Hey, Mom! We're Home! - June 28, 2011
Tom's internal alarm went off at 5:40am. This was the last time that I had to get up this early.
But up we got and were breakfasted and on the road of 8:02am. Still didn't beat the 7:55am we made that one morning though.
About 8:50am there were clouds gathering overhead but then the sun peeked out. We crossed the PA state line (or is that "commonwealth line?") by 9:00am. Even with another stop at a rest area at 9:24am we were making good time.
Then came the end of the morning. At 11:12am we were warned that traffic might stop. It just slowed down for a bit. Then it got dark and it rained for a bit.
We stopped for lunch and even ate it at a picnic table at a rest area. It was sunny at that time and lunch was as enjoyable as the lunch stop outside the day before.
We went through several constructions areas in PA but the scariest one was where they were doing something that required some heavy mechanical pounding at or on the metal drainage grates at the side of the road. We listened to the pounding far down the highway and were surprised as it got louder each time we passed another metal grate even THAT far down the road. Soon it seemed that we were so far down the road that we shouldn't be hearing the pounding but it continued. Then, for me, the sound changed and was now sounding like we were dragging something metal behind us. If I were driving I would have picked a space between the traffic cones and headed for the side of the road to check things out.
But we continued to ride listening to this sound. Then at the end of the construction area where we where allowed to use both lanes of the highway the noise stopped! Tom said, "The road changed." I don't care what happened, just as long as the noise stopped and everything was okay.
We continued on our way without incident. It was sunny and 82 degrees as we traveled the last stretch of our trip down Airport Rd. Then the dread of having to deal with the traffic on my street (major traffic road) set in. We decided that Tom would just back the trailer into the driveway and whatever way it was in the driveway was the way it would sit until later in the evening. Tom backed the trailer perfectly in the middle of the 2-car wide driveway. What a guy!
At 4:55pm, on Tuesday, June 28, 2011, about 8.75 hours after we started that morning, we were Home! Thanks for coming along.
Trip Stats:
Travel time : 121 hours, 9 minutes
Miles driven (includes trips at destinations) : 9577.5
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
"You Do Exist!" - June 27, 2011
"You Do Exist!" - June 27, 2011
We were awake at 5:30am, or what passes for "awake" for me at that hour of the morning. After breakfast we had some sprinkles of rain and then again just before leaving for the last time which we did at 8:15am. It was early but not the earliest that we left any place. The sprinkles did not continue nor did it rain.
At 9:30am we made our "map stop" just inside the Ohio state line. How could I know how close we were to my friend's house if I didn't have a map? We continued on our way at 9:50am with an ETA for the campground of 1:06pm. Good timing. Hoped that we could keep it.
Wrong! I "threw a monkey wrench into the works." At about lunch time we had stopped for the necessities of life and then I made motions to sit at a table to eat rather than eat on the run. I had completely forgotten that we had a schedule to keep. It was too nice a day to waste if we didn't eat at a picnic table. So we did. And we moved the ETA to after 2:00pm.
We arrived at Maple Lakes about 2:13pm just as we had planned. This is a gated community; one has to wait for the gate to be raised before one can enter. I saw the camera aimed at the gate but I don't know how they know whether to raise the gate when you go out and come back. They have your license number but that is only on the rear of a vehicle from PA.
We were not given a map but only verbal directions to our site. We made it without too many problems. We just had to remember "the little green man" whose presence tells us to turn. We passed the pool. It really looked nice and clean. But we weren't there for that. This was just a place to park for the night! And it was close to the wash house.
I don't know why it takes us an hour to "set down roots" for the night. But that's just about it to the minute that all of the outside stuff is done and I have made the inside liveable and sleepable for the night.
That done we kicked off our shoes and settled for a "power nap." That was easy for Tom but not for me. I'm not too great at power naps. Besides I was too excited. In about a half hour we got up and made ourselves presentable (well, sort of) and headed for the van. I called my friend to warn her, I mean tell her, that we were on our way. The gate that we met when leaving was ready and willing to let us out. We didn't even have to stop for it. I hoped that the gate at the entrance was as accepting when we returned.
Following my friend's excellent directions we arrived without a problem. As we turned the corner to her street there she and the kids were waiting to greet us. I needed to give her a hug to make sure she was real and not a figment of my computer's imagination. She is real, alright!
We spent a great evening with the family in conversation whether over eating a wonderful chicken dinner, made with all that grease that the doctor's warn you to stay away from but tastes so good, eating some very tasteful soft ice cream or just sitting in a living room and letting our "jaws flap." Our host's comment "Some foods are good for the body and some are good for the soul" says it all. It was a wonderfully restful and all too short evening. We had to call it quits early because of having to get a good night's sleep in order to last for our 6-hours drive tomorrow.
Our thanks for a wonderful evening given we drove off hoping to find the campground in the dark as well as the camp site. But we had to get in the campground first.
Following the directions backwards we had no problems finding the roads and the campground. Now to get in. Driving up to the gate didn't work; not even driving very close to the gate. We sat for a very short when someone drove up on the left side of the area in front of the office window and in front of one part of the gate as we sat on the right side in front of the same gate. The person pushed some kind of a button and the gate opened. We followed the car in without the gate coming down on the roof of the van or starting some sort of an alarm.
We found the site, too, without a problem, grabbed our bags and headed for the wash house. Soon we were in bed supposedly getting ready for the next day. I spent some time remembering the people with whom I had just spent a portion of my life. Well worth the price of planning.
