Prairie Pines and A Shopping Trip

Rantoul, IL

53 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast today = high temp. 80 deg. clear, light NW winds becoming SW this afternoon.

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Yesterday, I talked a little about this park. Well, Jim took a few photos and I thought I'd share them with you. This first one is of me and CLT taken from across the street. See how large my site is? There's just as much room on the other side of me.

This one, Jim moved closer to me and shows all of the open space and nice green grass to the rear of me. It also show the cement patio and picnic table.

This last one was taken from my site, looking at the sites across the road. The building you see off to the left is the bath-house and I am told that the facilities inside are kept sparkling clean.Like I said yesterday, I really like this park, and will be happy to spend a good part of the summer here.

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Jim and Linda went grocery shopping yesterday afternoon. Believe it or not, the last major grocery shopping they did was when we were way back in Virginia Beach! Oh they had picked up bread, milk, and a few other items, but that was all. They sure made up for it though, I thought they would never get finished carrying groceries inside of me! ;-)

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The weather here was great yesterday. It got quite windy in the afternoon though. In fact Jim rolled up my main awning because it was blowing around a lot, but the temps were in the upper 70's and the humidity was low. Today is supposed to be another nice day, and they are saying that it won't be as windy.

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Did you know that on this date in 1911, the hull of the Titanic was launched, and at the ceremony an employee of the White Star line claimed, "Not even God himself could sink this ship."?

IN to IL, Prairie Pines, and Saving Money

Rantoul, IL
56 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 77 deg. partly sunny with a 30% chance of showers & t- storms. W. winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

We got an early start, (for us), yesterday morning and left the New Vision RV Park in Oaktown right at 9:00. We continued North on US 41, up to Terre Haute, where we turned West on I-70 and took it into Illinois and to Rt 1. Rt 1 took us up to Danville and I-74, where we again turned West, and took it over to Urbanna, where we turned North on US 45. 45 then brought us up here to Rantoul, IL, and the Prairie Pines Park.

It was 12:15 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us 3 hours and 15 minutes to travel 147 miles.

Prairie Pines is one of my favorite parks. The sites are very large with full hook-ups, each site has a cement patio with picnic table, there are lots of trees for shade, all of the park is very well maintained with huge grassy areas, and Jim and Linda's friends, Paul and Louise run the park. If you remember, we stopped and visited Paul and Louise, where they winter, at a CG near San Antonio when we came through there this winter.

So, here I am, getting comfortable for our stay here, which will probably be pretty long. We traveled so much during the last year, and Jim and Linda spent a whole lot of money on me down in Florida, so now we need to just sit someplace and not travel for awhile.

For those of you that are not full-timers, that's how we save money. If I'm not moving, I'm not burning fuel, and that saves a lot. Also, if we stay in one place, Jim and Linda can take advantage of sales at stores in the area. Also, it seems like they don't eat out as often. At any rate, it works, and money is saved, and then we can "hit the road", again. :-)

Did you know that Metropolis, the home of Superman, really exist in Southern Illinois?

TN To IN, Spotty Weather and A Call To IL

Oaktown, IN
58 deg. clear, NW wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. sunny, NW winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

There is a Shell Gas Station just down the road from the Clarksville CG, and Jim decided to buy me a nice big drink of good old #2 diesel fuel before we got back out onto I-24. It was a good thing he did it while we were still in Tennessee because I have not seen prices that low since we left the state. ($2.19)

It was about 9:45 when we left the CG, and after getting my drink, we headed NW on I-24 and followed it up into Kentucky. Just a little ways into KY, we turned North on Alt 41 and followed it until it joined up with the Pennyrile Parkway. The Pennyrile then took us up to Henderson where the Parkway ended and we again were on 41.41 took us up into Indiana and into Evansville where we took I-164 and I-64 to get around the city and back to US 41. Then it was a simple matter to follow 41 up here to the New Vision RV Park which is on the North side of the little town of Oaktown.

