Joan on the Road...of Life

Before leaving the Hill Country of Texas we decided to take a couple of day trips to Fredericksburg, an old German settlement turned into tourist town. Well I guess Monday's trip would not fall in that category. We visited the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park/National Historical Site. This is the Western White House of LBJ. He and Lady Bird purchased the ranch from a relative then when he was President it was expanded and outfitted for top level communication. It is a beautiful place.

We started by walking to the Sauer-Beckmann Living Farm exhibit where LBJ designated the farm to be maintained as it would have been in the early 1900's. Volunteers and paid staff do all the chores, caring for the animals, raising the crops, cooking and canning. It actually reminded me a lot of my home growing up and my Grandma's farm in Wisconsin.

Here's the farm:

Lots of poultry wandered around including these turkeys that ruffled up feathers as we got near. Poor guys! I think their days are numbered.

The only way to see the actual ranch is on a 1.5 hr. bus tour. Not our fave thing to do. And Harry, the bus guide, was a bit boring. But we considered it in terms of history, kept our wisecracks to ourselves, and enjoyed the scenery. Here's the reconstructed house where Johnson was born. It gives a good sense of the beautiful natural landscape on the ranch.

The live oak and pecan trees are huge, estimated to be over 400 years old. We picked up pecans to eat as we walked from the "birth" home to the family cemetery where LBJ is buried. Very unpretentious.

We were not allowed out of the bus at the ranch house because it is still Johnson family property and Lady Bird comes out from Austin every weekend to entertain family and friends. So I have no good pix of their Western White house. I'm glad we went there.

Today's trip was to the National Pacific War Musem in Fredericksburg. We viewed artifacts, pictures and explanations of the entire Pacific Theater of WWII. It took over 2 hours to go through and by that time we were both "museumed out". We realized how much we don't know about all the battles. Several times I thought...I think I"ve seen that story line in a movie. And several times we realized how fortunate we were to be successful in that war. But what a price to pay.

Both days we had a late lunch in "beirgartens" and sampled microbrews. Today I had a "dumb blonde ale" with Mexican lasagne. Quite a paradoxical lunch. We walked a few blocks of touristy stores in Fredericksburg but never went in. Who needs any more stuff? I needed a nap when we got home.

Tomorrow we hit the road again as we head for CA and family time.

Posted by Joan at 07:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sunday was a beautiful day so we went out to explore the parks in Kerrville. The town is strung out on the banks of the Guadalupe River which is quite wide. There are a couple of city parks right on the river so we headed there....and found that the Kerrville-Schreiner Park has RV spaces. Many of them are big rig friendly and have full hook ups. This is very unusual for a city park. Here we are on the bank of the Guadalupe just a ways down from the campground.

Here's the river with a few Sunday boaters. What a peaceful spot!

After relaxing by the water we headed across the road to another section of the park that is very extensive and very quiet. Seemed like every curve in the road found another group of deer. They are very used to cars so just gave us a good looking over and then went on munching.

The park is being refurbished and next year will have several 50 amp sites ready. This is a real find because the nightly fee is just $9!!...and the ambiance is rustic with good hiking and biking. Wouldn't it be nice to be parked here and have the deer walking through your site?

Posted by Joan at 06:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

But we're staying on for a few days of rest and exploration. Yesterday I went to a seminar on using Google Earth presented by Jim Guld and followed that with one on Geocaching. The seminars were a good mix of Datastorm/Motosat tech info and software or computer activities that are only possible if you have a good connection to the Internet.

I spent a lot of time with the Picasa photo management program and I'm pretty impressed with it. I like the speed and ease of use compared with Photoshop and it does probably 90% of the "fixes". I'll need Photoshop to remove power poles or other fancy things. The only feature I'm missing from Photoshop is a quick and easy way to add a caption to photos. Maybe it's there and I haven't found it yet.

I didn't download Google Earth yet because I think I'll get hooked on it. I better do my vacuuming and laundry before I explore that program. The Geocachng fits in with travels and I'd read a little about it but never "got into" it. Finding the caches would be a great way to exercise though. Maybe it is kismet...I won a gold geocaching coin at the dinner last night. Well I'll see where this all takes me.

