Rantoul, IL.
69 Deg. clear, SE wind @ 9 mph.
Forecast today = Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.
Jim was outside digging around in my basement by about 7:30 yesterday morning. He had a couple more totes that he wanted to go through before it got too hot. These 2 totes had all kinds of things in them from a new electrical outlet to replacement screening for the windows and door to spare parts for me.
The first thing he did was to put all of the parts for me into a box and put them back into the basement to send with me when I go to the dealer. Then he started sorting out the junk that was in there and by the time he was done, he had those 2 totes condensed down to 1. :-)
Just before lunch, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Wally World to pick up a new mattress cover and some new sheets for the bed. The old ones were getting really bad and they wanted to have new ones when they moved their sleep number mattress to the Newmar.
In the afternoon, Linda went through all her clothes and sorted and packed some of them in boxes while Jim rested and caught up on blogs. After Linda was done with her clothes, they both took little naps. :-)
About 5:00 they were trying to decide what they wanted to do for dinner. While they were talking, there was a knock on my door. When Jim checked, he found that it was Shirley whose bog, Our Second Childhood we've been following for some time now. She and her husband, Paul, follow this blog and knew we were here, so they decided to stop off at Prairie Pines Campground for the night and say "Hi". ;-)
What a great surprise it was having Shirley stop by. Jim, Linda and I have been so wrapped up in this trading/moving thing that it was really good to have someone come and visit for awhile. Just like with so many RVers that we meet, it was like talking to an old friend as soon as they met.
Thanks for stopping by Shirley and Paul. Safe travels, wherever the road takes you. :-)
Oh, and Jim and Linda's dinner? Well, they just went to Arby's an had a sandwich.
Do you remember when I told you that Jim packed away his big eraser the other day? Well, It's a good thing that he found that little one because he's been making changes to the travel plans again. ;-) Yep, he got out that pencil and with the little eraser yesterday afternoon and is now working on plan "E"!
"What's plan "E"? you ask. Well plan "D" was to leave here on our about the 22nd, head to Sioux Falls and then head to the family reunion in Wisconsin. Plan "E" has them leaving here right after the 4th of July and heading to the reunion up at the Wisconsin Dells and then heading to Sioux Falls from there. They'll be leaving the reunion on the 15th of July and don't absolutely have to be in Sioux Falls until the 22nd.
Why the 22nd? Well, that's Linda's birthday and she needs to get her drivers license renewed before that date.
Plan "E" will also give them much more time to get everything organized in the Newmar before leaving here. It should take some of the pressure off, that especially Jim is feeling, and that's a good thing. Right?
Don't know what the weather is going to do today. There's some real purdy colors on the radar North of here but the weather guy on TV is saying that he doesn't expect those storms to get here until sometime tomorrow.
Jim and Linda can't do too much more packing into boxes or they won't be able to move around in me. There are a few cabinets that need to be checked out though because there's probably some stuff in them that needs to be thrown away.
Also, today Jim and Linda will be contacting the RV dealer again to see what the status is on the Newmar. And maybe, just maybe, Nathan will get the parts for the oven and bring it back and install it.
A Point to Ponder : Why is there not a Channel 1 on TV?
Showing posts with label People. Show all posts
Showing posts with label People. Show all posts
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Milton, WV to Frankfort, KY and The Elkhorn CG
Frankfort, KY,
65 deg. overcast, SE wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast today = Showers and thunderstorms likely until midday...then chance of showers and thunderstorms later in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.
By about 10:00 the rain had pretty much quit and so Jim and Linda started getting me ready to travel. While Jim was getting ready to hook CLT to the back of me, John and Bridget came over to say good-bye and wish us safe travels.
They really are some nice folks and Jim and Linda are hoping that they'll see them again sometime. :-)
Anyway, by 10:55 we were pulling out of Jim's Campground and heading back to I-64. Taking 64 west brought us into Kentucky. Not far into the state, Jim pulled me into a truck stop and bought me a nice big drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel. :-)
I was getting really thirsty because the last drink I had was way back when we were leaving Jordan Lake in Apex, NC. Jim said that by waiting until we got to Kentucky, (instead of getting fuel in WV), we saved about 10 to 15 cents a gallon. Now, that's a pretty good chunk of change when you're buying about 85 gallons of fuel.
We had a little rain before we got into Kentucky, but after that, the skies cleared and except for some wind it was good traveling all the way to the Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort.
It was 2:20 when we pulled in, so it took us 3 hours and 25 minutes to travel 168 miles and stop to get me my drink.
We have been to this CG a few times in the past. It's not the easiest CG to get to and not the cheapest either. But, because, many years ago, we stopped here because I was having some problems, and the very nice folks in the office helped Jim find a place to get parts for me, we stop back here every time we're passing through the area. :-)
You see, Jim believes in giving our business to the especially nice folks that we meet who go out of their way to help us or do a few extra things to make our travels and stops nicer.
So, if you're passing through the Frankfort KY area and are looking for a nice CG with very friendly folks running it, stop by. They're good folks. :-)
Last night, we had another round of t-storms come through this area. It got pretty windy for awhile and there was a lot of thunder, lightning, rain and some small hail! Right now, the radar looks pretty good, but there are some more storms way down to the SW of here that are headed this way. :-(
Oh, did I mention that Jim has made change # 10 to our trip plan? Yep, he got out that big eraser of his again yesterday and made some more changes. ;-)
Now, because Jim and Linda have decided that the MH that they were going to look at up near Indianapolis is not one that they wanted, and Jim really didn't want to deal with the traffic and construction up there, they've decided that instead of turning North when we get to Louisville, we'll continue West and then head up through the western part of Indiana and the Eastern part of Illinois.
Did you know that bluegrass is not really blue--its green--but in the spring bluegrass produces bluish purple buds that when seen in large fields give a blue cast to the grass? Today Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State.
65 deg. overcast, SE wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast today = Showers and thunderstorms likely until midday...then chance of showers and thunderstorms later in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 80s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60 percent.
By about 10:00 the rain had pretty much quit and so Jim and Linda started getting me ready to travel. While Jim was getting ready to hook CLT to the back of me, John and Bridget came over to say good-bye and wish us safe travels.
They really are some nice folks and Jim and Linda are hoping that they'll see them again sometime. :-)
Anyway, by 10:55 we were pulling out of Jim's Campground and heading back to I-64. Taking 64 west brought us into Kentucky. Not far into the state, Jim pulled me into a truck stop and bought me a nice big drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel. :-)
I was getting really thirsty because the last drink I had was way back when we were leaving Jordan Lake in Apex, NC. Jim said that by waiting until we got to Kentucky, (instead of getting fuel in WV), we saved about 10 to 15 cents a gallon. Now, that's a pretty good chunk of change when you're buying about 85 gallons of fuel.
We had a little rain before we got into Kentucky, but after that, the skies cleared and except for some wind it was good traveling all the way to the Elkhorn Campground in Frankfort.
It was 2:20 when we pulled in, so it took us 3 hours and 25 minutes to travel 168 miles and stop to get me my drink.
We have been to this CG a few times in the past. It's not the easiest CG to get to and not the cheapest either. But, because, many years ago, we stopped here because I was having some problems, and the very nice folks in the office helped Jim find a place to get parts for me, we stop back here every time we're passing through the area. :-)
You see, Jim believes in giving our business to the especially nice folks that we meet who go out of their way to help us or do a few extra things to make our travels and stops nicer.
So, if you're passing through the Frankfort KY area and are looking for a nice CG with very friendly folks running it, stop by. They're good folks. :-)
Last night, we had another round of t-storms come through this area. It got pretty windy for awhile and there was a lot of thunder, lightning, rain and some small hail! Right now, the radar looks pretty good, but there are some more storms way down to the SW of here that are headed this way. :-(
Oh, did I mention that Jim has made change # 10 to our trip plan? Yep, he got out that big eraser of his again yesterday and made some more changes. ;-)
Now, because Jim and Linda have decided that the MH that they were going to look at up near Indianapolis is not one that they wanted, and Jim really didn't want to deal with the traffic and construction up there, they've decided that instead of turning North when we get to Louisville, we'll continue West and then head up through the western part of Indiana and the Eastern part of Illinois.
Did you know that bluegrass is not really blue--its green--but in the spring bluegrass produces bluish purple buds that when seen in large fields give a blue cast to the grass? Today Kentucky is known as the Bluegrass State.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Good Timing, Gin And Syl and Jim And Dee
Apex, NC
47 Deg. clear, light southerly winds
Forecast today = Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
You couldn't have asked for better timing. Gin and Syl were expected out here at Jordan lake about 11:00 and about 9:00 the rain stopped and by 10:30 the sun was peaking out from behind the clouds. So, by the time they got here, the sun was shining the skies were clearing and it was warming up nicely. :-)
After talking for 1/2 hour or so, Jim fired up the grill and cooked hamburgers for everyone while Linda put together a bacon and green bean dish, got out chips and condiments for the burgers and the brownies that she had made the day before. Gin and Syl brought some potato salad and a broccoli salad and so by the time they had everything set out on my kitchen counter, they had all the fixin's' for a great meal. :-)
After talking for awhile longer and before they all headed up to the Fairgrounds to see Jim and Dee, Jim took this photo of Syl and Gin. As you can see the weather had cleared up nicely and it turned out to be a great day.
I think it was about 1:45 when they left here and headed up to the Raleigh State Fairgrounds. CLT said that it took about 45 minutes to get up there and find the new CG. He also said that it's a lot nicer than the old CG where we had stayed at 3 or 4 years ago, and was away from the busy road and all the traffic.
Jim took this photo of Dee and Jim standing outside of their very nice Cameo 5th wheel.
After talking for a couple of hours, it was time for Jim and Linda to head over to Mike's for dinner. So, after h and h they headed back to Apex for a very nice meal and more visiting with Mike and his family.
Jim and Linda said that it sure was good to see Gin and Syl and Jim and Dee again. All are good people and Jim and Linda are hoping to meet up with them again.
So . . . . . . Another great day with great friends. Having and making new friends all over the country is one of the benefits that Jim and Linda never thought about as they were getting ready to go full-timing almost 10 years ago. :-)
A Point to Ponder : If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy?
