New Years Eve

We went out to dinner, I had the good shrimp tacos.  Then we came home and watched the movie Brenda had lent us "Sherlock Holmes", which we enjoyed.  At midnight we had some shrimp cocktail and a bottle of campaign while watching the New Years celebrations on TV.  There were many fireworks, one display - probably at Disney - was very good.

Friday with the tourists

We went shopping today, Target - Sam's Club - Camping World, etc.  All were located in the very busy tourist area.  There are people around for Disney World and Universal Studios, for football games and basketball games, and just because they like crowds I guess.  The parks had to close for awhile yesterday because they were at capacity - ride waits were 2 -3 hours.  I would turn around and go home!  Even the roads mid day were packed.

Here is a picture of our new neighbor, he has his own RV on his back!

Move to Clermont

We moved to Thousand Trails RV Park (near Disney World)  today.  We got an early start and a good thing as we took the last available 50 amp site.  There are about 1,000 sites in this park, approx. 250 are 50 amp.  We passed one motorhome and got into the park just before them which was a good chess move, they got the checkmate on 50 amps.  The site is fine, but not level.   The trip went great until we tried to level the motorhome, someone (me) couldn't find their keys fast enough (needed to open a basement door to get leveling wood out) so Don turned off the engine before the jacks had finished retracting which caused the control to mess up and go into error mode.  So we had to get the manual out to figure out how to fix that before we could proceed.  This could be traced to ALL MY FAULT including the site being unlevel in the first place.  We did get leveled and all is fine.

The repair men came this afternoon to fix the cloths dryer.  They seemed to know what they were doing which isn't always true of RV repair people.  I didn't try it out, will do a load tomorrow so it better work!  $100 for that event.

Wash, wash and more wash

After a long day of doing laundry, I finally got caught up, everything dry and put away.  We had to take things over to the laundry mat to dry as my dryer isn't working.  I also put away the gifts we brought on the airplane, still have the ones in the mail to receive.  We move tomorrow, would prefer not to move.  I'm really worn out.

Back in Florida

After a day at airports and on an airplane it is good to be back at our motorhome even with a TON of dirty clothing.  We didn't get much sleep last night as people extended their partying outside (and under our window) from the pub in our hotel from about midnight to 2AM.  Then the garbage truck came at 5AM.  We got up about 6 AM.  To add to our problems the rash on my legs started to burn, glad I had a handy pain pill or I might as well have gotten up for the day.

I miss our family already, it will be at least April until we see them again.

Celebrating Josh's birthday

It felt good to rest in the AM, I tackled the big job of packing our things and our new Christmas gifts.  We bought a bigger box and took it to Office Depot to mail as the post office is closed today.  In the evening we met for dinner with the Dennis' and Brenda and Rebecca at the eating place in our hotel.  Later everyone came to our room so Brenda and I could give Josh our gifts.

Then it was goodbye until spring.

Josh's early birthday presents

Christmas Day

We had a great Christmas Day.  We had brunch with our family, Brenda, Rebecca, Kazia, Dusty, Logan, Holland with the hosts Sheila, Ken, Josh, Zach and Bri.  Then it was gift opening time - everyone was far too generous to us, we received wonderful gifts.  In the late afternoon we had dinner at Greg and Tracy's (Ken's brother and wife).  They are excellent hosts and if anyone went home hungry it was their own fault.   We are now worn out from such a big day but a good tired feeling you get from a truly enjoyable day.

Sheila and Brenda

Zach and Josh

Ken and Ginger the dog

Kazia, Logan, Holland and Dusty

Brenda and Rebecca

Brianna with Zach and Ginger

Christmas Eve

First we went to church with the Dennis' and then it was to their house for a feast of fondue and crapes along with cheese ball and all the extras.  We had a fun time and a good visit!

Ken and Zach

Josh and Sheila 

Brianna with new bear

Downtown Minneapolis

The family made our annual pilgrimage to downtown Minneapolis - Macy's - for their annual Christmas presentation which we walked through with about a million other people.   After a little shopping we all went to lunch at the 12th floor salad bar buffet.  For the first time in recent years the weather was nice, sometimes we have watched blizzards from the 12th floor windows.

Later Don and I went to Josh's hockey game which his team won.  Josh made tow goals and an assist.

Good day in MN

My day started with an unexpected doctor appointment, no I'm not sick - I just needed motion sicknesses patches for our cruise in late Jan.  I had to actually go to the doctor for the prescription which they electronically sent to Sam's Club who called me a few minutes later to tell me my prescription was ready.

We did some shopping and then had a nice evening with Brenda, Dan and Rebecca.  We ate out, then to their house for more visiting and looking at the scrapbook pages Brenda has been doing.

Life in the refrigerator!

It is hard getting used to the cold weather, even if it isn't cold for Minnesota.  We had a little snow, which was nice to see snow for the first (and probably the last) time this year.  Don had a doctor appointment this morning and then we did some Christmas shopping.  We had a fine nap in the afternoon,  Then it was dinner at the Dennis'.  We had a good dinner and a great visit.  Our grand-kids are the best!!!!

Flying high!

We left the motorhome about 9AM to get to the Orlando airport.  The flight went well, was on time leaving and even early arriving in Minneapolis.  We picked up our rental car (or it picked up us?) and were off to our hotel.  We had dinner at Culvers with Sheila and Brianna then they came to our hotel where Brenda and Rebecca joined us.  Good to be here and better to seeing everyone.