Tomorrow starts the last saga of this trip.
We were awake at 5:30am, or what passes for "awake" for me at that hour of the morning. After breakfast we had some sprinkles of rain and then again just before leaving for the last time which we did at 8:15am. It was early but not the earliest that we left any place. The sprinkles did not continue nor did it rain.
At 9:30am we made our "map stop" just inside the Ohio state line. How could I know how close we were to my friend's house if I didn't have a map? We continued on our way at 9:50am with an ETA for the campground of 1:06pm. Good timing. Hoped that we could keep it.
Wrong! I "threw a monkey wrench into the works." At about lunch time we had stopped for the necessities of life and then I made motions to sit at a table to eat rather than eat on the run. I had completely forgotten that we had a schedule to keep. It was too nice a day to waste if we didn't eat at a picnic table. So we did. And we moved the ETA to after 2:00pm.
We arrived at Maple Lakes about 2:13pm just as we had planned. This is a gated community; one has to wait for the gate to be raised before one can enter. I saw the camera aimed at the gate but I don't know how they know whether to raise the gate when you go out and come back. They have your license number but that is only on the rear of a vehicle from PA.
We were not given a map but only verbal directions to our site. We made it without too many problems. We just had to remember "the little green man" whose presence tells us to turn. We passed the pool. It really looked nice and clean. But we weren't there for that. This was just a place to park for the night! And it was close to the wash house.
I don't know why it takes us an hour to "set down roots" for the night. But that's just about it to the minute that all of the outside stuff is done and I have made the inside liveable and sleepable for the night.
That done we kicked off our shoes and settled for a "power nap." That was easy for Tom but not for me. I'm not too great at power naps. Besides I was too excited. In about a half hour we got up and made ourselves presentable (well, sort of) and headed for the van. I called my friend to warn her, I mean tell her, that we were on our way. The gate that we met when leaving was ready and willing to let us out. We didn't even have to stop for it. I hoped that the gate at the entrance was as accepting when we returned.
Following my friend's excellent directions we arrived without a problem. As we turned the corner to her street there she and the kids were waiting to greet us. I needed to give her a hug to make sure she was real and not a figment of my computer's imagination. She is real, alright!
We spent a great evening with the family in conversation whether over eating a wonderful chicken dinner, made with all that grease that the doctor's warn you to stay away from but tastes so good, eating some very tasteful soft ice cream or just sitting in a living room and letting our "jaws flap." Our host's comment "Some foods are good for the body and some are good for the soul" says it all. It was a wonderfully restful and all too short evening. We had to call it quits early because of having to get a good night's sleep in order to last for our 6-hours drive tomorrow.
Our thanks for a wonderful evening given we drove off hoping to find the campground in the dark as well as the camp site. But we had to get in the campground first.
Following the directions backwards we had no problems finding the roads and the campground. Now to get in. Driving up to the gate didn't work; not even driving very close to the gate. We sat for a very short when someone drove up on the left side of the area in front of the office window and in front of one part of the gate as we sat on the right side in front of the same gate. The person pushed some kind of a button and the gate opened. We followed the car in without the gate coming down on the roof of the van or starting some sort of an alarm.
We found the site, too, without a problem, grabbed our bags and headed for the wash house. Soon we were in bed supposedly getting ready for the next day. I spent some time remembering the people with whom I had just spent a portion of my life. Well worth the price of planning.
Tomorrow starts the last saga of this trip.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
"This Is Really A 'Down' Day" (TJK) - Sunday, June 26, 2011
"This Is Really A 'Down' Day" (TJK) - Sunday, June 26, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE! (June 27)
(Yeah, I know it's tomorrow but there won't be a blog for tomorrow so I'm saying this now. Besides you won't hear about this until you read it tomorrow.)
Oh, bummer! That hand on my shoulder just won't go away. Of course not! It belongs to the one I asked to wake me when he got up. Nice person he is. :o) A personal alarm clock.
Off for a shower, get dressed and on to church. First showers in a new washhouse always take much longer. Have to decide where the bag holding the clothes goes so it doesn't get wet (Is there a hook or a dry spot on the bench?), and where does the soap, shampoo, wash cloth and towel go? And you consider yourself lucky that you got the only shower stall in a total of three that is complete. The handle that works the water on/off and temperature is not lying on the floor of the stall and the fixture around the drain in the middle of the floor of the stall is not lying in the corner of the stall.
After church we went into town looking for a Denny's which we knew was there and at which we could get breakfast. But as I was reading signs I read one for a local "Family Restaurant".
"Shall we give it a try?"
"There are a lot of cars there. Sure. Let's do it."
And so we tried Sero's Restaurant. Good food. Good portions. Moderately priced. Good choice.
We asked for the location of a grocery store and where we could get a newspaper. Found all three within a quarter mile. This should be our last stop for bread and water but, unfortunately, not our last stop for gas. Tomorrow will probably take two stops, which includes one to start out, and Tuesday two. I hope gas prices keep getting better as they have been in the last few days.
Back at the campground I was in bed almost as soon as the groceries were put away. Can you believe two hours and twenty minutes? It IS time to be Home.
We did spend chair-time today with the newspaper. The sun was very warm even though hidden by the clouds. Tom worked on getting "The Man" ready for the trip. We have to get back on I70 but I guess that is still the normal direction and not anything special because of construction.
