One of my brothers lives on Kuhn Lake in Indiana. Kuhn Lake is part of the Barbee Lake Chain. The Barbee Lake Chain is made of seven interconnected, natural lakes: Big Barbee Lake, Little Barbee Lake, Kuhn Lake, Irish Lake, Sawmill Lake, Sechrist Lake, and Banning Lake. This chain of lakes was formed by retreating glaciers during the Pleistocene era as were most of northeast Indiana’s lakes.
We are scheduled to leave the area on Monday and wanted to get up to his place to visit before we left.
The view of Kuhn Lake from his backyard is nothing short of magnificent. Kuhn Lake is small and the boat speed is idle only. It is the perfect fishing lake, and is so relaxing to sit and people watch. All of the lakes on this chain are idle speed except Big Barbee.
We visited on a great day. It was Pirate Weekend on the lakes and we saw some cool boats decorated like pirate ships.
Cruising around the lakes at idle speed is my second favorite place to be. My first favorite of course is cruising around the country in the RV.
What a great way to end our summer with family. Tomorrow will be spent preparing to head west. Thanks for reading and following us on our adventures. Bookmark and stop in often to see where we are at and where we have been.
Leaving a campsite is a lot of work but after 15 months we have it down to a science. Well, almost. One thing I never did, that I always say I should have, is make a checklist of things to do. It seems like we always miss something. Usually it is something minor, but I think I will make a list.
Back at home in Convoy, Ohio, the kids were glad to see mom and dad, but sad to leave Grandma and Grandpa. I think they had a memorable vacation that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
It stormed in Northwest Ohio several times in the past few days. As I write this we are under a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and I can see a tornado spotter sitting in a vehicle on the road when the lightning flashes. The wind rocks the camper back and forth making me feel like I am back on that ferry boat. At times like this you wish you had a basement to go down to.
Okay, back to bed. Tomorrow is another adventure. Thanks for stopping by and checking in on us. Safe travels.
Cooking outside when camping is one of the best things to do – especially in the morning. Scrambled eggs with cheese, toast, and sausage patties made for a healthy start to the day.
The first place I dragged the grandkids yesterday was to the birthplace of Thomas Edison in Milan, Ohio. The house was built in 1841, and Thomas Alva Edison was born here on February 11, 1847. He lived in this house until he was seven and then his parents moved to Port Huron.
Did you know that Edison’s first patent was for a device that recorded legislative votes? He was only 21. You can read more about some of his key inventions at History.com.
From here we drove to Kelleys Island Ferry in Lakeside Marblehead, Ohio and drove our car onto the Carmen Lee, a ferry boat that took us across Lake Erie to Kelleys Island. The grandkids had never been on a ferry boat before and thought it was quite exciting.
Round trip cost us $140 for the auto ($40), one senior adult ($20), two regular adults (me and the 15-year-old grandson) ($24 each) and two children ($16 each). It might have been a little expensive, but it is an experience they will never forget.
Once we arrived on the island we headed to Kelleys Island State Park first at the northern end (only a two mile drive from the southern end) and saw the Glacial Grooves.
According to Kelleys Island Chamber of Commerce website, “The glacial grooves are 400 feet long, 35 feet wide, and up to 15 feet deep. They were created by the slow movement of the massive glacier that created the Great Lakes and Lake Erie Islands.”
Lunch on the island consisted of pizza and rootbeer at Caddy Shack Square on Division Street. Shops closeby sell t-shirts, rocks, and souveneirs. The mini-golf course is $7 per person, or $10 to play as many times as you want.
On the way back to the ferry we stopped at Inscription Rock on the south end of the island.
Inscription Rock was discovered partially buried in the sand of the lake shore in 1833 and by 1915, it was appearing on postcards for tourists in the area and is still a well-visited site to this day. This rock is covered with native petroglyph drawings that are slowly fading away because of the soft nature of the limestone and the waters of Lake Erie.
The rock currently measures 32 feet by 21 feet. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Definitely worth a stop to see.
Back on the ferry, it took us back to the mainland and just 2 miles east is Marblehead Lighthouse State Park.
Marblehead Lighthouse is one of the oldest lighthouses still in operation on the Great Lakes. You can climb the lighthouse for only $3. There are 77 winding steps to the top. They only take cash though. Don’t forget to walk through the free museum and visit the gift shop.
The park is beautiful. The kids played on the rocks at the edge of the water and watched boats go by. There are picnic tables available and clean restrooms. There is no fee to stop in and park and walk around. Don’t miss this amazing piece of history if you are ever in the area.
This day of our vacation ended with swimming in the gorgeous pool at Gotta Getaway RV Park, and sitting by a relaxing campfire eating smores.
Thank you so much for coming along with us on our RV traveling adventures. I hope you enjoy reading about all the places we visit and seeing some of the photos I take. Comment and let me know you were here. You can even share the posts on social media if you know of others who would enjoy the blog.
Yesterday morning we began our day at a small local restaurant for breakfast.
The Amsden House Restaurant on Main Street in Bellevue was a super nice and clean establishment. The kids were given coloring sheets, and the food was good. The meals were large portions for a reasonable price. We always try to support the small town businesses, especially restaurants. If you are ever in the area, we highly recommend this one for a good family breakfast.
On to the main event for the day – Seneca Caverns. Rich and I have lived in Ohio most of our lives and have never been to this one. This was one event the grandkids will never forget.
Seneca Caverns was discovered in 1872 by two young boys who were out hunting with their dog. The dog fell into a sinkhole, and the boys followed him down into a cave. Interesting fact about this caverns is that it is actually a bunch of fractures in the earth. It was not formed by water movement, but rather cracks in the earth. There are places where you can see how the floor you are standing on simply broke away from the ceiling and fell down.
