Happy Mother's Day and Virginia Beach, VA To Williamston, NC To Moncure, NC

Moncure, NC.

68 deg. Overcast, light rain at times, no wind.
Forecast = Showers and thunderstorms. High 79F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 100%.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there, I sure wish I could call my mom and wish her a great day. :-(

I miss you, Mom!!!!

After lots of hugs, we left Virginia Beach Thursday morning at about 10:10 and retraced our route back to Pierce's RV Park in Williamston, It was 12:40 when we pulled into the park, but we did stop in town to buy Big RED a nice drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel before we arrived there. We traveled 121 miles.

The trip was un-eventful, the weather was good and we made fairly good time.

As soon as we pulled into our site and had the electric hooked up, the stabilizer jacks down and the slide out, Jim dumped the tanks that were very, very full. After putting away the sewer hose and connections, Jim came in, got cleaned up and took a nap. ;-)

For dinner, Jim cooked a couple burgers on the grill while Linda put together some salads. After eating the rest of the evening was spent watching TV.

Friday morning, the weather was still nice, (even though the weather guessers had been forecasting rain), so we got an early start on our travel day. It was only 9:15 when we pulled out of the CG in Williamston and started heading West on US 64. We crossed I-95 at Rocky Mount and then continued over to the Raleigh area where we took I-440 around the South side of the city and then turned SW in US 1. Following US 1 brought us down past Apex, (where Mike and Gina live) and to Moncure, NC where Goodwin's RV Campground is located.

It was just 11:35 when we pulled into the park so it took us about 2 hours and 20 minutes to travel the 136 miles over here. Not too bad considering the Raleigh traffic and construction on I-440.

Oh, and it never did rain on Friday as foretasted!!!!

We really like Goodwin's RV Campground. It's a small park and I'm not saying that you couldn't get a 40 foot MH or a large trailer in here, but It'd be pretty tight and you'd have to be a pretty good driver. Once you get into a site, they're quite large, but the trick would be getting to and into the site.

Marc Goodwin is a really friendly guy and usually helps everyone get into the sites, but when we arrived, Jim called him and he was busy elsewhere, so he asked Jim if he thought he could get into the site that we were in last time? Jim told him that he could, so he backed Nora into the site and after a little while Marc came by, welcomed us back to the park, talked with Jim for awhile and collected the rent for the 10 days that we'll be here.

Jim has already taken some photos of the park. Here's a couple of them. This first one is of the road coming into the park.

Our site viewed from out near the road

Looking across the road from the front of Big RED

Looking out from under the awning towards the front of the site.

As you can see by the photos, it's very hilly in this park. The first time you come into the park down the road shown in the 1st photo, (the photo only shows about 1/2 of the hill), you think, "What am I getting into here?", but there is some room to maneuver once you get a little farther in. Although it's very hilly, the sites are quite level and Jim only had to put one board under Nora's left side tires.

Oh, and you see those woods behind our site in the 2nd photo? We've already seen a fox back there and I know from the last time we were here, there's deer back there too!!!

Wildlife!!!!!  I like Wildlife!!!!! ;-)

Woof!!! Woof!!! Woof!!!!

Did you know that Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia who started Mother's Day celebrations also filed a lawsuit in an effort to stop the over- commercialisation of Mother's Day? She lost her fight.

Woof!!!

Good News, 2/3 Of The Illinois Bunch Arrive and A Pot Luck Is Planned

Rantoul, IL

51 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. High 63F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.

Since the weather was better yesterday morning than the day before, Jim and Linda didn't leave the CG until about 8:15. By a little before 9:00, (Linda's appointment time), they were in Doctor Anderson's office and being escorted back to one of the rooms where a nurse gave Linda a quick eye test. Soon, Dr. Anderson came in, checked Linda's eye and said that everything looked really good!!!

She also said that she didn't see any reason that the cataract on other eye couldn't be operated on this coming Monday!!! :-)

Good News!!!! Everything's going as planned!!! (so far).

