First It Was Nora, Then Lila and Now Big RED!!!!

DeBary, FL.

83 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast tonight = Clear. Lows overnight in the mid 60s.

Forecast tomorrow = Sunny, High 96F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.

First, Nora left us when Jim and Linda took Big RED and pulled her down to Palm Beach where Laura and Lindsey traded her in on a brand new, smaller trailer. (which is really nice, by the way),  I thought that would be the end of it, but then, all of a sudden, this last Thursday, Jim and Linda went car shopping!!!!!

 When they returned, they were driving a different car and Lila had been traded in on it!!!

Friday, Jim had an Opdivo treatment in the morning and a Radiation treatment in the afternoon. Then, Friday evening, Laura and Lindsey stopped by and Lindsey helped Jim clean out the back of Big RED!! That made me wonder what was going on, but I didn't have to wait too long to find out!!

This morning, Linda took the car they had brought back from the dealer on Thursday and Jim got into Big RED. Then, they both drove away!!!

Well, come to find out, they had traded Lila and Big RED in on a brand new car!!!!

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  say hello to Lily!!!!  She's a brand new Toyota Camry LE and she only had 8 miles on her speedometer when Jim and Linda pulled out of the dealer's lot on Thursday!!

I guess you're wondering why they did this and why they named the new car Lily. Well. Jim decided that Lila wasn't suitable for any kind of longer distance traveling. She was great around town and was just what they needed before Jim decided that he really couldn't handle RVing any longer. But, out on the road, she wasn't very comfortable to drive for longer distances and she was quite small.

Big RED was quite large and hard to get around with. especially in towns and cities. He also didn't get real great mileage and the cost of diesel fuel is always higher than regular gas.

So, by doing some "trading", Jim and Linda traded both of them in on Lily and even got some "cash back" because Lila and Big RED were worth more than the price of the new Camry! ;-)

Now, there is only one insurance bill,  one license fee and for the first time in a long time, we now have plenty of room in the driveway!!! And Lily should get pretty decent gas mileage on trips.

Now, why was she named Lily, you ask??? Well, Linda thinks her color looks just like that of an Easter Lily. Hence, the name.

On the way back from the dealer today, they stopped at a Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch and had a great meal. It was the first time they went out to eat, anywhere special, for a long time.

Jim and Linda are both doing fine. Jim is experiencing  quite a bit of fatigue but is still able to do most things, just at a slower pace or by resting from time to time. He hasn't had any serious side effects from the Opdivo as of yet and so that's going well. This coming Tuesday he will have his last Radiation treatment, and I'm sure he won't mind not having to go to have them every weekday.

When Jim takes more photos of Lily, I'll post them here.

A Quote to Ponder = "You  will never change your life until you change something you do daily"
                                   Mike Murdock

Woof!!!!
I hope Jim and Linda take me for a ride in that new car soon. :-)

Treatments and She's Gone

DeBary, FL.

69 deg. clear no wind.

Forecast = Mainly sunny. High 89F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph.


Jim started his Opdivo treatments Friday and so far, the side effects have not been too bad. He's been having some aching in his legs, a slight headache at times and some fatigue which may be from the radiation or the Opdivo. (Probably both)

He's half way through his radiation treatments now. and the last one will be the day after Memorial Day.

Laura and Lindsey have been meeting Jim and Linda out at the CG where Nora was parked to help clean her out. It's amazing how much "stuff" you can accumulate in such a small space! :-)  Then, on Saturday, Jim and Linda took Big RED out to the CG, hooked Nora up to the back of him and took her all the way down to Palm Beach where Lindsey and Laura had made a deal on a brand new 19' travel trailer. It was about 185 miles down there, so it ended up being a long day of driving for Jim.

Even though Jim and Linda just dropped Nora off at Palm Beach and then came right back, it took them about 7 hours which included a stop for "brunch" at a Bob Evans Restaurant on the way back.

So,  ,  ,  ,  , for the first time in almost 30 years, Jim and Linda don't have an RV. How do they feel about that, You ask???? Well there's mixed emotions. It was hard to drive away from that dealer's lot, down in Palm Beach, but in a way, it felt good to not have to worry about Nora sitting at the CG for months at a time without anyone really looking after her.

But, it was time. Neither Jim or Linda can see the time when we'll be traveling near as much as we have, even in the past few years, so having an RV for such limited travel just didn't make sense. Jim figures that the money saved by not having to pay CG fees, insurance and license fees alone, will more than make up for the Motel/Hotel fees we'll have to pay for our limited travels.

