Rantoul, IL
68 deg. rain, NW wind @ 11 mph.
Forecast = High temp. 81 deg. Partly cloudy in the morning, then clear. NW wind @ 10 to 20 mph.
Received a comment on yesterday's post from Rod, wanting to know if we would lose our site here in Rantoul when we head up to Kankakee on Monday?
Well, yesterday morning, Jim went over and told Louise what our plans were and she said that it was not a problem and that our site would be here when we got back, and in fact, she said that if Jim wanted to leave his bicycle locked to the picnic table while we're gone, that would be OK too.
Louise and Paul have been really good to us throughout the years, and that's one of the main reasons we keep coming back here year after year. : )
Oh, I want to share with you, a kind of strange e-mail that Jim and Linda received from their telephone company yesterday. This is what it said.
"Because your safety is our top concern, here are some safety tips to help you prepare in case a hurricane affects Sioux Falls".
Then the e-mail went on to list the things that you should do to prepare for the storms.
Now, the last time I checked, there weren't too many hurricanes going through the Sioux Falls Area. I guess phone companies just don't understand our traveling lifestyle and the fact that we have a phone number that was issued in Florida but have the billing address in Sioux Falls, SD. ; )
My guess is that the e-mail was generated by a computer and sent to everyone who has a phone number with a FL prefix.
Last night, Jim and Linda were talking about going to the grocery store today, so they may do that. If not, I'm sure that they'll start getting Bobbie T and CLT ready to travel. We've been here a month already so there's quite a bit of "stuff" that needs to be packed away. ; )
Actually, it shouldn't take too long to get ready to travel, but after you've been someplace for a while, it seems like its going to be a big job. ; )
Did you know that on this date in 1920 - The U.S. Post Office Department ruled that children may not be sent by parcel post?
Woof!!!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Making Plans
Rantoul, IL.
70 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = High temp. 91 deg. 40% chance of T-storms SSW wind @ 5 to 20 mph.
Not much been going on here at the Prairie Pines CG lately, but yesterday, Jim and Linda sat down and talked about what they wanted / needed to get accomplished while we're here. Well, one thing led to another and soon they were on the phone, calling friends and relatives in the Kankakee / Peotone area to see when they would be available for visits.
It soon became apparent that next week would work the best for everyone, so they called their financial advisor (the need to do thing), and made an appointment with him for next Tuesday. Then, after figuring which days would be best to stop and see the different people that they wanted to visit with, they called everyone back and set up days and approximate times when it would work the best for everyone.
Now, by this time, I'm sure that you've realized that this had turned into a multiple day thing. Being that it's somewhere between 80 and 100 miles, (one way), up there from here, it just didn't make any sense to go back and forth 2 or 3 days in a row. So, it was decided that the best thing to do would be to take Bobbie T up to the Kankakee area for 2 or 3 nights and do the visiting / business on day trips from there.
Being that we would be there for only 3 or 4 nights and it would be in the middle of the week, it was decided that the best place to stay would be the Kankakee River State Park, which is right on the Kankakee River, just a little NW of Kankakee.
Even though Jim and Linda lived in that area for many years and they did go to the park many times for picnics and to just relax by the river, they never went camping there, so it will be a new experience for all of us! ; ) By all accounts, it should be pretty nice, especially since we won't be there on the weekend when it can get crowded.
So, that's Plan A. We'll leave here next Monday and spend 2 or 3 nights at the State Park and then Thursday or Friday, after all the business and visiting is taken care of, we'll come back down here to Rantoul, where we'll stay until after the 4th of July weekend.
So, what's happening after the 4th of July weekend? Well, there's more plans in the works, but that'll have to wait for another post. ; )
Stay tuned!!!
Did you know that today is "National Peanut Butter Cookie Day"?
Woof!!!
70 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = High temp. 91 deg. 40% chance of T-storms SSW wind @ 5 to 20 mph.
Not much been going on here at the Prairie Pines CG lately, but yesterday, Jim and Linda sat down and talked about what they wanted / needed to get accomplished while we're here. Well, one thing led to another and soon they were on the phone, calling friends and relatives in the Kankakee / Peotone area to see when they would be available for visits.