It is one of the largest underground caverns and is definitely a trek underground you will not soon forget. It is important to note that this climb down to the Ole Mistry River on level 7 is not easy. I would label it as moderately difficult. I did it, but every muscle in my body felt it afterwards.
We were fortunate to catch it on a drought year when the water level was low and were able to go all the way down to level 7 – 110 feet underground – where the water table was. The problem is then you have to climb back up out of the cave. Some of the crevices are tight and narrow, but if I can do it, most anyone can.
I did not take very many photos because both of my hands were busy hanging on to the rocks and walls.
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After making it back out of the cavern alive, we headed to the Mad River & NKP Railroad Museum. The grandkids did not want to go inside and walk through all the trains but we spent some time in the gift shop and took some photos.
Tickets are available across the street in the gift shop. We enjoyed seeing the trains from a distance. After the caverns we were hot and tired. It was near 90 degrees outside with high humidity. We came back to the campgrounds and swam in the pool until thunderstorms blew through the area and we spent the rest of the evening inside watching movies and playing with toys.
Yesterday we headed east on Highway 30 from Convoy, Ohio to 53/67 North exit toward Tiffin. Highway 20 then took us to Bellevue, Ohio and our final destination at the Gotta Getaway RV Park. The motorhome ran fine and we didn’t have any issues. The grandkids all traveled well and we didn’t have any problems with them either. They pretty much had devices in their hands and earbuds in their ears for the whole two-hour drive.
Highway 53 North is a nice two-lane highway in good shape – compared to some of the roads we have driven. There are a lot of small hills in the road which made the ride fun for the kids. It was a beautiful sunny, 80-degree day. What a wonderful beginning for a grand (grandparent/grandchildren) vacation.
North central Ohio is green this last week of July. Beautiful fields of tall corn stand about four or five feet high. Some of the corn is already beginning to tassel here. The beans are green, but the wheat has already been harvested, the straw has been baled, and the golden fields left behind are empty now.
Gotta Getaway RV Park in Bellevue, Ohio was our destination. I booked this park for only $50 per night for three nights. One piece of advice – make sure to put 20 E on the address. If you just put 4888 US-20 as listed on Google Maps, the GPS will take you to the wrong place. The correct address is 4888 US Hwy 20 E. The campground is on the east side of Bellevue.
RV sites contain electricity and water only, there are no sewer hookups at the sites. There is a dump station, or a honey wagon service if you need to dump while camping. We were parked in site 4, which was a nice level pull-through site facing the pool and playground.
The kids were excited to see the pool and the playground. These are very nice and clean. The store has a fun arcade in the back where kids can play games, play pool, and play ping pong. The store is small, but well-stocked with necessities. The workers were helpful and polite.
We went swimming in the pool, played on the playground, won prizes in the arcade, played games at the picnic table, and ate hot dogs on the campfire. It was a great day at Gotta Getaway RV Park in Bellevue, Ohio.
Stay tuned for day 2 of our grandparent/grandchildren vacation adventure.
We are getting ready to pull out this morning with three grandchildren in tow – ages 15, 9, and 5. We have already accumulated a ton of toys, games, clothes, pillows, blankets, and snacks. Oh my goodness, the snacks. These kids will probably eat us out of house and home (or RV motorhome) while we are gone.
Stay tuned for the adventure as we take them to Seneca Caverns in Bellevue, Ohio and a few other places.
Living in a motorhome full-time is no more glamorous than living in a sticks and bricks house. Driving your house down the bumpy, and many times “under construction” highways across the country takes a pretty big toll on the unit and the stuff inside. It is all part of the process.
Breakdowns are common. Many times our issues are minimal and affordable to fix. Rich and I have learned to fix many things ourselves as most full-time RVer’s do. This time I don’t know though. I try to stay positive but we are looking at an electrical issue.
I live my life under the assumption that things always work out for the best and this issue will too…eventually. I may just have to be patient. Schedules change regularly and I am always mindful when I make reservations to note what the policy is on cancellations.
We finally found someone to come and hook up a computer to the engine to find out what error codes there were, and one of the fixes is only $65. We will start there and work our way up to the expensive fixes if we have to.
We are scheduled to do some traveling next week with the grandkids before leaving for a long time on Monday, July 31. We hope to be fixed and ready to go by then, but our schedule always remains flexible.
I also want to mention that I don’t feel like we have any more problems in this 20-year-old RV than some of the newer units. We have met many people in a lot newer units who have had some pretty serious problems too. We hope to stay in this one as long as it is still fixable and gets us from point A to point B.
To anyone out there who is a mechanic I would like to say that there needs to be more RV mechanics who are willing to come to where you are broke down. We struggle with calling many places sometimes before finding help.
I have been thinking about starting a new blog to document our travels and experiences since moving into an RV and traveling full-time.
I have been writing faithfully about the places we have seen at Medium, but feel that more people would be able to read about our travels here where it is free to read.
At Medium it costs $4.99 per month to read unlimited stories and articles, although you can read three articles per month for free.
Don’t get me wrong, I love it when you read my posts at Medium because that’s how I get paid, but reaching my readers is more important than the tiny amount of money I might make.
I also love taking photos. All the photos on this site were taken by me unless otherwise noted. Some of my favorites are posted in the side bar slideshow on the bottom right.
I have decided the best way to bring you along with us on our journeys is to post a daily blog right here on the landing page of my website. I hope you bookmark it and check back regularly. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
