Holiday Travel Park: June 2010

Kidnapped!

Stix n Brix, NC

Well Gin went to help her folks on Wednesday and has just now returned home. They kidnapped her for almost a whole week! I did get a chance to visit with them to negotiate a ransom. She decided that she would return as soon as she got her dad's computer up and running. She went to Rocky Mount to work on the remodel some but his computer crashed at the same time. It had a bad virus. I don't know anything about this keyboard in my lap, but she is a self-taught geek. She has built computers from the ground up. Her father is a semi-retired accountant in that he kept a few of his clients so it was imperative that the information was not lost. I don't know what all she did to back up his files, but she got it working again.

I went there on Friday because she needed this computer and our server. While I was there, my Mom, brother and sister-in-law were passing through town, so I joined them for supper at Olive Garden. Thanks Doug for an early birthday dinner. I came back home on Saturday so I could go back to work that night. I've been on day shift the past couple of days. I will be so glad when I retire next summer so I can have a regular sleep schedule. Of course we'll be full-timing not long after that. My brother has invited the rest of the family to their house for Independence Day. They live on a lake so we'll take our kayaks and paddle around some if it's not too hot. They enjoy camping a lot and talked about their last trip while we were at Olive Garden. They went to Rutherfordton, NC and took their dog to Chimney Rock. I think they understand our decision better than most people because they enjoy rving so much also.

It's really nice to hear Gin talk geek again and Smudge is glad she's home too. While she was parking in the garage, Smudge was crying in the house. She doesn't hear so good any more so she didn't know that Gin was home. Smudge was on the floor next to Gin's side of the bed begging to jump up there. I guess she was looking for her since she had been gone so long. We'll all sleep good tonight even though it'll only be a few hours for me. It's my bedtime so ta ta for now.

Are You Ready???

It's almost here!
Do you have your bows?

Join us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap up party!

5/29/2010 Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground, Mackinaw City, MI Site 127

We arrived on Saturday of Memorial Day weekend with reservations for a full hookup site with a view of the Mackinaw Bridge. The check in process was quick and easy. All sites are back-in. We had the end site next to the road across from Lake Huron. Mackinaw Mill Creek is a huge campground with over 600 sites of all types and sizes. It is well maintained and very popular with families. We enjoyed sitting at our site watching the lake and watching all the groups bicycling by. There is a pool, playground, game room, and camp store. It is conveniently located close to Mackinaw City and the ferry docks to Mackinac Island. This is a great place for families and for couples like us who just want to kick back for a couple of days.

Amenities: Full Hookups, pool, game room, camp store.

Would we stay here again? YES

5/27/2010 W. Houghton Lake Campground, Houghton Lake, MI Site 32

This is a Passport America campground. We had a water and electric site. The dump station is in the back of the campground. We arrived Thursday before Memorial day for 2 nights. Since there was no one in the site behind us we could pull straight through to get set up. In front of the site is a narrow road with campers across the road. It would have been very difficult to back into the site with our size rig. The sites are very close together.
This is a popular campground for people coming to Houghton Lake. We seemed to be the only travelers passing through. Everyone else was there to enjoy Memorial Day weekend. There were quite a few campers set up permanently. There is a WalMart and Camping World close by.

Amenities: water and electric

Would we stay here again? Yes, for a one night stop. Probably not for a longer stay.

5/26/2010 Holiday RV Campground, Grass Lake, Michigan Site 93

We had a big pull through site with water and electric. The dump station was on the way out of the campground. There are also full hookup sites in the campground. The campground is wooded and has a nice pool. It is a Passport America park so our rate for one night was $15. It is located off of I-94 near Jackson, Michigan.

Amenities: Water, electric, pool

Would we stay here again? YES

5/25/2010 Evergreen Park, Mt. Eaton, Ohio Site 57

This is a beautiful park in the middle of Amish Country. We had a large pull through site with full hookups. The park is beautifully landscaped with lovely flower beds and surrounded by pretty countryside. There is an indoor pool and hot tub. They have the nicest bath house I've ever seen. The tiled showers are large with a huge shower head and a large dressing area. The park is located on US 250 about 12 miles from I-71. There is a small store on site and a small grocery store in town. It is worth the drive to stay here.

Amenities: Full hookups, pool, hot tub

Would we stay here again? YES

5/23/2010 Rocky Gap State Park, Flintstone, MD Site 12

Our site was a back that was tucked into the woods so we felt like we were the only people there. We had water and electric at the site. There is a dump station on the way out. Rocky Gap is a beautiful state park with a lake and hiking trails. It is easy to get to from I-68. There isn't much shopping near by so bring your groceries with you.

