Joan on the Road...of Life

We were pleased to find that in Rantoul we are parked next to the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum where we spent a couple of hours admiring the planes and walking down a memory lane of pictures and documents regarding the former air base.

This B-47 Stratofortress is the only one in existence, so they say. It was the first jet-powered strategic bomber, before the B-52 but never dropped any bombs in combat.

This Super Constellation was a spy plane to check electronic communications and emissions from Russia. The big bulges on the top and bottom contain the tracking devices. Volunteers have spent 4000 hours on this restoration project.

I liked seeing the various progressions in aerospace in size and aerodynamics. Here's one of the oldest planes in the museum, reconstructed from spare parts...the Jenny. Notice the beautiful wood prop.

Chanute base was one of the largest pilot and mechanic training centers in the country during WWII. The Tuskegee Airmen also got their start at Chanute as the 99th Pursuit Squadron and Charles Lindberg did some training on the base prior to his trans Atlantic flight. A very historic site in the little prairie town of Rantoul, Illinois.

Posted by Joan at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The beauty of no schedule is that we don't very often drive in the rain. We sit out the storms. But now it seems there's always rain in the forecast...so we're moving on. This is on the John James Audubon Parkway through Kentucky to Indiana.

We were going to stay in the Audubon State Park, sounded good on paper, but the satellite access was iffy, many trees, and the park was too close to a busy street. So we headed for plan B, New Vision CG in Oaktown, IN. Sounded good on paper...but as you can see FREEWAY CLOSE.

Since it was late we figured, couldn't be bad for one night. Wrong! It was like "my cousin Vinny" with a train track 1/2 block down the road and freight trains passing all night long. And even though there wasn't a tree over 8 feet, Mr. Moto decided to have a hissy fit and Jim spent a couple of hours manually adjusting the dish.

So dull and early we headed for Rantoul, IL to Prairie Pines CG which is actually on the closed Air Force base. Looked good on paper, actually is.

But last night a storm came through and at 1 PM the NOAA weather alert sounded telling us to go to a secure building. Right!! So I laid in bed awake for hours listening to the wind howl and the rain pummel the roof. At one point I heard a train whistle and thought, geez I know you hear a train when a tornado's coming but I didn't know you heard the whistle too. Then I came to my senses. Naturally, Jim slept through the whole thing! We survived the night of 50 mile winds and awoke to sun and 50 mile winds...all day. Finally, tonight the wind is calm and so are we.

Posted by Joan at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On Monday we sent our Rocky to the Rainbow Bridge. What a tough decision to make. Rocky was with us for 10 years.

Here's a picture of King Rocky in his prime

I'd been looking for a Basset puppy but then learned of Basset Hound Rescue where we found Rocky. He'd lived in a drug halfway house managed by an old guy who died. The family didn't want the Rockster so he was headed for the dog pound..18 months old. The Orange County coroner, investigating the death, rescued Rocky from that fate and called Basset Rescue. She took him home to wait for his adoption.

When we met him, we walked in the door of her apartment and he jumped off the sofa, ran over and licked us both. I was in love. We took him home and into our hearts. He was such a character and had such a beautiful face. He could focus on something, like food, and never blink an eye until he got what he wanted. The best thing about Bassets is their ears and his were long and silky. Feeling a Basset ear is a free therapy session after a stressful day. The next best thing is the beautiful sound of their howl...except at 6 AM!

Of course he had negatives...flinging slobber, lazy, smelly, stubborn, slow moving, a speed bump in the motorhome...but these fade from memory and are replaced by his loving gaze, his beautiful coat, his silky ears and his funny ways.

Rocky was our conversation starter as we walked around campgrounds. Everyone loved him because he was a magnificent Basset guy. We sorely miss him on these walks.

About 2 years ago he developed a sac-like tumor under his tail, inoperable. Last Friday it erupted and neither we, nor he, could cope with this. We held him in our arms and said goodbye in Manchester, TN on October 24, 2004.

Here's a recent picture of the old guy.

