Western Michigan

After the family reunion on Saturday we left Sunday morning for Holland, Mi.  We have not been along the western part of Michigan and felt this would be a good time to see it.

We are staying in the Dutch Treat Campground between Zeeland and Holland, Mi.  There was a sign at the office to go find a campsite and register with them in the morning, so we entered the campground to find a site.  They must have forgotten to take down the sign as someone on a bike had us drive back to the office to register.  They had been busy dealing with some flooding issues caused by runoff from the property next to the campground.

Friday night this area of Michigan was hit with heavy rains and winds.  One report said that Holland received four inches of rain in one hour.  The after effects could be seen in various areas when we drove around.

On Monday morning we drove into Holland and stopped in the visitor's center to get information about the area and points of interest to see.  The downtown area was very clean and neat with most of the stores occupied with businesses.

The street lamp posts have banners that depict Dutch works of art and there are sculptures at various locations around the town.

We drove out to Lake Mactawa and Holland State Park. 

After spending sometime looking around at Holland State Park, we went to the Dutch Village.

 

Calling this place a tourist trap would be right on.  There is also a second place called Windmill Village which falls into the same category. 

After hearing so much about Holland Michigan, the Tulips and so forth we thought we would see more of Dutch influence in the area.  Holland is a nice enough looking place, but it was a disappointment overall and not worth recommending unless your here for the Tulip Festival in early May.

Family Reunion

On Saturday, June 2oth members of my family got together at my sister's home outside of Fayette, Ohio for a family reunion.  They have a swimming pool and rented a moon bounce, so there were activities to keep the kids busy so the adults could visit.

It was a very warm day so the decision was made to eat inside instead of under the canopies setup in the yard and driveway.  Many of us gathered around the kitchen table to eat and talk.

As with most family reunions, we spent time catching up on what has been going on in our lives since we last saw each other.  We even spent time talking about persons that were not there and shared what information we had about them.

Like most family functions, there was too much food to be eaten, but we did our best.

Off to the Family Reunion

This morning we finished loading the motorhome and left a little after 8 am. It was a very good day for traveling. The sun was not too bright and we did not run into very much rain along the way.

Last year we got an EZ-Pass to use when traveling toll roads. It still feels like we are running thru the toll booths without paying. The Ohio Turnpike is behind the times and is still using the ticket only method. Later this year they are going to install the EZ-Pass equipment. We'll see if that happens.

We stopped for gas at the first service plaza in Ohio. They were having problems with the gas pumps not staying online, so we were unable to fill the gas tank. We decided to go to the planned campground stop for the night and get gas at the next service plaza which is only 15 miles from where we get back on the turnpike.

We are just off of exit 209 at the Ridge Ranch Campground. We have stopped here twice before on our way to Fayette, Ohio. At our age, it is far enough to drive for one day.

They have free wi-fi at the office, but not back in the campground sites. I purchased a Jefa Tech Wi-Fi Repeater and an external antenna after the problem we had at Ocean Waves Campground with Wi-Fi service. I first tried the repeater with the small inside antenna, but was not successful in getting a signal. Next, I setup the external antenna and kept my fingers crossed when I fired up the repeater and the laptop. I went thru the setup steps to survey for wi-fi hotspots and sure enough, there was Ridge Ranch Campground's wi-fi signal. I made the necessary changes to the configuration and we were able to get on the internet from the motorhome.

Sunday Visit

We drove to our son's house in Stafford, Va. Beth's aunt and uncle and two of their grandchildren were also there. Todd cooked burgers on the grill for everyone. Beth made Mac and cheese. Beth's aunt brought potato salad and a veggie tray. We just brought appetites.

After eating we went over to their boat and spent several hours there. Todd replaced a blige pump and the kids had a blast swimmming.

Concrete Gets Hard

This morning the concrete truck showed up, but no crew. About 20 minutes later, the concrete crew arrived and go to work.

It appeared that the concrete work was progressing with the owner doing most of the finishing work. Next came the stamps for the pattern layout. The front poarch and walkway was stamped with the design and a portion of the back walkway was also completed. The concrete in the back is in direct sun and was setting up faster than the crew could work it.

Now they have to breakup the length of walkway that does not have the pattern stamped into it, re-pour with fresh concrete and stamp the pattern in it. We feel bad as this means lost time and money for the contractor.

A River Runs Thru It.....

Last evening the skies opened up and it really poured. We closed the fried chicken stand and came home around 8:30. Boy what a mess we walked into. Rainwater was leaking into the basement under the basement door.

AS Leah wrote, we are having our walkways replaced and where they had dug out formed a riverbed that lead directly to the basement door. We broke out the wet/dry vac and a mop and bucket and did our best to cleanup the wet mess.

A Weekend in Paradise - Stream!

Last Thursday we left Taneytown and headed for the hills of Pennsylvannia. And the hills we went over- wow! The scenery was just beautiful even for a cloudy day. From Gettysburg to Carlisle we went through rolling hills of fruit orchards. From Carlisle to Loysville we traveled over mountains with steep grades and lots of curves. The views were spectacular even if the ride was more thrilling than we really like in a motorhome. But safely we arrived at Paradise Stream Campground in one piece- even after missing the turn into the campground and in our attempt to turn around having to unhook the car from the motorhome.
Thursday remained overcast and gray but the rain held off until later in the night. We were one of 4 units from Traveling Americans camping group that had arrived a day early for the weekend campout. Drew and Marti Moehlau, the fulltimers in the club, were back east after a 2 year stint traveling around the west. It was good to see these friends looking so good.
Friday it rained all day. It was even hard getting Travis outside to do his thing. But there is something to be said for raindrops falling on the roof of an RV, it's almost as good as a tin roof. Paradise Stream campgound is in an area of Amish farms. The surrounding towns are small and offer few options for eating out. There is a small diner in Loysville that we ate lunch on Friday. The place was quite busy and the food not to bad at all. By 5pm most of the camping group had arrived so we assembled in a clubhouse along with another Good Sam group from Frederick to share appetizers. After topping the appetizers off with ice cream from the camp store our bellies were full.
Saturday morning we awoke to a beautiful clear sunny day. The camp hosts provided a continental breakfast and for dinner we had a pot luck meal again with the Frederick club. After dinner our group circled around a campfire for the evening.
Sunday, another gorgeous day, started with a pot luck breakfast. There is always such a variety of foods. Taking our time we broke up camp and headed towards home about noon. Going home we did travel a different route that did not have the curves as the one on Thursday.
Now this week is a busy time for us. The Taneytown Firemen's carnival is going on and Tom is busy helping at lunchtime and we both help in the evenings in the fried chicken stand. The motorhome needed to be serviced in preparation for our trip to the midwest next week so this morning it was taken to the local Ford dealer. Sure hope Ford stays in business, it is so convenient for our local Ford dealer to do service for us. We are having our walkways replaced with stamped concrete and this is the week that is being done. Not to mention that Travis had to go to the groomers today and I have 2 doctors appointments later this week. Have to get things done before going away for several weeks.

Windshield Repaired

This morning I took the motorhome to Frederick, Maryland the have the broken windshield repaired. They took my motorhome right into the shop as soon as I got there. Two hours later, I was on my way home with a new windshield on the passengers side.

From what I gathered, the shop's business is very slow. This means that there are not a lot of broken window problems or people just are not getting them fixed.

Now, I hope that we survive next year's Alaska trip without any windshield damage....

Update on Repairs

To start AT&T replaced my Blackberry Bold Free of charge!!!! Thank you AT&T.

I cleaned the house batteries terminals, sprayed the connectors and the terminals with a protective spray to prevent corrosion, and added distilled water to the batteries. That should take care of the batteries for a while.

The parts came in yesterday to repair the window awning. Leah picked up the parts as well as a Winegard Antenna add-on which is supposed to improve HD TV reception.

Today I installed the new torsion assemblies in the window awning and it is now back in working order. This job was much easier than I thought it would be. When it comes time to do the other side, I'll know what I am getting into.

I installed the Winegard antenna add-on, took me about 10 minutes total. This included setting up the ladder, climbing onto the top of the motorhome and attaching the add-on. Now it remains to be seen if it does in fact work better.

I am still waiting to here from the windshield repair place in Frederick to replace the windshield. I will call on Monday to check on the status of the replacement windshield. I hope to have it replaced by Wednesday of next week.

Angels and Demons

We went to see the new Tom Hanks movie, Angels and Demons, today. WE thought it was very good. It contained a lot of action and plot twists. I know there will be some who will try to make more out of the movie than it is. Remember it is just a movie to entertain you not a documentary to educate you. Go see it.

