Back Home…. (05-20-15)

Paul and I actually thought that having the boat behind the camper would slow us down on the way home, but that wasn’t the case at all.



It traveled very nicely back there. In fact, it traveled so nicely, we couldn’t always tell if it was still there! There were many times that we couldn’t see it at all, so Paul bought a PVC pipe 102” long and painted the ends fluorescent  pink. It stuck out just enough on each side so we could usually see it.  In this shot, you can see the boat tires, but mostly that wasn’t the case.

Several times we were up and on the road really early and were able to call it quits early enough in the day that we could go for a walk.  This was Pershing State Park in Missouri.

Dozer liked it when we stopped early enough for him to do some exploring outside.

So, how did the passenger on this 4500 mile long trip keep from getting bored?  Well, I had several projects that I worked on.  One was my family genealogy.  I had made contact with an elderly priest last year- he and I are third cousins once removed on BOTH my mom and dad’s side of the family.  He gave me a book he had written, which is a 178 page listing of my ancestors. I told him I would input the contents of the book onto Ancestry.com.  I am on page 118.

The other project was to search the web for Jeeps for sale along our route home.  I checked all the major cities as we approached them to see if we could find any that we would be interested in, now that we have narrowed down what we want. Our theory was that if we found “the one”, I would drive it back to Havasu.  We have been looking for quite a while, with no luck. Well, wouldn’t you know, I did find one that just came on the market- It’s in Lake Havasu City.  We called the dealership and made arrangements to see it when we get back to town.







We took a slight detour on the way back in order to stop in and say hi to Paul’s mom. We only stayed one day, and of course I took no pictures.  I did take some of the repairs we had to do to the shrink wrap on the boat, which started falling apart by the time we reached El Paso.










We left late the following afternoon, and drove until just past sunset, enjoying the way the sun lit up the desert.














A few days before we got home we got to thinking that neither of us had thought to shut off Dozer’s automatic feeder.  Well, we were right.  This is the mess that greeted us in the trailer.  Its not too bad, except the spout actually broke off from the force of the food.  It has already been fixed.  And no, we didn’t let Dozer in, until it had been cleaned up.











Hmmm….this is getting too long, so I’ll continue in the next post……..

Michigan Road Trip-Days 3,4, and 5(05-03-15)

Day 3

Elk City, Oklahoma to St. Clair, Missouri

( 550 miles)

Yup, we drove, and drove and drove.  All day. The most exciting thing that happened all day was that Dozer calmed down and started sleeping all day…




We did have a little frustration at the end of the day.  When we were all tuckered out and ready to call it quits, we headed to an Elks Lodge that has one RV spot.  We  didn't call ahead since we figured if the one spot was taken, we'd just dry camp for the night.  Well, the one spot was taken and the parking lot was sooooo sloped, we couldn't find a spot that we could set up the camper!  Wow, now that is sloped!  We had to drive another 15 miles or so to get to the local state park.

Day 4

St. Clair, Missouri to Fremont, IN

( 454 miles)

Today’s exciting observation was signs of spring- the bright, vibrant green of new leaves on the trees…




Later in the day we started to feel like we were on home territory, as we passed Ball State University in Muncie Indiana.  Our daughter went to college there and we spent many a day driving to and from this school, back in the day.





  We almost made it all the way to our destination on day 4, but when we called the RV park we want to stay in, they were closed for the day and we couldn't confirm availability, and since we would have been really pushing it, and arriving at 8 pm, we decided to call it a day.

Day 5

  Fremont, IN to Ypsilanti, MI

( 121 miles)

This is more like the travel day that we are used to….as fulltimers, we usually adhere to the 2-2-2 rule; travel no more than 200 miles, arrive by 2 pm, and stay 2 nights.  In other words, slow down the pace. When we are on a “mission” that doesn't happen, and we can, if necessary, travel as fast as possible.  But we don’t like it.

Once we arrived at the RV park, we checked in, and got permission to take the camper off the truck. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but some parks require you to keep a truck camper on the truck and many parks don’t allow truck campers at all.

Notice that although yesterday we had trees full of new leaves, in Michigan, spring hasn’t really sprung yet, and the trees barely have buds on them.

Our first priority is the boat.  Come hell or high water, it’s coming back to Arizona with us, and since it’s been sitting for so many years, we need to check the trailer, tires and brakes.

We remember that we packed it full of stuff-we vaguely remember that the yard rakes are in there, but we have no idea what else is under the shrink-wrap, and it isn't worth removing it just to take a peek.

After giving it a couple of test laps around the parking lot, Paul deemed it road worthy and we took it back to the campground with us so he can finish working on it there. 