What are our plans for this summer? Well, they're all on hold for now. When Jim's done with his treatments, (sometime in July), and he has a scan, we'll find out what travel plans can be made. Jim and Linda would really like to get up to Illinois to see doctors, family and friends and they really would like to get up to N. Carolina and Virginia to see Mike and Joe and their families, but only time will tell if that's going to be possible.

A Quote to Ponder;  Dream the impossible dream, Fight the unbeatable foe, Strive with your last ounce of courage, to reach the unreachable star.
Joe Darion

Woof!!!

More On Jim's Treatments and A "Kicker"

DeBary, FL.

53 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Abundant sunshine. High 88F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.


On Tuesday, the 2nd of May, Jim had his first radiation treatment. He will have a treatment every weekday for a total of 20 treatments. He did not however. start the Opdivo treatments on the 5th as we had thought because he had some major concerns about the frequency and the total length of time the whole series of treatments would take. (Possibly taking a whole year)!!!!  So instead of a treatment on the 5th, he and Linda had another meeting with Dr. Gupta which lasted for a better part of an hour.

She went into much more detail as to what to expect and also explained what the options were as far as treatment frequency, how some summer travel could be accommodated during the time Jim was having the treatments and  how a treatment or two could be handled, even while we would be traveling.

All of this put both Jim and Linda's minds much more at ease and gave them a more positive outlook for Jim's future.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jim will start the Opdivo treatments on the 12th of May. He'll have them every other week for 2 months and then will get a scan, (either CAT or PET). If the scan is good, he may not have to have any more treatments for at least 3 months. If the scan shows something, he will have to continue the treatments but more than likely, will be able to get a treatment or two at a facility up North during our travels.

It's not ideal, but at least we'll be able to head up to Illinois so that Linda and Jim can go to their doctors and financial adviser up there and possibly get together with some friends and family.

All in all, both Jim and Linda are feeling much better about these treatments and the outcome of them. There's always a great risk with cancer, but it sounds like they may have caught this round very early and it is hoped that the doctors will be able to knock it out. It may come back or spread in the future, but if Jim has scans frequently, they should be able to "control" it for quite some time.

OK now for the "kicker"..  Jim and Linda have decided to "hang up the keys" as far as RVing goes. Laura and Lindsey, (Linda and Jim's daughter and her husband), will get Nora. They may use her as a trade-in on a different trailer, (more to their liking and smaller, so they can pull it behind their smaller truck). Jim is thinking we'll keep Big RED for now, to use for travel this summer, and then sell him this fall.

The reason for this???? Well, it doesn't look like we'll be traveling a real lot anymore and the cost of insurance, maintenance and lot rent keeps going up while both vehicles are sitting around gathering dust and rust. Jim has done a lot of research and has concluded that because we won't be traveling as much, it would be less costly to stay in hotels/motels and also save a lot of fuel by traveling either with just Big RED or even more with Lila, (Linda's car). This will also make it much easier on Jim, as he won't have to be hooking and unhooking Nora and there's less stress traveling if you're not pulling a trailer or driving a large vehicle.

I'm planning on keeping this blog going as long as I can. It won't be about RVing any longer, but it will help friends and family keep up on what's happening with Jim and Linda as well as where and what we're doing while on "vacation".

So, keep checking back. I'm hoping to blog about some of our past RVing adventures on the road as well as our travels this summer. If everything goes according to plan, we should be leaving here sometime in July or early August to head up North. In the meantime, I'll be letting you know how treatments are going and on what's happening around here.

A Quote to Ponder:  "The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we're ready for it."
                                  Arnold Glasgow

Woof!!!

Did You "Spring Ahead" and Water, Water Everywhere!

DeBary, FL.

61 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Becoming cloudy with occasional rain during the afternoon. High 79F. SSE winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.


Did you remember to "spring ahead" last night? Jim set most of the clocks here in the double-wide last night, but still has a few to do this morning. 

We had a little excitement here a week ago. Jim went out the back door and into the screen room and found water running across the floor!!! :-(  After a little inspection, it was determined that the house water heater had sprung a leak and was doing it's best to completely soak the floor and everything that was setting on it! Luckily most things were not down on the cement floor so just a few boxes got wet. 

After getting a few items up off of the floor, Jim called Kevin, (our local handyman). He came over and confirmed that it was indeed the water heater that was leaking. He told Jim that he was pretty sure that the local Lows had new water heaters like we needed in stock, so after Kevin left, Jim took Big RED and headed over there to purchase one. 