Ready, Set ~~~

It has been a busy day getting ready to travel tomorrow.  We had wash to do, a dirty motorhome to clean, etc. Now I hope we are ready and I haven't forgotten too many things.

Getting ready to travel north.

We went out for breakfast at Cracker Barrow - always good.  Then we came home to read our two Sunday papers as usual.  In the afternoon I began packing for our airplane trip on Tuesday to Minnesota.  Sure hope I remember everything.  We fixed a good ham dinner with peas, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and wine.

I couldn't miss the final "Survivor", in my opinion the wrong person won - which is often the case.

Saturday!

We had breakfast at the clubhouse - pancakes.  We did things around the house the rest of the day and brought in Chinese from a favorite place for dinner.  Then we watched a rented movie "The Help".  It was as good as the book. Besides the story, it was interesting to see life in the 1960's depicted.

Another week

It's Friday all ready and we haven't done much all week.  I have a couple new games on my Kindle which I'm already addicted to playing.  We brought home chicken from KFC for dinner.  It's been a cloudy day, zero percent chance of rain - until Don washed and waxed the car.  The rain didn't last long but long enough to spot the car.

Trip to Brooksville

It was a busy trip to Brooksville today.  First to the post office to mail Christmas cards, then to UPS to ship Christmas gifts north.  We got hair cuts while there so we won't look like hippies in MN.  We had lunch in-between at Cici's pizza and took home Rubin sandwiches from Abby's for dinner.

Sunday Sunday

We went out for breakfast at the Denny's nearby.  They have the best pancakes and good coffee too.  After reading our two Sunday papers, we got the Christmas cards ready to mail.  Had bacon wrapped steak fillets for dinner and a purchased pumpkin pie for desert.  I talked to the kids on the phone and that was our exciting Sunday.

Ant bites

I have 9 fire ant bites all together on my leg.  They burn, sting, itch, ooze and are generally awful.  They make me feel bad all over.

Other than whine, we had breakfast at the clubhouse and ate dinner at Steak and Shake.  We rented the movie "Crazy, Stupid Love" which was OK - better than some of the movies we've seen lately.

Cold Night

It got down to 38 degrees last night which is cold for Florida, was cool today - mid 60's.  We ate lunch at the Club House, they had homemade turkey noodle soup, grilled cheese and homemade pumpkin pie.  All good.  We stared home the rest of the day doing things around the motorhome, a rare day we don't go someplace.

Pearl Harbor Day

The weather was nice, we were sitting outside and in a moments time to turned cold and rained.  We got back inside just in the nick of time.  In the evening we went out to eat with people from the park to a Chinese Buffet in Brooksville.  The food was good, visiting better.  After eating we went to several stores and got home about 9 PM.

Motorhome decorations

Here's what the motorhome and our site look like right now!

It's getting to feel a lot like Christmas!

The motorhome is decorated for Christmas and lights strung on the outside.  Today I wrapped gifts, took about 2 hours to get them in the right boxed and get organized and another 3 hours to wrap.  Now we need to buy a box to send them to MN so they will be there when we get there (don't want to take them on the plane and have to go through TSA with them, I have enough trouble getting through TSA with my knee replacements).  I got my photo Christmas cards that I ordered in the mail, turned out OK - a bit dark.

We watched the movie "30 Minutes or Less"  was not good.  Last night we watched "Super 8" it was fair.

Luncheon and moving day!

Poor planning on our part - the Escapee's RV Club luncheon was today and we had to move out of Thousand Trails by noon.  We moved the motorhome to by the office (they have plenty of space - we could have even plugged into electricity), went to the luncheon which was only about 10 miles away and returned to the motorhome to hitch up the car and move to our leased site at Sumter Oaks.  Funny thing is that about 3/4 of the people at the luncheon are from Sumter Oaks so we saw them there and back here.

The move went well, no engine warnings this time.  Good to be back!

Car trip

We took a trip to the airport area to locate a new budget parking place, our GPS took us almost there.  It is good to know where it is for when we fly to MN for Christmas.  Then we went to Camping World again and finally to Long John Silver's for dinner.  Was a lot of driving!

Last night we had dinner at Logan's Roadhouse, we had steak and lobster - had a coupon for $12 off!  It was good, I like the grilled vegetables which I chose as a side.

More shopping

We went out for breakfast at Golden Corral again - Don's favorite place, then we went to 5 stores.  We just had odds and ends to get and we got home by noon. In the evening we ate at Olive Garden, had a good dinner.  Later we rented the movie Rio which was cute.

Curiosity and more shopping

On our way out shopping we saw the launch of the Mar's rover Curiosity, launches are always fun but I miss the Shuttle launches.

I had checked my lists and was back on the trail of more gifts - about done.  We had dinner at Cici's pizza and rented the movie Dilemma which was so-so.

Black Friday

Shopping, shopping, shopping - I was so tired by noon.  I got an early start, there weren't too many people put at the morning went on the people appeared.  I am probably about 2/3 done shopping, think I'll go out again tomorrow.

We ate at Chili's - I had shrimp tacos for the first time and they were excellent!  We rented the new Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides for the evening and we enjoyed the show.

Thanksgiving Day

Cracker Barrow was our place for Thanksgiving turkey dinner as in the past 10 or so years.  We always take one of their good turkey dinners home for "leftovers" in the evening.  It was fairly busy there, the parking lot was full but we lucked out to find a spot right away.

We tried to shop at Kohl's at midnight but there were no parking sites available and a line of people about 3/4 of the way around the building.  We then decided to try Walmart but people were even parked on the grass there, so we went home and got to bed by 1AM.

