Getting Ready and Visiting With Paul And Louise

Rantoul, IL
59 Deg. partly cloudy, E. wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg, partly cloudy, N. wind @ 5 to 10 mph with 20 mph gusts.

Because the weather was so nice yesterday morning, Jim took an early ride on his bike. Then when he came back here, he removed the bike's front wheel put the bike into the back of CLT.

About the time he finished, he noticed Paul sitting out under his awning so he walked over to visit for awhile. He was just about to come back over here when Louise came out of their 5th wheel with a big tray, and on it was a scrambled egg / potato dish, some toast, raspberry jam, and coffee.

Well, Louise invited Jim to stay had have some of the food, and it would have been rude to not stay and eat, so Jim was forced to stay and have a great breakfast. ;-)

After eating and more conversation, Jim came back here, added some water to my fresh water tank and then dumped my grey and black water tanks. After dumping, he put away all the sewer and water hoses that had been used during our stay here.

By this time it was time for lunch, but for some reason, Jim wasn't hungry, (I wonder why?), so he just ate a snack and went back outside to continue getting me ready for our departure.

After both Jim and Linda took naps in the afternoon, they went over to Paul and Louise's to visit a little and pay Louise for my stay here. They were over there for about an hour and a half, so I guess they found a lot to talk about.:-)

For dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT and went over to the Arby's Restaurant and had a sandwich. Then it was back here to watch TV and play with the computers until bedtime.

This morning, about the only thing left to do is to store a few things inside of me, hook CLT to the back of me and unhook my electric cable and put it in my basement. Then we can finally get out on the road, and I can get rid of this itchy tire condition that is about to drive me crazy!!

AAARRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

Did you know that each 5 m.p.h. you drive over 60 m.p.h. is like paying an additional $.10 a gallon for gas?

Come on, Jim and Linda, let's get going!!!!!!

Groceries, A Water Leak and Continuing To Get Ready

Rantoul, IL.
65 deg. clear, no wind..
Forecast today = high temp. 77 deg. sunny, NE wind @ 10 to 15 mph.

Jim checked all my  tires yesterday morning and then checked CLT's. After that, he took a little bike ride  before he and Linda went to the IGA grocery store to get enough groceries to last them until we get up to Wisconsin.

By this time it was noon. After they had the groceries put away, Linda put a load of laundry in my washer and they both sat down to relax a little and watch the noon news on TV. After the news was over Jim got up and headed to my refrigerator to get a drink and that's when he noticed that the carpet in front of my ice maker was all wet!!

Hmmm, now what was causing that?

Well, Jim pulled the drawers out of the cabinet right next to the ice maker, and the water was definitely coming for the ice maker, so he got out some tools and pulled it out of it's cabinet. It didn't take long for him to find out that the little plastic tube that supplies water to it had sprung a tiny little leak.

Jim shut the water supply off to it and went out to see if he had any parts in one of his boxes that he could use to repair it, but couldn't find anything. So...... Jim and Linda took CLT and off to the hardware store they went. After finding some new tubing and fittings, they came back here and Jim was able to get the new tube installed.

By this time, it was time for dinner and Jim and Linda had bought a nice big pork chop for Jim to cook on his grill, so, because he wanted to make sure there were not any leaks, he left the ice maker out of the cabinet and went out and fired up the grill, while Linda put together some vegetables to go with the pork chop.

After a very nice meal,  and a little rest, Jim checked the tube and the connections for leaks, reinstalled the ice maker, put the drawers back into the cabinet and put away his tools.

I definitely wasn't what Jim wanted to do yesterday afternoon, but I guess it was lucky that it happened while we were still here in Rantoul, rather than out on the road someplace.

Today Jim and Linda will continue to get me ready to travel. They also have to go to the post office to check on mail, and then I imagine they'll both go over to visit with Louise and Paul and pay for my stay here.

How's my itchy tire condition, you ask??? Well, I'm trying very hare to ignore it, but I'm sure glad that we're leaving here tomorrow cause it's getting really bad!!! :-(

Did you know that June is National Smile Month?

CRACK!!!! STOP!!!! and 52 And Counting

Rantoul, IL
73 Deg., clear, SW wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast today = High temp. 85 deg. mostly sunny, NW winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

CRACK!!!! STOP!!!!! That's what I heard from the site next to me yesterday morning. That awful "CRACK" sound when something is breaking, and then the man yelling "STOP"!!!!! You just know something bad has happened to an RV!!

Well, it had. You see, the man was outside getting things ready to go. He had one of the basement doors open so he could put hoses and cables away, and his wife was doing her thing inside. Well, she was done, so she decided to put in the slide-outs. The only problem was that the basement door was still open and when she retracted the bedroom slide it caught the open door and ripped the bottom edge off of the slide and badly bent the hinge on the door.

So..... the man got out his tools and proceeded to try to get things put back together again. Jim waited a little while to see how things were going, (he didn't want to go over there if the people were really upset), and then went over to ask if he could be of any help. The man showed Jim what had been damaged and told him what he was trying to do to repair it. The man's wife and his teen-aged daughter were trying to hold things in place while he tried to fasten things back together, but it wasn't working too well, so Jim helped hold the pieces while the man drilled new holes and put screws in it to hold it in place. Then, with a little help from Jim's hammer, they were able to straighten the door hinge enough to get the door closed.

I really don't think that the damage was too bad. The people live up near Madison, WI. so they didn't have too far to go, and the man thought he could repair everything himself once they got home.

Before they left, the man, Bob, thanked Jim for coming over and helping and then shook Jim's hand. Jim told Bob that he was just glad that he could be of some help.

You see, RVers are like that. Almost all of them are more than willing to lend a helping hand when another RVer is having problems. It's kind of an unwritten code that if someone needs help, or even looks like they need help, you go over and do what you can. Sometimes it's just moral support that's needed, but sometimes it turns out to be something where an extra pair of hands or a strong back is needed.

And you know what? The day will come when you need that help from a fellow RVer. Sometime, somewhere, you will need help and the RVer next door will come over and volunteer to help you, and you will be so grateful for that unwritten code that brought the assistance.

What goes around, comes around. ;-)

The weather was hot and sticky again yesterday, with a few showers and even some thunder in the distance. That meant not much got done outside again. Then last night, a front came through and even though we didn't have much rain here, they had some heavy stuff go through just South of Champaign. Today the temperature is still going to be a little high, but the humidity is supposed to be much lower, so it should feel much better outside.

Today I think Jim and Linda are going to go to the IGA grocery store here in town. There's a few things Linda wants to pick up before we head up to Wisconsin. Also today, Jim wants to start getting me ready to travel. He needs to check my itchy tires, and start putting stuff away so that he doesn't have to do it at the last minute. Linda also wants to start getting the inside of me ready to travel, so I think both of them will be fairly busy.

What am I going to be doing today, you ask? Well, all I can do is sit here and try to be patient. It's not going to be easy though, my itchy tire condition is getting worse and it's getting harder and harder to just sit here. :-(

I can make it though. Only about 52 hours to go. ;-)

Did you know that clocks made before 1660 had only one hand - an hour hand?

Everything Was Going So Well and It's 90 Again

Rantoul, IL.
74 deg. clear, SW breeze @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 90 deg. 60% chance of t-storms this afternoon, SW winds @ 15 to 20 mph.

I thought just maybe it wouldn't happen this time, but I was wrong. Everything seemed to be going so well, and I had no symptoms at all!!!!

What am I talking about, you ask?

My itchy tire condition !!!!