Anyway, Jim got the heater, Kevin came back in the afternoon and installed it, and now everything is good again! ;-) 

Not much else to report. Jim took Big RED in for an oil change the other day. He's been over to the CG to do a little work on Nora. He still needs to take Big RED someplace to get new tires for him, ( the old ones are pretty much worn out and the sidewalls are starting to crack), but hasn't decided on where to purchase them yet. Those tires are going to be a pretty big expense, so he wants to try to get the best deal possible. 

Both Linda and Jim seem to be doing fine. The tree pollen has been pretty bad lately, so they've both had some problems with that. No test or anything until next month, so nothing to report there. 

Did you know that  DST was established in 1918?

Woof!!!

The Scan and The Results

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 79F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph.


Thursday morning, a little past 9:30, Lila, (who started right up after setting for 4 1/2 months with a Battery Tender hooked up to her battery), took Jim and Linda over to Dr. Graham's office for his 10:00 appointment to get the PET Scan. They got there in plenty of time and a little after 10:00 they called Jim in to get started.

After getting the injection of some radioactive "stuff", Jim had to sit in a little room for an hour to let the "stuff" completely circulate throughout his body. Then, they put him on the scan machine and in about 20 more minutes, he was finished.

Being that Jim hadn't been able to eat or drink anything, (except water), since the night before, he and Linda headed over to Bob Evans for a good breakfast.

Jim hadn't slept very well, so they decided that they'd skip going over to the CG to get more things out of Nora. Instead they came back here to the house where Jim took a nice long nap. ;-)

Then, yesterday morning, Jim had to go back to Dr. Graham's office to get the results of the Scan. He and Linda got there about 9:40, so they had to sit and wait for awhile. In fact, even after the nurse took them back into one of those little exam rooms. they still had to wait for almost 45 minutes before the Dr. came in to see them!!!

Talk about a tense time!!!!!

Eventually, the Dr. came in and gave them the results of the scan.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , "What were the results", You ask????  Well the Dr. said that according to the scan, there are, (Are you ready for this?) No active cancer cells anywhere in Jim's body!!!!!! 

There is some scar tissue in his left lung, but that is to be expected, but the lung looks better than it did in the last scan, which Jim had back in the spring. This does not mean that the cancer will never come back, but as of now, as far as they can tell, Jim is cancer free!!! :-)  :-)  ;-)

A huge load came off of Jim's shoulders when he said that, and Linda cried.

So, because of the thoughts and prayers from all of you and the good doctors, Jim is doing well and will hopefully, be around for quite a few more years. Thank You!!! Thank You!!! Thank You!!!


Did you know that November is Banana Pudding Lovers Month?

Woof!!!

Calahan To Delton, Stuck In The Sand and Back At The House

DeBary, FL.

73 deg, clear, no wind.

Forecast tonight = Showers possible early. Lows overnight in the mid 60s.
Forecast tomorrow = Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 83F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.


We left Kelly's, just North of Callahan, FL about 5 minute before 10:00 Tuesday morning and continued South on US 301. After passing through Callahan, we followed US 1 down to I-295 which took us around the West side of Jacksonville and down to the South side of the city, where we turned South on US 17. 17 then brought us all the way down to DeBary, where we turned East on local roads and follow them to Deltona, FL. and to the Paradise Lakes CG and RV Park. 

It was about 1:10 when we pulled into the CG, so it took us right at 3 hours and 15 minutes to travel the 154 miles down here.

Jim had called the CG before we left Callahan, and was instructed to just go ahead and take the site we had last year, so when we arrived, we headed right for site 118. All was going well until Jim tried to back Nora into the site. That's when Nora's wheels hit some soft sand and sunk in about 5 inches!!! Needless to say, we were stuck!!!! :-O

Jim called the manager, (Kelly), and she sent her father over to the site with a medium sized tractor. After unhooking Nora from the back of Big RED, they used the tractor to back Nora into the site and then used the bucket on the tractor to smooth the sand in the site and the road.

After all that, Jim and Linda got Nora set up and then headed over to the Double Wide to get it opened up and to unload a bunch of "stuff" from the back of Big RED so that then they could bring boxes back to use for transporting items that needed to go to the house. While they were at the house, Laura and Lindsey stopped by to talk and welcome us back home. During this time, it was decided that we'd spend the night in Nora at the CG and start moving things in the morning, with Laura and Lindsey's help. :-)

So, this morning, Laura and Lindsey came out to the CG, helped pack things in the boxes and then came here to the house and helped carry everything into the house and even help put some of it away.

There's still some stuff in Nora that needs to be brought here to the house, but it's nothing that Jim and Linda will need right away, so they'll bring it over here in the next few days.