It soon became apparent that next week would work the best for everyone, so they called their financial advisor (the need to do thing), and made an appointment with him for next Tuesday. Then, after figuring which days would be best to stop and see the different people that they wanted to visit with, they called everyone back and set up days and approximate times when it would work the best for everyone.
Now, by this time, I'm sure that you've realized that this had turned into a multiple day thing. Being that it's somewhere between 80 and 100 miles, (one way), up there from here, it just didn't make any sense to go back and forth 2 or 3 days in a row. So, it was decided that the best thing to do would be to take Bobbie T up to the Kankakee area for 2 or 3 nights and do the visiting / business on day trips from there.
Being that we would be there for only 3 or 4 nights and it would be in the middle of the week, it was decided that the best place to stay would be the Kankakee River State Park, which is right on the Kankakee River, just a little NW of Kankakee.
Even though Jim and Linda lived in that area for many years and they did go to the park many times for picnics and to just relax by the river, they never went camping there, so it will be a new experience for all of us! ; ) By all accounts, it should be pretty nice, especially since we won't be there on the weekend when it can get crowded.
So, that's Plan A. We'll leave here next Monday and spend 2 or 3 nights at the State Park and then Thursday or Friday, after all the business and visiting is taken care of, we'll come back down here to Rantoul, where we'll stay until after the 4th of July weekend.
So, what's happening after the 4th of July weekend? Well, there's more plans in the works, but that'll have to wait for another post. ; )
Stay tuned!!!
Did you know that today is "National Peanut Butter Cookie Day"?
Woof!!!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Cookout
Rantoul, IL.
62 deg. Partly cloudy, SE wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = High temp 81 deg. partly cloudy with a 60% chance of T storms this afternoon, SE wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
Yesterday turned out to be a very nice day, weatherwise. One of those "Chamber of Commerce" days when everyone is sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine, the very comfortable temperatures and a light breeze that was blowing, just enough to keep the bugs away. ; )
In fact, it was a perfect day for the cookout that Paul and Louise had planned.
I guess it was around 4:30 when Jim and Linda headed over to the cookout. When they arrived, Louise was getting some "adult beverages" ready and bringing food out of their RV.
While Louise and Linda were talking, (far left in the photo below), Paul was relaxing and enjoying the great weather.
Sometimes when Louise and Paul have a cookout, she invites a lot of people, but this time it was a small gathering, which was nice. In the photo below, you can see Gary back by the grill, Mary, walking and Linda sitting at the table.
Gary took on the "cooking duties", and grilled up some very good boneless pork chops, Mary brought a pasta salad, Louise made some deviled eggs and potato salad and Linda took some sugar free desserts that she had made during the afternoon.
Both Jim and Linda said that everything was delicious and everyone seemed to have a good time visiting.
Thank you Paul and Louise!!!!
I think it was about 7:30 or so when Jim and Linda came back over here. After getting the leftover dessert and a couple pork chops, (that Louise sent along), put away, they watched TV, read and played with the computer until bedtime.
I don't think that there's anything planned for today. Bobbie T needs some cleaning inside and the freezer needs to be defrosted. Both Bobbie T and CLT still need to be washed, but they're forecasting T-Storms for this afternoon, so I doubt if that will happen today.
I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. ; )
A Point to Ponder : A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
62 deg. Partly cloudy, SE wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = High temp 81 deg. partly cloudy with a 60% chance of T storms this afternoon, SE wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
Yesterday turned out to be a very nice day, weatherwise. One of those "Chamber of Commerce" days when everyone is sitting outside, enjoying the sunshine, the very comfortable temperatures and a light breeze that was blowing, just enough to keep the bugs away. ; )
In fact, it was a perfect day for the cookout that Paul and Louise had planned.
I guess it was around 4:30 when Jim and Linda headed over to the cookout. When they arrived, Louise was getting some "adult beverages" ready and bringing food out of their RV.
While Louise and Linda were talking, (far left in the photo below), Paul was relaxing and enjoying the great weather.
