Moving

It was our day to move the motorhome to the campground near us, Lebanon Hills.  We filled with gas first at Mystic Lake Casino and then made the half hour trip.  People have to be out of Mystic by noon but can't check into Lebanon Hills until 1 PM.  We were a little early but the park was about empty so they let us park.  We leveled and hooked up the electric and left.

Again today I'm not feeling that well.  Perhaps it is allergies, a little flu but or just tired.  My stomach is upset, back hurts and I feel overwhelming tired.  So went home and took a nap with the heating pad and felt somewhat better.

We went to dinner at our favorite Hong Wong and then back to the motorhome.  I sat in the car while Don loaded it with stuff from the motorhome basement.

SUN

There is sun in Minnesota!  Good to see blue sky again but it is still cold.  Don took the car to get the tires balanced and I stayed home to do some stuff.  My back still hurts and don't want to move too much.

The high light of the day was eating at TGI Fridays.  We had a coupon for buy one meal and get one free.  After ordering Long Island Tea, our bill was right up there anyway.

COLD and RAIN

Another cold day and today we add rain to the mix.  It's a wonder it is not snow!  At least we were smart enough to have on heaver coats.  We went to breakfast again at Little Six Casino and then to the motorhome.  We delivered and put away the things I have been washing.  Don determined it was too wet and cold to go through the outside stuff.  Fine with me, it was cold in the motorhome and I was anxious to get back to our warm house.

My arms and back are hurting.  Think it is a combination of using different parts in moving and mostly the wet and cold.  A nap on the heating pad felt good!

We had waffles for dinner along with bacon and eggs.  Seems like a good cold weather dineer.

COLD

It is bitterly cold outside.  It is mid 40's and a wind, it took my breath away when I first went out.  Don went to Menards, I wanted to go inside but didn't want to endure the cold.  Then to McDonald's for lunch followed by Walmart and the Cub foods.  It was good to get home where it is warm!

I continue to wash the motorhome things: bedding, towels, rugs, etc.  We aren't going there today but tomorrow and I hope to be able to pack what I have washed back into the motorhome and get it out of the house.  I am about done moving stuff but Don has things he may need this summer in the outside trunks.

We read in the afternoon and I made dinner, anything not to have to go back outside!

French toast and French onion soup

We went to Little Six Casino for their good breakfast.  I had the excellent French toast, it is made from French bread.  Crispy on the edges and soft in the middle with brown sugar and pecans on top.  That along with a egg and Minnesota thick bacon!  Don had the same but with blueberry pancakes.

Then to the motorhome for more stuff.  This time we got the hanging clothing and stuff stored under the bed and odds and ends.  We determined we don't have to go for more stuff tomorrow as we are getting the job done.  Will be good to have a day off!

In the evening we went to Panera Bread for dinner and to see our grandson Zach in action as he works there.  We had French onion soup and a sandwich.

Cleaning and moving

We cleaned the house in the morning, after sitting empty for almost 4 months it had a fine coat of dust over everything.  Not as bad as I had expected.  Then we stopped at McDonald's for lunch and off to the motorhome to gather another car load.  This time we took all the food and other things.

All day I would be feeling fine and all the sudden I would feel like a ton of bricks hit me.  I took a nap when we got home and felt better for a while.  I straitened the kitchen cupboards and got the food put away finally.  We at dinner at home, good to stay home!

Visiting daughters and moving back to our house

It was good staying in a house over night especially because there was rain and thunder and we hardly hear the storm unlike in the motorhome where we here every drop of rain!  We went out for breakfast and then to our motorhome where we loaded the refrigerator stuff and some clothing, etc into the car to take to the house.

In the afternoon daughter Brenda came for a visit and then in the evening daughter Sheila came over.  Sure good to see them again!

We got thru the mail and papers, I washed some motorhome bedding.  Ate dinner at home!

Dakota Meadows

We got into Dakota Meadows RV park about 2 PM and got a good site for a week.  We set-up and then took what we needed to stay the night in our house.  The house was in good shape, we knew that because our kids had been checking.  It is good to be here with no more big moves for awhile!