We watched people leave. I was surprised because I thought some of the people who left were "regulars" with permanent spots. A lot of people didn't observe the 12pm check out time. The people next to us left about 1:30 and the people "down the street" were still packing at 2:15!
Tom did his bookkeeping early and then started getting dinner.
When dinner was finished, I am ashamed to admit, I was ready for another nap. I asked Tom not to let me sleep past 7pm. He didn't but I just couldn't get awake. He came back at 7:15. I got up.
We talked about travel plans for tomorrow and Tuesday. I'm getting even more excited about meeting my friend, tomorrow, and want to spend as much time with her as we can. So there probably won't be any computer time tomorrow night which means no blog for tomorrow. But Monday's will come as will the last day, Tuesday. Just a little bit late.
Now the blog is almost finished for tonight. It is almost 9pm and it is still daylight! I will enjoy this day as long as I can.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE! (June 27)
(Yeah, I know it's tomorrow but there won't be a blog for tomorrow so I'm saying this now. Besides you won't hear about this until you read it tomorrow.)
Oh, bummer! That hand on my shoulder just won't go away. Of course not! It belongs to the one I asked to wake me when he got up. Nice person he is. :o) A personal alarm clock.
Off for a shower, get dressed and on to church. First showers in a new washhouse always take much longer. Have to decide where the bag holding the clothes goes so it doesn't get wet (Is there a hook or a dry spot on the bench?), and where does the soap, shampoo, wash cloth and towel go? And you consider yourself lucky that you got the only shower stall in a total of three that is complete. The handle that works the water on/off and temperature is not lying on the floor of the stall and the fixture around the drain in the middle of the floor of the stall is not lying in the corner of the stall.
After church we went into town looking for a Denny's which we knew was there and at which we could get breakfast. But as I was reading signs I read one for a local "Family Restaurant".
"Shall we give it a try?"
"There are a lot of cars there. Sure. Let's do it."
And so we tried Sero's Restaurant. Good food. Good portions. Moderately priced. Good choice.
We asked for the location of a grocery store and where we could get a newspaper. Found all three within a quarter mile. This should be our last stop for bread and water but, unfortunately, not our last stop for gas. Tomorrow will probably take two stops, which includes one to start out, and Tuesday two. I hope gas prices keep getting better as they have been in the last few days.
Back at the campground I was in bed almost as soon as the groceries were put away. Can you believe two hours and twenty minutes? It IS time to be Home.
We did spend chair-time today with the newspaper. The sun was very warm even though hidden by the clouds. Tom worked on getting "The Man" ready for the trip. We have to get back on I70 but I guess that is still the normal direction and not anything special because of construction.
We watched people leave. I was surprised because I thought some of the people who left were "regulars" with permanent spots. A lot of people didn't observe the 12pm check out time. The people next to us left about 1:30 and the people "down the street" were still packing at 2:15!
Tom did his bookkeeping early and then started getting dinner.
When dinner was finished, I am ashamed to admit, I was ready for another nap. I asked Tom not to let me sleep past 7pm. He didn't but I just couldn't get awake. He came back at 7:15. I got up.
We talked about travel plans for tomorrow and Tuesday. I'm getting even more excited about meeting my friend, tomorrow, and want to spend as much time with her as we can. So there probably won't be any computer time tomorrow night which means no blog for tomorrow. But Monday's will come as will the last day, Tuesday. Just a little bit late.
Now the blog is almost finished for tonight. It is almost 9pm and it is still daylight! I will enjoy this day as long as I can.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
What's That Big Round Bright Thing In The Sky? - Saturday, June 25, 2011
What's That Big Round Bright Thing In The Sky? - Saturday, June 25, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BONNIE!
Tom awoke early this morning and was up and out. He called to me as he descended the steps to the trailer. I answered and rolled over. But I eventually did get up. Basic bodily needs told me that I'd better if I knew what was good for me.
Things seemed to be all mixed up this morning but we did work at packing to get out. We had no goal except maybe a mental goal to be out as early as the two other days. Whatever it was, it worked. We were on the road by 8:30am with an ETA of 1:05pm CDT.
As we were working I was getting warmer. Then I realized that the sun was already shining. We haven't seen the sun in I don't know how long! What a beautiful day!
But after the first half hour on the road we were heading into the clouds again. I hoped that things would clear.
We passed a huge wind farm just north of Bloomington-Normal bypass. It was so long. The farms are usually only five or so turbines in line with each other but there are many lines of this turbines. This farm must have been at least a half mile long. But the amazing thing about this wind farm was that none of the turbines were spining! And two of them were "facing" the opposite direction than all of the others.
We stopped just inside the Indiana border for a map. We had to ask for it. There was a sign on the wall to ask the attendant for a map. So I looked around and about 10 minutes later I saw this older man coming out of the employee's room dressed as a maintenance person. I asked where the "attendant" was so I could ask for a map. He said, "That would be me." There were a few more people looking around the attendant's desk. So he went into his "office" and came out with 3 maps; just enough for everyone to be satisfied. They, too, were 2009-2010 maps. More budget cuts.
Two things about this gentleman: he was in his seventies and his shirt had a patch on it that read "Attendant Supervisor."
There was a clock on the wall in the lobby of the Information Center that gave the time as 12:40pm Eastern Daylight Time. Yay! We did it! We are in our own Time Zone. We are getting closer to Home.
