Indiana To Illinois, That "Back Home Feeling" and My Injury

Rantoul, IL.

71 deg. clear, SW breeze @ 6 mph.

Forecast = Mixed clouds and sun with scattered thunderstorms. A few storms may be severe. High 83F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.


We left the Lake Haven Retreat Campground, South of Indianapolis about 10:15 and headed back North to I-465 on Rt 37. 465 then took us on around the SW and W sides of the city and up to I-74. 74 then took us NE through the West part of Indiana and into Illinois, where we pulled into a Rest area so Jim could do a "walk around" to make sure everything was OK after going over some very rough road sections.

In Illinois, we had Road construction for about 20 miles, but the traffic moved well and we didn't have any delays. Once we got to the little town of St. Joseph, we turned off of I-74 and took county roads up here to Rantoul and the Prairie Pines Campground.

It was 11:40 when we pulled up in front of the office, so it took us just 1 hour and 25 minutes to travel the 135 miles over here.

Wait!!! Wait!!! that can't be right!!!!  Oh, I forgot!!! we crossed into the Central Time Zone so it was 12:40 when we arrived. It took us 2 hours and 25 minutes! That's better. ;-)

We'll be staying here at Prairie Pines for most of the summer. We really like it here and it always seems like we're coming back home and it feels very "comfortable" when we arrive. We know quite a few people who come here regularly and in fact, a few of them have already stopped by to welcome us back. :-)

Well, I guess I'd better tell you about me getting hurt on the way here to Rantoul, in case I end up in the hospital or something!!

You see, on the way here, we were on a rough section of I-74 and Linda opened the little cooler that we have to get out a bottle of water. Well, just as she was closing the lid, we hit a big bump, I slipped and before I could react, the lid was closed on my leg!!!!

Wow!!! That really hurt!!!!

I don't think it's broken and neither do Jim or Linda, so I think I'll be OK in a few days, but it's really sore now!!!  Luckily it was my back leg or I wouldn't be able to write the Blog!!!

 Did you know that there are between 20,000 and 23,000 animal hospitals in the United States?

Woof!!!

A Drive On The "Parkway", Two Dinners, Saying Good-by and A Little Shopping

Marion, NC.

61 deg. mostly clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mixed clouds and sun this morning. Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 82F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.


After Linda woke up and had her breakfast, Wednesday morning, the discussion of what she and Jim were going to do came up and even though the weather looked "iffy", they decided to take Big RED and head up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Once up there the weather turned out to be really nice with mixed sun and clouds with the temperatures in the low to mid 70;s.

Jim decided to take NC Rt. 80 up there and Big RED said that it was an "interesting" drive with most of it being a very narrow 2 land road with lots of steep hills, curves and switch-backs all along the route. :-O  Once up on the "Parkway" though, the road was wider with fewer hills and curves and Big RED said that he really enjoyed the drive. :-)

There are places that you can pull off of the parkway that are called "Scenic Overlooks" and one of the first ones they came to was this Black Mountain Overlook. The photos don't really show it, but I understand that it was a long way down to the bottom of the valley and it was very pretty.

Just before they exited the Blue Ridge Parkway, they came upon a Motorcycle accident. It looked like the cycle had run off the road at a curve. There were other cyclist attending to the injured man, but Jim was able to use the GPS to tell them exactly where they were on the Parkway so they could inform the 911 operator that they had called. It didn't look like the driver was hurt too bad, but one of the other cyclist said that he had a lot of "road rash" and was bleeding pretty bad. :-(

I hope he'll be OK, His beautiful full-dress motorcycle didn't look to good though. :-(

After they returned, Jim took a nap and Linda did some more embroidery work.

Around 6:00 Jim and Linda headed over to the pavilion where they had a tasty meal of hamburgers, hot dogs mac and cheese all the fixin's and a brownie for desert. It was served buffet style, so you could pick and choose what you wanted. Then after eating they headed over to the bonfire that Howard had just lit and sat and talked until it started getting "buggy" and chilly.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda were sitting out under the awhing talking to Pat and Jim from next door when Linda Payne, stopped by for a little while and joined the conversation. That was nice and unexpected because she and Howard have so much "Rally Stuff" to do to keep everything going smoothly.