As I sit here writing, I'm watching dozens of coaches pull out and head for new destinations. The Datastorm Users are a very nice bunch of people with a wide variety of interests, many centered on the use of the computer and internet. We enjoyed the "likemindedness"! This was our first rally. Would we come again? Yes!

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

I skipped school this morning to do a little house cleaning and to let my brain rest :) It was a lovely sunny day and I enjoyed the time for a second cup of coffee. I caught the end of the technical Q&A and was glad I missed it!

I did pick up some good info at the Wi-Fi, Web Design and Safe Computing sessions. Top of the list of learning is about Picasa which is a free picture manager download from Google. Looks like it has a lot of neat features so I'm anxious to take a test drive.

Lunch and dinner was provided by the rally today...really enjoy that...and we won a small prize in the drawing. After dinner we grabbed the camera and went up on a hill to capture a picture of Mr. Moto and his family talking to their satellites.

Posted by Joan at 06:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Sunrise here in Kerrville, TX is 7:45 and it takes another half hour for the sun to clear the mountains. So it's dark pretty late in the morning. This morning it was also very rainy so It was tough getting up and going for an 8:45 class. But we did and it was worth it. We paid $79 per person for the rally/seminars and we've gotten info that made it well worth the cost.

Today was on error/messages codes that we might see as we try to get our connections going. Jim was very pleased with all the info and I tried to absorb as much as I could. In the afternoon we had the chance to tour about 10 motorhomes and see how they had all their computer/internet/TV connections and offices set up. It was really fun to do that, to meet the people and chat about all the changes they'd made. We're happy with the things we've done like replacing the sofa with a lounge chair and computer cabinet but we saw some even better ideas. Short of buying a new coach we might redesign our dinette/lounge area. We'll see.

Here's the lovely day's end after lots of rain. Some days when it's so dark and cloudy and rainy I think the sun may never shine again...but it always comes through :)

Posted by Joan at 06:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Most of today we spent in seminars learning more about Datastorm, Motosat, satellites and dishes. A lot of it is unfamiliar to me but I've found in the past that If I listen to techie talk long enough it eventually makes sense...especially if I can follow up the words with hands on experience. It was an interesting day.

One totally new and interesting thing was the description of the Clark Belt which is the ring of satellites orbiting earth, 22,000 plus miles in space right at the equator. The idea of doing this was conceived by Arthur C. Clark, science fiction writer. Click here to learn a little more about this. These are the satellites that receive and bounce back TV and internet signals among others. The key is that at this position the satellites move with the earth so they are almost stationary to us. We can predict where they will be thus be able to find them even as we move about. You can see a really neat depiction of the Clark Belt at this weblog.

I'm really glad that the guys at Motosat developed this product that works so well. We would not be living this roadie life without the kind of internet access that Mr. Moto provides.

I learned a little more about blogging at a class by Chris Guld. She has tutorials on the subject at her website. I enjoy reading her blog about their travels and working on the road. Chris says their reason to travel is to take their dog Odie for a ride :)

After a lasagne and salad dinner courtesy of the rally we took a walk around the park which is aglow with the blue lights on the satellite dishes. Wish I could capture a picture of that!

Posted by Joan at 08:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Mr. Moto is feeling very much at home here, not like his usual odd man out status. He is surrounded by family.

We have a very nice site with no one on our patio side. We always like that :) Buckhorn Lake RV Resort is a verrrry nice campground so we're staying here for 9-10 days at the rally price of $24. Great deal!

Click here to see a Resort map showing many of the Datastorm Users and their exact location. We're #1671.

Yesterday I didn't mention that Jim drove the entire day. I was a little unhinged because of our quick change in plans and I felt I hadn't prepared my maps etc. as much as I wanted. So I wanted the time to look at the route and navigate. It worked out just fine. His shoulder is slowly getting better and the long drive doesn't seem to have done any harm.

