The Decision Has Been Made

DeBary, FL.

87 deg. Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 89F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%


We took our little trip over to Crystal River, FL. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive to get over there from DeBary, but it was a nice drive on FL.Rt. 42 and some other small roads as we neared our destination. That is, all except the first part of our trip, when it started raining so hard that we couldn't see anything, and then we came upon an accident or something that had US 17/92 completely closed off!! 

They just turned us off on a side street and if we wouldn't have had our GPS turned on, I don't know how we would have found our way around the section of road that was closed. Of course all of this time it continued raining very hard and I could only think of what it would have been like if we were driving one of our big Motorhomes instead of our little car!! 

Anyway, we made it to our destination, King;s Bay Lodge, and it turned out to be just as advertised, a nice little place, in a very quiet part of town. :-) 

This is the view of part of the bay, from just outside of our room. Not too shabby!

We spent 4 nights at King's Bay and then headed back home, refreshed and ready to get back to normal day-to-day activities. 

OK, now to get to the title of this post. 

We've decided to head up North this summer. We've made some changes to our travel plans though, and so will not be gone for as long as we were last summer. We're planning on leaving here around the 1st or 2nd of August and heading all the way up to Alexandria, Mn. to attend Ed and Denise's wedding on the 11th of the month. (Ed is Linda's nephew). From there, we'll head up to Blackduck, Mn. (which is way up  North of Bemidji), to see Linda's cousin Bruce and his wife Jody. We haven't seen them in a really long time and so we figured since we're within a short day's drive, it would be a good time to go. 

After we leave Bruce and Jody's, we'll head down to the Wisconsin Dells for Linda's family reunion. It starts on the 19th of August, and we'll get there earlier than that, but we can always find something to do at "The Dells". 

After the reunion, we'll head down to Champaign, IL where we'll start with doctor's visits and hopefully be able to spend some time visiting with friends and relatives. We'll be in Illinois for about a month before heading to IN, KY, NC, and VA. Then we'll head back down here to FL, arriving about the 1st of November. 

Although this sounds like a long, busy trip, I've got quite of few extra days scattered about during this trip, so we can stop for an extra day or two if necessary,  and, we'll actually be only gone for 3 months instead of 4 months like we were last year.

I've already made hotel reservations for our stay at the wedding and for our stay at "the Dells", so I guess we'd better go. ;-)  

Linda and I are doing well. I still have lots of fatigue, but it's getting better, and I'm hoping that once I start doing more, it will improve even more. 

"You'll never do a whole lot unless you're brave enough to try"  (Quote by Dolly Parton).


Bye!!!!

Florida To Illinois

Champaign, IL

68 deg. Overcast, no wind.

Forecast tonight = Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable.


By the time Jim and Linda got all of the remaining things packed into Lily, most of the electric in the house shut off, and the water turned off, we pulled out of the car port at home about 10:45 AM on Sunday, 7-31-17. We really weren't in much of a hurry as the Motel that Jim had called, had a 3:00 Check-in time and Jim figured out that it would be about a 4 hour drive up to Monticello, FL. where it was located.

The route we took was US 17 up to Barberville, Rt. 40 over to near Ocala, Rt. 326 around the north side of Ocala and over to US 27A which took us to Chiefland and then US 19 up to  Monticello.

We hit some heavy rain on the  way, but by the time, (3:45, and 221 miles), we arrived at the Econo Lodge, it had cleared up nicely.

The Motel was very nice. It had a medium sized room with a bath, a king bed and a small refrigerator to put food, out of our cooler, into.

Jim seemed to do pretty well driving up there, but by the time he and Linda brought all the necessary items into the room, he was pretty tired.

But, after a good night's sleep, Jim was ready to go again in the morning, and after loading up the car, we left the motel at about 10;35 and headed further North, on US 19 first up into Georgia and to Albainy, Then, US 82 up to Columbus, and then I-185 and US 80 around Columbus and into Alabama. and then US 280 over to Opelike, AL.

After stopping for gas in Georgia, and a Cracker Barrel for lunch, near Columbus, it was right at 2:10, central time, when we pulled up in front of another Econo Lodge. So it had taken us about 4 hours and 35 minutes to travel the 208 miles over there.

This Econo lodge wasn't so nice. Jim had trouble with the door lock up arrival and the inside of the room wasn't very well maintained. It was clean though and it had a small fridge like the first one, so we stayed overnight, being sure to deadbolt the door.

