THE BRONDAWGS: 2011

Wow, 3 months in Blue Ridge Georgia went fast. That is the longest we have stayed anywhere!!! Great family, great music, great outdoors and a great view of the Blue Ridge Mountains...What else could you ask for???

Well since I asked, how about lobster rolls, buckets of steamers (clams like my Grandpa Al loved) and fresh lobster you can pick out of a salt water tank. That is correct, we are in Maine after a brief tour through Tennessee, Cumberland Falls in Kentucky, Cesar Creek State Park in Ohio, Wine country in Conneaut OH (pronounced Cone-E-ott). Conneaut is found at the mouth of Conneaut Creek, on Lake Erie, which is the number one steelhead trout stream in the country.

Next stop on our bucket list is Niagara Falls, Fort Niagara and more wineries. New York is the fourth largest wine producer after California, Washington and Oregon. The concord grape, Welches uses, does very well in this region. With the hearty concord grape thriving like weeds, 200 wineries (80 in the last decade) experiment with different European varietals, producing great whites, fruity fruit nectar wines and not so robust reds.

Our last stop was Sackett Harbor in upstate New York, at a quaint family owned and operated RV park called "The Willows on the Lake" on Lake Ontario. We loved this place so much and of course wanted to wait for Hurricane Irene to pass us by, so we ended up here a week playing on the beach on Lake Ontario (sounds weird but true). Southwick Beach was amazing. No jellyfishes, stingrays or sharks to worry about. Just clear beautiful water, and there were small, gentle waves. It was heaven. We also check out some of the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence river in Alexandria Bay. The Boldt Castle on Heart Island was beautiful, but ended in a tragic love story. The woman dies, the castle is abandoned and not completed, and is vandalized for over 60 years.

Only two days so far in Maine with no evident Hurricane Irene damage, great seafood, cooler weather and expansive beaches. We will spend 2 weeks in the Bangor/Bar Harbor area exploring and waiting for the Fall colors before we head South for the winter stopping in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and other Historic cities. Hoping to catch up with some of Rhonda's friends that she hasn't seen in years.

Acadia National Park is amazing. We can't wait to explore it more, it was raining yesterday so we couldn't see much. It's very dog friendly, which is great. The whole town is dog-friendly! Which is great since we can't leave the mutts (just kidding) in our 5th wheel, our home :(

We will post more pictures soon!

We are spending the Summer in North Georgia in the cute town of Blue Ridge in the Southern part of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is already very hot here and we have floated the Toccoa River three time already. Rhonda has a cousin Dennis and a Aunt Cecelia close by that we hang out with on occasion.

Lots to do and see here: Waterfalls, Hiking (dogs are allowed in the National Forest), Biking, Tubing, Riverbend Music Festival in Chattanooga TN, Wine tasting, Whiskey distilleries, flying, and an awesome little Brew Pub in the quaint town of Blue Ridge.

It is hard to believe that we are already into our second year on the road! We have already penciled out the next 16 months, and still will not have seen it all.