It was 1:25 when we pulled into the park, so we got me my drink and traveled 177 miles in about 3 hours and 40 minutes.

We've been to the New Vision RV Park before. It's a Passport America Park, so we stay here for 1/2 price, ($13.44), and stop here whenever we're in the area. It's a nice park, with a small fishing lake, has full-hookup, pull-thru sites and the folks running the park are very friendly. The only real drawback is that there is a railroad track running close to the CG, so if that kind of thing bothers you, you might want to stay someplace else. As for me and Jim and Linda, we don't seem to even notice the trains as they come through the area.

The weather yesterday was spotty. We drove through rain showers, sunshine, and some wind just before we pulled into this park. None of the rain was very heavy, and the wind didn't bother me all that much. Today promises to be very nice. All the forecast on TV and the Internet say so, so it must be so. Right?

Oh, yesterday morning, Jim called Louise and Paul up in Rantoul, IL to let them know that we would be arriving at the CG today. Louise said that she would have a nice site for me, and to "come on in".

It'll be good to see them again.

Did you know that at one time 12 different stagecoach lines ran through Indiana on the "National Road"? (Now US 40)

Travel In Tennessee and Some Photos

Clarksville, TN
66 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. mostly cloudy w/scattered showers, West winds @ 10 to 15 mph.
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We left the Soaring Eagle CG at about 9:55 yesterday morning and continued West on I-40. On the East side of Nashville, we turned North on the Briley Parkway and took it around the downtown area and followed it all the way to I-24, where we turned NW and took it here to Clarksville and the Clarksville RV Park and CG.
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Along the way, we had light showers until we got onto I-24, when the skies opened up and dumped a ton of water on me. It got so bad that at times we were down to about 40 mph, with 4 way flashers going, and still hardly being able to see the road. Thankfully it didn't last very long, and soon we were again just having light rain.
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When we pulled into the CG here in Clarksville, it was about about 12:20, so I traveled 200 miles in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Hey!!! Something is wrong with that!! I couldn't have averaged about 80 mph!!! Oh, I know, we had one of those times when we mysteriously gained an hour. It actually took me 3 hours and 25 minutes.
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Whew!! I thought I was in a time warp or something!
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This is a nice park, but quite expensive for what it is. With Jim's Good Sam discount, we're still paying over $30. The thing is, it's about the only park in the area, so unless you want to park in a gas station or store parking lot, you just about have to stay here.
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Below are the photos I promised you yesterday. The first one is of the RV Port when I first arrived.

In this one, the framing is finished This is how it looked after it was completed. It just needs to be painted.
This last photo is of the people at the cookout they had one evening. The people at the closest table are (from left to right), Jim Sippel, Roland, Jim's wife, Anne, and Linda. Jim was sitting across from Jim until he got up to take this photo. --- Does that make sense?
Did you know that the Grand Ole Opry is the longest continuously running live radio program in the world? It has broadcast every Friday and Saturday night since 1925.

I'm Back, and Trying To Catch Up

Lenoir City, TN
68 deg. light fog, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly cloudy, 70% chance of rain, SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Well, I'm finally back on the Internet, and now I have to try to catch you up on what's been happening.

We left Apex about 9:30, (after dumping my tanks at the dump station). When we got back out to the highway, Jim pulled me into a gas station and got me a nice drink of good old #2 diesel fuel before we headed West on US 64. 64 took us through Asheboro and to I-85. Once on 85, we took it SW all the way through Charlotte and to US 74. 74 then took us to Forest City, and to Roland and Louise's house, which is just a little NW of town. It was about 2:00 when I pulled into their driveway, so it took me about 4 1/2 hours to get my drink and travel 198 miles.

Once at Roland's, Jim got me turned around and backed up to the RV port that Big Herb usually occupies. Notice, I said usually. Well, Roland took Big Herb over to his Son's house so he could do some work on the RV port, and also make room for me and another Motor home owned by Jim and Anne Sipple who were also visiting Roland and Louise.

