June 30

We managed to be on the road to Amish land by 8:30. We only had 4 places I wanted to go, but we did also add the post office and gas station. The first shop we went to, Bargain City was run by an Amish family. It’s basically a tiny grocery store. Quite a bit of bulk food items, which is what I was looking for. Got some Amish made noodles among other little items for Kerry. I asked what the big gathering was up the road last night and found out it was a viewing. An Amish man of 50 died suddenly of a heart attack. The funeral was today and we passed again well over 50 buggies along the fence. The second stop was on a gravel road which didn’t make Bill happy. Actually, we had no street number for any of the places, just a spotting map and street name. They have the shops at their homes and don’t put signs out, just lettering on the mailbox so it was hard to find. This lady had a room of bulk and food items and a room of bolts of fabrics and sewing notions. I got to ask her some questions about the Amish. We had noticed many Amish homes with buggies and cars/trucks. She said they do not drive motor vehicles but could have visitors, children home to visit or workers leaving their cars to go out in the fields, etc with the farmers. She said they no longer outcast the children for leaving the faith. She said it was sad but many of the boys now marry girls in the village. Some convert to Mennonite and some just don’t do anything. She also told me that her home and store were wiped out in a tornado in November, 2005. They survived in the cellar and what a horrible experience it was. They moved back into the new place in January. I’m sure that meant the neighbors got together and rebuilt the house and shop for them. The last shop was again part food, part fabric but a lot of very fancy glassware. I believe it was antique reproductions. Things my grandmother would have had in her house left from the previous generation. The last stop was a cheese house. I was disappointed they don’t make the cheese there anymore but was able to get a good price on a round of Colby to share with my family. We got some snacks for the road and some summer sausage, which is one of my favorites. I was hoping for some trail bologna.

We had a goal of 12:30 to be packed up and on the road and to our surprise, we were 10 minutes ahead of schedule! That NEVER happens. Our campground tonight is the Lincoln State Park, IN. Some things say it’s in Santa Claus, IN and some in Lincoln City. Anyway, it’s a great location directly across the road from the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. So once we set up (we renegotiated for the ONLY pull thru) and had lunch we went across to the memorial. The building the visitor center is in is quite unique. It’s curved. They had displays on one end about Lincoln’s mother and the other about his life. They showed a nice video about his 14 years there. Then we walked up the knoll to the cemetery where his mother is buried, then down the back side to the Living Museum, which is a reconstruction of the house and out buildings. They have two interpreters to explain the life they lived with 8 people in the small cabin. They have a garden growing and livestock. The woman Pa Lincoln married once Nancy died came with 3 children of her own and Nancy’s nephew had come to live with them, so there were 6 children. The cabin had skinny logs embedded in the wall that were stairs to the loft. That way they took little space from the living quarters. 4 of the 6 slept there and 2 on a trundle that was stored under the parents’ bed. Abe’s sad story just goes on. His only sibling, Sarah, who took over as lady of the house at 11 was his closest companion, died at 21 while birthing a stillborn baby. The husband died just 3 years later. Poor Abe, lost his mother at 9, his sister, 3 sons and father. On the way back from the farm there are 12 stones from 12 places/things taking you from Lincoln’s birthplace to his death. We got some exercise today as the round trip walk was about 1 ½ miles. At least it was only 83 and we were in the shade. It was a beautiful day. Back in the park we drove down to see the amphitheater, the beach, which is awesome, and the cemetery where Sarah is buried.

Then we took Xena for a walk to the beach as we discovered the RV park backs up to the beach on one side, but you can’t drive to it from here, you have to take the long way around. This park has NO trash cans. Not even in the restrooms. They have hand dryers. All trash has to be taken when you leave to the dumpsters on the way out. After dinner of grilled chicken, that super good corn on the cob I just bought and salad, we sat outside with Xena and chatted and read. I got to laughing too much over my book for Bill, so he went inside. I really like the down time. Time to read and sleep!

June 29

The weather was great today!  Bill thought he was being nice to me, and he was, by letting me sleep in but he forgot we needed to leave by 9. I woke up at 8:30 and he was at the shower.           I was racing around and then we were both racing around and we left at 9:30. That was pretty quick to dress, eat, put things away and shut up the RV and line up and hitch.

We were 30 minutes late meeting my former co-worker at McDonald’s in Linton, IN. Vera is 85 and it was so good to see her.  It’s been at least 20 years.  She just hugged me so tight. I knew I had done the right thing by making plans to see her. Bill came in and met her and sat for a while but he was concerned about the animals in the truck and of course he didn’t know any of the people we were talking about. We spent an hour catching up on people I have kept up with and she filled me in on those she still hears from. It was very sad for me to tell her good-bye. We exchange cards and letters each Christmas and she was good to tell how much she appreciates my letter each year. Her health is starting to fail, as is her 89 year old husband’s and it just makes me feel so sad. I asked her if she still baked all the great cakes and desserts she used to bring us at work. I have so many of those recipes and every time I make one I think of Vera.