Next, I want to see the new Star Trek movie and Leah wants to see Night at the Museum. Our plan is to go to a megaplex theater showing both films at a time when the two movies are playing during the same time. Leah will go see her movie and I mine.

Memorial Day Weekend

We spent Memorial Day Weekend in Frederick, Md at the Maryland State Samboree along with 6 other units from our local chapter. The rally started off verry bad for us.

When setting up the motorhome, I did not lower the front leveling jack on the passenger's side which caused the frame to twist when I raised the backend of the motorhome. In the process the windshield on the passenger's side cracked. The drivers side windshield popped out of the gasket by 1/4 inch. but went back into place when I raised the leveling jacks to prepare to come home today. I called the insurance company to get the wheels into motion to raplace the broken windshield. I hope that we can get the replacement installed sometime this week.

Also, somehow, someway, I broke the LCD display on my Blackberry. Now when you look at the display it looks like a tie died shirt. I located a place on the internet, where else, that sells replacement LCD displays for the Blackberry. Until I get the new display, I am limited to incoming calls only on my Blackberry.

Despite all of my mishaps, we still had a very nice weekend with our friends.

Left Turn Signal and other items to be Fixed

After we got back home, I had several item on the motorhome to repair and adjust.

The first problem was the cover over our slideout was moving forward on the roller. I had to figure out a way to unwind the cover so I could slide the cover back in place. I was able to do this using a box wrench and some nylon rope. I next put some screws in the railing on the side of the motorhome to keep the slideout cover from moving.

I had to order some replacement springs for one of our window awnings. While setting up the motorhome at Holiday Park, Leah told me she could not get the awning all the way down to hook the holding strap. I told her I would look at it. To make a long story short, I pulled on the awning and heard a big noise and the awning came all the way down and would not go back up. I used some wire ties to hold the awning in the rolled up position until I can get the replacement springs.

When we got ready to head home from Waves, NC the left tail light on the toad was still not working. I thought I knew what the problem was as we had had a problem with the right tail light last year and that was the Remco light diodes were blown. Sure enough when I checked the diode case was cracked. I went to an RV repair and parts to purchase a replacement diode. They had some heavy duty diodes for $7.00 each so I decided to replace all four diodes on the toad. After making the diode swaps I tested the lights and found out I still did not have a left turn signal light on the toad. I broke out my Volt Ohm Meter and tested the trailer connection on the motorhome and found no power to the connector pin for the left turn signal. I took the connector apart hoping that I would find a loose connection, but everything was in place and tight. Now what? I started to trace the wiring back to the front of the motorhome and found a connector when the wiring colors going to the front was a different set of colors.

My next step, after spending several hours, was to post my problem on several RV forums sites. Earlier today I got a reply on one of the sites that told me there was a separate set of fuses for the trailer tow wiring harnes located up front to the left of the steering wheel. I located the fuse for the trailer left tail light, pulled the fuse and it was blown. I replaced the fuse and tested the lights. We have a left turn signal again.

Now I have to check out the house batteries.

Outer Banks of North Carolina

On Sunday the 3rd of May we left Greensboro, Md. and headed for the Outer Banks of North Carolina by way of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel to Virginia and then onto Waves, North Carolina. It was about an 8 hour trip, 300 miles, with stops. We had reservations at Ocean Waves Campground, a small well-maintained campground on the ocean. After the weekend of cool damp weather the warm sunshine made us get out the shorts and t-shirts for the week. The campground had free Wi-Fi but where we were located it was hit or miss with service so this posting was not able to be done until we got home.
On our trip down we discovered that we were infected with ticks, obviously from the campground in Greensboro. The bites caused me to have severe itching for much of the week. Tom's bites were not as problematic although we were concerned.
Our week was spent in a relaxing way. We did a walk on the beach everyday, had to keep up my cardio exercises. To go grocery shopping we had to go 13 miles south to Avon. Of course we ate out several times and had to go to Avon or north 20 miles or so to the Nags Head area.
One thing we found a little baffling was the inflexibility of the restaurants with their meal offerings. We had eaten a nice Salmon dinner at noontime at the motorhome and later that evening we went to a restaurant for supper. When we ordered a soup and a salad the waitress told us that was available only at lunchtime. When we said that we would go elsewhere the waitress did say that she would get the soup and salad as we requested. A family was there at this time with a teenage son that wanted a hamburger but it was not available except at lunchtime.
On Sunday, Mother's Day, we went to another really nice restaurant for dinner in the afternoon. I was surprised that there was a specfic lunch menu for the day that included sandwiches and a few full meals. I guess we have been spoiled by restaurants in this area offering a full menu for much of the day.
The Hatteras lighthouse is located about 30 miles south of Waves. We had not been to the relocated lighthouse so we went down and climbed the steps to the top, another workout! The museum had a video that ran for about an hour describing the relocation process.
All in all, we had a very nice relaxing warm week at the beach. When we arrived back home on Monday we were pulling out our long pants and sweatshirts- what a difference 300 miles makes. On Tuesday, Tom and I went to the doctor to have our tick bites checked out. So far nothing to b e alarmed about. It's interesting that Travis is able to be protected from Lime disease better than we are.

Left Turn Signal Problem

We had to stop at the dump station on our way out of Holiday Park to empty our holding tanks. While there, some of our friends stopped and told us our left tail light was not working on our toad. I sprayed the toad light connectors with electrical contact cleaner and tested everything again, still no left tail light signal. Well, we still had to go to Waves, NC light or no light.

Holiday Park - Greensboro, MD

Our Good Sam Club, The Traveling Americans, held our regular monthly campout.  We co-hosted the weekend along with Bruce and Cricket McGinnes.  Despite some iffy weather, we had a nice weekend.

The campground was very overpriced for what it had to offer.  We don't know about the others, but we decided that we were not going to come back here again.  The discounted price was $45.00 per night and you had to pay cash to receive any discounts.  For that amount of money, you would expect to have sewer hookup or at least free pump out service.  The campground just mowed and chopped up the leaves last fall.  Along with the rain, we were tracking in wet leafs all weekend. 

On Friday evening 16 of us went to Snappy's in Denton Md for dinner.  Leah and I went in to Denton during the day and checked Snappy's out.  We both had a crab melt which were very good.   We reported to the group that it was a good place to eat.   So, sixteen of us drove into  Denton and had a very good dinner.

On Saturday morning, the host provided breakfast for the group.  At 4:00 we have happy hour, since out weekend theme was Cinco De Mayo we had Mexican munchies and served Margaritas.   Saturday evening the campground had a pizza buffet.  The pizzas were purchased from Pizza Hut.  The pizzas were cold despite the efforts made to keep them warm.  When we went into the hall where we were going to eat, car car was parked outside a door with the engine running and its heater going  full blast.  I guess if they had not done this, the pizzas would have been even colder.  The up side was there was plenty of pizza for everyone.

Sunday morning we had a potluck breakfast of Mexican dishes.  I wish to report they all were good.  After breakfast we cleaned up, packed up, said our good-byes and headed for home or other destinations

Water Leak

When we went camping with our Goodsam camping club on the first weekend of April everything was going along fine until I hooked up the water hose and turned it on. Leah called out to me and said we had water running every where. It was coming from under the refrigerator. The only water going to that area was to the icemaker. We shut off the valve to the icemaker water supply and turned the water to the motorhome back on. This time no leak, so we had water to cook and clean with.

Yesterday I looked into where in the icemaker supply line the leak might be. Well it didn't take long to find it. The solenoid valve's body which turns the water on and off to the icemaker was cracked, so when water pressure was applied, water was flowing into the back of the refrigerator and into the motorhome.

I removed the valve and am now in the process of trying to get a replacement.

The Week in Review

Will this has been a week of ups and downs, but that's the way life goes.

Things are going well with selling Mom's house. It looks like we are on schedule for closing at the end of April. We have been taking items that none of the family members wanted to a local auction to dispose of them. We wanted to take a second batch of items to the auction, but found out that they were not having a sale the following week and not taking any items. Since we had such a good response selling Mom's car on Craigs list, we decided to list several items to see if we could sell them. Within several hours of listing the items we began to get phone calls and emails. We were able to sell everything we listed plus a couple of items that weren't listed but people saw when they came to pickup the items they were interested in. So if you have a few items you would like to sell, and by the way craigs list is free, we highly recommend using Craigs list.

