We were quite busy during the first five days of December.  On the first we went to the only supermarket in
Falmouth (Population=2058).  The store also offers prepared foods for special events.  We ordered roast beef
and ham for the Morton Christmas gathering to be held on the 5th for pickup on that day.  Although we had all of
the amenities in the RV, it would not have been possible to prepare enough for 36 people.   After making the order
we had to drive to Cynthiana (20+ miles) to a machine shop and drop off the fifth wheel coupling which had begun to
make strange noises and appeared to have excess play in the pin coupling.  On the way back we dropped by Chuck’s
sister, Kathryn for a short visit, then on to “The City” to go shopping.   “The City” is the metropolitan area of
northern KY across the Ohio River from Cincinnati and is a round trip of about 75 miles.

The hall that we had rented for the Christmas gathering has a small kitchen with refrigerators, stove, microwave,
etc.  It also had a Christmas tree but we needed to buy decorations for the tables as well as the normal supplies
for a party.  We managed to get all of the shopping done but arrived back at Kincaid Lake quite late.  

The following day was spent packing presents and making other preparations.  That afternoon the machine shop
called to inform us that the fifth wheel coupling was finished.  As we left for Cynthiana to pick it up, a hearse made
a U-turn at the entrance to the campground.  We soon found out that less than ¼ mile away the road was
completely blocked.  An elderly man (87) had lost control of his car and turned into the path of a school bus.  The
car was demolished and the man died almost instantly.  Except for the driver, the school bus empty.  We later
learned that the lady driving the bus suffered severe emotional shock and resigned from her job the same day.  
Since the road was blocked, we had to make a 20+ mile detour through back roads.

On Friday afternoon we picked up the key for the hall then took the presents, drinks, chips and decorations there.  
After several hours of preparation, Chuck went to the super market and bought a couple of frozen Chinese meals.  
We warmed them up in the kitchen and continued to work as we ate.  When we returned to the campground, Renée
prepared the vegetable platter and Chuck made the Chile con Queso appetizer.   We were quite worn out by the
time we finally made it to bed.

The 5th was sunny with a few clouds and cold.  We were at the hall by 11:00 AM to make last minute preparations
before everyone was supposed to arrive at 1:00 PM.  Chuck then went to the super market to pick up the main
course.  Chuck’s sister Mary was the first to arrive, coming from South Carolina.  The rest of the family lives in
northern Kentucky except for Joe, who flew from Tampa to Cincinnati, then rented a car, arriving a little late.  A
cousin, Don, and his wife Linda live in Louisville and also brought along a grandchild.  Michael came from Fort Wayne
with Keith and Katja.  Most of the nieces and nephews were there (see photos).  Everyone brought a dish as well as
presents for Family #27 who have four children between three and five years old.   (Part of the responsibility of
this event includes the coordination of ensuring that a needy family is sponsored, with toys and clothing for all of
the children.)  We never know the identity of the family.  We also try to include a gift card for the parents and
hope they have as much enjoyment in receiving as we do in giving.

After the buffet was ready, and everyone had had their fill, we exchanged small presents.  We had collected
small presents from different regions of our travels in the past year and had included one in a small bag, along
with a Mason jar full of Indian Fry Bread mix for everyone.  Renée had decorated each jar with a needlepoint top
that said “Morton Christmas 2009”.  Since we were sponsoring the event we were able to place all of our bags
under the tree before others arrived (see photos).  After deciding several years ago to sponsor a family instead
of exchanging presents, the participants have begun to give each other small self made or home produced items.  
The rest of the afternoon was filled with conversation, eating, drinking and photographing.  

Katja played with her cousins and spent most of the time outside, even though it was quite chilly.  Keith spent most
of his time with the grown-ups and with the buffet        .  Lobo was spoiled with attention and treats.  We also had a
separate bucket near the buffet for edible left-over’s.  Lobo enjoyed these left-over’s for the next week!  

We had lots of help packing up and cleaning up afterwards so it went quite fast.  Michael and the kids drove back
to Fort Wayne that same evening.  He called at about the half way point to let us know that Keith had become sick
and lost a lot of the overeating he had done at the buffet.

That night the water lines to the RV froze, which had to be thawed out and protected so that it wouldn’t happen
again.   This caused us to be late for the planned get-together the following day at Kathryn’s.   Even at this
gathering we still couldn’t eat all of the remaining food, so we divided up what was left.