Since it was lunchtime when we parted, Bill had me get burgers to eat in the truck before we headed out.  The plan was to go to Vincennes, IN and visit the George Rogers Clark National Monument and Historical Site, then go to Montgomery where we are camping. Bill was concerned about driving in the town ever since the turn around in the road due to low clearance incident. I didn’t argue, but knew it would be fine. BUT, we ended up going to the RV park first. It’s Montgomery Park, in Montgomery, IN. The park is actually full of all season campers, from April to October. Most leave their units here and come back on weekends. They keep 4 of the crummy spaces for overnighters. That is fine, as long as we have electric and here we have water, so we are good to go. The husband is a former truck driver so since we were in a hurry to get parked and go to Vincennes, we opted for him to back us in. Bill watched and said “you could do that”, yeah, sure! He did it in one try. So we set up and went to Vincennes.

We spent a while talking to the ranger about employment and transfers since Bill thinks he might like to work at some National Parks some time. Then we watched the movie, which explained the whole story of who George Rogers Clark was. He was an older brother to Clark of Lewis and Clark fame. He led a       group of Kentucky sharpshooters when he was 26 and overtook 3 forts along the Wabash and Mississippi rivers to keep the Brits from keeping a foothold on the area during the Revolutionary War. Very talented soldier for only 26. The monument itself is rather majestic and you enter to a large bronze statue of Clark. The rotunda walls are painted panels of the story itself. They are massive! It really is a huge place and extremely impressive.

On the drive back to Montgomery we stopped at a small roadside produce stand for some local grown, fresh corn, cuke, zucchini and tomatoes. The zucchini is about a footlong and was only 50cents. It’s enough for 3 meals for us. Then we popped into the RV long enough to walk Xena and feed the pets dinner. We decided to eat at one of the Amish Country places for dinner. It ended up being a buffet and we normally avoid buffets as people, especially us, tend to overeat at them. The food was all good but the green beans were canned and had no zip. Bill really liked the cucumbers in a mayo/milk sauce. The salad bar was decent and the fresh baked bread was awesome. Could have eaten more of that! Then there was both apple and blackberry cobbler/crisp for dessert and/or soft serve ice cream. Bill got the last of the blackberry so I went with the apple and softserve, which is my FAVORITE ice cream. It was so good going down but by the time we walked to the car, I knew I had overeaten.

The campground wife told me of a good store owned by and run by Amish that is not touristy, so we drove up the road to find it for tomorrow and geez, there were Amish buggies all over the place. They all waved to us in passing and once we go a bit further down the road we saw a HUGE gathering of Amish and a big white tent. There must have been 50 buggies inside the fence. We are going to ask at the store tomorrow what was going on. I’ve been to several Amish communities but never have I seen so many coming and going and at the same place as this. Could have been a wedding or auction. They appeared to come as families, as we saw many buggies with children and babies in them.

Back at the RV we mapped out tomorrow as the original plan was to see the Amish area this afternoon, but since we got a late start this AM, and used an hour + to park before going to Vincennes, we will work in a few hours tomorrow. I’ve printed photos now for postcards since I got the printer going and that makes for more personal postcards. Time to read a bit and get to bed early so we can get up early.

June 28

All and all it was a great day! The weather was good, only in the 80’s, no rain. It rained most of the night, was pouring when we went to bed and things were pretty soggy out this morning. Since we have no shore water here and didn’t fill our tank I was reduced to taking my shower in the “communal” shower. I’d done it before, but just like being in my own space. I hate loading up my “stuff” and walking around in front of total strangers in my pajamas. There were 4 small stalls (which was OK since my own shower in the RV is rather small) with a tiny dressing area. The stall I picked had numerous mosquitoes buzzing about and I had my very own frog. Lucky me! The water was tricky. No regular hot and cold handles. One push button and what came out is what you got. It only lasted 5 seconds or so, so of course you had to continually push it. I was very fast washing my face because I couldn’t see the button!

Since we slept in, and I made the Sunday breakfast on Monday, turkey sausage, 
eggs, toast and fruit, it took longer to get assembled and on the road. We both had a couple of phone calls to make. Bill had to call State Farm about the truck tailgate and I had to call the Dr about a bill and my homeowners insurance. Got that out of the way and we were ready to go. We had a nice day touring Parke County, IN and 9 of its covered bridges. Most were in need of a fresh coat of paint, but it was so neat to see so many in one day. I had ordered a map of the driving tours to see them. There were 4 routes with 39 total but we would have needed to get an early start to cover them all. The one is neatest as it was the newest. Rebuilt in 2005 after an arsonist burned the original one over 100 years old. Some you could drive through and I made Bill go back and forth so I could video and some are along side a new bridge and you park and walk through. One had a resident kitty that someone leaves food for. It’s really a nice breath of nostalgia and something we never get to see in Florida.

We also made our last stop in Bridgeton where we toured the oldest continually running mill in IN, Bridgeton Mill. They only grind on weekends in the summer so we missed that. Bill did a lot of question asking and the current owner was great. He told about the history in the area as well as the history of the mill and how he makes the many kinds of corn meal, flours, grits, etc. I wish I could have bought more, but we only have so much space and we haven’t even hit the Amish country yet! Although, we did see 2 buggies today in Rockville and a young man getting an ice cream at the mill.