Now comes the hard part. Trying to remember what has happened during the last week. Well, to summarize, Almost every evening, all 3 families got together for dinner, with everyone bringing something to eat. One night they all went to a restaurant for seafood, and one evening, Roland and Louise's son, Kenneth and his family, Kenneth's wife's Father and Mother all came over had they had a big cookout.

During the day, a lot of time was spent on partially enclosing the RV Port to better protect Big Herb from the weather, visiting, and going shopping.

Jim took some before and after photos of the RV port, so I'll try to get a few posted in the next few days, to show you what they did.

Anyway, after a bunch of hugs and handshakes, we left Forest City yesterday morning about 9:00 and headed North on US 221. We took it up to I-40, and then took 40 West to Asheville, across the mountains, into Tennessee, and to Knoxville. Took I-640 around Knoxville because of construction on 40 in the City, and then I-40 again here to Lenoir City, TN and the Soaring Eagle RV Park.

It was about 1:00 when we pulled into the park, so it took 4 hours to travel the 202 miles.

This is a nice park, but the sites are pretty narrow. I'm in a nice long pull-through site that's pretty level with full hook-ups. It's very easy to get off and back on the Interstate, so it's a very good over night stopping place.

Today, we'll continue heading West. I don't know how far we'll get, but I'll let you know tomorrow morning.

See ya then. :-)

Did you know that in Tennessee, it's illegal to use a lasso to catch fish?

I'm OK

Forest City, NC

I'm OK, but we have almost no Internet signal here. Will post if I can find a better location. It may be next Tuesday or Wednesday before my next post. We'll be leaving here then.

Saying Good-Bye and Ready To Go

Apex, NC
48 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 72 deg. partly cloudy, NE winds @ 10 to 15 mph.
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Sunday ended up being a really crummy day. It rained most of the time, and it never got very warm, in fact, the temps went down all day. I'm sure glad that Mike brought the girls out here Saturday, because Sunday sure wouldn't have been a good day for a picnic.
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Yesterday was much better, but it was windy and cool. In the afternoon, Jim put away my water hose and got everything ready for us to leave today. Then, about 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed into Apex to meet Mike, Gina and the kids at a restaurant for dinner. Mike and Gina were very apprehensive about taking Dillon to the restaurant, but Jim says that he was a very good little boy, and didn't fuss or anything. When they all got back to Mike and Gina's, Jim took this family photo.
After taking the photo, they all went inside and visited until about 8:00. By that time, Dillon and the girls were ready for bed, so after many hugs, Jim and Linda said their good-bye's and headed back here to the CG. I sure will miss seeing them, but if everything goes according to plan, we'll be back here this fall.
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So, today, we'll head for Forest City, NC to see Roland, Louise, and Big Herb. I'm sure looking forward to seeing them again, and I know Jim and Linda are too. The last time we saw them, Louise was in the hospital in Atlanta, recovering from their accident.
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Well, I'd better get going. Today is going to be a busy day for me. First we have to stop at the dump station to empty my tanks, then Jim wants to get me a drink of good old #2 diesel, then we have about a 4 1/2 hour drive to Forest City.
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I'm ready! :-)
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Did you know that on this date in 1928 the first annual Calaveras County "Frog Jumping Jubilee" was held in Angel's Camp, California?

Another Picnic, Some Photos, and The Last Time

Apex, NC
68 deg. overcast, light rain, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 68 deg. cloudy, 90% chance of rain, temps falling to the low 50's this afternoon, winds becoming N. at 10 to 20 mph.
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Mike brought the girls out here to see me yesterday afternoon, and again, I think a good time was had by all.
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Jim took a few photos, and this first one is of Brenna fooling around. Jim snapped this one of Savanna sitting on Mike's lap. Savanna is going through a stage where she doesn't want anyone to take her picture, so Jim took it when she wasn't looking. :-)

The weather was really questionable at times. In fact it started raining at one point in the morning while Jim was getting the grill set up and the lawn chairs out, but by the time Mike and the girls arrived, (just a little after noon), the sun was shining and it stayed nice for the rest of the afternoon. We were lucky though, because some showers passed both to the East and West of us during the afternoon.

