After living in an RV for 1 full year (we moved into the fifth-wheel when we put the house on the market, before we actually started our odyssey), and finding that we're comfortable with this lifestyle, we decided to take the full plunge and treat ourselves to a full-fledged motorhome. It is a 2012 Itasca Meridian 42E. We're very happy with our decision. We're still in the learning and adjusting phase--HeM has stacks and stacks and stacks of manuals to go through for his bailiwick of this adventure (all mechanical and technical operations); SheM had to read the "extensive" instructions for running the microwave/convection oven and the washer & dryer (any questions/problems beyond that automatically are thrown into HeM's arena).
We took possession of the Meridian on June 13, in the Atlanta Camping World parking lot. It took us an entire day to transfer all our belongings from the Cardinal to our new home, HeM hauling from the Cardinal and SheM finding places to store everything in the Meridian. This is how it looked most of the day, until everything was assigned its place.
After spending the night in the parking lot, we drove to a local campground at an Army Corps of Engineers lake to spend one more night before leaving the vicinity of the dealership. After a successful round of setting up and buttoning up, we headed for Berea, KY (through Chattanooga again, which by then had become a very familiar neighborhood for us). The RV park in Berea was a bit rustic, but the sites were level and long. Getting into and out of the site was very 'big rig' friendly.
Berea, KY is noted for its arts and crafts community. It was our hope to find something locally-made to add to our new decor. Although we did pick up a couple of small items, we didn't find the one thing that made us say "Perfect!". We drove to Churchill Downs one afternoon to try our luck at betting on the ponies. By very carefully studying the jockeys' colors and horses' names before placing our bets, we were able to come out about even...not bad. The last thing we did while in Berea was to visit a local winery. The Acres of Land Winery has a restaurant on-site, inviting patrons to sample their wines while enjoying a meal. We did, and we were impressed enough with their dry reds to buy a couple of bottles to take home. They're not California wine, but while in Rome.....
(We did take pictures of our Berea visit, but seem to have 'lost' them. Something about wrong camera settings on the iPhone.)
From Berea we moved to Delaware, Ohio. This is a suburb on the northern fringes of Columbus. We stayed there for a week at the Cross Creek RV Resort.
Although this park is not upscale 'resort-wise', we found it to be very welcoming and comfortable. It's definitely family-oriented with lots of activities for kids--swimming pool, tennis courts, volleyball, basketball, hay rides. Its grounds includes a section of woods with meandering hiking trails which gave us some variety in our daily walks.
While in the Columbus area, we visited the Ohio State University campus. We weren't able to get inside the football stadium, but were able to walk around it. We were surprised at the state of disrepair exhibited on its exterior.
We took in a Columbus Clippers (AAA team associated with the Cleveland Indians) game at Huntington Park. The tickets are affordable, the seats were in the shade, the hot dogs were good, and the beer was cold. An enjoyable evening.
We've now moved to Tiffin, Ohio for a month to visit family. There are several campgrounds in the area, but finding a setting that will accommodate our size and requirements has been challenging.
We are now situated, and although the park is a bit less than ideal, we will enjoy the quality socializing here, and that's the most important reason for our visit. We don't know what our next stop will be, but we are starting to explore our options.
