Darrell's Chair Archives 2009-10

From Darrell's Chair
October 2009 Entries

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"From Darrell's Chair" Archives

This page will be used to share my thoughts with you as I sit in my chair and contemplate the daily events that take place during our fulltiming journey. Hopefully you will enjoy the entries, learn a thing or two, and have some chuckles along the way as Judy and I continue "Wandering America".

Saturday, October 31, 2009 - Farmer's Opry and Campground, Chumuckla, Florida
We've been trying to put LGE behind us, however, when we arrived home yesterday afternoon we found a note in our door. It seems that the LGE Squirrels have obtained counsel through the legal offices of Payne and Martin regarding our accusation, in the October 17th journal entry, that they were responsible for tearing the insulation off the firewall of our truck and stuffing it into the air filter housing. They are claiming that they were not responsible for any such action and that the above mentioned assertion is nothing more than defamation of character being that we have no substantiated evidence to back up such a claim. Furthermore, they are accusing two adorable pure bred ragdoll pussy katts, who were unattended for long periods of time throughout the summer, for the crime. At this point, I must admit that we cannot be certain that it was the squirrels who committed this dastardly deed, however, we are positive that it wasn't the pussy katts nor was it the fox, nor the geese, nor the blue heron, nor the turtle, nor the humming birds, nor all the other birds who frequented our site throughout the summer. There are, although, other possible perpetrators - Chip and Dale's "cousins by the dozens" who ran rampant through our site (and everyone else's site) all summer long could very well be suspects. So, at this point, we may have to extend an apology to the afore mentioned squirrels in order to preclude any further court action on their behalf. Heaven knows that we definitely don't want to return to northern New York in February for any type of court hearings on this matter.

Now, with that little bit of nonsense out of the way, it's back to the Rally. Yesterday was the grand finale starting with a nice breakfast of biscuits and gravy, eggs, sausage, OJ, and coffee at the Farmer's Opry - 'em were gooooood biscuits and gravy but, not as good as Larry's. At ten we caravaned to the Milton Railroad Museum in Milton, Florida (you might say we all had a "one track" mind). The highlight was a real live train that passed by while we were all hanging around next to the tracks. We went with Doug and Anna and were home by one o'clock with the rest of the afternoon reserved for socialization and relaxation. At four o'clock the shenanigans began once more at the social hour with the Sheriff being put on trial and fined - the fines and other donations came to $586 to be donated to the Autism Society. I must say that this is a "wild and crazy" bunch and a lot of fun to be around.

The highlight of the day was the dinner and the show at the Farmer's Opry. We had a nice (huge) dinner with choices of meats (one of which was fried catfish), veggies, rolls, and a garden salad along with drinks and a dessert. There were "pass arounds" of chicken and dumplings and fried okra as well. Needless to say, we were all "stuffed to the gills". The dinner was followed by a show with the Sawmill Country Band. It was a wonderful evening of fun, food, and outstanding entertainment. This has been a great rally and we are sure glad we didn't miss it but, now it's time to head on home.

It's been over six months since we left the Plantation and Miss Judy (me too) has not only seen the barn but now she has caught a whiff of it as well. It will be nice to get back to Rainbow Plantation and set our leveling jacks down for a while. Just in our honor, they are having (what else?) but a pot luck dinner - isn't great to be missed that much? Actually, it is a Halloween pot luck dinner in order to keep us old folks off the roads and out of the local neighborhoods. Candy is bad for our teeth, ya know (at least for those of us that still have teeth)? It will be nice to meet up again with some more of our RVing buddies that we haven't seen in quite awhile.

Friday, October 30, 2009 - Farmer's Opry and Campground, Chumuckla, Florida
You can measure Escapee Rallys in pounds - a one pounder, a two pounder, a five pounder, a ten pounder, etc. This one is somewhere between a five pounder and a ten pounder; that is the amount of weight that you put on at the Rally. This has to be the most "eatiest" Rally that we have ever attended. We eat our way through each day and the food has been just great.

Yesterday was kicked off by a pancake and sausage breakfast. I showed up at about quarter to eight and asked, "How long will my pancakes be?" and was promptly told that, "They won't be long at all, they'll be round!" Anyhow, moving right along, the rest of the morning was crafts and free time for socializing. Miss Judy and I visited some new friends (Jerry and Betty) who have just purchased a classic GMC motorhome. Drool, drool, I've been wanting one of those since "Hector was a pup". Next was, you guessed it, lunch. We had lunch at the Opry and as usual it was a very good meal.

After lunch we all caravaned over to Holland Farms (peanut farm) to watch peanuts being processed. There had to have been two dozen vehicles in the caravan and somewhere along the line (about six vehicles in) an "outsider" got injected into the parade. He made a left turn, and you guessed it, the rest of the caravan followed him. Can you just imagine the expression on his wife's face when he turned into his driveway - "Honey, guess who's coming for dinner?" That will have to be one of the memorable moments of this rally.

The farmer was a real stitch; he has "Rube Goldberg-ed" everything in the process together. As we watched the peanuts go from the "hopper" through the winnowing machine into the wash auger onto the conveyor and into bags all I could think of is the old song the "Music goes 'round and around". "I blow through here the music goes 'round and around and comes out here..." But, it works and he has saved himself a bundle of money on purchasing a lot of sophisticated equipment that would cost an arm and a leg as well as the shirt off his back to keep maintained. We got to sample some of his wares - boiled peanuts (definitely not on my list of favorites), roasted peanuts (no salt but yummy), and raw peanuts (good, but give me some more roasted peanuts pleeeze).

Four o'clock was picture time with Fred Merrill, the gift exchange, social hour, and some more door prizes. The gift exchange was fun - we each brought a gift, sat in a circle, and passed the gift as a story was read. Each time you heard the word right, you passed the gift to the right, whenever you heard the word left you passed the gift to the left. The key was to keep up to the story and not get confused - when the story ended some people had two gifts and others had none. Just another fun thing to do.

Then the Sheriff took over (each rally has a sheriff). He has been on the trail of a real bad hombre. The alleged perpetrater had served up some rocks in a bag lunch and needed to be apprehended and punished. As it turned out the alleged perpetrater had accomplices who also needed to receive punishment. The punishment metered out was in the form of fines - all fines collected by the Sheriff will be donated to the Autism Society (so far, he has collected almost a hundred bucks in fines - lot of law breakers in this bunch).

The day was rounded out with Trivia Pursuit (guys against the gals) and a community fire. This has been a excellent chapter rally and we have met a whole bunch of new friends. Did I ever tell you that one of the best parts of this lifestyle is meeting new people? "There are no strangers in the Escapees, just friends you haven't met yet."

Thursday, October 29, 2009 - Farmer's Opry and Campground, Chumuckla, Florida
Okay, here we go, yesterday we started the day with baggy omelets (that's omelets made in a plastic bag and boiled in water). Next we all congregated into about 20 vehicles and headed for the catfish pond to feed the fish. The suspense of it all was just about all I could take, I could hardly contain myself, and the excitement kept me right on the edge of my chair. This fast pace is definitely going to give me stress. Anywhoo, the fish got fed and, yes, it was a feeding frenzy. Catfish are generally bottom feeders but they definitely found their way to the surface for a free meal.

For lunch we all prepared a bag lunch, put it in a numbered paper sack, took it to the clubhouse, put it on a table, and then drew numbers for our lunch. One prankster (to remain nameless) took a bag and put rocks in it so someone got a back of rocks for his lunch - I guess you could say that he got stoned at lunch time (he did get a replacement bag after much merriment and laughter had taken place). Everyone agreed that this was a fun thing to do.