We stayed in Falmouth until December 12th.  On one day we drove to Florence, KY and visited Chuck’s brother Tom
and his wife Susan.  Their cats were quite vigilant, never taking an eye off Lobo.  But neither side caused any
trouble.   For supper we were invited to Red Lobster and had a very nice meal.  It had rained almost the entire day
and it was a miserable drive back to the campground.  Overnight we lost electricity and it was mid-day before it
was repaired.  The temperature dropped that day and remained below freezing until we left.  On one day we
visited Chipper McGee, Chuck’s childhood playmate and friend. On Friday afternoon we made a trip around town to
say good-bye to everyone and then on Saturday we left Kincaid Lake and drove to Lexington where we spent four
days at the campground in the Kentucky Horse Park/Fairground.

The water had been shut off at the campsites for the winter but with a full fresh water tank, this wasn’t a
problem.  Our campsite was in the middle of the “Southern Lights”, a Christmas-oriented light show (see photos).   
Entry fee for the show was $15 per car with higher rates for vans, mini-buses, etc.  We also saw many stretch-
Limos and tour buses.  Each evening the line of vehicles was bumper-to-bumper for hours.  Since we “lived” at the
campground, our entry was free.

The main reason for our visit in Lexington was our satellite internet dish.  For quite some time it had been
intermittently hanging while stowing the dish.  It must then be stowed manually, not physically but using manual
electric controls.  The dish must then be re-calibrated before it can find the satellite.  The technician determined
that the problem could only be corrected by a factory overhaul in Salt Lake City, UT.  We have decided it can be
lived with until we make our way in that direction in the spring, rather than having it disassembled, shipped,
overhauled, shipped back, and reassembled.

Lexington is the “Horse Capital of the World” and the second largest city in Kentucky.  The “Thoroughbred Park”
with bronze sculptures by Gwen Reardon reflects Lexington’s bond with horses (see photos).  After visiting the
Thoroughbred Park we went to Marikka’s, a German restaurant with the largest selection of international beers
that we have ever seen.  Nevertheless, we stuck with a selection from Munich and a large pretzel imported from
Munich and baked in Lexington.  It was okay but they still taste better in Munich.   As a main course Chuck had a
Zigeunerschnitzel (first one in North America) and Renée had Sauerbraten.

The sun was shining on the 16th as we left but it was still below freezing.  We drove southeast to Winchester (see
travel route) and then on the Bert T. Combs Mountain Parkway to Natural Bridge State Park, where we had
planned to stay.  Although not stated on their website, we discovered that the campground was closed for the
winter.  There was a national park nearby (Koomer Ridge National Forest) but it had no facilities and was in the
deep woods. So we drove on to Jackson, and then turned off to Elkatawa, where Chuck’s father was born in 1906.  
Chuck’s grandfather was a Presbyterian missionary who was sent there by the church.  We had planned to spend
the night at Natural Bridge and make a day trip to Elkatawa.  Elkatawa is a very small place in a hollow (narrow
valley).  As we drove through we could not find a place to pull over and stop.  We also could not find a Presbyterian
church. Still trying to find a place to turn around, we drove as far as Beattyville at the end of the valley.  Since it
was getting late we were also trying to find a place to spend the night.  Using the GPS, we tried to locate the local
police station to ask for advice and directions.  The GPS led us to what was the former police station.  Across the
street was a vacant lot so we pulled in and called the local police and asked if it was permissible to spend the night
in the vacant lot.  They then sent a patrol car.  The policeman knew that the lot belonged to the owner of the
building nearby.  He also felt that it would be okay to park overnight and if anyone objected, he would find another
place for us.

As we went to bed that evening we noticed that the lights for the bed would not work.  Knowing that the cable runs
under the bed, Chuck decided to wait until the following morning to repair it.  Looking under the bed in the storage
compartment the following morning, he immediately saw a disconnected wire and reconnected it.  What he didn’t
notice was that Renée had turned on all of the lights the night before to check them.  The light on his side of the
bed was covered with a pillow.  Consequently, he did not see that the light was on.  Later as Renée opened the
bedroom door she immediately smelled that something was burning.  We suspected it was under the bed but
couldn’t find it.  Moving everything out of the way, we finally found the pillow covering the light.  By then the pillow
had a large hole burned into it.   It took quite a while to get rid of the odor!