We had lunch in Rockville at a saloon styled place. The food was good, the service was slow. Bill surprised me by getting a grilled chicken sandwich and I had a philly cheese steak. It was so good, especially since I never have them. We shared an order of onion rings. They were good but not as good as the fried dill pickles we had the other day. Then our special treat since I’m not doing much baking and dessert making this trip was a single scoop of hand dipped ice cream. I had praline and he had chocolate peanut butter cup. Double yummy!

We topped off the fuel on the way home and after walking Xena Bill washed the splatters of mud off the truck. He wasn’t too happy that we had to go on some gravel roads. Oh well, it was part of the adventure. He also vacuumed up a bunch of pet hair from in the truck. Should be OK now til we get home. Hair was flying all over! I got the grill out and grilled steaks for tonight and chicken for maybe tomorrow night, potatoes for tonight and made salads. I used our last home grown tomato that I brought. Surely they will be dried up and done when we get home. Am using our last cucumber too. Since he worked so hard on the truck I cleaned up the grill and put it all away. He said he’d do the daily dishes, so that was nice. I sat out and read for a while then trudged back to the communal shower, picking a different stall as froggy was still dwelling in the one I had this morning. It should be a quick get away in the morning since we only have electric to put away and I can put the inside in travel condition while Bill showers. We had a nice walk with Xena tonight after dinner too. She loves just lying out on the grass and watching the kids and people go by. One more day here would have been perfect for just relaxing! Oh well, I think we will do more of that come September!

June 27

It was a good day and a bad day, rolled into one! At least the good outweighed the bad. We were on the road by 9 for IN. We figured to be at the campground by 12:30, but realized we would change time zones, so it would be 1:30. It was a smooth ride until we came to a series of railroad bridges. Bill had to get out of the truck and walk me under the first 2 as we weren’t sure how tall the RV actually is. The first bridge as 13’9” and it was good, then the next was 13’11” but it took a large dip so Bill got out again and checked and we made it through again. Well, the third time is not a charm in this case. The third bridge sign was miles before bridge and said it was 13’4” and Bill didn’t think we could get through it. (Bad luck) Well, there was no real place to turn around but I could back up onto the side and the space got wider and I did a U-turn in the road and we re-routed WAY out of our way to get to Lieber State Park in IN. So with the lost time we didn’t get to the campground until after 4.

Luckily we had a snack in the truck of an apple and cheese stick as we were pretty hungry, but needed to get set up ASAP. We drove to the campsite I had reserved on–line and realized it was electric only and we had no real supply of water in our tank so we circled back around to where we saw the water to fill with. We also saw a couple of pull-thru sites that we felt more comfortable getting into, so while Bill put some water in the RV I walked back to the check-in office and she was able to switch us to that site. (Good luck). Bill said he could not get any water to go into our tank (bad luck) and he was drenched. It was coming back out as fast as he put it in. So he gave up. We had 2 gallons of drinking water so could make do with the bathhouse and the water faucet across from us. We needed to get to the Cataract General Store as it closed at 6 and is not open on Mondays. So once we got the pets in place and the RV parked and the air running, I made us each a peanut butter sandwich to go and we ate in the truck on the way.

The Cataract General Store is set up like an old timey general store like stores in my little town where I grew up. They carried a supply of modern stuff but still had an old coke cooler you reach in for your bottle of soda. There were nail buckets you just get a handful and pay for by the pound and old gas pumps out front. It was a step back in time for me. Bill was happy I let him buy and ice cream sandwich! From there we visited the Cataract Falls covered bridge. You can’t drive over it but you can walk across and it is above Cataract Falls. They are the largest falls in IN. Not large by many standards but a set of step down falls, the bottom one pretty impressive. As we looked down to it we saw a couple and their dog who must have walked along the other side of the river and climbed down the rocks and made their way to the rocks under the falls. I would have LOVED to do that but knew there was no way Bill would do it. My kids and I would have been down there in a heartbeat. Since we were getting low on fuel and we’re pretty far back in we went back a different route into Cloverdale and filled up.

I got us each a lottery scratch off ticket but haven’t check them yet. Never know, our luck could change! I knew it was leftover night so was not worried about dinner. When we got back, Bill took Xena for a long walk while I pulled out our recliners and got things readied up inside. Then I went on the roof (2 nights in a row) and we measured the RV from it’s highest point. It’s 13’6”. So, now we know! Bill made the right decision for us. He asked after we turned back if it was up to me would I have gone up to the bridge, he knew darn well I’m a risk taker and would have tried it in a heartbeat. Never know, the sign could have been off an inch or two. I heated up the last of the chicken enchiladas and refried beans for Bill, 2 containers of veggies, made a small baked potato for me and a chicken thigh from the rotisserie chicken. Bill sliced off a couple pieces for him too.