After lunch there was a basket weaving session which Miss Judy attended - they made gift boxes out of greeting cards. Men were invited as well but none attended - "you think?" One gentleman opened the hood of his motorhome and that attracted men like flies to honey. The rest of us men just congregated at various places for some serious "man talk".

Then it was time to eat - wait a minute, didn't we already do that? You might say that we ate our way through Wednesday. We all got together at the Opry House for a delicious pork dinner provided by the Farmer's Opry and Campground. There was BBQ's pork, mashed potatoes, broccoli, peas and beans, a sweet roll, apple crisp dessert, and a drink - and it was free!!! If you go to an Escapees function you can be sure that you'll not leave hungry.

The evening was rounded out with cards and games in the clubhouse and a gathering around a nice community fire. It really has been a great Gulf Posse Rally giving us the opportunity to get to know our friends and neighbors a little better. And, wait, there's more to come!!!!! We still have a couple more outings, a show, and, yes, some more eating left to do.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - Farmer's Opry and Campground, Chumuckla, Florida
'Twas a rainy day yesterday, just as the weather forecasters had promised. We took a ride into "town" to pick up some items for today's "bag lunch". The rain moved out between 12 and 1 leaving the rest of the afternoon for us to visit with all our playmates. At four o'clock we joined together for the social hour and the kick off for the Rally. Last night there were games in the clubhouse and a fire in the community fire pit. It sure is nice to be back enjoying the company of these people.

Now, today has a full schedule with the afore mentioned bag lunch. Each of us will prepare a bag lunch just like momma used to make for us for those special events when we were in grade school - and that's all I'm telling at this point. It's time for my baggy omelet so I'll bid you adieu for now. We're gonna be havin' lots of fun today, y'all, so check in tomorrow for a full run down of today's events.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 - Farmer's Opry and Campground, Chumuckla, Florida
We arrived at the campground just after one o'clock and was greeted by the parking crew (that is, Norm Payne) who directed us to our site ("Any site you would like!"). We selected a full hook-up site, backed in, and got set-up in short order.

Then we were ready to join in the on going festivities (sitting in our lawn chairs enjoying the warm weather while sipping a cold drink and chatting with all our RVing buddies). As is typical of any Escapees group, we joined together at 4:00 for the social hour which only lasted about a half hour. By then our bellies were crying, "Feed me," so a group of us headed out for the Kwickburger (or Bass's) Cafe which is known as the "No Name Cafe" since there is only a sign in the window that says "Cafe" with no other identifying features.

We rode with Norm and Linda and followed Miss Garmin's directions explicitly which took us to the wrong place; you have to ask the right questions to get the right answers. The No Name Cafe had two specials, one was a fried chicken dinner and the other was a pot roast dinner - both included sides, drinks, and desserts. The boys had the pot roast while the girls had the fried chicken and both meals were very good (there was more than enough to eat).

It was nice walking out of the restaurant and feeling the nice warm evening air; finally, I think we may have gotten far enough south. We came back to the campground and retired to our own homes for the rest of the evening. We watched some "telabision" and played on our 'puters before hitting the hay. It was certainly a great ending to a good day.

Monday, October 26, 2009 - Woods RV Park, Montgomery, Alabama
It was pretty much an uneventful day on the road with good weather. We finally found some of the warmth that we have been seeking - temps were in the low 70's by the time we got to Montgomery. Hopefully, when we get to Florida tomorrow, we will start seeing temps in the mid to high 70's - then we'll be happy.

Smoking is a bad habit that is extremely hard to break and the truck is having a hard time breaking it. So far the truck has been preforming well on the road but, sometimes (not every time) it puts out a lot of smoke when we come to a full stop. The oil and water levels remain constant so the only conclusion that I can come up with is that one (or more) injector(s) are acting up (either needing cleaning or replacing). We will continue to use the injector cleaner in the fuel until we get back to Rainbow Plantation. So far, so good - hopefully the truck will continue to perform as it has been for the past week and get us "home".

Judy did three loads of laundry yesterday and is planning on doing another load this morning. Now, keep in mind that we have a Splendide combo washer/dryer so our loads aren't anywhere near as large as those going into a "sticks and bricks" washing machine. A big load in our machine will be three jerseys and one pair of pants. In any event, the laundry will be all caught up before leaving here this morning. Clean clothes are a good thing when interacting with other humaniods - you just need to smell "Oh so clean"!

Today we will be hooking up with Norm and Linda, Doug and Anna, and Al and Joyce at the Farmer's Opry and Campground in Chumuckla, Florida. We'll be a day early for the rally so we'll help with some of the set up. There are 40 rigs expected and there is a good schedule of events for the rest of the week, so we are looking forward to having a great time. It will take us 2-1/2 to 3 hours of driving to get there; we are planning to arrive around one this afternoon.

Sunday, October 25, 2009 - Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, Tennessee
A cool front moved in after the rain ended on Friday evening so yesterday only got up into the low fifty's, however, that was just perfect for what we engaged in. It's harvest time and it's Halloween time which means that grand daughters need some pumpkins. When we were kids we just went to some local farm and got pumpkins, but not today.

Today they make the process into a whole family festival with corn stalk mazes, hay bale maze, petting zoo, hot cider and snacks, hay rides, activity center, and various displays along with the pumpkin patch. The cooler weather just added to the ambiance of harvesting pumpkins and what a treat to see the excitement on our grand daughters' faces. Catia had no problem getting into the spirit, running through the mazes, petting and feeding the goats, and picking out her pumpkin (the whole nine yards). Kalina, however, wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. She just held onto grandma's or grandpa's hand and took it all in. But, it was a great day, none the less - one that we are sure glad we didn't miss.

This morning we're pulling out of Cedars of Lebanon heading further south in search of this elusive warm weather - global warming my a--! We'll stop over at Wood's RV Park in South Montgomery which is a Passport America campground. We were going to stay overnight at the Flying J which is ten miles further down I-65 but, Miss Judy wants to do a couple of loads of laundry which requires full hook ups.

From there we'll only have about a two and half hour drive to Farmer's Opry and Campground in Chumuckla, Florida where the Gulf Posse Rally is going to be held; therefore, tomorrow we'll see you from Montgomery, Alabama.

Saturday, October 24, 2009 - Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, Tennessee
Don't tell the katts yet, but today is our last full day here in Tennessee. Yep, tomorrow morning it's "On The Road Again" heading for the Gulf Posse Rally. This has been a relaxing week in that we have only done things in and around the house and visited with family and friends. No sightseeing this trip, however, we do need to get out more.

Miss Judy has seen the barn and is ready to be back at Rainbow Plantation - I guess we both are. We left there waaaaay back in April and is seems like an eternity. I think the fact that we spent four and a half months at Lake George Escape makes it seem longer but, that has certainly generated some discussions as to what our future fulltiming lifestyle should look like considering that we'll not be doing that anymore. More on that subject at a later date.

Being that yesterday was a rain day, we stayed inside and worked on our hobbies. Me on the travelogues and Miss Judy on some digital scrapbooking. Oh yes, we did make a run to Wally World to get some more yarn. As usual, a few more items found their way into our shopping cart while we weren't looking - how in the world does that happen?

In Tennessee you have to purchase your wine from a liquor store. There happened to be one right next to Uncle Wally's so we purchased a couple of bottles of wine for the Rally. We needed a couple of gifts for the Rally as well, so a quick stop at the Dollar Tree took care of that "need". Then it was home again and back to work on the travelogues.

