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!!!!

A Great Family Reunion and Baraboo, WI to Rockford, IL to Rantoul, IL

Rantoul, IL.

63 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 86F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.


Jim and Linda took Big RED and went to the family reunion every day, (Wednesday through Friday), to visit with family, play games and eat. ;-)  From what I can tell, everyone had a good time and really enjoyed themselves.

Many of the younger families went into the "Dells" just about every day to go on rides and see the sights. Some went to the Ho-Chunk Casino to try their luck, some went shopping and others just stayed at the lodge and relaxed. All in all, I'd say that the 2016 reunion was a great success!!!

While Jim and Linda were at the lodge, or shopping, I stayed out at the Fox Hill CG and guarded Nora, making sure no one messed around with her. I shouldn't have worried though, no one even came close to her, except a couple little kids that were running around and playing.

Saturday morning everyone went out for breakfast before leaving for home. This has become kind of a tradition and it gives everyone a chance to be together one last time and say their good-bye's. After breakfast, Jim and Linda came back to the CG, hooked up Nora to Big RED and by about 11:00, we started our return trip to Rantoul.

Basically, we reversed the route that we had traveled from Rockford to Baraboo, except that when we came to US 20 on the South side of Rockford we followed it for a few miles West before taking IL 251 South to the CG.

To make sure we had a site for Saturday night, Jim had called a CG in Rockford, IL for reservations, called The Blackhawk Valley Campground . We had stayed there many, many years ago, and once we arrived, much of the CG looked familiar. It's a nice park and many of the sites are now rented seasonally or monthly but there are still about 40 sites available for nightly rentals.

It was about 1:40 when we pulled up to the office at Blackhawk Valley, so it took us about 2 hours and 40 minutes to travel the 133 miles down there.

Yesterday morning, we left Blackhawk Valley about 9:25 and continued South on IL 251. 251 took us down through Rochelle, IL and down to US 30 where we turned East and followed 30 over to I-39. 39 brought us down to US 24 where we turned East, following 24 over to IL 47. Following 47 South brought us down to US 136 where we turned East again and followed it it here to Rantoul, IL and the  Prairie Pines Campground .

It was right at 1:05 when we pulled into Prairie Pines, so it took us 3 hours and 40 minutes to travel the 194 miles down here and buy Big RED a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel.

So,  ,  ,  ,  , except for the bump in the road on the way up to the reunion, everything else went great!!! Jim and Linda had a good time visiting with family and the return trip was uneventful. We're now settled back into site # 18 here at the CG and the plan is to stay here until around the middle of September. Jim and Linda will probably take a few "day trips" and there will be more doctor's appointments, but the majority of the remaining time will be spent here at the CG.

Did you know that  Prairie du Sac, WI. hosts the State Cow Chip Throwing Contest on Labor Day weekend?

Woof!!!

KABAM!!!!!! and Utica, IL To Baraboo, WI.

Baraboo, WI.

68 deg. Partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds light and variable.

Because the check-in time at our next stop was at 2:00 we didn't leave the Hickory Hollow Campground near Utica until about 10:50. After getting back on I-39, we continued heading north towards Rockford, IL. About 25 miles before we got to Rockford, Jim felt a kind of "bump" as we were traveling along. Looking in the passenger side rear-view mirror, showed pieces of tire flying off of one of Nora's wheels!!!! ;-O

Jim immediately slowed Big RED down and we pulled off onto the shoulder of the road and stopped.
Jim got out to check, and sure enough, the rear tire on Nora's right side had exploded and there was only a small part of the tire still on the rim!!!! Looking back down the road, Jim could see the rest of the tire laying out on I-39!!!  :-(

Now, what to do??????

Because they have roadside assistance with their insurance, they called their insurance agent, Gina Shaver at Epic Insurance  who gave them names of towing services near the Rockford area. After calling a few towing services, they finally found Maggio's Towing who came to our rescue and changed the tire, putting on the spare.

Since the type of tires that came on Noa are know to have problems, we then followed the service truck back to the Maggio Service Center just South of Rockford, where Jim and Linda had the the blown out tire and the other tires of the same brand replaced!!!

It was about 3:30 by the time we left Maggio's and returned to I-39.

We followed I-39/US20 around Rockford, paid our Toll for traveling a few miles on the last end of the road in Illinois and crossed into Wisconsin. Just North of Janesville, we turned West on US 14 and followed it West and then North up to Madison. In Madison, we picked up US 12 and followed it up here to Baraboo and the Fox Hill RV Park & Campground .