Half way through getting dinner heated up it started storming, not much wind but lots of rain. We waited a bit after dinner and it stopped so we took Xena for a walk. Came back and I did the dishes, we vacuumed the RV and recliners and watched a Mrs. Marple mystery on TV. Bill was excited as that is one of his favorites. The rain has started up again and I hear the thundering as I type. I’m leak paranoid and you can hear every drop on the roof and I’ve check several places and windows already. Once you’d had a leaky roof, it’s hard in a big rain to not be a bit nervous of another one. Time to read a few chapters and hit the hay!

June 26

The day started for us at 5 AM today. We both heard some noise but I realized it was wind on our awning and jumped up out of bed. Replacing an awning is REALLY expensive and it was totally calm when we went to bed. Bill was right behind me and we went outside and the sky was ominous looking. We both thought we were going to be in for the ride of our lives. I brought the awning in and we put our chairs away and our banner, sign and cactus and it was so eerie out. I got back in bed and literally was nauseous, just thinking about what could happen. They do have storm shelters here and I did bring Molly’s little crate so we could take them both with us. Bill was concerned about paperwork so I thought it all out and had a mental plan of where everything was that I needed to gather up in a hurry, along with dog and cat food. Luckily we both fell back to sleep and the crisis passed.

We didn’t wake up til almost 8 and Bill was not happy that we were getting such a late start. I reminded him that he’s retired and we have all the time in the world. He said that early up habit will be hard to break. I fixed ham and cheese omelets this morning with toast and fruit. Then Bill walked Xena again. A crew had arrived while we were eating to pressure wash an RV behind us. Then we saw them go to another one, so Bill went over and asked what it would cost to just do the front of ours where all the love-bugs had hit. $15, and Bill thought that was a steal, so he paid the guy to do it once we were gone.

So it was after 10 before we actually got on the road to New Salem. It was back to being hot like at home, but at least there was plenty of shade at New Haven. They call it Lincoln’s New Salem, it about 18 miles northwest of Springfield. It is now part of a state park but was a village of about 30 buildings in the 1820’s and gradually disappeared in the 1840’s. The theory is that the county was cut in 2 and they were picking a new county seat and New Salem was not chosen. Businesses moved to the new seat, Petersburg, so gradually it fell to ruin or they moved the buildings also. Lincoln spent 7 years in New Salem before moving to Springfield. It was there that he tried numerous trades but discovered his passion for the law. By the time he left there he was a licensed attorney. He did have several failures though, he co-owned a general store that went under, he ran for office and lost and he found he was not cut out to be a surveyor. Three years after he left the town pretty much disappeared. Now there are 23 buildings with living history interpreters. Only one building is original that Lincoln would have been in and it is the cooper shop. We learned about barrel and bucket making, dying of yarns and how ashes are used to make a lime/lye water used for soap and numerous other items made in town.

From New Salem we drove into Athens, where there is another historical building that Lincoln was connected to but we decided to have lunch at the local diner and head back to Springfield to visit the Lincoln National Museum and Library. The library is closed on Saturday but the museum was excellent. It had 2 movies that reminded us of being at a Disney production. The digital theatrics were outstanding. The rest of the museum is divided into galleries of historic memorabilia and an exhibit on pre-White House years and one on post White House years. We both learned a lot about how the press was no different to Lincoln than they are to current politicians. The cartoons and articles were very ugly politics indeed. On the way back to the truck we took photos of the train depot where Lincoln bid the citizens of Springfield a tearful goodbye when he left for Washington.

We stopped for fuel, then to buy a new dog leash as the fancy one I got Xena for Christmas with the poop bag holder and flashlight is malfunctioning. Will see if I have the warranty and will check into it when I get home. Didn’t get back til after 5. The guy did a good job on the front of the RV. Bill walked Xena and checked out the new RV’s here. I grilled brats for dinner and made Waldorf salad and some veggies. Bill went ahead and emptied our tanks to make it faster to get on the road tomorrow. He waxed the front that was washed and I got on the roof and did the top part that he couldn’t reach from a ladder. I did 2 last loads of wash since we won’t have sewer the next 2 nights. I showered and washed my hair so we can conserve on water use for 2 nights. I finished off a bottle of muscato that I opened the first night. Yummy! Might have to buy another bottle first chance I get.

June 25

Bill's new friend

What a great day! Bill got up EARLY and took the truck to have the oil changed, then washed and then to a body shop to see if the tailgate was repairable or not. The bad news for the day is it will have to be replaced. When he got back I fixed whole wheat pancakes, bacon, and fruit for breakfast and then he called our insurance about the tailgate, then his body shop. At least that guy said it could have been worse! So we didn’t head in to Springfield until 10, but got right to the Lincoln Home National Historic Site visitor center and parked.

We were able to get on a tour of the house for 10:50, so we checked out the gift shop and exhibits til it was time. The house was not big or over impressive but along the way we got to see many of Lincoln’s original pieces and hear a lot about his life and the life of his family. The home is part of a 4 block area of the historic district that has been returned to the way it was in the 1830’s or so. The sidewalks were wooden with gravelly roads. There were period dressed interpreters strolling about and you could have a conversation about 1830 current events or talk about the Lincoln family. We visited 2 other homes that were open for touring and strolled the 4 block area. The other houses are office for the park service but totally restored from the outside. We went back to the visitor center to watch the movie which gave an excellent condensed version of Lincoln’s life from the time he came to Springfield to his election as President. The guy who played him really looked like him.