Judy prepared dinner and an apple pie for last night's meal with the grand daughters (and their parents). Everything was yummy, as always, but, I can say one thing - We need to plan our visits a little better. Being there when everyone arrives home after a long day at w*rk and in day care is not the best time for visiting. Grand daughters are tired and hungry and not the least bit sociable (especially Miss Kalina). They don't really want to have anything to do with grand parents, however, once the diapers are changed, the bellies are full, and they've had some time to re-acclimate themselves to being home they are much more pleasant to be with.

It was a good evening and we are joining them again this morning for a special outing. More about that tomorrow - so, in the meantime, "Thar ya go!"

Friday, October 23, 2009 - Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, Tennessee
Yesterday was a good day, no, actually, yesterday was a great day. It was warm, even though overcast, and I worked on the travelogues while sitting outside. Boy, I can't ever let things slip so far behind again - it taxes the old memory banks to remember all the details. Fortunately for me I have kept outlines so all I have to do is fill in the blanks but, I can tell you it is a lot easier when you stay current.

Miss Judy took care of some "paperwork" issues and worked on her crocheting. Last night we went over to our daughter's (Mary) apartment to have dinner with her and Joel. Joel did the cooking and it was a meal fit for a king. We had chicken Brian, mashed cauliflower, and steamed broccoli followed by black bean brownies (or were they blackies?). I had a couple of Cape Cods before dinner; that is, cranberry juice mixed with vodka and a twist of lime - not bad, but not on the top of my drink list.

Judy, like any mother, was excited to learn more about the up coming wedding which is officially scheduled for April 24th. They have lots, and lots, and lots of friends so it has been difficult for them to get their guest list down to 150 people but, they have their budget established and being the "free from debt" conscience people that they are, they are determined to maintain it.

We got home around 9:30, checked emails, watched the last half of Jay Leno, and hit the hay. Today is a rainy day so we will have to play inside. Once our daily chores have been completed, I intend to work some more on the travelogues - it sure will be great to get that behind me and have the website up-to-date once and for all.

Thursday, October 22, 2009 - Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, Tennessee
I arose and stagged to the livingroom where I sat and stared at the coffee pot impatiently waiting for it to do its thing. Finally some brew was poured into my cup and immediately began to flow throughout the crevasses of my bod. Then, I was officially awake.

Yesterday was overcast but warm. Gene and Judi stopped by for a "chat and chew". We first met them at Rainbow Plantation last January and got together with them a couple of times while they were there. Gene and Judi enjoy hiking, all types of hiking. They are members of the American Volkssport Association and join in with many of their scheduled walks. They, also, hike the Rails to Trails trails and do some serious hiking with backpacks, etc. Currently they are working at getting into shape in order to walk about 300 miles of the Appalachian Trail in the Virginia area next spring.

Miss Judy and I enjoy walking and some hiking on prepared trails but aren't into the rough Appalachian Trail type of trails. So, I guess the bottom line is that we are more into walking than hiking but, we did enjoy hearing about Gene and Judi's adventures.

After they departed Rainbow Plantation last January, Gene and Judi did a nine month loop out west. It was fun following their adventures while drooling with envy. It is really great to be free to Wander without tying up four months of summer with workamping. You can check out their travels on their blog Scratchin' The Itch.

Gene and Judi are from the Nashville area and being that we have family here as well, I'm sure we will continue "bumping into them". It was good to see them again and we look forward to our paths crossing many times in the future as we continue Wandering America and they keep Scratchin' The Itch.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 - Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, Tennessee
Hooray, finally we had a day to ourselves. We started the day with coffee while playing on our 'puters and later decided that Cracker Barrel was going to go bankrupt if we didn't partake in a breakfast. We each had Uncle Herschel's breakfast; I like mine with a pork chop while Judy likes the sugar ham, neither of us like the grits or the gravy. In case you didn't know it, Cracker Barrel will serve hash browns with their breakfasts; I ordered them with onions and green peppers and had them fried crisp - they were yummy as was the whole breakfast.

After a quick stop at Wally World to pick up a few items we headed home but got side tracked by some used motorhomes for sale. There is a RV consignment store just south of I-40 that had several Tiffin products displayed - an Allegro Bay, an Allegro Bus, and a Phaeton. Being that they are offered for sale by the owners we felt that they were a little over priced. I have a sneaking suspicion that the owners are upside down in their payments on the motorhomes. The Allegro Bay was in mint condition with only 6,500 miles on it. It is a 2004 and the drawers and cabinets throughout the motorhome didn't even look like they had ever been used, however, they are asking $94,000 which is about $20 to $30 high for that year and model.

The weather is getting warmer each day so we were able to sit outside for a while, go for a walk, and otherwise just lounge around. No, I didn't do a darn thing on the travelogues; it was just too nice outside. Today is supposed to be even nicer. We just love this warmer weather.

Well, the issue on the truck is pointing toward the injectors so while we were at Walmart I purchased some injector cleaner to add to the fuel. I bought a large enough size to add to four tanks of diesel fuel. Hopefully that will buy us enough time (and miles) to get back to Rainbow Plantation before the injectors or water pump fails. I will keep monitoring the oil and the coolant levels as well and, like I said before, with a wing and a prayer we'll make it. Is that faith, or what? Maybe it's just plain insanity - don't you just love living on the edge? Judy says, "NOT!!!"

This afternoon company is coming so we need to clean house a little and I do really want to work on April and May's travelogues. Miss Judy wants to work on some of her basket weaving endeavors as well. Alex wants to help her, especially if it involves yarn, while Katie wants to take a katt nap. So there you have it for now! May God Bless.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 - Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, Tennessee
We are starting to get acclimated to the Central Time Zone, as those of you in the Eastern Time Zone can tell by this late entry. We're, also, starting to see some warmer weather as well. Today the temps are supposed to get up into the 70's, it's about time.

Yesterday we were up at oh dark thirty (bodies still on Eastern Time). Miss Judy ended up taking care of Catia for the day. We don't think she had the flu 'cause she was up and well with no fever but, Matt and Jackie wanted to keep her home one more day to just make sure she was "all better".

I borrowed their carpet shampooer to do our carpets. They have a nice Hoover shampooer which is big and heavy and does an excellent job on carpets. However, being that it is big and heavy makes it a challenge to do carpets in an RV but they came out nice and clean. It took me about three hours to do a good vacuuming and shampooing.

After my little chore was done, Alex and I grabbed a katt nap. It was quarter to five before I got back to their house. I took Gunner (their dawg) for a walk. He is just 10 months old and still undergoing training but did respond to the "heel" command. He's a pretty dawg - a mix between Australian Cattle Dawg and Blue Heeler.

Then I played with Catia for a while, getting scolded several times for getting her riled up. Grandpas are like that, yeah they are!!! Matt, Jackie, and Kalina arrived home with Kalina tired, hungry, and cranky so we departed the scene quickly. Grand parents are like that, yeah they are!!!!

Once home we made dinner with barbecued pork chops, baked potatoes, and steamed asparagus. It was nice to have a good homecooked meal with just the two of us - it's been a long time since that has happened. We've been doing a lot of eating out, eating with others, or eating on the fly since leaving New York.

There was nothing of interest on television so we just played on our 'puters with Antique Roadshow in the background. I did watch the Jay Leno Show and then it was off to bed at around 10:00 Central Time.

Today will definitely be a much needed stay at home and enjoy the "state of our being" day. I plan to work on the travelogues for April and May and hopefully finish them up this week. Then I will just have the summer at LGE left to catch up. I've been a good boy and stayed on top of October's travelogue and will publish it the first week of November. Judy and I have been talking about some format changes for the website to make it a bit more interesting in the future. So you'll need to stay tuned to see what transpires.

Well, that's it for today from Cedars of Lebanon State Park.