Tuesday, Jim and Linda decided to do a short day, so we left about 9:35 and only drove up to Albertville on US 431, stopping again for gas, which brought us to the King's Inn after 148 miles and at about 12:45 in the afternoon.

A nice short 3 hour and 10 minuted drive. ;-)

The King's Inn was very nice. A nice big clean room with a King bed and a nice big bathroom. After we were settled in, and Jim took a nap, he and Linda headed over to a Shoney's Restaurant for a nice  dinner.

Wednesday morning, we left Albertville right at 10:00 and continued Northwest on 431, taking it up to Huntsville where we turned North on US 231. 231 took us up into Tennessee and to Murfreesboro, where we turned NW on I-24 and then North on I-840 and I-40 East back to 231 to miss city traffic and small roads. Once back on 231, we followed it up into Kentucky and to Scottsville where we pulled into a Executive Inn just outside of town.

It was 3:10 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us 5 hours and 10 minutes to travel the 198 miles up there and that included a very severe rain storm near Murfreesboro, where we were driving as slow as 30mph on I-24!!!

The Executive Inn was very nice. a large room, spotlessly clean and very friendly people in the office.

Thursday morning we left Scottsville about 10:25 and followed US 231 up to near Bowling Green, where we turned off on the William H. Natcher Parkway which took us up to Owensboro and across the Ohio River on Rt 161 into Indiana. When we came to the little town of Reo, we turned West on Indiana Rt. 66 and took it over to the I-164 belt route that goes around the East side of Evansville, IN. 164 took us up to I- 64 which took us West over to US 41.

Just south of 64 on 41 we went to a and Amish Restaurant where Jim and Linda had great Buffet. Then we crossed 41 and checked into the Super 8 Motel. It was 3:10 by the time we arrived, so it took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes to travel 145 miles and have dinner.

The Super 8 was very nice but at that Motel, you have to go in through the front entrance and then down the hall to your room. Luckily the room wasn't very far down the long hall so that Jim and Linda didn't have to carry their luggage too far.

As far as the room goes, it was also very nice with a king bed and a large room.

Friday morning, just before 11:00 we left the Super 8 and headed North on US 41. Following 41 up to Vincennes where we turned West on US 50. 50 took us to IL Rt 1 that we took North for a ways and then took some side roads over to Rt. 49. 49 took us up to I-74 where we turned West again and followed it to the Urbana Gardens Restaurant, where Jim and Linda had coffee and pie.

From there, it was just a short drive over here to the Woodsprings Suites Hotel, where we'll spend about a month.

 It was 3:10 when we pulled up to the main entrance, so it took us about 3 hours and 10 minutes to travel 176 miles and stop for coffee and pie.

So,  ,  ,  ,  we traveled 1097 miles to get here in 6 days.

All in all, it was a very good trip. Jim is real happy with Lily and really likes the way she drives. She gets great gas mileage, (over 30mpg on each tank of gas), and hasn't given even the least bit of trouble.

This Blog post is way too long already, so I'll tell you more about Woodsprings in my next post.

Did you know that there is an old law in Indiana that states that "Hotel sheets must be exactly 99 inches long and 81 inches wide"?


Woof!!!

On To Plan "B" For Summer Travels

DeBary, FL.

54 Deg. clear, no wind

Forecast tonight = Clear to partly cloudy. Low 52F. Winds light and variable.

Forecast tomorrow =  Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 79F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.


It's a good thing that Jim still has that big eraser cause he and Linda have made some big changes in this summer's travel plans!!!

Let me explain.

You see, Jim has been stressing out about the planed trip out to Portland, Oregon this summer. He's mostly worried about his stamina holding up for such a long trip where we'd be traveling almost every day with a 2 day stay once in awhile. He seems to be doing fine, but his energy level isn't what it should be and he gets tired more easily. When he drove over to the Tampa area and back for Dave and Dee Dee's fish fry, a little over a week ago, he was really beat by the time they returned here to DeBary and he didn't even feel like doing anything the next day.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  he and Linda sat down and had a discussion about what they should do. It was decided that we wouldn;t  go to Oregon this year, but would go up to Illinois again this summer and plan to head to Oregon in 2018. :-(  This wasn't an easy decision because, as you might surmise, both Jim and Linda's past health problems might again pop up and mess up any future travel plans.

But, they still decided that a very long trip this summer wasn't a very good idea.