Jim and Linda put some more stuff away this afternoon, but took it kind of easy as they were both pretty tired. In the morning, Jim has his PET Scan appointment at 10:00, so nothing will get done then. If Jim's feeling OK, they may go over to the CG and load up a few more items to bring back here, but we'll see.

Then, on Friday morning at 10:00 Jim and Linda will go see Dr. Graham to get the results of the scan. Jim is pretty worried, and it's going to be real hard to go and see the Dr.  Linda and I are worried too, but Linda has confidence that the test will show that everything is OK.

I sure hope so!!!

If you would like to know more about PET Scans, here's a link that tells about the procedure

Did you know that this week is "National Fig Week?"

Woof!!! 

Myrtle Beach, SC to Walterboro, SC and Hurricane Matthew Storm Damage.

Walterboro, SC

68 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast tomorrow - Abundant sunshine. Record high temperatures expected. High 86F. Winds light and variable.

As promised, here's a few more photos that Jim took at Apache Family CG in Myrtle Beach, SC

 Jim took this photo, standing in Nora's doorway.

View of beach from the top of the small dune

Looking back towards our site from dune.

Road between our site and dune.

The Apache CG is nice and the view is great if you can get a water-front site, but they do pack the RVs in here and you don't have much room on either side.

Because we had a 2:00 pm check in time at our next stop, we didn't leave the Apache CG until about 10:35 this morning. We returned to US 17, following it South down to Charleston where we took I-526 around the North side of the City, connecting with 17 again on the West side of the city. We then followed 17 to Jacksonboro, SC where we turned NE on SC 64, 64 took us up to Walterboro and to the New Green Acres RV Park. It was 2:20 when we pulled into the park, so it took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes to travel the 167 miles down here and stop to fill Big RED's fuel tank in Walterboro.

Not too bad when you consider the very heavy traffic in Myrtle Beach and Charleston.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, we haven't seen much damage from hurricane Matthew, all the way down the coast from Virginia Beach to the Apache CG which is on the Northern edge of Myrtle Beach. Today, however was another story. We saw many, many trees down along side of US 17 in the center part of Myrtle Beach, down to Murrells Inlet and a lot of trees down all the way to Charleston. We also saw some areas that were evidently flooded as the people had moved furniture and other belongings to the curb for pick-up. There were also a few homes that had tarps over their roofs, so I'm surmising that they have roof damage.

I feel so sorry for some of those people. They have lost everything.

We're only staying here at New Green Acres for one night. Tomorrow, we'll be heading further South.


Did you know that Halloween candy sales average about 2 billion dollars annually in the United States?

Woof!!!

Norh Carolina to South Carolina

Myrtle Beach, SC.

63 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High around 80F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Jim took a few photos at the Surf City CG Tuesday, so I thought I'd post a couple of them here today.

 The Beach from the top of the sand dune.

Part of Surf City CG.  Can you spot Nora?

 Another shot of the CG. Main entrance with office on the right side of photo


We left the Surf City Campground right at 10:00 Wednesday morning.  After turning left out of the CA on NC 210, we followed it back to US 17. 17 brought us all the way down here to Myrtle Beach, SC and the Apache Family CG and Pier  It was 12:15 when we pulled up on front of the office, so it took us an hour and 15 minutes to travel the 105 miles down here.

This is a much larger CG than we usually stay at, but being that Jim called a long time ago for reservations, we have a great site right next to the beach. There is a narrow road and a small sand dune, but you can see right over the dune from Nora to watch the ocean do its thing. ;-)

The only photo that Jim has taken so far is this one of yesterday's sunrise and the pier.

I'm sure he'll be taking a few more and I'll be sure to post them when he does.

We'll be leaving here tomorrow morning, (Saturday), and will continue heading towards Florida. We're still on schedule to get there on the 1st of November.

Did you know that South Carolina entered the Union on May 23, 1788 and became the 8th state?

Woof!!!

Heading South

North Topsail Beach, NC.

55 deg. clear, NE wind @ 12 mph. gusting to 17 mph.

Forecast =  Sunny. High 69F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.


After a great visit with Joe and his family, we left Virginia Beach Sunday morning at about 10:10.  I don't know just why, but leaving was very hard for Linda this time. There were quite a few tears shed. :-(

From Virginia Beach, we took I-264 back West to I-64, took 64 around to the South side of Norfolk where we turned South on US 17. 17 then brought us down into North Carolina and to Williamston, where we pulled into Pierce's Mobile Home and RV Park. It was 12:35 when we arrived, so it took us right at 2 hours and 25 minutes to travel the 124 miles down there.