47 Deg. clear, light southerly winds
Forecast today = Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
You couldn't have asked for better timing. Gin and Syl were expected out here at Jordan lake about 11:00 and about 9:00 the rain stopped and by 10:30 the sun was peaking out from behind the clouds. So, by the time they got here, the sun was shining the skies were clearing and it was warming up nicely. :-)
After talking for 1/2 hour or so, Jim fired up the grill and cooked hamburgers for everyone while Linda put together a bacon and green bean dish, got out chips and condiments for the burgers and the brownies that she had made the day before. Gin and Syl brought some potato salad and a broccoli salad and so by the time they had everything set out on my kitchen counter, they had all the fixin's' for a great meal. :-)
After talking for awhile longer and before they all headed up to the Fairgrounds to see Jim and Dee, Jim took this photo of Syl and Gin. As you can see the weather had cleared up nicely and it turned out to be a great day.
After talking for a couple of hours, it was time for Jim and Linda to head over to Mike's for dinner. So, after h and h they headed back to Apex for a very nice meal and more visiting with Mike and his family.
Jim and Linda said that it sure was good to see Gin and Syl and Jim and Dee again. All are good people and Jim and Linda are hoping to meet up with them again.
So . . . . . . Another great day with great friends. Having and making new friends all over the country is one of the benefits that Jim and Linda never thought about as they were getting ready to go full-timing almost 10 years ago. :-)
A Point to Ponder : If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t more people happy?
Monday, April 18, 2011
2011 Spring Rally Day 6, The Final Day
Sevierville, TN.
43 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg, partly cloudy, S. wind @ 5 to 15 mph.
All of the folks that were here for the rally got up early and headed to the Banquet Hall for the Farewell Breakfast. Jim and Linda got there about 7:45 and there were only a few folks there, but they started serving right at 8:00 anyway. By 8:15 the Banquet Hall was almost full and everyone was enjoying a great breakfast. :-)
After the Breakfast, Howard and Linda thanked everyone and then it was time for h and h which also included a lot of laughter and a few tears as old and new friends parted ways and headed off to their RVs.
Again, it was a great Rally with lots of great people. :-)
For Jim and Linda the rest of the morning and afternoon was spent watching TV and starting to get things ready to leave today. After Jim took a little nap in the afternoon, they took CLT and headed to a convenience store where they bought bread and milk. Then they came back here and watched the end of the race.
It was a pretty good race with an exciting finish, but I for one am not too pleased about the two by two racing that they are doing on the large tracks. I liked it much better when they used to do the 2, 3, 4, or more car draft, and then at the end it was everyone for themselves.
After a sandwich for dinner, Jim and Linda headed over to Howard and Linda's site because they had started a campfire and had invited everyone who was still here from the Rally to come on over. I was kind of surprised that there were still about 35 Rally attendees here. About 9:00 it started getting pretty chilly and so Jim and Linda said their good-bye's had headed back here.
Still another great day. :-)
A Point to Ponder : Why isn't sour cream really sour?
43 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg, partly cloudy, S. wind @ 5 to 15 mph.
All of the folks that were here for the rally got up early and headed to the Banquet Hall for the Farewell Breakfast. Jim and Linda got there about 7:45 and there were only a few folks there, but they started serving right at 8:00 anyway. By 8:15 the Banquet Hall was almost full and everyone was enjoying a great breakfast. :-)
After the Breakfast, Howard and Linda thanked everyone and then it was time for h and h which also included a lot of laughter and a few tears as old and new friends parted ways and headed off to their RVs.
Again, it was a great Rally with lots of great people. :-)
For Jim and Linda the rest of the morning and afternoon was spent watching TV and starting to get things ready to leave today. After Jim took a little nap in the afternoon, they took CLT and headed to a convenience store where they bought bread and milk. Then they came back here and watched the end of the race.
It was a pretty good race with an exciting finish, but I for one am not too pleased about the two by two racing that they are doing on the large tracks. I liked it much better when they used to do the 2, 3, 4, or more car draft, and then at the end it was everyone for themselves.
After a sandwich for dinner, Jim and Linda headed over to Howard and Linda's site because they had started a campfire and had invited everyone who was still here from the Rally to come on over. I was kind of surprised that there were still about 35 Rally attendees here. About 9:00 it started getting pretty chilly and so Jim and Linda said their good-bye's had headed back here.
Still another great day. :-)
A Point to Ponder : Why isn't sour cream really sour?
Saturday, April 16, 2011
2011 Spring Rally, Day 4 and Mr. and Miss. Alfie
Sevierville, TN
56 deg. overcast, light rain, N. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 63 deg. overcast, rain, breezy with SW winds @ 15 to 25 mph.
Yesterday was a kick-back day for Jim and Linda. They didn't do much except watch TV, visit with the neighbors a little and keep an eye on the weather.
If you remember, yesterday they were forecasting wind gusts up around 50 mph. Well, they never materialized but it was pretty windy and later in the day and the skies did get pretty dark at times. Then late afternoon, it started to rain and we've had rain off and on since then.
We got some more bad news yesterday when Jim and Pat Thomas, (Mr. and Miss. Alfie), stopped by in the afternoon. Jim and Linda were wondering why they didn't come to the Pot Luck dinner Thursday night, well, it was because Jim was in the emergency room at the hospital!!!!
The doctors were able to temporarily help him, but now it's necessary for him to go home to his doctor for further treatment. :-( So . . . . this morning, they will be leaving here and heading back to Georgia where they already have an appointment for Jim Monday morning.
That's too bad. Jim and Linda really enjoy visiting with Jim and Pat and will miss them. And of course, I'll miss seeing my buddy Thor too. :-(
Today, (the last full day of the Rally), there's a few more seminars this morning and a "rig walk-through" this afternoon. For the "walk-through", some of the folks here at the Rally open up their rigs and let others come in and see how it's made/designed/modified inside. It's completely voluntary so some open up their RVs and some don't. Jim and Linda have never felt comfortable opening me up to lots of people, so they don't participate although they have brought people they know a little better inside to show them my interior from time to time.
This evening, there's a "Catered Dinner" for all the Rally attendees over at the banquet hall and then a "70's Theme Party" after the dinner.
Sounds like fun. ;-)
Did you know that today is "Husband Appreciation Day"?
Get well, Jim. We're thinking about you!!! :-)
56 deg. overcast, light rain, N. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 63 deg. overcast, rain, breezy with SW winds @ 15 to 25 mph.
Yesterday was a kick-back day for Jim and Linda. They didn't do much except watch TV, visit with the neighbors a little and keep an eye on the weather.
If you remember, yesterday they were forecasting wind gusts up around 50 mph. Well, they never materialized but it was pretty windy and later in the day and the skies did get pretty dark at times. Then late afternoon, it started to rain and we've had rain off and on since then.
We got some more bad news yesterday when Jim and Pat Thomas, (Mr. and Miss. Alfie), stopped by in the afternoon. Jim and Linda were wondering why they didn't come to the Pot Luck dinner Thursday night, well, it was because Jim was in the emergency room at the hospital!!!!
The doctors were able to temporarily help him, but now it's necessary for him to go home to his doctor for further treatment. :-( So . . . . this morning, they will be leaving here and heading back to Georgia where they already have an appointment for Jim Monday morning.
That's too bad. Jim and Linda really enjoy visiting with Jim and Pat and will miss them. And of course, I'll miss seeing my buddy Thor too. :-(
Today, (the last full day of the Rally), there's a few more seminars this morning and a "rig walk-through" this afternoon. For the "walk-through", some of the folks here at the Rally open up their rigs and let others come in and see how it's made/designed/modified inside. It's completely voluntary so some open up their RVs and some don't. Jim and Linda have never felt comfortable opening me up to lots of people, so they don't participate although they have brought people they know a little better inside to show them my interior from time to time.
This evening, there's a "Catered Dinner" for all the Rally attendees over at the banquet hall and then a "70's Theme Party" after the dinner.
Sounds like fun. ;-)
Did you know that today is "Husband Appreciation Day"?
Get well, Jim. We're thinking about you!!! :-)
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday Before The Rally
Sevierville, TN.
57 Deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp.79 deg. becoming mostly cloudy with possible t-storms this afternoon and evening. SW winds @ 15 to 30 mph with 45 mph gusts.
Well, I guess it's official! Howard and Linda put up the RV Dreams sign at the front of their site yesterday to let everyone who is coming to the Rally know which is their site.
It was really hot here in Sevierville yesterday, with temperatures on my shady side getting up around 90 deg. Plus, the humidity was quite high too, making it kind of uncomfortable for anyone outside.
Gin and Syl stopped by for a little while and then later, Laurie and George and Paul and Marti stopped by and chatted for awhile. Then about 5:00 everyone who is already here started gathering over at Howard and Linda's site to get to know one another, learn a little more about what's going to be happening and for Linda to get volunteers to help out at different times during the week.
As you can see by the photo below, there were lots of people there. I don't think Jim got everyone in this photo, and I'm not sure everyone who is in the park already came.
Everyone must have had a good time because I could hear the laughter over here at my site, across the street. ;-)
The Rally doesn't officially start until sign-in on Tuesday at noon, so in the meantime everyone who has arrived here early are just doing their own thing. This is a very touristy area so some are shopping, taking a ride up to the Smoky Mtn. Nat. Park, visiting with other RVers or just relaxing.
I don't really know what's happening today. A lot will depend on the weather. They're forecasting high winds with possible t-storms for later on today, so that will surely put a damper on any outside activities.
Did you know that in Lexington, TN it is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket?
57 Deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp.79 deg. becoming mostly cloudy with possible t-storms this afternoon and evening. SW winds @ 15 to 30 mph with 45 mph gusts.
Well, I guess it's official! Howard and Linda put up the RV Dreams sign at the front of their site yesterday to let everyone who is coming to the Rally know which is their site.
Gin and Syl stopped by for a little while and then later, Laurie and George and Paul and Marti stopped by and chatted for awhile. Then about 5:00 everyone who is already here started gathering over at Howard and Linda's site to get to know one another, learn a little more about what's going to be happening and for Linda to get volunteers to help out at different times during the week.
As you can see by the photo below, there were lots of people there. I don't think Jim got everyone in this photo, and I'm not sure everyone who is in the park already came.
The Rally doesn't officially start until sign-in on Tuesday at noon, so in the meantime everyone who has arrived here early are just doing their own thing. This is a very touristy area so some are shopping, taking a ride up to the Smoky Mtn. Nat. Park, visiting with other RVers or just relaxing.
I don't really know what's happening today. A lot will depend on the weather. They're forecasting high winds with possible t-storms for later on today, so that will surely put a damper on any outside activities.
Did you know that in Lexington, TN it is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket?
Friday, April 1, 2011
More Nasty Weather and Now, I've Seen It All!!
Orange City, FL.
59 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly sunny, W. wind@ 10 to 15 mph.
