and so we enter into our last week in Muncie IN (8-27-11)

         Somehow the time in Muncie has flown by a lot faster than I thought it would. With shopping, wedding planning and exercising, the days filled up.
   The weather has been absolutely terrific, if a bit warm.  Jess and I have played tennis several times, getting better each time we try- although, in our version of tennis we try to hit the ball to each other.  We've been biking many times, so many, that we are getting a little bored with the bike trail here.  The last time we went, Jess was at work, so it was just Paul and I.  To counteract the monotony, we tried riding significantly faster than we had done before, so we averaged 13.5 mph, and therefore we at least got a better workout for our time.
    We’ve done as much for the wedding as we can at this point. The rest will have to wait until we get to Michigan next week.  Once we get there, we will have a whirlwind 3 weeks before the wedding.
    The biggest excitement we had this week was the arrival of David.  He drove across country with two of his buddies, and they dropped him off here so he could spend a day or so with Jess.  After two days, he left to go to Wisconsin to see his parents for a few days before heading to Michigan.

    Yesterday we started paying closer attention to Irene as she barreled towards New England. As it turned out, although it was a deadly storm, it could have been much worse. I guess that’s easy for me to  say, since it was sunny here all day today and temperatures were in the high 70s.  Oh, and I didn’t lose my electricity. 


Well, Jess has 3 more days of work before we leave Muncie for good on Thursday morning.  She doesn’t have too much time to relax in Michigan though, since she got a transfer and will start working at a Toys R Us in Michigan a few days after we get there!

This week’s activities (Muncie, IN 08-12-11)

      I have Hitch Itch.  Yeah, I know it sounds like an awful condition or something, and really, actually, it is.  My full-timing friends will know exactly what I mean when I say it.  I am ready to move. I want to ride off into the sunset, find someplace new to explore.  I want to find out what’s “over that hill”.  I guess Hitch Itch is one of the reasons we enjoy full timing so much.  After staying in one spot for a while, we love going someplace new. I am already trying to sneak in a 3 day stay in Muskegon on our way from here to Novi. I’m not sure we can do it, but I think I’d like to try.  There is a pair of Bald Eagles that make their home in Muskegon, and I’d love to try and find them.
           Anyway, that makes it sound like I’m not having any fun, and really, I am.  Now that the frantic craziness of moving into the new trailer, moving Jess into the new trailer, and getting  us all situated has abated, we are settling in to a routine that’s quite nice.  Jess and I are determined to fit exercise into our daily regime, and so far it’s working very well-so well that we had to take today off completely.  We have overexerted ourselves.  We’ve done workouts with weights, played tennis (hmmm, not great for my foot), and been biking several times. She is doing great on the bike.  She hasn’t ridden in years, but has already worked up to a 15 mile ride.
    In between all the workouts, we are working on wedding details.  We spent a couple of days building the invitations, staying up one night until 2 am to get them finished, and they have now gone out in the mail.  We’re going over all the details of what needs to be done, and when, so we can start knocking things off the “to do” list and into the  “DONE” pile.  Neither of us has much experience planning weddings, so I hope we don’t forget too many details. 
     Paul has been helping us with the the wedding, when we need him, and when we don’t, he is busy making his modifications to the trailer. He has added shelves, bought things like a quick disconnect outdoor shower faucet,  and piping to rearrange the water system, and has started researching things like water filtration systems, weather monitors, Wi-fi antennas, and bike racks. 
        All in all we are having a great time and enjoying the opportunity to be able to spend a significant amount of time with our daughter before she gets married in September.

What's up?

    I've had several friends send me an email asking me what's up because I haven't posted in a week.  I have also missed some major happenings in friends lives in the last week or so.  So congratulations on the new rig, Jim and Sandie, and on the new grandbaby, Julie and Mike!

   One of the problems we've had is internet, or lack thereof.   Staying camped in the manufacturers and repair shop's parking lot has meant no real access to internet.  We're having a problem tethering to my phone, which is our back-up internet, so the only internet we've had is by tethering to Paul's phone which is so slow, it's hardly worth it, so we only do it for short periods for important stuff.   Once our daughter moves in on Sunday, we'll use her Iphone to create a hot spot and hopefully that will solve our issues for now.  I feel amazingly cut off from the world when I can't log on whenever my heart desires.  Meanwhile when we get good download speeds we'll reload the software for my phone and see if we can get that back up and running, but we've been so busy, its a low priority.