Monday, October 19, 2009 - Cedars of Lebanon State Park, Lebanon, Tennessee
Well, we went and did it again!!! After saying that we were going to slow down and enjoy the journey we drove straight through to Cedars of Lebanon State Park in Lebanon, Tennessee. We made our decision based on the following rationale. First of all, when we were closing in on our exit in Kentucky it was only around one-thirty in the afternoon (or twelve-thirty Central Time). Secondly, both Katie and Alex had protested loudly about traveling two days in a row when we had departed the campground. Thirdly, there were only two and a half hours of driving time left to get to Cedars of Lebanon. Next, neither of us (nor the katts) wanted to be on the road again tomorrow (which is today). And, finally, when we were getting ready to get underway yesterday morning it was only 29 degrees outside; therefore, we were not far enough south. So, press on we did.

Right around Bowling Green, Kentucky we departed the interstate and took route 231 into Tennessee and onto Cedars of Lebanon. It was a great road running through the country side with very pretty views. The only issue was that there weren't many service stations with diesel fuel and the truck was getting thirsty; finally we found some fuel in West Moreland, Tennessee. Traveling off the interstates is the only way to go and we will be doing more of it as we continue Wandering America.

We arrived at Cedars of Lebanon a little after four (three Central time), just in time to "set up camp" and get the Patriots game on television (What a blow out that game was! What was that white stuff falling from the sky?). The State Park has nice long paved level sites with 50 amp electric and water, no sewer, for twenty bucks a night. We will be here for a week visiting family and friends as well as getting our grand-daughter fix.

Speaking of grand daughters, Miss Catia has the flu (not swine flu) so we're not sure when we'll be seeing them. So far this fall we have managed to keep Miss Judy well, that's a first in quite a few years, and I don't want her getting sick now. Besides, I don't want to get the flu either - just don't have time for the flu.

Last year at Rainbow Plantation we met Gene and Judi Curp who are from the Nashville area. They have been traveling out west and have just returned to the area to visit family - hopefully we'll be able to connect with them. Also, Don and Tina, who we have w*rked with over the past three summers at LGE, are in Tennessee somewhere close by so we would like to catch up with them as well. Other than that we have several gatherings with the family planned so the week will pass by quickly.

Currently there are no plans for today; we'll just have to see what unfolds. I did get a new air filter for the truck at Walmart last evening which I will install. We still have some smoke coming out of the exhaust and we are not sure exactly the cause. We hope to get ourselves back to Rainbow Plantation safe and sound to get the truck looked at there. The oil level and oil pressure remain good, the water temperature remains constant but I do have to add about a pint of coolant every 500 miles or so. I will crawl under the truck again today to see if there is any indication of leaking (there was earlier before I used the Bar's Stop Leak). If not, then it could be a head gasket problem; that would be a pricey little job.

I did learn that white smoke means the engine is burning some water/antifreeze, blue smoke means it is burning oil, and black smoke means that the mixture is too rich and it is not completely burning the diesel fuel. The smoke is not black but we can't decide if it is more whitish or bluish in color. One more possibly is that the injectors are not working properly which would put out a light colored smoke as well. GM had problems with the injectors in the earlier Duramax diesels and have extended warranty out to two hundred thousand miles (which means we are still under warranty). We'll just have to keep monitoring the problem and try to make it home on a "wing and prayer".

Saturday, October 17, 2009 - Mar-Brook Campground, Gas City, Indiana
It's almost seven in the evening and I'm just now getting around to doing a journal entry. We got up and got going this morning; Ray and Pat were leaving early and we wanted to say "good-bye" (and "see ya in 'Bama") to them . Then we began our packing up to leave. We headed out around 9:30 taking Michigan route 66 from Remus, Michigan to Charlotte, Michigan where we picked up I-69. It took us about 5 hours to get to Mar-Brook Campground (which is a Passport America campground) in Gas City, Indiana.

We had a great travel day with the sun shinning brightly and the leaves at their peak color. Traffic was light and we traveled at our own pace. It was certainly nice to travel the secondary roads; something that we're going to keep doing more of from now on. Tomorrow we'll travel the interstate through Indiana and Kentucky but Monday (somewhere around Bowling Green, Kentucky) we'll jump on the secondary roads to Lebanon, Tennessee.

When we pulled off for fuel at exit 64 we noticed all kinds of smoke rolling out of the tail pipe. I just couldn't imagine what the problem could be; the only thing that I could think of is that the truck is burning oil. We fueled up and got back on the interstate for another five miles which brought us to the exit for Mar-Brook Campground. I left the truck idling while I went to the office to register and the smoke just rolled out of the exhaust pipe - we have major issues!!!

Once we got settled into our site I began checking things out. At first I thought that the oil was down to about half but, after rechecking several times (our dip stick is extremely hard to read) I decided that the oil level was where it was supposed to be. Next I thought that maybe we were burning anti-freeze which would mean a blown head gasket but, the water level was only down a little. So I came inside and got on the internet to see if I could come up with any other ideas.

Well, if it wasn't burning oil and it wasn't burning anti-freeze the only other thing I could come up with is that maybe there was a problem with the injectors and the engine wasn't completely burning the diesel fuel. Now, I changed the air filter about six months ago so didn't think that that could be the problem but decided to check it anyhow. What did I discover? Those little chipmunks (or squirrels) at LGE had stripped the insulation off the firewall and dragged it up into the filter box restricting the air flow into the carburetor.

Thankfully the little varmints hadn't chewed through the filter or we would have had bigger problems. I cleaned out the filter box and that seemed to reduce the smoke considerably, however, it is still smoking. I'll probably have to take apart the entire air intake system to get it cleaned out - not an easy job. Also, I'll probably have to get some carburetor cleaner to spray into the carburetor. What a hassle, but much better than a complete engine overhaul.

When we get back to Rainbow Plantation we still need to get a new water pump installed. Right now I'm using Barr's Stop Leak to keep it from leaking (a temporary fix at best). Oh well, it certainly keeps life interesting - let alone the knot that I felt in my stomach when I thought that the rings had gone bad. The poor ol' truck has 136,000 miles on it and isn't getting any younger - this was to be the year to upgrade the truck before the Wall Street outlaws took off with all our investment money last fall. Now we'll just have to keep it running with bailing twine and chewing gum for another year or two. It certainly makes one think twice before heading off into the sunset, though.

In any event, I think all is well and we'll continue our trek attempting to find warmer weather. It's still cold here in Indiana and we're not really hearing encouraging words from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This global warming "thang" has got to go before we freeze to death!!!! Someone want to tell Al Gore to sit down and be still???

Friday, October 16, 2009 - Ray and Pat's, Mecosta, Michigan
We've been having what I call "refrigerator weather" (that is, mid to high thirties at night and low to mid forties during the day - just right to keep your beer cold) since arriving at Mecosta. Today/tonight we going to move into the "refrigerator/freezer weather" phase (that is, high thirties to low forties during the day and low twenties at night - just right to keep both your beer and ice cream cold). None the less, we are sitting here in front of the fireplace all snuggly buggy warm. Guess what? After tonight (and after we leave) the temperatures are heading back toward the normal (fifties during the day and forties at night) - go figure!!!

When we ordered the Cedar Creek we had the arctic package installed - thermopane windows, extra insulation, heated tanks, larger BTU furnace (as well as larger BTU A/C). However, we didn't do it for the cold; we did it for the hot weather so we could keep the rig cooler. As it has turned out we haven't experienced extremely hot weather in our house on wheels but, have spent time in some sub-zero weather. We've stayed warm inside but the furnace does run a lot in temperatures that drop below 20 degrees. In the future we are going to attempt to avoid that scenario as well as attempt to avoid the other scenario as well (temps over 100 degrees).

