Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Fun Holiday Weekend

I knew something was different about this weekend.  I could sense the excitement in the air on Friday.  During the week, we basically are alone in the campground, but people usually start coming in on Thursday. Fridays are always a busy day here.  This weekend was really busy since it was a three day weekend.  Campers kept coming past us and we were wondering where they were going to park. Everyone found a spot.

Lots of activity.

On Friday, Mom looked out the window and noticed a motor home going the wrong way on the street.
He sat there for a while deciding what to do.  His rig was too big to make this turn. There were trees on both side of him.
 
We walked down to get a closer look.  He has a golf cart and a car on a carrier.  The part where the golf cart is riding is wider than the car.
 
It got the tree.
The guy is either inexperienced or just didn't plan ahead to make his exit.  We always plan out our exit whether it is from a gas station, rest area or campground.  After the guy finally got going, he stopped in the middle of the road to empty his trash.  He could have pulled over to do that, but he didn't and caused a traffic jam.  Some people just don't care I guess.

Friday night was a late night.  We were up until 1 a.m.  Dad had some work issues, so he was up, which meant I was up.  Mom took me out at 1 a.m. and we slept in until 6:30 a.m.  When we got up, people were already up and doing things.  Mom did some shopping in the a.m. and then the folks went out in the afternoon.  They brought me some chicken.  Yum!

Sunday was a fun day.  I stayed outside for four hours and watched everyone.  The folks went out in the afternoon.  They stopped at Ollie's Bargain Outlet which Mom decided was a fun place to shop. They have just about everything there.  She bought a cookbook for $3, Lost Ocean coloring book for $5, normally $15.95, an oriole feeder for $5 (it was $10 at Walmart) and a few other things.  They ate at another Chinese buffet, but were disappointed.  They have not found a buffet here that they like. We grilled some chicken for dinner.

Yesterday, we drove to a park and walked.  I almost walked to Pennsylvania  I could have made it, but Mom wanted to turn around.  We were so close.  We walked on a trail that used to be where the railroad traveled.  We had to share it with bike riders.  It was okay, but not a lot to see.

This guy was on the road.

Me and my Dad.

Just some rocks.


I think Mom was trying to get the creek in the picture.
After our walk, we came home and cooled off.  Most of the campers were already gone.  It goes from crazy to silent in just a matter of hours.   The folks went to lunch and brought me back some fries.  We chilled the rest of the day and had BBQ for dinner.  It was a good weekend.

This morning, Mom and I sat outside until the bees came and then we came in and cleaned.  I hate cleaning.  It is chilling time again.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Really Good At Chilling

Thursday, May 26, 2016

30 Years!

 

Mom and Dad celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on May 24th.  Mom made a Tres Leches cake aka a three milk cake.  I tasted it, it was good.  Here is the recipe, if you are interested.

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan.
  2. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
  3. Cream butter or margarine and the 1 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract; beat well.
  4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture 2 tablespoons at a time; mix until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Pierce cake several times with a fork.
  6. Combine the whole milk, condensed milk, and evaporated milk together. Pour over the top of the cooled cake.
  7. Whip whipping cream, the remaining 1 cup of the sugar, and the remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla together until thick. Spread over the top of cake. Be sure and keep cake refrigerated, enjoy!

This and That

The sun has been out the past few days. It has been in the 80's which is quite a warm up from the 50's. We turned our AC on yesterday.  Mom and I sat outside for a little while, but the bugs got me, so we came inside.

The swimming pool is now full.  Five trucks came with water for it.  They then filled the rest of it up with a hose and rain water.

The folks went to a movie on Saturday.  Mom had not been for eight years.  She knew the prices on snacks would be high, but was still surprised that they charged $5 for a bottle of water.  They bought a large buttered popcorn, too.  I think the total price was $15.

We found out some good news. We are going to Escapade this year!  We didn't think it would happen, but Dad has been extended just long enough for us to do it.  Escapade is an RV rally put on by Escapees.   We attended our first one two years ago in Indiana.  We were supposed to go last year, but we had to miss it due to the delays in buying our RV.  It was held in AZ.  This one is taking place in Vermont.  We have never been to Vermont.  Ben and Jerry's is in Vermont.  The folks hope to take a tour.  Anyway, Dad is taking three weeks off and we are going to have a real vacation without doctor visits.

It will be a busy camping weekend here.  They are holding softball and volleyball tournaments.  There will be lots of things for me to watch for sure.  I am not sure what the folks are planning on doing.  I hope they take me somewhere.

We have a squirrel who has decided the hummingbird feeder is his. Mom is not happy with him.  She is thinking of putting an oriole feeder out, but you know the same thing will happen.

We hope everyone has a nice and safe holiday weekend!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Enjoying The Sunshine

Friday, May 20, 2016

The Sun Is Out!

We are having a beautiful day here!  The high will be in the 70's.  We have been in the 50's with clouds and/or rain.  We haven't seen the sun much in the past month, so Mom said if we got our chores done early, we could sit outside. 

They are filling up the pool today.  They have trucks bring in the water.  We have never seen that before.  The KOA just used a hose.  It lowered our water pressure quite a bit.  This is probably a nice option since they have a well here. They may not want to put too much pressure on it.  It seems like our water pressure gets quite low at times and filling up the pool would have been really hard on it.



Four trucks so far and the water is up to the lights.  Mom thinks it will take two more trucks at least.

This is a view from the pool area/putt putt golf.  You can barely see our RV.