Jim didn't have anything to eat before he and Linda went to the Doctor's office, so when they returned to Rantoul, they stopped by the Red Wheel Restaurant before coming back here to the CG. Both had the biscuits and gravy with a side order of sausage and both said that it was very good.

A little after noon, Dave and Dee Dee pulled into Prairie Pines Campground with their new Keystone Travel Trailer and their new Ford Pickup truck. This last winter, they bought a Park Model home down in Florida, so they really didn't need the big 5th wheel any longer or the big truck to pull it.

Then, about 1/2 an hour later, Denny and Bev pulled in with their Winnebago Brave MH.

(I'll get Jim to take some photos, just a soon as I can). ;-)

As I said yesterday, Gordy and Dorthy won't be coming because of Gordy's health problems, but I understand that Dorthy is planning on driving down here today, for just a day visit. Dave and Dee Dee and Denny and Bev will be staying until Monday morning. :-)

Being that Dorthy is driving down here today, a "pot luck" is being planned for today. The plan is to cook hot dogs, hamburgers and brats on a grill or over a campfire and then make the other items inside.  I don't know what Linda is making but it'll probably be either a vegetable or a desert.

Should be a fun day! ;-)

Did you know that the pin that holds a hinge together is called a pintle?

Woof!!!

Jim Goes Shopping And Brigns Home A New Toy

DeBary, FL.

73 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Thunderstorms likely. High 88F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Jim took Big RED and headed out to do some shopping yesterday. One of the items he went looking for was one of those little benches that you put in the tub or shower to sit on. He found one at Walgreen's.

From Walgreen's, he headed over to Lowe's, (with a stop at the gas station to get Big RED a drink of #2 diesel. There, he picked up a flex downspout extension to go on a downspout at the rear of the house so the water will be directed away from the house. As he was walking towards the register to check out, he noticed that 2 Lowe's employees were putting some merchandise out on a clearance table. One of those items was a "Dremel" type rotary took kit. Being that Jim's Dremel had died a year or so ago, he decided to buy this one.

It's kind of neat. Of course it has the rotary tool with accessories, but it also has 4 different small pliers, 6 small screwdrivers and 2 "Exacto" type knives with extra blades.

From Lowe's, Jim headed over to Bed Bath & Beyond to check out a "music center" that he had seen when he was there the last time. He and Linda had been considering buying one of these for a long time, but just hadn't done it.

For those of you that may be interested, it's called a Wooden Music Center, is made by Innovative Technology and it's model# ITVS-750.

It has an AM-FM radio, a 3 speed phonograph player, a cassette player and a CD player/recorder, all in a nice wooden case.

You can use the CD recorder to record from either the phonograph or the cassette player. This allows you to transfer all those old vinyl records and cassettes to  CDs. (Jim and Linda don't have any records anymore, but they do have a whole bunch of cassettes).

Jim hasn't tried recording anything yet, but he and Linda were listening to the radio and some of those old cassettes and a few CD's yesterday afternoon.  ;-) It's pretty large, so they won't be taking it along in the RV, but it should work out well when we're here at the house.

Linda still has her rash but it doesn't seem to itching her so much. I think the dizzy spells have gotten a little better, but she is very fatigued. Tomorrow she has an appointment with the chemo doctor, so we'll see what she has to say then.

Did you know that in fall of 1877 Thomas A. Eddison invented the record player?

Woof!!!

Back To The House and A Plan For This Summer

DeBary, FL.
Highbanks Marina and CG.

75 deg. clear, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 93F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

It's been great, staying here in the travel trailer at Highbanks. Kind of like a mini-vacation, but today we'll be heading back to the house. You see, Thursday, Linda has her Chemo treatment and also, Joe will be flying in from Virginia Beach. We could manage staying here in the trailer but Joe will have luggage and he'll probably need to be doing some "work" on his computer, so it will be better to stay at the house.