Since it was about half way between body time and EDT we decided to have lunch. We gathered our PB&J sandwiches, carrots and Snapple and headed for a picnic table in the shade. The sun, indeed, did reappear and was warming the day as it should. As we were eating lunch the "Attendant Supervisor" passed by on the lawn mower heading for the patches of grass just past us.
Lunch finished, we headed on down the road. The next rest stop was closed and had been for a while. It looked like it. Good thing we stopped when we did. The next stop was a gas stop and that was uneventful except for the price which was $3.39. It was the best that we have seen for a while. We left the gas station with a full tank of gas and a ETA of 2:41 CDT/3:41 EDT without problems.
But, hey, problems are what keep life interesting. Our road was under construction and the way the highway department wanted us to go didn't sound like a good idea and even "The Man" wasn't saying anything about changing the route so we stayed with "The Man." We probably weren't in a construction zone as long as we would have been if we followed the highway department's suggestion. The speed was reasonable and I could find us on the map for which we just asked. :o) I was just very thinkful that we were traveling on a Saturday when the workers were not active or it would have been a lot worse. The signs even said to find and alternate route. But when you don't know the area how do you find and alternate route?
Long story short, we followed "The Man" and we arrived at S & H Campground about 4:00pm EDT. Not bad: just 20 minutes later.
We were registered an escorted to our little niche in this world. It's a good thing we were because we weren't given a map. And it seems that none of the sites are numbered or named. When we leave here for church tomorrow I wonder if we will be able to find "The Puppy" again. :o) We were put up on the hill and in the back. There are some "regulars" here but here is where the "one nighters" are put. We are near the washhouse . . . if you go through another person's site.
Two sites down from us there is a double site that is used as a road to the washhouse. My guess is that they don't use that site until the place is really packed and then they will put two Rvers in that site.
A note of interest about gas prices: We passed through a small town which was selling gas at several stations for $3.19. Then, at a few stations in another small town a little further down the road, gas was being sold for $3.09! I hope we can find those stations again.
Tom's in bed and I'm ready for that last walk to the washhouse. Talk to you tomorrow when we will still be in IN.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BONNIE!
Tom awoke early this morning and was up and out. He called to me as he descended the steps to the trailer. I answered and rolled over. But I eventually did get up. Basic bodily needs told me that I'd better if I knew what was good for me.
Things seemed to be all mixed up this morning but we did work at packing to get out. We had no goal except maybe a mental goal to be out as early as the two other days. Whatever it was, it worked. We were on the road by 8:30am with an ETA of 1:05pm CDT.
As we were working I was getting warmer. Then I realized that the sun was already shining. We haven't seen the sun in I don't know how long! What a beautiful day!
But after the first half hour on the road we were heading into the clouds again. I hoped that things would clear.
We passed a huge wind farm just north of Bloomington-Normal bypass. It was so long. The farms are usually only five or so turbines in line with each other but there are many lines of this turbines. This farm must have been at least a half mile long. But the amazing thing about this wind farm was that none of the turbines were spining! And two of them were "facing" the opposite direction than all of the others.
We stopped just inside the Indiana border for a map. We had to ask for it. There was a sign on the wall to ask the attendant for a map. So I looked around and about 10 minutes later I saw this older man coming out of the employee's room dressed as a maintenance person. I asked where the "attendant" was so I could ask for a map. He said, "That would be me." There were a few more people looking around the attendant's desk. So he went into his "office" and came out with 3 maps; just enough for everyone to be satisfied. They, too, were 2009-2010 maps. More budget cuts.
Two things about this gentleman: he was in his seventies and his shirt had a patch on it that read "Attendant Supervisor."
There was a clock on the wall in the lobby of the Information Center that gave the time as 12:40pm Eastern Daylight Time. Yay! We did it! We are in our own Time Zone. We are getting closer to Home.
Since it was about half way between body time and EDT we decided to have lunch. We gathered our PB&J sandwiches, carrots and Snapple and headed for a picnic table in the shade. The sun, indeed, did reappear and was warming the day as it should. As we were eating lunch the "Attendant Supervisor" passed by on the lawn mower heading for the patches of grass just past us.
Lunch finished, we headed on down the road. The next rest stop was closed and had been for a while. It looked like it. Good thing we stopped when we did. The next stop was a gas stop and that was uneventful except for the price which was $3.39. It was the best that we have seen for a while. We left the gas station with a full tank of gas and a ETA of 2:41 CDT/3:41 EDT without problems.
But, hey, problems are what keep life interesting. Our road was under construction and the way the highway department wanted us to go didn't sound like a good idea and even "The Man" wasn't saying anything about changing the route so we stayed with "The Man." We probably weren't in a construction zone as long as we would have been if we followed the highway department's suggestion. The speed was reasonable and I could find us on the map for which we just asked. :o) I was just very thinkful that we were traveling on a Saturday when the workers were not active or it would have been a lot worse. The signs even said to find and alternate route. But when you don't know the area how do you find and alternate route?
Long story short, we followed "The Man" and we arrived at S & H Campground about 4:00pm EDT. Not bad: just 20 minutes later.
We were registered an escorted to our little niche in this world. It's a good thing we were because we weren't given a map. And it seems that none of the sites are numbered or named. When we leave here for church tomorrow I wonder if we will be able to find "The Puppy" again. :o) We were put up on the hill and in the back. There are some "regulars" here but here is where the "one nighters" are put. We are near the washhouse . . . if you go through another person's site.
Two sites down from us there is a double site that is used as a road to the washhouse. My guess is that they don't use that site until the place is really packed and then they will put two Rvers in that site.