In the meantime we are just glad to have the arctic package on our rig. Even though it is cold, it is an absolutely beautiful time of the year here in northern Michigan. We have a gorgeous view out our back window with all the bright colored leaves that are now beginning to hit the ground and we plan on sucking it all in today as we hang around the house.

Don and Debra visited yesterday afternoon. Judy made her award winning chicken soup and a garden salad served with some focasia bread. We had peanut butter panic ice cream for dessert - it was yummy and hit the spot on a cool Thursday afternoon. Before and after dinner we just sat in front of the fireplace and chit chatted away getting caught up on each other's lives since our last get together. This lifestyle certainly generates lots of friends, many of whom you see over and over again in your travels. We'll be getting together with Don and Debra again in January in Florida while we are doing our Habitat for Humanity build.

Well, all of our rushing about like chickens with their heads cut off is over; at least for the time being. Today is going to be a stay at home day as we relax and get ourselves ready to hit the road tomorrow morning. Being that it is getting colder up here in the north country we're going to make a bee line south. That means three back to back travel days, however, shorter with one three hour travel day, and two four hours. We won't mind that so much if we can convince Alex it is all for a good cause - getting to a warmer climate and a grand daughter fix.

Now it's time for me to fetch another cup of coffee and catch up on reading a few blogs. Tonight we will be getting together with Ray and Pat for some more euchre playing - the girls want a rematch as if that will do them any good against the euchre pros.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 - Ray and Pat's, Mecosta, Michigan
Doing nothing is a great concept, however, we didn't do nothing yesterday. Had too many loose ends that needed to be tied up so a "do nothing" day was just a dream for me. The good news is that today will be the end of the "run around, git 'r done" cycle. We're going back to Grand Rapids to pick up Brian's suit and get him a pair of shoes. Then we'll return home and get ready for guests this evening.

Don and Debra are dropping by for a chat and chew. We first met Don and Debra the summer of 2008 at LGE and became kayaking buddies. They visited us last winter at Rainbow Plantation and we hope to catch up with them again in Florida this coming January. In any event, it will be good to see them again and we are looking forward to their visit this evening.

Isn't it great? The economy is no longer in recession!!! Yep, the network news organizations deem it so; therefore, it must be so. After all, they are the ones who contributed greatly to the collapse in the first place as prophets of doom with their "sky is falling, huff and puff and blow your house down" projections a year ago. Now they are the fairy god mothers with projections that we will live happily ever after. Funny, somehow I don't feel any richer but, I must say that I am not quite as poor as I was last spring so maybe "happy days are here again". One can only hope but wouldn't it be great if the news organizations would just report the news and quit trying to predict it - where's Walter Cronkite when you need him? Oh yes, he passed away last summer but the network news organizations were too busy leading us in mourning for Michael Jackson for us to take notice.

Last night we went over to Ray and Pat's for dinner, chit chat, and euchre playing. Pat prepared a wonderful roast with all the fixings - 'taters, carrots, squash, a salad, and nice fresh bread. Miss Judy made the dessert which was brownies with chocolate chips and walnuts served with a couple of scoops of peanut butter nut ice cream on top. We were satisfied and full to say the least. Ray and I whipped the ladies at euchre winning two out of three hands; it's hard to beat the pros!!!! It was a nice relaxing enjoyable evening and we look forward to getting together again on Friday evening.

Well, it's time to get my kiester moving. I've managed to swill down two cups of coffee and need to start focusing on breakfast and getting myself ready to head out for Grand Rapids.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - Ray and Pat's, Mecosta, Michigan
We are closing in on it. We're putting all the "things that we ought to do" behind us. Yesterday we drove three hours north to visit with Judy's brother and sister-in-law. It was a pleasant drive and a good visit. Della fed us "real good" and we got to chit chat for about four hours before turning around and driving three hours back. It was an on again, off again sunny day with no rain or sn*w; we even had a heat wave with the temps getting up to 50 degrees. Also, the leaves are at their peak colors and traffic was light so it made our ride rather enjoyable.

Today is a freebie for us so I slept in this morning getting up around 7:00 (Miss Judy got up at 5:30, someone needs to train her to sleep in). Five o'clock Charlie (a.k.a. Alex) even sleeps in now - he was sleeping on top of me when I woke up. I have a "cuddle pillow" that I put between my legs and wrap myself up around. Alex likes it because he can lay on top of me, half on the pillow and half on me, while we both sleep soundly. I got up, stretched, scratched, and made my way toward my coffee cup thus the day had began.

Later this morning we are going to market to pick up a few things and then we'll come home and "stay put" for the rest of the day at our wonderful "camp site". The neighbors aren't bad either so we are going to get together with them (Ray and Pat) later this evening. Otherwise it will be a "do nothing" day, however, I'm sure we'll find something to do around the house. The Ta-Do List still looms over our heads; therefore, we never lack for things to do but, I still look forward to doing "some nothing".

Just because we are fulltimers doesn't mean that we have to be tourists all the time. Fulltimers are really no different than regular home owners when it comes to spending time around the house. It's just that our house tends to go "Wandering America". Sometimes we feel that we need to be out sightseeing or visiting every day but, we're not on vacation so we need to take time to just slow down and enjoy being. The fact that we have "Type A" personalities causes us to feel that we have to be doing something every minute but we are learning to enjoy our "down time" and today is going to contain some of that "down time".

Tuesday, October 13, 2009 - Ray and Pat's, Mecosta, Michigan
Yesterday was a very successful day. We picked up Brian at 10:30 and made our way to Rivertown Mall to find him a suit for his sister's wedding. Brian is our handicapped son who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. J. C. Penney's, at Rivertown Mall anyway, has a salesman who fits the suit and marks it for alterations. Because of Brain's handicaps, the right arm and leg lengths are shorter than the left ones so the suit has to have a "special" alteration. We also found a shirt and a tie right there as well and the suit will be ready for pick up by Wednesday evening. I just love it when you can get everything done with "one stop shopping".

After we finished at Penney's it was time for lunch so we headed for Arnie's which is a local chain restaurant. Again, it was our lucky day. They had a buy one get one free steak burgers on special so that's what we ordered. Brian got the bacon burger and we got the onion/mushroom burger. The burgers were hure being a 1/3 of a pound with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion straws (strips of onion that is battered and fried) and cooked to perfection (it's been a long time since I had a medium rare burger). They are served with a big side of potato chips which were just like homemade with no salt. And Then . . . , And Then . . . , to top that, Monday was free cup cake day - you got to choose from six different flavors, each was frosted with a filling inside. For less than twenty bucks (including the tip) we had a great lunch.

On our way home we stopped off at Verizon and got the 'puter issues resolved which they did - life is good. Then we took the "back roads" home. The only thing that we didn't get done was an oil change on the truck. I had remembered a place in Howard City, Michigan where I used to get the oil changed when we had our seasonal camp site at Mecosta Pines in Morley. But, they didn't have any 15/40 oil in stock so we'll have to stop on our way north this morning.

We were tired when we got home so after a little 'puter time and TV time it was lights out for us. And, yes, the furnace is working just like it is supposed to keeping us nice and toasty warm on these chilly fall evenings here in Michigan. The weather forecasters are still swearing on television, right in front of God and everyone. They keep using the "s" word as in sn*w. Nick Russell says, "When it sn*q, Nick goes!" and all I can say is, "So do Darrell, Judy, Katie, and Alex!" And go we shall on Friday morning.

Monday, October 12, 2009 - Ray and Pat's, Mecosta, Michigan
It was a nice travel day. What made it so nice is the fact that we decided to drive the Michigan highways rather than the Interstates. We drove north on I-75 for about 20 miles and then took M-57 west to M-127 north to M-20 west which brought us right into Mecosta. Ray worked really hard to set up an additional hook-up. Our site sits among some nice colorful hardwoods with great views out all of our windows. Thanks Ray!!!