Pierce's is a nice quiet park that we've stayed at many times before, and most importantly, they have full hook-ups so that Jim could dump Nora's black and grey water tanks that were very full after our 9 day stay in Joe's driveway!!

About 9:45 yesterday morning we left Pierce's and continued South on US 17. after following 17 down through New Bern and Jacksonville, NC we turned off on NC 210 in Dixon, NC and followed 210 over to the Coast and to North Topsail Beach and the Surf City Family CG. It was 12:15 when we pulled up in front of the office so it took us right at 2 and a half hours to travel the 129 miles down here.

The Surf City CG is another park we've stayed at quite a few times before. There's absolutely nothing fancy about the park, but the owners are very friendly, it's quiet and there's a beautiful view of the ocean from the top of the sand dune.

Today, Jim and Linda are thinking about going out to dinner at one of the many restaurants in the area. Then, tomorrow we'll leave here and head down to Myrtle beach, SC for a 3 day stay in that area.


Did you know that on this date in 1955 - The microwave oven, for home use, was introduced by The Tappan Company?

Woof!!!

NC To VA and All Set Up At Joe And Nancy's

Virginia Beach, VA.

56 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High 67F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.


We left Roanoke Rapids yesterday morning around 10:20 and headed North on I-95. After crossing into Virginia we turned East on US 58 at Emporia and followed it all the way to I-64 which circles around the South and East sides of Norfolk. Once on the East side of Norfolk, we turned East on I-264 which brought us to Virginia Beach and Joe and Nancy's house.

It was about 12:45 when we pulled up in front of the house, so it took us about 2 hours and 25 minutes to travel the  123 miles over here.

In just a few minutes, Jim had Nora backed into the driveway and soon had her unhooked from the back of Big RED and leveled. Then it was just a matter of hooking up the electric, (20 amps) and the water.

We'll be staying here for a total of 9 days and then we'll start heading South towards Florida with a stop at a CG in Myrtle Beach, (if hurricane Mathew didn't wash it away). :-)

Did you know that the Great Dismal Swamp is in Virginia near the North Carolina border?


Woof!!!

We're OK and Thanks For Inquireing

Moncure, NC.

50 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast tonight = Clear skies. Low 43F. Winds light and variable.  Brrrrrrr!!!!!


Last Friday, the rain started and it didn't quit until early Sunday morning. Saturday, it rained really hard all day and along with the rain, we had some pretty strong winds in the 30 to 40 mph range with gusts into the mid 50 mph range. How much did it rain, you ask? Well I really don't know cause Jim's rain gauge only goes up to 4 inches and it started running over, sometime during the day on Saturday. :-O   We kept electric power the whole time, except for a few blinks, but much of the area around us lost power, and in fact some are still without electricity.  

There's flooding everywhere from here to the coast and many cities are completely swamped and underwater. Many roads are closed, including I-95 and I-40 in the SE part of N. Carolina.

Wednesday, we're scheduled to leave here and head for Virginia Beach, but we talked to Linda's son, Joe, and they don't have any electricity, so we're going to head up to Roanoke Rapids and stay at an RV Park there for a few days. Then, we'll see where we go from there. Hopefully power will be restored in VA Beach and we can continue with our plans.

Jim and Linda want to thank all of you who commented, called or e-mailed them in the last few days and asked about our welfare. We're fine, and weathered the storm without any problems. It got a little scary a few time, but Nora did very well.

I don't know what we'll be doing after we go to Joe's.  Myrtle Beach, SC., (where we have reservations at a CG), was also hit really hard and as of now, we don't even know if the CG is in operation or not, or if we can even get to Myrtle Beach or not.

So, again, it's good that all of our plans are written in pencil and that Jim still has that big eraser!! ;-)


Did you know that the deadliest weather disaster in U.S. history was an unnamed hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas, on Sept. 8, 1900, as a powerful Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of more than 130 mph (209 kph)?  It killed an estimated 8,000 people.


Woof!!!

Visiting Friends and Travel To Moncure, NC

Moncure, NC

71 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy with isolated thunderstorms possible. High 79F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%.


When I last posted, we were at the Creekwood Farm CG near Waynesville, NC. We left there about 10:40, after a 1 nights stay and continued Southeast on I-40.  Since we had already gone over the Smoky Mountains the day before, the driving became easier the farther we went. When we got to Asheville, we turned South and then East on I-26 to Columbus, NC where it again turned South and we continued East on US 74. 74 took us to Forest City, NC where we turned off on local roads and headed to Roland and Louise's house just outside of the city.

It was about 12:25 when we pulled into their driveway, so it took us just about an hour and 45 minutes to travel the 90 miles over there.

