Memorial Day, Some RV Info And Photos and A Cookout

Rantoul, IL.
69 Deg. clear, S. at 8 mph.
Forecast today = Sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. Breezy. South winds 15 to 20 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph in the afternoon.

Please take some time today to honor all of the men and women who have died to keep us free. They gave the ultimate sacrifice.

OK, I've messed with you enough. ;-)   Here's some of the photos Jim took the other day, and I must admit, this MH sure looks nice.

I don't know all the details about it yet, but I do know that it's a 2000 Newmar London Aire. It's 45' long, has about 58,000 miles on it and has a very big Cummins engine. It has 2 slides on the drivers side, (one for the living room / kitchen and one in the bedroom). It has the Aqua Hot heating system, basement AC, a 12.5 KW Onan diesel generator, a side-by-side residential refrigerator / freezer and an electric stove.

In the basement it has an entertainment center, slide out trays in 2 bays, plus quite a bit more storage space.

As you can see by the photos, it has a gold / silver / grey / white paint scheme

Being that it's 45' long, it has the tag axle and I understand it has a CCC (cargo carrying capacity) of around 6,000 lbs.

That should be enough for all Jim and Linda's stuff!!!    ;-)
                                    
A side view.

Here's a few photos of the inside.

This one is from the front of the coach looking back.

This is from the back looking forward.

If you notice, there are 2 couches. Well, the one on the right in the photo above is going to be removed and a desk and and a recliner are going to go into it's place. For now, the couch on the left will stay, but may be replaced with chairs or recliners at some later date.

The dealer is having the engine serviced and will correct some minor problems with the coach. While that is being done, Jim and Linda are getting their finances in order and in about a week and a half to 2 weeks they should be taking possession.

Then, of course, all of Jim and Linda's "stuff" that is in me will have to be transferred to the Newmar, but the dealer told Jim and Linda that they would help.

So . . . . . . . . . .there you have it. It sure sounds and looks nice and I hope that it will serve Jim and Linda for many, many years to come.

Yesterday afternoon, Louise and Paul had a cook-out over at their site and invited Jim and Linda to come over for hamburgers.

Linda decided that she would bake a cake to take over there but when she went to use my convection oven, after preheating,  it just quit. No display no nothing. Jim checked my circuit breakers and even checked the voltage at the outlet where it's plugged into, and there was electric there. :-(

If you remember, this microwave / convection oven was just installed last November, so Linda called the customer service number in the book and talked to a lady that said it would be covered under warranty and gave Linda a Job # and a phone number to call for repair service in this area. Of course being the Holiday weekend, she couldn't contact the repair facility, so that will have to be done tomorrow.

So, "What did Linda do about the cake"? you ask. Well, she already had it mixed up and in the pan, so she called Louise and asked her if she would bake it in her oven? Louise said "of course", so Jim took it over there and Louise baked it for Linda. Then in about 45 minutes Jim went back over to Louise's and brought the cake back here to cool and for Linda to frost it.

Thanks, Louise.

The cook-out was a great success. There must have been about a dozen people over there and many of them brought something to contribute to the meal.

Ahhhhhh!!!!  Good food, good company, what more could you ask for?  ;-)

Did you know that on Memorial Day, the flag should be at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff?

Oh-Oh!!!!

Rantoul, IL.
55 Deg. overcast, light Southerly winds.
Forecast today = Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning... then showers and thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Warmer. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

I don't know if I'm liking whats been happening around here for the last few days!  We had light rain all morning on Thursday but it pretty much stopped around lunch time and that's when Jim and Linda took CLT and left for about 5 hours.

Then, when they came back, there was a fellow following them in a jeep. He seemed nice enough, but as soon as he got out of his car, he started checking me out. He came inside and checked my appliances, couch, chairs, bathroom, bedroom and then went outside and checked my basement, engine, generator, tires and batteries.