It was another nasty day around here yesterday, weather-wise. It started raining early and really never quit until around 6:30 in the evening. Most of the time the rain was very heavy, (with an accumulation of about 3"), and there was constant thunder and lightning. We also had more strong winds with up to 50 mph gusts, but I don't know of any additional damage here in the park. However there was substantial damage throughout central Florida.
OK, Now, I've seen it all!!! I'm going to try to describe this to you and I hope you can picture this in your mind.
First of all there's this lady who is taking her dog out to do his "business" in the rain. It's a medium sized dog and they are in the grassy area across the street from me. In one hand, the lady has a hold of the leash and in the other hand, she is holding, upside down, an umbrella that has been turned inside-out, (like it's been through a big wind storm), over the top of the dog so the dog doesn't get wet.
The lady has a hooded sweatshirt on but no other protection from the weather, and has to be getting quite wet as the dog is in no hurry.
On top of all of this, (and to me this is the best part), after the dog was done doing it's "business", she put the inside-out umbrella down on the ground, picked up the poop with a plastic bag and then got out a rag and wiped off the dog's bottom!!!!! She then put the rag in the plastic bag, picked up the umbrella, held it back over the dog and headed back to the RV!! :-0
Yep, I now think I've seen it all!!!
Laura called yesterday afternoon and suggested going out to dinner at the Pier 16 Seafood Restaurant. It sounded like a good idea to Jim and Linda, so about 6:00 they headed over there and met Laura, Lindsey and Ashley for a very nice meal.
After dinner, Jim and Linda came back here an kind of crashed. The whole day, (except for the meal), had been very stressful, with all the storm cells going through the area, the power going off at least 4 times, and the tornado watches all day with warnings from time to time. :-(
The forecast for the next 5 days looks pretty good, so Jim and Linda shouldn't have any problems getting me ready to travel. :-) Plus I know that they still have some things they want to get done before we leave.
Did you know that each year there are about 1,200 tornadoes in the United States?
59 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly sunny, W. wind@ 10 to 15 mph.
It was another nasty day around here yesterday, weather-wise. It started raining early and really never quit until around 6:30 in the evening. Most of the time the rain was very heavy, (with an accumulation of about 3"), and there was constant thunder and lightning. We also had more strong winds with up to 50 mph gusts, but I don't know of any additional damage here in the park. However there was substantial damage throughout central Florida.
OK, Now, I've seen it all!!! I'm going to try to describe this to you and I hope you can picture this in your mind.
First of all there's this lady who is taking her dog out to do his "business" in the rain. It's a medium sized dog and they are in the grassy area across the street from me. In one hand, the lady has a hold of the leash and in the other hand, she is holding, upside down, an umbrella that has been turned inside-out, (like it's been through a big wind storm), over the top of the dog so the dog doesn't get wet.
The lady has a hooded sweatshirt on but no other protection from the weather, and has to be getting quite wet as the dog is in no hurry.
On top of all of this, (and to me this is the best part), after the dog was done doing it's "business", she put the inside-out umbrella down on the ground, picked up the poop with a plastic bag and then got out a rag and wiped off the dog's bottom!!!!! She then put the rag in the plastic bag, picked up the umbrella, held it back over the dog and headed back to the RV!! :-0
Yep, I now think I've seen it all!!!
Laura called yesterday afternoon and suggested going out to dinner at the Pier 16 Seafood Restaurant. It sounded like a good idea to Jim and Linda, so about 6:00 they headed over there and met Laura, Lindsey and Ashley for a very nice meal.
After dinner, Jim and Linda came back here an kind of crashed. The whole day, (except for the meal), had been very stressful, with all the storm cells going through the area, the power going off at least 4 times, and the tornado watches all day with warnings from time to time. :-(
The forecast for the next 5 days looks pretty good, so Jim and Linda shouldn't have any problems getting me ready to travel. :-) Plus I know that they still have some things they want to get done before we leave.
Did you know that each year there are about 1,200 tornadoes in the United States?
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Leaf Blowers and Kohlrabi
Orange City, FL.
54 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg, mostly sunny, S. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
I don't like leaf blowers!!!
"Why don't I like leaf blowers?", you ask. Well, all they do is blow the leaves from one place to another. Take yesterday for example. The lady across the street who lives in a permanent RV got out her leaf blower and started blowing leaves off of her site and out onto the street. Now, this was not a small amount of leaves, so by the time she was done, the street was completely covered. That is, until a few gusts of wind came along and blew them into all the neighbors sites, including mine!
Jim had swept off my patio earlier in the day, but you sure can't tell it now. Many of the leaves that the lady blew out onto the street are now under me and on the patio.
I guess leaf blowers are alright if they're used to blow the leaves into piles and then bagged, but from what I've seen most people just blow their leaves into the neighbors yards or out onto the streets. I guess those people don't care where the leaves end up, just so they're not on their site or yard. :-(
OK, I'll get off of my soap box now.
Jim and Linda took CLT and went to a CVS drug store yesterday to pick up a few items. On the way back they found a "Farmers Market" being held at a park here in Orange City. Linda said that they could use some tomatoes, so they stopped to take a look at the produce that was on display.
Well, they not only found some very nice home grown tomatoes, but also some nice cucumbers, a head of lettuce and some Kohlrabi!!!
OK, now I can hear you asking, "What the heck is kohlrabi?" Well, I had to look it up too, but I found out that kohlrabi is in the cabbage family and yet looks kind of like a turnip. Jim's family used to grow kohlrabi in the garden and ate it regularly, but Linda had never heard of it until she married Jim. Jim really likes it so Jim's mom showed Linda how to make it before she passed away, many years ago.
The problem is that it's very hard to find and can usually only be found once in awhile at farm stands. So it's not something that can be purchased easily. In fact, the last place that Jim and Linda found it was at a roadside stand up in Wisconsin.
For dinner, Jim cooked a steak out on the grill while Linda cooked, (what else), kohlrabi on my stove and biscuits in my convection oven. ;-) Again, I can't vouch for the taste, but it all sure smelled good. And, from the looks of the empty plates and bowls after they were done eating, it must have tasted very good too. ;-)
A Point to Ponder : Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
54 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg, mostly sunny, S. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
I don't like leaf blowers!!!
"Why don't I like leaf blowers?", you ask. Well, all they do is blow the leaves from one place to another. Take yesterday for example. The lady across the street who lives in a permanent RV got out her leaf blower and started blowing leaves off of her site and out onto the street. Now, this was not a small amount of leaves, so by the time she was done, the street was completely covered. That is, until a few gusts of wind came along and blew them into all the neighbors sites, including mine!
Jim had swept off my patio earlier in the day, but you sure can't tell it now. Many of the leaves that the lady blew out onto the street are now under me and on the patio.
I guess leaf blowers are alright if they're used to blow the leaves into piles and then bagged, but from what I've seen most people just blow their leaves into the neighbors yards or out onto the streets. I guess those people don't care where the leaves end up, just so they're not on their site or yard. :-(
OK, I'll get off of my soap box now.
Jim and Linda took CLT and went to a CVS drug store yesterday to pick up a few items. On the way back they found a "Farmers Market" being held at a park here in Orange City. Linda said that they could use some tomatoes, so they stopped to take a look at the produce that was on display.
Well, they not only found some very nice home grown tomatoes, but also some nice cucumbers, a head of lettuce and some Kohlrabi!!!
OK, now I can hear you asking, "What the heck is kohlrabi?" Well, I had to look it up too, but I found out that kohlrabi is in the cabbage family and yet looks kind of like a turnip. Jim's family used to grow kohlrabi in the garden and ate it regularly, but Linda had never heard of it until she married Jim. Jim really likes it so Jim's mom showed Linda how to make it before she passed away, many years ago.
The problem is that it's very hard to find and can usually only be found once in awhile at farm stands. So it's not something that can be purchased easily. In fact, the last place that Jim and Linda found it was at a roadside stand up in Wisconsin.
For dinner, Jim cooked a steak out on the grill while Linda cooked, (what else), kohlrabi on my stove and biscuits in my convection oven. ;-) Again, I can't vouch for the taste, but it all sure smelled good. And, from the looks of the empty plates and bowls after they were done eating, it must have tasted very good too. ;-)
A Point to Ponder : Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Traffic and Christmas Plans
DeBary, FL.
52 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 61 deg. mostly sunny, N. winds @ 10 to 15 mph.
Have you noticed that the traffic gets really crazy as you get close to a holiday? Yeah, I know, the traffic is always crazy, but I mean even crazier than normal!!!
I usually don't get out in traffic much around holidays, but CLT tells me that it gets really bad and he says he thinks the time before Christmas is the worst!! Besides there being a lot of traffic, everyone seems to be in a big hurry. They speed, switch back and forth between lanes, cut you off, pull out in front of you and even run red lights at times. :-o They're rude, and will do almost anything to get to their destination more quickly! :-(
CLT took Jim and Linda to the Perkins Restaurant last night, and said that he saw people do all of the above, in just the 4 or 5 miles over there and back!!!
Come on folks!!! Where's your Christmas spirit? Give that guy that needs to get into the lane your in a break and let him in. Don't run that red light and put yourself and someone else in danger. We all want to have a merry Christmas and it sure won't happen if you crash your vehicle or put yourself or someone else in the hospital!! Stop and let those pedestrians cross the street. It'll only take a minute and believe it or not, you'll feel good after you've done it. ;-) And, you know what? Contrary to popular belief, the earth won't stop turning if you're 5 minutes late getting to your destination!
OK, I'll get off of my soap box now. Just couldn't help myself.
Still not much happening around here. Jim and Linda took CLT and went to the grocery store in the morning. The weather was really nice, so again during the afternoon, Jim spent a lot of time outside puttering around. :-) Linda put some new recipes in the computer and read some. And, they both took naps.
Oh, Laura and Ashley stopped by for a short time last night. Anna is going to be arriving from South Carolina Christmas Eve day, so Jim and Linda will probably be going over to Laura's on Christmas Eve. Laura has to work on Saturday, (Christmas), and Sunday, so the plan is to get together for Christmas on Monday.
Did you know that child singer Jimmy Boyd was only 12 years and 11 months old when he sang the Christmas favorite, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus?" The song hit the top of the pop charts.
52 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 61 deg. mostly sunny, N. winds @ 10 to 15 mph.
Have you noticed that the traffic gets really crazy as you get close to a holiday? Yeah, I know, the traffic is always crazy, but I mean even crazier than normal!!!