That’s one less thing we are paying to store!

That was enough excitement for one day so we put off going to the storage unit for another time.

RFD (10-07-12)

One of the things I enjoy about this lifestyle is the cute little interesting tidbits I learn along the way, although to be fair, its not really because of this lifestyle, but more a factor of us being retired, with so much time on our hands to go out and discover these things.  The other day I learned more about RFD, as in "Mayberry RFD".  up until the very late 1800s, farmers and other rural inhabitants had to drive to the nearest town to get their mail. Many times that was an all day event, so it had to wait until they needed other things from town, which meant they sometimes went a month or more between post office visits.  In the late 1800s the idea of Rural Free Delivery  came into being and after much study, the government decided it made sense to institute a wide scale system of delivering mail to outlying residents.  By 1902 the conversion from town based post offices to home delivery was well underway.  Its hard to believe, but we've gone from 76,000 post offices in 1901 to 35,000 post offices in 2012.   To people who live in an urban or suburban area, including myself, up until a few years ago, it's really difficult to imagine just how isolated and rural some parts of this country STILL are!  Paul and I enjoy, and are in awe of, some of the really small farming communities that we pass through in our travels.   I just had a conversation with my son yesterday about how diverse this country is.  He lives just outside of Boston,  about 300 yards from public transportation, and can be anywhere in the city that he wants, in less than an hour, without getting behind the wheel of a car.  His day to day experience living in this country is completely different from someone who lives in a small ranching or farm community.  Neither way of life is better than the other, of course, but they sure are worlds apart!

the house Samuel Clemens was born in

We spent one day exploring Hannibal and Florida Missouri, home to Mark Twain /Samuel Clemens.  One of the museums contains the house he was born in.  8 people lived in this two room  house while his father had a larger house built. Growing up, Samuel Clemens was fascinated with riverboat pilots, and vowed that he would become one when he got older. And he kept that promise to himself.  



the mighty Mississippi



For many years he worked as a riverboat pilot, but then, he also worked as a journalist, a typesetter, and a gold miner.  I was surprised to find out how well traveled he was.  He lived in quite a few states in the U.S., in addition to living in Europe for many years. Once he decided to leave the river, he spent much of his life as a traveling speaker as well as a writer.

My favorite quote of his from the museum:

My books are water: those of great geniuses are wine.  Everybody drinks water.

We continued along our way and soon made it to Boonville MO. We spent the night at Boonville RV Service, so we were there first thing in the morning, ready to meet with Dale to see about our pin box. He had, in the shop, a Roto-Flex pin box that he gave us to try.  This pin box should address some of the chucking, or “front to back” jerking motion when we tow the trailer.  We can’t have a pin box with airbags because the hitch in our truck is an air ride hitch and the two would work against each other. It’s been a few days now, and Paul says he can tell the difference. The other option out there, for those wondering, is the Mor-Ryde hitch.



Paul and Dan



Since we finished up with Dale sooner than we expected, we scooted over to Kansas City.  We’ve been trying to stop in and visit Dan Hammond, a friend of Paul’s from his days with Ford Motor Co. since we went on the road 3 years ago, and we finally made it! Because our visit was last minute, we just met Dan at a local BBQ restaurant for dinner. Dan is one of those genuinely nice people. We always enjoy his company.

We continued on our way south for a day, then we stopped to “reconnoiter”.  We knew we have a few days before we need to be in Livingston, but we weren’t sure which route we wanted to take, and what we wanted to see along the way.  So, one morning we both had maps open and were discussing our options, with nothing popping out at us as very appealing.  It was at that very moment that I got a text that said “ Any plans to do Dallas on your way south? We are headed to the state fair in a few days”. It was from Julie and Mike, good friends of ours, and that was all it took to put a plan in place.  After finding out where they are staying, we responded back “ we’ll be there tomorrow”.  So that’s where we are.  More on that another time.

By the way, we did get the fenders repainted on the truck.  They had it for 4 days and ended up having to give us a loaner because we had borrowed Jess's car and she needed it back. It was all worth it though.  The fenders, of course, look new, as does the whole truck since they detailed it inside and out!

Eureka! (Springs, AR) 10-14-11

     I was going to say that it will probably take a while for us to get back into the swing of being on the road, but the truth is, we slipped back into our lifestyle very quickly and effortlessly.  Already our plans are changing daily- just the way we like it.  If we really wanted to stick to the plans we made, of course, we would, but we usually enjoy the fact that we can change them at will.   Our original idea was to go to Branson, MO and meet up with some friends, but they didn’t go to Branson.  They went to Eureka Springs, AR instead.  And so, here we are in  Eureka Springs, relaxing and having a great time with our Escapee friends.
   The other night we all made a dish and congregated at our trailer to enjoy an awesome Mexican dinner, complete with Margaritas ( of course) and something different that we all tried.  Paul and I love to cook with Hatch Chilis, and we found, along our travels, a wine made with them, so we bought it.  We finally opened it the other day and all 6 of us tried it and decided that it wasn’t terrible!     