   Having our home parked in the repair facilities/manufacturers parking lot really takes a toll on daily life.  At one place, they took the 5th wheel inside and we weren't allowed in the building.  That didn't make Paul very happy.  The cat has had to spend all day, every day, in his carrier, on the bed.  I'd say he hasn't been happy, but really I think he just slept through the day anyway.  Once we got back to DRV, the manufacturer, they pulled the rig in the building but they allowed us to stay in it.  Much better, but we can't do much because they need full access to inside and out.  I read books all day, and Paul followed the workers around, either learning from them, or showing them stuff.  At least he was happier there- felt like he was part of the process, and that the trailer was getting fixed properly.

     This trailer had/has quite a few issues with it.  Most of the important ones have been fixed at this point, and we have an appointment in October to fix the rest.  Paul ended up fixing some things himself, partly for something to do, partly because he wanted it done his way.  It was funny to see that by the time we left DRV,  "they" trusted Paul's knowledge enough that they asked for his opinion and input. 
     After our initial few days at DRV, we moved to the other repair place,which was almost a waste of time.  Several small issues got taken care of, but the two major things they tried to fix, were in worse shape when they were done, causing another two days of work to be needed.  The original caulking on the roof was a "bad batch" and didn't cure, remaining completely wet to the touch.  DRV knew there had been a problem and the caulking was supposed to be completely replaced.  But the repair guys didn't take out all of the old caulking.  In a lot of spots they put the good stuff over the old stuff and in the process tracked the wet stuff all over the roof, creating an absolute mess.  They were also supposed to fix the mechanism that brings the slide room in and out, but they adjusted it in the wrong direction, causing an issue that actually would void our warranty on the slide.  So, DRV had to have the manufacturer of that part come out to look at it and fix it.
     After a few days at the repair place (notice I am not mentioning any names), we decided we were done with them, and went back to DRV first thing Monday morning.  They then spent the next few days fixing and re-fixing the trailer.  The refrigerator has been fixed twice already- we think it's all set now.  The caulking issue has been fixed twice, the slides have been fixed twice and still aren't right.  Our Keyless door entry has had all the parts replaced twice, and finally works (turns out the instructions were wrong?). One of our cabinets couldn't be opened because it hits the light fixture.  They are custom cabinets, so DRV didn't realize that would happen. Paul created a new light fixture, using  parts from 3 different ones.   The rest of the issues were more minor, and for the most part, we are satisfied, or Paul has decided he'll do it himself.


traffic jam!

     So, it hasn't been a ball of fun for the last two weeks, but really, in the scheme of life, it's not that big a deal. We did manage to do some sightseeing.  Not too much since the temperature hovered at 100 during the day.  We went shopping in Shipshewana.  I've never been there so it was new for me.  There are a lot of Amish who live in this area.  I found it interesting the differences between here and Lancaster, PA, another area with a large Amish population.  In the Lancaster area, it seems that the Amish are the tourist attraction, and much is made of things being "Amish made", "Amish grown".  Here, it feels less like a tourist attraction and more like just an area where the Amish and the English both happen to live, somewhat intermingling in their everyday lives.
  We have now left DRV and arrived in Muncie Indiana!  We had dinner with our daughter last night for the first time in 2 months.  Over the next few days we'll move her out of her apartment and into the trailer for the next couple of months.

Happy Mother's Day!

     So far, it's been a pretty good one for me!  Paul cooked breakfast (as usual) and then we went for a 4 mile walk.  Afterwards, I spoke to my son on the phone for almost an hour.  Can't wait to get to Boston to see him! My daughter and her fiance came over for a late lunch.  David is leaving Muncie today.  He has finished school and after stopping at his parents in Wisconsin for a bit, will be headed to California for an internship in the film industry.

David and Jess

   Paul made it back from Texas with no car issues, after spending a week with his mom. The day he arrived home happened to be Cinco De Mayo, so of course we picked up the kids (in their Lincoln) and headed to the nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner.  The Lincoln he brought back with him is an early (very generous!) wedding present for the kids, from Paul's mother-her 2000 Lincoln LS.  The kids were tremendously excited about their wedding gift, and I admit, its nice peace of mind for me to know Jess has something reliable to drive!  So, thank you Gerry!  