For those of you that are new to this blog or others who have a memory like mine, Joe is Linda and Jim's son who lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, Nancy and their 2 girls, Sami and Amber. Joe flew down here right after Linda's surgery, but we haven't seen him since.

So this morning, Jim and Linda will be packing up a bunch of stuff and we'll head to the house. On the way, we'll stop by Walgreen's to pick up a couple of Linda's prescriptions that they took over there yesterday. Once we get home, I'm sure there'll be things to do before Joe gets here and I'll just bet they'll need to buy some groceries.

So far, the travel trailer has preformed very well. There are a few things that could have been done differently, but that's to be expected. If there's one thing that we've learned throughout the years is that there "ain't no 10's" where RVs are concerned. Every one of them has their little quirks and design problems. So far, this trailer doesn't seem to have any large problems and it should work very nicely for it's intended purpose.

Oh!! Just one more thing.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda were talking about the rest of this summer and I think that they've pretty much decided that they want to leave the trailer here at the campground so that we can come here for more "mini vacations" while Linda has the rest of her treatments. It'll cost more than putting the trailer in the storage lot, but not any more than if we were traveling with it, like we normally would during the summer months.

I think it's a good plan. I get bored just sitting in the house all the time.

Did you know that Buzz Aldrin’s mother’s maiden name was Moon?

Woof!!!

No Treatments This Week and Planning Some More

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 87F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.

Linda didn't have any radiation treatments this week because during the next 2 weeks, they'll be doing a different kind of radiation and the doctor wanted to wait a week in between. So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  this next Tuesday, she'll be going in at 7:30 AM for a treatment, that with prep time, that will take approximately 3 hours!!!! :-(   There will be a total of 3 of these treatments administered over the next 2 weeks and then she will go back to having Chemo treatments.

Linda went to see the Chemo doctor, (Dr. Saferali) yesterday afternoon, and she indicated that there would again be 3 treatments at 21 day intervals. Linda has an appointment to see Dr. Saferali in 3 weeks, (the 24th of March). and the treatments should begin the following week.

Now, if you plan it out on a calendar, her last treatment should be on or about the 12th of  June. Then there will be 2 or 3 weeks after that when she'll have to go in for blood test to make sure her blood count is OK. Then, we're guessing that there will be another month for follow-up visits.

IF, (and this is a big IF), everything goes smoothly, we may be able to start heading North somewhere between the middle to the end of July!!!! Jim and Linda both realize that many thing could change this, but we're all hoping that we'll be able to go, near that time frame.

Speaking of travel!!! The service adviser from LaMesa called the other day and they expect to have the trailer ready for pick-up towards the end of next week. They had to order some parts, thus causing the delay.

A Point to Ponder : I've learned that just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.

Woof!!!

Another Week Of Treatments and A Plan

DeBary, FL.

69 deg. mostly cloudy, S. wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Scattered thunderstorms during the morning becoming more widespread this afternoon. High 82F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%.

Well, another week of radiation therapy done!!!! The dizziness that still has from the chemo treatments still seems to be slowly getting better, but there are times when she still has to find a place to sit down, for fear of falling.  She and Jim found out that this week ends the type of treatment that she has been receiving where she has to go every day of the week, (Monday through Friday), and will now be starting a different type where she'll be going in 1 or 2 times a week instead. And, if they heard right, Linda will only have 2 more weeks of radiation treatment instead of 3!!!!!!!! ;-)

Monday, Dr. Graham's nurse will be calling and letting Linda know when her next appointment will be and then we'll also know for sure if there's only 2 more weeks of radiation left or not.

 As of this morning, we haven't heard anything about the new travel trailer. Jim told them that there was no big hurry, so it may be a little while before they get to it.

The RV dealers are very busy right now down here in Florida. Most of the "Snowbirds" who were down here for the winter are heading back North and as they are getting ready to leave, are finding problems with their RVs. So, they bring them to RV repair places to get repairs done. Some of the people are very impatient because their plans are being delayed.

