First Weekend in Van Buren

Not much going on this weekend. Saturday morning we went to Cracker Barrel for blueberry pancakes. Picked up a little tabletop snowman to put in the new rig for the holidays and to act as the only sign of anything to do with snow that we want to see over the coming winter months. There’s a flurry of snowflakes that constantly swirl, in his belly and it changes all different colors. Really cute ! Then we hit Goodwill and had a really productive shopping trip. I’ve never seen so many pairs of jeans, slacks or pants in a thrift store before. Anyone that knows me, knows I hate shopping and I despise trying on clothes. This was the first time ever (or at least for as far back as I can remember) that everything I took into the dressing room fit AND I liked it. We’re not talking just one or two items either…..I bought ten new shirts to replace my too baggy ones that are in the closet. This Goodwill is the bomb too for great high end stuff. Lots of great stuff ! I’ve got a new wardrobe for $32….that doesn’t include the $10 Linda paid for a cool pair of black cowboy boots. Will be great for riding the trike. Tired out from shopping we came back to the rig and hung out. Linda is breaking down the jobs from the two parks we did in Nebraska so we can mail them in first of the week. I took a little nap while she toiled away at that tedious job.

Today we awoke to a beautiful day. Thought it was supposed to be cloudy and cool but it’s actually sunny and probably in low 70’s. She put together a stir fry of veggies and cooked that on the grill while I gave Bertha a bath. Tonight we’re going to go have dinner with Linda’s aunt (her dad’s sister). She hasn’t seen her aunt since her dad’s funeral in 1999 so they have quite a bit of catching up to do. She lives in Findlay, about 20 minutes from where we are.

Been trying to make long distant appointments to get the towing gear installed on our car, which is currently in the Norfolk area. On my second attempt, I got Hibbard’s Iron Works to install the base plate and wiring. They will also take a look at the Roadmaster Invisibrake to see if they will put that on. Hoping they will so I don’t have to search out someone else to do that. Want to get all of that stuff done before we arrive in Norfolk so we don’t have to be without a car for too long, once we arrive, and it doesn’t tack on additional days to our “visiting schedule”. Its been quite a scheduling feat to work out arrival and departure days for all the places we’re trying to hit. Picking up the rig and staying in NJ long enough to check all the systems out has been the toughest part of it all. We’re hoping we don’t find any major issues once we check it out that will mean having to stay longer to resolve the issues. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Country Mouse Goes to the City…(almost)

When we were in Nebraska last week, there was a crispness in the air that signaled the arrival of fall weather. One day, when getting something out of the cupboard under the sink I found popcorn kernels which told me we had a furry invader that had made his way into the rig. It’s that time of the year when the mice like to find a warm place to hang out. I got out one of the cheap wooden mousetraps that we had and when I tried to set it, the spring blew apart and just about took my index finger off. We left for Ohio with the stowaway on board. Not sure if this little critter knew he was about to embark on a cross country adventure but off we went.

We stopped by a Wal-Mart, on the way and picked up an easy set mouse trap that didn’t look like it would impose bodily harm if it malfunctioned. Malfunction though was the case with one of the two traps…it wouldn’t set. Returned it for another set and got them armed with peanut butter and put one in the basement, where I found other evidence of his escapades and one under the sink. When we’d stop for the night, I’d check to see if we were successful in catching our little stowaway. The one under the sink…nope…the one in the basement…no where to be found. I panicked as I thought of what a week or two of a decomposing critter in the basement would yield…..ewwwww ! Yesterday, I was trying to clean up the trike and asked Linda if she could perform a search and recover mission in the basement. Item by item, she started pulling things out of the basement. Finally she found it. Talk about covering some distance….apparently when that sucker snapped on our little passenger, it did a Greg Louganis style flip over the folded ladder and landed in a container in the front of the basement. I’m the bug squasher and dead mouse retriever in the family so I needed to pay coroner and retrieve the body. Case closed…

This morning Linda got up early and was doing something on the laptop when I got up. I came into the kitchen and something looked odd on the floor. It looked like a tea bag but upon closer inspection it was an itty bitty mouse, no more than an inch and a half long. It just sat there…oh no, I thought. Did a whole family of them climb on board in Nebraska or what ? I looked around for something to whack it with and finally decided on a shoe. I gently thumped it and it just fell over….like it was comatose or already dead. Hmmm…Don’t know where he came from or why Linda didn’t see it. Hoping he’s the last intruder. Got the traps reset, just in case. Our little stowaways were on their way to the east coast but got their visas revoked.