It might be fun to stay in a TP, but I would need our motorhome near-by!

Earth Day and on the move across the earth

We left Branson for the 7 hour trip to Osceola, Iowa for the night.  Two bad parts of this trip:  the hills between Branson and Springfield and getting the correct exit in Kansas City to get to Interstate 35.  All went well.  "We" were a little cranky when we were getting set-up but it was a long day.  Next to the last day for awhile!

Earth Day today:

Prince

This is our day for Rib Crib.  They have the best baby-back ribs anywhere.  There was so much meat on mine that I couldn't eat it all!  The rest of the day we stayed around the motorhome, getting ready to move tomorrow, etc.

When I heard Prince had died, I thought it might be a hoax.  Unfortunately not.  He was a talent beyond compare and a music trend setter.

Buffet, Coach and Survivor

This noon we went to our all time favorite buffet, the Grand buffet.  They have good, fresh food and crescent rolls that are so light you expect them to float!  After eating TOO much we went to the near-by outlet mall.  I went to the Coach store and purchased a little something along the purse line.  Part of the problem is they treat a person so nice, like your are the most special costumer that has walked thru the door. I don't fall for that sort of promotion but it is fun.

The sun finally came out in the afternoon.  For once we ate dinner at home be it frozen food.  Then it was Survivor time and it was a very good show.  In the end I was saying "yes, yes, yes" at the TV.

Shopping and eating

We had breakfast at Steak and Shake, good but too much food!  Somehow we both ate it all.  Then we went to Walmart for a few groceries, we have been eating out so much we just needed a couple basic things and ice cream for Don.

In the afternoon we went to an outlet mall, I purchased nothing, Don got some new stretch straps.  We stopped by Kmart as we don't often around one, again buying nothing.  We went to Panda Express for dinner, a new place for this area.  They now have vegetables as a side!

Then it was home to watch some TV.

Clean house, good food

We cleaned our very dirty motorhome today.  After three trips for service repairs and two days on the road. along with rain day after day in Gulf Shores it was a mess.  Yesterday it was nice out, today dark and drizzly.  If it too much to request a little sunshine?

Don tried again to setup the satellite and finally gave up.  We have good cable TV here, just can't record.  I can record at our house via my phone so we won't miss anything important.  I put our Dish Satellite service on hold until next fall.  Good not to have that bill!

We had good naps in the afternoon, needed after the last few days.  In the evening we ate at "Fall Creek Steak and Catfish House, Home of Tossed Rolls".  They toss dinner rolls at people, they are very good, fresh rolls and there is butter and honey on your table for them.  Don had steak and I had pork chops, we both had sweet potatoes and coleslaw.  Very good dinner, one of our favorite places.

Up a hill, down a hill

After 8 hours on the road today we finally got to Branson, MO.  The first part of the trip had good roads and easy travel, after Little Rock we got into the mountains and so it was up hill and down hill, curves, etc.  We went through the towns of Tallalah (clams to be birthplace of Delta Airlines), Transylvanian, McGeehe and my favorite -Dumas.  It was good to finally get our our campground in Hollister.  We got a level site for a change.  Went to Fudruckers for dinner.


Founder Alexandre Dumas 1855:

Miles and Miles to go

We didn't get on the road as early as we had hoped, it was about 9 AM when we finally pulled out.  We had three gas stops and lunch at a rest stop.  We got into Vicksburg about 3 PM to a casino campground.  We got one of their "level" sites, did what we could to level and called it good.  We had some heavy traffic around Jackson, Mississippi and the roads were incredibly bumpy.  Probably be under construction when we come thru next time.

For dinner we went to McDonald's for salads to bring home.  Got things ready for even a longer trip tomorrow to Branson, MO.

Catching up

It was good not to be moving the motorhome.  We went to Waffle House for breakfast and then to Walmart for groceries.  Not that we needed many groceries as we haven't been eating at home.  Then it was back to the motorhome to get cloths washed and ready to head north tomorrow.  It is cool and cloudy, getting tired of poor weather.