Jim called Jeff, who lives in Portland, and of course he was disappointed, but understood and agreed that it probably wasn't a good idea for Jim to try to make the long trip out there. In fact, he suggested that possibly, he might be able to come to Illinois this summer, (like he and Heather did last summer), and spend some time in Rantoul with us. :-)

So, we'll leave here sometime between the middle of April and the first 1st May and take our time going up to Illinois. Not sure yet if we'll be going up to North Carolina and Virginia Beach before heading to Illinois or not, but there's plenty of time to decide. I'll let you know what the plans are as soon as I know.

A Quote to Ponder. “If you don't know where you're going, any road'll take you there”
― George Harrison

Woof!!!

AL to TN to KY to IL and A Long, Long Day!!

Goreville, IL.

77 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 91F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.


We left the Deer Run Campground near Troy, AL earlier than usual (8:30 am), on Friday morning. The reason being that Linda was up early and the weather forecast for later in the day was for thunderstorms with high winds and heavy rain.

From Troy, we continued NW on US 231 up to Montgomery, where we first  got on Westbound I-85 and then turned North on I-65. 65 took us up through Birmingham where the road is still very rough, but at least the construction that we encountered on our last trip through Birmingham was finished. Continuing North on I-65 took us up to Cullman, AL and the Cullman RV Park.

The Cullman RV Park is off the beaten path, but we've been there many times in the past and knew that they had some nice shady, level pull-through sites where we could stay for 1 night.

It was right at 12:00 when we pulled into the park so we had traveled 192 miles in about 3 1/2 hours.

Oh, and the weather that was forecasted? Well, it rained hard in Cullman after we arrived, but there were severe storms in Birmingham where there were trees down and some road flooding.

Yesterday was an eventful day. We left Cullman about 9:00 and continued North on I-65 to Nashville. On the North side of Nashville, just before we were to turn off on I-24, the traffic came to a screeching halt!!! The problem was that they had 2 of the 3 lanes of I-65 closed down for construction and everyone was trying to funnel down to the one lane. :-(

I think it took us the better part of 1/2 hour to get through that mess!!! :-(

Once on I-24, heading NW, traffic once again moved along nicely.

Following 24 took us up to Clarksville where we had planned to stay at the Clarksville RV Park. But, guess what? The park was full!!!!!

Now what to do? We had already traveled about 190 miles and those of you that are familiar with the area, know that there are not any other decent campgrounds in the area!!! We also learned that evidently, the Father's Day weekend is a popular weekend to go camping, it was a good chance that all state parks and COE parks would be full-up also!!!

Well, Jim decided that he would call our next planned stop, which was about another 2 hours farther away and see if they had sites available. They did not answer the phone, but Jim left a message on their machine and we took off continuing NW on I-24.

After awhile, the CG called back and said that they had sites available and they would be sure to save one for us.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , here we are in Goreville, IL. at the Hilltop CG. It was 3:15 by the time we arrived and we had traveled  335 miles in 6  hours and 15 minutes!!!!

A long, long, long day for us!! In fact I can't remember the last time we traveled that many miles in a day!!!!

How did Jim hold up?? Well he was really beat by the time we arrived, but he took his time getting Nora set up and then took a nice long nap. By evening, he was feeling better and it seemed like he was pretty well rested.

We'll be here for  2 nights and then tomorrow, we'll head for Rantoul.  We'll get there a couple days earlier than planned, but I'm sure Louise, (The CG host), will have a site for us. 

Did you know that Davy Crockett was not born on a mountaintop in Tennessee, as the song says? He was born on the banks of Limestone Creek near Greeneville, where a replica of the Crockett's log cabin stands today.

Woof!!!

New Shocks For Big RED

Virginia Beach, VA.

58 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast today = Periods of rain. High 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..
Tonight = Rain showers this evening with mostly clear conditions overnight. Low 48F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Way back in April when Big RED first pulled Nora from the RV Dealer's lot to Highbanks, Jim thought that possibly Big RED's shocks weren't in the best condition any longer. But because Linda was still having treatments and Jim was busy trying to get the trailer ready and packed for travel, nothing was done about it.

Jim knew that the shocks weren't real worn out and figured that they'd probably be OK for this trip. He also reasoned that if they became too worn and the ride got too bouncy, he could find someplace to get them replaced along our route. Well, the farther we've traveled, the more bouncy the ride has become, so when we arrived here in Virginia Beach, Jim decided it was time to do something about it.