I usually don't get out in traffic much around holidays, but CLT tells me that it gets really bad and he says he thinks the time before Christmas is the worst!! Besides there being a lot of traffic, everyone seems to be in a big hurry. They speed, switch back and forth between lanes, cut you off, pull out in front of you and even run red lights at times. :-o They're rude, and will do almost anything to get to their destination more quickly! :-(
CLT took Jim and Linda to the Perkins Restaurant last night, and said that he saw people do all of the above, in just the 4 or 5 miles over there and back!!!
Come on folks!!! Where's your Christmas spirit? Give that guy that needs to get into the lane your in a break and let him in. Don't run that red light and put yourself and someone else in danger. We all want to have a merry Christmas and it sure won't happen if you crash your vehicle or put yourself or someone else in the hospital!! Stop and let those pedestrians cross the street. It'll only take a minute and believe it or not, you'll feel good after you've done it. ;-) And, you know what? Contrary to popular belief, the earth won't stop turning if you're 5 minutes late getting to your destination!
OK, I'll get off of my soap box now. Just couldn't help myself.
Still not much happening around here. Jim and Linda took CLT and went to the grocery store in the morning. The weather was really nice, so again during the afternoon, Jim spent a lot of time outside puttering around. :-) Linda put some new recipes in the computer and read some. And, they both took naps.
Oh, Laura and Ashley stopped by for a short time last night. Anna is going to be arriving from South Carolina Christmas Eve day, so Jim and Linda will probably be going over to Laura's on Christmas Eve. Laura has to work on Saturday, (Christmas), and Sunday, so the plan is to get together for Christmas on Monday.
Did you know that child singer Jimmy Boyd was only 12 years and 11 months old when he sang the Christmas favorite, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus?" The song hit the top of the pop charts.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Watching People
DeBary, FL.
31 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 54 deg. sunny, NW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
When we're staying someplace for a month or two, I try to find things that are going on around me to watch, so I don't get too bored. One of the main things I do is watch people. People can be fun to watch, and you can sometimes learn a lot about them by just observing and listening.
Take for instance yesterday.
Yesterday the temperature never got above about 55 deg. Now, while that's not really cold, you can almost immediately tell which people live down here in Florida year round and which ones don't. In fact, you can almost tell how far North people live.
Example: George, my next door neighbor is from up state New York, and they just spend the winters down here. He had a long sleeved shirt on and at times a light jacket. Then there was the couple who came by in a golf cart who were both wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts!! I learned by listening to them talking to George, that they are from Canada and had just arrived down here a few days ago. Then, there is the couple, who I see over at the club house regularly, who came walking down the street yesterday and looked like they had put on every sweater and jacket that they owned. They live down here in a Park Model trailer all year long.
They kind of looked like the Michelin Man and Woman! ;-)
Now, I can hear you asking, "How are Jim and Linda handling the colder weather?" Well, somewhere in the middle. Jim wore his jean jacket with a long sleeved shirt and then when he and Linda went to Wally World to pick up a few things yesterday afternoon, Linda just wore a long sleeved blouse. Jim says that the cold seems to bother him more than it did when they were living up in Illinois, but they do get in cooler weather from time to time, so it doesn't bother them too much.
After Jim and Linda got back from Wally World, they both took little naps. Then, for dinner, Linda made spaghetti and garlic bread. Boy, it sure smelled good, and Jim said that it tasted really good too. ;-)
Most if the evening was spent watching a country music awards show on TV. Then, it was off to bed after the news.
Did you remember that this is the day in 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, killing 2400 Americans and wounding 1200 others?
Please take a minute today to remember all our fallen soldiers.
31 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 54 deg. sunny, NW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
When we're staying someplace for a month or two, I try to find things that are going on around me to watch, so I don't get too bored. One of the main things I do is watch people. People can be fun to watch, and you can sometimes learn a lot about them by just observing and listening.
Take for instance yesterday.
Yesterday the temperature never got above about 55 deg. Now, while that's not really cold, you can almost immediately tell which people live down here in Florida year round and which ones don't. In fact, you can almost tell how far North people live.
Example: George, my next door neighbor is from up state New York, and they just spend the winters down here. He had a long sleeved shirt on and at times a light jacket. Then there was the couple who came by in a golf cart who were both wearing short sleeve shirts and shorts!! I learned by listening to them talking to George, that they are from Canada and had just arrived down here a few days ago. Then, there is the couple, who I see over at the club house regularly, who came walking down the street yesterday and looked like they had put on every sweater and jacket that they owned. They live down here in a Park Model trailer all year long.
They kind of looked like the Michelin Man and Woman! ;-)
Now, I can hear you asking, "How are Jim and Linda handling the colder weather?" Well, somewhere in the middle. Jim wore his jean jacket with a long sleeved shirt and then when he and Linda went to Wally World to pick up a few things yesterday afternoon, Linda just wore a long sleeved blouse. Jim says that the cold seems to bother him more than it did when they were living up in Illinois, but they do get in cooler weather from time to time, so it doesn't bother them too much.
After Jim and Linda got back from Wally World, they both took little naps. Then, for dinner, Linda made spaghetti and garlic bread. Boy, it sure smelled good, and Jim said that it tasted really good too. ;-)
Most if the evening was spent watching a country music awards show on TV. Then, it was off to bed after the news.
Did you remember that this is the day in 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, killing 2400 Americans and wounding 1200 others?
Please take a minute today to remember all our fallen soldiers.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Today? Tomorrow? Next Week? Next Month? Next Year? 20 Years?
Virginia Beach, VA.
51 Deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 72 deg. mostly sunny, N. winds @ 5 to 10 mph.
There was sad news on many blogs yesterday. It seems that this full-timing couple, Margie and Bruce, were run down and killed by someone in a car while taking a walk along the road out in Pismo Beach, CA. I had never met either one of them, and in fact I didn't even follow their blog, but that doesn't make hearing about it any easier.
They were RVers, and that made them part of the RVing family, and it is a terrible unnecessary loss of life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family and friends.
When something like this happens, I start thinking about how fragile and short life can be. None of us can see the future and there's no telling when our time will come. It may be today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or maybe 20 years from now.
We don't know.
So, that being the case, doesn't it make sense to not put things off? It's easy to say, "Some day we'll go to Alaska" or "In a few years when we have enough money, we'll go full-timing". But, will we still be here some day? Will we have the time to gather "enough" money to feel comfortable enough to go full-time?
Or will tomorrow be our last day?
I have known of RVers that have put off going full-time until they were the age where they could get maximum benefits from their retirement and Social Security, and then have only been able to full-time for a very short time because one of them got sick or died soon after they hit the road. They could have enjoyed the lifestyle for quite a few years if they had not waited.
Some of you may remember that back in 2008, very good friends of Jim and Linda's, (Roland and Louise), were in an accident where a drunk driver crossed into their lane and hit them head-on while they were driving their toad. Louise was in the hospital for months with multiple injuries and she is still having problems after many, many surgeries. They were full-timers, but since the accident, they have built a place close to their son's house in North Carolina and although they have been able to take some trips in their Motor Home and spend some time in it during the winters, down in Florida, who knows if they'll ever be able to full-time again.
I guess what I'm saying is that you should never assume that you can wait do something tomorrow or next year. Tomorrow or next year may never come. The death of Margie and Bruce is terrible and I'm sure they will be missed, but sometimes it takes a terrible thing like this to remind us that there is no guarantee that we will ever see tomorrow.
If you've got something you really want to do, whether it's going full-timing or something else, don't put it off if it is at all possible to do it now.
Did you know that Patrick Henry made his "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech in St. John's Church in Richmond, VA?
51 Deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 72 deg. mostly sunny, N. winds @ 5 to 10 mph.
There was sad news on many blogs yesterday. It seems that this full-timing couple, Margie and Bruce, were run down and killed by someone in a car while taking a walk along the road out in Pismo Beach, CA. I had never met either one of them, and in fact I didn't even follow their blog, but that doesn't make hearing about it any easier.
They were RVers, and that made them part of the RVing family, and it is a terrible unnecessary loss of life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their family and friends.
When something like this happens, I start thinking about how fragile and short life can be. None of us can see the future and there's no telling when our time will come. It may be today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year or maybe 20 years from now.
We don't know.
So, that being the case, doesn't it make sense to not put things off? It's easy to say, "Some day we'll go to Alaska" or "In a few years when we have enough money, we'll go full-timing". But, will we still be here some day? Will we have the time to gather "enough" money to feel comfortable enough to go full-time?
Or will tomorrow be our last day?
I have known of RVers that have put off going full-time until they were the age where they could get maximum benefits from their retirement and Social Security, and then have only been able to full-time for a very short time because one of them got sick or died soon after they hit the road. They could have enjoyed the lifestyle for quite a few years if they had not waited.
Some of you may remember that back in 2008, very good friends of Jim and Linda's, (Roland and Louise), were in an accident where a drunk driver crossed into their lane and hit them head-on while they were driving their toad. Louise was in the hospital for months with multiple injuries and she is still having problems after many, many surgeries. They were full-timers, but since the accident, they have built a place close to their son's house in North Carolina and although they have been able to take some trips in their Motor Home and spend some time in it during the winters, down in Florida, who knows if they'll ever be able to full-time again.
I guess what I'm saying is that you should never assume that you can wait do something tomorrow or next year. Tomorrow or next year may never come. The death of Margie and Bruce is terrible and I'm sure they will be missed, but sometimes it takes a terrible thing like this to remind us that there is no guarantee that we will ever see tomorrow.
If you've got something you really want to do, whether it's going full-timing or something else, don't put it off if it is at all possible to do it now.
Did you know that Patrick Henry made his "Give me Liberty or Give me Death" speech in St. John's Church in Richmond, VA?
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Grumpy People
Virginia Beach, VA.
43 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today =high temp. 74 deg, sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Since nothing happened around here yesterday except Jim and Linda taking CLT and going to the Farm Fresh Grocery Store to pick up about a dozen items, I thought I'd talk a little about some people I've observed from time to time.
No, not specific people. Just people in general.
Most people are very nice and friendly. A lot of them seem to like me, but I've found a few that think I'm an energy hog and should be taken off of the road and sent to that big campground up in the sky. But, the people that I have been thinking about lately are the ones that are grumpy most of the time.
I wonder what has happened in their lives to make them so grumpy? Have their lives really been so bad? Have they lost all of their loved ones and are lonely? Or, are they just mad at the world?