Target via foreign visitors eyes -

I followed a family into Target today and soon realized that they were from another country, perhaps Italy.  It was obvious that they had never seen such a sight -  A bright huge store filled with everything you could dream.  It was like Disney World for them, interesting to watch but had to tell myself how lucky we are to have these type of stores everywhere even if we do like to complain about consumerism.

Let the shopping begin!

Target and Sam's Club today (Don went to Camping World), I feel good getting a start and getting some ideas,   direction.

Sunday brunch

Breakfast was at Golden Corral, they have a nice buffet and they fix omelets to order.  We stayed home the rest of the day - I developed a bad headache.  After a two hour nap and finally a pain pill I felt better in the evening.

Sweet Tomatoes

We ate dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, one of our favorite places.  In the morning we went grocery shopping at Publix and Sweetbay also picked up a Red Box movie.

Princess Cruises still loves me!

Our cabin for our January cruise was upgraded to the middle of the top floor of cabins!!!  My favorite spot.

We ate at Ruby Tuesday's, the first time I've seen spaghetti squash on the menu.  It was good as was the rest of the meal.

What can happen ~~~~

~~~ will happen.  We moved to Thousand Trails RV Park today, but it wasn't a happy move.  First  the humidity was 100% - fog, then as Don began to unhook the motorhome in rolled a thunder storm.  Twice he had to stop getting his jobs done and come inside.  Thousand Trails reservations ARE engraved in stone, no show-a fine, can't change dates and if you don't arrive before about 11AM you can forget about getting a good site.

But we finally got on the road only to keep getting the message from the MH that there was water in the diesel. The warning would come and go.  This isn't something to be taken lightly as the MH computer will shut down the motor if it wants to.  We decided to stop and get some new diesel and fortunately we were near a service station where we could get in and out without any problem.  The new diesel seemed to help with the problem and we drove the last 10 miles with no warnings.

We got to Thousand Trails and we did get a super good spot, but pulling out of the parking lot we got too close to the curb and as we drove away we got the message a car tire was low.  We stopped as soon as we could and the tire wasn't low, it was flat as a pancake.  The valve stem broke off on the curb.  We detached the car and got it off the road, parked the MH at our site (and plugged it in as we needed air conditioning ASAP).  Don walked the half mile back to the car and put on the spare tire.  Later we took the car to a local Honda place where they repaired the tire and "relearned" the tire warning system for $110.

It was a long, hot day.

Florida Day

Weather like only Florida, hot and humid.  We actually had our air conditioner on most of the day.  It didn't seem to bother Don who power washed the motorhome and our concrete deck.  Went out to eat, just too hot to cook.  (yes, any excuse will do)

Cruise

I was looking for a hotel and rental car for our trip to MN at Christmas time and jumped over to Princess Cruises web site.  There it was, a good deal ~~~ so I bought it.  It is a 7 might cruise to the Eastern Caribbean in January and a balcony room.  That should be fun!

Cold night in Florida

It was a nice day after a cold night.  It was warmer places in Canada than here in Florida last night!

We rented the movie "Fast Five" with Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel.  Was good, fast moving.

11-11-11

11-11-11 Veterans Day!  Thanks to all Vets that helped to keep USA safe and free!

RV Blinds

We went to check out the new kind of RV window blinds and found a huge sales/repair facility we didn't know was there and only about 30 miles away.  We also got to see the blinds installed in an RV and fabric samples, etc.  Now we need to decide if we want to invest the money to get rid of these stupid blinds that have the strings breaking.

We ate at Steak and Shake on the way home, always a good choice.

Brooksville

We went to Brooksville today to get hair cuts.  We had lunch at Cici's Pizza, this Cici's has a salad that is like Olive Gardens.  I badly needed at Target store fix, it had been a long time.  Mostly good to get out of the RV park today.

Way I feel!

Time

I hate time change day - I keep trying to figure out how it is when we set the clocks back we do everything later.  Went to bed earlier last night, got up later today.  How does that work?  I didn't reset some of my watches from when we were in Central Time so now they are correct in Eastern Time but not correct in Central Time.  I like getting up when it is light out but hate it when it's dark at 6PM.  I vote we just leave the clocks alone and stay on one time for all the USA and people can adjust.  No more time zones or daylight time just adjust.

Crazy Florida Weather

It was cold when we got up today - then hot in the afternoon.  They had a good breakfast in the club house, then pizza for dinner.  We rented the movie "Bad Teacher", the movie was close to being bad.

Chocolate fountain

We went to the Escapees Chapter meeting at Golden Corral in Clermont.  There was a good turn out for the first meeting of the winter season.  As usual I ate too much and was half sick.  The place has a new thing - a chocolate fountain.  It is impossible to bypass!   

Trip to Tampa

November 1 already!  We ate lunch at Sweet Tomatoes in Tampa, then it was a quick stop at Camping World.  From there we went to Parksdale Farms to load up on fresh vegetables.  We left with two bags of goodies which cost us $6!

Dinner and a movie

We brought in Chinese from a favorite place - first time this season in Florida - glad they are still in business!  Picked up "Bridesmaids", it was funny, the female version of "Hangover"!

Rain and getting away from rain