Yep, it's back!!!! It started yesterday afternoon when Linda called, first her sister, and then her brother, to find out more about the exact location and the time they they would be getting to the lodge where they and the rest of the family are staying. Linda had no more than hung up the phone, when it started. First, on my left rear inside tire, then the outside tire, and then, to all of the rest of my tires!! :-(

AAKKKKK!!!!!!!

Oh well, we'll be leaving here Wednesday, so at least I won't have to put up with it for too long.

Linda called Walgreen's yesterday they told her that all of the rest of her prescriptions were ready to be picked up, so, off she and Jim went to get them. Everything went fine and in just a short time they were back here again. When they got back, Paul was sitting outside under his awning, so Jim went over and talked to him for awhile. He didn't stay too long though because it was pretty hot out there.

You see, the temperatures around here have gone back up to the low 90's with very high humidity. And, yesterday, there wasn't much of a breeze, so it really felt hot!! We didn't have any t-storms or rain yesterday or last night, but the forecasters are saying that there is a front coming through today that my bring some severe weather with it. :-(  The cool front is then supposed to bring the temperatures back down into the 80's for the next 4 or 5 days. :-)

I doubt if anything much is going to be happening around here today. It's supposed to be really hot and then storm this afternoon or evening, so I'm sure Jim and Linda will be checking on the weather forecast often.

I, on the other hand will be just sitting here and trying to ignore my itchy tires!! At least it's only 3 days until we'll be on the road, so I guess I'll manage!!!

AARRRGGGG!!!!!

Did you know that Canola oil is actually rapeseed oil but the name was changed for marketing reasons?

Another Nice Day and A New Doctor For Linda?

Rantoul, IL.
69 deg. cloudy, S. wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 92 deg. Hot and humid, with a 40% chance of rain this afternoon and evening. SW  wind @ 10 to 15 mph.

It was another nice day here in Rantoul yesterday, so Jim took advantage of it and got a few things done. One thing that he had been wanting to do was to clean the upholstery on my 2 kitchen chairs, so he carried them outside. The first thing he did to them was to install the new pads on the bottom of the legs, (you remember, the ones he bought at True Value the other day), and then after he had them installed, he squirted some foamy stuff on the material, rubbed it in with a sponge and then left them to dry in the sun.

While they were drying, he took his bike for a little ride.

When he got back, he checked my fluid levels, and did a visual check of my belts and engine compartment, and then came in and defrosted my ice maker and cleaned up my kitchen floor,

After lunch, he and Linda finally finished up getting all of the Campgrounds that we've stayed at,  put into the computer. Now, if they'll just keep it up-to-date, they won't have to play catch-up again. ;-)

During the last few days, Jim has been doing some research on the Internet for Linda. All of my regular readers know that she has not been happy with the doctor(s) and the clinic that she has been going to down in Florida. There have been many doctors there over the years, and they are so rushed that they never even take the time to get to know you, or really seem to care about individuals. The clinic has made numerous mistakes with here prescriptions, and when the pharmacist calls the clinic to get things straightened out, they don't call back unless called multiple times.

Well, anyway, Jim found some doctors in this area and did some research on them. After looking at his results, Linda decided to call a doctor over in Fisher IL. and see if he would take her for a patient. She now has an appointment to go and see him in August, and then will decided if she likes him and wants to have him as here primary doctor.

This was something that Linda was really dreading, but after talking to the people over the doctors office, she has a good feeling. So.....hopefully the appointment will go well, and she'll like him.

For dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), had went to the Village Garden Restaurant in Fisher. They went there for two reasons. First, the food is always good, and secondly, they wanted to check out where the doctor's office was.

Well, they had fish specials, (perch for Linda and cod for Jim), which were excellent, and then after eating, drove past the doctor's office before heading back here.

I don't really know what they expected to see as they drove past the office, but I guess they just wanted to see where it was.

The evening was spent watching TV, and working on the computers.

Did you know that a man once sued his doctor because he survived his cancer longer than the doctor predicted?

800 Posts, Awning Problems, Prescriptions And Hardware

Rantoul, IL.
66 Deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = High temp. 86 deg. sunny, S. winds @ 5 to 15 mph.

Wow!!! This is my 800th post to this blog!!!! I didn't know I had 800 things to write about!!!

The weather yesterday was great. We had temps in the mid 80's (which was a little hotter than I like), but the humidity was lower and there was a little breeze to help keep things cool. Today is supposed to be nice too.

Do you remember when I told you about the wind pulling the awning strap out of Jim's hand and the awning billowing up and then slamming against me?  Well, there didn't appear to be any damage, but the other day, Jim found out that at the front of the awning, about 4 feet of the awning bead had pulled out of the awning track on the side of me!

Well, after a lot of thinking and planning, Jim tackled the problem yesterday morning. By using the awning locks, he was able to roll the awning out a little, flip on the locks, and release the tension on the awning. Then with a tool he had in his tool box, he was able to work the bead of the awning back into the track and then take a punch and tap on the track to close the slot a little to prevent it from coming back out.

The awning was out all day yesterday, and last night, and everything is still looking good. :-) I think it's going to be OK!

Whew!! I thought I was going to have to go to see a mechanic again!! :-(

In the afternoon, Jim and Linda took CLT and went to Walgreen's to get Linda's prescriptions refilled. Again, there was a little glitch, but it looks like it's going to work out.

After Walgreen's, they drove up to Paxton, IL (About 10 miles North of here), and went to a True Value Hardware Store. Jim needed some water hose repair ends, some pads to go on the legs of my kitchen chairs, and a few other little things. He found everything he needed and by about 2:00 they were back here at the CG.

Then it was nap time. :-)

For dinner Jim cooked a couple of burgers on the grill, while Linda cooked some asparagus on my stove and got out chips and watermelon. Then it was computers, and TV until bedtime.

I would like to thank the folks who took time to comment on yesterday's blog entry. Jim has made reservations for me at the Sunset Bay  RV Resort and CG up there on the Keweenaw Peninsula. He did try to get me into the S.P. up by Copper Harbor, but they didn't have any sites left for a 40' MH. He also considered the Houghton City park, but the one he chose seemed more to Jim and Linda's liking. Of course they've never been up there, so we'll just have to wait and see what it's like.

Oh, and he says that if possible he and Linda will go out at night and take a look at those stars. A Northern Light show would be nice too. ;-)

Did you know that Michigan has the longest freshwater shoreline in the world?

A Cold Front, and Working On Our Trip Plan

Rantoul, IL.
66 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. sunny, lower humidity, 0% chance of rain, N. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

It was really windy for awhile here last night as the cold front came though the area. I haven't heard of any major damage in the area though. Lots of lightning and thunder too, although no real close strikes. Today, and tomorrow are supposed to be really nice and then the heat starts to build back in again.

Again not much to report on. Jim has continued to work on our trip to Wisconsin and Michigan. He has figured out which routes we'll probably take, found which campgrounds along the way sound good, and found some neat web sites on the Keweenaw Peninsula, where we'll be going up in Michigan. I know that those web sites only show the neat stuff, but it sure looks like there will be a lot of interesting things to see and do up there if Jim and Linda want to. 

I don't know just what's on the agenda for today. I'm sure Jim will want to try to get some outside stuff done. Actually we have less than a week left here before we head North, so he doesn't have a whole lot of time.

Did you know that Keweenaw is Ojibwa for "place of the crossing,"?

Sanity? and More About The Weather

Rantoul, IL.
74 deg. clear, S. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 94 deg., humid, mixed sun and clouds, 40% chance of t-storms today and a 90% chance of t-storms tonight.