At first I thought he was just nosy, but then it dawned on me, , , , , , he was checking everything on me to see what condition I was in so he could tell Jim and Linda how much he would allow for me on a trade-in for another RV!!! :-(

Yep, that was it. He was from a dealership and Jim and Linda had found an RV that they were interested in and wanted to know how much I was worth to the dealer.

Then yesterday about 10:00, Jim and Linda took CLT and left again. This time they were gone until about 2:00, and as soon as they returned, I knew something concerning me had happened. That's when CLT told me that he was pretty sure that they had traded me off on a different Motor Home. :-0

I knew Jim and Linda were looking for a different RV, but I really didn't expect them to find something so soon. CLT was watching what they were doing at the dealership and said that he thinks they must have looked at 4 or 5 different RVs but they spent most of the time in just one of them. When they went back yesterday, they only looked at that one and then after really checking it out and talking to the salesman for a long time, went into the office. 

CLT says that when they came out, Jim was carrying some papers and both Jim and Linda had smiles on their faces.

The deal had been made!

After leaving the dealership, Jim and Linda followed the salesman to a restaurant for lunch. {CLT says that he thinks the salesman paid for the meal). Then after eating and talking some more, CLT brought Jim and Linda back here to the campground.

OK, now I can hear you asking, "What kind of RV are they looking at, how big is it and when is this all going to happen"?

Well, I really don't know any of those answers. CLT said that the RV that they were looking at is a gold color and he's pretty sure it's longer than I am. He also told me that it has at least 2 of those slide-outs, where part of the wall slides out to make more room inside when parked. Also, he said that he heard the salesman mention "2 weeks" a couple of times.

So, . . . . we'll have to see what happens. I do think that my days of full-timing are numbered though, and I had better get used to the idea of not traveling so much.

Am I OK with this?  Well, I've been thinking about this ever since I found out that Jim and Linda were thinking about getting a different RV, and I have to agree that I'm getting old enough so that parts are not readily available and not all RV repair places have people who can still work on me and equipment to test my electronics. So, yes, I can handle this. I'm still able to travel some and will make a good MH for someone who wants a good RV for vacations and week-end trips. :-)

After all, life is a series of constant changes, and it looks like mine is going to change a lot.

Ahhhh!! A new adventure!!!! :-)

Did you know that three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers? Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. This date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

"Home"

Virginia Beach, VA.
63 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = Partly sunny, Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph...becoming south 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 30 percent.

For you Full-timers out there, do you consider your RV your home? Or, do you still think of where you used to live as home?

I follow many blogs and have noticed that when some folks are going back to where they used to live, they say that they're "going back home". I'm wondering if they don't consider their RVs "home"? Is it that they still feel that they have enough connections with the area that they used to live in, they consider that "home"?

I know that Jim and Linda consider me their home. Even though they have family and friends up in Illinois, where they used to live, I've never heard them say that they were going "home" when we go there.

Maybe it's a figure of speech, but in some cases, I think that these people really don't see their RV as their home, but rather as a temporary residence. I've also observed that many of these folks do not full-time for very many years. Usually after a couple of years, they end up buying a stix and brix home someplace and selling their RV or they trade it off on a smaller one to take vacations with.

Now, none of this is bad and everyone needs to do their own thing. This is just what I've observed throughout the years. I'd really like to know though, do you really consider your RV your "home"? Do you really plan on full-timing for 5, 10 or more years? Or, is full-timing something that you only see yourself doing for a few years?

Did you know that in Norfolk, VA, spitting on a sea gull is against the law?

Looking For A Replacement

Virginia Beach, VA.
67 deg. overcast, SE wind @ 2 mph.
Forecast today = Cloudy with a chance of showers this morning...then partly sunny with a chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Highs in the mid 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Back in April, when we were leaving Tennessee, I told you that Jim and Linda were serious about finding a replacement for me. Well, that hasn't changed and Jim has been on the Internet checking out the inventory of RV dealers that we will be passing during our summer travels. He's also been watching the inventory of some of the RV dealers down in Florida and he says that if they can't find what they're looking for before we get back down there this fall, he's sure that they'll be able to find one there.