Fox Hill is also a Passport America Campground, so the fees for Monday through Thursday are 1/2 price and Friday is full price. Even with paying full price for one night of our 5 night stay here the average daily cost of our time here comes to just a little less than $30 per night.

Not bad for a water and electric site in a very touristy area.

Oh, and in case your wondering, it was 5:50 by the time we arrived here at Fox Hill so it took us 7 hours to travel the 193 miles up here, wait on the shoulder of I-39 to get the spare installed and get new tires installed on Nora.

Yes, it was a scary time, sitting along side of the road with all those semi's roaring by, and it was boring sitting at the service center waiting to get the new tires installed, but all in all, we came through the whole ordeal without anything really bad happening.  When the tire exploded, it did do a little damage to the side of Nora, but Jim has already secured the wheel well trim back on and there is only minor damage to the very bottom edge of Nora, which Jim is quite sure he can repair.

So, we got over another of those little "bumps in the road" and we're good to go again. :-)

Yesterday morning, Jim and Linda bought some groceries to take to the family reunion and then in the afternoon, they headed to the reunion. Because we had arrived in the area a day ahead of time, for dinner, Linda and Jim cooked Barbecues and green beans while everyone else was unpacking cars and getting settled in at the lodge.

Tonight, someone else will prepare a dinner and others will prepare future dinners.

Both Jim and Linda said that it was really nice seeing everyone again and are looking forward to more visiting the next 3 1/2 days. :-)

Did you know that the first Ringling Brothers Circus was staged in Baraboo, WI in 1884?


Woof!!!

Hot!! Hot!! Hot!! and Happy Birthday Linda!!

Rantoul, IL

88 deg, clear, S. wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast = Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing this afternoon. High 89F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.


Like so  many other parts of the country, it's been really hot here in Rantoul lately. Many of the days the temp. has been up around 90 with high humidity and light winds. :-(   So,   ,  ,  ,  ,  like almost everyone else in the park, Jim and Linda have been mostly staying inside of Nora where her A/C unit is purrring along nicely and keeping the temperatures nice and cool!! :-)

One exception is that yesterday afternoon, Big RED took Jim and Linda down to Champaign and to the Longhorn Steakhouse where they both enjoyed nice steak dinners.

Now, I'll bet you're asking yourself, "Why would they go out to get a steak dinner when it's so hot out?"  Well,  ,  ,  , yesterday was Linda's birthday and Jim decided to treat her to a nice dinner!!!!

By about 2:30 or 3:00 they were back here, (stuffed), and were over across the street, talking to Paul and Louise. They didn't stay too long though, it was pretty hot and the "sweat bees" were driving everyone crazy.

After returning to Nora, they both just stayed inside.

Other than that. nothing much has been happening around here. Both Jim and Linda have been starting to get ready for our trip up to Wisconsin for Linda's family reunion, which is just over a week away. Jim dumped the tanks today and then will dump them again just before we leave, so that we'll be traveling with almost empty black and grey water tanks. He will make sure that we've got plenty of fresh water though, so he doesn't have to hook up the water hose when we stop at  a CG part way up there.


Did you know that the highest temperature ever reported in Illinois was 117°F in East St. Louis. IL on July 14, 1954?


Woof!!!

Catching Up

Baraboo, WI.

70 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High around 90F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.


First of all, let me explain why I haven’t posted for awhile.  When we got up to Warrens, WI for the reunion, Jim and Linda found out that although they did have a weak AT&T cell phone signal, there was no data signal for their Hot Spot. So, posting was pretty much out of the question. So, I decided to write the blog on a word processor and then paste it to Blogspot when we had a signal again. That way, I wouldn't have to try to remember all that happened for the 4 days that we were up there.

8-27-2015 Warrens, WI.
We left the Fox Hill CG near Baraboo, WI. About 11:40 Thursday morning and headed North on US 12 until we came to I-90 / 94. We then followed 90/94 NW to Toma, WI., where 90 split off and headed to La Crosse. We stayed on 94 and followed it for about another 12 miles up to Warrens and the Jellystone RV Park.

It was 12:50 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us an hour and10 minutes to travel the 63 miles up here.

I-90/94 wasn’t as rough on this section as it had been down near Madison, so the ride wasn’t too bad and everything seemed to stay pretty much in place inside of Nora.