     I'm not sure where the time went when Paul was gone, but it sure did fly by.   I did go for a bike ride the day I planned to, but it was a long short bike ride.  It wasn't that many miles but the first half  I had a tail wind and on the way back I had a head wind that was so strong and tough to battle that when I put my leg down to stop for a minute, it didn't hold my weight, I was that tired!  Ugh.    Since that day I've gone walking several times and I am hoping to go for another bike ride tomorrow, IF the weather cooperates, which it really hasn't been doing lately.  I must say, after being back in the Midwest for a while, the deserts of the west are growing on me. The constant sunshine, lack of humidity and milder temperatures are fond memories. A lot of my full timing friends are still in the western states, and I admit I am somewhat jealous and can't wait to get back there.  All in good time though.  I wouldn't give up spending time with the kids for anything.
    One of the ways I have kept busy for the last week was by finalizing the specifications for our new Mobile Suite 5th wheel.  Call us spoiled, but we have decided to go forward with the purchase of our "new" new trailer, for a lot of reasons, actually (that I am not going to get into here).  We ordered it last Tuesday and it should be built by mid-June or so.  We'll know the timing better next week.  We went back to the factory to look at interior colors and make those choices, and also to discuss some of the customizations we have ordered.  I can't even post pictures of existing units and say that's what we are getting because some of the changes we're making are changing the look of the interior.  We sort of took one floor plan and substituted in parts that we liked from other floor plans, and then put in some of our own ideas as well.
   Now that we've ordered the 5th wheel, we need to buy a new truck to pull it. Ours won't tow that much weight, so we are looking to get a 2011 F450.  We've gone round and round on this one- debating 350 vs. 450 and 2011 vs. 2012.  It's too late to order one and have it be a 2011, and Paul, after talking to his buddies at Ford, has decided he doesn't want a 2012. They are downsizing the brakes, apparently.  Plus, because of the Tsunami in Japan, you can't order one with a navigation system until further notice.
So, we have been searching dealer lots trying to find one that will fit our needs.  We finally found one in Pennsylvania, and we're hoping its still there when we head that way next week.

Just checking in...

        It sure is quiet around here.  I find myself talking to the cat (its better than talking to myself, I guess!).  Paul flew to Texas a few days ago, and it wasn't the most pleasant day for him.  In fact he was pretty exhausted by the time he got to  El Paso.  His original flight was supposed to leave Indianapolis at 2:40 pm, but we got a phone call from American Airlines, saying it was canceled due to bad storms along the flight path.
         On our way to Indy, we stopped to test drive an F450, which is one of the trucks we are considering buying to pull our "new" home (no decision yet). Our daughter Jess came with us to Indy because she and I were going to do some wedding errands after we dropped Paul off at the airport.  Well, lucky Paul got to do all the wedding shopping with us since he didn't have to be at the airport until 4:15. We registered for tuxes for the groomsmen, checked out the new bridesmaid colors  and  started buying the supplies to make the centerpieces for the tables.
After multiple delays, Paul finally got to El Paso at 11:30 pm, which is 1:30 am EDT.  A long day for him.
   I am tired too, but its because it's hard to sleep at night when there are tornado watches and warnings. Its so spooky to see all the killer tornados there have been.  I feel so badly for the people who have been affected.  Tornados are particularly scary when you live in a trailer.  It's one of the few times that I don't like that my home has wheels, and therefore, nothing anchoring it to the ground.  Last night I had the weather radio on all night, and kept the TV on the weather station, with the sound off.  I had a bag packed and the cat's carrier by the door.  We were under a Warning briefly, but I could see by the radar that the storm had actually passed our town by the time the warning came out.  I did wake up to an incredible wind at about 3 am, but thankfully it didn't last long. 
    After spending yesterday getting caught up on paperwork...well, not totally caught up, but at least I made some great inroads....today was spent doing errands all day.  I didn't buy much, but I was getting ideas for decorations and such for the reception.  Plus, I always seem to need food! I am not sure how I managed to fit more into this tiny little refrigerator, but I did.  I stopped by to see my daughter at work for a few minutes because that's a perk of being here!!  I love that I can see her on a regular basis, if only for a few minutes. 
      I am really hoping that the weather forecast for tomorrow is accurate, because I am looking forward to going for a long bike ride. It's supposed to be really nice out, although pretty windy.  At this point, I'll suffer through the wind.  I need to get outside for a bit!

And now, the rest of the story...

