Category: Uncategorized

OK, so it’s been more than a few days; I’ve made you wait a whole week while I tried to get into the mood to write. Sometimes I just don’t feel like writing. But I’ve kept taking notes so maybe I can catch you up to date on the mostly boring things we’ve been doing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

When last we talked we were sitting in Kickapoo State park in Illinois visiting with our dear daughter and watching another deer. To give you an  idea how close it was, that’s our awning at the top of the picture.  It wandered around grazing peacefully for quite some time.  

 

We enjoyed our afternoon with our daughter discussing what we’ve been up to and what’s ahead for all of us. Her pending move to Maine is not making me happy but it will make her happy which, in turn, makes the mother in me happy. And we are headed for a summer of Minnesota which makes me worried even though I am looking forward to seeing friends and family there. My worry is that we might not leave again and I really cannot face another Minnesota winter. I understand my own mother better now who left Minnesota back when Dave & I followed the Army’s instructions to live in Texas for a couple of years. Mom moved to Colorado then complained that we were back in Minnesota. She couldn’t come back to Minnesota, though, and now I get that.

Fuel. Our RV uses Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel fuel. That’s not available at every gas pump. We’ve learned to look for pumps that have two handles since diesel cannot use the same nozzle gasoline does. We’ve also learned to look for green handles since most diesel pumps are green. But neither of those guarantees diesel is what will come out of that pump. Nor does it guarantee it will not be bio-diesel in a percentage that makes our engine unhappy. So we must read the label on every pump to be sure we are putting the right fuel in our tank. It’s a good thing we are both readers.

We passed through an area apparently big on gun ownership. I saw several signs of the old Burma Shave type apparently sponsored by an organization called GunsSaveLives.com. I’m not sure my take on them was what they intended “When danger lurks, Remember Sonny, That rabbit’s foot, Won’t save no bunny.” Nope, the gun will kill the bunny not save it. “Here’s a thought, For you to ponder: An armed citizen, As first responder.” Shudder! If I’m in trouble I sure don’t want someone coming at me with a gun to be the first thing I see. “Shooting sports Are safe and fun. There’s no need To fear a gun.” So why does the news often contain reports of hunters shooting one another? Anyone up for hunting with Dick Cheney? I’m not a fan of guns. I refused to let our daughter even pretend to have one when she was a child. Of course, she has one now and goes to the shooting range for fun. I simply don’t understand and probably never will. Please, don’t waste your time and mine trying to persuade me otherwise.

Rainy day traveling is a mixed blessing. It increases drowsiness so we need to take breaks more often. But road work has been postponed so the barricades are off on the shoulder and all the lanes are open.

For those of you who will be traveling though Illinois and who care about such things–Illinois rest areas have recycling bins.

We saw a disconnect truck. The front half of the trailer is held to the back half of the trailer only by the load between the two. This is the second one we’ve seen recently. I managed to get some not-very-good pictures of this one.

 

We saw a Pilot station that sold only diesel fuel–no gasoline. That’s different. $2.449 a gallon.

We stopped for a night at a Coral Lake Corps of Engineer’s campground. They have several of them in this area. We stayed at the West Overlook which has a dump with a fresh water fill. Our site was on a peninsula so we had water views from both sides of the dinette. But we were close enough to our neighbors to hear the father reading a bedtime story to the child–There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. So I had that song stuck in my head the rest of the evening and probably will again for awhile now.

The next day we drove to Forest City, Iowa, to the Winnebago Factory where we did not have an appointment. They still got us in the next day and did all the warranty repairs and one of the upgrades on our list. Hopefully it will never again rain inside our RV and our coach door will always lock when it sounds like it did. Plus, we now have a single lever faucet in our bathroom sink so I can adjust water temperature without leaving big puddles on the counter.

Then we drove to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where we camped several nights at the Big Sioux Recreation Area, a very nice park with very private sites just east of town.  

Sioux Falls is now our legal home so we did normal errands here like picking up our mail and getting groceries and learning about renewing license plates. We also visited Falls Park which is something both locals and tourists do.

     

We also visited EROS but that probably needs its own blog post.

TTYL,

Linda

Another day, another state. Lately we’ve been crossing them at the rate of one a day. Our first stop of the day today was at the Indiana Welcome Center to, of course, pick up another state map. We are getting quite a collection of them.