A note of interest about gas prices: We passed through a small town which was selling gas at several stations for $3.19. Then, at a few stations in another small town a little further down the road, gas was being sold for $3.09! I hope we can find those stations again.
Tom's in bed and I'm ready for that last walk to the washhouse. Talk to you tomorrow when we will still be in IN.
One Day Closer To Home - Friday, June 24, 2011
One Day Closer To Home - Friday, June 24, 2011
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, VERA AND PAUL! (on June 24)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIC! (on June 22)
[Note: I lost the internet connection late on June 24 and could not post this blog until early June 25 before we left on the day's journey. I hope no one stayed up looking for it last night. :o) ]
I was awake several times early this morning but didn't get up until 5:45am. It was 59 degrees outside and didn't feel bad inside.
We had to move but took time to have a scrambled egg breakfast. But when Tom was ready to bring the van back to hitch the trailer to it the van wouldn't keep running. Tom has had trouble with the van a few times with starting on a cold day. Today wasn't really cold cold but it wasn't warm either. Finally the van cooperated and we were able to continue the process get the trailer hitched. We were still able to be on the road by 8:35am which wasn't bad. The ETA was 11:42am which was in about 3 hours.
The day was gray. There were big heavy gray clouds overhead and they were everywhere we went. The temperature when we started was 59 degrees.
Once when I looked out of the window there were rows and rows of low growing plants and people were bending over the rows of plants. Then I noticed on the side of a 53ft trailer at the side of the field was a banner which read: "upickstrawberries.com." Then I understood that these people were picking strawberries for personal use. I remember doing that when we lived in White Haven. It was like an annual pilgrimage. There was a man there that told my sons that they can't charge you for what you take home in your belly.
We were still in Wisconsin when I noticed that some of the county roads had the names of letters like "I", "V", "N", etc. I had wondered if they ran out of names for their roads and just started to use letters. When I saw the sign "Highway BN" I told Tom that if I saw a sign "Highway BK" he was going to have to stop the van and go get the sign for me. {Just kidding, officer. Just kidding.}
Then we crossed into Illinois. Very soon afterward we made a "Map stop" at the Information Center. It was closed, so the sign said, "due to budget cuts." The screen was down so the sign could be posted on it and many, many piles of information were left on the counter including the official state transportation map. I like to get them so that I know where I am and where I am going. The date on the map I picked up was "2009-2010." I guess they don't have the money to update the maps and a lot of other things just like a lot of other places.
We stopped at another rest area and was amazed at the Information Center building. It was a two-story affair because the cars when they were seperated from the trucks and trailers and tow vehicles went up a slope and everything else stayed on the same level. So the people from the cars went in the upper story and the truck drivers and everyone else who shared that same parking lot went in downstairs. If you wanted to change levels on the inside of the building you had to walk the stairs. There was no elevator.
As we sat and ate our lunch, we watched a man who tended the vending machines in the building. He came out of a door on the upper story with cart piled high with various drinks and snacks. He struggled to hold the cart back so that he wasn't pushed down the hill as it lead away from the building. Once down on the same level as the lower floor he struggled to pull the cart back to the building and get it inside. No one dared to help him. I just imagined him doing this job in the rain, the cold, and the snow. Not my kind of job, thank you.
We finally found the Hickory Hollow Campground but not without a few hitches; not the least of which was that the access road had been moved and no one told "The Man." "He" just didn't know.
We were escorted to our site and the escort waved good bye. Tom turned off the engine and I opened the door to step out into a mud puddle. He had to move the van. Luckily this is the only mud puddle we had to contend with. We were at the end of a row of sites and we were alone. I figured out later that we were there at the very end of the park because we wanted water and electricity but no sewer. And it is quite a trek to the washhouse.
Finally it was time to "crash" and it felt good. Tom got up before me and went for some things including bread for dinner and gas for our trip tomorrow.
Housekeepping, dinner and dishes filled a good part of the evening. The smells of the wood burning in the fire rings nearby really smelled good. This is truly a campground. Right next to us is a large expanse of trees in which tent sites are placed. It reminded us of the times that we camp and not "RV." We are lucky; now we can do both.
That final trek to the washhouse took too long. When I tried to sign on to my account which happened to be using Tom's login to the campground's internet I found that the login had timed out because I hadn't used it in a while. So this will have to be posted tomorrow. :o( I will not awaken him for a login for the internet!
Tomorrow night we will be in Greenfield, IN in EDT! We will be able to stay put for two nights, Saturday and Sunday. And then comes Monday when, after some traveling, I will finally meet someone whom I've known only online and for a short time but whom I feel that my heart has known forever. Then Tuesday we will be Home. Ahhhhh!
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, VERA AND PAUL! (on June 24)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIC! (on June 22)
[Note: I lost the internet connection late on June 24 and could not post this blog until early June 25 before we left on the day's journey. I hope no one stayed up looking for it last night. :o) ]
I was awake several times early this morning but didn't get up until 5:45am. It was 59 degrees outside and didn't feel bad inside.
We had to move but took time to have a scrambled egg breakfast. But when Tom was ready to bring the van back to hitch the trailer to it the van wouldn't keep running. Tom has had trouble with the van a few times with starting on a cold day. Today wasn't really cold cold but it wasn't warm either. Finally the van cooperated and we were able to continue the process get the trailer hitched. We were still able to be on the road by 8:35am which wasn't bad. The ETA was 11:42am which was in about 3 hours.