A rainy day today but can't complain too much because of the nice week it has been.  We went to Brownsville for the afternoon, did some shopping and ate dinner.  We picked up a Red Box movie "The American" with George Clooney.  Was an interesting movie, with George it has to be good!  Then we had our first pumpkin pie of the Fall.  The AC will be on tonight, won't be able to sleep with 100% humidity.

No Rena!

It appears that hurricane Rena will fizzle out by Cuba and not be a threat to central Florida - good news.

We ate dinner at Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant with a group from our Sumter Oaks RV park.  Food was good and visiting great!

Rena

Hurricane Rena is forming, the question is will it be headed our way.  Most maps show it is going to Cuba BUT one forecast is for right across the area we are at!  Cuba can have this one-----

The Excursion has landed ---

--- in Sumter Oaks RV Park in Florida.  After a 9 hour drive, mostly uneventful we go here about 4:15 Eastern Time.

Since we left last March we have been in and out of 4 time zones.  We were in the most NW area of the US 48 states and now are in the SE.  Tonight it feels like we did it all today!

Peanut Picken' Time

In Mississippi it was cotton picken', here it is peanut picken'.  We couldn't figure out what was planted in some fields until we saw a trailer full of peanuts pull out of a field.

There is a pub not far from here that has a sign out front "Cold Beer and Free Advice", we were temped to stop in and see if they could help with the little problems we have been having. And a cold beer.

We ate breakfast at Don's favorite place this morning, Waffle House and had dinner at Chick-a-fila a southern chain.  Tomorrow we hitch up again and do the long day's trip to Sumter Oaks.

Gulf Shores

We got to Gulf Shores (Summerdale) about 3PM.  The trip went fine, I just hate the traffic in Mobil, Alabama before we reach the Interstate.  Just 2 states today, we traveled in 4 states yesterday.  When we got here the ABS light was on in the car, don't know why.  We still have brakes just not ABS.  Always something!!!

Dinner was at Zaxby's, a chicken wings fast food chain in the south east.  Something different anyway.  It is really cooling fast this evening.

Way down South in the Land of Cotton

It must be cotton picken' time, we went by many fields today that were just picked, being picked or ready to pick.

We had 8 hours on the road from Branson to Vicksburg, Mississippi.  All went well, we are tired.

Water heater saga goes on

The water was cool, too cool for showers this morning but the propane worked and we had hot water in minutes.  The electric part has worked all day.  We don't know what if anything is wrong with the water heater, time will tell.  One of these times we will have no hot water no way.

We decided to hold off on moving south for another day as it was raining.  Good choice, it rained until noon and is raining in the direction we are going.  Not that we can't travel in the rain, but if we don't have to - why?  Getting up early tomorrow heading to Vicksburg, Mississippi for an overnight.

Water Heater goes on the fritz

I noticed when I was taking a shower that I had to turn the hot water almost on full which is not usually the case.  We checked later and found the water was hot but not as hot as usual.  After an internet search where we found people with the same problems but no solutions, Don called Atwood, the manufacturer.  They had him do a test on the heater which indicated it was the "mixer valve".  (Keep in mind a motorhome water heater is different from a house water heater.)  We decided we could live with the problem until we got some place where we could easily get parts - then the fault light in our control panel came on telling us there was another problem.  By this time of day it was too late to call Atwood again - more tomorrow.

Apple Trip

We went about 40 miles south in Arkansas to find Black Arkansas apples.  We found them at our usual place just beyond Harrison and purchased half a bushel.  These apples are such a dark red that they look almost black, they are firm apples and tasteful.  They are picked mid October so no use looking for them earlier as we have found in past years.

Another show

We went to The Presley's (not related to Elvis).  This family group was the first group in Branson and we first saw them in the 70's.  They put on a great show, by now they sure know how to entertain.

Thanks Verizon

Thank you Verizon for upgrading to WiFi to 4G in this area in the last couple days!  Sure makes a difference

We go to a show!

We went to one of our favorite shows in Branson "The Haygoods".  This is a family that have been performing together for 20 years - 7 brothers and a sister.  They are all in their 20's and 30's,  We first saw them at Silver Dollar City over 10 years ago.  As always they put on an excellent show!

Thunder, Lighting, Rain and more Rain

The title about says it all!  This is the first real rain we've been in for a long time.  Even had some storm warnings but all has cleared now and the sky is mostly blue except for one big puffy cloud.

Poor Pig

We ate at the Rib Crib tonight, they had an all-you-can-eat special.  It was very good:  ribs, sides and especially  the okra.  Don ate three servings of ribs - I commented that he was really dedicated  to those ribs.  He said "not as dedicated as the PIG!"

Big spenders

We went to two of the three outlet malls in the area - I purchased nothing, Don spent 3.25 for a lock for the hitch.  We are such big spenders.  I also went to Kohls without buying anything and then we went to Wal Mart and spent our mandatory $50 and more.  We've had some rain today for the first time in a long time.

Sunday

We went for breakfast on the far side of Branson, shows how far we'll go for good food!  We came directly home and did some things around the motorhome.  Don grilled salmon and that with a couple baked potatoes and a bottle of wine made a great dinner!  Later I phoned both Sheila and Brenda as well as Jay.  Jay has been getting a lot of our mail and wanted to know how to handle it.

Dam Drive