One of the park rangers steered us down the block to the Civil War Museum that was started by a volunteer group of women to honor soldiers of the Great Army of the Republic, which were the union soldiers from the Civil War. Everything in it was donated, all kinds of war artifacts, confederate money, medals awarded, it was amazing. The most impressive thing there though was one of the American flags that hung in the Presidential Booth at Ford’s Theater. After John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln, he jumped out of the booth and on to the stage below. He was wearing spurs as he was planning his get away by horse that was waiting for him outside. He caught his spur in the flag and caused him to break his ankle on the stage. One of the custodians kept the flag as memorabilia and later his family donated it to the museum. You could see the tear in it.

From there we drove to the Old State Capitol. We got a great parking spot right along the side of the building and decided to have lunch before going in. We only had 1 ½ hours of parking so we ate first at a great sandwich shop. Reminded me of Panera. Then we went in the Capitol. It was very nice but the 2 things we enjoyed most was a performance of singers that we happened on at the right time in the building. They did songs of the period and songs of the Civil War and told some Lincoln stories. Then we went to see Lincoln who was there in one of the offices for 2 hours “talking” to visitors. It was so neat. It was the same guy who did the movie. I took Bill’s picture with him. He’s not as tall as the real Lincoln but he sure looked like him. Made it back to the truck with 13 minutes to spare.

Next stop was Lincoln’s Tomb. Wow! That place is huge and SO extremely impressive. It’s in the city’s cemetery but there is no missing it. It looks like a mini Washington Monument is on the top. He’s buried under several tons of concrete with a massive granite monument on it and that is inside of another building. His wife and 3 of his 4 sons who died prior to adulthood are entombed in the same room as he is but in wall spots. We talked to one of the volunteers for quite a while and gathered a lot of interesting info about his wife, surviving son and his children. It’s all very sad.

We stopped at a gift shop and then a Wal-Mart on the way home. Picked up some more groceries and a new water filter for outside. Since I forgot to take stuff out to grill, I did a Karen and got a rotisserie chicken. We walked Xena for a long walk and Bill put the new filter in and it seems to be working so we don’t have to buy more water. I fixed corn on the cob and a nice salad to go with our chicken. Then we went for another walk to see the area back in the woods that we hadn’t seen and to see what new rigs had come into the park. Bill got to talking to a neighbor about his hose (that’s the kind of important stuff you do when you RV) and also about RV parks out west for our fall trip. I tried AGAIN to get my printer installed to no avail. It’s really starting to tick me off. Bill did the dishes and I called my old co-worker, Vera who lives in IN and made arrangements to meet for lunch on Tuesday. I am really excited to get to see her. She is 85 and her husband is 88, not sure if he is going to come. I guess she still drives. My back is still itching really bad from the ant bites. Back in Defuniak Springs we had some ant issues in the RV and apparently some got in my shirt and when I put it on I got eaten up. And I don’t have a back scratcher with me!!! Time to knock out more email!

PS.. Only 6 months until Christmas.
PSS. I think I forgot to mention that we have been on Historic Route 66 quite a bit. Even one of the original sections that was from 1926 – 1930. We got to put the Illinois Route 66 sticker on our door!

June 24

It was only a short trip to our stop for tonight, the Double J RV Resort in Chatham, IL. We left just before 9, stopped to top off the air in the RV and truck tires then headed right on. We took the interstate, then rural route, then interstate. The small road was great. Lots of truck traffic which meant it was a good road. Very straight, only a few 4 way stops along the way.

We’re just south of Springfield, IL. The resort had gotten a lot of the rain the last few days so some of the sites were too wet and blocked off. They are VERY picky here with a list of rules a mile long, no, make that a mile and a half. They are sticklers on being perfectly straight on the site and the truck has to be straight in the front or back of the RV. They want you centered on the space. We have a pull thru and the parking “guide” would NOT leave until we were just like she wanted. I could have backed in easier than all the back and forth to get centered just so!

They could have at least given us one of the dryer spaces as we saw several. We had to step in water to hook up the water, electric and poop hose. THEN, the sewer connection was way to the back of the space and we had long enough hoses to put together to reach it, but didn’t have but 1 connector. Bill never thought we’d need it to be 30 feet long, so when we were out and about we found an RV sales place and got in right as they were locking the door and bought one. At least we got lucky on that one! I was planning to do some wash tonight so had to have it connected. Bill got ‘er done and I did 2 loads of wash. However, once we got settled in it was lunch time so we ate, watched a bit of TV, then headed into Springfield.

