Sharp's Travels

Cheri and I went to Hazel Miller’s funeral today (Aunt Dorothy’s mother). I was one of the pallbearers. They had a nice lunch before we went to the cemetery in Highland which was 30 miles away. It was around 3:00 pm when we got home. We took an evening walk as we didn’t get our morning walk in.

It was a beautiful day with a high of 74. I went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s and mowed the lawn. Grandma was giving the van a good cleaning inside. Cheri stayed home and did some laundry and cleaning. This afternoon we went through our clothes and found several that don’t seem to fit any more (maybe they all shrunk). I cleaned the bugs off the front of the 5th wheel and truck. Today we got two weeks of mail; normally I have it sent every week, but forgot to do it last week. I ordered a water pressure regulator for the 5th wheel. With all the different RV parks you never know what the pressure is going to be. We have found it anywhere form 25 pounds to 100 pounds. The 5th wheel should never be over 50 pounds. The old regulator was a none adjustable with low flow. The new one is adjustable with high flow. It sure made a big difference.

This is the first morning for over a week that we were able to take our morning walk. It seems like we have always had something going on each morning. Around 10:00 am we picked up Grandpa and Grandma and took them to Madison with us. We made a stop at the Shoe Box. I wanted to get some boots for riding the motorcycle, it turned out that we all got shoes and Grandma got three pairs. When we got to Madison we stopped at the bank and then we went to Apple Bee’s for a late dinner to celebrate a late birthday for Grandma and a late Fathers Day for Grandpa. We got home around 4:00 pm.

We picked up Grandpa and Grandma this morning and took them to the bank here in Boscobel for the house closing at 10:00 am. Their house is now sold and the new owner takes procession on July 29th. Then we stopped at city hall to have the utilities disconnected on July 30th. We went back to Grandpa and Grandma’s for dinner and to get the paper work done for the license plate on the bike. Cheri and I went to the grocery store on the way home. It was another warm humid day with a high of 83, so we took it easy the rest of the afternoon and evening.

It was a very hot and humid day with a high of 92 degrees. After breakfast Coz, Nikki, Cece, Cheri, and I went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s. Coz and I got the bedroom set loaded on the trailer and then Coz, Nikki, and Cece headed for Stevens Point. Don and Alice arrived at Grandpa and Grandma’s (Alice is Grandpa’s sister). Grandma fixed dinner for us and we all had a nice visit before they left. Cheri and I headed back to the 5th wheel.

I got up early and washed the 5th wheel before we left for Boscobel. We got on the road at 12:30 pm and arrived in Boscobel around 3:15 pm. Nikki and Coz also drove down to see Grandpa and Grandma and also to pick up a bedroom set that they brought from them. We all had supper with Grandpa and Grandma. Coz, Nikki, and Cece spent the night with us. We played two games of cribbage that we guys won!!!

We had a cook out at Coz and Nikki’s today. After lunch Coz and I helped Darren load his motorcycle on the trailer. The bike rides we had the last week were a lot of fun and now its time for Darren and Jodi to head back to Atlanta. Coz rented a couple of movies, so we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching them. I have uploaded some pictures of the bike, so click on photos and then on Harley-Davidson to see them.

Nikki fixed breakfast for us this morning. After breakfast Coz, Darren and I left to go on a poker run with the bikes. I got an education on how Harley Davidson riders do a poker run. It was just over 100 miles long. We left the starting point at 12:30 pm and didn’t get to the ending point until 7:00 pm. too much time spent at each of the five stops for me. Cheri and Nikki went shopping today and than met we at the end of the poker run for supper.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!!! Cheri and I went shopping this morning. I dropped Cheri off at Wal-Mart and I went to Menards to get a spare tire for our cargo trailer. Picked up Cheri and headed back to the 5th wheel. I cleaned the bike and was ready to go for another ride when Darren got here. Darren was up all night doing computer work and so we all just took it easy and did some more shopping this after noon. Darren and I rode the bikes down to pick up Coz after work. We had a short ride back to Fond du Lac. When Nikki got home we all went out to eat. After we got done with supper Cheri and headed for home.

I clean the bike before Darren and I took a ride. We went to Fox Lake, Randolph, Cambria, Friesland, Beaver Dam, Oakfield and then back to Fond du Lac for a 100 mile ride. Cheri took the truck and went to the Mall shopping. This evening Darren, Coz, Nikki, Cheri and me went to Beaver Dam where we met Jodi and her family for supper. We all had a nice visit together.

We got a call this morning and said they were coming to fix the TV today between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. They had to order a new circuit board and so when they got here and opened the package the circuit board was broken. So the repairman took parts off the broken board and put them on the old board. Anyway the TV now works. Darren and I took another bike ride today. We put on 120 miles and then picked up Coz after work and took another 50 mile ride and end up back at our 5th wheel for supper. Cheri fixed another wonderful meal of stuffed pork chops, home made biscuits, cheesy broccoli, garlic mash potatoes, and blue berry pie.