Jim has been going over to the storage lot where Bobbie T is parked and has been emptying her out. There wasn't too much left in her but now she's empty and much of the stuff he took out of her is in the back of Big RED, in boxes and totes.

When Jim and Linda do get the new trailer, the plan is to take it over to the Highbanks Marina & Camp Resort, (where we have stayed in past years and is only a few miles from here), rent a site for a month, put most of the "stuff" in the trailer and actually spend quite a bit of time over there checking everything out, staying in it and probably spending quite a few nights there also.

Jim says that it'll be like a vacation, (that I think they're really needing) and at the same time they'll be checking everything out on the trailer. Then, if there's any problems, it can be taken back to the dealer and repaired before we would  be traveling with it.

No big plans for this weekend. If it's not stormy this evening, Jim and Linda would like to go out to eat someplace. If it is stormy, they'll just wait until tomorrow. :-)

Did you know that March is "National Frozen Food Month:?

Woof!!!

Happy Groundhog Day and Big Changes

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. light fog, no wind.
Forecast = Foggy this morning, then partly cloudy this afternoon. High 82F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Happy Groundhog Day!!!!!

Linda's still doing fine, but she has been extremely tired since her last chemo treatment and has almost no energy at all. She's also been having some dizziness, which is also part of the Chemo side effects.

Until yesterday, there hasn't been much happening around here. Just normal everyday things. But, yesterday, after Jim and Linda had come back from Walgreen's, Jim showed Linda a photo of a truck that he had been looking at on the Internet.

Why has Jim been looking at trucks, you ask?

Well, I've heard little bits and pieces of conversation between Linda and Jim lately, (in fact for the last month or so), that neither of them were real happy with how Bobbie T was working out for them. You see, they both have admitted that they thought that she would work fine, but they had made a mistake when they thought that the very small bathroom, the lack of a comfortable place for Jim to sit and relax and a tight bedroom was something that they could deal with.

On top of that, since Linda has this medical problem and will not be able to travel as much as they had planned, it won't be good for a motorized RV like Bobbie T to  be sitting for long periods of time. In fact she already has one brake caliper hanging up and will have to be taken someplace to get that fixed before she can be used again.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  Jim and Linda have decided that a medium sized travel trailer or 5th wheel would serve them better and be more suited to the type of traveling that they will be doing in the future. Now, of course, CLT couldn't possibly pull either one of those types of RVs, so Jim has been looking at 3/4 ton trucks to take his place. They hadn't planned on doing any trading this soon, but CLT is going to need some work real soon, (new tires and a power steering pump for sure), so rather than spend money on him, it was decided that now was the time to trade if they could find a suitable truck.

Like I said, Jim has been looking at trucks and a few days ago, he found one that he liked, at a price that they could handle. So, yesterday afternoon, they headed over to Gibson Truck World in Sanford to look at it.

Well, it turned out to be almost exactly what Jim was looking for in a truck. It's a 2006 Dodge Ram Laramie Crew Cab with a 5.9 Liter Cummins Diesel engine. And, it's RED, just like my sweater!!!! ;-) It only has 49,000 miles on it and both Jim and Linda said that it looks like it just came out of the factory. It also has a Carfax Report with it and the dealer is giving it a 1 year bumper to bumper warranty!!

But wait, there's more!!!! The dealer is also giving them 12 months of free scheduled maintenance on the truck, up to $1000.

It also has all it's past maintenance records and it is certified as being a 1 owner vehicle.

Did I mention that it's RED?????

This is a photo of it that I got off of the dealer's website. It sure looks nice to me!!!.

Jim and Linda will be picking it up sometime this next week, as soon as they can get their finances together. :-)

Did you know that according to National Climatic Data Center, Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous of all the Groundhog Day groundhogs, isn't very good at his job, having picked correctly only 39 percent of the time?

Woof!!!!

Did I mention that it's RED????

What Are They Thinking????