The day was gray. There were big heavy gray clouds overhead and they were everywhere we went. The temperature when we started was 59 degrees.
Once when I looked out of the window there were rows and rows of low growing plants and people were bending over the rows of plants. Then I noticed on the side of a 53ft trailer at the side of the field was a banner which read: "upickstrawberries.com." Then I understood that these people were picking strawberries for personal use. I remember doing that when we lived in White Haven. It was like an annual pilgrimage. There was a man there that told my sons that they can't charge you for what you take home in your belly.
We were still in Wisconsin when I noticed that some of the county roads had the names of letters like "I", "V", "N", etc. I had wondered if they ran out of names for their roads and just started to use letters. When I saw the sign "Highway BN" I told Tom that if I saw a sign "Highway BK" he was going to have to stop the van and go get the sign for me. {Just kidding, officer. Just kidding.}
Then we crossed into Illinois. Very soon afterward we made a "Map stop" at the Information Center. It was closed, so the sign said, "due to budget cuts." The screen was down so the sign could be posted on it and many, many piles of information were left on the counter including the official state transportation map. I like to get them so that I know where I am and where I am going. The date on the map I picked up was "2009-2010." I guess they don't have the money to update the maps and a lot of other things just like a lot of other places.
We stopped at another rest area and was amazed at the Information Center building. It was a two-story affair because the cars when they were seperated from the trucks and trailers and tow vehicles went up a slope and everything else stayed on the same level. So the people from the cars went in the upper story and the truck drivers and everyone else who shared that same parking lot went in downstairs. If you wanted to change levels on the inside of the building you had to walk the stairs. There was no elevator.
As we sat and ate our lunch, we watched a man who tended the vending machines in the building. He came out of a door on the upper story with cart piled high with various drinks and snacks. He struggled to hold the cart back so that he wasn't pushed down the hill as it lead away from the building. Once down on the same level as the lower floor he struggled to pull the cart back to the building and get it inside. No one dared to help him. I just imagined him doing this job in the rain, the cold, and the snow. Not my kind of job, thank you.
We finally found the Hickory Hollow Campground but not without a few hitches; not the least of which was that the access road had been moved and no one told "The Man." "He" just didn't know.
We were escorted to our site and the escort waved good bye. Tom turned off the engine and I opened the door to step out into a mud puddle. He had to move the van. Luckily this is the only mud puddle we had to contend with. We were at the end of a row of sites and we were alone. I figured out later that we were there at the very end of the park because we wanted water and electricity but no sewer. And it is quite a trek to the washhouse.
Finally it was time to "crash" and it felt good. Tom got up before me and went for some things including bread for dinner and gas for our trip tomorrow.
Housekeepping, dinner and dishes filled a good part of the evening. The smells of the wood burning in the fire rings nearby really smelled good. This is truly a campground. Right next to us is a large expanse of trees in which tent sites are placed. It reminded us of the times that we camp and not "RV." We are lucky; now we can do both.
That final trek to the washhouse took too long. When I tried to sign on to my account which happened to be using Tom's login to the campground's internet I found that the login had timed out because I hadn't used it in a while. So this will have to be posted tomorrow. :o( I will not awaken him for a login for the internet!
Tomorrow night we will be in Greenfield, IN in EDT! We will be able to stay put for two nights, Saturday and Sunday. And then comes Monday when, after some traveling, I will finally meet someone whom I've known only online and for a short time but whom I feel that my heart has known forever. Then Tuesday we will be Home. Ahhhhh!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Safely East Of The Mississippi - Thursday, June 23, 2011
Safely East Of The Mississippi - Thursday, June 23, 2011
I missed Cindy's birthday on June 12 so, 13 days late,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CINDY!
I was awakened at 5:30 this morning. Ugh! I didn't feel like getting up but I did. I knew we had to roll today. The thermometer said it was 68 degrees inside and 59 degrees outside. It just felt cold.
We were pulling out of the site by 7:59am. We missed yesterday's time of 7:55am. I thought we did better than yesterday and we didn't have a talkative neighbor. But 8:00am isn't bad. We were on the road!
The sky was gray and we had sprinkles for some of the trip. Never any real rain. There were several bright spots and one time we saw patches of blue sky but that was it. Just a dark, damp day.
We saw several wind farms. They always make me want to ask questions. Why are some of them not spinning? Why are some of the blades spinning faster than others? How much elecricity do they generate? Why are the blades on some of the generators longer than others? All of the blades on one farm are the same size but some farms have smaller blades than others.
We stopped at a particular rest stop because of a need and to eat lunch. It was 59 degrees outside so we put our jackets on and went looking for our first geocache in Minnesota. We were successful in finding it. It was a rather ingenious set up. We needed to find a MN cache today because we were not stopping in MN for the night when we could get a chance at another cache. And we did it! Now we need to find one in Wisconsin!
A little later we safely crossed the Mississippi River. Now we have done it in both directions. That must mean that we are getting closer to home!
We arrived at Country Roads Motorhome and RV Park "for the older kids" in Lake Delton, WI at 4:02pm. This place caters to the adult population. Tom figured that we had 8 hours, 2 minutes total time, both driving and stops. We had 6 hours, 9 minutes total driving time. We are 766 miles from Home by great circle distance.