Posted by Joan at 04:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here we go to the 16th Annual Jack Daniel's Invitational BBQ in Lynchburg, TN. This is one of the 20 top events in the Southeast with thousands attending. Most that we talked to had heard about it on the Food Network. 63 teams are competing for the championship and several are international. The people watching at an event like this is outstanding!

First things first, so we get in line for our full slab of ribs. We skipped the slaw, beans, corn, biscuits and focused on the good greasy fingerlickin' pork. We chose this BBQ team because they had the longest line. Then we found out that most people in line did the same thing! We all made a good choice.

We considered dessert but I just couldn't see eating stuff from a washing machine, even though it was a Maytag wringer washer!

We took a walking tour of the Distillery, the oldest registered one in the U.S. Jack Daniel's started brewing when he was 16. Jim got a good whiff of the corn and barley mixture fermenting! After this we went to the Mellowing Room where the clear alcohol is filtered down through 10' of chrushed charcoal. Because the whiskey is charcoal filtered it earns the name of Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey.

It was a pretty good tour, including the wall of JD Single Barrel. Anyone can buy a whole barrel of brew, bottled, and get the 200 plus bottles and the barrel for a mere $9000.

Scattered over 1000 acres of countryside are the Barrel Rooms containing 72 million gallons of Jack Daniel's...that's a lot of sippin'! The whiskey ages for four years in charred oak barrels in buildings that are open to the air. As they heat up the whiskey soaks into the oak barrel to attain that beautiful amber color. Then it cools and the brew is forced back into the barrel. This is the first Barrel room built.

The gray building on the hill is one of the newer Barrel buildings. We're headed down 55 now, back to our home on the road. All in all, a great day!

Posted by Joan at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is one of the oldest tourist sites in the country with 360 miles of underground caves identified. We took the 2 hour, 3/4 mile tour going 200 feet down, and of course back up!

We were in a group of about 40 people with several little kids who asked some interesting questions. I think it's actually harder on the knees to go down than up. Some places were so narrow you had to turn a bit sideways.

And then you come out into wide open spaces and feel you can breathe again. I was a little apprehensive about this. Would it be too strenuous? Would I get panicky being underground? Well, I/we did fine. For me, I just couldn't think about the fact that we were 20 stories underground!!!

At one point, at one of the brief sitting spots, Ranger Charlie had us turn off or cover up anything that was lit up, like camera lights or blinking shoes. Then he turned off the lights and....wow...absolute pitch black. Couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Then I thought about actually "spelunking" and I know I could not do that. It was a great experience and we decided that we'd like to see Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico also.

Posted by Joan at 08:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We were planning to head down Interstate 65 to Bowling Green, KY (home of Camping World) today but at 5 AM it started to rain, then pour, then thunder and lightning. At 7 we rolled over and said.."we don't have to move today." So back to sleep.

At 6 PM it is still pouring! So what do we do on a day like today? First we have to figure out how to manage the doggies. So we wait for a break in the rain and do a quick walk...come on Rocky...poop! Then we put out a big blue cover sheet (like mechanics use to protect the car)...and we put out their food bowls inside. This is really fun. We get to watch the dance of the eating dogs. They have a ceremony. Adrienne eats almost all her meat, leaving a tiny piece for Rocky. Then she barks at him and moves away. Then he finishes it off and everyone's happy. Must be some instinctual lion thing where the woman brings in the food.

In our case the man goes outside in his raincoat to get the soup from outside storage and brings it in. Man get food, woman heat in microwave.

In between all this food fun there is a lot of book reading, internet surfing, record keeping, TV watching and music listening going on.

The lightning show is still going on but the thunder is a distant roar and the internet radar says the storm is almost over. Tomorrow we move, come hell or High Water!

Posted by Joan at 04:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Creating the illusion of seeing reality; "the visual deception of trompe-l'oeil art" ..bet you thought this was a real block scene?! Nope, it is the side of a red brick building...everything is painted on. We found this scene in French Lick, Indiana and to me it was the most interesting thing there. I'd always heard of French Lick, especially in High School, where the Martha's of the school went for spring break or something. I expected a really posh town but found a pretty run down main street with a huge resort complex, a train station museaum and not many people. I love this art. We saw another nifty example in Winslow, AZ at "Standin on the Corner" Park.