Sometimes when Louise and Paul have a cookout, she invites a lot of people, but this time it was a small gathering, which was nice. In the photo below, you can see Gary back by the grill, Mary, walking and Linda sitting at the table.
Gary took on the "cooking duties", and grilled up some very good boneless pork chops, Mary brought a pasta salad, Louise made some deviled eggs and potato salad and Linda took some sugar free desserts that she had made during the afternoon.
Both Jim and Linda said that everything was delicious and everyone seemed to have a good time visiting.
Thank you Paul and Louise!!!!
I think it was about 7:30 or so when Jim and Linda came back over here. After getting the leftover dessert and a couple pork chops, (that Louise sent along), put away, they watched TV, read and played with the computer until bedtime.
I don't think that there's anything planned for today. Bobbie T needs some cleaning inside and the freezer needs to be defrosted. Both Bobbie T and CLT still need to be washed, but they're forecasting T-Storms for this afternoon, so I doubt if that will happen today.
I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. ; )
A Point to Ponder : A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
A Treasure Hunt and A Cookout
Rantoul, IL.
54 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 77F. Winds less than 5 mph.
I've decided try to cut back on that forecast section above. It was so long that even I didn't want to read it when I went back to review the bogs. Besides, depending on what part of the country you're in, the forecast for the night may very likely change anyway. : O
Thursday, neither Linda nor Jim felt like doing too much, so it was decided that they would just take a ride somewhere. Since Linda had said something about it the other day, Jim suggested that they head west of Rantoul and see if they could find that little cemetery out in the country where a few of Linda's ancestors are buried. They had found it once, quite a few years ago, but had forgotten exactly where it's located.
So, , , , , , they took CLT and headed in the general direction.
CLT said that it was like being on a Treasure Hunt!!!! Both Jim and Linda had an idea of where the cemetery was located, so they started looking for familiar roads and landscapes that would help them. When they got about 4 or 5 miles West of Rantoul, Jim turned South on a blacktop road that he was pretty sure headed the right way. After 3 or so miles on that road, they turned West on a small blacktop road, but after following it for a short distance, decided that that was not the road they wanted.
About this time, they came upon a couple of farmers who had stopped along the road to talk to each other, so Jim stopped and asked them if they happened to know where the Jersey cemetery might be located. He described it to them and told them what he and Linda could remember about it, such as it being located at the crossroads of 2 small blacktop roads and being on the SE corner of the intersection.
After some thought, one said that there was one like they described, just about 2 miles from where they were and gave Jim and Linda directions to get to it. (Gotta love these friendly farm folks). ; )
So, following the instructions given, Jim and Linda found the cemetery, and it was just like they had remembered.
As you can see, someone still takes care of the cemetery and cuts the grass regularly, even though there is no longer a church here. There's also evidence of some of the remaining markers being re-set.
This is the marker that Linda and Jim were looking for. You probably can't see it in the photo, but there are names and dates on both of the sides that you can see. One side gives the information about Linda's Great Grandmother, and the other side is for her Great Great Grandmother, both from Linda's father's side.
Evidently times were hard in those days, so they used the same marker for both women.
After Linda got the information that she needed for her Family Tree program, she and Jim enjoyed a leisurely drive through the country, back here to the Campground.
Oh, and they now have the GPS location and the road sign numbers from the intersection where the cemetery is located. ; )
Yesterday, not much happened. Jim went to the Rural King store and picked up a few things and then later, got some weed killer from Louise and sprayed the weeds that are growing up through the gravel in our site.
Today, Paul and Louise, (the campground hosts), are going to have a cookout!! Don't know what they're going to be cooking out on the grill, but knowing Louise, I'm sure it'll be really good. : ) Linda is going to make a desert to take over there and I'm sure that some of the others from the park that Louise invited will also bring food.
Sounds like a P A R T Y !!!!!!!!!
Did you know that on this date in 1786 - In New York City, commercial ice cream was manufactured for the first time?
54 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 77F. Winds less than 5 mph.