We went to the Dana-Taylor House which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was amazing! He not only designed the house, but every piece of furniture and every art glass window, every piece of art displayed, the organ, literally everything in the house. The really unusual thing was this house was built in 1904 and looks like a house you’d see built now. It was 12,000 sq ft with a dining room that would serve 40. I wasn’t sure Bill would like it but he enjoyed seeing all of the unusual things Mr. Wright did in the process. By the time we left it was after 4 and too late to go to anything else, so that’s when we looked for a place to get our hose connector.

On the way back after that we saw the Route 66 Drive In and A-Team is playing so we might go to the drive in movie tomorrow night. We called and they have 2 screens and each shows a double feature, but since it doesn’t start til 9, one feature is all we’ll last through. I made a steak for Bill tonight and I had salmon with a lemon/dill seasoning, whole wheat orzo with an artichoke pesto sauce and steamed broccoli. I think we will grill enough tomorrow night for 2 dinners. We sat outside for a while after dinner. Today was the coolest day since we left, high was 83 and the evening was so pleasant. Since the Internet was working, Bill got on for the first time since we left home and did some of his email. We put our cactus out and Chief Wahoo and our personalized sign, so everyone will now know Bill is a Cleveland fan, in case they didn’t notice the Chief Wahoo on the truck in 2 places or the tag on the truck that says “Wahoo44” or that he wears Cleveland stuff most of the time! Time for bed, a big tourist day tomorrow.

June 23

There is no such thing that I know of as the “perfect day”. We seem to get a lot of “near perfect days” but perfection eludes us. We had a nice drive back through LBL into Kentucky where we headed west to Paducah. Breezed right into the downtown historic district to the parking lot without a hitch. Parked along the outer edge of the lot so avoid being blocked in by anyone. We put the pets in the RV with the fan on and walked across the parking lot to the National Quilters Museum. It was very impressive from little mini quilts only 12 inches square to queen size ones. The designs are amazing and the workmanship unsurpassed. We didn’t care much for the totally “artsy” ones, but the ones of animals and people were awesome and the ones with somewhat standard old designs were beautiful. Some were available to buy, but we didn’t dare ask the prices. I can’t imagine the hours it takes. Some quilters said they would be obsessed and quilt 15 hours a day.

We had our lunch in the parking lot before heading across the river to Metropolis, IL, the home of Superman. I had taken Kam and Jared there over 20 years ago and think we approached the town square from a different direction. I don’t remember the 30’ Superman but didn’t get to find the phone booth where Clark Kent makes the switch. It was in the Chamber of Commerce before but Xena was with us and the sidewalks were really hot and she just couldn’t spend much longer walking around. I stopped in the Superman Gift Shop for a thimble, magnet and a couple of postcards.

Got back to the interstate and on the way to our stop for tonight, Ina, IL. We didn’t know how long we’d spend in Paducah and Metropolis so arrived around 3. We’re at Sherwood RV, no not like Sherwood Forest, although we do have trees. Some of the trailers and people are straight out of “Deliverance”. It took 3 boards on one side of the RV to level side to side and then up pretty high to get the nose close to level. We hadn’t planned to unhitch since it was only for the night, but since we needed to raise the nose so much I just pulled up enough to clear the hitch. Later Bill said he was going to go fill up with diesel while I was at the Laundromat using the WiFi. The tailgate was down and he didn’t think and shut it and then pulled away, leaving a rather big dent in the tailgate where it hit the pin on the nose of the RV. The good news is the tailgate will still close, but it’s pretty much a mess. When we get to Springfield he was going to take the truck for an oil change so now will ask about the tailgate. We’re thinking we will have to order a new one!

So there went our perfect day! We had leftovers for dinner and took Xena a nice walk. We started feeling better about the campground when a big Class A and another big 5th wheel came. Now there’s a Class C too. So maybe we’ll survive the night!

June 22

Fixed bacon and eggs for Bill and I had my oatmeal with yogurt and berries. I think Bill had a bowl of peaches and milk before I got up! Left by 8:30 for Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL). What a neat place. If you were into boating and camping this is the place to go. They flooded 2 rivers after building dams and moving many little towns from the area and created two huge long lakes on each side of the land. There are no remnants of there ever being towns other than the family/town cemeteries are preserved.

We saw one of the Bison herds, 3 wild deer along the roads, visited the Nature Station where they have wild animals that were either domesticated or injured and cannot be put back in the wild and The Homeplace. It’s a living museum of and 1850’s homestead with working interpreters. They had all the farm animals typical of the time and crops planted and today there were 2 men plowing with a hand plow and mule and 2 ladies quilting on the house porch. They said it was too hot to cook. We sure have it easy! I packed us sandwiches, soda and apples to have for lunch so we sat in the shade of a tree in the truck and had our lunch.

Before leaving the LBL area we went to one of the campgrounds. They are all on the water and there were over 200 sites at this one. Not all have utilities. A lot have electric but no water or sewer. I don’t know how long we could camp without water. Some people bid on the 90 spots they allow people to rent for 9 months of the year. They sure must like to fish and hunt!!

I dropped Bill off at the RV to take Xena out at around 3 and went up the road to Piggly Wiggly. We go through a lot of water so I got 2 more gallons and a few other items. Made chicken enchiladas with refried beans and salad for dinner. Have enough leftovers from the last 3 nights to not cook tomorrow since we will be on the road and stopping in Paducah and Metropolis tomorrow.