Posted by Joan at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On a partly sunny, cold, windy day we visited the Pioneer Village at Spring Mill State Park, Mitchell, IN. The draw here is the grist mill in the restored village where they grind corn into meal and sell it in 2# bags for a dollar. What a great step back in time this was. The mill is 3 stories high, restored by the CCC in 1930. It was built in the early 1800's and was a working mill for decades. However in the 30's it was in disrepair when turned over to Indiana. The inside timbers were gutted and the mill restored according to original design plans. Outside you can see the flume that brings the water to the large wheel. Inside that wheel turns the gears and ultimately the stone to grind the corn. The small building at right front is a sawmill that runs on a smaller wheel.

The gear mechanism is awesome. Wonder who discovered how this works?

The grinding wheel is about 4' in diameter and is just for corn.

Here's the finished product...which we bought and it made great bread!

The village has several restored stores and homes...this was my favorite.

Posted by Joan at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Martha is parked next door. When she and Lew came in she had on her khaki dockers, preppy loafers, and LLBean sweater over a shirt. Every frosted hair was curled into place. She directed Lew's parking with little fingertip tootles and then disappeared inside her Bounder Diesel. This morning when they left in their yuppie Jeep with the personal plates..JP4LEW...she had on a tan cashmere cardigan with a furry mink collar, skinny butt designer jeans and little leather boots...and of course gold earrings, necklace, bracelet, watch and rings. And all this is in the Yogi Bear Jellystone Campground!

Do I sound catty? Jealous? Probably! I achieved Marthadom once. I had my dockers, white turtleneck, blue silk shirt open down the front, gold jewelry dripping and my maroon leather Munro oxfords. I was sitting on a bench in South Coast Plaza (CA) waiting for a friend when a group of businessmen walked by looking for Nordstrom's. One of them said, "Let's ask this lady. She looks like she knows where Nordstrom's is." Wow...I made it! I was a Martha.

Usually I'm more like Maxine. Dirty white tennies, elastic waist jeans, t-shirt from the last winery and my polartec jacket....hair windblown and freckles showing. I always wanted to be Martha, but I think you're born that way. Or you go away early to school to learn it. Once you're past 5 I think it's too late! I'm just a country girl who now and then plays at being Martha....but comfort is with Maxine.

(Incidentally, I haven't met Martha next door yet...she's probably really nice!)

Posted by Joan at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We've often made fun of the Yogi Bear Jellystone campgrounds thinking that they would be overrun with kids, crowded and noisy. But here we are, camping with the bear in Scottsburg, IN. It's a lovely campground with one of the best views ever. We look out on an open field surrounded by colorful fall trees. Down the path is Rainbow Lake where I'm searching for a prize reflection shot. It's a rainy day but the surroundings make it very pleasant. We're going to stay here a week and explore a few nearby state parks and historic sites.

If all the spaces were full it would be a bit more crowded!

What do you think? Is it a prize winner?

Posted by Joan at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Wow! Don't you look beautiful today!"
"Thank you. He came last night and almost ran out of paint. I'm a little bit lighter at the bottom."
"You think he'll be coming back tonight? I hope he has that brilliant orange like last year."
"He said he has some new colors, but I think it's just the same old orange and gold and red stuff. Look at my neighbor! She just got her ends touched up. He'll probably come back tonight and do her roots and get started on you."
"Yeah, I hope it's soon, 'cause I feel like a dull wallflower with all you beauties around me. Were you here for the battle?"
"Yep, been here for nearly 200 years...and every year it's the same thing, wait around for him to come and color me beautiful."