Yesterday, Jim got an e-mail from Dave, (one of the "Illinois Bunch"), who lives a little South of here. He was questioning Jim's sanity for even wanting to come back from Michigan by the end of July or the 1st part of Aug. In fact he's thinking of stowing away in the back of CLT when we head up there to escape this heat and humidity we've been having. ;-)

I just checked the 7 day forecast for the town that we'll be going to up in Michigan, and the highest temperature they're going to have is 74 deg. today, with highs in the upper 60's and low 70, for the rest of the 7 day period.

Hmmm!!! Maybe Dave's suggestion that we just stay up there isn't so bad!!! ;-)

Jim took a little ride on his bike early yesterday morning, but other than that, absolutely nothing interesting happened around here. We had another heavy shower go through here during the day and the clouds stayed around for awhile so it didn't get quite as hot as fore-casted, but with the rain, the humidity was sky high. :-(  So..... Jim and Linda just stayed inside of me and worked on the CG program, took naps and watched TV. For dinner, they just had BLT sandwiches because neither one of them was very hungry.

Oh, and because of all the rain we've been having, we're now getting a bumper crop of mosquitoes!!! If it ever does cool down enough to be outside, those little buggers will probably be driving everyone back inside!! :-(

OK!! OK!!! I know you're tired of hearing about the weather!!! I'll try to do better tomorrow and write about something else. It's really hard though, it really has a huge effect on what everyone is doing.

Did you know that Female mosquitoes will obtain blood from humans and animals, but only to nourish their eggs? Their food actually consists of nectar and other plant juices.

Hey Dave!! Maybe if Jim moves things around a little, you could get into the back of CLT!!! ;-)

Weather and Michigan Plans

Rantoul, IL.
69 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 94 deg. mostly cloudy with a 70% chance of rain and t-storms. SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.

The weather is still the big news around here. It was very hot again yesterday with high humidity and not a whole lot of wind to help it feel cooler. Then yesterday evening, there were multiple reports of tornadoes just North of here with quite a bit of damage and power outages. Today the weather people are forecasting more of the same for the next 2 days!! :-(

Jim has still been researching campgrounds and things to see and do up in Michigan, and he and Linda have decided that we'll head up there after the family reunion in Wisconsin. In fact, because it'll be right in the middle of the tourist season when we'll be going up there, he made reservations for a week at a CG up on the Keweenaw Peninsula, which protrudes up into Lake Superior. The CG sounds neat, and the man that Jim talked to said that he would put me on a site with a nice view of the lake. :-) There's also supposed to be some neat drives to take CLT (Cute Little Truck) on, and things to see, so it should be a fun week. :-)

For dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Red Wheel Restaurant last night. Again, the food was good, but nothing special. I think they've both decided that the food is better at the restaurant over in Fisher, but it's about 12 miles from here, where the Red Wheel is just on the other side of town.

Did you know that Mark Twain first learned to ride a bicycle at age 55?

Happy Summer and Making Plans For July

Rantoul, IL.
71 deg. mostly cloudy, humid, no wind.
Forecast today = High temp. 92 deg. Showers and t-storms this morning then becoming partly sunny and humid. S winds @ 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 50 mph during t-storms this morning.

Happy Summer!!!! Today is officially the first day of summer!!

I hope all of you dads had a great day yesterday. Jim didn't get to see any of his kids, but most of them called and talked for awhile. He said that it sure was good to hear from them, and I think it really made his day.  :-)

It was hot and humid here so neither Jim or Linda went out much. Linda did a load of laundry, Jim did a lot of planning for our upcoming July adventures up into Wisconsin for the family reunion and then possibly heading  up into the upper peninsula of Michigan before coming back here to Rantoul.

I don't think that much will be happening around here today. There are big clouds moving in from the SW as I write this, and I can now hear thunder in the distance, so this morning looks like it will be a rain-out. Then, this afternoon, the sun is supposed to come out, and with the rain that we are more than likely going to have this morning, will make it super humid with temps around 90 deg.

One good thing that is happening, is that because it's hot outside, Jim and Linda have been spending time getting their campground program caught up to date. They were way behind, but now only have the campgrounds that I've stayed at this year to do.

Did you know that today is National Daylight Appreciation Day?

Happy Father's Day, That Sinking Feeling, and A Few Photos

Rantoul, IL.
68 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 88 deg. partly sunny, light Easterly winds.

Happy Father's Day!!!!

I hope all of you Dads out there have a great day!!!! :-)

I didn't get quite as hot as fore-casted yesterday. The forecast was for highs in the lower 90's but the thermometer on my North side never got over 87 degrees. Yeah, I know, it was still hot, but there seems to be a big difference of how it feels if it's 92 or 87.

I've noticed over the last few days that I've had a kind of  "sinking" feeling. Well, yesterday, Jim noticed that my entry steps were sitting right down on the cement patio. After further inspection, he determined that my front leveling jacks were sinking int the ground! Now, my jacks have fairly small pads, so unless I'm parked on cement or some other very hard surface, he always places some plastic jack pads under them before leveling me. These plastic pads are about 8 or 10 inches square. I'm guessing because of all the rain we've had that's making the ground soft, they were being pushed down into the ground by my jacks!!

In fact, they had sunk down about 3 inches!!!

So......Jim retracted my jacks, fired up my engine to build up air pressure which raised me up on my tires. Then after digging the plastic pads out of the ground, went over by the dumpster and got some gravel / dirt from a pile over there to put into the holes that my jacks had made.  Then after packing it down as best he could, he replaced the plastic pads under my jacks and re leveled me.

The pads sunk back in a little when my weight was put back on them, but so far, they're OK. It's something Jim will have to watch. If it would stop raining, I'm sure I wouldn't be having a problem like this, but they are forecasting rain off and on for the next 5 days!!!

You know, I've just realized that I haven't shown you any photos of my site here in Rantoul. Well, here's a couple that Jim took a week or so ago.

This first one is from the street looking at my patio side. As you can see, there's lots of space between my site and the next one.

This shot is of my site on the other side.

And finally this site is taken from the front of me and shows Paul and Louise's Mobile Suites 5th wheel, the gazebo and lawn decorations on their site.

As you can see, the sites here are very large and there's lots of grass and trees. But, if you want a sunny site, or a site where you can get satellite reception, those are available too.

Did you know that in 1916, US President Woodrow Wilson approved the idea of observing an annual Father's Day?

More About Talking, Heat and Storms, and That's Just Rude.

Rantoul, IL.
65 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 92 deg. mostly sunny, humid, W. winds @ 10 to 15 mph. 20% chance of afternoon showers.

I received a couple of nice comments on yesterday's blog. Thanks.

I think that everyone needs to sit down and talk to their significant other about things you might want to do or don't want to do in you future. Or, if you're on your own, take time to really be honest with yourself and make sure you're doing, and are going to be doing what makes you happy. I've seem so many couples that don't seem to be able to communicate at all, and usually one of them is not a very happy camper. :-(     Especially when you're traveling, it's important for both parties to agree on where, when and how to go, and where and when to stop.

It was pretty hot here yesterday, (I had 91 deg. on my thermometer at one time), so Jim and Linda didn't do much. Jim took a little bike ride in the morning, took the garbage down to the dumpster, talked to Louise for awhile, and put out my awnings.

The awning thing is getting to be a joke. Jim puts them out in the morning so that they shade me from the hot sun, but then in the afternoon, it storms so he has to roll them back up again. I know that some people leave them out all the time and tie them down, but Jim doesn't feel comfortable doing that, and just worries about them while they're out in a storm, so...... he does what he feels he has to do.