After lunch, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed over to the Tom Johnson RV Center store where Jim bought a new fitting for his sewer hose. It's the one that screws into the fitting at the CG and the old one he's using now is getting all weathered from age. He's afraid that one of these days it's just going to fall apart.

For dinner, Jim and Linda decided to go out to eat. Dennis and Char had told them about a place called "FATZ" that they had been to, so they headed over there and had excellent fish and chips meals at a very reasonable price. :-)

By the time they returned here to the park, it had started to rain off and on, so they came inside and watched TV.

A little later, Dennis and Char stopped by to say good-by. They're needing to head back down to Texas where they work-camp at a State Park, and will be leaving early this morning. It was really nice of them to stop by. It's too bad that they had to leave the Rally early. Jim and Linda have really enjoyed seeing them again.

Hopefully we'll be seeing them again some day.

Not much planned for today. Big RED needs a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel and Linda has a letter ready to mail, so I suppose they'll do those things.

Did you know that the Blue Ridge Parkway is America's longest linear park and covers a distance of 469 miles?

Woof!!!

Excitement At The Apache CG and Leaving Early On Saturday

Williamston, NC.

49 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Cloudy with occasional rain...mainly in the morning. High 56F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Friday was another beautiful day at Myrtle Beach, (All of the days we spent there were very nice, but cool,)  Being that it was our last day there, it was decided that we'd just hang out and enjoy the ocean view and sounds.

Well, all of that went according to plan until mid afternoon when all of a sudden there was a loud "woomp" sound outside and then a "crack" and "bang"!!!!!

Jim looked outside just in time to see the big fancy 5th wheel across the street from us being hit by the rear end of a large travel trailer, that was trying to make a swing to get into position to back into a site.

It's the  "Elite Sweets" 5th wheel in the photo above which is one site down and across the street from Nora.

Well, in a few minutes many people were over there and it soon became apparent that more than likely the 5th wheel had sustained some major damage. Besides the front cap of the trailer being broken and pushed in, the hitch being hit with the lip bent up, the whole trailer was knocked off of the approximately 6 inch high blocks that were under it's front hydraulic jacks/stands.

This trailer has a 6 point leveling/stabilizing system, so that when the front jacks were knocked off of the blocks, all the weight of the front of the trailer was  transferred to the jacks under the middle of the trailer. Because the trailer was pushed sideways, these jacks were bent off to the side and hopefully just the jack brackets were bent and not the main trailer frame that they attach to.

There was also a crack in the fiberglass on the far side of the trailer where the overhang of the front of the trailer attaches to the main part.

The people who own the trailer were out on the beach at the time, so no one was inside and no one got hurt. I guess that was the most important thing, but I strongly expect that the 5th wheel trailer has some major damage, possibly to it's frame, which just might total it out!!! :-(

Some men came later in the day and got the trailer re-leveled and stabilized. I don't know if the people who own the trailer stayed in it Friday night or not.  Insurance companies were called and now it's up to what they find. I really feel bad for the owners of this beautiful trailer. :-(

The other trailer was damaged quite a bit too, but I couldn't see the extent because soon after the accident, they moved it farther down the street and into it's site to get it out of the roadway so others could pass.

The original plan was to leave Myrtle Beach around 10:00 or so on Saturday morning and head up to North Topsail Beach, North Carolina and spend a few days up there. Well, because of the weather forecast of rain most of this weekend, Jim got out that big eraser of his again and plans were changed. ;-)

Both he and Linda decided that instead of stopping at North Topsail, they'd just go ahead and skip that stop and drive all the way up here to Williamston instead. Now, this would mean a fairly long day for us, but Jim knew the road and decided that it wouldn't be too much over the 3 to 4 hours that we normally travel.

So, being that rain was forecasted to start mid to late morning, they got up early and started packing things up and by 7:45, we were pulling out of the Apache Family CG in a light drizzle.