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For lunch, Jim grilled some burgers on the grill for Mike, Linda and himself and Mike nuked some hot dogs in my microwave for the girls. Linda made some corn, and a brownie/cherry desert.

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It all sure looked good to me.

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About 4:30 Mike and the girls left to go back home. I'm sure that this will be the last time that I see them until we get back here again. I'm sure glad that they were able to come out to see me. I really enjoy having them around. :-)
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Today, Mike and his family are going to be busy all day, so Jim and Linda won't be going over there. Being that the weather is supposed to be pretty nasty today, I doubt if Jim and Linda will be doing much. I think they're really wanting to go to a grocery store before we leave here, but there's nothing important that they need to get, so maybe they'll just go to the convenient store down at the corner, and pick up some bread and milk.

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Did you know that in July of 2007, Money magazine ranked Apex #14 on its list of the nations top 100 small towns?

Clothes Drying Rack and Company for Lunch

Apex, NC.
68 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. cloudy this morning with showers and t-storms this afternoon. 50% chance of rain. SW winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

Yesterday I received a comment from Jenny Johnson, http://elevenfootrv.blogspot.com/ (an RVing friend that lives in the Pacific Northwest), asking me to post a photo of the clothes drying rack that Jim made. Well, here are a couple of photos that I hope are sufficient.
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This first one, Jim took of it just laying on the picnic table. as you can see, he put a center cross bar in it to stop the ropes from warping the side pipes when heavy clothes are hung on it. It's really a very simple design, and one that Jim basically copied from others that he had seen in campgrounds. By making it 24" X 24", he was able to get it all out of one 10' piece of heavy duty plastic pipe, (they make one with a thinner pipe wall thickness), 4 elbows, 2 "T's" and some clothesline. Oh, I almost forgot the 2 "S" hooks that he used on the ends of the ropes to hold it in position. The whole thing, including a small can of glue, cost him less than $18. In the photo below, you can see how it is fastened to my ladder. He used 2 small bungee cords to fasten the bottom to a step, and the ropes with the "S" hooks to fasten the top to a step higher up.

By keeping the size fairly small, he is able to store in in my basement compartment, but it can be made larger if you have room.

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Not a whole lot happening around here. Jim and Linda have been going over to Mike and Gina's for awhile every evening, but other than that, not much else.

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Today, if the weather holds, Mike is going to bring the girls back out here for awhile. The plan is to get here early so they can eat about noon, and hopefully beat the showers and t-storms that are forecast for this afternoon. So far, the radar looks pretty good, but it's pretty early yet.
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Did you know that Apex got it's name because it is located at the highest point on a portion of the Chatham Railroad that ultimately extends between Richmond Virginia and Jacksonville Florida?

Clothes Rack, KBOOOM and No Plans

Apex, NC
58 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg, mostly cloudy, 30% chance of afternoon t-storms, SE winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

Well, the "Chamber of Commerce" weather we've had the last 2 days is ending. Today, it's supposed to get real muggy with, (depending who you are listening to), a slight to strong chance of storms this afternoon.

I guess all good things must end.

Yesterday, Jim made one of those clothes drying racks out of plastic pipe and rope, to mount on my ladder. If you remember, he went to Lowe's when we were back in Virginia Beach and bought all the parts, but didn't really have a good place to put it all together. Well, yesterday, he cut the pipe, glued it all together, drilled holes for the rope, strung the rope, and figured out how best to mount it to my ladder so it can be removed easily. I'll have to admit, it turned out pretty good, and the way he made it, with an additional cross piece, it's real sturdy and shouldn't warp like many I've seen.

Linda really liked it, and thinks it will be great to hang clothes on.

After going to Mike and Gina's for dinner, Jim and Linda came back here about 8:00 and watched "Lost" on TV. It is one of Linda's favorite shows, and she tries to follow it every week. Well, the one last night was the season finale, and she wanted to be sure to see it. Well after 3 hours, it all came down to one big "KBOOOM" and now she'll have to wait until next season to find out what happened.