Speaking of that, yesterday afternoon, Jim cooked a couple of small steaks on his grill for dinner, and no more than he and Linda were done eating, the skies started looking black, so he went out rolled up the awnings. It's a good thing he did because within about 10 minutes we had some really strong gusts of wind and lots of rain again.

In fact, I just checked Jim's rain gauge and we had another 1.6 inches of rain yesterday and last night.

Oh, do you remember me telling you that there were 20 or so RVs coming into the park this weekend for a Rally? Well, they didn't show up!!!! Yep, you read that right. No phone call or anything. They just didn't show up!!!! Can you imagine scheduling a rally at a CG, (even a small rally), and then not showing up or calling the CG to tell them that you changed plans???

How rude is that!!!! Needless to say, Louise was quite upset with the group, and I doubt if she'll ever agree to have them back again.

I'm sure that all of you are aware that Sunday is Father's Day, and you want to get good old dad a present, but did you know that there are more than 14,000 hardware stores and over 23,000 sporting goods stores where you can get him that perfect gift?

.

Getting Warmer, The Village Garden and A Major Discussion

Rantoul, IL.
70 deg. partly cloudy, W. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 90 deg. partly sunny, with a 40% chance of showers and t-storms, S. winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

The weather was pretty nice yesterday, but it ended up being a little more humid than the day before. Jim was out and about early and serviced my batteries, finally cleaned the bugs off of the front of me, and took a nice long bike ride.

All of this was done before Linda even got up. ;-)

The rest of the day was spent just kicking back, fooling around with the computers, taking naps, talking, and going out to eat at the Village Garden Restaurant over in Fisher, IL.

I'm told the Village Garden Restaurant is very nice. It's nothing fancy, but very clean with home cooked meals, good prices and friendly service. Fisher is about 12 miles from this CG, so it takes a little while to get there, but it's almost all country driving, so it doesn't take long.

Both Jim and Linda had pork tenderloin. Jim had the meal which came with green beans, mashed potatoes, salad and a roll. Linda had the tenderloin sandwich which came with soup and cottage cheese, (her choice).

Then, it was back here to watch TV until bedtime.

Now, a little bit ago, I said that Jim and Linda did some talking yesterday afternoon. Well, they talk a lot, but this conversation was about what they see in their full-timing future. They talked about what they would like to be doing in the next few years, where they would like to go, and most importantly to me, whether they wanted to keep traveling as much as they have, travel more, or only travel a little. They also talked about possibly parking me someplace and getting a small RV to travel with, or....... even trading me off for a newer RV!! :-(

Wow!!!! All of this got me worrying about my future!!!!

Well, after much discussion, it sounds like they are going to continue full-timing, in about the same way they have been, with possibly a little more traveling, and not quite so much sitting in one place.

That sounded good to me. :-)

The thing that I was really concerned about was the talk about trading me off on a newer or smaller RV! :-(

Well, after looking back at the budgets and my expenses, talking about what repairs I might need in the future, (which is really hard to determine), they've decided to keep traveling in me, even though I may be costing them quite a bit of money in the future. The logic being that they're very comfortable in me, I have a lot of storage and cargo carrying capacity, and, if they get a different used RV, there's no guarantee that it won't have problems too, and need a lot of repairs. Plus. to trade would mean financing and payments, which of course, they won't have if they keep me.

So...... it looks like I'll be around for awhile yet. I'm going to try real hard to get them where they want to go without any problems, and Jim said he's going to try real hard to not get upset with me when things do go wrong with me. And finally, Linda said that she's going to try real hard to stop getting up tight when it comes to spending money for maintenance and repairs.

It was a good discussion, and I think a lot of important things were talked about. Now, Jim and Linda both know how each other feels about their near term full-timing future, and they kind of have an idea about what they would like to be doing in the next few years. Of course none of this is cast in stone, and things do happen, so all of this may change, but at least now they know what they would like to do.

And, , , , , now I have an idea about what's going to happen to me.

Looks like you're going to be stuck with me for awhile yet!!!! ;-)

Today, I don't think there's anything much planned. It's supposed to be hotter and more humid than yesterday, and in fact, on TV they're saying that we can expect temperatures into the 90's for the next 7 days!!!!!

That's very unusual for this area!!

Did you know that in 1959, the comedy showcase "Second City" was founded in Chicago on North Wells Street in a former Chinese laundry?

A Beautiful Day, Groceries and Thanks

Rantoul, IL.
64 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. mostly sunny, light Southerly winds.

Finally!!!! A day without rain!!!!! :-)

Yesterday was a beautiful day!! About 85 deg., low humidity, and a nice breeze!!!! It was a little hot if you were working out in the sun, but almost perfect  in the shade. And.......today is supposed to be almost identical to yesterday!!!! :-)

Jim and Linda did go to the grocery store yesterday morning. And, like I thought, bought more than my cabinets and refrigerator could easily handle. They did manage to get everything stashed away though.

After lunch, Jim took a nap, and then went over and talked to Paul, (who was sitting outside under his awning), for awhile. Then, Jim  borrowed their weed-eater and got rid of the weeds and grass that was starting to grow up  around my utilities and around me. Paul and Louise try very hard to keep this CG looking nice, and they both really appreciate it when campers help out and keep their site looking nice.

For dinner Jim cooked a couple of burgers on the grill and Linda cut up some watermelon, and got out chips and all the other stuff for the burgers. Then, because there was nothing good on TV they both worked on getting caught up on the campground information that they have in a program on the computer.

Today and tomorrow morning, there will be over 20 RVs coming in for a rally. They'll be in sites down at the other end of the park near the shelter, so I probably won't see much of them after they get here, but they'll all have down the street in front of me when they come into the park, so I'll get to see all of them then.

Being that it's supposed to be so nice out today, I think Jim is going to try to get a few things done outside. I know my batteries need servicing, so maybe he'll do that. Also, I really need a bath, but I doubt if he'll get to that today.

Oh well, what ever he gets done will be fine with me. I'm not going any place for awhile yet. ;-)

One last thing.  I'd like to thank all of the readers who have become followers of my blog. It's good to know that there are people who find it interesting and follow it most days. I'd also like to thank those of you who comment on the things I write about. I really enjoy hearing from you.

Did you know that there are about a billion bicycles in the world, twice as many as Automobiles? Almost 400 million bicycles are in China. Every year some 50 million bicycles – and 20 million cars – are produced

Still More Rain and Reservations

Rantoul, IL.
66 deg. clear, W. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. mostly sunny, W. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

I can't believe it!!!! Yesterday afternoon and evening, we had more heavy rain!!!! I looked at Jim's rain gauge this morning and there was 1.2 inches of rain in it!!!! At least now they are saying on TV that today and tomorrow it should be dry and sunny, so maybe it'll give things a chance to dry out some.

Jim took CLT and headed down to the Farm and Fleet store in Urbana yesterday morning. He had a few things that he wanted to look at, but ended up not buying anything. By the time he got back here, it was already hot an muggy outside so other than going over and talking to Paul for a little while, he pretty much stayed inside. Then in the afternoon the rain and t-storms started moving through the area.

Linda finished her embroidery project and since then, has been working with her recipe database. Then, later in the afternoon, she found some left-over fish in my freezer, so they had fish sandwiches for dinner. Then it was TV again until bedtime.

Oh, I don't think I told you, but the other day, Jim called the Country Roads Motorhome and RV Park up by the Wisconsin Dells and made reservations for me for the time that he and Linda will be going to Linda's family reunion. Actually, being that the reunion starts on the 4th of July, and we didn't want to be on the road during the holiday weekend, he made the reservations starting on the 1st of July and ending on the 11th. That way, I'll be up there and all settled in before all the "crazies" get on the road. ;-)

We were at this park 2 years ago and really enjoyed it. The people running the park are super friendly, they cater to what they call "The Older Kids" (which means that they don't turn away someone with children, but they don't have playgrounds or anything else for kids to do either). The park is also very well maintained with large shady sites.