I've decided try to cut back on that forecast section above. It was so long that even I didn't want to read it when I went back to review the bogs. Besides, depending on what part of the country you're in, the forecast for the night may very likely change anyway. : O
Thursday, neither Linda nor Jim felt like doing too much, so it was decided that they would just take a ride somewhere. Since Linda had said something about it the other day, Jim suggested that they head west of Rantoul and see if they could find that little cemetery out in the country where a few of Linda's ancestors are buried. They had found it once, quite a few years ago, but had forgotten exactly where it's located.
So, , , , , , they took CLT and headed in the general direction.
CLT said that it was like being on a Treasure Hunt!!!! Both Jim and Linda had an idea of where the cemetery was located, so they started looking for familiar roads and landscapes that would help them. When they got about 4 or 5 miles West of Rantoul, Jim turned South on a blacktop road that he was pretty sure headed the right way. After 3 or so miles on that road, they turned West on a small blacktop road, but after following it for a short distance, decided that that was not the road they wanted.
About this time, they came upon a couple of farmers who had stopped along the road to talk to each other, so Jim stopped and asked them if they happened to know where the Jersey cemetery might be located. He described it to them and told them what he and Linda could remember about it, such as it being located at the crossroads of 2 small blacktop roads and being on the SE corner of the intersection.
After some thought, one said that there was one like they described, just about 2 miles from where they were and gave Jim and Linda directions to get to it. (Gotta love these friendly farm folks). ; )
So, following the instructions given, Jim and Linda found the cemetery, and it was just like they had remembered.
As you can see, someone still takes care of the cemetery and cuts the grass regularly, even though there is no longer a church here. There's also evidence of some of the remaining markers being re-set.
Evidently times were hard in those days, so they used the same marker for both women.
After Linda got the information that she needed for her Family Tree program, she and Jim enjoyed a leisurely drive through the country, back here to the Campground.
Oh, and they now have the GPS location and the road sign numbers from the intersection where the cemetery is located. ; )
Yesterday, not much happened. Jim went to the Rural King store and picked up a few things and then later, got some weed killer from Louise and sprayed the weeds that are growing up through the gravel in our site.
Today, Paul and Louise, (the campground hosts), are going to have a cookout!! Don't know what they're going to be cooking out on the grill, but knowing Louise, I'm sure it'll be really good. : ) Linda is going to make a desert to take over there and I'm sure that some of the others from the park that Louise invited will also bring food.
Sounds like a P A R T Y !!!!!!!!!
Did you know that on this date in 1786 - In New York City, commercial ice cream was manufactured for the first time?
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Levelers In Bobbie T's Future?
Rantoul, IL.
63 deg. clear, E. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 79°F. East northeast wind to 7 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 55°F. North wind to 9 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.
Jim and Linda have been considering getting some leveling jacks installed on Bobbie T. In fact, Jim has called around to see what's available and to get some idea of what it would cost to have them installed. They're not cheap, but Bobbie T does a lot of rocking when Jim and Linda move around inside of her or the wind blows hard, and of course, it will end the hassle of trying to get her level by driving up on boards.
So far, the leveling part hasn't been too bad, except for that TVA park that we stayed at in Tennessee. That site was low on the drivers side and also low at Bobbie T's front end. Jim was able to get her pretty level side to side, but her front end was pretty low and would have required quite a few more boards than we had along.
Jim and Linda aren't real fussy about being exactly level, but in that case, you could tell that we weren't very level. Oh, and it's not good for the refrigerator in an RV to be very far off level, as it can affect the operation or even damage it, if it's too far off. : (
So, I don't know for sure if they're going to get them for Bobbie T or which system Jim and Linda will decide on if they do. There's lots to consider such as price, weight, (don't want to overload Bobbie T.), cost of installation, types of controls available, (joystick or push button), automatic or manual operation, convenience of getting the system installed and of course warranty and reputation of the manufacturer.
I do know that if they do decided to get the levelers, they won't be installed until sometime in July at the earliest.
The weather has been really nice here the last few days. They've been forecasting rain showers from time to time, but we haven't had any here. For the most part, it's been sunny with temperatures in the 70's during the days with lows in the 50's or 60's at night.
