Majestic Views

When we last left off, I was checking the weather for our upcoming journey to Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and Kentucky. It was projected to be 47-65 degrees as we made our way northwest, yet that is not exactly what occurred. While we encountered nothing but rain all through PA, the weather turned for the worst as we arrived in Ohio. A severe warning for tornadoes, high wind, and hail was coming straight towards our stopping point and unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to make adjustments to our route that would have been able to provide some relief. So, as we have predictably done, we forged through and hoped for the best.

I’ll just say, the usual phrase “If you see the trailer rocking, don’t come knocking” didn’t have the same meaning as it was intended. The RV felt like it was literally going to flip over from the 50 miles an hour wind gusts. I pretended I was being rocked to sleep while Darryl lay wide-eyed and anxious throughout the night. It probably helped that I had an adult beverage before going to bed so I was likely more relaxed than Darryl. We woke and reexamined the map and realized to get to our next destination by the designated time, we would have to drive through and up past the extreme winds. Even white-knuckled, Darryl was a trooper and managed to get the RV from toppling over while battling the major headwinds. About 45 minutes from Michigan, we stopped at an Ohio Turnpike Rest area for the evening. Big props to the State of Ohio for their innovation and hospitality for Rver’s. Their rest areas had the best amenities compared to anywhere else we have visited thus far. They included convenient overnight parking and electric hookups ($20), showers, a lounge, washer/dryers, restaurants and free Wifi.

In the morning, we made a quick drive towards the Michigan border near Monroe, MI. Since we had only anticipated crossing the border and then beginning our drive towards West Virginia, we stopped for a few minutes at the Michigan Welcome Center and took advantage of their “selfie prop section”. We also took some time to review all their wonderful visitor’s materials, in awe of how much they had to offer. With another state notched under our belt, we headed south.

Now right about this time along our route, I noticed I began sneezing and having a tickle in my throat. With the changing weather conditions, we continued to face in each state, I surmised my allergies were on overload. Going from 20 degrees one day to 60 the next was obviously wreaking havoc on my immune system. Realizing my allergies were likely to get worse, we decided to make our way into West Virginia and then get closer to Kentucky where our 5-day reservations were set. Since I was feeling ill and over the cramped boondocking setting, we opted to check in to our campsite a day early.

The next couple of days were a blur and quite uneventful since my typical daily routine was taking medicine, cough all night, keep Darryl awake with my coughing, take more medicine, hack some more, etc. Even with me feeling terrible and dealing with the 2 inches of snow that arrived the same day we did, we managed to make it to a benefit rodeo which was a wonderful experience. We also had a chance to drive around Lexington and see some wonderful farms, barns, churches, and homes. Kentucky has some of the most beautiful horse farms I have ever seen, most worth more than any home I have owned. As a bonus, we stumbled upon the Kentucky Castle, also known as the Martin Castle. The story is that a married couple was inspired to build it as their home after taking a trip to Germany and Europe. Apparently, they divorced during the build and the unfinished castle was listed for sale by the husband yet he died

before it sold. Eventually, an investor in Miami bought it and recently sold it.

Excited that we were beginning to see signs of spring, we headed west to Indiana.