Like I said, most people are very nice and friendly and most of them seem to be relatively happy. It seems to me that if you are happy, you will meet people to talk to and become friends with, and that will make you even more happy. But..... if you're grumpy, no one will want to talk to you and become your friend and you just become more grumpy every day. :-(
Linda is a person that smiles a lot. Even when things are not going too well, she tries to smile. And, you know what? Other people notice that and sometimes even comment about how happy she is. I understand that happened yesterday as Jim and Linda were checking out at the grocery store. I'm told the checkout person made a comment about how much she smiled and how happy she seemed!
Wasn't that nice of him?
I think about all the friends that Jim and Linda have made since they've gone full-timing, and wonder how many friends they would have if they had been grumpy instead.
I'll bet not many.
I think most full-timers are happy people. If you're not, then you won't be meeting other people, I'm sure that the lifestyle would get very lonely, and you probably wouldn't enjoy it much.
Where am I going with this? Well, I'm going to suggest that you try to put a smile on your face and go out and say "Hi" to that RVer parked in the site next to you that never seems to want to talk. See if you can't get him or her to start talking and let them know that you want to get to know them.
Just maybe, they'll start talking and you'll find out that they're not the grumpy person that you thought they were. And, who knows, maybe you'll make a new friend. ;-)
Did you know that America's favorite fruits in order are: (2008)
Strawberries, bananas, grapes, apples and oranges?
43 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today =high temp. 74 deg, sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Since nothing happened around here yesterday except Jim and Linda taking CLT and going to the Farm Fresh Grocery Store to pick up about a dozen items, I thought I'd talk a little about some people I've observed from time to time.
No, not specific people. Just people in general.
Most people are very nice and friendly. A lot of them seem to like me, but I've found a few that think I'm an energy hog and should be taken off of the road and sent to that big campground up in the sky. But, the people that I have been thinking about lately are the ones that are grumpy most of the time.
I wonder what has happened in their lives to make them so grumpy? Have their lives really been so bad? Have they lost all of their loved ones and are lonely? Or, are they just mad at the world?
Like I said, most people are very nice and friendly and most of them seem to be relatively happy. It seems to me that if you are happy, you will meet people to talk to and become friends with, and that will make you even more happy. But..... if you're grumpy, no one will want to talk to you and become your friend and you just become more grumpy every day. :-(
Linda is a person that smiles a lot. Even when things are not going too well, she tries to smile. And, you know what? Other people notice that and sometimes even comment about how happy she is. I understand that happened yesterday as Jim and Linda were checking out at the grocery store. I'm told the checkout person made a comment about how much she smiled and how happy she seemed!
Wasn't that nice of him?
I think about all the friends that Jim and Linda have made since they've gone full-timing, and wonder how many friends they would have if they had been grumpy instead.
I'll bet not many.
I think most full-timers are happy people. If you're not, then you won't be meeting other people, I'm sure that the lifestyle would get very lonely, and you probably wouldn't enjoy it much.
Where am I going with this? Well, I'm going to suggest that you try to put a smile on your face and go out and say "Hi" to that RVer parked in the site next to you that never seems to want to talk. See if you can't get him or her to start talking and let them know that you want to get to know them.
Just maybe, they'll start talking and you'll find out that they're not the grumpy person that you thought they were. And, who knows, maybe you'll make a new friend. ;-)
Did you know that America's favorite fruits in order are: (2008)
Strawberries, bananas, grapes, apples and oranges?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Record High Temperatures? and Blogs
Virginia Beach, VA.
62 Deg.clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. sunny SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Yesterday, we were within 1 deg. of setting a new record high temperature here in VB, and on the TV this morning, they're saying that we will more than likely set a new record high temp today. The old record is 84 deg. and depending on which forecaster you watch, they are forecasting temps today of anywhere between 85 and 88 degrees! :-(
This is not good because I'm sitting out here in the sun, with no afternoon shade. I'm plugged into a 20 Amp outlet so one Air Conditioner can be run only if everything else electric in me is shut off, and, on top of that, the voltage gets pretty low when all the other people in the neighborhood are using their ACs. Normally at this time of year, the high temps are in the low 70's, which is just about perfect for me.
Jim and Linda didn't do much of anything yesterday. Nancy made a very nice dinner after she got home from work, but after eating, every one had things to do, so Jim and Linda came back out here and watched TV until bedtime.
There's been some talk on the Internet lately about blogs and what people like about them and what they don't like, and evidently, some people are receiving some very negative comments about their blogs
This blog is written mainly for family. Through the years, (starting with a monthly newsletter that used to be sent out by snail mail), friends and others started reading about my travels. So, this blog was started to keep them more up to date on what's happening, and to cut out the cost of the postage needed to send out the newsletters. :-)
I've never received any negative comments about this blog, but I understand some blogs have been harshly criticized. I really can't understand that. Most blogs that I follow are written by folks who are telling their family and friends about their travels, trials and tribulations. Some post a lot of photos, some do not. Some talk a lot about their families, some never even mention them. Some talk about the great places they are at or are going to, others talk about what's happening in their daily lives or what's going at home or in the camp ground that they're at.
I like to read about other's travels or about what they are doing to get ready to go traveling and follow over 35 blogs regularly. Some others that I've looked at, I don't find interesting, or don't agree with what the author is writing about, but I don't make negative comments about them. (They can write about anything that they want to write about). I guess my question is, if you don't like what the author is writing about, the number of photos that are being posted, or the fact that there isn't a blog posted every day, why are you reading it?
Now, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate that fact that so many of you seem to enjoy reading this blog. In fact it amazes me that almost every day more than 75 folks check out what I'm writing about and I have almost 40 regular "followers"! I try to write about interesting stuff, but sometimes it's just day to day living, so I write about that. I try to post some photos from time to time, (when Jim remembers to get out his camera and take some), but to be honest, many days there's not much going on and it's pretty boring. But, it's my blog, and I write about my life, Jim and Linda's life, and whatever else I feel like writing about that day.
I welcome constructive criticism, but if someone is going to criticize with a bunch of negative comments, I hope they enjoy reading some of the other blogs on the Internet, and just skip over this one.
Did you know that today is "International Moment of Frustration Scream Day"?
62 Deg.clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. sunny SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Yesterday, we were within 1 deg. of setting a new record high temperature here in VB, and on the TV this morning, they're saying that we will more than likely set a new record high temp today. The old record is 84 deg. and depending on which forecaster you watch, they are forecasting temps today of anywhere between 85 and 88 degrees! :-(
This is not good because I'm sitting out here in the sun, with no afternoon shade. I'm plugged into a 20 Amp outlet so one Air Conditioner can be run only if everything else electric in me is shut off, and, on top of that, the voltage gets pretty low when all the other people in the neighborhood are using their ACs. Normally at this time of year, the high temps are in the low 70's, which is just about perfect for me.
Jim and Linda didn't do much of anything yesterday. Nancy made a very nice dinner after she got home from work, but after eating, every one had things to do, so Jim and Linda came back out here and watched TV until bedtime.
There's been some talk on the Internet lately about blogs and what people like about them and what they don't like, and evidently, some people are receiving some very negative comments about their blogs
This blog is written mainly for family. Through the years, (starting with a monthly newsletter that used to be sent out by snail mail), friends and others started reading about my travels. So, this blog was started to keep them more up to date on what's happening, and to cut out the cost of the postage needed to send out the newsletters. :-)
I've never received any negative comments about this blog, but I understand some blogs have been harshly criticized. I really can't understand that. Most blogs that I follow are written by folks who are telling their family and friends about their travels, trials and tribulations. Some post a lot of photos, some do not. Some talk a lot about their families, some never even mention them. Some talk about the great places they are at or are going to, others talk about what's happening in their daily lives or what's going at home or in the camp ground that they're at.
I like to read about other's travels or about what they are doing to get ready to go traveling and follow over 35 blogs regularly. Some others that I've looked at, I don't find interesting, or don't agree with what the author is writing about, but I don't make negative comments about them. (They can write about anything that they want to write about). I guess my question is, if you don't like what the author is writing about, the number of photos that are being posted, or the fact that there isn't a blog posted every day, why are you reading it?
Now, don't get me wrong. I really appreciate that fact that so many of you seem to enjoy reading this blog. In fact it amazes me that almost every day more than 75 folks check out what I'm writing about and I have almost 40 regular "followers"! I try to write about interesting stuff, but sometimes it's just day to day living, so I write about that. I try to post some photos from time to time, (when Jim remembers to get out his camera and take some), but to be honest, many days there's not much going on and it's pretty boring. But, it's my blog, and I write about my life, Jim and Linda's life, and whatever else I feel like writing about that day.
I welcome constructive criticism, but if someone is going to criticize with a bunch of negative comments, I hope they enjoy reading some of the other blogs on the Internet, and just skip over this one.
Did you know that today is "International Moment of Frustration Scream Day"?
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Catching Up - Mon 10/4 - 5/2010 OH To WV and WV To VA
Virginia Beach, VA.
50 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg. sunny, W. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
As you can tell by the above lines of this post, we're in Virginia beach as scheduled.. But my last post was about our stay in Rio Grand, OH, so I've got more catching up to do.
Monday morning, we left the Bob Evans CG in Rio Grande right at 10:00 and in a few minutes we were back on US 35 and heading for West Virginia. 35 in Ohio was a nice 4 lane divided highway, but as soon as we crossed the bridge over the Ohio river, and entered WV, the road turned into a narrow, twisty, rough, 2 lane road. :-( They are in the process of building a new 4 lane road, but from what I could see, it looks like it'll be awhile yet before it's finished. Anyway, it was 2 lane most of the way to I-64, where we turned SE and followed it to Charleston, where it turned South and became a toll road.
Now, I don't know why, but this toll road has always been in bad shape in the past, and it was no different this time. If there was another road to get around this section of highway besides getting on narrow twisty 2 lane roads that go through the mountains I'm sure Jim would take it, but believe me, you don't want to take an RV on those 2 lane WV roads through the mountains.
Been there done that!!!
Anyway, after bumping along and paying 2 tolls, we finally got to Beckley, WV where I-64 turned East, (and was a much better road), and took us to Dawson, WV and the Summer Wind RV Park.
Now, this was not a great park. It was right out in the open with no trees, the sites weren't very level, but for some reason, it had a good "feel" to it. Maybe it was because the CG host was so friendly or so were the couple in the Class C motor home next to me, or maybe it was the mountains around us,
but I liked this park. :-)
It was 1:00 when we pulled into the park, so it had taken us almost exactly 3 hours to travel 158 miles.
Tuesday morning, it was cold!!! By my thermometer, it was 38 deg. and it wasn't much warmer than that when we pulled out of the Summer Wind RV Park a couple of minutes before 10:00.