So, here's whats been happening behind the scenes for the last few weeks:
      Paul and I decided about a month or so ago that we are enjoying this lifestyle enough to invest in a new trailer. When we bought our Everest, it was our first 5th wheel. I think we did a pretty good job picking it out, given our options in the state of Michigan, but there are definately things we would have done differently had we known more.  So for the last few weeks, we have been touring the factories of the brands of 5th wheels that we are interested in this time around.  We went to Kansas to tour the NuWa factory, looking at a HitchHiker Champagne, and from there went to Howe IN to tour the DRV factory, looking at a Mobile Suites.  It was after that visit that we went to Keystone to get our trailer fixed.  We left it with them and went to go take a tour of the Carriage factory to look at Carri-lites (of course we didn't tell Keystone that!). After that tour, Keystone told us they would be replacing our trailer for us, but by then we had already narrowed down our choices and gone about 85% down the pathway towards purchasing a Mobile Suites. We had quotes, trade in values for our Everest, and  a list of modifications we wanted to make on a new unit.
   We spent an afternoon looking at Keystone products to pick a replacement, and briefly debated trying to work out a deal where we hand over the brand new trailer to a dealer as a trade in for a new Mobile Suite, but that was trying to get too much done in a very short time frame, so we abandoned that idea pretty quickly.
    Thursday and Friday were spent moving in to our new Keystone Alpine and on Friday morning, after switching our G series tires over to the Alpine,  Keystone hauled the Everest away.  We have no idea what they'll do with it, nor does the customer service rep we've been dealing with.   We checked out all the systems on the Alpine and had a few things looked at before everyone left for the holiday weekend.
   We thought we were all set to get on the road to Muncie, but we were wrong. If it's not one thing, its another, as they say.  5 miles after leaving Goshen with the trailer, the "water in fuel" light came on in the truck.  Luckily Paul knows a lot about trucks. We drove back to the Keystone "campground",  and he drained the water out of the fuel tank through a valve underneath the truck.  We drove around the block a few times, the light came back on,  and he drained it again.  We went back to the station where we bought the diesel, and they of course insisted that no one has had any issues with their fuel.  In all, he drained the water about 7 times and we came close to having to have the tank totally drained and the fuel replaced, but we kept going further and further without the light coming on, and eventually he got all the water out.  It was a frustrating day but at least there was no lasting damage to the truck.
     Once we finally got to Muncie on Saturday, we took a deep breath and got settled in.  The Alpine is a nice trailer, definately bigger and nicer than our Everest!  Is it what we want though? Not really.  I could list all the things we don't like about it, like that the refrigerator is about half the size of the one we had before,  and it lacks the cabinet space we need to be comfortable. There are many reasons, actually, that we have decided to move forward with the purchase of a Mobile Suite.  We are able to customize a Mobile Suite to a great extent and make it a more personal home.  I also loved the HitchHiker, but there are other reasons why we don't think it's the best choice for us.
    Today we spent some time figuring out what options we want, and finalizing what customizations we'll ask for.  We did take a 2nd tour of the factory last week to speak to a rep about some of the things we want to do.  We're hoping to put it out to bid next week and have another new trailer in a couple of months.
   Because of the heaviness of the Mobile Suite, we're going to have to purchase a new truck.  That's not a hardship for Paul- he test drove the 2011 F350 and has had stars in his eyes ever since.  We may end up with an F450 this time though, since it has a better turning radius.  We are going for a test drive on Tuesday morning, before Paul flies out to spend a week or so with his mom.  He can order the truck from anywhere, so he'll probably place the order while in Texas.  For the trailer, we'll get our final quotes, then make a decision when he gets back from Texas.
     As if we don't have enough going on, we have also decided to start the process of changing our domicile to Texas.  We got our new address last Monday and we'll start switching vehicle registrations as we go along.  Paul will hopefully get his Texas driver's license while he is visiting his mom.
  While Paul is gone, Jess and I will try to get a few more things done for the wedding. Since we got here, we've already had Jess and David over for dinner, and tonight Jess came over by herself.  I could get used to that!
Meantime, here are some pictures of our new home (there are more on the right hand side of the page under "our home")!  It's really quite nice!

    
      ;

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Muncie, IN

As I type this I realize that once again I blew it.  We have been in Muncie for 2 days, had dinner with Jess and David, her fiance, twice, and I don't have any pictures to show for it! When I am with people I forget to get the camera out. I did take more pictures of Jess when she was trying on her wedding dress though.  It's been a busy 2 days. We spent some time at Jess's apartment with her and her roommates and played some games after dinner.  Yesterday we cooked for David and Jess at the trailer.
   Today it's pouring rain but its about 15 degrees above normal, so at least it isn't snow.   We are going to do some shopping- Jess has to work until 10:30 pm.  Tomorrow we all leave bright and early for Michigan.  I have a doctor's appointment and Jess is coming so that she can take a look at our favorite potential wedding venues before making a decision.