We went to Cracker Barrow for dinner, not so fast of fast food.  Then we got ready what we could for our day on the road tomorrow.


At least we don't have snow!

Third try

Again, for the third day in a row, we were up early to get the motorhome into Camping World.  This time to have the repair repaired.  It was raining hard and continued until after we were back and set-up.  It took awhile, think they may have worked on another RV first.  I had three cups of coffee and a bag of popcorn, watched TV, played games on my Kindle, etc.  We need some new thing for the facet, another thing to add to our list.  At least this is all under warranty and no cost to us except of course the side awnings we had installed.  It will still be under warranty next fall.  Lets just hope this is the end of it all for now.

After a much deserved nap we got French Dip sandwiches from Arby's for dinner.  Getting a bit tired of fast food.

Repairs and more

I think I was too tired to sleep last night, woke up at 3 AM and that was it for sleeping.  We got up about 6 to get ready to take the motorhome into Camping World for their second day of repairs.  Rain was forecast and starting to sprinkle when we got there.

We left the MH and went back to Crispy Cream for donuts and coffee, they recognized us from yesterday.  Then we took a short tour on a different road.  It was interesting to see their were residential homes rather the vacation homes.  The back to Camping World, it had been a couple hours, our MH was sitting outside facing a different direction than when we left.  It was done, the repair man said the dryer vent was crushed so that why it was taking so long to dry.  The put a valve in the washer sewer to stop back up smell and fixed the bathroom sink.  Thought we are good to go now except for the items they had ordered but not arrived (not sure they actually ordered them), so we will be back next fall.  But NO, Don noticed a leak under the bathroom sink, facet was one of the items repaired.  Called Camping World and it's back in again tomorrow.

It was raining some when we hitched up the car and drove back but the rain took a break when we hooked up the electric, water, etc.  Then we got a downpour!

We got hamburgers from 5 Guys for dinner.

More Camping World

We got the motorhome to Camping World at the assigned time, 8 AM which meant getting up early and getting the motorhome umbilical cords disconnected, attaching the car and hitting the road all by 7:30.  We left the MH in their hands and went to Crispie Cream for a donuts and much needed coffee.  Then we went to Old Time Pottery where I got a couple things for our Townhouse kitchen wall and a couple gifts for upcoming affairs.

We then took a ride down the Gulf coast and it was time for lunch at Arby's.  Following we went back to Camping World to check the progress of their work.  SLOW, it would be awhile longer.  So we sat in their nice waiting room eating their popcorn and drinking their coffee.  And waited, finally at about 5 they told us they had the window awnings attached and a couple problems fixed.  We would need to come back tomorrow for the rest of the work.  Said just 2 hours more, meaning at least 3 hours.  So it is a repeat of this morning to be back there at 8 AM.

We got the MH parked on our site and went back into town to Chik-fil-a for a couple wraps for dinner.  We are a tired twosome and will be more tired tomorrow.

Clean and Camping World

Cleaned the house - again.  For some reason it gets more dirty when we move.  We made a trip to Camping World to see when they want us to arrive tomorrow for repairs, etc. and to give them our list so they can be prepared.  I knew they wouldn't have everything we ordered and of course they don't.  So will go ahead with what they have and come back next fall.  They say they can do it all in one day, we'll see.

Waffle house and TV

It was so good to get up and not need to move the motorhome like we were originally going to do.  We went for breakfast at our favorite place, Waffle House.  Then stopped for a Sunday newspaper, it was a thin one but OK.  Anxious to get the Star Trip when we get to Minnesota, best paper we have found and other travelers agree with us.

We spent the afternoon trying to understand the TV's - how to set up channels on antenna and Don set up the satellite dish.  Amazing enough he got the right satellite.  I could not find the Dish setup on our TV, but we still got satellite reception.  Need to ask someone.  In the evening I decided to give scanning for channels for antenna another try and finally got it to work on all three inside TV's.  Forget the outside one, we never watch there, actually we always watch only the living room TV.