The next 4 days were spent visiting, eating, visiting, going to get fuel for Big RED, visiting, eating and just enjoying each others company. :-)

It was sure good to see Roland and Louise again and we're hoping we can see them some more, down in Florida this winter.

On Wednesday, the 28th, after hugs and handshakes, we left Roland and Louise's in Forest City at about 9:50 and headed North on US 64. 64 took us up to I-40 where we turned East and followed it over to Greensboro, NC where we turned off on I-73 and then I-85 until we came to US 421 where we turned SE. 421 brought us down to Siler City where we turned East on US 64 and followed it over to Pittsboro where we turned off on local roads which brought us here to Goodwin's RV Park near Moncure, NC.

Goodwin's is a small park and they now only rent sites to RVers who have reservations, so you can't just arrive and expect to get a site. They've been completely filled up every time we've been here.

Anyway, it was about 1:30 when we arrived, so it took us right at 3 hours and 40 minutes to travel the 211 miles over here.

Marc Goodwin, (the owner of the park), helped Jim get backed into the site, (which required a bit of maneuvering), and even helped Jim level Nora, (side to side), with boards that he had available. He's a really nice guy and it's one of the main reasons we continue to come back to this park. There is another park close to here that we've used, but it's nothing more than a gravel parking lot with hook-ups. Here, we have nice shady sites and quite a bit of space between most of them.

We like this park much better even though it is a little more expensive. ;-)

We'll be staying here for 2 weeks. Most days we'll be here during the daytime and will go to visit Mike and his family in the evenings. Of course on the weekends, we'll see more of them. :-)

Did you know that on this date in 1939 - "Captain Midnight" was heard for the first time on the Mutual Radio Network?


Woof!!!

Dave And Dee Dee Visit and Jeff And Heather Arrive From Portland OR

Rantoul, IL

64 deg. mostly cloudy, E wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast today = Thunderstorms - some may contain locally heavy rain, especially during the morning hours. High 81F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall possibly over one inch.


Dave arrived last Thursday but Dee Dee wasn't able to come until Friday afternoon. It sure was good to see them again. When he arrived, it was hot and muggy and the mosquitoes were just horrible. Jim helped him with some of the set-up of his travel trailer and then came back here into Nora's air conditioning.

Friday morning, Dave had an appointment for some oral surgery down in Champaign so Jim drove him down there in Big RED cause the doctors didn't want Dave driving after the procedure. They were back before noon and soon after noon, Dee Dee arrived.

Dee Dee and Dave

Dave brought some firewood, so one night while they were here they had a cook-out where they roasted brats and hot dogs over the fire. Another evening they all went to the Blue Star Restaurant over in Fisher, IL. During the days, they got together to visit.

Monday, Dave and Dee Dee had to leave, but before Dave left, Jeff and Heather came, so he got to meet them.  It sure was good to see Dave and Dee Dee again and Jim and Linda are hoping that we can meet up with them again this winter down in Florida.

 Jeff and Heather

Jeff and Heather rented a car and drove down here from Jeff's Mother's house. Jeff said that the drive  took them about an hour and a half.

After talking for awhile, everyone got into Big RED and they headed down to Urbana where they went to a grocery Co-OP store that Jeff and Heather knew about. From what I understand, Jeff and Heather belong to the same Co-Op group out in Oregon.

After returning and talking some more, a couple pizzas were ordered from Monical's Pizza.

 

 Jim and Jeff

After eating almost all of the pizza, everyone enjoyed more conversation and catching up on what's been happening since we last saw them 4 years ago. 

Jeff and Heather stayed until about 8:45 when they left for the hour and a half trip back up to Jeff's mother's house where they would spend the night before getting on a flight back to Portland, OR,  Tuesday. 

It was a short but great visit with Jeff and Heather. It was really good to see them again and we're hoping to see them again in the near future.

Jim and Linda are now starting to do things that have to be done before we leave here on the 21st of this month. That's less than a week away and as usual, they have a pretty long list of things they want to do.

 Did you know that on this date in 1620 - The Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England. The ship arrived at Provincetown, MA, on November 21st and then at Plymouth, MA, on December 26th? There were 102 passengers onboard.

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!!!

A Day Trip, Getting Ready To Travel and Rantou, IL To Utica, IL

Utica, IL.

79 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast tonight = Some passing clouds. Low 63F. Winds light and variable.

Forecast tomorrow =  Scattered clouds with the possibility of an isolated thunderstorm developing during the afternoon. High 84F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.


