a roughly maintained trail follows it for a short distance to an artesian well.
  The largest city nearby is Clarion, a small college town that doesn't have much else going on.  R and I walked around downtown today to run errands and it took about an hour to see that the shops and businesses didn't have a lot to offer. No matter, a decent grocery and a laundromat is the minimum requirement for our TZD tours. Our recreation is usually hiking, biking or paddle boarding so a nearby state park often provides an area to do those types of activities. 
  Yesterday, we did a couple of hikes at Cook Forest State Park. Cook Forest is known for its very old trees and the forest cathedral is spectacular. Several trees in the forest are 300-400 years old.  When we first arrived, we watched a local fellow catching brook trout with minnows and now I have an itching to go fishing!  Since we are not local residents, the fishing licenses for us in public water are pretty expensive.  I think we will just hold out for a stocked private pond :-).
  The first day at this campground did not start off well. After driving all day to get here from waaaay on the other side of Pennsylvannia, the task of finding a suitable campsite and parking the TZD still had to be completed.
  Our usual parking routine involves the use of walkie talkies and a lot of hand gesturing.  The sites that were available to us as visitors were not that desirable and are pretty closely spaced.  After a few minutes of discussion about where to place the trailer in relation to the hook ups, we started to park.  After a few backup attempts by Randy, we finally had the trailer going in a direction that looked right. Just about the time, we thought everything was in place, a neighbor across the street comes out of his trailer and starts telling Randy that he is not parked correctly.  Well, being the hothead that I am sometimes about being "bossed around," I was not a happy camper! Where was he when we needed some input about how we were expected to park? Then, after Randy parked the way the first guy told him to, another one comes around and says that the first guy didn't know what he was talking about and suggested another position.  Aargh!
  Other than that, the "village" was looking promising because of its beautiful location in a secluded glen.  A creek runs through the property and there are numerous sites in the trees that had great views of the pond.  The park has a nice meeting hall with a full commercial kitchen, library, laundry facilities, modern bathrooms with showers, a playground, and an outdoor patio with plenty of seating.
  The second night there, Ranman and I were invited to happy hour and we got to meet some of our other neighbors. It turned out that everyone was very friendly.  One of the couples was especially interesting because they were retired teachers that were accomplished musicians. The wife was an Opera singer and an artist.  Her husband was quite chatty and made us feel very welcome.  There were a few people that enjoyed cooking and I was given a sourdough starter after I mentioned that mine died last year.  Poor Lyle, may he rest in peace.

Supervising Norm and Rusty while they plant some spruces behind the visitor  sites.

This was my first cake made on the road and with a few modifications, (mainly using less sugar in the frosting), I highly recommend it.


Sourdough Carrot Cake (King Arthur Flour Recipe)

1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1 cup sourdough starter, right from the fridge, unfed
3 eggs
1 cup (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine oil and sugar, and stir in sourdough starter. Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in pineapple, carrots, walnuts, coconut and vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring just to combine. 

Spoon batter into greased and floured 9 x 13-inch pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 45 minutes, or until cake tests done. Remove cake from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. 
Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 to 1/2 cup (1/2 to 1 stick) butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 1/2 cups (1 pound) confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup minced candied ginger, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional) 
milk

Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla; beat until light and fluffy. Add sugar gradually, beating well. Stir in nuts and/or ginger (if desired). Add milk, a little at a time, until frosting is a spreadable consistency. 

Eastern Pennsylvannia

  Randy and I were sorry to see Bennington, Vermont in our rear view mirror. Despite having to be there for financial business, we really enjoyed our stay. Because Randy has his first assignment in Ohio in less than a week, we left Vermont to travel eastward. 
  Our first stop from Vermont was in Eastern Pennsylvania. We arrived on a weekend and it was a very full state park that I had reserved online before arriving. Somehow (probably operator error), I managed to reserve a site that didn't allow pets. The person checking us in went above and beyond her duties to help us find a spot at The Promised Land State Park about 30 minutes down the road.  It was a very large park with 3 different campgrounds, but to make a long story short, we could not find a site large enough for the Tin Zen Den that allowed pets AND had electricity to run the air conditioning for the bull dog.  We finally found a site that was in the primitive camping area with tent campers and the TZD seemed to attract a lot of attention there. I heard a parent explaining to his little boy that some people like to camp in RVs instead of tents.  I wanted to tell the little boy and his dad that the Airstream is our full time home and that we choose to live in it instead of a conventional house.  I hope that we didn't come off as being too soft to tent camp, but I am afraid  that's exactly what it looked like....city folk unable to really "rough it".  It was an adequate site but we moved on to Penn Wood the next day.
  Overall, these two state parks had campsites that were very close together with little or no privacy. It was like staying in a parking lot surrounded by woods.  Pennsylvania has won awards recently for its outstanding camping areas but we were not impressed this time.  On a positive note, the bathrooms and showers were very modern and clean.  These eastern state parks were in contrast to Little Buffalo State Park which we had stayed at on our journey toward Maine.  Oh well, not all parks within a state should be expected to be equal in caliber.

