The Woods are Lovely Bright and Deep but We Have Promises To Keep

 Monday morning, October 10, 2022 is tomorrow and we plan to leave early for a long drive to Lewiston, Idaho and then on to Portland, Oregon.  As time allows we will be updating our blog here as a visual diary of our travels.  Any interested person is welcome to check it out.  We get nothing for our our posts but love to share it.  Who knows, you the reader may someday want to take a river cruise out west and this may be a good place to learn what to do / or not to do???

Meanwhile, you get to see a few of the sights we are leaving behind here in Northern Michigan.

The maple trees are beautiful and we know we will be seeing many more across the Upper Peninsula.

Check back and we will try to share a few new views as we drive across the United States.  

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Fall is in the Air

 We now have had a couple of nights of freezing temperatures.  The maple trees are full of color here in northern Michigan.  Karen and Bill are about to leave for a journey into the West that will include a cruise on a couple of rivers.  

                If you would like to see where we end up, feel free to come back soon and travel with us.

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Home to the Ice and Snow

 On Saturday, March 5, 2022, we arrived back home to the Manistee River in Michigan.  We started seeing snow in the fields around Mt. Pleasant, and as usual we had plenty by the time we hit Crawford County.  Lucky for us, two of our close neighbors kept our driveway and sidewalks clear so we could get to the garage and house to unload the truck.   We received another five inches of fresh snow on Sunday to remind us of what we have been missing.  We got out the snow blower and snow shovels and took care of it.  Nevertheless, Dorthy was right, there is no place like home.

Above is a photo of Karen's new Kentucky Derby glasses that she has already put into her collection.

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See you next trip as we plan to take a river cruise out West in the middle of October.

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We Hit the Jackpot in Louisville

 On Friday, 3/4/2022, we left Nashville behind and continued north toward home.  We stopped to search for Kentucky Derby glasses in Louisville for Karen's ongoing collection .  At the second antique shop she hit it big and found the last six Derby glasses that she did not have.  They all were in like-new condition.  She bought them for very reasonable prices.  It was her lucky day so she  bought a couple lottery tickets as well.  On Saturday we should be back home to the snow and cold weather.  Oh well - sap may be starting to run in the Maple trees so syrup cannot be far behind.

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A Fun Day In Nashville

 We drove in the remaining few mile to Nashville on Thursday and got a room at the Holiday Inn near the Grand Ole Opry,  We took a shuttle into downtown and got on a Hop-On-Hop-Off bus for  a tour of the city.  We have been here before but it has been many years ago.  After dinner we walked over to see a show at the Opry.

We had pretty good seats and really enjoyed the show!  We saw Lorrie Morgan and others.  Lorrie Morgan remarked that her drummer had been with her longer than any of her husbands.  Karen looked it up and found out she has been married six times, so she was not exaggerating. 

The music was excellent.  Here is Karen ready to go in to find our seats.

We saw the Gatlin Brothers, and the Bellamy Brothers, as well as Lorrie Morgan plus a couple of minor entertainers.  It was fun and today we push on toward Louisville and beyond.

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March 3, 2022 Travel Update on Thursday

 We dropped off Miss Kitty at La Feria, Texas on Tuesday and made it to Humble, Texas to spend the night.  We hit Houston during rush hour so driving through it was a real treat, but we made it through with barely a scratch or a dent. Whew.  Now, Thursday morning, we are in Jackson, Tennessee where we spent the night at a Courtyard by Marriott.  A stay at this motel cost $180 (which is the most we have had to pay on this entire trip) and not only are we not getting a complimentary breakfast - but there is not even free morning coffee.   Courtyard by Marriott is not a good place to stay while on the road.  Save your money.

Bad

This Thursday morning we will enter Nashville, Tennessee where we plan to see some sights and attend the Grand Ole Opry tonight.  What fun, we hope!

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March 1 and We are Starting for Home

 It has been a cooler and wetter-than-usual winter in Texas this year but we saw a few hot days and plenty of moderate warm weather.  Michigan is still staying mostly below freezing so we will not hurry back on our journey.

Here is one last look at the pool and a small group of senior citizens playing volleyball like a group of kids!  It has been fun and we plan to return next December.

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