Rantoul, IL.

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

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

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

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

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

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

I think not!!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Woof!!!

Last day of June

Rantoul, IL.

63 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Partly cloudy, high temp. 77 deg. NNE winds @ 20 to 30 mph. 30% chance of rain.

Hmmm!!! It's the last day of June already. It's amazing how fast the time goes sometimes.

We've had a lot of rain the last 2 days, so not much has gotten done outside around here. The CG wi-fi is still out after it got hit by lightning this last Tuesday. They were supposed to have repaired it, but it still doesn't work. You can now get a signal from it, but it won't let you log on. : (

Quite a few RVs came in this weekend. There's a car show in the area and some of them are here for that. In fact, a few had large trailers behind their RVs when they first pulled in, that I presume either had cars in them or vendor items for the show.

Jim hasn't talked to Louise or Paul much because of the weather, but I would imagine that Louise is busy getting everything ready for the 4th of July Holiday. If this 4th is like ones in the past, this CG is pretty much booked up already.

Speaking of Holiday weekends, I hope all of you RVers out there have already made plans/reservations for the 4th. If not, do it right away. I can remember one of the first years that we were full-timing when Jim and Linda didn't make reservations for a major holiday, and we spent almost an entire day trying to find an RV park that had a vacancy! We finally found a site, but it was just pure luck that someone had cancelled their reservations at the last minute.

Jim has been working on the trip up into Michigan and Wisconsin, after Bobbie T gets repaired. He's penciled a few things in on the calendar, but they're written very lightly, so I won't even mention them yet. To be honest, until Bobbie T gets her repairs done and gets her new levelers installed, we won't know exactly when we'll actually be heading North from the Northern Indiana/Southern Michigan area. If there's any kind of glitch with any of that, it could cause changes in the rest of the trip.

I do know that Jim has made reservations for us at that RV Park on the North end of  Lake Michigan, beginning on the 20th of July, so we definitely need to try to be up there by that time.

I really don't like reservations at all, because they really tie you to a schedule, and I'm glad that Jim and Linda don't either, but sometimes you just gotta make them to make sure you have a site.

Did you know that in 1778, General George Washington marked July 4 with a double ration of rum for his soldiers and an artillery salute?

Woof!!!

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!!!

Downsizing

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. overcast, SSW wind @ 13 mph.

Forecast = Today: Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 84°F. South wind 13 to 19 MPH, gusting to 28 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 65%. Precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated storms. Lows around 68°F. South southwest wind to 16 MPH, gusting to 23 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.

Some of the folks that Jim and Linda know, have asked them what it's like to move from a 45' diesel pusher to a 27' class B motorhome?

Well, it's kind of like when they first went full-timing, selling their house and moving all of your belongings into a RV. Only this time, they didn't have to give away all of the "stuff" that they had in the 45' MH, they just put whatever didn't fit in the 27' MH into the double wide down in Florida.

I think one of the biggest challenges of downsizing RVs has been the reduced space to move around, without being in each other's way. For instance. If Linda is doing anything in the kitchen, whether it be washing dishes or cooking, she has to move before Jim can get to the bathroom or the bedroom, or even get to the refrigerator, for that matter.

Another thing that has changed is the fact that they no longer have all their "stuff" with them. Just the other day, Jim needed to change a fitting on one of the water hoses, but because of outside storage limitations, that container where the replacement fittings are in, is back at the house. So, Jim had to buy a fitting at the store.

Food storage is another big issue. There are fewer cabinets in this RV than in any RV that we've had since we went full-timing almost 12 years ago. That means more trips to the grocery store and buying smaller quantities of food and supplies, like paper products and even snacks. This refrigerator is also smaller than any we've had in the last 6 years or so, and that means less space for meat, frozen vegetables and ice cream.

Also, there's no ice maker in this refrigerator, which is a big minus for Linda. (She likes ice in anything she drinks except coffee). : )

And, of course, everything else is smaller too. Like the bathroom, bedroom and closets.