Today we slept in and don't have to do much except prepare a potluck dish (I'm doing Spanish Rice) and then go to the "Meat and Greet" dinner at 5:30. Tomorrow we start the hard core Datastorm stuff :) Back to school!

Posted by Joan at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We'd planned on a short day going just halfway to Kerrville so we got up a bit late, made a full pot of coffee and were ready to settle in and watch the Sunday news programs. I took a minute to call the KOA we planned to stay at and ...yikes...they were closed, or at least no longer a KOA. OK...now what.

So Jim suggested that we just go all the way to Kerrville which was 345 miles. I called the resort and they said, sure we'll work you in here. You may have to move on Monday but come on in! OK...

So we quickly packed up and hit the road. We got around Dallas with not much trouble but there was construction along the way. Imagine...you take the right lane exit from one freeway to another, go over the third level flyover, head down the ramp and ...wowo...construction! Downhill, 65 mph and concrete dividers on both sides leaving about 9 feet to go through and we're 8.5 feet wide. (Well maybe I exaggerate but it was tight!)

It really was not too bad a trip. The worst part was probably Austin where we had to go on the freeway through downtown. I'll bet there is a bypass but I couldn't figure it out.

We actually made great time and arrived at Buckhorn Lakes Resort for the Datastorm Users Rally. It is so cool to see so many satellite dishes and at night they all have the little blue lamps lit. (Well I guess you have to be part of the Datastorm crowd to understand that :).

We lucked out when we arrived and will be able to stay in the same spot for 9 days. There's a lot to do in the area and the weather looks pretty good so I'm happy to stop for a bit.

We've already met quite a few people here just walking around. I'm really delighted to meet other bloggers and those who read my blog. We chatted with Chris and Mac whose blog I read and I think they read mine. I love it!

We are really pooped after the long drive so dinner was serve yourself....wine and snacks! Works for me!

Posted by Joan at 06:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday was moving day on the freeway; lots of overloaded pickups and U-Haul trailers and cars stuffed with clothing, pillows and blankets. Lucky us. We just move down the road in our house every day!

Twice today we came upon jam packed rest areas. We pull off into the truck/RV area only to find a back up of vehicles and no more space. Vehicles are stopped in the lanes where you're supposed to drive through. Once I had to wend my way through the trucks to find a space and finally pulled up behind someone who was getting ready to leave. The next rest stop I got stuck in a line of trucks that was blocked by one stupid trucker who parked on the wrong side of the road and there was no room for anyone to get through. Waited about 10 minutes until he got done in the potty.

We could have stayed at Jb's today because Glen had exciting things for us to do. He invited us to the goat auction. We passed on that opportunity.

In Arkansas we spotted gas for $1.99 but didn't need a fill. When we started to look for gas in Texas we had a tough time finding a station where we'd fit in. The exits off the freeway were designed by maniacs, not at all what we're used to. We could not see the advertised gas stations so we had to get off and take a look...4 times before we found one. And then we had to pay $2.29! It was a little four pump station on the frontage road but worth the price for easy off/on.

The Arkansas drive was very lovely with some autumn color and great roads. I started thinking about all the wonderful roads we have traveled in these three years. And then I think "How dare some fanatical terrorists attack and threaten our way of life and our wonderful, beautiful country?" We must do whatever it takes to protect our freedom and way of life.

Tomorrow Day 4 of our long journey. Less than 400 miles to go.

Posted by Joan at 04:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We knocked off another 351 miles so that leaves 600 miles in 3 days. That's better. We can sleep in a bit and drive about 4 hours each day. Today we traveled Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas on Interstates 57, 55, 40 and 30. The road surfaces ranged from wonderful to horrible but we didn't hit any construction, yeah!

When we hit I40 from Memphis area to Little Rock the truck traffic picked up considerably. I wondered what all the trucks were carrying and thought about how important all those truckers are. A couple of truck loads of big porkers passed us. The truck was double decked with steel grating so we could see the pigs packed in nose to tail. A couple of shiny silver tankers passed carying printing ink...one had blue, one had yellow. They'd obviously had a few spills :) We could not live our wonderful American lives without the variety of commerce that truckers move.