    Eureka Springs looks like a very interesting little town, but Paul and I have only done a drive by type of exploring.  Maybe some other time we’ll spend a day walking around investigating what the town has to offer.  The terrain here is very hilly and the roads are very “twisty” which makes for an interesting, if not challenging, drive (especially at night).  I love this little suspension bridge, but I am glad Paul does the driving. There wasn’t much room for the dually on this one!

   Yesterday we ventured up to Branson for the day, which was about a 60 mile ride, but with these lovely roads, it was almost an hour and a half drive. We had tickets to see “The Six”. the #1 show in Branson for 2011.  The Six are six brothers who perform together, using only their voices for not only the singing, but all  the instrumental sounds. The show was pretty good, since I think we are all easily entertained!


      Once the show was over we had to check out the Tool store whose reviews said it was “SO MUCH BETTER than Harbor Freight Tools”.  I am not sure any of us would agree with that, but each of the guys did leave the store with a bag of stuff, so I think they enjoyed the hour they spent in it!
    We topped of the day with a trip to Branson Landing and dinner at the White River Fish House.
Today the weather has changed drastically, from 80 degrees two days ago, to 37 degrees last night.  It’s still in the 40s out there today, and the wind is whipping!

Missouri to Tennessee

July 4th the weather started out lousy in the morning, so we just hung around until late afternoon. Once the rain stopped and it seemed like there would actually be fireworks, we threw the grill and some food in the back of the truck and headed out to find a spot to watch them. The ones we wanted to see were being set off on Table Rock lake, so we found a grassy area near the lake and cooked some burgers once we got settled. The fireworks were not of the caliber that we are used to but we had a great time hanging out. The weather was perfect- no jacket needed. Getting back to the trailer was a long process, since we had to get in line with thousands of other cars.  

              Our last day in Branson was spent on the other large lake in the area-Taneycomo. Two lakes- separated only by a dam, and yet they are so different. Table Rock Lake had warm, beautiful blue water, and was wide, and roundish, like you would think a lake would look. Lake Taneycomo is on the other side of the dam. This lake is long, narrow and shallow, and seems more like a river, with trees growing all along the banks- and the water temperature is about 20-30 degrees colder. It is fed water from 140 ft below the surface of Table Rock Lake, which makes the water about 55 degrees and perfect for trout. The lake is stocked with up to 80,000 trout per month from a nearby hatchery (which we toured). We took the inflatable a few miles down the river, and watched fish swim and jump all around us. There were so many fish, we could see trout swimming around the people who were trying to catch them! We went as far as Branson Landing, the river walk where we had gone shopping the other day. On the way there we went slowly, because the lake is pretty shallow in most spots- only 3-5 feet deep. On the way back though, we zipped along wherever we knew it was deep enough.

          Back at the trailer we headed to the pool to cool off before cooking dinner, then once the boat was dry we put it away. We were invited to our “neighbors” for dessert. We had become friendly with some of the people in the trailers near ours, and they had made homemade ice cream and cobbler, so we weren’t about to turn that down. We sat around until we couldn’t stay awake anymore, then said goodnight.
          This morning we drove very carefully to Springfield, where we had all new tires put on the Everest. The old tires will be sent to Goodyear for evaluation, and we’ll see what they will do for us. Once that was done we drove all day long and ended up in Dover, Tennessee, in a National Recreation area that is called “Land Between the Lakes” because its basically an island, with Kentucky Lake on one side, and Barklay Lake on the other. The site we have is on the water, and the sunset was awesome tonight.
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July 4th weekend

For years, the week of July 4th has been a particularly fun time for me.  For the many years that my dad and I had a boat, we would take that boat onto the Charles River for 5 days with a bunch of other boating friends.  We'd all tie up together, and then the party would begin!  Of all the years I've made that trip, 1998 was the most special. For the first time after the death of my dad, I had to drive the boat by myself the 3 hours from Danvers to Boston. On July 2, 1998, with my boat tied up to 8 others, I was having a grand old time partying. A solo boater pulled up and asked if he could tie his 30 ft boat up to mine for a couple of days, since it looked like we had a safe spot with a great view. My friends and I agreed we had room for him, so a few minutes later his boat was secured and he spent the next 2 days partying with us.  That solo boater was my husband Paul. Two years later we were married, and I've never been happier.
      Life brings changes, and we no longer have a boat, and although every July 4th  I miss my boating friends,  the memories of our Boston trips will always make me smile.