We also learned a good friend of ours was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease two weeks ago. That was really shocking news to us. We will be praying for him and his family.

Several of our friends had surgery this week and so did Tom. We are happy to say that all are doing fine.

The weather is getting warmer and soon the grass will need to be mowed. Mowing grass is still better than pushing snow around any day.

Has spring sprung??

What a beautiful day it is at 70 plus degrees warm and bright sunshine. It's hard to think that just this past Monday we were having a significant snow fall. The one good thing about a snowfall in March is that it usually does not lay on the ground for long.
The past several months have certainly been a memorable period in our lives. It will be 10 weeks this coming Tuesday since I had my open-heart surgery to repair my mitrial valve. I feel that I'm doing very well. I have been going to cardiac rehab three days a week for about a month and will continue for a total of 36 visits. It is a well run program that puts one through the paces. Once I have completed my time there I plan to continue a similar exercise regime on my own at the local senior center. On the off days from cardiac rehab I have resumed walking the 2 mile circuit with Tom and Travis.
My brother and I have been busy with the settlement of Mom's estate. Her house has been turned over to a realtor to get it sold. We have taken a great deal of her household goods to a auction house to be sold. And some things we have distributed among the family.
We're beginning to make plans to get back on the road again. Our first outing will be a weekend Travelling American's campout the first weekend of April. If all goes well we will be out in the Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana area this summer. Michigan is a wonderful summer area, the areas around the lakes are just beautiful and temperatures are in our comfort zone.
Of course, we plan to be home for the arrival of our new grandchild in August which we are real excited about. After 10 years it will be great having a new family member.

Income Tax Day

Well, today was the day we all dread, preparing the annual income tax. I must say I was approaching the Federal return with alot of uneasiness. This past year I started collecting social security payments. For whatever reason I did not file a form to have any federal taxes withheld so I was almost certain that I was going to have a big bite taken out of us. I was right, we owe a nice little chunk of change to Uncle Sam. It doesn't seem right to have to pay taxes on a fixed retirement income, but what can we do, you know that whole death and taxes thing.

Well anyway when TurboTax and I finished preparing the necessary form and doing the efiling thing, I selected Friday, march 13th, 2009 as the day to make the payments to the IRS and the state of Maryland.

I just hope that all of the government agencies that are hungry for money don't nickle and dime us into the poor house over the next several years. The problem is that we have the Federal governemnt, state government, county government, city government as well as the business community all trying to get their hands just a little bit deeper into our pockets.

42nd Wedding Anniversary

Today is our 42nd wedding anniversary and we started our big day by taking Leah to her cardiac surgeon for a checkup. She received the same good news and she did from her other doctors. She was released so will not have to go back for any more follow up visits.

After the doctor's visit we looked for 2 Maryland Municipal League Geocaches that are located in the city. We had a good day and was able to find them both. The MML has set up a geocache trail that covers the entire state of Maryland. The state is divided into eleven districts and you must find two caches in each district. For more information go to the Maryland Municipal League Website.

We stopped and had a soup and salad lunch at Bertucci's knowing we were going out for dinner. For our anniversary dinner we went to Mealey's Restaurant in New Market, Md. We didn't know it, but on Wednesdays they have a seafood buffet with prime rib. What a nice surprise and what a nice meal we had.

Our son, actually our daughter-in-law, sent us an Edible Arrangement for our anniversary.

Good Doctor's Report

Today it has been three weeks since Leah's mitral valve repair. She went to her cardiologist for a check up and got a good report. Everything is healing nicely and her heart murmur is gone.

Leah is to be contacted by the cardiac rehab facility so she can continue her recovery back to doing normal daily activities.

Leah, like our son, Todd, can not wait to get back to driving as she has to have me drive her everywhere now. We hope that on February the 4th she can resume driving on at least a limited basis.

Mom's Funeral

We had mom's funeral to day. The services were held at our church and because it was so cold and windy, the section of the service normally performed at the grave site was also performed in the church. Mom never like to be the center of attention, but today she had no say in the matter.

After the service we invited everyone to join us is the parrish hall for a lunch and fellowship time.

The one nice thing about a funeral is getting to see family and friends that you have not seen in awhile. As we always say, "it's good to see you, but not under these conditions." We always promise to get together sometime other than a funeral, but for the most part we all know we won't.

Leah's Mother Died

Today we received a call from our minister informing us that mom was not doing very well. She has been in the hospital for the last nine days and he felt her condition was worsening.

We called Leah's doctor to see if it was alright for her to go to the hospital to visit her mother. The doctor said it was fine to do so. As soon as we go that word, we got ready and went to Carroll Hospital Center.

When we arrived, we found mom to be in very very poor condition. Our minister, Leah and I spent all afternoon with mom before going home. We left the hospital with the feeling that mom would not make it through the night. At 6:15 pm we received a call from the hospital that mom had died. Leah and I went back to the hospital and waited to meet her brother in the lobby. After he arrived we all went to her room and paid our last respects.

Mom was 91 years old. We will lay her to rest on Friday 1/16/09.

Good Day Today

When I left Leah at the hospital last night, we were fairly certain she would be allowed to come home today. On my way to Baltimore, I got a phone call from Leah letting me know that she was going to be discharged today, but she could not get dressed until I arrived.

After being messed around for several hours, Leah was released to come home. Because of the type of surgery she had, she had to ride in the back seat in case I had an accident and the airbags deployed.

The first thing Leah asked for was a soft boiled egg and toast. She said it was the best food she had eaten all week. As good as the hospital is, the food there sucked. I hope that the hospital will improve this area in the future, but my guess is they will not.

It sure is good to have Leah home again.

Happy 2009

We wish a happy and healthy 2009 to everyone that reads this blog.

I am really looking forward to putting 2008 behind me. This past two months has not been kind to my family health wise. It has been tough to see the two people you love most in this world laying in a hospital bed, intubated and with all sorts of IV lines and monitor leads attached to them. The good thing is our son is well on his way back to normal and Leah is on the mend. It will take about three months for her to heal from surgery, but it will be over before we know it.

Leah's mother appears to be getting along at the rehab facility recovering from a broken hip, but a 91 there is only so far she can come back to normal. We still don't know what is going to happen with her for the long term, but we can not worry about that right now as Leah is our first priority.

Once again, everyone have a great 2009.

Glad to see 2008 end

Boy oh boy, are we ever to see 2008 end. Our son, Todd, had his cardiac problem in November. Leah's mother fell and broke her hip on 11/22/08 and Leah had open heart surgery on 12/30/08. And before I forget, I got another year older on 12/29/08.

Todd seems to be doing just fine and can not wait to get back to full time work and driving. Mom had her hip repaired on 11/24/08 and is now in rehab at a local nursing home.

Leah's surgery went well and she is coming along well. She was moved from cardiac icu to a step-down unit. We are hoping she will be allowed to come home this weekend. It looks like she has about 3 months of recuperation time ahead.

So far, knock wood, I am still going strong.

We hope everyone has a good 2009!

Christmas Day

Well, today is Christmas day. With all that has been going on in the past several months, it has been hard to get into the Christmas Spirit. We have done all of the normal things like decorate, put up a tree, purchase presents, go to Christmas parties and go to Christmas Eve services.

Last Friday Leah's mother was moved into an assisted living facility. On Sunday we went to Leah's brother's house for a family Christmas party. Leah and I took mom along with us and returned her back Sunday evening.

Monday morning Leah got a phone call that her mother had fallen during the night and injured herself. Her mother told them at the assisted living facility that she didn't want to go to the hospital. By early morning her leg was hurting her to the point where she thought that she should go the the hospital and have things checked out. At this point we received a phone call telling us what happened and that mom was going to be taken to the hospital.

In the emergency room it was determined that mom had a broken hip and would need surgery to repair it. Surgery was scheduled for 8:30 am on 12/24/08. We got to see mom at about 3:00 pm and she looked as good as a 91 year old woman can look after surgery. There will be a rehab period after mom gets out of the hospital. We are hoping that we can get her in at Lorian which is here in town.

Leah's surgery day of December 30th is getting closer and closer. Leah has a leaking mitral valve and must have it repaired or replaced. We hope that thing goes well with her surgery.

Oh, and did I mention that Tom's birthday is on Monday.

Missed Maddy's Birthday

Today we were planning to go to our son's house and help celebrate our granddaughter's 9th birthday. But this was not to be, we both were sick. I started feeling bad on Friday with sore muscles, a headache and everything going in to top was coming out the bottom.