Today, I think Jim and Linda are going to go grocery shopping. They've had a list for quite awhile now, and it keeps getting bigger and bigger, so I imagine my cabinets will be bulging again by the time they get everything put away. ;-)

Did you know that on this day in 1884, the first roller coaster in America opened at Coney Island, in Brooklyn, New York? Known as a switchback railway, it was the brainchild of LaMarcus Thompson, traveled approximately six miles per hour and cost a nickel to ride

Enough Already!

Rantoul, IL.
67 deg. overcast, light fog, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. mostly cloudy, 70/% chance of showers and t-storms this afternoon, W. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

OK, enough already!!!!! This rain is starting to get to me!!! Almost every day since we've been here in Rantoul, we've had rain at some time during the day. Jim was talking to Paul and Louise yesterday morning, and they said that we've had over 3 inches of rain in the last 4 days, and then yesterday afternoon, we had another 1.3 inch!!

The ground here in the CG is starting to get soft from all the rain, so Paul and Louise are having to be careful when leading RVs to their sites so they do not go through the worst areas. Usually by this time of year, you can drive any type or weight RV any place in the CG and not have to worry about sinking in.

Jim did get to take a little bike ride yesterday morning before it started raining, and then after a very hard afternoon t-storm, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Monical's Pizza where they had a great pizza for dinner.

During the day, Linda did some laundry and Jim surfed the Internet and took a nap. Then, in the evening they both watched TV until bedtime.

So..... it was kind of a slow day, but I guess that's better than the AC problems I had the other night. ;-)

Did you know that there are more plastic lawn "Pink flamingos" in the U.S. than there are real ones?

More Excitement and Things Are Getting Soggy

Rantoul, IL.
69 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. mostly cloudy, occasional showers and t-storms, some heavy, S. wind @ 5 to 10 mph. 80% chance of rain.

Happy Flag Day!!!!!!

Well, we've had some more excitement around here, and  this time it was me that caused it.

You see, Saturday night, Linda couldn't sleep so she was up and playing games on the computer. Everything was fine until all of a sudden a spark flew out of my front AC unit and it quit!!!!!  :-O   And, there was also a burnt smell!!! Now, this scared Linda so she hollered for Jim who, of course, was fast asleep back in the bedroom. He got up and after making sure that there was nothing on fire, turned off the circuit breaker for the AC, put on some clothes and took down the cover of the unit to try to find out what had happened.

Well, after an inspection, he determined that a wire connection had come loose, had become hot because of the bad connection and finally become so hot that it melted the ends of the wires!!! (He didn't think it was an electrical short because the circuit breaker hadn't flipped off).

Now, all of this happened at about 2:30 in the morning and being that the circuit breaker was turned off to the AC and there was no danger, Jim decided to wait until morning to try to make repairs.

So........after getting a little more restless sleep, he got up about 5:30 had a cup of coffee, and started digging into the AC wires.

Before I go any farther, I must tell you that Jim has had some training in electrical wiring, and has in fact has done some wiring professionally,.so he felt comfortable and confident in what he was doing. For people without electrical experience, it would be a good idea to call an electrician or an RV repair person.

After getting his tools and putting a drop cloth down on the carpet he removed the damaged wire. He was then able to repair the connection. Then, after turning the circuit breaker back on and starting the AC, he checked the amperage draw of the AC, checked all the connections for heat with his infrared thermometer, and finally, after letting the unit run for awhile, and again checking it out, put everything back together. 

Nothing much else has happened around here. It has been raining off and on for the last 2 days so Jim and Linda have pretty much been staying inside. We've had some pretty severe t-storms go through the area with lots of rain, so everything outside is getting pretty soggy.

Today and tomorrow, there is more rain in the forecast, so probably nothing much is going to be happening then either.

As for me, I'm going to just sit here and try not to cause any more excitement. :-(

Oh, and the AC?...... it ran all day yesterday without any problems. :-)

Did you know that on June 14, 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes?

A Little Shopping and A Near Disaster

Rantoul, IL
73 deg. cloudy, SW wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 90 deg. Mostly cloudy, hot, humid, SW winds @ 10 to 15 mph. 40% chance of t-storms this afternoon and evening.

It was muggy right off of the bat yesterday morning, and by about 9:00 Jim had started up my front AC to keep it cool inside of me. I wasn't too hot under my awning though, so Jim spent a good part of the morning sitting outside, listening to my radio and puttering around.

Around noon, Jim and Linda were talking about what they were going to have for dinner, and it was decided that they would have taco's, but then they realized that the lettuce wasn't good any more. So......Jim took CLT and headed over to the IGA store and bought lettuce, paper plates, paper towels, TP and beer.

When Jim got back, he said that the people over at the grocery store were acting crazy. The people in the parking lot were driving their cars like they were late for an appointment, and a lady in the store actually came down one of the isles with her cart, and bashed into the side of Jim's cart as he was going down the end row!!!

Well Jim and CLT made it back here without any mishaps, and then after a little while, Jim decided to take a nap.

Now, before he took his nap, he had thought about going outside and rolling up my awning, as the clouds were starting to build to the West and they were forecasting possible rain. But, because the sun was still shining on me and it was really hot outside, he decided to leave it out for awhile yet.

So....he took his nap.

OK!! OK!! You folks with RVs are getting ahead of me!!

Jim woke up from his nap, and it had gotten cloudy, but everything was fine.......for about 5 minutes!!!!

Then, the wind started picking up, so Jim hurried outside to roll up my awning. Well,, by the time he got out there it was blowing pretty hard, but he was afraid that if he left the awning out, it would get damaged, so he started putting it away. Just after he had removed the end braces and was ready to roll it up, a big gust of wind came along and ripped the awning strap right out of his hand!!!

The awning fabric blew up in the middle like a giant sail and the roller tube smashed into the side of me. Then, because of the spring tension on the roller tube, the awning fabric was rolled onto the tube while the tube was still up against the side of me!!!

Talk about noise!!!!

By this time, Jim was just standing there trying to figure out exactly what had happened and what to do about it, but it had gotten so windy that he couldn't do anything, so he came inside.

Needless to say, he was very upset and figured that the awning was ruined.

In fact so did I. :-(

Well, it wasn't until about 8:00 in the evening, when the wind finally died down and Jim went out to see if he could do anything with the awning. As you can imagine, the pull strap that is used to pull the awning out was all wrapped up somewhere inside of the awning, so he couldn't just roll it out like usual. He finally went inside and got Linda and between the both of them, and with the use of some straps that Jim hooked to the awning arms up by the roller, they were able to get the awning pulled out.

OK, OK, I know the suspense is killing you!!!!

The awning seems to be OK. :-) It was starting to get dark by this time, but from what he and Linda could see, there wasn't any damage. He rolled it up and down a few times and everything seemed to work right, so he rolled it back up and put his ladder and straps away.

As he was putting his ladder away, Louise hollered over and was asking what was going on, so Jim and Linda told her what had happened. Well, they ended up going over to Paul and Louise's and talking for awhile, telling them all about it. Come to find out, the awning on an RV on the other side of the bath house, had gotten completely ripped off of the RV by the same wind, and a few others in the park had been damaged!!!

So......I guess we were lucky. It could have been much worse. When my awning fabric blew up like a sail, it did hit my TV antenna, but only bent one piece of the antenna a little, and, unless more shows up when Jim puts my awning back out again, that's all of the damage I had.