I don't know if you recall, but 3 or 4 years ago, Jim had Ray, (One of Joe's friends who works out of his garage), replace all the brakes on CLT (Cute Little Truck), when we were here. Well, Ray is very conscientious and is very reasonable with his pricing, so Monday, Jim gave him a call and asked if he'd have timer to change Big RED's shocks before we leave here on Friday?

Jim told Ray that because Big RED would be doing a lot of towing, he wanted him to try to get some replacement shocks that were better than the original ones. Ray said that he had time and would check on the availability of shocks and get back to him. After a day of not finding suitable shocks at local parts stores, he was finally able to find what was wanted at a truck parts store and would be available on Wednesday.  

So, yesterday, Ray came over here and picked up Big RED. He left his little Toyota truck here and told Jim that if he needed to go someplace to go ahead and use it. In about 4 hours, Ray brought Big RED back, with new shocks installed, and told Jim that 3 of the 4 old shocks were definitely weak and in the short drive back here, he had noticed quite an improvement in the ride.

It was dinner time by the time Ray returned with Big RED so Jim hasn't driven him yet. Jim has some errands to run today so he'll get to test the ride later. Then, tomorrow will be the big test when we leave Virginia Beach and Big RED tows Nora back down to Williamston.

We'll only stay one night at the CG near Williamston so that Jim can dump Nora's tanks and then we'll head for the coast, (just south of the outer banks), where we have a reservation at the Surf City Family CG near North Topsail Beach, NC. We'll be staying there for 3 nights and then head down to Myrtle Beach, SC for 4 nights.

Ahhhh!!!! I can hear the surf already!! ;-)

Did you know that Virginia Beach has 28 miles of public beach area?

Woof!!!

Finished With Doctor Appointments and The Weather

Rantoul, IL.

38 deg. clear, Wind SSW 13 MPH Gusts 20 MPH.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. Gusty winds diminishing during the afternoon. High 52F. Winds W at 20 to 30 mph.

That cold front came through this area with a vengeance! The wind picked up, (25 to 30 mph), it rained very hard at times, (bringing us around 2" of rain), and the temperature dropped like a rock!!!

What a change, going from the mid 80's a few days ago to the upper 30's this morning!!! Brrrrr!!!!

Linda's last eye doctor appointment with the cataract surgery doctor went very well and she gave Linda the OK to head out. :-) She said that everything looked good and that she'd like to see Linda again when we return next summer.

While Linda and Jim were at the doctor's office, the weather front that would eventually bring these cold temps started moving though with heavy rain. In fact, it rained so hard that Big RED said that on his way back here, he had to slow way down so that Jim could see where they were going. Since then, it has been very windy with off and on rain.

So, as far as getting ready to travel, not much got done around here. Today, they're forecasting more windy conditions, so it looks like cleaning the awning before we leave is out. Jim also has a patio mat out that will definitely need some cleaning before it can be folded up and put into the back of Big RED, and there are sewer hose supports, sewer hoses and water hoses that will need to be cleaned and put away before we leave.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a pretty decent day though, so although Jim doesn't like waiting until the last day to get ready, some of the outside preparations to leave may have to wait till then.

Did you know that on this date in 1915 - The Dinosaur National Monument was established? The area covered part of Utah and Colorado.

Woof!!!

An Answer To A Comment and A Long But Very Good Day

Rantoul, IL.

67 deg. mostly cloudy, NE wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 81°F. Heat index around 85°F. East/ northeast wind to 5 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 30%.

First of all, I'd like to answer a question to a comment I received yesterday.

Selene & Hank asked how long we would be staying here at Prairie Pines CG because they may be coming to this area?  Our plans are to be here until at least the 1st of October to take care of Linda's cataracts and some other personal things. Then, sometime in October, (I don't know just when), we'll head out to the East Coast to see our 2 sons and then head down to FL, getting down there sometime, mid-November.

We'd love to see both of you, so come on by if you can. There'll be plenty of room anytime except the Labor Day weekend and possibly a site aviable even then.

Friday morning, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed North to Wilmington, IL. The route they took was US 136 from Rantoul to IL-47 West of Fisher. Then they took 47 all the way up to Dwight, IL and then  "Historic Route 66" from Dwight to Wilmington.

It was about 90 miles up there, and it took almost 2 hours.

After the meeting with their Financial Adviser, (which lasted almost 2 hours and was very productive), they went across the street to the Chick A Dee Restaurant for a bite to eat. When they finished, they found out that their Financial Adviser had called and told the restaurant that he was picking up the tab!!!