"So, what has he found"? you ask.

Well not a real lot, (he and Linda have been real picky), but he has found one at a dealer up in Indiana that looks like it may be what they're looking for. Jim says that when we get up that way, on our way to Illinois, he'll give them a call and see if they still have it and try to determine if it's suitable. If, after talking to the dealer, it still seems like it would be worth looking at, we'll swing by there and he and Linda will take a look.

So, how has this affected me?

Well, I'm slowly getting used to the idea that I'm more than likely going to be traded in on a newer Motor Home. I've had a great time these last 6 years, full-timing with Jim and Linda, but I've always known that someday I would have to at least, semi retire.

It's kind of like when humans get to a certain period of their life. There comes a time when you have to quit traveling so much and so far and settle down to someplace more permanent.

I can do that.


Nothing much happening here in Virginia Beach. Joe and Nancy spent most of the day yesterday trimming bushes and cleaning up the yard. Then for dinner, Joe cooked some sausage on his grill, Linda heated up some hamburgers, and they all had dinner in the house.

I have no idea what’s happening today except that Amber has a golf tournament that she is going to be in this afternoon if the weather holds. Like I said the other day, she’s getting pretty good at this golfing thing.

Did you know that today is "National Pizza Party Day"?

2011 Spring Rally, Day 3

Sevierville, TN.
47 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg. partly cloudy. Severe wind warning. SE winds @ 20 to 30mph this afternoon with possible gusts of 50 to 60 mph. Chance of t-storms and showers this afternoon and evening.

Wow!!! Did you read the forecast for today? 50 to 60 mph wind gusts? I don't think I like that!!! :-(

Yesterday was a very pretty day here. I t was nice and warm with just a little breeze blowing and the sun was shinning brightly. Lots of people were out and about.

Jim went to a couple of seminars over at the Banquet Hall in the morning. After that, he spent some time outside under my awning enjoying the weather and talking to neighbors and folks who walked by. Meanwhile, Linda was busy working on her latest embroidery project and putting together and cooking a casserole for the Pot Luck dinner that they had over at the Banquet Hall last night.

 In the afternoon, Vicky and Ira Lutz stopped by to see me and ask Jim and Linda some questions about the full-timing lifestyle. They're trying to decide which type of RV to full-time in and asked if they could see what I was like inside. They were here for probably about an hour and seemed to like my layout.

About 5:30 Jim and Linda headed over to the Potluck dinner. They said that all the food that they had was really good and ate way too much. ;-) After the dinner was over, they came back here and decided not to go back for the games that Howard and Linda had organized.

Instead they watched TV and relaxed before going to bed.

Today is a "free" day here at the rally. There are no activities or seminars planned, so the folks attending can do what they want. Some are going to take a day trip up into the Great Smoky Mountain Park, others are going golfing, some shopping at all the stores that are in the area, and some, like Jim and Linda will just kick back and enjoy the day. Of course with the forecast of the strong winds and possible rain, people will have to make some adjustments.

Oh, Howard and Linda have asked Jim and Linda to kind of "mentor" 2 couples who are here at the rally and help answer questions that they may have about the full-timing lifestyle. They have gotten together over at the Banquet hall a couple of times and today, they may stop by here today to talk and ask more questions. One couple, (Karen and Al Phillips) has just started full-timing less than 2 weeks ago, and the other couple, (Steve and Kathy Cole), have just purchased a Motor Home and are planning on going full-timing as soon as possible.

I hope they can all find time to stop by today because I'd sure like to meet them. :-)

Did you know that at 2:20 a.m. on April 15, 1912, the British ocean liner Titanic sank into the North Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles south of Newfoundland, Canada?