As reported yesterday it is still cooooold and now they (the weather forecasters) are calling for sn*w. On our way to Mecosta Miss Judy and I had talked about getting outta here on Wednesday but, once we got set up I decided to give the furnace another chance and it fired right up. That means we have heat so let it sn*w, let it sn*w, let it sn*w. We're not wimps, we're going to stay until Friday.

Katie and Alex like this site as well. Katie has been kind of "nasty" lately wanting nothing to do with humaniods but, this morning she was climbing over me to lay on my pillow and purred so could I pet her. It's been a while since she has done that. I guess they are country katts after all.

Come to think of it, the katts rode much better on the "back roads" then they do on the Interstates. Maybe the truck traffic on the interstates makes them nervous and is unsettling for them. From now on we'll start looking for alternative routes.

We've been very disappointed with our Verizon air card as it really hasn't been performing much better than our old Sprint air card. We are not able to get on line here in Mecosta, Michigan but after talking with Pat we found out that they have Verizon cell phones and a Verizon air card with Verizon coverage in this area. So I spent a couple of hours on the phone with the Verizon Service Tech and discovered the problem is that the card was not properly activated.

Since we were unable to get online we weren't able to "activate" the card here in Mecosta so I will take it and my computer along with us when we go to Grand Rapids today and hopefully be able to get online there. Once I get online I will be able to "activate" the card. The activation process is what enables the roaming feature of the card so it will properly seek out the available towers. That should give us the coverage and speeds that we were hoping for when we switched from Sprint to Verizon. The Verizon Tech will follow up with us later to ensure that the card is activated properly - He was very helpful and left me with his phone number so I will be able to call him directly should we need further assistance.

We had a great visit with Ray and Pat; she fed us some homemade blueberry pie topped with ice cream. Pat made the pie with fresh blueberries that she and Ray had picked. It was really yummy, yum, yum - life can't get any better than that. We spent the rest of the evening talking about finding "reasonably priced" RV sites as we travel. We picked up several great tips and look forward to implementing them into our future travels.

Sunday, October 11, 2009 - Warren and Shirley's, Holly, Michigan
Brrrrrrr is the word this morning. Michigan is experiencing weather that is typically saved for November. What's up with that? It seems that whenever we have come to Michigan the past few times the weather has retreated to winter temperatures just for us. Where's Indian Summer when you need it? You wanna know the sad part? Today is a travel day and we are heading further north where the temps were at 24 degrees this morning. We need our head examined!!!!!

The original plan was for us to tour the east coast while heading south to the rally in Florida. But somewhere along the line we thought that it would be a good idea to visit family and friends in Michigan - what were we thinking? So here we are, freezing our kiesters off. Even Katie and Alex give us a look of disdain as they hunker themselves down on the bed with their backs up against the pillows.

Last night I thought that I had done a good thing but, it didn't work out the way I had planned. I turned on the fireplace and moved the Vornado heater up into the bathroom area figuring that we could heat both ends of the house. The "fly in the ointment" was that the fireplace heater had been turned off and I didn't even think to check it so it was the living room was in the forties this morning. Not A Good Thing!!!!

Oh well, I hope our relatives appreciate the great sacrifice we are making just to come and visit them. Somehow I don't think that they give it a second thought. They all have clothes for this sort of thing being that they live here year round but, I'll be darned if we are going out and buying a winter wardrobe. The better plan is to avoid this area of the world from September to May - didn't I say that the last time we were here? Yep, we are definitely slow learners.

This morning Miss Judy is going to do laundry while I help Warren hang the barn door on the new entry way that we finished building. The only thing Warren will have left to do is shingle the roof which is a one man job anyway. Then we'll make a four hour journey to the frigid north country for an arctic wilderness adventure over the next five days. Then we'll make a hasty retreat from Michigan with our tails between our legs. Hopefully there will still be some warm weather left in Tennessee by the time we get there so we can thaw out.

Saturday, October 10. 2009 - Warren and Shirley's, Holly, Michigan
Yesterday was indeed rainy and chilly all day. Nick Russell mentioned in his blog on Friday that fulltime RVer's with half of brain should be heading south this time of year. Well Nick, I guess we are directionally challenged as well 'cause here we sit in Michigan. However, our good friend Terry in her blog for Thursday writes about the hot/humid weather that they are having in the south and how miserable it is so just maybe a slow meandering southward is the best idea after all. But, we need to get a wiggle on and move a little further south as the temps are predicted to hover around freezing during the nights and in the 50's during the days. Why, that's winter weather in 'Bama!!!!

Even though it rained all day, Warren and I "played" outside as we continued working on his project of building an entry way on the front of the barn. During the winter (brrrrr, I get goose bumps just thinking of it) he has to shovel the snow out from around the front door every few hours so this entry way will eliminate that problem. He still has just under a thousand feet of driveway to plow out (that would be one heck of an entry way) every time it snows. I'll be thinking of him as I sit in the warm south sipping my Pina Coladas.

Judy was successful in finding the material that she was looking for for quilting our new place mats. How unique, the place mats will be made from material purchased in Maine and Michigan (our two home states). That should make them a prefect blend; hopefully they will last for thirty-seven years as well. So, in spite of the rain, we had a good day.

Over the next week we are "supposed" to get nice weather, just a little cool for our liking. Our original plan was to remain in Michigan until Monday the 19th - we are now thinking that we'll start heading south on Friday the 16th instead. The temperatures in Tennessee will be much more enjoyable this time of year.

Friday, October 9, 2009 - Warren and Shirley's, Holly, Michigan
Well, so much for uneventful travel days. Wednesday it was construction, rainy, and windy - not necessarily in that order. We battled a head wind for most of the day with rain entering the picture during the afternoon. Road construction was the order of the day for Pennsylvania turning a five hour trip into a six and a half hours. On top of that, the Passport America campground that we had chosen was a total bust.

Take exit 15 off of I-80 and go north for 2.3 miles; then turn left on route 318 heading west for another 4.9 miles; the campground is on the left. What they forget to tell you is that route 318 is like a snake's back with no shoulders and steep hills. At around 4.7 miles the road starts descending a 10% grade (What the heck is 10% grade anyway? I know what 10 degrees are and I know what a 10 pitch roof is but what the heck is 10%? It's 10% of what? Is 100% ninety degrees making 10% nine degrees???) Anyway, we're going down this steep hill in 2nd gear and there's the sign - turn left now!!!

Once we turned into the narrow gravel driveway bad vibes began running up and down my spine. The driveway immediately starts going up hill and I have to put the truck into four-wheel drive. We drive in for about a half mile and then, starting in front of the office, the road is paved (maybe this won't be so bad after all). We pay our "price of admission" and then proceed up the hill on the paved road. However, the pavement ends at the top of the hill and we encounter two track roads from that point on. The attendant said that we can take any site but recommends site 20 because it is 65 feet long.

The site maybe long but it will require backing up hill and is not the least bit level. Judy comments on the water so I told to turn it on and see what comes out. You don't want to know what came out but the longer it ran the browner it got. We're outta here!!!! We stopped at the office to get our check back and hit the road again. Passport America signs up some real dawgs but this one was absolutely the worse we have seen.

Fortunately for us there was a Flying-J just over the border in Ohio so that was home sweet home for the night. "Camping" at Flying-J is not exactly cheap considering that we went in the restaurant for dinner and then again for breakfast but at least we had a level site with clean water.