We were in a long line of trucks, both lanes filled, traveling about 65 mph. I got caught behind a "slomo" oversize crane towing a truck. He was going about 45. I could not get up enough speed or get enough space to pull over and pass him. Suddenly I realized that a trucker was flashing his lights at me, hanging back and giving me space to pull over and pass. Wow!!! I've never had that happen. So I flashed him thanks and he flashed me back your welcome :).

On the other hand we have the slow mergers. These folks are the bane of RVer's and truckers. We're tooling along in the right slow lane and here comes Mr. Putt Putt wanting to merge but never moving fast enough to get ahead of us and not slowing down enough to merge behind us. What dummies!! They have no ability to judge speed and don't seem to know that 30,000 pounds of vehicle is bearing down on them.

We arrived at Jb's RV Park about 4 PM. Kind of a funky park. It's south of Benton, Arkansas, easy off/on the freeway but in a heavily wooded area so it's very quiet. I'd called earlier and "Glen" said he'd save us the one spot that is satellite friendly. Seems it's the old "dump station"...a very large pull through with a clear view of the southern sky. Here's our very large site and the little pond that is just down the road.

The ratings for Jb's are not that great but for $17 and peaceful surroundings we are happy campers.

Posted by Joan at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We packed up in 30 degree weather and hit the road by 9:15. Yikes...too early for us. But it paid off becuase we made it around Chicago in one hour. Jim did that stint but I was thinking all the time..I can do this. The wild Chicago drivers seemed calmer today and traffic was not very heavy.

So I took over the wheel when we hit Interstate 57 and drove most of the way after that--probably about 300 miles. I just don't want Jim's shoulder to be aggravated by driving. He said it was a bit painful this morning but later in the day it had loosened up. This is really a long healing process.

About 50 miles from our destination campground, Hilltop CG in Goreville, IL, it started to rain pretty hard and continued through Jim dumping the tanks and filling the water tank. But now we're good to go in the morning, everything is put away because it's going to freeze tonight and we are cozy in our warm little home. Nothing like a long hot shower, cozy flannel jammies and a cup of hot tea to relax and take away the stress of the day.

Posted by Joan at 07:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Do the laundry, stock up the larder and plan the route for our 1300 mile trip to Kerrville, TX. This is not usually the way we want to travel but circumstances prevailed to put us on this schedule. Jim had his eye appointment today (condition still stable) and had another lucentis treatment. So now we can move to warmer weather and the Datastorm rally in Kerrville. We hope for decent weather and at the moment it looks pretty good.

Last night my friend Pat hosted a dinner for the "girls". It was slated to be a farewell to Joan but we surprised Maryann with birthday cards and cake. Since she prefers to ignore her birthday we were taking a chance on honoring her special day. I think she really enjoyed the evening and we all felt it was the least we could do for our Door County hostess! I'd post a picture but it would show how old we are and that would not be a good thing :)

Tomorrow we hook up the car and hopefully can leave it hooked until Kerrville. We'll travel 300 plus miles each day and with our well stocked fridge and cupboards we won't need to shop. Course there's always the Walmart stops along the way where we can pick up any forgotten items.

Right now I'm going to have apple crisp and Leon's custard for dessert along with some Sleepy Time Tea...and off to dream about driving.

Posted by Joan at 07:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We received the renewal notice for our vehicle registration in South Dakota, our adopted state. But we're in Illinois, headed for Texas...what do we do?

No problem! One phone call to the DMV gets a pleasant human being who asks how she can help. Five minutes later, after exchanging info, the new license plates are on the way, in the mail :) And she tells us the license plate number and says "thank you". We've had nothing but fast excellent service from all the people we've dealt with in the state--vehicle registration, jury duty clerk, driver's license. And we even get the "Fab Four" on our license plates.