There is so much traffic in Branson we have been going the "Dam" route - we go south then through some hills and trees and over Table Rock Dam that gets us into mid Branson.  It's a nice drive but a long way around, it does save time!  We picked up tickets for the Haygoods show next Thursday and the Preselys (not related to Elvis) next Saturday.  We had dinner at Fudruckers.

Baby Doll

We had lunch today at a favorite place here in Branson, Grand Country Buffet.  They have quality food and always fine service.  Our server, a woman in probably her 50's kept calling me Baby Doll!  Only in the south, I love it - couldn't get away with that in cold old MN!  Just makes me smile to think about being a Baby Doll.

Visiting friends

We had lunch today with a couple who we worked with in 2002 at Happy Holiday RV Resort in Rapid City, SD.  We have kept in touch and find our paths cross now and again.  We are still enjoying the nice weather in Branson!

Hollister, MO (Branson)

Here we are in the self proclaimed "Country Music Capital of the World" - and we're not even big country music fans.  We arrived about 3PM after a good day on the road.  We stopped twice for diesel and twice for breaks, not too much road construction.  The campsites at Turkey Creek that we wanted were full so we had to take another slightly more expensive site but it is nice, big, level and we can get satellite TV with no problem.  So we are good!  We are also tired---

Heading South

Despite the fact that we saw many RV's heading north, we feel that it is time to head south.  We left the campground about 8 AM and got to Terrible's in Osceola, Iowa about 2PM.  The traveling got scary for a few minutes on the west side of Des Mones where in addition to road construction (narrowed lanes), two major interstates intersect and for added nerves there is a truck stop where trucks are wanting to merge into the highway.  At one point we had semi trucks on each side of our big MN - not much room for error on anyone's part!  We got to Osceola where Don was determined to get cheap diesel only to find the station is closed.  In fact due to some major construction our favorite camping stop on the way to Bronson may be history soon.  Also the place we eat while here is closed.  We got salads from McDonald's and must find a place for diesel early tomorrow!

Goodbyes

We're leaving tomorrow so it was time to sadly tell everyone goodbye until we fly north at Christmas time.  We had lunch with Brenda and Becca.  Later we went to Sheila and Ken's to tell them and kids goodbye.  We've had a nice visit with everyone over the 2+ weeks we've been in MN.

Nice Saturday

After a cold night we bundled up and went to Zach's football game in the morning.  It is fun seeing the kids play their sports!  Later we took a drive to see the fall colors and ended up at Pablo's in Shakopee for a good Mexican dinner - too much food!!!

Pay back for yesterday's nice weather

Today was cold and windy, even windy enough to take an occasional tree down.  We hunkered down for most of the day, went out to eat at Little Six casino for their $9.95 prime rib.  Later Sheila and Bri came over for a visit including tea and hot chocolate to warm them after being at a game.

Nice Day in MN

It was 80 degrees today, not bad for MN in Sept.  Don power washed the MH roof and then used a wax/sealer.  We even ate our dinner (imported from Panda Express) at the picnic table.  We tried to have a camp fire but the wood was too wet from yesterday's rain.

Soccer

This evening we went to Bri's soccer game.   Her team lost, but Bri did a her best to change the outcome.  Ken was there, Sheila was at band practice - she has joined the community band!

Sunday Picnic at Lebanon Hills

We had the troops over for a picnic today - Sheila and family, Brenda and family and Kazia and family (except for Holland who had a birthday party to attend).  It was a cool and cloudy day, much different than was forecast when we planned the picnic.  That is par for the course as we never seem to have good weather for our  MN picnics.  We ate and then moved by the fire pit.  The kids walked over the the nearby park and played for awhile before coming back and making some-mores.  We had a good time and were happy everyone could come. ( Unfortunately, in every picture of Logan his face is covered by his hood.)

Brenda and Becca

Zach and Bri

Brenda, Dan, Kazia and Dusty

Sheila and Ken

Fire Bug

Bri and Josh

Wash day

We went to Sheila and Ken's house to use their bigger washer to wash a couple loads that need special care.  Their house was being painted and for a few minutes we thought we wouldn't be able to get inside.  Ginger, their dog was glad to see us - she was a bit nervous because of the painters.  It was suppose to be a sunny day, but was sprinkling when by the time we got home so draped the blanket around the MH and turned on the heat pump.  It dried fairly fast.

In the evening Sheila along with Zach and Bri stopped over for a visit.

Errands Day

We went out for breakfast at Little Six Casino, then to the Shakopee Bank, Kohl's, etc. etc. Took all morning. Don got the carpet spot cleaned and I did some wash and then it was out to dinner with Brenda, Dan and Rebecca - we had a good dinner and great visit.  Later we watched the second Survivor.

Last night Sheila and Bri came over for a visit after soccer practice and brought good brownie cookies!

Work at home day

Late last night Don dumped a slice of pie (my favorite strawberry rhubarb) on the kitchen rug, so today we had to wash the rug and find a little time between rain to hang it outside.  We fixed a bedroom blind, Don removed it from the window - not as easy as it may sound and then I restrung it.  I am at the point I don't even have to look at the instructions on the internet I have done so many.  Don put it back up, again not an easy task.  This all took most of the morning.

It has been an on and off again rainy day with wind as well.  I have a roast in the crock pot this afternoon that smells too good!!!!

Shopping Day

We had the Honda tires balanced at Sam's Club, picked up some food and prescriptions.  Don dropped me off at Kohl's and he went to Menards.  It was off to Verizon where we got a new 4G mifi to connect to the internet.  Then it was to CVS and finally to Rainbow Foods.  (One item we bought a Rainbow was a Strawberry Rhubarb pie!)  We came home with a bunch of bags!