My first amusing sight of the day was a horizontal tank painted to look like an ear of corn. Yup, I’m nearly home. One of my homes anyway. I’ve had several over the years. I spent fifteen of those years living in Illinois and that is corn and soybean country. So a tank painted to look like an ear of corn feels like home to me.

Next I saw a truck with a sign on the back saying, “Caution. Show chickens inside.” Show chickens? There really are such things? I mean, sure 4H kids raise chickens and take them to the fair to win prizes but an entire semi-truck of show chickens? It made me wonder what type of show. Do you suppose they do tricks like the Wonder Dog does?

We went to a Waffle House for lunch. When Dave starts talking about waffles I know we are headed someplace where he can get one soon. So, I started thinking what I would order when we went there. I decided I’d have one of my favorite breakfasts that I rarely indulge in:  two eggs over easy mixed with hash-browns and bacon with a side of whole wheat toast with jelly. So, imagine my surprise when I heard myself order eggs scrambled with cheese, hash-browns, bacon and toasted raisin bread. At least I got the hash-browns and bacon right. Although, Dave ate half my bacon because that turned out to be too much food for me. It was tasty, though.

When we crossed the Big Blue River I noticed it was green. The color green, not the ecological green. I think green rivers probably aren’t too ecologically sound.

The billboard for Cracker Barrel said, “Table for two. Coming right up.” But the picture that went with it was of a checkerboard. You know, the ones they have on their porch so you can play checkers while you wait for your table which is, obviously, not “Coming right up.”

I saw a water tower with the words, “Indiana. American Water,” on it. I wonder if that was painted in response to the huge popularity of Perrier a few years ago. Then I wondered why a city would care if it’s citizens didn’t drink the local water. Wouldn’t that mean they’d have to process less of it? Then I remembered that back when we had a house our sewer bill was a percent of our water bill. If the citizens aren’t drinking the local water the percentage cost of sewage processing would go up and people would complain about that. So drink locally, folks.

A beer billboard said, “Best taste deserves protection.” Many beer drinkers nowadays associate protection with condoms. So, your beer deserves a condom?

Another beer billboard showed a picture of a six pack with the label “Stimulus Package.” Be careful how much beer you drink; it can affect what you stimulate. Which would never have occurred to me if we hadn’t just been told your beer deserves a condom.

We ran into a flight of bugs which splattered all over our windshield. Without even knowing what I was thinking about the beer ads, Dave asked me if they were Love Bugs. Even if I knew what a Love Bug looked like I wouldn’t have been able to tell if those on our windshield were them from the little evidence they left.

Fortunately, we drove through a down pour shortly after that which washed the bugs off the windshield. Yay!

In the few minutes we drove through that rain the temperature dropped 22 degrees. It’s now a clean, cool world out there.

Unfortunately, we didn’t stay there. We drove on into hot and humid. Then on some more into Illinois to Kickapoo State Park where we will spend the next two nights.  

Yes, we are hurrying towards home. But we are just 20 miles from Urbana, Illinois, where our daughter will be tomorrow. And she is one of our homes wherever she is. Since she’s in the process of gathering her things to move to Maine, we won’t get to visit that home as often as we would like to do in the future. So we are NOT going to pass up this chance to spend a day with her now. Everything else can wait another day.

TTYL,

Linda

We finally dragged ourselves away from Raccoon Valley SKP Park this morning. It was nice sitting still and just being for awhile but we have places to go and things to do–mostly reading the signs along the interstate freeways for the next few days and amusing myself, and hopefully you, with my interpretations of them.

The first one was one of those “Pass it on” ones. You know the ones providing a person who represents some attribute we should all aspire to emulate. This one was a tribute to Jackie Robinson, the man who broke the color barrier in America baseball. The word they used was “character”. But the phrase they chose to go with it irritated the heck out of me. It said, “Here’s to you, Mr. Robinson.” Anyone who has ever seen the movie “The Graduate” knows the Mrs Robinson referred to in the song that starts with those words was not someone to emulate. I wonder who on earth chose those words to put on this billboard and why they did it?