Posted by Joan at 01:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday we had about a million snowflakes but nothing stuck. Yeah! It's been a long time since I've seen it snow. At first I thought it was cottonwood fluff :) The winds did blow to the tune of 35-40 mph gusts. Had Mr. Blue rockin'. Along with the 29 degree temp it was a nasty couple of days. Now the wind has calmed but the cold is still here. With our trusty furnace, electric heater, Angel's blanket and our longies...we're warm.

Today we saw the chiro guy in Wauwatosa again. Jim's shoulder problem is substantially better and he has exercises and supplements to take. We just had to go by the corner of Oklahoma and 27th again to get some lunch. We can't say what we had because Renee gets jealous that we're eating (shhhh...Leon's custard) again, but how can we resist. We had our lox and bagels and bought bagels and schmears to go.

I made Ms. Tioga's Meatloaf for supper along with baked potato and baby peas. You can find the recipe on George and the Tioga Team. I enjoy following the team's travels and since George owned a restaurant I figured he must be a good cook :) So he taught Ms. Tioga well.

We ordered a pay per view movie, Inside Man, with Denzel Washington. It's a well done, clever story with some tricky twists...I think I need to watch it again. We'll put it on the list of movies to buy when it goes on sale at WalMart.

Posted by Joan at 08:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What, you might ask, have you guys been up to for the past couple of days?

This pix is from Monday. I love the mood of this. It's a view out my little window and I'm now using it as my computer wallpaper. I don't mind if you download and use it too :)

As predicted the weather turned cold and rainy so bike rides are out and reading is in. Good thing we hit the Salvation Army bookshelves last week. Two books in three days. I get really lost in the books on days like these....more on that later.

Monday we went to Gurnee to visit with my parents and pick up some mail. Because a frost was coming my Dad had picked all the apples from the Macintosh tree. He must have picked nearly a bushel! There was still a cluster at the top so they got out the ladder (please don't fall) and Jim picked the rest of them. This is the first year the tree produced fruit and it was a bumper crop. My Mom says it's because the tree wasn't producing and she gave it an ultimatum...bear fruit or your dead wood! The apples are especially good. Jim read a health study that claimed two apples a day helps prevent altzheimers. Guess the old saying is true.

Jim's arm/ shoulder is getting steadily better. He's been driving this week which is a relief for me. I was really getting in a panic that I'd have to drive all the way to CA. I could do it but that would mean he'd have to navigate so we might not make it :)

We're sort of boondocking here with only electric plugins so we have to dump and fill the water tank every 6-7 days. We conserve gray tank water by using fewer dishes/ more paper and washing dishes once a day. Today I took that to a new extreme. We had salad for lunch in large salad bowls. So I wiped out the bowls with a paper towel to save on wash water. Later I made popcorn and the bowls looked pretty clean so I used them again then wiped out the butter and old maids. The bowls still looked pretty good at dinner time for soup so they got used again. But after clam chowder I did wash them. Didn't think they'd be too good for cereal in the morning :)

The books I got lost in were both about down and out, poverty stricken girls who made it big...in different ways. The Two Mrs. Grenvilles is a novel by Dominick Dunne about a poor Kansas girl who marries into high society, kills her husband and gets unexpected treatment from his family. It's well written, almost seems true.

Then I plunged into a waterstained paperback autobio of Tammy Wynette, Stand By Your Man, written when she was in her mid thirties and very successful. She lived more in 15 music career years than I've lived in 60 plus. . After her divorce from George Jones she still wrote songs for him including "These Days I Barely Get By" and the ever popular "I Just Drove By to See If I Was Really Gone" (the title cracks me up). It's an interesting look into the life of a tough woman who had a hard life, made some bad decisions but made her dream happen.

Now we are waiting for the snow. Can you believe it? I sure hope we don't have actual snowage lasting on the ground. The squirrels are running around with their mouths full scampering up trees to fill their storerooms. Where did Indian Summer go?

Posted by Joan at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We looked at the weather forecast today and ....yikes!!!....on Thursday we may have snow showers! Today was a really lovely fall day with high 72, clear blue sky and colorful falling leaves. So today was the day to install the new satellite dish board and try to get the GPS working.