As for Thursday, it was mostly another uneventful travel day, however, when we got parked at Shirley and Warren's I noticed that we had lost one of the center caps on the left rear wheel. Then I noticed that we had lost one on our right front wheel as well. The nuts on these do loosen up but all these years we've never lost any and, now, we loose two? I have a sneaking suspicion that someone ripped them off while we were at the Flying-J. It's possible that they fell off during travel but highly unlikely. I'll just have to start looking at junk yards for replacements - new ones cost $110 each from GM and generic ones cost around $90 per set from J. C. Whitney. Bummer!!

Oh well, we're safe and sound in Michigan for the first leg of our stay. It's supposed to be a rainy day and we're not having to travel so, I guess, life is good. I'll be helping Warren with a building project (always have projects whenever we are here - either his or mine). Judy and Shirley are going to JoAnn Fabrics and a quilt shop looking for some material. So Ta-Ta for now; take care, have fun, and God Bless.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - Tri State Campground, Matamoras, Pennsylvania
Yesterday was waaaaay too nice of day to be traveling but, travel we did. It was pretty much an uneventful trip from the Cape to Eastern Pennsylvania. I certainly look forward to the day that we stop traveling the interstate highways. However, when traveling in the east it is necessary to choose your secondary roads very carefully; they can be narrow, winding, and hilly with low hanging branches and/or low overpasses. Once you get west of Pennsylvania things begin to open up and the secondary roads are much nicer to travel than the interstates but, we are heading for a destination (Michigan) and want to get there, do our visiting, and get out before cold weather (or snow) sets in.

We stopped at Tri State RV Park in Matamoras, Pennsylvania. They are pricey ($35 per night for a full hook-up site with 30 amp electric) and offer no discounts (no Good Sam, Escapees, or Passport America). They have level pull through sites with cable TV that are long enough to remain hitched up and convenient to I-84. Basically this is an over night campground with a lot of highway noise and no ambiance what so ever. But, it got the job done and we'll be on the road again this morning.

We woke to the sound of rain but the sun is starting to peak through as I am writing this entry. We don't plan to get on the highway until around 10 o'clock. That way we will avoid the traffic in and around Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; besides, we'll only be on the road for no more than five hours. We'll stop over at a Passport America campground tonight near Mercer, Pennsylvania (on the western border). Then one more travel day to our destination.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - Aunt Marge's, E. Falmouth, Massachusetts
What a big day!! Marge, Judy and I left at around 9:00 and drove route 28 from E. Falmouth picking up route 6A just before the Cape Cod National Seashore at Eastham. The day started out a little overcast but soon turned to a nice sunny fall day. Before stopping by the National Seashore Visitor's Center we drove up to Fort Hill and did a drive by of the Captain Penniman House. While at the visitor's center we watched a couple of videos about Cape Cod as well as visited the museum. Miss Judy bought a National Park Passport book so that we could begin gathering stamps of the parks we visit.

From the Visitor's Center we drove around the park stopping along the way to walk on the beaches, take in the sights, and make pictures. At around one o'clock we stopped at Pilgrim Heights picnic area for lunch (we had packed our lunch before we left home). From their we drove into Provincetown which is an "artsy crafty" little village with lots and lots of cute little shops. Commercial Street runs through the village along the waterfront and it r4is so narrow with parked cars, walkers, and bikers that it is almost impossible to drive through it (I wouldn't want to attempt it during the peak of the summer season).

Pilgrim Monument is 292 feet tall with 116 steps and 60 ramps leading to the top. Miss Judy and I did the obligatory climb while Aunt Marge poked around the museum at the base. It was a relatively clear day, however, we still were not able to see Boston but, while at the top we took lots of pictures of Provincetown and the Cape. After Judy and I returned to land level we spent some time viewing the museum as well.

From Pilgrim Monument the three of us drove back down into the village and out to the end of MacMillian Wharf for some more pictures. MacMillian Wharf is the dock used by commercial fishermen and Cape Cod sightseeing cruises. After leaving the dock area we continued our drive to the end of Commercial Street which is, also, the end of the Cape. There is a plaque erected there commemorating the arrival of the Pilgrims.

The Mayflower had laid anchored off the shores of Provincetown for a period of five weeks before sailing onto Plimouth which is just across the bay. While anchored off Provincetown there were several exploratory trips made to the shores and the Mayflower Compact was written.

There were a couple of more stops that I wanted to make but it was getting late and we had a two hour ride ahead of us so we headed home. October's Travelogue will contain more details and photographs of yesterday's trip.

The plan was to prepare a nice spaghetti dinner but none of us felt like cooking so Aunt Marge treated us to a dinner at the Ninety-Nine Restaurant. They have very good meals at very reasonable prices and we left with full bellies - thanks Marge, it was yummy. After we got home we reviewed our pictures, had a small dish of ice cream, and then retired to our little home on wheels. With all the daily activities behind us we had no problem falling asleep.

Today is the first of three back to back travel days - weather permitting. We will depart the Cape this morning and make our way to the eastern border of Pennsylvania. So, in the mean time, "Happy Motoring" everyone.

Monday, October 5, 2009 - Aunt Marge's, E. Falmouth, Massachusetts
It's "Up, Up, and Away" this morning! Marge, Judy, and I are going on a day trip to the Cape Cod National Seashore and Provincetown. We're going to take a picnic lunch with us to have somewhere along the way. There are a lot of things to see and do in that area. So many things, as a matter of fact, that we're not sure just what to do first so, you'll just have to tune in tomorrow to see what we did.

Yesterday was another "stay around the house day". We did some clean up and got things ready to roll again. I put some Rain-X on the windshield of the truck; never used Rain-X before but have been told by several people that it's "good stuff". Judy did some more of her "basket weaving" stuff while I continued working on travelogues getting September's Travelogue published. Marge managed to beat Judy at Sequence and entertained us with a victory dance - what a hoot!! Just a lot of good times with family.

Katie and Alex have enjoyed our stay here on the Cape. They have nice views looking out over Marge's backyard. Josie, the neighbor's katt, comes over each day for some loving by Aunt Marge as well as something to eat. Marge keeps dishes out on the deck for her and has some katt food on hand for Josie's daily feeding. Alex has enjoyed watching her as she stalks around the backyard. There, also, have been plenty of birds for both Katie and Alex to watch. So, everyone has enjoyed their stay here at Aunt Marge's Family Campground.

Tomorrow we will be leaving the Cape and heading west (when you're in New England just about everything is west) with Michigan as the ultimate destination. There is still a lot more that we want to see on the Cape, therefore; we'll definitely have to come back again. October's Travelogue will provide more details on our visit to the Cape including plenty of pictures to document our stay.

Sunday, October 4, 2009 - Aunt Marge's, E. Falmouth, Massachusetts
It most certainly rained yesterday! At times it was pouring so hard that you could have swam in it. They had about 3" of rain fall in about a 12 hour period of time. Yes, it was a great day for In!!! So that's 'zackly what we "done"; we "stood" inside.

Yesterday was left overs day. We "et" left over chicken for lunch and we "et" left over boiled dinner for dinner. Actually, we turned the chicken into chicken salad for sandwiches and turned the boiled dinner into "Red Flannel Hash". "Say what?" Red Flannel Hash is made by slicing up the left over 'taters, turnip, parsnip, carrots, cabbage, and ham into a frying pan and then adding sliced beets to the mixture. Then you fry everything until it is slightly browned. The old fashioned way was to fry everything in butter but we did the heart healthy thing and fried it in a little juice that we had saved from the boiled dinner. Also, we didn't add any salt and pepper while cooking. We steamed up some leftover "con" on the cob to have along with the hash. There is still some leftover 'taters and carrots that we will fry up to have with our eggs this morning; that should take care of the leftovers for awhile.