Yesterday, Jim and Linda took their laundry over to the laundromat in town. There are 2 washers and 2 dryers in the bath house here at the CG, but the machines at the laundromat are larger and of course they have many more of them, so you can get everything done in a much shorter time. In fact, in less than 2 hours, they had driven over there, done 4 loads of laundry and driven back here to the park.
For dinner last night, they decided to take CLT and head over to the Village Garden Restaurant in Fisher, IL. They hadn't been there since last year, but the lady, (the owner), recognized them and welcomed them back. : ) It's too bad that the Village Garden is in Fisher and not here in Rantoul. The food and the service is excellent, but now with that new restaurant here in Rantoul, it's going to be easier to stay here in town than to drive the 10 or so miles to Fisher.
I think they'll still go over there once in awhile though. ; )
I don't think that there's any specific plans for today. Both Bobbie T and CLT need baths really bad, but they are forecasting rain showers, so that may have to wait. Or, maybe Jim and Linda will head down to Champaign to try to find those items that Linda couldn't find at Wally World the other day.
Hmmmm!!! decisions, decisions!!!! ; )
Did you know that scientist estimate that there are at least 15 million stars for every person on earth?
63 deg. clear, E. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 79°F. East northeast wind to 7 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 55°F. North wind to 9 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.
Jim and Linda have been considering getting some leveling jacks installed on Bobbie T. In fact, Jim has called around to see what's available and to get some idea of what it would cost to have them installed. They're not cheap, but Bobbie T does a lot of rocking when Jim and Linda move around inside of her or the wind blows hard, and of course, it will end the hassle of trying to get her level by driving up on boards.
So far, the leveling part hasn't been too bad, except for that TVA park that we stayed at in Tennessee. That site was low on the drivers side and also low at Bobbie T's front end. Jim was able to get her pretty level side to side, but her front end was pretty low and would have required quite a few more boards than we had along.
Jim and Linda aren't real fussy about being exactly level, but in that case, you could tell that we weren't very level. Oh, and it's not good for the refrigerator in an RV to be very far off level, as it can affect the operation or even damage it, if it's too far off. : (
So, I don't know for sure if they're going to get them for Bobbie T or which system Jim and Linda will decide on if they do. There's lots to consider such as price, weight, (don't want to overload Bobbie T.), cost of installation, types of controls available, (joystick or push button), automatic or manual operation, convenience of getting the system installed and of course warranty and reputation of the manufacturer.
I do know that if they do decided to get the levelers, they won't be installed until sometime in July at the earliest.
The weather has been really nice here the last few days. They've been forecasting rain showers from time to time, but we haven't had any here. For the most part, it's been sunny with temperatures in the 70's during the days with lows in the 50's or 60's at night.
Yesterday, Jim and Linda took their laundry over to the laundromat in town. There are 2 washers and 2 dryers in the bath house here at the CG, but the machines at the laundromat are larger and of course they have many more of them, so you can get everything done in a much shorter time. In fact, in less than 2 hours, they had driven over there, done 4 loads of laundry and driven back here to the park.
For dinner last night, they decided to take CLT and head over to the Village Garden Restaurant in Fisher, IL. They hadn't been there since last year, but the lady, (the owner), recognized them and welcomed them back. : ) It's too bad that the Village Garden is in Fisher and not here in Rantoul. The food and the service is excellent, but now with that new restaurant here in Rantoul, it's going to be easier to stay here in town than to drive the 10 or so miles to Fisher.
I think they'll still go over there once in awhile though. ; )
I don't think that there's any specific plans for today. Both Bobbie T and CLT need baths really bad, but they are forecasting rain showers, so that may have to wait. Or, maybe Jim and Linda will head down to Champaign to try to find those items that Linda couldn't find at Wally World the other day.
Hmmmm!!! decisions, decisions!!!! ; )
Did you know that scientist estimate that there are at least 15 million stars for every person on earth?
Monday, June 3, 2013
Nice Weather For A Change?
Rantoul, IL.
52 deg. sunny, NE wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 77°F. East wind to 10 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 59°F. East southeast wind to 9 MPH.