The mifi works well and noticeably faster on 4G!!!

Family Visits

We went to dinner at Sheila and Ken's, Ken made excellent spaghetti.  Great to see everyone-grand-kids- again!  Brenda and Becca stopped by our MH later in the evening.   Don had a doctor appointment this morning, all is well.

Minnesota

Arrived in Apple Valley's Lebanon Hills county campground today.  This is one of our favorite places and it is near Sheila and Brenda.  Sheila and Bri stopped by in the evening, good to see them again.  We have a lot to do while we are "home" starting with cleaning a very dirty MH.

Sioux Falls

It was a short trip to Yogi Bear Campground (one of the most expensive we have stayed in all summer) by Sioux Falls.  We took the Honda in to where we bought it for a re-treatment on the front window which took over an hour to wait our turn, etc.  They had good coffee so that was something to consider.  We then went to Char's for a visit and out to eat with her.  It is forecast to freeze tonight so we got the electric heater all ready.

Long Day

We got up at 5:30 this morning to get ready to go to Eddies Diesel to get the MH oil changed.  We left our site about 6:45 to get propane at Happy Holiday and talked to Fritz (manager and friend) awhile.  Then it was off to Eddies where we left the MH for about 4 hours.  We went out for breakfast (where we read the USA Today and Rapid newspapers) and then to K Mart and Mendards.  We finally got the MH back but then we had to get diesel at Flying J.  The pumps Don pulled up to had no diesel so we drove around the building to come into other pumps and drove right by the diesel, so after some fancy driving we finally got to a diesel pump.  We were finally headed East on I 90 by 12:30.  We got to Al's Oasis campground about 5PM (including time change), we ate dinner at Al's Oasis.  We are a tired pair tonight!

Family Picnic

We had a family picnic at Happy Holiday RV Resort to celebrate Bud and Pat's birthdays and anniversary.  The weather was perfect, we had a good afternoon of eating and visiting.

Mongolian Grill

We started today Sept. 9 with breakfast at Perkins then went to Wal Mart for a few groceries.  We cleaned the house when we came home.  In the evening we ate at a favorite “Mongolian Grill”.

Alpine Inn

Sept. 8.  Finished the wash and putting stuff away.  Ate dinner at the Alpine Inn, good as always.  JR and Kathy came over to visit and tell us good-bye as they are leaving tomorrow for Yellowstone and beyond.

Back to Rapid City

We drove back to Happy Holiday, got there about 1:30 PM on Sept. 7.  We were tired but I got a couple wash loads done.  Ate at Pancheros.  

Funeral

Sept. 6.  First was the interment then Duane’s funeral.  Sheila and Brenda came from MN, sure good to see them again.  After the funeral was a lunch then we went to Char’s later.  Laurie, Ryan and Dick came to our hotel room in the evening for more visiting.

To Sioux Falls

We took the car to Sioux Falls today, Sept. 5.  The visitation for Duane was this evening.  We had dinner with the family at Texas Roadhouse.

Judy and Guy's Wedding

Sept. 4.  Today was Judy and Guy’s wedding and it was very nice.  They had it outside and the weather was beautiful, birds were signing and a chipmunk was dashing about.  A good dinner followed along with plenty of visiting.

Pre-wedding dinner

Went to Judy and Guy’s pre wedding dinner at Crazy Horse tonight, Sept. 3.  It was very nice, great to see old friends.

Sad news

Left the campground today, Sept. 2 and were getting diesel when we got a call from Laurie that Duane had died.  We needed to leave the pumps so got on the road and made our plans.  Canceled the campground in Custer and went direct to Happy Holiday.  I was on the phone changing and making arrangements and talking to people most of the way to Rapid.

Rally is over

Sept. 1 Went to seminars again and the closing ceremonies.  It was fun but glad it is over.

Spending money

Aug. 31.  More seminars, getting more tired.  Don bought a tire monitoring device.  WE had a note on the MH that our car hitch needed repair, so after $150 it is repaired. 

Escapade day 2

It was back to the Escapade today Aug. 30.  We went together to one seminar and our separate way for two others.  We came home early as we were pooped.  No evening entertainment tonight, I’m not sure we would go anyway.  The MH washer went on the fritz but my live-in master mechanic fixed it again.

Escapade begins

Aug. 29.  The Escapade began today.  We went our separate way to seminars, we each went to four.  Then it was home for dinner and back in the evening for entertainment which was a singer/guitar player.  He was Ok but we were tired so left early.  Still no success in getting a prize, some of them are very nice.    We had e-mails from Char and Laurie, Duane’s condition hasn’t changed much.

Lulu Belles

Registered today Aug. 28 and looked at the vender booths.  Went to breakfast at Lulu Belles where we had gone once before when in Gillette, a very local place.  They set a ½ pt. half and half on the table for coffee cream, but they have plenty of good food.  In the afternoon was the opening ceremonies and in the evening a singer/comedian who was good.  They give away prizes every evening; we know we don’t have to worry about getting any.  We tried to contact Char and Laurie with no success

Parking at the Escapade

Aug. 26, made to the Escapade- Escapees Rally in Gillette.  Parking was very efficient and just took a few minutes although we were behind 6 or so RV’s.  One of the first people we saw was Bea from Sumter Oaks who we got to know last winter; she was helping with directing people.  We got the MH sat up and went for lunch at McDonalds then to Wal Mart for some supplies.  The town is a zoo, traffic everywhere!  There was a storm in the evening, cooled things off.  Talked to Laurie who has flown to Sioux Falls, Duane seems to be holding his own right now but not eating.

Waiting in Buffalo, WY

