Greetings followers!
I know I'm WAY behind on my blog. If any of you know how I can post from my Android phone, please let me know. I just can't figure it out...

The animals are mostly doing well. The cats are doing surprisingly well. The dogs are a pain in the ass but that's normal for them. The Cats - BooBoo is very active while we are in motion. Cooper, BooToo (aka Meatloaf), and Frank lounge around on the bed, couch, dinette, or floor. Max and Walter hide. The Dogs - Eve's regular position is the passenger seat, nose on the window, panting. Colby lays between the two seats, on the couch with Bernie, or on the floor in front of the couch facing to the front.

Observations along the way so far -
PA has great roads. When we left Avis, PA on Thursday we ran in to two spots of heavy rain. I pulled over both times it was so bad. And the first time I white-knuckled it over a bridge in the pouring rain and wind. Yikes!
OH also has great roads. We took Rte 80 which is a toll road but it has the best service centers I've ever seen, of course my only comparison is the NYS Thruway. We spent Thursday night at a service center in their RV parking area. For $20 we got electric hook up. There was fresh water and a dumping station near by and there were free showers. Awesome, I'm telling you.
IN - the worst state ever. The roads are terrible, service centers terrible, and unfriendly people. Absolutely nothing to look at.
ILL - construction, terrible roads, 5 lanes of traffic, and rude drivers. Big electric power windmills were the neatest thing to look at.
WI - Beautiful state. Good roads. We spent the night at Sky High campground that I found with my RV Parky app. Got $5 off with my Good Sam discount so our cost was $45 for a pull-through site with full hook-up. Very nice bathhouse.

MN - Many, many big electric power windmills. Got to see/meet friends which was great.
SD - Beautiful state. Great roads but very windy which made for tough driving. Trees, cattle, rocks, waving prairie grass. Fences, waving prairie grass, construction, cattle. A few windmills, and oh, more cattle. We spent our first night in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Sioux Falls. In the morning when we were getting ready to go our 'neighbor' came over to Bernie to say hello. The gentleman and his group were from VT and were on a 5,000 mile cross country trip. We have wondered a couple of times where they might be. Hope they have a great trip. We are spending the next few nights at Rushmore Shadows campground near Rapid City, SD. A very nice campground. Got a great pull-through spot with full hookup. It's in the sun but there's a nice breeze. Today we visited Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park. Mount Rushmore was interesting for it's historical value but the drive on Iron Mountain Road with its' twist, turns, tunnels, and amazing views was more enjoyable. We did the Wildlife Loop through Custer Park and were treated to Buffalo, Prairie Dogs, Pronghorn and Whitetail deer, and burros. LOVE the burros.

For my wonderful vets and staff at Quarryside Animal Hospital! Here I am in my fleece! :-)

Good morning!
We are still "on vacation" in Avis, PA with my bestie Nancy and sister Linda. On Monday we went to Bald Eagle State Park. A very nice park with many trails to hike. We went late in the morning so it was hot and we walked a short trail that was mostly flat. I had hoped to see a Bald Eagle of course but we went at the wrong time. The Nature Inn at the property is beautiful and kudos to PA for it being a LEED building. On a low note as we were leaving the park we noticed an employee spraying weeds along the road. Nancy went in to the office and inquired as to what product was being used and she was told Round Up as it would take to long to weed wack the weeds. The person at the desk seemed unaware of the harmful effects on bees and butterflies (and everything else!). Nancy made a very yummy rhubarb/strawberry crisp. Mmmm!

Yesterday we went to Gettysburg National Park and did the auto tour through the battlefields. The audio cd's were incredible and well worth the $30. We got out of the car along the way to look at monuments and listen to a couple of the Ranger talks. The Rangers are so knowledgeable and are also well worth the listen.

Today is laundry and chore day. Tomorrow we will depart early in the morning to head west!

Good morning followers!
Friday - Day #1 of our adventure went smoothly. We filled up the propane tank on the RV and picked up our UHaul trailer early in the morning. It took more than one person and many hours to load all that we own in to the trailer and the RV but all went well. We drove .6 miles to our friends home and parked the RV & trailer for the afternoon/night. The dogs and cats all settled in nicely.

Saturday - Day #2 of our adventure got off to a later start than planned. We pulled out of East Syracuse in a light rain. Eve was my copilot for some of the trip and so was Cooper. We drove out of the rain near Ithaca which was good. We made three stops (oh, no! NOT stopping! I hate stopping!) along the way to use the restroom and let the dogs out for a little walk and to go to the bathroom. One of the stops was at the PA welcome center. Beautiful views! We went 195.2 miles to our friend Nancy's house in Avis, PA. We will be parked here until Thursday morning.

Ladew Zoo - is comprised of me, Bernie (aka The Boyfriend, The Ogre, and sometimes Pedro), and our 8 pets. We currently have 2 dogs, both are rescues. Eve, a black lab originally from Louisiana, and Colby, a lab mix originally from Tennessee. We also have 6 cats, Frank, Cooper, BooBoo, Max, BooToo, and Walter.  5 of the 6 are from our local SPCA. We have lived in our current home in East Syracuse, NY for 10 years. A year and a half ago we purchased a used Class C motor home so we could take the dogs along with us on some camping excursions. Well, last year we decided to start making plans to go on a big adventure (think of Bilbo Baggins in "The Hobbit"). We have sold our home, a lot of our belongings, and will be loading up a U-Haul trailer with what we decided to keep, and loading us and the animals into the RV to head west to Oregon at the end of this week. It's a mix of emotions - sad to leave our friends, anxious for the unknown, but also very exciting for the adventures ahead!