Since Beattyville had not initially been an intended way point, we had to drive back through the narrow valley to
Elkatawa.  As we drove through Elkatawa we found a spot on the side of the road in front of a store where we
could park with the RV.  We went into the store and asked about the Presbyterian Church.  Although the town
appeared to have more churches than residents, none of them were Presbyterian.  Apparently the Presbyterian
missionary work of Chuck’s grandfather did not bear fruit!  It appears that the only thing left is the picture that
we have (see photos).  We also found out that Elkatawa is not pronounced as it looks but is called “El ka toy”.

We left Elkatawa, driving through the mountains in southeastern Kentucky and entered Virginia.  In Abington we
found that the Riverside campground was open.  This was a stroke of luck since it would normally have been closed
but had remained open to accommodate the workers at a nearby construction project.  

We knew that a snow storm was expected to hit the area soon so we left in a hurry the following morning, hoping to
reach North Carolina and get out of the mountains before the weather changed.  It turned out that the weather
report was off by about six hours and snow flurries started to hit the windshield shortly after our departure
from the campground. We opted to take the interstate rather than the direct route, hoping for better road
conditions.  The snow removal teams on I-81 were well prepared, not so on I-77, there were none in sight.  As we
crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains the blizzard hit us. The snow turned to ice as it hit the windshield and we had to
stop to free up the wipers.   Coming down the mountain side the brakes suddenly began making loud noises.  We
had lost a brake pad!  We finally made it through and as we entered Greensboro, NC, the snow stopped and turned
to rain.  In Siler City, NC we spent the night at Wal-Mart and the following morning made it to Smith Lake outside
of Fayetteville, NC, where we planned to spend the holidays.

On Monday morning Chuck took the truck to a repair shop for a complete brake job.  This required more than one
day so they brought him home and picked him up the following day when the truck was finished.  The employees at
the campground delivered Christmas cards, cookies and a tree decoration to each guest.  We gave them one of our
personalized cards, which hung on the cash register until the New Year.

Once we were mobile again, we drove throughout Fayetteville and Fort Bragg to find a goose for Christmas.   Since
we didn’t know where to go, we had to settle for a duck.  This was not a bad choice and when prepared properly,
has almost the same taste.

Christmas Eve was sunny with mild temperatures.  Chuck did not feel well and went to the pharmacy to get a mucus
relief medication.  It helped and that evening we had a very nice evening in the forest on the lake.  The local deer
were not of the reindeer variety so they also had the evening off, running through the forest!  Not the type of
Christmas Eves we experienced in our former lifestyle.




On Christmas day it rained non-stop and hard.  We stayed inside and enjoyed our Christmas duck with dumplings
and red cabbage.

After Christmas we had an appointment for Lobo with the vet to get his medications refilled.  He also required lab
work which reflected perfect health for his age.  But it does not reflect his weak rear legs.  At times he can not
stoop down to have a bowel movement. Recently he had to lie on his side to do his business.  He also has times
where is somewhat senile. But the vet seems to think that he still enjoys life enough that it is not quite time yet for
the inevitable decision to put him to sleep.  

On the 30th, we visited our former neighbor from Stafford, Marjorie Ludwig.  She now lives in Pinehurst, not far
from Fayetteville.  Her husband had been killed in a traffic accident while we lived in Stafford.  She has since re-
married to Jan who is a retired college professor, avid golfer and hobby antique/book collector.   They are
wonderful hosts and after a tour of their new home which is located directly on a golf course, they gave us the
grand tour of
Pinehurst (see photos).  Pinehurst is not only known for its golf courses but is also a winter training
facility for
harness racing and in the nineties the town added several magnificent tennis courts.  We were then
invited by Marjorie and Jan to lunch at the elegant club house.  After a late lunch we said our thank-you’s and
goodbye’s, then drove back to our secluded life at Smith Lake.

On New Year’s Eve we had doctor’s appointments for lab work and prescriptions refills.  Renée was also able to
get appointments for a mammogram and bone density test, which would be done in January.

New Year’s Eve was very quiet since we were in the forest on a lake where no fireworks and such are allowed.  At
2 AM Renée began her New Year’s resolution of jogging every day.  After the detached retina and a sore knee she
had stopped but then started up again in early December and has resolved to include it in her daily routine.

We “froze in” the New Year with temperatures below zero which is unusual for this part of North Carolina.

To be continued....
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Travel Journal December 2009
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Travel Journal December 2009 (begins in Falmouth, KY)