Once back on US 17 we followed it up through North Myrtle Beach, into North Carolina and up here to Williston NC and to the Pierce Mobile Home and Travel Trailer Park. It was 236 miles from Myrtle Beach up to here and it too us about 4 hours and 45 minutes to make the trip. (including one "pit stop" along the way. :-)

This was a long travel day for us, but we did run out of the light rain about an hour North of Myrtle Beach. The rest of the trip was under overcast skies on a fairly good road and not a whole lot of traffic being that it was a Saturday morning.

OH, just one more thing. about 45 minutes after we were in our site and set up, the skies opened up and it rained for most of the rest of the afternoon and evening.

I'm sure glad we left as early as we did, or it would have been pretty miserable setting up in the rain.

We're staying here for 2 nights and that will put us at Joe and Nancy's house on Monday instead of Tuesday, but Linda called them and they said that they were happy that we'd be getting there earlier than planned.

I know that this post has gotten quite long, so I'll quit for now. It's only about a 100 miles from here to Virginia Beach and the weather is forecasted to be nice for tomorrow, so it should be an easy trip. ;-)

Did you know that Williamston was the focus of activity in the civil rights movement? Beginning in June 1963, civil rights activists protested at City Hall for 29 consecutive days.

Woof!!!

Guess Who's Coming To Lunch? and An Accident

DeBary, FL.

67 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast =

Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 93F. Winds from the South at 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday, Jim called Mike to let him know how Linda was doing and to ask about Dillon. Guess what he found out? Mike told Jim that Dillon evidently didn't have Chickenpox because all the spots were gone and his fever was also down to normal.

Wow!!! That means that Mike and his family can stop by here Saturday on the way back up to North Carolina!!!!

Of course, with 3 children, things can happen, but it sure looks like this is doable. ;-)

So, the plan is for Mike, Gina, Susan, (Gina's Mother), and the kids to stop by here around noon on Saturday for lunch, and then continue their trip from here after seeing the house and visiting for awhile.

The house is still in pretty good shape, so a little straightening up a quick dusting and a vacuuming of the floors is really all that will be needed.

Today, there's nothing planned except to get the house ready and go to Winn Dixie to pick up a few items for lunch tomorrow. I kind of doubt if Linda will go along to the grocery store since she's still quite sore from the exam the other day.

Oh, one more thing.

Jim got an e-mail from Bev. You long time readers will remember that Bev is Denny's wife,.(part of the Illinois Bunch), She said that Denny had had an accident with his Gold Wing Motorcycle. Denny is OK with just some soreness and road rash, but Denise his adult daughter who was riding with him, did not fare so well. She's in the hospital with 7 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, 7 stitches in her elbow and quite a bit of road rash. Bev said that while they were going around a curve the bike hit some wet pavement and went down, sending them and the bike into a guard rail.

Denny feels really bad that Denise got hurt, but it could have been worse. Thankfully they were wearing helmets, (Denise's was destroyed), and were dressed properly.

Our thoughts and prayers are heading their way and we're hoping for a speedy recovery for Denise.

Did you know that today is "National Chocolate Cupcake Day"?

Woof!!!

It's Falling Together and Waiting And Waiting And Waiting

DeBary, FL.

43 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 79°F. South wind 0 to 10 MPH, gusting to 10 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 57°F. Southeast wind 5 to 10 MPH.

It was about 10:00 yesterday morning when CLT took Jim and Linda over to the house. On the way over there, they stopped at a garage sale and found a few small items that they'll need at the house. CLT says that he thinks it was about 10:45 by the time they arrived at the house.

Now, of course the reason to go over to the house this early was to be there during the 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM time frame that "Rooms To Go" had told them that the delivery of the bed would be made. Like I said, this was fine with Jim and Linda because there were things that needed to be done over there anyway.

Also, Nancy, (the Community Manager), upon Jim's request, had set up a meeting with a man named "Bob" who she said would be willing to take care of the lawn during the summer and possibly do some other work around the house that will be needed while we're up North for the summer. She also said that he was very knowledgeable as to what needed to be done to the house to ready it for the summer.

Bob lives at Highland Country Estates, so about 12:45, he pulled into the driveway in his golf cart. After introductions, he, Jim and Linda sat down and talked about what needed to be done before we leave and about the normal yard work that needs to be done along with some other things that Jim and Linda would like to have Bob do during the summer.