When I got up Saturday morning, I thought I was feeling beter, but as the day went on, I felt worse. During the night after making one of my several trips to the bathroom, Leah told me her stomach was starting to bother her.

Sunday morning found us both too ill to make a trip to a store and back let alone a 2 hour trip to Va.

Not only were we ill physically, we were broken hearted that we would not be spending the day with Maddy on her Birthday. We hope the next weekend goes much better as we have several Christmas parties to attend and host.

Busy Month

Boy has the past several weeks been busy. Between getting ready for Christmas and hospital visits, the weeks have been full.

Just to bring everyone up to date: Todd has been back to the hospital twice. Once for a wire that dislodged in his heart from the defibrillator/pacemaker and second for an infection in his incision. This latest incident was on Sunday 12/7/08. He is back home again and we hope this time that he does not have to go back except for normal check-ups.

Leah had a cardiac cath several weeks ago and was told she had to have her mitral valve repaired. We had to make several trips to Baltimore to meet with the surgeon and to have a prior to surgery work up. Her surgery is scheduled for 12/30/08.

We had to take Leah's mother to the hospital this morning as she was not feeling well. They admitted her and are going to give her a blood transfusion tonight. She should be home by Saturday.

I have been driving a school bus everyday because of the regular driver having a baby and the substitute drive having a fall and being injured. I don't mind driving now and again, but this driving everyday is like working a full time job again.

Sunday the 14Th is our granddaughter's 9Th birthday. We are looking forward to going down to Virginia and having a small party for her.

Things are Moving Fast

Everything is moving very fast for Leah.  Today the doctor's office called to make appointments for tomorrow for some test to be conducted for the upcoming heart valve repair.  We both are hoping that everything will go well and we can get on with our lives. 

We were already planning to go out to eat for Thanksgiving.  This latest development has proven this to be a wise decision.

You Gotta Have Heart. . .

Wednesday morning we received a call from our daughter-in-law, Beth that Todd was on his way back to the hospital with chest pains. She was on her way back home from work when she called. She said she would call us from the hospital in Richmond and give us an update.

Later in the day, Beth, called and told us they felt that the wire from Todd's defibrillator/pacemaker came loose inside of his heart and was causing his discomfort. Thursday afternoon he was in surgery to repair the wire placement. He came thru the surgery with flying colors. On Friday he was released to come go home again.

While all of Todd's cardiac problems were going on, Leah was awaiting cardiac testing herself. On Monday I drove her to University of Maryland in Baltimore to have a cardiac cath. The results were mixed. Her arteries are in fine shape, but she has a mitral valve that needs repaired. She is going to wait until after the holidays before having anything done.

The Value of CPR - Priceless

Tuesday, November 4, 2008 was a terrible day for us. About 11:30 am we received a phone call from our daughter-in-law, Beth, that our son, Todd, was being taken by ambulance to the hospital. He was in the shower getting ready to go to work when he just fell over. At first, Beth, thought Todd was just playing around, but he did not respond. As luck would have it, when Todd fell, he blocked the door shut. Beth's son, Anthony was home because of election day. He heard Todd fall and came to investigate. Beth had him call 9-1-1 and they managed to get the door open just enough to get the phone into Beth.

The dispatcher gave Beth CPR instructions over the phone which Beth did until the paramedics arrived to take over Todd's care. He was in V-fib cardiac arrest. They shocked him, continued CPR and transported him to Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Va.

Leah and I arrived around 2:30 PM and were surrounded by Todd's friends from the emergency medical flight service where he works. We were shown to a smaller room of the main emergency waiting room. An emergency room doctor came in and told us that Todd was stable and was being taken to the ICU. Soon after a Cardiologist came in and informed us that they did not feel that Todd had suffered any heart damage, but they were going to be running additional test the following day.

After we moved up to the ICU waiting room, Beth said that she had a feeling that Todd did not want to be in that hospital. Todd's friend, Dave, got on the phone to their Medical Director at VCU Medical Center. VCUMC put the wheels in motion to make the transfer happen on their end. We had to push on our end to make the transfer happen. One doctor wanted to wait another day until he felt that Todd was more stable to be flown to Richmond, Va. We insisted that Todd be transferred now. VCUMC is a hospital that has a protocol for using hypothermia treatment on patients such as Todd and it was necessary that that treatment be started within 6 hours. Todd's vital signs were stable and VCUMC is a familiar, comfortable environment for Todd. And since the weather was not very good the helicopter was not flying so he would be transported by ambulance.

The flight crew wanted to take care of Todd during the ground transport. A protocol for initiating the hypothermia treatment was available for this crew to use prior to hospitalization. So it was arranged for the flight crew to be in the transporting ambulance as his care providers. Another of Todd's friends came to the hospital to also assist during the transport. All went smooth with the transfer to VCUMC.

Beth's mother, Rose, drove down from New York state to look after things at Todd and Beth's house. We left Anthony with Rose and drove Beth to VCUMC. When we got to see Todd, the hypothermia therapy was in place. Prior to hospitalization the cooling was started with chilled IV fluids and ice packs. After hospitalization a cather was inserted into a vein in which cool saline flowed through an enclosed circuit cooling the blood but not mixing with the blood. They cooled his body down to 92 degrees and kept him at that tempature for 24 hours and then rewarmed him over the next 12 hour period. This was to protect his brain from swelling to minimize any possible damage.

It was a very scarry sight to see our 39 year old son with all sorts of IV lines, tubes and wires connected to him. We knew he was in good hands and was getting the best of care and felt that he was going to be okay.

Leah and I left Beth at the hospital and went home to catch a few hours rest and return back with our motorhome so we could stay closer to the hospital. We were able to find a campground about 15 miles from the hospital.

Wednesday was a day when everything was in place, the therapy was in process and all of the monitoring to go along with it. Todd was in a drug induced coma. So we were in a holding pattern. Another friend of Todd's took Beth home Wednesday evening so she could try to get some rest. She stayed as close to Todd as she could until then.

Thursday was a great day for us, they were bringing Todd out of his drug induced coma and he was able to communicate with us. His first question was what happened to him and what hospital was he in. When we all left at the end of the day we were feeling very good as all of Todd's reports were comming back very good.

Friday when we came back to visit, Todd told us that he "woke up" around 1:00 am to find himself in the ICU. He did not remember us being there before Friday morning. After removing all of the IV lines, tubes and wires, the doctors felt Todd could be moved from the ICU to a step down unit later in the day.

More test were performed on Todd, but they could not find anything wrong with his heart nor anything that caused the sudden arrest. As a safegard, Todd had a pacemaker-defibulator installed and was allow to go home on Wednesday 11/12/08.

The doctors said Todd can resume a normal life and in fact is better protected with an implanted ICD than most of us. We hope and pray that he is.

So, if you don't know CPR, please learn. Who knows you might need to use it someday to save a life.

The rehab is finished

Well, we now have a different looking motorhome sitting in our driveway. Last Thursday we left Maryland via our car and headed to Indiana. After a night in a motel room, Travis' first time, we arrived in Elkhart, Indiana on Friday to get the motorhome from Bradd and Hall's. We were really pleased with the exterior paint job that had been done by Mike's Custom Painting and the interior flooring that Bradd and Hall had just completed that morning. It looked and felt like a new coach. But we were not finished we had to go to Irv Kauffman/ Gene Miller's in Nappanee, Indiana to have the window treatments and headboard installed. So Friday afternoon as planned Irv and Gene installed their part of the rehab in the motorhome. What a difference in appearence did the changing of the window treatments from cloth treatments to wood make. Irv and Gene had also taken the table top and refinished it as it had become yellowed and suffered a few knicks. It now looks better than it ever did- the leaf never did match the rest of the table before but now it matches very well.

Painted Motorhome

After leaving Kauffman's we went to "Camp Newmar" for the night. It was then that we were able to add our touches to the rehab. New braided rugs were placed on the floors and the completed quilt was put on the bed. Needless to say we are very pleased with the end product. It was not an inexpensive venture but it was a whole lot less than buying a new unit. We have been comfortable in this motorhome and have not seen anything else that we just felt we really had to have.
Saturday morning we left Nappanee and headed east. We stopped at a Farmers's Market on Route 19 before getting to Elkhart. This is a nice market with vendors of all kinds plus a food court area. We spent a little time and money here before moving on. Our next stop was the RV Museum and Hall of Fame in Elkhart. This is a must-see museum for RVers. Brings back menories seeing those pop-up and other trailers on display.
Saturday night we spent at Harrison Lake, Ohio visiting with Tom's family. On Sunday we traveled on easterly and stopped in Pennsylvannia for the night before arriving home today.