They do that, you know. :-)

No plans for today, that I know of, other than for Jim and Linda to head over to Mike and Gina's this afternoon. Counting today, we only have 5 more days for Jim and Linda to visit with them. I was hoping that Mike and his family could come back out here to see me again this weekend, but as of right now, it looks like it's going to be a rainy weekend, and I'm not really big enough to have everyone inside me if it's raining.

Did you know that the giant crab of Japan can be as large as 12 feet across?

Plans To Visit Roland, Louise and Big Herb

Apex, NC.
54 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg. partly cloudy, SE winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

Next Tuesday, we'll be leaving here and heading to Forest City, NC to see Roland, Louise and Big Herb. Those of you that have been following this blog for a long time, know that a year ago in March, Roland and Louise had a terrible head-on collision while driving their Jeep, near Atlanta, GA. Louise was hurt the worst with multiple leg fractures, and other injuries. Since then, it has been a real struggle for her to be able to walk again, much less get into and out of their Motor Home, (Big Herb). So, Big Herb has been parked pretty much ever since, and only about a month ago, was Louise able to manage to get up his steps and back into him. Well anyway, since then, they have taken a short trip with Big Herb, and it looks like they may be able to get back to doing quite a bit of traveling in the future. :-)

Folks, that's great news!!!

So, Jim called them yesterday, and we are going to Forest City, where they have a small house, (with a MH Port for Big Herb), to visit with them and catch up on what has been happening lately. We'll stay for at least a week, and I'll be hooked up to full hook-ups, that Roland put in, just for any of Big Herbs friends that might come to visit.

I'm really looking forward to it. :-)

So, what happened here yesterday, you ask? Well, really not much. Jim and Linda went to Mike and Gina's again yesterday evening, had dinner with them, visited for awhile, and then came back here about 8:00. During the day, they enjoyed the great weather we're having, (You know, the Chamber of Commerce kind), and did a few odd jobs around here.

Did you know that in North Carolina, it is against the law to use an elephant to plow cotton fields?

A "Bug"? and A Rainy Day

Apex, NC
49 deg. cloudy, little breeze
Forecast today = high temp. 74 deg, partly cloudy, N. winds @ 5 mph.
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They're saying that it's supposed to be foggy here, but I think they're mistaken. From my site, I don't see any fog at all! Oh well, I guess I shouldn't complain, I really don't like fog much.
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Absolutely nothing happened around here yesterday. Jim wasn't feeling well, (upset stomach), it rained or sprinkled much of the day, and the temperature dropped from the mid 60's in the morning down to the low 50's by the afternoon.
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Not really a good day to be out and about.
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Being that Jim wasn't feeling well, Linda called Mike and told him that they wouldn't be coming over in the evening, and that they would see them today if everyone was feeling OK. That's probably the best thing. No use carrying a possible "bug" over there when it's not necessary.
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Soooo, today, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Jim seems to be feeling alright now, so more than likely, he and Linda will be heading to Mike's later this afternoon.
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Did you know that on this date in 1978, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared that hurricanes would no longer be named exclusively after women?

Mike And The Girls Come To Visit

Apex, NC
64 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast today = Temps falling to the low 60's, cloudy, 80% chance of rain, N. winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day. The morning was cloudy with cool temps, but by noon, the sun was out and the temps were into the mid 70's and they stayed there for the rest of the afternoon.

Mike brought the girls out to see me about 1:30 and being that Jim had started the fire earlier, the coals were almost perfect for roasting hot dogs and brats. The girls seem to like the idea of cooking their hot dogs over the fire, but become impatient when it takes too long. And then of course there's the hot dog that jumps off of the fork and falls into the fire. ;-)

Anyway, I think a good time was had by all, and before you know it, it was time for them to head back home. Maybe they can come back out here again next weekend.

Did you know that the term, "hot dog", has been used as a synonym for sausage since at least 1884?