It was 59 degrees at the park. We had already used one of our two tanks of propane and Tom had hoped that we would not have to buy any this trip. But if it is 59 degrees at 4pm . . . . He bought propane to make sure we had heat for tonight and tomorrow morning, at least. We will turn it off when we go to bed.
We "crashed" for a short time and then had dinner. Then we went out to get gas for the van for tomorrow's trip and to find a cache in Wisconsin. We were successful on both accounts. Now I think we are finished finding caches for this trip. On previous trips we have found caches in PA, OH, IN and IL and those are the only states we have left to go through.
We came back to the trailer for bookwork and the internet and to heat the trailer. At 8pm it is still 59 degrees. Maybe we will be lucky and not have a really cold night.
Tomorrow we will try to get out of here at a reasonable time but that doesn't me that we will push it like we did today. We'll have eggs for breakfast and that will take a little longer. "The Man" expects that the 183 mile trip will take us about 3 hours, 10 minutes. Then we can relax the rest of the day except for doing the dishes one more time before we arrive at Home with a lot of dirty dishes.
Tomorrow night we expect to be at Hickory Hollow Campground in Utica, IL.
I missed Cindy's birthday on June 12 so, 13 days late,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CINDY!
I was awakened at 5:30 this morning. Ugh! I didn't feel like getting up but I did. I knew we had to roll today. The thermometer said it was 68 degrees inside and 59 degrees outside. It just felt cold.
We were pulling out of the site by 7:59am. We missed yesterday's time of 7:55am. I thought we did better than yesterday and we didn't have a talkative neighbor. But 8:00am isn't bad. We were on the road!
The sky was gray and we had sprinkles for some of the trip. Never any real rain. There were several bright spots and one time we saw patches of blue sky but that was it. Just a dark, damp day.
We saw several wind farms. They always make me want to ask questions. Why are some of them not spinning? Why are some of the blades spinning faster than others? How much elecricity do they generate? Why are the blades on some of the generators longer than others? All of the blades on one farm are the same size but some farms have smaller blades than others.
We stopped at a particular rest stop because of a need and to eat lunch. It was 59 degrees outside so we put our jackets on and went looking for our first geocache in Minnesota. We were successful in finding it. It was a rather ingenious set up. We needed to find a MN cache today because we were not stopping in MN for the night when we could get a chance at another cache. And we did it! Now we need to find one in Wisconsin!
A little later we safely crossed the Mississippi River. Now we have done it in both directions. That must mean that we are getting closer to home!
We arrived at Country Roads Motorhome and RV Park "for the older kids" in Lake Delton, WI at 4:02pm. This place caters to the adult population. Tom figured that we had 8 hours, 2 minutes total time, both driving and stops. We had 6 hours, 9 minutes total driving time. We are 766 miles from Home by great circle distance.
It was 59 degrees at the park. We had already used one of our two tanks of propane and Tom had hoped that we would not have to buy any this trip. But if it is 59 degrees at 4pm . . . . He bought propane to make sure we had heat for tonight and tomorrow morning, at least. We will turn it off when we go to bed.
We "crashed" for a short time and then had dinner. Then we went out to get gas for the van for tomorrow's trip and to find a cache in Wisconsin. We were successful on both accounts. Now I think we are finished finding caches for this trip. On previous trips we have found caches in PA, OH, IN and IL and those are the only states we have left to go through.
We came back to the trailer for bookwork and the internet and to heat the trailer. At 8pm it is still 59 degrees. Maybe we will be lucky and not have a really cold night.
Tomorrow we will try to get out of here at a reasonable time but that doesn't me that we will push it like we did today. We'll have eggs for breakfast and that will take a little longer. "The Man" expects that the 183 mile trip will take us about 3 hours, 10 minutes. Then we can relax the rest of the day except for doing the dishes one more time before we arrive at Home with a lot of dirty dishes.
Tomorrow night we expect to be at Hickory Hollow Campground in Utica, IL.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tea For Two - Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Tea For Two - Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Again, Tom was up before 6am and, as I had asked him, he woke me. I "made the beds" as I crawled out and dressed before I went to the bathrooms. Congratulate me. I got to the bathrooms before Tom was on his way back to the trailer. Yay for me! :o)
We had breakfast and I made PB&J sandwiches for lunch. I packed them and some carrots for whatever kind of lunch we would have; traveling or stopped.
Tom worked at getting the trailer hooked to the van amidst the banter of the man in the next site who just liked to talk. I finished inside and was able to help a little with the trailer hitching. Off to the bathrooms for the last time here and we actually left the RV Park at 7:55am, 5 minutes earlier than our goal of 8:00am. We really felt good!
We were headed for Tea, SD* just south of Sioux Falls and near the Minnesota border. Tom had estimated that it was a 300 mile trip and it actually was 304.6. Not a bad job.
Although "The Man" said that it would take 5.25 hours driving time. It actually was 4.5 hours. But that's "The Man" for you. We had three stops: one for a rest stop alone, one for a gas stop and one for a rest stop and lunch. Tom thought that we might be able to sit at one of the picnic tables in the rest stop but that didn't work out. The wind was blowing rather hard. The woman in the information booth said that she thought that the wind has been blowing for about 4-5 weeks at a rate of 15 mph. She said that people were getting used to it. I'll be glad when I get away from it. It feels cold to me.
We did, indeed, cross over in to Central Daylight Time. For the purpose of record keeping we kept the car clock and our "body clocks" on Mountain Daylight Time until we arived at the Red Barn RV Park.