Still in Buffalo on Aug. 25.   We mostly stayed home, ate dinner at home and caught up on some things.

Buffalo, WY

Now we are in Buffalo, WY for two nights – Aug. 24.  We have a nice site with wild turkeys around and deer in the park.  It was a good drive, 1/3 of it on a two lane cut across which saved us a lot of miles.  There were a lot of trucks on the road as well.  Duane was moved to hospice, we don’t know how long he has to live.

Rock Springs, WY

Made it to Rock Springs, WY today Aug. 23.  We had to travel by Provo and Salt Lake City and beside the traffic there was almost constant road construction.  Was a bit nerve racking at times, it was good to get away from all that and into WY.  It is hot out; we have a nice view of oil tanks from our RV site – just for one night.   We got an e-mail from Char saying Duane was not doing well and in the hospital.

Capitol Reef National Park

Aug. 22.  We went to Capitol Reef National Park today.  It was named from the pioneers who called a land mass a Reef when it was an area hard to get across.  There is a dome that looks like a capitol dome.  It is another interesting Utah area, beautiful.  We got home in time to make some appointments and reservations and catch up on the computer.  Pizza tonight.

My Birthday

My birthday, Aug. 21.  We went out for a good breakfast then home to read the SLC paper.  We decided this would be a day off from traveling.  I opened the box Sheila had sent from both families.  I got a number of things with a cute sound card.  They all went together and got me a Verizon gift card for an IPhone.  I’m looking forward to getting that when we get to Rapid or MN.   We went out for dinner and watched the show Lincoln Lawyer which was good.  Don had gotten me carrot cake.  I am overwhelmed at all the Facebook birthday wishes I got.

Richfield, UT

Moving day again, Aug. 20, to Richfield, Utah.  We got here about 11 AM after a good start this morning.  This is our first KOA campground of the trip and in the last two years.  We had a thunderstorm in the afternoon, the first of our trip and the first real rain since Washington.  Ate at KFC, not a lot of eating places here.  We found a Red Box and rented the show Rango which was cute.

Canyon touring

It was back into the car today, Aug. 19, to go to Bryce Canyon National Park, Red Canyon and Konob Canyon.  It was one of those hills and curves days.  We stopped outside Bryce for lunch at Ruby’s, we’re not sure if the hamburger was meat but the French fires were good.  We saw a lot of beautiful scenery.

Zion National Park

Aug. 18.  We went to Zion National Park today.   They have a shuttle that takes people on the loop, we got there early enough to get right on a shuttle – we got off once at the end of the loop.  It is a beautiful park, probably hard for the people in Utah to admit it was first explored by a Methodist minister!  We then got in the car and traveled through the mile long tunnel built in 1930.  We couldn’t find a picnic table for our lunch but did find a shady pull over.

Hurricane, UT

We moved to Hurricane, Utah today, Aug. 17.  It was a short move, got here about noon even with the time change back to Mountain Time.  We’re in a nice park with TREES and GRASS, it is still hot out but not as hot and the trees help keep the MH cool.  The move went well, even the moving around a gas station.  We were on the highway blinking to turn right into the park when some idiot in a SUV decided he had to get around us on the right – we nearly turned into him.  HE honked at us!  We went back into St. George for dinner and ended up at an IHOP.  We asked for a senior discount and they gave us HALF off.

Hoover Damn

Aug. 16, we cleaned the house then went to Hoover Damn mostly to see the new bridge.  It is stunning from underneath but on the drive over it we couldn’t see a thing because of the high sides.  This is our last night in LV, it has been too hot (100’s) for the week and too hot to really enjoy everything.  We are ready to move.

Red Rock Canyon

We went for a $3.99 breakfast at TGI Fridays in Sam’s Town, Aug.15, it was good and the waiter gave us a large coffee to go.  We then went out to Red Rock Canyon National Park.  It is interesting with the red rocks and also the formations that are half red and half white.  Was good to get there before it got too hot.  It hardly got below 90 degrees last night, 93 at 3AM!  Don brought in a Subway for dinner.

New Battery for Car

Sunday Aug. 14.  We went for breakfast at Denny’s.  They had excellent coffee!  In the afternoon we went to a Sam’s Club which had an automotive department and got a new battery for the car.  Don installed it in the parking lot and took the old one back in for recycling.  We had planned on leftover prime rib for dinner but it was too hot in the MH to eat – we went to the always good Sweet Tomatoes.

Kohl's fix

Aug. 13.  Shopping today, we went to Kohl’s – I badly needed a  Kohl’s fix.  Then we went to Sam’s Club and Wal Mart.  It was raining on and off, a cloudy day and thus cooler.  We went to the new casino by our camp ground for dinner  Eastside Cannery – we ordered Prime Rib dinner for $11.25, we got a side of beef – a huge hunk of meat we each could eat only 1/3 and took the rest home. 

East Side Cannery

Mail Call

Hair cut day and badly needed on Aug. 12.  We also went to Camping World, buying nothing and then to the post office to pick up our mail and we had a box.  Part of it was Don’s medication and the cord I ordered to continue to fix the blinds when they break (yes, it is getting old).  There were all the credit card and bank statements, junk and one fun piece of mail – the invitation to Judy and Guys wedding which is just 3 weeks away!  We have a lot of ground to cover in 3 weeks.  After we ate dinner at Sam’s Town’s TGI Fridays (lobster and steak special) we drove up and down The Strip.  There seemed to be a lot of people walking around.  Several big new buildings are being built.

Faits

This evening Aug. 11 we saw Laurie, Dick and Ryan.  Dick had a meeting so we went to dinner at the Claim Jumper with Laurie and Ryan.  We had a good meal and lots of good visiting.  The Faits’ are leaving tomorrow for a vacation in Colorado - so glad we got to see them.