Monday Before The Rally and Let The Rally Begin!!!

Sevierville, TN.
55 deg. overcast, SW wind @ 11 mph. w/20 to 25 mph gusts.
Forecast today = high temp. 63 deg. cloudy, with a 80% chance of rain, NW winds @ 5 to 15 mph.

It was quite warm again yesterday and very windy, so not too many folks were out and about here at the park. At least we didn't have the severe storms that went though just North of us again, but late last night we did have a small t-storms go through with some rain.

I had a nice surprise yesterday afternoon when Jim and Pat Thomas, (Mr. and Miss Alfie), stopped by and came in and visited for awhile. As usual, the conversation picked up just like they had all seen each other just a short time ago, when actually it had been  a whole year since they had last met.

Their RV (my buddy Thor), is parked over on the other side of the park so I don't expect I'll be seeing much of him this year, but I know he's there and doing well, so it's OK. :-)

Jim took this photo of Linda and Miss Alfie standing in front of me just before they headed over to the evening gathering at Howard and Linda's site.

It sure was good to see them again, and I'm hoping that I'll get to see them some more before the Rally ends. :-)

Today at noon, everyone will be heading over to the pavilion to register for the Rally. Everyone will get name tags and all the information needed to let them know which seminars are being held each day and at what times. Also included will be the complete schedule of all the activities that will be happening today and during the next 5 days. You know, things like pot luck dinners, chili cook-off dinners, catered meals, evening activities, and planned excursions.

Like I've said before, "It should be a blast!!!"

Did you know that on April 12, 1954— Bill Haley and the Comets recorded "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock?"

Let the Rally begin!!!!!!!!!

It Was Pretty Wild!

Orange City, FL.
66 deg. overcast, rain, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. Showers and t-storms, some possibly severe. W. wind @ 15 to 20 mph. with possible high gusts during storms.

Much of central Florida had severe storms yesterday, and we were right in the middle of it here in Orange City. At times, it rained so hard that I couldn't see more than 20 feet in front of me. Also during those times, the wind was blowing so hard that the rain was going crosswise!! There was thunder, lightning and reported winds in the area of over 50 mph!!!

It was wild for a little while!!!

There was a lot of damage in the area. In this area of the park, I know of 2 awnings that were torn off of RVs, a gazebo thrown on top of a pick-up truck, a porch ripped off of a permanent RV and many branches down. And, a fellow that Jim talked to said that there was a lot more damage in other parts of the park

I had a small branch hit me on my roof but I don't think did any damage. It ended laying on the ground next to CLT.

 Jim climbed up on my ladder to look for damage, but didn't go up on my roof because it was covered with wet leaves, and was very slippery.

Right now it's raining with thunder off in the distance and the guy on TV just said that there has been a tornado watch posted for this area until 1:00 this afternoon.

So, today will be a weather watching day. Linda and Laura were supposed to go shopping, but I think they'll wait until tomorrow when the weather is supposed to be much better.

Did you know that  on July 4, 1956, 1.23 inches of rain fell in Unionville, MD in one minute?

Dump Day

Lakeland, FL.
63 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. partly cloudy, E. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.

No! No! I'm not "down in the dumps" again. ;-)

Yesterday was the day that Glenn, (the shop foreman), drove me over to the other side of the building so that Jim could dump my black and grey water holding tanks.

Boy, were they ever full!!!

Then, he drove me over to the other building where Jim filled my fresh water tank with water that has been softened. You see, they have a huge water softener here so they have soft water to wash these fancy coaches that come here for work.

You don't want any water spots on a million dollar Prevost. ;-)

Anyhow, after dumping and filling, Glenn brought me back to my site and then Jim leveled me again and hooked up the electric.

Now, I've got to say a little something about Glenn.

Like I said, he's the shop foreman and is responsible for getting all the RVs into the shop or into the parking spaces in the lot. Being that the lot is small and hard to navigate through, they do not let any of the customers park their own vehicles, so Glenn does all the moving and parking.