Bill hooked up the wastewater pipe, affectionately known as the “poop tube”. During the draining process, he discovered it had a tear in it. Luckily we have a spare, so there’s another item on our shopping list. After dinner I did one load of wash and we took Xena for a nice walk and then visited with the owner for a while. Got a new family in one of the cabins behind us. Another trailer arrived late last night so there are THREE of us camped tonight. Getting crowded so best to move along tomorrow!

June 21

No internet service again. As Kam said earlier today, we’re in BFE, but that’s OK. First order after breaking camp was a trip to the RV sales and service place in town. They had a leveler pad, not exacting like ours but it will do til we can get one that matches. Also had to get one of the propane tanks filled that was totally empty. Still have about ½ in the other so we should be good til we get home. Topped off the gas, stopped so Bill could get some Sun Drop since they don’t sell it in FL, and a couple gallons of drinking water. Not sure what the problem is, even with double filtering the water has been super nasty. Think maybe we need a new outdoor filter,so will add it to the list!

The drive through Nashville was not fun. It’s not the route I would have taken but as driver and not navigator, he gave me no choice. Almost didn’t make a split off of the interstate. Pulled into the center of the “Y” then some nice driver flashed me and let me get on the correct side. Then once we got out of town onto the more rural roads, wouldn’t you know there was road construction and they narrowed it with barricades on the left and no burn to say on the right so I was VERY slow and steady through. I think Bill was holding his breath but did say I did a good job on that stretch.

Made it into Dover, TN at lunch time and got set up here at LBL Whispering Pines Campground. It’s another small place with 4 cute little cabins and about 30 campsites. We have nice shade on one side and lots of grassy area, but the ground is like a rock and we can’t put Xena’s stake in or any of our signs or the cactus.

After we ate and rested we headed to Ft. Donelson National Battlefield and Cemetery. Did the movie and visitors center, then did the driving tour. Pretty interesting, just so hot to stop 11 times and get in and out. The cemetery is very serene along a hillside and the stones are kinda lives waves. I liked the Dover Hotel where the Confederate General surrendered to Grant. Sits on the bank of the Cumberland River and housed riverboat guests. Sits up on the knoll with a nice breeze. You can picture sitting out under the trees in those full dresses (sweating to death), sipping lemonade and watching the boats and barges along the river.

Got back to the RV around 4 so will rest and catch up my National Parks stamp book. Got 4 new ones today and the 2010 stickers. Making grilled pork chops, corn on the cob and steamed carrots for dinner. We both read and went to bed early. Bill gets up so early he can’t last much later than 9:30. Party pooper!

June 20

Today was a driving day, which is always boring and tiring. This one was no different. We didn’t leave until almost 9 and stopped at noon at a rest area for lunch. Took smaller roads that were all pretty good, little towns here and there and more churches than you could shake a stick at. Definitely in the Bible Belt. Drove through Florala and waved at the State Park. Wish we could have stayed there but Bass Haven was nice. Super nice camp hosts.

Driving in the right lane I don’t check the right mirror often, just the left one, but when I did as I was passing and getting back into the left lane I saw that when Bill locked the door after lunch he left the handle/rail out, so wondered if anyone else notices. We were stopping shortly for gas so waited til then to put it in. After filling up and back on the interstate we both got a bit of a scare. I had glanced at Molly who was scratching on my seat and Bill yelled and I looked up and a huge piece of tire was on the road and I managed to miss it. I’m pretty good at not over-compensating so didn’t hit it or anyone. That was the first of our “things come in threes” for today.

We stopped for the night in Colombia, TN at Campers RV Park. The office was closed but there was a number to call if you got here after 4. She told us to take a pull through in the center and stop in the office in the AM. We got into our spot and since it was overnight we were not totally unhooking, just raising the nose up to take the pressure off the truck tires. I looked down to see how many boards we needed to put under the level legs and one of the flat plates on the bottom was gone. Darn things are only held on with a cotter pin and once before we almost lost one and got new cotter pins. Well, a couple of expletives later we decided we would use a 4 x 4 on top of the 2 x 8’s. Seems to be fine. Checked and there is a service place about 9 miles from here so that will be our first stop in the AM.

Later, after a delicious dinner of steamed broccoli, leftover London broil with gravy and mashed potatoes, I was going to get a shower early and wash my hair. When I went to the bathroom sink the water was running and the sink was full and overflowing. I grabbed a cup and was going to pour some into the shower but it had 3 inches or so of standing water in it. I hollered for Bill “Houston, we have a problem”, and told him the shower and sink were full. Well, he went out and pulled the tank plug and it immediately drained. I think when I was setting up he asked me to turn the faucet on to relieve the pressure for him to put the hose on. Then I went on to another project and left it on! Oops! Not much water to clean up, but could have been much worse! It’s always a learning experience.