Las Vegas

Aug. 10.  Moving day – we left Bakersfield at 6:45 to beat the heat we knew we were headed into in NV.  We got to Las Vegas and parked at Sam’s Town about 1PM.  It was 104 (going up to 108) and it was 88 in the MH.  The air conditioners didn’t seem to make much difference so we went to the casino and sat and walked around awhile then ate at their buffet.  When we got home the MH had cooled to 82 and we had cooled off as well so didn’t feel too bad.  It was a good move but over mountains up to an elevation of 5000 feet, most all interstate.  

Fueling problems

Aug. 8, it was a shorter than usual drive today to Bakersfield.  We had to stop for diesel at a Flying J; we pulled into the RV lane only to find the diesel hoses bagged so the next plan was to move into the area where cars go.  There was a truck pulling a 5^th wheel taking up the diesel lane so we waited.  As we waited a truck pulled into a parking place in front of the store cutting down our turning radius.  Don still thought he could do it and given a couple more feet he would have, he needed to back up and to do that the car has to be unhitched.  Here we were in the middle of the traffic removing the car; I quickly parked the car and guided Don into the pump.  After we got diesel we moved in a parking area off the road to hitch up the car again.  We had only 20 miles to go, but I’m not driving in the California traffic and Don needed my navigational skills.  We got to the campground before noon, the campground calls themselves a Luxury Resort, it is nice but not that nice.  Later we went on a trip to find a USA Today paper and found none but did find a Del Taco and stopped to bring home dinner.  We also went to Camping World and found a drawer latch that should be better than the one we bought the other day.  Another hot day, the MH is very slow in cooling down.

Day at home

We went into Oakhurst for breakfast at McDons and got a Sunday Aug. 7^th paper.  Came home and sat outside to read the paper, it was hot out but we were in the shade and there was a nice breeze.  We stayed home the rest of the day and got the MH ready to move tomorrow.  

GPS knows best

Shopping day, Aug 6.  We went to Fresno for groceries, let the GPS lead us to a Walmart Superstore and it took us left, right, right, left, etc. for a long drive.  I was wondering if there was really going to be a Walmart at the end of the line, but the GPS said “trust me” and there it was.  Before going to Walmart we let the GPS lead us to a Panda Express as I was having a strong craving for one.  It was a 45 minute drive home from Walmart but good to have some food in the MH again.  We ate dinner at El Cids, a Mexican place that a trucker in a rest stop recommended to Don.  It was good, not great.

Jack in the Box

We went into Oakhurst today Aug. 4 for lunch at Jack in the Box and to mainly get a USA Today paper.  Earlier a woman gave us a golf cart tour of the RV Park and history.  We went to a casino about a mile away for dinner, ate at the buffet which was good – featured Chinese food but also had other food.  We played a little penny slots and lost like usual.

Yosemite National Park

Aug. 3.  We went to Yosemite National Park today.  We got an early start and a good thing as by noon it was packed and the rangers were limiting the number of vehicles on some roads.  The park and the tall falls are beautiful.  Because of more snow this last winter, there is more water around.  It was cool in the park but we got back to the heat.

Coarsegold, CA

Aug. 1!  It was back on Interstate 5 for our trip to Coarsegold, CA and a harrowing trip it was.  The highway was packed and all were going fast.  At one point Don cut off a van, they were none too happy.  Then for pay back a truck cut us off, thankfully the other lane was open.  It was near 100 degrees when we finally arrived at the Escapees Park.  This park is supposed to be the crown jewel of Escapees Parks and it is very nice.  We have a nice site; have to pay for electricity separately so it is killing Don that we have to run the AC full blast.  We are near the entrance to Yosemite National Park.  Along the road were many bushes with white, pink, red and lavender flowers.   Some were beside the roads and sometimes between the north and south bound lanes.  We also were amazed at the new trees planted in perfect rows and columns so when you looked at them from the road there were perfect diagonal lines.

Mountains and Olives

We went to Lesson Volcano National Park today July 31.  It was nice and cool at 8000 feet but the sun was intense.  After we returned to Corning we went to the Olive Pit, sampled their varieties of olives and purchased nearly $70 worth – should last awhile!  Hot again today.

California

Into California today, July30.  This is a case of “be careful what you wish for” as I got the hot weather I wanted, it was near 100 today.  The first 2/3 of the trip was up and down hills and around curves – at least it was all interstate.  A long day.  We learned not to turn into “Visitor Information” places unless a rest stop is also there, they are just business trying to get you in their place.  Not good for a MH that has to turn around.  Was good to park and get the ACs going.

We went to the ocean today, July 27.  After what seemed like a long drive through hills and curves and trees we got to the Ocean.  We followed a car tour around an area and saw the rough shore line – would hate to be in a boat trying to make a landing in that area.  We found a sea side seafood café and had their special of the day, fresh tuna.  It was a good meal.  We went on down the road to Coos Bay and further north finally turning back to Sutherland.

Crater Lake National Park

Today, July 25 we went to Crater Lake National Park.  We had been there two times before but today there was a lot of snow around.  I doubt that the roads in some area had even been open for very long.  Last time there were forest fires!  Then we went to Klamath Falls, we saw the lake, the city, but no falls.  It was a nice trip anyway, took all day.