I saw a car with two kayaks on top of it. I think of kayak people as being those who love to get away from it all in the peace and quiet of the backwaters of the country. But they were also towing a jet ski. What kind of people does that make them? Hopefully not ones who go out to the peaceful places then turn on that thing spoiling it for the rest of us.

We stopped at the Kentucky Welcome Center, of course, to pick up another state map. We are getting quite a collection of them. Dave looked at that map and started talking about taking a different route. Remember that we are already on a different route from the one I originally researched? So, I researched this second one? Now he’s talking about a third route. I know we write our plans in chalk but, c’mon. So I looked at the map and discovered he’s just talking about a different route to the same campground I was hoping to stay at tonight. OK, I can handle that.

As we were leaving the Welcome Center I saw a sign that said, “Drive smart.” Define smart. People who weave in and out of traffic so they can arrive someplace 60 seconds sooner think they are driving smart. I prefer the bumper sticker I once saw that says, “Drive friendly.” That make so much more sense to me.

We went by a sign advertising Colonel Sander’s Cafe’ the birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Eleven secret herbs and spices. They seem to me to be putting more pepper in than they used to do. I wonder if someone has been messing with the Colonel’s secret recipe?

I saw a truck driver who has apparently had his limit of tailgaters. His sign said, “Push, pass, or get off my a**.”

In the town of Mount Vernon, Kentucky, where we stopped for lunch we were reminded that today is Sunday. I haven’t see that many church clothes in years. I felt like I’d been transported back to the 50s except back then we didn’t go out to Sunday dinner; we went home and read the funnies while Mom finished fixing our big meal. I know I dressed up for church for many years after that but I don’t remember many members of my church in Plymouth, Minnesota, dressing up quite that much. Many churches, like much of life, have become much more casual. Or at least at some of their services they have. We even had an usher who wears jeans to church. That would NEVER have happened back in the 50s!

Anyway, we drove through the town of Mount Vernon as we decided where to eat. After the meal, Dave once again began talking about what route to take out of there.  Should we take the scenic route or the fast route?  The scenic route would take us through lots of small towns like the one we’d just driven through with it’s narrow, twisty streets and low hanging trees. According to our GPS the scenic route is ten miles shorter but will take 30 minutes longer. Of course, in Kentucky so far the freeway had been as scenic as any other road. So, we might as well stay on the freeway. OK.

The sign said, “Born and Bred in Kentucky.” That phrase has always bothered me. Don’t you have to be bred before you can be born? When they speak of breeding stock they aren’t talking about how they raise them, are they?

An Allied Van Lines truck passed us with stuff strapped to the back of it. Oops?

Signs directed us to the “Kentucky Bourbon Trail.” Apparently it takes you to the most famous distilleries. Put that together will all the churches and religious billboards I’ve been seeing and it seems this is a state where God does not disapprove of strong drink.

The road sign sign said, “Move damaged vehicles to shoulder if no injuries.” So if you move the vehicle before realizing you are injured can the insurance company use that to deny your claim?

When we stopped at a Flying J to get diesel we decided to get on their scale to see if we could document the weight we may have lost when we replaced our sofa bed with my new memory foam bed. Nope. Still 130 pounds over weight. I wonder if I shouldn’t publish that in case my insurance company should ever decide to use it to deny a claim?

We are now in Lake Shelby campground in Shelbyville, Kentucky. This is a popular park for sports and parties but there’s only one other RV here. We have water and electricity for $12. And all the entertainment we could ever want being provided by the birthday party in the shelter near us. I’m guessing the birthday celebrant is a preschooler judging by the number of infants and toddlers in attendance. This is an entire family event, though, and people keep arriving even though the meal part of the party was more than an hour ago. I suspect it will go on until the kids get too fussy to stay unless they just go to sleep while the adults continue visiting. I remember doing that as a child.

Lake Shelby is also a popular fishing spot.There is a boat ramp at the end of our parking lot. And several people lined up on the bank with their poles in the water. Three boys just came in carrying paddles and life jackets. They must have been out for awhile because they are now trying to drown themselves in the drinking fountain. I’ve never been one to fish but I’ve come in from canoe trips being that thirsty so I can relate.

One of our favorite places to canoe was Minnehaha Creek in the Twin Cites. Once you got down on the creek you’d never know you were in a major metropolitan area. Until you came to the DQ’s canoe landing. Smart people the DQ owners.