Once back on I-64, we followed it into Virginia and over to the Lexington area where Jim pulled me into a gas station and bought me a nice big drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel. :-) Now, when I say a big drink, I really mean a big drink!! The last drink that I had was way back in July, in Rantoul, when we returned from the family reunion, and that was almost 700 miles ago!!!
Boy, was I ever thirsty!!!!
Anyway, after my drink, we got back on I-64 and continued first NE and then SE towards Virginia Beach. When we got to Greenwood, VA, we pulled off of 64 and on to US 250. We then followed 250 for about a mile until we came to the Misty Mountain Camp Resort.
It was 12:55 when we pulled in, so again we traveled almost exactly 3 hours, (including the stop for my drink), and traveled 144 miles.
Now, they call this park a "resort", but I didn't think it was all that special. Oh it was nice, but not worth the almost $40 that they charged for me to have a full hook-up site. :-( But, being that this was the last night before getting to Virginia Beach, we needed a full hook-up site so that Linda could do some laundry and Jim could dump my tanks so that we can make it for 2 weeks without dumping while I'm parked here in Joe and Nancy's driveway.
Well, I guess I'd better quit for today. this post is getting pretty long, and I'm starting to have trouble with the Internet connection. Tomorrow, I should be able to get completely caught up.
Did you know that On October 7, 1960, the first episode of the one-hour television drama "Route 66" aired on CBS?
50 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg. sunny, W. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
As you can tell by the above lines of this post, we're in Virginia beach as scheduled.. But my last post was about our stay in Rio Grand, OH, so I've got more catching up to do.
Monday morning, we left the Bob Evans CG in Rio Grande right at 10:00 and in a few minutes we were back on US 35 and heading for West Virginia. 35 in Ohio was a nice 4 lane divided highway, but as soon as we crossed the bridge over the Ohio river, and entered WV, the road turned into a narrow, twisty, rough, 2 lane road. :-( They are in the process of building a new 4 lane road, but from what I could see, it looks like it'll be awhile yet before it's finished. Anyway, it was 2 lane most of the way to I-64, where we turned SE and followed it to Charleston, where it turned South and became a toll road.
Now, I don't know why, but this toll road has always been in bad shape in the past, and it was no different this time. If there was another road to get around this section of highway besides getting on narrow twisty 2 lane roads that go through the mountains I'm sure Jim would take it, but believe me, you don't want to take an RV on those 2 lane WV roads through the mountains.
Been there done that!!!
Anyway, after bumping along and paying 2 tolls, we finally got to Beckley, WV where I-64 turned East, (and was a much better road), and took us to Dawson, WV and the Summer Wind RV Park.
Now, this was not a great park. It was right out in the open with no trees, the sites weren't very level, but for some reason, it had a good "feel" to it. Maybe it was because the CG host was so friendly or so were the couple in the Class C motor home next to me, or maybe it was the mountains around us,
It was 1:00 when we pulled into the park, so it had taken us almost exactly 3 hours to travel 158 miles.
Tuesday morning, it was cold!!! By my thermometer, it was 38 deg. and it wasn't much warmer than that when we pulled out of the Summer Wind RV Park a couple of minutes before 10:00.
Once back on I-64, we followed it into Virginia and over to the Lexington area where Jim pulled me into a gas station and bought me a nice big drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel. :-) Now, when I say a big drink, I really mean a big drink!! The last drink that I had was way back in July, in Rantoul, when we returned from the family reunion, and that was almost 700 miles ago!!!
Boy, was I ever thirsty!!!!
Anyway, after my drink, we got back on I-64 and continued first NE and then SE towards Virginia Beach. When we got to Greenwood, VA, we pulled off of 64 and on to US 250. We then followed 250 for about a mile until we came to the Misty Mountain Camp Resort.
It was 12:55 when we pulled in, so again we traveled almost exactly 3 hours, (including the stop for my drink), and traveled 144 miles.
Now, they call this park a "resort", but I didn't think it was all that special. Oh it was nice, but not worth the almost $40 that they charged for me to have a full hook-up site. :-( But, being that this was the last night before getting to Virginia Beach, we needed a full hook-up site so that Linda could do some laundry and Jim could dump my tanks so that we can make it for 2 weeks without dumping while I'm parked here in Joe and Nancy's driveway.
Well, I guess I'd better quit for today. this post is getting pretty long, and I'm starting to have trouble with the Internet connection. Tomorrow, I should be able to get completely caught up.
Did you know that On October 7, 1960, the first episode of the one-hour television drama "Route 66" aired on CBS?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Nothing To Write About
Rantoul, IL.
46 deg. clear, N. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 67 deg. partly cloudy, N. winds @ 5 to 10 mph.
I really don't know what I'm going to write about toady. Nothing happened around here except all the weekend campers packed up and went home. They had some kind of "Auto Show" over at the airport this weekend and some of the campers here in the park were either showing cars or looking at cars over there. I don't think that the turnout at the show was very good though, we had some rain showers on Saturday and yesterday it was pretty cool and breezy, so I think it kept some people away.
As for Jim, he pretty much just watched football most of the day and Linda spent quite a bit of time on the computer putting that new information about her family into her family tree program.
Oh, Jim did spend about an hour taking the garbage down to the dumpster. No, the dumpster isn't far away. In fact I can see it from my site, but it always seems like Jim finds someone to stop and talk to when he goes down there, so it takes him a long time. ;-)
Today, I don't think there's anything planned. I do know that Jim wants to put the other end on that 30 Amp electric cord and test it. I also heard him say something about running my generator and possibly changing the oil in it, but he may wait on the oil change for awhile yet. He also needs to make sure all of my fluid levels are OK, and will probably check my tires again. And, sometime in the next few days, he needs to put CLT's tow bar back on the front of him, (it's laying on wooden blocks under me right now), so that he'll be ready to be hooked to the rear of me when we leave here on Thursday.
Oh, didn't I tell you? Yep, Thursday's the day we'll be leaving here to start heading for Joe and Nancy's house in Virginia Beach.
Of course that's only if Jim and Linda don't come up with a "Plan E"! :-)
No really, I'm pretty confident that we'll be leaving here Thursday, since Linda has already called Joe and told him that we would be arriving on or about the 6th of October.
Well, I guess I'd better wrap this up. Like I said, I really don't have anything to write about.
Did you know that today is Ancestor Appreciation Day?
Hmmmm, Linda will be interested in that. :-)
46 deg. clear, N. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 67 deg. partly cloudy, N. winds @ 5 to 10 mph.
I really don't know what I'm going to write about toady. Nothing happened around here except all the weekend campers packed up and went home. They had some kind of "Auto Show" over at the airport this weekend and some of the campers here in the park were either showing cars or looking at cars over there. I don't think that the turnout at the show was very good though, we had some rain showers on Saturday and yesterday it was pretty cool and breezy, so I think it kept some people away.
As for Jim, he pretty much just watched football most of the day and Linda spent quite a bit of time on the computer putting that new information about her family into her family tree program.
Oh, Jim did spend about an hour taking the garbage down to the dumpster. No, the dumpster isn't far away. In fact I can see it from my site, but it always seems like Jim finds someone to stop and talk to when he goes down there, so it takes him a long time. ;-)
Today, I don't think there's anything planned. I do know that Jim wants to put the other end on that 30 Amp electric cord and test it. I also heard him say something about running my generator and possibly changing the oil in it, but he may wait on the oil change for awhile yet. He also needs to make sure all of my fluid levels are OK, and will probably check my tires again. And, sometime in the next few days, he needs to put CLT's tow bar back on the front of him, (it's laying on wooden blocks under me right now), so that he'll be ready to be hooked to the rear of me when we leave here on Thursday.
Oh, didn't I tell you? Yep, Thursday's the day we'll be leaving here to start heading for Joe and Nancy's house in Virginia Beach.
Of course that's only if Jim and Linda don't come up with a "Plan E"! :-)
No really, I'm pretty confident that we'll be leaving here Thursday, since Linda has already called Joe and told him that we would be arriving on or about the 6th of October.
Well, I guess I'd better wrap this up. Like I said, I really don't have anything to write about.
Did you know that today is Ancestor Appreciation Day?
Hmmmm, Linda will be interested in that. :-)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Something Has Been Bothering Me
Rantoul, IL
64Deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 86 deg. sunny, N. winds @ 5 to 10 mph.
You know, I've been sitting here being a very nice Motorhome and minding my P's and Q's, but there's something that has really been bothering me, and so today, I'm going to stir the pot a little.
So, what's been bothering me, you ask??? Well, it's the few RVers and RVs that come into a park and have that, "I'm better than you" attitude!!! You know the ones. They have the biggest and best that money can buy. Well, their RVs may be bigger and shinier than I am, and the owners may have more money than my owners, but, They're not better than I and my owners are!!!!!
Most of their RVs will be in the junk yard long before they're 18 years old, their wealth will not buy them happiness, and most of them will not even be RVing after 8 or 10 years. So, don't look down your nose at me or my owners!!! We're out here enjoying life and plan to be for a good long while yet. When your shinny MH falls apart or wears out and ends up in the junk yard and you end up inside of a stix and brix house looking at the walls, wave as I drive by, cause we'll be out here traveling across this great country of ours, meeting great people, making new friends and finding out what's over that next mountain or around the next curve in the road.
Yeah, health problems could slow us down, or even stop us, but until that time, we're having a ball. :-)
Did you know that there are 2,500,000 rivets in the Eiffel Tower?
64Deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 86 deg. sunny, N. winds @ 5 to 10 mph.
You know, I've been sitting here being a very nice Motorhome and minding my P's and Q's, but there's something that has really been bothering me, and so today, I'm going to stir the pot a little.
So, what's been bothering me, you ask??? Well, it's the few RVers and RVs that come into a park and have that, "I'm better than you" attitude!!! You know the ones. They have the biggest and best that money can buy. Well, their RVs may be bigger and shinier than I am, and the owners may have more money than my owners, but, They're not better than I and my owners are!!!!!
Most of their RVs will be in the junk yard long before they're 18 years old, their wealth will not buy them happiness, and most of them will not even be RVing after 8 or 10 years. So, don't look down your nose at me or my owners!!! We're out here enjoying life and plan to be for a good long while yet. When your shinny MH falls apart or wears out and ends up in the junk yard and you end up inside of a stix and brix house looking at the walls, wave as I drive by, cause we'll be out here traveling across this great country of ours, meeting great people, making new friends and finding out what's over that next mountain or around the next curve in the road.
