Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Rawley Point Lighthouse, Two Rivers, WI

 With only a few more days left here in Two Rivers, it was another day of exploring. Yesterdays adventure took us to Point Beach State Forest and the Rawley Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1853 and is still in use today. The original brick lighthouse was dismantled in 1894 and the newer steel tower (from the Chicago Worlds Fair) was installed.
 

 Lighthouses are always cool to see. I understand this one is still in use and contains a residence, however they are very, very animate that you only view from a distance. Kinda disappointing since the lighthouse is touted as a tourist destination with in the park. Ah well, it was still a good day out!

 Interesting yard art we saw on the way

 Pretty cool mural at this buildings entrance.

Another view of town from across the East Twin River.

Tonight we're off to dinner at an old German Pub and Deli for dinner, should be fun and then another day of exploring tomorrow, before getting ready to head out. That's all for now, so until next time.......................

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Two Rivers Photo Walks


We've been enjoying our time here at Two Rivers, a little bit of sight seeing and a whole lot of just hanging out. The park is almost empty, which makes it very peaceful and quite most of the time. We have been visiting  with Sheryl's niece and husband off and on when we can, but trying not to over do it either. The last couple of day I have found myself with time to kill, so a couple of photo walks were in order. Like we have mentioned many times before, we love small towns and especially unique small towns like this one. Here are a few shots from around the area, hope you enjoy.











The last three were from Manitowoc, the next town over. Including the S.S. Badger (largest passenger steamship in the U.S.) and the Manitowoc Lighthouse. A WWII submarine on display at the Maritime Museum.
There's really quite a bit to see here in this area of Wisconsin and we are just pacing ourselves to get it all in.
If you would like to see more of this area, you can check out our Flickr site, just click on the Gallery page to the right. That's it for now and we'll see you back here again.........................

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Two Rivers Wisconsin's Fishing Village Museum

 Two Rivers like most old sea/lakeside towns was once a thriving fishing village. The modern Two Rivers has retained a small portion of that history in it's fishing village museum set along the river. The fog gave the village an eerie old time feel and made for some interesting shots.

 Old Coast Guard Boat

 Restored Lighthouse


 Foggy Boardwalk

 Low clouds the other day reflecting the city lights back onto the water.


 A couple of sunset shots from last night as the rain moved out.

The last couple of days we've just been staying in as the rain and fog made sight seeing almost useless, not to mention just good days to stay in and do a whole lot of nothing. We are enjoying our time here, today it's sunny and warm so were off to explore the Maritime Museum in Manitowoc and pop in on our niece at work.  Ok, thats it for now and we'll see you back here before long.................

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Stop N Dock RV Park, Two River WI

 Home for the next two weeks is the Stop N Dock Marina and RV Park here in Two Rivers. We were quite surprised when we pulled in and saw only a handful of RV's in the campground, considering it was the beginning of Labor Day Weekend.

 As luck would have it, the second site from the water was open and our camphost hooked us right up with it. You can't ask for a much better view.


 Couple of shots from one of the docks. It seems this is not a very well known park or marina. Considering it's Labor Day Weekend and there is a large festival in town, the park is empty, but hey, that's fine with us!!!

We are here to visit with Sheryl's Niece and her husband, they stopped by to say hey after we got all set up. We were only going to stay a week, but after seeing how nice the area, weather and our site is we are going to extend our visit for two weeks. Nothing like the full timing life to make hard decisions like that.....lol

There is a lot to explore in this part of Wisconsin, so stay tuned and see what we come up with..................

Saturday, September 5, 2015

South Bend Indiana and My Childhood Home


We left the Fleetwood Service Center a little later than we wanted to, luckily our next stop was only a couple hours away. We arrived in South Bend Indiana, found a nice RV Park and settled in for the night.

 Friday morning we were off and running early as we knew we had a longer than usual drive up to Wisconsin. But first we had to stop by and see my childhood home. Several months ago Sheryl and I were looking through some old pictures and found one that had the address of the house in South Bend where I was born. Pretty cool, and thought, if we ever got up that way, it would be pretty neat to stop by and see it. Well that day finally came and we were here. Looking it up on Google maps the house was on the outskirts of town and from the looks of it, progress and growth did not creep into this part of it. The house (only one of ten in the whole area) is still surrounded by corn fields and farm land. Above is the road the house is on.


And there is was, no change in 53 years, since I was last here. Of course the trees are larger, but that's about it. I was hoping someone would be home, but seems everyone was gone and I didn't want to looks like a prowler snooping around. We just looked from the road, reminisced and took a few pictures.What a really cool feeling, I know it may not seem like a big deal to some, but for me, with very limited background on any of my family, it was good to see.
After our short visit we were off and running again, we set our sights on Two Rivers Wisconsin and headed north. I was really dreading the drive through Chicago but it didn't turn out too bad, lots of traffic and crazy drivers, but traffic flowed and we were thru it on no time.
We made it into Two Rivers around 4pm, got all set up and went to dinner with Sheryl's niece. But more on all that later. So until next time................................