Nice!!!! :-)  Thank You, Dean!

From Wilmington, they headed to Manteno, IL and to Jim's cousin's house. It's only abut 25 miles over there, but because of a detour and the town of Manteno to go through, it took about 45 minutes to get to Adeline's house.

Adeline was very happy to see Jim and Linda and they had a great visit with her, catching up on her life and that of her 2 adult sons and grand kids.  She hadn't even heard about Linda's medical problems, so they discussed that too.

About 3:30 after many hugs, Jim and Linda left and headed back down here to the CG. They took all 2 lane roads, county roads and US-45, (rather that I-57), so it took them about 1 hour and 45 minutes to travel the 77 miles from Manteno to here at Prairie Pines.

It ended up being a long day, but a very good and rewarding one. As I said, the meeting in Wilmington went very well and Adeline is doing OK, but she is thinking about moving to an "Assisted Living" facility because at 80 years old, she is starting to have trouble taking care of her house. It was good to see her again and hopefully, Jim and Linda will be able to go and visit her again next year.

Not much happened yesterday. Jim went to the County Market Grocery Store here in Rantoul and picked up some much needed groceries. Then, in the afternoon, he took a nap before cooking a part of a ham steak out on the grill while Linda cooked sweet corn-on-the-cob inside. The evening was spent watching British Comedies on TV.

Today, there are plans to go up to Gilman, IL to meet up with Joe and his family for lunch. Gilman is about 1/2 way between here and Momence, IL where they have been since they stopped by here very early  Thursday morning. It'll be just a short visit but at least Linda and Jim will be able to see them again before they head back to Virginia Beach tomorrow. :-)

Did you know that on this date in 1846 - The Smithsonian Institution was chartered by the U.S. Congress? The "Nation's Attic" was made possible by $500,000 given by scientist Joseph Smithson.

Woof!!!

What Are They Thinking????

Rantoul, IL.

62 deg. mostly cloudy, N. wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy, high of 77 det. Breezy with winds from the NNE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Yesterday morning, just after I posted the blog, this diesel pusher Dutch Star RV, (about 40' long, pulling a toad), came down the street in front of me from the back end of the park. I'm a little ways from the road that goes in front of the park, but when he passed in front of me, he was still going like he was late for the most important appointment of his life!!!!

In fact, I'm sure glad his brakes worked well, or he would have overshot the road and ended up in the cornfield on the other side!!!!

What the heck were these people thinking???? There are older people out walking their dogs, people going to the bath house, and even a few children in the park. If any one of them would have stepped out onto the street, there would not have been any way that the driver could have stopped that 30,000+ pounds of metal and fibreglass from running over them!!!!!

I've seen this way too many times in an RV Park or CG. People blasting around with their RVs, trucks or cars, not even considering what would happen if a child or someone stepped out onto the street. Think, people, Think!!!!! How would you feel if you ran over someone just because you were going too fast to stop in time? Is it really worth the extra minute or two that it would take you to get to your destination? Is a persons life worth saving those couple of minutes????

I think not!!!!!

To those of you that drive slowly in RV Parks and Campgrounds, I apologize for this rant. For the rest of you, I hope you think about what could happen if you don't slow down.

All day yesterday, it looked like it could rain, but the only time it rained was later in the evening and then there was another little shower overnight. Jim managed to get a little done outside. One thing that he did was to take the cover off of Bobbie T's Onan generator and spray some dry lubricant on the carburetor linkage.

You see, it was time to exercise the generator, (Jim exercises it every month), and the last time he ran it, it didn't seem to want to hold a real steady speed like it should.  But, this time, after he lubricated the linkage, it ran like a charm, even when he put a good load on it. After he finished with that, he changed out the water filter and dumped the tanks.

He also spent some time talking to Ron, who owns the Newmar Mountain Aire RV off to our left. Ron and Marilyn come her for awhile almost every summer and through the last couple years, Jim has become friends with Ron. I don't think that they solved any world problems, but they do seem to enjoy visiting with each other. ; )

In the next couple days, Jim and Linda will need to purchase some "essential" groceries and go to the laundromat to wash clothes. I don't think it matters which one they do first because both things are getting to the critical stage. : )

Did you know that Calvin Coolidge, our nation's 30th president, was born on July 4th, 1872? He is the only president to claim this honor.

Woof!!!