Jim figured he would not have to stretch or overextend his right arm so he got all the tools together, climbed on the roof and put in the new board. Within 2 hours he had the board installed, the dish recalibrated and ...voila...the GPS light came back on . What this means is that when we move and park we just push a button and the dish goes up, finds the satellite using the GPS location, and we're good to go. So that's nice to have it fixed. Now when you click on our location link on the right you'll see where we really are.

Once that task was done we took a bike ride around the park and then sat outside to enjoy the wonderful day which may be the last warm day for awhile. I tell you, I'm getting a little anxious to start moving south. I think it's something ingrained after living here in the Midwest for 37 years. When the leaves fall and the geese form a V and honk their way south...it's time to hunker down for winter or move on :).

Posted by Joan at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After parking in state and county parks for 3 months we are really spoiled with these huge sites...

So what have we been up to when we're not enjoying the fall color. Yesterday I drove to Libertyville to have lunch with "the goils". Carla was in from Florida at a business event in Chicago and took the train to Libertyville. We picked her up and had a three hour lunch until she had to catch the train. Too bad the crab / artichoke sandwich did not agree with three of the goils. Won't order that again :(. As always we enjoyed our girl talk and our support of each other as life changes. Here's "the goils"....

Today Jim saw the chiropractor again and his shoulder is improving although not yet healed. The doc showed us an interesting joint exhibit of the rotator cuff muscles which is where Jim is having trouble. So he's doing the exercises, taking the supplements, getting better slowly but surely...and I'm doing the driving.

We stopped for lunch at the corner of Oklahoma and 27th St. in Milwaukee. First we had lox and bagels (of course with cream cheese, onion, tomato and capers). The we moved next door to have a double dip Leon's Frozen Custard. Twice in one week....oh mygod!!! I had butter pecan and Jim had chocolate. The pecans were sugar roasted....yikes how delicious!

On the way home we had to stop at our favorite bookstore, Salvation Army. After browsing the unorganized shelves we left with 10 books for $8. Can't beat the price :) We donated three books so we need to get busy reading here.

We stopped at the Pic n Save to return some cookies that had chocolate melted together so you had a clump of three cookies. While there Jim bought some herring that he says is the best he's ever had and we replenished our supply of Rev. Jack. That does seem to help the joint pain. I have a hunch tomorrow we'll be back at Pic n Save for more herring :)

We biked around the park and will have a snacky supper and watch a movie or read. Tomorrow I'm sleeping in!!!

NOTE: Because our GPS on the satellite is not currently working our location map link is not accurate. We really are at Cliffside Park in Racine WI. As soon as the big guy has a working shoulder he'll replace the control board and hopefully we'll be back in business.

Posted by Joan at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Between rain squalls yesterday I drove about 40 miles to Cliffside Park in Racine County, WI. We got off the freeway to find the county road to the park closed. After a call to the campground and then the public works dept. we figured out how to get there. It was a little muddy detour but well worth the effort as you can see. Here's our nearly empty beautiful fall foliage campsite.

Here's the view out our front window. Every direction we look we see Fall beauty!

This morning we went to Wauwautosa, west of Milwaukee, to see another chiropractor...only 23 miles away. But to get there I routed us on the 94 West freeway which turned out to be a BAD choice. Where US 43 and Interstate 94 split there is massive construction which won't be done until 2008. Don't take your motorhome through there! We were routed through a long tunnel and made a 360 degree or more circle to get on 94 West.

Going back we took surface streets that took us by Leon's Custard (I wrote about that awhile back). What else could we do but stop for a big double cone for lunch. Nothing like it!

Jim's shoulder is getting better. Looks like his right shoulder socket and collar bone were slightly out of whack, probably a buildup of "bad moves" that really got set off lifting some heavy stuff incorrectly. After this morning's treatment he has much greater range of movement and the supplements are decreasing the inflamation and pain. It will be really nice to have a chiropractor who uses applied kinesiology close to my parents so we can get tuneups more often.

I don't know what adventures we'll turn up here but with this kind of ambience what else do we need?!