It looks like we're finally going to have some nice weather for a change, here in Rantoul. : ) They're not forecasting any high winds or storms, so maybe all that tornado warning stuff is over for awhile.
Not a whole lot to report, but I didn't want to skip too many days of posting.
Yesterday was a rainy, drizzly day, but Jim and Linda were just about out of bread, so about 4:30 they took CLT and headed over to the Casey's gas station here in Rantoul. Since CLT was getting kind of thirsty, (he hadn't had a drink since May 2nd when we were in Moncure, NC), they bought him a drink of 87 octane as well.
Then, instead of coming back here, they took a ride down to Urbana and went to the Steak & Shake Restaurant for dinner.
No big plans for today, but I'm sure that Jim will be outside doing things. He's been getting really itchy, having to be inside so much lately. One of the things he wants to do is to get back to riding his bike. He unloaded it out of the back of CLT shortly after we arrived here in Rantoul, and because of the weather and wind, hasn't ridden it yet!
I think the last time he rode it was when we were in DeBary!!
Did you know that Europe is the only continent without a desert?
Woof!!!
52 deg. sunny, NE wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 77°F. East wind to 10 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 59°F. East southeast wind to 9 MPH.
It looks like we're finally going to have some nice weather for a change, here in Rantoul. : ) They're not forecasting any high winds or storms, so maybe all that tornado warning stuff is over for awhile.
Not a whole lot to report, but I didn't want to skip too many days of posting.
Yesterday was a rainy, drizzly day, but Jim and Linda were just about out of bread, so about 4:30 they took CLT and headed over to the Casey's gas station here in Rantoul. Since CLT was getting kind of thirsty, (he hadn't had a drink since May 2nd when we were in Moncure, NC), they bought him a drink of 87 octane as well.
Then, instead of coming back here, they took a ride down to Urbana and went to the Steak & Shake Restaurant for dinner.
No big plans for today, but I'm sure that Jim will be outside doing things. He's been getting really itchy, having to be inside so much lately. One of the things he wants to do is to get back to riding his bike. He unloaded it out of the back of CLT shortly after we arrived here in Rantoul, and because of the weather and wind, hasn't ridden it yet!
I think the last time he rode it was when we were in DeBary!!
Did you know that Europe is the only continent without a desert?
Woof!!!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
378,432,000 Seconds and 7,865,906,291 inches
Rantoul, IL.
63 deg. partly cloudy, W. wind @ 10mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Highs around 75°F. South wind 12 to 17 MPH, gusting to 24 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 85%. Precipitation amounts between one quarter and one half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 57°F. West southwest wind to 12 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 65%.
12 years
144 months
624.7 weeks
4,380 days
105,120 hours
6,307,200 minutes
378,432,000 seconds
126,146 RV miles traveled.
218,497,386 yards
655,492,190 feet
7,865,906,291 inches
It sure doesn't seem like 12 years and 126,146 miles, but 12 years ago today, Jim, Linda and I moved out of their house in Peotone, IL and moved into their 35' Winnebago Chieftain Motorhome and I can't believe all the sites we've seen and how many miles we've traveled!!!
I can still remember that first night, out in the driveway of the house. It was exciting, scary, weird, I had a lot of trouble sleeping, and did I mention scary?
Much of the furniture was already gone, and what wasn't, was sitting in the middle of the dining room waiting for someone to come and pick it up or for Jim and Linda to deliver it. The house had been on the market for some time, but had not sold yet, so Jim and Linda rented it out with the understanding that the people had to move if it did sell.
At that time, 2001, there wasn't much information available as to what the costs of full-timing would be, Cell phones and computer air cards were brand new or non-existent and basically unusable in most parts of the country. About the only way to keep in touch with anyone was by Pay Phone or a little device called "Pocket Mail" that you held up to the pay phone receiver to transfer messages over the phone lines. Phone Calling Cards were a big thing because if you had one and dialed in all the numbers on the pay phone, you got a better cost per minute rate.
I could go on and on, but the fact is that in those days, it was much harder to keep in touch with anyone, and you pretty much just "winged it", until you figured this full-timing thing out for yourself.