Iowa and the Underground Railroad

Linda and I stopped for the night at a rest area (mile marker 270) on I-80 East. Got a late start leaving this morning cause we got new neighbors just as it was getting dark last night. Ken and Sarah have an Excel 5th wheel and Ken had a sign, on his truck, advertising the waterless wax. I sent Linda over to talk to him this morning (he was out first thing this morning waxing his rig) to find out which waterless product he uses. I’ve used two different ones and am about to order a third product to use on the new rig. Anyway, one topic turned into another and then we found out that they had also worked for the same company, running a retirement community in Iowa. Well that ensued a whole discussion on what the hedge fund, that purchased the company has done to it since they worked there. Needless to say we didn’t get on the road till 10:30.

Beautiful day to drive and ride the bike ! Mid 70’s, sunny and all of the fields are bursting with corn fields, grain that’s turning a golden brown and lots of windmills. Don’t know what it is about seeing windmills that makes me smile. It’s kind of a Forrest Gump feeling that comes over me, watching the lazy turning of the blades and their hypnotic affect on me. Makes me smile and yearn for a box of chocolates ! There were tons of them along I-80 and with the steady breeze today, they were doing their thing.

Discovered some really interesting information, here at the rest area. Turns out that Iowa was huge in the Underground Railroad movement. The Quakers were quite the abolitionists and would use their quilts to give secret messages on the movement of slaves. Through the use of symbols and knots, they could convey their messages on the quilts that they would hang out on the clotheslines. How cool ! The building, here at the rest stop is gorgeous. Look at the magnificent flowers that they have around the property. On each side, of the front entrance way, are the quilt patterns that were used in the messages and then on the first course of bricks, all the way around the building is this needle and thread. I took pictures of the two plaques that talk about the quilts and their messages ,if you want to click on them to read the info. Very interesting…so glad I wondered over to the building to check it out. I learned something new today on our journey through Iowa !

Soft Cell

We have been debating for a while whether to get a water softener for the rig and finally took the plunge and got one. I have always had really dry skin and the last few months, it has gotten worse and that accelerated our decision. Our friends, Wendy and Cindy, have a Soft Cell and love it so after researching several different models we decided to also get a Soft Cell. This portable style water softener uses resin beads to attract the calcium and magnesium in the water and hold it, making the water softer. At my sticks and bricks house I had a whole house water softener and it had to be filled with salt pellets. With this portable softener, salt pellets are only used in the regenerating process and the salt releases the calcium and magnesium from the resin so it’s clean and ready to do its job of pulling the minerals out.

When I first hooked it up and we’d used it for two days, I didn’t get the “slippery skin” feel that we should have had and chalked it up to hard water still being the lines or in the hot water tank. Then I got to thinking that it had been a while since I’ve flushed the hot water tank out so did that yesterday. Oh my, lots of gunk came pouring out. I’m sure that all of the mineral sludge in the bottom of the tank was putting crap back into the water, negating what our water softener was trying to do. Got it flushed out, put back together and filled it up. Ahhhh, there it was. That slippery, soft feeling water that we had expected. Anxious to use it from day 1 with our new rig so the lines and fixtures won’t have any gunk in them and the systems can run efficiently. There is a pre-filter on the unit and from some of the parks we’ve stayed at, this will be a big help to pull the silt out of the water before it goes into the rig. The pre-filter unit is where you put the salt pellets when it comes time to regenerate it. Handy way to do it…when the salt is all dissolved, it’s done. My skin and hair are saying a big “thank you” !