Well, I'm here to tell you that he is probably one of the best RV drivers that I have ever seen. It doesn't matter if it's a 45' coach, a class B van, or a 5th wheel trailer, he'll put it into a spot where most RVers could only dream of parking. I have seen him back a 45'coach around a corner and into a spot where there were only inches of room on either side of the coach!

Now, when it's really tight, or when he can't see because the mirrors have been removed for some reason, (such as a repair), one of the mechanics will come out and help him, but that's not real often.

So, if you ever bring your MH or RV here for work, you can be confident that the person moving it knows exactly what he's doing and will take good care of it.

Last night for dinner, Jim got out his grill and cooked a nice big juicy steak that he and Linda shared. Meanwhile, Linda cooked some cauliflower on my stove and baked some biscuits in my new oven.

It all really smelled good to me. ;-)

Did you know that the pilgrims arrived in North America in December 1620, and they celebrated the first Thanksgiving Day in the fall of 1621?

It's Not Supposed To Be This Hot

Rantoul, IL.
65 deg. clear, SE wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 92 deg. Sunny and unseasonably warm. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

It's not supposed to be this hot, this late in September, in Illinois!!! It was over 90 yesterday, and as you can see above, they're forecasting temps back up there again today!! And that's not the end of it, Wednesday and Thursday are supposed to be almost as hot too!!!! :-(

Not a whole lot happening around here. A few RVs have come into the park, but most of them leave again in the morning. Jim went over to Rural King to look for a replacement male plug for the end of one of his 30 Amp electric cords, but didn't find one. Then went to the post office to pick up the mail and stopped at the IGA grocery store to pick up a few items.

How is my itchy tire condition? Well, thank you for asking. It seems to have calmed down a little and I'm able to ignore it most of the time. I do seem to have spells though, mostly when I see other RVs pulling out of the park.

Well, I had better end this post for now. I'm starting to just ramble on, and I don't want to bore you.

Maybe something interesting will happen today. ;-)

Did you know that a dragonfly flaps its wings 20 to 40 times a second, bees and houseflies 200 times, some mosquitoes 600 times, and a tiny gnat 1,000 times?

Wind

Rantoul, IL.
60 deg. clear, W. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 74 deg. mostly sunny, W. wind @ 20 to 25 mph with 30 mph gusts.

Wind..

It was quite windy here in Rantoul yesterday. You can't see it, but you sure can feel it. When someone says that it was windy, just how windy was it? Linda doesn't mind the wind, but Jim won't even go outside if he can help it on a windy day.

So...... at what point does it feel too windy? Well, for Jim I'd say that anything over about 15 to 20 mph bothers him, and he would rather have winds in the 5 to 10 mph range to feel comfortable outside. As for me, when I'm sitting in a park, the wind doesn't really bother me much. I've been at parks where the wind was blowing at 30 to 40 mph and it didn't bother me at all. Actually my biggest concern is branches from trees or other stuff flying around and hitting me.

Now, when I'm out on the road,........that's a different story. A headwind doesn't really bother me too much. I just have to work a little harder, and of course burn more fuel in the process. A tailwind is what every RV hopes for. (You get to show your owner how good your fuel mileage can be).   ;-)   Any crosswind of 20 or 25 mph seems to bother me, and if it gets much above that, I sometimes have trouble holding a straight line as I travel down the road. If the wind gets up to 30 mph or more,  I'm looking for a Campground or a place to park because even with Jim's help, I start having trouble staying in my lane.

A few years ago, when we were in the Texas panhandle, we got caught out on a 2 lane road with 40 to 45 mph crosswinds, with gusts up around 50 to 55 mph!!!! Now, that got exciting!!!!! Like I said, it was a 2 lane road with no place to safely pull off and park, so we slowly made our way to the next CG. (about 40 miles away.)