When we saw our site I said, "It's only for one night. At least we are close to the bathrooms." Our neighbors have at least one large dog by evidence of the scat left very near where we parked the van. (After we crashed Tom went out and noticed that it had been cleaned up.)
We did "crash." After all that driving Tom was looking a little road weary. It felt good "to be horizontal."
We had dinner soon after we "crashed" and then went out for water and gas. We should soon be finished buying things except for water and gas.
The next things are to get what we need from the internet, especially to check on the geocaches that we want to look for in Minnesota. We will not be spending the night in MN but passing on through to Wisconsin. We want to check to see if the caches have been found lately. We don't want to be looking for something that isn't there any longer as we had done in Montana.
Then to bed, early I hope. "The Man" says there will be more than 6.5 hours driving time tomorrow. And if we get on the road before 8:00am as we did today we could be hitting the work traffic on I-29 before we get to I-90 again and even on I-90. We will be on I-90 all day tomorrow too.
We noticed the difference in the landscape from the Badlands to the eastern border of SD. We were missing the spires and high peaks and now have the rolling mounds. We ave also crossed the Missouri River. However where we crossed the river it was dammed and was a lake.
What surprised us was that we are still over a half mile above sea level. We each expected to be much lower. I was hoping for some warmer weather that the lower altitude would bring us. No such luck. I pulled out another heavier t-shirt for tomorrow. :o(
See you all in Wisconsin tomorrow evening. We are a little over 1100 miles from home. :o)
*When the railroad line survey from Yankton to Sioux Falls ws done, the village of Byron was founded. It was decided the village needed a post office, so an application was submitted. But several other communities were also named Byron, so the postal authorities asked for 10 short names from which one would be chosen. Nine names were chosen, and they could not come up with a tenth. Many residents were German, so the tradition of afternoon tea was important. It was decided to break for tea, then someone suggested adding "Tea" to the list. The postal authorities chose Tea, which was incorporated in 1902. - from the Red Barn RV Park information folder
Again, Tom was up before 6am and, as I had asked him, he woke me. I "made the beds" as I crawled out and dressed before I went to the bathrooms. Congratulate me. I got to the bathrooms before Tom was on his way back to the trailer. Yay for me! :o)
We had breakfast and I made PB&J sandwiches for lunch. I packed them and some carrots for whatever kind of lunch we would have; traveling or stopped.
Tom worked at getting the trailer hooked to the van amidst the banter of the man in the next site who just liked to talk. I finished inside and was able to help a little with the trailer hitching. Off to the bathrooms for the last time here and we actually left the RV Park at 7:55am, 5 minutes earlier than our goal of 8:00am. We really felt good!
We were headed for Tea, SD* just south of Sioux Falls and near the Minnesota border. Tom had estimated that it was a 300 mile trip and it actually was 304.6. Not a bad job.
Although "The Man" said that it would take 5.25 hours driving time. It actually was 4.5 hours. But that's "The Man" for you. We had three stops: one for a rest stop alone, one for a gas stop and one for a rest stop and lunch. Tom thought that we might be able to sit at one of the picnic tables in the rest stop but that didn't work out. The wind was blowing rather hard. The woman in the information booth said that she thought that the wind has been blowing for about 4-5 weeks at a rate of 15 mph. She said that people were getting used to it. I'll be glad when I get away from it. It feels cold to me.
We did, indeed, cross over in to Central Daylight Time. For the purpose of record keeping we kept the car clock and our "body clocks" on Mountain Daylight Time until we arived at the Red Barn RV Park.
When we saw our site I said, "It's only for one night. At least we are close to the bathrooms." Our neighbors have at least one large dog by evidence of the scat left very near where we parked the van. (After we crashed Tom went out and noticed that it had been cleaned up.)
We did "crash." After all that driving Tom was looking a little road weary. It felt good "to be horizontal."
We had dinner soon after we "crashed" and then went out for water and gas. We should soon be finished buying things except for water and gas.
The next things are to get what we need from the internet, especially to check on the geocaches that we want to look for in Minnesota. We will not be spending the night in MN but passing on through to Wisconsin. We want to check to see if the caches have been found lately. We don't want to be looking for something that isn't there any longer as we had done in Montana.
Then to bed, early I hope. "The Man" says there will be more than 6.5 hours driving time tomorrow. And if we get on the road before 8:00am as we did today we could be hitting the work traffic on I-29 before we get to I-90 again and even on I-90. We will be on I-90 all day tomorrow too.
We noticed the difference in the landscape from the Badlands to the eastern border of SD. We were missing the spires and high peaks and now have the rolling mounds. We ave also crossed the Missouri River. However where we crossed the river it was dammed and was a lake.
What surprised us was that we are still over a half mile above sea level. We each expected to be much lower. I was hoping for some warmer weather that the lower altitude would bring us. No such luck. I pulled out another heavier t-shirt for tomorrow. :o(
See you all in Wisconsin tomorrow evening. We are a little over 1100 miles from home. :o)
*When the railroad line survey from Yankton to Sioux Falls ws done, the village of Byron was founded. It was decided the village needed a post office, so an application was submitted. But several other communities were also named Byron, so the postal authorities asked for 10 short names from which one would be chosen. Nine names were chosen, and they could not come up with a tenth. Many residents were German, so the tradition of afternoon tea was important. It was decided to break for tea, then someone suggested adding "Tea" to the list. The postal authorities chose Tea, which was incorporated in 1902. - from the Red Barn RV Park information folder
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)