The Rehabbing Continues

The painting of the exterior has been completed. Pictures of the motothome were sent to us from Mike's Custom Painting and we are real pleased with what we see at this point. On Thursday Josh from Bradd and Hall picked up the motorhome from Mike's in Bremen, In. and took it to their facility in Elkhart,In. Tom talked with Josh on Friday. Josh said the motorhome outside looked like a new coach. Bradd and Hall will be installing new flooring which will take about a week. Our plans now are that on Thursday we will be heading to Indiana. We are anxious to see the finished product.

A week in Biloxi

On Saturday Morning, October 4, 2008, eighteen persons started heading towards Biloxi, Ms. Six members of our group were flying into New Orleans, La and spending Saturday night than driving to Biloxi on Sunday. Four members flew into Gulfport/Biloxi, Ms and the remainder were driving from Maryland to Mississippi.

Tom was in the second group that flew into Gulfport/Biloxi, Ms. he decided to do this because we have been to New Orleans three times. AirTran was used and all of the flights were trouble free.

Our group of four was picked up at the airport by the car rental agency. After signing for the rental vehicle, we drove along Beach Blvd which runs right along the gulf coast. As we were heading for Biloxi and the Back Bay Mission everything looked it had when Leah and I spent a week in Biloxi the winter prior to Katrina hitting the area in August of 2005.

My first impression was everything was back to normal before Katrina. However as I looked around in more detail, I started to notice the aftermath that is still present in the area. Most of the rubble has been cleared away, but the scars remain. Many of the vacant lots have concrete pads where once stately beach front houses stood. Lots of old oak trees have been damaged and many more were uprooted and gone forever.

If you click on the picture, you will be taken to a photo album that will show you Biloxi, the people in our group and the homes we worked on during our week there.

Back Bay Mission Trip

If you have ever considered doing this type of volunteer work, I believe you will never do anything that will give you more satisfaction. It has been three years since Katrina and the amount of aid and volunteer workers has tapered off, but much work still remains to be done.

I and many others in the group will return to Biloxi to continue getting families back into their homes.

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Continuing the rehab process

Tom has been in Mississippi this week with a group of 18 people from our church and community working on the Back Bay Mission project. This project works on rebuilding homes damaged by Katrina 3 years ago. This morning I placed a call to Mike's Custom Painting to see where our motorhome was in the painting phase of the rehab project. I was told that by next Thursday it would be ready to be picked up by the Bradd and Hall folks for their work. I then placed a call to Josh at Bradd and Hall to let him know of the release date. Josh will go to Mike's and drive the motorhome to their facility for the floor work. Josh said he would contact Mike's the middle of next week.
Needless to say we are really excited about this process. Emily at Mike's says the motorhome is looking real good. I have gotten braided rugs for the floors and I'm working diligently on a quilt for the bed

The Rehab Adventure Begins

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
After much mulling over and planning we made up our minds that we would rehab our motorhome as oppose to trading for something newer. We like our motorhome- it is home away from home for us. Although it only has one slide we have been comfortable for the past 9 years traveling and living in it. And it is paid for!!!

We did a lot of planning and this past week started to carry out the plans. Last Thursday, the 25th of September we left home and headed toward Nappanee, Indiana in our motorhome. Thursday night was spent at a campground in Eastern Ohio and Friday we arrived at "Camp Newmar" in Nappanee, Indiana. "Camp Newmar" is the camping area that Newmar Coorporation has for units having servicing. We were scheduled for Monday to have the exterior clearence lights replaced, the awning material over the slide-out replaced, the slide-out seal replaced and a new front window drape/curtain.

On Saturday Irv Kaufman and Gene Miller came to our unit to measure the windows for wood trim window treatments and the headboard on the bed for a wood replacement of that. All the window treatments and headboard are fabric, not something that can be cleaned well and after 9 years have become discolored. When Irv and Gene left they took the table top with them (it needed to be refinished as it had become discolored) and the headboard of the bed had been removed and discarded.

Monday morning, bright and early-6:30am- our motorhome was taken into a shop area for the repair work to be done. We went to get some breakfast and then went to Bremen, In. to see the Mike's Custom Painting. Prior to going out to Indiana we had made contact with all the vendors that would be doing work on the motorhome and had arranged a tenative schedule with them. Emily, at Mike's, said she would have some colors mixed up for us to look at later on Monday or on Tuesday. We had chosen the design from the website and we had some idea of the colors.

After Mike's we went to Elkhart to Bradd and Hall's, the business that is going to be replacing the flooring. We had been sent some samples of laminates and carpeting which we had already chosen but needed to return the samples back.

By 1:30pm our motorhome was returned to us with the work completed. We decided at this point that we would stay the night at Camp Newmar. On Tuesday morning we took the motorhome to Mike's Custom Painting (Mike's open at 6am) . After selecting our colors, we left the motorhome and we're on the road to home before 8am. We were home by 6:30pm. It was a long day of traveling. Travis was the best little dog throughout the whole trip.

The plans are that the painting will be done in 2-3 weeks. Bradd and Hall will pick up the motorhome and do their work, which will take about a week. We will then return to Indiana, pick up the motorhome and go to Kaufman/Miller's for the installation of the window treatments and bed headboard which should complete most of the rehab work. We will finish with a new bed covering and rugs for the bedroom and the frontroom. Needless to say we are extremely excited about getting this rehab done.

We will have before and after pictures posted for all to see.

Mom's Birthday

Today Leah's mother turns 91. She still live at home, but requires a lot of help from us when we are home. About a month ago, she decided she was going to stop driving as she no longer felt comfortable doing it.

We put the car in her front yard with a for sale sign on it. When we returned home, Tom listed the car on Craig's List. Within an hour of the posting we received three calls on the car, this was Saturday morning. Sunday afternoon a guy came aroound to look at the car, took a test drive and made an offer, which was accepted by us.

On Monday we had the car state inspected and on Tuesday evening the new owner drove away with the the car. Now, someone has to do the food shopping and take mom to all of her appointments.

Duramed Futures Tour

Last week the Duramed Futures Tour made it's stop at the Links at Gettysburg. The Duramed Futures Tour is for lady golfers trying to make the LPGA Tour.

Last year Tom worked as a volunteer for the Pro-Am days as well as the first two days of the tournament. He did the same again this year and we also hosted two of the players. Lili Alvarez from Durango, Mexico and Alissa Kuczka from Phoenix, Az.

We enjoyed having the ladies around for the week, learning about their backgrounds and what they have to go through on the tour. The lifestyle, being on the road for six months out of the year, finding sponsors and funding to stay on tour, and many times not knowing where and with whom you will be staying each week does not hold a lot of glamour. But they are following their dreams of playing in the LPGA.

We were really pulling for the ladies, but they did not make the 36 hole cut. How sad for them and to a degree for us. It is amazing to see how they cope with not making the cut and support their friends that do.

Alissa and Lili if you read this, best of luck to you both and we can not wait to see you both on the LPGA tour.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Well our trip came to an end today as we traveled up I-81 through the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, then through a small part of West Virginia to Maryland. Again the traffic was heavy with truck traffic but did move at a good pace. We stopped at a Ryan's restaurant for lunch in Martinsburg, W.Va and the arrived home about at 2p.m. We traveled 3861 miles these past 6 weeks without any major problems. It was a nice trip- now where do we go next?

Sunday, August 3, 2008

I forgot to mention before, that as we traveled down through Kentucky to Tennessee on Friday we went back into Central time from Eastern time. It just seemed strange to return to Central time since we had changed time zones in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan and we felt we were moving in a southeastern direction. So after 2 days we returned today to Eastern time as we traveled from Crossville, Tennessee to just south of Roanoke, Virginia. The traffic, especially truck traffic, was heavy on I-40 and I-81. We stopped after a little more than 300 miles at Dixie Caverns Campground. This campground could use some cosmetic work although we do have full hook-ups including 50 amp electric, cable TV and WiFi. Tomorrow we plan to be home, with about 270 more miles of travel. Gas prices were close to $4.00 when we started our trip, hit a high of $4.25 and now we are seeing prices as low as $3.55.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Yesterday, August 1, was my bithday. I told Tom the night before that I was not cooking on my birthday and he said "okay". After checking the "Exit Authority" Tom said that we would get up and go about 12 miles down the road and stop at a Cracker Barrel. So we did and I had a wonderful French toast breakfast, not my normal oatmeal breakfast. We drove down I-75 and then picked up Rte. 127 from Danville. It was scenic, hilly and curvy and could have used more guard-railing in some places for my comfort. Along the way there were flea markets set up. We were told later that these fleas markets will be increasing for the next several weeks until the markets will stretch for hundreds of miles through 3 states on route 127.
We checked into Spring Lake Campground in Crossville, Tennessee. And then we finished the day by going to La Costa Restarant for dinner.