Happy Mother's Day and More Storms

Apex, NC
62 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. partly sunny, NW winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there. I hope you have a great day!!

More storms came through this area last evening. This one was almost as bad as that day when the tornadoes came through here. As you can probably guess, the CG is almost full this weekend, and when the winds all of a sudden picked up, a lot of items went flying. The reports on TV said that there were gusts in excess of 60 miles an hour, which brought down trees in the area and did some minor damage to a few buildings. Granted, not as bad as tornadoes, but this one caught just about everyone off guard. There was no damage to me or any of my neighbors, but I'll be some people lost some tents and shelters in the park.
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Yesterday, I mentioned that Savanna and Brenna were taking music lessons, well, today I included a couple of photos of them. This first one is of Savanna and her violin. And this, of course is of Brenna with her guitar.

Jim and Linda said that both of the girls are doing really well with their instruments and both seem to have quite a bit of musical talent.
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Other than the weather, not a real lot happened around here. Jim and Linda went to a Chinese take-out place over in Pittsboro, and brought back some food for dinner. They also stopped at the convenient store down at the corner and picked up some hot dog buns and bread for today. Then last night, they watched British comedies on TV before going to bed after the news.

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Today, I'm looking forward to Mike and the girls coming out here this afternoon. It should be a lot of fun, watching them play and cook hot dogs over the fire. :-)

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Did you know that the first Mother's Day observance was in May of 1908? In 1914 President Wilson gave the day national recognition, and by the late 1920's the day became one of our countries most prominent holidays.

The "Pig", and A Talent Show

Apex, NC
69 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 90 deg. partly sunny, 40% chance of t-storms this afternoon, SW winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday, Jim and Linda did go to the grocery store. They ended up going to Pittsboro, NC., (which is about 10 miles West of here), and to a Piggly Wiggly Grocery store. Yeah I know, a crazy name for a grocery store, but well known in some parts of the country. The locals refer to it as the "Pig" store. :-)

Anyway, they got groceries, went to Mike's for dinner and were treated to a talent show by Brenna and Savanna, with little Dillon trying to imitate them. The girls take dancing and music lessons, and just had to show Grandma and Grandpa what they had learned. Yesterday, not much happened around here except Jim and Linda cleaned the inside of me. I was getting really dusty and needed it bad. Then, about 5:00 they went back to Mike's to have dinner and spend some more time with him and his family.

Today, Mike, Gina and the kids have all kinds of things going on, so there are no plans to see them, but tomorrow, I think Mike is going to bring the girls out here to see me. :-) That should be fun, and of course Grandpa will have to get a fire going so that the girls can roast some hot dogs and marshmallows.

That seems to be something that they really look forward to.
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Did you know that Piggly Wiggly was founded by Clarence Saunders in 1916, and was the first true self-service grocery store? In fact the concept was patented by Saunders in 1917.

My Site and Better Weather

Apex, NC
66 deg. cloudy, showers, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. mostly cloudy, possible t-storms, SW winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

Well, yesterday was a much better weather day than Tuesday. We had some rain and a few rumbles of thunder, but nothing severe.

Jim has been taking some photos, so I thought I'd post this one of me and CLT in my site here at Jordan Lake. This park was a COE Park that has been turned over to the state of North Carolina. Like most COE parks it was designed around a lake that was formed by erecting a damn to provide flood control. If you stay at COE parks as you travel, then you'll know that most have very large, mostly shady sites, that are scattered around the lake or waterway. In the photo below, the lake is right behind me, and there is a path leading down to the water's edge. In fact if you set up a lawn chair in the area next to me, you can see quite a bit of the lake. For the most part, we like COE park a lot. RVers who use satellite TV may have a problem with all the trees, but the sites are always fairly level, large, have picnic tables, and usually, fire rings.

Jim and Linda took CLT and went back to Mike and Gina's again yesterday afternoon. Gina made tacos for dinner and then they visited until it was time for the girls and Dillon to get ready for bed. It was about 8:30 by the time they got back here.