Did I mention that it was scary?
The first year I don't think many plans were made. We pretty much just went where the road led us. Then, after 9-11 and a health scare for Linda, it was decided that in 2002, we would go to Alaska, while we could.
What a trip!!! It's one I'll never forget!! : )
I don't remember just when it was, but the house finally sold and then Jim and Linda were completely free from any major obligations. What a relief!!!
We had some great times and some not-so-great times. Fun times and sad times. But when you weigh it all out, in the end, it's been a great ride and I'm sure glad that Jim and Linda brought me along. : )
The rest, as they say, is history. As most of you know, Jim and Linda bought a double wide manufactured home down in Florida this past winter. As of now, they have never slept or stayed in the house though, so they're still considering themselves full-timers.
All of that will change when we get back down to Florida in November, because at that time, Jim and Linda will park Bobbie T in the storage lot and we'll all move into the house.
I guess after that, we'll be "Part-Timers". : )
But, we still have about 5 1/2 months that we're going to be full-timing, and who knows where we'll go or what we'll see in that time. I'm looking forward to every second and every inch of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
Did you know that the average lead pencil can can be used to draw a line 35 miles long?
Woof!!!
63 deg. partly cloudy, W. wind @ 10mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Highs around 75°F. South wind 12 to 17 MPH, gusting to 24 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 85%. Precipitation amounts between one quarter and one half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 57°F. West southwest wind to 12 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 65%.
12 years
144 months
624.7 weeks
4,380 days
105,120 hours
6,307,200 minutes
378,432,000 seconds
126,146 RV miles traveled.
218,497,386 yards
655,492,190 feet
7,865,906,291 inches
It sure doesn't seem like 12 years and 126,146 miles, but 12 years ago today, Jim, Linda and I moved out of their house in Peotone, IL and moved into their 35' Winnebago Chieftain Motorhome and I can't believe all the sites we've seen and how many miles we've traveled!!!
I can still remember that first night, out in the driveway of the house. It was exciting, scary, weird, I had a lot of trouble sleeping, and did I mention scary?
Much of the furniture was already gone, and what wasn't, was sitting in the middle of the dining room waiting for someone to come and pick it up or for Jim and Linda to deliver it. The house had been on the market for some time, but had not sold yet, so Jim and Linda rented it out with the understanding that the people had to move if it did sell.
At that time, 2001, there wasn't much information available as to what the costs of full-timing would be, Cell phones and computer air cards were brand new or non-existent and basically unusable in most parts of the country. About the only way to keep in touch with anyone was by Pay Phone or a little device called "Pocket Mail" that you held up to the pay phone receiver to transfer messages over the phone lines. Phone Calling Cards were a big thing because if you had one and dialed in all the numbers on the pay phone, you got a better cost per minute rate.
I could go on and on, but the fact is that in those days, it was much harder to keep in touch with anyone, and you pretty much just "winged it", until you figured this full-timing thing out for yourself.
Did I mention that it was scary?
The first year I don't think many plans were made. We pretty much just went where the road led us. Then, after 9-11 and a health scare for Linda, it was decided that in 2002, we would go to Alaska, while we could.
What a trip!!! It's one I'll never forget!! : )
I don't remember just when it was, but the house finally sold and then Jim and Linda were completely free from any major obligations. What a relief!!!
We had some great times and some not-so-great times. Fun times and sad times. But when you weigh it all out, in the end, it's been a great ride and I'm sure glad that Jim and Linda brought me along. : )
The rest, as they say, is history. As most of you know, Jim and Linda bought a double wide manufactured home down in Florida this past winter. As of now, they have never slept or stayed in the house though, so they're still considering themselves full-timers.
All of that will change when we get back down to Florida in November, because at that time, Jim and Linda will park Bobbie T in the storage lot and we'll all move into the house.
I guess after that, we'll be "Part-Timers". : )
But, we still have about 5 1/2 months that we're going to be full-timing, and who knows where we'll go or what we'll see in that time. I'm looking forward to every second and every inch of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )
Did you know that the average lead pencil can can be used to draw a line 35 miles long?
Woof!!!
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