Yeah, health problems could slow us down, or even stop us, but until that time, we're having a ball. :-)
Did you know that there are 2,500,000 rivets in the Eiffel Tower?
Monday, July 19, 2010
Still Catching Up, Weather, Sunsets, and New Friends,
Ahmeek, MI.
This post will get everyone caught up through Saturday. The Wi-Fi service was restored to the CG sometime Sunday night, so I'll do Sunday and probably Monday in my next post.
Ahmeek, MI. – Sunday 7/18/2010
65 deg. mostly cloudy.
Forecast today = high temp. 75 deg. mostly cloudy, chance of showers this afternoon and tonight.
Well, as you will be able to tell when you read this, we still don’t have wi-fi service here at the CG. They, (who ever “they” are), told the people who run this park that the repeater tower would be repaired Friday, but that didn’t happen. :-( So, again, I’m writing these posts on a word processor with the hopes that, as I did once before, I can copy and paste them to blogger when I do get back on line.
The weather here has been great, with high temps in the mid 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s or low 60’s. The only time we had any rain was the first day we got here, and that was only for a short time in the afternoon. This park’s name is Sunset Bay RV Resort, and I’m here to tell you that it sure lives up to its name. We’ve had beautiful sunsets every night since we’ve been here. Jim has taken photos almost every night and my hopes are that I can share some of them with you when I finally do get these entries posted. I guess the only draw-back to the weather has been the wind. Most days it’s been very windy, and in fact Jim hasn’t put out any of my awnings since we’ve been here.
Thursday night sunset
Friday night sunset
Saturday night sunset.
Jim and Linda have been going someplace almost every day. Sometimes they just ride around in CLT and look at the scenery and other times they’ve gone into some of the neat shops in the area where they’ve bought gifts and bakery goods.
Friday evening, they went to Slim’s Cafe in the town of Mohawk, where they had a very nice home-cooked meal, but the other nights Jim has been cooking out on his grill, or Linda has put together something inside of me.
Today or tomorrow, the plan is to take CLT and head up to Copper Harbor. There’s supposed to be a couple of really scenic routes up that way, and I know that there’s a couple of stores that Jim and Linda want to go to.
Oh, and I almost forgot!!!! When we got here there was a couple camped across the street from me in a tent. They were traveling on a motorcycle and Jim noticed that it was a Russian made "Ural" brand. Well, being that Jim used to have a Harley, he went over and started talking to the man. Come to find out, his name is Mike, and he and his wife, Jody, were up here for a vacation and to meet with some friends of theirs who were camped in a travel trailer right along side of me. It's a 2010 model motorcycle and has a sidecar that Jody rides in, and this was their first big trip with it.
After talking for a little, Jim asked them where they were from, and guess what? They're from Champaign, IL!!!! Yep, just a little down the road from the Prairie Pines CG that we stay at in Rantoul!!! And, Mike works in Rantoul!!!!!
What a small world!!!!
Anyway, they are a really nice couple and Jim told them that if they were out for a ride or something, to stop by the CG in Rantoul for awhile. And you know what? I think that they will, since Mike and Jim seemed to really hit if off really well. :-)
Did you know that Lake Superior hold about 3 quadrillion gallons of water?
This post will get everyone caught up through Saturday. The Wi-Fi service was restored to the CG sometime Sunday night, so I'll do Sunday and probably Monday in my next post.
Ahmeek, MI. – Sunday 7/18/2010
65 deg. mostly cloudy.
Forecast today = high temp. 75 deg. mostly cloudy, chance of showers this afternoon and tonight.
Well, as you will be able to tell when you read this, we still don’t have wi-fi service here at the CG. They, (who ever “they” are), told the people who run this park that the repeater tower would be repaired Friday, but that didn’t happen. :-( So, again, I’m writing these posts on a word processor with the hopes that, as I did once before, I can copy and paste them to blogger when I do get back on line.
The weather here has been great, with high temps in the mid 70’s and lows in the upper 50’s or low 60’s. The only time we had any rain was the first day we got here, and that was only for a short time in the afternoon. This park’s name is Sunset Bay RV Resort, and I’m here to tell you that it sure lives up to its name. We’ve had beautiful sunsets every night since we’ve been here. Jim has taken photos almost every night and my hopes are that I can share some of them with you when I finally do get these entries posted. I guess the only draw-back to the weather has been the wind. Most days it’s been very windy, and in fact Jim hasn’t put out any of my awnings since we’ve been here.
Thursday night sunset
Friday night sunset
Jim and Linda have been going someplace almost every day. Sometimes they just ride around in CLT and look at the scenery and other times they’ve gone into some of the neat shops in the area where they’ve bought gifts and bakery goods.
Friday evening, they went to Slim’s Cafe in the town of Mohawk, where they had a very nice home-cooked meal, but the other nights Jim has been cooking out on his grill, or Linda has put together something inside of me.
Today or tomorrow, the plan is to take CLT and head up to Copper Harbor. There’s supposed to be a couple of really scenic routes up that way, and I know that there’s a couple of stores that Jim and Linda want to go to.
Oh, and I almost forgot!!!! When we got here there was a couple camped across the street from me in a tent. They were traveling on a motorcycle and Jim noticed that it was a Russian made "Ural" brand. Well, being that Jim used to have a Harley, he went over and started talking to the man. Come to find out, his name is Mike, and he and his wife, Jody, were up here for a vacation and to meet with some friends of theirs who were camped in a travel trailer right along side of me. It's a 2010 model motorcycle and has a sidecar that Jody rides in, and this was their first big trip with it.
After talking for a little, Jim asked them where they were from, and guess what? They're from Champaign, IL!!!! Yep, just a little down the road from the Prairie Pines CG that we stay at in Rantoul!!! And, Mike works in Rantoul!!!!!
What a small world!!!!
Anyway, they are a really nice couple and Jim told them that if they were out for a ride or something, to stop by the CG in Rantoul for awhile. And you know what? I think that they will, since Mike and Jim seemed to really hit if off really well. :-)
Did you know that Lake Superior hold about 3 quadrillion gallons of water?
I'm Back For Now, Lake Delton,Tomahawk, WI, Land O Lakes and Ahmeek, MI
Ahmeek, MI.
56 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today High temp. 78 deg. partly cloudy, possible t-storms this evening, W wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Monday, 7/19/2010
Well, I'm back for now. I'll try to get you caught up as best I can in the next day or so, providing that the Internet stays up. This post will cover the days of our trip up here to the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Tomahawk, WI. – Monday 7-12-2010
54 Deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 80 deg. mostly sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Well, the weather people on TV were all wet again, but we were nice and dry and not wet like they were saying we were going to be.;-) The rain that they were forecasting just didn’t come and except for some clouds, it was pretty nice when Jim pulled me out of my site and drove me to the dump station to dump 11 days of black and gray water.
By the time my tanks were dumped and we were pulling away from the dump station it was just 10 minutes after 10:00.
From Lake Delton, we headed SE on I-90 to Portage where we took Rt 33 a few miles East to I-39 / US51 where we turned North and followed 39 / 51 up here to Tomahawk and the Tomahawk CG and RV Park, which is right next to and connected to the Tomahawk speedway. The CG is almost empty now, but I’ll bet it gets pretty full on weekends when they’re having races at the speedway.
The trip up here was uneventful. I-39 from Portage to Wasau is in very good condition, but once past Wasau, the road was kind of rough in places, but not too bad. This CG, on the other hand is not the best. Who ever designed the park knew nothing about RVs and how much room they need to get into the sites.
The sites are at a 90 deg angle to the road and not slanted at all, so you just about have to jockey around to back into most of them. Many of the sites are not level, and many are too short to accommodate anything larger than a medium sized trailer. There was no one at the office when we got here, and when the man that manages the park came back, he came to my site, knocked on my door and asked Jim how he had gotten me into site #38?
Jim told him that it wasn’t too hard to get me in here and he had chosen it because it was a full hook-up site and had good shade. The man said that they had never had a 40 MH in this site before, and didn’t think it was even possible!
It was 1:20 when we pulled up to the stop sign by the office, so it took us 3 hours and 10 minutes to travel 167 miles.
A nice easy day. ;-)
We’ll be leaving here this morning and heading further North. I don’t know how far we’ll go, but I doubt if it will be too far. We’re really taking it easy because my reservation at Sunset Bay RV Resort doesn’t start until Wednesday, and we’ve got less than 200 miles to go.
Tuesday, 7/13/2010
Land O Lakes, WI – Tuesday 7/13/2010
59 Deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. partly sunny. Showers and t-storms this afternoon,
We left the CG in Tomahawk about 11:10 yesterday morning because we only had a short way to go and a long time to get there, ;-) and, we really didn’t want to get to this park before noon. The way it was, we got here at about 12:40, so even though we took our time, it only took us about an hour and a half to travel the 63 miles.
Oh, and I almost forgot!!!! Along the way, Jim pulled me into a gas station and bought me a nice big drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel!! :-)
Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
From Tomahawk, we got onto US 8 and took it NE to Rhinelander where we turned North on Rt. 17. 17 took us up to Eagle River, where we got onto US 45 and took it up here to Land O Lakes, and the Borderline RV Park, which is just 1 ½ mile from the Michigan State Line.
This is a neat little park. Jim and Linda liked the “feel” of the park as soon as we turned in. There are a lot of seasonal RVs here, but the park is well maintained and someone has planted flowers at many different places. When we got here, we didn’t know just where to go, so Jim pulled me over to the side of the park entrance road and got out to check things out. As soon as he got out, a man came over from a 5th wheel and asked if he could be of any assistance. Well, Jim told him that when he had talked to the CG owner a few days ago, he had told him that I should go to site #2. Well, the man from the 5th wheel knew exactly where it was and showed Jim how to get me around to the site.
So, I’m sitting in a pull through, full hook-up site with 50 Amps that is quite level. I have some shade, and the view out of my windshield is of the forest.
I think I like it here too! :-)
Today, we’ll head up to the Sunset Bay RV Resort near the little town of Ahmeek, MI. It’s only about 100 miles from here, but it will be all 2 lane roads with a few cities to go through, so I’m thinking it’ll take me close to 3 hours to get there.
Hopefully I’ll have an Internet connection there.
Land O Lakes WI to Ahmeek MI - Friday, 7/16/2010
65 Deg. clear, 10 to 15 mph winds out of the West.
Forecast today = High temp. 72 deg. mostly sunny, W. winds @ 15 to 20 mph.