I never want to be in that situation again!!!  :-0

Not much happened around here yesterday. It rained in the morning and then again in the evening, and in fact, we had a pretty good storm last night. A few RVs came into the park, and today I'm sure there will be a lot more arriving for the Holiday weekend. Jim worked on the plans for our upcoming trip out to the East Coast, (I hope the hurricanes quit by the time we got out there), and Linda worked on her latest embroidery project and her puzzles.

This afternoon and evening, it should get pretty interesting here at Prairie Pines. I expect most of the Holiday campers will be coming in and it'll be fun watching them get into their sites and get set up.

Hmmmm!!!! I wonder who my new neighbors will be???

Did you know that sscientists at the World Meteorological Organization confirmed that Cyclone Olivia in April 1996 produced gusts clocking in at 253.5 mph (408 km/h), the highest non-tornadic winds ever recorded?

Slow Weekend At Prairie Pines and Allergies

Rantoul, IL.
58 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 85 deg. sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Wow!!! This is the slowest weekend here at Prairie Pines that I've seen yet!!! I don't think even one RV came into the park for the weekend!!! And, I think that there were only 3 that came in yesterday that were just passing through and staying for only one night.

I think that part of the reason is that the schools around here have started classes already and once that happens, the kids get involved with sports and other school related activities That's OK though, it'll be a nice quiet weekend.

Now, next weekend promises to be much different. Louise was telling Jim a few days ago that the CG was pretty much booked up for the Labor Day weekend.

It should be interesting.

Again, not much happened around here yesterday. Both Jim and Linda have been fighting allergies, (the grass and ragweed counts have been really high), and so have not felt the best. In fact they turned my AC on and both stayed inside of me most of yesterday afternoon and evening. Jim did go out and cook a couple of small steaks on the grill for dinner while Linda put together a green bean casserole and cooked it in my oven.

Oh, if any of you want to know what the pollen count in your area is, you can find out at Pollen.com . Just click on the state your in, and then select a city or type in your zip code.

Did you know that the concept of "allergy" was originally introduced in 1906 by the Viennese pediatrician Clemens von Pirquet, after he noted that some of his patients were hypersensitive to normally innocuous entities such as dust, pollen, or certain foods?

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? 

33 1/3% and H And H

Rantoul, IL.
70 deg. clear, NE wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 86 deg. sunny NE wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Well, 33 1/3% of the Illinois Bunch are gone. :-(  After talking for awhile, Denny and Bev got everything packed up and pulled out of the park just before noon. It sure was good to see them and their Winnebago Brave again and I'm hoping we'll meet up again down in Florida this winter. :-)

Jim, Linda and the rest of the Illinois Bunch didn't do a whole lot. Dee Dee and Dorthy went shopping at the Mall down in Champaign. Then when they got back, everyone sat outside and talked until about 5:30 when people started getting hungry, and went into their RVs to eat.

After eating, Jim and Linda stayed inside because the mosquitoes have been so bad in the evenings. I don't know if anyone else was out and about or not.

Today, there will be more h and h, (hugs and handshakes), and then the rest of the Illinois Bunch will be gone. After they leave I don't think there's any plans except for CLT (Cute Little Truck) to take Jim and Linda someplace to buy some bread and milk.

If it's like it has been in the past, there'll be a kind of "let-down" after everyone leaves. :-(

Did you know that at least half the world’s population have seen at least one James Bond 007 movie?

A Slow Day, RV Photos and Hotter And Hotter

Rantoul, IL.
69 Deg. clear SE wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast today = high temp.94 deg. mostly sunny, S. winds @ 10 to 15 mph.

Not a whole lot happened yesterday. Most of the day the men just sat around and talked. Dee Dee and Dorthy went over to Bev's and I think they played some games , but Linda didn't go as her knee was bothering her again.