This morning after walking around the campground's lake with Travis we set out on a drive in this area. There are many RVers that have settled in this area and we were curious. We stopped and went through an open house of a house situated on a lake- very nice property but the house was much larger than we thought. There is an entire community of homes with RV garages in Crossville. We drove through that area. The community is very attractive and well maintained.
We had contacted a friend, Lois Howard, that lives in the area and arranged to meet. We drove to Lois' home that is being built and then we went to Cooksville for lunch at a Cheddars restaurant. We had a very enjoyable time catching up.

It has been quite warm and humid so the air conditioning is going full blast. Well tomorrow we'll be moving closer to home as we head out I-40 to I-81 up through Virginia.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

We decided to go southeast instead of directly east so we traveled down I-75 through Ohio and have stopped for the night at Walton, Kentucky about 20 miles south of the Ohio/Kentucky line. We would have stopped in Ohio but the campgrounds in the Dayton area are scarce. It is apparent that we are back in the heat of summer- we sure enjoyed the cooler temperatures around the Great Lake area.

Oak Creek Campground is where we are parked tonight. This is a Good Sam park with fairly high ratings(8.5-8-8.5 out of a possible 10-10-10) but the rater must have received a pay-off. We are parked in an area to the front of the campground with others that are here for the night and this area doesn't look too bad. But walking back into the area of seasonal RVers is another story. We were expecting to hear the banjo from "Deliverance" at any moment. Almost all the RVs have obviously "seasoned" here for years. One 5th wheel was observed with 2 window air conditioners and, would you believe, a chimney through the roof, we believe for their living room fireplace.

There are others with porches built on and now are bulging with "stuff".



The vehicles, mainly pick-up trucks, that past by our area have fenders or hoods of a non matching color. We do have 50 amp electric, free WiFi, cable TV but no sewer. The roads are paved but narrow making passing another vehicle difficult. Oh well, lock the doors and move on tomorrow toward Tennessee.

Wednesday, July 30,2008

As we went to bed last night we anticipated that we would be awakened during the night with a thunderstorm that was supposedly headed our direction but it did not come to pass. We got underway before 9 am and headed southeast to Frankenmuth, the Bavarian area of our country. We are staying in a Jellystone Park, that is very expensive- a little more than $50.00 and that includes a Good Sam discount. The site we were assigned had sewer on one side of the coach and water and electric on the other side. After Tom complained we were reassigned to another site that they called a "premium" site- it was at the end of a row, big deal! But the hook-ups were all on one side.
After setting up Tom and I went to Bronner's Christmas Store and bought a few more ornaments, like we needed anymore.

We then went downtown and walked around to the various stores. We ended the day with a Bavarian meal at the Bavarian Inn.


Tomorrow we plan to move on from here, still debating if we will go immediately east or drop down into Tennessee before heading east.

Tuesday, July 29,2008

Today, after Tom fixed a leak in a connector of our hot water heater we headed to Petoskey State Park located on Little Traverse Bay not too far from the campground. The Micigan state stone, Petoskey Stone, is frequently found along the shores at this park. The Petoskey Stone is a 350 million year old fossil referred to as a colonial coral. We took a hike up a rather high hill, much of the walk was up flights of steps, where at one area we were able to see Lake Michigan through the trees. The downhill descent did not involve stairs.

From there we walked back to the campground area which we were not allowed to drive back to unless we were camping there.

we did drive to the beach area but because Travis was with us and dogs were not allowed on the beach we took turns walking down to the water looking for Petoskey Stones. We may have found one.

Our plans were to eat a picnic lunch in the park but the bugs were pretty pesky so we left the park and went to Harbor Springs Marina area that has a nice park with picnic tables and few bugs. As we ate lunch we were entertained with the activities on the water- putting boats in and taking boats out of the water, kayakers, and sea planes landing and taking off. It was a very relaxing time. Tomorrow we move on from this area.

Petoskey, Michigan

Yesterday, Sunday, we left Kinross and traveled about 70 miles south to Petoskey, a city along Lake Michigan. At the FMCA Rally in St. Paul we were told about a new RV resort in Petoskey and offered a 3 night free camping. Oh yes, there were strings attached but nothing that was uncomfortable. This resort will be an ownership resort- all sites are being sold.

We met with a saleslady for about an hour as she gave us a tour of the facilities and told that if we wanted to talk any further to just contact her, end of presentation. This is a beautiful resort in a beautiful area. Compared to the resort we stayed at in Woodruff, Wisconsin this place is a much better bang for the buck than that place. The parking pads are concreted or bricked and level with well landscaped yards and common areas. Upon registration we were given a giftbox from a local merchant and in the morning a US Today newspaper is delivered to our pad. When we came in here our first reaction was so this is where the big Prevost motorhomes set up camp. Later in the day Tom and I drove around the area and stopped for dinner.
Today Tom and I struck out again. We spent time walking around the town of Petoskey and doing some shopping.

We drove down to Bay Harbor and then to Harbor Springs where we had lunch at a restaurant along Little Traverse Bay.

It was a sunny, bright day with temps in the low 80's. Later in the evening we drove down to a park in Petoskey to watch the sunset over the bay- Travis went along, too.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

This is our fourth day in Kinross East RV Park.  We had originally planned to stay here for 3 nights but then decided to stay an additional day.  The weather is so comfortable in this part of the country and we know as we start going a little further south the temperature will be increasing.  Today I did the laundry and Tom cooked steaks on the grill.  Later in the afternoon we went down to St. Ignace. 

We had heard that the ship the Pride of Baltimore was to go under the Mackinac Bridge at 4pm in celebration of the Mackinac Bridges's 51st anniversary.  We stopped at a park that overlooked the bridge hoping to see the "Pride" but to our disappointment there was no sign of the ship.  We then went down in the town of St. Ignace and in the marina the "Pride" was docked and open for on board tours.  Apparently the information we had heard was incorrect, the "Pride" is due to sail under the bridge on the 28th as it goes from Lake Huron to Lake Michigan.  Tomorrow we are moving across the bridge and down the western side of Michigan to Petoskey.

Moving Across the UP

Wednesday we continued our travels across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan following the Lake Michigan coastline on Route 2.  The Lake Michigan water is a beautiful shade of blue reminding us of the blue Caribbean Sea.  We came to an area known as the Sand Dunes of Hiawatha Forest that we pulled off on the side of the road,  had lunch in the motorhome and took a short stroll along the beach. 

There were quite a few bathers enjoying the sandy beach.  We felt it was a little cool for swimming- the air temp was in the mid 70's and the water cold.  Following Route 2 we went to St. Ignace and hit Route I-75 and went north about 30 miles to Kinross.  Kinross is between Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace, two areas we planned to visit, and has a campground that has good rates with full hook-ups.  Kinross East Campground is a public campground that at one time was the location of an Air Force Base.  After selecting a campsite, registration is done by filling out an envelope and depositing the necessary money in the envelope and then dropping the envelope in a receptacle.  The town of Kinross does not have much to offer in the way of restaurants.

Thursday morning Tom and I set out for St. Ignace to get a boat ride to Mackinac Island.  We went out on a Shepler's boat at the cost of $50.00 for 2 round trip tickets.  The boat ride took about 16 minutes to the island.  Once on Mackinac Island, we rented bicycles and rode around the island. Mackinac Island does not have motorized traffic- only bicycles and horse drawn carriages. About halfway around the 8 mile loop there is a concession stand and restrooms which we stopped at.  It took Tom about 20 minutes to buy 1  soft pretzel.  It was a pretty day and comfortable for bicycling.  We stopped at times to take pictures and just enjoy the views.  After turning our bikes in we ate lunch at the Pink Pony Grill and the walked around to the shops.  Of course we had to get a small piece of fudge- fudge is sold in almost every store on the island. 

Friday morning we set out for Sault Ste. Marie and the Soo Locks.  There is a nice area for watching  the water traffic going through the locks.  When we first got there we watched a tour boat go through the locks and then a short time later a barge went through.  Even though we have been here before and had even gone through the locks on a tour boat we enjoyed watching the operation of these locks.  It started to rain so we went into several shops as we worked our way back to the car.  Later in the evening we had a thunderstorm at the campground with a heavy downpour of rain.