We left the CG in Land O Lakes about 9:15 on Wednesday morning because they were forecasting rain and possible t-storms in the afternoon, and Jim wanted to get to our destination and get me into a site before it all started if possible. It was just 111 miles up here by taking US 45 up to Rockland, then 26 over to Houghton, and then US 41 up to Ahmeek, where we turned off on Five Mile Point Road and followed it for about 7 miles until we came to the CG Road, (that is gravel and about .8 of a mile long), here to the Sunset Bay RV Resort & CG.
It was 11:40 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us about 2 hours and 25 minutes. And, we beat the rain! :-)
This CG is surely going to be one if Jim and Linda’s favorites. The site I’m in has a great view of the lake, and on the very first night, even though it rained most of the afternoon, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.
The family that’s running the park are very friendly and helpful. They have gone out of their way to make sure everything is to Jim and Linda’s satisfaction, and have said time and time again that if they needed anything, just ask.
There’s only a few sites available that you can get into with a large RV and some of those aren’t very level. This park was built back in the 40’s so they weren’t really concerned about RVs at all, as most of their customers were tenters.
When we got here in Wednesday, I was able to get on the Internet using the CG’s .Wi-Fi for a short time, but later in the afternoon, they were doing some construction work up on the highway, and they evidently damaged one of the repeater towers that this wi-fi uses.
So, the Internet to the CG is completely shut down, and I and a lot of the other people, including the CG owners, are trying to be patient.
I would sure like to publish these posts that are accumulating.
Did you know that at it's deepest point, Lake Superior is 1276' deep?
My next post will be published possibly later on today, or tomorrow morning, if I don't have any more trouble with the Internet. Please excuse any formatting errors as I've had trouble with that when I've copied and pasted from the word processor before.
56 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today High temp. 78 deg. partly cloudy, possible t-storms this evening, W wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Monday, 7/19/2010
Well, I'm back for now. I'll try to get you caught up as best I can in the next day or so, providing that the Internet stays up. This post will cover the days of our trip up here to the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Tomahawk, WI. – Monday 7-12-2010
54 Deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 80 deg. mostly sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.
Well, the weather people on TV were all wet again, but we were nice and dry and not wet like they were saying we were going to be.;-) The rain that they were forecasting just didn’t come and except for some clouds, it was pretty nice when Jim pulled me out of my site and drove me to the dump station to dump 11 days of black and gray water.
By the time my tanks were dumped and we were pulling away from the dump station it was just 10 minutes after 10:00.
From Lake Delton, we headed SE on I-90 to Portage where we took Rt 33 a few miles East to I-39 / US51 where we turned North and followed 39 / 51 up here to Tomahawk and the Tomahawk CG and RV Park, which is right next to and connected to the Tomahawk speedway. The CG is almost empty now, but I’ll bet it gets pretty full on weekends when they’re having races at the speedway.
The trip up here was uneventful. I-39 from Portage to Wasau is in very good condition, but once past Wasau, the road was kind of rough in places, but not too bad. This CG, on the other hand is not the best. Who ever designed the park knew nothing about RVs and how much room they need to get into the sites.
The sites are at a 90 deg angle to the road and not slanted at all, so you just about have to jockey around to back into most of them. Many of the sites are not level, and many are too short to accommodate anything larger than a medium sized trailer. There was no one at the office when we got here, and when the man that manages the park came back, he came to my site, knocked on my door and asked Jim how he had gotten me into site #38?
Jim told him that it wasn’t too hard to get me in here and he had chosen it because it was a full hook-up site and had good shade. The man said that they had never had a 40 MH in this site before, and didn’t think it was even possible!
It was 1:20 when we pulled up to the stop sign by the office, so it took us 3 hours and 10 minutes to travel 167 miles.
A nice easy day. ;-)
We’ll be leaving here this morning and heading further North. I don’t know how far we’ll go, but I doubt if it will be too far. We’re really taking it easy because my reservation at Sunset Bay RV Resort doesn’t start until Wednesday, and we’ve got less than 200 miles to go.
Tuesday, 7/13/2010
Land O Lakes, WI – Tuesday 7/13/2010
59 Deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. partly sunny. Showers and t-storms this afternoon,
We left the CG in Tomahawk about 11:10 yesterday morning because we only had a short way to go and a long time to get there, ;-) and, we really didn’t want to get to this park before noon. The way it was, we got here at about 12:40, so even though we took our time, it only took us about an hour and a half to travel the 63 miles.
Oh, and I almost forgot!!!! Along the way, Jim pulled me into a gas station and bought me a nice big drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel!! :-)
Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!
From Tomahawk, we got onto US 8 and took it NE to Rhinelander where we turned North on Rt. 17. 17 took us up to Eagle River, where we got onto US 45 and took it up here to Land O Lakes, and the Borderline RV Park, which is just 1 ½ mile from the Michigan State Line.
This is a neat little park. Jim and Linda liked the “feel” of the park as soon as we turned in. There are a lot of seasonal RVs here, but the park is well maintained and someone has planted flowers at many different places. When we got here, we didn’t know just where to go, so Jim pulled me over to the side of the park entrance road and got out to check things out. As soon as he got out, a man came over from a 5th wheel and asked if he could be of any assistance. Well, Jim told him that when he had talked to the CG owner a few days ago, he had told him that I should go to site #2. Well, the man from the 5th wheel knew exactly where it was and showed Jim how to get me around to the site.
So, I’m sitting in a pull through, full hook-up site with 50 Amps that is quite level. I have some shade, and the view out of my windshield is of the forest.
Today, we’ll head up to the Sunset Bay RV Resort near the little town of Ahmeek, MI. It’s only about 100 miles from here, but it will be all 2 lane roads with a few cities to go through, so I’m thinking it’ll take me close to 3 hours to get there.
Hopefully I’ll have an Internet connection there.
Land O Lakes WI to Ahmeek MI - Friday, 7/16/2010
65 Deg. clear, 10 to 15 mph winds out of the West.
Forecast today = High temp. 72 deg. mostly sunny, W. winds @ 15 to 20 mph.
We left the CG in Land O Lakes about 9:15 on Wednesday morning because they were forecasting rain and possible t-storms in the afternoon, and Jim wanted to get to our destination and get me into a site before it all started if possible. It was just 111 miles up here by taking US 45 up to Rockland, then 26 over to Houghton, and then US 41 up to Ahmeek, where we turned off on Five Mile Point Road and followed it for about 7 miles until we came to the CG Road, (that is gravel and about .8 of a mile long), here to the Sunset Bay RV Resort & CG.
It was 11:40 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us about 2 hours and 25 minutes. And, we beat the rain! :-)
There’s only a few sites available that you can get into with a large RV and some of those aren’t very level. This park was built back in the 40’s so they weren’t really concerned about RVs at all, as most of their customers were tenters.
When we got here in Wednesday, I was able to get on the Internet using the CG’s .Wi-Fi for a short time, but later in the afternoon, they were doing some construction work up on the highway, and they evidently damaged one of the repeater towers that this wi-fi uses.
So, the Internet to the CG is completely shut down, and I and a lot of the other people, including the CG owners, are trying to be patient.
I would sure like to publish these posts that are accumulating.
Did you know that at it's deepest point, Lake Superior is 1276' deep?
My next post will be published possibly later on today, or tomorrow morning, if I don't have any more trouble with the Internet. Please excuse any formatting errors as I've had trouble with that when I've copied and pasted from the word processor before.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
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. ;-)
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. ;-)
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Pleasant Surprise
Apex, NC
57 Deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 70 deg. mostly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
We had a pleasant surprise yesterday morning when one of my readers, Barb, contacted Jim and told him that she and her husband were going to be coming here to Jordan Lake and would like to meet up with me, Jim and Linda. She left her phone number and e-mail address so Jim called her on the phone and told her we'd be more than happy to get together when they got here.
Then this afternoon, she called Jim and told him that they were here and were in site #B22 which is just down the road a little way. Well, they were going to be leaving the park to meet up with someone, and Jim and Linda were getting ready to go to Mike and Gina's, so plans were made to make contact about 9:00 this morning.
Now, neither I or Jim and Linda have ever met or even talked to this lady before, but I have complete confidence that once the introductions are made, it will be just like talking to old friends. Jim and Linda and Barb and her husband will sit down and immediately have common things to talk about. In fact during the brief phone conversation that Jim and Barb had, he already found out that Barb is from Idaho, they would like to go full-timing some day, and they are in North Carolina to visit family and friends.
See, already some things in common. ;-)
Not a real lot happened here yesterday. Jim sawed up a log, that someone had left by the fire pit into shorter pieces, and then split it, so it could be burned in a campfire, took a ride on his bike, and took a little nap. Linda didn't sleep well during the night, so she napped in her chair, did some paperwork, played games on the computer and prepared some corn to take over to Mike and Gina's for dinner.
Then, a little before 5:00 they took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's where they had another great meal and visited until it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed.
It was just a little before 8:00 when CLT brought them back.
Did you know that it was on this date in 1947 that the B F Goodrich Company announced that it had developed a tubeless tire?
57 Deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 70 deg. mostly cloudy, S. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
We had a pleasant surprise yesterday morning when one of my readers, Barb, contacted Jim and told him that she and her husband were going to be coming here to Jordan Lake and would like to meet up with me, Jim and Linda. She left her phone number and e-mail address so Jim called her on the phone and told her we'd be more than happy to get together when they got here.
Then this afternoon, she called Jim and told him that they were here and were in site #B22 which is just down the road a little way. Well, they were going to be leaving the park to meet up with someone, and Jim and Linda were getting ready to go to Mike and Gina's, so plans were made to make contact about 9:00 this morning.
Now, neither I or Jim and Linda have ever met or even talked to this lady before, but I have complete confidence that once the introductions are made, it will be just like talking to old friends. Jim and Linda and Barb and her husband will sit down and immediately have common things to talk about. In fact during the brief phone conversation that Jim and Barb had, he already found out that Barb is from Idaho, they would like to go full-timing some day, and they are in North Carolina to visit family and friends.
See, already some things in common. ;-)
Not a real lot happened here yesterday. Jim sawed up a log, that someone had left by the fire pit into shorter pieces, and then split it, so it could be burned in a campfire, took a ride on his bike, and took a little nap. Linda didn't sleep well during the night, so she napped in her chair, did some paperwork, played games on the computer and prepared some corn to take over to Mike and Gina's for dinner.
Then, a little before 5:00 they took CLT and headed over to Mike and Gina's where they had another great meal and visited until it was time for the kids to start getting ready for bed.
It was just a little before 8:00 when CLT brought them back.
Did you know that it was on this date in 1947 that the B F Goodrich Company announced that it had developed a tubeless tire?
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