Can you see it?  We are by the first dark leaved tree from the left.

There we are.
We put our awning out today along with our window awnings so that they can get some air before the next round of rain hits.  It is pretty shaded on our site now due to all the trees.  We are having trouble with our satellite at this site.

Tomorrow is the Preakness.  It is held not far from us.  The forecast is an all day rain.  Our campground is having an open house and Old Time Day where they make ice cream, churn butter, offer hayrides, tours of the log cabin and lots of other activities.  Mom had been looking forward to it, but it sounds like it will be a soggy day.  She said she will skip it.

I was all excited about sitting outside today, but I couldn't get a nap in due to the pool trucks buzzing by.  I am going to rest inside for a while and then go back out later.  Mom said she is going to BBQ dinner.

Awww....this is much better.
Joey,
The Greyhound Who Needs A Nap Before He Lays Outside

Thursday, May 19, 2016

My Fault?

 

Dad blamed me for something and I don't think it is fair.  Let me tell you the story.  Last Thursday night, the folks came home from grocery shopping.  I was helping as I usually do by standing in front of the refrigerator eating my dinner.  Scout taught me to block the refrigerator when the folks are putting the groceries away.  :::snicker:::   All of a sudden an alarm went off in the RV.  Mom thought it was the smoke detector.  She tried to stop it, but it didn't stop.  Dad said it was the propane detector.  He got down on the floor where it is located and stopped it.  Mom was concerned that we had a propane leak.  Dad watched the detector for a while and it was normal.  Dad decided it was my fault.  He said, get this, that I passed gas and set it off.  Mom came to my defense and said that I couldn't set it off.  Dad reminded her of a time that they camped with the family and my skin cousin set theirs off in their camper.  His gas was so bad that he actually set it off.  I still don't think I did it, but the detector has not gone off since. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Innocent


Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Ladew Topiary Gardens

Just another rainy day here.

The rain has kept the folks close to home.  Saturday, they ate lunch at a Chinese buffet.  They have yet to find one in this area that they really like.  They visited Wolfgang Candies.  There was conflicting information as to whether there were tours given. The only employee that was working was not friendly. She stood with her arms crossed and just stared at them as they shopped.  Mom was scared to ask her about a factory tour.  BOL!  They bought some candy and left.  If it was up to Mom, they wouldn't have bought anything.  There was no thank you, just SIGN WITH YOUR FINGER.  Yep, she definitely loves her job.  They stopped at the Amish market and found a "I Love My Greyhound" sign.  They had to buy that.  They also bought scrapple.  Mom fixed it on Sunday, but she didn't like it. They bought some last year and thought it was good.  Saturday night, they ate at the Corner Stable.  The restaurant is really small on the inside and the parking lot is even smaller.  Their ribs are from Denmark and they are excellent according to Mom. I had the chicken and it was great! Dad said the crab cakes are the best he has ever had.  There is another restaurant, Pappa's, who many say have the best crab cakes.  They ate there Sunday just to compare.  Dad says Corner Stable has the best. 

Ribs, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and apples
Sunday was supposed to be a sunny day.  It was mostly cloudy and windy.  The folks decided they were going to go to Ladew Topiary Gardens anyway.

Harvey S. Ladew purchased the house and property in 1929.  The farm house was built around 1747.  It needed a lot of updating.  Harvey enjoyed traveling to England and spent 20 or so winters there.  His passion was gardening and fox hunting.  His house is full of fox and hound items.  The house remains as it was when he died in 1976.

Windows purchased in England.

Harvey Ladew

This is the table Harvey stood in front of for the above painting.

Feet of 1st and 2nd foxes that he killed.

This is the dining room.  The walls are from a barn that he bought because he wanted a plant that was growing on the side of it. The owner wouldn't let him have the plant, so he bought the barn.


All the plates have fox and hound scenes.


Greyhound statue that Mom spotted but couldn't get close enough to for a good photo.

The mantel is not marble, but it is wood painted to look like marble.

Stitched art table.

A stitchery wall hanging.

Harvey's bedroom.

Picture is of Harvey.  Mom liked the plate.

Nice book holder.


A few trinkets. Some were won at carnivals.

Beautiful window over door.


Library that he added so that a desk he bought would fit in his house.  This is a secret door that he used when he didn't want uninvited guests to find him.

See, the door has disappeared.

Front of house.
 The gardens were inspired from those he saw in England.  He may have been the first to create "garden rooms" here.



Mom liked this hanging plant.








The house can be seen from here.





See the hounds (shrubs).



Lead dog is getting close to the fox.

The fox.

Full scene.

Scottie dog.

Camel



See the giraffe?  His head is missing.  Oops!







Unfortunately, many of the plants were not in bloom. There is a rose garden that is probably beautiful, but it was too early for it. The butterfly house was not open.  Too cold, I guess.  It has been chilly here....50's.

The folks enjoyed the house and the gardens.  They thought the price was a little high though.   It was $18 per person for everything. The gardens were $13 on their own.  Dad said he would have been disappointed if they had not toured the house. One of the things that the folks got a kick out of was that Ladew was friends with the owner of Hampton Mansion.  They played poker one night and Ladew won the family's silver. The folks toured the Hampton Mansion last fall, so they felt a connection having been there too.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Saw The Sun Last Friday




Home Again - Part 3

 Well, we just realized that we didn't finish telling you about the rest of our trip home.  I don't know if we even remember the res...