Posted by Joan at 07:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We couldn't remember what this campaign slogan from the 1800s meant so we visited the battleground site. In November of 1811, in 3 hours, William Henry Harrison defeated the Indian tribes led by Tecumseh. It was a decisive battle in opening up the midwest territories, making people feel safe from the Indians. Tecumseh tried to bring together several tribes and did negotiate with Harrison and others but the treaties fell apart and battle ensued. This monument was erected years later by Indiana to honor the troops and Indians who fell in this battle. The slogan reflected Harrison's winning of the battle and his selection of the well-regarded Tyler. Harrison however died after one month in office.

Posted by Joan at 09:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're in Monticello, IN, about 20 miles north of the Wabash River which is quite wide and meanders through Indiana. The bridge is an abandoned railroad crossing. We took a bumpy, muddy road to get to this spot and found one couple fishing, down the way. The fall colors are just starting to spring up here and there...each day more brilliant than the last.

Posted by Joan at 09:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As Cap'n Porky of Zion said, "At the beach you can experience 4 seasons in one day! " Well we decided to stay another day here because warmer weather was predicted...it was great. After a tiny bit of housecleaning...it's a tiny house...I went walking on the beach and then sat in the sun and read my Tom Clancy novel-Teeth of the Tiger. What a relaxing afternoon.

The lake was very calm, the kind of day that the guys like to demonstrate their rock-skipping skills. The water was gently lapping at the rocks and the horizon was filled with sailboats. There is a large marina at the north end of the park so there's quite a bit of pleasure boat traffic.

The park has about 240 very large spaces but there's probably only 50 sites filled right now. It's very quiet, not like the summertime partying campers. There are a few campers here who look like they are in for the duration, which I thought was against the rules. One old guy in a popup camper goes out each morning, probably to work, and then comes home, sits outside and drinks. Yuk! A lady with two dogs in a Volkswagon van pulled in down the road today. She doesn't have much gear and has just been exercising her dogs.

You really get a look at some different sides of life when camping....but we're not camping...we're living this life everyday.

Posted by Joan at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Walking along the beach at Illinois Beach State Park today, I felt like a new chapter in our travels has opened up. We are headed into new and unfamiliar territory and that is always fun. Our goal at this moment is to get to Lynchburg, TN by October 23 for the Jack Daniels Barbeque...600 miles. I think it's one of those festivals where you get music and food and fun.

It is PD (pretty damn) cold here on the lakefront. Our campsite is just over a slight ridge from the shore. We saw mule deer moseying through the next campsite this afternoon. We walked the dogs for the first time in weeks and their noses went crazy. After dinner I heard some clatter outside and sent my hero out to investigate. A raccoon had overturned our waste basket and was hiding out under the coach. Little Adrienne went bonkers inside and was dying to get out to taste raccoon. Tonight is the first frost of the year but tomorrow is scheduled to warm up a bit. So the extra heater is on and we're cozy here in our little home.

Posted by Joan at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Well, you know that it's time to move on babe, winter is fast comin' on babe"...in the words of Glenn Yarbrough...the trees are starting to flame, the geese are heading south and so are we. The temp dropped to a high of 54 today and next week there'll be a frost so we got out the jeans, washed the winter coats, put the blanket on the bed and got out the map!!!...where can we go that it will be at least 65 in the daytime.

I've been really lax in the last 9 weeks writing this blog because we have not been doing all that much differently and because we lived here so long that not much stands out as being picture or writing worthy...it's just day to day living.

But it's been wonderful to be with Mom and Harry and to spend time with "the goils" of Gurnee. Daughter Laura says that the girls are like the "yayas"; Lynn's daughter says the same thing. And in thinking back, we've shared lots of the same situations and things the yayas did. In times of trouble or fun, from our teenage years, the girlfriends have always been there to share tears and laughter, lend a helping hand or shoulder to cry on, comfort in sorrow, help through tough times and laugh together and each other more than most friends do.

In Frank Sinatra's words, I guess we're in the fall of our lives. We complain to each other about aches and pains or kick each other in the butt for complaining too much. We do scrapbooking and look back at fun times and we help each other think through what to do as doors close on phases of our lives.

It will be great to move on, but I know I'll miss Mom, Harry and the girls.

Posted by Joan at 09:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)