This Jellystone Park is a huge place with hundreds of sites covering everything from very long pull-throughs for Big Rigs to tent camping sites. Some of the sites are paved or gravel and some are on grass. Ours is on grass.

When Jim went into the office, and because he had called and made a reservation, they had everything in an envelope with his name on it. After asking him a few things, telling him about the park regulations and showing him how to get to our site on the map that they gave him, we were on our way to our site.

Our site, K-12, turned out to be a site off of a very narrow 1 lane, 1 way, blacktop road and our site was on the right side of the road. As you RVers who are reading this know, that means backing into the site from the right or “blind side”. To top it off, there were posts with site numbers right alongside of the road on both sides and a tree and fire pit that Jim had to back around of, in our site.
Linda helped guide Jim in and watched so he didn’t bash anything, Jim got out and looked 4 or 5 times to see how things were going, discussed how he wanted to position Nora and after about 5 or 10 minutes of jockeying around, we finally made it.  Whew!!!!!

About 4:00, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to the 3 Bears Lodge area and to the "Villa" that Linda's brother, Glenn had rented for their 4 day stay. The "Villa" was built like a  log home and this one had a fully equipped kitchen, a large living room area and 5 bedrooms to accommodate Glenn and Jeanette's son Ed and grandson Thomas, their daughter Mary and husband, Jeff and grand children Addy, Beckette, Charlotte and Callum.

After H and H, (hugs and handshakes), they ordered some pizzas for dinner and then visited for the rest of the evening.

There really isn't much to post about for the next few days as they were mainly spent visiting and eating meals that the different families put together each evening. From what I can determine, everyone had a great time visiting and catching up on what has been happening for the last couple years. The "kids" spent quite a bit of time over at the water park at the 3 Bears Lodge and one day Mary and Jeff took their 4 kids down to the Wisconsin Dells to do some shopping.

Yesterday morning, after more h and h, everyone said their good-bye's and headed for home. Jim and Linda came back to the CG, hooked up Nora to the back of Big RED and by about 11:15 we were pulling out of the Jellystone Park and heading South on I-94, retracing our route back here to the Fox Hill CG near Baraboo.

It was about 12:20 when we got here, traveling the 63 miles in about an hour and 5 minutes.

We're only staying here for the 1 night and Jim didn't even un-hook Nora from the back of Big RED. Today the plan is to head back down to Utica and stay at the Hickory Hollow CG again. Then, tomorrow, head back down to Rantoul, getting there before the Labor Day Holiday Traffic begins.

  Did you know that on this date in 1878 - Emma M. Nutt became the first female telephone operator in the U.S? The company was the Telephone Dispatch Company of Boston.

Woof!!!

Getting Excited About Reunion, A New Flag and Doctors Again

Rantoul, IL.

67 deg. rain, NW wind @ 14 mph.

Forecast = Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 86F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.


We're all getting excited about our up-coming trip to Wisconsin for Linda's family reunion. Reservations have been made, where deemed necessary and we'll be leaving here Monday morning to head up there.

Our first stop will be the tire shop up in Ashkum, IL to have Nora's tire checked out, (and probably replaced), and then we'll head over to Utica, IL, (where there's a park that accceptes the Passport America card for a 50% off discount), for one night. From there, we'll head up into Wisconsin, probably staying in the Wisconsin Dells area for a few nights, before heading a little further North for the reunion.

The reunion is in Warrens, WI, which is a little North of Toma, Wisconsin and will start on Thursday and last until Monday morning.  It's located at a Jellystone Park complex and while we'll be staying in the Campground, the rest of the family will stay in one of the large Lodge vacation villas in the "Three Bears Lodge" area of the complex.

After the reunion, we'll head back down here to Rantoul, getting back  before the Labor Day weekend traffic begins.

Jim has been trying to figure out a way to mount a new flag on Nora and he finally decided on a way to do it. Nora doesn't have a ladder on the rear, so he couldn't mount the flag there as he's done with some of our Motor homes, so he had to come up with another idea. he finally decided  what to do and now we have a nice large flag mounted on the front of Nora.

I think I like it!! :-)

Today, both Linda and Jim have eye doctor's appointments. Linda to have a treatment on her left eye and Jim to get a scan of his eyes to make sure there's no damage from the glaucoma. Both procedures will be done at Dr. Gandhi's office and the results of Jim 's scan will be sent to Dr. Anderson who he will see again right after we return from the family reunion.

A Point to Ponder:   If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance!

Woof!!!