Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Moving on.....






It seems that there is a limit of GB that can be kept on this platform and with a planned effort to get ahead of the game over the last few months, I have been working on transitioning to a format called Wordpress that seems to be all the rage with the young'ins. Testing it out now...most of the content has been transferred over to the following link:

www.ryandethrow.wordpress.com

Yea or Nay???

Monday, July 11, 2016

Summer Travel and Some Ramblings...


Once again, I have lost track of time and maintaining this blog (that has just turned into a picture catalog site) has taken a back seat to life. Truth be told, things are moving at such a rapid clip and it’s hard to keep up. Summer is over half-way done as I type this and it’s rather depressing to think about. I have been able to take off a good chunk of time this season to spend with my family but it never seems like it’s enough.  

One of the interesting things I have learned about maintaining this blog is finding the content to fill a page.  Early when I started these ramblings, it was a lot of writing with photos and files peppered in. Now out of essentially the lack of time and laziness, my posts typically consists of photos of things we have done or adventures we have taken with a little snippet about each photo as I try and piece together the thoughts. That’s what this blog has turned into. I find myself struggling if this is the right approach. Granted, there is something to be said to capturing memories on film (or in today’s case, SD memory) but while focused on trying to capture the moment with a device, often I take myself out of the real memory all together.  Sounds extreme right? Yes, probably so.  I guess what I am trying to say is that I see so many,  including myself,  watching their lives on a 3"x 5" screen in real time rather than with their own eyes. It’s scary.

Now on to my photos (With Brief Snippets of Info)!!!

May and June were busy with Ribfest, a close week day trip to Rend Lake, Kentucky lake/ Smoky mountains and the Birthday week. Wow! Lots of things packed into 2 months. It was fun, I wish we could do it over again. As strange as it sounds, Summer is done. 


Rend Lake
Rend Lake South Sandusky Pine Tree Loop. Site 186. Brand new FHU Sites. We were the first to use them this Season. 


We tested out the new Kayak, All thumbs up. Really need to look at getting more so we all can go out.

Our Site at Rend Lake. No on on the Door Side and Extra Parking for a Boat



Max being his usual goofy self. This was after we nearly ran over a Heard of Deer in the campground.


Rend Lake South Sandusky
Nice Sunsets. No street lights. Everything Right. 

Here are some from the big summer blow out and knowing what I know now, I would have not broken the trip up, but rather just traveled to one destination for the 8 nights. Live and learn....its was still a lot of fun but it didn't feel long enough with the travel day in the middle of the trip. 
Hillman ferry Land between the Lakes
Hillman Ferry Campground site 100


The lake here never disappoints.
Chopper parking at the playground


A day on the water was I feel the highlight of the trip. Sam surprised me with his quick to take lake swimming. Like a fish. What a great day. 






The Noise and Motion of the boat put Max sound asleep. 

Hillman Ferry Campground from the water.





The next stop on the trail was Imagination Mountain Campground in Cosby Tennessee. In 5 years of traveling with an RV, this was the first private campground we had ever stayed at. We chose our first time to experience this type of park correctly. This place was great and seemed more like a hotel than a campground. I had never seen such attention to detail at any campground. Meaning there was zero trash anywhere. Even after the only rain out day we had, the owners were out picking up leaves, branches and re grading gravel that had been washed out due to the water. Everything was clean including immaculate bathrooms and showers should you choose to utilize these options. A Salt water pool, Game room, Karaoke (Was a complete hoot), Nightly movies for the kids that start at 6pm and an Ice cram parlor that served.....You guessed it.....Blue Bell Ice Cream. 

I felt safe also letting the kids roam, and by roam I mean walk across the street to the playground. This place was ultra kid and family friendly complete with an escort to your campsite and full backing direction to put you in the right spot. Again, first time for that. 
Imagination Mountain Campground
Imagination Mountain Campground


Stream Side Site. Running water 24 hours a day made for a peaceful atmosphere.











Obviously the attraction to this area was not the campground, but the national park. Having thought about this in more detail, I should have known that our kids were not up to the task of really experiencing the park. Albeit hot and an incline, we attempted a small hike and got maybe 1/2 mile into the woods before they gave out. Possibly it was the threat of bears or my Dad trying to convince them he heard one in the woods. The kids were content with digging rocks out of the stream in the campground. 









Nearly Running out of Gas on the long trek home!



Monday, June 6, 2016

St. Louis Ribfest in New Town St. Charles 2016!!!

One of the perks of living where we do is that our neighborhood from May to October is pretty much a hub of activity on weekends. From Concerns and  Triathlons to  Races and Festivals....these types  of events populate the calendar. However, not much can compare to RIB-FEST! For a BBQ guy this is heaven especially when you can walk home or in our case ride a golf cart. 

There was so much to try this year. There were national cooking teams with their over the top displays and the local guys who were looking to take a stab. There was also fair type food.....The kids loved the funnel cakes and fried Oreo's. There was a gigantic play area for the kids, some small carnival rides and local bands on two stages. 

There was beer and booze. What can be better? 

We spit the weekend with my parents taking the kids Friday and Saturday and that allowed us to cut loose a little. On Monday we were all tired but undoubtedly sad to see the guys packing up. Wednesday it was if nothing ever occurred. Can't wait until next year!

A Shot Pre Rib Madness as they were getting ready to open Friday


The Rain came on Friday and to everyone's delight the rest of the weekend was awesome weather wise. 


Stolen from a Face Book Page, 3D Media I believe. 




This event is a huge draw for our neighborhood and St. Charles as a whole. Last year the event coordinator estimated attendance at 125K and in talking to some of the vendors they were thinking it would be over 200K by the end of the weekend. This is a huge chance to showcase our area and even attract new homeowners. This event is also a huge boost to the neighborhood businesses as they typically have an active role over the weekend. There was a rumor that some of the bars had over topped their all time sales by a large margin. This is all good news. Then there is the aspect of New homeowners visiting for the first time....when houses are selling, that's a great thing for our region not to mention individual home values. 

New Town St. Charles Rib Fest
Nice Sunset in New Town

One of the encroaching storms Saturday made for an awesome backdrop to set the night off. 












New Town St Charles Ribfest


This is Max's Reaction to us telling him it was all over as we walked home. 

Bravo to the event organizers, you really knocked this year out of the park!