Mom had mapped out a drive to a town named Namestovo that was 120 km (74miles) and according to Linnea, it should take about 2 hours. As usual, the plan change as we get started so the trip lasted all day.

These roads have a lot of sharp curves and steep hills, and speed limits every few miles it seems. Mom doesn't mind the slow drive, but people behind her have no interest in enjoying the view. At one time we saw a pheasant a deer and a stork all on the same field so Mom hit the brakes and cars behind blew the horn. Probably gave a certain gesture too, but Mom can't see behind Lucy which is a good thing..............

    So we are the Tatra Mountains, which is part of the Carpathian mountain chain in eastern Europe, and it creates a natural border between Slovakia and Poland. Both Slovak and Polish sides are protected as national parkland and are popular destinations for winter and summer sports. The Tatras are home to wildlife including the Tatra chamois, marmot, lynx, and bears. Slovakia has the highest mountain in the range: 2,655m (8710 feet) Gerlach Peak.

Mom spotted the American flag and said that's a great parking spot saved for us......

  , 

The weather wasn't the greatest which really spoiled the view, and since Mom is a little scared of these roads (still plan to drive them?) we pulled over and waited until the rain stopped which wasn't long.

 We continued driving north toward the Polish border and again stopped at a ski resort we already forgot the name of. Looks like Lucy is having a cloud over her head

All of a sudden Mom started humming?????????????? she never does that? Do Re Me........doe a deer a female deer.....ray a drop of golden sun...........me a name I call myself......................lalalalaaa

I think she is doing this to keep me and herself awake .............or why else ?

Many castles on the hilltops..................

here's some real tourist shopping, and Mom stopped...................Thought the cow would look good at Lotta's house, the Gator for herself, and the Yorkie for Penny...................but came back with nothing? strange ??

Finally, almost supper time we arrived at Namestovo and parked for the night by the largest lake in Slovakia Orava dam which is a reservoir in northernmost Slovakia. It was created by the construction of a dam between 1941 and 1953 on the former two sources of the Orava river.

This is the view from our window.

Hope it'll clear up tomorrow so maybe we can go fishing.............and get a better view

Good Night all..................

Around noon Mom decided her lungs needed a rest from all the exhaust fumes and cigarettes. (seems like everyone smokes here) and head north towards the Tatra Mountains.

We had a great stay at the campsite and the service was terrific. The girl at the gate spoke great English and loved me so much she could hardly keep her hands of me. She told me she too has a Shih Tzu

Driving through the city was a nightmare, and Mom missed Linneas instructions once so we were sent around a few narrow streets but eventually, we made it out of the city. It's very difficult to read street signs and Linnea are having difficulty to pronounce the names, can't say I blame her.

Driving north we're now leaving Hungary and entering Slovakia and this is how it looked at the border. We stopped and tried to figure out if we needed a toll ticket? not sure it's for big trucks only so Mom approached a police asking for help.

Not a chance she only got some barking back in a foreign language so what the heck. We have been driving on many roads without so I suppose we'll get the bill sent home later.

Driving along there's a lot of farmland on both sides especially gorgeous are the fields of sunroses.

the speed limit is mostly 90km (55miles), but through every village (and there's a lot of them) speed is lowered to 50km (30miles) 30 km (20miles) and most villages are so small that Mom just downshifted Lucy and got the speed down when it's time to step on the gas again. Keeps Mom awake ............Now we need EUros again so we stopped in a small village to find an ATM. many places do not take credit cards so we always have to keep cash on hand. We now have so many different currencies Mom is having difficulties keeping it all apart.

We finally stopped for the night in a town called Zvolen and it was a very nice peaceful night. I thought the best part was all the green grass to run on.

So today we'll continue North and we'll see what interesting sights Mom can find today. No big city ..............she promised..............at least not today.

all is well. Buttons