For dinner, the decision was made to to to Fisher and the Village Garden Restaurant. Bev didn't go along, so Denny rode with Dave and Dee Dee in their truck and Jim and Linda rode with Gordy and Dorthy in their SUV. From what I could tell, I think everyone enjoyed their meals and had a good time visiting. Oh, and Denny brought some food back for Bev, so she had something to eat too.

Jim finally took a few photos of the Illinois Bunch's RVs. This Open Road 5th wheel belongs to Dave and Dee Dee and is parked on my right side.

On my left side is Denny and Bev's Winnebago Brave MH.

Because there were not any other good sites on this side of the street and close by, Gordy and Dorthy had to park their Holiday Rambler MH across the street from everyone else.

The temperatures are getting hotter and hotter here each day. Yesterday, by my thermometer, it got up to 94 deg. at one point, and today it's supposed to be even hotter and more humid. This makes it quite uncomfortable for people to be outside. I sure hope it doesn't get too much hotter, especially while the Illinois Bunch is here.

I don't have any idea what is going to be happening today. Probably not too much. I do know that Denny and Bev have to leave tomorrow, so today will be their last day here at the park.

Did you know that In New York City, approximately 1,600 people are bitten by other humans every year?

Reply To Comment, Better Weather,and A Neat RV But No Photo

Rantoul, IL.
66 Deg. clear, NW wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

First of all I'd like to reply to a comment that Mike and Gerri made on yesterday's blog concerning the storage of sweet corn. Jim and Linda have been able to keep the corn fresh for up to a week in the refrigerator by husking it, cutting away any bad spots, washing it, wrapping each ear in a wet paper towel and then putting the warped ears inside of a plastic bag or bags.

So...... buy a dozen or two and enjoy. :-)

The weather wasn't a whole lot cooler yesterday, (highs in the upper 80's), but the humidity was much lower and there was a nice breeze blowing, so it really didn't feel too hot outside. Jim spent quite a bit of the day outside doing this and that.

In the morning, he talked to the owner of this neat little RV that was parked next to me.


((( I have been trying for about 1/2 hour to get a photo of the trailer uploaded here, but it just won't work today and I'm getting tired of waiting, so I'll try to upload the photo on tomorrow's post. )))

Sorry about that. :-(


The trailer is light enough to be pulled with a 1/2 ton truck. It's about 17' long, has a queen sized bed, stove, fridge, and a bath with a shower. The man and his wife live in Indiana, and were just returning from a trip to Colorado to see their son. This was their first long trip with the trailer and they said they were very happy with it and how it pulled down the road.

After lunch, Jim dumped my tanks and then took CLT and headed over to the IGA store to buy a few groceries that was needed. After he returned, he took a little nap, sat outside for awhile and then cooked a couple of burgers on the grill for dinner, while he was cooking the burgers, Linda made salads and got out chips and stuff to go with them.

Did you know that Elvis Presley got a 'C' in his eighth grade music class?

Hot! Hot! Hot! and How Not To Level Your MH

Rantoul, IL.
77 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 94 deg. partly sunny, with a 50% chance of t-storms. W. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

It sure is hot here in Illinois. Yeah, I know, it's hotter in places like FL and AZ, but these 95 deg and higher temperatures are not normal here. Hardly anyone was out and about here in the park yesterday, and even this morning, it's very hot and muggy outside. And, today promises to be another scorcher.

It was so hot yesterday evening that Jim didn't want to cook anything outside on the grill, and both he and Linda decided that it wasn't a good idea to cook inside of me and heat me up, so........what else could they do but go out to eat?  ;-)

They decided that they would go to Monical's Pizza, so about 6:00 they took CLT and headed into town. CLT says that when they got there, the parking lot was full, so evidently Jim and Linda weren't the only ones to think that going out to eat was a good idea. Linda decided that she wanted an Italian roast beef sandwich, so she ordered that and Jim ordered one of those small individual pizzas. They said that both were very good.

After they got back here, they watched TV and played with the computers until bedtime.