Oh, and Linda really misses her washer/dryer. : (

But, before you start thinking that Jim and Linda are unhappy with Bobbie T., I want to assure you that they are not!

There are many good things about a smaller RV, such as ease of getting into and out of small campgrounds, not worrying if a CG is going to have a large enough site,  less steps to get into and out of the RV, ease of driving through congested areas, handles twisty/turny 2 lane roads better that a large RV, and has much less area to clean, both inside and out.

As far as the lack of storage space, I'm sure that once we get back to Florida, Jim and Linda will make changes of what to bring along on our next trip. There are items that they brought along this time that were not needed, so they can be left at the house and other items brought instead.

It's just going to take some time to figure it all out.

Oh, and one more thing. When we first went full-timing, we traveled mostly on 2 lane roads, avoiding the Interstate highways as much as possible. We stayed in State Parks, COE parks, municipal parks and little "mom and pop" type parks. Through the years, mostly because of purchasing larger and larger RVs, we have not been able to comfortably do that any longer.  Both Jim and Linda have missed that type of travel and those type campgrounds and want to get back to that style of traveling again.

Already, when we came from Florida to Virginia this time, we stayed off of the Interstates as much as possible. And, every trip plan that Jim has been working on since we got Bobbie T. has been made utilizing as many non-Interstate highways as possible.

He's even been fooling around with a trip plan for another trip back out to Oregon, that by my estimation, would be on about 90% U.S. and State highways. ; )

If Jim and Linda would not have bought the double wide down in Florida, I think that they would have kept Ermys for at least another year or 2, but then, I'm sure they would have traded him off for something smaller. (Something around 35'). Emrys was just too large for the type of campgrounds and travel that they like.

They would not have gone as small as Bobbie T's 27' though. Both of them agree that for them, she is just  too small to live in full-time.

Did you know that on this date in 1955 - "Billboard" reported that "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" was the most popular song in the U.S?

Woof!!!

How Small Is Your Awning?

Rantoul, IL.

54 deg. overcast, E. wind @ 8 mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered storms. Highs around 68°F. East southeast wind to 11 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 60%.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with thunderstorms likely. Lows around 57°F. East southeast wind to 11 MPH.

Friday, many RVs came into the Prairie Pines CG. In fact most of the sites were full by the evening. Then, yesterday morning, even more rolled in and by about noon, there were only a few sites left.

There were mostly grown-ups, but some teen agers, and quite a few little kids. Everything went smoothly until about 2:30 yesterday afternoon, when it started raining. Oh, there weren't any storms or even much wind, just a slow steady rain, but it rained hard enough that you definitely wouldn't have wanted to be out in it.

This is when the folks who thought they had a big awning on their RVs, found out just how small they really were! ; )

You see, most of the RVers that are here came as groups. They have friends or family that they had made plans with, to spend the holiday together. Well, for most couples and maybe a kid or two, most awnings are big enough. But,  ,  ,  ,  ,  if you try to get multiple families together under an average sized awning, you soon learn how small it really is!!

Such was the case yesterday. Shortly after the rain started, I couldn't even count how many groups I saw trying to huddle under awnings. A few groups even went to a different RV because that awning was a little larger, but in the end, most ended up going inside their own RVs to wait out the rain. : (

Long ago, Jim and Linda learned how small a large looking awning really was. Especially if it's raining hard or the wind is blowing at all, the space just keeps getting smaller and smaller, and pretty soon, even 2 people under 1 large awning are forced to go inside. : (

You'd think that as large as some of these awning are, most of the area under them would stay dry, but the wind and the splatter just keep making the dry area smaller.

So, if you're thinking that even if it rains, you'll have a nice dry space under the awning to entertain, or whatever, you just may have to reconsider. Sometimes, it's OK, and it's great to sit out there and watch the rain and listen to it on the awning, but don't be surprised if that awning gets awfully small after just a short time.