Seems strange to be going to bed at 10:30, we are accustomed to Eastern time where we go to bed at 11:30.  We wake up early.

Alabama

We made it to Gulf Shores Alabama, the town of Summerdale to Plantation RV Park.  We were just going half way so took our time getting ready to leave Florida.  We had stuff to pick up, put air in the tires and visited with the managers.  They are retiring - good news for them, bad for us.  So we left about 9:30.  We got to the half way point of Tallahassee about 1 PM and felt that was too soon to stop so came the rest of the way for a total of 10 hours on the road.  The good part was it was cool out, most of the time the trip is so hot.


Hopefully we will NOT get into this on our trek north:

(In the Rocky Mountains)

Worming our way north

Went to coffee at the office today to tell folks goodbye until next October.  The came home to put things away for traveling.  We get spread out over time, add new stuff, etc..

Will be glad to get on the road - there are worms in trees falling on you head. EEK

Ate dinner at Steak and Shake, I had a good Taco Salad.  Traffic north was slow, hope it isn't that way tomorrow.

Clermont

Escapees RV Club Luncheon today in Clermont.  There were only 26 people, lots have headed north.  Still there was good visiting and too much eating!

Afterward we went to Home Depot, Don was looking for a motorhome part and sure enough they had it even though they had to check the computer for it's location.  Then we went to Kmart where we bought nothing.

It rained in the night, thunder and all.  Today it is warm and humid but still a clear blue shy.

Groceries, donuts, Mexican food and Survivor

Got groceries this morning.  We have a beautiful day going and good to be out and about.  We took donuts to 10 AM coffee and they were a big hit!

We ate dinner at Coyote Rojo's, a local Mexican place with great food and decent prices.  This was "Survivor" night on TV.  Was a good one!

No cavities

Today was our annual dentist appointments.  We had our teeth cleaned and x-ray'ed, no cavities for either of us.  Good for another year!

Monday, beginning to get ready to travel.

House cleaning day and get ready to move week.  After being in one spot from mid January things get strewn about and not anchored down.  We went to coffee at the office, those days are limited as well.  I am anxious to get on the road.

We went to Beef O'Brade's for their Monday hamburger, our park was well represented.

Who doesn't love a picture of puppies?

It's a great day!

After yesterday's bad weather, we have a very nice day.  Cool, blue sky.  Lots of people came into the park to wait out the storms and today it emptied.  I can see across to a friend's motorhome, a rare occurrence.

We did the usual for a Sunday, went out for breakfast and read our two papers.  Planning next week as to what we need to do to get ready for our turn to head north.

Grilling pork chops for dinner along with a salad of fresh vegetables and corn-on-the-cob.

Weather, DD and traffic

A weather front was forecast to come through today beginning about 10 AM.  We got the works, lightening, thunder and rain.  Don was anticipating a trip to Dunkin Donuts so we went about 10:30 during a short break in the rain.  It rained until about 2 PM.  Now we are suppose to get no rain for a few days and cooler temperatures.  Lets hope!

I got some fancy coffee drink at DD called Frozen Mocha Coffee Whip.  First it made my head freeze and then it upset my stomach.  It was good otherwise, but didn't finish drinking.  I will stick to coffee or iced coffee from now on.

Traffic was heavy and slow on the interstate again today so we took the back roads.  There was an accident on the interstate yesterday that tied up traffic for hours.  It is under construction, adding a third lane in each direction and people don't get the ever changing traffic flow.

Picture taken by a very talented friend of mine Sue Sphan.

  

4/1/16

Happy April Fool's Day.  I hate to be fooled and managed to avoid it.

We had a super nice day, NO RAIN, a little on the warm side.  Did things around home and then went to Dade City to eat at Captain D's.  They weren't as busy as they have been, lots of the Snow Birds have headed north.  A older woman, older than me by a lot, was on her cell phone the whole time we were there.  We waited for our dinner and ate and left, she was still on her phone.  I felt sorry for the woman with her.  I would tell her to hand over her phone the next time they go out to eat.  And they say the young people can't stay off their phones!