Posted by Joan at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday's 75 mile trip for Jim to see a doctor was a bit of a hassle :(. The first 60 miles on the Toll Road went by just fine. The last 15 miles were stop and go because of power outages from the prior evening storm. South Chicago was hit really hard.

The doc spent an hour with Jim manipulating his shoulder, taking xrays and giving advice. He has supplements to take and still needs to apply cold compresses. $366 bucks later we headed home (hopefully insurance will cover most of that!).

The trip home started out like a nighmare. Most traffic lights were out, train crossing guards were stuck down, trains were stuck across the roads...yikes! Every east-west road we tried was stopped dead. Finally, 20 miles and 90 minutes later we hit the Toll Road and headed north.

We were traveling in some pretty down and out areas of Chicago so we were not too anxious to stop and eat. By the time we got to Libertyville I was starved so we stopped for dinner at Olive Garden. What a treat! I was so ready for that glass of wine :)

Progress? This morning Jim can get his right hand up to his mouth!!! Yeah! Eating and drinking is most important. Right now we are waiting out another storm; temps dropped 30 degrees overnight. I've heard more thunder this summer than I have in the last 25 years. I am ready for that dry desert spot in the southwest :) But first we'll move up to Racine, WI for a week, enjoy the fall color and wait for Jim's next eye doc appointment.

Posted by Joan at 07:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The main road to our section of the campground closed yesterday so we have to take the long way in. There are only two of us motorhomers on the street and we have to leave tomorrow...end of summer. This morning a half dozen deer munched their way through our site. How did they know that it's their campground now?

It's funny to see them meander along with a tree branch full of leaves dangling from the mouth. Hope they have a good winter. We'll go with the geese!

Posted by Joan at 07:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend my Mom and Dad had visitors from Arizona...my Auntie Alice and four of my cousins. We collected for dinner and had a great visit. The cousins wanted to tour areas here in Northern Illinois where they had lived and where other family members lived, like our grandparents who had a couple of farm houses.

My cousins Cathy and Tom and their spouses arranged a mini family reunion on Sunday at cousin Robin's condo party room and ...WOW...45 people showed up including twelve of the twenty-eight cousins of my generation. Now that's alotta cousins! My grandma and grandpa had 12 kids so that explains it. Here's the group!

I wish my kids, grandkids and great-grandkids could have been there so I could brag and so we could see who looks like who. That's the really fun thing at reunions along with catching up on the lives of people you've lost touch with. It's a nice family and the Arizona contingent was honored to have so many people there.

In other news: Jim somehow strained his right arm on Friday and can't lift it above his waist...although by now it's getting a bit better. Our Dr. Steve in Montana referred us to a kinesiology chiropractor in Harvey, Illinos who called Jim, gave him some pressure points to massage and a supplement to take. Both seem to be helping and we'll see that fellow tomorrow. (a 75 mile drive). Well it's amazing what you can't do with your right arm out of commission...including driving.

Thus our move out of Illinois Beach is delayed. I had to go give a sob story to the ranger this morning so we could extend our stay past the 14 day limit. I didn't want Jim to further irritate his arm by packing it in an moving. However, we must move on Wednesday and, if necessary, I'll do the driving.

On Sunday mornng we did need to dump the tanks so I did most of the heavy stuff and drove us over there. When we reparked and started up the satellite, the automatic GPS would not lock on so the satellite dish would not go up. After several phone consultations with technicians they determined that the battery in the controller board is shot; it is welded in so we need a whole new board now on order. There is a way to bypass the auto GPS locator but for whatever reason it did not work.

However....came home from shopping and doing laundry tonight and the system had updated itself so that we could access the manual GPS and raise the dish...so we got on the computer just in time for a tornado warning and had to put it down. Now the storm has passed so here I am. Looks like we lucked out again. No hail, no 70 mile winds. Good thing because where do you go for safety in a motorhome? :) The weather radio is quiet, the weather radar is clearing...so one last glass of wine and off to sleep.

Posted by Joan at 08:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)