This past week has been spent pretty much getting ready to leave Rantoul and head up to Wisconsin to Linda's family's reunion. On Wednesday, they took Big RED and headed up to Wilmington, IL to talk to their financial advisor in the morning, and then went to Manteno, IL to see Jim's cousin, Adeline.   Other than that, they've done some grocery shopping and went out to eat a couple nights.

Of course, Jim checked out Big RED and Nora to make sure both of them were ready for the trip. :-)

Then, this morning, about 10:45, we pulled out of our site at the Prairie Pines CG and started our journey West and North. We took US 136, west out of Rantoul for about 11 miles to IL. 47 where we turned North and followed 47 up to the little town of Forest, IL. There, we turned West again on US 24 and followed it all the way over to I-39. 39 then brought us up to I-80 where we turned East for a few miles and to the Hickoory Hollow Campground  near Utica, IL.

It was 1:20 when we pulled up to the office, so it took us right at 2 hours and 35 minutes to stop for fuel for Big RED and travel the  130 miles up here.

Hickory Hollow is a Passport America Park, so we can stay here for 1/2 price, as long as it's not on a Friday or Saturday night. If it wasn't a PPA park, I don't think we'd stay here cause they've raised their rates to $38 or $40 per night, depending on hook-ups. In fact, Jim has already been looking at other parks for our return trip because we'd be getting here on Saturday evening.

Tomorrow morning, we'll be leaving here and head up into Wisconsin. There'll be no need to hurry though cause check in time at the CG where Jim has made reservations up there, isn't until 2:00, and, we only have about 180 miles to go.

So far, it's been a good trip and both Jim and  Linda seem to be enjoying being on the road again. ;-) They're both, (especially Linda), looking forward to seeing family again and catching up on what's been happening.

Did you know that on this date in  1971 - Men rode in a vehicle on the moon for the first time in a lunar rover vehicle (LRV)?

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!!!

Canceled Fireworks, Planning for Family Reunion and Doctor's Visits.

Rantoul, IL.

67 deg. Clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunshine to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 81F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.


It's been a long time since I've last posted, but not a whole lot has been happening. The 4th of July celebration here in Rantoul was kind of a "bust"!!! It rained most of the holiday weekend and in fact, the city even canceled the fireworks because of the weather!! :-(  

One evening, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed into town to have a pizza at Monical's Pizza. Another day Linda went grocery shopping at the County Market Grocery Store, They had dinner at the Blue Star Restaurant in Fisher, IL. another evening and headed to Walgreen's another day for prescriptions and a few other things.

Oh and on the 8th of July, Linda had an appointment with her retinologist, Dr. Gandhi. They did a scan of Linda's eyes and then the Dr. did a visual inspection. When he was finished, he told Linda that both eyes were "stable" and that she should come back and see him in a year!!!!

Folks, that's great news!!!! No more of those dreaded injections into the eye for at least another year!!!! She will have to go see Dr. Anderson, who did her cataracts a couple years ago and have a "film" on her eyes removed though. That will be done in her office with a laser treatment.

Jim and Linda have decided to head up to Wisconsin for Linda's family reunion, at The Wisconsin Dells, the first week of August. So, this last Wednesday, Jim called the Fox Hill RV Park & Campground up there and made reservations for us to stay. I'll stay in Nora out at the CG all day and Jim and Linda will go into the Dells during the days to be with Linda's family.

We'll be leaving Rantoul on the 31st of July, arriving at the CG, (which is actually in Baraboo, WI.) on the 1st of August. We'll be at the Dells for 5 nights and will leave the morning of the 6th, arriving back here in Rantoul on the 7th of Aug.

Then, on the 8th, both Linda and Jim have appointments with Dr. Anderson, (Linda to get the film removed from one of her eyes and Jim to have his glaucoma checked.) Then, in a week, Linda will have to go back and get the film removed from the other eye.

The only other thing that I know of is that sometime before we leave Rantoul around the 22nd of September, Linda will need to see here primary care doctor for an exam and to get here prescriptions renewed.

Did you know that on this date in 1952 - Patti Page made her TV debut in a summer replacement series for Perry Como?


Woof!!!

A New Chair, A Nice Ride, Shopping and CG Filling Up For The 4th

Rantoul, IL.

58 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High 73F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.


Not a whole lot happening around here since my last post about a week ago. Saturday, I think it was, Jim went over to visit with Ron and Marilyn, (friends who come to the Prairie Pines CG here in Rantoul just about every year). Ron had purchased a couple new lawn chairs and Jim remarked how comfortable they were when he sat in one while visiting, so, Sunday morning Jim took Big RED and headed over to Rural King where Ron had bought his chairs.