I have to say that the weather in this part of the country ( from the northern part of Wisconsin and through the UP) is really wonderful at this time of the year.  The temperatures have been in the 70's to low 80's during the day and then down to the upper 50's to lower 60's at night.  We have only used air conditioning when we are away for the day and Travis is left in the motorhome.

Going to the UP of Michigan

This morning, Tuesday, July 22, 2008, we left Indian Shores Campground on Lake Tomahawk for the U P of Michigan.  We decided to follow route 70 into Michigan and pick up route 2 to head East. 

Our journey was going along well until we got to Eagle River, WI.  For whatever reason, I turned onto route 17 North instead of staying on route 70.  I guess I had a brain fart...  In case you didn't know, farting is considered a sport in the U.P.  Anyway, Leah grabbed the map, looked and saw we could still connect up with route 2 by staying on route 17, but the road would narrow down somewhat before reaching route 17..

We were moving down the road enjoying the passing landscape when all of a sudden the road ahead of turning to dirt.  Oh my, I put on the breaks and knocked things off the chairs and the bed bring the motorhome to a stop.  Just before I had to make a panic stop, I thought I saw a very small sign point to a road on the left that would lead to route 2.  Since I was past the road I had to do something you do not want to do in a motorhome towing a car, backing up...  I was very lucky and was able to backup far enough to make the left turn to continue.  I was also lucky in the fact that nobody was behind us at the time.

We connected up with Route 2 without any additional gaffs on my part.  We arrived in Iron Mountain, Mi about lunch time and passed a Chicago Hot Dog Shop.  Just a little ways past it was an information center that we pulled into and parked.  We walked back to the hot dog  shop, but it had went out of business, bummer.  We really had our minds set to have hot dogs for lunch and the shop being closed was a big disappointment.  Luck was with us today however as we spotted a hot dog cart around the corner, so we purchased some hot dogs and took them back to the motorhome for lunch.  We  knew they were not the Chicago style hot dogs, but they were very good none the less.

As we were eating our lunch, we looked at a Michigan campground directory and decided to head for a campground about 16 miles East of Escanaba, Mi.  As we passed through Escanaba, we saw a sign for the Pioneer Trail Park which has camping and picnicking.  We decided to pull in and give it a look to see if we could get a site for the night.  We pulled in and had to self-register and pick out a site.  As we were looking at several possible sites, a truck pulling a fifth wheel trailer and a boat pulled out so we pulled into that site for the night.  The power boxes don't look the best, but since we now have the electrical management system installed we feel a lot safer plugging in.

There are several fishermen camped here to take part in a Walleye fishing tournament being held in Escanaba over the next three days.   Also, a group was making some kind of video tape at one of the nearby sites.  The temps is mild enough that we don't need to run our air conditioning.

Catching-up

Boy, have I ever gotten behind. Sunday, July 13, was another hot day requiring our A.C. to run. In the morning we drove out of St. Paul to Woodbury to go to a Trader Joe's to get some Cheap Chuck Wine. It was our first time going to Trader Joe's and we found it to be a rather interesting store but because it was Sunday we couldn't buy any Cheap 3 Buck Chuck wine. Since Sam's Club was in the same area we had to stop there for a few items. In the evening at the rally, there was a dinner for all the volunteers which we attended.
Monday, we did our 3 hours each of volunteer work. We sat at the doorways of a building where vendors were setting up their displays not allowing non-vendors into the area. Afterwards, we went to Don Pablos for dinner and stopped at a Best Buys to get charger for IPODs.

Tuesday, the rally got underway with vendor areas and the coach displays opened. We attended some seminars and then went through the vendor area. The sound system in the seminars was not very good, too bad for the listener and the presenter. We made a trip out to a CVS pharmacy to get some prescriptions refilled. While waiting, a black lady approached us and asked if we would give her money so she could buy tissue paper, she had $3.00 and needed $2.00 more. I said that was awful expensive tissue paper and Tom said he would go up to the cashier and pay what was needed but wouldn't give her the money. As Tom was walking to the cashier with this lady she finally admitted that she wanted to buy cigarettes and Tom said he would not give her money for that. The rally's entertainment for the evening was the Brett family, a family that performs in Branson, Mo. We got a phone call during the performance so we left early. My brother called that my mother's phone was not working and he didn't know who was the provider to call. Tom called Verizon, they would send out a repairman on the 23rd, more than a week away. After some insistence, Tom finally was told a repairman would be out the next day.
Wednesday was more seminars and then we went to the coach displays and looked at the new coaches. The entertainment for this evening was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band which put on a good show. The volunteers were honored and given reserved seating for the show.

Thursday was more of the same- seminars and vendor areas. We were in the vendor area in the afternoon and it was evident that these folks were ready for the rally to end. There was some really tired looking people there. This evening entertainment was Gary Puckett. Songs that he had sang with the Union Gap were good but other songs were not so pleasing to listen to.

Friday morning we packed up and left St. Paul heading into Wisconsin. We didn't have any reservations but were heading to the Northwoods area of Wisconsin. We drove through a campground connected to a racetrack and didn't like the looks of that place so moved on. At the rally we had picked up a card about a campground in Woodruff that offered a free night of camping or 4 nights for $ 40.00. Tom called that campground to see if we could get in. When asked if we were coming for 1 or 4 nights Tom said we would like to see the place before committing. After seeing the area and selecting a site we decided to stay for 4 nights for $40.00. This camground is selling lots for RVs or park models to be placed on. We spent about an hour with a salesman on Saturday talking about the plans for this campground but no hard sell. Our campsite overlooks a beautiful lake.
This whole area up here is really beautiful. There are lakes everywhere surrounded by birch and pine trees. The towns are small, mostly unincorporated towns.
Sunday we drove up to a small community, Manitowish, to see an art exhibit in their community center. From there we drove back through the Lac du Flambeau Indian reservation. Sunday evening we had dinner at the campground's restaurant. The salesman that had talked with us on Saturday gave us a slip for dinner at the restaurant and we had to use it on Sunday since the restaurant was closed on Monday. We both ordered "Large Caesar Salad with Chicken". The salad was an average size salad composed of salad greens, nothing resembling Romaine lettuce, and a nice piece of chicken with a bottled dressing.
Monday we went into Woodruff and Minocqua to check out the little shops.

Moving on to the FMCA Rally At St. Paul

Friday morning, July 11,  we left St. Cloud about 9am to travel along with 3 other units to St. Paul.  We had volunteered to help with security so we had to go in a day earlier than the others at the pre-rally.  We were parked on the grounds of the Minnesota Fairgrounds by 11am.  The 4 units that traveled together were parked together which makes it pretty nice to be with others that we are somewhat familiar.  It was a hot day, temps around 90 and humidity high also.  The weather reports predicted some stormy weather in the evening so we decided to go out for lunch.  We ate Dino's, That Greek Place.  Dino's was a fast food style restaurant that served Greek sandwiches.  We thought the food was pretty good.  Later we walked Travis around the fair grounds noticing the dark clouds building.  When we got back to the motorhome we watched the TV and the weather reports.  Regular TV programming was pre-empted with weather reports.  There was a strong line of thunderstorms moving our way.  The  St. Cloud area that we had left from in the morning was hit with severe storms including a threat of tornados.  About 8pm the winds became very gusty and the sky was an eerie shade of orange with black clouds and then the rain poured.  The winds  had gusts of 50 to 70 mph.  We were relieved when the storm passed.

Saturday, Tom and I went to the Mall of America, the largest mall in the U.S.  We spent several hours walking around.  The stores were much like stores in other malls but at this mall there is an amusement park in the center, Nickelodeon Theme Park.  We ate lunch at a Rainforest Cafe.  Returning to the fairgrounds we had to attend a meeting in the afternoon regarding our security duties.  We will be working 3 hours Monday afternoon (3-6pm) securing the indoor exhibits as the vendors set-up for the rally.  Today has been much better weather-wise.  It was sunny, a little windy, with temps in the upper 70's.