CLT says that Bob was there for over an hour. He and Jim went all the way around the house and discussed  different items that he and Jim thought needed attention.

Well, to make a long story short, Jim and Linda liked Bob and hired him to do the work. He seems very responsible and conscientious  and his prices are, (Jim and Linda feel), more than fair. Jim and Linda have his phone number and e-mail address and he has theirs, so there will be some communication while we're gone.

All this is very new to Jim and Linda so they're going to have to rely on recommendations and advice of some other people.  This first year will be a test and there will probably be some things that they'll change in the future. Only time will tell. ; )

OK, back to the delivery of the bed from Rooms To Go.

A little before 3:00, Jim and Linda received a phone call from Rooms To Go, saying that the delivery truck was running a little behind and it wouldn't be arriving until a little after 3:00. By 4:00 there was still no sign of the truck and Jim was just about ready to tell them to,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , well, you can imagine what Jim was thinking!!

Anyway, Linda called the phone number they had for Rooms To Go and finally talked to the dispatcher who told her that "the truck was on it's way and should be there in just a few minutes."

OK, they continued to wait!!! And wait!!! And wait!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, about 5:30, the truck pulled up in front of the house!!!!! By this time, Jim and Linda had been waiting for the delivery for about 6 1/2 hours and both of them were not happy campers!! But, it didn't pay to tick the delivery people off, so they tried to be pleasant as the men unloaded the bed, brought it into the  house and assembled it.

Anyway, they now have it and Linda really likes her "4 Poster Bed"!!!!! ; ) And in the end, I guess that's what's important. : )

By this time, both Jim and Linda were hungry so they headed over to Steak N Shake for a sandwich. Then came back here to Highbanks and watched TV until bedtime.

Oh, one last thing. Jim needs to find out for sure, but he and Linda heard last night the the couple in the MH parked next to us had an accident with their motorcycle yesterday. They heard that he has a lot of "road rash", and she is in the hospital over by Titusville with some broken bones, but nothing life threatening.

I'm sure Jim will find out more today and I'll be sure to let you know how they're doing. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they seem like a very nice couple.

Did you know that the Earth is 80 times the size of the moon?

Comment Replies and Friends Comming

DeBary, FL.

42 deg. clear, NW wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 64°F. North northwest wind to 16 MPH, gusting to 23 MPH.
Tonight: Clear. Lows around 43°F. Wind chill around 39°F. North northeast wind 5 to 12 MPH.

Hasn't been much to report. Jim and Linda have been reorganizing, taking stuff to the house, bringing different stuff back here, and finding out how the different things in Bobbie T work.

Had a few comments on my last post that I'd like to address. Rod wanted to know about Bobbie T's name and if it's Welch or Gaelic like Myrddin or Emrys?  Well, I don't know much about Welch or Gaelic, but I think Bobbie T is just good old American!!! ; )

Barbara wanted to know if there was room for me on Bobbie T's dash, so that I can report from the road? I'm sure there is. I'm pretty small and I can squeeze in almost anywhere. Besides, I've been riding up on the dash of every MH that Jim and Linda have owned, and I'm not about to take a back seat now!!!

Thanks to all of the rest of you that commented. I'm glad you like my blog so far.

Today, Roland and Louise are coming for a visit and to meet Bobbie T. You long time readers know that they are some of Jim and Linda's best friends. We've stayed at their house in NC, went to visit them in Frostproof in the winter, and they've come up to Rantoul, IL to see us when we're up there for the summer.

Jim and Linda met them during their first year of full-timing at a CG on the panhandle of FL. They weren't full timing then, but started soon after talking to Jim and Linda. Then, a few years later, while driving their car, they had a horrible head-on accident where Louise was very badly injured. After that, they couldn't travel as much, but Jim and Linda remained good friends with Roland and Louise all through the years. They've also bought a double-wide in Frostproof and are thinking about downsizing from their Winnebago Journey to something smaller like Bobbie T.

They should be getting here sometime this morning. : )

Not much else to post about. I'm sure today will be a fun day, visiting with Roland and Louise.

Post's over folks... you kennel move on now.

Woof!!