Did I mention that they were on sale?

Anyway, Jim ended up buying one of the new chairs, cause that's all they had left. It's a rocker lawn chair and Jim has been using it every day since.

He says that it's more comfortable than the other chairs we have and is really enjoying it.

Monday, Jim and Linda hopped into Big RED and took a ride over to the Fourwinds RV Dealer in Maroa, IL. It's quite a way over there, but they had a nice ride through the countryside and both Jim and Linda were glad to get away from here for awhile. While they were there, Jim bought a some replacement light bulbs for Nora's ceiling lights, to replace a couple that had burned out. On the way back from Maroa, they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant in Urbana for lunch before returning here to the CG.

Wednesday, they again took Big RED and headed down to Champaign, IL to buy some groceries and a few other items at the huge Meijer's store. Meijer's is kind of like Wally World and has just about anything you could want to buy. They went mostly to buy groceries, but ended up buying a new blanket for the bed and and a few other items in the "health and beauty" section of the store too.

Needless to say, by the time they returned and got everything put away, they were both pretty well "wiped out"!!!

Not much else happened this week except the CG has been filling up for the 4th of July weekend. They started coming in Thursday already, and as of this morning, the CG is about 80% full. I'm sure the rest of the sites will be filled by this evening.

The weather forecast isn't too good for this weekend. The weather guessers are forecasting a 30% chance of rain today, a 100% chance of rain for tomorrow and a 50% chance of rain on the 4th. :-(

Rantoul's fireworks display is supposed to be tomorrow night, but the forecast looks better for Monday night, so they may have to reschedule.


Did you know that  an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed on July 4th?

Woof!!!

Yes, We Did Make It To Rantoul

Rantoul, IL.

65 deg. clear, N. wind @ 8 mph.

Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High 87F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.


Sorry it took so long for me to write this post, but it's been quite busy since the last time I've posted.

We left the Hilltop CG in Goreville Monday morning after a nice restful day on Sunday. It was about 8:30 when we pulled out of our site and headed North on I-57. 57 took us all the way up here to Rantoul where we turned off on US 136. 136 took us into town and to Rt. 45/Century Blvd. where we turned South. If you keep heading South on Century Blvd instead of following US 45 as it turns West, Century will take you to within a block of the Prairie Pines CG. All you have to do is turn East on the S. Perimeter Rd at the stop sign and take it 1 block to the CG. (You'll be able to see the CG as you drive South on Century.)

It was right at 12:15 when we pulled up in front of the office, so we traveled the  220 miles up here in 3 hours and 45 minutes.

Our site is right across from the office this year. I'm still trying to decide if I like as well as the site we've had previously. It has shade at many times of the day, but in the evening, (around dinner time), there's no shade at all on our awning side, and the sun is low enough that the awing doesn't help either. Now, later in the evening, the sun goes behind some trees to the west and shades our site nicely.

I guess it's like anything else, it'll just takes some time to get used to the new site.

Jim got Nora partially set up when we arrived Monday and then Monday night, we had a strong storm go through the Rantoul area. Just a few blocks North of here, there was quite a bit of damage at the airport and there were many trees and branches blown down in the area. We lucked out here at the CG though, only small branches and a few things blown around. There was one MH on the East side of the CG that lost it's awning though. As for us, the big thing was that Nora developed a leak where the front cap connects to the roof and water leaked into the cabinets over the bed and then down onto the bed!!! :-(

Needless to say, Jim and Linda spent much of the night, soaking up water and trying to prevent the bed from getting too wet.

Tuesday, Jim went over to ACE Hardware and bought some silicone sealer for the roof/cap joint. Then In the afternoon, Paul's son, David, (who was visiting Paul and Louise and lives in California), came over with a tall ladder and ran sealant all along the joint, while looking for any small cracks or places of possible leaks along the seam. David evidently did a good job because Tuesday night we had another heavy downpour, which lasted most of the night, and there were no leaks. Jim didn't get much sleep though because he was constantly checking inside the overhead cabinets for water.

Thanks so much, David!!!! Jim just doesn't feel safe getting up on a ladder at this time and he really appreciated the help.

Wednesday, Jim was very tired and really worn out, so he rested and napped most of the day.

By yesterday morning, (Thursday), he was feeling much better though and even felt good enough to re-organize some of the "basement" compartment. Then, for dinner, he and Linda took Big RED and headed over to Fisher, IL and to the Blue Start Restaurant where they both had very nice meals.


A Quote to Ponder ;  “The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.”
John E. Southard


Woof!!!