Our Travels Continue

On Sunday, July 6, we moved on to Baraboo, Wisconsin about 130 miles away from Rockford and close to Wisconsin Dells. We saw my corn fields that had been flooded. We had reservations at Fox Hill Campground, a pretty nice campground but like Illinois had lots of mosquitos. We went into Baraboo to find a grocery store and before finding a grocery store we located a Gander Mountain store. Since we had never been to a Gander Mountain store we stopped there and looked around. And then we went to an IGA store for some groceries.
Monday we got up and set out a little after 8am for "The House on the Rock" which is about 60 miles southwest of Baraboo. We had passed this area several times and for many reasons never stopped for the tour of the "House". We traveled through beautiful farm country. There were areas of water laying in the fields from the recent floods. One little community, Spring Green, had large fields under water and we observed a road in the area that was still closed due to the flooding. We have been told that this area had a dam had broken that caused the massive flooding in that area. We came to a roadside scenic view that we could see the "House on the Rock" a distance away. The "House" was located back a long wooded road. We had been advised by some friends to plan on a full day and to take the full tour package which we did. There are 3 tours available, the full tour includes all 3 tours. The first tour is the actual House on the Rock which was built by Alex Jordan in the 1940's. The house is indeed built on a large 60 foot chimney rock. The 14th room of the house, the Infinity Room, projects out over the valley 218 feet and contains 3264 windows. Alex Jordan built this house as a weekend getaway but the uniqueness caused aroused curiosiy in ther people that Jordan finally opened it for the public. He was quite a collector. The other 2 tours were through rooms housing the large collections. Many types of music machines that purchased tokens could activate the music and animation. There were also collections of weapons, armor, doll houses, Oriental art, model ships and planes. There were 2 areas that food could be purchased. The newest area called Inspiration Point had quotes from famous people displayed throughout the dining room but the most observed spots were the restrooms. These restrooms were decorated and painted beautifully. After about 5 hours we made a return to the campground and had a night of thunderstorms.
Tuesday we made an early start, traveling about 300 miles to St. Cloud, Minnesota to a Newmar FMCA pre-Rally. There are 45 Newmar motorhomes at the pre-rally. The rally began Tuesday evening with a pizza dinner. After a continental breakfast on Wednesday, Tom and I went to Clemens and Munsinger Gardens nearby. The flowers were just beautiful. In the afternoon, we caravaned in cars to the New Flyer Bus manufacturers. New Flyers are the largest city bus manufactures in the country. They build both diesal and diesal-electric hybrid buses. It was a nice tour.
Thursday was a full day. After a breakfast a represented from the Newmar Corporation had a open forum. We then had a business meeting and dispursement of doorprizes. We got a nice pullover shirt that fortunately fits me better than Tom! In the afternoon we again caravaned in cars to St. John's University and Hill Library. Benedictine monastary is also located here. We were given a tour by a monk through the new church and the old church that is now used for social functions. From there we went to the Hill Library where a Bible is being hand written in calligraphy and beautiful illuminations done, the first Bible done this way since the invention of the printing press. This Bible is the St. John's Bible. Donald Jackson, a Welshman, is the master calligraper and illuminator of the project. Several completed pages were on displayed. Upon return to the campground we had dinner followed by entertainment by a couple, "Ron and Opal". A full day!

Our last few days in Illinois

Our week in Pine Country campground is about over. We have had a very relaxed week here. We've read a couple books and got some extra cleaning and minor repairs of the motorhome done. Thursday we had thunderstorms throughout the late afternoon and evening. The temperature cooled down to the upper 50's by Friday morning, great sleeping weather! We had to throw an extra blanket on towards morning.

Friday, the 4th of July, we went into Belvidere. Belvidere is called a city of murals because of the many murals painted on the sides of buildings throughout the town.


In a large cemetery within the town there is a small Frank Lloyd Wright chapel. The chapel was locked not allowing us to go in but we could see through the windows the furnishings and style of Wright's.


We then went to the city of Rockford about 15 miles west of Belvidere. There was very little activity for a holiday. We stopped at the Anderson Japanese Gardens and walked through the gardens. The paths through the gardens wind around ponds with the brightly colored Koi fish, some at least a yard long. There are many places to just sit and reflect on the beauty of the area. Most of the plants are non-flowering plants. It was worth the $6.oo admission. There is a restaurant and gift shop but we opted to eat elsewhere. We had seen a barbeque roadside restaurant going into Rockford so since it was the 4th we thought barbeque was a better fit for the day. We were not disappointed with pulled pork and brisket sandwiches.


Today, the 5th of July, is a day we celebrate because it is Travis' birthday and he is 11 years old. For his birthday we try to spend the day with him, he doesn't know this day from any other but we feel better being with him much of the day. The campground had various activites planned, one being an ice cream social so we got some ice cream and had a little party, just ice cream, no cake. Travis is quite an ice cream eater!

Travis also got a new toy- a little lamb that goes "baa,baaa,baa' (another one that he probably will not play with).
Tomorrow we are leaving Illinois and going to Wisconsin.

The Rally Ends and We Move On

Time flies when you're having fun! it's been nearly a week since my last entry. We did not have internet access while at the fairgrounds in DuQuoin so I got a little behind. Thursday and Friday at the rally was much as the previous days, attending some seminars, checking out the vendors, conversing with other attendees and such. We did win a nice door prize, a $50.00 gift card to be used at Lowe's. The entertainment for this rally was not the best. For whatever reason, the Rivoli's had the corner on the entertainment. After performing on Monday, they again did a dance program on Thursday and a patriotic program on Friday. A little bit over kill! Thursday night about 10pm the town of DuQuoin showed their appreciation to us by driving the fire equipment with sirens blowing through the grounds. Four years ago, this rally was held in DuQuoin and this way of the town showing thanks was done then, so this time we were prepared for the noise. Friday afternoon an ice cream social was held followed by a business meeting. A farewell dinner was planned for Friday evening and we had intended to go but the weather dictated otherwise. A very threatening sky with thunder, lightning and rain caused us to stay in with our trembling little Travis and fix dinner in the motorhome. We had very little wind but later heard on the news that there were down trees and wind damage in the north sections of DuQuoin.

Saturday morning we left DuQuoin a little after 8 am and headed north about 200 miles to Kentuckiana Campground in Hopedale, Illinois. We came across this campground 4 years ago and made it a point to stop here again this year. Every Saturday night the Kentuckiana Opry is performed and is included with the camping fee but if reserved seating is desired there is an additional $1.oo per seat charge. For the most part the performers, which consists of 6 or 7 regulars and usually a guest performer, put on a good 2 hour show. On this Saturday, the guest performer, a local celebrity, had a family problem and was unable to be there. The show went on with the regulars doing some celebrity impersonations. One female performer dressed as Donny Osmond sang with her little daughter dressed as Marie. That little girl really hammed it up, rolling her eyes and sashaying around.
The other female performer donned a fake front and performed as Dolly Parton. I don't think we missed anything by the guest performer not being there!

Sunday morning we moved on farther north to Belvidere, Illinois to Pine Country Campground, an Outdoor World facility. We will be here for a week. We immediately noticed that there were lots of cut up trees around. We later learned that about 2 weeks ago a tornado touched down here causing this damage plus some RVs were damaged. The campground was closed for a week. The weather seems to be settled at the present time and, hopefully, will stay that way. Mosquitos are terrible here. We are advised to use insect repellent whenever outside but even that dosen't seem to hold off the attacks. Other than all those problems, this is a beautiful campground.

Monday, Tom and I went into Rockford. We wanted to go to Sam's Club to pick up a few things and then were going to eat lunch at Cheddar's restaurant. We found Sam's and picked everything but what we were looking for. We were told at a seminar at DuQuoin that Tang was a good treatment for the holding tanks (yes, Tang the drink of the astronauts) and that buying from a discount club store was the way to go. Well there was no Tang to be bought there. We found the Cheddar's restaurant but it had a notice on the door that it had been closed. So we looked for someplace else to eat. We noticed a building that looked like a farm supply store with a sign Machine Shed Restaurant and decided to give it a try. Machine Shed restaurants are located throughout this part of the country originating in Iowa. They have a real country appearence; the waitresses dress in bib overalls and red gingham shirts, drinking glasses are canning jars. The food was good with reasonable prices. The biggest temptation is the desserts; pies galore, multi-layer cakers and apple dumplings. We shared an apple dumpling served with cinnamon ice cream and can attest to it being delicious!

Tuesday we spent at the campground. We had some cleaning of the motorhome, inside and out , that needed to be done. After attending some seminars at DuQuoin on this topic we put into practice some tips that we learned. Tom got the grill out and we had steaks for dinner. The weather has been wonderful- low humidity, temps in the mid 80's and dropping into the low 60's at night and a gentle breeze much of the time. We've only used the A.C. when we left Travis behind as we went to Rockford on Monday.