So.... looking back on it, what should Jim have done differently? Well, he probably should have rolled my awning up when he first saw the clouds building to the West. Here in the Midwest, storms can blow up quickly, and before you  know it, it's too late. It may have been a mistake to try to roll the awning up with the wind blowing as hard as it was, but it's very possible that the awning would have been damaged or ripped off of the side of me by the wind if he hadn't.

I guess the lesson is.......If you see the clouds building, don't take chances. roll up that awning and put away all your outside stuff. It doesn't take that long to do, and it may save you a whole bunch of grief and money.

Oh, by the way, Jim and Linda did have those Taco's for dinner, and both said that they were very good. ;-)

Did you know that awnings were first used by the ancient Egyptian and Syrian civilizations? They are described as "woven mats" that shaded market stalls and homes.

An Early Start, Checking My AC, Mail and Other Stuff

Rantoul, IL.
68 deg. light fog, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 88 deg. partly sunny, humid, 40% chance of showers this afternoon.

Jim got going early yesterday morning. His first job was to check out my rear air conditioner that has been acting up from time to time. He gathered up a bunch of tools, went up on my roof and took off the cover. Then he proceeded to brush out the fins, remove trash from the pan at the bottom of the unit, and in general just check the whole unit out. Everything went well, but the problem was that he really didn't find anything that he thought would make the AC drip water inside of me at times.:-(

After putting the AC back together again, he cleaned the inside of the vent covers and the fan blades on both of my roof vent fans.

Boy, were they yucky!!

When he came down off of my roof, he came inside of me, and cleaned the vent fans and screens from the bottom. Then cleaned the filter for my front AC unit. (He had already cleaned the rear AC  filter the other day). After he was done with all of that, he gathered up all the garbage, hopped on his bike and took the garbage down to the dumpster  Then as long as he was out on his bike, he took a little ride.

Whew!!! All of this before 10:00 in the morning!!!!

When he came back from his ride, he got himself cleaned up and then sat outside under my awning for awhile.  :-)

After lunch, he got an e-mail saying that the priority mail package had been received at the local post office, so he took CLT and headed over there to pick it up. On the way back, he bought CLT a drink of 87 octane gas and then went to the Rural King store to pick up a few items and look around some.

While Jim was doing all of this, Linda was doing chores inside of me, washing clothes, and working on her embroidery project.

For dinner Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Red Wheel Restaurant, where they had very nice meals. Then, they came back here, watched TV and played with the computers until bedtime.

Did you know that the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier?

Blaine's Big Adventure

Rantoul, IL
61 Deg., clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp.84 deg. mostly sunny, light NW winds.

Today, I'd like to talk a little about Blaine. Who or what is Blaine, you ask?

Well, if you don't already know from reading some of my older posts, or have missed it, Blaine is Jim and Linda's dog. I don't talk much about him because he usually doesn't do much. He has been full-timing with Jim and Linda ever since they started back in 2001, and he usually rides on my dash when we are traveling in his own little spot right in the center. He doesn't bark, and Jim and Linda don't have to take him for walks.

Most of the time, he's a very good dog.

So, why am I writing about him today, you ask? Well, yesterday for some reason, Blaine wanted to go outside. He hardly never goes out, but I think he saw Jim find that little leash just laying on the ground at that CG we stayed at in Indiana, so I guess he wanted to try it out.

Well anyway, Jim took him out and tied him to the picnic table.

It seemed like he was enjoying himself and I thought everything was going to be all right, when all of a sudden I saw him up on top of the picnic table!

Well, that wasn't too bad, but the next time I checked, he was on Jim's bicycle seat!!!

I wonder how in the world he got up there?

About this time, Jim saw him and just as he reached for Blaine, he slipped and fell off of the bicycle and almost choked himself!!!  And, he would have too if Jim hadn't been there to catch him. :-0  So...... being that it didn't look like he was going to stay out of trouble while he was outside, Jim took the leash off of Blaine and put him back inside of me.

And there he sat with those sad puppy eyes looking like he had been mistreated or something.

If he had just stayed on the ground where he belonged, he probably could have stayed out there all day.

Did you know that Dachshunds are the smallest breed of dog used for hunting> They are low to the ground, which allows them to enter and maneuver through tunnels easily

Rain, E-Mails and Phone Calls

Rantoul, IL.
70 deg. cloudy, W. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 82 deg. partly cloudy, W winds @ 10 to 20 mph.

It rained or looked like it was going to rain all day yesterday. The weather people on TV were calling for severe storms, but they never happened, and then finally last night, the skies opened up and it poured for a good part of the night. In fact I just checked Jim's rain gauge and it has 1.3 inches of rain in it.

Being that it sprinkled off and on all day, not a whole lot happened here. During mid-afternoon, Jim and Linda took CLT and went to the CVS Drug Store and picked up some much needed items, and then went into the IGA grocery store next door and pick up a few grocery items there.

The rest of the day was spent with Linda working on an embroidery project and working with her Family Tree and Recipe programs on the desktop computer. While she was doing that, Jim was trying to catch up on some of the blogs he follows, read, answer and send a few e-mails, and take a little nap.

One of the e-mails he read, was from Dave, (one of the "Illinois Bunch" that we get together with a couple of times a year), who was talking about making plans to come here to the CG to see me sometime this month. He's going to call or e-mail the rest of the people and see if they can figure out a time when everyone can get here.

Then, about 11:00 Jim got a call from Denny and Bev, (more of the Illinois Bunch), and they wanted to know if we were going to be here later in the summer as their schedule is all filled up for June. Well, Jim told them that we are planning on being here for the most of August, and possibly the first part of September, and told them that Dave would probably be contacting them and trying to set up a date.

So..... I'll just have to wait and see when everyone can come. Hopefully they can all come at the same time, but maybe they'll be able to come separately if nothing else.

For dinner, Jim and Linda decided to head over to the local Arby's restaurant for a sandwich. Then they came back here and watched re-runs on TV until bedtime.

Did you know that Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy and Alton, IL all hosted the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates that stirred interest all over the country in the slavery issue?

Indiana To Illinois and Back To The Prairie Pines CG

Rantoul, IL.
65 deg. overcast, very light SE breeze.
Forecast today = high temp. 75 deg. cloudy, SE wind @ 10 to 15 mph. 70% chance of showers and t-storms.

After dumping my tanks at the dump station, we left the CG at Saint Paul about 9:55. The road was much better between Saint Paul, IN, and Indy, so we moved right along with light traffic on I-74 all the way to I-465. Now, as we were approaching 465 there was a sign saying that there was construction to the North on 465, but I wasn't worried because it didn't say anything about construction to the South, and the way we were going. We didn't have any construction until we got to the SW corner of the belt route and then they had construction all the way up to where we turned off of 465 and onto  I-74 again. But, being that it was the middle of the day, the traffic wasn't too heavy, so we actually got though the construction without too much difficulty.

Once we were back on I-74 we followed it, (with one stop at a rest area to check tires and tow bar), all the way to the Champaign / Urbana area where we turned North on US 45. 45 then brought us up here to Rantoul, IL and the Prairie Pines CG, which is on the South side of the town.

It was 1:20 (Eastern time), when we pulled up in front of the the office, so it took us about 3 hours and 25 minutes to travel 175 miles.

Before Jim could get out of me, Louise was already coming out of her Mobile Suites 5th wheel trailer to welcome us to the CG. After talking a little, she told Jim to go ahead and park me in site #13, my usual site.