TTYL,

Linda

Did you know pirates kept their loot in caves along the banks of rivers? Do you suppose that has anything to do with the fact that most of us today keep our money in banks?

You were the Boatswain on a pirate ship. Following is your Article of Agreement and the prize captured. How rich are you?

Article of Agreement

Captain and Quartermaster received two shares in a prize. Sailing Master, Boatswain, and Gunner receive one-and-one-half shares. Other officers one-and-one-quarter shares. Sailors, one share. If one lost a limb or became a cripple in the common service, one received more of a share.

The Crew

Captain, Quartermaster, Sailing Master, Boatswain, Gunner, seventeen sailors, and two additional officers. – No one was maimed during the capture.

The Prize

• Three chests of jewels (each chest contains 17 jewels; each jewel is worth $250.00)
• Nine silver bars (each bar weighs three pounds and silver is worth $80.00 per ounce.)
• Thirteen bags of gold dust (each bag weighs two pounds; gold dust is worth $190.00 per ounce)
• A variety of gold and silver coins worth $5,730.00 

Want some more fun activities like that one? Check out:  http://www.piratemuseum.com/ec.html

TTYL,

Linda

It’s a windy day on the road today. I am quite certain it is nothing like riding a bucking bronco; nevertheless, that’s the image that came to mind as Dave tried to keep our RV between the lines on the road.

We passed a farm/ranch/whatever-it-was with a very long fence needing the attentions of a Tom Sawyer.

The vet had an amusing sign:

Sit. Stay. Spay.

Good Owner.

In Jasper, Texas, at a Conoco station we bought diesel for $1.79/gallon! It was cheaper than regular gasoline.

Street signs here are red. The first one I saw said “Bevil Loop” so I thought red might mean it was a dead end road. But the next sign was also red. Maybe they just want travelers to be able to actually see them?

The next sign I noted said “Entering Beauregard Parish”. We are definitely in Louisiana now where they have parishes instead of counties.

In Merryville, Louisiana, we stopped at a visitor center to pick up a new highway map and to pack away the Texas one that is getting pretty battered.

The next sign I noted said, “No Driving on Shoulder.” Texans have to be told that. According to my observations, it’s standard procedure in Texas to drive on the shoulder if there’s someone behind you that would probably like to pass you. Dave doesn’t do that. At first, I felt like we should but then realized if we pulled over for someone to pass and it turned out not to be safe for them to do so we could be held liable. No, thanks. Let them take their own risks and hope they don’t injure us doing so.

It appears the last weekend in March is festival time in the small towns along U.S. 190 both sides of the Texas/Louisiana border. Azalea Festival. Crawfish Etoufee Cook-off. Dave doesn’t like festivals so we are trying to visit these places during the week so as to leave them to their crowds on the weekends.

We passed a field full of row after row after row of parked small house trailers. Dave thinks they are FEMA trailers. I wonder what they will do with them? Are these the ones that made people sick? If so, are they planning to reuse them? If not, why store them?

We planned to stop in DeRidder for lunch. Neither of us wanted to stop at the Cajun restaurant. The DQ was on the wrong side of the road. Dave kept driving expecting there to be more. There wasn’t. I raided my emergency stash of food and we kept on going down the road.

Now we are seeing tree trucks that remind me of Oregon except these trees aren’t nearly as fat. We passed a paper mill, too.

As is usually the case with U.S. highways, we have railroad tracks running along side us. Suddenly Dave said, “Truck on the tracks.” It might have been a signal maintainer. He sure was being careful about stepping out of the truck there where the shoulder was steep and the ballast loose under foot.

We passed a pizza place and a Subway that both had signs only along the front of the building. Without having a sign out on the road we don’t know they are there until it is too late to stop. Dave never saw either of them. Finally, in Kinder, Louisiana, we found a McDonalds with signage that warned us to prepare to turn. I feel much better with some Chicken Selects in my stomach.

South of Kinder I saw a place called the “Cobwebs and Dust Flea Market”. Truth in advertising?

Now we are parked for the night at the Quiet Oaks RV park.  More truth in advertising–except for the occasional train whistle, of course.

TTYL,

Linda