Today, I think Jim and Linda are going to go grocery shopping. They were talking last night about being out of some things.

Did you know that Giraffes are the only animals born with horns?

VA to NC and Tornadoes Too Close For Comfort!

Apex, NC
61 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 78 deg. mostly cloudy, NE winds @ 5 mph. Possible storms this afternoon.

OK!!! Enough already with the tornadoes!!!! I was barely missed by one yesterday afternoon!!!!

But first, let's go back to yesterday morning before we left Emporia. On the radar, I could see that there was a big red blob over Raleigh and it was headed in a NE direction, right over the route we would be taking, so I knew that I was in for a rainy travel day.

We left the park about 9:25 and headed South on I-95. When we got down to US 64, near Rocky Mount, NC, we turned SW on 64 and followed it over to Raleigh, then followed it around the South side of the city and then West, here to Apex. We hit rain shortly after leaving Emporia, and it lasted all the way to Raleigh. It did stop raining as we were going around the city, and it held off until Jim got me parked here at the Crosswinds CG at the Jordan Lake State Recreation Area. It was about 12:10 when we got here so we traveled 146 miles in about 2 hours and 35 minutes.

Not too bad considering the weather.

After getting me hooked up to the 30 amp electric and water, Jim and Linda both relaxed and took naps before heading to Mike's at about 4:30. While they were gone, the storms hit, and I'm here to tell you, it got really scary for awhile!! The sky got black, the wind came up and the rain poured down!! The whole area was under a tornado warning, and here I was, sitting in my site, all alone, with nothing to do but hang onto the ground, just a tight as I could!!

Well, the storm passed and I was alright, but I did learn later, from one of the rangers, that there was a tornado touch-down just across the lake from me. Now, this lake isn't that big, so that meant that it touched down less than a mile from me!!!!

WAY TO CLOSE FOR COMFORT!!!!!

After the storm passed, (about 7:30), Jim and Linda came back from Mikes, and boy, was I ever glad to see them. They checked me over for damage, and found that I was OK, and then we all settled down for the evening. While we were relaxing, CLT (Cute Little Truck), told me that over at Mike's, (which is about 10 miles SE of here, there was no storm at all, just some heavy rain for a short time.

Now this morning, the people on the TV are saying that there may have been as many as 8 tornadoes in NC yesterday afternoon and evening, and some of them did some serious damage to homes and property. They're also saying that that cold weather front is still setting right over this area, and so this afternoon, we could have more storms.

I hope not.

Did you know that on an average, there are more than 900 tornadoes in the United States each year?

Leaving Virginia Beach and Tornado Warnings

Emporia, VA.
56 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 72 deg. cloudy, 70 % chance of rain, NE winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

I was just too busy to post yesterday, with everyone stopping by to say good-by in the morning. First, Joe stopped by on his way to work at about 7:15, and then Sami and Amber stopped by at about 8:15, on their way to school. Everyone stayed and talked as long as they could, but soon they were on their way and Jim and Linda continued getting me ready to hit the road.

Sunday, not much really happened except all possible time was spent with Joe and the girls. As usual they were quite busy but made as much time as they could to visit.

We left Virginia beach about 9:40 yesterday morning and basically retraced our route back here to Emporia. The only difference was, that once we got to I-95, we turned North for a few miles and came here to the Jellystone Park. It was about 11:45 when we pulled in, so it only took us 2 hours and 5 minutes to travel the 104 miles.

We've been to this park before. It's not far from Virginia Beach, but I needed a place to get my tanks dumped because they were really full, and it is about 1/2 way to Apex, NC where we will be staying a couple of weeks to see Mike and his family. It's a nice CG but pretty pricey. The sites are large, some have shade and some don't, so you can choose if you want. The people running the park are very friendly, and try hard to accommodate the RVers needs.

It sounds like I got out of Virginia Beach just in time. Last night they had tornado warnings there and the weather was so bad that Joe's family all went into the bathroom to take cover! There was some damage in the area, but I don't think they had any. Here, we had a lot of rain, but no storms.