So, here I am. back at the Prairie Pines Campground , a CG that I really like. It's quiet here with friendly people, the CG is very well maintained, and the sites are all huge pull-throughs with 23/30/50 amp electric, water and sewer. Oh, and this year, they have Wi-Fi out here at the CG too!!!

After Jim and Linda got me set up, they went over and talked to Louise for awhile. She and Paul had a good winter down in Texas, (just North of San Antonio), and so far are having a good summer back here in Illinois.

For dinner, Jim cooked some burgers on his grill and Linda heated up some left-over corn. Then after they watched some news on the TV they took CLT and headed over to the Dairy Queen for desert. ;-)

Did you know that Rantoul is the home of the Chanute Air Museum, which is the largest Aerospace Museum in Illinois?

Kentucky To Indiana To Ohio To ,Indiana

This post was written Monday morning, but being that I had no Internet connection, it not posted until Monday evening.

Saint Paul, IN.
58 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 77 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

After a good nights’ rest, we left the Walnut Meadow CG just 5 minutes after 10:00. Being that I hadn’t had a drink of good old #2 diesel fuel since way back when we left Apex, NC in May, I was getting pretty thirsty. So, just down the road from the CG, Jim found a station that I could get in and out of easily, and we pulled in and I got a nice big drink! :-)

After I had my fill, we got back onto I-75 and continued heading North. 75 took us up into Ohio and to Cincinnati. Just before Cincinnati, the traffic came to a screeching halt!! You see, they are doing some road repairs and had one of the 3 lanes closed, so all the heavy traffic had to funnel down to 2 lanes. Well, that wouldn’t have been too bad, but there was a bad accident, and as we went past the accident scene, I saw a pick-up truck smashed against a tree off to the side of the road. It looked like the truck had hit the tree at a high rate of speed, as the whole front end was pushed back a foot or more.

Once past the accident, we pulled into a rest area so Jim could get out and stretch, check tires and CLT’s tow bar. Then we continued up to I- 275 and took it West and around to the SW side of the city.

That’s when things started getting confusing. You see, I thought we would be going from Kentucky to Ohio, but instead the road first took us into Indiana, then into Ohio, and then after we turned off on I-74, we ended back in Indiana again!!

Once back into Indiana, I-74 got really rough in places. In fact, 74 from Ohio up here to Saint Paul, is the worst road that we’ve been on since we left Florida. And, I expect it will be just as rough all the way to Indianapolis. :-(

It was 2:10 when we pulled up to the office at the Hidden Paradise CG here in Saint Paul, so it took us 4 hours and 5 minutes to travel 193 miles, get my drink of good old #2, slow down to a crawl through that accident scene/construction area, and stop for a few minutes at that rest area.

Not too bad.

Hidden Paradise CG here in Saint Paul is not what it used to be. Jim and Linda used to come here many years ago, and it was fairly nice with some sites right along side of a river. The park now has many permanent RVs in it and of course they have the good sites. I’m in a pull-thru site and it’s OK, but nothing special. Oh, and it’s costing Jim and Linda almost $30 a night to park me here in a site that only has water and electric.

It’s not listed in the TL Campground book any longer, and I wouldn’t recommend that anyone go out of their way to find this park. It’s not worth the effort.

By sometime this afternoon, we should be getting to Rantoul, IL. We’ll be staying there until about the 1st of July, when we’ll head up into Wisconsin for Linda’s family reunion.

I hope I-74 isn’t too rough and the traffic around Indy isn’t too bad.

Did you know that athough Indiana means, "Land of the Indians" there are fewer than 8,000 Native Americans living in the state today?

Tennessee to Kentucky, and A Great Visit With Rick And Doris

Berea, KY
74 deg. overcast, SW wind @ 9 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 82 deg. cloudy this morning with a 40% chance of a shower, then partly cloudy later. W. winds @ 10 to 25 mph.

We left the State Park in Caryville, TN at about 5 minutes after 10:00 yesterday morning, and once we got back onto I-75, it was a 1 hour and 55 minute drive up here to Berea, KY. The traffic was pretty heavy, but it moved right along for the entire 105 miles.

After we arrived and Jim and Linda got me set up, Linda called Rick and made plans to go to dinner with him, his wife Doris, their son Corey and his wife Theresa.

So..... about 5:00 Rick and Doris came out here to the Walnut Meadow CG and after hugs and handshakes, took Jim and Linda over to the Cracker Barrel Restaurant, which is just down the road from the CG. By the time they got there, Cory and Theresa were there and after more handshakes and hugs, they all had great meals.

After they finished eating, they all went over to Cory and Theresa's house, that they just purchased about a year ago, and sat and visited until about 9:30. By the time Rick and Doris brought Jim and Linda back here, it was almost 10:00.

Then after more hugs and handshakes, they said their good-bye's.

Both Linda and Jim really enjoyed seeing Rick and Doris and their family again. We don't get through this way very often, so it had been quite a long time since their last visit.

Hopefully it won't be as long next time.

Walnut Meadow CG is nothing special, but the people running the park are very friendly, and it is a Passport America park, so we're staying here for 1/2 price. Today, we'll continue North on I-75 and then when we get up to Cincinnati, we'll pick up I-74 and head into Indiana.

I hope the weather holds and it doesn't get too windy.

Did you know that the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant owned and operated by Colonel Sanders is located in Corbin, KY?

An Interesting Stay At Coves Lake, Plans, and A Phone Call To IL.

Caryville, TN
65 Deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 86 deg. partly sunny, 20% chance of showers and t-storms, SW winds @ 5 to 10 mph.

Well, our stay here at the Cove Lake S.P. has been interesting. First of all, I must say that all the people here have been very friendly and there have not been any loud parties or anything like that. But, for some reason, these people like to drive around the park in their cars and trucks. Those people in cars and trucks, along with bunches of kids on bicycles rinding around in the park makes for an interesting and sometimes dangerous situation.

I must say though, that most of the drivers are very careful and watch out for the kids.

I've really enjoyed watching all the campers come in and set up their RVs or tents. You can sure tell which ones are experienced and which ones aren't though. Some are finished in just a short while, while others, like the campers 2 sites down from me take hours to get set up. The same goes for campfires. some of the people get a nice fire going in no time, and others can never get it burning right, and it just smokes a lot.

Like I said, it's been interesting, but I think that for the rest of the summer, we'll stay away from State Parks on the weekends. ;-)

Today, we'll be heading up to Berea, KY to see Linda's cousin, Rick, and his family. We stop by any time we're in the area. and it's always good to see them. Berea is only about 100 miles from here, so we'll be able to take our time and enjoy the drive.

Jim called Louise and Paul yesterday. They're the folks who manage the CG up in Rantoul, IL where we usually stay for a good part of the summer. He wanted to give them a "heads up" that we'll be arriving sometime this coming Monday. We never make reservations or anything, as there are always spaces available, but Louise likes to know when to expect us, and then she always makes sure that a good site is available for me. :-) Then after he made that call, he called Alternative Resources , their mail forwarding service to have the mail sent to the post office up there too.

Did you know that Greeneville, TN has the only monument in the United States honoring both the Union and Confederate armies? It is located on the lawn of the Green County Courthouse

Oh, one more thing.

You might me a Red Neck of you have a black and orange pickup truck with a red tailgate.

Just an observance. ;-)

Making Contact With Jenny, and Cove Lake S.P.

Caryville, TN
67 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. partly sunny, becoming mostly cloudy this afternoon with a 60% chance of rain and t-storms.