This park is OK for an overnight, but not much shade and grass for Xena near our RV. Bill walked her before dinner and we both walked her after. No Internet service, so maybe tomorrow!!!!

June 19

Because I went to bed so early I was awake at 6, and Bill was up walking Xena, but 6 is not unusual for him. I got up for real around 7:30 and we had our Sunday breakfast today since we’re leaving tomorrow and will eat a quick breakfast. By 10 we were showered and headed to an RV store we were told about. They guy said “1 exit up”, well, once we were on I-10 I wondered which direction was “up” to him. Turns out it must have been east as we went west and no RV store. There’s not a lot here so it was 15 miles to the exit and we decided not to drive another 30 east. Made our stop at Wal-Mart, gassed up, well diesel, dropped a letter at the post office and went home for lunch.


After lunch Bill put some hooks up in the storage compartment to hang cords on and I mounted the rechargeable flashlight in the bedroom that was a retirement gift to Bill. I made meatballs to have for dinner and froze half for another night on the trip. Bill is excited to have meatballs twice within a 3 week period. Xena basked in the sun, then mostly in the shade under the slide for a couple of hours while we read and visited with the camp host. Can’t leave her out alone as we are very close to the lake and it has alligators in it. They caught one 2 weeks ago that came up on land and Xena is not as fast as she used to be.


The camp host and I discussed my baby cactus and he brought over one of his craft projects that he made and sold and it’s perfect for Karen and David. He was giving it to me to thank me for sharing my ideas with him. It’s so hot and humid out, but we sat under the awning for quite a while and once in a brief while caught a slight breeze. I went to the camp office to use the WiFi and started to hear thunder. I did what I needed to really fast and the camp host came and told me a storm was close.


When I got back to the RV it was getting really dark and Bill was putting our chairs, cactus, & floor mat away. He said there were storm warnings with 60 mph winds and possible hail of 2 inches. I thought he was kidding me but he was serious. He moved the truck under the trees in case of hail and I went ahead and fixed dinner. The storm produced a lot of water and some wind, but no hail and we didn’t tip over! Started working on videos from 2008 travel, oops, boy am I behind!

The First Retirement Trip - June 2010 - Day 1

We got a little later start than planned. Molly found a new hiding place and on the third search I found her upstairs under the drawer side of the desk. Then once we got to the RV, we could have saved time by putting the ladder on last night, but… Another thing to add to my checklist, soon it will be 2 pages. Checked the tires on the RV, since we’ve had our fair share of tire issues already and they were all low, so had to use the air at work and get them up to snuff. By then it was after 8:30, so what if we’re late, we’re on vacation.

Since we started late we didn’t take a morning break. Stopped for lunch just east of Tallahassee and let Xena take 2 walks. She gazed out the window most of the AM and Molly lay on the console most of the day. We were only stopped for about 30 minutes. Then stopped shortly after to fill up the tank. No more stops til Defuniak Springs. It rained and drizzled on and off most of the afternoon and I had a feeling we would time it to be pouring upon our campground arrival. We had reservations at Juniper Lake RV with instructions to call as we exited I-10 to make sure they were there to us. I was driving at a crawl by the time we reached the rv entrance. Bill and I each called AGAIN to let them know we were waiting. No answer 3 times so we waited about 15 minutes in the pouring rain. I could tell it was stressing Bill and he thought we’d be sleeping in the truck all night. Plus we both REALLY needed a bathroom.

I gave up and called Bass Haven that we passed on the way. She said sure she had a pull through for us, so I gingerly backed up and turned into a camp spot to try and turn around, but couldn’t make the left turn so pulled through the next one which was a better angle to make a u-turn from. They were waiting for us at Bass Haven, even out in the rain directing us into a spot and said to come in after the rain and we got settled. It’s a small park on a small lake and as I sit here I can hear the frogs going at it. Nice trees, but just nothing fancy, but for $12 a night with cablevision, it was a good deal. Surprisingly the spot was perfectly level so no boards needed. Later I told Bill there was a big RV in the area with 220 spaces and he would rather we had gone there but frugal wife that I am, it was twice the price for things we were not going to use. This place has ambiance!

The guy here suggested Ed’s Restaurant for dinner, so we took him up on it, but stopped at Ace Hardware on the way and the guy there also recommended Ed’s so we figured we were hot on the trail of a great meal. Well, when we walked in I could smell and feel the grease in the air, but managed to get a table in the adjoining room so we didn’t leave smelling like we were the fried food. 90% of the food was fried, and I do like fried food but it was not what we expected. Bill had chicken fried steak with white gravy and I had a huge catfish fillet. Yum! We gave up the crinkle fries for cole slaw and both took the salad. It was all very fresh, right down to the iceberg lettuce. The best part was they had a walk up service and had soft serve which is my favorite ice cream so we splurged and each got a small cone. Heavenly!

Walked Xena AGAIN, as she was crying really loud when we got back. No wi-fi this far from the office but I can go sit inside tomorrow and sign on. We’re both pretty pooped since we got up at 6, so will be headed to bed shortly. It’s an hour earlier here and I was in bed at 9 pm. That’s some kind of record for me!