Oh, I wanted to show you this photo that Jim took of an RV that he saw in a CG on our way back here to Rantoul. This RVs owner evidently doesn't realize what could happen to the RV if one of the blocks under the jacks gave way. As you can see, they are already crooked and look like they could tip over at any moment.

Also, notice how the tires are half way off of the board, which is very hard on a tire and can damage the belts.

The site was not level and Jim says that the RVer should have gone to the office and asked for a different site rather than take chances like this.

Did you know that there are approximately 61,269 pizzerias in the United States?

Really Quiet Here

Lake Delton, WI
70 deg. mostly cloudy, light fog, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 83 deg. mostly cloudy, 60% chance of rain, S. wind S. Wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Yeah, I'm still here in Lake Delton. It's been really quiet here at the park since Monday when about 75% of the RVs left. I guess most of them were just here for the 4th of July weekend.

Anyway, I've just been sitting here while Jim and Linda go into town to the reunion, so I haven't had much to write about. And, I doubt if much else is going to be going on until maybe Friday when I'm expecting more week-end RVers to be coming in.

The weather hasn't been very good here. We've had rain off and on every day this week and they are forecasting more rain for today and tomorrow.Plus, when it's not raining, the temperatures have been in the 80's with very high humidity.

Jim has been taking a few photos at the reunion. When he gets a few more, I'll start posting some of them.

In the meantime, if you don't here from me, keep checking back. I'll post here as soon as I've got something interesting to write about.

Did you know that Green Bay is Wisconsin's oldest city?

A Beautiful Day, Groceries and Thanks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Little Shopping and A Near Disaster

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

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

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

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

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

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

So....he took his nap.

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

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

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

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

Talk about noise!!!!

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

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

In fact so did I. :-(

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day 4 Of The Rally

Longs, SC.
42 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 71 deg. sunny, SE wind @ 5 to 10 mph with 27 mph gusts.

Was a pretty day yesterday, with lots of sunshine and low humidity, but the wind blew quite hard a t times. In fact the wind started blowing my main awning around so much that Jim finally went out and rolled it up. It sounds like today is going to much like it was yesterday, with those wind gusts again. :-(

Today is also the last day of the Rally. It'll be a happy / sad day. Happy to see all the people one last time, but sad to be saying good-by to all the old friends and the new friends you've just made during the last 3 or 4 days.

As for myself, I'm ready to move on. I know that Jim and Linda will keep in contact with people from the RV Dreams Family, and someday we'll meet up again, or at least read about each of their adventures. 

Yesterday, there were more seminars during the day, and then in the afternoon, there was a "rig walk through" where the people could go through and see what all the different RVs looked like inside. You had to sign up for that however, because not everyone feels comfortable having a bunch of strangers coming into their RV/home.

Then for dinner yesterday, there was a catered dinner for all the RV Dreamers, and from what I can tell, it was really good! There was steak and shrimp, corn on the cob, potatoes, salad, and deserts! Oh, and corn bread too! And, being that I wasn't there and am just going by what I've heard, there might be something else that I missed.

After the dinner, they had a "sock hop", like they used to have back in the 50's. Some of the people dressed up in clothes like they wore back then, but most just listened to the music and danced with their special someone. :-) 

Jim didn't get any photos because he forgot to take his camera over there last night :-( , but by all accounts, everyone seemed to have a good time.

This morning, there's going to be a "farewell breakfast" over at the banquet hall, and then most of the RVs that are here for the rally will be leaving. We're staying one more night because Jim didn't want to travel this Sunday, because he thought there might be a bunch of "spring breakers", heading back to school.

Well, I'd better get going. I want to be ready to say good-by to all my old and new RV friends as they head out of the park. I sure hope I'll get to meet up with them all again some day.

I cant' believe that Jim forgot his camera last night!! :-(

Did you know that South Carolina is the nation's leading peach producer and shipper East of the Mississippi river?