        As for the last few days, we did take our dinghy out on Table Rock Lake  for the day on Thursday.  We packed a picnic lunch to eat out on the lake, and the water was the perfect temperature for swimming.  Thursday night our show was "The Haygoods"- a family of 8 siblings who not only sing great harmonies, they play most of the instruments themselves as well.  All of them play the fiddle, which made their rendition of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" awesome.  I really enjoyed the show.  Afterwards they asked the audience to stick around because they had a film crew from L.A. there to tape a live version of their new original song, and they needed an audience for the filming.  It was fun being there while they did 4 takes. Who knows- maybe someday we'll see ourselves on TV.

    Yesterday it was time to zip on the ZipLine for the first time!  I was a little nervous  as I let go of the tower for the first time, but after that initial moment,  I really enjoyed the trips along the cables. Would I do it again?  Probably not unless there was something new and unique to it.  It was a lot of money just to zip on 4 ziplines for the heck of it.  It was fun though, and I wanted to try it, to see how it was.
     Last night we went out to dinner at a small Mexican restaurant- the Margaritas were great, and the entire dinner was under $50.  Not bad.
Paul started the day feeling a little lazy, and then feeling guilty for feeling lazy. We didn't feel like venturing out too far, and it is supposed to rain today, so he is doing projects around the trailer, and I am doing laundry and catching up on paperwork.  Tonight is our last show- a comedian named Paul Harris.

Branson, MO

Branson, Missouri. This town is so much more than I thought it would be. I had vaguely heard of it before, and I heard that there are a lot of good shows here, but there's so much more than that. Anyone who vacations here for a week and gets bored is truly a bump on a log. There is a major "strip" they call the parking lot because there are usually so many cars driving on it, but the side streets also have restaurants, attractions, hotels, theaters, golf courses,etc.

There are amusement park type rides scattered around the town, as well as a full fledged amusement park and water park nearby.  They have the best Go-Kart track I have ever seen. There are numerous, fun museums- the Titanic, Ripley's Believe it or Not,  and Veterans Museum are just a few. Just off the strip there is a historic downtown shopping area, and right alongside it,the "Riverwalk", called Branson Landing, which is, of course, on a beautiful river.  There are more restaurants, shops, and condos there, and even an hourly fountain and fire show, set to music.

The town is set in the Ozark Mountains, so there is plenty of hiking around.  There are several Ziplines (I am determined to do one for the first time on Friday). There are two beautiful  lakes for boating, parasailing, swimming, etc.  We are taking the inflatable to the lake tomorrow for the day. 

     And then,of course, there are the shows.  Someone said there are over 100 live performances in Branson every day. The shows here feel like the cinema feels in other towns. The shows all reasonably priced- tickets are about $30 per person for most.  When we walked into the theater for our show tonight, there was a concession stand selling popcorn and candy, etc. Just like going to the movies.  Like most tourist towns, there are discount coupons to be found for everything.  After hunting around for the best show discounts, Paul and I took it to another level.  We went to a 2 hour presentation by Windham Hotels, for their timeshare program, and in return, we only paid $10 per ticket for the 3 shows that we want to see while we're here. That means instead of paying more than $180 for the tickets, we paid $60.  Well worth the 2 hours for us- and we didn't buy into the timeshare either! 

    We went to the first of the 3 shows tonight-our "cheap" tickets were center stage, about 7 rows back.  Pierce Arrow is a quartet who sing some country and some gospel, but we also heard they have the best comedian in town, and after seeing him, I believe it.  The show also features Tim Storms, who holds the Guinness world record for the lowest note produced by a human being. The show was fun, and makes me curious to see how the other two will compare, quality wise.

The RV Park we are in is almost on the strip.  Paul is pretty tired of having to drive the dually in cities all the time, so we wanted to be able to walk to a few things.  We found the number one rated Ice Cream place the first night we were here by going for a walk.  It was so good, it's dangerous- especially since we have the usual "buy one get one free" coupon. Later I spent quite a bit of time unsuccessfully trying to get some good pictures of all the fireflies that are around.
    As far as the tire situation goes, well, Paul is not a very happy person.  He has decided we need to replace all 4 tires on the Everest, even the brand new on we had put on in California.  The tires we have now barely have the capacity to hold the weight of the trailer. Add to that the fact that we have already blown one, and it definately looks like a second one is ready to blow, and he has decided we need a better quality and heavier duty tire for the trailer.  We have an appointment on Tuesday to get the new ones put on.