Amenities: Water, electric, lake

Would we return? YES

5/17/2010 Claytor Lake State Park, Dublin, VA Site D21

We made reservations for a water and electric site. You pick your site when you arrive. We got a large level pull through on the end of the row so we had a nice view of the woods. There is a dump station on the way out of the campground. Everything at this park revolves around the lake where there is a big marina, swimming beach, and boat ramps.

Amenities: Lake, Marina, Swimming Beach, water, electric.

Would we return? YES

5/14/2010 Ft. Hamby COE, Wilkesboro, NC Site 6

Very nice Corps of Engineers park. Large, level pull through site with water and electric. Dump station on way out of park. Park almost full on weekend, almost empty on Monday. Our site overlooked the woods. The bath houses are under construction although there are some available by the lake. The lake is a short drive from the campsite and there is a boat launch there. The Blue Ridge Parkway is nearby. There is a Super Walmart and other shopping in nearby Wilkesboro. We had great barbeque at Brushy Mountain Smokehouse in N. Wilkesboro restaurant.

Amenities: Lake, water, electric

Would we return? YES

Golden Girls

Stix n Brix,NC

I worked day shift this past week end and have been on night shift during the week. Gin had her treatment on Monday and has pulled out her cape again to go help her folks put up walls and such to convert the office into a small apartment. They need to have it ready for the electrician by Thursday afternoon. More power to 'em.

I think everyone remembers the show Golden Girls. It had such an air of truth about it. My mom is 82 years young and is quite healthy and spry. She knows her limits and looks out for herself. I bring this up because she just got back from a week at Atlantic Beach, NC with 3 of her friends. They had rented a condo. I can just picture it being a little like the show at times. I'm so glad she has those types of opportunities. She had a pleasant surprise when she checked her voice mail as she arrived home. One of my nephews called to announce that he is engaged and Mom couldn't be happier. She has been blessed to have a great relationship with all of her grandchildren.

I follow quite a few blogs and check in on many others from time to time. I am generally a quiet person so I rarely post a comment. I just wanted to let it be known that I do read everyone's post and I appreciate the blog world. I personally don't have it in me to make a daily post.

Time for me to get ready for work. Until next time...stay safe.

Vintage Vacation Swap...extension announcement!

Summer is in full swing for many of you now, with the school year coming to an end and the kids home all day, I'm sure you've got Vacation on the brain! I wanted to pop in to let you guys know that I've been talking to many of the Vintage Vacation Swap participants and no one seems to have a problem with extending the ship date to July 15. We were originally shooting for July 1st but with all the actual vacations and the many roadblocks that took away from more than a few swapper's play time...it seems like the 15th makes more sense. More time for crafting, making, shopping. The roadblocks I speak of mainly have to do with disappearing swap partners. After many an enthusiastic swapper sent multiple exploratory emails to their selected partners only to not hear back...I had to make some new matches. It's just so tough when a swap partner disappears. A lot of times stuff just happens...family emergencies...things like that. But sometimes people just sign up and blow it off for no apparent reason, leaving their would be partners talking to the wall. So these types of setbacks really cut down on the prep time for these poor swappers and I figured an extension was surely justified.

There were also a whole lot of spam folder mishaps wherein swappers thought they had deadbeat partners but it turned out that an equally enthusiastic reply email was collecting dust in a spam folder! That stinks. I have to say that it's been the trickiest swap that I've hosted yet. A lot of info and email addresses didn't lead anywhere...lots of typos etc, etc... But everything is shaping up now.

Aaron and me have been really really busy. We don't love the heat, so we don't really mind staying in all day working. The AC is great!

My sister Missy is just about 90% moved out of her apartment. She's not moving far away...about 2 minutes by car...but the days of yelling out our windows to see when the cupcakes are ready are over. Probably what we'll miss most about the end of the close proximity is little Jack's visits. Jack is Missy's pup...an adorable Papillon...well, we'd talk to Jack from our window and Missy could send Jack out her front door...he'd run down the driveway...come sprinting around to the front of the house where we live...run up the front porch steps...and come flying in our open front door...come upstairs to our apartment and run all over the place. He'd visit for like ten minutes and then we'd send him back in just the same way. He was like a homing pigeon. It was maybe the cutest thing we ever saw. Missy has two pups...the other one is Sam..he is the cutest, tiniest, Chihuahua ever...but no way Jose could he ever be trusted to make the trip over here on his own. He'd somehow make a wrong turn at Albuquerque. So we'd have to visit with Sam on a window to window basis only.