I got a call this morning and the truck is done. They found a plugged fuel filter witch in turned caused low fuel pressure. I just had the filter change 2000 miles ago along with an oil change. I must have got a bad tank of fuel. It strange because I had just bought a spare fuel filter last week in case I would have a problem. But the symptoms didn’t fit the problem. I will know better next time. Darren and I went and picked it up. After we got back we took a 100 mile bike ride around the country side. Then we met Coz after work and took another 75 mile ride. Cheri took care of Cece today and fixed us a wonderful supper of Tomato Shrimp Scampi with Fettuccine, wine and coconut pie. She is still fighting with her cold.

This morning they came and picked up the truck and put it on a flat bed. I called the GMC dealer in Appleton and told them it was coming. We didn’t hear anything back from them today. Cheri is feeling a little better today, but still has the hacking cough. Nikki, Darren, Cece, Cheri and I went out for an early lunch. After lunch Darren and I went for a bike ride. We were headed for Rosendale when we ran into rain, made a quick turn around and headed back to Nikki and Coz’s place before the rain hit there. The girls went shopping. I reserved the U-Haul trailer to take Grandpa and Grandma’s things to Florida. Nikki made a tater tot casserole for supper.

Happy Fathers Day!!! Five of us guys met for breakfast and then took a 140 mile bike ride. I got back home at 1:00 pm. Cheri said she was feeling some better. I did some checking of fuses on the truck, but couldn’t find anything wrong. I will have to call the garage tomorrow and have it towed in. I changed oil in the bike this afternoon. I just got done when Darren called and said he would be in Fond du Lac around 5:00 pm. We took a short bike ride and then back to Coz and Nikki’s for supper.

Cheri isn’t feeling good as her cold is getting the best of her. When she turns down a day of shopping you know she is sick. Coz and I went for a bike ride today. Coz lead me into a rain storm. He told me it was my free bike wash. We made it to the Harley-Davidson dealer in Appleton and waited out most of the rain there. We met Nikki and Cece at Chunky Cheese. It is a place full of games for small kids. Cece had a lot of fun there. From there we went to Sam’s Club where Nikki and Coz got some groceries. Then it was back to Coz and Nikki’s for a cook out. I went home to pick up Cheri. We got in the truck and when I started to back out it died and I couldn’t get it started again. It acted like it was out of fuel. So we took the bike over to Coz and Nikki’s for supper. We had steak on the grill and homemade cherry pie.

Cheri said the morning walk was long; she is under the weather with a cold and can’t seem to shake it. I work on putting in the new TV cable from the bedroom to the main set. I still have some more cables to rearrange before I am done. Maybe tomorrow I will getter done. We left for Appleton early afternoon. We stopped at the Harley-Davidson dealer to get a new back rest for Cheri. I also went to the GMC truck dealer to pick up the plugs that I lost out of the mirrors. $4.75 for a little round rubber plug, and I need 3 of them. I also bought an extra fuel filter for the truck, had a couple of guys tell me it was a good idea to carry one. We met up with Greg and Jeanene Peterson for supper at the Machine Shed. It has gotten to be a 6 month thing. We got there a 5:00 pm and didn’t leave until 9:00 pm. We had a great visit with them. We got home around 10:00 pm and went right to bed.

We finally got to take our morning walk. Later is morning we made a trip to the Harley-Davidson dealer to look at back rest for Cheri. They didn’t have anything in stock that would work for her. So we will have to go to the dealer in Beaver Dam or Sauk City when we head back to Boscobel. We also went to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries and then a stop at Radio Shack to get parts to install an additional TV cable from the entertainment center to the bedroom. We got a call from Best Buy that they would have the parts for the TV on the 19th and will be here on 20th to fix it. Coz and Nikki came over for supper; we fixed jerk chicken on the grill along with vegetables on the grill. Cheri also made another Pecan pie for Coz. After supper we played a game of cribbage and we guys won.

We were ready to take our morning walk when the phone rang; it was the TV repairman saying he was on his way here to look at our TV. He found that there is a bad board and would have to order a new one. He should be back by the end of this week or the first of next week. Cheri and I went shopping at the Harley-Davidson dealer and bought saddle bags for the bike. It took me from 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm to get them installed. I had to add a signal light relocation bracket before I could put the bags on. This evening we took the bike for a ride with Coz and Nikki. We stopped in Dundee for supper and then back to Coz and Nikki’s for grasshoppers. It was a beautiful evening for a bike ride.

Today we went and picked up our motorcycle. We bought a 2005 Harley-Davidson XL1200C Sportster Custom. We got it from a private party in Oshkosh. Darren found it on line and told us about it. So last Thursday we went and looked at it, only 3700 miles on it. Cheri also had a first today. She had to drive the truck back from Oshkosh. After we got home and had some lunch we went grocery shopping. We had Coz, Nikki and Cece over for supper. Cheri fixed stuffed pork chops, home made biscuits, gravy and pecan pie. After supper we played a game of cribbage and we guys won big time.

We took our time getting around this morning. We sat and enjoyed our morning coffee and Cheri made egg & sausage muffins, then took a long walk. After we got the 5th wheel closed up we went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s. I mowed the lawn and Cheri did some paper work for Grandma. At 11:45 am we were on the road for Fond du Lac, arrived around 3:00 pm. After we got the 5th wheel set up we gave Coz and Nikki a call. Nikki had supper on the stove for us. So off we went to their place. Nikki fixed barbecue spare ribs (excellent). After supper we had a very closes game of cribbage that us guys won.