Other than eat, I worked on the travelogues - September's is now complete and awaiting proof reading. I have been keeping October's travelogue up to date as we go. April and May's is still about half done and June through August's is only outlined. It just doesn't pay to let things get that far behind; waaaaay too much work to get caught up.

Miss Judy worked on her digital scrapbooking while Marge caught up on some reading. They played several games of Sequence; Marge really likes that game. They roped me into playing one game of three handed Sequence; I won and quit while I was ahead. Also, we watched Boston College beat Florida State as it continued to pour outside. Amazingly enough we didn't do the kitty katt thing and take a nap. We showed Aunt Marge a video that Marc had done of his family and Marge had a video that Cheryl (her daughter/my cousin) had done of Uncle Clyde's life which brought tears to all of our eyes. Sure do miss him!

Finally it was time to pick up our toys and settle in for the evening. We (me anyway) are getting into a bad habit of watching TV from bed. Miss Judy watches about fifteen minutes of TV before Mr. Sandman gets her. I will watch a couple of hours (dozing in between) of that mindless dribble. I find that if I stay up until at least 10 I get a better night's sleep and wake up more refreshed; if I sleep for more than eight hours I wake up groggy.

Well, that sums up another day in the life of the Wandering America entourage. Hopefully I will get September's travelogue published before my head hits the pillow tonight. Hope to "See Ya Down The Road."

Saturday, October 3, 2009 - Aunt Marge's, E. Falmouth, Massachusetts
Yesterday we did a day trip with Aunt Marge to Sandwich, Massachusetts - "The oldest town on Cape Cod." It certainly is a quaint and quiet little town with some very interesting historical points of interest. We ended up at the boardwalk by accident but while we were there we decided to walk it. There were a couple of bus loads of senior high science students doing "research" and recording the data for reports that will be due later.

The boardwalk extends across some salt water marshes and on out to the beach. What a beautiful beach it is with views across Cape Cod bay out to Provincetown (the very point of Cape Cod). Then we visited the Cape Cod Canal Visitors Center where we watched a video about the canal's history. The canal first opened in 1914 thereby making Cape Cod an island from that point on.

After the visitor's center we stopped for a bite to eat. You might say that we went to Sandwich to get a sandwich. After chowing down on jumbo hot dawgs and fries we headed to the village itself where we visited the Hoxie House (oldest house on the Cape) and the Dexter Grist Mill (oldest mill on the Cape). We did a short walk about the village before heading home. There will be more about each of our stops along with pictures on our October travelogue.

Once we returned to East Falmouth we stopped by the local fish market to pick up a quart of "clam chowdah" for dinner - Marge already had some "con on the cob". I worked on the travelogues while Marge and Judy played Sequence. We had dinner and watched some news at Marge's house before retiring to the rig for the evening. Then we watched some television (actually had the TV on in the background) while Judy played on her 'puter and I continued working on the 2009 travelogues.

We woke up to pouring rain this morning which is supposed to last right through until tomorrow morning; therefore, we will have to play inside today. There's plenty to do to keep us occupied so we shouldn't be bored. I'm sure a mid afternoon katt nap will somehow find its way into the "schedule of events". Well, that's it from the Cape. Be sure to give your katt a hug and take care.

Friday, October 2, 2009 - Aunt Marge's, E. Falmouth, Massachusetts
Well, the "swallows are returning to Capistrano!" Just received word that Bob and Pam returned to Rainbow Plantation yesterday. Randy and Terry returned on Wednesday. Norm and Linda will be returning shortly after a stop at Raccoon Valley just north of Knoxville, Tennessee. It will be another month before Darrell and Judy get back (after the Gulf Posse Rally in Florida). But in any event, the population at the Plantation is beginning to increase for the winter.

The weather here on the Cape has certainly been "fall like". It was overcast for most of yesterday and it gets down right chilly when the sun is not out. Today is supposed to be mostly sunny so we hope to spend more time outside.

We must be nuts, heading for Michigan in October! However, that's just the way the schedule worked out for this year due to our summer workamping stint which, as you know, ended on Labor Day. We could have cut a couple of our intermediate visits a little shorter but what fun would that have been? We'll just have to don the sweaters and drink more hot chocolate (if it gets any colder we may need some additive in that hot chocolate).

Yesterday we did "hang around the house". We made a New England boiled dinner and an apple pie like we said we would. While dinner was boiling away I did some reading while Judy and Marge played several games of Sequence. It was nice to just stay at home and do what "regular people" do. We will "do something" today though 'cause it is supposed be too nice to stay inside.

It has been good to spend some time with Aunt Marge. It's been just over a year now since Uncle Clyde passed away and she is doing really great on her own but, enjoys having people around. She has been keeping herself busy by doing some landscaping and painting around the house - the place looks great. Her energy level is high and she looks forward to participating in what ever outing we come up with. That's great - I hope I have her spunk when I get to be that age.

Tune in tomorrow to see what we found to do. Here's a hint: Think lunch!!!

Thursday, October 1, 2009 - Aunt Marge's, E. Falmouth, Massachusetts
Another uneventful travel day behind us; that's what we like, uneventful travel days. The weather was overcast most of the way with the sun peeking out as we got closer to the Cape. We stopped at the last rest stop before crossing over onto the island for a potty break and to pick up some literature of things to see and do on the Cape.
From there we drove the rest of the way to Aunt Marge's house. Aunt Marge has a nice big driveway that is easy to back into, further, it is nice and level with water and electric. However, it is only a 15 amp outlet which is shared with her den so we have to be very, very careful about what we plug in (already popped the circuit breaker this morning by trying to make coffee with the heater on),

Today we are getting a really slow start and plan to just visit with Aunt Marge, make a boiled dinner, bake an apple pie, and decide where to go, what to see, and what to do tomorrow. We're leaning toward a trip to Sandwich (no, not to the kitchen) which is a quaint little Cape Cod village that was settled in the early 1600's. Other trips, but not for tomorrow, will be to Martha's Vineyard and to Provincetown. There are plenty of biking/hiking trails on the Cape as well so we'll be able to keep ourselves busy for sure.

Now onto the meaty news, our daughter became engaged on Saturday (as I made reference to it in yesterday's post). She and Joel have been dating for over a year now and we've been expecting the news. He's a great guy and we will be very happy to have him as a member of our family (but keep that a secret as I have a little more rousting left to do yet). Although the wedding date is not entirely finalized; it looks as though it will be in the spring (April or May). We are looking forward to all of the merriment that a wedding brings, especially since this is our only daughter. All the family will be gathering in Tennessee for the blessed event which will be the first time we've all been together at one time since Matt and Jackie's wedding back in 2002. What a wonderful time it will be.

Needless to say, our travel plans for next spring are being changed. We will return to Rainbow Plantation after doing the Habitat build in January and remain there until heading to the Nashville area for the wedding. Then we'll probably hang around there for a couple of weeks until traveling west to the Memphis area for our daughter-in-law's (Jackie) graduation. In June we will be making our way up along the east coast to pick up grand daughter Briana for a week or two of travel in and around Acadia National Park. Beyond that, who knows - we want to do some more volunteer work with Habitat and/or Campers on Mission as well as another family visit in Michigan. We'll probably travel north to the Upper Peninsula and then west into Wisconsin and Minnesota. Maybe we'll follow the Mississippi River back to the south.

In any event, we can begin filling in the details now that we know the important dates. Hang on friends in the west, we plan on heading that way in the spring of 2011. But, as we all know, our plans are carved in putty and subject to change at the drop of a hat (so keep your hats on).

Well, that's enough rambling for now - hope you are having a wonderful day.

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