Green Mountain, Vermont

  The Moose Pond State Park did not live up to our expectations so the Tin Zen Den was readied for an early departure after only one night of camping. I was unable to reserve a state park campsite near Bennington, Vermont where we had some real estate business to take care of. However, we happened upon a gem of a privately owned campground called Greenwood Lodge and Campsites. 
  It is owned by a couple in their 80's who operate it with the assistance of their son.  The grounds are sprawling with a mix of some in the open near the lodge, as well as some very woodsy secluded spots that offer as much privacy as desired. The lodge serves as an office for registration and as  a hostel for through hikers of the Appalachian Trail.  It is complete with modern bathrooms, a common lounging area, a game room, and a full kitchen for those staying in the lodge. There are three ponds on the property and canoe rentals are included with your stay.  
  Randy and I happily selected a site in a wooded area next to a cottage on the grounds. The cottage separates us from campers in a fifth wheel on its other side and we have not seen or heard them during our entire stay.  The site has a huge open grassy "yard" behind us that is completely encircled by woods. We have enjoyed the full moon and a campfire every evening. Ahhh, Vermont in the summer is heavenly!
  We hiked a trail that starts behind the property. It was about an hour of going straight up a mountain to a cell tower. Apparently, the cellular network that maintains the trail did not see the need for switchbacks since they use a vehicle to get to the tower.  We also discovered some old chair lifts for a long defunct downhill ski resort.  The area that we stumbled upon is now a cross country ski area in the winter. Signs of moose were also spotted, but I am still longing to see a live one in the New England states. 

White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire

  The Tin Zen Den is making its way to the midwest.  Ranman has his first assignment in Ohio, so this is our first stop along the way.  I was expecting New Hampshire to be very similar to the Highlands Region in Maine..... I was wrong.  Yes, there are mountains all around, there are abundant ponds, lakes and streams.....but the temperature here is considerably warmer.
  We are still in moose country, so I am still hopeful about seeing one in this area but we are also in bear country....I don't want to see one of those.
  Our neighborhood for the next two nights is Moose Pond State Park. There is a lovely pond that has crystal clear water and is about nine feet at its deepest point.  The locals like the pond for swimming but all I can think about are snakes.  Don't ask me why I fear snakes in fresh water, I just do.  Besides, when you have lived next to Gulf Coast beaches for so long, a pond just doesn't substitute for the beautiful ocean.
 The campsite is just average, we are near a picnic area close to the "beach".

An apple tree at the park entrance.

Our campsite during our stay.

  The actual site is in the foreground where you see the picnic table and the Green Egg grill. We were allowed to park across the street from it because the site was narrow and not well shaded.  Not much

privacy as we were pretty much next to the road in either location.  I paid for two nights when we arrived, but we were not in love with the park and left after just one night.  We were still dry camping with no hook ups and it was too warm for the Frenchie.  Lesson learned.... do not pay for more than one night as a "walk up".  A good night's rest is all you need before moving along to better possibilities if something about your location isn't ideal.

Maine Highlands Region

   After being at Acadia National Park for eight days, Ranman and I were ready to move away from the coast and into the mountains. A couple of fellow campers recommended the Moosehead Lake region which is approximately located in the middle of Maine. The scenery is stunning and the wildlife is abundant.
  There are 2 resident does that hang around the beach picnic area and feed near the campsites. They will allow you to approach them and are even indifferent to cars as they pass by. We were also lucky to see a doe and her fawn. Even though I still haven't seen a moose, I am hopeful we will see one before leaving tomorrow for New Hampshire. There are signs everywhere cautioning motorists to be on the lookout for moose since the incidence of crashes is very high in this area.
  Lily Bay State Park is our current address. It is a very nice campgound with very large, private campsites. Even though there are no electric or water hookups, there is a very nice "comfort station" that has several large bathrooms with showers and flush toilets big enough for an entire family to use together. The cost for 3 nights was around $77.
  There is a small tourist oriented town nearby called Greenville. We have found very few good places to eat during our travels since tourist towns have a captive audience and don't go out of their way to "wow" you with their cooking. The exception in Greenville is a food truck operated by a single French (Canadian?) woman selling wonderful crepes. Her simple offerings far exceeded our expectations and I would not hesitate to recommend her food over any of the local and more expensive restaurants.
  After completing this trip and attempting to prepare for our next leg, I finally had to concede to getting a Garmin GPS device to assist us with navigation. Up until today, Austin and I have been guiding Randy and the Tin Zen Den through the use of my cell phone.  It has been working adequately, but there have been a handful of times where I missed a turn or was unsure if I was going the right way. I usually mapped out our route by getting a screen shot of the line by line text directions because actively navigating with Google or Maps was eating up our monthly data.
  This worked out just fine as long as there weren't too many quick turns. As a last resort, I would doublecheck our position with the apps, but found that our limited cellular coverage was impeding our progress AND my safe driving. All of this referrring to my IPhone or IPad was driving me a little batty and I was feeling a lot of pressure because it's hard to find a good place to turn around that Airstream when I screwed up!   Thankfully Randy has been the most patient of drivers and has never gotten upset over my mistakes. However, he does hate it when I get too far ahead of him on the highway :).
  We tested out the Garmin on the way back from Bangor and it is the bomb!  Unlike a cell phone, a Garmin uses coordinates from a satellite to navigate.   I have no idea why I was trying to make everything so difficult. I suppose I was trying not to have products that duplicate functions and I should have consulted some experienced car travelers for advice.... another lesson learned.
  Dinner was very good tonight. Ranman grilled steaks and I made a chimichurri sauce to accompany them. This Argentinian dish also works well on lamb or grilled fish.

Argentinian Chimichurri Sauce (Food Network)

1 cup lightly packed chopped flat leaf parsley
3-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
2 tblsp fresh oregano (optional)
2 tblsp chopped shallot or onion
3/4 cup olive oil
3 tblsp red or sherry wine vinegar
3 tblsp lemon juice

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until finely chopped, but not pureed.