Great Visit

We’ve really enjoyed being in the Lincoln, Nebraska area so we could spend time with our friend Paula. The weather has taken a sudden turn the last two days….it’s been in the 50’s each day and I’m freezing. We decided it was a great night for a campfire. We grilled up a super meal of veggies, turkey burgers, baked beans, corn on the cob and toasted marshmallows over the campfire.  What a fun night we had. Look at that fire that Linda created ! We were all mesmerized by it and were huddled around it, trying to keep warm. Weather is supposed to go back up into the 70’s and 80’s this weekend. Hope so, as we move to next assignment in Ohio on Tuesday. Hoping for warm days to ride the bike till we pick up the motorhome on October 12th !

Football “Husker” Style….

Our friend, Paula, took us to downtown Lincoln yesterday to experience a college football day in Lincoln. As Linda and I drove the bike to Lincoln, we could tell that the massive amount of cars on 80 were headed to the game cause Linda could see them dressed in red and white. We parked at Paula’s house and she drove her  car down past the stadium where 90,000 people were converging. She said that the stadium, with all those people becomes the 3rd largest “city” in the state on game days…wow ! From blocks away, the trickle of red began and the closer to the stadium we got, it turned into a sea of red. We parked near the state capitol and walked to get to the stadium and onto campus. There were tailgating parties going on all over the place. On campus the alumni band was playing…they were awesome!

 

After walking around outside the stadium to check things out, we decided to go to the Haymarket area to get something to eat and watch the game. That meant we had to walk against the incoming crowd, which was no small feat…felt sort of like Moses parting the red sea as we got in the middle of the crowd, fighting our way up the street.

 

The Haymarket area is the oldest part of the city…my, what character it has. I love to see that these areas have been revitalized in a city…gives so much more warmth to austere and sterile city buildings. Got a table on the patio of Buzzard Billy’s Armadillo Bar, where we watched the tail end of the Penn State game (truly disappointing game against Alabama) and the first half of the Nebraska game against Fresno State. When the jets did the “fly over”, man they were screaming as they went by us. Every time Nebraska would score a touchdown and the crowd released the red balloons in the air, the crowd at the bar would turn and look for the balloons over the stadium a couple blocks away. Fun stuff !! Since it takes three hours for traffic to get out of the city after a game, we left at half time to get ahead of the crowd. The first half of the game was a little controversial, with some of the ref calls, but the final outcome was to Nebraska’s liking. They won 42 – 29.

Our meal consisted of Spinach Artichoke Dip, made with beer, Ostrich Eggs (jalapeno, cheese, chicken in a crunchy batter, wrapped with bacon and deep fried (yum!), Quesadillas and an assortment of legal beverages. Paula and I were hoping to go across the street and get some yummy licorice choices, at the International Licorice store but sadly, they were closed.

We had a great time….these Nebraskans sure love their football team (and their volleyball team). It was fun to be a part of it on a sunny day in September !

Linda’s Birthday

Sorry to say but we worked today on Linda’s birthday. Didn’t have a very productive day though…Rough selling for the park we’re staying at. We’re about 25 miles from Lincoln and Omaha and the little towns in between don’t have many businesses at all or aren’t interested. Earlier today we had wondered about the size of a town, named Alvo, that was listed on a directional sign the other side of Interstate 80. Mystery solved….We came through Alvo tonight on the way back from Red Lobster and the sign said “Population 142”.  There were only a couple of houses and that was all there was to Alvo so either all 142 live “commune-style” or there is a missing decimal point in that number that’s fallen off the sign. Anyways, no need to go back there as there aren’t any businesses to call on.

Had a great dinner at Red Lobster tonight, in Lincoln. We both had the “endless shrimp” special, which was very good. Can’t remember the last time we’ve been to Red Lobster….it’s been that long. A lava cookie and Bailey’s coffee topped it all off. Yummy !