(ps. the two pics above are of our bathroom in our last apartment...seashore theme, with stripes in tones of salt water taffy. Our current bathroom is on it's way to becoming the twin sister of our old bathroom...we just haven't had the time to paint yet. All the decor is vintage New Jersey at the shore...the souvenir plates are my fave! )

Above is me and Aar outside a diner in Wildwood, NJ. One of our fave places. I think we got pancakes after we took that pic...if it was the other way around we woulda been too full to pose for photos!

Another Wildwood mainstay...Laura's Fudge. I always forget that I'm in this photo, standing to the right of the front doors. This building is so fantastic! It is just magical at night all lit up. And inside is all the Fudge you can imagine and you can watch them make it!

Ok, just wanted to pop in for a swap update and a little summer inspiration. One last thing, my Nana has been in the hospital and she needs some good energy sent her way. She's been going through a lot and even though New York is right up the road a piece, it's not easy going in and out of the city, so it's been tough for the family to make the trip in. But everyone has been so faithful and supportive. So wish Nana all the best.

Thanks so much again for stopping by. I'll be back again soon!! xoxo, Jenny

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Memories

About a year ago

I got a Facebook message
from a long lost friend.
I mean elementary school
long lost.
It was awesome.

She's a photographer.
And she has a fancy dancy camera.
So she needed a fancy dancy camera strap cover.
But she needed a very special one.
She had an idea.
We messaged about it.
And last night it came to fruition.

I think it's awesome.
I want to make more.

Look what's new today!

Where's the Cape?

Stix n Brix, NC

It's been pretty much the same stuff, different day for me here. While I've been working night shift the past few nights, Gin has been helping her folks. They had a huge yard sale Saturday (100 degrees) and have been clearing things out of the backyard office building in order to turn it in to a small apartment for Nick and Becca (the grandson and his girlfriend). Their baby is due in a couple of weeks so there seems to be a deadline. It'll be nice for Gin's folks to have a small apartment there for later in life should they find a reliable person to maintain the yard and help out a little when they have a hard time taking care of things. Can you say workcamping location?

Gin amazes me. She really pushed herself while we were in the mountains and she pushed herself even more while helping her folks. When she came home, I could tell that she was truly exhausted. Her MS has pushed her around a bit but she has pushed it right back. I've been looking for her cape for the past several years but can't find it. What cape? Her Wonder Woman cape, of course. :) She may go back to help her folks again this week end while I work day shift. It depends how much the plumber gets done.

It's been so hot and humid here that I hate to go outside, but I've got some errands to run. Check back later.

Funky Fourth of July!

I like to get all decked out for the Fourth of July,
well, I like to deck my kids out
for the Fourth of July :)

And THE SHOP is full
of things to get your little lady
all ready for the big day!

If you want it for The Fourth,
be sure to order by June 25th!

We've got headbands for little girls, big girls and moms!

Funky Frayed Fabric Flower Clips

Korkers!

Tutus!
(once these are gone - they are gone!)

And if you need an awesome and funky tee for the festivities,
pop over to Eli's Lids and pick one (or two) up!

Coming Soon! - Sneak Peek

I've been a busy lady!
Look what's coming to the shop
(fingers crossed)
this week!

Funky Frayed Fabric Flowers

Fourth of July Tutus!

Pony-O's!

Headbands!

Funky Monkey

Pretty Petals

This guy :)

Home?

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC

It was a long ride back to the reality of 13 more months of work. It was a 612 mile round trip vacation. The day started with a little rain but we waited until it stopped before we got the MH on the road. It was smooth sailing until we were only 30 miles from home. Then it was bumper to bumper for about 5 miles. City life. Glad we made it back before the rush hour hit. First thing we did was the usual couple loads of clothes. I go to work tomorrow night while Gin goes to her folks for a couple of days to help them with a yard sale and another project or two. At least we will have fond memories of the mountains to look back on....Later

Don't Forget the Boutique!

I'm so excited to be able to share with you

the awesome vendors we'll have at the
SUMMER BOUTIQUE!

June 12th
10am-2pm
7 Bitterwood, Irvine

Refreshments & Snacks will be served.
Bring your friends for a GDO! (Girl's Day Out)

Funky PolkaDot Giraffe
hair accessories, car seat canopies, camera straps, & tutus