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Fleetwood Factory Service Center

 Monday afternoon we arrived at the Fleetwood Factory Service Center for a nights stay at their campground, for our 6:00am appointment Tuesday. The camping area is just a gravel lot with elec hookups only next to the center. The first thing that struck us was all the brand new high dollar motorhomes that were here for service. Well, we got all checked in, our spot assigned and the procedure for Tuesday explained. Nothing else to do but hang out and wait for morning.

 5:00am wake up time sure came early, but we were up and at the center at 06:00 as instructed. We met our technicians and off to the rig we went and explained our leaking slideout problem. We also asked about a couple other issues and there was no problem getting them addressed also. The rig was moved over to the shop area where they told us we could hang out or go get some breakfast if we liked, we choose breakfast. We returned about an hour later and they had already finished sealing the bedroom slideout and just needed to wait for the adhesive and caulking to set up so they could leak test it. In the mean time, they installed a new outside grab handle and addressed a leak at the back of the refrigerator. Most everything was done by around 1:30 and we were released back to the campground. We were still waiting on a switch to come in from the warehouse along with a part for the icemaker.  Around 3:00 the techs showed up at the campground and installed the water pump switch but the icemaker part had still not arrived, would prob have to wait till tomorrow. Ok, another night in the campground on their dime, no big deal. Wed we waited and waited and waited, no techs showed, So 11:30 rolled around and the service super said our techs were working on something else and it would be another couple hours before they could get back to us, not a happy camper!!! Ok, so the 2 hours go by still no techs, back up to the office where again it'll be another hour or so, arrrrrrrrrr. If we didn't want our ice maker fixed so bad we would have just left. The techs finally show up at 2:30, install the part and found out that it was not the problem, Ends up the icemaker itself went out, ok we can just pick one up later. Nothing like waiting 8 hours for a 5 minute job!!! Not the techs fault, they just do what they are assigned for the day and apparently we were not a priority. 3:00pm, a lighter checking account and we were off and running again.

An extra note on our earlier observation. After talking with a few folks and the techs, seems that parking lot full of 1/4 to 3/4 million dollar motorhomes were all brand new recently purchased, and all had major issues fresh out of the factory, are you kidding!!! Our rig is 14 years old and you would expect problems to creep up, but to spend that kind of money for that kind of quality, boy would I be pissed and many of the owners were!!! Makes our happy little home seem so much better.

Like I said, we hit the road around 3:00 and made it to another really nice campground just south of South Bend. Off topic, but this campground has the softest grass Sheryl and I have ever experienced, it was just amazing!!! If you happened to be stressed out from a hard day of driving, just plant your tootsies in this grass and all your troubles would melt away....yes it's that soft ahhhhhhhhh.

Tomorrow we are off to our final destination for a week or so in Two Rivers WI to visit one of Sheryl's nieces. But fist we are taking a side trip into South Bend to visit my childhood home. Yes 53 years later it's still there. I lived there until we moved to Florida when I was 3 years old. We figured it would be interesting to stop by to see it and hope the owners don't call the cops on the two strangers staring at their home....lol We'll let you know how all that goes, but for now it's off to bed, it's been a couple of long days. Take Care and we'll see ya back here next time.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Cumberland Covered Bridge and Blackford County Indiana

 Since we had a couple of days to kill and we pushed on through to the Decatur area from Cuba MO. it was another day of exploring the local area. Sheryl and I both had never seen a covered bridge, and since there happened to be one just down the road a bit, off we went.

 I know for many people who grow up around these simple things it's no big deal, but for some of us it's a throw back to the past and reminder of simpler times, even if we've never seen one before. The Cumberland Bridge is unique as it was washed away in the early 1900s, not long after being built. The folks in the area found the bridge about a mile down stream, recovered it and transported it back to it original place, all with 1900's rural era technology, quite an amazing feat for those days.

 After spending some time at the bridge and exploring the countryside we started back towards the campground and discovered a pleasant surprise. The small town close to the campground was actually the Blackford County Seat, complete with 1800 era town square and the massive courthouse taking center stage.

 At each corner of the courthouse grounds, there is a tribute to our Military and all of those from the local area (named) who died in each war since the Civil war.

 Beautiful Old Building

 Inside the Cumberland Bridge

 Decay off the Town Square

County Library

That was our outing while waiting for today to come. Today we move on over to the Fleetwood Factory Service Centers Campground and get ready for tomorrow's appointment. They are saying the service should only take 4-6 hours, we sure hope that's the case. Then we can continue our journey northward towards Wisconsin for a week or so visiting relatives.

That's it for now, we'll let you know how the service goes, so until then...................................