Monday we move over to the KOA park and finish up work on both of these parks. We leave Nebraska around the 20th for our next job in Ohio.

Old Friends in Nebraska

 

We got together with our friend, Paula, at her house in Lincoln for dinner the other night. I met Paula when I worked at the college and I’ve known her for over 15 years. She is a trainer and personal coach to the corporate world. We’ve stayed in touch over the years and see each other when we get the chance. When I still lived in the Williamsport area, she would make it back sometimes so I’d see her once then. It’s been several years since the last time I saw her. We had a cookout at her house and made plans for this coming Saturday. She’s going to take us to Omaha, show us around and have dinner in town. We’re looking forward to it.

Trying to catch up with another friend who lives nearby to see if we can see her while we’re here.

Tomorrow is Linda’s and my daughter, Becky’s birthday ! My two favorite ladies share a special date together. Can’t believe Becky’s going to be 27 ! Wow, where has the time gone. She is an amazing woman…I’m really proud of her. Tomorrow night Linda and I are going to go to Red Lobster to celebrate her birthday. It’s “endless shrimp” days at Red Lobster and the commercials on TV have been tormenting us long enough….time to have some yummy seafood.

Weather has been awesome…in the mid 70’s and in the 50’s overnight.

This is a first….

Linda and I arrived in Greenwood, NE around 3 p.m.and got settled in at the campground just off of Interstate 80. We’ll be working on the guide for this park and will stay here until next Monday. We got a late lunch and then took the bike to check out the businesses in the area. It’s a small area, with a network of back roads that parallel route 80. I was hungry for ice cream and we found a little ice cream shop in downtown Greenwood so we got a banana split. It was so good. Drove around a bit more and then came back to the campground to discover that the dirt track speedway NEXT DOOR is in full swing tonight. Oh lordy ! It sounds like there is a giant swarm of bees outside the rig. I hope that it’s not a late night event….man, is it loud ! I wonder if that is an attraction for staying here (kind of a two fer deal…go camping AND go to the races) or if it’s a deterrent to anyone pulling off the highway to stay the night.) Was really hoping to watch NASCAR tonight (maybe one racing noise would cancel out the other) but we don’t get any of the channels that the race is on. Phewy !!

Rest Stop Romance

An interesting event unfolded when Linda and I stopped for the night at the Colorado Welcome Center. We were parked behind the “Welcome to Colorful Colorado” sign in the large parking lot. A pick-up truck, driven by a man who appeared to be around 50 years old and an SUV, driven by a 30ish woman, pulled in next to our rig but the guy in the truck left his engine running. Linda and I were sitting on the bed, playing cards and we could see both of the occupants. As soon as the man and woman started talking it seemed apparent that this was a clandestine meeting of some sort. We couldn’t hear what they were saying but we sort of developed the plot in our own minds of what was happening between them. The names have been changed to protect the guilty…..

Amy: We can’t continue this way. I wanted to meet you here to tell you that we have to end our affair.

Larry: But why ? You know I love you….

Amy: You keep saying that you’re going to tell your wife and leave her so we can be together but it’s been over a year and nothing has changed.

Larry: I told you that it’s not that easy…I will tell her about us and we will be together. You just need to be patient.

Amy: I can’t wait anymore. You go home to her every night and she has you. I want what she has…I want you.

Larry: We need to be patient…remember I told you that she stands to inherit alot of money from her rich uncle…it won’t be long now before the estate is settled. I’m staying with her for her money but you know, it will help us to get a good start on our life together. Then I can get rid of this old pick-up truck and get something nicer.

Amy: I love you but can’t wait anymore…I don’t know…I’m so confused..

Larry: Don’t go…..we can work it out….

Well, after a whole lot of pleading, kissing, etc. Amy drove off into the sunset and left Larry sitting in the parking lot. Who knows how this soap opera turned out. We hope that no one is getting hurt with whatever is going on between the two of them. It was fun to be a voyeur on the whole thing.