Well the washing machine still doesn’t work or I should say sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. I will look into it when I get to Fond du Lac. After church Cheri and I walked to a car show here in Boscobel. There were a few nice cars, but not as many as we are used to seeing. Late afternoon we went over to Burl and Dorothy’s for a cook out with my aunts, uncles, and cousins. A nice time was had by all.

The parts came in for the washing machine so this morning I went to work on fixing it. I have to turn off the water and take the toilet stool out in order to get the washer out. I put in the new control boards and put every thing back and it still didn’t work. So out it came again and I reseated all the wiring plugs and couldn’t see anything wrong. So I put it back together and figured we would have to get a new one. Well when I tried it again, it worked. Cheri started laundry and we took an early evening walk.

We left Fond du Lac after breakfast at Rolling Meadows restaurant about 8:30 am. We made a stop at Fleet Farm in Beaver Dam and then a stop at the Harley Davidson dealer in Sauk City where we look at some new bikes. We arrived back in Boscobel about 1:30 pm. We went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s to visit with Uncle Max who was back from Nebraska for a visit. We where all invited over to Uncle Burl and Aunt Dorothy’s for supper.

On our way to Beaver Dam for my dentist appointment we stopped for breakfast at Rolling Meadows restaurant. Then we stopped at Feet Farm where I left Cheri while I was at the dentist. Then we went to Wal-Mart, Menards, Nolan’s Insurance in Brandon. After all of that we stopped to see John and Linda. We got back to Fond du Lac at 3:45 pm, had a Papa Murphy’s Pizza for supper. I had a 4:30 appointment to get the air conditioner in Grandpa and Grandma’s car fixed. Greg worked on the car until 7:30. It works much better than it did before. I got back to Coz and Nikki’s at 8:00 pm. We were going to head back to Boscobel, but decided to spend the night here as they had bad storms with high winds and a tornado watch in the area until 10:00 pm.

This morning the auctioneer stopped by Grandpa and Grandma’s to do the listing for the auction. It took about 2 hours to get everything listed. The listing will go in the paper the week of the auction. After dinner Cheri and I took Grandpa and Grandma’s van and headed for Fond du Lac as I have a dentist appointment tomorrow to have a crown put in. We had rain all afternoon and part of the evening.

More rain last night and early this morning, it turned out to be a pretty nice day. Cheri and Grandma continued to wash walls and I did some cleaning in the garage. I made a call to Whirlpool and they are going to pay for the washing machine parts. So this afternoon I went down town and got them ordered, should be in on Friday. I used a pole chain saw and trimmed the trees around our 5th wheel at the RV Park (with the owner’s permission).

It was windy and cool this morning and wet from the rain last night. It also rained again this afternoon. Cheri and I were a little slow getting around this morning due to the weather. We went over to Grandpa and Grandma’s to work. Cheri and Grandma washed out the cupboards and walls in the kitchen. Cheri also did laundry. I worked in the basement fixing a leaking water pipe and fastening the pipes up to the floor joist as Grandpa had them all sagging so they would drain for the winter. I also got the garage door opener fixed. I took a gear from an old opener and installed it in Grandpa and Grandma’s door opener (thanks Bill for the parts).

Well it was rain on and off all day, more on than off. We picked up Grandpa and Grandma and went to church. After church we went back to Grandpa and Grandma’s for dinner. After dinner Cheri and I went back to the 5th wheel as we were both tied from the trip yesterday. Before we went to church Cheri started a load of laundry and when we got back she put that one in the dryer and started another load and the washing machine quit working. This same thing happened back in April and it was the control board that was bad. It was under warranty at that time so Whirlpool paid for the $329.00 board and it still cost us $120.00 to have it fixed. Now it’s out of warranty and we have to make a decision whether to fix it or buy a new one for $650.00. The one we have now was two years old in April, should last longer than that.

We were up by 5am and on the road by 6:40am. We took HWY 36 out of Smith Center to the Missouri border. It is the Pony Express route. We saw a number of statues of the pony express rider & horse along this route. We crossed over the Missouri River into Missouri at 10:30am. We still stayed on HWY 36 for a while and then picked up HWY 35 north to HWY 20 and over to Dubuque where we picked up 151 and crossed the Mississippi River into Wisconsin. Some to the roads were pretty ruff. Our microwave even came unscrewed and slid off the shelf. Thank goodness the slide caught it. We picked up 61 north and headed for Boscobel. We arrived at 6:45. It was a long day. We traveled 647 miles.

After breakfast we said our goodbyes to Bruce & Bobbi, the owners of Ingelboro Mansion Bed and Breakfast and headed back to the Excel Service Center to wait for our 5th wheel to be done. Well it was a long wait and it rained all day. They finally got done around 3:30 pm, by the time we did the walk through and paid the bill it was 4:30 pm and still raining. So we decided to stay the night and leave in the morning as the weather looks better for tomorrow.