Well, wouldn't you know it, after getting our plans worked out we realize an adjustment needs to be made. The House on the Rocks is a place that we have wanted to stop at for sometime. As I was looking over our travelling route it was apparent that we would be going by this area as we travelled to the St. Cloud area from Illinois. So we made an alteration allowing us to stop for 2 nights in this area before going up to St. Cloud. This will allow us a full day to go to the House on the Rocks which we have been told by several people that we would need in order to see this attraction. The campground in St. Cloud that we had planned to make a reservation when it opened later this month will not be used. We found a Passport America campground near the "House" that we were able to make reservations today for 2 nights.

Preparing for Summer Trip

Tom and I have spent the past 2 days getting our plans in order for our summer travels. Our plans include a family reunion in Fayette, Ohio, a Newmar International Rally in DuQuoin, Illinois, a Newmar FMCA Pre-Rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota and a FMCA International Rally in St. Paul, Minnesota. These events are all occurring within one month. We had to figure out the travel time from one event to the next and where our stops for each day will be. Usually, we don't make reservations this far ahead but because of the timeframe that these events occur we feel more at ease knowing where we will be from day to day. The reservations for the rallies have been made on line, when possible, or have been sent off through regular mail. Reservations for campground stops between rallies have been completed except for a campground that will not be open until later this month.
The time following the rallies is open-ended at this time. We have found that when attending rallies we hear about events or places to visit that sounds interesting and we make plans based on this knowledge. We've passed through Minnesota several times but haven't spent much time in this state so we hope to see what this state has to offer. We then expect to head toward the east through Wisconsin and Michigan. These states are usually cooler, especially around the Great Lakes area, in the summer time than other places.

First campout of 2008

On Friday, April 4, 2008, we took our motorhome to Woodbine, Maryland, a mere 27 miles from home, for the weekend with the Traveling Americans. It was our first time out since last fall when we were at Fort Whaley near Ocean City, Md. Friday was cool and rainy, Saturday was sunny and cool and then Sunday rainy and raw. It was good to be together with folks that we hadn't seen all winter. There were 10 units. Friends of ours, Ed and Barb Perry, attended since the Good Sam group that they had belonged to dissolved and, hopefully, they will join up with our group.
Friday evening we went out to eat as a group at the Four Seasons restaurant. The food was good and prices reasonable. Obviously, the restaurant is liked by lots of people as it seemed to get busier as the evening went on.
Saturday morning, the weekend hosts provided a continental breakfast. Late morning, Bruce and Cricket McGinnis and Tom and I went out to visit some wineries in the area. The Linganore Winery had a wine and cheese tasting for $5.00/person which we participated in. There were 5 different cheeses, several crackers and numerous wines. We were provided a paper with the wines listed along with the cheese to eat with what wines. Very nice wine tasting. We then moved on and stopped at Lowe's winery and Elk Run winery. Lowe's wine tasting was free, Elk Run charged $2.00. It was a nice afternoon. For our Saturday dinner we had a potluck style meal. With this group there is always plenty food.
Sunday breakfast was again a potluck meal. Breakfasts seem to always be heavy on one type of food and this time was no different, there were several egg dishes- casseroles and quiches-all good and each a little different from the others. After breakfast and between rain falls we all started to prepare to go home. We were the last ones to leave from our campsite but on our way out the campground we passed the Hagans as they were hooking up their tow vehicle to their motorhome.
Travis had a chance to visit with some of his dog friends. Little Penny seemed to have doubled in size since last fall but she still was full of energy. Calvin, an oldtimer like Travis, was content to just watch that little Penny go through her gyrations. And then there were Jackie and Chelsea that Travis learned to know in Texas a year ago. Travis enjoys camping- he is walked several times a day and in the motorhome he can keep an eye on both of us without much trouble.