Back in El Paso

My flight flew through Denver this time around.  I don't think I have ever flown through, or even seen, Denver before.  We had to reroute around some tornadoes apparently, and it was pretty cloudy, but my view out the window was of mountain after mountain.  Somehow I think they would be more impressive from the ground though. We'll see, hopefully.
Yesterday I felt pretty lousy- I think it was the combination of dehydration and the change in altitude.  Doesn't bode well for when I get to the REAL mountains.  I guess we'll just have to stay there long enough for my body to acclimate!
After all the eating I did last week, I decided I better get my body moving again.  Plus, IF we go to Yosemite, Paul really wants to hike Half Dome, so I really need to get into better physical condition if I am going to attempt that (it's 14 miles with a 4800 ft elevation gain).  I started the preparation by walking 2 miles down the hill, then 2 miles back up. I'll do that every day for a few days, then try to add to it.
Well, interesting- while typing away, I decided to google Half Dome.  Due to an unusual amount of snow, it won't be opening for hiking when its supposed to be (May 22). Also, apparently you need a permit to hike it Friday through Sunday- not that we would hike it on a weekend anyway, but good to know. At this point it probably won't be open until at least the beginning of June.  We wouldn't get there until then anyway, but I am not sure I want to be the first up the hill, so to speak.
Meanwhile, Paul is diligently working to fix the driveway, which is a long process, since it's broken into pieces in some spots. Its hot enough here now that he can't really be out there in the heat of the day unless its a cool day or  there's a breeze.

Cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning. Oh, and shopping too.

Friday we started the day late.  We were so tired from Thursday that there was no way we could get up at the crack of dawn and get moving again.  I didn't want to push it anyway, since Jess had to start work at 4pm and be on her feet until 9:30.  Jess's boyfriend came over to see the new apartment and the three of us went to lunch on campus, then Jess and I made the rounds of all the bookstores to try and sell their books back.  We didn't have too much success, so we'll try Amazon as well. 
The original idea was that she would spend Friday night with me at the hotel, but she really wanted to spend the night in her new home, and I don't blame her. She also doesn't have a lock on her bedroom door yet,  and wanted to be there. 

There's been a little drama with the apartment. A girl who is subletting for 3 months moved in 2 days before Jess, and brought her boyfriend with her.  Apparently she announced that he would be living there with her, and all the furniture that would be going into their next apartment was being stored in the living room of Jess's apartment.  That wasn't acceptable to any of the girls already living there, and when we came to move in, all of their furniture was indeed in the living room. It was a misunderstanding all the way around, since the couple had been told by the girl who was anxious to sublet to them, that no one would care if they were both  living there. 
The way this apartment complex works is that a lease is signed for each individual bedroom, and, like a dorm, you can put in "roommate" preferences if you don't have enough friends for the other bedrooms.  You can also specify pets or no pets, and co-ed or no co-ed.  Jess had specified no men, so it has been an interesting 3 days, watching this play out.  This guy had no where else to go, but the apartment complex finally found him an apartment to move to- so he moved out on Sunday.  Whew.

      Saturday didn't happen the way it was supposed to, but all in all it was a good day.  We were supposed to get up and clean, but somehow our shopping list had grown so long, that we decided to shorten it by buying some of the things on it.  We made the rounds again to all the stores, bought enough stuff to fill the car. Our best bargain was a set of dishes- 4 place settings-plates, bowls, silverware, mugs, glasses, etc.,- 36 pieces for $10!!  We couldn't pass it up. Once we got back we started cleaning the kitchen, since there was no way we'd be cooking dinner in it without cleaning it first.  Ick.   We got pretty far but there was so much to do, we didn't finish.  We had made plans to go out to dinner with David and his dad, who was here to drive him back to Wisconsin for a week.  They were done with their moving at around 8 pm, so we met them at Chilis for dinner, then brought them back to see the apartment.  Davids parents had bought Jess a ton of kitchen stuff, so for her it was like Christmas morning.  Her eyes lit up when she saw that they had included a set of dishes- 4 place settings.  AND- it was the EXACT same pattern that we bought at the store!  She was absolutely thrilled. 
Yesterday was Mother's Day- We spent most of the day cleaning the kitchen.  Very exciting, but at least we feel like we accomplished something. We also did more shopping.  Once we got back and added up all the receipts for everything, I decided we are done shopping!
Jess cooked dinner for us last night.  It was a fun time for both of us, with music playing in the background, we had a great time.  Afterwards she put together her brand new vacuum, and for the first time in her life probably, voluntarily uttered the words " I am going to vacuum the living room. "  We had a good laugh over that. 
Today she works until 4 pm and then we leave for Michigan for a few days.

Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana

Oh my goodness, am I tired.  Yesterday I was up at 4 am for an early flight from El Paso to Indianapolis, IN.
It took me a good chunk of the day to get here. Once I did, though, I got to meet up with my daughter.  We grabbed some dinner and then went back to her dorm to finish packing her bins so she could move out of her dorm and into her apartment.  Several hours later, we had to call it a night, and figured we'd have to finish in the morning.
I remember the day she moved into the dorm last year. It was 97 degrees outside, and soooo muggy.  It was also the same day we (including her) met her boyfriend David and his dad, for the very first time.  On one of our hundreds of trips out to our truck to get her "stuff", we were joking with David's dad, saying Jess had at least 13 bins, plus assorted other containers, lamps and furniture. David had 3 bins. We had a good laugh over the differences between them. Little did we know that shortly thereafter, Jess and David would become an "item".  I think he still shakes his head at all her "stuff".
Today was a little different.  The weather was warm, but not in the 90s, luckily for us.  It was just her and I for the day, which is a lot of bin carrying for 2 people.  Not everything went according to plan, but overall, we did great, and got everything done that had to be done.
We started the morning by getting her "checked in" to her new apartment, which basically means we went and got the key, so we could get in once we had her things.  From there we headed to get the small UHaul truck.  My rental car is a Hyundai Accent, a little too small  for bin moving. 
Our first mistake occured at the Uhaul place.  There was no handtruck in the truck and when we asked about it, the woman said she would lend us one if we wanted, but we decided that since they are available for use at the school, and her apartment has parking very close by, we could do without it.  Ha.   I have no idea where all the carts were at  the school, but there was more than a  1 hour wait for the next available cart, AND you had to stand there in line to wait for it.  Huh? It made no sense at all, but  no one seemed anxious to change the rule anytime soon.  We immediately started calling David in the building next door to see if he could grab one, which he did (once we woke him up), luckily for us!
Stepping out of the elevator after one of our trips down, Jess dropped her keys, including the new one to the apartment. As unbelievable as it seems, the keys fell into the gap in the floor, down the elevator shaft.  The elevator company had to be called to  come out and retrieve them.  While we waited for that (3 hours) we ate lunch and finished packing the truck. 
Eventually we made it to the apartment, dropped everything into her room, and returned the truck. On the way back we stopped at about 3 "dollar" type store to pick up some cheap supplies.  By that time we were ready for dinner, so we stopped for that too, and made it back to the apartment at around 7 pm.  After spending 2 hrs unpacking we made another trip, this time to Walmart, for more supplies. 
I finally left to go back to the hotel at around 11 pm.
Tomorrow we have more errands and unpacking, but Jess also has to work at 4 pm, so it will be a short day for us.

Ball State University-Muncie, IN

We spent 3 days on the road, getting to Muncie. We arrived here Thursday, and had dinner with Jess and her friends, including her boyfriend, who we met for the first time. Friday, after her last class, we had lunch and she came back to the RV with us for the day. She can’t spend the night with us, since she is on duty this weekend (she has a Resident Hall Assistant position). We did some errands and had dinner at the campground. Saturday we drove down to Indianapolis and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, with her boyfriend and his parents. They seem like very nice people. Sunday morning was “Watermelon Bust” a fundraising event held by one of the fraternities. There were many teams that competed at games like tug of war and an obstacle course/relay race. Jess and her sorority sisters had 3 teams competing. They didn’t win, but had fun anyway! The weather was REALLY cold when the sun wasn’t out. After all the events, We took Jess, her boyfriend David, and her friend Ashley, back to the RV for a homecooked meal. They all had a 7 pm staff meeting, so we had to bring them back to the dorm early. It was so great seeing Jess and meeting her friends. Its hard to say goodbye- the only thing that makes it easier is that we’ll see her in a month. Today we are on the road, driving 260 miles to Mammoth Caves National Park in KY. We’ll stop at the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln on the way.