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

Rantoul, IL.

71 deg. clear, SW breeze @ 6 mph.

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wow!!! That really hurt!!!!

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

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

Woof!!!

Joe, Nancy And Amber, Back To North Carolina and A Shocking Report

Williamston, NC.

34 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sunny to partly cloudy. High 62F. Winds light and variable.

Wow!!! the coldest temperatures that we've seen yet!! I'm sure glad that we're heading South!!!!

Here's a couple Photos that Jim took our last evening at Joe and Nancy's in Virginia Beach.

This is Joe and Nancy at the kitchen table. Joe's holding Lu Lu.

This is Amber. She was just about to walk out of the door and go to basketball practice when Jim snapped the photo.

Yesterday, after a great 10 day stay and saying good-bye to Joe, (Nancy was already at work and Amber was at school), we pulled out Joe's driveway right at 10:00 and headed back to I-264. Taking 264 West, brought us to I-64 which we took around the SE side of the city and to US 17. Again we had the construction as soon as we turned onto 17, but it wasn't too bad and soon we were cruising South on 17 through the Great Dismal Swamp and down into North Carolina.

We followed 17 on down to Williamston where we went through town on Business 17 and then turned West on Garrett Rd. which brought us back here to Pierce's RV Park. It was 12:30 when we pulled in so it took us 2 1/2 hours to travel 121 miles.

As soon as Jim finished leveling Nora, got the stabilizer jacks down and ran out the slide, he hooked up the sewer hose and dumped Nora's very full tanks. Once that little chore was accomplished, he hooked up the rest of the utilities and then came in and had a "cold one".  ;-)

This is just an overnight stop because today, we'll be heading for North Topsail Beach.

Oh!!! I almost forgot!!!! You remember about those shocks that Ray installed on Big RED??? Wow!!!! What a difference!!!! The ride is much better with much less bouncing as we go through dips in the road. (And there's quite a few on 17, going through the Great Dismal Swamp). Even when the road is fairly smooth, you can still tell that the shocks have made a big difference. :-)

Did you know that The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is the largest intact remnant of a vast habitat that once covered more than one million acres of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina?

Woof!!!

NC To VA, A Detour, Construction and A Great Meal

Virginia Beach, VA.

61 deg. mostly cloudy, SW wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 81F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.

By 9:30 yesterday morning it had  warmed up nicely so Jim went out and dumped Nora's black and gray water tanks. They weren't anywhere near full, but because we were heading to Joe's house in Virginia Beach where there are no sewer hookups, they needed to be empty.

Again, because it was going to be a short travel day, we didn't leave until 10:45. We were planning on going back to US 64, take it East for just a short distance and then take US 17, North. Well, when we got to the ramp going onto 64, there was 1/2 of a new double-wide Mobile Home stranded about 1/2 way up the ramp, with traffic backed up to the road that we were on. ;-O

It didn't look like anything was going to get moving anytime soon, so Jim continued on down the road, made a u-turn at a crossover and headed back into Williamston on Business 17. Williamston is not a big city, so actually we breezed right through town and picked up 17 just North of the city.

The whole thing probably only cost us about 10 minutes more travel time. :-)

Now, if we still were traveling in a Class A Motorhome, we would have not been able to make that u-turn and it probably would have taken us much longer to get turned around. So, I guess there are advantages to having a smaller unit like a Travel Trailer.

Once on US 17 and heading in a Northerly direction, we followed it all the way up to Virginia Beach where we turned East on I-40. For about 3 miles before we came to I-40, we hit major construction on 17. They're in the process of building a new bridge and road over a waterway, (to eliminate a steel lift bridge), It looks like this construction will last a long time, so I'm guessing that it will last for a year or two.

Once through the construction and onto I-40, it took us around the SE side of the city and to I-264. Following 264 towards the beach brought us to Lynnhaven Parkway, ( about 3 miles from the beach),where we turned off of 264 and took local streets to Joe and Nancy's house.

It was 1:15 when we pulled up in front of their house. so even with the detour and the construction, it only took us 2 1/2 hours to travel the 124 miles over here.

Neither Joe or Nancy were home when we arrived, so Jim just backed Nora into the driveway and got her unhooked and set up. Joe, Nancy and Amber arrived home later and then after visiting for awhile,  everyone enjoyed a great short rib crock pot meal that Nancy had put together early in the day. Then because everyone was tired, Jim and Linda came back out here about 7:30 and watched TV until bedtime.

So, unless something unexpected happens, we'll be here for the next 9 or 10 days. We're hooked up to a 20 amp outlet, so by turning almost everything else electric off, we can run the AC if it's hot and use the little electric heater and the furnace if it's cold. (They're forecasting highs in the lower 50's and lows in the mid 30's for Saturday). :-(   There is a place where Jim can dump the gray water tank  but not the black water tank. By using the facilities inside of the house as much as possible, there shouldn't be a problem.

Did you know that in Medieval Europe, owls were thought to be witches, and to hear an owl's call meant that someone was about to die?

Hoo!! Hoo!! ;-)