Did you know that the south refused to honor the dead on Memorial Day until after World War I when the meaning of Memorial Day changed from honoring civil war dead to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war?

Woof!!!

It Wasn't Allergies and Remembering Illinois Winters

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 9 mph.

Forecast = Today: Sunny. Highs around 70°F. Northwest wind to 19 MPH, gusting to 28 MPH.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 45°F. Wind chill around 39°F. West wind to 15 MPH, gusting to 21 MPH.

Well, I guess it wasn't an allergy condition that Jim has had the last few day. Guess how I know????

Now, Linda has it, and I've never heard of catching allergies from someone else!! : (   Linda didn't feel too well Saturday night and then when she woke up yesterday morning, she had very sore throat, was sneezing and blowing and just felt generally crummy!!! : (

So,  ,  ,  ,  neither she or Jim did much yesterday. Both napped from time to time, sat and watched quite a bit of TV and in general, just kicked back.

I was watching the news yesterday and they were forecasting a lot of snow for the Midwest. I can remember the winter before I went full-timing with Jim and Linda, (winter of 2000-2001), and sure am glad that they've decided on Florida to buy a house. . In this 1st picture, everything was covered with ice. It sure was pretty, but it did a lot of damage. : (

Then, after the ice melted, we still had the snow to deal with. This is poor Mariah sitting along side of the garage at the place where we lived. (Mariah was the Winnebago Chieftain Motor Home that Jim and Linda had when we started full-timing).

I remember those days well. Jim outside shoveling show and knocking ice off of the edge of the roof so that when the snow melted, the water didn't damn up behind the ice and run back up under the shingles and come inside of the house.

Not once, have I missed that kind of weather!!!

What got me thinking about all of this was the forecast I heard on TV and the fact that Dave sent Jim and e-mail the other day saying that they were just about back home in Illinois, but the weather forecast was for snow and he wasn't too sure that he wanted to continue heading in that direction.

I think that maybe he and Dee Dee should have stayed down here for awhile longer. ; )

Hope you made it home safe, Dave.

Did you know that the U.S. has the highest dog population in the world?

Quite An Adjustment

DeBary, FL.

Day: Partly cloudy. Highs around 77°F. East wind 7 to 16 MPH, gusting to 23 MPH.
Night: Mostly clear. Lows around 57°F. East wind 5 to 13 MPH.

It's been quite an adjustment for Jim and Linda. I was with them when they sold all their "stuff" and moved into their first motor home which was 35' long and I think that even after they moved many of their things into the house, it's just as hard to move from Emrys into this 27' motor home.

The thing that they're having the most difficulty with is storage space. They're used to the big basement compartments and the many and large cabinets and drawers that were in Emrys. In fact even after moving a whole lot of things to the house earlier, yesterday, they took 3 more totes full of things to the house because there just wasn't room.

Another thing that is proving difficult is the overall lack of space for them. Everything is smaller and they always seem to get in each other's way.

I don't think any of these problems are insurmountable but it will take some time to adjust.  

On another note, I think that we're the "talk of the park" here at Highbanks. Everyone that comes by wants to know if Jim and Linda really traded off that big MH for this small one? (I think most of them think Jim and Linda lost their minds).

Jim's been telling some of them that he took the big one to the truck wash and it shrunk!! : )

I had a little adventure the other day. Jim and Linda didn't know it, but I stowed away in one of the totes full of things that they were taking to the house. I hadn't been there and being that I'll probably be living there about half of the year, I wanted to know what it was like.

Here, I'm up on the back of the sofa looking out of the window. You don't see a whole lot, just the neighbor's house.

Then, I went over to the patio door and looked out. I couldn't see much there either.

Oh well, I'll have much more time to explore. To me, the place is huge and It'll take me awhile.

Jim did take a few photos of this new, (to us), motor home yesterday, but didn't load them onto the computer yet. I'll post them when he does.

Did you know that Dogs with little human contact in their first three months typically don’t make good pets?