Did you know that on this date in 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space?

New Tires Itch Too

Virginia Beach, VA
62 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 74 deg. mostly cloudy, 70% chance of showers, SW winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

I wonder why it is that a day or two before I'm going to leave someplace, my tires start to itch? They were fine until yesterday and then, Itch, Itch, Itch!!! I thought that maybe these new tires Jim and Linda bought for me wouldn't itch so much, but it think it's just as bad, if not worse!

Today, I imagine that Jim and Linda will spend as much time as possible with Joe and the girls. I don't know how much that will be though, because they have so much going on in their lives. Yesterday, there was a soccer game for Sami, Amber cut the grass, and Joe was doing all kinds of little jobs around the house.

If I heard right, Jim and Linda said they need to go to the grocery store to pick up a few items before we leave here and I'm sure they'll start getting me ready to travel. Other than that, I don't think there's any other plans.

Did you know that it takes 7 years for a lobster to grow 1 pound?

Hanging Out and Starting To Get Ready

Virginia Beach, VA.
65 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 77 deg. becoming mostly cloudy with a 60% chance of rain this evening. SW winds @ 15 to 20 mph.

Again, a slow day here in Virginia beach. Nancy has gone to Asheville, NC with her sister for a get-a-way weekend. Joe and the girls have been working and going to school, and Jim and Linda have just been "hanging out." Jim did go to Lowe's and picked up all the parts to make one of those plastic pipe clothes drying racks that many RVers mount on their RV's ladders. He says that he's not going to make it while we're here, but rather he'll wait until we're someplace where there's a picnic table to work on.

For dinner, they had a couple of pizzas delivered that everyone seemed to enjoy, and then they all watched TV until about 9:00, when Jim and Linda came back out here.

Oh, Jim did a little checking on me yesterday. he checked my tires again, (yep, that tire is holding air now), checked my fluid levels, and in general started getting me ready for travel. You see, as of this coming Monday, we'll have been here for 2 weeks, and it's time for me to get moving. 2 weeks is about as long as I can stay anywhere without having sewer hookups. My tanks are really full, and they need to be dumped soon.

From here, we'll be heading to a CG near Emporia, VA., (for 1 night), and then we'll head to Apex, NC to see Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna and Dillon. (Jim and Linda's son and his family).

Did you know that Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia, and the 40th largest city in the United States?

May Day and The Flu Pandemic,

Virginia Beach, VA.
65 deg. partly cloudy, W. wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg, becoming mostly cloudy w/chance of showers, SW winds @ 15 to 20 mph.

Happy May Day!!

Jim and Linda didn't see much of Joe or his family yesterday. They were just seen walking past me as they went and came back from soccer, golf, school, work, or shopping.

This family is way too busy!!!

"Swine Flu cases found in Virginia!!! Flu pandemic spreads across the country!!!" That was the headlines of the local TV newscast here in Virginia Beach. Then, when they are actually reporting on the story, they tell the people not to panic!!!! Come on, if you're going to start the news with a statement like that, some people are going to panic!!! Make up your minds, do you want the people to panic or not? They also go on to state that the people are not hospitalized, and that they are recovering at home.

Now, I'm no medical expert by a long shot, but I'm beginning to wonder if this whole "swine flu" thing is not near as bad as the news media is making it. If you stop to think about it, there are actually very few people who are sick, and of those that are, almost all have been to Mexico lately. I'm sure more people will get sick, but is it really going to be any worse than some of the flu seasons that we've had in past years? Is this just another story that the news media is hyping up?

Jim and Linda went to a candy store yesterday afternoon to get Linda some sugar-free candy. Years ago, they found the Forbes Candy Co. here in Virginia Beach, and go there every time we are in the area. Linda says they have some of the best sugar-free candy she has ever had.

For dinner, they went over to the IHop and had breakfast for dinner. Then they came back here and watched TV until bedtime.

Did you know that Calamity Jane was born on May Day in 1852?