Yesterday morning, before we left the Woodsmoke CG, Jim tried to call Jenny on the phone, but couldn't get her. But, in just a little while, she called Jim and they talked for awhile and tried to catch up on some of the things that have been going on since he and Linda had seen her in Branson in 2008. It's too bad that it wasn't possible for them to get together this time, but Jim told her that the very next time we're in her area, he'll be sure to call and then he and Linda can meet up with her. :-)

Even with the phone call, it was only 9:40 when we pulled out of the CG and continued heading North on I-26. When we got up to I-81 we tuned SW on it and followed it until it joined up with I-40. Then, I-40 took us over to Knoxville, where we took I-640 around to the North and then picked up I-75 heading North. That, brought us up here to Caryville and the Cove Lake State Park.

It was about 12:20 when we pulled in, so it had taken us 2 hours and 50 minutes to travel  145 miles.

The Cove Lake S.P is really nice. It's well maintained, has some pretty large shady sites with water and 30amp electrical hook-ups. The roads are all paved and the sites are gravel with cement picnic tables, a grill, and a fire ring. There are a few sites over by the lake, but of course, they were all taken. :-(  Oh, and they also give a senior discount, so my site only cost Jim and Linda $16 a night!!!

What a deal!!!! We're staying for 2 nights!!!! ;-)

When we got here, there were a few RVs and tenters, but by last night, almost every site was filled. I really didn't expect that on a Thursday, but I guess the people are getting a jump on the weekend. It's something Jim and Linda will have to keep in mind though, because if we would have been coming to this park on a Friday, it's very possible that we wouldn't have been able to get a site.

For dinner last night, Jim hauled out his grill and cooked a ham steak while Linda got out buns, chips, raw vegetables and slaw. After they ate, they watched the news, Vanna and Jeopardy. Then, because the TV reception is not very good here, they fooled around with the computers until bedtime.

Oh, I amost forgot! Yesterday, Linda called her cousin, Rick, up in Berea KY, and asked him if he would be available to get together for dinner or something on Saturday, as we would be passing through the area. He said that they would, so plans were made to give him a call when we got up there, and then decide what to do.

Did you know that it was on this date in 1919 that Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote?

Enjoying The Peace And Quiet, Jenny, and Today's Plans

Unicoi, TN
63 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg, partly sunny, light winds. 40% chance of t-storms.

Not a whole lot happened around here yesterday. Jim dumped my tanks again and checked my fluid levels and tires. Then, in mid afternoon, he took a little nap.

Meanwhile, Linda was going through old camp ground receipts and papers and organizing them so that the information can be entered into the computers. For whatever reason, they've gotten really far behind with entering the info, (They have information at almost every CG that they have stayed at since before they went full-timing,) and now it's going to be a pretty big project to get caught up.

The rest of the day was spent just enjoying being in this CG with all the trees, birds, and peace and quiet.

This morning when I started this blog, I found that one of Jim and Linda's friends, Jenny, had left a comment. In the comment she said that she lived close to Unicoi, and was wondering if Jim and Linda would have time to get together with her. Well, it doesn't look like it will work this time, but I know that Jim and Linda would love to see her again, and I'm sure that when we get back into this area again, Jim will be sure to give her a call and make some plans to get together.

Today, Jim has planned for us to get somewhere North of Knoxville, We could either stay at the Escapees Park up there, or there is also a nice sounding State Park a little farther North. I think it will depend on the weather and driving conditions to determine how far we'll go.

Did you know that June is "National Accordion Awareness Month"?

I'm Back, Memorial Day, and North Carolina to Tennessee

Unicoi, TN.
61 deg. fog, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. partly sunny, 20% chance of afternoon showers, light Southerly winds.

Well, it appears that I'm back!! :-) I finally have an Internet signal that seems pretty stable, although the connection is not very fast. That's OK though, I can live with that. :-)

After 11 great days of me visiting and spending time with Big Herb, and Jim and Linda visiting and spending time with Roland and Louise, it was time to go. So, after hugs, handshakes, and a toot of my air horns, we left Forest City about 9:45 yesterday morning.

Now, before I tell you about yesterday's trip, let me back up a little.

Monday, (Memorial Day), Roland and Louise had decided to have a cook-out, but the weather sure wasn't co-operating as it rained all morning and about half of the afternoon. But, it stopped in time to get the grill fired up and some good smelling, (and from what I heard), great tasting steaks cooked.

Roland and Louise's son, Kenneth, and his family were there too, and from what I could hear from the other end of the RV port, everyone had a great time.

And, the weather became very pleasant, so everyone sat around and talked until about 8:00 when the bugs started coming out.

OK, now back to yesterday.

After leaving Forest City, we headed West on US74 and followed it until it connected with I-26. 26 then took us up to Asheville, where instead of turning off on I-40, we continued North on I-26.

Now, this took me completely by surprise. I was expecting to take I-40 up to Knoxville, but Jim had been looking at maps, CG directories, and talking to Roland, and he had said that it was a scenic route. So, just before we got to I-40, Jim and Linda decided to take 26 instead. Also, Jim had read about this neat little CG just a little way into Tennessee, so he decided we'd check it out. :-)

It was only a little after 12:00 when we tuned off of the Interstate. Even though the CG directory had instructions on how to get to the CG, it still wasn't easy to figure out exactly which way to go. In fact, when Linda saw the sign, and we turned off on a little gravel road, I still wasn't sure we had gone the right way! The road was very narrow, with trees on both sides, it went over some hills and finally after about 1/4 mile, we pulled up in front of the office.

By the time we pulled up in front of the office, it was 12:15, so it had taken us 2 hours and 30 minutes to travel 215 miles.

Now, I want to make this perfectly clear. When we pulled in, about the only thing I could see were big hills, mountains and trees. In fact, I wasn't sure I wanted to go any farther, but there was no place to turn around, so I really didn't have a choice.

Anyway, Jim went into the office and the very nice lady told him she had a site for me, but wanted to know if Jim had any problems backing me into a site. Well, those of you that have followed this blog for awhile know that Jim is pretty good at backing me into tight places, so he told her that it wouldn't be a problem. Come to find out, the site she assigned to me was on a sharp curve and the site was on my right, so Jim would have to back me into a site which was on what is called my "blind side".

After going on some more narrow, hilly, twisting, CG roads, Jim had to jockey me around some, but I'm now parked in site #18 at the Woodsmoke CG here in Unicoi, TN.

Actually this is a neat park. There's lots of trees, (so it may not be good if you depend on satellite), it's really quiet and peaceful, the people seem very friendly and it has that "it" feel that Jim and Linda look for.

Oh, and if any of you reading this and have anything larger than a 40' RV, don't come to this park!! There are a few sites that you may be able to get into, but I doubt if you'll be able to get around some of the corners in the park. In fact, in the TL CG directory it tells you that they have a 40' limit.

I think that Jim is going to go to the office this morning and pay for another night. He and Linda really seem to like it here. ;-)

Oh, I almost forgot!! When Jim was checking me into the park, the lady told him about a restaurant just on the other side of the Interstate. She said that the food was really good, and it wasn't very far. So.... about 5:30, CLT (Cute Little Truck), took them over to the Maple Grove Restaurant.

Now, this is not a fancy place, it's not even decorated very well inside, but if you like good home cooked meals, friendly service, and good prices, you'll want to go there. They have daily specials, and great deserts so make sure you're hungry when you go. ;-)

Did you know that in Tennessee, it is legal to gather and consume "roadkill"?

Just one last note.

Jim, Linda, and I want to thank Roland, Louise and Big Herb again for the great southern hospitality. We're looking forward to seeing you again real soon.

Nine

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Did you know that it was Nine years ago today that Jim and Linda started Full-Timing?